The Kid Club, I Know it Exists (ThTh)

There IS a club. I KNEW it.

I've seen two mentions of individuals welcoming new mothers to 'The Club.' [Please note that your facebook and twitter comments do not pass unnoticed.] I have something to say about this club. Here goes.

The majority of my friends have kids and (it's weird but) as soon as they have those little rascals, I see them less and less. I knew there had to be a reason: they're at their club meetings most of the time. That's IT isn't it? THAT's the reason I don't get invited to parties, THAT's the reason I never see them on Saturdays, or late nights, or hardly ever. It's not ME at all. Apparently, if you are a card-carrying member of the mommy club, parent club, able to reproduce club (or whatever it's called) your interactions with those NOT in the club is restricted. Damn clubs! Now I understand why LOML never was a 'joiner'

I am, however, doing what I can to join. Yet, I'm afraid that by the time I get accepted into the club, all our friends will be tenuring out with the development of teenagers. (I think they'll actually have to join the I'm-going-so-crazy-I-can't-see straight-Club) I'll still be left out!! I make feeble attempt to join with use of my nieces, but they're just loaners and I only get them on a limited time basis. Blah.

You can all stop pretending now. The secret is out. There is a club, I get it. You parents who've been brainwashed into joining can come out from hiding and call your barren, childless friends to come over. We really aren't afraid of your ankle-biters. We really just want to see you. Our weekends are fairly lonely without you (and your kids.)

**Disclaimer: I am not pointing this at ANY of my friends in particular. I am only letting all of you know that those of us without children miss you and feel a little lost without you. Just because you have kids does not mean that we want to see you any less. In fact, it just makes us feel like less of a person to not be included. The torture of NOT having kids is enough, why tease us with not having friends either?**

Okay? Rant over!!

Moving on to less controversial topics, how about some "Thrifty Thursday"?

• Make your brown bag lunch more interesting.
  
• We all use it, but it's so harsh and chemically that we don't really want it in our houses around our pets (oh yeah- or kids.) Now you can have handmade draino without harsh chemicals.
  
• How to shop at thrift stores. If you're an old hand at it like me, you'll still see a few little tricks and tips. Let me know if you have any suggestions of your own on your method for thrift store shopping. Really! Leave me a comment with your thrift store techniques and tips. Mine- when looking at a long clothes aisle and in a hurry, scan the make of the fabrics only. If you know good quality fabric, you can more likely find good quality pieces of clothing.
  
• I'm not sure if this constitutes thrifty or not, but the main ingredient is ramen noodles, so there has to be SOME sort of thrift to these ramen noodle recipes.

So that's it. I'm gonna sit back and enjoy my quiet, childless house and try not to torture myself by wondering when and if that will ever change. Because, I know the nieces are spending the night Friday, and it won't be quiet for long!!

Project Runway Ate My Homework (TRT)

I had full intentions of blogging last night. Yet, after making and eating dinner, I decided to catch up on the 3 hours of TiVoed Project Runway I missed on Thursday.

The evening was lost. The entire list of things I needed to get done was thrown out the window so I could devote my complete, full, and utter attention to the TV. How much of a fat ass does that make me? Instead of finishing up my meal plan for the week, I watched TV. Instead of browsing beautiful condos online for our Labor Day weekend getaway, I watched TV. Instead of crafting, I watched TV. Instead of blogging about it, I watched TV. So, it was a complete "to do list FAIL" of an evening.

To top it off, everything on the list was something I was gonna do ON MY ASS anyway, I just couldn't bear to pull my eyes away from the television long enough to look at something else (I've missed stuff on PR that way before.)

One thing was accomplished, I did get a good laugh out of myself - I realized that Tim Gunn's "Make it work" is just an older, gay man's "Get r done." He he he he! You may have already seen my tweet about that, but I think I'm a comic genius to come up with that little joke. Okay, maybe not a comic genius but a very funny girl nonetheless.

In order for me to feel as though I've accomplished SOMETHING else, let's get to some "Totally Random Tuesday" links and finish up this blog post:

• A paranoid's breakfast -
• With Tim Burton's new take on it upcoming, here's a look at the fashion of Alice in Wonderland through the years.
  
• Speaking of fashion, take a look at the zipper dress. Man, there are definitely parts of your body you don't want stuck in one of those zippers! However, it is absolutely a cool idea!
  
• Do you read the writing on the wall? You know, the public bathroom wall. . . I do!! I'm constantly laughing at some of the things that are written there, the bad grammar, mis-spellings, and the written 'fights' people have, In any case, here's some of the best bathroom wall graffiti.
  
• Lastly, the internet is currently overflowing with funny pie charts, bar graphs, and more that poke fun at just about anything. Here's a sampling of some fun with charts.
  

So, that's all for now. I need to get back to the list. Just by completing this task, I've really overlooked/ignored a few other to do items. Sigh! It never ends!

Weekend and Crafts (MMSM)

First and foremost, go check out the post over on my Fairy Creative blog to see what kinds of crafty I've been lately.

The weekend was a bit strange. Friday night, LOML and I had a great night out - some margaritas and then beers at a local bar. Baaaaaaaaddddd decision. We both were completely hungover Saturday. Me- so much more than him. It was a completely wasted day: playing on the computer, intaking liquids, and napping. We tried to make it ALL up on Sunday and did a pretty good job of it. I started by making up breakfast and then spending some time in the craft room. We headed down to the beach for lunch and then met up with one of my best friends and her family for a little bit before winding our way back home. I cooked some dinner and we went to see District 9. Of course, we didn't make it to bed until after midnight. Overall, it was a good weekend.

So, let's just forget about Saturday and move on to some "Made Me Smile Monday"

• bird on head wall carving thing
• Funny wedding photos. Really, go check these out.
  
• Look at this poor kid's face. He doesn't trust his dad's idea either
• Lego videos
  

Sorry to make it so short, but I'm heading out to get some Thai food with LOML now. Gotta go!!

Now, don't forget to head over and see how Fairy Creative I've been.

Being Positive (WWWW)

After that little pity party over the condition of my house and lack of time, I think we'll go with something a little more upbeat today. I hope I didn't scare you off!!

Earlier in the week Crafty Chica made a post about what's going on with her and concluded it with a list of what she's groovin on. I did post a brief reply when she asked what her readers were groovin on too.

To continue that mood and show that I AM a positive person, I want to share what's making me happy (what I'm groovin' on)
-A clean and organized craft room
- LOML working up to play actual gigs (IN PUBLIC) again
- This recipe for a PB & J Parfait (these are the more healthy kind- yogurt, not ice cream)
- Re-reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in bed at night (albeit, a little too late into the night)
- Sneaking in some crafty time whenever I can
- Taking a trip to Hobby Lobby and then checking out the new Hancock Fabric store
- A clean house, mostly anyway
- Cleaning the house and cooking dinner with some GOOD jazz playing in the background (much more soothing than the tv I usually have on)
- Snacking on raw almonds (I've been obsessed with them for a few weeks now)
- You guys!! All of y'all stopping by here. Thanks!!

I hope you can see the positive parts of your life too!!

Let's do some "Wild, Wild Web Wednesday"!!

• Customizable, Kid-friendly browser. What a great idea. If you've got kids that wanna use the internet, this might be JUST the thing for you!!
  
• 21 movie posters made over with legos. I love movies and legos, so I thought this was cool!
  
• The drama button could very well be useful at some point. For now, it's just entertaining.
  
• Worst halftime shows
  
• The new economy cars

Now, let me know what kind of positive is going on in your life? What's making YOU happy right now?

Without a Safety Net (TRT)

I’ve discovered a secret. . .to get LOML to clean the house, invite people over. It's as simple as that.
He’s planning on having a few old bandmates over tonight to go through some music and possibly work up to some gigs. As such, we want the house to be ‘presentable’ enough for other people. Usually, it’s just livable.

So, when I got home yesterday, I was pleased to discover that he had DUSTED (awesome since I have a severe dust allergy), cleaned the kitchen, picked up the living room, and was working on de-gunking the fish tank. After dinner, I cleaned the litter box and cleaned up the dinner stuff while he VACUUMED the living room and hallway.

I hate to say it, but there’s still so much that needs to be done around the house and I just can’t seem to find the time to do it. Lately it has seemed as though life is a balancing act of what needs to be done and what has to be done. I know I need to keep my house in order enough so that we don’t become sick, overwhelmed, over stressed, and just plain gross; but I have other interests that I want to pursue as well. After work, I run by the store for any food items we need, come home and cook, eat dinner, and spend time with the hubby before it’s off to bed. Squeezing some craft time time into that schedule is hard enough. And, then there’s blogging in the mix. I want to share my daily life, I want to share some tips, some funnies, etc and I even have more to share for my other blog than you could imagine, but just getting this one done is quite a task to say the least.

I wanna know how other working women handle it. Those with kids have it even harder, I know. Do you have some sort of schedule of what chores to complete on what days so that it doesn’t all pile up? Do you have a certain day of the week that you do it all? Do you just know what the most pressing tasks are to get done and do those only? Where do you find the energy? Where do you find the time?

So, my question to you is: How do you perform that high wire act where you juggle all the stuff, keep your balance, and still reach the other side? Was there a class in high school I missed? Maybe an after school program? Or even a secret club I should have joined? How did you learn this and how do I learn it too?? Help me please, I want to regain my life and my house. Is it possible?

*****Disclaimer- I do NOT live in filth. I just don’t do things like dust and vacuum on a regular basis. Dishes get cleaned and clothes get washed, but I have difficulty finding time for other household chores.*****

As if that wasn't random enough, here's some "Totally Random Tuesday" bits:

• Minas Tirith recreated in matchsticks. (It's a Lord of the rings thing for those of you who are not on the geek level with me.)
  
• Odd grocery specials
  
• Mis-spelled college ads
  
• 21 office supplies too awesome to exist (some NSFW) -
  
• Twitter- how to get unfollowed.

That's all for now. But, seriously, if you've got some cleaning/time management tips and tricks, please leave me a comment. I's love to be able to have a clean house and still enjoy other activities. HELP!!

My Weekend (MMSM)

I am bound and determined to get a post up today. I think Monday's links are the best and I spent some time last week organizing all my saved links for y'all, so I want and NEED to share them.

First up, a review of the weekend.
Disappointingly, the Counting Crows concert we had tickets for at the Wharf was canceled Friday morning. I was grief-stricken over the news. However, LOML knew just how to console me- margaritas and Mexican food.
Saturday- I poured more of my grief into yard sale shopping. Unfortunately, there was little that caught my attention. We puttered around the rest of the day them met up with some friends for pizza and beers at Hopjacks. They have a few beer mixes- I chose and stuck with the Black and Blue (Guinness and Sweetwater Blue- two of my favorite beers). While you could pick up subtle hints of both beers, I had a hard time distinguishing my favorite parts of either: the rich, deep flavor of Guinness and the hint of blueberry in the Blue. Overall, it was a good mix, but I will probably just go with one or the other next time.
Sunday - After sleeping WAY TOO late, we had brunch and then I shop off to Mobile for a meeting. We lazed about the rest of the evening.

Alright, now that I've sufficiently bored you with the details of my weekend, let's move on to some "Made Me Smile Monday" lovelies:

• I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned it before, but ever since I saw Swiss Family Robinson as a kid I've wanted a decked out treehouse. Maybe one day (*hint hint LOML*)
  
• Marilyn as a child
• Big buck article- make sure to read the caption -
  
• bad name for a boat
• String, not just for cats anymore. Seriously, GO LOOK at this one. It is fall on the floor funny!!!
  

S'alright- I've got a bunch to accomplish today at the house since some of Pat's friends are coming over tomorrow for band practice. I can't spend anymore time on here - plus I need to cook dinner and hope to get in a little craft time. I've got a pendant waiting to be collaged and I can't get it off my mind. I just wanna be crafty!!

Crafting With the Kids (ThTh)

SUCCESS!!

The craft-room clean-up mission was accomplished in record time. It's amazing what you can do when you really want it done. I've always said that I work best under pressure. (it's true)

When the girls got to my house (I told them the craft room was clean), they immediately wanted to craft. And, craft we did. They started painting the moment they walked in the door, we had trouble getting them to leave for dinner. With rain predicted for the whole weekend (ruining our plans to go to the beach) and them losing access to the Wii (it just caused problems), it was a good thing they like to craft.
So, what did we make?

• Basic painting on a canvas board (and then just paper) with acrylic paints
• Polymer clay beads, which were baked and strung on leather cord
• Tin can pencil holders
• Melt-and pour soap
• A collage

As far as their favorite activity, it was painting by a long shot. Yet, by the time they got home, they we anxious to show off their soap and tin cans. From what I hear, they've put both to good use.

Even after all of that, I was able to keep the craft room in order by decreeing that no new projects would be started until we put away the materials from other projects. It's such a relief to know that it was clean and has stayed that way. Hurray!!

I don't have much of an easy way to move on, but it's "Thrifty Thursday" and I'm ready to share some links:

• I really like the look of this DIY floating shoe rack
  
• Preserving clothes is one of the thriftiest things you can do, so here's a slideshow on how to get out some of summer's toughest stains
  
• Apparently, you can get free books on the iPhone and androids
  
• Haven't you ever wanted to cook a meal using just what you have in your kitchen, without having to run to the grocery store. With this new online tool, you can - just jump online and enter what you've got.

Mmmmm- crafting and talk of thrift, two of my favorites. I'm helping with the girls tonight, so I need to get to some other tasks so I can get over there in time. Later, y'all!!