I really need to stay away from the internets…I keep finding new ways to devour time…time I should be spending working out, or dusting a ceiling fan.
Tonight, while I was looking for some tutorials on making pictorial montages, I came across this site. Oh my, it was like a toy store…so many things to play with, I wasn’t sure where to begin…
But I have a feeling I will be wasting a lot of time playing there…and wasting more time posting the products of my idleness here, where you can waste time looking at it.
This is of course, a question I ask myself often…as I tend to buy way too much of certain items (in fact, I’ve made a list of the top 10 products I purchase to the point of ridiculousness)…but I am rather let’s say frugal, and will often second guess a purchase I am about to make – even if its something I need (like a freakin’ microwave…almost 2 years sans instant reheat-ability now…).
So when I saw what’s up for grabs on the BabySteals site (have you not been? It’s my nirvana for baby indulgences, most notably BabyLegs) I almost clicked “BUY!” right away…then thought some more about it and came here instead.
Today they are selling “Smart Mom Jewlry” …and with Lil’ G’s teeth popping up all over the place, she sure would appreciate the gnawing opportunity. I have my qualms though…first of all, Lil’ G, teething or not, is already fascinated by necklaces…and I often have to pull her hands away and tell her no before she hurts herself or me in her ardent desire to maul my jewelry. I don’t think I want to suddenly turn around encourage her to play with a necklace. Mixed messages and inconsistent parenting and all that. Second, I consider myself to be a clean person (my husband thinks I get a little crazy with the travel soap sometimes) but in reality – how sanitary will a necklace I wear all day really be?And what if perfume and/or lotion get on it? (assuming I had time that day to apply either).
So, while I think it’s an interesting idea…I’m going to pass. It’s just not for me.
Sorry Lil’ G…you’ll have to keep rockin’ out on those fingers.
I may be a tad biased; being the mother of the incredible super awesomeness that is my offspring, but I think it’s pretty fair to say that Lil’ G has the most amazing, stop you in your tracks, blue eyes.
Are they not wondrous?Would you be able to avoid smiling back? I didn't think so.Even when she's rocking out, those eyes still twinkle.I think those gorgeous eyes might be glaring at me...I better stop taking pics now.
And for the record, while it’s agreed I may be biased on the sheer awesomeness of their blue-osity, I did not add color or touch up her eyes in any way. I used the slight sharpen tool on a few and PW’s quick edge burn action on one, but that is it my friends. Lil’ G is 100% authentic baby blue perfection.
Sifting through, I found an idea I know I have to try. She calls it “pizza box storage.” And that’s exactly what it is. She takes clean, unused pizza boxes (I hope my local pizza shop is as generous with their boxes as hers was) and stores 12×12 scrapbook paper in them. Oh, what a great idea.
I’m going to take this idea and expand on it – storing Miss A’s projects and coloring in them (and letting her color on the box as well).
I already use the cardboard circles that come with frozen pizzas for everything from clocks that help teach telling time, to mobile bases, to planets of the solar system. So why not try this as well? Hmm, what other parts of pizza and its components can I use? My sister used to take the little plastic tables they put on pizzas to keep the cheese from sticking to the top of the box and use them as Barbie furniture.
“Poor Man’s?!?” You might be saying…but at around $89, Nintendo’s Wii Fit system costs less than one session with a living breathing personal trainer. (Assuming of course, you already own the Wii system).
I had added the Wii Fit to my wish list thinking, it might be cool to try and I am seriously in need of ways to shrink my ASSets.
So hubby got it for me as a Christmas gift, and I am actually really enjoying it.
Since the balance board is essentially a scale, the first thing I wanted to know was…”CAN I HIDE MY PERSONAL INFO (as in weight and BMI) from the rest of the world?!?” My husband will never tell me his web passwords…and I will never tell him my weight.
I did a little googling, and this was a concern for a great many. The short answer is – yes. You can keep your personal info secret with password protection. Concerned as to what my “Mii” character would look like once the stats were added, I test drove it using a chubby looking character my daughter created…an imaginary friend she named “Tina.” I had considered using the Henry VIII mii my husband created, but didn’t think that would be very good for my self-esteem.
Then I did myself (and, thankfully, the Melonie Mii did not inflate like a balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.)
So now I rotate between the two characters, using Tina for Yoga, and Melonie for strength and balance training.
Now that we have that most important issue out of the way – more about the system.
If you are in decent shape, than the cardio option won’t be much of a challenge for you. I broke a slight sweat during the super hula hoop game, but snoozed through the step aerobics and rhythm boxing. They have running too (my 5 year old loves the 10 minute free run option) but I just don’t like it. I prefer the treadmill…or even better a run outdoors. That’s what I have to target next…my cardio – I was doing awesome while in the BiggestLoser contest (and won, btw) but once the carrot (or in this case, the nearly $500) wasn’t dangling at the end of the stick anymore…my drive to squeeze in some running EVERYDAY NO MATTER WHAT sort of disappeared.
But back to the Wii – what I do really like is the Yoga. Once you unlock all the poses, you have a 30 minute yoga workout that hits all the areas: back, legs abs, etc. What is awesome about this system is the way the balance board displays how well you hold a pose and if you are properly aligned or not…pretty important to performing yoga correctly and reaping the benefits. However the music is rather lame, it reminds me of something you’d hear in one of those videos you’re forced to watch about employee responsibilities and rights at a crappy mall job. To bypass this, I burned a cd and play that while I workout. If you need some good ideas for yoga tunes, check out my top 10 page.
The balance games are actually quite fun, my favorites are the soccer (I scored a 500 yesterday!) and the table tilt. (You have to watch someone try this game, it is most hilarious.)
The strength training exercises are so-so. Some of them: like the plank, the push-up with side lift, and the jack knife are great and like yoga, hold you accountable for proper form and balance. A few others, like the triceps dips, don’t transfer well to the system, and I’d prefer to just do stuff like that on my own with weights.
All in all though, I’d have to say the system is a success for me. I like that it keeps track of how long I exercise (you earn credits in a “fit bank”) and chides me if I miss a day or two. Most mornings I have managed to fit in a 20-50 minute workout before Lil’ G wakes up, and that is quite the success indeed.
I am always amazed at the speed in which my daughter can make a new friend. She is a naturally gregarious person and has a knack for remembering people’s names. And, let me just say, the girl is NOT shy. This really comes in handy when we go to the park on our own (as in, not meeting up with anybody for a pre-arranged parkdate). Within a few minutes, Miss A finds some kids to buddy up and run around with, and I can park it on a bench and enjoy the fresh air for a minute. Once or twice, she has tried to join a group of older boys playing – who really didn’t appreciate it, and told her so in the gentle manner of 8-10 year old boys…and she came to me crying. I think she was shocked that someone in the world would actually not want to play with her. I hugged and soothed her and took her on the swings, and in no time, she had found someone closer to her age. When we left, the boy ran after her calling, “Come back to play soon! Goodbye! I love you!”
The other day we went on a shopping trip to Ikea (I needed stuff to help complete the mini-stage for Miss A in our basement…more on that later) and the line was – surprise! – long. Do yourself and your sanity a favor and never try shopping at Ikea on a Saturday.
Anyways, so to keep Miss A amused while I waited in line my husband took her to get a drink.
While in THAT long line, Miss A happened to see a girl wearing the same pink Hello Kitty watch that she had on (not that surprising, since she got it at, gasp!, MickeyDee’s). That was enough for the two girls to launch into their life stories. By the time Aishtyn came back with her drink, she was planning sleepover parties.
Wouldn’t it be cool if we could maintain that ability as we got older? We’re in line at the grocery store, and see that someone else has the same babysling or whatever and bam! we’ve made a friend for life.
I admit it, I’m a magazine junkie. Back in the day when my heart went pitter-pat for NKOTB (see #53)I would spend wads of babysitting money on TeenBeat, TuttiFrutti, Bop and other glossy homages to the teen idols I so adored. I would pull out the posters to adorn my walls, cut out special articles like the ones that had info on Jordan’s favorite things to do on a date (I just knew that would come in handy when he saw me at his concert and fell in love with me), and paste the covers in a photo album. (Photo albums I may still have somewhere in my garage…oh yes I may)
Nowadays, as in – my life as a 30-something mom vs. a tweeny-something junior high girl, I still enjoy buying magazines. I’m not much for t.v. , so in many ways magazines function like t.v. for me: lots of info in little quick tidbits. Much like a channel surfer, I will flip quickly through a magazine, stopping here and there to skim an article, but never staying with a story long enough to get, well, the full story. Perhaps this is why for years I was loathe to part with any of my glossy reading material. I always planned to go back and read this or that, I really wanted to hold on to that banana bread recipe, and wow, but you never knew when that article on potty training was going to come in handy. So I would save them…and as I usually have subscriptions to at least 3 magazines at any one time, my collection (and my bookshelves) fill up fast.
When we moved out of our townhome, I went through a forced purge and, refusing to be ridiuclous enough to PACK several year’s worth of women’s health magazines, I tossed them all into a Free Pile at our moving sale, then dumped what didn’t go into the recycling bin.
Recently, I realized that I have been building the same dangerous tower of triteness in this home…and I refuse to teeter into that trap (oh, yes, I loves the alliteration). Reading a magazine cover to cover, even in a week’s time, is a highly unlikely prospect considering the juggling act I call life…so, instead, I still do the skim routine I so love (I really do find it relaxing actually, especially if the reading time involves a latte and some bright morning sunshine…on a morning when both girls are still asleep). When I come across an article I like: such as a running routine I’d like to try, a recipe for LOWFAT cheesecake I want to save for a bad pms day, or some great craft ideas I could implement for Miss A’s homeschool – I simply rip it out and file it.
When I say “file” I am not referring to giant office-y looking things…I simply have a 3 folder system…
Aren't they cute? I love shopping for folders.
In which I have labeled with something a little more specific than “stuff” and a little more general than “Meals for Summer Evenings”
Just "Crafts" "Fitness" & "Recipes"...I may have to add a "Home" file, for decorating, gardening, and what not
So as I read, if I see something I know I’ll like, I just tear it out and add it to the appropriate folder.
When the folder starts to get too full, I move the collected pages to a larger 3ring binder (I keep a recipe binder by my cookbooks, a craft binder with the homeshool stuff, etc). The binders aren't as pretty, so I won't show them to you.
Then I pack up the de-filed (ha!) magazines and drop them off at Little Gym for other moms to read. (I apologize if you got excited about the “10 Best Ab Moves!” advertised on the cover, only to find the page to be MIA).
Since I have had this system in place, I am proud to say I can usually zip through a month’s worth of literature in a few days.
And I am even more proud to say that I have not put more publications onto the pile I previously started…and am in fact, slowly working towards reducing that as well.
Maybe in a fit of wild abandon I’ll drag them out of the basement and throw ’em into the garage sale we’re getting set to have this spring.
Need some reading material? Do you lust after old issues of Better Homes & Gardens?
Come check the free pile at my garage sale.
Just don’t bury yourself under your own pile. I don’t want to be an enabler or something.
Just Ask Lil’ G, who tosses them with aplomb as if playing fetch with some imaginary canine. Or ask Lil’ G’s Dada…who, after observing this behavior a few times decided to investigate…and upon tasting said biscuit declared, “Ugh! These things taste like dog treats!” How he knows what dog treats taste like is something I prefer not to ask, so I’ll take his word for it. Figuring I did buy a whole box of these premium organic teething biscuits and Lil’ G is, well, teething…I thought I’d try one last time.
She wasn't at all sure about it, but she's game enough at first...Then she begins to remember, "Oh yes...these wretched things."Being a good sport, she pauses to consider the taste, the texture, or "numminess" if you will.She carefully examines the specimen, noting it's appearance.At this point, she decides to offer it to me instead.Attempting to convince me of it's allure, she shows me how tasty the biscuit is."Mama, really! It's so yummy and delicious.""Now c'mon Mama, you know you want a bite."I am not fooled, however...and she is irked by the realization that her plan has failed.So she launches PLAN B: brute force.Foiled in this attempt by her high chair restraints, she considers her options...while maintaining a convincing air of innocence.Casually, she initiates her fall-back plan.Her plan in full swing, she artfully employs a visual distraction, pretending to focus on something else. Mission accomplished."What did you expect, Mom? Those things taste like dog food."
Melonie Johnson 
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