The Pictures Arrived...and other news

Remember the dreaded photo session I told you about a few days ago? The pictures arrived yesterday.

I'm still glad we didn't buy many.

In other news, I am planning a little shopping road trip for some friends on Saturday and I can not wait! I won't spend alot this time because we are going on vacation to my parents soon and I want to shop then too with my sister but there are a few small things on my list of possible acquisitions. It's really all about the friends for me. We are going to 4 scrapbook stores--Memories in Bloom and Scraplanet in Clarksville, TN, Someplace to Remember in Bowling Green, KY and Scrapbook Village in Glasgow, KY!

On a sad and much more serious note: I attended our community watch group meeting on Tuesday. Our neighborhood was recently touched rather violently by crime and this meeting was held in response to that. It was eye-opening, to say the least. It was an intense 2 hours to sit and listen to 2 detectives and 2 first-response officers recount what they saw and did on the day that our neighbor was murdered. I've never had a more physical response to anything in my life. At some points I thought my heart was just going to explode. It was completely overwhelming.

Just a quick back-story: my back yard backs up to the back yard of a lady named Mary Sadler. The neighbors living to the left of Mrs. Sadler--the Angeles' family--are rentors of a small house. They are second generation immagrants from Mexico and don't speak much English. The children in the house--a boy about J's age and a young girl-- do speak English and have played from time-to-time in our backyard with the boys. Apparently, their mother recently married a man--Ivan Moreno-- who is not here legally and he was staying in their house. Moreno is suspected to have beaten Miss Mary to death last Monday morning. You can read about it here if you feel the need.

I have a new admiration for police officers and detectives. They were patient and thorough and answered every question as best they could.

I have, in the past year, written three letters to the President and my congressional representatives on the hill asking that more be done to protect our borders and I am planning to write a few more. I do not habor hatred for the people of Mexico or the people of Canada, however I think our government has been far too careless in monitoring and controlling our borders. It's past time to change that. Not just because my quiet little nice southern neighborhood is suddenly aching for this loss, but because so many neighborhoods in America are being touched by an illegal criminal element that should not exist. We have all the laws we need to protect our communities. We just need the manpower and the authority to enforce the law.

If a quiet 74 year old petite blonde woman can fight back against a rage-filled 30 year old man more than twice her weight inside her own home, why can't Americans find a way to do more to protect others like her and our own neighborhoods?

It's a question worthy of an answer, although it may be a hard answer to find.

My favorite Bear Cub Scout

One of the most fortunate advantages to Julian's recent improvements is his return to scouting. This is my most favorite Bear Cub Scout in the whole world! He takes scouting so seriously and I am so proud of that!

Cub Scouting is so completely boy and so perfect for him. Camping, whittling, shooting off rockets, archery, popcorn, and a hundred other things entice boys to learn and demonstrate the core values of scouting.

We went to the scout shop today and bought all the necessary gear (shirt, belt, socks, hat, kerchef, patches, guide book, etc). He was so excited. He came home and layed it all out on the table and just sat and admired it all for a while.

I found this quote on Amy's website and thought it quite true:

There is something special about raising boys. While I’ve heard mothers of boys complain of mud, noise, and too much ruckus, I’ve never heard one complain of boredom.

Happy Monday!!

Remember Cassettes

My honey is a musician and
a music collector.
Big time.

One entire closet in our downstairs is *The Music Closet*.
It's where Daddy's music lives.
Alphabetically.

Until about three weeks ago, the lower shelf was dedicated to music in formats that have passed into techological heaven. Namely VHS tapes and cassettes. Cassettes. Tapes. Remember those? Much of this music is Christian Metal and other odd selections from the late eighties and early nineties that neither of us wants to part with, but it isn't stuff that is readily available at every music store. Vintage specialty music from our collective youth. Yes, that's a sad thought...but I digress.

We no longer own a VCR or a cassette player, so obviously it's time to begin doing something about this small part of the collection that we can no longer access.

We were discussing this "problem" a few weeks ago, when I volunteered to go on ebay and see if any of the tapes could be replaced with CDs. It's an iffy situation...some of it was so obscure to begin with that to be reproduced and still available on CD would be a miracle. But you know what they say about ebay...you can find anything there...so I started looking.

And got lucky on several items. My non-computer-using husband has even gotten into the game of hunting music on ebay and old artist sites and let's just say he's been highly motivated to learn the ins and outs of ebay and paypal and the internet since he realized there were musical implications. :)

So today one of the CDs-to-replace-an-old-tape arrived in the mail. Kenny Marks' 1989 recording--"Another Friday Night". This album was one of my favorites way back in 1989 and listening to it today was the coolest experience! I am so glad he bought it.

Funny how I can't remember what I had for breakfast yesterday...but I clearly remember every lyric from this album in 1989!!!

Library Woes

I deserve to have a wing of the new library dedicated in my honor.
Or at least a nice leather chair and ottoman.

My child ripped a page out of a book last month. I confessed and paid to have it replaced. $32. $25 for the actual purchase of the new book and $7 for the "processing fee". Uggh.

But he ripped it and I am a big loud believer in being a responsible person.

As a result, I paid his fee and he's been doing extra chores to "pay me back". Chores he would not ordinarily do.

Yesterday I realized too late that our DVDs (five in all) were due on Thursday. The overdue fine for a DVD is $2 per day. The library here is closed on Friday so I didn'tthink it would be of any use to turn them in on Friday. Apparently, I was wrong. If I had turned them in yesterday, I wouldn't have owed a fine. When I took them in today, I owed $10. Dang.

Did I mention that one of the DVDs got stepped on by son #2 and cracked? I had it renewed for one more week to avoid further fees. At this point, I feel sure they are going to take a nasty mugshot of me and fax it to all local libraries to be hung in the hall of fame for shameful library patrons. Kinda like they hang those FBI Most WANTED posters in the post office.

So, I inquired about the cost of replacing the broken DVD.
$27.
You guessed it: $20 for the disk and $7 for processing.
Dang!

On the way home, I was hit by a bolt of motherly inspiration.

Ebay!

Sure enough, a new copy of the disk that son #2 stepped on can be acquired on ebay for $3 and $4 shipping. Ha! For $7, I will replace the broken disk into the library case and avoid paying the extra $20.

Until next month, of course.

As I tell my husband...I think of it as library "dues". He rolls his eyes.

QVC Rant: How do they get away with such cheesiness?

QVC

What an odd collection of cheesiness and salesmanship and quirky personality...I recorded 16 hours of the "Scrapbooking Faire" on QVC Tuesday to watch (and mostly fast forward thru) just for the scrapbook pages and projects. I bought the Quickutz set for the font (love the font, btw) and I've sold off the other items (that's another post)--the parts I didn't want. Last night I couldn't sleep so I turned on some of the QVC segments...oh my goodness. Can you say "cheese-o-rama"?

I have a low tolerance for insincerity and hollow salesmanship and boy, I met my limit really fast. Does Donna Downey really think that Sticky String is "hot, cutting edge" and "a must-have"? Does David Venible really scrapbook? When was the last time Lisa Bearnson used one of the stickers in the package of 34,000? Somehow, it just doesn't feel sincere. I'm sorry...that Making Memories Magnetic Stamp set is not "new and exciting". I understand that not everyone has a Michael's (even they've been selling the MM Mag Stamp Sets for what...2 years?) but let's not lie and say it's a new, breakthrough product. Oh and stop the presses. Slick Writers don't smere on glossy paper! Imagine that!

And someone should really tell David Venable that "Simple Scrapbooking" does not mean "beginner"! Please! Lisa...honey, you are standing right next to the man. As the parent of Simple Scrapbooks Magazine...why not get him a clue? I totally don't get this.

My other complaint is when the hosts or guests try to say something good about the product, and in the process slam the local scrapbook stores. "This set of 4 bajillion is a way better price that at my LSS." Sorry. That really really bugs me. Lisa Bearnson, of all people in this industry, should know better.

Couldn't you just say "Wow! This set is a great deal!" or "This is an excellent price for 4 bajillion stickers."

Yes, it may be a better "deal" if you actually use the 4 bajillion sticker. On the other hand, if you only use three out of the big collection--three that you could have purchased individually and without shipping from your LSS--you've really wastefully overspent. Who really uses 200 Wild Asparagus frames? I love WA...but 200?

The QK was a "deal". I knew when I bought it that I wouldn't keep all of it. I ordered online without watching the sales schpeel. I am so glad.

Scrapbooking is everywhere...that is for sure. Even with cheesiness on QVC!

Little and Big

I've been enlightened several times by the three year old boy in my house. Seems he's full of good material lately.

I've been noticing lately how he seems to be in that in-between stage. He's certainly not a baby anymore but he's not a child either. He walks and talks like he owns the place sometimes, but he's still very much dependant on me.

Funny thing is even he doesn't seem to be able to decide if he wants to be a "big boy" or remain a "little boy".

It seems he's content to be a little boy when there's some he doesn't particularly want to do, like put the sofa cushions back on the sofa or carry his books from the car to the house. Nevermind that he was perfectly capable of taking the bog sofa cushions off the sofa when he was wanting to pounce on them in the floor and nevermind that he had no problem at all carrying the exact same stack of books to the car when we were leaving.

But announce that his brother is going to cub scouts and suddenly he a "big boy". "I'm big. See." he declares loudly, to anyone who will listen. He throws his arms up in the air and jumps as high as he can, in an effort to proove his bigness.

It's kinda cute.

Let Daddy announce he's going to do the recycling or the carwash and suddenly, he's a big boy wanting to go along and help.

But let me return from grocery shopping with bundles and bags to be unloaded from the car and suddenly, he's whiney and little again.

Let him have a bad dream or wake up in the middle of the night wanting some affection and suddenly his littleness is making me scoot over in my bed and share my covers.

But just a few hours later, he's declaring his bigness in hopes of getting to ride his bike down to the mailbox with his brother. (Like that's gonna happen.)

Back and forth. Little and big. Helpful or not. Never a dull moments...that's for sure.

Happy Wednesday.

Two More Filtered Images...

This is the photo I posted of G a few days ago, tweeked with sepia. I like this because it looks like it could have been taken in any decade...it gives the photo such a timeless feel. Just an ordinary little boy, tossled hair, hanging on the fence, watching the world go by.

The other flower photo is with the watercolor filter.

Art from life. I like that.

Filters

I spent some time today playing with the filters in my photo editing program. Above is the original image--sunflowers laying on my kitchin table.

Below is the same photo, altered with the "chalk" filter. There's also watercolor, charcoal, drybrush, embossed, film grain, mosaic and stained glass. (Those are the fun ones. There are funky ones too.) Of course, there's also black & white and sepia too.

How cool is that? All those options with just a single click. Who knew?

Isn't it beautiful...?

I caved.

It's the font that made me do it.
LOL!

See it here.

Life with a 3 year old...part deaux

Grey: I wanna be a daddy like you, Daddy.

Joal: Are you gonna be a daddy when you get big?

Grey: Yep, when I get big.

Joal: Are you gonna have boys?

Grey: Yep.

Joal: What are you gonna call them?

Grey: On mommy's phone.

Well, that was torture...

What a night.
Tonight was the big night.
It was our once-every-three-years family portrait night at church.
Fun. Fun. Fun.

I freely admit to an attitude problem regarding formal family portraits.
I am not a fan of over-priced-stuffy-unrealistic-impersonal family portraits.
Yeah. Yeah.
I know. It's like a family tradition thing.
I still hate 'em.

Do you know how many times we are all clean, happy, smiling, scar-free, clean-shaven, with hair appropriately arranged and willing to be *that* close without somebody threatening bodily harm while all dressed in unrumpled clean pressed complimentary-colored shirts in one year?

Exactly twice.
In a good year.

Give me a roll of film shot in the backyard on a pretty day any day!

So yeah, we did it to be included in the church directory.
Olan Mills.
Free 8x10.
Free directory.

I goofed off and waited almost too late to make our appointment and we ended up with the very last appointment on the very last day of portraits...9 pm tonight.

Joal pressed the boys matching stiped shirts (yes, the man irons better than me) and we dragged our crew down to Franklin for our 9PM appointment. The boys did ok thru the six minute stash-n-shoot session with the camera guy who looked suspiciously like that guy thatused to be Conan O'Brien's sidekick...can't remember his name...

Anyway.

Joal took the boys to wander the halls of the church while I waited to view, select and possibly purchase, even tho this over-priced-stuffy-unrealistic-impersonal photo shoot/cattle call that looks like it took exactly 6 minutes to produce goes against every fiber of my scrapbooker being...

So the salesman guy comes to get us...he calls our name and I stand up. He asks where everyone went. I tell him Dad is entertaining the boys while I make our selections.

"I need everyone in the photo present for the showing." he announces.

At first, I thought he was joking. I laughed. He didn't. Apparently he wasn't joking.

"Where are they?" he asks again.

I realize I'm going to have to be firm. "I'm the moma and I will be making this decision." I say. "You can trust me. You don't want them all in this little room."

Reluctantly, he agreed. Which was a very wise choice on his part.

Seriously. It's after 9pm and I have 2 sons who are amped up because it is way past their bedtime and a husband who has been on his feet since 5 am and we are 30 minutes from home. I can assure you that if they are forced to join us in that little bitty room, you will not be making any commission on my photos tonight! Do I need to show my "Scrapbooker Expert" card, so you'll know I am qualified to make this choice?

Fifteen minutes and a small order of maybe-decent photos later, I was on my way. The photos...I guess they'll do. The directory shot was acceptable. The grandparents will like it. The only shot I asked to have taken--the one of Joal and I--was of course, the one I was most disapointed in. The photographer had Joal seated and me sort of mushed up against his shoulder. My shirt was rumpled and it just looked awkward. No like us...

There were 2 shots of the brothers together. There faces and smiles looked good in the shots but they were arranged poorly. They were too far apart. I do realize it's difficult to arrange Julian...he can't be completely still. Grey did well but there was too much height difference to get a good photo. It could have been done better, but no in the 6 minute window.

I'm glad the night is done.
We are home and safely tucked into bed.
All is quiet.

Maybe we'll do it again in 3 years.
Or not.

LO: "This is what SUMMER..."

When I borrow or acquire the QK Sunshine dies, I'm thinking about adding the embossed sun in the upper left corner of this page...but until then you can just imagine it's there.

Letters are QK Frankie Skinni Mini thanks to my friend Sabrina. Photo was taken at Camp NaCoMe near Crossville TN July 2005. We were attending our church's family camp. G would have walked in this very cold sping-fed creek all day!

Happy Wednesday!

Card for Swap

“Thank You” Card Swap
Hosted at
Memory Book Inspirations

Supplies Used
Bazzill Basics Cardstock
Making Memories Patterned Paper
American Crafts Ribbon
“Metro” font by Quickutz

Monday Morning Minutia

Does the term "Free Gift" bug anyone else? I hear this and see it in print all the time and it is just one of those little things that bugs me to no end.

F. r. e. e. G. i. f. t.

A gift, by definition, is free. If you have to pay for it, it's not a gift.

Free Gift is highly redundant and silly.

All gifts are free.

It's like saying hot cinnamon or cold snow or wet water...

So now you know.

Happy Monday!!

More about the Chair from Saturday

On Saturday evening I posted a photo of a chair hanging on the wall. I posted it because it has a hold on my heart.

Joal and I took the boys on a little day trip up to Bowling Green KY on Saturday. We visited the Shaker Museum in Auburn, KY--a small community about ten miles outside Bowling Green. I have a long-standing fascination with religions in the vein of the Amish, Shakers, Mennonite, and others that embrace simplicity and communal spirit.

What a unique experience. The chair hanging on the wall is the perfect symbol of the way of the "Shakers".

The Shakers embraced a cummunal lifestyle, believing that God was both mother and father. The Shakers were founded by a woman belived to be a prophetess, Ann Lee. They were a self-sufficient people and the photo above is of the school area. Wow. And some people call modern home schooling conservative. :)

More on this in a while. I have to get the boys to bed.

Nicole Wright

The newest issue of CK is really rocking. I picked it up yesterday and haven't been able to put it down. My favorite layout is on page 54, "one perfect day" by Austrailian Nicole Wright. She really personalized that Becky Sketch.

Notice the stitching! It's on my "Scraplift This Immediately!" list!

I did some digging to find more of Nicole Wright's work. If you wantto see more of her scrapbooking, she's on the Design Team at an Aussie store... www.scrapboxx.com.au. Her gallery can be enjoyed here.

Happy Sunday!!

Hooked on Metro!

My first layout using the new QK Metro alpha! The first of many!

This layout is a "scraplift" of this page made by Scrappygirl at2Peas.

I am usually challenged when it comes to mixing 2 or more patterned papers, but got lucky with this one. The dotted paper is from the Wild Asparagus collection and the stripe is from Scenic Route. I was surprised at how perfectly they go together. The orange solid is the reverse side of the dotted paper. The word "LIFE" is the Heidi Swapp chipboard letters that are too easy and too cool. I am totally hooked on those buggers too.

My cruise album is 8x8 but I wanted a cruise layout to hang in my space, so I did this one in 8.5x11, to match the other pages hanging on my wall.

Happy Wednesday!

Lost and Found

Rings.

I'm just killing some of my "I'm-trying-to-be-patient" time with some random musings...there is a thread on 2Peas today about wearing wedding rings or choosing not to. I have some thoughts on that...gee, I know you are shocked, right.

Joal sang 3 songs at our wedding. I will never forget when he sat down on the stool, began to play the quiet opening notes of "Love of a Lifetime" after we had exchanged vows and rings. He played a few notes, stopped completely and held up his hand, he readjusted the pick in his hand and smiled at me. "I've never played with a wedding ring on." he said. Then he went on and finished the song. It was one of many funny sweet moments of our wedding.

We both have gold bands, both engraved with our wedding date and I have a small solitaire. We got married in college, almost 15 years ago, when 3 months salary wasn't nearly what it is today. LOL! I'm OK with that tho. I do love my rings.

Joal has worn his wedding band everyday from that day to this. His finger has a grove where the band sits. I love that.

Nine months after we were married, I lost my wedding rings. We were moving to our first apartment from the lowly married-student housing and when I was cleaning, I took off my rings and put them in a cup on our dining table. I forgot to put them back on before I left for an evening class. While I was in class, Joal and our friend David decided to use their dinner break to move some of the larger items to our apartment, including the table. The items on the table got moved to a box, including the cup. Unfortunately, by the time I caught up with the cup in the box, my rings weren't there.

I have rarely been that sad.

Joal said all the right things. "We'll get you a new one." and "It's just a ring. We are married, with or without it." but there wasn't much consolation. I remember feeling helpless and hopeless. All through the moving process, we hunted for them. We went thru every box, hoping it got stuck in the folds or something, but to no avail.

Word got around. (It was a small school.) I worked in the library and for days, every library patron would see my hand and ask "Where's your rings?" or "Haven't found the rings yet?" It was difficult and I felt horrible.

And then one day about a month later...after class, I was in the cafeteria studying, when David came in. He was beaming with a smile--something that was very unusual for him. He sat down next to me and held out his hand. "I think these belongs to you." he said and in his hand lay both my wedding rings.

Come to find out, one of the single faculty members moved into our place after we moved out. He hired one of the students, my friend Kim, to do some housekeeping for him. In her cleaning, she discovered my rings, but she hadn't heard about my loss. She decided to turn them in to the office. David worked in the office and was there when she brought them in. He knew just who they belonged to and he came to find me immediately.

It was a sweet day.

Since then, I have rarely taken them off. Pretty much the only time I've been without them, I was in the hospital giving birth. My rings were important to me before I lost them, but became even more important after that incident.

Yes, I know they are just a symbol, and we are still married, whether we wear them or not. But to me, a wedding ring says something. It's a declaration. It's a reminder. It's an unmistakable signal. It makes the lines of demarcation very clear.

He is claimed.
Spoken for.
Committed.

I am claimed.
Spoken for.
Committed.

And we want there to be no room for doubt.

I like that.

So Now We Wait. Period.

Let's just talk facts.
I am not a patient woman.
I want to be.
But I am not.

Waiting is not my forte'.
It's a downright struggle within me.
Money burns a hole in my pocket.
I scrap the newest photos first.
I rush the people around me.
I usually shop alone.
I like to eat the favorite food the day it comes home from the grocery.
Both my children were born early.
My wedding started 3 minutes early.

It's a lifelong pattern.

Unfortunately we are now stuck in this waiting pattern for test results for Julian from Vanderbilt University. Yes, I know they have this impeccable reputation as the home of many world-class researchers and great doctors but that impecability doesn't seem to carry over to their labs.

The labs move at a snails pace.
And they don't recall phone calls.
And at least one of their techs is incredibly rude.

They seem to "care not" that much of my future (and my sons) is going to be plotted according to what they find in that vial of blood. They have information that I need. Need.

ASAP.
NOW.
Please.

Did I mention how much I hate waiting?

Some love for SEI and slowing down...

I think SEI is one of the most unique, innovative scrap companies out there. They are always doing something a little edgy. When cute was dominating, SEI was doing stripes and circles, and the SEI color choices have always been non-traditional and cool. Today I was looking at the SEI website and I noticed the sale page, where they are clearancing quite a few of their older items. Funny how looking at older paper is so sentimental to me. Check it out here.

The very first SEI paper I ever saw in person was the striped vellum pictured above. I still love this paper!

One of the things I adore about scrapbooking is the speedy proliferation of new and exciting products. There's quite literally *always* something new coming out. Unfortunately, the flip side of that is the incredible speed at which what is new becomes out-of-date and old news. This market moves at an incredible pace. Sometimes I think it moves a little too fast. We could slow down and enjoy stuff a little longer. I am trying.

If I could have one wish, I would wish that some of the powers-that-be in the scrap community would really take on this "new-to-old-in-60-seconds" problems. I wish that magazine editors would see the value of "vintage" and manufacturers would slow down with the flush of new stuff and focus on supporting (really supporting) what is already available. It's going to take a concerted effort. If one cog in the consumer-LSS-magazine-manufacturer wheel doesn't fully get on board, we'll be stuck in this whirlwind of new until the market breaks. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy new as much as any scrapbooker. I just happen to think there is a limit to what the market will stand for. Many of the scrapbookers I know already have a brutal case of product-ADD. I'm not sure how much frustration we can stand.

If you still love the older SEI styles, they are being offered at serious savings on the SEI site.

Happy Friday! again!

2006 Toyota Corolla SE

There's a new set of wheels in the driveway! Well, new-to-us, anyway.

It's a white 06 Toyota Corolla SE with 5025 miles on it. It's a sweet little ride and is perfect for my favorite salesman who's tracking to drive 42,ooo miles this year (down from last year's 53,ooo miles).

The ever increasing price of fuel prompted this move down from the Jeep (although we do still have both Jeeps). The Jeeps are lucky to get 18-20 miles per gallon. The Corolla is reprorted to get 35-40 miles per gallon. This switch could effectively cut his gas bills in half...and let me tell you that's a h-u-g-e difference. We spend more in gas each month than some house payments!

Happy Friday!

Not for 9.75 Percent!! Not even for 10!!

Tomorrow will be the beginning of the first TN Sales Tax School Gear Holiday. In our area, that means a savings of 9.25 to 9.75 percent on school gear and clothing.

People are all excited.

I am so not.

You couldn't pay me to go shopping this weekend. Not for a mere ten percent discount. No way. Not in those crazy crowds.

Look what we did today!!

"It's a rainshower!" Grey said laughing hysterically!

Leigh Ann, you made our day! Can't wait to go back with ya'll!

Appropriate...wouldn't ya say?

I couldn't resist this!
I must sit down at the computer 50 times a day...

"When does public school start so I know when the splash park hours change?" Go to the school system website.

"What's the weather like in Florida at Christmas?" Go to the MSN weather site.

"What's the expected life of a Toyota Corolla and a Honda Civic?" Go to the big three car sites for stats.

"What's my inlaws address?" Go to Whitepages.com.

"What time does J's flight land on Wednesday night?" Go to the US Air website.

"How do I get to the Dr office at Vandy?" Mapquest.

"What are the peas discussing today?" Go to www.twopeasinabucket.com

"What do I need to know about a new med we are considering for Julian?" Go to Google.

"I want to hear a sermon replay from my pastor from a few weeks back." Go to the church website and play it.

"I need to clean out some of my old sb stuff to buy a few new things." Sell on ebay or Scrapbook Addict.

"I need to order that Club Scrap set of UM stamps..."
Email Sabrina. :)

"I want to get a movie."
Put it in the Blockbuster online que. It will come to my door.

"I need a recipe for ______."
Go to Google or foodtv.com.

"I need to get some pictures developed."
Go to Winkflash or 2ps.pictures.

"I need postage stamps."
Go to USPS.com.

"I need to find out when our tree in the backyard should be pruned so that it will actually bloom next summer." Go to Google.com.

"I need an address to send Julian's letter to 'Ask This Old House' to."
Go to PBS.com.

"I need to know what kind of menu to expect at Buca Dibeppo (Italian restaurant) in Brentwood." Go to www.bucadibeppo.com.

"I need ideas for my Sunday School class Jonah craft on Sunday." Go to Google. (Oh man. There's some cool stuff out there for SS teachers. I had no idea.)

"I need a printable calendar to track what days we "do school"." Go to http://www.printfree.com/Calendars.htm

"I need to print my bank statement." Go to bank website. Looked for a "free money" button but couldn't find one. Will have to keep looking.

"I need to catch up with some friends." Email said friends and check their blogs.

"I vowed last December that I would not wait until December 2006 to do my shopping for Christmas." Oh my. Internet shopping is so much fun!

"J needs another book on firemen. (snort) I dig around in the library files for some new books and request transfers." Go to Nashville Library website and renew other books while I'm there.

Seriously. If I could just find a way to do my grocery shopping online...I'd be a happy camper.

Happy Tuesday.