This Week's Twitter Blatherings

• Sure we know the Scripture, but there is purpose and blessing in *reading* the Scripture #fb #
  


• Question: Is there a place for conjecture when it comes to study of Biblical people? #fb #
  


• question rambling in my head for a fortnight: Do you love your friends enough to pray *God's will* for them regardless of your desires? #fb #
  


• seriously, if you're not checking out every day, you're missing out on awesome photography from @tw3nty3ight! #
  


• ooh, it's my favorite time of the day - nap o'clock! #fb #
  


• thought about going to see hand-bell choir at church, but my head's already hurting some and it'd just get worse; so, i crochet #fb #
  


• if you belong on my bookish pursuits or yarns list and i missed you, please @ me so i can add you! kthxbai #
  


• ...except @jennybeanses, @melzer, @percival, or @lauriepercival - you have your own lists! ;) #
  


• RT @Melzer: first dance song at our wedding cc @jennybeanses <Dear Sweet Lord, i have the weirdest friends... #
  


• gonna go wake up @marcand; i think he passed out when he cuddled with bethy to put her to sleep #fb #
  


• hey, why haven't you made up my mind yet? #fb #
  


• Breaking News: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Split Up, Share Kids #
  


• just got finished tweaking MySpace; are we friends there? #fb #
  


• woke to animal-fighting sounds outside; never found the source, but thankfully both of my furry children are safe and well #fb #
  


• kid just made himself *throw up* throwing a fit because he doesn't want to do his homework; i'm at the end of my rope... #fb #
  


• meanwhile i've got bethy saying, "i want to go, too!" every 30 seconds because she's somehow got it in her head that i'm going somewhere #fb #
  


• my house makes the seventh pit of hell seem like bliss #fb #
  


• Just watched a guy pulling a trailer knock 2 gal of h2o off display @ gas station and keep going #
  


• devouring a loaf of fresh french bread from walmart #stressfood #fb #
  


• and now i shall either go crochet or nap... #fb #
  


• sleep while the baby sleeps - that's the wisdom, right? well, then, i'm off for my nap! #fb #
  


• going to go crochet while i wait for @marcand to hand over the iToy so i can play words with friends with my friends #fb #
  


• RT @stringsofme officially launched my Strings of Me Etsy Shop. < Huzzah & Congrats! #
  


• How cute is this laptop sleeve in @stringsofme's new Etsy shop?! #
  


• showing my 1st project as creative activities director to MOPS steering committee in the am; how i wish @lsrtx could be there w/ me! #fb #
  


• please rally around @neilhimself tonight and tomorrow - he'll be saying good-bye to his beloved Zoe tomorrow #addingourstrength #
  


• getting ready for my MOPS steering meeting while thinking of and praying for @neilhimself and Zoe #fb #
  


• 
  - i made a warning label for @melzer's post about warning labels #
  


• you guessed it, boys and girls - it's nap o'clock! #fb #
  


• four ibuprofen and an hour's nap and my head is still killing me... #fb #
  


• i'm two friends away from 900 on facebook - are you my facebook friend? #
  


• Hey! Retweet this to win an iPhone 3GS from @dealsplus. Details here: #
  


• Win an iPod Touch from @dealsplus. Details here: #
  


• Hey! Retweet this to win an $200 Target gift card from @dealsplus. Details here: #
  


• RT @StampGarden what non profit organization is dear to your heart? <My answer: Operation Christmas Child @occ_shoeboxes #
  


• Just joined a twibe. Visit to join #
  


• just got approved for - huzzah! #
  


• we all appear to be having allergy/sinus drainage issues; bethy not sleeping well at all - keeps crying; please pray for her - thx #fb #
  


• if only this heartburn were from love rather than Chemical Misery of the Esophagus... #fb #
  


• just finished my apple oatmeal; not to ready myself to go get a massage #fb #
  


• massage done and back home making lunch for bethy #fb #
  


• chicken and rice soup eaten; eyelids seem to be metamorphosing into lead... #fb #
  


• head starting to pound; time for ibuprofen #fb #
  


• oh, how i love listening to the males in my house argue... #
  


• *AMBER ALERT* Toledo-Bowling Green - 15 yo girl missing since 1/23. Photo: Please RT! via @AmazingAngie #fb #
  


• going to go take a nice, warm, deep bath with bethy - hope it makes us both feel better #fb #
  


• passed out; woke up; ate ice cream; found a crochet book i'm now pining for; going back to bed #fb #
  


• bethy got up at 5:30, said "i have to go potty;" got up and went - huzzah! #fb #
  


• Let's play Words With Friends on the iPhone! My username is '3stairs'. #
  


• have about an hour in the house to myself; think i'll go enjoy the bed all to myself! #fb #
  


• go watch @marcand live blog the Apple Tablet event for @lalawag: #
  


• ...and now my lists are gone; ugh... #
  


• iPad? really? are you really serious? is that really, seriously the best name you could think of for it? *facepalm* #fb #
  


• wow, just ran my fingers through my hair and came back with a wad of hair - scary #
  


• God bless my mother for making me fudge for Christmas #mouthgasm #
  


• w00t! got some @tsavomedia swag today! local tweeps look for my "blog this" tee! #fb #
  


• hair washing to commence momentarily... #fb #
  


• you did too need to know that!!! #fb #
  


• ah, my lists are back! #
  


• elder two children full of Rude and Disrespect today; going to go sit and crochet to keep from pinching heads off... #fb #
  


• tomorrow's soapbox for @kidglue will be posting in the afternoon - keep an "i" out for it! ;) #fb #
  


• off to bed; taking sarah to get a cavity filled in the morning. #fb #
  


• heading out to take brandon to school and sarah to the dentist #fb #
  


• back home from tyler & exhausted, but i can't rest; have to write today's soapbox, then go to praise team practice #day that-never-ends #
  


• 1st blanket done; 2 skeins to go on 2nd to be done by 7 feb; then start, finish & send 3rd to NY by 10 feb #crochet like-mad #fb #
  


• oops - gonna be late for praise team practice #fb #
  


• there are a few people i'd love to send this letter to: #fb #
  


• don't forget to check out this week's soapbox! #
  


• ugh - collapsing now #fb #
  


• seven hours of sleep and i'm still exhausted; lovely... #fb #
  


• i hate heartburn #thatisall #
  


• I am 66% addicted to Twitter from the magical @oatmeal #
  


• *AMBER ALERT* @AmazingAngie's niece Justine is still missing from the Toledo-BG, Ohio area Please RT! #
  


• 3 bonus points if you know what time it is! #fb #
  


• challenged the whole family and my mom to say "Irish wristwatches" - hilarity ensues #fb #
  


• elder two at grandma's; trying desperately to get youngest to go to sleep #
  

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Random, Sleepy Friday Fill-in

This is what happens when you do your Friday Fill-in with your eyes half-closed. Don't say you weren't warned.

1. Wouldn't it be easy to sleep for a week? Yes; yes it would.

2. I can crochet better than ever!

3. I love the taste of sweet tea.

4. I have way too many freakin' clothes in the living room.

5. The first thing we're going to do is take a nap to get our energy up for it.

6. The rain is falling - drip, drip, drip; To sleepland I'm going - trip, trip, trip.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a very hot bath, tomorrow my plans include a rainy day nap (the best kind!) and Sunday, I want to finish at least one baby blanket!

The Day That Never Ends

I just realized I haven't posted since this past weekend - oops. I'm tired, my butt hurts from sitting in the same position putting a child to sleep too long, and I'm about to collapse, so I'm gonna be lazy. My best friend sent me an e-mail tonight asking how today went. As I was finishing up my response I realized, "Oh, yeah, that's the kind of stuff I'm supposed to be posting." So that's what I'm doing. This is raw, as I sent it. I may clean it up later, but I may not.

I'm sure you'll survive.

*Update* Realized a bunch of stuff wouldn't make sense to you, so I added explanations in [brackets].

No. There was one at Hobby Lobby, but it didn't open the same way as the one at Scroll, so I didn't get it. [I've been looking for a travel mug that you can scrapbook.]

Dentist - it hurt today where they worked on it, but i think it was because it's in the front of her mouth [We were in Tyler because 7yo Sarah had to get a filling.]

Lifeway - looked around; got flip books for the girls; got Agents of God activity book for Brandon; got color wonder princess coloring book for Sarah's prize; got a multi-tool for Michael

Mall - into Dillard's, up the escalator, around, and down the escalator; bugged by "win a free vacation" villages [time share] lady, got pretzels, ate pretzels

Scroll [Christian book store with a sitting/relaxing area] - Sarah started feeling kind of icky at the mall (didn't finish her pretzel and didn't even mention the cookie place), so she laid on the couch for a few minutes while i looked around, then went back to play with the castle in the kids' section; didn't buy anything (go me!)

Hobby Lobby - looked at crochet hooks and yarn, but didn't get any; got a package of flat-top alligator clips to make bows for the girls; got a half-circle keychain where the ball at one side screws off to see if i could put the Precious Girls Club charms on it for Sarah (i didn't tell her, though; it didn't work :( - i just tried it); looked for felt and/or corduroy flowers to use on bows but didn't find any

Dollar Tree - got 16 big toothbrushes with covers, 15 small toothbrushes with covers (14 after i gave bethy a pink one to replace her toothbrush since she lost it), 12 boxes of regular colgate, and 19 boxes of colgate junior; found 20 fold-up brushes and called you to discuss, but didn't get an answer, so i bought 6 - one of each color (white, black, red, pink, blue, and one purple) [for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes]; bought a pad of construction paper for the kids to make valentine's cards for the kids in hospitals that i heard about on kvne [local Christian radio station]

went straight to pick up brandon from school, came home, wrote my soapbox post, did slide stuff, finished jaylen's blanket, went to praise team practice, came home

sarah was clingy today because of the pain and got annoying toward the end because she refused to speak, so she just grunted, moaned, and pointed like a spoiled princess - really aggravating, but be proud of me - i didn't yell or gripe, just told her she needed to use her words; she passed out between lindale and mineola, but (and this is funny) woke up as we approached brandon's school because she heard brandon heath whoever come on the radio - she had mentioned earlier that she wondered if they (the radio station) had his music

she seems to really enjoy her mommy days :)

ok, i think i'm gonna copy and paste this and make a blog post, lol! [yeah, like that]

This Week's Twitter Blatherings

• well, it's off to bed with meself, i think; g'nite... #fb #
  


• incredible sermon this morning from a visiting elder #fb #
  


• At 2 Senoritas with @marcand waiting on fajitas #fb #
  


• Fajitas = tasty *sizzly* cow murder!! #
  


• Just left box full of noms on Mom's doorstep then called as we left :D #fb #
  


• Sherlock Holmes great start and engaging story left perfect for sequel - can't wait #
  


• kids picked up and in bed - back to parent mode; had a wonderful night with @marcand; dates FTW! #fb #
  


• just ordered this from @CoverYourHair and saved 15% with "LOVEWINTER" promo code #
  


• oy, i gotta go to bed! #fb #
  


• 
  - sarah found a new spot #
  


• think i'm gonna go crochet and watch the 'boys with @marcand for a bit... #fb #
  


• have you ever actually heard the "I Have a Dream" speech? go listen and be inspired: #fb #
  


• go listen to the "I Have a Dream" speech and be inspired: #fb #
  


• trying to decide if i should do something productive or useless... #fb #
  


• 4yo bethy:mama? me: yes? bethy: are you in there? me thinking: no, kid, i'm in the kitchen, but i left my voice in the bathroom #fb #
  


• selective twitter status doesn't seem to be working for me *harumph!* #fb #
  


• and another test... #fb #
  


• protected and then unprotected my tweets; let's see if that works... #fb #
  


• now have fb twitter app *and* selective tweets app running - probably get double posts now... ugh #fb #
  


• la lala - i wonder if twitter will feed to facebook now? #fb #
  


• well, apparently got twitter fb app to work; sorry, fb friends - you'll be seeing all my tweets until i get selective tweets to work... #fb #
  


• enough griping; go listen to the "I Have a Dream" speech and be inspired: #fb #
  


• if it's your birthday, then happy, happy - i just wanna listen to the song! ? #
  


• Quintessential Celt/Druid ? #
  


• love this ? #
  


• listening to "Sting .::© ::. - 7. Sting - Fragilidad (espania)" ? #
  


• listening to "Sting - Moon Over Bourbon Street" ? #
  


• listening to "Sting - La belle dame sans regrets" ? #
  


• listening to "Sting - A Thousand Years" ? #
  


• listening to "Sting - Valparaiso" ? #
  


• listening to "Sting - The Secret Marriage" ? #
  


• listening to "Sting - Sister Moon [@storylet]" ? #
  


• listening to "Sting & Edin Karamazov (Lute) - John Dowland - Come Again" ? #
  


• listening to "Sting - Gabriel's Message ~ gr8fl.hohoho" ? #
  


• following @marcand to bed before the children get up all too early #
  


• go listen to the MLK "I Have a Dream" speech and be inspired: #
  


• getting ready to take Brandon for his 9-yr check-up and have them look at Sarah's head #fb #
  


• Brandon checked out fine; back home and lunch eaten; trying to get Bethy to lie down for her nap #fb #
  


• selective tweets seems to be working again; my fb friends rejoice #fb #
  


• have you watched the Martin Luther King #ihaveadream speech yet? #fb #
  


• son just discovered through a series of either/or questions that i like classic disney movies - where has this kid been his whole 9 yrs? #fb #
  


• and now to start trying to get bethy to go to bed; wish me luck... #fb #
  


• CoverYourHair.com and Womens Belts!! @coveryourhair #
  


• RT @FIRE_Music Win a FREE IPod Touch and signed CD!!! just RT and Follow to enter. Winner picked Wed. January 20th!!!! #
  


• 
  - awesomeness! #
  


• taking my headache to bed... #fb #
  


• man, six clicks at is super fast with my new computer - love it! #
  


• man, six clicks at is super fast with my new computer - love it! #fb #
  


• in case you missed it yesterday, here's the #ihaveadream speech (video and transcript) #fb #
  


• Play Frigidaire's Spin & Win with Jennifer Garner. Each spin is a $1 donation to @SavetheChildren. #frigidaire #
  


• on today's agenda: write this week's soapbox and do the MOPS newsletter for tomorrow morning #fb #
  


• odd discovery: i do a great duck quack - very realistic; things you learn while listening to your 1st grader's reading homework #fb #
  


• Let's play Words With Friends on the iPhone! My username is '3stairs'. #
  


• i just donated clothing from @littlemissmatch to Haiti - your turn! #fb #
  


• playing wordscraper on fb while simultaneously playing words with friends on itouch = braingasm #fb #
  


• i think bethy's addicted to the hand sanitizer; she's crying because we won't let her put it on her hands every 5 minutes #fb #
  


• MOPS in the morning means i'm going to bed tonight! #fb #
  


• bethy fussed all night about her legs - please pray for her; thx #fb #
  


• great MOPS meeting this morning - and got a special treat - @lsrtx came to eat breakfast with us! it was so great to see you! #fb #
  


• got a trending news post written inside of 25 minutes - look at me go! more importantly, check the recall info: #fb #
  


• Let's play Words With Friends on the iPhone! My username is '3stairs'. #
  


• i love my life... *dripping with sarcasm* #fb #
  


• *sigh* here i am on wednesday night with no soapbox again... #
  


• parents - what are you all riled up about this week? #fb #
  


• some kind of wild animals fighting under the house - oh joy... #
  


• Ohio tweeps - get with @tw3nty3ight to get some AWESOME photography work done!http://28photos.com/ #
  


• hey look, i'm an extension cord! lol #
  


• there's a poll on the sidebar at - please go vote now - thank you! #fb #
  


• Q:If you could master one skill what would it be? A:piano, i think #
  


• i have four baby blankets that i'd love to be working on right now, but i really should be writing tomorrow's soapbox... #fb #
  


• totally blocked and absolutely exhausted; here's to having inspiration after sleep... #fb #
  


• if you haven't seen or watched the #ihaveadream speech this month, please do so (video and transcript) #fb #
  


• chiropractor - check; okayed to crochet despite pain in fingers - check; enjoying leftover soft tacos and tea - check! #fb #
  


• Teh Awesome of Today: @tw3nty3ight had one of his photos featured on the front page of the paper! WTG Billy!! #
  


• Crystal's Soapbox is live - check it out! #fb #
  


• did you read this week's Crystal's Soapbox @KidGlue? It's about pants - #
  


• bethy is in brat mode #fb #
  


• correction: the girls are in brat mode #fb #
  


• listening to @marcand give the girls a bath while i get ready for praise team practice makes me fall in love with him all over again <3 #fb #
  


• just registered w/ @SAMaMGlobal thanks to rec from @lsrtx; really enjoying sample songs at bottom right of #
  


• what idiot thought of playschool on tv 24 hours a day? #fb #
  


• collapsing now - let's just hope i make it to the bed to do so... #fb #
  


• today i plan to crochet like a madwoman #fb #
  


• one post written already this morning; still need to write tv for you and me; maybe after a crocheting session... #fb #
  


• and now i crochet... #fb #
  


• Teh Awesome of Today: phone rang and caller id said Fox Interactive *squee* #fb #
  


• ooh, bethy is in a mood! she better take her nap quick or her little butt might fall off... #
  


• nap o'clock is upon us, ladies and gentlemen #fb #
  


• Hey! Retweet this to win an iPod Touch from @dealsplus. Details here: #
  


• bed - going #fb #
  

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Make Up My Mind Friday Fill-in

So I took some initiative and actually went and got today's fill-ins. Lookatmego! So you actually get to read this week's fill-ins on Friday. Imagine that! Also, I have a very important poll that I desperately need you to answer. It's only one question, so unless you're stuck in my head, you should be able to answer it fairly quickly.

If you are stuck in my head, please get out - you're giving me a headache. Thank you.

1. You have a chance to do the right thing every time you make a decision.

2. Hug somebody right now!

3. There is a pillow calling my name.

4. Lie now and pay later.

5. It's time to take a nap.

6. My head is up in the air but my feet are dangling off the bed.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to sweet, sweet sleep, tomorrow my plans include absolutely doo-da (and a nap) and Sunday, I want to crochet all day!

 

And now for the Very Important Poll...

[poll id="1"]

Randomosity

Social Frustrations

Selective Tweets isn't working for me, so currently all of my tweets are feeding to Facebook using the Twitter Facebook application. This is annoying as all get-out, since I've fiddled with it for quite a while tonight and can't seem to fix it. argh. I don't like all my tweets feeding to Facebook, because it gets obnoxious in its quantity and I don't want to annoy my Facebook friends.




Writing Notes

The post I put up at KidGlue that includes a video of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech and a transcript has gotten well over 700 views, according to the editing page. The bit.ly stats for the shortened url I've been sharing show over 1000 clicks. I have two good reasons for you to go check it out:

1. It's something every American should see, hear, and read at least once in his or her lifetime.
2. If it gets 10,000 views within 30 days I get a bonus.

Granted, the second reason is vastly more important than the first, but if you feel compelled to go view it for the first reason, I certainly won't mind. And please tell me you totally got the sarcasm there. If you didn't you don't know me very well.





I've gotten another regular gig over at KidGlue - Family Fun Days. I'll be going back to my KidGlue roots and highlighting some fun holidays that lend themselves to family celebration. The posts will be published during the last week of each month, so you can plan ahead.

Calendar Girl

I'm currently reading Kathi Lipp's newest book, The Marriage Project, for review. I'm almost done with it and completely enjoying it as much as I did The Husband Project. Whether or not you feel that your marriage is in need of a "project," I recommend you get it. I'll be posting a full review in the next couple of weeks.

Next on the review to-do list is Why We Need Girlfriends.

I have a review of two EcoStore products in the works, along with a giveaway, so keep your eyes peeled.



Prayer Requests

I seem to have a lot of people that I'm burdened for right now, which leaves me feeling sad and unmotivated. I've always had a tendency to be strongly affected by the troubles of those around me. I've had to learn to distance myself from some things simply as a means of self-preservation. These are things I haven't been able to dissociate from. If you are the praying sort, please pray for these people:

• my friend Billy and his depression as he nears the one-year anniversary of the loss of his five-year-old son Camden


• my friend Matt and the hard time he's going through


• my friend Christine


• baby Jaylen who is right around a month old and in the hospital teetering between life and death


• Jaylen's mother Courtney, who is the 15-year-old mother of twin boys dealing with the critical (and as of yet unexplained) illness of one of her babies


• my own children and each of their particular issues


• Michael and his chipped tooth

We now return you to your regularly-scheduled life...

This Week's Twitter Blatherings

• it's warmer, but it's still way too freakin' cold #ithoughtiwasintexas #fb #
  


• dang, i'm tired #fb #
  


• just had the Most Fabulous Idea - a crocheted Cat in the Hat hat!! #fb #
  


• eating bakery french bread from walmart right out of the bag #fb #
  


• nap o'clock has arrived, ladies and gentlemen #fb #
  


• two elder kids down; last one going in about half an hour whether she wants to or not... #fb #
  


• cleaning up the categories at #fb #
  


• help, pls - do you use a wp auto-tagger plugin - which do you recommend? #
  


• ugh - all my checkboxes are gone - what's up with that? #chromefail #
  


• restarted chrome and still no checkboxes; gonna restart pc and see if that works... #
  


• ta-da - checkboxes! #
  


• coming to the conclusion that those who despise romance do so because they so desperately want it, but see no way of having it #fb #
  


• guess i should head to bed so i can take the darlings to school in the morning... #fb #
  


• RT @SamaritansPurse Teams needed 4 projects in New Orleans, Atlanta, Ecuador & Mexico Watch: Join: #
  


• any parenting-type news happen this weekend or this morning that i've missed? #
  


• Happy-Teary & heartfelt congrats to my friends @Percival & @lauriepercival on @percivalspawn *SQUEEE!!!* #
  


• this week's soapbox for @KidGlue is already written and waiting to publish on thursday! #lookatmego #fb #
  


• also, we just premiered another series over @KidGlue - check it out! #fb #
  


• Teh Awesome of Today = just opened my 1st Out of the Box Sampler from @samplerboxes! this just went on my Do Every Month list! #fb #
  


• i just got quoted on facebook by someone that doesn't know me - awesome! #
  


• Great stuff > RT @mwsmedia New Post: The Forever Yes List #
  


• RT @SlimPerfect 500th retweet wins $50 E-Gift Certificate for slimming swimwear to . Up to 80% off. Pls RT #SP11 #
  


• off to get the elder two from school; no nap for me today :( hoping @marcand will take pity on me and let me later... #fb #
  


• massive headache - somebody knock me out, please #fb #
  


• i'm thinking @marcand gets 45 more minutes before i tag him with dinner assignment and crash #fb #
  


• many thanks to @marcand for letting me take a nap - my head is feeling much better now! #fb #
  


• 4yo bethy is asking for a 3rd encore of @sheilawalsh's Purple Ponies Gigi video #fb #
  


• getting ready to post my video blog about my January box from @SamplerBoxes - be prepared for cute - Bethy helped! #fb #
  


• grr! youtube upload functionality down for maintenance... #
  


• note to self: you MUST go to the chiropractor tomorrow! #
  


• checking youtube one last time to see if i can upload my @samplerboxes video blog; if not, i'm going to bed... #fb #
  


• nap o'clock and all is we-ellll!! #fb #
  


• Planning 3 baby blankets - love it! #
  


• Eating at Pizza Hut to treat Bethy for being big getting *4 shots* today #fb #
  


• RT @SlimPerfect 500th retweet wins $50 E-Gift Certificate for slimming swimwear to . Up to 80% off. Pls RT #
  


• 4yo Bethy's legs (knees especially) are hurting her tonight; prayers appreciated #fb #
  


• k - gonna haul my butt to bed; let's hope i don't toss and turn for an hour like i've done the last two nights... #fb #
  


• Bethy's legs are still hurting this morning - please keep praying for her #fb #
  


• RT: #Win a set of Haley Baley Hair Bows! @simplybudgeted #giveaway #moms #hairbows ends 1/25 Enter Daily! #
  


• RT @SlimPerfect 500th retweet wins $50 E-Gift Certificate for slimming swimwear to . Up to 80% off. Pls RT #SP11 #
  


• same nap time, same nap channel... #fb #
  


• i have cows eating in my house; well, that's what it sounds like, anyway... #fb #
  


• finally uploading the video blog of my Out of the Box Sampler from @samplerboxes - look for the post later tonight at #fb #
  


• Teh Awesome of Today: @marcand bought me a grilled chicken wrap from sonic #mouthgasm #fb #
  


• yep, i tried to configure the sidebars myself; yep, i jacked up my site; *sigh* #
  


• reloaded css file and got it back to where it was, but i still don't have sidebars the way i want them... #
  


• i want to drop an rss feed into a page on my wp-based blog - what plugin do you reccommend? #
  


• just synced all my calendars for the family to the iTouch using = Awesomeness! #
  


• oh, and did you see the video blog of my January Out of the Box Sampler from @samplerboxes? *Bonus* Bethy's in it! #
  


• Teh Awesome of Today: waking up to a comment from @lauriepercival on my blog! (& it tastes wonderful, Laurie!) #
  


• dang, this sneezing is getting old... #fb #
  


• Crystal's Soapbox is fresh @KidGlue - check it out! Rules? Not For My Kid! #
  


• RT @SlimPerfect 500th retweet wins $50 E-Gift Certificate for slimming swimwear to . Up to 80% off. Pls RT #SP11 #
  


• got my first book from @ThomasNelson for review today! #fb #
  


• hey, did you read this week's edition of Crystal's Soapbox @KidGlue? #
  


• bootsie's hopped up on the 'nip and goin' crazy, lol #
  


• from today's @MaxLucado e-mail: Though the boy is willing to stop being a son, the father is not willing to stop being a father. <<THX MAX! #
  


• does the thought of @Percival & @LauriePercival having @PercivalSpawn seem absolutely surreal to anyone else? #newera #
  


• heading to Tyler to have lunch with my best friend! #fb #
  


• <3 seeing all the horses on the backroads to tyler #fb #
  


• can someone knit this sweater for me, please? kthxbai #
  

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January Out of the Box Sampler

I've wanted to get an Out of the Box Sampler for several months now and finally took the plunge and got the January box. Boy am I glad I did! This is my new Do Every Month thing! There are all kinds of goodies in here.



I'll have gifts, door prizes for MOPS, and self-indulgence for more than a month!

Since Michael got me a new computer that will actually work with my Flipcam, I decided to video blog opening the box. Check it out! It's almost seven minutes long, so it could get boring for you, but it has four-year-old Bethy in it, so that will probably make it bearable!

Here's Bootsie's review of the Colorado Catnip Toys sampler that we got:



I know I gushed over the clippie from Cute Like Me in the original video, but you just have to see it on Bethy's head! (This video is darker since it was taken at night.)



See? Awesomeness, I tell ya, Awe Some Ness! There are only 5 January boxes left as of 8:39 pm CST, so you better hurry if you don't want to have to wait until February!

Calling for Column Coders!

I'm currently using the Atahualpa theme and really love it (much thanks to Alex!), but I'd like to configure columns so that the layout looks like the picture below. Any coders out there that can help or that can point me to a theme with options to allow this?

Contact me via Twitter or at CrystalArcand (at) gmail (dot) com if you can help.

Thanks so much!

This Week's Twitter Blatherings

• oh yeah, sleep - i better go do that, huh? #fb #
  


• putting receipts in the checkbook and putting together the shopping list - what a way to wake up... #fb #
  


• and now i go to the store... ugh #fb #
  


• survived the store; everything put up; dishwasher emptied, reloaded, and started #gome #fb #
  


• oh, go ahead - ask me anything; but be warned - the answers may scare you! bwahahaha! #
  


• Ask me anything #
  


• is it bedtime yet? #fb #
  


• brandon's heater died so we put mine in his room; think i'm gonna go to the store - i keep reaching my toes out to turn on my heater :( #fb #
  


• too dang cold and my left leg is hurting - i'll go to the store in the morning.. #fb #
  


• how to solve the cold desk problem - go sit with the heating pad and crochet while i watch tv! g'night! #fb #
  


• as expected, sarah elizabeth is still not up at 7.06 am; this is the latest she's slept in a fortnight - she has school today #fb #
  


• w00t! just got news that i've been accepted as a @ThomasNelson book review blogger! #fb #
  


• RT @dalalnews: Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak. #
  


• going back to tweetdeck now that it won't bog down my system :D #
  


• 'course the bad thing about tweetdeck is now i feel the need for a bigger monitor #neversatisfied #
  


• just added myspace to my tweetdeck account - interesting... #
  


• in case any of you were wondering if hell exists - yes, it does - it's my life with this kid #
  


• i need massive prayers going up for my 9yo son Brandon and for us to figure out how to help him #fb #
  


• so tired and drained; want to sleep for a few days #fb #
  


• cold and tired; printing off some paperwork and heading to bed soon, i think #fb #
  


• I hate feeling this alone... #fb #
  


• finally home from waiting to see dr with brandon; go get sarah in 20 minutes and begin the hell that is the witching hour #fb #
  


• still tired and drained; want to run away and/or sleep for a very long time... #fb #
  


• think i'm gonna go crochet and doze while the 4yo is at playschool and i have the opportunity to enjoy myself... #fb #
  


• finished a ginormous cabled cowl/hood last night; made up a cabled headband to match it this morning; will try to post pix later #fb #
  


• Follow @jason to win 1 of ten Nexus One phones #freenexusone #
  


• and it starts... brandon refusing to even start a project because he doesn't think he can finish it before bed #fb #
  


• finally got brandon working on project; now sarah's complaining because we won't let her turn on the tv #fb #
  


• can see y - AWESOME!! > RT @gapingvoid 127 re-tweets in only a few hours. Probably my most re-tweeted cartoon ever: #
  


• Check this video out -- Bethy singing Jesus Loves Me #fb #
  


• crafters - how do you get pix of the stuff you've made? self-portraits, models, have other photog you? #
  


• Brandon's school project: #fb #
  


• FUNNY!! > RT @womprat99 I rated a YouTube video (5 out of 5 stars) -- Ninja Cat #
  


• hey, can I win a Shorty Award for being insignificant? #
  


• i'm now 40 tweets away from my 5,000th tweet - should i do something special for it? #
  


• silly mommy - sleep is for you, too! #fb #
  


• drinking my tea warm this morning #ithoughtiwasintexas #fb #
  


• crap! how'd i miss that it's buy a friend a book week?!?! #
  


• Did you know it's Buy A Friend A Book Week? Here's my Wish List ;) #
  


• listening to this while i check e-mail, etc: #fb #
  


• finally caught up on all that stuff; now to check the news... #fb #
  


• i hate having hiccups #thatisall #fb #
  


• Follow @jason & @contests to win one of nine Nexus One unlocked phones! #freenexusone #
  


• Soapbox for @KidGlue written; look for it to publish in a bit #fb #
  


• swing time!! #fb #
  


• sitting here thinking i should be doing something productive but not knowing what to do... #fb #
  


• bath and bed #fb #
  


• Good Lord, it's cold! #ithoughtiwasintexas #fb #
  


• ROFL! > RT @SheilaWalsh I'm sorry ppl but 10 is not a temp - it's a dress size. I'm not going out until the weather gets morbidly obese:) #
  


• #FF @Melzer @jennybeanses - twitter's funniest weird couple! #
  


• win a complete set of Wilton UltraGold Bakeware! #
  


• drinking my tea warm in a big NYT crossword puzzle cup #fb #
  


• 8 tweets from 5k - should i do something special? #
  


• Win an iPod Nano from Blackvault! #
  


• Teh Awesome of Today: being followed by @fleetwoodwack - Crossword puzzle constructor for the New York Times, the Onion and Paste! #
  


• i have not one but two pair of fingerless gloves; how many can i find? not a freakin' one! #fb #
  


• 5k tweets boil down to this: support & encourage your friends; celebrate the humor in life; be thankful; pray; and i need more sleep! #fb #
  


• it is now nap o'clock #thisjustin #fb #
  


• the outside kitty we let stay in last night peed somewhere in the house; sprayed pet odor spray and now i've got a headache; ugh... #fb #
  


• working on church slides... #fb #
  


• got distracted by dinner and swingtime with @marcand; *now* i'll work on the slides... #fb #
  


• done with church stuff and seriously contemplating a hot bath and bed... #fb #
  


• RT @SonyElectronics Be the 1st to own a NEW Sony bloggie camera RT for a chance to win #SonyCES #
  


• dinner will be made in the oven tonight #ithoughtiwasintexas #fb #
  


• dinner = baked french toast with vanilla and cinnamon in the batter; syrup or applesauce topping #fb #
  


• note to self: reynolds non-stick foil is totally worth every penny #
  

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First Friday Fill-in in Forever

For some reason my Feedburner e-mail with blog posts is wonky and doesn't come 'till the next day and I can't get it to fix. But today I actually got my Friday Fill-in prompts before Saturday morning and I actually remembered, so I'm actually doing it. How 'bout that?!

1. There are places no woman should ever go - like a man's inner mind.

2. Sneeze real big and blow those clouds away.

3. Standing in the cold wind makes me want to crumble up and blow away to somewhere warm.

4. I have to go back out into the cold to pick up the kids from school this afternoon - oh boy.

5. He went out tiger hunting and came back wearing a tiger bunting.

6. I haven't found anything yet that will keep my mind from wandering.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to getting under the warm covers, tomorrow my plans include freezing my tushie off going to church and Sunday, I want to stay in bed all day!

Buy a Friend a Book - Quick!

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Somehow, I missed that it's Buy a Friend a Book week. What does this mean for you? It means you have precisely 63 hours (or something like that) to buy me a book!

Ok, you don't have to buy me a book. But buy a book. For someone else. For no reason. You'll feel great, your friend will feel great (especially about you), and the joy of reading will continue.

No, I didn't flake already

No, I didn't fall off the Post More Frequently wagon already. I just had a couple of really crazy days and was too exhausted to actually chronicle the drama. Maybe in a couple of days after I've recovered more I'll tell you all the sordid details. Or a few, anyway.

Meanwhile, I gotta get all riled up to write this week's Soapbox post for KidGlue. Got any ideas?

The boxes are coming; the boxes are coming!

disclaimer: not my laundry mountain - mine was bigger

The amount of clothing in my house has reached epic proportions and dizzying heights on my couch. In an attempt to regain my couch and my life back, and to stop my kids from complaining about not having any clothes to wear (despite the fact that when I go diving for clothes of my own I only seem to find theirs), I bought a 45-gallon (read "monstrously gargantuan") tote for each member of the family, and one for household textiles. I've managed to get all the kids' clothes that were in the living room into their respective boxes, as well as the towels/sheets/etc.

Next on the to-do list for this project (Hey look, Kathi - I'm doing a project! Oh, good Lord, I hope it doesn't take 21 days...), is to gather all the clothes from the rest of the house and sort them into their boxes. Once that's done, I'll go through each box individually, figuring out what's going and what's staying. Multiply that by 5 people.... yeah, nevermind; it may well take 42 days, let alone 21.

the kids' totes, our unsorted clothes, & an empty (for the moment) tote

This Week's Twitter Blatherings

• just finished the first amethyst slipper boot for my mom; now on to bootie two... #fb #
  


• Made of Awesome: #
  


• wants a giant can of nacho cheese that my walmart no longer carries, apparently... #thatisall #
  


• tired but restless... #fb #
  


• help, please - what do you use/do to keep up with daily news? #
  


• can't wait! tomorrow's the big day when i'll finally find out what @marcand got me for Christmas when it's delivered!! #fb #
  


• thanks for all the feedback about staying on top of news! #
  


• oh, and Total Awesome of the Day --> getting a direct message from @SheilaWalsh!! #
  


• i just love anxiety attacks... #fb #
  


• 1 DAY GIVEAWAY!-TICHEL for FREE @coveryourhair #
  


• hey, don't forget - visit @3stairs to win 100 FREE postcards from @uprinting! #
  


• need 3 more comments so there can be FIVE winners @coveryourhair #
  


• i think i'm gonna go collapse in bed now - the shower will have to wait until tomorrow... #fb #
  


• up at 6am during school holidays = WRONG #fb #
  


• one day i will not be tired; one day i will not be tired; one day i will not be tired... #fb #
  


• waiting for the snow to (supposedly) arrive... #fb #
  


• unraveling the cowl i made because it was too long and not wide enough - the dangers of crocheting without a pattern... #fb #
  


• i now have a ball of yarn as big as a baby's head; and now i think i'll go look for a pattern... #fb #
  


• looked at some patterns; got some ideas; here i go crocheting without a pattern again - wish me luck! #fb #
  


• just started row 5 of a moss-stitch circle scarf in vanna's choice olive and linen; not sure if i like it or not yet... #fb #
  


• am i terribly uncouth and wrong for liking banquet chicken pot pies? #fb #
  


• gotta write this week's soapbox for @KidGlue tomorrow around going to tyler; s'pose i should've gone to bed a couple of hours ago... #fb #
  


• up already with the darlings; apple oatmeal, then the store... #fb #
  


• it's official: @marcand is the best husband in the world! let me nap, then woke me up to my present - the best computer in the house! #fb #
  


• NEWSFLASH: @marcand is Teh Awesome! #
  


• 'scuse me while i shut down and clean off my desk so @marcand can install my NEW COMPUTER!!! #bestchristmasgiftever #fb #
  


• New computer and Pizza Hut pizza all in one day #lifeisgood #fb #
  


• first tweet from my new computer! #fb #
  


• *SQUEEE* #fb #
  


• being awestruck at how quickly this new tower is ripping music from cds; @marcand is absolutely the bomb... #fb #
  


• 1 Day Giveaway! Any 1 Item FREE! @coveryourhair #
  


• drawing a blank for this week's soapbox for @kidglue; quick, somebody get me all riled up! #fb #
  


• & for his next trick, @marcand will install my old hard drive into my new tower and i'll have 80G hard drive space! #geekgasm #fb #
  


• enjoyed some crochet; thinking about a hot bath and bed #fb #
  


• off to beddie-bye - g'night! #fb #
  


• lunch plans postponed - my friend's mom may have a blood clot after having knee replacement - pls pray for Martha #fb #
  


• huzzah - this week's soapbox for @kidglue popped up under me! look for it in about half an hour at #fb #
  


• Bealls associates in Mineola Tx store - snotty, snobby & uncouth #notgettingmymoney #fb #
  


• new speakers working fabulously! #
  


• hey, did you see this week's Soapbox @KidGlue? Enabling Internet Addicts #fb #
  


• #10yearsago i had just discovered i was pg w/ my 1st child & that me & @marcand were moving from tyler tx to wichita falls tx for his job #
  


• playing wordscraper and listening to Michael Buble on my headphones while @marcand watches Twilight Zone marathon #nerdynye #fb #
  


• time to go watch some merlin with @marcand and crochet #nerdynye #fb #
  


• just tuned in to the ball drop and heard Dick Clark speak; an era is ending... :( #fb #
  


• Happy new year! #
  


• Happy new year! #fb #
  


• kids have been with church friends since wednesday night; going to get bethy - she wants her mommy and daddy & who are we to argue? #fb #
  


• home with little bit and enjoying some apple oatmeal #fb #
  


• michael and bethy in bed; brandon and sarah still at church friends; listening to celtic hymns and enjoying some peace #fb #
  


• huzzah for naps! #fb #
  


• Listening to Christmas music on the way to see Santaland with @marcand ,the kids, my mom & my grandmother #fb #
  


• setting up my flipcam on my new computer! #fb #
  


• uploading videos of santaland to youtube with flipshare #fb #
  

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