Having announced that Monday Muse will make its return debut next week, I went back and looked at some of the MM archives – and realized I have made some great “web friends” via MM – ladies whose work I admire, and whom I often take a little time from my over-scheduled day to visit their sites, read their posts – check out their art, and catch up with their life.
Ladies like Miss Aimee and Bella Sinclair, who always make me smile when they stop by and say hi here as well.
One of my earliest Monday Muse posts struck home fresh and true all over again as I read it tonight, while my oldest was nagging for me to get started on our weekly piano lesson and the younger was hanging on my arm with her own list of demands. If you are a mama with a passion to create who has ever felt a moment of frustration with your children and the restrictions their needs place on your time, I think you’ll appreciate this Monday Muse post.
Then come back next week to soak up some inspiration and meet the first Monday Muse of 2011 – yes we’re 3 months in – but I hate January and February, so we can pretend those didn’t happen.
After a very very long hiatus, the Monday Muse is coming back.
Now, I can’t promise I’ll have my peas and carrots together enough to post a new muse each Monday, (I am trying to finish a novel here folks…and run a business, and take care of two red headed females (myself not included in that number)but I’m going to shoot for at least one awesome Mama each month.
To celebrate the return of the Monday Muse, I even made a nifty new button that’s not actually a button because I still need to figure out how to make a real button. Using free digital materials available at the cute website Shabby Princess, I played a bit on PhotoShop and came up with this:
I know, it looks Holly Hobbie, but hey - I dig that Praire Girl.
I have a couple of incredible muses lined up – from published authors to incredibly talented crafty women who are a part of my everyday life to ladies I have never met but with whose work I fell in love with on Etsy – I promise a little something for everyone.
Well, actually I don’t promise that. But if you enjoy finding inspiration in stories about other mamas just like you – women who juggle the daily grind while making time for their art and room for their passion – then I think I can make good on my promise.
1. Seeing as many websites and blogs host their giveaways on Friday, I often include links to a giveaway or two on the FFF. Today there are some great ones: awesome prizes for an awesome cause: first up, from Today’s Mama: they are giving away an 21.5″ iMac with iPhoto and iMovie and iWantToWinIt! The great news is, all you need to do to enter the contest is show support for JustAsk, a group that advocates early screening tests for your personal potential risk for developing breast cancer. Check out the post on Today’s Mama for all the info. Another giveaway connected to Just Ask is from Tip Junkie – who is giving away a Canon Rebel SLR camera!!! I want one of these like you have no idea – even though my idol, PW, prefers Nikon, I like Canon better.
2. On the topic of breast cancer, a dear friend of mine has decided to participate in the 3Day walk in Arizona and is collecting donations. I know it’s hard to give to everyone and everything, but if you feel so inclined, here is a link to her donation page. Every little bit helps! She is now more than half way to her goal, and mentioned she was trying to think of ways to raise more money. I told her to dress her big ol’ dog Gus up in a pink bikini and take him door to door asking for change – she asked me how much wine I was drinking these days.
3. Back here in the MidWest, I have several friends who participate in the Chicago 3Day. Every summer before the walk one of the girls hosts a Bunco night to raise a few extra bucks. Bunco for Boobies! It’s a wonderful way to hang out with friends while raising money for a great cause. Last summer we each got these adorable hand painted wine glasses as a thank-you gift:
This is not an actual picture of the glass I received, but a very nice substitute I found on Google. I promise to take a pic of the real glass and post it soon.
4. For my friend in #2, I was able to donate a bit more than I had planned because I saved a load of cash another way, proving that unless the question involves your ass and a pair of pants, it never hurts to ask. Case in point, last Saturday I took the husband on a hot date – we went to Best Buy to shop in peace without the usual screaming and chasing involved when taking our girls to a store. I got myself a sweet new wireless all-in-one printer. Kodak was offering a special deal – bring in any old printer (any brand) to be recycled, and take $50 off the purchase of a new Kodak printer (and that is on top of any weekly sale price). With a deal this great, of course the printers were not in stock and I had to have mine shipped out. Before I left to pick it up mid-week, I checked the BB website for ink deals and hey-o, the price on the printer I had just purchased had dropped another $30! Many stores offer a price match guarantee if a price changes within a certain amount of time from the purchase date, but I was a bit worried that with the recycling discount I had also received they would say “Are you kidding me? No way lady, get your cheap ass out of my store!” But, like I said – it doesn’t hurt to ask. And go me – because I walked out of there with my printer and a $30 gift card! If you’re shopping for a new printer, the Kodak recycling credit ended this week – I think – but I believe HP is running a similar offer.
5. And finally, because I know you have to be wondering just from the title of this blog post…Lil’ G and the poop in her pop. A few weeks ago I was at the drive-up window at the bank where the very nice tellers are always sure to include a treat for the girls in the canister (it might have something to do with the fact that on more than one occasion Miss A has leaned out the window and shouted at the top of her lungs into the teller speaker thingie, asking if they have any red lollipops.) This particular trip the teller gave the girls Tootsie Roll pops. Lil’ G had yet to encounter such a thing. Which is why, a few miles down the road, I hear from the back seat, “Poop!” Let me tell you, that word, shrieked by a two year old, strikes terror into a mother’s heart – especially when that mother is doing 55 and has no way of launching a fecal seek and destroy mission. Cringing, I ask her “What poop? Where’s poop?” Please, don’t faint from the eloquence of my speech. Lil G’s repsonse was “Poop in my lollipop!” Which really freaked me out til I looked in the rear view mirror to see her holding up her tootsie pop, with the fudgy center exposed – looking for all the world, like, well…poop. “Oh no, honey, that’s not poop – that’s candy.”
There is a lot to be said for the kind of trust children have at this age. “Oh, candy?” she asked me, eying the sucker for just a moment more before popping it back in her mouth.
Hopefully, the “Not poop/candy” issue won’t come back to haunt me in some horrible way. Don’t laugh: we’ve recently launched potty training and the danger is very real.
We had a day off from school a week ago and after I dragged them to the gym so I could work out I took the girls for a quick treat before heading to a ceramics studio for some painting fun.
I know I gripe about motherhood alot, but I am so happy with my sweet little family – my two girls, who often refer to each other as simply “Sister” fill my life in amazing ways, big and small. Here I made use of my rarely used camera phone and snapped a pic of them sharing that most beloved of beverages – chocolate milk.
I’m glad I caught the darling moment on my cell phone camera – moments later they were arguing over which straw belonged to who.
I wonder if it’s my fault that both my girls ADORE chocolate milk the way they do – it was one of my few cravings while pregnant. Though with Miss A I craved fresh pineapple like crazy and she won’t touch the stuff. Hmm.
IHeartFaces Weekly Photo Challenge is camera pics – and since I loved this recent pic enough to make it my current FB profile, I figured why not? And submitted it just under the wire (entries close at 9pm).
2. Recently I realized something weird that I never thought about before – I knew it, but didn’t think about it – does that make sense? Both my dad and my husband’s father were born in the same month, and both my mom and my husband’s mom were also born in the same month. I wonder if there is something to that…beyond getting all our parental gift giving away in short order. Maybe if I actually believed in horrorscopes and stuff I’d be more excited about this realization.
3. I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. It seems for the last several weeks my family keeps passing a sore throat, stuffy nose and swollen glands around and around and around. Last night I tried gargling with Bourbon, I was so tired of the icky pain in my throat. (FYI – It didn’t work) Unlike the husband, who keeps a medicinal bottle on hand, I can’t drink the stuff straight since it makes me want to hurl – and as that’s one symptom I haven’t had lately, I’m not going to add it now. What about you? Any tried and true remedies for sore throats?
4. After thinking and talking and talking and thinking about it – I finally need to take action. My hair, long and wavy and auburn, is a source of pride for me – but the gray (or in my case WHITE) is taking over and I can’t hide it anymore and certainly can’t ignore it! I need to do something about it. But I am scared of messing up one of my favorite features…all tips-suggestions-ideas-advice-warnings-etc as to how to proceed with coloring my hair and getting rid of the gray are welcome. And no, cutting out just the gray parts isn’t an option.
5. I hate February…I mean really, really hate it. This time of year is my least favorite. The weather sucks, everyone is sick, the snow is a nasty gross slush – spring and warmth and green and sunshine feels so very far away. In the “one day…” pile, I tell myself that one day I will be able to check out of February, and escape somewhere warm and relaxing for 28 days. Because really, that’s the only good thing about this month: it’s shorter than all the rest.
This image courtesy of a FB page for people who hate February. I'm serious, there is such a thing.Friday Fast FiveGiveaways
1. If you have read the last few posts o’ mine – you may have noticed the area in which I reside was bombarded with a heckuvalot of snow. And woo-hoo! We are supposed to get more this weekend! I don’t know where the snow is going to go…but I fear it may still be here in May when Lil’ G turns 3.
2. Speaking of Lil’ G – that girl has more drama than her mama. And I have a heckuvalot of drama, (see how I managed to use my made up word again?) they don’t call me The Original Drama Mama for nothin’. So, last night Lil’ G went all Godzilla on her train table. When she came downstairs this morning my husband asked her what happened – she broke into tears, her gorgeous blue eyes pools of despair and sweet little lips trembling, she cried, “Oh my train, my train, what happened?!?” Then the little stinker had the audacity to turn to Miss A and say “Sister did it!” Oh, art of manipulation – how early thy is learned.
3. On a less nefarious note, lately Lil’ G has taken to making phone calls. Her conversations always begin roughly the same way, “Hi Dada (or Nana, or whomever). I Gwyn!” The other day she had her play phone and made a call to her best buddy in the whole world (if you don’t count Dora and the Wonder Pets). The conversation began as usual, “Hi Sammy, I Gwyn!” then after a pause, as if listening to a comment from her pal, she continued with this blithe response “My diaper’s fine.” Hmm. Ok then. It makes sense, I suppose – after all, I suspect the condition of one’s diaper is of upmost importance to a two year old.
Lil' G and gal pal Ms S
4. I finally managed to join a gym for the first time since Miss A was younger than Lil’ G. I am so happy I did it – Lil’ G plays with other kids while I workout instead of zoning out in front of the t.v. or throwing toys at me while I’m on treadmill from over the gate I put up to keep her out of the workout room. A few days ago I tried Zumba for the first time, it was a heckuvalot of fun. (ha! did it again). Sure beats trying to run outside like this crazy person:
5. A couple of weeks back I mentioned the end of a series of books I had been following. Well, I finally had a chance to read the book and, though some may say I can’t be a true fan of the author and feel this way – I say you don’t lie and tell your friends they look great when they decide it’s time for harem pants to make a comeback. From the get go the Fever series was not my favorite, I’m not much of an Urban Fantasy (aka: UF) person – but I thought it was awesome of KMM to follow her own path and write what she felt compelled to write – not what her readers demanded. So I followed her along the journey she started with DarkFever, and thought I would reach the end as she had promised with ShadowFever. Unfortunately, as the book itself says “The end…for now…” the series ain’t over. She has a contract for 3 more Fever books, and left holes and dangling hooks all over ShadowFever – which I felt was not fair to her readers. If she wants to keep writing in this new world she created, that is fine – but don’t promise a complete series and then end it in such a fashion. I felt a bit, well, taken advantage of. I suppose I like my HEA’s too much, which is why after finishing SF I loaded Spell of the Highlanderonto my ipod and have been enjoying listening to that this week while I shoveled snow (see #1) and worked out (see #4).
This dude showed up on my front porch this morning and promised me a ride to Starbucks.
Tell the husband and kids I love them, but the temptation was just too great.
Seriously though, I have a really hard time buying into meteorologist mania and I refuse to let the media whip me into a frenzy – but I have to say, this time – the reality lived up to the hype. We got an insane amount of snow dumped on us overnight – and lawsy, but it’s still a’comin’.
So what’s a girl to do? I shoved (and I mean SHOVED) my front door open a bit and started playing in the snow with my vintage Star Wars figures.
Maybe it was that flashback feeling I was having to the 80’s when I remember the snow being up to my armpits once. (yeah, ok, so I was a short kid – but still).
I plan to whip out Luke & Leia in Hoth gear next…who knows, by the time I’m done, I’ll have re-created the entire opening scene of ESB…
Not like I got anything better planned for today.
I think I’m gonna ask my new friend if he can hitch a plow to that sweet ride of his.
Well, it’s official. Miss A’s school closed early today and canceled school for tomorrow as well. By tomorrow morning we are supposed to be buried under the worst snow storm in 40 years. Oh the hyperbole! But, since I’m now stuck at home with a husband “working” from home tucked away in his office upstairs, I get the joys of a crabby 2 year old who needs a nap but won’t take it. A seven year old who keeps sneaking more Doritos after I tell her to put them away…fights between the two of them over what show gets picked off of the Netflix cue (Wonder Pets vs Wizards of Waverly Place!). Oh, and Lil G just demanded I clean the cookie crumbs out of her belly button. Yep – 2 hours into our “Snowed In” adventure, and I’m ready for a drink.
Look, it even has "Winter" right in the title! It's Perfect!
Don’t worry, I’ll pull it together in a little while. I’ll hide the snacks and make a decent dinner, turn off the t.v. and try and find some other way to keep the girls busy; one idea you might want to break out if you find yourself snowed in as well is something I came up with awhile back after seeing something in the Land of Nod catalog: let your kids go wild and color all over the walls! (Well, not exactly, you’d need something stronger than a beer after that!)
With some poster board and a black sharpie you can set up a wall of “frames” that your kids can doodle in to their hearts content.
So, if you are somewhere Mother Nature is blasting with a not-so-gentle-reminder that it’s February 1st and we’re in the dead of winter – I hope all your loved ones arrive home safe and sound – be smart and stay home if you can, pour a drink, relax and don’t think about all the shoveling that’s waiting for you.
Melonie Johnson 
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