• LG will not say her name correctly. She absolutely can say her name correctly, but she won’t. (And I know she can because she just did it for me.) She calls herself a certain thing, and it’s taken me months and months to figure out why. Yesterday, during mass (yes my mind was wandering - shut it), I finally figured it out. I’m sure you’ve heard that old rhyme where you play on someone’s name, like for instance, mine would be: Karin bo barin, fee fi fo farin. I say that to her all the time. And she calls herself by the last syllable. So, for instance, if her name was Karin and you asked her what her name was, she’d say “Farin”. And now I’ve figured out why. I’m so happy just to have figured it out. I don’t really care what she calls herself, I just needed to know WHY! lol!

• LG love love LOVED the church festival. Every time we were there, she’d say “I want to see da festival!”. She had a lot of fun riding the train with Rochelle on Friday night, with my friend’s little boy on Saturday afternoon, and with Daddy last night.

• I think my whole family is going to take awhile in dealing with the loss of my cousin. I don’t think anyone was really ready for it, and I think it made us all realize that we need to let each other know how we feel and hold tight for as long as we can.

• On a lighter family note, it’s interesting what you can find when you google your family members. Sometimes, it’s rather, um, shall we say, enlightening? lol!

• Life will still be slightly crazy until after Father’s Day. This next weekend is Generations, so we’ve got songs to learn for that. The next weekend is Mother’s Day. The day after Mother’s Day is the last mass of the year at the high school. Then there are four Confirmation masses throught the rest of the week. Then before you know it, it will be time for June Generations, although we aren’t learning “new” songs for that, so that makes it easier. One more Confirmation mass the next weekend. Then Father’s Day and the dance recital for two very important young ladies in our life. Then I think things are fairly quiet until the end of July. Whew.

• I think there was more I had to say, but I have forgotten it by now. I’m going to just relax today and try and get some sewing done. Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

I edited this to add one more link since it is for next Saturday!

New! If you’re a flickr user, you might want to join in 24 hours of Flickr next Saturday!

To-do lists. Which is better? Paper or electronic? Talk amongst yourselves. Or just read the article. Whatever. ;)

A microscope for the rest of us.

A custom photo bag would make a great Mother’s Day gift.

A free calorie counter via Miss Zoot

Kryptonite is real? Next thing you know, they’ll make an invisible plane. ;)

How to create a mosaic. via Craftzine

Messing with the composition of chocolate is blasphemy.

I could really use one of these when I’m charging my phone or my camera battery.

These speakers are just pretty nifty.

Want to give your popcorn a little kick? Try these!

If you missed Celine and Elvis’s duet on Idol Gives Back the other night, well never fear. You can see it on YouTube. ;)

Cleanup tips for kids who paint.

How to beat a traffic ticket. (If you ever use this tip, let me know how it works out…lol!)

For those of you who cannot live without the TV - even when you are going potty. ;)

Rock, Paper, Scissors

If you are a knitter, you have to see this. If you’re not a knitter, you should still look. It’s that creeptastic.

I had the worst acid-reflux when I was pregnant. And it didn’t leave after I had the baby, either. If I had known some of these tips, it might have been less irritating.

The 10 hardest foods to digest.

What do 300 calorie meals look like?

Cutest video ever. Or at least one of them. ;) via Susie

If you liked Lite Brite as a kid, then this site is for you! via Susie

For those of you who have ever had a two year old, read this. I’m sure it will bring back memories. ;) Thanks Marlene!

This week has been long. I think I’ve mostly been avoiding thinking about my cousin’s death. It still hasn’t really sunk in you know? I can’t imagine how her kids are dealing with it. I mean she was so young - only 57. (Read on …)

Jen at Never a Dull Moment tagged me with this meme about a week ago. Seems longer, though, because this has just been a really long week. Anyway, I’ve been trying to keep track of the songs that have been running through my head the last few days, because it changes from day to day and week to week and month to month and sometimes minute to minute and hour to hour! lol! This is what I’ve come up with… (Read on …)

Appetizer
How fast can you type?

I’m not really sure how fast I can type nowadays, but “back in the day” I could type 120 wpm. :D

Soup
What is your favorite online game?

I don’t play too many online games, but I do like Boxerjam.

Salad
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 as highest), how intelligent do you think you are?

It depends on the subject. Some things would rate a 10, and others a 1, and others anywhere in between…lol!

Main Course
Name three of your best teachers from your school years.

My kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Johnson, started my schooling off on the right foot. She was a wonderful lady and a great teacher.

One of my college choir directors, Mrs. Sessions, was my mentor and the person I learned the most from out of every teacher I ever had. I only wish she was still here.

And finally, my voice teacher from college, Dr. Claflin, was one of the best teachers I’ve ever had. She helped me develop confidence in myself and my abilities as a singer.

Dessert
What are your plans for this upcoming weekend?

This weekend is the church festival, so I’ll be there off and on helping out with some of the activiites. Sunday night I won’t be singing at mass, though, because LG doesn’t have a babysitter, so she gets to go to church with us, which means I get to sit in the congregation and keep her “under control”…lol! On a sad note, we’ll be attending my cousin’s funeral on Saturday afternoon.

I’ve been totally unmotivated to do anything this week. Well, except websurf and watch television and take care of LG. I think it’s my way of avoiding thinking about things and I’m sure after the funeral is over on Saturday things will start getting back to normal-ish.

This weekend is the church festival, so there will be a lot going on with that and Mike will be super busy all weekend. And of course it’s supposed to be 100 degrees on Saturday, because that’s the way the weather always acts on festival weekend.

There’s other stuff floating around in my brain, but I’m not much in the mood to talk about it right now. So, instead, I’ll leave you with this clip of LG doing something she learned in her dance class!

Click here

You’ll probably have to turn the sound way up to hear this because the laptop mic isn’t that good, but LG was kind enough to actually talk for me while I recorded her, so I hope this puts a smile on your face today!

Click here

I fill out surveys on a regular basis on the offchance that I might actually win some money. I haven’t yet, but I keep hoping. What never ceases to amaze me is the answer choices to certain questions. Now, certainly, if they ask me a technical question about, say, my air conditioner or the motor in my car, “don’t know” might be a logical answer, because I really don’t know technical stuff about those things. But today, the question was, “Do you attend college?” And the answer choices were “Yes”, “No”, and “Don’t Know”.

Let that sink in for a few minutes. Because I’m pretty sure if you don’t know if you’re going to college, at the very least, you probably shouldn’t be.

I’m sitting here listening to my little girl chattering away to her toys.
I’m sitting here with tears in my eyes, that keep coming and going.
I’m sitting here watching the clouds in the sky…
The clouds make me think of angels today.
Today is a day to look to the sky, to remember that death is not an end, but a beginning.
To know that my loved ones are no longer in pain.
They no longer have tears.
Somehow the clouds make me think of angels…
Angels that have gathered to carry her to heaven in their arms.
I don’t know what death is like,
But I imagine that it is like a bright light surrounding you…
That there is no more darkness, no more pain.
That it’s joy and happiness and no more sadness.
When we lose someone, we feel they are gone forever.
But they are not. They surround us.
We have to get used to them being physically gone.
And learn how to know they are still with us, but in a different way.
Just like the angels.
And today, the clouds make me think of angels.

…but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:31

We were out fairly late last night (well, late for us anyway), and when we got home, we didn’t check the messages. In a way, I’m glad I didn’t check them until this morning, because as soon as I saw the who the call was from, my stomach dropped. Does that ever happen to you? You know that the only reason a certain person would call you is if it’s bad news. I was right. It was bad news. I wasn’t expecting it, though. My cousin D called to tell me that her sister P had passed away Saturday night.

P had been fighting pneumonia (on top of other health issues that she’s been dealing with) and had apparently taken a turn for the better and they had actually moved her to a care center for interim care until she could go home. But then she took a turn for the worse and was sent back to the hospital. And I guess she was done fighting. She has had cancer and some other things to deal with over the last few years, and she was done. She was tired and she wanted to go home. That’s what my mom wanted several years ago, so I understand how it goes, and how hard it is to let go of the one you love, yet you know you have to. The same thing had happened to my mom - she was on the upswing and was going to be able to come home and then she took a downturn and never recovered. Sometimes I wonder if, when things like that happen, it just breaks your spirit so much you can’t muster the energy to fight it anymore.

Anyway, my cousin P was only 57. Her son is only three years younger than I am. And she is the first one of my cousins to pass away. And somehow that is really hard to deal with.

I don’t know how much I’ll post this week. It may be normal. It may be hit and miss. It may be nothing. I just know that I need to grieve and think about my family right now. So, please keep all of us, but especially her immediate family, in your thoughts and prayers.

A creative way to keep track of your freezer inventory.

This doesn’t surprise me actually. A new study says that dieting is unhealthy.

Make your food look like a million bucks.

How to tell if an egg is fresh.

How to reach a human instead of “please press 1″. via Lifehacker

Clean your dishwasher - with Kool-Aid! via Lifehacker

An interactive recipe site.

Estimate your credit rating.

Messy fun with ketchup and pennies.

This week is National TV Turnoff Week. Blasphemy! For me. But hey, if you wanna do it, more power to ya!

Mesmerizing and educational at the same time.

This site made me laugh. I don’t know why. via mental_floss

How to prepare an artichoke and how to cut a mango. via TipNut

Some smart tips for making your offline life easier. via Lifehacker

9 ways to be more positive.

The weather today was absolutely magnificent. A little rain in the morning and then cool and breezy the rest of the day. We turned off the a/c, opened all the windows and enjoyed the fresh, clean air.

We cleaned and cleaned this morning and still didn’t get everything done, so we’ll probably be doing more cleaning tomorrow. This afternoon we had a rehearsal for the church festival next weekend - our band will be performing on Saturday afternoon. I don’t actually mind rehearsing with our group because we all get along well and like each other, but when you have to rehearse a lot of songs, it gets a little mind-numbing after awhile. But it’s got to be done!

After the rehearsal was over, Mike ran out for a few minutes, then brought back dinner, because I didn’t feel like standing on my feet to cook after I’d been on them all day…lol! After dinner was over, it was still light outside, so we decided to take advantage of the lovely weather and went outside for awhile. Melody chased rabbits, LG played with bubbles and sidewalk chalk, Mike followed her around, and of course I had my camera! Click for pictures :) (Read on …)

No reason for posting these other than just because I wanted to…

LG on her tricycle today. She peddles a little bit by herself, but she gives up fairly quickly. I’m not sure if that’s due to getting tired or just boredom, but she’ll get it!

And then it was time to collect some rocks…

She says “upside” for upside down, so this is her “doing the upside”…

Scroll down for Friday’s Feast

LG had her “dance” class today. She seems to not want to cooperate fully for the first 10 minutes or so, then the last part of the class she jumps in and tries to do what she’s supposed to. I guess that’s a byproduct of being two, but I did notice that with the two older girls there today, she fell in a little better after awhile. I don’t necessarily want her to be a follower in all things, but modeling is definitely a good thing. :) She even did her “tumble” (somersault) today and didn’t freak out. Yay LG!

After class we went to the post office so I could mail the quilt I’ve been working on to my friend and his family in England. Here’s a photo of the quilt:

And finally, for those of you that read this post and have been waiting for the page I promised with all the television network contact information, you are in luck! The page is up and there’s also a link on the sidebar under “Pages” so you can still find it easily after this post scrolls off the front page. If you think of any information you would like me to add to it, let me know! And thanks to Mr. Syndromes for helping me with a bit of code!

Appetizer
What is your favorite kind of bread?

I’ve never met a bread I didn’t like, but my favorite is the focaccia bread at Macaroni Grill. Heaven.

Soup
When was the last time you bought a new pillow?

It was sometime last year. :)

Salad
Approximately how many hours per week do you spend surfing the ‘net?

Probably way too many…lol!

Main Course
What’s the highest you remember your temperature being?

104 when I had a liver infection. Yep, I was pretty darn sick.

Dessert
Fill in the blanks: When I ____________, I _____________.

When I shower I always sing.