Goodbye, School. Farewell.

Not sure which had me in tears more this morning, the realization that it's my little man's last year of elementary school (yes, next year we enter the big, bad world of lockers that lock, classes that change and books that will give you a hernia when they're all stuffed in a bag) or the realization that summer vacation is only two days away and, despite the stress, the aggravation and yes, the tears we've all shed this year, it's almost over. Huh. Whaddaya think of that?

In other news: Was it bad I taught my 10 year old a bar trick at lunch? Oops...

Oh Perry...

It's all over. I've officially hit the dark side. My oldest isn't feeling well, and so I've spent the day getting sucked into a Phineas and Ferb movie marathon. I'm officially in love with Perry the Platypus.

Pretty sure that's illegal in way more states than one, but there you have it. V, you can stop saying "I told you so" now.

Loving This Song

Love this song. You may have already found it on FB, but I really had to share it here :)

I'm finding I'm very 50/50 with Trading Yesterday, but this and "Shattered" are definitely going to make it onto my favorite songs list. What do you think?

Die Adobe. Die.

Lag! *choke, gasp* Dying!

Die Adobe. Die.

The amount of lag rolling around on the Internet at the moment is killing me, and I know exactly who to blame. Adobe Flash and Javascript. When you have one of the most powerful, popular applications on the planet, don’t you think you’d be able to create a version that works? If I had a DIME for every time Adobe has crashed my computer in the last week alone I’d be able to take a month or two off without breaking a sweat over it.

Sigh.

I Missed You!

Anyway, gripes aside, it’s been a while since I took the time to stop by here and catch up on what’s been going on. Thank you holidays-and Vee, gotta say, it was AWESOME to finally see you in person! The chai I’m sitting here sipping doesn’t seem nearly spicy enough to celebrate the greatness of getting the kiddies together and hanging out. I’m sorry we weren’t able to catch up with you Saturday. I didn’t have nearly enough narcotics to be among polite society by the time we were done in D.C. My hubby almost lost his head as it was! But I’m really looking forward to that trip up north. Just tell me when.

What ARE They Teaching These Kids These Days?

Let’s see. What else is going on? I just spent the better part of 2 hours teaching my oldest how to write an essay. He’s a fourth grader, which means either his teacher’s REALLY not doing her job or he’s really not paying attention. My money’s on the latter. Either way, I doubt he’s EVER going to bring a writing assignment home again! I believe “Mom sucks” was the predominant emotion when it was all said and done.

Small Indie Bookstores are Great…Until Everybody Knows Your Name

Need a new hangout, the bookstore just isn’t doing it these days. Too small, too little anonymity. Why oh why oh why isn’t there a Borders anywhere in the nearby vicinity? Srzly? An hour for a little peace on days when late meetings drive us from the house seems like a little much, but desperation may win out before it’s all said and done. J

Oh, Christmas Tree

The holidays are over, but I can’t bring myself to take down the tree just yet. Maybe it’s because I love the way we’ve set up the dining room to accommodate it, maybe it’s just that we didn’t get much time to enjoy it. Maybe it’s just a lazy thing. Don’t know. But I think I can count on my tree proudly taking up the back corner of the room for at least a couple weeks more.

A Multi-Media Event

Which brings me to my latest passion-“Lie to Me”. Now available for free on Netflix and Hulu, I’m finding that I really, really love the science behind the show and the drama that keeps it interesting. And let’s face it, Lightman’s an ass. Really, who else could get away with that? Nobody. Nobody at all.

“So, Dr. Lightman just assumes you’re a liar if you’re a politician?” “He assumes you’re a liar if you’re a homo sapien.”

Gold. Solid gold. Vee, you’re going to have to check it out and let me know what you think.

The 12 Days of Cat-Mas

If you tuned in yesterday you saw my (slightly nerdish) version of the 12 Days of Christmas, put together for writer's group. Well, my kids started reading and they wanted in on it, so here's their creation.

I give to you...the 12 Days of Cat-Mas!!!

The Twelve Days of Cat-Mas

On the first day of Cat-Mas my kitties gave to me

A sparkling silver collar just for me.

On the second day of Cat-Mas my kitties gave to me

Two kitty treats,

And a black and white checked collar just for me.

On the third day of Cat-Mas my kitties gave to me

Three dead mice,

Two kitty treats,

And a red and green striped collar just for me.

On the fourth day of Cat-Mas my kitties gave me

Four black and white kittens,

Three dead mice,

Two kitty treats,

And a rhinestone studded collar just for me.

On the fifth day of Cat-Mas my kitties gave to me

New litter boxes,

Four black and white kittens,

Three dead mice,

Two kitty treats,

And a pawprint printed collar just for me.

On the sixth day of Cat-Mas my kitties gave to me

Six jingle bell balls,

New litter boxes,

Four black and white kittens,

Three dead mice,

Two kitty treats,

And a glitter covered collar just for me.

On the seventh day of Cat-Mas my kitties gave to me

Seven cricket corpses,

Six jingle bell balls,

New litter boxes,

Four black and white kittens,

Three dead mice,

Two kitty treats,

And a yellow and black collar just for me.

On the eighth day of Cat-Mas my kitties gave to me

Eight mounds of cat hair,

Seven cricket corpses,

Six jingle bell balls,

New litter boxes,

Four black and white kittens,

Three dead mice,

Two kitty treats,

And a blue sequined collar just for me.

On the ninth day of Cat-Mas my kitties gave to me

Nine fuzzy cat beds,

Eight mounds of cat hair,

Seven cricket corpses,

Six jingle bell balls,

New litter boxes,

Four black and white kittens,

Three dead mice,

Two kitty treats,

And a purple safety collar just for me.

On the tenth day of Cat-Mas my kitties gave to me

Ten wet tongued kisses,

Nine fuzzy cat beds,

Eight mounds of cat hair,

Seven cricket corpses,

Six jingle bell balls,

New litter boxes,

Four black and white kittens,

Three dead mice,

Two kitty treats,

And a diamond-crusted collar just for me.

On the eleventh day of Cat-Mas my kitties gave to me

Eleven catnip mice,

Ten wet tongued kisses,

Nine fuzzy cat beds,

Eight mounds of cat hair,

Seven cricket corpses,

Six jingle bell balls,

New litter boxes,

Four black and white kittens,

Three dead mice,

Two kitty treats,

And a pink and white swirled collar just for me.

On the twelfth day of Cat-Mas my kitties gave to me

Twelve muddy pawprints,

Eleven catnip mice,

Ten wet tongued kisses,

Nine fuzzy cat beds,

Eight mounds of cat hair,

Seven cricket corpses,

Six jingle bell balls,

New litter boxes,

Four black and white kittens,

Three dead mice,

Two kitty treats,

And a sparkling silver collar just for me.

The 12 Days of Christmas

Writer's group tonight. What does that mean? It means it's time to finish putting the polish on the rewrites of The 12 Days of Christmas I've been working on! Posting them here: All comments welcome!

This particular version was inspired when I walked into a Borders with my shopping list in hand and realized most of the titles I was looking for had a number in them somewhere-and most of my Christmas wish list was made up of books!

The Twelve Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas my bookshelf gave to me
The Power of One by Courtenay.

On the second day of Christmas my bookshelf gave to me
A Tale of Two Cities
And The Power of One by Courtenay.

On the third day of Christmas my bookshelf gave to me
Three Seconds
A Tale of Two Cities
And The Power of One by Courtenay.

On the fourth day of Christmas my bookshelf gave to me
I Am Number Four
Three Seconds
A Tale of Two Cities
And The Power of One by Courtenay.

On the fifth day of Christmas my bookshelf gave to me
The Book of Five Rings
I Am Number Four
Three Seconds
A Tale of Two Cities
And The Power of One by Courtenay.

On the sixth day of Christmas my bookshelf gave to me
The Six Sigma Handbook
The Book of Five Rings
I Am Number Four
Three Seconds
A Tale of Two Cities
And The Power of One by Courtenay.

On the seventh day of Christmas my bookshelf gave to me
Seven Soldiers of Victory
The Six Sigma Handbook
The Book of Five Rings
I Am Number Four
Three Seconds
A Tale of Two Cities
And the Power of One by Courtenay.


On the eighth day of Christmas my bookshelf gave to me
The Sixty Eight Rooms
Seven Soldiers of Victory
The Six Sigma Handbook
The Book of Five Rings
I Am Number Four
Three Seconds
A Tale of Two Cities
And the Power of One by Courtenay.

On the ninth day of Christmas my bookshelf gave to me
Nine Kinds of Naked
The Sixty Eights Room
Seven Soldiers of Victory
The Six Sigma Handbook
The Book of Five Rings
I Am Number Four
Three Seconds
A Tale of Two Cities
And The Power of One by Courtenay.

On the tenth day of Christmas my bookshelf gave to me
Ten Little Zombies
Nine Kinds of Naked
The Sixty Eights Room
Seven Soldiers of Victory
The Six Sigma Handbook
The Book of Five Rings
I Am Number Four
Three Seconds
A Tale of Two Cities
And The Power of One by Courtenay.

On the eleventh day of Christmas my bookshelf gave to me
The Eleven Comedies
Ten Little Zombies
Nine Kinds of Naked
The Sixty Eights Room
Seven Soldiers of Victory
The Six Sigma Handbook
The Book of Five Rings
I Am Number Four
Three Seconds
A Tale of Two Cities
And The Power of One by Courtenay.

On the twelfth day of Christmas my bookshelf gave to me
Twelve Mighty Orphans
The Eleven Comedies
Ten Little Zombies
Nine Kinds of Naked
The Sixty Eights Room
Seven Soldiers of Victory
The Six Sigma Handbook
The Book of Five Rings
I Am Number Four
Three Seconds
A Tale of Two Cities
And The Power of One by Courtenay.

For Those Who Doodle

I used to like to doodle while on the phone, back before motherhood demanded that all phone calls be accompanied by cleaning. This, however, elevates doodling to a whole new level... Grab a cup of tea, some pen and paper, and have a mathemagical time!

http://www.crainium.net/jdjArchives/2010/12/doodling_in_math_class.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WithinTheCrainium+%28within+the+crainium%29