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Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Black Friday, psh....

Look at Grandma. She's doomed!!
I don't get into it. I never have. I used to tag along with my mom, aunts, and grandma back in the day, but only because I didn't drive (seriously, no license until I was 23 -- both for stupid and personal reasons, including a fear of driving) and today, I STILL wouldn't drive in that mess. I wouldn't even know where to park and would fear being stuck somewhere or having people honk at me because I can't find a spot fast enough, or getting mowed down by some crazy lady with a shopping cart and three Samsung flat screen TVs in it.

Some things about humanity bother me more than others. I am not going to say I take any issue with those who go out and get deals because my mom, whom I adore, is one of those people who gets up at the butt crack of dawn and goes shopping before work (and then goes out again after work).

However, it's when I hear stories of people bursting through the doors, pushing and shoving to get their kids the greatest and latest "stuff". Why do we let commercialism rule our lives? Is there any reason why THIS [insert 2012's hot toy item] will suddenly be what your kids want?

I'll tell you something. My kids only know public television. This is because we don't have cable. One of the major reasons why we don't have cable is because I don't want commercialism brainwashing my children. They don't know who a lot of the characters are (Spongebob) and they don't ask for toys they see in the commercials because they don't see the commercials. I am okay with my kids watching public television (no, not all day, just a few shows they like the most) because it's innocent programming which is actually educational. My oldest learned all of his letters by sight by 25 months by watching SuperWhy. My daughter has now learned a lot of hers from that show, too. The kids love Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood and it's a cute show, I must admit!

We have one t.v. in our house. We will remain that way. My children will not have televisions in their rooms because they don't need them. And when they get to the age where they would like a cell phone because "Mo-om, all my friends have one... no fair", I will tell them that if they would like to get a job or baby-sit and pay for one themselves, they are welcome to. We are not in a world where it is impossible to live without a cell phone. Yet, people have become so reliant on them that they truly believe they can't function without one. Speaking of, I don't even have a smartphone. I don't even know if my phone is good enough to be called an "un-smart" phone. It's a regular ole' Tracfone which I can make/receive calls on (once a week, if that?) and text with. But I barely even use either feature. So I'm saving a lot of money by not having a contract and it costs me $100 a year total to own that phone.

My kids love books. At night when I'm home, they bring books to me and we read them. I have taped many of them and have become quite the master book repairer, but the books are well loved. I'm not saying some of those new toys aren't educational, but how many does a child really need? Play-doh time is also a favorite activity for us. It's a good, cheap, fun activity that allows them to be creative and use their imaginations.

Anyway, back to Black Friday. This weekend, DH did venture over to Menard's (surprise, surprise... for those who know him, he goes there multiple times a week and often leaves empty-handed -- just likes to browse). He brought home a painting kit (which we'll probably use -- we do have one wall in the living room we'd like to paint a deep plum), a set of glass bowls/containers (not Pyrex, but with snappable lids -- kind-of different, but practical), and two giant packages of toilet paper. Know what I'm excited about? The fact that I don't have to think about buying toilet paper for the next 4-5 months. Pretty darn awesome. :)

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Geographical/directional Dyslexia

I have it!! HA! I finally have a name for this annoying thing I have. The inability to find my way around. Some people have a bad sense of direction. Mine is really bad!!

I am 32 years old, from a small enough area, yet I cannot figure out how to get someplace I've been hundreds of times if I try and drive there myself. I get all panicky. This is not a big city, but I cannot visualize how to get somewhere. I know in my head what the building looks like but have no idea which roads to go down to get there. I will spend 10-15 extra minutes navigating streets (some of them one way streets so I have to be careful), frantically searching for my destination. Many times, I will have driven past a place and then I always have to backtrack. Maps don't help, nor do directions. I have spent many sweaty minutes in my car, panicking over getting from point A to point B.

I can also be in the basement of my house I've lived in 7 years now and I don't know which rooms are above me. Whenever I leave the office at a clinic appointment, I stop outside the room and don't know how to get to the waiting area. I have constant dreams of being lost. In fact, I got lost during the first week of school in 7th grade, searching for my math classroom for 15 minutes before having to go to the office, and the secretary had to take me to class. I was 20 minutes late. It was a small school and only had one floor! My dreams, which are recurring, have the common topic of getting lost in school and not being able to find my locker, going on a trip and not being able to find the hotel room, or being lost on a cruise ship and unable to locate my family or our cabin. I wish I knew when someone said "go North", which direction that actually was. I do not "get" this concept and it doesn't come naturally to me. I have an amazing memory otherwise and can memorize things by sight and associate birthdays and dates with peoples' faces, and I'm an awesome speller and consider myself to have an above average reading level/intelligence, but directions = terrible. My mom is the same way but probably a little better at me at navigating.

P.S., don't mind me if I stop you and ask for directions. I honestly cannot help the way I am!! I have tried to get myself to "know" my way and it just doesn't work. Bah!

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Not much going on . ..

My bathroom is mostly done being remodeled. The hubby put new wood flooring in and new ceramic tile by the tub/toilet (the area where if it gets wet, will be better to have tile vs. wood). Sunday into Monday, we painted the walls (he did more of it than I did. I hate painting but once we got going, it really wasn't bad and I actually like getting the fine detail areas).

Andrew has his first parent-teacher conference of the year tonight. Woohoo! :) I always enjoy going to these things and talking about his strengths/weaknesses. Plus since he has the same teacher as last year, we have already built a rapport. I love her and will seriously cry when he is done with this school year. But yet, he's blessed to have two years with her.

I am eating way too many cookies and that's kind-of counterproductive to working out. They're these Cafe Bistro Spekulatius cookies from Aldi. They're from Germany so no HFCS or GMO crap in them. Just good cookies. But I needed something to snack on at work since I literally only had water the other day and was like, this is not working to satiate my hunger.

I am going to pull the flute out in the next few days and play some Manheim Steamroller, as I do every year in November/December. I used to play much more. Much much more, in fact (in high school, I would practice up to 3/4 hours a day outside of school hours). I have this fear that I'll lose the skill or something but thankfully, playing only once a year has so far proven that I still have it. LOL.

Speaking of working out, I haven't been able to go since the day before Halloween! I had influenza a bad cold something that had me feeling like crap (fever, chills, body aches; headache) for 3.5 days. I even missed two days of work and that RARELY happens. I've been there 8 years and can count the days I've been gone. It's not allowed to work with a fever because of the clientele (elderly) we work with, but as it was, the day after Halloween I got up and took my shower and I was unable to stay standing as my whole body was numb. I took my temp and had a fever, so I spent the next few days trying to get some rest while three children literally climbed all over me. LOL. Fun times.

Not much else new! I'm so boring . . .

Oh, one thing to add. Andrew's school picture. Pre-k year 2, age 5. Isn't he adorbs?