Another 4 am call...

I got woken up at a little after 4 am again last night. This time, instead of being woken up by a sick kiddo, I got woken up when my hubby started violently shaking. He has woken up a few minutes prior and had gotten sick and when he got back in bed he started shaking and couldn't stop. He was shaking so badly that he couldn't check his own blood sugar. I had to check it for him. Although it was high, it was within the range that can be caused by being sick and it wasn't high enough to be causing the symptoms. We figured out what was going on once I took his temp. Poor Vic was running a temp of 103. That is very high for an adult. Luckily, despite getting sick again, he was able to take some ibuprofen and acetaminophen to help lower his temp. I got him all bundled up on the couch and had him settled in (he wanted to hang there until his shaking was under control and he told me I should go to bed so at least one of us was well rested. Well that didn't happen. I almost came back out and hung out in the living room with him. I guess Brian's death affected me even more than I thought. All I could think after I headed back to bed was what if...

• What if his temp spiked and he got much worse and I wasn't there to help
• What if his illness caused his blood sugar to spike and I wasn't there to take care of him
• What if he calls out for help and I don't hear him and something really bad happens
• what if, what if, what if...
  

I was terrified at the thought of something happening to Vic and I kept tossing and turning as the thought "I don't know what I would do without him" ran through my head. This kind of obsessive focusing on the worst case scenario is NOT me. I didn't fall fully asleep until he came back to bed after 5 in the morning. He still doesn't feel good but his temperature has gone most of the way back down. He's resting easy now and I think know I will rest easier tonight.

Friday Photo Challenge: STRENGTH

Friday Photo Challenge is a brand new event sponsored by The Steadfast Warrior from Destined to be an old woman with no regrets... Check out her post for details on how to participate and a list of everyone else who is posting.

Something so soft and almost insubstantial can stop everything in it's tracks. That is the epitome of strength. Wonder what it's going to be like tomorrow?

Kidspeak from Gabe and Marty

Lately, my children have been coming up with some odd, some cute and some downright bizarre sayings. I think my current favorite is Gabe's pronunciation of ridiculous. Instead of saying ridiculous, Gabe says (spelled phonetically) ridicleeous. I LOVE it.

And, the coolest Marty-ism is dramastically. We were doing a language arts unit and were analyzing a story. Marty managed to combine drastically and dramatically and came up with dramastically. I think that is a real keeper.

Some odd ones Marty has come up with lately are also a product of our homeschooling time. When he is talking, Marty has a tendency to talk WAY too fast and words sometimes come out with extra letters involved. For example, simplified came out as simplicated...examined became examinate...reciprocal became reciprocalate...and converting became conversionating. Hehehe, he knows they are wrong but they still come out that way.

I've also come to the conclusion that teen-age boys are truly warped and twisted. Marty saw me putting up the eye candy post and asked me if Blue's Clues was still being made. I told him it was still on the air but they weren't making new ones anymore. He stopped, thought a minute, and asked, "How did they end Blue's Clues...with Blue being put down?" When I looked at him in disbelief and asked him if he was really serious, he said, "Well, Sesame Street dealt with death. Why not Blue's Clues?"

So, what are some of the weirdest or funniest turns of phrase you or someone close to you have come up with?

The iPad?!?!?!?

One mystery has been answered by the release of Apple's latest sure-to-be-a-hit product, the iPad. The crack staff at Apple NEVER watched MadTv. If Apple had even one MadTV fan on there staff, they never would have named their brand new mini-laptop the iPad. Just watch this...

As SB Sarah said,

The iPad, now available in Light, Maxi, and Super (8Gb, 16Gb 64Gb)? As Tessa Dare said, are there NO women at Apple who could have given them the heads up (HA) that this is a BAD NAME?

Please someone tell me they’ll just name the next device iVAGINA and be done with it? Is this how they’re targeting female technology consumers and book readers? Sweet holy crap.

Hmmmm, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the uber-geeks at Apple were rabid MadTv fans and that is where they got the name. I wonder if this skit reveals the names of their next few products?

Sadly, I think my prior knowledge of the MadTv iPad sketch has added this to the list of things I can NEVER, EVER take seriously.

SHOW AND TELL: the forget-me-nots of the angels

Welcome to our weekly expedition into the land of Show and Tell. Y'all know Show and Tell is wasted on the elementary schoolers. Join us weekly to show off an item, tell a story, and get the attention of the class. In other words, this is Show and Tell 2.0.

Earlier this week, I got a surprise in the mail that made me incredibly happy and made me cry at the same time. My wonderful friends from the cross stitch board, led by the indomitable Velda, started stitching a gorgeous piece called Angel Heart Sampler in memory of all my precious angels. Due to various occurrences, including Velda's illness, the piece isn't quite done...but, that actually thrills me because I will be able to contribute to this memory piece. The first picture is the front of the design leaflet and the second picture is the piece they started for me. Please, please click on the bottom picture so you can actually see the gorgeous work they did for me.

The words on the piece are a quote from Longfellow and they read, “Silently one by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven, Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels”
Thank you my friends from the bottom of my heart. This means more to me than I can ever express.

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To see what everyone else in class is bringing to SHOW AND TELL, take a trip to visit the Miss Mel, Goddess of the Infertility Blogosphere.

Pukous Interruptous

I was in bed by midnight last night and was looking forward to 7+ hours of sleep until my alarm went off at 7:30 am. I drifted off to sleep and was enjoying such a good nights sleep. Sadly, that came to an abrupt end at about 4:30.

I woke up at 4:30 to Joey whispering "Mom, mom, I just puked...and it's all over the bedroom floor." Not only did I instantaneously wake up but I had nightmare visions of the clean up waiting for me. See, the boys' room is in dire need of a Spring cleaning bulldozering to get rid of the crap all over their floor. Thankfully and miraculously, he managed to puke in a mostly clean area of the floor. So, despite the gag inducing smells emanating from it, the pukous interruptous was fairly easy to clean up.

So, I'm operating on only 4 hours of sleep. I have all 3 kids home today. One of the three feels like shit. And, I'm still trying to teach MArty his school crap. Wheeeee fun!

Faced With Evidence of My Own Insanity

I do a good time of convincing myself I'm relatively sane on most days. But, tonight, I was faced with incontrovertible evidence of my insanity.

See, every year, the cub scouts sell popcorn and every scout who sells popcorn gets to select a prize. The possible prizes vary greatly depending on how much popcorn a scout sells. Hell, the prizes vary greatly within each prize level. Joey kicked some serious butt this year and sold over $700 worth of popcorn. At that level, he had a whole slew of prizes to chose from...everything from pocket knives to hiking kits to gift cards and more.

What did I let him come home with? Well, this is it...
Yes, folks, I let my 9 yr old order a real box and arrow set. Why do I have visions of ER visits dancing in front of my eyes? I guess it should be fairly safe if I keep the arrows under my firm control. Bwahahahaha, who am I kidding. He will find a way to shoot something from it even if it isn't an arrow. Pray for our eyes and limbs. We may not escape unscathed.

Random Bullets and other stuff

Re: Eye Candy Post...Steve Burns is 36. Donovan Patton is 31. Neither is jailbait...LOL.

Mel's post, Was It Worth It, is extremely thought provoking. It has made me wonder about the future.

We get our Sock It To Me matches tomorrow. My match is getting a wonderful set of crocheted slipper socks...custom-made by me.

Who do you like in the Super Bowl? I'm not a huge football fan and, since my team isn't there (we won't even talk about the year the Panthers had), I wasn't really sure what camp I was in. Brett Favre is a long time favorite of mine (he is soooo yummy) but I also have a bit of a soft spot for the Saints. I guess since the Saints knocked out Favre's team, I am totally in their camp now. Hell, I really watch the Super Bowl for the commercials anyway so I still come out a winner.

Gabe gets to go to pre-school in the fall. Woohooooo. He will be going 3 days a week at the Christ the King Early Childhood center (the preschool at our church).

Hehehe, last week, Gabe's Sunday school teacher's told me how much they loved his laugh. I agreed that he had a fabulous laugh as long as you didn't get introduced to his evil genius/troublemaking laugh.

Sorry about the scattered nature of this post. I am trying not to think about the fact that I'm going to a funeral for a 48 yr old this afternoon.

A Sobering Moment

A week ago Tuesday(1/12), Joey and I joined the other parents and boys from our cub scout den at the house of our Assistant Den Leader, Brian Murnen. Brian was a great guy who opened his house and his awesome woodworking shop to us every year so we could cut out our cars for the Pinewood Derby. This week, Joey and I are preparing to go to Brian's funeral. This Tuesday, the 19th, Brian wasn't feeling well so he stayed home from scouts. Brian never woke up on Wednesday morning. My heart is just breaking for Brian's wife, Ginny, and their two kids. He was only 48 years old and he will be sorely missed by many, many people.

Don't take any moment together for granted. Don't let petty crap get in the way of spending time with your loved ones. Treasure every precious moment because we never ever know when it will be the last.

Please keep the Murnen family in your prayers. They will need that silent support for a long time.

Eye Candy Identity Revealed

Those two hotties in the post below...they are someone all of you should recognize. Before I tell you who they are, I'll tell you who I would pick. I love A's bad boy vibe but the eyes on B make me melt. So, anyone have a clue who they are?


Can't you see the resemblance? On the left is Steve Burns aka Steve from Blue's Clues and on the right is Donovan Patton aka Joe from Blue's Clues. Steve is all grown up and making music with his band.

Eye Candy...which one would chose?

Welcome to ICLW. You can read all about me here and read about my infertility stats here. I am much more itn the mood for something light and fun and, well, drool-worthy. So, which of these two pieces of eye candy would you chose?

A.

B.

Come back later today to find out the real identity of the men you are voting on.

SHOW AND TELL: Pictures Galore

Welcome to our weekly expedition into the land of Show and Tell. Y'all know Show and Tell is wasted on the elementary schoolers. Join us weekly to show off an item, tell a story, and get the attention of the class. In other words, this is Show and Tell 2.0.

You know that annoying friend or relative who is always ambushing you with a camera? That's me. I take pictures of anything and everything...people, objects, food, artsy shots, EVERYTHING. Y'all would probably go insane if I showed all of them to you. So, I needed an outlet for them and I decided to set up a blog to track my year in pictures. Welcome to the grand premier of
I'd love it if some of you check it out and maybe even follow it. It's almost all pictures and very few if any words. So, it's not like you'll have to read or even comment a lot. Let me know what you think.

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To see what everyone else in class is bringing to SHOW AND TELL, take a trip to visit the Miss Mel, Goddess of the Infertility Blogosphere.

I have the best friends ever...

Two whiny, woe-is-me posts in under a week and all y'all do is give me love and make me smile. I have the very best friends in the whole world.

Rejection sucks!

Rejection sucks no matter how old you are. I know it shouldn't hurt when you don't even know the group that well but it does. I had joined a local knitting group and thought I found a group of women I really clicked with. Guess not. Yesterday, they had their yearly business meeting which was for long term members. Evidently, the group decided they were getting too big and decided to evaluate the newer members. The lovely ladies that met with me today say that I wasn't the only one they decided was not a good fit for the group and I was "asked" not to pay my dues or continue coming to meetings. They said they had some long term members who had said they didn't wish to come to meetings anymore because they were uncomfortable with some of the newer members. All the ladies told me today is that "we're a laid back group" and they mentioned a *"business proposal" I had asked a member about as reasons for feeling I wasn't a good fit. Let me tell you, it was all I could do to keep a smile on my face and act like nothing was bothering me.

Going out and spending money on lunch that you then have to eat in front of women who just said we don't want you in our group SUCKS. Rejection sucks.


*I asked one of the group leaders if she thought the company she worked for might be interested in an idea I had. I didn't ask her to be involved. I didn't ask her to present my idea. I didn't ask her to do a damned thing. I simply wanted her opinion.

Just read what I wrote and...Gawd, I sound like such a whiny little bitch.

OK...I just read y'all's responses and I have to say I love all of you!

Oh minions mine...

I have HaBO marching orders. I need you to go cheer Heather of Geek By Marriage on. She is QUITTING SMOKING and, with our help, this should be the last time she has to do this. GO HEATHER!!!

Also, Batty Nurse is giving away one of her fabulous blankets. Go enter her giveaway...NOW!

Finally, there is excitement aborning over at Two Hot Mamas. That's right, little Figgy is on her way. Please go wish them well.

Winner of the uPrinting.com Business Card Giveaway

With help from random.org, a winner of the business card giveaway has been selected. Mrs. Dreamer from The Dream and The Realist is the lucky winner of 250 free business cards. I hope you enjoy them.

Sigh...

Don't you hate it when something stoopid and trivial puts you in a funk for the rest of the day?

Tell me something to cheer me up or make me laugh, please.

THANK YOU everyone! Truly, it was a non-event. I think I just got up on the wrong side of the bed. BTW, I had some good laughs from your responses.

Socks, Glorious Socks

I think y'all know by now how much I love funky socks. Well, right now Kym is hosting an exchange that feeds this addiction - the Sock It To Me Winter 2010 edition. Kym says, "The complete history of how I came up with Sock It to Me is here, but in short:

It's The Great Sock-It-to-Me Exchange. The warmth you feel from your bloggy support is a warm and fuzzy pair of snuggly socks. Take the support with you for a trip to the stirrups. Wear them when you're chasing around your battle-won little person. Put them on when you have something to celebrate or when you need a hug. Wear them as a physical reminder of all the people inside your computer who you know care for and are thinking of you."

See, this is perfect because you get something fun and silly and get to feel good all at the same time. I want all my wonderful bloggy friends to participate so I've put together a list of fun sites with funky socks (if you know of any other sites, list them in the comments and I will add them to the list). See, now you have no excuse....bwahahahahaha.

1. Solmate Socks - those incredibly cool matched yet mismatched socks above are an older pair of socks from there
2. Sock Dreams - you can find the Moo Toe socks here and they are so, so wrong but funny
3. Foot Traffic - just click on the sock or toe sock links on the left
4. LittleMissMatched - they sell sets of 3 matched yet mismatched socks. I have a pair and LOVE them.
5. Amazon.com has tons of wonderful socks. Search for whatever type you want. I love the variety of rainbow toe socks available
6. 2BHip Socks - great variety of socks
7. Absolute Socks - they even have tie dyed socks. I heart tie dyed socks.
8. Soxeteer - they have the BEST selection of holiday socks
9. Joy of Socks - love the name and they have coffee socks made by a company called Sock It To Me
10. The Twisted Stitcher - socks with quilting themes
11. Sock City - tons of socks available. Aren't these ones yummy?
12. Sock Wizard - they even have Hello Kitty (blech) knee socks
13. Sock Grams - they include free footbalm and gift wrapping with every order
14. BareNeccessities Women's Novelty Socks - they have cool feminine skull socks or tropical drink socks
15. NeedSocks - you get 12 pairs of novelty socks for only $18.50
16. Say It With Socks - literally socks with sayings stitched on the bottom
17. Odsox - slipper socks, toe socks, even gift sets
18. Socks To Go - everything from pro and college team socks to occupation themed socks to funky socks
19. Worldwide Sock Supply - nice selection of funky socks
20. FunkyShop - they sell all things funky and have great prices on their socks
21. Sock It To Me - great socks and they even have a feature that allows you to design and submit sicks for consideration.

So, don't forget to go by Kym's and sign up for the Sock It To Me Winter 2010 edition!

A Labor of Love...

Right before the end of 2009, I finished up a massive craft project. I know most of my regular readers remember me talking about my friend Velda being diagnosed with cancer. Well, Velda is the wonderful woman who built the group of cross stitchers I have been a part of for 10 years now. These ladies are from all over the world and, yet, it feels like we are friends who live just around the corner from each other. We have celebrated so many things with each other. More importantly, these women have also banded together to support each other through births, deaths, pregnancy losses, and illnesses. Many times, we have combined our love of stitching with the need to provide tangible evidence of our love and support and many beautiful cross stitch quilts have been produced and mailed to all corners of the world. When we heard about Velda's diagnosis, we knew what had to be done. I had the privilege and honor of being the person who got to put together Velda's quilt. In less than two months time, 37 cross stitch squares from all over the world (38 counting mine) and various kinds of purple fabric converged on my house. Many people generously donated funds to help with the costs of fabric and shipping (holy hell is International Express Mail expensive) and Velda recieved her quilt on Monday the 11th.

Please take a moment to click on each of these pics and see a close up of the exquisite stitching work all these ladies did






I am honored to have been a part of a project that carries so much love and so many prayers and positive thoughts in it.

SHOW AND TELL: the HaBO edition

Welcome to our weekly expedition into the land of Show and Tell. Y'all know Show and Tell is wasted on the elementary schoolers. Join us weekly to show off an item, tell a story, and get the attention of the class. In other words, this is Show and Tell 2.0.

My favorite Romance book web site, Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, has a categories of posts called HaBO or Help a Bitch Out. Welcome to the ALI HaBO edition of Show and Tell.
See that incredibly cool baby blanket above...it was made by a dear member of our ALI community, Ms. BattyNurse herself. She makes the world's cutest baby blanket. I mean, I don't even have a baby girl in my life and I still bought that one. It called my name and begged me to buy it and bring it home, so I did. My hubby had the sheer nerve to suggest I give it to one of my nieces and I flat out refused. IT IS MINE! Ms. BattyNurse is raising money to pay for her FET which is scheduled for January. Go visit her Etsy shop, Batty Nurse Creations, and buy something really cute. BTW, she has been talking about taking custom orders for blankets so ask if you are looking for something special.

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Also, other opportunities for fun and helping people out abound right now. Kym of I'm a Smart One has issued a challenge to all of us in the ALI community. Kym says

As a blogoversary gift, help me continue to help parenthood efforts by helping Parenthood for Me. Many of you know that fellow ALI blogger Erica and her husband A.J. have been working hard to get their non-profit grant program off of the ground. For those who don't know, Erica and A.J. struggled with infertility and spent thousands of dollars in unsuccessful ART procedures. After much soul-searching, they shifted gears and pursued adoption. In 2008, they adopted a son, who is now the light of their lives.

Now, Erica and A.J. are dedicated to helping others find parenthood. Through Parenthood for Me (PFM), couples and individuals can apply for grants to help assist with some of the costly expenses involved with infertility treatments and adoption such as travel fees, attorney fees, medications not covered by insurance, and homestudy fees. They began accepting applications for grants on January 2nd, and the first grants will be awarded in June 2010.

As you can imagine, a rather large endowment must be built. So far, PFM has raised several thousand dollars. In April, Erica and A.J. are hosting the first Annual Family-Building Dinner and Silent Auction in Rochester, New York on April 10. This is the largest fundraiser to date and will really give PFM the wings it needs to fly. The cost is $100 per ticket, with over 50% of the price going directly to the endowment. Sponsors can also donate for various levels of recognition, from $3,000 Gold Sponsorship to donation of an item valued at $100 for the silent auction.

I would like for us, the ALI blogging community, to pull together and raise at least enough money for a $250 Table Sponsorship. A sign representing "us" would be placed on one of the tables at the dinner. What a powerful idea it is for us to be there in spirit, knowing that our efforts would go towards accomplishing someone, possibly one of us, achieve parenthood.

My goal is that by my blogversary of January 26, we'll have raised $250 (or more!) for an ALI Blogger table. To donate using either PayPal or a credit card, click the button below:

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Now for fun, sign up for two fun events is going on right now...Sock It To Me and the 2010 Book Challenge. Check them both out and sign up. You know you want to!

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To see what everyone else in class is bringing to SHOW AND TELL, take a trip to visit the Miss Mel, Goddess of the Infertility Blogosphere.

uPrinting.com Business Card Giveaway

UPrinting is giving me a chance to give one lucky reader 250 business cards. The contest will be open until midnight on January 17th and the winner will be announced on January 18th.

Giveaway Prize: 250 Business Cards for one (1) lucky winner
Size: 2 x 3.5”, 2 x 3”, 2 x 2” (square card) or 1.5 x 3.5” (skinny card)
Paper: 14 pt gloss cardstock, 14 pt matte cardstock or 13 pt recycled uncoated cardstock
Shipping: Sponsored bloggers and Winners have to pay for shipping
Eligibility: Limited to US Residents due to shipping costs.

You may be thinking, "Why do I need business cards?" Well, if either you or your partner/hubby/wife/significant other has a business...YOU NEED THEM. If you are going to BlogHer 2010...YOU NEED THEM. If you want to make personalized itty-bitty, teeny-tiny paper airplanes...YOU NEED THEM.

Per FCC regs, I have to tell you that I am getting 250 free personalized mini paper airplanes business cards. That's right...I'm getting free stuff too! Was that loud enough FCC?

Seriously, uPrinting does amazing work and I highly, highly recommend them (and I'd say that even if I wasn't getting free stuff). So enter and get goodies. Shipping is only about $7 (cause 250 business cards are heavy) via UPS Ground.

So, here's how you enter (one comment for each entry; you don't have to do all four, but you MUST do #1 to be eligible for the other entries)...

1. comment on this post and tell me how you would use your business cards (required)
   
2. Tweet this giveaway and come back and provide the link
3. blog this giveaway and come back and provide the link
4. follow my blog
   

Don't forget to comment one time for each of entry.

Hey honey, let me be intrusive and rude to say I love you...

or, the ad campaign that should never have been...

We all know men are frequently at a loss about what to get women for the holidays and it is admirable that CBS Cares wanted to help during the 2009 holiday season. But, what the fuck were they thinking when they decided to do a series of PSAs recommending men make their women appointments to get a pap smear? Yes, they really did that...


I mean nothing says I love you like a cold speculum up your hoohah. And, "Give her the gift even Santa can't deliver"...wtf?!? Santa might suddenly be without a sac if he tried to deliver a gift like that. Seriously though, what were they thinking? Sure, it is great to encourage women to get the yearly vag exam done, but what in the hell were they thinking when they recommended men MAKE the appointment for their women. Oh, I know, CBS wanted it to be a real family holiday...misunderstanding, anger, and a trip to the ER. That is a private decision and the sheer presumption and rudeness it would take to make the appointment as a "present" (implying as a surprise) is mind boggling and a sure way to induce in the female a desire to say "I love you honey. Why don't you go have a finger shoved up your ass." Maybe CBS Cares should do a PSA about that? Bwahahahaha, too late with that suggestion. CBS already covered it.


I only have few more questions. Don't you love how inclusive they were by doing these lovely PSAs for both the Christians and the Jews? Do you think they were being unfair by not doing a Ramadan version of it too? And, what would you do if the man in your life gave you this as a gift?

Blog You Very Much, Some Overdue Thanks, and Other Housekeeping

JJ over at Reproductive Jeans came up with the idea of the Blog You Very Much (GO JOIN THE FUN) which encourages us to take a moment and say thank you to the blogger who got us started blogging. I have to thank two wonderful women...the one who got me started and the one who got me restarted.

The first person I want to say thank you to is getupgrrl, the retired and truly missed author of Chez Misscarriage. Grrl had a smart, funny, and extremely open style of writing. She actually made me laugh about things related to infertility...something I thought would never happen. I was able to see how much support Grrl got through her blog and, with her encouragement, I started my little blog back in October of 2004.

After I finally beat my particular brand of infertility (Gabe was born in December '05), my blog went dormant with only infrequent posts until August of '08. I was still reading a lot of blogs but, due to things going on in my life, I rarely wrote. Then I stumbled across a Barren Bitches Book Brigade post (tour #3, The Time Traveler's Wife) and that led me back to Mel's blog. Now, I had heard of the infamous Stirrup Queen but I had never really spent any time there. I figured she had so many followers and so many commenters that I would feel out of place. I couldn't have been more wrong. I got sucked in my Mel's warmth and humor and boundless energy and I decided I had to be a part of it. I don't even remember what I started doing first but, I got pulled back into blogging full force and I love it. So, Mel, in addition to thanks and kudos for all you do for this community, I want to send you a personal thank you from me. I wouldn't be the blogger I am today if it wasn't for you.

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I also am very overdue in sending out thanks and bloggy love to the dear Lettie over at Polka Dot Pineapple. I got to meet Lettie when she and her husband were in North Carolina. I had a wonderful lunch and an hour+ conversation with her before we both had to head out. Lettie sent me a wonderful package of goodies from Hawaii (the lucky lady lives there) last month and I wanted to thank her.The second picture shows the lovely Hawaiian print fabric (hmmmm, what quilt to use it in), a doughnut pin cushion, a cute purple yo-yo key chain, and a mug rug (basically a small quilted coaster). I'm not sure what I did to warrant all these goodies but THANK YOU Lettie.

Oh, all you crafty knitters and crocheters, Lettie has a wonderful tutorial that teaches you how to make t-shirt yarn along with many other cool crafty tutorials. Go check it out.

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The 2010 Book Challenge has started. It isn't too late to sign up. Come on...you know you wanna!

And, to wrap up the 2009 Book Challenge, I want to announce the prize winners. Mrs. Gamgee from Hobbit-ish Thoughts and Ramblings won the prize among the people who didn't quite hit their reading goal and Deb from All Things Deb won the big prize (a quilted tote/book bag) among the few, the proud, the readers who hit their reading goal.

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Finally, Kym from I'm a Smart One has put up the sign up for Sock It To Me 2010. Don't miss a chance to get a kick ass socks from a fellow ALI blogger. GO SIGN UP!

It's time for the 2010 Book Challenge

Its time to get your read on again this year. Here are the basic rules...

1. sign in under this post with a goal and please give me your email (if you don't want to put your email in your response, use my Email Me link in the right hand column)...I want to be able to check in with everyone and let you know when book related posts are going up
   
2. your goal can be as high or low as you feel comfortable with...the goal is to read more, not to beat everyone else
   
3. read, read, read
   
4. keep a running total
5. have fun
6. if it is under 50 pages or an audio book, it counts as HALF a book
7. anything over 50 pages counts as 1 BOOK no matter how long it is
   
8. textbooks, childrens books, ebooks all count
9. (thanks Jenn) rereading counts and any books read so far count
10. cookbooks count as a whole book if you actually read them (I mean really read...not just skim while looking for a recipe)

I want to send my thanks out to Jen J for *Navigating the Waters of Infertility and Beyond again because she was the one that sparked my Book Challenge Last year. So, to get the ball rolling, I am going to set my goal at 100 books since I topped 90 last year.

Who is going to join me? There will be prizes again!

BOOKS READ

1. Snowy Nights by Heather Graham, Lindsay McKenna, Marilyn Pappano, & Anette Broadrick (1/10/10)
2. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (1/13/10)
3. Seducing an Angel by Mary Balogh (1/17/10)
4. Where Are You Now? by Mary Higgins Clark (1/19/10)
5. A Quilter's Holiday by Jennifer Chiaverini (2/4/10)
6. A Marriage of Inconvenience by Debbie Macomber (2/5/10)
7. The High IQ Bathroom Reader by Cliff Roads Books (2/7/10)
8. The Christmas Clock by Kat Martin (2/8/10)
9. Touch Of Enchantment by Teresa Medeiros (2/12/10)
10. After Midnight by Teresa Medeiros (2/14/10)
11. The Vampire Who Loved Me by Teresa Medeiros (2/16/10)
12. Breath Of Magic by Teresa Medeiros (2/19/20)
13. Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand by Carrie Vaughn (2/21/10)
14. Kitty Raises Hell by Carrie Vaughn (2/23/10)
15. Timeless Moon by C.T. Adams and Cathy Clamp (3/5/10)
16. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (3/6/10)
17. Cold Moon Rising by C.T. Adams and Cathy Clamp (3/9/10)
18. Undead And Unworthy by Mary Janice Davidson (3/14/10)
19. Apple Turnover Murder by Joanne Fluke (3/15/10)
20. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (3/17/10)
21. Undead And Unwelcome by MaryJanice Davidson (3/18/10)
22. Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong (3/24/10)
23. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (3/31/10)
24. The Billionaire's Vinegar by Benjamin Wallace (4/5/10)
25. 206 Bones by Kathy Reichs (4/6/10)
26. Big Spankable Asses (it's a ROMANCE y'all, don't judge by the title) by Angie Daniels, Kimberly Kaye Terry, and Lisa G. Riley (4/8/10)
27. At Last by Lisa G. Riley (4/11/10)
28. Caught Up In The Rapture by Lisa G Riley (4/13/10)
29. The Undead Next Door by Kerrelyn Sparks (4/17/10)
30. Summer of the Sea Serpent by Mary Pope Osborne (4/19/10)
31. The Overnight Socialite by Bridie Clark (4/20/10)
32. Secret Life Of A Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks (4/22/10)
33. Forbidden Nights With A Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks (4/23/10)
34. The Aloha Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini (4/25/10)
35. All I Want For Christmas Is A Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks (4/26/10)
36. The Vampire And The Virgin by Kerrelyn Sparks (5/2/10)
37. Angel Time by Anne Rice (5/5/10)
38. The Sea Of Monsters by Rick Riordan (5/6/10)
39. Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts (5/7/10)
40. Shattered by Karen Robards (5/10/10)
41. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (5/10/10)...yeah, I read it again. Joey had me read it to him aloud.
42. Vision In White by Nora Roberts (5/12/10)
43. The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan (5/14/10)
44. The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan (5/17/10)
45. A Deep Dark Secret by Kimberla Lawson Roby (5/18/10)
46. Healing Hearts: A Memoir of a Female Heart Surgeon by Kathy E. Magliato, MD (5/19/10)
47. The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan (5/20/10)
48. Delighted by Bertrice Small, Susan Johnson, Nikki Donovan, and Liz Madison (5/24/10)
49. Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The DemiGod Files by Rick Riordan (5/24/10)
50. Twenty Wishes by Debbie Macomber (5/26/10)
51. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer (5/29/10)
52. Fired Up by Jayne Ann Krentz (5/31/10)
53. A Good Yarn by Debbie Macomber (6/2/10)
54. The Shop on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber (6/3/10)
55. Back on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber (6/9/10)
    
56. The Sea Of Monsters by Rick Riordan (6/9/10)...read aloud to Joey
57. Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts (6/10/10)
58. Christmas Wishes by Debbie Macomber (6/12/10)
59. Misconceptions: One Couple's Journey From Embryo Mix-Up To Miracle Baby by Paul and Shannon Morell with Angela Hunt (6/13/10)
60. Three In Death by J.D. Robb (6/18/10)
61. Alex Cross's Trial by James Patterson and Richard Dilallo (6/20/10)
62. The Love Affair of an English Lord by Jillian Hunter (6/24/10)
63. Hannah's List by Debbie Macomber (6/26/10)
64. House of Testosterone by Sharon O'Donnell (7/1/10)
65. Witchcraft by Jayne Anne Krentz (7/5/10)
    
66. Shameless by Karen Robards (7/7/10)
67. Breathless by Dean Koontz (7/12/10)
68. Nobody's Baby But Mine By Susan Elizabeth Phillips (7/14/10)
    
69. Burn by Linda Howard (7/17/10)
70. The House on Teacher's Lane by Rachel Simon (7/23/10)
71. Burning Lamp by Amanda Quick (aka Jayne Ann Krentz) (7/26/10)
72. The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan (8/4/10)
73. Scandalous by Karen Robards (8/9/10)
74. Irresistible by Karen Robards (8/11/10)
75. What Happens In London by Julia Quinn (8/14/10)
76. Raine's Blues by Sharon Cullars (8/15/10)
77. Let's Do It Again by Roslyn Hardy Holcomb (8/16/10)
78. The Seduction of an English Scoundrel by Jillian Hunter (8/17/10)
79. That Perfect Someone by Johanna Lindsey (8/18/10)
80. All I Ever Wanted by Kristan Higgins (8/26/10)
81. Dragongirl by Todd McCaffrey (8/28/10)
82. The Wedding Night of an English Rogue by Jillian Hunter (8/31/10)
83. The Sinful Nights of a Nobleman by Jillian Hunter (8/31/10)
84. The Wicked Games of a Gentleman by Jillian Hunter (9/1/10)
85. The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever by Julia Quinn (9/3/10)
86. 10 Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn (9/5/10)
87. Ice Cold by Tess Gerritsen (9/8/10)
88. Waking The Witch by Kelley Armstrong (9/9/10)
89. Dark Peril by Christine Feehan (9/14/10)
90. Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie (9/16/10)
91. Mockingjay (final book in The Hunger Games trilogy) by Suzanne Collins (9/17/10)
92. Wicked As Sin by Jillian Hunter (9/20/10)
93. The Devilish Pleasures of a Duke by Jillian Hunter (9/21/10)
94. Mind Game by Christine Feehan (9/28/10)
95. Blockade Billy by Stephen King (9/28/10)
96. Sinful by Charlotte Featherstone (10/8/10)
97. The One That Got Away by Victoria Alexander, Liz Carlyle, Eloisa James, and Cathy Maxwell (10/15/10)
98. Never Lie To A Lady by Liz Carlyle (10/20/10)
99. Never Deceive a Duke by Liz Carlyle (10/21/10)
100. Big Guns Out Of Uniform by Sherrilyn Kenyon, Liz Carlyle, and Nicole Camdem (10/25/10)
101. An Improper Aristocrat by Deb Marlowe (10/28/10)
102. Never Romance A Rake by Liz Carlyle (11/1/10)
103. Christmas Heat by Devon Vaughn Archer (11/3/10)
104. Juliet by Anne Fortier (11/17/10)
105. The Lost Heroes by Rick Riordan (11/18/10)
106. A Secret Affair by Mary Balogh (11/21/10)
107. What A Rogue Desires by Caroline Linden (11/22/10)
108. The Season by Sarah MacLean (11/25/10)
109. Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean (11/26/10)
110. Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine To The World Of Food And The People Who Cook by Anthony Bourdain (12/2/10)
111. Hooked On Murder by Betty Hechtman (12/8/10)
112. Scandal by Amanda Quick (12/10/10)
113. Tales of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong (12/16/10)
114. Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord by Sarah MacLean (12/19/10)
115. A Gift Of  Love by Judith McNaught, Kimberly Cates, Andrea Kane, Judith O'Brien, and Jude Deveraux (12/22/10)
116. The Night Before Christmas by Lori Foster, Erin McCarthy, Jill Shalvis, Kathy Love, Katherine Garbera, and Kylie Adams (12/27/10) 
117. SEALed with a Kiss by Mary Margret Daughtridge (12/30/10)

HALF BOOKS

1. Rock Star Wedding (link is at bottom of page) by Roslyn Hardy Holcomb (1/14/10)
2. Testing the Ice by Sharon Robinson (multiple times, at least a couple of nights a week so far)
3. Henry and Jim by J.M. Snyder (5/3/10)
4. The Duke Blue Devils Men's Basketball Team by Tim O'Shei (5/20/10)
   

I've Hit the BIG TIME...or Hells yes I can!

Yeah, go me! Once again, I am being interviewed by the ass kicking author of Mommy Wants Vodka, the great infamous fantabulous amazing Aunt Becky. (wipe, wipe, did I get all that brown off my nose from the ass kissing) (ignorethefactthatshepostedthequestionsinthispostandinvitedEVERYONEtoanswerthem,'causeitsallaboutme,me,me)

1) Dave and I have a long-standing feud over cheese in a can. He thinks it’s food of The Gods while I think it’s probably Of The Devil. Your take? I firmly believe it is of the Devil but, then again, it does keep my boys happy. Maybe I need to run out and buy a can.

2) Is there any way you can think of to make the elder Gosselins go away? I AM ALL EARS. I think we should buy a small island, erect a wall high enough to block any cell phone signal and drop them inside it. When they decide to act like adults and cooperate, then they can rejoin the real world.

3) Who is your ridiculous “I can’t admit this to anyone in polite company lest I be banned from life” crush? Ummmm, do I have to tell the truth? Well, shuffles feet and looks down and mumbles I guess I could admit that Barry Manilow makes me melt with his voice.

4) If you could fuck it all and pursue your dream (assuming, of course, you were going to be GOOD at it), what would that dream be? I want two dreams. I want to ride horses on the international Grand Prix circuit and I want to be a successful cross stitch designer.

5) They say “living well is the best revenge.” I think they are wrong. Do you? The only time it is the best revenge is if the horrid person you want revenge on is going down in flames spectacularly while you are living well.

6) What is the most humiliation you’ve experienced in public that you’d be willing to admit to The Internet? Does it count if I can't remember it? (thank God it was before the days of the 'net and twitter and youTube) I guess not. Then, I will admit to the time the horrid bitch AF hit while at girl scout camp and bled through my shorts.

7) Are you honest with The Internet? Like, if I came over to your house tonight (heh)(I’m coming over, yo)(heh) would I be surprised at who I found? I think I am pretty damned honest with the 'net. Sure, I edit a few of the details but I think you would recognize me from my blog.

8 ) If you could have one talent that you don’t currently possess, what would it be? I would like to be a talented singer...simply for my own pleasure.

9) There’s not always room for Jello. Is there? I don't know. Is it Jello shots?

10) What’s your guiltiest of the guilty pleasures? Ummmm, I've already admitted I like romance novels but, I guess I could admit that my guiltiest pleasure is a well written steaming hot sex scene.

To make this more fun for y'all, ASK ME ANYTHING! I will answer.

Music for the Soul

Yesterday, during Show And Tell, I posted a list of 10 things that made me happy. That was really hard for me because there are so many things that I take joy in. One passion of mine is really good music. I will listen to just about anything if it really appeals to me. Recently, I have found some music that truly feeds my soul and both times I have found it through blogs I read.

The first piece of music I found that just really resonated with me is a piece by Saffire aka The Uppity Blues Women called Bald Headed Blues. I was introduced to this over at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. As SB Sarah said "It’s a new year to kick cancer’s ass." Velda my dear, this is for you.

The other music I found that spoke to me was more than one piece. It is music put out through the Playing For Change Project which I found thanks to Baby On Mind and her show and tell post. Baby On Mind featured Playing For Change's rendition of Stand By Me and says that for her it "reminds [her] that we in the ALI community can definitely use someone to stand by us!" I have always loved the song Stand By Me and this version of it is one of my favorite.
I also loved Felangaye by TiTi Tsira of Playing For Change. Check out the rest of their music. It is all fabulous.

BTW, did you know it can be very difficult to type out a post when you can't stop dancing? What music soothes you or lifts you up when you are down?

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Don't forget to delurk in the official delurking post.

SHOW AND TELL: Good News All Around

Welcome to our weekly expedition into the land of Show and Tell. Y'all know Show and Tell is wasted on the elementary schoolers. Join us weekly to show off an item, tell a story, and get the attention of the class. In other words, this is Show and Tell 2.0. (Mine is mostly tell with only a teensy bit of show involved)

There have been a number of things that have made me smile or even cheer today.

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Do you remember when I told y'all about Anissa and the terrible stroke she had? Well, today, I read the best update on her so far. She can sense hot and cold on her affected side and she is starting to regain movement on the affected side. She is also feeling good enough that she was able to send out a Tweet. I am so happy to hear of her improvements. It just makes me smile.

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I truly believe that what goes around comes around. I also acknowledge that, sadly, we aren't always there to see people get their karmic retribution. Well, today, Kristin (I like that name, wonder why?) over at Once A Mother finally had something give her a little hope and a reason to smile a bit after having a lot of crap rain down on her recently. The bonus was getting to view an asshat have his date with karmic justice. I really had to cheer when I read about her final phone call with Officer B. Go read about it. You'll cheer too.

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Finally, the lovely Melissa over at Our Full Circle passed on the Happy 101 award to me...

I am fairly new to Melissa's blog but I never fail to enjoy my time over there. She tells an amazing story and always seems to not only persevere but to live life to its fullest despite setbacks in her quest for parenthood. Thanks for the award sweetie. Go check out Melissa's blog (just make sure you come back here when you are done) .

All I have to do for this award is list 10 things that make me happy and pass this award on to 10 bloggers who make me happy.

10 things that make me happy

1. snuggling with my hubby or my kids
2. fondling my stash (both yarn and fabric)
3. uninterrupted reading time
4. chocolate and raspberries
5. a really good meal
6. Monty Python
   
7. creating (crafts, designs, whatever)
8. giving surprise presents
9. spending time with friends or making new friends
10. the pure uninhibited laughter of a young child

10 bloggers who make me happy

1. Lori at Weebles Wobblog
2. Beautiful Mess at Life induces thoughts, mostly random
3. Susan at She's Becoming DoughMessTic
4. Heather at GeekByMarriage
5. Kym at I'm a Smart One
6. Dave at Rolling Around In My Head
7. Calliope at Creating Motherhood
8. Chicklet at Bloorb
9. N and J at Two Hot Mamas
10. Aunt Becky at Mommy Wants Vodka

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So, what has made you smile or cheer today?

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If you really want to make me smile, don't forget to delurk in the official delurking post.

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To see what everyone else in class is bringing to SHOW AND TELL, take a trip to visit the Miss Mel, Goddess of the Infertility Blogosphere.

Come out, come out wherever you are

It is International Blog Delurking Week from January 4th through the 10th and I actually didn't forget it this year. (hehehe, it amuses the hell out of me that just 20 years ago, that sentence wouldn't have made any sense whatsoever)

So y'all, you know what this means. Post a comment just saying I'm here...or I'm here and tell me about yourself...or maybe even a link to your bloggy home.

See, I tend to be obsessive commenter and can't imagine reading and not commenting at least occasionally. However, I understand that there are many people who don't comment because they don't know what to say or how to say it or whatever...and that's cool with me. But, just this week, I'd like to know who you are and where you are from.

So, once again lurkers, Come out, come out wherever you are and leave a comment. Pretty please with sugar on top. It would make my day.

Bits of this, Bits of that

Have y'all been reading Calliope's blog? If not, why? She has enlisted my help and we are going to be co-conspirators in an effort to help out a fellow blogger we both adore. You can read about the beginnings of our efforts here and also be sure to click on the link in that post that will take you to the Google group we are forming. In case y'all don't know, Calliope's son W was born as the result of a cycle that was partially funded by the charity of the ALI community. She is looking at this as her opportunity to pay it forward and I'm lucky enough to get to be in on it...wheeeeeee. Join the fun!

The wonderful chaos that is my life (or maybe it was my tendency towards procrastination) prevented me from getting to the post office on time and mailing out my Christmas cards. So, I'm taking Niobe's wonderful idea and running with it. I hereby declare this the year of the Epiphany card and that gives me 2 more days to get them in the mail. I know I'll have a few extra cards so, if you want an Epiphany card, Email Me with your name and address.

Finally, I have another way you can help someone out (for almost no money) and get something pretty cool in the process. I still have in my hots little hands a bunch of gorgeous crocheted hats that are intended to raise money for the Liz Logelin Foundation (if you don't know what that is, go read NOW and then come right back here). All you have to do to claim one of these hats for your own is make a donation to the Liz Logelin foundation. Email Me with info about your donation (anything from $1 up) and I will mail you a hat. There are 16 hats left so ONLY the first 16 people to email me with their proof of donation (screenshot, copy and paste email, anything that proves you gave) will get a hat.

And, finally, please hop to the post below and wish my dad a Happy Birthday.

Happy 70th Birthday Dad...updated

I love you very much and hope we get to spend many, many more birthdays together.

me and my dad
The sheer amount of fun our family always has when we get together is a testament to the type of people you and mom are. Like any family, we have our moments of disagreement but, as a general rule, we are all secure enough in who we are to goof around and have fun without anybody getting upset.
my dad and some of the grandkids
Thank you for being who you are and being such an important part of all of our lives.
dad "posing" with his new kitchen knife
HAPPY 70th BIRTHDAY DAD!

Calling all book challenge participants...

I know many of us had, ummm, errr, interesting years last year and that affected our reading totals. Therefore, I am going to offer 2 prizes for the people who participated in my book challenge. There will be a hand-made quilted library tote bag for the winner in the "I reached my goal" category. And, there will be a surprise prize for a winner selected in the "I tried my best" category. Please, please check in and let me know what your totals are.

I will be running a Book Challenge again in 2010 and sign ups will start sometime next week.

Smooches my beautiful friends. I hope this is a wonderful start to a fabulous year for all of us.


*I will do the drawing for the prizes on the 8th for anyone who needs to get their numbers together.