Money For Nothing...

Yeah, it's another song title...

It correlates to last week's Bloggy Giveaway Carnival. I LOVE me some Bloggy Giveaways. LOVE them. They are the highlight of each quarter for me, and even though I've never won, I love running through new blogs and checking out both what they have to offer...as a giveaway and as their normal content.

What I don't get is the fact that some blogs can't be counted on to actually name a winner when they say they will...or at all for that matter. And I dislike the fact that some blogs rename their original Mr. Linky title when it comes to finding out who won what. It would seem to be easier (to me at least) for the giveaway enterers (yeah, it's a made up word) to find the contests they entered...

I have been spending a few moments here and there for the past few days running through the links I saved to a document, to see if I won. Now I know that most, if not all of the blogs email their winners, I still like to know who won the giveaways I entered.

One of those blogs disappeared. Disappeared! As in Blogger no longer shows any evidence of it even having been a blog! How does that happen? Does the blogger just decide that they don't want to give away the prize any longer and quits blogging?

Another blog posted the winners to four of her five giveaways. The fifth just has a curt "This contest is over" posted on the original post. In fact, the post doesn't even show what it was originally for. Did she also decide to no longer give away the prize and this was her way of getting around that?

And finally, I can't count how many have said, "I'll pick a name and post it Saturday (or Sunday, or....) and hasn't followed through with that. If you're going to say you'll do something, do it!

This is a huge peeve for me and one I counsel the monsters on quite a bit. A commitment is a commitment is a commitment. You may decide you no longer want to do something, but until you follow through and complete what you've said you're going to do, you're still on the hook for it. Maybe it has it's roots in the failure of the commitment my ex and I gave each other. I don't know. What I do know, is that if I commit to something, you're guaranteed that I'm going to finish out what I've started.

Next quarter, I've decided to offer up my own giveaway...and you can rest assured that I WILL follow through.

And there will be money for nothing...but no chicks for free.

Until later...

Wii Belong...

♪♪♪Whatever we deny or embrace
For worse or for better
Wii belong, Wii belong
Wii belong together♪♪♪

Ha! There I go again with pulling the songs outta my arse when it comes to post titles...

Last week as I was happily minding my business running through the various blogs I check daily, what to my wandering eye should appear? Not a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer, I'll tell you that! No, Mir over at Want Not had listed a Wii package that Circuit City had for sale on their web page (as in, not available in stores). For way too much money, you could get a Wii console, two remotes, two nunchucks, Wii Sports and two other Wii games.

I caved.

The monsters have been begging for MONTHS...pleading desperately for me to buy them a Wii. I contemplated it for a short time at Christmas, but turned from the dark side and purchased other "things".

Then my mom started in on me..."Buy those precious, perfect grandsons of mine a Wii! I wanna play it." LOL!

And like I said I caved.

The monsters have birthdays a month apart from each other at the end of summer, so when I cave in this manner, they share the item as a combined birthday gift.

"Wait!" you say, "If their birthdays aren't until the end of summer, and you bought it now, how are you going to keep it quiet?"

Well, that's the thing. Remember my mom? And her pitiful whining telling me that I should buy the monsters a Wii? I sent it to her house. AND...AND I gave her permission to open it and play it now.

The Wii shipped Friday. It's currently in the same state as I live in. My parents should have it later this week. I figure that they'll spend all weekend bowling or golfing.

♪♪♪Whatever we deny or embrace
For worse or for better
Wii belong, Wii belong
Wii belong together♪♪♪

Do you suppose Guitar Hero Encore has any Pat Benatar? Of course, I'm more of a...



than a Guitar Hero, if truth be known.

Until later...

Milestones...

My grandmother turns 80 at the end of May. You wouldn't be able to tell however. She's as active and spry as I remember her being in my youth, when she still had three young children at home herself.

There's a big hullabaloo with the aunts & uncles about a surprise party for her. Where to have it, what to eat, what the family should buy. I've stayed out of it, thankfully enough. Once I started hearing rumblings about the potential of this, I started looking for a gift to do for just the monsters and I...I'm selfish that way.

I remembered that a friend had spent some time creating a book for her graduating son just a little while ago, and I thought, "HEY! What a cool idea!". So a couple of weeks ago, I started asking the family for pictures and information to use in creating this book. I wished I'd just shown up on some doorsteps and said, "Here, I want that picture and that one, and...". It'll get done though, I'm sure of it.

Well, I went out to Shutterfly and spent all weekend putting together a 40 page hardbound book, designed just for Grandma. I'm truly hoping that she'll enjoy it. I know that I think it's the coolest, but then, I'm a little bit biased.

The ease of putting this together (family idiosyncrasies not withstanding) was like making a cake from a boxed mix...SIMPLE. Of course there are many out there who have a hard time with that, but really...if you're looking for a WOW gift, check out the photo books at Shutterfly!

I'll let you know how it actually turns out!

Until later...

Can't Trust That Day...

It always seems to bring the beginning of another week that the word "pell-mell" can describe quite easily. Scouts, soccer, baseball, homework, the removal of braces...sigh. It's a never ending amusement park ride around here. BTW, can you name the song that verse came from...or the group? One of my all-time favorite groups to be honest. I so should have been born years before I was.

Last week during the Bloggy Giveaways, I found a new blog... I'm an Organizing Junkie. She's got quite a few great ideas that I can't wait to spend some more time checking out. She's also got a carnival that she runs each Monday, along the lines of Rocks In My Dryer's WFMW...It's called Meal Plan Monday, and I'm going to start participating.

You might ask why...Why do I need another item on an overly scheduled day? Well, that's easy. Last week, I realized that the monsters and I had Rotini Alfredo for the past 3 weeks running. If you are what you eat, I'm...



So, we're starting it off this week to make sure that the monsters and I are eating a more varied diet...

Monday ~ Scout Night

Mexican Queso Dip

Tuesday ~ Soccer & Baseball Night

Creamy Buffalo Chicken Pasta

Wednesday ~ Braces Off

This will be Mr. Attitude's decision for a celebration dinner...he's still thinking about it.

Thursday ~ Soccer & Baseball Night

Ultimate Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Friday, Saturday & Sunday ~ Clean Out The Fridge

The monsters will be with their dad, so I'll be eating whatever is leftover from the week...if there isn't anything, I'm going to make Shrimp Scampi Pizza for myself, as the monsters don't really enjoy it.

So that's what's up for this week. Stop by this week's MPM to see what others are planning. Who knows? You might get some good ideas for yourself!

Until later...

Add Another Log To The Fire...

Or actually, a candle to the cake...it's that time of year again when my birth certificate reminds me that I am on a speeding, head-on collision course with middle age.

How in the world did I end up here? Seriously? I'm 37, single and busier than hell. This wasn't the plan when I was 15, sitting in my friend's bedroom during an overnighter and playing with a OUIJA board. It wasn't the plan when I was 18 and hyped up on the fact that I just graduated from high school and I had experienced THE BEST senior year I could have imagined. It wasn't the plan when I accepted a marriage proposal on that Christmas Day so long ago. Some time after that, life ~ as it is so apt to do ~ changed the plan on me without first letting me in on the detour.

I'm 37. THAT I have no control over. It's not like I can stop the clock at 25 or 35 and say, "I'm done. This is as old as I want to be!" I know some people would enjoy that, but as life moves on, I find that I enjoy the aging process. The learning never stops and the experiencing never stops...it's life. I enjoy life and the growth that you should be reaching for, if you look for it.

I'm single and I like it that way. I do what I want, when I want, how I want...the only people I have to take into consideration are the monsters and while their lives are busy, some how I enjoy and WANT to do what they are involved in. I've decided I'm more selfish now than I was as a self-absorbed teenager, and I don't care. Truly, I've learned the hard way that I have to be happy with myself to be happy, no matter who is in my life and I've taken that lesson to heart.

I'm busy as hell. I have a full time job that I enjoy 85% of the time...who wants to enjoy their job all of the time? That's where ruts happen, and if you get in a rut, you don't grow. I have two very active tweeners. They are involved in all sorts of activities and I find myself enjoying the experience with them.

Life is what you make of it, and if you're lucky, you make it good. I've learned this past year that while nothing stays the same, if you work at it, it will most likely be better than what you imagined...even if that OUIJA board tells you that you'll one day be an OB/GYN and have twins and you actually end up an editor with two monsters...

Until later...

So, I Ended Up Getting...

Hello again Bloglandia! I've been away for quite a while...

The wedding I asked for help on has come and gone. All I can say about that, is thank god! I'm wedding free for another five months.

I appreciated your ideas on gifts and I ended up going with a set of BBQ Utensils and stuck a set of metal skewers for kabobs inside. I also picked up a few (okay, 8 of the small bottles) different spices from Penzey's and threw (well, maybe not threw...)it all in a basket. We'll see what the bride thought when the thank you note arrives.

Life has certainly picked up the pace, but now that I can pre-write Blogger posts, I just may do that, so I'm not ignoring my notions due to baseball or soccer or scouts or....sleep.

Until later!