Archive for November, 2007
I find market research fascinating. Who wouldn’t want to have a voice when it comes to reviewing products and services? This company, Synovate, does “research on research.” And ironically, a friend of mine used to work there! You can check their website to see whether there’s a branch near you. Their “News” section offers a bunch of interesting articles about market research, and you can also check out careers with Synovate. There are also market research newsletters and publications you can download in order to learn more.
Yeah, that’s what the back seat of my car now smells like. (Sorry to be graphic, but let’s face it ~ motherhood unfortunately has its graphic moments on occasion!) I opened all of the car doors to let the interior air out, but I haven’t been brave enough yet to enter our garage and spray everything down with upholstery cleaner and Lysol. Blech.
I stole this one from my parenting e-mail group. Thought that it would make a neat blog entry. Feel free to participate on your own site!
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I wrap gifts whenever I possibly can. It’s so much fun ~ plus, I think that it’s a lot neater to have a box to open. We frequently find ourselves hard up for the perfect boxes, however. Gift bags are great for oddly shaped presents and for a collection of small gifts. But overall, I’m an avid wrapper.
2. Real tree or artificial? Real trees are absolutely gorgeous, and I’d love to have one. But I think that my husband is slightly allergic to them (?) ~ hence the reason why we’ve had an artificial tree every year. We always decorated an artificial tree when I was growing up, too. I’d love to have the experience of taking our family to choose the perfect (real) Christmas tree, but environmentally it’s nice not having to cut down a tree.
3. When do you put up the tree? Normally, I enjoy putting up our Christmas tree the weekend of Thanksgiving. This year, though, we’re only going to decorate a small one because we’re traveling to Indiana for the holidays. I think that keeping our children out of the Christmas tree would be next to impossible ~ plus, the thought of having to take everything down just makes me tired.
We received our very first Christmas card of the season in yesterday’s mail! Thank you so much, Jenni and family! :) Oh, how I *love* picking up the mail during this time of year. Our Christmas cards came back from the printer today, and I can’t tell you how psyched I am about that! Hopefully soon I can relax with a cup of hot tea, listen to Christmas music, and start addressing them. One of my very favorite parts of the holiday season.
- I just realized that I never posted an update about my great aunt. Many thanks to everyone who sent her prayers and good wishes! When she fell, she broke two bones in her left elbow and also broke her pelvic bone. The doctors were kind of hesitant about performing surgery on her left arm, but she came through it just fine (thank goodness). Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to use her left arm much anymore. Her pelvic bone just has to heal on its own. They said that they couldn’t really do much with it. (I remember how sore my pelvic region felt after giving birth to both of our children; I cannot imagine how much pain she must have experienced!) She was transferred to a rehabilitation facility and is undergoing physical therapy. I feel badly that she had to spend Thanksgiving there, but family and friends are with her right now. We sent her a get-well card with the kids’ pictures in the hopes of cheering her up a little bit, and I’m planning to put together a little care package/Christmas gift for her in the near future. One thing that I’ve always admired about my Aunt Ginny is that she’s so positive and continually has such a great attitude no matter what. I wish that I could be more like that.
- Along the same lines … if you could, please hold good thoughts and say prayers for my grandpa, if you wouldn’t mind. He turns 84 in January (he actually shares a birthday with my great aunt!), and his stomach has been bothering him so much lately. I can’t imagine how frustrating and miserable that would be. We’re not sure exactly what’s causing it, but we do know that he takes a lot of medication and doesn’t necessarily eat a lot of food. Maybe that’s a culprit. I hope that it’s nothing serious. He just doesn’t feel like doing much of anything, which has to be kind of depressing for him. I talked to him on the phone yesterday, and his voice sounded fine ~ but I’m sure that inside, it’s a much different story. He told me about his arsenal of anti-stomach upset goodies (7-Up, ginger ale, etc.). I feel so badly for him. I freak out whenever I feel the least bit nauseous; I can’t imagine how he’s dealing with that. :(
- On a lighter note, what treats and goodies did you enjoy when you were in college? Our friend Jeannie turns 19 on December 1st, and I’m looking forward to putting together a birthday/college care package for her. I know that I’m going to bake her some cookies (she told us that the food there isn’t all that great). I love putting together goodies like these ~ and it brings back so many wonderful memories of my college days!
- We survived our 2007 family portrait Christmas card shoot! :) It didn’t take as much time as I thought it would. Our dining room is painted a nice red brick color, so I thought that the picture would look warm and cozy taken in there. Jeff had the idea to sit down with Meredith in his lap and Lucas on top of his shoulders, and then I stood next to them. But I hadn’t anticipated my lower half showing ~ I was wearing my ratty, hole-in-the-knee jeans! Plus, I hated how my hips and thighs looked in the picture. I also had to Photoshop one of the votive candles behind Jeff’s head because it wouldn’t light (ah, the wonders of photo editing software!). I’m very pleased with how it turned out, though. I ordered the cards over the weekend and cannot wait to receive them. Addressing our Christmas cards is one of my very favorite parts of the holiday season.
- Lucas definitely knows all of the letters in the alphabet now. He can pick up a book (or anything printed) and read off the letters in order. One day, he picked up the book Go Dog, Go! and actually *read* the first few pages. I was amazed! He’s also stringing together more words now (that sound like sentences). I can’t get over his vocabulary explosion. It constantly amazes me! He’s so smart and is really growing up.
My parents and I visited St. Augustine, FL *many* years ago during a family vacation. It was lots of fun, even though I was kind of young and don’t totally remember everything. Ahh, vacationing in Florida sounds *so* nice right now! Speaking of that … are you a blogger who lives in (or near) St. Augustine? Or maybe you’re planning a trip there soon? Make sure to check out the St. Augustine Artwalk ~ also called the “First Friday Weekend Art Walk” ~ on December 7th and 8th (and every first Friday and Saturday of the months thereafter). It sounds like a fantastic and fun event ~ just the kind of thing that’s up my alley. Looks like there will be all kinds of exhibits, entertainment, refreshments (read: yummy food!), and shopping there ~ just in time for finding the perfect, unique Christmas gift. I’d be most interested, probably, in the photography exhibits! Admission is free, and the hours are 5 to 9 p.m. There are trains and trolleys that you can take advantage of, too, in order to navigate the festival. I love events like those and would love to go (if we lived closer). If you do end up attending the event, drop me a line and let me know how it goes!
Online games are *so* much fun. I used to play quite a bit several years ago. If you’re into that sort of thing ~ and you want to know where the *best* online casino games are ~ then sometime you should check out topusaonlinecasinos.com. The website seems easy to use, with the home page listing 10 of the best casinos based on various categories like “Top Graphics,” “Awesome Roulette,” “Monthly Bonus,” and more. It lists the current bonus, whether or not you have to download software in order to play, the payout, and the rating. Lots of information at your fingertips. What a great way to check out new casino sites that you might not have heard about before. Only thing is ~ I couldn’t get their “About Us” link to work. Maybe the site is still under construction? There *is* a nice page that lists their contact e-mail, though, so that’s good. (I think that it would be good for them to include their mailing address, as well.) Anyway, if you’re interested in online casino games, please check them out!
Sometimes I dream about opening my own handmade bath and body products store. Just thinking about all of the work involved with that, though, *totally* overwhelms me! With two small children, I don’t have much time at the moment to create handcrafted bath and body goodies (although my goal is to make at least *some* for Christmas gifts this year). Anyway, I would absolutely *love* to set up my own store website, at least, in the future. One of the key elements for a website like that, though, is a shopping cart service. That makes it super easy for customers to go through the checkout process. I’ve heard about Ashop Commerce and been intrigued by what they have to offer. It’s great that they offer a “demo store” online so that you can “test drive” what they’re all about. There’s a 10-day free trial, too (pretty cool). What I *really* love about the service, however, is that customers can pay you through PayPal. That’s what I’d really be interested in for a potential bath and body business. So, if you’re in the market for a shopping cart e-commerce solution, please check out Ashop’s software! I think that I’m going to bookmark their site for down the road.
I’ve only been to a casino once, and it was lots of fun! A friend took me to Turning Stone, which is between Albany, NY and Utica, NY (so just a few hours away from us). I’d like to go back there sometime. I enjoyed playing Keno, even though my friend’s hope for “beginner’s luck” by bringing me along didn’t produce any winnings. :) I also like to play casino games online when I have some spare time (yeah, right … what’s that?). Anyway, recently I came across a *very* cool website containing online casino information. It’s called Pro360.com and has basically everything you’d want to know about online casinos and games. They list online casinos with the highest jackpots, best bonuses, best U.S. online poker rooms, etc. There’s also a section with “a beginner’s guide to gambling” and “online gambling tips.” I think that my parents would enjoy this website … they like to visit some of Indiana’s casinos from time to time and might even play online occasionally. This website would be a great way to get started with some online casino fun. Good luck (and of course, be careful!).
Meredith had her one-year checkup on Tuesday, but unfortunately I’m just now getting around to posting about it. The nurse did a double take when she put her on the scale and saw that she weighed 22 pounds. At her last appointment (nine months old, July 31st), she weighed 16 pounds and 15 ounces. I had to look back … I think that Lucas weighed about the same at one year old (a little more than 20 pounds). Meredith checked out just fine, thank goodness. Poor girl did not enjoy getting four shots and a finger prick (lead test), of course. She screamed ~ loudly ~ probably more so because I had to hold her down. I had a bad headache when we left the pediatrician’s office. Every time the kids get shots, it makes them sleepy. She nodded off in the car but perked up when we went grocery shopping afterward.
