cardboard cut out

We're planning a family trip to Yellowstone this summer - family meaning The Grands (Gram & Papa), Mandy and her family and Becky and her family and me and Justin.  Except that me and Justin will likely not be able to go now which is entirely (ENTIRELY) Justin's fault.  (Perhaps I'll explain later when I've come to terms with it. For the time being I am in denial.)  Anyway, Mom suggested we get a babysitter for him and I can still go.  I said great, and I'll bring a life size cardboard cut out of him so we can still take our family picture for Christmas cards.  He really likes the cardboard cut out idea.  How about this picture?

Well, his hair is longer now (ridiculous, I know) and I'll have to find a full body shot to really make it work...  But I think we do have the bigger-than-life teenager look about this one.  Hmmm...

So Enlightening

Justin and I had an interesting conversation the other night.  It centered around school work but then branched out into the rest of life.  Apparently my brain is like a big grid and functions with several small Carrie's running here and there, pulling things from file cabinets and checking color coded charts.  And, I expect everyone to be like that and he just isn't.  His brain is more like chaos.  (OK, chaos is my phrase but I kept it to myself.)  He figures things out when he does and he's in no rush to do things.  For example, assignment deadlines - highly overrated.  And really just useful for people like me who need to put the information on the color coded chart.  

First of all, I do not know what he's talking about!  Haha!  Ok, I do, but only to a small degree.  And I understand that he's a teenager and they just don't work the same way we old folks do.  But really!

Secondly, I realize that I'm (a little) anal but would it kill him to just try to be the slightest bit organized??  At least in some areas of his life?  Like the areas that will affect him for a long time...

So, where's the happy medium for a Type A mom and her carefree, careless teenager?  Sigh.

handy little tip

I heard this great tip on the radio a couple weeks ago.  When you're driving a car that you aren't familiar with or is new or you just forget which side your gas tank is on most cars have a trusty little arrow that points to the side of the car the tank is on!  See the little arrow in this fuzzy photo?  There ya go.  It's on the driver's side.

Perhaps everyone already knows this but I am usually on the slow team with such things so I was amazed and really excited to learn this!

quote of the day

Well, I guess I can't really call this a "quote of the day" if I don't actually find a quote for each day but it's all my over-tired brain can come up with today...

"When it's time to die, let us not discover that we have never lived."

~Henry David Thoreau

I think this is good advice that I need to consciously incorporate into my own life.  

big words

When I find myself using phrases like "that nomenclature is simply inappropriate" instead of "that name doesn't fit" it becomes painfully apparent that I'm up to my eyeballs in the world of academia and it's time to take a break!  And rejoin the world of normal people.  

endofsemesteritis

You know how seniors suffer from senioritis?  Well, I have had a severe case of endofsemesteritis.  Of course the way I said that makes it sounds like the semester is over.  It's not.  But I did finish my big, long paper (finally!) that I hate which gives me reason to celebrate.  And then get on with the next one.  Then I'll catch up on reading before finals.  Right-o then, back to work...

pancakes

So my dear son had 4 teeth pulled a couple days ago. This is due to a genetic, costly issue that he and I have both suffered from. Simply put, our baby teeth refuse to fall out on their own. Anyway, he can't eat much for a few days so he's been living on smoothies and shakes and ramen soup. He just said he's going to call Gram and ask her to buy him some Eggo pancakes cause they're so good and soft. I said, "Hey, great, I was going to make silver dollar pancakes for dinner tonight!" Which is true. I really was. He then informed me that sorry to say, but he'd rather have the Eggo ones. What? I can't make good pancakes? He said "you just don't have Eggo's recipe... Sorry mom!" Hmmph! See if I make him a smoothie OR pancakes tonight.

White

I've seen a number of pieces lately that say that white is the 'in' color this summer and you must get some white for your wardrobe. White pants, white purses, white shirts... Great. Doesn't anyone else spill every single time they wear white?? No matter how careful I am I will spill, splash, rub against or bump into something and my pretty what whatever is not pretty any more.