For the past 6 months, when I took photos this is what I saw regardless of what was on the other side of the camera.  Fortunately, it recorded the photos – I just wasn’t sure exactly what I would get until I uploaded them to my computer.  Sort of like film photography without the view finder.  Our Sony Cybershot was a great camera – I loved it until the day it violently met our ceramic tile floor courtesy of Tessa.  I’ve spent the past 6 months saving Amazon gift cards received for product reviews and collecting Swagbucks and holding onto a gift card so that I could buy a new camera without taking it out of our monthly budget.  And I won another Visa gift card from a giveaway on BusyMom’s review blog (plus enough salad dressing to keep us going for at least a year – woohoo!).  In the end, I spent $8.87 out of pocket – partially because I was too impatient to go with the free super saver shipping (I swear they strap it to a turtle when you choose the free shipping).  Today, my new camera, my precious – it arrived and it is beautiful:

Panasonic Lumix ZS1 if you are curious

I had to wait 2 hours for the battery to charge before I could play with it and it was torture!  Then I had to finish cleaning the kitchen.  I was so excited to play with it – I could hardly stand it.

It was Tessa’s bedtime so excuse her lack of smiles.

Expect lots of photo filled posts!

Wednesday, my friend Malia tweeted that she had an extra early pass to a consignment sale for Thursday evening.  Seeing an opportunity to pick up some fall/winter items for the girls without having to take the girls, I quickly raised my hand and did my best Horshack imitation.  (If you are too young to remember Welcome Back Kotter and Horshack’s “Ooohhh, Ohhhh, Mr. Kotter” please don’t tell me.  Yes, John Travolta had a career even before Grease.)  We made arrangements to meet up so that I could get the pass.

Thursday, I trucked the kids up to Chickafila and we had a quick bite with Malia.  I planned an evening appointment to look at a couple of houses around the sale.  As Steve was putting Sabrina to bed, I headed off to the sale.  (Just so that you can fully appreciate the time I invested – Chickafila was 20 min each way and the sale was about 25 min each way.)

I was looking forward to the sale.  Sabrina has grown a couple of inches and all of her pants have become capris and her dresses would be obscene if she was any older.  We don’t have as many hand me downs for this size – I imagine when kids hit 3T they are more active and the clothes don’t make it through as intact.  She needed some clothes and a winter coat.  I spent an hour going through the racks.  I found a coat, a fall jacket, a couple of pairs of PJs, and a decent number of outfits for Sabrina.  For Tessa, I picked up several pairs of PJs and a couple of outfits.  Plus, I found cute matching skirts that would be darling at Christmas with white turtlenecks and tights.

I went through everything a third time to make sure I wasn’t going to have buyers remorse.  I discarded a couple of things and wavered over an outfit that was $10 – I don’t usually spend that much at a consignment sale outfit but this was Gymboree and really cute so I kept it.  Then I got in the very long line.  I kept shifting my heavy pile of things while I watched other ladies paying for their items.  It suddenly occurred to me that an awful lot of them were paying with cash.  And there were a lot of checks being written.  Huh.  Then, with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach I saw the sigh “CASH OR CHECK ONLY”.  I had a grand total of $6 cash in my purse and I never carry my check book because I never write checks.  It hadn’t occurred to me that I couldn’t use my bank card because the past couple of sales I’ve gone to have been really large and they took credit cards.  Despite all of the time invested, I had to put my items back and walk away empty handed. I was just sick – and so mad at myself.

I went back first thing this morning and was able to find almost everything I had chosen last night – a couple of PJs for Sabrina weren’t there but otherwise I think I found it all again – even the matching Christmas skirts.  They are the red things at the right of the photo.  And the really loud, obnoxious printed thing slightly left of center is a really cute Halloween dress.  Really. I swear – it is cute.

And as a bonus, I picked up a toy for each of the girls.  That little piano thing?  Yeah, I’m going to regret that by 4:30 this afternoon.  But Tessa will love it.  And the other thing?  A Sit N Spin!  I always wanted one when I was a kid but never had one (see transcript from therapy session #257, also session #322 where I discuss never getting a Big Wheel).  So when I saw this, I had to get it for myself her.

Point of all of this?  I am a moron.  I wasted Malia’s early bird pass but thank her for offering it up.  And I love consignment sales.  And all is well that ends well.

The photo has nothing to do with anything – I bought them and they made me smile.

My sense of humor comes from my dad. It has always gotten me into trouble.  I’ve learned to bite my tongue.  A lot.  I make many slightly inappropriate comments but keep most to myself unless I am with my BFF or my husband.  I crack myself.  Some people appreciate my sense of humor – some do not.  I’m not mean unless you are stupid and mean then the gloves are off because you deserve it – much of my humor is self deprecating.  I tend to crack jokes about situations and make dry observations – I don’t usually say mean things about people.  I’m a nice person.  Really I am don’t listen to my husband’s friends who think I hate babies and kick puppies.  There are people who I banter with and don’t bite my tongue so much – but those are the people who have similar senses of humor and dish it out as well as they take it.

That said, people choose to take offense.  I don’t mean when really hateful things are said – I mean when people are either making jokes that obviously aren’t meant to be offensive or if they say something without thinking.  It seems like people look for things to be offended by.  Two scenarios today are on my mind.

Scenario the first: I attended a Mom’s Club brunch today.  A woman who I would call a casual friend made a comment today about the “Mexican” workers building a house next door.  There were several ways I could choose to hear this comment – I chose to give her the benefit of the doubt (truly believing she didn’t mean a thing by it) and assume she didn’t mean it in any offensive way.

Scenario the second: Someone on facebook asked “Why does God make stupid people?”  There were about a dozen responses.  I chimed in “Because someone has to flip the burgers.”  You could choose to chuckle and think ‘Oh that scamp Michelle, there she goes again with that witty repartee of hers!” Or you could do what one woman did and take offense saying “That burger flipping comment was inappropriate! I flipped burgers to get through college.”  Perhaps I simply meant we can’t all be social workers rocket scientists and someone needs to do the more menial jobs in the world.  And I did mean that sort of.  But it was also a flip comment to be funny.  I spent 2 years scooping ice cream and a summer working on a road crew – my resume isn’t all minimum wage social work jobs, you know.  I removed my comment and apologized for offending her but it kind of pissed me off.  I felt bullied.  I didn’t mean anything offensive and I didn’t feel it was an offensive comment.  I think it was clear that it wasn’t intended to be offensive.  But it wasn’t someone I knew and it wasn’t my facebook page so I did what I felt was right in the situation.

The point of my little rant is simply this: can’t we all just error on the side of assuming that people didn’t mean it that way?  That maybe most of us are nice people who are really damn funny occasionally put a foot in our mouths?  I’m all for educating others when they need it.  You’ve heard my soap boxes – you know I’m not shy with my opinions.  I’m all for being sensitive to others who have different gifts.  But let’s stop looking for offense.  Don’t we all have enough to worry about in life without finding new things to be angry about?  Even Freud admitted that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

I mentioned that I was doing some Christmas ornaments for the girls.  I didn’t mention that it has taken over my dining room light fixture.  I also didn’t mention what a pain in the ass it has been figuring out how to make this work.  It started last Christmas when I saw hand painted ornaments on Etsy.  I loved them.  I wanted them.  I wasn’t willing to pay $25 each for them.  I thought “Pffft! I can do those myself for a lot less!”  As anyone who has ever walked into a craft store knows those are the ‘famous last words’ people often speak of.

First I tried with some clear balls that we had – too small!  Plus I messed them up royally while testing out different paints on glass.  I couldn’t find the right size at a decent price on line.  In June, Hobby Lobby put out the Christmas stuff and between grumbling over Christmas in June I was grabbing up the big 4” ornaments.

After many false starts with paint that just didn’t work, I finally like the ornaments I am painting enough that I am making them for some family and some friends.  Let me just say that it would have been cheaper and easier to order them from Etsy for $25 each.  I started out thinking I could paint them white with a sponge or brush and some white paint.  How cute is that?  The only way I’ve been successful is spray painting them white so not only is my dining room full of ornaments, so is my garage.  In this one, I found out that one of the brands I used ran when I put the clear coat on.  I’ve also discovered that 90% of glass paint is transparent – even the stuff that claims to be opaque.  But after buying and discarding copious amounts of supplies, I’m finally figuring out what works.

None of the ornaments in the photos that follow has the shiny clear coat on it yet (except Tessa’s) or the ribbon to hang it with.  I’m thinking of selling some as the holidays get closer. (If you think that I should get my head examined for thinking of selling them, feel free to say so in the comments.  But maybe do it anon – I try to act tough but my little feelings get hurt sometimes.)

But I can’t wait to see the new Harry Potter movie!  Steve and I are hoping to sneak out to see it while his parents are visiting in a couple of weeks.

AND I’ve got 4 social engagements in the coming 2 weeks that don’t involve my children!  That is four times I will leave the house all by my little old self.  That is pretty darn exciting my friends.  Maybe that will give me something to blog about.  Heh.

If you like entering giveaways, Mom Central is doing a Summer Giveaway Bonanza.  Each week there will be loads of giveaways you can enter.

This week you can enter to win a box of Crystal Light, a game from GameHouse.com, a 20th Anniversary Super Soaker, a Hoover vacuum, and a pair of kids Crocs sneakers.

Remember last month when I made the butterfly collage for Sabrina’s room? Well, exactly a month later, I finally made Tessa’s crab collage.  The 50% off sale on frames at Hobby Lobby yesterday finally allowed me to buy a frame without guilt.  I spent forever doing a grid for Sabrina’s butterflies so they would all be even and straight.  And I still wasn’t happy with the result.  So this time, I threw my OCD caution to the wind and just eyeballed it.  There are crabs that are a little off but really the butterflies aren’t any straighter.

I learned 2 things through these projects.

1.  This isn’t a good project for someone with a perfectionist streak because trying to get all of these things straight and level and even could drive someone bonkers.  And you might not realize until later that all of the crabs aren’t facing the same way which will cause a huge fight between your inner perfectionist and your inner lazy self.  Lazy won but perfectionist will take note of it every single time it is in my eyesight for the next 15 years.

2.  Unless you have a good sense of humor, don’t give your 2.5 year old left over crab cut outs to play with prior to going out in public.  Because she will go through Kroger gleefully telling strangers “I got crabs!”

One of the things we miss about living in Pittsburgh is our favorite farm market.  When we lived closer to downtown Nashville, we ventured to the big one there several times but haven’t since we moved further away.  We’ve tried one in the town north of us and were frustrated to find little produce and instead lots of handmade soaps, honey and bread.  All of that is fabulous but not what we were looking for.  They have been trying to get one started in our little town but the time we went there were 3 onions, a bell pepper, and some honey.  There is a town about 20 minutes south of us that has a farmers market a couple of days a week.  I decided today was the day I was going to find it.

I loaded the girls up and off we went.  Sabrina insisted on wearing a hat since Tessa had one on.  I was anticipating we might be outside roaming around the market for awhile so I put sunscreen on them, packed up drinks and snacks, loaded the big double stroller in the car and away we went.

After driving quite a bit out of the way and turning around, I finally found the it.  Farmers Market may be rather misleading.  It was more of a farmers stand.  There was one older gentleman with a box of onions.  A woman with a few things under a little canopy. And another older gentleman who had a decent spread of stuff.   We got a nice little assortment even if the market wasn’t quite what I envisioned.  Getting really fresh produce is great and I love supporting local farmers.

My total was $7 and he even carried it to my car since I was carrying Tessa and holding Sabrina’s hand.

Then, we popped into the Hobby Lobby.  Why didn’t anyone ever tell me that place is possibly even more fun than Michael’s?  I had a grand time – and it seemed like every other aisle was filled with things that were 50% off.  I wanted to replace the wreath on our front door.  There was a cute little one at Target that I thought about but then the neighbor across the street put it on her door.  While wondering the Hobby Lobby, I started thinking about making my own but as I gathered items, it started becoming a rather expensive wreath.  Then I saw a great metal star on clearance…Sabrina said we needed it so who was I to argue?  (I need to move my hook up…it is hanging too low.)

Then since we were right there and Sabrina had been so good in Hobby Lobby, we had to pop over to Bruster’s for some ice cream. A good morning was had by all.

Soft Scrub Toilet Gels

For a variety of reasons, I thought I would try these gel things.  You use an plunger to stick it to the side of the bowl above the water line. It is supposed to help keep your toilet “clean and fresh”.

The clean part of the claim I’m on the fence about.  If pressed, I would say they probably helped a little.  But the scent is overwhelming.  My bathroom smelled strongly floral for days. I feel about these the same way I feel about a certain femine product: if it is clean you don’t need to worry about making it smell like a spring meadow.

Verdict: Unless they come out with unscented or a less violently floral scented version, I won’t be buying these again.

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Birdseye Steamfresh Corn.

Corn isn’t something that would deserve a comment in my world.  We rarely eat it.  On the cob – heavenly.  Frozen or canned? Fine but nothing worth discussing.  But I have to say this stuff is the best frozen corn we’ve ever had.  It tastes really close to corn that someone cut off the cob and froze for winter.  It is really fresh tasting.  And my Kroger often has it on sale for $1 a bag.

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Those are my (non prompted or compensated) public service annoucements for this Friday morning.  This momma is going out with the girls tonight and attending a neighborhood picnic tomorrow.  I hope all of you have a fabulous weekend.

A random mish-mash post because being coherent and cohesive is overrated.

On our Memorial Day road trip, I was horrified by the number of people I saw texting while driving.  And I don’t just mean teens.  People of all ages were doing it.  If you want to put the whole “survival of the fittest” theory to the test, can you do it somewhere that won’t result in you taking several families out in your blaze of glory?

Between the texters and the truck drivers** who seemed to think that we were in their office so if we don’t want to get hit we should just stay out of their way and my husband who doesn’t believe in the principles of defensive driving, I was a nervous wreck.  I wish people appreciated that they have a lot of lives in their hands every time they get behind the wheel.  Nothing makes me angier than someone endangering my children because they are being careless.

**I’m not condeming all truck drivers – most are good drivers doing a job…but the ones who are wreckless are frightening.

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I don’t pluck my eyebrows often for the same reason I don’t get tattoos – it hurts.  I don’t like pain.  (Because seriously, I’m going to pay someone to repeatedly stab my skin with a needle?  That seems like something I would pay someone to stop doing.  And I’m not talking pay them a couple of bucks – tattoos are expensive.  The people who tell you that they don’t hurt are lying.  Some people just think the pain is worth it.)  Anywho, back to my eyebrows.  I don’t do them often but the impulse hits at bizarre times.  Usually when I really don’t have time to be doing it so I get one finished and then realize I don’t have time to do the other.  Not a good look.

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I ordered a few things from e.l.f. and was happy with my purchases. You can’t beat the prices – many items are just a buck.  I am really happy with the nail polish to make my toes look pretty in my summer sandals.  But what I liked best was the mineral glow.  In my continuing efforts to be frugal, I haven’t replaced my Bare Essentuals Mineral Veil.  It hurt to spend $19 on it.  But the shimmer mineral glow from e.l.f. for $8 is a very satisfactory substitute.

I will warn you that if you order from them, your inbox will be flooded with offers from them.  They email me at least once a day sometimes 3 or 4.  I was joking last week that I felt like they were stalking me. But the sales are pretty tempting – lots of 50% or free items when you buy.

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A little Sabrina cuteness.  We made brownies last week when Steve was out of town.  She thought it was fabulous.

Tessa started pulling up yesterday (I know!) and Sabrina is so excited that Tessa is getting more fun to play with.  She kept asking Tessa yesterday to play hide and seek with her.  It was incredibly cute.