Claim to Fame...or not

I've been dying this past week. No, seriously. I have pneumonia. I also have three small children and a husband who require regular feedings, so I'm not getting much rest. And when I do lay down, all I do is cough.

And now I'll get to my point.

I've met only one famous person in my life (unless you count General Authorities, but that's another post). When I met this person, he had yet to become famous but it was still an interesting meeting. It took place one afternoon when I was in junior high. At that time, I was a cheerleader (please keep your burst of laughter to a minimum). One of my friends had her older brother come pick her up after school in his dumpy little truck and I'd hang out with her, waiting for my mom to come. So there I am, leaning on a truck, wearing my little cheerleader outfit, talking to my friend when her brother's friend who was sitting in the back of the truck decides to join our conversation. His name? Robert Van Winkle. He went to the local high school, so there was that "older guy" thing and he was cute. And he was a musician. Maybe you've heard of him? His stage name was/is Vanilla Ice.

Try not to swoon, ladies. And please don't let the jealousy and envy you must be experiencing ruin our bloggy friendship.

So why am I confessing all this? Well, I hadn't blogged in a couple days and was looking for something blog-worthy. It could also be because I just sent Mr. Ice a friend request on Facebook.

I'm chalking this one up to all the medication I'm taking.

(I'll let you know if I get a response...)

Dating Advice from the Boy

I love Sunday evenings. They are normally very relaxed. I make a special effort for dinner and there's always a good dessert. And the Aunts come over.

Aunt Denise showers the kids with attention, loans me books, or we have a nice adult conversation after bedtime (usually the only one I get for the week). The Co-ed uses our laundry room, brings her adorable roommates, and lets me question her to the last detail on her dating life. It's so nice!

The Co-ed is seeing a new guy. New Guy seems to be quite taken with the Co-ed (and really, how could he not be?) but it's causing the Co-ed to wonder just what is going on. So over big bowls of baked potato soup, we were discussing the possibilities for New Guy. The Co-ed expressed her doubts on what to do next.

Ever the attentive nephew, the Boy piped up with some priceless dating advice for his beloved aunt: "Aunt Co-ed, make sure you don't throw two bombs at the same time, okay?"

If you don't know the Boy, then you don't understand how his entire world revolves around the Lego Star Wars/Batman/Indiana Jones games on the Wii. He plays them as much as I'll allow (and given the fact that I've been nearly dead for two weeks, that's A LOT). In the games, characters throw bombs. Throwing two bombs slows you down, so you can't escape the eruption of the first bomb by the time you've thrown the second, causing your character to break into an assortment of Lego pieces. So...don't throw two bombs.

But in the world of BYU dating, there are plenty of ways to throw two bombs at the same time, don't you think? For instance, you could declare your undying love for your new guy/girl after one date, only to immediately start dating his/her roommate. Or perhaps talking about marriage just after you've told your romantic prospect that you intend to spend the summer in Tibet, learning to be a sherpa. That's definitely two bombs. Or, if you're a guy, loudly and vehemently proclaim that a woman's place is in the home, attending to her husband's every whim, and then propose marriage. One for the ladies: stalking the guy you went on one date with only to never hear from again, then bursting into tears and demanding to know why he doesn't love you.

I hope the Co-ed and New Guy heed the Boy's sage advice.

Swap Attack

I haven't participated in a swap in some time and I'm just itching to put together a package! So what would you think about me hosting a swap? Would you join in? What theme should we do?

Let me back up a little bit for those of you who aren't following the topic. A swap is where you give a package (usually with a specific theme) to another person (usually someone you've never met) and then receive a package for you. To make things even, you typically trade packages with a person, as opposed to sending to one person and receiving from a different person. Packages need to be mailed by a certain date (don't worry...I'll give you plenty of time!) and are within a price range (usually between $15 to $25). Hand-crafted items are highly encouraged. Also, I'd expect all participants to keep in touch through emails, to make sure they still intend to send a package.

Done with the nitty gritty. Let's talk about a theme! I've done a couple "Favorite Things" swaps, where you put together a package of your favorite things (lip gloss, book, movie, candy, lotion, picture of Taylor Lautner with his shirt off...whatever you like best) and share those with your partner. Those are fun. And fairly easy. Then there are the swaps for holidays. We'd be too close to Valentine's Day but Easter is still fair game. I've also done a "Birthday" swap. I sent my partner everything she'd need for a birthday party: cake mix, party favors, a book on party planning for kids, etc. Lots of options and I'm open to hear more, if you have 'em!

In your comments please tell me two things:

1 - If you'd be interested in taking part (this is not the actual signup, just gauging interest).

2 - What theme you like best.

I need a raise...

Moments ago, the Boy runs off to the bathroom. I didn't think much of it; he's been completely self-sufficient for over a year now. But I did notice how he sounded much more...splashy...than usual. Then he calls out to me. He peed on the floor.

There was no accident. No wetting his pants, because he had already pulled those down. His reason why he did that? "Just because."

So I made him clean it up and disinfect the floor. And now he will be spending some time in his room "just because."

You know what would really help me remain sane? A Sony Pocket Reader. Yep. If I had one of those neat little books-on-a-mini-computer things, then I could just lock myself in my room and not come out until the Man gets home.

Would you like one, too? Well, guess what? Shauna is giving one away on her book blog! Check it out!

(But if you win it, you have to let me borrow it the next time the Boy does something "just because.")

Here's where I show some humility

Normally, I am awesome.

Admit it. You think so, too.

On any given day, I am not only perfect, but also well-dressed, graceful, good with children, and a skilled cook. And I'm always on time to my appointments and remember the smallest detail at any given moment. (Amber, stop laughing...I can hear you!)

But even one as magnificent as I am will occasionally falter, if only to allow those basking in my glory to hold on to their hope that they might one day attain such heights of wonderment.

I was looking through hair blogs, trying to find some cute, do-able styles for my little girls when I came across a blog that detailed each step in the child-hair-fixing process. And this is where I discovered that for the last 20-odd years of my life, I've been doing something wrong.

Bobby pins.

Did you know there is a right and wrong way of placing bobby pins in hair? It's true! Apparently all those bad hairs day were due to the fact that I've been putting in bobby pins smooth-side-up. They're supposed to be wavy-side-up. Who knew? I certainly didn't!

Seriously makes me wonder what else I've been doing wrong all this time...

(and honestly, if it hadn't been for the slumber party when I was twelve, I would probably still be putting a brassiere on the hard way...)