B*tchy Award

I'm feeling like this these days so I decided to give myself an award of my own design. Feel free to snag it if you like. Be sure to tell me why in the comments!

<a href="http://bloggingmama-andrea.blogspot.com"><img border="0" alt="Venus and Mars" width="150" src="http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn27/momof2squirts/btchy.jpg" height="150" /></a>

*Okay so the comments (and the wake of a new day) made me realize I was in a mood last night when I did this. I'm leaving it though. Let's use it as a chance to get something off our chests. Have a 'B*itchy Day' if you will. If you've got a complaint, whine or someone you'd like to give the heave-ho leave it here. I'm declaring this award to be a pass for a day to say whatever you want. (You can save it for future use as well.)

Random Tuesday Thoughts: Oh Christmas Tree! Oh Christmas Tree!

Once again it's that devilish day of the week that I know so well. Tuesday Sweet Sweet Tuesday where everything's Random and hey, It's Okay! Link up and visit over at Keely's place, The Un Mom.

What the hell? When I try to copy the code from Keely's site for the Fugly button all I get is the {a href }bit no matter if I right click and copy or use shortcut keys. Why doesn't it like me??

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/superkeely/randomtuesday.jpg" width="200" alt "randomtuesday" />

I actually typed the whole freakin' code thing out just so I can be cool like all the rest of you. And it still didn't work. Oh I smite you blogger! (and no pieces of the code aren't missing they just aren't all showing in the post page)

Just go HERE okay?



Oh sure, I can copy that bit of code fine but the other? Nooo!

Pardon me I'm having computer angst.

When you pack your kids lunches or your own lunch do you open the plastic baggies all at once when you take them out of the box or open them one at a time as you put each individual item into them?

We had a playdate with the neighbors from the bus stop on Friday. Nothing's better on a half day of school than a playdate.



Except a bath after said playdate because the park was muddy. Look at me Mama, a piggy in a blanket.



I may not be getting into the swing of the coupon clipping but I'm doing really well for rebates. I'm expecting $150 in gift cards from various places just for signing up for things like a cell phone and internet service. What else can I sign up for next??

It's official. Pumpkin Spice coffee is available. Load me up. You can also get Pumpkin Spice Latte's at Starbusks but for $3.85 a pop that's a half a bag of Pumpkin Spice coffee. Just brew a pot and throw some spray whip on there and you'll never know the difference. *PS I stand corrected $4.45 for a grande!!

I may have mentioned this before but here in the burbs it's like Animal Kingdom. We've seen birds, deer, a red tail fox (beautiful thing too but I was so glad to be inside as it went right past my window) and bunnies. What's next? Santa Claus and his reindeer?

It's only Tuesday and so far I've mentioned Christmas twice this week. I think my sister is rubbing off on me. And Gina at My Own Brand of Crazy too. And maybe Missty. Forget it let's move onto New Year shall we?

Drinking from the water fountain at school? I wouldn't if I were you.

I don't care how much it costs. I would love to spend the night at Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water house. It'd be worth every penny to spend two days hanging about in a masterpiece like that.

photo credit www.fallingwater.org

I have actually never been there* but I absolutely love Frank Lloyd Wright. It was his work and that of Le Corbuiser that made me study architecture in college (for a brief time until it turned out I can't actually draw.)

Anyway, my Parental Units arrive on next weeks Random Tuesday so I may be scarce for a bit. Then Cycling Papa arrives on Friday of the same week and we are off to NYC for a day. I'll be sure to post the pictures from our visit to the 9/11 musuem or memorial {not entirely sure what the name is}. It's going to be quite an emotional day for sure.

The other day I got a notice that Boo's airline miles were going to expire but I could trade them in for magazine subscriptions for free. Remember I like Free. So coming soon to my little itty bitty mailbox: Sports Illustrated regular and kids version and Golf Magazine (for the boys), Conde Nast Traveler, Vogue, Wine Spectator, The Economist, Barrons, Business Week, Wall Street Journal and Time. Have I mentioned my love of newsy and economic magazines lately? If you put me in a waiting room and there are a selection of magazines ranging from Ladies Home Journal, Entertainment Weekly and Newsweek; I go for Newsweek everytime. The rest just don't interest me.

Thank you to everyone who suggested new names for Boo. I like Thor personally (thanks SciFi Dad) but no one else in my family seems to like it as much as I do. I also liked The Boy Formerly Known As Boo but that's long and the acronym TBFKAB doesn't thrill me either.

We'll round out todays Random with a poem I found in one of my college literature textbooks.

A River Rhyme - by William Cole
It was floodtime on the Seine:
Flotsam, jetsam, garbage, then
Five cats clinging to a plank-
Un, deux, trois cats sank!

There you have it another Random Tuesday under my belt. Thus far I have 21 RTT labeled posts to date. Just how many more I have in me is anyone's guess. Get Random in the comments or over at The UnMom.

*I think I may just have to drag my kids on a road trip. Who's up for it? It's fall in PA and it's gorgeous.

Coming October 5th The Motherhood Muse Blog! Want to learn more about the blog and the exciting new ezine launching in January 2010 featuring a column by yours truly? Then head over to The Motherhood Muse for details.

Monday's Muse with Cinnamon and Honey: Autism Speaks

*blogger isn't letting me add space between some of the pictures so please forgive the crowded look.


Today is Monday and that means it's time for Monday's Muse with Robin at Cinnamon and Honey. If you aren't sure what Monday's Muse is or you would like to participate then head over to Robin's place for all the details.

This week it was easy for me to find my muse. It came from a little thing I did with my kids on Saturday. We participated in this:

I could not think a better cause than this. It's near to my heart but that's a future post as to why. For now I'm going to show you who else was raising money for Autism Speaks. Just take a look.

It all started here in Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park.

Some celebrities came by to champion the cause.

Actress Holly Robinson Peete and her son

Phillies Phanatic

Then it was time to walk. A one mile loop around the parking lot and stadium. Can you guess how many people participated?

Behind

In Front

And all around

There was a band to keep us going and plenty of refreshments along the way

Afterwards we met some more famous people, like Boba Fett

And we had this man to thank for letting us try on the Phillies World Series rings.

It was pretty cool.

But the best part of all was raising money for an awesome cause with these two.

We raised $270 and next year I plan to join the walk more than 6 days beforehand so I can raise a heck of a lot more. I'm hoping maybe to get a team of walkers together and make it into something really special. I'd like to thank the people who donated to my personal page for Autism Speaks - my parents, my mother in law and two of her sisters and a big thanks to my blogger friend Natasha at Exile on Mom Street for her donation. Without them I could not have helped Autism Speaks to their total of $551,697 (as listed thus far). There were an estimated 13-15000 people at the walk and it was a great event.

What inspires you? Do you have a charity you actively participate in? Stop by Cinnamon and Honey and see what else is inspiring people this week!

Frugal Friday

In honor of National Coupon Month I've been invited to share some statistics with my readers. I have to admit I've started clipping coupons but I haven't really taken the initiative to actually use them. After reading these statistics I think I'm going to have to rethink my shopping strategy.

These statistics come from the Promotion Marketing Association Coupon Council's recent findings. Who knew such a thing existed?

*$3 billion of savings were achieved by consumers using packaged goods coupons last year.

*The typical family can easily save $1,000 annually by spending just 20 minutes a week seeking, clipping and organizing their coupons.

*89 percent of the overall population report that they have prepared a shopping list using coupons, up from 78 percent who said they did so a year ago.

Here are some clipping tips from the experts:

*Look for coupons in the Sunday newspaper, coupon books, in magazines, in your mailbox, at the grocery store shelf, on the Internet and with your cash register receipts.

*Visit manufacturers and retailers websites to download or register for coupons to be sent to you.

*Use a coupon organizer to sort coupons and keep it with you at all times (for those "unplanned" shopping trips). Use coupons with shorter expiration dates first to stock up on necessary items.

*Maximize savings by using retailer coupons during big event sales (i.e. Back-to-School, Holiday , and Seasonal).

For more information you can visit the National Coupon Month website. I hope these tips will help you save money. Do you have any money saving tips you'd like to share? Please be sure to leave them in the comments!

It's Travel Thursday

It's travel Thursday here at Blogging Mama. You'll need to direct your attention to a site that recently asked me for my take on my former home of Bonn, Germany.

Please click over and take a peek. Did I love it? Or hate it? And what do I recommend for those who might visit? There's only one way to find out...

CheapoAir Blog

Where do you want to go?

Cheap Airfare

Random Tuesday Thoughts: Contributing to the economy

Random Tuesday Thoughts are here again. Go to Keely's for more Random than you can possibly handle. Here's what I've got on the menu for today:

I'm walking for Autism research Saturday September 26. You can click this link BloggingMama Walks for Autism to make a donation. Thanks for your support of a great cause!

Cycling Papa and his two friends decided to help out the Germany economy (which near where he lives is at 11% unemployment). Considering the carnage left behind on the table we'll be lucky if they don't end up on the unemployment line themselves.

This next guy might have had the right idea though. Wine bottle in the bibs? Well I suppose so!

Do you ever get uncomfortable around people you see everyday that you have very little in common with but you are forced to make small talk with anyway?

Monday is a holiday from school here. It's Yom Kippur. I could ask the lady at the bus stop (who is Jewish) what the holiday means but would that be rude? If you know what it means let me know, I'm too lazy to go look it up.

We have this butterfly garden we bought at Learning Express. You send away for catepillars, they get mailed to you in a cup with all the food inside, they hang out and get fat then they form the chysalids. Yesterday the final one of the five broke out of the chrysalid into a beautiful Painted Lady Butterfly. We released some on Sunday and will release the last two today after school. It's pretty neat to see how they go from stage to stage over three weeks.

Did you know butterfly's only live about two weeks? Sad for such a beautiful creature.

Do you know they can lay 500 eggs though? I really hope they didn't lay those in the mesh cage thing you keep them in.

Yesterday I got to listen to a person (who shall not be named) grovel on the phone after they accidentially forwarded me a very offensive and quite frankly donwright unprofessional email regarding me and my parenting that was meant for someone else. I love not being on the Foot In The Mouth Side for once.

Why does the whine (and not the drinking kind mentioned above) get bigger the smaller the person? Chick's about three feet tall maybe but her whine is about 98 feet tall. She also has a cold that requires snot to fly out of her nose every time she sneezes. Why is that?

In case you missed it I'm walking for Autism Research this weekend and I could use your donations! The link is to my direct donation page and is completely safe and secure. It's for a great cause and is tax deductable! BloggingMama Walks For Autism Get clicking!

Head over to Keely's and take a peek at all Random being spouted around the internet today!

Monday's Muse with Cinnamon and Honey

Even though Monday is half over and I'm half asleep I thought I would throw up something for todays event that's been inspiring me with my writing. Don't know what Monday's Muse is? Visit the link below and see Robin at Cinnnamon and Honey for the details!

When I write I have to have music and often times I'll make up a playlist to go with the theme of my books to keep me in the mood of my characters. I'll change the playlist around or add and subtract songs as needed to keep my inspiration. I find it really lets me dig into a character by matching the mood to a song.

And what better singer songwriter to listen to for a heart rendering themed piece than Colbie Caillat. I first heard her singing with Jason Mraz over at Ruby Red Slippers blog. I was instantly hooked on the sound of her voice and the lyrics of the song. They may be syrupy for some but I really took to the lightness.





One of my favorites is Bubbly from her Coco album. I also like Fine Wire about balancing during a difficult time. You can listen to her songs on her website and purchase them for yourself as well - Colbie Caillat.

However it's a song from her new album that's inspired today's participation in Monday's Muse. The songs I Won't and Rainbow really have helped me be a part of my characters angst (cause what's a love story without angst?).

You Got Me also has a fun sound. Okay I love the whole album! Just check it out. You should also check out who else is playing Monday's Muse, just click the Guitar above and be transported to Cinnamon and Honey!

What does music mean for you? Does it inspire you to do things?

Let's join the choir!

From our house this Sunday morning to your's. She's got lungs, I'll give her that (especially when we are in the car):

Friday Fun with the Phillies

You may have seen this already but it's cuteness needs repeating. You have to love little Phillies Fan's!

I'm going to be taking my little Phillies fan's to see the Phanatic at the local Borders next week (provided I remember) if you're in the Philly burbs and want the details send me an email.

Have a great weekend and remember if you give a kid a ball...they may just throw it overboard.

Tiskit a tasket, books in a basket

Yesterday when I came home from the grocery store I saw the UPS man pulling away from my house. I almost chased him down in my mini-van until I remembered this is America and the package people will leave anything on your doorstep whether you're home or not. Yea!

With my basket of food on my arm Chick and I marched around the side of the house to the front door and I nearly dropped my grapes (literally!) On my doorstep was a lovely box. My winnings.

A few weeks ago (maybe less) I entered SciFi Dad's contest to win five books from Hachette Group. You know I love free so I entered. To my absolute amazement I actually won. To make things even better they were books I actually wanted to read (and now I can).

Here are the books that I won with links to descriptions:

Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind
Nurture Shock
In Cheap We Trust
Six Pixels of Separation
The Love Revolution

Thanks to SciFi Dad and Hachette Group for increasing my need to buy another bookcase!

Another great book I'm reading is called Third Culture Kids or TCK's who grow up living away from their 'passport culture'. It's a great look at some things to expect if you've lived abroad with kids like I have.

As I've been reading I've even identified with some of the issues in myself. It doesn't read like a textbook either which always helps. They include stories from TCK's and ATCK's (Adult TCK's). It's worth a read.

Now my son is in love with this book: The New Way Things Work. Last night we read about precession, inertia and centrifugal force. They also cover things like gears, screws and the workings of a remote control. It's definitely a tongue twister of a book with some of the terms but for my son who loves to know how things work it's great.

What are some of your favorite books? What's clogging up your bookshelf?

I've Been Thinking...

Whenever I say "I've been thinking..." to Cycling Papa he internally groans, rolls his eyes and shudders all at the same time (it really is kinda neat to watch). But...I've been thinking...Do you Tweet your blog posts? I was glancing through Twitter this morning and most of what's up there is all just links to peoples posts. I have never really thought about doing that. It kind of seems pushy to me and I am the definite opposite of pushy. Usually.



Do you get more traffic if you Tweet your posts? And is 'Tweet' the correct word? I'm not really a Twitter person though I joined and occasionally throw something up there. I never really understood Facebook and the purpose of it and now I'm feeling just the same way about Twitter. I don't really get it.


I see a lot of people linking to their blogs on Facebook too. Under my profile I do have a link to my blog but I don't post my blog on Facebook. This is due to the debate when I first joined Facebook about Facebook owning your content if you loaded it to their servers. Which I wanted no part of. I'm not really sure how that all ended up I got tired of following it.

I'm not really looking to 'pimp' my blog per se but I'm wondering if I'm just not using the services at my disposal correctly.


I also have a LinkedIn account because I wrote a guide for a website and the owner sent me an invite. Cycling Papa has encouraged me to find other writers that way and to connect with a writer I took a class from, Katie Macalister. Her agent was featured in this months RWA magazine (Romance Writers of America). If they say it's all about who you know...I looked her up and she's on there but I hesitated to send out the 'invite' to be linked. I took a class from her but I don't 'know' her. I'm certain she'd remember me as I was the only person in Germany in the class. But is it rude to use that itty bitty connection to further myself?

See I'm just not pushy at all.

A couple of questions: Do you either Facebook link your blog and/or Twitter link your blog? Have you seen a significant rise in traffic because of it? Does anyone know if Facebook does own your content if it is published on their site? Are you using LinkedIn for professional connections and how do you like it?

Random Tuesday Thoughts: A Writer Mama's Tale

It's Random Tuesday with Keely at the UnMom. If you have been living under a large rock (or in a Malibu beach house you don't actually own) then get up and get over to The Un Mom and see what all this fuss is about.

I'm taking my parents to NYC in October to see the 9/11 memorial museum. My dad was a firefighter for 30 plus years so this is something pretty meaningful. Boo also learned about it at school so we thought it could be a valuable learning experience as well. I also haven't been to that part of the city since it happened.

Have you seen the new digs for the kids at Boston University? Umm, hello! Can I go back to school with a view like that please?

The bus continues to be Boo's highlight of school. Thankfully I haven't seen Bus Mom since the breakfast of the first week. Wonder why...

We went to buy some pillowcases the other week (cause I couldn't find any of ours among the hundreds of boxes in the basement). Have you seen how much sheets cost these days? On sale for $159.99 And we went to Kohls not Neiman Marcus! They had pillowcases for a whopping bargain of $49.99 for two! I'll keep my sadly fraying red checked sheets thanks.

The other day Boo had on plaid shorts with a striped polo shirt. He picked them out. They did at least have consistent colors; orange and blue.

Whenever I try to log into our online banking it asks me a different security question. Like every single time. How many security questions could there possibly be??

I recently tried to inquire about some medical stuff for Boo by contacting insurance and the doctor. Talk about amazingly complicated. The best was when the doctor I talked to said she charges 3 grand and did I know that she doesn't take any insurance? Check, next doctor please!

On the happy side, Chick will be getting speech therapy again. The best part is it's through the state or county or whatever and is FREE. Have I mentioned that I love FREE?

Boo doesn't want to be called Boo here anymore. Since I won't use his real name here maybe you can all leave some suggestions for what we should call him. He's a wicked smart, cute, train obsessed 7 year old. What do you think?

As each day goes by I find myself longing to be back in life as an expat. What is wrong with me?? (*please note that would be as an expat anywhere but in Germany which naturally is the one place that keeps offering Cycling Papa interviews)

I am playing a little game of telephone with Kim at Zook Book Nook called A Writer Mama's Tale. The story will go from blog to blog with each person adding their own little 140 character version:
A Writer Mama's Tale: The Seduction of Vintage Grapes (by Kim at Zook Book Nook)

Even the crickets had rested their legs when she sat back in her chair and sighed with a final sip of vintage grapes. Darkness swallowed...

A Writer Mama's Tale: How It Began (by Blogging Mama)

...the sob that threatened to tear from her throat as she watched her only child drive away. What did he know about the world outside of...

Turn the page and read more with Missty at Life Is Good tomorrow.

That's about all the random I've got for today. Go see Super Keely for more.

Be sure to stop by next week and you'll be sure to find just as much Random.

*it's not you it's blogger. The last two lines of this post are really small and I can't get it to fix.

I'm being mentioned over at Ca-Joh's place today. Stop by and see why.

Monday's Muse with Cinnamon and Honey

It's time for Monday's Muse with Robin over at Cinnamon and Honey. This is a great weekly event where Robin encourages us to talk about something that's inspiring us whether it's music, a book, poetry or just something that got us thinking.

Here is what has been inspiring me this week. Does anyone remember the book The Little Engine That Could? If you have kids there's a good chance you have the updated new fancy version of this book. But during our recent move I came across my original copy. The one that was mine as a child.



Look at the slightly battered edges of the book. It was well loved and that makes it all the more special to me. On the inside the copyright page is in Roman Numerals. Would anyone care to translate the year for me?



For some reason the next picture was always my favorite page of the book. If it was the smiling faces on the fruit or the milk bottles or just the description of the treats I loved it whenever we would reach this page.



This book teaches kids (and even adults) to never give up. Always believe in yourself and you can accomplish anything. I think that's a rather fitting thing to have these days.

Do you have an "I think I can" attitude? What is one treasure from your childhood that you have in your house? What treasures from your childhood have you shared with your children?

For more Monday's Muse please visit Robin at Cinnamon and Honey.