Archives for April 2007

Probably Not A Use For Which The Wii Was Intended

26 April 2007 by

Now that I have the color of my hair straightened out – everything all nice and even and streak-free – I’ve started to think about what kind of hair style I’d like to have in the rapidly approaching summer months.

When I’m not contemplating how to achieve world peace and save the environment, of course.

But I do think that most women understand that proper planning is one of the key components of successful hair. And just as I would never set out on a road trip without a good map in the car, I would never darken the door of a salon without doing my hair homework.

YOUR HAIR NEEDS GOALS, PEOPLE.

And do y’all have any idea how many different kinds of hair-tastrophe could occur as a result of neglecting that crucial pre-haircut research time?

So as I prepare for my appointment next week (just cut, no color), here are the questions I’m pondering, thereby revealing that I have far too much time on my hands:

Do I want to let it get a little longer, maybe even take one last stab at having a ponytail? Do I want to go short again – something wispy and funky and fun for summertime? Do I want to keep my old standby, the trusty bob? Or do I want to step out and do something different?

And how, oh how, will I ever decide?

And then I thought of the Mii feature on the Wii – and remembered that you can alter the hairstyles.

IT’S A TECHNOLOGICAL MIRACLE, Y’ALL!

So here are a few of the styles I tried. I rejected every single one of them – but oh, I found the whole process terribly entertaining.

And some of the styles are quite alarming, by the way, so you should prepare yourself accordingly. Small children should probably leave the room, as nightmares could result from viewing the images below.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

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The last two crack me up; the one on the left looks like BooMama on the Prairie, and the one on the right looks like I’m going to a really KLASSY PROM.

Filed Under: Family Fun

This Does Not Bode Well For Any Future Fine Dining Experiences

25 April 2007 by

I am happy to announce that Fresh Market & Co. waddled back to our ‘hood this afternoon. All nine of them.

We took them some bread and then snapped an obscene number of pictures.

The mama and daddy were much friendlier today, by the way.

I’m guessing that had something to do with the whole bread thing.

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Which reminds me.

Today about 12:30 someone called me from Alex’s Mother’s Day Out and said that he had gotten sick. She said that he didn’t throw up exactly, but he got very still in the middle of eating lunch “and then some of it came back up.”

So I jumped in the car and headed over to pick him up, and when I got there about five minutes later, he was sitting happily in a chair in the director’s office, eating a popsicle and talking up a storm. His cheeks were flushed and his hair was sticking to his head – they’d been out on the playground right before lunch – but other than that he looked perfectly normal. I figured he must be in the early stages of a virus, so we thanked everybody for their help (“AND THE POPSICLE, MAMA!”), grabbed his backpack, and left.

Once we got back home, I immediately fixed the little man some Sprite and told him that it would probably be a good idea if he rested for awhile. He curled up on his bean bag in the playroom and watched a movie, and I was all “bless your bones” and “baby, do you need anything?” and he was all doe-eyed and uncharacteristically quiet.

But when the movie was over, he popped up from that bean bag, threw on his shoes, ran down the hallway at warp speed and announced (loudly) that he wanted to GO OUTSIDE! PLEASE, MAMA! AND PLAY BASEBALL!

Which seemed, you know, odd. Considering he was sick and all.

And by the end of the day, when there had been no more vomitage but a great deal of TALKING! AND PLAYING!, I started to get a little puzzled about this “virus.” So I began to ask him some questions.

Finally, after he had detailed most of the circumstances surrounding his lunchtime misfortune, he said, “Mama, I don’t need a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in my lunch anymore.”

“But you love peanut butter and jelly, don’t you?”

“No, Mama. I don’t need it.”

And then it dawned on me: I bought a different kind of bread this week, a brand with little chunks of grains and berries and nuts and whatnot.

So I said, “Buddy, did you not like the bread I used today to make your sandwich?”

“NO, Mama – it had NUTS in it. And Mama, I SPIT IT OUT. I SPIT IT OUT REAL HARD.”

Which pretty much solved the whole “mystery virus” conundrum.

You see, apparently my child didn’t care for Nature’s Own Honey Wheat Berry bread when he started to eat his lunch today, so HE GAGGED AND PROJECTILE SPAT IT ACROSS THE LUNCH TABLE, thereby causing his teacher’s understandable concern that he was, you know, VOMITING.

And then he was rewarded for his pickiness with a popsicle.

Really, it worked out beautifully for the young lad.

But no worries.

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Because as you can see, Go Diego Go here thought that the Nature’s Own Honey Wheat Berry bread was absolutely delicious. As did his siblings and parents.

In fact, not a single one of them gagged, spat or threw up even a little bit as they ate it.

Alex may have them beat in terms of social skills, but they win the table manners battle by a mile.

Filed Under: Chatty McTalky, Rambling

Because Those Pins And Needles Must Be Mighty Uncomfortable

25 April 2007 by

Here, at long last, is what Alex named the seven goslings that we discovered behind our house:

Dora
Go Diego Go (not just “Diego,” mind you)
Blue’s Clues
Fresh Market
Joe
Steve
and, my personal favorite: Baby Geese

Unfortunately, we haven’t seen that particular group-o-geese since Alex named all of the babies, so either they were terribly offended by his name choices or they found a new home where they could be known only as “HOOOONK” (like all the other babies) without having to a listen to a four year old screaming, “LOOK! MAMA! IT’S FRESH MARKET!” at various points in the day.

Also, here is my new favorite name for a gosling, and I just thought of it about four seconds ago:

Honk Williams, Jr.

BADA-BING! Thank you and good night! Thank you. Thank you so much.

The other goose family – the one with four goslings – is now a family of three goslings, and I really can’t think about it for too long because YOU JUST KNOW THAT SNAKE WAS UP TO NO GOOD.

Up later: exciting details about a SQUIRREL!

(I’m really not kidding. We have an Official Squirrel Nemesis. I have photographic evidence. I’m considering contacting the authorities or, at the very least, the squirrel’s parents. Because he so needs to be grounded.)

Filed Under: Family Fun, Rambling

AI – Top 6

24 April 2007 by

Ahhh. I can finally watch without fear of my blood pressure shooting into the stratosphere. And I can’t help but feel like the real competition is starting tonight, and that makes me strangely happy.

Chris Richardson – “Change The World” – I actually liked the arrangement and was glad that they kept the song true to its acoustic roots. However, at this stage in the competition, Chris needs to WOW SOME PEOPLE – and he’s still sounding a little bit like Timberlite. I will say, though, that this performance was leaps and bounds better than last week – and I was surprised by how well the song suited his voice.

Melinda Doolittle – “There Will Come A Day” – When D. and I lived in Louisiana, I used to ride around and listen to this song. LOUDLY. Which is neither here nor there, really, but anecdotes are fun, aren’t they? And here’s the thing: I liked Melinda’s version better than Faith’s version. I really did. I thought Melinda was in her element tonight. I mean, did y’all see the joy on her face as she sang those lyrics (“There’s a better place / where our Father waits / and every tear will be wiped away…”)? I think she was having church on that stage – and I was shouting “SING IT, SISTA” in my living room. Also: she looked great.

Blake Lewis – “Imagine” – I know it’s some form of musical sacrilege, but I don’t like this song. I am so sorry, y’all – but I don’t. However, my dislike of this song has nothing to do with why I didn’t particularly care for this performance of Blake’s. I just feel like he does the same thing week after week – almost like he’s trying to audition for Coldplay. And this is going to sound crazy (which is appropriate because I am crazy), but he doesn’t blink when he sings, and for some reason that bothers me. His performance did seem earnest and sincere – but I was just a little bit bored.

LaKisha Jones – “I Believe” – I thought this was the best LaKisha has done in several weeks, so that’s a good thing. But I think where she doesn’t do as well as, say, Melinda, is that she doesn’t make songs her own. She typically sounds really great singing whatever she chooses – but she doesn’t necessarily sound different from the original artist. As the competition goes on, that’s going to be increasingly problematic for her, I’m afraid. Still, I love me some Kiki.

Phil Stacey – “Change” – What a great, simple arrangement of this song – and I really liked Phil’s performance. Unlike a couple of weeks ago, he seemed to really connect with the lyrics of the song. He is increasingly confident when he’s on the stage – very much a man’s man – and I think that’s going to resonate with voters.

Jordin Sparks – “You’ll Never Walk Alone” – She just gets better and better each and every week. I completely forget that she’s only seventeen years old. And the ending of tonight’s song? Good grief. She can flat-out belt it. I really do think that she’s going to be in the final two with Melinda. Oh yes ma’am I do.

Who will go? – It’s a tough call – but I think of all the performances tonight, Blake was the weakest. Teenage girls will probably save the day for him – but he would be my pick.

Best of the night? – Melinda. Love her.

Filed Under: TV Is My Friend

The World Cannot Contain The Sweetness

24 April 2007 by

Last night Alex and I were having snuggle time before he went to sleep, and after we said prayers, we fell into a comfortable silence.

He would look at me and smile, and I’d smile in return, and every once in awhile he’d giggle and scrunch up his eyes. I would respond by covering his face with kisses and holding him extra close.

After all, it won’t be long before my pre-bedtime snuggling services are no longer required.

After several minutes of quiet, I felt his little arms snake around my neck, and very, very softly he said, “Oh, I love you, Mama.”

“Well, I love you, too, little man,” I answered.

“And Mama?” he asked.

“What, baby?”

“Mama, you’re my very best family. Daddy is, too. You and Daddy are my very best family.”

And he is our very best boy.

Filed Under: Family Fun

Glory Revealed Live

23 April 2007 by

Last night D. and I GOT A BABYSITTER AND EVERYTHING and went to the Glory Revealed concert. Y’all know that I’m just a wee bit carried away with the whole Glory Revealed project, so I couldn’t wait to hear the music in person.

Plus, you must keep in mind that I used to watch “TRL” on MTV every single afternoon from 1997-2003, so I was slightly giddy about seeing Brian Littrell and, might I add, secretly hoping that he would do a little bit of his Backstreet Boys (oh, they were STREET, yo) choreography from back in the day.

Because I think we can all agree that “I Want It That Way” was, in a word, gold.

Anyway, we didn’t get to the concert until about ten minutes before it started, and when we got to Will Call and opened our ticket envelope, we were surprised to see that we had some sassy VIP stickers. After a few seconds I realized that Brian – the super nice guy at Provident Music who donated all the CD’s for the giveaway last month – was the person behind the “upgrade.” I actually had to ask the ladies at Will Call what the stickers enabled us to do (as you can tell, I am terribly familiar with the inner workings of the music industry), and they explained that we would get to sit in special seating.

Which means, in my book at least, that BRIAN ROCKS FOREVAH AND EVAH.

We did in fact have great seats, and in all honesty it was more than a little surreal to realize that our night on the town was connected, in part, to the blawg. Now granted, blogging has afforded me the opportunity to sample different books and products (Swiffer Carpet Flick, anyone?), but last night was the first time that it’s enabled me to do something fun outside of my home. And all I have to say about that is, HELLO, WALT DISNEY CORPORATION: HAVE I MENTIONED THAT I HAVE A FOUR YEAR OLD WHO ADORES MICKEY MOUSE, SO PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME AT YOUR EARLIEST POSSIBLE CONVENIENCE RE: OUR SUMMER TRAVEL PLANS.

Oh, I kid because I’m cheap.

The concert started with a medley of old hymns, which was a little bit of heaven on earth for me. Even better, it was clear early on that not a single one of the performers was interested in drawing attention to himself or herself (sidenote: Brian Littrell did not dance. But we were in a Baptist church, so this could be part of the reason why. Pure speculation on my part, however). And seriously, there was such humility in the performers’ worship; I mean it as a compliment when I say that they got out of God’s way. I could not tell you who sang what song, but the words have echoed in my mind all day long.

I’ve mentioned before that because the songs on Glory Revealed are taken straight from Scripture, they pack a more powerful punch than some of the other contemporary Christian music floating around out there. The songs also enable me to hide Scripture in my heart, something that I’m trying to be more intentional about doing (God has really been convicting me about my tendency to justify my actions or reactions based on how I feel as opposed to what He says, but that’s probably another post for another time, as I imagine you would like to finish reading this before, you know, autumn arrives).

So, bottom line: last night was uplifting, moving and humbling. Above all, it was worshipful – with every word of every song directed to the One who is worthy of all our praise. And if you live near Ocala, Lakeland, Clearview or Atlanta, I really encourage you to check out the schedule and try to make it to one of the few remaining dates on the Glory Revealed Tour. You will not be disappointed.

Finally, here’s a clip of Candi Pearson-Shelton singing “Glory Revealed,” which is based on Isaiah 40:3-5. This clip isn’t from last night’s performance, but it’ll help you understand why, at the end of the song, I wanted to stand up and shout “AMEN,” but alas my strong Methodist heritage would not allow me to do such a thing. John Wesley would’ve been so proud of my discipline, don’t you think? :-)

If you’re interested in buying the Glory Revealed CD, check out the Family Christian website – quite a deal.

And thus concludes this spring’s Glory Revealed-A-Thon. My only defense is that when I like something, I love to share it – so thanks for indulging me.

Happy Tuesday, everybody!

Filed Under: Rambling
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