the FOREVER lamp

...because it took FOREVER.

I bought this ugly old lamp for 5 bucks last Summer and said to myself that if I were one of those awesome DIYers on those blogs I love then I'd know exactly what to do with this...

It sat in the garage for many moons before I decided to be brave.

About a month ago I googled lamp makeovers and was wooed with pretty pictures...

And sooooo-

TAADAA!!!!

Fabric flowers are surprisingly easy, yet painfully tedious.

Mike said it is pretty girly for my style.  I agreed -but sometimes I'm weird like that.

Hi Mario.

I win again!

My kids need hide-and-seek lessons.  Brenda thinks that I'll forget that she hides behind my bedroom door every time.  Suzie announces herself with 3 seconds of "ready-or-not..".   And while Garret finds creative hiding spots, his giggling can be heard throughout the house...

yeah, he's in the washing machine

Happy Wednesday!

3 plugs and a bunch o' links...

plug # 1:

May 5th is our 2nd annual MamaBabyHaiti run!  Remember this post?  So here we go again!  We've chosen a route that is mostly flat, almost completely traffic-free, and BEAUTIFUL.  The women who are at the heart of this charity regularly spend time in a birthing center in Haiti where their expertise and resources are so desperately needed.  And I know them personally!  So I can personally vouch for the integrity of the organization.  Go here for more information and to sign up, and here (and keep reading!) to read the first hand account of Sue, who can give inspiration and fascination to the cause.

plug #2:

My Runasmanymilesasmyshortlegswillrun starts Sunday!  (Too bad Sundays are my mandatory rest days.  Day one will be a big, fat zero.)  I explain the plan here.  And I have to admit- initially when I had the idea I thought it would be a fantastic motivation to run myself wild in preparation for big runs ahead, but with pledges coming in- I'm feeling guilty that each mile I run is costing someone money!  Silly me.  Still, I promise to forge ahead...

plug #3:

If neither of these causes has you jumping out of your seat then we can revisit sending me on a cruise.  'Cause really, it's for the children... 

It's Spring Break!

(That means pants are optional as all three of my kids have been demonstrating...)

We put the ick in sick.

Cleaning up puke is one of the evils of parenting.  My poor Garret doesn't understand the physical cue to git to the bathroom and the messes have been piling up.

There I am, scrubbing the mattress, thinking I am a somewhat-educated woman darn it, I should be sipping cocoa in my Italian villa right now.

(pause)

...Well we all know where this is heading.

cue photoshop-

But really, my villa will have to wait whilst I launder the mountain of ick in the laundry room.

It's not so bad.  Garret is the sweetest sick kid there ever was.  I had waltzed (that's right) into my room earlier this evening to find brownish guck all over my bed which had been half stripped of the bedding so that the guck had gucked all- down to the bare mattress.  FUN STUFF.  I boomed- NOOOO!!  PUKE!  EVERYWHERE!!  AAACK!!!!!!!  Then turned to find my little boy huddled behind the bedroom door, soaked and looking terrified.  Whoops.  Within 20 minutes I had him bathed, warm and cuddled into bed.  He even smiled as I rubbed his forehead.  See?  Even sick-Garret can melt hearts. 

Happy thoughts for my boy.  May he be bouncy by morning.

step-by-step pictures

metering

coaxing

calming

shouting goofy noises

That'll do.

Mike'n Me at the Movies

Happy anniversary Mike!

-------------------

Still taking pledges for next month's LINDSAYRUNSFORCHARITY!  Even 10 cents a mile would be awesome!!

Help a running friend out

Well, after posting about running for a charity I was regrettably committed.  Hot dang, I'm gonna have to run alot...  But no, this is good!  I need to be running and this might be the extra push I could use to face the Oregon rain.

See, this is all about me.

I've been pouring over pages and pages and reviews and more pages of the many charities out there.  After becoming a bit overwhelmed I decided to stick to charities that will help suffering Africans since this all started with some reading about the LRA.  I kept narrowing my options down trying to stay close to charities that directly help families.  Long story short, I went with my gut-

International Rescue Committee

The phrase that got me was this:

"Thanks to the "KONY 2012" video made by the San Diego-based organization Invisible Children, millions of people are suddenly interested in humanitarian crises in Central Africa. This is great news, but the challenge now is to translate that concern into constructive activism..."

OK!  So the few dollars that I gather will be proudly/humbly sent to these hard workers, and I will have some ripped calves...

Here's the plan:

For the entire month of April (oh, that's a wet month...) I will track every mile that I run.  RUN.  (no walking except to catch my breath, take a quick picture, or fight off those obnoxious puppies that live in that brown house...)  I'll regularly post updates.  I'm asking for pledges by mileage.  For reference I'm hoping to get at least 100 miles.  Who knows, I may get more.  Maybe less.  If you would like to pledge send me an email-  mikelikesmee@yahoo.com with the amount per mile and I will let you know how to get the money to me at the end of the month.

I promise not to go on a cruise.

OK, LET'S GO!!!

Stats and Brenda and other stuff

I'd like to say that the stats on my blog mean nothing to me.  Nothing.  And if I have said that in the past then I simply was lying.  In all honesty I get a thrill seeing hits on the blog.  I smile whenever there's a new comment and tingle in my toes when numbers go higher than before...
I hope I don't sound like a look-at-me look-at-me! person, but if I do- oh well.  I cherish this journal, and it's even sweeter if others enjoy it!  I've spent long evenings reading over old posts and they become more valuable with age.  So no regrets with the many hours hovering over my dusty keyboard.  (I should clean it?)

A couple of my most seen posts are:

Did I ever tell you about the time...

and

spread the word

I have to add that if I had to pick my own favorite post it would be this one-

normal

This is my 299th post and as of now I've had 16,410 hits.  The most hits in one month is 1,142.  The least in a month- 530.

Is that interesting?

If not, then I've got a good Brenda-ism to hopefully make up for the yada yada-

Brenda had my phone when little-brother Tyler called.  

"Hi"

"Uh, Hello.  How are you?"

"I'm playing with legos!"

"Oh, hi Brenda!  You're playing with legos?"

"...How did you know??!!"

-Oh and THANK YOU for the feedback about the charity/running thing!  It is definitely ON.  (I'll post soon.)

growing pains

Perhaps you woke up this morning thinking I could go for some cake, but wisdom and practicality won out and you were sad.

Well cheer up, dear friend, and grab a piece because today we celebrate Zookeepingblog's birthday!

(kazoo sound)

But we enter this year with a little apprehension. 

The blog is now two, and you know what they say about 2-yr-olds...

charmed me

"A flower for Suzie!   Mom look!!  A flower for Suzie!!"

We, of course, spent some time in the sun today.  It was an awesome "Take THAT!" to the ice/snow that froze my car door shut the other morning...

I like our property- about 2/3 an acre with a portion fenced off for the kids to scamper.  Garret spends most of his time dashing from tree to tree to "inspect" it with a few taps and giggles.  Brenda is either digging holes in the mud or reenacting pirate/storm trooper/wizard wars on the trampoline.  Suzie's happy to play any which way as long as there's a buddy with her.  It's a quiet, safe oasis that while requiring an annoying amount of maintenance, takes care of my little family swimmingly.

I live a charmed life that smells of toasty bacon.  (Really it does.  I'm cooking some up for Garret right now...)  And while I admitted in my last post that I am not driven to put much energy into politics, I hope that over the years I'll take this charmed life and use it to benefit others.  I'm not sure how.  I spent the evening reading articles about the LRA in Africa and now I'm dreaming of becoming a photojournalist for 3rd world country charities.  ...Some day.  (We are a media-driven society and good pictures/videos can be SO powerful.)  But by golly, I'm sitting here all jittery wishing I could do something important, and little me in my little life feels a bit powerless.  You know the feeling.  So I wonder, what are my strengths?  Well, I can run.  I can goof off on photoshop pretty good.  I can play a little Gershwin on the piano.  I can do that pat-the-head-rub-the-belly-and-switch thing without hesitation.  ...How do I put these to use?

So little me has an idea...

What if I were to run as much as my little legs and little life allowed me to for one month and tracked every mile?  (I'm kinda doing that already with another marathon approaching, but anyway...)  I could gather pledges like a walkathon for each mile.  Then, at the end of the decided month I send the money I raise to a charity?  (I promise the charity will not be the send-Lindsay-on-a-cruise charity.  ...Though that one deserves some hearty consideration.)

Any feedback?  Any suggestions on a charity?  African refugees?  Haiti relief?  Autism research?  (I won't ask for pledges until a charity is chosen.)  Oh I'm getting excited.  Anyone want to join me?  Am I being silly?  Silly enough to make this work?  I gotta get the word out, maybe make a blog...   

Watch out world!  I'm making a difference!!!

This is just for backup...

Don't rain on my caucus

Oh my goodness I don't like politics.

I mean, I'm a good citizen.  I vote.  I try/pretend to understand what's going on.  I even occasionally join a rousing discussion of what is what which usually ends with me humming and hawing my way out of it...

I don't pay attention to details.  (true Lindsay-style)  In my naive/bored opinion, the government is so jumbled and insanely complicated that when you venture into the details you risk never getting out.  BLAH  Who needs that?  I listen to talk radio for 10 minutes and I start seeing stars.  I watch a debate and I become like one of those parents at their kid's ball game who, while yelling like a baboon, thinks they should be up there, finishing off the opponent.

I've just got enough grey hairs, thank you.

Can you imagine me, a hearty activist?  ...Yes, umm, Vote for family values!  Vote for smart conservatism!  Vote for- Oh crap, these aren't my notes- this is a Wendy's receipt!  Wait.  Is this the right room?  Sir, do you have a wet wipe?  I sat on my kid's yogurt...

Yeah.  So here we are in March 2012 and things are heating up in Washington.  I'll say it- I'm rooting for Mitt Romney to be our Republican candidate.  The other options are a nice/good guy who I don't think could take on Obama, and another who just seems like a jerk.  Some might say that a mormon supporting Romney (also mormon) is just a biased vote.  Yeah, I won't deny that having a president who shares my religious beliefs gets me pumped but I also think he's the guy that can most successfully bring some moral structure and financial responsibility to Washington.

I don't know.  Maybe I'm wrong.   I care and yet I don't.  Shame on me?  I think at this point I've decided to be aloof to simply avoid the stress.  Lazy?  Probably.  My part will be a vicarious one.

So go team go.  Fight, fight, fight!  Now I'm going to go play on photoshop...

The movers are here!

 Good to know the Harry Potter crew have found employment...

sometimes we bake...

...and sometimes it works.

old musicals at 2 am

Half of Tuesday night was spent with Garret sleeping next to me and this resulted in me wanting to have an old movie night with friends. 

First I got smacked in the face with a little fist.  Then I was bopped in the face with a little fist.  Following the bop was a splat, crackle and pop followed by a swift kick in the knee.

When Garret sleeps he owns it.   He's like This is me world and I am sleeping.


Now if you love this old movie like I do you're already yelling at the computer screen.

It's Two Weeks with Love!

TWO WEEKS WITH LOVE!!

Let's pause for a moment and giggle over the scene where the Dad is trying to get some sleep while bunking with his boys but that darn little sleeping fist keeps smacking him in the face.

~!~!~!~!~!~

OK now get a hold of yourself!

So in between Garret's slumbering assaults I sang and quoted and snickered in my head.   

Embarrassing knickers and baboons marrying monkeys to chimps...

Unfortunately we ended our partnership with Netflix and that old VCR tape that my mom recorded the movie onto oh so many years ago is long gone so I'm at the mercy of anyone with obscure/old movie access. 

...I make good popcorn!