Wordless/Wordful Wednesday - Our Easter Best

I attempted to take Easter pictures of myself with the kids on Sunday. It didn't work out the way I envisioned it. I did get some pictures and found that this one was among my favorites:

North vs South

I was born in the north, New York to be exact. I take pride in being a northerner, even if I have now been in the south for more years than I was ever in the north. I'd like to think the time I spent there molded me into the person I am. Of course southerners will always tell you people from up north are rude. And sometimes they're right. This is one such time.

Last weekend we were in Massachusetts and now that we have kids trips and the things we do on them are different. When I lived in Boston as a college girl I didn't recall there being so many parks. I rollerbladed along the Charles River and watched concerts at the Hatch Shell on the esplanade. But parks? With slides and swings? Don't recall ever setting foot in one. But the last 2 visits to Boston? Oh yes, we did parks.

We went to a park around the corner from where my brother lives and I sat with the Teagan in her stroller while Spencer played with his dad and his uncle. Until several little girls showed up. See Spence loves when other kids show up! He gets excited and says "kids, kids". And little girls put me at ease because they aren't so rough and tumble. And they always keep an eye out for my boy, eager to lend him a helping hand.

But this time it was different. In the group of girls that showed up was a tall 3 year old. We know she was 3 because when my son went to play with her she said "I don't need your help little boy, I'm 3!" And had it not been said so nastily I would not have minded. And had this same girl not been bratty to the friend she had come with, I would not have thought anything of it. But she was aggressive,bratty and dismissive of my friendly, charming son.

My husband looked at me and I could only shrug and say "guess this is the difference between northern little girls and southern little girls.". And it was the first time I was truly proud to be from the south.

Wordless/Wordful Wednesday - Big Feet, Little Feet

I have to be honest, this picture while taken by me, was actually taken first via phone by my sister-in-law. She has a good eye...as the comparison speaks volumes and makes for an awesome picture!

To the Extreme

Wednesday night TLC brought back a showed called Extreme Couponing. After hearing people talk about it all week I decided to tune in. I didn't think I would make it through both 30 minute episodes but did all the while amazed and a bit disappointed in what the show could be.

I tweeted the other day that I thought those that took couponing to the extreme did not eat healthy. I use coupons when I can and rarely procur coupons for fresh fruits or veggies or organic products. Not to say they aren't available, they just rarely come in a Sunday paper. The deals that I saw being made with coupons were for processed foods: soda, chips, hot dogs, canned soups/meals, cereals and tons of non-perishables.

The stockpile that these folks had was ridiculous. I'm sorry to say that when groceries take over your home and you have a gazillion packages of toilet paper under your 2 year olds bed? It becomes less about saving and more about hoarding. And the thrill of the shop and save. These folks can talk about how much they save but wouldn't they save even more if they stopped buying things they had 100 bottles/packages/rolls of?

I perused a few couponing forums and the consensus was the same, the extremist were giving couponers a bad name. They appeared greedy and hoard-like. They were in essence going to ruin current coupon policies and make it even harder for the rest of us. And I have to agree, I've already seen changes to policy because a few always ruin a good thing for masses.

Another issue that was brought up was the good these extremist could do for shelters and churches. A few comments were from people that knew those that had been highlighted and said many did give. So why didn't TLC show that? Instead of leaving a bad taste in the viewers mouths, it would have been nice to see them taking all the extra and donating it. But honestly? It's hard to believe that someone with 3 years of stockpiled groceries who is still shopping weekly is giving anything away.

I'm not sure if I will continue to watch each week. What about you? Did you watch and have any thoughts?

You Give What You Get and Get What You Give

Back in October, I wrote this post. In said post I talked about how what was done for me was a sign about how I was living certain aspects of my life. Since that moment I really started doing things differently. I have started focusing less on the almighty dollar and more on if what I have to give, can indeed help someone out. You know what? I'd say my karma is slowly correcting itself.

You're asking how, right? It's really all about little things. Since October I've really opened myself up to getting rid of things I don't need and instead of trying to sell them, give them to someone that really needs it. Baby clothes, formula that gets sent to me in the mail. The items have ranged from something totally new to things that may have been used only once and put in a box to never be see the light of day again. And you know what? Ever since I started doing that, I've seen a difference in how I feel and what has come back to me.

Okay, so maybe I haven't won the lottery...but I also don't play. But I've entered contest here and there and suddenly am winning, duh. Charlie Sheen would be so proud...

Sure, maybe my overall luck has just increased but I really would like to believe it's because the energy of kindness that I have put out there is being returned to me. Maybe I really should start playing the lottery...

What about you? Have yo made a change in your life and then started seeing things turn around? Sometimes the smallest change can make the biggest difference.

Stream of Consciousness Sunday: Tech Challenged

I like to think that I am computer savvy and depending on who you ask..they will tell you it is so. I can Google like nobody's business. I can fogure things out by trial and error and most of the time I am not afraid.  But the reality is that I'm pretty much a newbie when it comes to computers, the internet and websites. I don't speak their language. For me, it's all about tutorials and cutting and pasting. If the tutorial gets too complicated? I click the little x pretty quickly and call it a day.

But today? Today I had a bit of time to actually update my banner using a photo editor. The editing was fine...it was actually getting it onto the blog that presented problems. Finally after about 5 tries, I had it the way I needed it.

And then i decided to get really brave...and attempt to make a badge/button for the blog. I googled for tutorials and found an awesome one. Of course it was super easy...but still took me several tries before it was right. And before it appeared on the site the way I needed it to.

This leads me to the final frontier...Wordpress. I keep hearing how if I am a serious blogger, I should be on Wordpress. That scares me...I have an account there and have spent some time before the baby was born to acquaint myself with WP. I didn't find it friendly or intuitive. Maybe I need a Wprdpress for Dummies? Or maybe I am just not that serious about my blogging...either way? I am definitely tech challended and I don't deny it.


This was my 5 minutes brain dump. Want to join in? Click the badge at the top and link up.