My Side of The Story

It is true that Z had some great adventures this month, but that is not to say that I didn't have a little excitement of my own. In fact, I was amazed at what I could do with my time when I had it all to myself.

I went to the community Library for the first time and I have lived here for almost 5 years. I came away with 3 books and I was actually able to read them!

I also went thrift store shopping. I hit up 3 of my favorite stores and bought my entire summer wardrobe for $35.00. I will be going through the ensembles in next weeks blog, so that should be fun.

Oh, but wait there's more. J] and I were able to have some alone time. We went to this really cool bowling alley that was also a trendy restaurant. We ate sushi and bowled at the same time. As strange as it sounds it was perfect for the two of us.


Of course it wasn't all fun and games, the whole purpose of Z being away was so that I could get work done and that is what I was doing the majority of the time.

In the time that Z was gone I was able to clean the whole house, make a decent amount of money, and have a lot of fun, but I still missed my baby. When we picked Z up from the airport I greeted him with a cookie monster balloon and cookies. We have been able to get back into our old routine in no time, which means that things around here are a little crazy, and that's the way I like it.

Denton, Louisville, Cincinnati, Quitaque...

Those are just some of the places that Z has visited this month.

It all started with a long weekend at the grandparents house. He always has fun with them, between the trampoline, horses, pool, 4 wheeler, and everything else there is to do on 12 acres, you can imagine he stays entertained. Of course the great out doors are great, but what really gets him goin' is playing Rock Band. He can play all night long, which is what they do at that house. My mother in law is the front runner and I won't say how old she is, but she does have several great grand children if that gives you an idea.

A couple weeks later was Z's big trip to Kenucky with his Memae and Pepae. He was able to visit with all of my family and friends that live up there. He managed to squeeze in a lot of fun for a short 4 day trip. Here he is at the aquarium.

Last weekend we took a road trip to West Texas to attend a wedding. I had to come back early to photograph a wedding, but J and Z went camping in the canyons. This was Z's first camping trip. From what I hear the part Z enjoyed the most was throwing rocks into the spring and saying "big splash!"

After all the jet lag, time change, and road trips I don't think Z will be traveling again anytime soon. He has had enough excitement to last quite a while.

Being Away

As I mentioned before it's been an adventurous month for my little guy, and for me too. Everyone has been asking me how I handled his first trip to Kentucky without me. I may have done alright considering we were close to 1,000 miles apart for almost 5 days, but I did have some help. With all of the technology that we have these days, I was able to keep connected almost every waking hour.

When Z boarded the plane I called my mom (who was flying with him), when they got off the plane she called to let me know how it went.

When they got home we did a video conference and repeated these meetings every day! Here is a snip it of one (although the recordings are much lower quality than when you are doing the chat live)

My dad faithfully sent Zip files full of photos and video footage of what he did each day and one time I even got an email from Z, of course most of it was, "sjkldefin jd lsle", other than the parts my dad helped him write.

The only problem is that there are no virtual hugs for me to feel chubby little arms around my neck and no smellavision so that I can smell that baby fresh scent after bath time (although there are other times I am grateful for not having smellavision), but for 4 days away from my boy I will take what I can get.

Being able to connect in all forms from across the country is one of the things I love. For more "Things I love Thursdays" go to diaperdiaries.net

Flying With A "Lap Baby"

Any child under the age of two is not required to have a ticket on an aircraft and can therefor fly for free as a lap baby.

As of this month my toddler has been on 6 flights. This includes when he was six months, 11 months, and 20 months.
I thought I would share some of the things I have learned about this seemingly overwhelming experience.

Ticket- Even though there is no ticket, you will still want to notify your ticketing agent that you are flying with an infant. This will be necessary for security purposes and where you will be able to be seated on the plane.

Restraint- Whether it be a sling or harness, I wouldn't dare be in an airport without having my child physically attached to me in someway. I know "child leashes" have such a stigma about them and I used to make fun of stuff like that, but that was before I had a quick and curious little toddler. If this harness keeps my son from jerking himself out of my hands and falling down an escalator, or running in front of a car, or being kidnapped then I couldn't care less what other people may think. So, we bought this cute Eddie Bauer one from Target for $12.00 for when we travel.



Bottles- You are not allowed to have liquid on the plane, with the exception of milk bottles. They will have to swab them when you go through security, but you have the right to bring bottles with you when you travel. If you are breast feeding then that is another thing that you have every right to do in the airport and on the plane and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Giving your baby a bottle during take off and landing will reduce the pressure on their ears and make the flight go "smoother" for everyone.

Car Seat- If you don't have a ticket you won't be guaranteed a seat, but that doesn't mean that you won't get one. If there are empty seats that are available you may want to use a car seat. The FAA mentions 16 inches as the maximum width so that it will fit most airline seats. Car seats are definitely the safest way to fly, and might be more comfortable, but If you know your kid does horrible in the car seat and it will only make matters worse, well then check it before you board.

Those are just a few of the travel tips that I have, of course there are many others like bringing toys, letting your child get all their energy out before boarding, flying during the none peak times. It is going to be different for everybody, but these are just some of the things that have worked for me. Most importantly (and this is a hard one) just try and relax, people are far more understanding than I ever expected.



Check more Works For Me Wednsday posts at We are that family

The photo above is of Z on his first flight, it was just him and I. He had an airplane pacifier.

Look Back and Laugh: Starbuck's Baby

I know I may have talked about Starbuck's a time, or two, or three, or whatever , but I am not a total addict. Yeah, we have kind of developed a relationship with our local baristas and we did give them a christmas card which they hung on their community board, but that is normal right? Also, Z has one of those talking toy parrots and we trained it so that when you say "we're going to Starbuck's" he says "get me a latte".

The whole point of this story is that Z started saying Starbuck's. It isn't one of those words that I ever tried to get him to say, but when I first heard him say "Sta-bucks" I muttered "oh boy" under my breath because I was thinking great, not you too? Well, I guess he heard me because then he started saying "Sta Bucks, OH BOY, Stabucks oh boy." So, now I guess we've got a little 20 month old coffee snob on our hands. I can only blame myself.



The photo is from when he was with my family in Kentucky a couple weeks ago. I guess one of the employees gave him a Starbuck's sticker and the next day he asked to wear it again.

ADVENTUREZ

Whew, I can't believe this is the last week of May, which means that my life will return to some sense of normalcy. Whatever that means. This has been the busiest month in the history of my photography business. Of course I knew this going into it so I had made arrangements for Z to be taken care of while I was off working.

It has been a bitter sweet experience, because on one hand you have heard my feelings about every mom needing a break from the kids, on the other hand I don't like the idea of him being away so much. Give me a couple months and I will have to come back to this post in the midst of one of Z's terrible temper tantrums and I can remind myself that I do miss him when he is gone.

Right now Z and J are camping out and I am alone for a few days. A week ago Z was just coming in from visiting Kentucky with my parents, and a couple weeks before that he stayed with J's parents for 4 days. I am glad that he has gotten to spend some quality time with his grandparents and his dad. May has had no shortage of adventures for the little guy. I can't wait to hear about how the camp out went. Until then I guess I will just soak in the silence and enjoy having personal space.

Gidddy Up Cowgirls

Last week I mentioned that I missed The Office Season Finale because I was at a hoedown. Well, let's just say I had a good ol' time.

It was actually a ladies meeting at my church and for our end of the year party we did a country theme. I was in charge of doing a line dance. So I chose "Slappin' Leather" which I partially remember learning in high school and the other parts I brushed up from youtube clips. Here's a little video from last Thursday night.



From belly dancing to line dancing, what an interesting week this has been!

Belly Dancing

I mentioned swing dancing lessons yesterday and there is one other type of dance lessons I have taken (although it could also be considered aerobics) and that is belly dancing class. My Best Friend talked me into and in the end I was glad she did. Belly dancing is quite liberating.

I have a little video demonstration that I quickly put together about what I remember of the hand motions, and they are really simple. All you do is pretend you are holding a wine glass in each hand

then imagine dumping them out

and loop your hands back around to start again.

This video is possibly the most embarrassing thing I have ever done voluntarily and keep in mind that my level of expertise is coming from taking ONE class a few years ago, and going to a Lebanese restaurant where I watched the pros. Also, I don't know what the little cheer is at the end, but despite the empty wine glasses shown above their was no alcohol involved in the making of this clip. Now then, without any further disclaimers I present the messy mom belly dancing...

Swing Dancing

There are things that a man will do for you when you are dating that you can kiss good bye once you are married. I am just being honest. For J it is dancing lessons. I love dancing, J hates it. Luckily I reeled him in when we were dating. We took swing dancing lessons and although we never mastered the skills we still had fun trying out a few of our moves at our wedding reception.

If you are interested in swing dancing I highly recommend getting out there to see what is available in your area. You only live once right? As for my readers that live near DFW I can suggest a couple events.

The Vintage Flying Museum in Fort Worth holds an annual hanger dance for an evening of fun benefiting the museum. It is like going back in time. Everyone dresses in 1940's attire, some wear world war II uniforms, there is a live orchestra, and of course DANCING. Whether you know how to dance or not it is a blast! Here are some photos from when we went 4 years ago.

Here I am doing my best to look 1940's

One of my friends who actually is a professional ballerina and a very good swing dancer.

Is that Frank Sinatra? Nah, it's J, but I must say he is looking quite dapper.

Here he is with his best friend.

Here is another friend of mine. Can you guess who she is dressed as? Hint: "WE CAND DO IT"

Remembering the past

Some of the veterans.

Dancing the night away






I will post more details for the hanger dance and where you can go for group lessons below.

Let the dancing begin!





Or for weekly economical swing dancing check out-
Sons of Hermann Hall
Phone: 214-747-4422
Wednesday lessons from 8:00-9:00 practice until midnight
Cost: $5.00
Location: 3414 Elm St. Dallas TX 75226

I Was Wrong

As far as what I said on Monday about if I were to bet money on Dancing With The stars I am glad that I didn’t because I was WRONG. I was wrong on so many levels. First of all we did not have a gold medal Olympic champion win last year like I had thought. That was Kristi Yamaguchi and it turns out that was 2 years ago. So I guess the voters were ready for another Olympic gold medalists to win because Shawn Johnson came in first place as Dancing Queen, followed by sexy foreign guy in second place, and the bachelor reject in third.

I am not thrilled with the results although, I am sure that I will be over it by the time I am done typing this blog. It just doesn’t seem cool to have someone that is the best in the world at a sport that involves, flexibility, timing, rhythm, and routines set to MUSIC to be competing against professions like actors, bull riders and football players. To me it’s like the highest ranking marine competing on an obstacle course against 8 year old boy scouts and then being shocked that they won. Can you picture it? Well, don't worry I found a couple visuals to help demonstrate.

Olympic gold medalists: “I can’t believe I won, I know I have competed against people who gave up their whole lives to be in the Olympics, but still, this is a reality show! Who would have that that little ol' me could learn how to dance?”


The other dancers: “I had fun and I learned a lot that is all that matters!”


Okay, as promised I am over it and this concludes my series on the 2009 TV finales.

Look Back and Laugh: Find Me In Da Club

Tonight is the Dancing With Stars Finale (truth be told, I am watching it right now!). I have always loved to dance, but was never that great at it. I didn't take ballet, tap, or jazz. I was never a cheer leader. I am more of the type that just dances in the shower, uh wait that's singing. Well, when I get out of the shower and I am drying my hair that's when I really get down.

I went out to a dance club once. It was an underage club. I guess it was for anyone that didn't own a fake ID but still wanted the feel of a disco/bar.

It wasn't my cup of tea. There was this guy that was trying to hit on me? Yes, that question mark was intended because I don't really know what he was doing, but his line to me was "It's a Friday you act like it's a Sunday". My response was, "What's wrong with Sundays?"

So that was my "clubbing" experience, boring as it may be I have never been to one since. I guess I will just keep my love of dancing for when I am drying my hair.

Dancing With The Stars

Last week I touched on the Season Finale of The Celebrity Apprentice, The Biggest Loser, Lost, and The Office. I usually close out the weekly topic on Saturday, but not this time because I am not quite done with season finales yet. Just one more and that's it, I am serious. I have watched bits and pieces of Dancing With The Stars throughout the season and so I am a bit curious about which couple will be taking home the disco ball trophy tomorrow night.

I don't really care at this point who it is, although I have kind of been routing for the ex bachelor fiance' Melissa (don't know her last name). I guess I just felt sorry for her being dumped on national television. I think Shawn is great, but really, we had a gold medalists win last time. Then their is the guy who is famous for exposing his butt on the Sex and the City movie, and if I were to wager money I would say he is the one to beat.

I guess we'll find out tomorrow night at the end of a ridiculously drawn out 2 hour season finale.

"People Need Volley Ball Now More Than Ever"

The Office Season 5 finale aired last night. I just now watched it online because I was at a hoedown last night. I will share more about that next week. As for anyone that has not yet seen the finale and wants to catch it on DVR, nbc.com, or good ol' VHS recording, well then I guess a spoiler alert is in order.

The show started with Michael Scott napping at work while all the office employees set his clocks ahead several hours so that when he woke up it would be 5:00 and they could leave early. I had some students do something like this to me once when I was a substitute teacher. I guess I was to teaching what Michael Scott is to supervising.

The next scene is the Dunder Mifflin Company picnic, where there were plenty of opportunities for Michael to put his foot in his mouth as usual. The awkward moments practically set off my gag reflex, and sometimes I have to remind myself that I CHOOSE to watch this show, and I can stop at anytime.

Fastforward to the end where Pam who has a minor ankle injury is at the ER with Jim. The nurse rattles off a bunch of questions before Pam gets X Rayed, one of which was 'are you pregnant?'. Of course from that moment we all knew that she was or they wouldn't have even brought it up in the script. They call Jim into the examining room and even though there is no audio we do find out that Jim and Pam are expecting.

Truth be told I am growing bit weary of The Office. It feels like the mediocre episodes are starting to be more frequent and now with Jim and Pam pregnant the show could be running out of redeeming story lines. I believe it is what they call "jumping the shark"? Or maybe that's just me.

Lost Season Finale

Okay all you Lost fans, last night we had our 2 hour season finale and I am still lost. At least they showed us what (or should I say WHO) was in the crate.

I do have a very small original Messy Mom theory. As far as the opening dialogue in last nights episode I think we saw some more symbolism that there is an ongoing war of good vs. evil. Jacob in the white shirt being "good" the one having mercy on what appears to be mankind even though the man in the black shirt says his efforts are pointless.

Of course at the end of the episode we see what we can only assume is the black shirt man appearing as John Locke, convinces Ben to kill Jacob. I see a lot more parallels here to support Jacob being a savior type character to the island, because like Jesus, he is loving, humble, but powerful, and he gives everyone a choice. In the Bible we know that Satan wants to destroy Jesus, but it doesn't work that way, as a spiritual being he doesn't have that kind of power same as Jacob and his enemy. What we know happens is the Bible is that Judas betrays his leader and Jesus is crucified. On Lost the evil character does not have the power to kill Jacob, so he uses Ben.

I find it interesting that Jacob seemed to know what was going to happen when Ben showed up in the statue, yet he still allowed to let Ben's selfishness, his "what about me" attitude to bring Jacob to his death. This also reminded me Jesus' crucifiction.

So of course we know it can't end this way. Evil will not win. Jesus' sacrifice although it was cruel and gruesome was all part of God's plan to redeem mankind. Does this mean that Jacobs death will somehow save the island? Will Jacob be resurrected? Will it be like Aslan in Narnia?

We will find out in January of 2010 for the 6th and final season when they final bring it all to a close. One last theory, I think the numbers, 4 8 15 16 23 42, which add up to 108, represents the number of unanswered questions we will have once the show is completely over. They have 17 episodes left to explain 5 seasons of mysteries, so I guess we'll see.

Season Finale Week

I didn’t set out to talk about TV this week, but so far I have mentioned two season finales and I might as well continue in the theme. After all I did talk about the premiere week back in September it is only fitting that I talk about the season finales this week.

So just in case anyone is curious about what season finales are coming up tonight here is the line up

. 'America's Next Top Model' (CW) 8/7 c, 12th season finale

. 'Lie to Me' (Fox) 8/7 c, 1st season finale

. 'The New Adventures of Old Christine' (CBS) 8:30/7:30 c, 3rd season finale

. 'Lost' (ABC) 8/7 c two-hour, 5th season finale

Obviously, I will be watching Lost. I dropped a hint to a friend on Sunday that maybe we could it watch it at their house. Well, it was more than a hint,

I said “Oh it’s the Lost season finale on Wednesday we should have a party”.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea” she said

“I guess what I mean by that is YOU should have a party, because you are the one with the TIVO and giant flat screen tv.” (subtle right?)

Luckily she thought that was a great idea and told us to come on over. I will report back on how it all went tomorrow AFTER listening to The Lost Podcast of course.

Look Back and Laugh: Busted

My mom came into town yesterday and we've been having such a great time. Today we were driving by Marble Slab and she said "OH, Marble Slab! We don't have any of those up in Kentucky." I respond with an "Okay, fine. Twist my arm I will take you to get some ice cream."
So we go in and as I am scanning the menu resisting the temptation to sample everything, I see what they call the tasty creation selections. On it there is a creation named Cookie Dough Drizzle, which includes birthday cake flavored ice cream with chocolate chip cookie dough and Oreo cookie pieces. Oh my! How sinfully decadent, could they possible cram any more suger/calories into this little tasty creation? Yes they can, because it is topped with hot fudge. I don't know whether it could get any better or be any worse. So of course I ordered it to find out.

We took our treats to go so that we could indulge the proper way, which includes the television. Soon after we get settled J arrived home early and he brought along with him some unexpected company. The moment they walked in the door we are caught in the act of scarfing down our tasty creations while watching the season finale of THE BIGGEST LOOSER. Yeah, is this a good time to say that it was her idea?

The Joker Rivers

Since I did give my projection last month for The Celebrity Apprentice I thought I would follow up with the season finale results. Last night I tuned in to watch Melissa and Joan Rivers win The Celebrity Apprentice. You might be thinking that I am mistaken because there can only be one winner and Joan was "hired". Yeah, yeah, but let's be honest, I think it was more of a win for Melissa Rivers than her mother. Those two are crazy! It goes to prove the importance of a properly cut umbilical chord, because this is what can happen otherwise.

The show was a bit of a painful experience. I mean that literally, Joan Rivers face looks like it is in pain from trying to keep up with all of that plastic surgery, and is it just me or is she starting to bare a striking resemblance to The Joker? Okay well, maybe an older version of the joker. I am not trying to be harsh. It's sad really. I think women that allow themselves to age gracefully is such a beautiful thing, what a shame to cover all that up.

I am not going to waste anymore time on this subject and don't worry about me bringing The Apprentice up again because today I swore it off. I am not going to watch next season. My husband said "yeah right", but now it is officially in writing. I am done.

Creative Minds Online

On Tuesday I talked about a couple of guys from Georgia with an online series of animated shorts that has been followed by MILLIONS. Then Wednesday I did a post featuring my favorite podcast hosted by 2 “Lost” fans in North Carolina. Thursday it was all about some of the You Tube successes, which include Julian Smith a 21 year old in Tenessee with a passion for film. Then yesterday I talked about the booming success of a blog from a woman out in Oklahoma.

Notice a pattern here? The internet has opened up doors for creative minds all over the country (and abroad). You no longer have to risk it all by packing up and moving to Hollywood or New York to pursue your dreams. The only thing you have to risk is not being well received on line, and let’s face it failure is a lot more easy to take from the comfort of your own home. Am I right?

I have just barely scratched the surface on this topic. I didn’t even discuss the REAL stars, the master weavers of the world wide web. If you want to see who has really been raking in the dough, check out Forbes.com for their annual list of top 25 web celebs.

I didn’t write about any of these “artists” though, because I couldn’t care less about that aspect of the industry. I really just enjoy hearing the voice of middle America and watching average people just like you and I, be able to express their thoughts, share their ideas, and have a creative outlet to exercise their talents. It's a new day.




*Note* This was written Saturday and I forgot to publish it until today (Monday).

The Blog

All week I have talked about some of the creative mediums of internet entertainment and I just don't think I could go any further without mentioning the mighty blog. Ree Drummond, a.k.a. The Pioneer Woman, may have gotten her name from her life on the ranch, but she has also been a pioneer for mom blogs all over the world.

Personally, I just don't get it. What is so special about The Pioneer Woman? I do love her writing style and she certainly has an intriguing story about how she went from the posh city life to settling down in "the middle of nowhere on a working cattle ranch". Okay, and maybe she does have some amazing recipes and granted the photographs that she takes of these recipes and her life on the ranch are just stunning, but still what more could she possible offer? Oh yeah, she's funny, beautiful, and home schools her four children while keeping up with one the most successful blogs on the internet all the while appearing to be totally approachable and down to earth.
FINE. I'll admit it, she's amazing. Goodness, let's move on.

As much I can say all that about the pioneer woman I will admit to feeling a little overwhelmed by the complexity of the blog. I could drown in a sea of 400+ comments per post, that is why most of the time you are likely to catch me frequenting smaller simpler blogs of people that I know. Or sometimes it's just people that I feel like I know after having brief exchanges online like The Thrifty Mama or Suburban Matron, but watch out Becky and Crystal if you start getting hundreds of comments I might just jump ship. Not really, I would probably just brag that I started reading before the masses. Or maybe all this talk about the beauty of the entry level blog is just my way of plugging my own work. Oops.

Obviously blogging is a big part of my life, at least for now. The other day someone asked me if I had any hobbies and the first thing to pop into my head was blogging. If you haven't caught blog fever, watch out it's spreading like the swine flu.

You Tube

Perhaps you have heard of The Battle Of Krugar, which is a video of some lions attacking a baby buffalo in Africa. Except the Lions are challenged by an alligator just before the buffalo herd decided to come back for a triumphant and victorious ending allowing the calf to escape the predators. Just the scene out in the wild is fascinating enough, but then add to that the fact that it was shot by a tourist from Texas who claims he barely knew to work the video camera. Humble words for a video that was sold to National Geographic to be added to the ranks with some of the most historic wildlife footage ever captured.

Or maybe you've seen or heard of a home movie posted on you tube that was later purchased for big bucks by some advertisers. These were individuals that weren't seeking fame and fortune, they just wanted to share their home movie with friends and family. On the other hand there are people posting videos online that have every intention of getting noticed and hopefully making it big.

These professional youtubers, vidcasters, and vloggers use the internet as a way to stretch their muscles as directors, actors, and cinematographers. My personal favorite is Julian Smith who got his big break with the popular "25 things I hate about Face Book" video. More recently he did his own spoof of the rising youtube star Susan Boyle from Britain's got talent. Looks like we could have another rising star here.




This post originally had embedded links galore, but after trying countless times to get it to all work properly I finally gave up. I don't know what the deal is, but if you are interested in checking out any of the videos I mention just copy the URL's listed bellow.

Battle Of Kruger- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM

The Battle Of Kruger Documentary- http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/10/arts/television/10kruger.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2

Article on Laughing baby and other commercials- http://www.slate.com/id/2180950/pagenum/all/

25 Things I Hate About Face Book- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVA047JAQsk

The Lost Podcast with Jay and Jack

As some of you know I am a big Lost fan. I never thought that I would be. I am definitely not into action or sci-fi or long term commitments, as far as TV goes. However, somehow I got locked in (that was not intended be a John Locke pun, but it works) around season 3 when we started renting the DVDs. Now that we are nearing the end with only one 19 episodes left (18 after tonight) there is no turning back. 

I will be honest though, the thing that has kept me going through all the twist, turns, and my own personal befuddlement has been listening to The Lost Podcast. It is basically just two average guys from North Carolina that deliver bi weekly podcasts decoding some of the mystery's of Lost, bringing their own theories, as well as listener feedback from all over the world. Even Jorge Garcia (Hurley) has been on the show. I look forward to the podcast almost more than the show itself, because I am so reliant on other people to explain, or at least attempt to theorize, what the heck is going on. 

I will admit that Jay and Jack do receive some criticism for getting off topic or being socially awkward, and it does get annoying sometimes, but I am at the point now that I feel like I am talking bad about a good friend by saying that. If you are interested in following along you can subscribe to the Lost Podcast with Jay and Jack on itunes or check out jayandjack.com

If you are a Lost fan I would love to talk theories, please leave a comment. Or maybe you have a favorite podcast on another topic, do share.  In the meantime I will be watching lost's for the "101th" time.