Rocks In My Dryer

Warm Fuzzies? From LOST? Yep.

Normally, I want answers from Lost episodes, and if (when) I don't get them, I feel frustrated.  But not tonight.  I didn't CARE that there was basically no new information, because MY WORD, I was just so warm and fuzzy and chuckly from all the dialogue and character development.  I have always loved Sawyer's one-liners, but tonight?  The man was in rare form.  When Jin spoke English and Sawyer said, "Hey, look who's Hooked On Phonics?"...well, I laughed out loud.  And Lost never makes me laugh out loud. 

Then there was the whole Hurley-regaining-faith-in-humanity storyline--that warmed my heart.  Our big dude deserves a break from all the cosmic bad luck, don't you think?  Watching him and Charlie race down that hillside put a big, stupid grin on my face.  (Even though you KNOW there's no way the battery or gasoline would've still worked in a car that old.)

There aren't any mysteries to discuss tonight, I suppose, since none were really raised.  Just good, solid character development.  That is some fine television, my friends.

Your thoughts?

Moms For Modesty Update

For those of you with Moms for Modesty buttons on your sidebar, there has been a slight change in the URL for the "host" petition. Please take a moment to update it with the revised URL:

http://www.everydaymommy.net/everyday-mommy/2006/9/5/moms-for-modesty/

You can find the complete button code here.

Works For Me: Celebrating Spring

I think I've made it pretty clear how I feel about winter.  As far as I'm concerned, it's the necessary evil we must all trudge through to pass the time between college football season and St. Patrick's Day.  When winter does finally shed its sorry self, I feel like celebrating--don't you?

Add to this my inability to stomach the over-commercialization of Easter (I can't quite fathom what this has to do with this.)  So we do things a little differently around here.

Instead of doing the bunny and egg dealie on Easter, we have a celebration-to-end-all-celebrations on the first day of spring (March 21st, this year).  We color eggs, we hunt for them, we do silly little gifts and (the highlight of the day!) we bake a bunny-shaped cake that the kids get to decorate (instructions here).  Basically, we do all the more secular Easter traditions on the first day of spring. 

This little family tradition serves several purposes.  First, it frees up Easter to focus on the real reason we celebrate.  Secondly, the kids still get all the fun of egg hunts and the like, albeit at a slightly different time.  Thirdly, it just feels right to celebrate spring, that old friend who faithfully returns to make me feel a little lighter each year.  My kids love this tradition and start talking about it weeks ahead of time.  And I already have a humdinger of a celebration in the planning stages (this year the first day of spring falls during spring break, which will make for an even bigger event in years past).

Have a clever idea you'd like to share with all of Bloggityville?  Post a link to your post below.  Guidelines for participation in Works-For-Me Wednesday can be found here.

IMPORTANT REMINDER:  Next Wednesday, March 7th, is WFMW: The Kitchen Edition!  Have a clever way you organize your recipes?  Plan your meals?  Stock your pantry?  Clean your appliances?  Please share your clever kitchen ideas with us.

For All You Crafty Sorts Out There...

Look at this craft room, and then wipe the drool off your chin.  Couldn't you just EAT THIS UP?

Don't Miss This Great Post

"I once said to a friend of mine that if I wasn't a Christian and did the rounds of a number of blogs first thing in the morning, I would come away thinking I never want to join a church....I can think of many examples where the Christian community has been there for me, or has extended me in learning ways to be there for others. Love with skin on. The city on a hill is not a shack in disrepair that we can deride at will. It is the apple of God's eye, and is precious to him. I think we could encourage each other with examples of our community life, and present a more accurate and balanced perspective."

Read more at All Things 2 All

True

There was never a child so lovely but his mother was glad to get him to sleep.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Item #497 In the Category Of Sentences I Never Expected To Hear

Me: [Calling up the stairs.]  Is Corrie up there with you boys?

Adam:  [Answering back.]  Yes, she's just in here licking the CDs.

Product Review: Kiddio Adventures

Kiddio Adventures publishes is a "radio theater"-type productions for children.  It's a series of recordings about a gravelly-voiced bear named Billy Brown.  He's an adult bear, and he's responsible and very kind--this is a nice feature, since adults are often portrayed as ineffective, even in children's media.  The episode my kids and I listened to is called Billy Brown and the Mystery Package.

My review of this product is a mixed one.  Overall, the quality was excellent, and the storyline was full of life lessons without being preachy (some of the ideas introduced included how the post office works, the importance of teamwork, why you should know your address, what kind of information is available on the internet, etc.) 

In fact, I was so impressed with the quality of the product that I was surprised when, about halfway through the episode, one of the characters exclaimed (in a moment of shock) "oh my G*d, oh my G*d, oh my G*d!"  Now, I realize that not everyone finds that offensive, but I thought it was inappropriate in a recording geared toward upper-preschool and lower-elementary aged children (since so many parents--including me--do not want their kids to use God's name this way).  So I wrote my contact at the company and explained my concern. 

He could not have been more gracious, and he agreed with me that it was an oversight on their part.  He immediately put in motion plans to remedy this, and he just wrote me last week to explain that they've called in the voice-over actress to re-record that line for future production of that episode (none of the other episodes contain that word, she assured me).  The existing copies of that episode cannot be changed, of course, but future copies will be fixed. 

And so, while the initial inclusion of that phrase was a bit troubling to me, the company's quick response and obvious committment to customer service was impressive.  And except for that one phrase, the overall quality was excellent.  The price is certainly right at only $10.99 a disc.  I'm factoring in all these issues to come up with a 3.5-rocks rating.

For more information on Kiddio Adventures, visit their website. 

My policy on product reviews can be found here.

New Design Is Up!

My new design is up!  If you're reading this in Bloglines, stop in and tell me what you think.  If you don't like it, don't worry--I'm sure I'll be stirring it up again in a few months.  If you think THIS change is drastic, you should see what I did to my hair last week.  I'm so blonde I think you could see me from outer space.  Spring fever is definitely here...

If you're on my blogroll and you're wondering what happened to it, please notice that it's still there via a link to the left (see the funky little flowers?  Click on the 6th one down!) 

(Okay, so I've learned the new design didn't "take" in Firefox...here's hoping it just needs a while to catch up.  If you're a Firefox user, let me know if you can see the new design.)

Anyone Interested?

Here's this story call-out from Chicken Soup for the Soul:

Chicken Soup for the Adopted Soul is collecting true stories sharing the love, laughter, longing, and life events of adopted families. We are eager to read stories written by kids, parents, extended families and friends, recounting tales of becoming a family, growing up, special occasions, reunions, etc. Please share your heart-warming, insightful, humorous and powerfully moving stories that will make readers laugh, cry, or sigh.

The submission deadline is May 31, 2007, for release in March, 2008. Submit stories (1000 words or less) on line at www.ChickenSoup.com, Submit a Story.

I know that several of you are adoptive parents, and I'm sure you have some wonderful stories you could submit for publication.  Go for it!