Moms on the Net

The Information Super Highway is so easy! Its not just for techno geeks with spreadsheets anymore! ;)

Things I've Learned

How Do I Survive My Stop-and-Go Lifestyle?

It seems that my life alternates between the Indy 500 and a slow walk dragging a cart full of lead. During the school year I seem to always be behind, running around at 100 miles per hour, neglecting everyday tasks like cleaning and sleeping in order to get things done. Then suddenly, right when I've reached the point where I'm pretty sure I'm going to die, summer break starts and things get eerily quiet and slow and I become equally distressed because I'm not any more sure how to handle having nothing to do than I was sure about how to handle having way, way, way too much to do. It is a very strange phenomena.

People tell me to relax, to enjoy the time off, to remember this is probably the last summer off I will ever have in my life. All of this is good advice and I do wish I could follow it-- but relaxing isn't my greatest skill apparently. And so it seems I spend my whole life feeling off balance one way or the other. I'm really hoping that when I get to that point where I'm "grown up" and have a career or family (or a little of both) things might take on a state of consistent busyness that doesn't wear me down to the bone. But maybe that's just wishful thinking! I'll keep you posted. For now I'm going to try to hurry up and relax!

4th of July

On the 4th of July my family and I went to see the hot air balloons in Provo. It was actually pretty cool.

My brother Tim, holding his favorite balloon in the palm of his hand!

We then had the best breakfast around-- cinnamon french toast at Kneaders! SO Good! :)

Then Tim spent the afternoon smoking ribs!

And we had our 4th of July feast in the backyard under the trees. It was just lovely.

We finished up by going to Rock Canyon Park to watch the Stadium of Fire fireworks. Good times! :)

Hello Kitty-tastic!

Proof that other people are way more obsessed with Hello Kitty than I am!

I Think I'll Make My House A Shrine to Hello Kitty!

Well, if you thought the Hello Kitty Toaster was too much, I would like to introduce you to the Hello Kitty Castle. I'm just going to let the pictures speak for themselves. I have to thank the Queen Bee at FC for pointing this treasure out to me. I was previously shamefully unaware that such a place existed. It is apparently in Taiwan. Hello Kitty's fame is not limited to Japan-- oh, no. This little Sanrio creation is all over Asia, Europe and America too!

Or I Could Have Hello Kitty Immortalized on My Skin Forever!

That's right-- why not keep Hello Kitty with you always? A Hello Kitty Tattoo might be just the way to show your devotion. It is also much, much cheaper than renovating your entire home. And let's be honest-- there'd be no regrets later in life about having a tattoo like one of these. I might go in for the full leg, rainbow, with full bodied princess Hello Kitty (plus my name) type tattoo. ;)

(Hello Kitty Ink Facebook Album)

Why Not Make My Gun Match My House and My Tattoo?!

Wow. My brother showed me this, and I'm just going to leave the conversation at, "wow". I have no words.

I'm not the biggest Hello Kitty fan out there, and somehow, I'm totally okay with that!

I'll Take Potpourri for $500, Alex

Bear Grylls

Until a few nights ago, I had only seen about half an episode of the Discovery channel's Man vs Wild. Now I have seen at least three and a half. My brother and I (okay mostly me) got sucked in and watched three episodes in a row. Luckily one was the special Men vs Wild with Will Ferrell which was very funny. Will Ferrell is so good at slap stick and acting awkward that I think it was really funny to watch him actually being awkward without trying. He was a really good sport and funny too.

I like Bear and I give the appropriate feminine squeals of horror when he eats gross things like reindeer eyeballs or roasted tarantula. I also think the places he goes are fascinating and I like to see the interior parts of countries and areas I will most probably never see otherwise. My problem in watching is that I am constantly worried about the camera man. I'm watching camera angles and different shots and seeing how Bear climbs down something that takes all of his limbs and strength and I am just thinking to myself-- "How is the camera man following him?!?!?! Is he going to die?!" --such are the inner workings of my little brain.

In a final random thought on the subject, my brother has discovered that you, too, can own your own Bear Grylls knife, just like the one he now uses on the show! It happens to cost £365 (currently the equivalent of 600 USD), but c'mon-- it is the Bear Grylls knife! (If only MacGyver had thought of this clever marketing ploy!)

One Trip Grip

My sister had a few of these handy little inventions. If you are like me, it is a point of honor to make it in to your house after going to the grocery store in. one. trip. Sometimes, I have discovered, this is not possible. But now-- I think with this invention my shameful double trips out to the car are at an end. You loop all your bags onto the handy, carabiner-like contraption and you have a convenient grooved handle to hold on to. No more loss of blood to your fingertips due to an overload of bags cutting into them my friends. This little gadget is pure magic. At only $5.99 each they are pretty affordable (especially if you grab one of those Bed Bath & Beyond 20% off coupons that always seem to be arriving in the mail). And they're not even paying me to say that. (But I think maybe they should.)

*Update: also available on amazon.com for $4.99!

Panera Bread

Panera is a great bakery chain that my sister took me to when I was visiting her down south. I had the most yummy bagel ever-- Dutch Apple Raisin (Chunks of apples, cinnamon, molasses & raisins baked inside, topped with sweet streusel) with Honey Walnut whipped cream cheese. Yumm-mmmyyy! If you live near a Panera, or happen by one in your travels, I most certainly recommend it! I have a feeling that the rest of their wares are delicious as well.