The Big 3-0

Yup.
I'm 30.
Exactly 21 minutes ago I turned 30.

If you ask me right now, I'm okay with it. How often do you tell people your age? And does it really matter? Isn't age REALLY JUST a number?
But if you ask me tomorrow, I might be completely depressed about it. Because by then I'll be 20 years old PLUS one day. You know....the more I think about it - I don't think 30 is that bad. I think 31 will be bad. Because then you're not 30, you're IN your THIRTIES.

LOL

Who cares anyway?

Happy Birthday to Me.

So......in light of my 30th birthday, in addition to my newly tradition of taking a picture with Cooper (who was my birthday present from Steve 2 years ago) and a picture-taking tradition we started last year - I decided to ALSO make a list.
Because I love me some lists.

30 Things to Do in My 30th Year
1. Get a tattoo
2. Renew my passport
3. Go camping overnight
4. Take a class
5. fly a kite
6. Catch a fish
7. Take a self-portrait
8. Paint a big painting
9. Get some moo cards
10. Do some charity work
11. be crazy
12. do something meaningful
13. Start a photo project
14. Buy a lottery ticket
15. Romp on the beach with my family
16. Explore some old dreams
17. Reconnect with some important people
18. Get IN some pictures
19. Finish a project
20. Make a Blurb book
21. Visit the Little Grand Canyon
22. Stretch myself as an artist
23. Memorize a piece on the piano
24. Grow personally in tangible ways
25. Invest in a stranger's life
26. Get published
27. Do something spontaneous
28. Write a letter
29. Get a family picture that I love
30. Love. Laugh. Often. More.

Personality Based Musical Skills

Several months back, Steve-o was speaking with the band director at his school, who also teaches up the hall from him. Said band teacher was talking about how he chooses an instrument for kids based a lot on their personality. Intriqued, Steve said, "really? What instrument would I play"? and without hesitation, the guy says Clarinet. I'm not sure what that means?

Owen started piano lessons a few weeks back, and he's loving it- which kindof surprised me. Pretty much, I'm planning on forcing the kids to take musical lessons of one kind or another (they can choose the instrument) but I think it's one of those things that is just good for them to learn, whether they like it or not. I tried to convince Owen to do violin, but he kept insisting on the piano. And that made me remember the conversation that Steve had and made me ponder if his personality was suited to the piano.

I found this quiz online that helps determine what instrument would suit your personality. Take it and tell me what it says. Do you play an instrument? Does the instrument you play suit your personality?

When I took it, it said that I should play the piano. Which is interesting, because I do. LOL. Although I'm not sure that this description actually fits me, especially that first sentence.
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You are a calm person who always thinks things through before you do them. Sometimes you can be a bit fussy and dont like to do things wrong. The piano is perfect for you, seeing as it takes a calm hand and mind to perfect the art of the piano.
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You try it!

Lately, I've Been.....

procrastinating.
an escapist.
enjoying the spring weather.
feeling inadequate.
wanting to be a better friend.
tired of myself.
wanting a vacation.
thinking I need to join the gym again.
wondering what the future holds.
defining some goals.
floundering in my own lack direction.
irritated by how much I care.
needing to care more, but about different things.
wanting to make a difference.
going to bed early.
wishing i was different.
thinking that change is good.
resisting the urge to move again.
planning to paint some stuff.
ignoring my camera.
twittering.
anxiously awaiting summer.
coveting time with my husband.
looking to reclaim my passion.
realizing my insignificance.
needing a break. from everything.

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What have you been lately??

A Truly Eco-Friendly Playhouse

Check out this eco friendly playhouse for kids, made by artist Judith Needham.
The Dreaming Spires Willow Playhouse is designed to meet the child's need for imaginative play whilst being an attractive feature in the garden in its own right. Handmade in England from natural english willow, the playhouse has impeccable environmental credentials.

At 1200 pounds it's a pricey environmentally friendly play structure, but it sure is pretty.

I wonder if they sell the English countryside to accompany it??

Wove's Etsy Shop Judith Needham's Website

The Credit Crunch

We turned in our minivan yesterday. It was a lease, and the lease was up yesterday. For all my years of griping about it, it was a decent vehicle and served us well.
So naturally, we've spent the last week looking at family-mobiles and examining our options. Yesterday I re-read this article I've kept from Relevant Magazine that I thought was interesting. Here's an excerpt:

____________________
From Straight Talk About Debt by Dave Ramsey:

"Taking on a car payment is one of the dumbest things people do to destroy their chances of building wealth. The car payment is most folks' largest payment except for their home mortgage, so it steals more money from their income than virtually anything else. USA Today notes that the average monthly car payment is $464 over 64 months. Most people get a car payment and keep it through their lives. As soon as a car is paid off, they get another payment because they "need" a new car. I you keep a $464 car payment throughout your life - which is "normal"-you miss the opportunity to save that money. If you invested $464 per month from age 25 to age 65, a normal working lifetime, in the average mutual fund averaging 12 percent (the 70-year stock market average), you would have $5,458,854.45 at age 65. Hope you like that car!

If you put $464 per month in a cookie jar for just 10 months, you have more than $4000 to pay cash for a car. I am not suggesting you drive a $4000 car your whole life, but that is how you start without debt. then you can save the same amount again and trade up to and $8,000 car 10 months later and up to a $12,000 car 10 months after that. In just 30 months, or two and a half years, you can drive a paid-for $12,000 car, never having made a payment, and never have to make payments again.

Taking on car payments because everyone else does it does not make it smart. Will your broke relatives and friends make fun of your junk car while you do this?? Sure they will, but that's a very good sign you are on the right track. Having been a millionaire and gone broke, I dug my way out by making a decision about looking good versus being good. Looking good is when your broke friends are impressed by what you drive, and being good is having more money than they have."
____________________

While I don't necessarily agree with his tone, implying that acquiring wealth is the greatest goal to work towards, I DO like the idea of working towards living debt-free. It's taken me months to get over the idea of having a car with less than 20,000 miles on it. I've had this phobia or "thing" about older cars or cars with higher mileage - fretting about their dependability, expecting them to fall apart on the road as I drive them, etc. etc.
Admittedly, I'm a very short-sighted person. Yes, we'd be in debt, but we'd have a GOOD car, a RELIABLE car, and (said to myself) a PRETTY car. Yeah, guess I'm shallow like that. So here we are...looking at cars - and for the first time, I'm thinking: Maybe it WOULD be worth it to drive a crappy car for a couple of years so that we can save $400 a month.

And I'm pleasantly surprised to find that I'm okay with that.

So if you see me in town with my kids in tow in a crappy old minivan or SUV - just wave and smile and laugh if you feel like it. It's taken me a long time to get to the point that I don't care. :)

Some Tidbits For Ya....

A few random things about #1 and #3 for you today.....
AJ is out of town with Steve-o...and has been for two days - so that's why there's no pictures of him from today.

This picture of tyler makes me smile because it's just very....Tyler. With that doofy look on his face and his mouth hanging open. I'm surprised bugs don't fly in there.

couple weeks back, Owen lost his first tooth. Scary pic, yes - but this is what he gave me when i asked him to show me the hole.

Here he is, looking gorgeous and very Ralph Lauren.

Birdhouses that we painted over the weekend.

My favorite from today....

Happy St. Patrick's Day. :)

Garden 2009

In no particular order, because Blogger is being weird and I'm too tired to re-arrange.

Here's our garden that we did last week.

Many thanks to:

The horses from a client's farm: for your poop

Erica: For use of your truck to pick up said poop

Casey:  For taking photos

My husband: For working tirelessly until it was done

AJ: Who worked his little hiney off all day on the garden, happily and without complaint. He even got a sunburn.

Using Drawings in Assessment and Therapy

I have a book on our bookshelf left over from my college upper-level Psych days called Using Drawings in Assessment and Therapy (A Guide for Mental Health Professionals).
The basic gist of it, is to use drawings as a clinical tool to help patients express fears, traumas, fantasies, and to help professionals in the diagnostic and therapeutic processes. The book helps to explain and interpret drawings, and gives suggestions for using drawings in pscyh therapy.
It's an interesting book...a lot of it makes me roll my eyes, but it IS interesting and has some merits.
One of the most common assessments is the House-Tree-Person Assessment.

About a year ago, Casey was at our house one night and he saw the book and asked about it. So I did one of the "exercises" with him. I told him to draw a simple house, and that I would interpret it. He drew his house, and I told him not to show it to me. Based on what I knew about Casey, I said, "I bet your house has __this thing__ on it" and " Your house probably has __this item__ beside it". Casey was impressed (if I do say so myself) that I basically described many elements of his drawing before I even saw it.

Cool, huh??
Wanna play??

Here's what you need to do.
Get out a piece of paper and draw a house.
That's it. Your only directions.
Draw a house.

Do It right now.
We'll wait.



seriously.....the "assessment" is no fun, unless you do the drawing first.






--------------------

Okay, did you draw your house??

Here's what the book says about the elements of your house:

"The drawing of a house tends to elicit connections regarding the examinee's home and the interpersonal dynamics being experienced within the family setting."

A Chimney
(symbol of warm intimate relations and sometimes associated with phallic symbol of significance)

(a) absence of chimney - lacking psychological warmth or conflicts with significant male figures.
(b) overly large - overephasis on sexual concerns and/or possible exhibitionistic tendencies
(c) smoke in much profusion - inner tension

Door
(a) above baseline, without steps: interpersonal inaccessibility
(b) absence of door: extreme difficulty in allowing accessibility to others
(c) open: strong need to receive warmth from external world
(d) very large: overly dependent on others
(e) with lock or hinges: defensiveness

Fence around house: Need for emotional protection

Gutters: suspciousness

Drawn on the base of paper: basic home or intimate insecurities

Perspective, from below: Either rejection of hoe or feelings of an unattainable desirable home situation

Perspective, from above: Rejection of home situation

Roof
(a) Unidimensional (single line connecting two walls): Unimaginative or emotionally constricted
(b) Overly large: Seeks satisfaction in fantasy

Shutters
(a) closed: extreme defensiveness and withdrawal
(b) open: ability to make sensitive interpersonal adjustment

Walkway
(a) very long: lessened accessibility
(b) narrow at house, broad at end: superficially friendly

Wall (adequacy of)
directly associated to degree of ego strength

Window(s)
(a) absence of windows: hostile or withdrawing
(b) present on ground, absent from upper story: gap between reality and fantasy
(c) with curtains: reserved, controlled
(d) bare: behavior is mostly blunt and direct

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So....did any elements of your house drawing portray you or your home life as stated in the book? Do tell!
And if you think this was fun, we can do the person-tree aspect, or other exercises again. :)

Lifeku's....Hilarious

I subscribe to this blog called The Daily Lifeku and Friday's entry, while a little bit different than usual, made me laugh out loud. As I'm sure you can well-imagine, it's a blog made up entirely of reader-submitted haiku's....relating to daily life.
Here is today's entry

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To celebrate of our first month with Obama and more importantly without Bush in 8 years, today's lifekus are in honor of all the stupid things we'll hopefully never hear from a president again. I dedicate February 20 as "Remember the Bushisms Day" so that we may never forget the dark times where our country was represented by a backwoods yokel, spewing ridiculous disinformation while managing to rape and murder all idioms and expressions. $20 says if you ask him, he thinks an idiom is someone stupid who didn't understand the need for The War on Terror (best title that means nothing, ever!).Moving on, I present to you:

The Top 10 Bushisms With Accompanying Lifekus

10) "Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream." —LaCrosse, Wis., Oct. 18, 2000

9) "I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family." —Greater Nashua, N.H., Jan. 27, 2000

8) "I hear there's rumors on the Internets that we're going to have a draft." —second presidential debate, St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 8, 2004

7) "I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully." —Saginaw, Mich., Sept. 29, 2000

6) "You work three jobs? … Uniquely American, isn't it? I mean, that is fantastic that you're doing that." —to a divorced mother of three, Omaha, Nebraska, Feb. 4, 2005

5) "Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB-GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country." —Poplar Bluff, Mo., Sept. 6, 2004

4) "They misunderestimated me." —Bentonville, Ark., Nov. 6, 2000

3) "Rarely is the questioned asked: Is our children learning?" —Florence, S.C., Jan. 11, 2000

2) "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." —Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004

1) "There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again." —Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002

Grammar, who needs you?
Proverbs aren’t important
Cause I loves my guns

You know you love it
My nonsensical speeches
Let’s get some oil!

Oh, working mother
I didn’t understand you
Sorry, I’m stupid.

Happy Stuff

This little article made me happy.
I grew up watching Mr. Rogers man....HOLLA! if you love good 'ole Fred.


15 REASONS MR. ROGERS WAS THE BEST NEIGHBOR EVER.

Pretty Much the Coolest Video Ever

This has been moved up into one of my most fav videos ever. It's a masterpiece in creativity. The lyrics are soothing...yet sad. Check it out:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_HXUhShhmY]

And She fights for her life
As she puts on her coat
And she fights for her life on the train
She looks at the rain
As it pours
And she fights for her life
As she goes in a store
With a thought she has caught
By a thread
She pays for the bread
And She goes...
Nobody knows

A Few Things......

You might be proud to know that I..... have cut back a LOT on my "counting how long I pee for thing". I only do it like....once a day now.

You might be surprised to know that I..... can play the piano.

You might already know that I..... plan on getting a tattoo for my birthday this year.

You should probably know that I..... am not nearly as cool as I appear. LOL!

You may not believe it when I tell you that I........ cry easily.

You might have always wondered why I..... haven't made this blog public yet. It's a combination of procrastination, poor time management, and apathy.

You might think "it figures" when you consider that I..... want to dress up like a hippie for Halloween this year.

You might wonder about my sanity if you knew that I..... rarely open the door of a public restroom with my bare hand. I always use my shirt, or a paper towel.

You might think I'm weird if you knew that I...... have conversations with myself in the car...practicing for real life, things I WISH I had said, things I would say if I had the guts, etc. etc.

You might laugh to know that I..... just finished watching about 12 minutes of The Wiggles Videos, and Beyonce's "Single Ladies" videos on Youtube. For Tyler. He likes dancing to them. Now he's too busy dragging the toaster around the house by the cord.

You might roll your eyes when you know that I...... tagged you to do this on your own blog. Clint, Amy N, Amy Porter, AmyLynn, Ness, Klasieprof, Aunt Dee, Mom N, Rob&Manda, and Casey......you're it. :)

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Oh, and I forgot Melissa, and Heidi. And if anyone else reads this blog that I forgot about...you're tagged too. :)

Conceived WHERE?

On the way home from dropping AJ at preschool, the radio DJ's were talking about baby names. The one DJ said something about how some people name their kids based on where they were conceived - either the city, or elsewhere. He called out the other radio DJ and revealed that his son would've been named Datsun 280z.....and his would've been named Embassy Suites. LOL

So I thought it would be fun for a little reveal......what would your kids be named if they were named by place of conception?? Anything interesting out there?
Or....if you're unlucky enough to know: What would YOUR name have been??

Be anonymous if you want...but, this could be fun. :)

And that picture--->?? It's a petri dish. You never know.....

Sick. And Pantless Skiing.

I know this blog has been seriously lacking in content lately - and for that, I'm sorry.

We've been hit with a triple whammy the past week - Tyler got sick first with a wet nasty cough and quickly passed it to Owen, then AJ (who has decided to add a few a la carte's to the mix: specifically ear ache and a minor bout of vomiting). And now I have it as well. Times 10. I really don't ever get sick SICK - like barfy, flu type of sick, but I DO usually catch a sinusy-cold every winter. This year's is the worst in awhile...ear aches, stuffy head, miserable sleeping at night..the whole shabang.

One of those colds that makes you want to curl up in bed with movies and a blanket and not move for 5 days. But since we can't ALL take a break from life like Dan-o (who landed himself in the hospital on Sunday, for those of you not in-the-know....love ya D-man!), I just keep on truck'n. And try not to complain about it too much.

And hope to God that Steve doesn't get it too.

So I've got nothin' for ya....except this:
It's really terrible...and it could've been quite tragic....but since it wasn't, it's fun to gasp and laugh at, the poor, poor man.

Man Left Dangling Upside Down, Pantless, After Vail Skiing Mishap


Enjoy.

Copyright Ramblings

In light of the thing that happened with the Albany Journal swiping content off my friend Amy's blog, I thought I'd share something fun with you.

Most likely, it won't apply, but it's fun just the same.

If you go to CopyScape.com, you can enter in your website's URL and it will scan the internet for other sites that have the same content that you do. So if, for example, someone saw my bio on my website, and decided to steal it and use it on their OWN website, then Copyscape would find it, and then say something like, "Copyscape has found 47 of your words on the following website:" and then you can click on the website and it copyscape highlights the words for you.

Probably a tool more geared towards writers and whatnot, but still fun to see if anyone out there has stolen your intellectual property (your blog words).

Now....if your stuff is taken by people and put in the newspaper....I can't help ya there.

Merry Christmakkuh!

Turn up your volume, let my blog sit open while you work and play because I've posted a Christmas Music Treat for your listening pleasure. It's eclectic people (hence the name "An Eclectic Christmakkuh") and if you don't absolutely LOVE it - you're off your rocker. There's something for everyone - from Bing Crosby to Josh Groban to Smashing Pumpkins to the Vienna Boys Choir to Celtic Woman to Lennon to Veggie Tales.....Holiday music you'll want to play over and over.

Because let's face it.....When it comes to music?

We all know that I have impeccable taste.

Enjoy.

Ideas?

2 things this morning, that I'm looking for some advice on:

1. We don't use a bug spray service. I really don't like the idea of pesticides floating about the air particles in my house....where my babies can breathe them into their systems. Weird? Maybe - but I just don't like the idea. Poison. IN MY HOUSE.
ANYWAY.....bugs are a thing here in the south. I've gotten used to them (even the spiders, for the most part) - they are everywhere, and most of them are BIG. Well, big to a northerner like me, who's used to the description of "big bug" applying to a wasp, or a horsefly. We see spiders inside when the weather changes, and they totally freak me out, but at least I'm not obsessing over them being brown recluse anymore. :)
And then there's the thing with roaches. Now, unless you live in the south you're probably totally freaking out about roaches. IN OUR HOUSE.
I did too - when we first moved down here, I had never even SEEN a roach. I thought they only existed in nasty apartments in NYC (you know, like in the movies). But unfortunately, they're just part of the package when you live in the south. We haven't had a problem with roaches really - I would see an occasional one (dead usually) but that was about it. Until recently....when now I'm noticing little ones....which is scary because apparently they are BREEDING. *shiver*

So now I'm left with a dilemma.....Should I (1) live with the excess of bugs (don't think I can do that, since they seem to be multiplying), or (2)hire a bug service to come spray the house, or (3) come up with a "natural" alternative to pesticide. Anyone have any ideas? Recommendations? Is there an organic way to get rid of bugs??

*****UPDATE*******
Clint scared me so Sims Pest Control is coming to the house on Friday morning.


#2: Toilet issues.
No, I'm not talking about a certain toddler who enjoys flushing toys down the commode that we have to pay plumbers to come and fish out. I'm talking about MOLD. On the inside of the toilet. I clean our bathrooms once a week - which I think is pretty standard, pretty reasonable - but by the end of the 7 or 8 days, there's an accumulation of black mold on the inside upper part of the toilet.
Is this a southern thing due to humidity in the air? 'Cuz I've never had a problem with it before moving to Georgia. Not even in Florida - which was probably more humid than here. Is it our water? Does anyone else get this?
I clean with bleach, but I don't like to put those cleaner tabs in the water because Cooper occasionally drinks from the toilet bowl when the lid is left up and I don't want him to drink bleachy toilet water (because regular, "clean" toilet water is so much better).
Enlighten me? Got an tips for a cleaner tab thingy that's safe for dogs?? Or how to keep away the mold? Or if I'm the only person in Albany that has trouble with moldy toilets?

That's all I've got today.

What's up with everybody else? Things are slow in bloggerland and I'm feeling disconnected from everybody.

I'm Pouting

Because no one comments/reads/blogs anymore.

What's the deal out there???
Why is bloggerland so slow???

Pictures of Steve-o on his birthday gains THREE comments?
The Aydenism gets me TWO? Come on, people - that stuff was HILARIOUS. Because I'm the only one in the house who doesn't have a penis. Get it?
Pictures of cutest six year old in the universe only warrants ONE comment?? Seriously?!

Don't you people realize I'm a middle child?? I don't just write this blog for my own health and entertainment you know.....I do it of course, for the validation and self-worth I derive from the comments and moral support of others. Yes I do gain esteem from menial acts of contrition by people in the blogosphere, thankyouverymuch.

Shout out.....or I'm going on strike.

Weird Tuesday

How 'bout some weird things to amuse you this Tuesday morning?

I've said before that I love me some Etsy. You can find all sorts of awesome handmade stuff on there (I should do a post JUST on Etsy sometime), so don't let this taint your view of it. But in case you have cats, and are thinking they might enjoy a Knitted Tampon Catnip Toy....well, you can find it on Etsy.













Let's see....then there's the man who carved a carrot into a clarinet and then played it. Why spend money buying your kid expensive instruments when you can just make them yourself from produce??




I don't even know WHAT to say about the Fetus Cookie Cutter. What are they trying to say? Is it some sort of political statement? Just had a whim to create a strange shape with which to cut your cookies?? Weird, Weird, WEIRD.

And then there's this. Our dear friend Clint - who's apparently played one too many games of Guitar Hero. And I'm quite certain that he wasn't even drinking when this photo was taken. He's just that weird.

(Thanks to Cassie - I swiped the pic from her Facebook profile. :)


That's all I've got....got anything weird to add?

Days with My Father

Enough about me....you must go to this site and click through the slideshow. It's powerful. And moving.

Days with My Father