Just Curious-Pet Peeves, Part 2

Great answers on my previous Just Curious post, ladies. I laughed reading them again! Yes, many of those things Headless Dad does as well but around here there are 2 things that he does daily that make me roll my eyes.
1) Paper Towel Bombs-He is addicted to paper towels. He uses them to dry his hands, dry the dishes, as a paper plate for lunches, everything. BUT! They (almost) NEVER make it into the trash. I am constantly grabbing them and putting them in the bin which is usually directly under the spot on the counter where he's left it. Gah! And if he's cooking that day/night? They are all over.
2) He disappears each night. Yes, he goes off to bed, but never tells me when he's going. Sometimes I'll go into the kitchen to get a glass of water and by the time I get back to the family room, (which is practically the same room,) he's gone. Poof!

Now, here's this weeks question. We're moving on to the children in our lives. Not our own! What do other children do that drive you nuts? Is it in the grocery store? In your child's class? A niece or nephew? Grandchild? What are the habits that you say, "Gosh I'm glad he/she isn't mine!" Don't leave a name or identifying quality, just the silly habit. Like last week, I want this one to be light and fun.

Thanks for playing along!

Copy Cat

Carmen did this (are you kidding? the italics?) and I thought I would do it too. 

The layers of me

layer one
name: Kendra
birth date: July 7
birthplace: CA
current location: CA
eye color: green
hair color: brown/auburn
height: 5’8"
righty or lefty: right
zodiac sign: Cancer

layer two
your heritage: German, Irish, Cherokee Indian
the shoes you wore today: none, so far, yes, it's after noon
your weakness: chips and queso
your fears: Not being perfect enough, yes, I know it's not possible
your perfect pizza: pepperoni, onions, and black olives. Or CPK Jamaican Jerk Chicken

layer three
your most overused phrase: seriously?
your first waking thoughts: No! Not yet!
your best physical feature: Legs, hair
your favorite memory: Maybe not the most favorite, but getting pinned in college and having all of the Sigma Chis sing to me in front of my sorority sisters.

layer four
pepsi or coke: Coke or nothing
mcdonald’s or burger king: McDonald's, if I have to choose.
single or group dates: single
adidas or nike: I don't care
lipton ice tea or nestea: Neither
cappuccino or coffee: coffee

layer five
smoke: yes
cuss: more than I should
sing: love to
do you think you’ve been in love: yes, I know I am.
want to go to college: have a BA
liked high school: yes, very much, in fact
want to get married: did in 1997
believe in yourself: not really
get motion sickness: only on deep sea fishing trips
think you’re attractive: not really
think you’re a health freak: do you know me at all?
get along with your parents: yes, they're great people
like thunderstorms:  YES
play an instrument: nope

layer six
in the past month…
drank alcohol: yes
smoked: yes
done a drug: no
made out: (I don't talk about this sort of thing here.)
gone on a date: yes
gone to the mall: No
eaten an entire box of oreos: Yuck. Hate them
eaten sushi: no. HATE IT. (No wonder Carmen and I are such good friends.)
been on stage: Yes. To look at a print that was a raffle prize at the OC Blogger Ball
been dumped: no
gone skating: no
made homemade cookies: no
gone skinny dipping: no
dyed your hair: no
stolen anything: no
you sound boring: No, I sound like an adult.
Remember this is only in the past month

layer seven
ever…
played a game that required removal of clothing: yes.
if so, was it mixed company: yes.
been trashed or extremely intoxicated: yes
been caught “doing something”: yes
been called a tease: no
gotten beaten up: no
shoplifted: yes, when I was a child, I think. but not since lest you think I'm a klepto.
changed who you were to fit in: yes

layer eight
age you hope to be married: done
numbers and names of children: 3, girl, #1, and #2 (nope. not giving anything away here.)
describe your dream wedding: done, I had it
how do you want to die:  in my sleep
where do you want to go to college: done
what do you want to be when you grow up: always wanted to be a SAHM. Not quite as glamorous as I thought it would be. Heh
what country would you most like to visit: France, Italy, Greece

layer nine
number of drugs taken illegally: 1
number of people i could trust with my life: Not sure. More than 2, less than 10
number of cds that i own: too many to count. I used to work for a music distrubutor.
number of piercings: three - ears only
number of tattoos: two so far
number of times my name has appeared in the newspaper: A few, in my small hometown in Colorado
number of scars on my body: Several. I'm kind of a klutz.
number of things in my past that i regret: Several. I don't think anyone makes it to adulthood with no regrets.

Funny. Carmen and I had many of the same answers. Wanna do it to? Link it up here in the comments so we can all read each other's answers. Happy Sunday, everyone!

How you know it's not your best day

• You think you're organized because of the list you have for the grocery store so you head on out.
• You forget that you have to stop by the school.
• So you turn around and go back to the school.
• Finally on the road, you pull into the grocery store parking lot.
• Notice that it is 105 on the bank sign. Sigh heavily.
• Grocery shop. Feeling good when you can cross something off of your incredibly organized list.
• Feel bad when you remember one two three, oh to hell with it, 10 MORE ITEMS and add them to the list.
• Finish quickly anyway and find a line that has only one man with one item in front of you. (Try not to get too smug here.)(You know something's coming, right?!)
• Think you're pretty cool for finding a bunch of $1.00 deals, and your total bill will be pretty small.
• Go to pay.
• Search for your wallet.
• Search some more.
• Realize your purse isn't that big. 
• Realize that you have your checkbook. Yay!
• Write check.
• Get asked for you ID. (Really? I haven't been carded for anything in years, why, Universe, do you need to see my ID today?)
• Tell checker that you don't have it. Oops!
• Have checker hold your stuff.
• Go home.
• Get wallet. Look for that $6 coupon you thought you had. 
• Find coupon. It's not valid until next week. 
• Husband, running in for lunch, asks why your car is still running. Tell story.
• Drive back to store.
• Pay for cart full of groceries.
• Apologize to customer in line for 'cutting' to pay your bill.
• Go home. Again!
• Begin to make dinner.
• Slop what you're mixing all over the bowl and counter.
• Want to give up and just have a cocktail but can't because of football practice. *Sigh*
• Realize that tomorrow is a "No Students" day at the school.
• Jump for joy!

Totally NSFW

(not safe for work,)...OR AROUND YOUR CHILDREN. Or, if you're easily offended. Feel free to click away. No, this is not one of my normal, family friendly posts. This is, well, kinda disturbing. See also, laughed my butt off.

Even more disturbing is the fact that my 19 year old daughter was the one that showed it to me. How do you say "Awkward!"?

And because I can't leave this alone, here is the response:


I wonder what videos my generation would have made had all of this technology been available to us as 20-somethings? I can't even wrap my head around some of this.

But yet, I'm still laughing. Wonder what that says about me?

Just Curious-Pet Peeves

(For more in the Just Curious series go here. The rules? I ask a question in today's post. You answer, short but sweet answers are best. I'll answer next week, then ask a new question. Easy!)


We've all got 'em. Pet peeves. What others do that drives us nuts. I've got a million on my own. Ahem.

However! Today we're going to focus on our spouse/significant other/most recent partner. (Being pc is such a hassle. You all know what I mean, right? Sheesh.) What does he/she do that drives you insane? Just the one, funny, little thing would be great. No starting WW3, please. Or being mean. Just a silly little thing...all of our guys have them, right? (It can't be just mine....)

Ready? Go! Pet peeves in the comments.....

On Traffic, Blogging, Stirring the Pot, Monetization, and Who the Hell am I, Anyway?

One of my lovely and talented roommates at the BlogHer conference has been going through a sort of identity crisis of late. Not a personal one, really, but a blogging one. On Saturday afternoon, sitting in our room before the evening's keynote address we talked about our blogging identities; what we blog for and about. (I wish we'd had more time for that conversation, it could have lasted all weekend.) 

I began blogging almost 3 years ago because I wanted to join this community that I'd been reading. Women, writing about their lives, making friendships that have no physical boundaries, heading to great cities once a year to visit and learn and laugh together. Sounded like just what the doctor ordered for me after sitting in my house for 7 years nursing, changing diapers and driving the carpool.

I've never been much of a writer. Yes, I have an English degree, but if my grades from college are any indication I'm only mediocre. I have forgotten all the rules of grammar, half-learned in a summer class, from a professor who thought I was cute and liked to give me Necco candies, communion-style. I write like I speak, in half-thoughts, fragmented sentences, with too much punctuation added for pauses where sighs and hand gestures would be. My blogging, I suppose, is my coffee date with my readers, only without the cussing thrown in. You'd get that if you were in my kitchen.

Shannon asked, (I'm paraphrasing here,) "What kind of blogger are you? What is your specialty?", and it got me thinking, again. I've tried to answer that question over and over, for a year or more, and all I can come up with is that I'm a "Nice Blogger." Boring. But! I don't like controversy or ugly disagreement. I shy away from conflict even in my real life, so putting it here, on this blog, is not my cup-of-tea, so to speak. There are things that I think I do well, and in my previously professional life I actually taught people to do those things, but it doesn't translate so well on a blog. See: I can carry 4 full water glasses in one hand at a time. Wordless Wednesday, maybe, but not so great for that traffic-getting, pro-blogger, propel-me-onto-the-A-list kind of post, right? See also: I can alphabetize a 16-foot rack of cd's in less time than you could probably even get through a 4 foot section. Great skill when I was doing that job; again, not translatable to blogging.

Headless Dad sometimes will listen to me talk about what I've read on other peoples' blogs. His interests lean heavily toward the political and when I read something that he would agree with, I share. He keeps telling me that I should write about politics; that it would get me lots of traffic. Probably true. But if you read the paragraph above you know that I don't like conflict, and politics, like few other subjects, is polarizing and brings out the trolls. Not light on the conflict, that subject 'politics.' Even he and I don't talk about it much, nor do I typically talk politics with my family or friends. I don't like to stir the pot, really. I know my position on issues, (conservative, if you must know,) but having to defend them in such a public forum, when others do it so much better than I could, makes me afraid that I'd just end up sounding stupid in comparison. Not the image that I want to portray.

Nor do I want to alienate friends that I've made here. Many of my friends, (and yes, they are friends,) completely disagree with me on public policy. Or I disagree with them. Whatever. Do I think I'm right? Of course. Do they think they're right? Certainly. Do I think that my thoughts on any subject would sway anyone? Not on your life. Those kinds of debates raise my blood pressure and push me to say things like, "Who would like a fresh cocktail? Cheese ball? How 'bout those Broncos?" (Which, if you live in Denver, can be a heated subject all on it's own, especially with Tebow in the blue and orange, but I digress...)

No, politics is not my thing. I'm not a working mom that can tell you how to balance all of the things that you have to get done. I don't home school. My kids are not prodigies or have special needs. My marriage is solid but no where near perfect. I'm a terrible Christian. I'm not thin or fat, nor am I an exercise or health food fanatic. My house does not look like a magazine and you can often find dropped food drying under the dining room table waiting to be vacuumed up, some day. I have trouble with our family budget. I have shelves over the bar that desperately need to be dusted, and a bathroom that perennially smells like pee thanks to the little boys that live here. I smoke and drink and cuss, but don't do it around you because I want to be polite. I don't like to rock the boat.

So where does that leave me? The mediocre writer that shies away from conflict, with no other skills or passions to write about, who wants to have a slightly larger readership so I could have a pedicure once a month instead of once a year? (See top of left sidebar for the reference, if you're unsure.) Or, if you want to know the truth? I'd love to be able to pay off the balance of what I spent on going to the BlogHer Conference with the money that I make here. There. I said it. I want to make money on this. And, as a little peek into my ego, I'd love to be a blogger that was sought out, recognized, on someone's list of "Oooh! I'd love to meet her!"

I don't really know where this is going, as a post, or as a direction for this blog. I think I'm capable of lots of things. I 'run' in lots of internet circles, have a diverse group of internet friends, a small but seemingly devoted group of readers. Is it worth alienating some of them (you) for a little traffic? No, absolutely not. Yet, growing this thing, making it bigger and more profitable, at least in dollars and cents, is becoming important to me, and more importantly, important to our family's bottom line.  Just how to do that and stay true to me is the real question, I guess. But who is the true-blogging-Me? What is my draw? Like Shannon said, What kind of blogger am I?

Wordless Wednesday: Flag Salute

All There is to Say

She's a mom just like me. 3 kids ushered into adulthood. You think you're done. You're safe. More importantly they're safe...  And then you bury your son-in-law. The 32 year old father of your grandchildren and the man that your daughter loves more than anyone. And you grieve, and do what you can for her and the children, and think that the worst is behind you. Your new world is your daughter and her children because they now live with you. You go back to work. You think that the worst is behind you.

Until 6 months later it isn't.

*****

I don't know how she found out. I imagine that, whether it was a phone call or a knock at the door, it had to be the worst moment of her life. Worse even than the day your son-in-law died, because this time, it was her own son. Her flesh. Her only son.

*****

They buried him last Friday. A handsome young man of 24, who had unseen demons; buried anguish. He thought there was no way out. He took his own life.

*****

His closest friends preceded the hearse on their bmx bikes from across the road. The pall bearers wore white gloves while they rode, dark sunglasses blocking the harsh glare of the mid-day summer sun and the sadness in their eyes. Young men are supposed to be strong, right? The other riders followed, showing their respect. I'd never seen that before. There was such sorrow in that simple act of riding slowly with the hearse. Such quiet grief, yet also a show of solidarity. They were a community, after all.

I can imagine what those white-gloved young men, and the young women that accompanied them were thinking. Why? How could I have helped? What made him do it? Other things. Things that 24 year old kids shouldn't have to think about. Things that none of us should have to think about.

*****

No one should have to bury their children. I think we can all agree on that. It's just not the natural order of things. Many in this blogging community have had to bury their children. I've learned from them that there is nothing to say. No way to make it better or easier.

I was there on Friday. An acquaintance, but there anyway. It felt inadequate to say, "I'm so, so sorry." Yet that's all there was to say to a mother burying her son.

Her only son.

People of BlogHer '10

I did this last year and it was really well received so I thought I'd do it again. These are the NEW people that I met at BlogHer in New York City. Some I've seen around the web before, others I haven't, but go check them out. I enjoyed meeting each and every one of them...it's the #1 reason to go to the BlogHer Conference each year. (Please note: if I met you last year, your link is included in my BlogHer People 09 list. No haters please! See also: if I didn't get your card then you're most likely not here. Leave a comment so your link will be here as well!)

Liz from Everydaygoddess.net

Kristin from OurOrdinaryLife.com

Lynn from walkingwithscissorsblog.com

Caitlin from Mabelslabels.com

Angie from Awholelotofnothing.net

Sugar from SugarJones.tv

Linda from LindaSellers.com

Kizz from TellKizz.com

Molly from No Baby, No Blog

Silver from SilverThinks

Melissa from Stirrup Queens

Cindy from Elephant Soap

Missy and her mom (sorry, I don't remember her name!) from Bitten and Bound

Liz from CoolMomPicks.com

Emily from DesignHERmomma.com

Suzanne from TwentyFourAtHeart.com

Darryle from I Never Signed Up For This

Margaret from Just Margaret

Velma from A Smeddling Kiss (OMG! She has a headless boy of her own! Check it out!

Anne-Marie from This Mama Cooks

Debbie from I Obsess

Gwen from Not Really

Ellen from Love That Max

Vanessa from ChefDruck Musings

Alicia Peiffer from Making Time for Mommy

Suebob from Red Stapler

Kelli from Cafe Kel

MFA Mama

Tricia from Once a Month Mom

Lisa from Mommedy

Robin from Bellaventa

Faiqa from Native Born

Mariana from Ms. Fabulous

Anna from An Inch of Gray (omgomgomg! She's my sorority sister! Squeeeee!)

Jill from The Perlman Update  (omgomgomg, so is she!)

Liz from SayYestoHoboken.com

Julie from Angry Julie Monday

Kelly from Mrs. CPA

Sue from Happy Meals and Happy Hour

Kate from A Big Piece of Cake

And last but not least, I had the honor and pleasure of meeting 2-time WNBA champion Kelly Mazzante. Get information on the Kelly Mazzante Foundation on Facebook!

*Sigh* That was exhausting. It took me 3 days to complete this in between all of the other stuff that I've had going on. Please visit all of these wonderful women-they're all worth the click!

Re-Entry is a Bitch or "Back to Life"

This has been running through my head for the last 4 days, and they won't let me embed, so I guess you have to go click it. Bastards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVtCFolzgeg&feature=av2e

At least I'm getting my exercise dancing around the house.

Oh, I at least got my pics on flickr. Go check 'em out. They're totally not tagged, or titled, or captioned yet. I'll get to that someday.

'Cuz, my family needs to eat, right? Right?

Me on Diets in Review

I'm guest posting today over at Diets in Review about easy circut training for busy moms. Won't you join me?

(Add Witty Title Here)

I leave for BlogHer in a few hours. I packed my clothes last night and have to add the last few things this morning. I'm having a dilemma...do I pack my DSLR and the Kodak, or just the Kodak? I'm actually thinking of not even packing my laptop, to tell you the truth.

BlogHer, the third year is so different than BlogHer the first. Then, it was clothes and shoes, Oh My! This year I didn't even shop for it. Honestly, you people never see me anyway so how do you know if I bought a new dress or not? We dug through my closet and found my cutest outfits and cutest shoes, with a couple of back-ups thrown in just in case, and called it a day. (Thanks Mom and Aunt G!)

I'm not bringing a daytime bag for my stuff....I'll either carry my regular carry on or one of the swag bags that we'll get. (Holy cow, we got a lot of bags last year!)

If you're going to, or already at, BlogHer, please come and see me. Introduce yourself, punch me in the arm, something. I'm still in a coma from the weekend's festivities and not sure that I'll recognize you, or be functioning, really. Please know that I'm just tired but would love to meet you. Seriously. And if I seem like I'm not all there, it might be true, but it's me, not you. Really.

The one thing I'm really excited about is the Kodak Bus Tour on Thursday afternoon. Watch for my posts about it over at Reviews and Giveaways. Cool stuff. Let's hope I can stay awake after my all night flight!

Oh, and for a few lucky women at BlogHer, you'll get one of these beauties. It's the return of, in my not so humble opinion, the best swag ever at BlogHer. See you soon!

Really? BlogHer, What?

Party: Complete.
Family: Still in town.
Packing for BlogHer: Not even thought about. Yet.
Kids start school: In one week.
Stuff to do: Infinite.


Freaking out to commence: Now.