Mashup

I'm just going to keep this here, for a rainy day.

Kleptones - Come Again (Beatles vs Rare Earth vs Beaties vs Daft Punk vs Cypress Hill vs Boston) Video by Crumbs Chief from The Videotones on Vimeo.

For Kara

Weird boys + sweatpants + Marching Band (see 00:56) + Teletubbies + hoodies + Flashmob + trendy music --> These are a few of my favorite things!

February Eve

You should know by now that I hate February.
Last February I lost my job. I got it back, sorta, but things sucked for me.
The February before that, my husband lost his job. He didn't get it back and things sucked for us.
I could go on, but you've read most of it before.

So here we are.
February Eve.
I'm crabby today. Crabbier than I have been in a while. I hope it's not any indication of things to come in the next four weeks.
But the truth is, I don't have much reason to be crabby. The sun has been shining for two straight days. I'm just coming off of a full week of great bonding with my son. My husband is finally home after 7 days away.
And here I am.
Annoyed.

By Keith.
By cold.
By wet socks.
By Meijer.
By my hair.
My car.
My zip code.

And when I look at that list, I feel ridiculous in light of the hurt in this world.
Every single one of those things would be a huge blessing to anyone with their head screwed on straight.
So I'm going to do my best and suck it up.

Thanks for the rant.

Remix

I've posted this song before because it makes me happy.
Today, it made me happier.
See for yourself.

He Loves Us

David Crowder, would you be willing to tell me this every single day?

Buds

I love this more than you already think I do.

Get Out!

Perspective

Every time I get that "I can do anything" feeling, I go and watch something like this and think not so much.

Snails Pace

Next time the clock is slowly ticking away on a long hard day at work, I'm going to watch this video.
Life is just better with a cool soundtrack, no?

Scuttle Snails from Chase Rees on Vimeo.

Interesting

I just googled myself and 3/10 of the top results were actually me.
That wasn't true a year ago.
I find that fascinating.

Macho Man

So what does a climbing competition look like?
I'll tell you.
50' in 47 seconds.
That's my husband.

Worth Repeating

I've been reading through a compilation book of NPR's "This I Believe" essays. I like it because I rarely agree with the authors and I've always been better at figuring things out about myself by first identifying what they aren't.
I have 2 dog ears in the entire book - identifying the essays I wish I had written. The rest are food for thought and not much more.

Last night, I read "Always Go to the Funeral." You can read the entire essay here.

But here's the part I wish I had written:

"Always go to the funeral" means that I have to do the right thing when I really, really don't feel like it. I have to remind myself of it when I could make some small gesture, but I don't really have to and I definitely don't want to. I'm talking about those things that represent only inconvenience to me, but the world to the other guy. You know, the painfully under-attended birthday party. The hospital visit during happy hour. The Shiva call for one of my ex's uncles. In my humdrum life, the daily battle hasn't been good versus evil. It's hardly so epic. Most days, my real battle is doing good versus doing nothing.

In going to funerals, I've come to believe that while I wait to make a grand heroic gesture, I should just stick to the small inconveniences that let me share in life's inevitable, occasional calamity.

Thoughts on conservation

I consider myself pretty conscientious when it comes to conservation.
I turn lights off when I leave a room.
I don't let the water run while I brush my teeth.
I'm lazy when it comes to recycling, but I've thought a lot about how I need to step it up a bit in that department (does that even count?)
Water conservation is probably the biggest impression I have from my one year as a girl scout. I think about it a lot.We don't recyle our shower water or anything, but I really do attempt to scrimp when it comes to pouring perfectly good water down the drain.

Or so I thought.

Then I spent the weekend camping in a trailer.
It was our first time out in mom & dad's camper. I did not participate in filling it up with water. I had no idea how much water it really held. We did dishes, flushed, and gave Ben a bath. The whole weekend, I wondered "do we have enough water for this?" I even had separate water for drinking. And we used the public restroom most of the time. But still I worried.

Because I knew the water supply was finite.

So I used water differently.
I scrimped for real.

And I realized - I attempt to conserve water at home because it's what I'm supposed to do. Not because I recognize our water supply as finite. And it is.

It's true even when camping within site of seemingly never-ending Lake Michigan.
It's changed the way I conserve even at home.
I think everyone should spend a weekend with a limited water supply - it makes a difference.

And those are my thoughts on conservation.

Hi

The name's Sara.
Without an H.
I've got a lot of grace in this.
Usually.
But 4 years, umpteen e-mails, and a whole lot of in your face no-h-ness later, I've had it.


Thanks.
I feel better now.

This made me happy

The PEN Story from PENStory on Vimeo.

Seems like I just can't get enough of this stuff.
It'll get old, I'm sure.
But for now, I like it, and I like it a lot.
Kind of makes me want to quit my job and go on vacation forever and take lots of pictures. Care to join me?

This makes me want to get married again

Smallville

Anyone else think find the main subject in this headline amusing?
Nevermind the people who needed to be treated for smoke inhalation - we got to use the LADDER!

Hey! I have an idea!

Hey, you! SAHM! Yeah, you!
I love the whole home-school "raise up smart shoppers" thing. Seriously. I do.
If I had all day with my middle schooler, I'd make her* my coupon you-know-what in a heartbeat. I might even go so far as to have charts for store comparison. Probably not - you got me there. But there'd be a price-per-unit discussion, for sure.

But seriously.

You can bet your britches that it would also be a lesson about courtesy.
And when we saw a young, beautiful 20-something professional woman buying pork chops for a last minute dinner party, we'd get out of her way so she can make the best of her lunch hour. Maybe even give her a chance to run home and tidy up the place a bit. And no, we would not get in her way at every possible turn.
No siree.

And while I'm at it, might I suggest that while you're... um... teaching - that you take your calls in the teacher's lounge?

Maybe next time, eh?
Much appreciative.


*I see this trend all the time in Holland. But only ever with girls. Naive to consider that coincidence? Yeah, I thought so.

Just when you think it's all been done before

Diego Stocco - Music From A Tree from Diego Stocco on Vimeo.

boom box

Tonight, Keith and I strolled the streets of Downtown Holland and enjoyed the watching the Street Performers. I get such a kick out it. You see everything from jugglers to break dancers to face painters to Young Life leaders with their guitars. Tonight my new favorite was the hula hooper. You heard me. She was amazing. Never. Stop. Hula-hooping. Usually two at once. Never mind that she had her butt hanging out of her shorts and everyone I heard comment about her said something to the effect of "wow, she's good - but why is she dressed like that?" She really was good. Silver shorts and fish net stockings and all. (The good news was she was also very pretty, so it wasn't as painful as you might be picturing.)

A block away, there's the old standby Belly Dancer. The best part of her routine is getting 3 year little girls in on the action. There were no toddlers when we approach. Just a... woman... doing her... thing. As we settled in to our spot, my husband who NEVER (seriously - never) has ANYTHING to say about another woman's appearance said "Look at her boom box!"

I scanned this poor woman from head to toe and back and could not figure out what in the world Keith would be referring to as a boom box. And then I noticed it - she had a huge portable stereo on the side walk. He really was talking about a boom box - and not in a "that's what she said" kind of way.

I seriously don't know another man on the face on the planet who would look at an adult woman, with a low cut blouse and bare midriff, shaking it all wildly and comment on her stereo. Do you? Sorry ladies, he's mine.