So I Was Just Thinking

Well today is the day that I am supposed to have my drawing for those people who took the time to stop and give my brother a little encouragement on his new blog. His first post on A to Z Photo will be June 1st, so please head on over. The winner of the random drawing using the random number picker is Becca . How fun is that?! I have put together some nice goodies from my Mary Kay stash since I don't have a scrap stash. Included in the prize package is a Satin Hands Set and other gifts from the Coastal Colors Collection. Thanks again everyone and remember to check out A to Z Photo's inaugural post on Monday. I can't wait to see how this turns out. And Becca, PM me at SIStv (mommyvictory) so I can send you this awesome prize package.

I know my chaos is only 1/4 of my friend Octamom , but I was giggling as I read her post today , relating to just about everything she wrote about except the part about homeschooling. When my husband went to the Philippines the first time (supposedly for 5 weeks) I thought "this won't be so bad." But as 5 weeks SLOWLY turned into 4 months, I thought I would lose my mind because we didn't ave a babysitter, and my mother and aunt were slowly losing patience with my son. Errands came down to the last minute decision of, "Is it worth dragging a hyper three year old along." Dance lessons and the like were non-negotiable, but trips to Target and the grocery store would begin with questions like, "How long can I really go with this last roll of toilet paper?" ( a problem I know Octamom doesn't have ) or "Can the kids survive on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for another couple of days?" When Gary returned from his extended trip, I gave h...

If your five year old came home and said, "Mom, this is my new favorite singer," what would you do? My parents bought me a baby piano. For those of you too young to recognize this ukulele playing icon, it is none other than the incomparable Tiny Tim. My favorite tune of his is "Tip Toe Through the Tulips," but just today, I was watching the first episode of Spongebob SquarePants (1999) - yet another media icon with an uncannily positive attitude. Spongebob had just returned to the Krusty Krab having bought a special spatula just in time to rescue everyone from a mob of hungry anchovies - in his usual happy go lucky way . As he slings krabby patties out to the crowd, the viewers are entertained by "Walking in the Sunlight." Suddenly, I began to get this strange "flashback" feeling as one can only do as a child of the 60s and began my regular Googling of the tune and found a familiar friend. I had a fondness for music as a child. (I still do.) Tin...

This is a copy of my brother's post. I thought those who come by my blog might be interested. Andre is a photojournalist. He had lost his inspiration for his personal photography, and in effort to help himself, he has decided to help others. Please spread the word And anyone who goes to his blog and posts a comment on his Closer to Fine blog showing support by May 31 will be in a drawing for a Mary Kay gift set . International girls/guys included. Inspiring others My sister suggested I make A to Z Photo a challenge blog for her photo friends (and others, too) who would love to have another place for inspiration . I like the idea. I also like the A to Z idea because of its simplicity. Coming up with photo assignments all the time is hard. I figure that's why many of the photo assignment sites I checked out yesterday hadn't been updated in a long time. With A to Z you have a lot of room for creativity. For example, I've been pondering "A" a lot today. I c...

My cousin Pam (aka Pamela) and I are more like sisters than cousins. Shortly after I was born, my mom moved to her sister's house in Long Island until my father returned from Viet Nam. (Did I just date myself?) Pam is my mother's niece. She is just a year older than I. (Did I just date her?) From the time I was five, Pam's father sent for me for the summer, and Pam and I were inseparable. As time passed, we were in each other's weddings, and each had the corresponding girl then boy. Pam is the only one of the innumerable cousins I have that I regularly keep in touch with. My kids don't have any real aunts, so they call her Aunt Pam rather than Cousin Pam which sounds kind of weird. Today, my son received the best package ever in the mail from my delightfully insane cousin. This what we found. An abundance of Gymboree shorts, shirts, undies and swim shorts. He is definitely going to be the best dressed kiddo on the playground. We just wanted to say, THANKS AUNT PAM!...

My brother directed me to this interesting product review that is giving away a $250 gift card to one reader of their review of a new Capri Sun product. Go to A Work of Art: Reviews. Read and follow her directions and you can receive up to three entries in her drawing. You have until July 9, 2009 to enter. Who couldn't use an extra $250? My only request is if you win, take me for a cup of Starbucks! Good luck!

I'm not sure what your morning commute is like, but I will venture to say that my drive to work is far more hazardous than yours unless you are driving to work in ... let say...I don't know...BEIRUT! Recently, the powers that be felt it necessary to inform us that we might encounter some danger on our way to work by posting this lovely sign! This is in addition to the already existing: I better keep my wits about me as I drive to work in the morning. Not that my drive needs any more excitement than it already has! Just today I was laughing at the DJs on an Austin radio station that had people call in to talk about odd package warnings people have seen. A woman called in to say that her sleep aid box said, "Warning! May Cause Drowsiness." Um, isn't that the point? Wouldn't it be nice if all of life's pitfalls came with such a warning sign. I would have loved to know that my bachelor's degree in psychology wasn't worth the paper it was written on in...