Archive for April, 2006

30
Apr
06

A Vacation Is Being Able To Go To The Bathroom Alone – Pt. 2

If you haven’t read Part 1, please do so now.

On with today’s post:

Not being able to go to the bathroom alone, is difficult enough, but today was the ultimate insult……..they brought snacks.

That’s right folks….snacks.

It all started at snack time and they were nicely seated at the table. I gave them each a graham cracker and a glass of milk. I thought they were occupied enough for me to steal a moment to myself, but then I made my critical mistake. I announced that I was going to the bathroom.

WHAT WAS I THINKING?

Have I not learned? Did I not, just yesterday, write that my children, for some unknown reason, equate a trip to bathroom to a trip to Disneyworld?

So off I went to the bathroom, with a trail of little people behind me, blowing bubbles in their milk and chomping on their graham crackers.

There is no diginity for a stay at home mom….

28
Apr
06

Ultimate Survivor: Suburbia – The Grocery Store with Children Challenge

They should create a new season of Survivor called Survivor: Suburbia.

It would only last 7 hours, from 6:00am when the participant is rudely awakened by a small body propelling itself onto theirs while yelling in an attempted whisper, "Mommy!!! Are yooouuu awwwaaaaakeee?!!!!", to 1:00pm when the reward isn't a million dollars, but rather a 2.5 hour nap. A glorious, I-couldn't-survive-if-my-kids-didn't-take-a-2.5-hour-nap nap.

I imagine that one of the challenges would be The Grocery Store with Children challenge. The participants would be required to shop for a list of 120 items with an additional 30 items that must be remembered, but not written down.

To prevent any harm to real children, participants will have to carry in a slippery octupus (to simulate an infant) and a deaf monkey, the howling kind (to simulate a toddler – who is apparently deaf to all parental commands). They have to be carried in from the back of the store parking lot because a car full of teenagers will take the only close up parking spot. A severe penalty will be imposed if either the octupus or monkey are dropped.

At this point, the participant needs to select a cart:

  • Fun Car Cart – far too small to hold all 150 items needed from store, but may keep slippery octupus and howling, deaf monkey calm and quiet while shopping.
  • Limo Cart – It has a seat area on the front for children (or in this case – primates and invertebrae), and it will hold all items needed on list. However, this cart is difficult to maneuver as it is about 47 feet long.
  • Standard Cart – This cart offers a large basket as well as straps to help confine the participant's monkey and octupus, but said passengers, will be located in close proximity to the participant. Participant may be subject to physical protests from passengers in the event that passengers select an item from the store that is not on the list and must be returned to the shelf. Participant may be kicked, hit or sprayed with ink.

Once the cart has been selected, the participant will begin shopping, at which point, the slippery octupus will extend all appendages and continually grab unwanted items and put them in the basket and knock other things off the shelves. Meanwhile the deaf, howling monkey will begin howling at 120 decibels. Participant must be able to make wise financial and dietary purchases while attempting to contain the octupus and trying to minimize the sound level of the monkey. A smile and happy voice must be maintained through out the challenge.

Each participant is given two treats to use to alleviate the mischeif of their animal passengers. Timing the use of these treats is crucial. Too early, and the participant is left without a bargaining chip. Too late and the "children' may be past the point of appeasement. When the participant determines that the time is right, she pulls out a squid and a banana and gives them to the appropriate animal.

Since all reality shows have a disgusting element and few children finish all of their snacks, both the octupus and howling, deaf monkey will return one third of their respective snacks for the participant to either:

  • carry for the remainder of the challenge
  • or stuff in their pockets

Finally, the participant will arrive at the checkout line – aka "The Gauntlet of Fire." At this point, the slippery octupus will be feverishly reaching for M&M's, Butterfingers, Reeses Pieces while knocking beef jerky and lip balm on the floor. The participant must replace all displaced items to their respective boxes and the octupus must be removed from the cart and held by the participant. In protest, the octupus will flail its appendages and then spray ink all over the participant's clothes.

Meanwhile, the howling monkey will be ramping up to 150 decibels and the person in front of the participant will have 5 items needing a price check. Again, participant must maintain a smile and happy voice.

The winner of The Grocery Store with Children Challenge will be the participant who emerges from the store – sane and with two living and unharmed animals.

26
Apr
06

A Vacation Is Being Able To Go To The Bathroom Alone

This is what my life has come to. I no longer envy people with nice houses, cool cars or hip clothes. I just desire the simple things in life. I want to go to the bathroom by myself.

All of my children are very young and have either potty trained within the last year or are in the midst of it. So, to them, the bathroom is some kind of enchanting mystery land where they get stickers, praises and promises of treats.

For me, it was a place of solitude – until I had kids. Now, when I mention that I'm going to make a quick trip to the bathroom, I have a house full of small people who consider that an invitation.

"Can I come?" 

"I want to come!" 

"Me come potty! Me come potty!"

I did just say bathroom right? Not Disneyland, pizza parlor or playground. I don't get it.

So, while I cherish these years with my kids, I do long for the days when I'll be able to go to the bathroom without a cheering section. "Yeah Mommy! You did it! You went pee-pee!" 

25
Apr
06

Yet Another Music Marketing Article

Thought you might be interested in my article on using newsletters in your online marketing tool kit. Check it out here.

25
Apr
06

How to Spend More Time With Your Family And Still Read 736,298 Blogs A Day

RSS Feeds. When it comes to All-Time Great Inventions, RSS feeds are right up there with air conditioning, cars and sippy cups. Well, for me anyway.

What is an RSS feed? RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and what it basically allows you to do is to pull content from other sites. You can (with permission) stream that content on your site or, what I love, you can use a feed reader to read all your favorite blogs in one place.

If you press your refresh button a little too often and spent hours just surfing to all your favorite blogs to see what is new, then you're about to think I'm really cool. But you do anyway, right?…right?

A feed reader is a program that you install on your computer (or you can use an online feed reader) and it pulls all the latest content from your favorite sites and allows you to browse and read at your leisure and notifies you when a site has been updated. Technically, you could read a blog everyday and never visit the site.

Cooooool, huh?

So here are some great Feed Readers:

Mac: The best reader for Mac is NetNewsWire. There is a free, light version that's great. The paid version, though, has all kinds of goodies like a built in browser, post flagging, smart lists and can handle podcast feeds.

Web: GMAIL -If you have a gmail account, you can use their built in rss reader and then read your email and blogs all in one page. That is convenient, but I don't like the interface of the Google RSS reader all that much. If you don't have a gmail account, just let me know and I can send you an invite. Bloglines is another web based RSS feed reader.

Windows: For those of you who are on a PC, go and heal thyself. In the meantime, Feed Demon is supposed to be a good RSS reader for PC.

There you go. Feel free to post a comment if you have any questions!  

25
Apr
06

How to Succeed:

I think that the biggest thing that keeps most people from their dreams is not the fear of failure but the fear of appearing to have failed. To put it more eloquently: we're afraid to look stupid.

What would you try to do if you KNEW you would succeed? What would you do if you KNEW that no one would know if you failed? Make a list and throw caution to the wind.

23
Apr
06

A Great Quote from An Unlikely Source

I admit I am in no way a fan of Stanley Kubrick’s films. He may be a perfectly nice person, but the films I had to watch in college in my film class left me feeling very….slimed.

However, I just ran across a quote by Mr. Kubrick and I think is quite striking:

“If you can talk brilliantly about a problem, it can create the consoling illusion that it has been mastered.”

That sentence right there, sort of sums up my blogging experience thus far. I talk about all kinds of things, (perhaps not brilliantly, but lets just say that quantity in this example can make up for quality) and I read about even more things. I’m questioned, challenged and my viewpoint is often refined.

But just because I now KNOW what to do, doesn’t mean I’m doing it. I’ve been convicted about that lately. I’ve been convicted about how much I seek comfort. Talking about doing things is much more comfortable than actually doing them. It’s easier to talk and analyze than it is to act.

I feel like God’s moving me toward action, but I don’t know what sort of action. I just know that I’m not content to seek comfort anymore.

I’m just taking baby steps right now. Actually, it’s less than steps it’s more like I’m finally just able to wiggle my toes. Walking is still a ways off.

My first step is to buy a new bracelet.

22
Apr
06

Comfort Is A Satin Lined Coffin

I read a quote once that for the believer, "Comfort is a satin lined coffin."The American Dream is comfort. A happy family. A nice house. A nice yard. A nice dog. Enough money for whatever we want. No struggle. No pain. Most of all, no discomfort.

I think the American Dream has permeated the Church. We want a comfortable Church with all the amenities of a country club. We want the preacher to say inspiring things on Sunday, but nothing too challenging or uncomfortable. We want to follow God, as long as He doesn't ask us to be missionaries in Africa.

We don't want to shake the boat and we don't want anyone else to either.

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, the new song by the Dixie Chicks has really inspired me (politics and such aside). It's not a comfortable song. It's a black and white song. Either you like it or you hate it. They take a stand and require to you take one too.

Oh that the Church would do that! Instead of trying to infiltrate the world, copy the world, lure people in with things that look like the world.

My husband was reading the Smithsonian yesterday and there was a picture of a bombed out church from the 1960's civil rights movement. He turned to me and said, "You know there's really a lot to fight for in this world." Our country may be pretty safe and comfy, but there are SO many people who need to be fought for around the world. Children. Orphans. Widows. Believers. The poor. The hopeless. The opressed.

Could comfort be sin at some point? What can and should we do to fight for those who can't fight for themselves? How can we take a stand?

21
Apr
06

Inspired By The Dixie Chicks…

The Dixie Chicks, famous for lead singer Natalie Maines untimely and perhaps unpatriotic comments as our country was on the verge of war, have a new album out and the first single give me chills and inspires me to no end.

Mind you, I don't necessarily agree with their point of view, but passion and conviction inspires me and if this new single is anything, it's passionate and full of conviction. Here are a few lines:

I've paid a price and I'll keep paying it

I'm not ready to make nice

I'm not ready to back down

I'm still mad as hell and

I don't have time to go round and round and round

It's too late to make it right

I probably wouldn't if I could

'Cause I'm mad as hell

Can't bring myself to do what it is that you think I should

Wow. Maybe I'm naive. Maybe I don't know the whole story, but am SO moved by uncomfortable and unashamed honesty and if you are to, listen to the whole song at their web site.

I'd really like to know what you all think about this song. Shaun? Cach?

21
Apr
06

My Greatest Fear

My greatest fear is that I will lay my head down at night and be the same person that I was when I woke up.

My greatest fear is that I won't grow or change today.

My greatest fear is that I'll get so caught up in life and in seeking comfort and rest that I will avoid the places and people that stretch me, challenge me, change me.

It seems to me that people grow and mature so much until about age 25 and then they start to stagnate. My greated fear is that I will stagnate.

I think I did for a few years. From about 23-26 I got caught up with work, life and trying to be a grown up and surrounded myself with lots of other people who's highest goal was comfort and the American dream. They were nice and they loved Jesus, but they didn't challenge me and I didn't challenge them.

So what did I do? My husband and I moved back to our college town and our college church. We still stayed stagnant for a couple years – we were quite consumed with having babies and living in a constant state of sleep deprivation. But even in those years, we were SO challenged to love someone other than ourselves, to give when we didn't think we could give any more and to love more than we thought was possible.

That season laid a foundation for all that God has been doing in our hearts this past year. It's been amazing. My heart has been so stirred. I've learned so much. I've been challenged and changed. I hope this season never ends.

That is my greatest fear.

So, what challenges you? What has stirred your heart? What has inspired you? A book? A movie? A verse? A song? Please share.