Category Archives: Random Thoughts

>Yes, I’m on spring break. Random is good.

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>To-do list:
Nap.
Make coffee.
Wash the winter jackets.
And more, and less.

The thrift store called, and I always say yes to a pick-up. It forces me to clean a closet or toss a few things. Since my purse strap broke, I’ve been putting off moving everything into a new/old one, saying I didn’t have time. The truth wasn’t exactly the lack of time to move things from one bag to another, but the time to face the junk in my purse, sort through it, and clean it up.

Here’s the inventory, along with random thoughts and reactions. Starting at the top and going clockwise (sort of): Wallet. Card-holder. Calendar, small notebook, assorted gift cards. Inhaler. Chico Bag (where was this when I went to Target last week?). Cell phone. Four — yes, 4 — pens. Comb, small scrunchie, and bobby pins. Receipt from bookstore. Tide-to-Go pen. Mints. Reading glasses with case. Sample pack of dental floss. Did I forget anything? Hey, wait a minute. I think I missed a pocket. Where are my hearing aid batteries? Where’s the little bottle of Tylenol?

It’s not a picture with a purpose, like the last time I posted a picture of my schoolbag for a contest at WorkIt, Mom. This time, it’s just (in La Petite’s words) lame. Look, kid, it’s my spring break, too. It’s okay to be lame. Just be careful you don’t think it’s lame that I’m doing laundry; I’ll make you wash your own.

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>I look so great in that picture…oh, wait, it’s not me.

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>But it could be me! It could be any one of the ten of us gutsy bloggers who contribute to Mid-Century Modern Moms. We take turns on weekdays, and any one of us with a keyboard and an idea can post on weekends. I have alternate Thursdays.
We’re excited because we now have a new home and new domain name. We’ll have a grand opening contest — with prizes — and we hope you’ll come back again to read us and read some more. With ten of us sharing our adventures in raising teens and young college kids, there will always be something interesting posted. Sometimes humorous, sometimes sad, sometimes simply venting our frustration that makes us want to croak, “for this I went through thirty hours of labor?!!” Several contributors are published authors, meaning you can expect high caliber writing.
But seriously, check it out. And please feel welcome to come back — many times.

Photobucket

The picture is actually Margalit, her angelic teenaged twins, and her lovely cat.

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>Darn, I need a new purse.

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>I bought a new purse during a big sale at Gordman’s last fall. I enjoyed using it until recently, when the braided straps decided to unravel and snap. I’m carrying it under my arm, kind of like a clutch that’s too big, afraid the one last strap will give way and everything will spill all over. Silly thought, that is: it has zippers that keep all the important things safe inside.
The big dilemma: do I need a new one?
I have a few old bags (oops, that was a poor turn of phrase) in my closet. I can use one for a while, even for a permanent replacement. Then there’s the trip we might take this summer. So should I buy a new purse, and if so, what are the main features I should look for?
I like the little cell phone pocket on my current strapless model.
I like the zippers.
The pockets are big enough to hold anything I need. In fact, this purse is actually a little bigger than I need.
I need more than pocketbook size. Any bag of mine needs to hold my cell phone, my wallet (checkbook size), my cardholder (store cards and insurance, etc.), inhaler, reading glasses with case, my school ID smart card, hearing aid batteries, and my keys. I also like to carry a small pack of mints, a bottle of Tylenol, small notebook, pen, Tide to Go pen, hand sanitizer or wet wipes, a comb, and lip gloss. For a brief time this summer, I’ll carry my passport, too.
At least I’m not in the market for a diaper bag!

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>Random pictures and the answer to yesterday’s trivia

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Goal –> to keep my mind off staff meeting this afternoon, which could have been worse, but also left a kind of bad taste in my mouth

Goal –> to avoid repeating what others have already said about Favre, and add my own perspective

I wore my Favre Celebrity Softball Game t-shirt to school today. I posted yesterday’s newspaper with its headlines and photos outside my classroom door along with two rather trivial Favre posters. The posters attracted a lot, and I mean a lot or attention from students. One was the Milk Moustache ad from right after Super Bowl XXXI. He looked like such a kid! No gray, no grin wrinkles, all clean-shaven, big grin. The other poster was an ad for Wisconsin’s champion cheeses. Favre is sitting surrounded by big wheels of various cheeses and flashing that big “I can’t believe they pay me to do this” grin. The students kept asking if the autograph on the poster was authentic. No, it isn’t. It was mass-produced along with the advertisement.

Both posters were discussion-starters, though. It was fun talking with kids who have been alive less time than Brett has been playing football. Oh, my goodness, that sounds scary! But it’s true. There is a whole generation of fans — no, two generations of fans! — who remember only one quarterback on the Packers.

So just for fun, here are a few you won’t see on ESPN.

–warming up before a game on a sunny day

— staying warm during a game on a very snowy day

–and the answers to yesterday’s question. If the picture is too small to read, the numbers retired by the Green Bay Packers are 3, Tony Canadeo; 14, Don Hutson; 15, Bart Starr; 66, Ray Nitschke. Not pictured here: 92, Reggie White. Soon to be added: 4, Brett Favre.

photo credits all go to Husband, who had the opportunity to photograph some memorable moments while working weekends 🙂

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>Seven Reasons I Wouldn’t Survive Survivor

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>I’ve been tagged! Dorit at Pieces of Me tagged me for the Seven Random Facts meme. The last time I shared seven random facts about me, I shared Green Bay Packer playoff tidbits. This time, I’ll share seven random facts on another rather random theme.

Husband is a big fan of the show Survivor. I’ve watched it with him occasionally, but I rarely get attached to the players the way he does. Early on, I knew I wouldn’t be a good player in this game. So in answer to the latest tag for seven random things, I offer seven reasons why I wouldn’t be a good contestant on the show Survivor.

7. I don’t have a tattoo. It certainly seems like everyone on the show, and I do mean everyone, has a tattoo of some sort, somewhere. Motherly stretch marks don’t count.

6. I’d probably insult the others inadvertently. When I watched the early shows, Australia especially, I kept wondering why these people were so uninformed. They were completely unable to forage food for their tribes. I kept wanting to say, “Haven’t you people read My Side of the Mountain? Or Hatchet? Or any wilderness survival stories? Do you read, period?!

5. I’ve never, ever been good at group sports. I’d fail the physical challenges, and my tribe would say, “Out!”

4. Hearing aids like mine don’t work well in warm, damp climates. If they do Survivor UP (Michigan’s Upper Peninsula), I’m ready!

3. I don’t look good in a bikini. That’s not a put-down or negative self-talk; it’s simply true.

2. I’m a peacemaker, not a backstabber. I couldn’t handle the suspicion and the alliances that lead to tribal council. I’m much more likely to be a go-between, a mediator. Can’t you see it? “Daisy, you’ve ruined the intrigue! Everyone gets along now! They’re not willing to vote each other out of the tribe!”

1. And last, but not least, I’ve never seen them making coffee. For me, doing without coffee for 36 days would be the true test of Survival.

Here are the rules…
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Tagging seven is the hard part. I read soooo many blogs, and I’ve tagged most of them already or they’ve tagged me. I’ll leave this one open: if you’d like to be tagged, go for it! Drop a comment here telling us where we can read your post.

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>Swag in a lunch bag

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>One thing that keeps me judging music festivals is this: festival managers treat their adjudicators (judges) like gold. They provide coffee, snacks, water, and more. Even when I’ve had a rough week at my regular teaching job, when I judge I feel like my time and my expertise is valued. This weekend was unusual even by those standards. At my most recent festival, there was a gift bag donated by one of our local music stores. Advertising aside (I’m already a faithful customer!), it outdid anything I’ve ever seen. In fact, it was almost overboard.

Here’s the basic inventory.
insulated lunch bag sporting name of music store
glass candy dish sporting store logo
tiny chocolate bars to fill dish (see above)
water bottle displaying logo and motto for store
week at-a-glance calendar with logo on cover
faux leather CD case, also with logo embossed on cover
several pencils and a ballpoint pen (suitably identifying their sponsor)
small notepad with logo watermark
folder boldly proclaiming store’s name, featuring young musicians enjoying their craft

I can’t complain about advertising when it’s on free and usable supplies. Most of the above will go to school with me or find a use at home (the chocolate? ahem). I must admit, though, even though I laughed out loud at the huge batch of goodies, it sure was nice to know they appreciated my work.

Photo from my new cell phone. Please excuse the blurriness; I’m still learning the ins and outs of the new phone and its camera.

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>Random thoughts on getting a passport renewed

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>I gathered everything I could possibly need for this application. Birth certificate, driver’s license, old passport, marriage license, proof of address, and more. I filled out the written form. I packed my checkbook.

It was much too easy.
When I arrived at the office, the official took my old passport, asked to see my driver’s license because my name had changed since the old passport, and that was all she needed.
But did she have to laugh at the photo?
I mean, really, we all looked like that in the late seventies, didn’t we? And the worker handling the application was my age, too. I’m sure her picture would have appeared just as dated as mine, if she had one from that era. The hair carefully feathered back from the face, big glasses with the photosensitive lenses (hot technology, it was), not to mention the plaid shirt with the solid color turtleneck under it. Hey, at least it was in black and white. That shirt had some pretty funky colors in it.

So she took my new photo, showed it to me, asked if it was okay (of course), and then took my money and handed over my receipts.
Sorry, I can’t post the old photo. The old passport is heading off to visit a few government offices while my new one goes through.
But it could be worse — it could be my school picture this year! Now that’s scary.

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>Fur Elise is not for amateurs

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(or) Reflections on a day spent judging piano solos

“Fur Elise” may be a standard, but it’s not easy. When middle school students realize this, maybe they’re stop butchering the piece. Poor Ludwig must be turning over in his grave — or at the least, decomposing.
Student performers introduce their own pieces before they play. This can lead to some interesting statements. “An interesting aspect of this piece is that it’s pretty.” “Something unique about this piece is, um, is, um — I’m sorry, I’ve done six of these intros today and I just can’t remember any more.”
Tears before the festival judge will not improve a rating — but it won’t harm it, either. We only judge the performance.
Excuses for mistakes will not improve a rating, either. See above.
Yes, I did overhear the neighborhood police liaison officer teasing the volunteer by telling her not to spill the donuts or she’d get a ticket.
Festival judges like coffee. At least I do. Keep it coming, and I’ll be more alert for much longer! (That’s a message to the festival managers, not to the performers, by the way.)

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>The kids may grow up, but they still need us…we think.

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>Mid Century Modern Moms is a relatively new voice in the blogging world: the voice of the moms parenting teens and young adults. We are a group of moms of teens, many of us of ‘advanced maternal age’ who are dealing with drivers’ licenses, negotiating through the maze of college applications, and sighing with loneliness once our kids have moved out. We’re an under-represented group in the blogosphere, but not for long.

We’re done with the diapers and breastfeeding vs. bottles, but we still deal with parent-teacher conferences, homework, laundry, and a lot of other parental dilemmas.
The Terrible Twos have been replaced by Teen Attitude.
Diaper rash is now acne.
The “kids” have moved from formula to Mountain Dew.
Child care budgets have been shifted to college tuition.
Forget Disney Princess costumes: we’re dealing with the latest jeans, pierced ears and more, and haircolors not found in nature.

We’re interested in learning which blogs you read that are authored by mothers who are in the throes of the teenage insanity, moms who are guiding young ones on the path to college, and other beyond-the-carseat topics.

Do you know of other bloggers addressing these issues? Please let us know by leaving a comment here or at Mid Century Modern Moms.

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