Rocks In My Dryer

SO Lost.

Well, that was the most intense hour of television I have ever watched in my life.  I actually watched it standing up.  And because I don't want to forget any of this stuff, I'm going to jump right in.  Let's go, Losties...

First of all, who is "The Oceanic Six"?  Obviously, only six of them came back from the island.  Anyone want to guess who it was?  I'm betting Jack, Kate and Hurley (those three we KNOW).  I bet the other three are Locke (I predict he was the one in the casket in the season closer last time), Juliet and Jack's dad.  Yep, Jack's dad.  Remember in the season closer last time, he spoke as if his dad were alive--so it has to be him.

Or maybe not.  It is Lost, after all.

Poor Hurley.  Dude.  The poor guy is tormented.  The scene next to the Creepy Hut was so scary, and I don't think he imagined it--he couldn't have.  He didn't know it existed! 

Here's a random thought--you know the scene where Hurley and Charley were talking in the hospital, and then Hurley "made" him disappear?  And off the in the distance of that scene, there was the back of a woman's head, and she had a long blonde braid?  I bet that was Libby.  I read on a message board last season that we hadn't seen the last of Libby.  But then again, wouldn't that be madness?

Does anyone else wonder why Kate isn't worried about being re-arrested after rescue?  It seems like she would NOT want to get off that island. 

Also, whose eye was that peeking out of the peephole in the Creepy Hut?  Locke?  Who was the guy in the mental institution?  Are the original Losties (the ones who left with Locke) still alive on the island?  And if they are, how did Hurley get back with Jack and Kate? 

Oh my word, I can hardly wait until next week. 

Fire away, y'all--what did you think? 

These Are the Things I Think About When I Should Be Working

1.  I wonder how far you can stretch the limits of Mr. Linky before smoke starts blowing out the sides?

2.  Should you tip the car hop at Sonic?

3.  I hope I look like Cindy McCain when I'm 53.  Heck, I hope I look like Cindy McCain tomorrow.

4.  Is there really--really--any good reason to spend more than 99 cents on a toothbrush? 

5.  I wonder if I was too harsh yesterday when I told a certain child of mine that if he rolled his eyes at me again I would remove them from his head? 

6.  I wonder if political candidates get tired of saying the exact same sentences over and over?  And over?

7.  I think that Yo Gabba Gabba has easily squeezed out Doodlebops and Teletubbies as Most Obnoxious Preschool Show In History.

8.  Tonight is the premiere of Lost!  Squeeeal!  I'm totally posting on it tomorrow. 

9.  Six-year-old Stephen just asked me how many cups of sugar it takes to get to the moon.  Hm.  I'm going to be working on that one all day....

Part Two of the Podcast

Part Two of the Blogging Basics podcast on etiquette is up here.  This one is a quickie, and it's on grammar.  And if possible, my voice has grown more nasally since Part One.

Works For Me: Homemade Valentines

I have three school-aged children, each with roughly 25 kids in their class.  Add to that the 15 kids in my daughter's preschool class, and that's a lot of valentines to prepare. 

Since I have so much extra time these days, I thought I'd personally crochet 90 little Valentine-themed afghans and bake 90 boxes of homemade, perfectly-iced cookies. 

Oh, I hope you know how I jest.

This is an especially busy few weeks for our family, and I didn't feel like over-seeing the signing of 90 store-bought cards.  Instead, this year I created Valentines on the computer, and I printed them out on cardstock.  The boys are cutting them out, taping a dollar-store pencil to the back of each one (12 pencils for $1!  Score!), and we are DONE.  And nobody had to mass-sign anything.  They turned out really cute, too.  The boys' cards all look the same (except for the name, of course):

For some extra girly fun, I even tied a ribbon on Corrie's:

(And no, I don't normally organize my kids' valentines two weeks early.  I'll be out of town the country the hemisphere during the school valentine parties, and while my husband is a wonderful, hands-on father, he draws the line at valentines.)

Have a WFMW tip you'd like to share with the blogosphere?  Leave your link below.  Remember to look through the guidelines, especially if this is your first time to participate.  As always, thanks for playing along!

NEXT WEEK'S WFMW is a themed edition--we'll all be listing our favorite on-line stores.  Whether it's your favorite source of good bargains or unusual products, post your links of best places to shop on the web.  The marketing people will love us for this.

Was your link deleted? CLICK HERE.

1. Ashlyn (Missing Baby Socks) 2. The Diaper Diaries (be a good mom) 3. Christa @ No End in Site (Rewarding kids\' good behavior while shopping) 4. Daiquiri (Cheap Kids\' Fun) 5. Sarah K (perfect cookies!) 6. OW (creativity for children’s mealtime) 7. MamaGeek (Free College Money) 8. TNS (We love Wii) 9. OW (creativity for children’s mealtime) 10. Anne Glamore (old school parenting) 11. Infinity Goods (Junk Mail) 12. lisa (get rid of canker sores) 13. Wired For Noise (better cat litter) 14. Mrs Pear (What side to gas car up) 15. Carol (Keep your eyeliner from smearing) 16. Infinity Goods (Purpose Driven Life) 17. Heidi (10 min meatloaf) 18. Mom Is Teaching (get more blog visitors) 19. Michelle at Scribbit (Valentine\'s Ideas) 20. Keren @ Mill Musings (Tour of My Coupon and More Organizer 21. Ronnica (Early Reading Game) 22. ellen b 23. A Juggling Mum (Clothes) 24. Hotomom (Mom\'s Disney Panel) 25. Capturing Today (knife storage magnet) 26. Allison (Have a question?) 27. Peggie (giveaway suggestions) 28. Beth @ The Natural Mommy (Cheater Cleaning) 29. Stretch Mark Mama (Natural Bathroom Cleaner) 30. ToddleBits (Happier Mealtimes) 31. Miriam (Foiling Toddler Escapes) 32. Many Little Blessings (Recording Your Family History) 33. At A Hen\'s Pace (cold leather couches, chilly house) 34. Lisa (easy fast lasagna) 35. Christy (Clean your Washer) 36. jennifer (Kid Valentine\'s Day Table) 37. phyllis (great read!) 38. The Nourishing Gourmet-quinoa chicken crockpot stew 39. Becky (Puzzle Storage) 40. Jenne (Easier Meal Planning) 41. Michele (The Perfect Biscuit) 42. Jack\'s Mommy (Keeping Your Bathroom Guest-Ready) 43. Kristin (Clean Shower) 44. Aubrey (Cool, inexpensive gift) 45. Elizabeth (boys cowlicks) 46. LeeAnn (aka Frazzmom) Travel essentials 47. Totallyscrappy (gifts for teachers) 48. Mrs. Fussypants\' Guide to Life ( How to NOT raise a spoiled brat in a funny way! ) 49. Dena\'s Deliberations (Strewing) 50. Mamacita (fantastic thrift store directory) 51. Not the Queen (wall decor, part 2) 52. Jenn @ Adventures in Poop 53. Susan@Don\'t Ask Why... (duct tape) 54. The Thrifty Blogger (natural remedy) 55. Christine (three tips for taking great pics of your children) 56. Nadine (store used sewing machine needles) 57. Lindsay @ Passionate Homemaking (frugal valentine ideas) 58. Robin (cutting fingernails) 59. Duckabush Blog (Computer Time Rationing) 60. Jasmine31 ( Make brown sugar! ) 61. Digital Daydreams (finding time for crafts) 62. Domestically Blissed (50\'s style end of day routine) 63. K: Envelopes for Lists 64. Rag-Tag Believer (to-do list and computer time) 65. Lindsay @ Passionate Homemaking (frugal valentine ideas) 66. MomOnTheGo (household)

67. Martie\'sHouse(Mom of 9 keeps house CLEAN) 68. Abbey (Entertaining Babies-Toddlers) 69. Amy @ By His Grace (Unconventional Garage Storage) 70. Mrs. Who (100-calorie snack) 71. Hadias (Pre-made mixes) 72. Niki (new use for denture tablets) 73. Shalee (Just Let Go!) 74. Cindy @ ValuesDrivenFamly.com (Enjoying Your Kids) 75. Vickie@PursuingSimplicity (Valentine Time Savers) 76. Sara(Laundry - Cold Water) 77. Andrea@Braun Family Circus (managing cords) 78. fullheartandhands mama (Switching Handbags Made Easier) 79. Feminine Pursuits (Money maker!) 80. Edi(keeping a journal for kids) 81. Sarah (Rising Bread Dough Quicker) 82. Clappy Shoes-tax information organization 83. Multitasking Mama (Prep Bowls) 84. Candace (Dinner Co-op) 85. Biblical Womanhood (Structure your day for efficiency) 86. Missy\'s Hubby (Nothing) 87. Cyndi (saving favorite childhood books) 88. Mrs. G (dry hands help) 89. Mommin\' It Up (10 minute exercise) 90. Tiffany (Books) 91. Lorraine (Noiseless Alarm Clock) 92. Shannon @ A Reforming Mom (the BEST seasoning EVER!) 93. Jane (no tears onion slicing) 94. Britni (Clothing Swap) 95. Alana (Ode to Tums) 96. Nicole (An easy hairbow holder) 97. Meredith (Removing Deodorant Marks) 98. Karol (Chicken Prep) 99. Melissa (Yummy, Healthier Nachos) 100. Rhen (yestheyareallmine!!) 101. Tracy (not your grandmama\'s cup \'o joe-or maybe it is...) 102. Beth@sportsmomma (great podcasts) 103. Christine (feel pretty - oh, so pretty!) 104. Stacey (Gym Nursery) 105. Laura@HeavenlyHomeMakers (Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies) 106. Dawn @ Baby Addiction (Teach Baby to Pray) 107. Amy (Granola Bars) 108. LaRee @ Broad Horizons (Cleaning Cast Iron) 109. Western Warmth (Meet our Home\'s Brain) 110. Mrs. Nicklebee (Siblings as Tutors) 111. Mama Says (What\'s that Bird/Nature for Kids) 112. Amy (Recipe & Cooking Shortcut) 113. Kaci (sweet potatoes should be orange) 114. Ames (easy lentil soup) 115. Jennifer (stop mealtime fighting) 116. GettysburgMom-air mattress storage 117. Katie (pantry organization) 118. Jes (Soft feet) 119. Erin (cleaning dog\'s ears) 120. She\'s a Crafty Pumpkin (Cheap & gentle eye cleanser) 121. Thia (cake decorating) 122. Lora Lynn - Roomba Review 123. Scott (take a risk on blog design) 124. Megret (help the doctor out!) 125. SAHMmy Says (Tips on Providing Meals!) 126. Peggie(attitude) 127. Alison (valentines for kids) 128. LifesLittleSteps (teahing toddler he alphabet) 129. Heather (use for unused cranberries) 130. Penny Raine (making wedding invites) 131. Karen (encouraging reading) 132. Christine (Price Book)

133. Momala (Treat Box) 134. Money Saving Mom (Free string cheese at Target!) 135. Kim (Prewriting Posts) 136. Texastanya (Reading Suggestions) 137. Jeni (get prints of your digital pictures) 138. Kirstin (vacation homes) 139. Tamara (accountability) 140. Mamabug (Mirror, mirror on the wall) 141. Briggie (hallmark) 142. Nichole 143. Nichole 144. Amy (keep track of books to read) 145. Aisha Hoffman (Cilantro) 146. Teresa (cheap storage) 147. Nonnie (Easiest & Tastiest Chili Ever!) 148. Jennifer in OR (Faith) 149. Jen M (backpack storage in a tiny house) 150. Baby Sally (diaper tip) 151. Mrs. Troop (Family Devotions) 152. Beth (freezing cookie dough) 153. Jacquelyn@Because I Said So! (Hiccup relief) 154. Melonie @Momma & More (creative storage) 155. Amy@sonshinecottage(picture bookshelf) 156. Amyswandering (Homeschool Freebies) 157. Abbi (garage organization) 158. At Thy Word (teach reading) 159. Kara(drinking water tips) 160. Simply A Musing Blog (Junk your Junk Mail) 161. Family Focused Fun (Free Parenting Resource) 162. Melonie @ Workerette 163. Shades of Shannon 164. Dee (Grocery Budget) 165. warillever (place for diapers and undies) 166. A Family, Created (extra bread) 167. Makeshift Mama - Smooth, Soft Underarms! 168. Sonshine (organizing little things) 169. If only I had super powers (High Elbow) 170. Elizabeth @ Homeschool Mommy (Reading Aloud) 171. Ashley (moisturizing dry or chapped skin) :) 172. Proverbs 31 (lotion by kitchen sink) 173. Donielle @ Raising Peanuts 174. Maria (Soup Recipes) 175. Sandi (tip for quicker meal prep) 176. Greenstylemom (cottonball substitute) 177. Karla (postage) 178. BRC Banter (Lent Help) 179. Veggiemom (Anti-aging cream) 180. Melody from ~Pennies In My Pocket~ (TRASH CAN DIET) 181. Erin (laundry day) 182. Nichole (change sheets fast!) 183. Jules (Skunk smell) 184. Rain\'s Musings (booboo soothers) 185. Babychaser (helping your child accept new foods) 186. Ann (Ubiquitous Capture ideas) 187. Linda(Frugal Drain Cleaner) 188. Kim (Easy and Good Veggies) 189. Shelley(stainless steel cleaner) 190. Jenn @ Full of Boys (Emergency Radio) 191. NerdMom(Life & Focus Help) 192. Laura (Frugal Air Freshener) 193. JoAnn (Kid\'s Closet Organizing) 194. Jen (Easy Chicken & Noodles) 195. Sheila @ Who can find a wife of valor? 196. Tickled Pink (a red menu for Valentines Day) 197. Betsy (banana bread in food processor)

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The links are now closed. Join us next week for the Online Shopping Edition of Works-For-Me Wednesday!

We Think He Has a Future At Hallmark

My six-year-old son made this drawing for my parents:

If you can't read it, it says, "Dear Mimi and Pop, We love you guys so much and we will never hate you guys.  I love you alot."

Then, for emphasis, he taped a beat-up old eraser next to it.  Because, you know, nothing says "we will never hate you" like a beat-up old eraser.

Just warms the heart, doesn't it?

After Wrestling Lions and Surviving Plane Crashes, Public Speaking Should Be a Breeze

I do not generally enjoy public speaking.  I can do it, in a pinch, but I feel very breathless and clammy and generally un-brilliant.  In fact, the only thing I dislike more than public speaking is flying in an airplane.  So when I tell you what I'm about to tell you, you'll understand why 2008 is shaping up to be my year of phobia tackling (what's next?  Scuba diving in a pool of snakes while eating oysters and wearing skinny jeans?). 

In June I'm going to be a speaker at She Speaks, the annual speaking/writing/women's ministry conference hosted by Proverbs 31 Ministries.  It's in Concord, North Carolina (outside Charlotte), the weekend of June 20-22.

Did you catch that?  I'm speaking.  In front of people.  Who are all looking at me.  At the same time.  Thankfully, I'll be doing this with Melanie and Sophie.  And we'll be teaching a couple of classes on blogging (a subject that gets me so pumped up and chatty I might forget I'm scared). 

In addition to the blogging classes, She Speaks offers a "track" for the publishing, speaking and women's ministry fields.  They have an impressive line-up of Christian publishers scheduled to be there, and the entire conference has a strong reputation as productive, well-run and chock full of information (and inspiration!) for women. 

So, want to come along?  I wish you would.  They've promised plenty of time set aside to chat and play with bloggy friends, in addition to all the learning and networking and growing.  More details are available here, and there's a chance to win a conference scholarship here. 

And while I promise that Sophie, Melanie and I will be all studied up and ready to address anything you ever wanted to know about blogging, if we run out of material we're totally doing this.  You wouldn't want to miss that, would you?

A Little Hyperventilation. But Just a Little.

Thankfully, through the grace of God, your prayers, and my preoccupying list of things to accomplish in the next 12 days, I'm not panicking too much about crossing an ocean in under two weeks. 

But I'd be lying if I said that the moments of pure freak-out don't come every once in a while.  (It's a good thing I don't put too much stock in fortune cookies, by the way, because last week I actually had one tell me "Sometimes it's better to travel with hope than to arrive."  Oh really?  I'm actually rather fond of arriving, myself.)

Friday night I was working on filling out a family tree chart I bought last week.  Hubs needed some help with a different project, but I couldn't pull myself away from the family tree.

"Does that really need to be done now?" he asked.

"Do you REALIZE that in exactly two weeks I could be plummeting into the Atlantic ocean in a fireball, and HOW would our children ever know who their great-great-great grandmother was?"

It's hard to argue with that kind of logic.

I spent a mopey evening after that, in a what-am-I-thinking meltdown of tears and nerves and specific instructions for Hubs about how to raise the children without me.  I made him Google-map the American embassy in Kampala, and he did it--with a straight face, even.  You can imagine that he loves it when we spend an evening communicating intimately about my irrational, whacked-out fears. 

But wouldn't you know it?  After such a weepy dose of anxiety Friday night, I found my in-box full of random encouragement from some readers on Saturday.  One sweet woman sent me the words to this song.  Another sent me the link to some encouraging Ugandan missionary blogs.  Still another told me all the ways she had been praying for me--and it was all the ways I needed. 

It completely blessed my socks off. 

In fact, so many of you have asked, I thought I'd share some specific prayer requests with those of you who are pray-ers.  I can't tell you how much it means to our whole team.

• Of course, please pray for our team's safety and health, and for our families back in the U.S.
• Pray for no technical issues!  It's important that we are able to live-blog this whole trip, in order to effectively communicate with our readers back at home.  I'm praying those high-speed internet lines will be glitch-free for us.
• This is the biggie:  Please pray that hearts will be softened among all our readers to sponsor a child through Compassion.  I'll have more details on this as the time goes along, but these children desperately need more of us to get involved.

You might also want to pray for patience for Sophie, who is sitting next to me on the plane and will have to hold the paper bag I'm hyperventilating into for the 22-hour flight.  I'm kidding.  Sort of.

Thank you so much.  Your prayers mean so much to all of us.

Free Stuff. And Also Some Free Stuff. And Did I Mention the Free Stuff?

It's time for another edition of the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival over at my other blog.  I could write out another explanation here, but I've been explaining it so much lately it hardly makes sense to me anymore.  Instead, just go read the details here, and while you're there, why don't you join us in the fun?

I'm offering a little giveaway of my own here, brought to you courtesy of the nice folks at Brighter Minds Media.  They specialize in educational media for children, and I'm especially impressed at their prices.  I'm also impressed that they are selling software about chocolate--that just says a lot about a company's integrity, right there.

Brighter Minds has agreed to give one lucky reader here a $50 gift certificate good for anything in their store.  To enter, just leave a comment--any comment--on this post.  I'll close comments on Friday, February 1, and I'll draw a random winner then.  Please note that you must have a U.S. mailing address to win this prize. 

Leave your comment below, and then head over to Bloggy Giveaways for enough fun to keep you blog hoppin' ALL week.

Comments are now closed so that I can draw a winner!

Voice Of Truth by Casting Crowns -- YouTube.  One of the best songs, ever.

Living Donors -- Living In Grace.  My bloggy friend Kelli has something important--and courageous--to ask.

Text Messaging vs. Morse Code -- YouTube

Spouses Who Fight Live Longer -- Yahoo!  Hubs e-mailed me this link with a note that said, "See?  I knew we were doing it right."  That man knows how to make me swoon.

DON'T FORGET!  The Bloggy Giveaways Carnival will be going LIVE at Bloggy Giveaways tomorrow morning, January 28th, at 8 am CST. Get ready!

Let's Hear It For the Women Bloggers!

I was so tickled to see that ABC News is taking notice of the women bloggers!  Lisa Stone, founder of BlogHer, has a great interview here, and my friend and fellow Okie blogger Susan Wagner was interviewed here.  Good work, ladies.