Mom Jeans

God bless me the day I fit into the profile of this commercial. Hysterical!
Just had to share... :)

A fresh layer

As the snow continues to fall around us, piling higher and higher...

I admit I'm pretty much done with winter. I thought the last snowfall would be our last--dangerous thinking during a midwestern February. It is a mentality like that which almost jinxes the weather report and encourages the snow to fall well into April. Shux!!

I guess you could say GG and I can't wait to get our behinds to somewhere warmer and more predictable! Virginia, that is! We are so eagerly anticipating our move there! 3 months and counting...

In the meantime, if the wintery blahs have stolen your joy today and you need a little morsel to make it through...

Just remember things could be worse.

You could look like this guy.

He's having a rough day too. lol.

Smiles and God bless!

*Note: this little Ewok creature is actually a member of my immediate family--a brother, if you will. Meet JB, my parents' 15-year-old pug, who's beating the record books and living well past his prime. I still manage to find him cute! :)

Daddy Antics

To delight you on this Thursday morning...

Here's a glimpse of a Gasperini-Ville dinner! lol! What a good daddy, huh?!

God bless you!

Quick Christmas-y Bit

Here's the cutest quick story from a friend of mine...

Friend to her 2-year-old daughter: "Evie, what is this hanging on the wall?" pointing to a newly hung Christmas wreath.

Evie: "Mommy, that's a Christmas hole."

LOL!! A Christmas hole!
If only I could be that creative. :) This just cracked me up.

Hope you had a fantastic day, ending with a good chuckle.
Warm blessings and fireside hugs.

Salad Girl

I felt so good about myself last night, ordering a salad and a whole wheat baguette at a Panera dinner out...

Only to later indulge in the boys' triple cheese (triple cholesterol) Crispani pizza, loaded with grease. GG laughed, watching my dinner go downhill. We cracked up at the imititation "I'll just have the salad" and then later, "I'm so famished, I could eat a horse...". lol. :)

Such is the way of life for a woman.
My mantra: If it doesn't touch my plate, it doesn't count. :)
This especially works well for french fries.

Sometimes

Laughter is the best medicine. :)
Hope you are well today... God bless.

(This is JB, my parents' pug. Poor thing. :)

A random brownie comment

Ever encounter the "stir 30 strokes" instructions on a box of brownies?
Maddening!

Was that 29... or 31? Did I miscount? Are they too stirred or not stirred enough? Should there be chunks of powder remaining? Will they turn out or be the worst brownies ever?!?
This is torture for anyone remotely analytical!! There's too much grey!

Betty Crocker, take me away!!!

So I made her brownies this weekend.
All she asked of me was to "mix well".
Thank you, Betty.
God bless you, Betty.
Sweet dreams...

Why This Prego Should Avoid the Grocery Store

After a recent trip to the grocery store, I came up with this list as to why I should never return... All the pregos out there, do you hear me?

1. Pregnancy = endless hunger = buying more food because everything looks so good.
2. Buying more = spending more $$$.
3. Spending more $$$ = having less to buy on "fun" items. Sad.
4. "Baby Brain", or the forgetfulness that comes with pregnancy (brain cells "consumed" by the baby rather than day-to-day tasks), will lead to forgetting essential grocery items and causing a poor prego to have to return to the store later, exhausted.
5. Number 4 will also cause one to forget where she parked her car after she's all done. Poor, pathetic soul.
6. When she's really all done, home, and groceries are put away, she will then proceed to eat an entire bag of kettle cooked potato chips (the ones she bought for her husband, but really wanted for herself. Yeah, those ones. All of them. Darn grocery store!)
7. She will subsequently sack out on the couch in exhaustion, hoping never to return to that God forsaken place. Now who wouldn't take pity on such a soul?

(This post is dedicated to my loving hubby in the hopes he will assume grocery duty from now on, especially if he knows what's good for him. :) God bless your Sunday!

Priorities

I had to laugh today while making my "to do" list:

1. Mail electric bill.
2. Mow lawn.
3. Call to schedule make-up at Romp 'n Roll.
4. Check on car maintenance.
5. Run.
6. Review marathon training programs.
7. Shower!!!

Isn't it sad that I have to include showering on a to-do list?
And isn't it equally as pathetic that it's the last thing on the list?

Cleanliness before godliness? Not here. :)

Once in college, my roommate, Kellie, and I forced each other to sign a pact, promising to shower once-a-day. We were so busy with school, sports, and junior papers that showering became a low priority! And now amidst motherhood, I am once again finding it last on my list.

As long as my kids are clean, I'm okay with it. They get a bath every night.
Cleanest kids on the block. :)

So for now, I'll just have to keep putting it on the to-do list and *hope* it gets done.
Cheers to squeaking clean today. God bless.

Evening Funny

A minister was completing a temperance sermon. With great emphasis he said, "If I had all the beer in the world, I'd take it and pour it into the river."

With even greater emphasis he said, "And if I had all the wine in the world, I'd take it and pour it into the river."

And then finally, shaking his fist in the air, he Said, "And if I had all the whiskey in the world, I'd take it and pour it into the river."

Sermon complete, he sat down. The song leader stood very cautiously and announced with a smile, nearly laughing, "For our closing song, let us sing Hymn #365, "Shall We Gather at the River."

Road Rage

While I would like to believe this mama is all "sweetness and light" (as one of my coworkers used to facetiously say!), I admit to having a dark side.

And no better a time to experience my dark side than on the highway.

I am B-Mama and I have road rage.

First step to overcoming a problem is to recognize it, right? GG has always been quick to notice my snide jeers and self-righteous remarks while I drive. I thought maybe he was being hypersensitive. Then, while visiting with my dear friend, Jess, she laughed one day while we were driving because I had just gotten angry at a little, old man and was subsequently tailing him. Oh no.

Maybe its just that my driving is much better than everyone else's.

Or perhaps I really do have road rage.

I was speaking about this with Mimi yesterday (she has admitted to her own self-righteous driving) and she commented that whenever she feels "rage" coming on, she tries to picture the other person in the car as someone like dear Sister Pat (Christ on earth, according to Mimi). What a great recommendation! Why not go a step further and think of Christ, himself, in the car ahead?!

A humorous picture emerges in my brain as I think of shouting at Christ and tailing him to provoke him to go faster! I am a horrible person.

But that's what His grace is for. He'd let me tail him from CA to VA and still love me.

He knows I am a work-in-progress, thank goodness.

Aren't we all in some way or another?

Have a wonderful Wednesday and God bless!

Behind the iTimes

G-Ville is sometimes stuck in the 80's/90's if you ask me...

This is especially apparent when viewing our musical listening devices. Sitting in our living room is an ancient Sony CD player with an nonworking tape deck. We've talked about investing in something more sophisticated, but end up pushing the old thing to its limits. And why not? It's working just fine and suiting our purposes well...

The same goes for my workout music. All year I've been dragging my ancient Sony Walkman to the gym. That's my tape Walkman, mind you! Come on, I've got some great workout mixes that I can't let go of... The worst is that I workout at a university gym, filled with teenyboppers and college co-eds with the latest and greatest in music technology. You can imagine my horror once when the Walkman fell off the treadmill stand, rolled down the treadmill, and spilled out (tape and all!) onto the floor. I know many of you have had the same experience before... just probably years ago! While for the most part I'm proud of still carrying a tape player, I was aghast at this episode. iPod, take me away! :)

So all this to be said, G-Ville is getting a musical face lift. We are (cautiously) venturing into the world of mp3's and iTunes. GG's Father's Day gift included new iPod earphones and upper arm workout carrier. GG has had his iPod since Christmas and has yet to put it to use. Now, this mama is drooling to get started. (Note: Father's Day gifts can benefit both hubby and wife!)

I take the iPlunge tonight. Wish me luck. Before you know it, I'll be once again blending into society, fitting into social norms right and left.

Is it worth it? Yes, I think so, especially if I can avoid tripping over a flailing Walkman while running in the gym. I must have seemed so ancient to the folks around me. Totally 80's, dude!

Hope you are well and technologically savvy yourselves. God bless and have a great day!

Keeping it cool in Gasperini-Ville...

Random Funnies

I've had two random encounters of late that just cracked me up...

1) I walked into Wal-Mart the other day amidst T-baby's fever crisis and was greeted by a cute, old man, who shouted, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" with a huge smile and belly laugh. It struck me so funny that I lost it, giving in to repeated giggles. Happy Birthday? What a funny old man! :) Though he does make a good point--we should be celebrating the gift of life every day!!

2) Jess, Papa, and I approached Starbucks yesterday to find a man and his wife sitting outside with their two cats. Yes, that's right, I said cats. The fat felines were lounging in the their individual pet strollers while being cooled off by attached fans. Hilarious. Who brings their cats to Starbucks? Had I not looked closely, I would have mistaken the whiskered ones for small, strollered children. I later thought out loud to Jess, "I feel guilty. Maybe I should get fans for the boys on their strollers?" Jess appropriately commented, "Yeah, but your kids aren't covered in fur." Great point. The whole scenario just makes me laugh. God has put some special people on this planet. Glad to be one of them.

Cheers to laughter today and all days! God bless and keep shining!

Ring My Bell

The last 24 hours have been rather busy in G-Ville or at least they have been for me and my budding social schedule (wink, wink.)

Thanks to Mimi, I braved my first practice with the St. Mary's Bell Choir last night. They were in need of new ringers for the summer months and were rather desperate, which explains my invitation. Ha ha! :) (Just kidding, Mimi would die to read this! She invited me because she's a sweetheart and wanted to get me involved!) I must admit, though, it's been years since I've read music and played bells. I'm talkin' the last time I touched a bell was in 4th grade for a church Christmas number. I played piano through 8th grade, but remember very little of the scales, counts, etc.

SO, all this being said, I walked into the rehearsal last night and was so warmly met by the group of ladies there. They embraced me and made me feel loved, despite my apparent lack of musical prowess. I ended up taking the base C and D bells, which are played infrequently (thank God) and managed alright. One song I was doing so horribly, I sat the bells down and listened. Of course it was the song with the booming base cleft and my absent C and D! Oops... I surely ate a large helping of humble pie. Thankfully, I started getting a better feel for it toward the latter half of the practice and felt relatively good when we left. Mimi has offered to help reacquaint me to the different counts and musical rhythms. There is nothing I can't conquer without a little sweat.

Therefore, you can now call me "bell ringer" or "she who rings bells". Perhaps "cacophonous one" would suit you? The Psalms talk all about making a joyful noise unto the Lord. I've got that covered. :)

One last social item to mention--this morning I also attended my first yoga class. Can I say awesome?! It was wonderful and I ate up every minute of the hour-long meditation and stretching. Once again I have Mimi to thank for broadening my horizons. I can already tell I have better posture and am more calm/centered today. I totally recommend it. My favorite pose: the downward dog (not because of the position, but because of the name! Where do they come up with this stuff?) Too funny.

Hope this finds you busy as well... and happy too. God Bless.

Evening Chuckles

Children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic elementary school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. The nun made a note, and posted on the apple tray: "Take only ONE. God is watching." Moving further along the lunch line, at the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies. A child had written a note, "Take all you want. God is watching the apples."