True Confessions

Tara from If MomSaysOK has a post about guilty mom confessions on a website called True Mom Confessions. http://www.truemomconfessions.com/

I had to go check it out. Quite a clever way to write a book - get a bunch of unknown, unpaid writers to help! The website allows moms a way to anonymously leave a confession as long as you agree to the rules. Brilliant!

I couldn't resist and I left a confession of my own.


Mommy's Cookies

My favorite cookies are Pepperidge Farms Mint Milanos. I keep them on the top shelf of a cabinet. I do not share them. The boys know these are Mommy's Cookies and are off-limits to them. When my husband goes to the grocery store and wants to be in my good graces he picks up a pack. When I am craving a cookie, open the cabinet, and see a fresh package, I feel loved.

Do you think I am a bad person for not sharing? I feel a little guilty about this. But not enough to stop bogarting the Milanos.

I wonder if my confession will be posted. How many other confessors will click on "me too".?
Please don't judge me....

Wordless Wednesday - Snow Days

What we like to do on snowy days... ( Captions don't count, do they?)

Put on Our Boots and Snowpants and Play Outside

Build a Snowman

Read a Good Book


Tinker with Tinkertoys

Take a Nap ( my favorite thing to do! )

Signs of Times Past

My husband decided to go through some of the boxes in our basement and get rid of some junk. He came across my old matchbook collection. While I see memories of the fabulous '80's, my safety-minded hubby was thinking "Fire Hazard!"

I thought I'd go through them before giving my prized collection to a friend who is a collector of Stamps, Postcards and other memorabilia. Below are a few quick photos I took before giving up my beloved collection. ( that I had not touched for 20 years!)

Canada - Summer 1977 - High School Graduation Trip with Friends

New England - circa 1982 -1984
I lived in Worcester, MA for 2 1/2 years



California 1983 - 1990
Collected over several vacations and business trips

Chicago - 1990

No Idea Where These Came From???

Political Science for Dummies

File this under Politically Incorrect: This was forwarded to me today & thought it was "Blog-worthy"!DEMOCRATIC You have two cows.Your neighbor has none.You feel guilty for being successful. Barbara Streisand sings for you.

REPUBLICAN You have two cows.Your neighbor has none. So?

SOCIALIST You have two cows.The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor. You form a cooperative to tell him how to manage his cow.

COMMUNIST You have two cows.The government seizes both and provides you with milk. You wait in line for hours to get it.It is expensive and sour.

CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE You have two cows.You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows.

BUREAUCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE You have two cows.Under the new farm program the government pays you to shoot one, milk the other, and then pours the milk down the drain.

AMERICAN CORPORATION You have two cows.You sell one, lease it back to yourself and do an IPO on the 2nd one. You force the two cows to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when one cow drops dead. You spin an announcement to the analysts stating you have downsized and are reducing expenses.Your stock goes up.

FRENCH CORPORATION You have two cows.You go on strike because you want three cows. You go to lunch and drink wine. Life is good.

JAPANESE CORPORATION You have two cows.You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. They learn to travel on unbelievably crowded trains.Most are at the top of their class at cow school.

GERMAN CORPORATION You have two cows.You engineer them so they are all blond, drink lots of beer, give excellent quality milk, and run a hundred miles an hour. Unfortunately they also demand 13 weeks of vacation per year.

ITALIAN CORPORATION You have two cows but you don't know where they are. While ambling around, you see a beautiful woman.You break for lunch. Life is good.

RUSSIAN CORPORATION You have two cows.You have some vodka.You count them and learn you have five cows. You have some more vodka.You count them again and learn you have 42 cows.The Mafia shows up and takes over however many cows you really have.

TALIBAN CORPORATION You have all the cows in Afghanistan , which are two.You don't milk them because you cannot touch any creature's private parts. You get a $40 million grant from the US government to find alternatives to milk production but use the money to buy weapons.

IRAQI CORPORATION You have two cows. They go into hiding.They send radio tapes of their mooing.

POLISH CORPORATION You have two bulls. Employees are regularly maimed and killed attempting to milk them.

BELGIAN CORPORATION You have one cow.The cow is schizophrenic. Sometimes the cow thinks she's French, other times she's Flemish. The Flemish cow won't share with the French cow.The French cow wants control of the Flemish cow's milk.The cow asks permission to be cut in half.The cow dies happy.

FLORIDA CORPORATION You have a black cow and a brown cow. Everyone votes for the best looking one. Some of the people who actually like the brown one best accidentally vote for the black one. Some people vote for both. Some people vote for neither. Some people can't figure out how to vote at all. Finally, a bunch of guys from out-of-state tell you which one you think is the best-looking cow.

CALIFORNIA CORPORATION You have millions of cows. They make real California cheese.Only five speak English. Most are illegals. Arnold likes the ones with the big udders.

The Secret to Happiness

The secret to happiness is ...Low Expectations!

I saw a report last night on 60 Minutes where the second year in a row, the happiest place on earth is Denmark. According to the story, no one was more surprised than the Danes, themselves. They live low key, low stress lives with low expectations.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/14/60minutes/main3833797.shtml?source=mostpop_story

Pessimists of the world rejoice! Maybe a half-full glass is not so bad after all.

The Best Valentines Day Gifts

I am a difficult person to buy gifts for. I have simple tastes and don't really need much. Anything I might "need", such as clothes, shoes, and cosmetics, I buy for myself. I have all the bling I need: my lovely wedding and engagement rings, a nice watch and a small amount of fine jewelry. I have a retail business and am surrounded by gourmet food and gift items on a daily basis. I am always hard pressed to come up with a "Wish List".

My favorite holiday presents are those money can't buy: coming home to a happy, healthy, loving family; a nice note from a teacher and a customer leaving a compliment for a job well done on my answering machine. These three gifts made my Valentines Day special.

The knowledge that I have made a positive impact on someone's life is the best gift of all. I prefer "presence" over "presents" any day.

The Last Valentine's Gift

Valentine's Day is only a few days away. I was just emailed this story, author unknown. Let this be a cautionary tale for you men out there!

A husband walks into Victoria 's Secret to purchase a sheer negligee for his wife. He is shown several possibilities that range from $250 to $500 in price, the more sheer, the higher the price. Naturally, he opts for the sheerest item pays the $500 and takes it home. He presents it to his wife and asks her to go upstairs, put it on, and model it for him.

Upstairs, the wife thinks, "I have an idea. It's so sheer that it might as well be nothing. I won't put it on, but I'll do the modeling naked, return it tomorrow, and keep the $500 refund for myself." So she appears naked on the balcony and strikes a pose.

The husband says, "Good Grief! You'd think for $500, they'd at least iron it!"

He never heard the shot.

Funeral on Thursday at Noon. Closed coffin.

Parent - Teacher Conferences

This past week, I attended Parent-Teacher conferences for my boys.

These meetings are scheduled for a mere 15 minutes. How can a discussion of this magnitude even scratch the surface in this time??? Our children are our pride and joy; or at least a major part of our lives. This is the one topic that I can blather on about incessantly.Can you imagine getting a fifteen minute performance review at work? I felt like I was speed dating!

Speed Conferencing
I rushed from work to get to school, barely on time. Breathlessly I arrive to a closed door. There was a sign on the door, " Please knock when it is your scheduled conference time." I looked at my watch. it was my time now and I gently knocked.
A few minutes went by and I peered through the window into the room. The teacher and parent, seated at a table seemed unaware of my presence.
"Did they hear my knock?" I wondered.
Should I try again or wait patiently? As I struggled with this issue and was about to tap the door again, I noticed some signs that the meeting was coming to a close. The straightening of papers, slowly pushing away from the table and finally standing up and heading toward the door, signaled that it was finally my turn.
I glanced at my watch as I headed into the classroom. My scheduled time is half over!
I have 7 minutes to discuss my child before spilling into the next parent's time.
It seemed like we were just getting started when I heard a tapping on the door. I followed the teacher's lead and tried to ignore the fact that I was now encroaching on the next session. I couldn't help but feel rushed. I breezed through the rest of the conference trying to pick up one or two areas that I can help my child with. As I left the classroom, avoiding eye contact with the waiting party, I looked at my watch. I had used my alloted time and left the next parent in the same time deficit.
Fortunately I had seven minutes until my next conference. We learned our lesson from last year and made sure there were no back to back sessions. Last year we had a chatty teacher that was running 10 minutes behind followed by a teacher who was a stickler for staying on schedule. Needless to say, things did not go well.

My 6:00 conference started on time! I was amazed! I asked the teacher how she was able to stay on time. It turned out she lost 30 minutes of her 45 minute dinner break to get back on schedule. I tried to make sure I kept to my time slot!

I think next time I will take either the first or last time slots.

Eating Game - Initial Results

We started our contest last week, on Wednesday, mid-week, to see how our game would work. I had some success. The competition is getting my problem child to slowly re-try foods that he had been rejecting over the last several years. Macaroni & Cheese is our first hit. Bacon was another winner.

While the Eating Game was designed to help my middle child, my other two boys have been becoming better eaters. Unfortunately they are way ahead of their finicky brother and will have no problem winning enough points for the weekly rewards. It will be much more difficult for my picky eater.

Tonight was not a good night for my middle son. We had Blackened Salmon Fillets, Rice Pilaf and Corn. Dessert was freshly baked peanut butter cookies. Two boys ate like champs; one did not.

All my middle son had to eat was a tiny bite of each item. This would qualify for a mini cookie. I put a few very tiny portions of each food on his plate. If he ate everything, he would get a big cookie with a Hershey's Kiss. He kept trying to re-negotiate to only having to take a microscopic bit of the Salmon and not having to try the rice or corn. I held firm.

Alex could have eaten something else but there would be no points rewarded. He went to bed without eating dinner in protest.
I did let him pick tomorrow night's dinner. He chose Mac and Cheese.

I am hesitant to make the rules easier for one child and tougher for the others. I am hoping my middle child will not get discouraged.

Sign In Saturday

I was up late & it is now Saturday Morning. If anyone happens to stop by today, " Happy Sign- In Saturday!"

Take a moment & identify yourself with a quick comment. If you leave a link, I'll visit and return the favor!