Now I could be all cool and pretend like it’s been a normal couple of days here at BooMama. But the problem is, I’m a goob. I wouldn’t know “cool” if it slapped me in the face and called me Judy, and as a result, I can only say one thing:

SWEET MERCY, WHERE DID ALL YOU PEOPLE COME FROM?

Which is sort of a rhetorical question. Because I have SiteMeter. And it tells me things.

Like that a huge chunk of you have been referred here by either Shannon, Queen of Blogdom, or by my sweet friend Sarah, who linked to me in a post a couple of days ago. Which, as it turns out, was a couple of days after Lisa Whelchel linked to her.

And I’ve learned two things as a result: 1) Shannon has waaay more than tens of readers, and 2) when Blair Warner talks? People listen. I know because I’m a second-string beneficiary of her linkage. To extend that analogy a bit, it’s like I’m like the little gift shop on the corner that starts to get a few more patrons when the restaurant a couple of doors down gets a glowing review from a respected critic.

By the way, I’m not so good with the analogies. Better that you know it up front so that you can lower your expectations accordingly.

Last night I was telling D. (my husband, not just a random man I engaged in conversation) that it’s been a veritable linking extravaganza around here the last couple of days. In fact, I think Addie would call it Linkapalooza. :-) And honestly, it’s been a little strange for me (but in a good way) because I have a hard time understanding why anyone would bother to read my blog unless they know me in real life. And that’s not a plea for comments…that’s just the truth.

Anyway, I was telling D. that I totally get why Sarah has so many readers – her posts are thoughtful and insightful and inspiring. She seamlessly integrates theology with real life, and if she doesn’t write a book, I’m going to tell her husband to cut off her diet Coke supply. FOREVER. Which should get her motivated in no time.

But I’m not so much with the thoughtful. I mainly just talk about my very Southern family, and food, and TV, and my gratefulness that God loves me despite what a dork I am. And I told D. that I couldn’t help but wonder, in light of all that, what in the world people thought when they clicked over here from Sarah’s beautifully written blog and saw that she had directed them to The Post That Will Not Die, Bless My Mama’s Heart. It had to be a bit of bloggy culture shock.

D. thought for several seconds, and then, in the most comforting, soothing tone, he said, “Do you feel like your only claim to blog ‘fame’ is ‘hey, my mama tooted’?”

And I said, “YES, that’s exactly it.”

My husband, you see, understands me.

So just bear with me, y’all.

And welcome.

…to participate in a little shindig being organized over at A Gracious Home.

Now I’m fairly new (in the grand scheme of things) to all this bloggy business, and I see that there are some pretty specific requirements for these awards, but my guess is that every single person in the “Bloggity Goodness” links on my sidebar meets the criteria. And there are lots of categores besides the one you see to the left…that was just the only badge I could find on their website.

So if you have the time, do yourself a favor. Make a point to visit some (or all!) of the people I link to day in and day out. Check out the “Captivating” study girls, too. I am constantly encouraged and humbled by how well these women write, how deeply they think, and how fun they are to read.

Then, after you look at their blogs, as well as any others you read, think about heading over to “award headquarters” and taking the time to nominate a few.

And by the way…I don’t know any bloggers who write because they want to win contests. They write because they love it and because they have something to say. But encouragement is always a nice thing, and so many of the bloggers I read are deserving of a little pat on the back.

So thanks, Carol, for getting the word out…without you, I’d never have known that I can nominate all my favorites.

I’ll be working on that list directly. :-)

If I seem a little shaky this morning, it’s because my husband took the computer from me during my normal writing time (while Alex is eating breakfast) and took it downstairs because we hadn’t password protected our wireless network or somesuch nonsense, and yes, while I see the value in keeping everything secure so that some crafty geekazoid can’t look at my hard drive while he’s sitting at the end of my driveway and therefore determine once and for all if I use mayonnaise or cream cheese in my chicken and broccoli casserole, I TREASURE those few minutes of peace and quiet in the morning when Alex is trying to spear his waffle with his fork and I can actually string some words together and make sentences or even paragraphs.

At one point, when it seemed to me like I had given D. AMPLE time to set up the network password thing-y, I went to the top of the stairs that go down to his office and said, “Hey. Just so you know? I’m starting to twitch up here!” He did laugh – but in a “I’m-somewhat-worried-that-we’re-going-to-have-to-put-you-through-blogging-detox” sort of way. He said he’d be finished in about five minutes, so you can be proud of my restraint when, TWENTY MINUTES LATER, he finally returned the computer to its rightful place. With me.

I was planning to write about TV guilty pleasures this morning, and I had this whole angle worked out in my head about how as Christians sometimes we feel “wrong” or like we have to hide it if we get interested in some pop culture something-or-other – and how good grief we all need some entertainment every now and again and can’t possibly just sit on our hands and sing “Blessed Assurance” from sun-up to sun-down – but I can’t even remember everything I wanted to say right now because I don’t know if I mentioned it but MY HUSBAND? HE TOOK THE COMPUTER FROM ME.

Anyway, please understand: you will never ever hear me say that I think it’s okay for people to sit around and watch certain kinds of shows or movies. I’m just talking about stuff you like on network television. Stuff you can watch without it becoming some sort of stumbling block. Just so we’re clear.

So since you now know – at least if you read the comments to my post from yesterday – that I TiVo a little show about P. Diddy’s search for a new all-girl band, and since we also know from those comments that Shannon TiVo’d the Britney Spears / Matt Lauer interview (HOW MUCH DO I LOVE THAT?), and Amanda and Barb have interesting favorites, too, I’m guessing that most of us have some TV guilty pleasures that we enjoy on a pretty regular basis.

Mine? “Project Runway,” “24,” “America’s Top Model,” and oh my sweet goodness “The Office.”

Yours? NO JUDGMENT. I promise. :-)

I Tivo’d “The View” today.

And I feel a little guilty.

I mean, I’ve never watched “The View” except for a couple of times when it first came on. I’m sure the girls on the show are lovely people in real life, but on TV they all sort of get on my nerves talking on top of one another, and I always feel like it’s some sort of weird contest to see who can be the most “outrageous” or “hip” or “controversial.”

But to me it was all just “annoying.”

But then this Star Jones / Barbara Walters thing happened – and I just had to check it out. Would that be called television rubbernecking? Craning your neck to survey the damage as you slowly channelsurf past the morning show train wreck?

And to make sure I got all the latest “View” info, I even Tivo’d one of those entertainment “news” magazines (this is “apparently” the “post” of “quotation marks”) a couple of nights ago. You know, the shows where they scream at you and use the word “hot” a whole bunch? (Which reminds me: have I discussed my disdain for the use of the word “party” as a verb? I need to put that on my list.)

So that’s all. No other point to this, really.

And for all I know, this whole thing was just a big publicity stunt to get normally disinterested parties like me to watch “The View.”

I guess it worked. Because if they have a big tearful reunion show about two months down the road?

I’m SO there.

;-)

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Bev did this for her Thursday Thirteen – and I thought it was such a good idea that I’m borrowing it.

Plus, this whole potty training thing has totally sapped my creativity. :-)

But I won’t talk about potty training ANYMORE.

At least not today.

Thirteen Things I’m Thankful For
1. We set the TiVo to record “A Bug’s Life” over the weekend. But “Pillow Talk” came on instead. And I would SOOO rather watch Doris Day and Rock Hudson than animated bugs. Have y’all SEEN all those cute stoles and hats that Doris Day wore? I think I want to be her when I grow up.

2. We have air conditioning. That may seem a little trivial, but I’m not taking it forgranted. Because I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but OH MY SWEET MERCY it’s hot.

3. We have a fresh 24-pack of diet Coke in the kitchen.

4. Ground chuck is on sale for $1.99 a pound at Publix. THAT NEVER HAPPENS. It makes me want to buy eleventy hundred pounds. But I don’t have a deep freeze. Or $2200 to spend on hamburger meat. But still.

5. WIRELESS, HIGH SPEED INTERNET. Let’s have a moment of silence in honor of that one, especially given the fact that this past weekend I was bogged down in Daddy’s dial-up debacle.

6. When Alex says his prayers at night, he says, “Thank you for Jesus’ name. Thank you for Amen.” And it makes me want to cry just a little bit.

7. Remember me telling you about Emma Kate and Brad feeling led (by God – not with, you know, a leash) to do a new work in Tupelo? Well, things are movin’ and groovin’ with that. And one day, in the not-so-distant-future, when I tell y’all all the details, you’re not going to believe it. Well, yes you will. But I’m telling you, it is gonna be cause for some TESTIFYIN’, and God will get ALL the glory. Seriously.

8. My husband just stopped by the couch on his way to bed and gave me a very sweet hug and kiss. That never, ever gets old.

9. You. I’m thankful for YOU, the person sitting there, looking at your monitor, wishing this post were over already. :-) Writing is great and all, but this blog wouldn’t be nearly as fun for me if y’all didn’t make time to read it. And comment. And email. And call. And come back day after day.

10. Sarah is going to be writing for Lisa Whelchel’s website (yes! BLAIR WARNER! I KNOW!). I am so tickled for Sarah – first of all because she’s one of my favorite people I’ve never met – and secondly because God is providing her with a ministry so uniquely geared to her gifts. If you’re not reading her blog, you’re missing a blessing. I just love her.

11. This person and this person and this person are all coming to visit soon. And we’re going to Paula’s restaurant! We are!

12. I don’t have to cook for the next two nights! We’re having supper at our neighbors’ house tonight, then at some other friends’ house tomorrow night. And I will be thrilled to death if all we have is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich – because I don’t have to plan it or fix it. That makes me happy.

13. God is good. All the time.

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People who know me in real life (I always feel weird when I say that because it implies that blogging is some sort of fake life, which of course it isn’t) will tell you that I have about a 24 hour window for staying at home. I always find that a solid day at home leaves me feeling rejuvenated and ready to conquer the world, but more than that and I start to go a little stir crazy. I start thinking too much, analyzing too much, wondering what “the normal people” are doing at those places where you can shop and eat and work and talk to other adults. I start to feel isolated.

I have been home for over 48 hours now. You must trust me when I tell you that ain’t pretty. Because I have lost all perspective and have turned into a crazy woman. A crazy woman armed with a container of Clorox wipes, frantically wiping the commode after every use. Because let’s just say that the little man likes to quite literally get in touch with his porcelain surroundings when he uses the bathroom.

It is the potty training that’s kept us at home. Necessity, not choice. I’ve determined that one reason Alex struggled the last couple of weeks is because we were on the go a lot, so I figured it might do him some good to stay put for a few days.

Find his potty groove, if you will.

And it seems to have worked. He has not had an accident all day today – and has pretty much run around unclothed because he wants to use the potty every 2.4 minutes. He has had tons – TONS – of chocolate, but that’s okay because I figure we can pay for the dental bills with all the money we’re saving on diapers.

Just look how everything works out!

*fake smile*

So I’m going to turn off this computer and go in search of a better mood. And tomorrow we are GOING SOMEWHERE, dadgumit, come tee-tee or high water. Or high tee-tee, heaven forbid.

OH MY SWEET GOODNESS there’s no turning back, is there?