Evites forever!

I should be doing something productive right now, like doing my budget and putting receipts into my financial spreadsheet (I made it, it's awesome, and I love it, but I still don't do it as often as I should) but Yahoo is down.. . so I can't get to my emails that tell me how much the Christmas presents that I bought online were, so I'm taking a break until Yahoo stops being dumb, and actually writing in my blog.

So, what's the deal about Evites, you ask?  Well, simply put, I am never going to send another written invitation in my entire life, everything will be done by Evite. 

We are having  a big Christmas party next Saturday and the week before Thanksgiving I bought these cute invitations from Target, spent over 2 hours filling them out, went by the post office, bought stamps for almost $17, or something like that, and spent another 20 minutes putting stamps and return address labels on all 31 invitations, which all had clear (I thought) instructions to RSVP to our email address.

Well, 2 weeks later, and only one person had emailed to say whether they were coming or not. (Thank you Jessica, I know I can always count on you! ) A couple of people had mentioned to Jeff that they were planning on coming, but no emails.  Since I am so OCD that I was constantly worrying if people had gotten their invitations, or if no one was coming and we had wasted buying all of that food, Jeff finally suggested that I send out an Evite reminder.

I very much appreciate Jeff's ability to be logical in the face of my anxiety, so I did just that, and sent it out last Thursday night.  WE GOT 3 REPLIES IN LESS THAN AN HOUR.  And we've been getting replies constantly since then. 

I thought that a written invitation would make people feel more welcomed, like it was a bigger deal, but I guess it's just easier in this day and age to reply to an email that is sent to you.  Plus, Evites are really cute and you can keep track of who's coming so easily. 

So, the moral of the story is, save your money, and save your time, and just send out an Evite.  :o)

always close the shower door

This morning (Ok, I lie, it was at 2:30 pm) when I went to take a shower I turned on the water and shut the door (or so I thought), and then went in the closet to put my clothes in the hamper. As I was behind the door I hear the familiar cry of "Moooommmm," so I knew that I only had a few seconds of privacy.

As I come around the corner, I see Benjamin, fully dressed, in the shower, standing in the water. I shriek, "Benjamin!," and then he grins at me, with a completely satisfied expression as the water streams down his face, soaking his clothes, and then pooling into his shoes.

So I did the only thing I could do, stripped him down and put him in the shower with me--destroying any hope I had of taking a shower with a modicum of privacy and getting all the water to myself.

As I look back I thought that I had shut the door all the way, but I must have just done that 'nudge that should be good enough until I come back' kind of thing. So now I have learned a vital lesson that I am passing on to all of you: Make sure the shower door is COMPLETELY closed. And then check again. :o)

As for why I don't have a cute picture to go with this post? Because I don't keep a camera in the bathroom, and I am way too OCD to let him stay in the water with his clothes on while I go get one. :o)

We Moved!!!

I haven't posted in forever because we have been staging our house, then listing our house, then selling our house, then finding a new house, then buying our new house, then packing our old house, then moving to our new house, and unpacking in our new house. It's been incredibly stressful, and I'm not moving again until I'm 85, but we're getting settled, and it's starting to feel like home.

We absolutely love our new home, and feel so incredibly blessed to be here. Seriously, we have daily moments where we just wander around, going, "This is our house!!!!" I was shaving my legs the other morning when I just had to stop, look around this fantastic bathroom, and realize again, this is where I get to shave my legs! It almost doesn't seem possible that we get something this big and beautiful, but somehow, we have. The Lord had blessed us so much; I am grateful beyond words.

Night Time Wonderments

Do you ever have those moments when you start to wonder the weirdest things, regardless of what you should be doing?

Jeff and I are trying to go bed early, which for us means going upstairs at 10:00, instead of 11:00 or later. We've been fairly successful, so I'm pretty happy, and it's made getting up in the morning not such a horrible prospect. However, there are those times when I just lay there, and my mind starts to whirl, and poor Jeff has to listen to my "wonderments".

So, last night it's really quiet, and we had just started to really relax, when, after a thought-train (you know, when you start with one thought, and then that leads you to another, and then to another, and on and on, until you arrive at something completely and totally unrelated?), I bust out with, "Why doesn't Whoopie Goldberg have eyebrows?" Jeff did a vocal double-take, and says, "Wha . . .? I have no idea. Why don't you put it in your blog?" And then he turned over and was breathing deeply in about 2 seconds.

Out of sympathy for his need to sleep, I let it go, so I'm taking his advice and putting it to you, my blog readers. Why doesn't Whoopie Goldberg have eyebrows? Is is a cultural thing? A nod back to an ancient custom of the Egyptian courts? A comedienne thing? Is it on purpose or the result of a medical condition? A fashion statement? Has she ever had eyebrows? Like I said, just something I was wondering.

Oh, and I should tell you, the whole Whoopie Goldberg/eyebrow thing came about because I was thinking about the new DVD I just got for our family that has Warner Bros. and MGM studios Oscar nominated shorts, and then that made me think about the other Warner Bros. cartoon collections that I have, and then I thought about the disclaimer that all the discs have about the racial jokes and misogynistic themes, etc., not being appropriate, but that they aren't going to take them out of the shorts because the cartoons are a product of their times, and they're not going to pretend that it never happened, and did I believe that explanation or not, and that when I was a kid I didn't get any of the jokes and sight gags, but now that I'm a "grown-up" I'm really kind of surprised at the things that they put in there. And for one of the collections they don't just have screen for you to read, but Whoopie Goldberg does this whole schpiel of explanation. Which then made me think about her eyebrows.

Just in case you were wondering.

It's not you, it's me...

Have you ever heard the old adage that if you have had 1 really difficult roommate, then it's probably their problem; if you've had 2 or 3 difficult roommates, then it might be your problem; but if you've had more than 3 difficult roommates, then it's definitely your problem?

Well, people's comments about my last post have made me pause for a moment of self-reflection, and I think, ya know, it might not be everyone else? Perhaps I need to take a step back from the Chicago driver that I am, and enjoy a little more southern hospitality. Maybe.

I'm willing to concede that it might not be such a great idea to be uber-agressive, especially because I want to also be a safe driver. Not to mention that I don't want my insurance to go up, for any reason.

However, to answer your question, I have only gotten 3 tickets in my entire life (that I remember, anyway), and only 2 of those were for speeding. But I must admit, I got one of the tickets because I rear-ended someone while getting off the tollway (Eastbound I-90, getting off on the Rt. 53 exit towards Woodfield Mall, for those who happen to know Chicago roads), more than likely because I was going too fast, so I'm willing to concede that speeding was definitely a contributing factor.

And it's not really that I drive that fast, really, but I do drive with quite a bit of impatience. But growing up in Chicago, that's how you do. After all, you know you're from Chicago if . . .

• You measure distance in minutes
• You know that the minimum acceptable speed limit on the tollway is 75 mph. Anything less is considered downright sissy.
• You know that Chicago has it's own version of traffic rules called, "Hold on and Pray"
• You know that the far left lane is the PASSING lane, and you know how to use it (meaning, you don't just hang out there!!!!)

So, all I'm saying is that I'm a product of my culture. However, I am also willing to admit that my way is not the only way, and maybe I need to just relax; be a little more zen about the whole thing. It would be nice, after all, not to yell at other drivers for being slow, or pound the steering wheel in frustration, or arrive somewhere in a bad mood because everyone around me is acting like such a moron. And who knows, maybe I might even start to enjoy how people drive here.

Ok, probably not, but I'll let you know how it goes. :o)

Driving Pet Peeves

Well, it's that time of year again; the pools have closed, the nights are a little cooler, and a few leaves have even started to change color. Yes, school has started back up, and you all know what that means: stupid drivers!!!!

As I am necessarily driving more--back and forth to carpool, to the gym, etc.--I am reminded once again that people don't drive the way that they should. That is, they don't drive like me. :o)

Instead of just screaming while I grind my teeth in frustration and wringing my hands on the steering wheel in an attempt to not plow into the person in front of me out of frustration, I thought I would do a quick vent, and put down just my top 3 driving pet peeves.

1. Drivers who don't go the speed limit. Come on!!! If it says 45, that's because you can safely go 45!! They checked and everything! And if you're going 5 under, DON'T obstinantely stay in the left lane (which is called the "passing lane" for a reason!), because "everyone should learn from your example."
--Corollory to Pet Peeve #1 are those drivers who go the exact same speed as the car next to them on a two lane highway, thus making it impossible for anyone to get around them. Arrrrggghhhh!!!!!!

2. Drivers who don't go right when the light or arrow turns green. I know, we've all been there, you're waiting at the light, not paying attention, when, whoops. . . but if you're the first person, you have to pay attention!!! If you don't, and then you get through, but hardly anyone else does, well, that's just selfishness. You have an obligation to make sure that as many cars get through the light as possible. Particularly the light on Louisburg, turning left onto Fox Rd. Which is, funnily enough, where Fox Road Elementary School happens to be.

3. Drivers who don't pull up all the way to the line at a red light. This is something that I still have never understood in my 7 years of living in North Carolina. And it's something that I have only seen in North Carolina.
Why do they leave room for an entire other car in front of them? Is there a ghost car? Are they leaving room for another car that might want to come to the light at the last minute? Is this a gross miscarriage of the famous southern hospitality that North Carolina is famous for? What possible purpose does it have? Other than giving me an aneurysm, of course.
I have noticed that 9 times out of ten (but not every time) it is an older driver that does this inexplicable thing, so I think that it must have been a misprint in the Student Driver Education manual that got handed around until they finally got the state funds to reprint the books several years later. Just a theory.

Well, I feel better, having gotten that off my chest, and I hope you do to. And any of you with information (especially about that NC oddity I mentioned) feel free to comment away. :o)

mommy moments

My friend Gail does this monthly post where she writes down all the cute, funny, and brilliant (her kids are geniuses, literally) things that her kids' say. Well, my kids aren't geniuses--although they are very smart--but they do say some funny things that I would like to keep track of. So, with thanks to Gail for her great idea, here are some of my recent "mom moments":

"That man is not being good! Meg chose Hercules, so he needs to find himself another girl!"

~ Taran, while watching the Disney movie, Hercules, after Hades threatens Meg when she doesn't want help him to find Hercules' weak spot

"Taran!! Mom cut my brain!!"
~ Kelcey, after I trimmed her bangs one afternoon

"I don't want to be Sleeping Beauty. They always kiss, and that's gross."

~ Taran, telling Jarom which princess she wants to be for Halloween

I'll post more when they occur (I hope!) but I thought that these couple were pretty cute, no?