Thank You

Do you act your age?

You Are 35 Years Old

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

Catholic guilt?

I was exhausted after traveling with the kids all afternoon yesterday and yet still stayed up for an hour or two after they went to bed. I watched Jay Leno interview Julia Stiles who was promoting her new movie. She talked about her character who feels guilty that she has no love for her son: the Devil.

This interview came to mind this afternoon when my daughter, who was tired, hot and cranky, hit her brother on the arm because his new toothbrush was on the conveyor belt ahead of hers at the supermarket. When he wailed (it was quite dramatic as he, too, was tired, hot and cranky) she smiled with pure pleasure.

As siblings will, she alternated between torturing him and playing with him once we got home. Once everyone was settled in bed, she called me back up to give me a hug. She said she was "sorry for today" and is now praying her rosary!

I don't know whether to be proud that she has remorse or worry that she is just lulling me into a false sense of security before launching a new plan of attack tomorrow.

Then I left and now I'm back!

Without a coherent post but I wanted to say hello before everyone quits visiting altogether!

C was sick with a fever for several days last week and recovered just in time for us to head out-of-town on Friday! We visited one city that my hubbie is interviewing in before heading on to South Bend for his graduation on Sunday. It was chilly for the outdoor graduation but worth it to see the hubbie graduate (with honors!) from Notre Dame! He can now add M.B.A. to all the other letters that follow his name! He is still in Indiana but the kids and I returned last night.

Both kids had separate "field days" today so we are all light pink and very tired but we have lotion and at least they are already in bed!

I am very, very behind in my bloghopping but hope to catch up this week. (It is the last week of school for the kids and I'm certain that they have more activities in the last two weeks of school than the rest of the year!) So it may take me a few days to catch up but I will!

I'm still here...

Physically, anyway! I don't know where the past week has gone!

Mother's Day was relaxing. C got sick and is just now really recovering. A fever from Sunday through Tuesday night with no other symptoms! (Of course, we broke the fever with Motrin every six hours. If nothing else, that kid is consistent! (Or Motrin is!) The bottle says dosages should last 6-8 hours but with C, you can tell when six hours is up without a clock!

Otherwise, I did get some time alone to read upstairs (wrote a little and snuck a nap in too!) and I got a small digital camera! I've borrowed hubbie's from time to time but it's a few years old now and much larger than the cute little cameras I see moms bringing to school functions. It's almost like lugging the video camera and I have no idea what most of the functions on that thing are. Now I have one! All I asked for was for everyone to leave or duct tape for children's mouths! I did not get those but they behaved most of the day and now I can easily take photos of the little angels to share!

I've just got to figure out how to share now! Another little book to read...

Did you save room for dessert?

When you've finished reading that book on your nightstand and are wondering what to open next, you'll want to try a few pages of this.

Honestly, I haven't finished it yet. I'm three-quarters of the way through but savoring every page. This book is like a whole cheesecake. I could not possibly eat the whole thing at once; it is very rich; I enjoy a little at a time but it is so good!

When I finally finish the entire book, I'll give you a more complete report. In the meantime, as you look through the menu of books available, I highly recommend this one! And you won't just find it on the dessert page; it can be a light snack or a hearty entree, too!

As an appetizer: Feiler's humor is a great place to start! Even when you start to feel tired and dusty with him in the dessert, he'll say something to make you laugh!

Nutritious salads: Along with gaining a great appreciation for the locales of the Middle East, Feiler introduces you to some fascinating people.

Entrees:
*all entrees are served with a nutritious salad, a soup of ancient history and a reminder of manna.
Comfort foods: Adam and Eve, Noah and Moses are all here. They haven't changed but you might look at them in a new way.
Nouvelle cuisine: Feiler gets into some heavy topics and personal growth but finishes them off with a light sauce of common sense and a garnish of humor.
Milk and Honey: Walking through ancient cities in modern times, Feiler offers a new perspective on some of the messages and history of the Pentateuch.

Dessert: Rich language and vivid descriptions of life in exotic locales. (If that isn't enough, the photo on the back cover is a treat, too!) ;)

I did not make it

I kept putting the B4B entry off this month. To write honestly about cheating would be awfully revealing and to come up with a clever way to cheat on this one was beyond me!

Then, in the shower today, only three hours after the official deadline had passed, I remembered something I could use.

I took a look and it looks like the comments are not actually closed but I can't enter it now. That would be cheating. I lied but I'm not cheating.

Hooray!

The last day of classes was yesterday;
The hubbie has earned his MBA!
His graduation is later in May!
Yay!

I'd invite you over but then I'd have to clean my house

So I blog. This way, I can sit down and "chat" without having to wash the kitchen floor.
(OK--those of you who actually do visit know I rarely do that anyway--but you get the idea).

I keep saying that I can write from home. I say I can have a load of laundry washing, pay a bill and write all at the same time. I usually do wash laundry, have a snack, pay a bill, have a snack and read blogs. Though I keep saying that I need to physically leave the house and go to a coffee shop to write, I rarely do it. So I'm usually pleased with myself when I write 300 words in a day.

Wednesday I decided to take action. I grabbed the hubbie's laptop and went to a coffee shop attached to a discount bookstore. In a little over an hour, I'd written 1,535 new words for the WIP!

This was a good idea! I had coffee, I had no internet access and I was surrounded by my favorite authors!
This was a bad idea! I had too much coffee and after a successful hour, I decided to go shop for my favorite authors.

I'm a slow learner but I can be taught. I will go back today but I'm only bringing $5.
(That might not be enough for two cups but it certainly will keep me from adding another book to the TBR pile! It should cut down on unnecessary posts, too!)

Pass it on! B4B is Live!

It's time again for Blogging for Books! I WILL get my entry in this month and I hope you all will join me!

...blog about cheating. Any old kind of cheating will do. Games, Lovers, Tests, it's all fair game until you admit in writing that you've cheated on the ever-faithful IRS....
GO!

How to play: You blog on a chosen topic. You post a link to your blog entry in the comments below this entry on Joshilyn Jackson's blog.

B4B closes next Monday when the comments close on this entry, EXACTLY seven days from the very second this posted. <----note the slight rule change. If you have no blog, you write the essay and cut and paste it (no attachments please) into an email to Ann Fitten (the Bloggess behind Edgy Mama) and ask her sweetly to host it for you.