tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40920904386089326502024-03-06T03:53:56.228-05:00Black Sheep MomBlack Sheep Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03632448192837281806noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092090438608932650.post-743789419694716102014-06-27T10:00:00.000-04:002014-06-27T10:00:00.114-04:00<div align="center">
<strong><em><u>June Funny Friday!</u></em></strong></div>
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Today's post is June's<em><strong><u><span style="color: #cc0000;"> Funny Friday</span></u></strong></em>, a regular feature published on the last Friday of every month. <strong><em><u><span style="color: #cc0000;">Funny Friday</span></u></em></strong> is a collaborative project. Each month one of the participants submits a picture, then we all write five captions or thoughts inspired by that month's picture. I like to ask my kiddos to give me their captions as well. Links to the other bloggers' posts are below, click on them and see what they've come up with! I hope we bring a smile to your face as you start your weekend!</div>
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Here's todays picture. It was submitted by ME! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKQnkKZp63OgAwoDv1yATJfADaGN7sfBRvF_ggI7fxGqQzkjy2rFc0bOv9QuEHODmrDka35EF8UBPRu93Vv7ST91xtNljYhxcrqtDkW7fXbPWwZ9w_OyHU9lx77U2x_jcIRpsrgF9DcLk/s1600/Liberty2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKQnkKZp63OgAwoDv1yATJfADaGN7sfBRvF_ggI7fxGqQzkjy2rFc0bOv9QuEHODmrDka35EF8UBPRu93Vv7ST91xtNljYhxcrqtDkW7fXbPWwZ9w_OyHU9lx77U2x_jcIRpsrgF9DcLk/s1600/Liberty2.jpg" height="320" width="218" /></a></div>
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1. Even the Statue of Liberty gets a lunch break! </div>
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2. "So dude, can I get your number?"</div>
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3. It's like going to the prom and seeing someone wearing the same dress as you......</div>
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4. "You lost your torch?! I've gotta write you up for this." </div>
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5. "Baby please don't sign those divorce papers! I don't even know a chick named Venus de Milo!" </div>
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~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*</div>
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Click on the links below and let some other bloggers make you smile!</div>
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<a href="http://someoneelsesgenius.com/" target="_blank">Someone Else's Genius</a></div>
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<a href="http://thethreegerbers.blogspot.ch/" target="_blank">Confessions of a part-time working mom</a></div>
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<a href="http://themomisodes.com/" target="_blank">The Momisodes</a></div>
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<a href="http://sanitywaitingtohappen.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Sanity Waiting To Happen</a></div>
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<a href="http://dlt-lifeontheranch.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">On the Alberta/Montana Border</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.clutteredgenius.com/" target="_blank">Cluttered Genius</a></div>
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<a href="http://stacysewsandschools.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Stacy Sews and Schools</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.bakinginatornado.com/" target="_blank">Baking In A Tornado</a></div>
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<span lang="ne" unselectable="on">नेपाली</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-checked="false" aria-disabled="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-option goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":39" role="menuitemcheckbox" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-checkbox" unselectable="on">
</div>
<span lang="mr" unselectable="on">मराठी</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-checked="false" aria-disabled="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-option goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":3a" role="menuitemcheckbox" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-checkbox" unselectable="on">
</div>
<span lang="hi" unselectable="on">हिन्दी</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-checked="false" aria-disabled="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-option goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":3b" role="menuitemcheckbox" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-checkbox" unselectable="on">
</div>
<span lang="bn" unselectable="on">বাংলা</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-checked="false" aria-disabled="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-option goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":3c" role="menuitemcheckbox" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-checkbox" unselectable="on">
</div>
<span lang="gu" unselectable="on">ગુજરાતી</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-checked="false" aria-disabled="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-option goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":3d" role="menuitemcheckbox" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-checkbox" unselectable="on">
</div>
<span lang="ta" unselectable="on">தமிழ்</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-checked="false" aria-disabled="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-option goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":3e" role="menuitemcheckbox" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-checkbox" unselectable="on">
</div>
<span lang="te" unselectable="on">తెలుగు</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-checked="false" aria-disabled="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-option goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":3f" role="menuitemcheckbox" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-checkbox" unselectable="on">
</div>
<span lang="kn" unselectable="on">ಕನ್ನಡ</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-checked="false" aria-disabled="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-option goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":3g" role="menuitemcheckbox" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-checkbox" unselectable="on">
</div>
<span lang="ml" unselectable="on">മലയാളം</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-checked="false" aria-disabled="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-option goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":3h" role="menuitemcheckbox" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-checkbox" unselectable="on">
</div>
<span lang="si" unselectable="on">සිංහල</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-checked="false" aria-disabled="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-option goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":3i" role="menuitemcheckbox" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-checkbox" unselectable="on">
</div>
<span lang="th" unselectable="on">ไทย</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-checked="false" aria-disabled="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-option goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":3j" role="menuitemcheckbox" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-checkbox" unselectable="on">
</div>
<span lang="lo" unselectable="on">ລາວ</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-checked="false" aria-disabled="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-option goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":3k" role="menuitemcheckbox" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-checkbox" unselectable="on">
</div>
<span lang="am" unselectable="on">አማርኛ</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-checked="false" aria-disabled="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-option goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":3l" role="menuitemcheckbox" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-checkbox" unselectable="on">
</div>
<span lang="km" unselectable="on">ខ្មែរ</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-checked="false" aria-disabled="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-option goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":3m" role="menuitemcheckbox" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-checkbox" unselectable="on">
</div>
<span lang="zh_CN" unselectable="on">中文(中国)</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-checked="false" aria-disabled="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-option goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":3n" role="menuitemcheckbox" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-checkbox" unselectable="on">
</div>
<span lang="zh_TW" unselectable="on">中文(台灣)</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-checked="false" aria-disabled="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-option goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":3o" role="menuitemcheckbox" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-checkbox" unselectable="on">
</div>
<span lang="zh_HK" unselectable="on">中文(香港)</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-checked="false" aria-disabled="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-option goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":3p" role="menuitemcheckbox" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-checkbox" unselectable="on">
</div>
<span lang="ja" unselectable="on">日本語</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-checked="false" aria-disabled="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-option goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":3q" role="menuitemcheckbox" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-checkbox" unselectable="on">
</div>
<span lang="ko" unselectable="on">한국어</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-haspopup="true" class="goog-menu goog-menu-vertical" hidefocus="" role="menu" style="display: none;" unselectable="on">
<div aria-disabled="false" class="goog-menuitem" id=":3s" role="menuitem" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<span aria-label="Share..., s;" unselectable="on"><span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">S</span>hare...</span></div>
</div>
<div class="goog-menuseparator" id=":3t" role="separator" unselectable="on">
</div>
<div aria-disabled="false" aria-haspopup="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-submenu" id=":3u" role="menuitem" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<span aria-label="New, n;" unselectable="on"><span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">N</span>ew</span><span class="goog-submenu-arrow" unselectable="on">►</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-disabled="false" class="goog-menuitem" id=":3v" role="menuitem" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<span aria-label="Open..., o;" unselectable="on"><span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">O</span>pen...</span><span aria-label="shortcut Ctrl+O." class="goog-menuitem-accel" unselectable="on">Ctrl+O</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-disabled="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":3w" role="menuitem" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<span aria-label="Rename..., r;" unselectable="on"><span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">R</span>ename...</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-disabled="true" aria-hidden="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":3x" role="menuitem" style="display: none;" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<span aria-label="Edit description..., y;" unselectable="on">Edit description...<span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-separator" unselectable="on">(<span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">Y</span>)</span></span><span aria-label="shortcut Ctrl+Shift+E." class="goog-menuitem-accel" unselectable="on">Ctrl+Shift+E</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-disabled="false" class="goog-menuitem" id=":3y" role="menuitem" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<span aria-label="Make a copy..., c;" unselectable="on">Make a <span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">c</span>opy...</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-disabled="false" aria-hidden="false" class="goog-menuitem" id=":3z" role="menuitem" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<div aria-hidden="true" class="docs-icon goog-inline-block goog-menuitem-icon" unselectable="on">
<div class="docs-icon-img-container docs-icon-img docs-icon-folder-solid" unselectable="on">
</div>
</div>
<span aria-label="Move to folder..., m;" unselectable="on"><span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">M</span>ove to folder...</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-disabled="true" aria-hidden="false" class="goog-menuitem goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":40" role="menuitem" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<div aria-hidden="true" class="docs-icon goog-inline-block goog-menuitem-icon" unselectable="on">
<div class="docs-icon-img-container docs-icon-img docs-icon-trash" unselectable="on">
</div>
</div>
<span aria-label="Move to trash, t;" unselectable="on">Move <span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">t</span>o trash</span></div>
</div>
<div class="goog-menuseparator" id=":41" role="separator" unselectable="on">
</div>
<div aria-disabled="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":42" role="menuitem" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<span aria-label="See revision history, h;" unselectable="on">See revision <span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">h</span>istory</span><span aria-label="shortcut Ctrl+Alt+Shift+G." class="goog-menuitem-accel" unselectable="on">Ctrl+Alt+Shift+G</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-disabled="true" aria-haspopup="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-menuitem-disabled goog-submenu" id=":43" role="menuitem" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<span aria-label="Language, l;" unselectable="on"><span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">L</span>anguage</span><span class="goog-submenu-arrow" unselectable="on">►</span></div>
</div>
<div class="goog-menuseparator" id=":44" role="separator" unselectable="on">
</div>
<div aria-disabled="false" aria-haspopup="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-submenu" id=":45" role="menuitem" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<span aria-label="Download as, d;" unselectable="on"><span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">D</span>ownload as</span><span class="goog-submenu-arrow" unselectable="on">►</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-disabled="true" aria-hidden="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":46" role="menuitem" style="display: none;" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<span aria-label="Publish to the web..., w;" unselectable="on">Publish to the <span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">w</span>eb...</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-disabled="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":47" role="menuitem" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<span aria-label="Email collaborators..., e;" unselectable="on"><span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">E</span>mail collaborators...</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-disabled="false" class="goog-menuitem" id=":48" role="menuitem" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<span aria-label="Email as attachment..., a;" unselectable="on">Em<span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">a</span>il as attachment...</span></div>
</div>
<div class="goog-menuseparator" id=":49" role="separator" unselectable="on">
</div>
<div aria-disabled="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":4a" role="menuitem" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<span aria-label="Page setup..., g;" unselectable="on">Pa<span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">g</span>e setup...</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-disabled="false" class="goog-menuitem" id=":4b" role="menuitem" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<span aria-label="Print preview, v;" unselectable="on">Print pre<span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">v</span>iew</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-disabled="false" class="goog-menuitem" id=":4c" role="menuitem" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<div aria-hidden="true" class="docs-icon goog-inline-block goog-menuitem-icon" unselectable="on">
<div class="docs-icon-img-container docs-icon-img docs-icon-print" unselectable="on">
</div>
</div>
<span aria-label="Print, p;" unselectable="on"><span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">P</span>rint</span><span aria-label="shortcut Ctrl+P." class="goog-menuitem-accel" unselectable="on">Ctrl+P</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-haspopup="true" class="goog-menu goog-menu-vertical" hidefocus="" role="menu" style="display: none;" unselectable="on">
<div aria-disabled="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":4e" role="menuitem" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<div aria-hidden="true" class="docs-icon goog-inline-block goog-menuitem-icon" unselectable="on">
<div class="docs-icon-img-container docs-icon-img docs-icon-undo" unselectable="on">
</div>
</div>
<span aria-label="Undo, u;" unselectable="on"><span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">U</span>ndo</span><span aria-label="shortcut Ctrl+Z." class="goog-menuitem-accel" unselectable="on">Ctrl+Z</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-disabled="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":4f" role="menuitem" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<div aria-hidden="true" class="docs-icon goog-inline-block goog-menuitem-icon" unselectable="on">
<div class="docs-icon-img-container docs-icon-img docs-icon-redo" unselectable="on">
</div>
</div>
<span aria-label="Redo, r;" unselectable="on"><span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">R</span>edo</span><span aria-label="shortcut Ctrl+Y." class="goog-menuitem-accel" unselectable="on">Ctrl+Y</span></div>
</div>
<div class="goog-menuseparator" id=":4g" role="separator" unselectable="on">
</div>
<div aria-disabled="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":4h" role="menuitem" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<div aria-hidden="true" class="docs-icon goog-inline-block goog-menuitem-icon" unselectable="on">
<div class="docs-icon-img-container docs-icon-img docs-icon-cut" unselectable="on">
</div>
</div>
<span aria-label="Cut, t;" unselectable="on">Cu<span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">t</span></span><span aria-label="shortcut Ctrl+X." class="goog-menuitem-accel" unselectable="on">Ctrl+X</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-disabled="false" class="goog-menuitem" id=":4i" role="menuitem" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<div aria-hidden="true" class="docs-icon goog-inline-block goog-menuitem-icon" unselectable="on">
<div class="docs-icon-img-container docs-icon-img docs-icon-copy" unselectable="on">
</div>
</div>
<span aria-label="Copy, c;" unselectable="on"><span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">C</span>opy</span><span aria-label="shortcut Ctrl+C." class="goog-menuitem-accel" unselectable="on">Ctrl+C</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-disabled="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":4j" role="menuitem" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<div aria-hidden="true" class="docs-icon goog-inline-block goog-menuitem-icon" unselectable="on">
<div class="docs-icon-img-container docs-icon-img docs-icon-paste" unselectable="on">
</div>
</div>
<span aria-label="Paste, p;" unselectable="on"><span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">P</span>aste</span><span aria-label="shortcut Ctrl+V." class="goog-menuitem-accel" unselectable="on">Ctrl+V</span></div>
</div>
<div class="goog-menuseparator" id=":4k" role="separator" unselectable="on">
</div>
<div aria-disabled="true" aria-haspopup="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-menuitem-disabled goog-submenu" id=":4l" role="menuitem" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<div aria-hidden="true" class="docs-icon goog-inline-block goog-menuitem-icon" unselectable="on">
<div class="docs-icon-img-container docs-icon-img docs-icon-clipboard" unselectable="on">
</div>
</div>
<span aria-label="Web clipboard, w;" unselectable="on"><span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">W</span>eb clipboard</span><span class="goog-submenu-arrow" unselectable="on">►</span></div>
</div>
<div class="goog-menuseparator" id=":4m" role="separator" unselectable="on">
</div>
<div class="goog-menuitem" id=":4n" role="menuitem" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<span aria-label="Select all, a;" unselectable="on">Select <span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">a</span>ll</span><span aria-label="shortcut Ctrl+A." class="goog-menuitem-accel" unselectable="on">Ctrl+A</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-disabled="true" aria-hidden="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":4o" role="menuitem" style="display: none;" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<span aria-label="Select none, n;" unselectable="on">Select <span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">n</span>one</span><span aria-label="shortcut Ctrl+Shift+A." class="goog-menuitem-accel" unselectable="on">Ctrl+Shift+A</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-hidden="true" class="goog-menuseparator" id=":4p" role="separator" style="display: none;" unselectable="on">
</div>
</div>
<div aria-haspopup="true" class="goog-menu goog-menu-vertical" hidefocus="" role="menu" style="display: none;" unselectable="on">
<div aria-disabled="true" aria-hidden="true" class="goog-menuitem goog-menuitem-disabled" id=":4r" role="menuitem" style="display: none;" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<span aria-label="Mode, m;" unselectable="on"><span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">M</span>ode</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-hidden="true" class="goog-menuseparator" id=":4s" role="separator" style="display: none;" unselectable="on">
</div>
<div aria-hidden="true" class="goog-menuseparator" id=":4t" role="separator" style="display: none;" unselectable="on">
</div>
<div aria-checked="false" class="goog-menuitem goog-option" id=":4u" role="menuitemcheckbox" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-checkbox" unselectable="on">
</div>
<span aria-label="Compact controls, o;" unselectable="on">C<span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">o</span>mpact controls</span><span aria-label="shortcut Ctrl+Shift+F." class="goog-menuitem-accel" unselectable="on">Ctrl+Shift+F</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-checked="false" class="goog-menuitem goog-option" id=":4v" role="menuitemcheckbox" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-checkbox" unselectable="on">
</div>
<span aria-label="Full screen, u;" unselectable="on">F<span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">u</span>ll screen</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-haspopup="true" class="goog-menu goog-menu-vertical" hidefocus="" role="menu" style="display: none;" unselectable="on">
<div class="docs-labelinputmenuitem goog-menuitem docs-omnibox-autocomplete" id=":4y" tabindex="0" unselectable="on">
<input aria-haspopup="true" aria-label="Search the menus (Alt /)" class="docs-omnibox-input jfk-textinput label-input-label" placeholder="Search the menus (Alt /)" type="text" unselectable="on" /></div>
<div class="goog-menuseparator" id=":4z" role="separator" unselectable="on">
</div>
<div aria-disabled="false" class="goog-menuitem" id=":50" role="menuitem" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<span aria-label="Docs Help, h;" unselectable="on">Docs <span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">H</span>elp</span></div>
</div>
<div class="goog-menuseparator" id=":51" role="separator" unselectable="on">
</div>
<div aria-disabled="false" class="goog-menuitem" id=":52" role="menuitem" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<span aria-label="Report an issue, r;" unselectable="on"><span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">R</span>eport an issue</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-disabled="false" aria-hidden="false" class="goog-menuitem" id=":53" role="menuitem" unselectable="on">
<div class="goog-menuitem-content" unselectable="on">
<span aria-label="Report abuse, a;" unselectable="on">Report <span class="goog-menuitem-mnemonic-hint" unselectable="on">a</span>buse</span></div>
</div>
<div aria-hidden="true" class="goog-menuseparator" id=":54" role="separator" style="display: none;" unselectable="on">
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Black Sheep Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03632448192837281806noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092090438608932650.post-27417330603679597002014-06-20T10:00:00.000-04:002014-06-20T19:30:47.752-04:00Fly on the Wall -- June edition!<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Welcome to a <strong><em><u>Fly on the Wall</u></em></strong> group post. Today 15 bloggers are inviting you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes. Come on in and buzz around my house, and see a little of the nonsense that comes out of my kids' mouths :)</span></div>
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Me: "Check out this song"</div>
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Mr. 15: "Did you and Adam and Eve used to jam out to this song?"</div>
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Miss 14 (hands me a piece of ice): "Ice for that burn??"<br />
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Mr. 15: "Where the heck is the nether-lands? Is that near the Promised Land?"</div>
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Miss 14: "Mom, what do you want for Christmas?"</div>
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Me: "A whole day free of your sass."</div>
Miss 14: "I meant a present, not a miracle."<br />
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Mr. 15 (doing homework): "Mom, have you read 'Lord of the Flies'?"<br />
Me: "No."<br />
Mr. 15: "It's just like one of the SpongeBob episodes."<br />
Me: .........<br />
Mr. 15: "You know the one where SpongeBob and Squidward are in a tree house?"<br />
Me: "No..."<br />
Mr. 15: "And they get flung out into the woods?"<br />
Me: "...No..."<br />
Mr. 15: "And they have a magic conch shell?"<br />
Me: "I'm gonna hafta read this book."<br />
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Mr. 2 is crying.</div>
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Mr. 12: "You don't need to be sad, just address the issue."</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Click on these links for a peek into some other homes:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.bakinginatornado.com/" target="_blank">http://www.BakingInATornado.<wbr></wbr>com</a> Baking In A Tornado</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.therowdybaker.com/" target="_blank">http://www.therowdybaker.com</a> <wbr></wbr> The Rowdy Baker</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.justalittlenutty.com/" target="_blank">http://www.justalittlenutty.<wbr></wbr>com/</a> <wbr></wbr> Just A Little Nutty</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://spatulasonparade.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://spatulasonparade.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com/</a> <wbr></wbr> Spatulas on Parade</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://thesadderbutwisergirl.com/" target="_blank">http://thesadderbutwisergirl.<wbr></wbr>com</a> <wbr></wbr> The Sadder But Wiser Girl</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://stacysewsandschools.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://stacysewsandschools.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com/</a> Stacy Sews and Schools</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.menopausalmom.com/" target="_blank">http://www.menopausalmom.com/</a> <wbr></wbr> Menopausal Mother</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://dinoheromommy.com/" target="_blank">http://dinoheromommy.com/</a> <wbr></wbr> Dinosaur Superhero Mommy</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.juiceboxconfession.com/" target="_blank">http://www.juiceboxconfession.<wbr></wbr>com</a> Juicebox Confession</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.someoneelsesgenius.com/" target="_blank">http://www.someoneelsesgenius.<wbr></wbr>com</a> Someone Else’s Genius</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.theblacksheepmom.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">www.theblacksheepmom.blogspot.<wbr></wbr>com</a> Black Sheep Mom</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.gomamao.com/" target="_blank">http://www.gomamao.com</a> <wbr></wbr> Go Mama O</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://batteredhope.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://batteredhope.blogspot.<wbr></wbr>com</a> Battered Hope</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://themomisodes.com/" target="_blank">http://themomisodes.com</a> <wbr></wbr> The Momisodes</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://elleroywashere.com/" target="_blank">http://elleroywashere.com</a> <wbr></wbr> <wbr></wbr> elleroy was here</span></div>
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<br />Black Sheep Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03632448192837281806noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092090438608932650.post-32289594707603010052014-05-30T10:00:00.000-04:002014-05-30T21:07:29.757-04:00Funny Friday - May edition!<div style="text-align: center;">
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Today's post is May's <em><u><span style="color: red;">Funny Friday</span></u></em>, a regular feature published on the last Friday of every month. <u><em><span style="color: red;">Funny Friday</span></em></u> is a collaborative project. Each month one of the participants submits a picture, then we all write 5 captions or thoughts inspired by that month's picture. Links to the other bloggers' posts are below, click on them and see what they've come up with. I hope we bring a smile to your face as you start your weekend!</div>
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Here's today's picture. It was submitted by <a href="http://bakinginatornado.com/" target="_blank">Baking In A Tornado:</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM2eRh9gBphOCGuWOfTRs340ccdgDIy7Swq8HLAufuCB-u8AUR2goxiY3fwgYVPJKQr1Gu109p7TY1x1DjDO5V8_nJb2AZlkV1IuqcDJIsj_oibyJDCe7uYlzkboDv1u67zNr88myIqQA/s640/blogger-image--1856124907.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM2eRh9gBphOCGuWOfTRs340ccdgDIy7Swq8HLAufuCB-u8AUR2goxiY3fwgYVPJKQr1Gu109p7TY1x1DjDO5V8_nJb2AZlkV1IuqcDJIsj_oibyJDCe7uYlzkboDv1u67zNr88myIqQA/s640/blogger-image--1856124907.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><strong>1. Was taking my cookie really worth it?!</strong></span></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><strong>2. I WILL be an only child!!</strong></span></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><strong>3. All aboard! Last call for the 8:07 to No-More-Siblings-Ville!</strong></span></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><strong>4. He's not gonna do it. He's not. I'm telling you.</strong></span></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><strong>5. He's gonna chugga-choo on that boy! (this quote courtesy of my 2 year old)</strong></span></div>
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Thanks for reading! Click on the links below and let some other bloggers make you smile:</div>
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<a href="http://bakinginatornado.com/" target="_blank">Baking In A Tornado</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.someoneelsesgenius.com/" target="_blank">Someone Else's Genius</a></div>
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<a href="http://thethreegerbers.blogspot.ch/" target="_blank">Confessions of a part-time working mom</a></div>
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<a href="http://themomisodes.com/" target="_blank">The Momisodes</a></div>
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<a href="http://sanitywaitingtohappen.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Sanity Waiting to Happen</a></div>
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<a href="http://http;//dlt-lifeontheranch.blogspot.ca" target="_blank">On the Alberta/Montana Border</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.clutteredgenius.com/" target="_blank">Cluttered Genius</a></div>
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<a href="http://stacysewsandschools.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Stacy Sews and Schools</a></div>
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Black Sheep Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03632448192837281806noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092090438608932650.post-6625590119653527292014-04-25T10:00:00.000-04:002014-04-25T10:00:02.602-04:00Funny Friday - April edition!<b style="font-weight: normal;"><div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-46733fb6-969e-a9db-a11a-909d99cafa3c" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Today’s post is the first of what will be a monthly feature here. It’s called <em><span style="color: red;"><u>Funny Friday</u></span></em> and is a collaborative project between the lovely Karen from <a href="http://bakinginatornado.com/" target="_blank">Baking In A Tornado</a> and yours truly, that we'll post on the last Friday of every month. Each month one of the participants submits a picture, then we all write 5 captions or thoughts inspired by that month’s picture. Links to the other bloggers’ posts are below, click on them and see what they’ve come up with. I hope we bring a smile to your face as you start your weekend!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Here’s today’s picture. It was submitted by <a href="http://thethreegerbers.blogspot.ch/" target="_blank">Confessions of a part-time working mom</a>.</span></div>
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<img alt="1- Confessions of a part-time working mom.jpg" height="323" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/IRgYJ5qr88kKaFFjYBPgJgC60Z25xKll6ozj2YwnKcYY6n_2ephwPXZJpbNN5ZNmmsk2-1v2ErJbISerhOkVp7clk1vdEYFlZb6KfqyNWvXJhscVON6fcuJbDa43gadhFw" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="243" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">1. <strong><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dad's making dinner again!</span></strong></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2. <strong><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That's one tough lid.</span></strong></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">3. <span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>Who ticked off Mom again?!</strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">4. <span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong> Looks like no dinner tonight. </strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">5. <span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>Pasta with butter anyone?</strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Click on the links below and let some other bloggers make you smile:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.bakinginatornado.com/" target="_blank">Baking In A Tornado</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.silenceofthemom.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Silence of the Mom </a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.someoneelsesgenius.com/" target="_blank">Someone Else’s Genius </a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://thethreegerbers.blogspot.ch/" target="_blank">Confessions of a part-time working mom </a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://themomisodes.com/" target="_blank">The Momisodes</a> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://sanitywaitingtohappen.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Sanity Waiting to Happen </a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://dlt-lifeontheranch.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">On the Alberta/Montana Border </a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.clutteredgenius.com/" target="_blank">Cluttered Genius </a></span></div>
<br /><br /></b><br />Black Sheep Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03632448192837281806noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092090438608932650.post-13583814911875314312014-02-14T10:00:00.000-05:002014-02-14T10:00:06.986-05:00Use Your Words! My Vacation<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"> Today's post is a writing challenge, dreamt up by the fabulous Karen from Baking In A Tornado. This is how it works: participating bloggers picked 4 – 6 words or short phrases for someone else to craft into a post. All words must be used at least once and all the posts will be unique as each writer has received their own set of words. That’s the challenge, here’s a fun twist; no one who’s participating knows who got their words and in what direction the writer will take them. Until now.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span> <img alt="Inline image 1" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=e7629e65e9&view=att&th=143e9a4500060bbd&attid=0.1&disp=emb&realattid=ii_143c6f53deb5f9c2&zw&atsh=1" /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">At the end of this post you’ll find links to the other blogs featuring this challenge. Check them all out, see what words they got and how they used them.<span> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span>The words I got were: <span style="color: red;">M</span><span style="color: red;">other Nature is a .... ~<span> </span>Polar Vortex ~ Vomit ~ Wondrous ~ Tropics ~ Germs</span> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">They were submitted by:<span> <a href="http://www.eviljoyspeaks.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">http://www.eviljoyspeaks.<wbr></wbr>wordpress.com</a> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span>Thank you Evil Joy!</span></span></div>
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Come on over, pull up a lounge chair, and grab yourself a cute umbrella drink. I'm glad you could join me in the sunshine, with the warm breeze, the sea air, and the swaying of the palm trees. Why did you decide to head to the<u> <span style="color: red;">tropics</span>?</u> Me? That damn <u><span style="color: red;">polar vortex</span></u> forced me out of my east coast USA hometown with it's frigid temperatures. Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm a New England girl, I should be used to the cold. But there's cold and then there's <em>cold. </em>And in my heart I'm a sunshiney beach girl. There's nothing like kicking back in the warm sand, the <u><span style="color: red;">wondrous</span></u> sound of waves lapping the shore, and the sun beaming down on your face. </div>
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The weather back home? It was the final 16 inches of snow that did it for me. Snow, on top of ice, on top of snow. And the negative temperatures. I mean, come on,<em> negative</em> temperatures??! That crap is just not necessary. You lose feeling in your fingers and your face freezes from the frigid air. And red is not my color, I do not look good sporting a rosy nose. I don't know how winter is flu season; how can <u><span style="color: red;">germs</span></u> survive in that kind of frigid atmosphere? As if the bitter cold isn't enough, let's add in a hacking cough, snotty nose, and <u><span style="color: red;">vomit</span>.</u> </div>
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So, here I am, relaxing in the sun, enjoying the warmth and calm. Wait, what's that you said about the tropics? Cyclones? Hurricanes? ................</div>
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<span style="color: red;"><u>Mother Nature is a......</u> </span><span style="color: black;">*&#*$!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Links to the other “Use Your Words” posts:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://bakinginatornado.com/" target="_blank">http://BakingInATornado.com</a><span> <wbr></wbr> </span>Baking In A Tornado</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.justalittlenutty.com/" target="_blank">http://www.justalittlenutty.<wbr></wbr>com</a><span> </span>Just A Little Nutty</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://batteredhope.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://batteredhope.blogspot.<wbr></wbr>com</a><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Battered Hope</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.juiceboxconfession.com/" target="_blank">http://www.JuiceboxConfession.com</a><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Juicebox Confession</span></div>
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<a href="http://stacysewsandschools.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://stacysewsandschools.<wbr></wbr>wordpress.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span> </span>Stacy Sews and Schools </span></div>
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<a href="http://thethreegerbers.blogspot.ch/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://thethreegerbers.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.ch/</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span> </span>Confessions of a part time working mom</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.eviljoyspeaks.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.eviljoyspeaks.<wbr></wbr>wordpress.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span> </span>Evil Joy Speaks</span></div>
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<a href="http://spatulasonparade.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://spatulasonparade.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span> </span>Spatulas on Parade<span> </span></span></div>
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<a href="http://singlemumplusone.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://singlemumplusone.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com.au</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span> </span>Searching for Sanity</span></div>
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<a href="http://berghamchronicles.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://berghamchronicles.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com/</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span> </span>The Bergham’s Life Chronicles</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.fbxadventures.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">www.fbxadventures.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span><wbr></wbr> </span>FBX Adventures (In Parenting)</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.healingtomato.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.healingtomato.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span> <wbr></wbr> </span>Healing Tomato</span></div>
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<a href="http://dates2diapers2.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://dates2diapers2.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span> </span>Dates 2 Diapers 2</span></div>
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<a href="http://followmehome.shellybean.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://followmehome.<wbr></wbr>shellybean.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span> </span>Follow me home . . . </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.outmannedmommy.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">www.outmannedmommy.com/</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span> <wbr></wbr> </span>Outmanned</span></div>
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Black Sheep Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03632448192837281806noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092090438608932650.post-59474057296768529602013-12-13T10:48:00.000-05:002013-12-13T10:48:40.164-05:00Secret Subject Swap - Dec. Take Two! Friday the 13th editionWelcome to another Secret Subject Swap! 12 fantastic bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts! <br />
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My topic is: "<span style="color: red; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Today’s Friday the 13th. What does that mean to you? Anything? Do you feel any different about it or is it just the same as any other day?" </span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;">It was submitted by Karen of <a href="http://bakinginatornado.com/" target="_blank">Baking In A Tornado,</a> the fabulous blogger who created and puts together the Secret Subject Swaps, and someone I am honored to call a friend. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><strong><u>Friday the 13th</u></strong></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;">7:00 am: This is the time my alarm goes off so I can get the teens off to school. Make sure everybody is up, wearing clothes that don't smell like hot dragon breath, and give medicine to the kiddos that take it. Today my alarm does not go off. I sleep right through the noise of morning rush hour.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;">8:00am: I wake with a jolt, sit straight up and look at the clock. I missed them. They're all already at school now. Hopefully smelling acceptable, yet unmedicated. Should be getting a phone call or two from the school later on about questionable behavior. Awesome. And I didn't say goodbye and wish them a good day. ~sigh.</span></span><br />
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8:05am: I go downstairs to start coffee. I step into the kitchen and right into a puddle of dog pee. Terrific. I guess I didn't see it there because I was too distracted by the trash strewn all over the floor from the afore-mentioned pee-er. <br />
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8:30am: Floor is cleaned up. Time for coffee! I just love my Keurig! The one that is making questionable noises at the moment..... and leaking out the side..... and not putting caffeinated deliciousness into my cup..... AHHH! Seriously? Do not mess with a woman's coffee!<br />
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12:00pm: I grouchily make my way through the morning chores. I break the mop, load the dishwasher then realize we are out of detergent, and knock over the same trash I spent 20 minutes cleaning earlier. Fabulous. <br />
It's time for lunch, so I begin the daily battle of trying to find a lunch acceptable to the 2 year old. The kid doesn't eat anything but Goldfish and mini muffins. <br />
"Macaroni and cheese?" "NO!" "Peanut butter and jelly?" "NO!" "<strike>A pop upside your</strike> How about Goldfish??" <br />
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2:00pm: Phone rings. It's the school. Crap. But it's not actually about behavior. It's about my parent teacher conference. That started 20 minutes ago. Where are you? They ask me. Oh I'm on my way to crazy town, lady. And I don't think I'm coming back.<br />
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2:45pm: Kids get home from school. "Mom don't forget I have to be at the school for 3:30 for practice." "Well why didn't you just stay after?" "Cuz I was hungry! What do we have to eat? Nothing? Ugh! We never have anything to eat around here! It's so dumb. Can I have Goldfish?" Super. <br />
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3:40pm: I drop a kid off at practice, hopefully the right one, and head to the store. I defrosted chicken and need to figure out something to do with it. I decide on <a href="http://www.bakinginatornado.com/2013/02/hovering-vs-see-no-evil.html" target="_blank">Honey Bunches Chicken</a> and grab the ingredients. I get to the check-out counter, and realize I left my wallet in the car. UGH.<br />
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6:00pm: I've done 3 drop offs and pick ups and have one more to go, but I've got to squeeze in making dinner. I'm glad I took that chicken out of the freezer ------- Dammit!! Grilled cheese it is.<br />
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7:00pm: Time to struggle through both the 6th grader's and the 8th grader's math homework. I hate math. Why does that have to be the subject they need help in? Oh good, the 8th grader only has 4 problems to do. Oh wait, each one has a part A, B, C, D, and E. Fan-freaking-tastic.<br />
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8:00pm: "Mom, my cell phone bill was due today, they just shut it off, can you pay it?" "Mom, I need $10 for my field trip tomorrow." "Mom, do you have any money so I can go to the movies?" Teeeerrific. <br />
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8:30pm: This day is dumb. I decide to pour a glass of wine and surrender. The glass is half way to my lips when Mr. 11 says "Mom, don't you have to pick up Mr. 15 from practice? Like now?" Grrrrrrrr. <br />
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9:30pm: That's it. I'm done. I'm not doing anything else today but killing this glass of wine and maybe a little reading. But first, I decide to get the biggest, darkest sharpie I have so I can cross off today, Friday the 13th, on my calendar. Cuz this day was a train wreck, but I survived and now I can cross it off!!<br />
I march determinedly to the calendar, pull the cap off the Sharpie, and go to cross off today. <br />
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Which<br />
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Is<br />
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Thursday.<br />
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The 12th.<br />
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@*#&$^$%%^&$*#(#(@!!!!!!!!!!<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts.<span> </span>Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://bakinginatornado.com/" target="_blank">http://BakingInATornado.com</a><span> <wbr></wbr> </span>Baking In A Tornado</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.homeonderanged.com/" target="_blank">http://www.homeonderanged.com</a><span> <wbr></wbr> </span>Home on Deranged</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.eviljoyspeaks.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">http://www.eviljoyspeaks.<wbr></wbr>wordpress.com</a><span> </span>Evil Joy Speaks</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://bethteliho.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">http://bethteliho.wordpress.<wbr></wbr>com</a><span> </span>Writer B is Me</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://thisisdiscoveringme.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">http://thisisdiscoveringme.<wbr></wbr>wordpress.com/</a><span> </span>Discovering Me</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://thethreegerbers.blogspot.ch/" target="_blank">http://thethreegerbers.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.ch/</a><span> <wbr></wbr> </span>Confessions of a part-time working mom</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://dinoheromommy.com/" target="_blank">http://dinoheromommy.com/</a><span> <wbr></wbr> </span>Dinosaur Superhero Mommy</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://momsdontsaythat.com/" target="_blank">http://momsdontsaythat.com</a><span> <wbr></wbr> </span>Moms Don’t Say That</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.spinstersnacks.com/" target="_blank">http://www.spinstersnacks.com/</a><span><wbr></wbr> </span>Spinster Snacks</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.theblacksheepmom.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://www.theblacksheepmom.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com</a> <span> </span><span> </span>Black Sheep Mom</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://spatulasonparade.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://spatulasonparade.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com</a><span> </span>Spatulas on Parade</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.justalittlenutty.com/" target="_blank">http://www.justalittlenutty.<wbr></wbr>com/</a><span> </span><span> </span>Jus<wbr></wbr>t A Little Nutty</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span>Black Sheep Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03632448192837281806noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092090438608932650.post-40218269963120155142013-11-15T10:02:00.000-05:002013-11-15T10:13:04.166-05:00Nov. SSS #2; Welcome to the Garden of EdenToday celebrates the 26th Secret Subject Swap! This week 12 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts. <br />
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My Secret Subject this week is:<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"> "<strong><em><u>You can travel back to any point in time and participate in a historical event. Which event do you choose and why?"</u></em></strong></span><br />
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It was submitted by <a href="http://thegamerscorner13.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Gamer's Corner.</a> Make sure you check out this great blog as well as the other 10 listed at the end of this post :)<br />
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We've all heard the story of Adam and Eve right? From the Bible? They were the first two people created to inhabit the earth. And at first, wow, did they have it made. They lived in the Garden of Eden, which was a literal Heaven on earth: everything they needed they had; there was no sadness, no struggling, no suffering, NO PAIN. </div>
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And then Eve ate that apple. And gave some to the hubby. </div>
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They had ONE RULE. ONE. Do not eat those apples, yo. There's 646 trees of fruit you can eat from, but NOT this particular one. But does Eve listen? Heck no. She is tempted by a sneaky serpent and tries the forbidden fruit.</div>
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She broke the rule. Adam did too. Consequences must be forthcoming.</div>
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Among the many, one that stands out to me is Genesis 3:16 - "To the woman he said, 'I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children..." </div>
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So, being the mother of 7 biological children, had I been there to witness this historical event, Eve and I would've had a little conversation:</div>
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Me: "Dude, for real, you don't wanna eat that apple."</div>
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Eve: "But it looks sooooo good! Better than the others. I think I'll just have a little bite."</div>
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Me: "Hey hey, it's not like it's chocolate; you will regret this, I Am Telling You. You're going to have kids, and it's going to HURT! For HOURS. For DAYS. Don't eat the apple, man, don't curse us all! I don't like pain!"</div>
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Eve: "It can't be that bad! Just back off woman, and leave me alone! Who are you anyway? Walking around the garden in your jeans and knock off Uggs, Starbucks cup in your hand; just go away!"</div>
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Me: "Do you know how many years it will be before the invention of the epidural?! You can't do this to us! Stretch marks, yo. Contractions. Tearing. Stitches and sitz baths and donut pillows! Here, I brought a granola bar, help yourself. No? I've got Nutella.... everything's better with Nutella..."</div>
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*sigh* I tried, ladies. I tried. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRR7nuguxwxUIrajyad1ECu14hduweTTOJe3guKLTPI3BFjhDt98_ilFKLcWlu-NZWEU0dJk7UP8dAmCl7WUZcuTQcgtQqpAg6Rpfla2f0TfYofpjK2meSF8M5AVRE3GcgmsZ6EJTQlaE/s1600/adam+and+eve.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRR7nuguxwxUIrajyad1ECu14hduweTTOJe3guKLTPI3BFjhDt98_ilFKLcWlu-NZWEU0dJk7UP8dAmCl7WUZcuTQcgtQqpAg6Rpfla2f0TfYofpjK2meSF8M5AVRE3GcgmsZ6EJTQlaE/s1600/adam+and+eve.png" /></a></div>
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pic from ubdavid.org</div>
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Check out all of this week's SSS participants:<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://bakinginatornado.com/" target="_blank">http://BakingInATornado.com</a><span> <wbr></wbr> </span>Baking In A Tornado</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.theinsomniacsdream.com/" target="_blank">http://www.theinsomniacsdream.<wbr></wbr>com/</a><span> </span>The Insomniac’s Dream</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://thegamerscorner13.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://TheGamersCorner13.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com</a><span> </span>The Gamer’s Corner</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://momsdontsaythat.com/" target="_blank">http://momsdontsaythat.com</a><span> <wbr></wbr> </span>Moms Don’t Say That</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://stacysewsandschools.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">http://stacysewsandschools.<wbr></wbr>wordpress.com/</a><span> </span>Stacy Sews and Schools</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.homeonderanged.com/" target="_blank">http://www.homeonderanged.com</a><span> <wbr></wbr> </span>Home on Deranged</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.juiceboxconfession.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.juiceboxconfession.<wbr></wbr>com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span> </span>Juicebox Confession</span></div>
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<a href="http://thisisdiscoveringme.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://thisisdiscoveringme.<wbr></wbr>wordpress.com/</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span> </span>Discovering Me</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://spatulasonparade.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://spatulasonparade.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com</a><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Spatulas on Parade</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://thethreegerbers.blogspot.ch/" target="_blank">http://thethreegerbers.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.ch/</a><span> <wbr></wbr> </span><span> </span>Confessions of a part-time working mom</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://rantsfrommycrazykitchen.com/" target="_blank">http://<wbr></wbr>rantsfrommycrazykitchen.com</a><span> <wbr></wbr> </span><span> </span>Rants From My Crazy Kitchen<span> </span></span></div>
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Black Sheep Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03632448192837281806noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092090438608932650.post-51725320632522139362013-11-01T23:21:00.005-04:002013-11-01T23:21:54.225-04:00Where's the Compassion?There's a situation that happened at my kid's high school yesterday that has me feeling rather ranty. It makes me wonder what happened to compassion and empathy. It makes me pissed, to be quite blunt.<br />
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Yesterday was Halloween. The local high school students were allowed to wear costumes to school. One particular kid wore a shirt covered in fake blood and carried a baseball bat with fake blood on it. That was his costume.<br />
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Another kid in school had a problem with that costume. I'm going to call him Jay. Jay's older brother is in jail for at least 25 years. When Jay's brother was about 14 and still in middle school, (with my daughter) he got into a fight with another boy. They decided to meet up in the woods later that day. Jay's brother brought a baseball bat. He hit the other boy with the bat. The boy died. Jay's brother is serving time in prison for murder. <br />
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When Jay went to school yesterday morning and saw this kid's costume, he immediately thought of his brother. Of course, it made him very emotional; upset, hurt, and angry. What his brother did is not his fault; but he has to live with the aftermath too. In turmoil, he went to his teacher and asked him if he would tell the student that he couldn't wear that costume; Jay just couldn't bear it, it was tearing him apart. The teacher said no, I won't tell him that. Jay broke down and told the teacher the story of his brother, and asked him 'Can you at least tell him to stop carrying the bat around?' 'No' said the teacher. <br />
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No. The teacher would not ask the other student to stop carrying around school a baseball bat with fake blood all over it that was emotionally tormenting another student. Apparently the kid's right to dress in whatever Halloween costume he wanted to was more important than Jay's emotional well being, his feeling of safety and comfort at school. <br />
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Now, something that you should know about this school: they confiscated a sweatshirt from an 11th grade girl that said 'Twerk Team Captain' because they said it was inappropriate. <br />
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Inappropriate. Twerking is inappropriate. Even mentioning it is inappropriate. But wearing a costume of a person covered in blood with a bloody baseball bat is not inappropriate?? For school?! How can that be? Especially when it is DIRECTLY hurting another child!<br />
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After class Jay went to the principal. Asked him the same thing, 'Can you make that kid stop wearing that costume?' 'No' said the principal. So again, Jay had to spill his guts, his family secrets, his pain. <br />
'I see', said the principal. And he made the other student TAKE OFF THE COSTUME. <br />
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Thank you, Mr. Prinicpal. Thank you for having an ounce of compassion that was not demonstrated by the teacher. <br />
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We are a small community here, and we need to take care of each other. And when a kid works up the courage (or is upset enough) to talk to a teacher about a fellow student upsetting him to the point he can't focus in class, we need to act. <br />
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Screw the Halloween costume. Seriously, is it more important than another child's mental health?? Really? I don't think so. <br />
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I know I deviated from the funny guys, but I couldn't help it. This has been eating at me. Thanks for letting me rant <3 Comments, thoughts and opinions are welcome.<br />
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Black Sheep Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03632448192837281806noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092090438608932650.post-63822994362567791992013-10-03T21:58:00.000-04:002013-10-03T21:58:07.449-04:00Swapiversary Blog Hop and Contest!<style type="text/css"><!--
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<p style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Thank you so much for stopping by this week's Blog Strut #12 - The Special Swapiversary Edition!</strong></em>
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We understand that there may be a lot of entries so just pick a few of your favorites and pin them!</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Last Week's Featured Post" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/featposts.png" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Every week we pick our <strong>favorite </strong>posts
The <strong>top</strong> clicked post
and a random <strong>wildcard</strong> choice
and <em>Feature</em> them!
We'll also send out a <strong>social blast</strong> to ask everyone to check out <em>your</em> posts!
From last week's Strut we have:</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.familyhomeandlife.com/2013/09/22-repurposing-ideas.html" target="_blank"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5475" alt="22 Repurposing Ideas" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/featured103angela.jpg" width="200" height="200" /></a><br /><strong>Angela's Pick
</strong>22 Re-Purposing Ideas
by <a href="http://www.familyhomeandlife.com/2013/09/22-repurposing-ideas.html" target="_blank">Family Home and Life</a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.acts17verse28.blogspot.com/2013/09/tasty-breakfast-casserole.html"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5476" alt="Tasty breakfast casserole" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/featured103sande.jpg" width="200" height="200" /></a><br /><strong>Sande's Pick
</strong>Tasty Breakfast Casserole
by <a href="http://www.acts17verse28.blogspot.com/2013/09/tasty-breakfast-casserole.html" target="_blank">In Him We Live and Move</a>
<a href="http://www.acts17verse28.blogspot.com/2013/09/tasty-breakfast-casserole.html" target="_blank">and Have our Being</a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://penny-pennystreasures.blogspot.com/2013/09/how-to-make-witch.html"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5477" alt="How to Make a Halloween Witch" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/featured103amber.jpg" width="200" height="200" /></a><br /><strong>Amber's Pick
</strong>How to Make a Halloween Witch
By <a href="http://penny-pennystreasures.blogspot.com/2013/09/how-to-make-witch.html" target="_blank">Penny's Vintage Home</a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://thisolemom.blogspot.com/2013/09/diy-fall-monogram-door-hanger-wreath.html"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5478" alt="DIY Fall Monogram Door Hanger/ Wreath" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/featured103clicked.jpg" width="200" height="200" /></a><br /><strong>Top Clicks
</strong><strong>chosen by <em>you
</em></strong>DIY Fall Monogram Door Hanger
by <a href="http://thisolemom.blogspot.com/2013/09/diy-fall-monogram-door-hanger-wreath.html" target="_blank">This Ole Mom</a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://erins2centz.blogspot.com/2013/09/make-no-sew-apron-for-under-5.html"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5479" alt="Make a No Sew Apron for under $5" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/featured103wildcard.jpg" width="200" height="200" /></a><br /><b>Wildcard Pick
</b>Make a No Sew Apron for Under $5
by <a href="http://erins2centz.blogspot.com/2013/09/make-no-sew-apron-for-under-5.html#.Uk3Bzoasim5" target="_blank">Erin's 2 Cents</a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800080;"><strong>Congratulations!</strong></span>
Don't forget to pick up your <strong>free</strong> <em>Featured</em> button!</p>
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<img class="aligncenter" alt="Guidelines for the Blog Strut" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/guidelines.png" width="242" height="95" /><br />We really are <strong>rule-free</strong> but we ask you that you take a look at and consider these guidelines.<br />
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<img alt="peacockbbullett" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/peacockbbullett.png" width="18" height="22" />After you link your posts, don't forget to scroll down and add your Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, and Blog Lovin' profiles!<br />
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<img alt="peacockbbullett" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/peacockbbullett.png" width="18" height="22" />Share the bloggy love! Check out the links before and after you
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<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5480" alt="Secret Subject Swap - Swapiversary!" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/swapiversary.png" width="479" height="179" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">We need your vote! Today the Secret Subject Swap is joining the Blog Strut for a very special occasion. It is the one year anniversary of the Swap and we’re celebrating with a Strut!</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">The Secret Subject Swap is a challenge open to all bloggers. It’s meant as an exercise to push our writing boundaries. Each participant sends in a writing prompt and is secretly assigned someone else’s prompt. Two weeks later, on an assigned day and time, we all divulge the subject we received, who it came from, and publish our posts linking to each other.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">And now on the one year Swapiversary we want you to tell us, who is the Queen of the Swap? Read them all and strut back here to cast your vote. Who will win the Award? It’s all in your hands!</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5481" alt="Queen of the Swap" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/queenswap.jpg" width="202" height="202" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><!-- start InLinkz script -->
<div class='InLinkzContainer' id='325375' pageSize='300' >
<a href="http://new.inlinkz.com//luwpview.php?id=325375" title="click to view in an external page.">An InLinkz Link-up</a></div>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="starline" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/starline.png" width="266" height="76" /></p>
<img class="aligncenter" alt="The Hosts for your Blog Strut" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/hosts.png" />
<center><table class="blogstruttables" align="center">
<tbody>
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<td><a href="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com"><img alt="My Personal Accent" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/MyPersonalAccent-Blog-Button_1.png" width="150" height="150" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>Featured Post:</strong>
<a href="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/diy-bold-beautiful-vanity-trays/" target="_blank">DIY Bold and Beautiful</a>
<a href="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/diy-bold-beautiful-vanity-trays/" target="_blank">Vanity Trays</a><br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/personalaccent" target="_blank"><img alt="fblogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/fblogobs.png" width="36" height="37" /></a><a href="http://www.twitter.com/personalaccent1" target="_blank"><img alt="twitterlogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/twitterlogobs.png" width="36" height="38" /></a><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/en/blog/4851979" target="_blank"><img alt="bloglovinlogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/bloglovinlogobs.png" width="36" height="37" /></a>
<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/personalaccent" target="_blank"><img alt="pinlogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/pinlogobs.png" width="36" height="36" /></a><a href="https://plus.google.com/b/110239575427562729222/110239575427562729222/posts" target="_blank"><img alt="googlelogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/googlelogobs.png" width="36" height="36" /></a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</center>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="starline" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/starline.png" width="266" height="76" /></p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4772" alt="cohosts" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/cohosts.png" width="200" height="89" /></h3>
<center>
Meet the Ladies of the Secret Subject Swap
<table border="0" align="center">
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<td><a href="http://www.BakingInATornado.com" target="_blank"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-5482" alt="Baking in a Tornado" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/bakingtornadoorg.png" width="150" height="150" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>Featured Post:</strong>
<a href="http://www.bakinginatornado.com/2013/10/secret-subject-swapiversary.html" target="_blank">Things To Do on
a Rainy Day</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/BakingInATornado" target="_blank"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4784" alt="fblogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/fblogobs.png" width="36" height="37" /></a><a href="https://twitter.com/BakngInATornado" target="_blank"><img alt="twitterlogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/twitterlogobs.png" width="36" height="38" /></a><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/4357609" target="_blank"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4783" alt="bloglovinlogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/bloglovinlogobs.png" width="36" height="37" /></a></td>
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<td></td>
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</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td>
<table class="blogstruttablesch" align="center">
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<td><a href="http://www.bethteliho.wordpress.com" target="_blank"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-5483" alt="Writer B is Me" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/writerb5.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>Featured Post:</strong>
<a href="http://bethteliho.wordpress.com/2013/10/03/gasp-paparazzi-are-at-my-door/" target="_blank">*Gasp* Paparazzi</a>
<a href="http://bethteliho.wordpress.com/2013/10/03/gasp-paparazzi-are-at-my-door/" target="_blank">Are At My Door</a>
<br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.teliho" target="_blank"><img alt="fblogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/fblogobs.png" width="36" height="37" /></a><a href="https://twitter.com/beth_teliho" target="_blank"><img alt="twitterlogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/twitterlogobs.png" width="36" height="38" /></a><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/bethteliho/boards" target="_blank"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4786" alt="pinlogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/pinlogobs.png" width="36" height="36" /></a></td>
</tr>
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<td></td>
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</tbody>
</table>
</td>
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<td>
<table class="blogstruttablesch" align="center">
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<td><a href="http://theblacksheepmom.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-5484" alt="Black Sheep Mom" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/blacksheepmom4.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>Featured Post:</strong>
<a href="http://theblacksheepmom.blogspot.com/2013/10/october-secret-subject-swap-1st.html" target="_blank">Hello My Name</a>
<a href="http://theblacksheepmom.blogspot.com/2013/10/october-secret-subject-swap-1st.html" target="_blank">Is Hypocrite</a>
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Black.Sheep.Mom" target="_blank"><br /><img alt="fblogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/fblogobs.png" width="36" height="37" /></a><a href="https://twitter.com/kristi799" target="_blank"><img alt="twitterlogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/twitterlogobs.png" width="36" height="38" /></a><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/116642141025504112883/posts" target="_blank"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4788" alt="googlelogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/googlelogobs.png" width="36" height="36" /></a></td>
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<td></td>
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</td>
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<table class="blogstruttablesch" align="center">
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<td><a href="http://crazyasnormal.com" target="_blank"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-5485" alt="Crazy as Normal" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/crazy5.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a></td>
</tr>
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<td><strong>Featured Post:</strong>
<a href="http://crazyasnormal.com/2013/10/fort-worth-is-all-kinds-of-awesome/" target="_blank">Fort Worth Is</a>
<a href="http://crazyasnormal.com/2013/10/fort-worth-is-all-kinds-of-awesome/" target="_blank">All Kinds of Awesome</a>
<a href="http://facebook.com/crazyasnormal" target="_blank"><br /><img alt="fblogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/fblogobs.png" width="36" height="37" /></a><a href="http://twitter.com/crazyasnormal" target="_blank"><img alt="twitterlogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/twitterlogobs.png" width="36" height="38" /></a><a href="http://pinterest.com/CrazyAsNormal" target="_blank"><img alt="pinlogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/pinlogobs.png" width="36" height="36" /></a></td>
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<td><a href="http://singlemumplusone.blogspot.com.au" target="_blank"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-5486" alt="Searching for Sanity" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/sanity.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a></td>
</tr>
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<td><strong>Featured Post:</strong>
<a href="http://singlemumplusone.blogspot.com/2013/10/october-secret-subject-swap-wild-ride.html" target="_blank">One Time In</a>
<a href="http://singlemumplusone.blogspot.com/2013/10/october-secret-subject-swap-wild-ride.html" target="_blank">High School I...</a><a href="http://www.craftywife.com/disney-bucket-list-2013/09/2013" target="_blank">
</a><a href="https://www.facebook.com/singlemumplusone" target="_blank"><br /><img alt="fblogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/fblogobs.png" width="36" height="37" /></a><a href="https://twitter.com/Searchin4Sanity" target="_blank"><img alt="twitterlogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/twitterlogobs.png" width="36" height="38" /></a><a href="http://pinterest.com/leprechaun84/" target="_blank"><img alt="pinlogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/pinlogobs.png" width="36" height="36" /></a></td>
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<td></td>
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</tbody>
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</td>
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<table class="blogstruttablesch" align="center">
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<td><a href="http://www.outsmartedmommy.com" target="_blank"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-5487" alt="Outsmarted Mommy" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/outsmarted4.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a></td>
</tr>
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<td><strong>Featured Post:</strong>
<a href="http://www.outsmartedmommy.com/2013/10/dont-let-fear-take-over.html" target="_blank">Don't Let Fear</a>
<a href="http://www.outsmartedmommy.com/2013/10/dont-let-fear-take-over.html" target="_blank">Take Over</a>
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Outsmarted-Mommy" target="_blank"><br /><img alt="fblogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/fblogobs.png" width="36" height="37" /></a><a href="https://twitter.com/outsmartedmommy" target="_blank"><img alt="twitterlogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/twitterlogobs.png" width="36" height="38" /></a><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/jenlizza" target="_blank"><img alt="pinlogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/pinlogobs.png" width="36" height="36" /></a></td>
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<td></td>
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</td>
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<td><a href="www.themomisodes.com" target="_blank"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-5488" alt="The Momisodes" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/momisodes3.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a></td>
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<td><strong>
Featured Post:</strong>
<a href="http://www.smn0409.blogspot.com/2013/10/keeping-up-with-hansons.html" target="_blank">Keeping Up</a>
<a href="http://www.smn0409.blogspot.com/2013/10/keeping-up-with-hansons.html" target="_blank">With the Hansons</a>
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/themomisodes" target="_blank"><br /><img alt="fblogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/fblogobs.png" width="36" height="37" /></a><a href="https://twitter.com/TheAmazingMrsN " target="_blank"><img alt="twitterlogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/twitterlogobs.png" width="36" height="38" /></a><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/mommychronicle" target="_blank"><img alt="pinlogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/pinlogobs.png" width="36" height="36" /></a></td>
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<td></td>
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</tbody>
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<table class="blogstruttablesch" align="center">
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<td><a href="http://www.homeonderanged.com"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5489" alt="Home on Deranged" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/deranged.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a></td>
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<td><strong>Featured Post:</strong>
<a href="http://www.homeonderanged.com/2013/10/end-world-know-google-feels-fine/" target="_blank">It's the End of the</a>
<a href="http://www.homeonderanged.com/2013/10/end-world-know-google-feels-fine/" target="_blank">World as we Know it</a>
<a href="http://www.homeonderanged.com/2013/10/end-world-know-google-feels-fine/" target="_blank">And Google Feels Fine</a>
<a href="http://facebook.com/OurHomeOnDeranged" target="_blank"><br /><img alt="fblogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/fblogobs.png" width="36" height="37" /></a><a href="http://twitter.com/homeonderange" target="_blank"><img alt="twitterlogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/twitterlogobs.png" width="36" height="38" /></a><a href="http://pinterest.com/homeonderange" target="_blank"><img alt="pinlogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/pinlogobs.png" width="36" height="36" /></a></td>
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<td></td>
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<td><a href="http://mooreorganizedmayhem.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-5490" alt="Moore Organized Mayhem" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/moore.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a></td>
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<td><strong>Featured Post:</strong>
<a href="http://mooreorganizedmayhem.blogspot.com/2013/10/october-secret-subject-swap.html" target="_blank">Why is Halloween</a>
<a href="http://mooreorganizedmayhem.blogspot.com/2013/10/october-secret-subject-swap.html" target="_blank">Liked/Disliked in</a>
<a href="http://mooreorganizedmayhem.blogspot.com/2013/10/october-secret-subject-swap.html" target="_blank">Your Home?</a>
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<td><strong style="line-height: 19px;">Featured Post:</strong><strong>
</strong> <a href="http://www.theinsomniacsdream.com/2013/10/behind-scenes-of-insomniac.html" target="_blank">Behind the Scenes</a>
<a href="http://www.theinsomniacsdream.com/2013/10/behind-scenes-of-insomniac.html" target="_blank">of an Insomniac
</a>
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/sleepybard" target="_blank"><br /><img alt="fblogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/fblogobs.png" width="36" height="37" /></a><a href="https://twitter.com/sleepybard" target="_blank"><img alt="twitterlogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/twitterlogobs.png" width="36" height="38" /></a><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/112242362025270982356/posts" target="_blank"><img alt="googlelogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/googlelogobs.png" width="36" height="36" /></a></td>
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<td><strong>Featured Post:</strong>
<a href="http://www.dawns-disaster.com/2013/10/a-movie-starring-me-and.html" target="_blank">A Moving Starring</a>
<a href="http://www.dawns-disaster.com/2013/10/a-movie-starring-me-and.html" target="_blank">Me And...</a>
<a href="http://facebook.com/DawnsDisaster" target="_blank"><br /><img alt="fblogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/fblogobs.png" width="36" height="37" /></a><a href="http://twitter.com/dawns_disaster" target="_blank"><img alt="twitterlogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/twitterlogobs.png" width="36" height="38" /></a><a href="http://pinterest.com/DawnsDisaster" target="_blank"><img alt="pinlogobs" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/pinlogobs.png" width="36" height="36" /></a></td>
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<td><a href="http://www.justalittlenutty.com/ " target="_blank"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5493" alt="Just a Little Nutty" src="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/nutty.png" width="150" height="150" /></a></td>
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<td><strong>Featured Post:</strong>
<a href="http://justalittlenutty.com/be-okay/" target="_blank">Be Okay</a><a href="https://www.facebook.com/JustALittleNutty" target="_blank">
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<!-- end InLinkz script --></p></center>Black Sheep Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03632448192837281806noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092090438608932650.post-36991886484419089962013-10-03T09:00:00.000-04:002013-10-03T18:25:31.970-04:00October Secret Subject Swap, 1st Swapaversary! - "Hello, my name is Hypocrite."So pretty much everyone that's ever heard the word 'blog' knows about the Secret Subject Swap. If you don't, allow me to school ya: It's when several bloggers pick a secret subject for someone else and are assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Then we all simultaneously divulge our topics and submit our posts. It was started one year ago this month by Karen from <a href="http://bakinginatornado.com/" target="_blank">Baking In A Tornado</a>. She is an amazing, fantastical blogger and person, and I want to wish her the happiest of Swap Anniversaries! <br />
<br />
This time around 12 bloggers participated and I highly suggest you check out each of the posts (<em>after</em> you read mine of course!). I'll put everyone's links at the end.<br />
<br />
My topic is: <strong><u>"Halloween: Worst/Best costume ever." </u></strong>It was submitted by <a href="http://www.theinsomniacsdream.com/" target="_blank">The Insomniacs Dream.</a> Definitely check out her writing after reading the swaps. <br />
Here goes: <br />
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*****</div>
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Sit back and get ready for a tale of deceit and deception. Of hiding and sneaking. Of a mom breaking the rules.<br />
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Yes, that mom was me. For reasons I will decline to get into here, I made the decision 15 years ago not to have our family celebrate Halloween. We ignored it every year. We didn't do trick or treating or parties or dressing up. Nothing. <br />
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Well, except for that one year. That <em>I</em> did. <br />
<br />
It was in my post-divorce, swingin single, <strike>losing my mind </strike> exploring my freedom period. That also, is a whole other story *wink* . A friend of mine who was also a single mom exploring this "time for yourself" theory we had heard so much about, invited me to a Halloween party at this great night club not far from where we lived. That in and of itself is a small miracle, that there was anyplace worth going to in our small, out of the way area. Anywho, this place apparently had pretty epic Halloween parties. Two dance floors, two bars, the best DJ in the area, and oh the costumes! <br />
<br />
But wait, how could I go to a <em>Halloween </em>party? I didn't allow Halloween in our family. How hypocritical of me to even think about it. Dress up in a costume, go to a place packed with people and amazing dance music, alcohol flowing..... Screw it, I'm going. <br />
<br />
Thus began my quest to get to this fabulous Halloween party, without my kids knowing. <br />
<br />
At work I searched online for a costume. I mean during my breaks I did. Not during work hours, psshh, that would be wrong. Psshh. Can I just say that trying to find a woman's costume that is not off the Playboy bunny runway is tantamount to nailing jello to a tree? So I did the best I could and settled for a 'sexy' costume, instead of straight up slutty. It was a referee. Not very original I guess, but I didn't know that because I hadn't dressed up for Halloween in two decades. It had a minidress, black and white stripes with a black skirt, and tall white socks with stripes at the top. I had a pair of black high heeled mary-janes that looked similar to the girl's in the catalog picture so I wore those. And it had a whistle. <br />
<br />
But how was I going to explain to my kids what I was wearing? Well, I did what any stressed-out-needs-a-night-away-just-let-me-go mother would do: I shoved my costume in a bag, and went to my friend's house to dress there, and drove to the party with her. I told you, sneaky.<br />
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Now comes the part where I tell you that I got to the party and just couldn't have fun, because I felt guilty. That I sat in the corner by myself because I felt foolish in my costume, hated the music, and didn't know anybody. Well, I can't tell you that; because I had <strong>FUN</strong>!! I danced, and had a few drinks, and hung out with people I knew, and danced some more. The stress of being a single working mom had slimmed me down and I felt confident in that costume. Confidence was not something I was particularly used to, and you know what? It felt good. And the music was awesome and guys were asking me to dance. And asking <em>"Hey can I 'blow your whistle'? Duh huh huh".</em> *eye roll* <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJPuzRkddtUqxpAwcyULk6qaUsl0mQ-Ex3IlvvMwVbsQRvM_S4_Uod86gktwSXX1LewWaYL_nHX8dkHvRI3csBGvSOJWwU9bs96WqKjaLZ1V-q1EZlFK60gSejMqDeu3vqA3_HtDkEzkk/s1600/Image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJPuzRkddtUqxpAwcyULk6qaUsl0mQ-Ex3IlvvMwVbsQRvM_S4_Uod86gktwSXX1LewWaYL_nHX8dkHvRI3csBGvSOJWwU9bs96WqKjaLZ1V-q1EZlFK60gSejMqDeu3vqA3_HtDkEzkk/s1600/Image.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br />
So was this my worst Halloween costume? Or best?<br />
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I'm not proud of doing something that involved me sneaking around like a teenager in lust. But - I really had an amazing time, making memories that help me to not feel like such an old fuddy-duddy when it's 9pm on a Saturday night and I'm in my pj's with my Nook. I can say "I was cool once, not too long ago, and kind of a bad-ass, and the world didn't end! It was <em>great</em>!" <br />
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So I'm leaning toward<u> Best</u>.<br />
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*******</div>
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<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://bakinginatornado.com/" target="_blank">http://BakingInATornado.com</a> <wbr></wbr> Baking In A Tornado</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://themomisodes.com/" target="_blank">http://themomisodes.com/</a> <wbr></wbr> The Momisodes</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.justalittlenutty.com/" target="_blank">http://www.justalittlenutty.<wbr></wbr>com/</a> Just A Little Nutty</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://mooreorganizedmayhem.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://mooreorganizedmayhem.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com/</a> Moore Organized Mayhem</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://crazyasnormal.com/" target="_blank">http://crazyasnormal.com</a> <wbr></wbr> Crazy As Normal</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://singlemumplusone.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://singlemumplusone.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com</a> Searching for Sanity</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.homeonderanged.com/" target="_blank">http://www.homeonderanged.com</a> <wbr></wbr> Home on Deranged</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://dawnsdisaster.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://dawnsdisaster.blogspot.<wbr></wbr>com</a> Dawn’s Disaster</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.theinsomniacsdream.com/" target="_blank">http://www.theinsomniacsdream.<wbr></wbr>com/</a> The Insomniac’s Dream</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.outsmartedmommy.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.outsmartedmommy.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><wbr></wbr> Outsmarted Mommy</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.bethteliho.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">http://www.bethteliho.<wbr></wbr>wordpress.com/</a> Writer B is Me</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><strong>Make sure to come back after 8pm EST tonight thru Sunday to vote for your favorite SSS post and to join in The Blog Strut linky party!</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">~*~*~*~*HAPPY SWAPAVERSARY KAREN, MY FRIEND! YOU ARE THE BEST!~*~*~*~*</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"></span> </div>
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<br />Black Sheep Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03632448192837281806noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092090438608932650.post-59064544120626892712013-09-13T10:00:00.000-04:002013-09-13T10:00:07.731-04:00Secret Subject Swap, Sept. - Take 2!It's Swap time! Round 2 of September's Secret Subject Swap! This week, 11 brave bloggers have submitted a secret subject and received one in return to write about in their own style. <br />
<br />
I received my subject from <a href="http://www.outsmartedmommy.com/" target="_blank">Outsmarted Mommy ,</a> who is one wonderful lady! If you haven't checked out her blog, I'll tell ya, she's funny and sweet and real and interesting and smart and------ you should just go check her out! My subject is:<br />
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<strong><em><u>"What is your biggest regret in life and why?"</u></em></strong><br />
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<u><span style="font-size: large;"></span></u> </div>
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My biggest regret? Hmm. Could it be:</div>
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*the time I ate that whole package of raw cookie dough and got food poisoning? I have never been so sick in my life. And I had a couple month old baby who was breastfeeding. Yes, please stretch yourself out across my stomach while I sit still and try not to vomit on your cute little head. I ended up dehydrated and in the ER. </div>
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Or maybe:</div>
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*on my wedding night, when I thoroughly scrubbed my eyes with eye makeup remover pads, only to quickly and intensely realize they were not, in fact, made for eyes. They were just regular face scrubbing soap. I spent 10 minutes in the bathroom rinsing my eyes out with cold water, jumping up and down at the burning, and hoping my new hubby wouldn't come knocking on the door to see what was taking his oh-so intelligent new wife so long.</div>
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Or:</div>
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*when building our first house, when the oldest of all the kids was only 8, and I decided to get white linoleum in the kitchen. Yes, I hear you all collectively *face palming* yourselves. Brilliant idea, wasn't it? I really loved how it brightened up the whole room, and I thought to myself: "I'm not going to <em>not</em> get it because I'm afraid of it getting dirty. I will just have to mop everyday and it will be fine! It will help motivate me to keep up". Um, no. I don't care how much you mop, you cannot keep a white floor clean with 6 kids and a dog. In a tiny house. Where the main entrance/exit is in that room. You just can't. All the daily mopping accomplished was stripping the shine right off the floor, so then it was dirty and dingy. Excellent. </div>
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Or maybe it was the time I blogged about 3 really embarrassing things I did and people read about it........<br />
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****</div>
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Make sure to check out each of the other bloggers in this week's swap; they're all excellent:</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://bakinginatornado.com/" target="_blank">http://BakingInATornado.com</a> <wbr></wbr> Baking In A Tornado</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://hypnoticbard.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://hypnoticbard.blogspot.<wbr></wbr>com/</a> The Insomniac’s Dream</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://annisbubble.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://annisbubble.blogspot.<wbr></wbr>com</a> Anni’s Bubble</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.mypersonalaccent.com/" target="_blank">http://www.mypersonalaccent.<wbr></wbr>com</a> My Personal Accent</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.outsmartedmommy.com/" target="_blank">http://www.outsmartedmommy.com</a><wbr></wbr> Outsmarted Mommy</span><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.homeonderanged.com/" target="_blank">http://www.homeonderanged.com</a> <wbr></wbr> Home on Deranged </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.eviljoyspeaks.wordpress.com/">http://www.eviljoyspeaks.<wbr></wbr>wordpress.com</a> <wbr></wbr> Evil Joy Speaks </span><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://dates2diapers2.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://dates2diapers2.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com</a> <wbr></wbr> Dates 2 Diapers</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.rocksnosaltmommy.com/" target="_blank">http://www.rocksnosaltmommy.<wbr></wbr>com/</a> Rocks, No Salt Mommy </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<a href="http://themomisodes.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://themomisodes.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <wbr></wbr> The Momisodes</span></div>
Black Sheep Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03632448192837281806noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092090438608932650.post-6989388044781947512013-08-21T10:00:00.000-04:002013-08-21T10:00:04.995-04:00I'm Squirreltastic!Apparently, I'm kinda squirreltastic. Or so says <a href="http://www.menopausalmother.blogspot.com/2013/08/squirrely-blogger.html" target="_blank">Menopausal Mother</a>, who created an awesome <em><strong>Squirrely Blogger Award</strong></em> and presented me with one!<br />
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Meno Mama loves squirrels because they're "ridiculously cute, nutty, and quirky". I like to think that she gave me this award because <strong>I'm</strong> ridiculously cute, but I'm thinking the "nutty" part is probably more accurate. Whatever :)<br />
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The way it works is to list 7-10 quirky things about yourself, then pass on the award to 7-10 other squirrely bloggers. So without further ado:<br />
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<strong><u>7 SQUIRRELY FACTS ABOUT BLACK SHEEP MOM:</u></strong><br />
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1. I have been pregnant 7 times, birthed 7 babies, and now also have 2 step-sons. Yet whenever I hold someone's newborn, my heart and my uterus try to brainwash my logic and whisper "one more...". <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQx8zYcHv4bpe6-2A9aTFXXkW44a9RvRlFHZKc0w8NHXwXRsZxQqBGlaQVVtw4EGmq2qhlFixlA3EcZtDpRSTqJdAOKkDA2v0EZ5SKtBQlSF-vuMd2Ucpn91qNFQ2CDR8YTznjl6K-hVU/s1600/Melo+8-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQx8zYcHv4bpe6-2A9aTFXXkW44a9RvRlFHZKc0w8NHXwXRsZxQqBGlaQVVtw4EGmq2qhlFixlA3EcZtDpRSTqJdAOKkDA2v0EZ5SKtBQlSF-vuMd2Ucpn91qNFQ2CDR8YTznjl6K-hVU/s320/Melo+8-11.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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2. I must drink HOT coffee in the morning. Even in 101 degree July heat, I have to have hot coffee when I first wake up, not iced. It's not the same.<br />
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3. I drove a minivan for 14 years. F-o-u-r-t-e-e-n. Recently I got an SUV and I feel 50 times cooler ;)</div>
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4. I am terrified of a certain creature. Terrified to the level that I won't even type the word. Suffice it to say it lives outside, lots of times in gardens, or in the desert under rocks. Not a bug. Rhymes with rake. <br />
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5. My least favorite chore is hand washing dishes. Loading or unloading the dishwasher isn't bad, but washing by hand I hate.<br />
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6. I love to go out dancing, but unless I've imbibed in a few cocktails, my booty does not leave the chair. After a few margaritas though, watch out Michael Jackson!<br />
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7. I firmly believe that a new pair of shoes makes everything better. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJWGwQec7UhYElDpiS2hxDQ10eQPT9yifwtYDJBF52aB53vgHBPEyKon_1fOMNHqeS37WSpKUll7Hp-SZhyB2HPlH-WepfKkH9Lfc5tdg1SASVxp9yweLgwy3wnZF-mne1dxwFMB4nG-A/s1600/Fabulous-shoes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJWGwQec7UhYElDpiS2hxDQ10eQPT9yifwtYDJBF52aB53vgHBPEyKon_1fOMNHqeS37WSpKUll7Hp-SZhyB2HPlH-WepfKkH9Lfc5tdg1SASVxp9yweLgwy3wnZF-mne1dxwFMB4nG-A/s320/Fabulous-shoes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<strong><u>SQUIRRELY BLOGGERS I'M NOMINATING FOR THIS AWARD:</u></strong><br />
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<a href="http://www.ilikebeerandbabies.com/" target="_blank">I Like Beer and Babies</a><br />
<a href="http://www.momchalant.com/" target="_blank">Momchalant</a><br />
<a href="http://www.sorrykidblog.com/" target="_blank">Sorry Kid, Your Mom Doesn't Get Along With Others</a><br />
<a href="http://www.crazyasnormal.com/" target="_blank">Crazy As Normal</a><br />
<a href="http://www.indianamericanmom.com/" target="_blank">Indian American Mom</a><br />
<a href="http://pluckyprocrastinator.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Plucky Procrastinator</a><br />
<a href="http://www.peanutlayne.com/" target="_blank">Life on Peanut Layne</a><br />
<a href="http://www.eviljoyspeaks.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Evil Joy Speaks</a></div>
Black Sheep Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03632448192837281806noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092090438608932650.post-59010078304538104512013-08-16T09:55:00.000-04:002013-08-16T09:55:00.322-04:00August Secret Subject Swap - Take Two! A million smackeroos!It's time for the second August <strong>Secret Subject Swap</strong>! This week, 13 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts. <br />
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My secret subject is: <em><u><span style="color: #cc0000;">"You win $1,000,000 but can't keep 1 single penny of it. Who do you give it to and what do you hope for them to do with it?"</span></u></em> It was submitted by <a href="http://www.thatsuburbanmomma.com/" target="_blank">That Suburban Momma.</a> Check out her blog, she's got lots of good stuff to say and you'll enjoy it!<br />
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I love this subject! Love love love. I have actually thought about this many times. Ok, not the 'I can't keep 1 single penny part', but who I would share with if I was a millionaire. <br />
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Part of what sucks about being "low-income" for me, is not being able to give to all the places I want to, and help all the people I would like to help. And for some reason if we happen to have a little extra money, I'm scared of what 'might' happen down the road so maybe I shouldn't give it away. I hate feeling like that. <br />
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But let's imagine that tomorrow I win a million dollars! One m.i.l.l.i.o.n. dollars! Sahh-weeet!! Usually the first thing I would do if I got a bit of unexpected money would be to go to Dunkin Donuts and buy a coffee. BUT--- not this time. This time, it would go to:<br />
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*The Alzheimer's Association. A big fat donation to help find a cure for this terrible, awful disease. I have lost 3 grandparents to this disease, and my ex-father-in-law was diagnosed with it before he passed away from a heart attack. I used to help take care of my maternal grandmother before she went into a nursing home, and this damn disease is just mean. It robs people of the thing most precious; themselves. Their memories, their thoughts, their connections to others. And it is something that I am terrified of inheriting. <br />
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*The American Cancer Society. Who doesn't know somebody that has battled cancer? I heard once that everyone, if they live long enough, will get cancer. I don't know if it's true or not, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is. My amazing, awesome uncle passed away from cancer not quite 2 years ago, only in his sixties. And my husband lost his father to cancer, at the age of 52, when my husband was only 28. <br />
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At our wedding reception, instead of those little favors at each place setting, the hubs and I decided to take the money we would have spent on chocolates or candles or personalized shot glasses and instead make a donation to the Alzheimer's Association and the American Cancer Society. We made up cards for each seat stating our plan. <br />
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*A pregnancy counseling center. I used to volunteer at one in my area, and it's staffed almost entirely by volunteers. It's a wonderful organization and I would love to give them a boost. </div>
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*Single moms. Either an organization that works with them, and/or some that I know personally. I was a single mom for about 6 or 7 years, after my divorce from my first husband, and that sh*t is hard! HARD. Not just financially, but every way you can imagine. Easing a single mom's financial burden though is at least one less thing she will have to worry about. </div>
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*Youth sports. My kids have been involved in sports since about the age of 4. (If there were any programs for younger kids they would've joined earlier!) I can't say enough about the positive effect sports can have on kids. I know, I know, not always. The world is full of jack asses, and some of them make their way into the arena of athletics; but there are so many good, dedicated, unselfish people that give their time and energy to give kids a positive activity, and it has been a life saver in this household. Almost every athletic program costs money though, and we've been very blessed to be involved with a group that will not turn any child away due to lack of ability to pay. I'd love to be a part of that. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwOT0mlkJ_AE7OM-cXyb8v7L7z_pC1r0QIambYpWVDWcJpAggb4EZjh7zvyxBGIKJ9C7OLP9Q5g3flOLiNCSeRYVftQ8IvMzN9tBp-ErnL95WW4oDwOPE7v7MmBDSMZgMfvteaqjyeWCI/s1600/J&T+football2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwOT0mlkJ_AE7OM-cXyb8v7L7z_pC1r0QIambYpWVDWcJpAggb4EZjh7zvyxBGIKJ9C7OLP9Q5g3flOLiNCSeRYVftQ8IvMzN9tBp-ErnL95WW4oDwOPE7v7MmBDSMZgMfvteaqjyeWCI/s320/J&T+football2.jpg" width="275" /></a></div>
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*Lastly, I would give money to family and friends that could use a hand. And people on the street. Did you ever hear about the guy that dressed as Santa at Christmastime and would walk down the street handing out hundred dollar bills from his own money? That sounds awesome to me. </div>
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Because giving IS better than receiving.</div>
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But can I at least get a coffee??</div>
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Now hop on over to these other fabuloso bloggers and read what amazingness they have come up with!</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://bakinginatornado.com/" target="_blank">http://BakingInATornado.com</a><span> <wbr></wbr> </span>Baking In A Tornado</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://indianamericanmom.com/" target="_blank">http://indianamericanmom.com</a><span> <wbr></wbr> </span>Indian American Mom</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.homeonderanged.com/" target="_blank">http://www.homeonderanged.com</a><span> <wbr></wbr> </span><span> </span>Home on Deranged</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://coachdaddyblog.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">http://coachdaddyblog.<wbr></wbr>wordpress.com</a><span> </span>Coach Daddy</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.justalittlenutty.com/" target="_blank">http://www.justalittlenutty.<wbr></wbr>com/</a><span> </span>Just A Little Nutty (Guest Post)<span> </span><a href="http://www.itsyummi.com/" target="_blank"><br /></a></span><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.itsyummi.com/" target="_blank">http://www.itsyummi.com</a><span> <wbr></wbr> </span>It’s Yummilicious</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://dates2diapers2.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://dates2diapers2.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com</a><span> <wbr></wbr> </span>Dates 2 Diapers</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.rocksnosaltmommy.com/" target="_blank">http://www.rocksnosaltmommy.<wbr></wbr>com/</a><span> </span>Rocks, No Salt Mommy</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://crazyasnormal.com/" target="_blank">http://crazyasnormal.com</a><span> <wbr></wbr> </span>Crazy As Normal</span></div>
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<a href="http://ibddaddyandme.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://ibddaddyandme.blogspot.<wbr></wbr>com/</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span> </span>IBD, Daddy and Me!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.thatsuburbanmomma.com/" target="_blank">www.thatsuburbanmomma.com</a><span> <wbr></wbr> </span>That Suburban Momma</span></div>
Black Sheep Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03632448192837281806noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092090438608932650.post-80520761831615111632013-07-21T23:27:00.001-04:002013-07-21T23:27:55.844-04:00Two year olds don't watch baseballI spent the last 3 days at a baseball tournament for the 11 year old. We were in a town about an hour and a half away and the team fundraised to cover the cost of 2 hotel nights for each family. It was me, the 11 year old, the 18, 14, 13, and almost 2 year old. Hubs couldn't go, it was the weekend of his first football game of the season. <br />
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So me and 5 kids. Yeah. <br />
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100 degree heat. Whoopeee.<br />
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The 11 year old spent the majority of the weekend either playing baseball, or exploring the hotel with his teammates, always ending up at the pool. The 14 year old thought he might die because he couldn't get the Playstation 3 he brought from home to work in the hotel room. (Yes, he packed the flippin PS3 and controllers and about 6 games. But forgot underwear.) The 18 and 13 year olds (both girls) fought over who was going to sleep where. They were all always asking what and when we were going to eat. Good thing I planted that money tree in the backyard. ( <---sarcasm~)<br />
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But overall the 4 of them were pretty good. The older 3 enjoyed watching their brother play ball, and were helpful when it came to unloading and loading the car. <br />
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The almost 2 year old, well, he's almost 2. And the phrase 'Terrible Twos' is bullshit, because technically he won't be 2 until next month and he is terrible as all get out. <br />
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He ran around the hotel room like somebody laced his binky with crack. He literally ran from one forbidden activity to the next. <em>Slam the cabinet doors, quick run and open the bathroom door, then run to the minifridge and pull out a soda, someone's coming throw it! Now run to the phone and pick it up yelling "Heyow? Heyow?" and push ALL the buttons. </em> All in 30 seconds. And the absolute best? He could open the door to the room <strong>and. get. out</strong>. And each time he tried it he got quicker and quicker at it. The last time he got out he ran so fast down the hall that I couldn't grab him and hold the door open so it locked behind me. Thank goodness one of the bigger kids was still in the room and let us back in. <br />
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At the fields the only part of the games he was interested in watching was his big brother hit the ball; anything before or after that he couldn't care less about. He rolled in the dirt, throwing handfuls and thinking it was great when the wind took it away. Rocks were airborne too. He ran up and down (and up and down and up and down) the path between the bleachers and the concession stand. I apologized to about a gazillion people because he either almost ran into them or almost tripped them. And whenever I stopped him from doing one of these toddler escapades, I was rewarded with "NO! NO! NO! TOP IT! TOP IT!" at high volume.<br />
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So it wasn't the 19 innings of baseball that exhausted me, or the temperature hitting 101, or even the endless trips from the room to the car to the room to the car. It was a small 30 pound bundle of energy and mischief that had me asking Siri where the nearest liquor store was.<br />
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And oh yeah, the boys had to go and play all good and stuff, so we have to drive back there for another game tomorrow. <br />
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Black Sheep Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03632448192837281806noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092090438608932650.post-33856791494884285592013-07-19T09:50:00.000-04:002013-07-19T09:50:00.302-04:00Secret Subject Swap- July Take Two! <span style="color: #4c1130;">It's that wonderful time of the month again! No, not <em>that</em> time, ew. It's time for swapping subjects with crazy talented bloggers, and writing a post on our assigned subject. I look forward to this every month, and if you're a blogger and would like to get in on it, just contact the super cool Karen at </span><a href="http://www.bakinginatornado.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Baking In A Tornado</span></a><span style="color: #4c1130;">. She's the Swap creator and master. </span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130;">This month, my prompt came from </span><a href="http://www.justalittlenutty.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Just A Little Nutty</span></a><span style="color: #4c1130;"> , but not from Meg herself; nope, this prompt came from Meg's daughter, who is guest posting on her mama's blog and participating in this month's Swap! How awesome is that?? She sent in this super cool prompt:</span><br />
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<u><strong><span style="font-size: large;">**What if, in the basement of your house, you discovered a secret passageway?**</span></strong></u></div>
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<strong><u></u></strong> </div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;">So here goes:</span></div>
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<em>"Laundry is stupid. I hate doing stupid laundry", </em>I muttered to myself as I hauled yet another load of dirty clothes down the basement stairs to the washing machine. <em>"No really kids, go ahead and roll around in the dirt in your new shirt, and slide in the grass in those white shorts. I don't mind, I loooove to scrub the stains out of every outfit you own. It's what I live for." </em></div>
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A couple of stairs down I stepped on one of the dog's squeaky toys, lost my balance, and dropped the laundry basket. It thunked end over end down the stair case and landed with a thud against the wall at the bottom. <em>"See??? Stupid Laundry!!"</em> I yelled at the run away clothing, as I stomped down the rest of the stairs. I started refilling the laundry basket, rather forcefully. As I walked a few feet away to pick up a sock ball that had made a break for freedom, I noticed that the wall it had rolled up against was a little bit sunken in. <em>"What in the world?" </em>I asked myself, wondering if termites could chew through cement. </div>
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I kicked gently at the wall, and it started to give way. The more I kicked, more and more of the wall crumbled. After several minutes, there was an opening about 5 feet wide, and 5 feet high. I whipped out my cell phone and turned on my flash light app (gotta love those free iphone apps). Peering inside, I realized with a start that it was not just a hole in the wall, but a<em> tunnel. </em></div>
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<em></em> </div>
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I had heard that the Underground Railroad had stops in this area. I even knew of someone who lived in a house 3 blocks away that had a big plaque out front announcing that it had been a refuge for runaway slaves. Could this tunnel be a part of that history? In my house? </div>
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Being the brave person that I am, <strike>I grabbed a broom and stuck it as far into the tunnel as I could</strike> I ducked down and crept a few steps into the tunnel. I shone my flashlight around and took in the cobwebs, the dirt floor, and the smell of musty earth. Looking back over my shoulder at my 21st century basement, I crept forward while moving back in time. </div>
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I felt a rush of excitement, wonder, and yes some fear, as I moved steadily down the tunnel, 20, 50, 75 feet. How long was this thing, anyway?</div>
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My foot kicked something solid. <em>"What the --?" </em>I looked down. Just a rock. But, wait; something was sticking out from under the rock. Carefully I shone my light downward, trying to figure out what the yellowish square was. </div>
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Newspaper.</div>
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I moved the rock aside and gingerly picked up the scrap of paper. I blew the dirt off of it, being careful not to ruin this relic that was 175 years old. By the glow of the flashlight I began to read what I soon realized was an ad:</div>
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<em>Runaway</em></div>
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<em>From the subscriber, residing in Granville County, N.C. </em></div>
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<em>on the 30th day of August last, a negro man by the </em></div>
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<em>name of Jordan, and his wife Jane.</em></div>
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<em>Jordan is a common size fellow, light black, large full eyes,</em></div>
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<em>has a down look when spoken to, the 4th finger on his</em></div>
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<em>right hand has grown crooked, by means of a cut. </em></div>
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<em>He carried with him wearing apparel and bed clothes, </em></div>
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<em>among them is a suit of dark yarn jeans homespun cloth.</em></div>
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<em>He wore off a pair of lined and bound right and left shoes,</em></div>
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<em>nearly new. The woman is a little under common size, and is</em></div>
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<em>in a pregnant state. She carried with her a purple</em></div>
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<em>circassian dress, a white dress, a dark grounded calico dress, </em></div>
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<em>and some homemade clothes. I believe the said negroes</em></div>
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<em>were seduced off by some infamous character, and they</em></div>
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<em>will attempt to pass for free negroes.</em></div>
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<em>I will give ten dollars for their delivery or confinement </em></div>
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<em>in jail, in Granville or Wake, or twenty dollars, if out of </em></div>
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<em>said counties, and thirty dollars for the detection and conviction </em></div>
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<em>of any white person who has assisted them in getting off.</em></div>
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<em> </em><em> Clement Wilkins</em></div>
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<em> Sept. 10, 1838</em></div>
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<em> <img id="tileImage_20_0_0_358_496" src="http://libcdm1.uncg.edu/utils/ajaxhelper/?CISOROOT=RAS&CISOPTR=1765&action=2&DMSCALE=20&DMWIDTH=358&DMHEIGHT=496&DMX=0&DMY=0&DMTEXT=&DMROTATE=0" /></em></div>
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<em> <a href="http://libcdm1.uncg.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/RAS/id/1765">http://libcdm1.uncg.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/RAS/id/1765</a></em></div>
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<em></em></div>
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I stood stunned, unmoving for a moment, not quite believing what I was reading. An actual newspaper ad, from 1838, which someone had posted in search of his runaway slaves. Had these two slaves set out from North Carolina, heading north, following the Underground Railroad trying to reach freedom? And was it possible that they traveled this tunnel, under MY house, leaving behind a clipping with their names in it, to let others know they had been there? No, it couldn't be. But here was the ad, in my hand, buried in the wall for almost two centuries. <br />
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Jordan and Jane. Husband and wife. Fleeing for their lives. And Jane, pregnant! My mother heart immediately went out to this woman, carrying a child within her, running for her life and that of her unborn baby. And Jordan, the responsibility he must have felt; not only trying to free himself, but his young family as well. Town to town, state to state, running; through all kinds of weather with clothing their only possessions, not knowing when or if they would eat; fear threatening to suffocate them around every corner.<br />
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Did they make it? Make it to freedom? Or were they caught, possibly jailed, and sent back to unspeakable horrors? <br />
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I had to know. These people had traveled through my home. Someone here had helped them. Had risked their very life to help others to safety. They were part of my home, of my history, of me. <br />
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I knew I needed to go on, farther down the tunnel, to see what else I could discover. To see what I could learn of Jordan and Jane. <br />
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Carefully clutching the newspaper clipping, I crept forward. Down and around a slight corner, sliding on the crumbling dirt, and then, there it was....<br />
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********************************** </div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130;">I hope you enjoyed my Secret Subject Swap post! Please go on over and check out all the other participants, you don't want to miss a single one!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.bakinginatornado.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;">http://BakingInATornado.com</span></a><span><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;"><span> <wbr></wbr> </span></span></span><span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;"><span> </span>Baking In A Tornado</span></span><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://dawnsdisaster.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://dawnsdisaster.blogspot.<wbr></wbr>com</a> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Dawn’s Disaster</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://crazyasnormal.com/" target="_blank">http://crazyasnormal.com</a><span> <wbr></wbr> </span><span> </span>Crazy As Normal </span></div>
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<a href="http://raising-reagan.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://raising-reagan.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span> </span><span> <wbr></wbr> </span>Raising Reagan</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://aworkingmomswhoas.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://aworkingmomswhoas.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com/</a><span> </span><span> </span>A Working Mom’s “Whoas” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://indianamericanmom.com/" target="_blank">http://indianamericanmom.com</a><span> <wbr></wbr> </span><span> </span>Indian American Mom</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.patiencejuice.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.patiencejuice.com/</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span> <wbr></wbr> </span>Patience Juice</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.homeonderanged.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.homeonderanged.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span> <wbr></wbr> </span>Home on Deranged</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.justalittlenutty.com/" target="_blank">http://www.justalittlenutty.<wbr></wbr>com/</a><span> </span><span> </span>Just a Little Nutty (Guest Post)</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.itsyummi.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.itsyummi.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span> <wbr></wbr> </span>It’s Yummilicious</span></div>
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<strong><u></u></strong> </div>
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Black Sheep Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03632448192837281806noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092090438608932650.post-62506446663879319262013-06-28T20:26:00.003-04:002013-06-28T20:26:47.088-04:00I'll never get used to itI've been the mother of bi-racial children for 22 years. Since I was 16 years old, having met their father when I was 13. That's a lot of years to get used to racism; but I'm not.<br />
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I think I get more incensed now, after 20 years. You would think time would mellow it a little, I'd grudgingly become accustomed to it, but oh no. Part of it is my personality that's changed, I've grown up, I've found my voice. And as time goes by and each and every one of my 6 bi-racial children grow and change and become amazing people that the world will be blessed to have, it just becomes more and more personal. <br />
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We have not had to go through anything anywhere near as horrid as some other families have, but racism has touched our family, to a smaller degree, but hurtful nonetheless. We're just regular people living regular lives in smalltown, USA, and contact with racism to any degree is a slap in the face. These are my<em> children</em>; to me they have no color, just the color of beauty and love and <em>mine</em>. But to others, it's different. <br />
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Last year during a middle school basketball game, a player on the opposite team called my 13 year old son a nigger. I was not at that game, and I totally wish I was, but kinda wonder if maybe it's better that I wasn't. When my son told me about it, I contacted the school he had played at and told them about the incident. Thus began a 3 week process of trying to get some sort of acknowledgement/apology out of them. When I talked to their athletic director, he acted very surprised (read didn't believe me) that that could've happened at his school. I mean, they have minority students that go there, and one that <em>plays</em> basketball for heaven's sake. Surely none of his players would say such a thing. Well, one of 'em did, buddy. Twice in fact. Once on the court and once on the way to the locker room. My son's friend bodily blocked my son from knocking the smart ass's teeth out. And if my son had popped him one? He wouldn't have gotten in trouble with me. I don't condone violence as a way of handling things, but, be it right or wrong, in this situation I would not have blamed him. Heck, <em>I</em> might've punched the little shit in the throat. (see earlier statement about maybe it's better that I wasn't there.) <br />
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Last night at basketball we had an incident with a grown man talking racist smack. *Side note: I don't believe there's anything to the fact that these two occurrences both took place at basketball games. I think it's just that 90% of the time that we're in public, it's at a youth sporting event :)<br />
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The man was standing on the side, watching the game while waiting for the next one to begin. There are 3 mixed race boys on my son's summer league team and 1 Mexican boy, so this asshole had plenty to talk about. I didn't hear him myself, but he didn't realize that the white lady standing next to him was one of the boys mother, and also my friend, who was most definitely going to tell me what she heard. He said his brilliant bigoted bullshit to a kid with him who was no more than 16 or 17, maybe younger. Way to be a role model, douche. One comment he said was after one of our boys made a great play, and he said something about giving him fried chicken to reward him. Really? <em>Really? </em><br />
<em></em><br />
I have been very interested in the George Zimmerman trial. If you don't know the story of Trayvon Martin, you can read about it <a href="http://racerelations.about.com/od/thelegalsystem/tp/Recap-Of-The-Travyon-Martin-Case-And-Aftermath.htm" target="_blank">here</a>. It could've been my sons. My sons are tall, and dark, and probably would've walked to the store in the rain for snacks. All of their sweatshirts have hoods on them, and their hoods would definitely have been up. It could've been my sons, who got shot. Because somebody looked at them and decided that the way they looked met his criteria for bad news. For suspicious. For wrong. It could've been my sons who are dead.<br />
<em></em><br />
I would never compare the racial trials I mentioned here (or any of the others my family has gone through) to something as tragic and violent and horrific as what happened to Trayvon Martin. But here, in my little town, in my little world, in my little family, these incidents are a big deal. This is where it starts. These are the small things that taint my children's view of humanity, that make them question so many things (sadly, including their own worth), and that make me afraid. <br />
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And angry. So very, very angry. <br />
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I have no answers, friends. I'm just ranting. And it's so much easier to be mad, then to feel the hurt.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrYnn0MRt7MDf0Qndozh-JBzHWePPeXG1xtc2MvVjJkUe72FMpFgv-lT07thzkrMcOT2aUn_cJGZuULWxFq2x5NI65CeFEyUPt1jnpxXsSEsH0RaHz9kk2MxRWGGeCbgfL2Atn89gba44/s1600/tray.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrYnn0MRt7MDf0Qndozh-JBzHWePPeXG1xtc2MvVjJkUe72FMpFgv-lT07thzkrMcOT2aUn_cJGZuULWxFq2x5NI65CeFEyUPt1jnpxXsSEsH0RaHz9kk2MxRWGGeCbgfL2Atn89gba44/s320/tray.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">It could've been my son</span></div>
<em> </em><br />
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Black Sheep Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03632448192837281806noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092090438608932650.post-17297754522548981452013-06-13T17:49:00.000-04:002013-06-14T09:29:53.142-04:00June Secret Subject Swap - Take Two! Casting Call!<span style="font-family: inherit;">It's that time again, <strong>Secret Subject Swap</strong> time! Karen from </span><a href="http://bakinginatornado.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Baking In A Tornado</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> organizes this great shindig for bloggers to step outside their comfort zones and have some fun! This week, 12 brave souls each picked a secret subject for someone else to write about, and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. I love the "in their own style" part; you see your prompt and then get to write about it in any way you choose. Not like in high school where if you don't answer the question the exact way the teacher meant you lose half the credit. Stupid. Nope, this is totally individualized and creative and Fun! We're all simultaneously divulging our topics, so put your feet up and check out everybody's creativity!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.bakinginatornado.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;">http://BakingInATornado.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;"> <wbr></wbr> </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="color: blue;">Baking In A Tornado</span></span><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<a href="http://singlemumplusone.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://singlemumplusone.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <wbr></wbr> Searching for Sanity</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.outsmartedmommy.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.outsmartedmommy.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><wbr></wbr> Outsmarted Mommy</span></div>
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<a href="http://indianamericanmom.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://indianamericanmom.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <wbr></wbr> Indian American Mom </span></div>
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<a href="http://dailydoseofdamn.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://dailydoseofdamn.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com/</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Daily Dose of Damn</span></div>
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<a href="http://aworkingmomswhoas.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://aworkingmomswhoas.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com/</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> A Working Mom's "Whoas" </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://dawnsdisaster.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://dawnsdisaster.blogspot.<wbr></wbr>com</a> Dawn’s Disaster</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.akashicwindow.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">www.akashicwindow.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><wbr></wbr> Akashic Aisles: The Basement View</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.thepursuitofnormal.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">www.thepursuitofnormal.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> The Pursuit of Normal</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.homeonderanged.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">www.homeonderanged.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <wbr></wbr> Home on Deranged</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http:// <a href="http://www.eviljoyspeaks.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">www.eviljoyspeaks.wordpress.<wbr></wbr>com</a> Evil Joy Speaks</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My Secret Subject was submitted by </span><a href="http://singlemumplusone.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Searching For Sanity.</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> (She just got a new job, BTW, so go give her some congrats!). My subject is:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>***You have just been contacted by a movie director wanting to make a movie about your life. Who will you ask to play you in the movie?***</strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Well. Should I choose an actress who plays characters similar to me? Or an actress who in real life is similar to me? Or someone who looks like me? Or someone I'm envious of and would squeal like a pig if they even acknowledged me? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: blue;">Tough one. Ok, this became a group effort. I was struggling, so I decided to ask some of the kids their opinions (I know, what was I thinking??).</span> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">I asked J, my 14 year old son; A, my 13 year old daughter; and T, my 18 year old daughter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Here's some of the responses I got:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">J: "Mario Lopez!" Ummm...</span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A: "Jackie Chan!" WHAT THE?!?!?!</span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8CVf9ZPmJyIgNBdjkWUkHygH8N9-xCB7kt2byETl4y5jlltfVvTyzEpdjNjLuiua0loZMF6qBrJ8IpNpPoG65pbAUGwIijB7MO00R6FOHzib8J2Kw6Vgd5L1sMO8vRU8yFYeyPPswPac/s1600/jc.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8CVf9ZPmJyIgNBdjkWUkHygH8N9-xCB7kt2byETl4y5jlltfVvTyzEpdjNjLuiua0loZMF6qBrJ8IpNpPoG65pbAUGwIijB7MO00R6FOHzib8J2Kw6Vgd5L1sMO8vRU8yFYeyPPswPac/s1600/jc.png" /></a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A again: "Justin Bieber!" ..........</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">J: "Yeah, he looks like a girl." <eye roll></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRXCdOqzK7jSyfKnN9EQrhZX94Hw1uwuvERdy3-Y7UGoHzg6kRnEvGSWV8df5dq1KZ9ZbNQmVyZ8rAkpJOezRfWvc9yRYMbzjIP2YvLTCGiqyo62ls0KTnZkmQO0dn9MBt3Ka7rXL7QLg/s1600/jb.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRXCdOqzK7jSyfKnN9EQrhZX94Hw1uwuvERdy3-Y7UGoHzg6kRnEvGSWV8df5dq1KZ9ZbNQmVyZ8rAkpJOezRfWvc9yRYMbzjIP2YvLTCGiqyo62ls0KTnZkmQO0dn9MBt3Ka7rXL7QLg/s1600/jb.png" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">J again: "The girl from 'The Hunger Games', she's hot." Eww. I do not wish to think about who my boy finds "hot". </span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoj3sp7FJ3TflA6Ali2rUQNDpJNqku3LYcqwk66kXkNjXKe8ma0z1qgK5O93PQ2i3dTG8lO6uNvuZlasF1L_DolTSE1b8svzS9i4850GjzA2K7Uy9e6cAil8qLHh1tNgPjeoaZT6-Ocu8/s1600/jl.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoj3sp7FJ3TflA6Ali2rUQNDpJNqku3LYcqwk66kXkNjXKe8ma0z1qgK5O93PQ2i3dTG8lO6uNvuZlasF1L_DolTSE1b8svzS9i4850GjzA2K7Uy9e6cAil8qLHh1tNgPjeoaZT6-Ocu8/s1600/jl.png" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">T: "Jennie Garth, because you look alike." T is my new favorite.</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioTJuEJS2Bo5KcP-wzn3FYzxxQ3TUQuFY4-Mxk65_DZLT4ucD8vZmQHT3vqQ8xa3Qt3tZeQ6_pxbPmUOnpcd1q2i_xzKyoieqIQS5TMxWr1cUQUzG-R4UOPRqZkkDpuNKbG573lKUksnA/s1600/jgarth.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioTJuEJS2Bo5KcP-wzn3FYzxxQ3TUQuFY4-Mxk65_DZLT4ucD8vZmQHT3vqQ8xa3Qt3tZeQ6_pxbPmUOnpcd1q2i_xzKyoieqIQS5TMxWr1cUQUzG-R4UOPRqZkkDpuNKbG573lKUksnA/s1600/jgarth.png" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A: "Julianne Hough from 'Safe Haven'." I'll take it.</span> </span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoYGeOgh-tR1wAzifylt1hLvlh176nqeeUsaCddkklQE_5m3ygrEnxOeie-Mci_iM-6T8ZzzGpuf4hG4lM0k4_wFbiyPn780qRjxDQ3alGCnT1MWATB2YXuhsxWvRciLYPsdnFdEfR47Y/s1600/jh.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoYGeOgh-tR1wAzifylt1hLvlh176nqeeUsaCddkklQE_5m3ygrEnxOeie-Mci_iM-6T8ZzzGpuf4hG4lM0k4_wFbiyPn780qRjxDQ3alGCnT1MWATB2YXuhsxWvRciLYPsdnFdEfR47Y/s1600/jh.png" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Tahoma;">My ex-husband had sent me a text asking something about one of the kids, so I threw the question out there to him too. (Yeah, I do not know what is wrong with me.)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTzY530V0fSpHi9oIWZMpTPb2-2upX2EhjGCETCWEnJGGdypVJD-S37hVL5oYiS-TC28K9g-FZPlvBT99pkSBp4-rk0x9pTY5FQMAm1vQC5F1Xtq5XO1soXytPkE5RJvUdsRpIV5Aj-cc/s1600/gp.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTzY530V0fSpHi9oIWZMpTPb2-2upX2EhjGCETCWEnJGGdypVJD-S37hVL5oYiS-TC28K9g-FZPlvBT99pkSBp4-rk0x9pTY5FQMAm1vQC5F1Xtq5XO1soXytPkE5RJvUdsRpIV5Aj-cc/s1600/gp.png" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_AAonXJo7XQ0-gpcYa10ebujA3Ly8Sd6sXjzKBQT6TwnnS5dUZAeI9iPc4jzPTRTQs1MR0Lac0728UxEPs6UTbv-7ej20L99U7OMehiTYqPEeu0BlhpzjD3ZKoQEDZchRUSBn3OjfJc4/s1600/rm.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_AAonXJo7XQ0-gpcYa10ebujA3Ly8Sd6sXjzKBQT6TwnnS5dUZAeI9iPc4jzPTRTQs1MR0Lac0728UxEPs6UTbv-7ej20L99U7OMehiTYqPEeu0BlhpzjD3ZKoQEDZchRUSBn3OjfJc4/s1600/rm.png" /></a><span style="color: blue; font-family: Tahoma;">His response: "The chick from 'The Notebook', or Gwyneth Paltrow." Huh. He must have been in a rare good mood. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Surprisingly (?) none of these answers helped. The first people I had thought of were Kate Gosselin and Octomom. Only because they have a lot of kids. But, yuck.</span> </span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Ek6JQMgAoJA9Q59nFxBU0trEMDZPzXi5cb3iJ7khp2dizQWKvsoXoQ9jXShy7elBFIhTGwY_dCa2bl7RHLj3l3uLshMBXxrSuL8vEhjkLVMpSJ8-1yLTojHbAXKZSgLczQRwGksDhH0/s1600/kg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Ek6JQMgAoJA9Q59nFxBU0trEMDZPzXi5cb3iJ7khp2dizQWKvsoXoQ9jXShy7elBFIhTGwY_dCa2bl7RHLj3l3uLshMBXxrSuL8vEhjkLVMpSJ8-1yLTojHbAXKZSgLczQRwGksDhH0/s320/kg.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm6QOu62em_oKXR_g-dyAnUARg4rOko5N5tS58_j69Osck_U6qN1B1RnX25k5lC-AHYcstTLwTwUetksF9twsUEjnFNEfbqc2-jgtsc_pDrBv4R78ZuFXlClpNu9ULhmQsZDj2X2LmCHo/s1600/om.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm6QOu62em_oKXR_g-dyAnUARg4rOko5N5tS58_j69Osck_U6qN1B1RnX25k5lC-AHYcstTLwTwUetksF9twsUEjnFNEfbqc2-jgtsc_pDrBv4R78ZuFXlClpNu9ULhmQsZDj2X2LmCHo/s320/om.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: blue;">Then I thought of Florence Henderson as Carol Brady; large family, blended family, both accurate. But I don't know if 1970's housewife Carol could deal with some of the craziness that is mi vida. Mi vida loca.</span> </span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhECaLBN7WsSxXAeiYEE8izfy0fwaL3j61z4GrgTumC9a0lPFH4cOLIDgQ3gnNNTdD7Z1U7c8OcVLpa_RwcCqa5fWX9x6Lut83UM2lWBcM_D_fLopWvllzRgONtK0l3g1aoqVUWfXq9IjE/s1600/carol+brady.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhECaLBN7WsSxXAeiYEE8izfy0fwaL3j61z4GrgTumC9a0lPFH4cOLIDgQ3gnNNTdD7Z1U7c8OcVLpa_RwcCqa5fWX9x6Lut83UM2lWBcM_D_fLopWvllzRgONtK0l3g1aoqVUWfXq9IjE/s1600/carol+brady.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">And then it hit me: Jennifer Garner. There seems to be some similarities in our real lives, and she has had such a broad range of tv and movie roles that she's not really stuck in one category.</span> </span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6YtCnArLuQqwkHYyU6pdmVgPbDsiFAjIlDf6KKtMiyPevUbEP2fuyMlrceT8-pZ2EjEJNRf18b12coyql1cJURp79FAQEWAFxet6r_Jo_997TxNmnAqpWfzIY_GWTHyWmk3l5oaFxGhA/s1600/JG3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6YtCnArLuQqwkHYyU6pdmVgPbDsiFAjIlDf6KKtMiyPevUbEP2fuyMlrceT8-pZ2EjEJNRf18b12coyql1cJURp79FAQEWAFxet6r_Jo_997TxNmnAqpWfzIY_GWTHyWmk3l5oaFxGhA/s1600/JG3.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">Jen, as I affectionately call her, (not really, but it's shorter to type) seems to be a down home family girl who loves being a mom and wife, which I totally relate to. She's kind of girl-next-doorish; not flamboyant or over the top, just a nice girl who is pretty down to earth. Real. Just being herself. Kind of a sweetheart, but if you messed with her kids, I bet her mama bear instincts would come out and she would do some damage! She also has a spark and a drive to step outside the box and do more; not because her family isn't enough, but because she wants to, and she knows how to find the balance. This isn't an aspect of my life I'm exploring too deeply at the moment, but I definitely have learned that while it is amazing to be a mother and I love it more than life, there are other things out in the world that don't revolve around my kids, and those things can be exciting. A couple of facts I found about Jen that are relatable:</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">-Jennifer Garner wasn't a fan of baseball before meeting her Boston Red Sox-loving husband Ben Affleck.</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"> <strong class="quote">"The more I watched – 'cause it was on all the time – the more he explained, the more I like it. Now I really like it,"</strong> she told <em>Allure</em> in 2007. -I was never a sports fan, until I had children that were natural born athletes, and I began spending the majority of my time at, preparing for, and/or talking about sports. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">-Jennifer Garner almost got arrested the day of her prom. She and a friend were sunbathing topless in a park when police spotted them. <strong class="quote">"Can you imagine calling your parents [and saying], 'I was laying out naked,'"</strong> she told <em>Teen People</em>. -Yeah, I have a few stories from when I was a teenager that my mom <em>still</em> doesn't want to hear about. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"> So while Jennifer Garner and I are by no means clones, I think there's definitely some similarities,</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">and I bet she could take my life story and nail it. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Now, about those royalty checks?</span></div>
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Black Sheep Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03632448192837281806noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092090438608932650.post-39153095326219970062013-05-17T09:57:00.000-04:002013-05-17T09:57:28.153-04:00May Secret Subject Swap - Take Two! ~Memories... <span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Welcome to Take Two of May’s Secret Subject Swap. This week, 11 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My Secret Subject is: <strong><u>"What is your favorite Mother's Day gift you've gotten so far?"</u></strong> It was submitted by </span><a href="http://themomisodes.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Momisodes.</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> If you haven't checked out her blog yet, you need to. She's pretty frickin awesome.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm going to pull a classic mom move and talk about a gift from the heart that I received. I honestly enjoy getting hand made cards and paper towel tube craft projects. Anything that shows some effort. I tell my kids that it really is the thought that counts. That just because you didn't pay money for something, or don't have a gift to wrap up in a box, doesn't mean it's not special and thoughtful and appreciated. I try on a yearly basis to convince them that cleaning the kitchen or going a whole day without fighting would be an awesome gift for me. Still waiting for either of those. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">(Side note: if we're being honest here, I did get an awesome material gift a couple years ago from the hubs, a Keurig coffee maker. Pretty sure I did a spastic happy dance for a couple straight hours over that one.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">One of my most memorable gifts was a Mother's Day breakfast in bed. I don't remember exactly how old everyone was, but it was back in the days of my being a single mom, so I'm thinking the six of them ranged from about 3 to 13. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Each of them had a job to do for the breakfast; my middle son, probably about 6, was sent out to the yard to pick flowers to put in a little vase on my tray. Now that I think about it, that may have been the year there was a pink ladyslipper in my vase. Which, in our state anyway, are illegal to pick, lol. </span><br />
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My middle daughter (9 or 10 at the time) was in charge of making my coffee. <em>My pre-Keurig coffee.</em> Like, brewing a pot with grounds and water and everything. Apparently it came out pretty........disgusting. Because they sent my oldest son (11ish) down to the little store at the bottom of the hill to buy me a cup of coffee. </div>
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For some reason, this was really touching to me. They knew that coffee was my favorite part of breakfast, and they worked hard to make some. But it didn't meet their standards so they scrapped it, scrounged up enough change to buy a cup of coffee, and my son was willing and happy to walk to the store, then walk back with a hot cup in his hand. </div>
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I remember lying in bed as they were preparing things and noticing that there was no fighting going on. No yelling, no "I'm telling Mom!" Either they did a marvelous job of getting along, or they did a marvelous job of keeping the bickering quiet. This is in and of itself a gift! Moms of more than one kid, can I get an Amen?!</div>
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This year, my ex husband gave the 4 kiddos still living at home some money to buy me a little something for Mother's Day. And no, Hell hasn't frozen over, I checked! He must be working on his resume for Heaven or something. Anyway, I drove them to the mall and they all walked around together, helping each other choose a gift and count money. Again, a gift right there; anytime my kids pull together and do something as a team makes me smile. It was really cool to see how excited they got over having something to wrap up and give me. And I loved seeing how well they knew me by giving me stuff that I actually liked! (Bath & Body lotion, a phone case, sunglasses, and a Mother/Daughter necklace set.) The actual presenst weren't what warmed my heart, although they were great. It was the fact that they put thought into what would make <em>me</em> happy, made the effort of picking out something, and helped each other like siblings should. </div>
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So yeah, to me it really IS the thought that counts. Whether it's the thought of 'which gift would mom like', or 'how burnt can this toast be and mom will still eat it?'</div>
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Go check out these other amazing bloggers and see what Secret Subject they got!</div>
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<a href="http://www.bakinginatornado.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;">http://www.BakingInATornado.<wbr></wbr>com</span></a><span><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;"><span> </span></span></span><span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;"><span> </span>Baking In A Tornado</span></span><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://hypnoticbard.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://hypnoticbard.blogspot.<wbr></wbr>com/</a><span> </span>The Insomniac’s Dream</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://dinoheromommy.com/" target="_blank">http://dinoheromommy.com/</a><span> <wbr></wbr> </span>Dinosaur Superhero Mommy</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.thepursuitofnormal.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">www.thepursuitofnormal.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span> <wbr></wbr> </span>The Pursuit of Normal</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://themomisodes.com/" target="_blank">http://themomisodes.com/</a><span> <wbr></wbr> </span><span> </span>The Momisodes</span></div>
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<a href="http://singlemumplusone.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://singlemumplusone.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span> <wbr></wbr> </span>Searching for Sanity</span></div>
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<a href="http://mooreorganizedmayhem.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://mooreorganizedmayhem.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com/</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span> </span>Moore Organized Mayhem</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.dailydoseofdamn.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">www.dailydoseofdamn.blogspot.<wbr></wbr>com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span> </span>Daily Dose of Damn</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.tinystepsmommy.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.tinystepsmommy.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span> <wbr></wbr> </span>Tiny Steps Mommy</span></div>
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<a href="http://momrantsandcomfypants.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://momrantsandcomfypants.<wbr></wbr>wordpress.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span> </span>Mom Rants and Comfy Pants</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"></span>Black Sheep Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03632448192837281806noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092090438608932650.post-57440069564401212872013-05-08T13:37:00.002-04:002013-05-08T13:37:55.044-04:00Eyewear Review!I was happy to be asked by <a href="http://www.firmoo.com/" target="_blank">Firmoo</a> to review a pair of their eyeglasses. They are a global online optical store and sell glasses for men and women as well as prescription sunglasses. I was pretty psyched to go online and pick out a pair, that's the fun part! These are the ones I chose:<br />
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The ordering process is easy; First you choose your frames; there's tons of styles to choose from and each one gives you detailed measurements to help you know exactly how they will fit your face. You can also upload a photo of yourself and virtually "try them on". There are lots of pictures of each pair of frames from every angle. Customer reviews are posted at the bottom which I always look for when buying something new. People have also sent in photos of them wearing their glasses so you can see how they look on a regular person, not just the fashion models that look perfect in anything. <br />
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Next you enter in your prescription information (or choose no prescription if you'd like to buy a pair with zero power lenses just for fashion. It's the 'hipster' thing thing to do). There's tips on what to do if you don't have your prescription or if you need help reading and entering it. Once you've filled in all of the options, it gives you a total price, which can vary based on things like lens thickness and optional add-ons like UV Coating.<br />
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Click Add To Cart and you're on your way to getting a new pair of glasses without having to leave your house!<br />
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Thanks <a href="http://www.firmoo.com/" target="_blank">Firmoo</a> ! <br />
<a href="http://www.firmoo.com/">www.firmoo.com</a>Black Sheep Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03632448192837281806noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092090438608932650.post-16499141010125980142013-05-02T10:00:00.000-04:002013-05-02T10:02:41.630-04:00I Didn't Do It!<div style="text-align: left;">
Funny how some things start out so innocently. I left this comment on Karen of <a href="http://www.bakinginatornado.com/" target="_blank">Baking in a Tornado</a>'s blog the last time she wrote about getting a blogging award: "You should also get an<em> I Didn't Kill My Teen-ager</em> award as well". Karen has 2 teen-agers and I have 5, so we know what we're talking about! </div>
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What we both didn't know was where that sentence would lead. Because, let's face it, we parents do deserve awards for handling most of what we deal with on any given day. Yet there is no such award, no trophy. Why is that?</div>
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Well, there is one now. And here it is:</div>
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The Triumph Trophy. And we're not only accepting these trophies, but we're passing them on. If you're a recipient, consider playing along! Here are the rules:</div>
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1. Display the Trophy in your post.</div>
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2. Write a short piece that starts with: I Didn't Kill _________ Today. It doesn't have to be a <strong>person</strong>, it can be an <strong>appliance</strong>, a <strong>business</strong>, or anything else you choose. </div>
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3. Nominate a few people and let them know it's their turn to vent.</div>
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So here's my Triumph: I didn't kill my<u> husband</u> today. </div>
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I kinda wanted to, he really aggravated me. We were getting ready to leave baseball and he said he would go to the grocery store and grab some stuff to cook on the grill. I asked him to also grab me a bottle of wine. </div>
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<u>Husband</u>: <sigh> <slumping shoulders></div>
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<u>Me</u>: What?</div>
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<u>Husband</u>: Well now I have to make 2 stops, 1 at the grocery store and 1 at the liquor store. I hate doing that.</div>
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<u>Me</u>: There's 1 grocery store that carries alcohol in it.</div>
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<u>Husband</u>: Yeah but I wasn't going there. That one is all the way on the other side of town. I was just going down the street <whine></div>
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<u>Me</u>: Ok, that's fine, I can stop and grab a bottle while you're getting the food. No big deal, just say 'No'. </div>
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<u>Husband</u>: I didn't want to tell you No (he never tells me No ;) )</div>
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<u>Me</u>: Well it's fine to tell me No <em>sometimes. </em>No big deal. Go get the food, I'll grab the wine.</div>
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He leaves, I leave and grab a bottle<em> </em>of pinot noir on my way home. I take the baby for a walk around the block while we're waiting for Hubs to get back with dinner. After some time, I get a text message from him: "I'm at that other grocery store, what kind of wine did you want?"</div>
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.............<em> seriously</em>?!?!</div>
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But I didn't kill him. I deserve a trophy. </div>
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If you want to play, I nominate:</div>
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<a href="http://menopausalmother.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Menopausal Mother</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.sorrykidblog.com/" target="_blank">Sorry kid, your mom doesn't play well with others</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.outsmartedmommy.com/" target="_blank">Outsmarted Mommy</a></div>
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And a new blogger I found and adore: <a href="http://www.mommysgoingcrazy1.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Mommy's Going Crazy</a></div>
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Stop by <a href="http://www.bakinginatornado.com/" target="_blank">Baking in a Tornado</a> and see who or what didn't get killed by Karen. And of course who she nominated.</div>
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Black Sheep Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03632448192837281806noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092090438608932650.post-45870844380791645672013-04-23T12:39:00.001-04:002013-04-23T14:23:45.269-04:00I'd like to thank all the little people...Applause.<br />
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Cheers.<br />
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A standing ovation.<br />
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"I'd like to thank all the little people who made this possible, otherwise known as: my children. Without them, I would have no crazy, embarrassing, you've-got-to-bo-kidding-me stories to blog about and wouldn't be receiving the <strong><em>Epically Awesome Award of Epic Awesomeness. </em></strong> <br />
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"And to <a href="http://menopausalmother.blogspot.com/2013/03/and-award-goes-to.html" target="_blank">Menopausal Mother</a>, the blogging legend, who decided there<em> is </em>soemthing worth reading in all of my blahty-blah-blah. She has bestowed this award on me, and coming from her, the <strong><em>Eh, You're Kind Of Ok </em></strong>award would be humbling. <br />
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"And to my readers, my fans, my loyal Black Sheep-ers, I thank you from the baa-tom of my heart." (see what I did there? Huh?)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj_VBko1db7YdH5kc0a3rJ0eOum6_NYbOFSCZuAC0FCl9rIgNKdac7irQeD7wZUd_EWTVC2MmrH57LY40tanLdORxAla52_YisqrrVlNT1YOtp4u4nnO8oEptEJtM5CW6FjhcyQnuUJdc/s1600/epic.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj_VBko1db7YdH5kc0a3rJ0eOum6_NYbOFSCZuAC0FCl9rIgNKdac7irQeD7wZUd_EWTVC2MmrH57LY40tanLdORxAla52_YisqrrVlNT1YOtp4u4nnO8oEptEJtM5CW6FjhcyQnuUJdc/s1600/epic.png" /></a></div>
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Thank you, <a href="http://menopausalmother.blogspot.com/2013/03/and-award-goes-to.html" target="_blank">Meno Mama</a>, for giving me this award; I'm honored. The rules are: <br />
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1. Display award logo<br />
2. Link back to the person who nominated you<br />
3. State 10 things about you<br />
4. Nominate 10 other bloggers<br />
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<u>Ten things about Black Sheep Mom:</u><br />
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1. I'm a major coffee addict. Somehow, it can wake me up when I'm tired, but also relax me when I'm stressed. Good stuff. <br />
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2. I babysit my nephew 3 days a week. He is one month and one day older than my youngest son. So 21 and 20 months. They are very different in personality but equally adorable. Mad props to mothers of multiples; holy. crap. <br />
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3. I got married the first time when I was 18. Cuz 18 year olds make great life long decisions. Hence the phrase "the first time". <br />
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4. Some people call me sarcastic. I prefer to think of it as comedic irony.<br />
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5. My favorite flowers are roses and tulips.<br />
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6. My kids are extensively involved in team sports, of which I never played any. I was more of a dance, gymnastics, ice-skating kinda kid. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ1zGqOnkcyAA_rYibf-A0XAkmvkEC0AEWxzXmrIY0xKztEUHJG4vNJGSq-IRWQ662_Q2arGXsebJ2pBXRC1_WW4OQOseb2BQbZOhM0CpL6VPxrPWUGvD3uirQh4F9ITTeqYyYCarZh5w/s1600/skating.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ1zGqOnkcyAA_rYibf-A0XAkmvkEC0AEWxzXmrIY0xKztEUHJG4vNJGSq-IRWQ662_Q2arGXsebJ2pBXRC1_WW4OQOseb2BQbZOhM0CpL6VPxrPWUGvD3uirQh4F9ITTeqYyYCarZh5w/s320/skating.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>
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7. I live 2 miles from where I grew up.<br />
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8. I loooooove summer, and can't stand winter.<br />
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9. It can be challenging raising multi-racial kids in a predominately white community. During an 8th grade basketball game my son was called the 'N' word. Hell hath no fury like a mama who's child has been called a racial slur, let me tell ya. <br />
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10. Friendships are very important to me. No matter how great your husband, kids, mother is, a woman needs her girlfriends!<br />
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And now, to nominate some Awesome bloggers!<br />
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<a href="http://www.bakinginatornado.com/" target="_blank">Baking in a Tornado</a><br />
<a href="http://www.realmomofnj.com/" target="_blank">Real Mom of NJ</a><br />
<a href="http://www.outsmartedmommy.com/" target="_blank">Outsmarted Mommy</a><br />
<a href="http://www.delectablydawn.com/" target="_blank">Delectably Dawn</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lifeonthesonnyside.com/" target="_blank">Life on the SONny Side</a><br />
<a href="http://www.bigaandlittlea.com/" target="_blank">Big A little a</a><br />
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Go give them a read!<br />
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***Edited because I'm a moron:<br />
Back on April 3, Karen over at <a href="http://www.bakinginatornado.com/" target="_blank">Baking in a Tornado</a> nominated me for the <em><strong>Beautiful Mama Blog Award</strong></em>. This means a ton to me because Karen is like my blogging idol, and I'm blessed to say, friend. But I promptly forgot all about the nomination, to the point that it was like brand new information to my over-worked, under-staffed brain. So Karen, I apologize, and gratefully accept this fabulous award!<br />
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Now I list 3 things I love about motherhood, then nominate some other great folks:</div>
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I love:</div>
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1. The ability the kids have to make me smile even on the worst of days.</div>
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2. That a hug around the knees is just as enveloping and loving as a bear hug.</div>
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3. Hearing compliments on my children's personalities, character, and manners. Even better than compliments on sports achievements or high grades. </div>
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And I pass this on to:</div>
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<a href="http://sadderbutwiser.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">The Sadder But Wiser Girl</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.adventuresinhickeyland.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Adventures In Hickey Land</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.thenonmarthamomma.com/" target="_blank">The Non-Martha Momma</a></div>
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<3 <3</div>
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Black Sheep Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03632448192837281806noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092090438608932650.post-49583462959609977672013-04-11T22:03:00.000-04:002013-04-12T10:00:15.626-04:00Secret Subject Swap April -Take Two!It's time for April's second Secret Subject Swap! This week 12 brave bloggers were assigned a subject to interpret and write about in their own style, while also coming up with a secret topic for someone else to write about. Today we are all simutaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts. This is really a fun activity to participate in; if you haven't tried it, get in touch with Karen at <a href="http://www.bakinginatornado.com/" target="_blank">Baking In A Tornado</a> who is the mastermind of the whole shebang! Here's a list of everybody participating this week; check them all out and let them know how you liked what they came up with:<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.bakinginatornado.com/" target="_blank">http://www.BakingInATornado.<wbr></wbr>com</a><span> </span><span> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.peanutlayne.com/" target="_blank">http://www.peanutlayne.com/</a><span> <wbr></wbr> </span><span> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://menopausalmother.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://menopausalmother.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com/</a><span> <wbr></wbr> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://sadderbutwiser.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">http://sadderbutwiser.<wbr></wbr>wordpress.com/</a><span> <wbr></wbr> </span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.eviljoyspeaks.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">www.eviljoyspeaks.wordpress.<wbr></wbr>com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.theblacksheepmom.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">www.theblacksheepmom.blogspot.<wbr></wbr>com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://lifeonthesonnyside.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://lifeonthesonnyside.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com/</a><span> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.homeonderanged.com/" target="_blank">www.homeonderanged.com</a><span> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://victoryrosevintage.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">http://victoryrosevintage.<wbr></wbr>wordpress.com</a><span> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://dates2diapers2.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">dates2diapers2.blogspot.com</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://badwordmama.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://badwordmama.blogspot.<wbr></wbr>com/</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">My subject is "<span style="color: red; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If you were only allowed one more vacation in your life, where would you go and what would you do?<span style="color: black;">" It was submitted by <a href="http://www.homeonderanged.com/" target="_blank">Home On Deranged,</a> who's getting hit with a little extra winter right now. Make sure you bring some hot chocolate when you go over and read her post!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">One. Last. Vacation.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">One.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">But-but-but---</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">Ok, fine, one. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">My first reaction to this question was pure selfishness; I pictured me on a beach, by myself, reading and soaking up the sun, tropical drink in hand. No kids. Not even anybody else's kids. A kid free island. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="color: black; font-size: x-small;">Yeah, in my beach dream I'm skinny too. So what. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">I would spend my time lying in the sand, enjoying the peace and quiet, and doing this thing I've heard of that I've always wanted to try: <em>relaxing</em>. No big adventures for me; a little shopping, lunches that don't come with toys, and the breeze in my hair (clean hair, I might add, because I can take a shower whenever I want to, not just at nap time). </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">But that's the today me, the 'stay at home mom stuck in the house with a toddler and only getting out to run my teenagers around everywhere' me. If I take a step back, and really think about planning my very last vacation, I'd actually want my kids with me. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">Yes I said that. No I haven't been drinking. (Ok, one glass of wine but that doesn't count.)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">My kids are pretty fun to hang out with. They have great senses of humor and are really mastering the art of sarcasm. If you've got something to keep them busy, they get along and actually enjoy each others' company. I know families that have their kid(s) invite a friend along on every vacation so the kid has someone to hang out with and play with. My kids are close to each other. It wouldn't even occur to me to bring extras along because it's unnecessary. They're <em>friends</em> as well as siblings. And I love that. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">Yes they fight like cats and dogs, but that's normal (unfortunately). But I can just picture them on this idyllic beach with me and the hubs, wind surfing and building giant sand castles. Going shopping and thinking the most touristy, plastic wad of junk is just the best thing to buy and bring home and show off. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">They'd explore and run and play. Even the teens, who are sometimes too cool for that stuff at our local lake. They'd spread out their beach towels next to each other and warm up in the sun after swimming so long their hands look like wrinkled prunes. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">And at night, when we went back to our <strike>hotel</strike> beach house (hey, last vacation right?) they'd all grab their blankets and have a big camp out on the living room floor, actually agreeing on a movie to watch, and having a snack without causing the floor to look like a popcorn-carpet. There'd be no school or work in the morning to worry about; no phone calls to be made, bills to be paid, or homework to be struggled through. We'd enjoy each other. The way we forget to when life gets in the way. When we're so busy we overlook each other. When we're stressed and we snap at each other. When we're bored and we pick at each other. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">And I'd grab a book and a tropical drink, sit out on the patio with the only man crazy enough to marry a woman with 6 kids, and think "this is the life". </span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">And maybe "shit, did we remember to ask someone to feed the dog??" </span> </span></span></span></div>
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Black Sheep Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03632448192837281806noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092090438608932650.post-20855015928066205342013-04-04T21:50:00.001-04:002013-04-04T21:50:55.879-04:00Stress = Corn DogsI've been slacking on my blogging lately; nothing has been inspiring me enough to <strike>get off my butt </strike>go to the computer and actually write down my thoughts. <br />
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Well, last night I got some inspiration. Or rather, I got so freakin frustrated that it was either vent here or call one of y'all for bail money.<br />
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We have a crazy schedule around here. It changes almost daily. 5 of the kids are playing sports, all on different teams. One of them has 2 different sports over-lapping. And practice times change depending on gym availability, weather, how much the coaches hate me... No sir, not really. But sometimes it feels like they have secret meetings about how best to F with the Black Sheep family. "Let's leave only a 6 minute break between softball and basketball practice. Let's say we're done at 5:00 but not let the kids out until 5:40. Let's schedule softball and baseball games at the same time in different towns so the mom has to choose which kid she's going to watch; that ought to start some nice bickering in their house, mwah ha ha ha......" <<<em>stress</em>>><br />
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So last night I was running around doing the pick up/drop off/pick up/drop off routine, with the added bonus of having a Sports Boosters meeting to go to (of which I am the vice-president. Dammit.) I couldn't figure out how to get the 13 year old picked up from basketball practice when I would already be at the meeting, and possibly running it. So she didn't go to practice. And for some reason that bothered me greatly. I HATE not being able to do it all. People often comment to me: "I don't know how you do it! So many kids involved in so many things, you must be supermom!" So when I can't figure out how to do everything at the same time, I feel like I'm failing. I feel like I'm letting a kid down if I'm not at their Everything. So I was stressing about that. <<<em>stress</em>>><br />
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At the meeting I was a little on edge because there was someone there that I had had a bad experience with years ago regarding one of my sons. He clearly didn't remember who I was, but I knew him. I also had brought my 11 year old to the meeting with me because there wasn't time to bring him home after baseball and get back to the meeting on time. So he was sitting to the side doing homework and behaving very well; I just kept checking on him, waiting for him to misbehave (which he didn't). <<<em>stress</em>>> <br />
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I got out of the meeting about 8pm. I realized that I had forgotten to tell the hubs that there was something in the freezer that he could cook for dinner. Surely he could figure that out on his own. Surely he would look through the kitchen and make sure the kids got dinner. It was 8 at night on a school night.<br />
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Wrong.<br />
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I texted him to ask if anyone had eaten and his response was "Don't believe so". So not only did he not make anything for dinner, he didn't even tell the kids to find something or suggest sandwiches or anything. Nothing. Nada. Nichts. (That's <em>nothing</em> in German. I felt this paragraph needed a German word to properly convey the situation.) <<<em>stress</em>>><br />
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So I had to go to the grocery store at 8 at night to get something for dinner. <<<em>stress</em>><br />
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Corn dogs it is.<br />
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Nutritional value: nichts<br />
My level of caring: also nichts<br />
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Corn dogs are pretty nasty, I think, but the kids love them. And they were quick and there was a large size box (complete necessity in a household the size of mine. I got 2 large boxes. And chips.)<br />
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Having a healthy hearty dinner was a complete fail. But I don't think that was <strong>my</strong> fail; it was the hubs' fail. <br />
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Right? <em>RIGHT??</em><br />
<em></em><br />
I was pretty<em> </em>flippin frustrated, as evidenced by the way I didn't speak to anyone and just immediately started nuking corn dogs and opening bags of chips. "Come eat guys; it's almost <em><strong>bedtime</strong></em>..." I called, not at all trying to make a point. <<<em>stress</em>>><br />
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In conclusion, stress = corn dogs. <br />
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Black Sheep Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03632448192837281806noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092090438608932650.post-25964836487068718592013-03-15T09:55:00.000-04:002013-03-15T09:58:05.886-04:00Secret Subject Swap, March - Take Two!<div style="text-align: center;">
It's that time again, Secret Subject Swap time! </div>
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I love doing these, if you haven't tried it you need to! Karen from <a href="http://www.bakinginatornado.com/" target="_blank">Baking In a Tornado</a> is in charge and she will help you get started. Go ahead, contact her, you know you want to.</div>
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This week 13 bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were each assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Put your feet up and check out everyone's posts! : </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.bakinginatornado.com/" target="_blank">www.BakingInATornado.com</a> <wbr></wbr> <wbr></wbr> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.justalittlenutty.com/" target="_blank">http://www.justalittlenutty.<wbr></wbr>com/</a> <wbr></wbr> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://suburbiainterrupted.com/" target="_blank">http://suburbiainterrupted.com</a><wbr></wbr> <wbr></wbr> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://mooreorganizedmayhem.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://mooreorganizedmayhem.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com/</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.comeplayinthekitchen.com/" target="_blank">http://www.<wbr></wbr>comeplayinthekitchen.com/</a> <wbr></wbr> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.bigaandlittlea.com/" target="_blank">http://www.bigaandlittlea.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.themommyref.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://www.themommyref.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com/</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.100lbcountdown.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.100lbCountdown.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.findingfelicity.com/" target="_blank">http://www.findingfelicity.com</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.eviljoyspeaks.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">www.eviljoyspeaks.wordpress.<wbr></wbr>com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://caramelliving.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://caramelliving.blogspot.<wbr></wbr>com/</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://adventuresinhickeyland.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">adventuresinhickeyland.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com</a></span></div>
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My subject is<span style="color: magenta;"> <u>"...and then you woke up and realized it was all a dream..."</u></span> submitted by <a href="http://suburbiainterrupted.com/" target="_blank">Suburbia Interrupted </a>, who is one amazing chick if you ask me. If you haven't read her stuff, start with the secret subject post and keep reading! </div>
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I have a friend who loves to try and figure out what dreams mean. She has a dream interpretation book and uses it all the time. So I thought to myself: Self, let's try and analyze these oddball nocturnal musings. Ok, I don't really talk like that, it was more like: What the hell did that stupid dream mean?! So I found a great site called <a href="http://www.dreammoods.com/" target="_blank">Dream Moods</a> and decided to look up a few dreams that I've had. </div>
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<em><u>~Flavor Flav</u></em></div>
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Yes, I had a dream with Flavor Flav in it. No, I was not doing acid. This was years ago but I still remember it because it was so random and weird. Not only was the <em>Public Enemy</em> member in my dream, but we were flirting and I think maybe (gag) kissing. WTH? Have you ever seen Flavor Flav? Here:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwyCRTVC1SP-1ulfpmNWACaWkiJDWxT_2bxQLx9KD7ebYU6kw8guLCWdFTlL0XV5g6PhQJBhHELyF0BXdJyakDFuJWNI4UBiJuMdSAWlsZR68jhZXfmnhVuVwmVSC6LpUpasYB5ZOoLSg/s1600/flava-flav2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwyCRTVC1SP-1ulfpmNWACaWkiJDWxT_2bxQLx9KD7ebYU6kw8guLCWdFTlL0XV5g6PhQJBhHELyF0BXdJyakDFuJWNI4UBiJuMdSAWlsZR68jhZXfmnhVuVwmVSC6LpUpasYB5ZOoLSg/s1600/flava-flav2.jpg" /></a></div>
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You're welcome.</div>
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So when I went to Dream Moods, I had to pick a category. ' Freakish Rap Stars of the 90's' was not a category, so I went with 'Celebrities': </div>
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<span id="yui_3_7_2_33_1363278409666_70" style="color: red; font-family: Arial;">To dream that you are kissing or having sex with a celebrity indicates your drive to be successful. Consider what qualities or movies you associate this celebrity with or what makes this celebrity famous for clues as to where and what you want to achieve success in. Alternatively, the dream may just represent your fascination or obsession with this particular celebrity.</span> </div>
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Ok, I don't even know how to begin picking that the F apart! I do not know what I would want to achieve based on Flavor Flav; gold teeth? A big ass clock necklace? Yelling "Yeah Boyee!" all the damn time? Mostly I just want to achieve showering, fitting into my pre-baby jeans, and getting the kids to go 5 minutes IN A ROW without fighting . Maybe I should just go with the gold teeth; easier to accomplish. </div>
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The alternative, a "fascination or obsession" with this celebrity is also oh-so-wrong. Tupac? Yes. LL Cool J? Mama likey. Flavor Flav? Hells to the No.</div>
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~<em><u>Punching</u></em></div>
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I have this reoccuring dream, ever since middle school, that I'm so pissed at someone that I'm gonna kick their butt. But when I try to punch them, it's like this force holds back my fist, and as hard as I try to swing, my arm moves in slow-motion and never makes contact. It frutrates the crap out of me in my dream. So I figured I would look that one up. Gotta figure out why in my dreams I feel like Muhammad Ali, but fight like Angelina Ballerina. </div>
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Dream Moods has 'Punching' as a category. It tells me: </div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial;">To dream that you are unable to throw a punch indicates that you are feeling helpless. You may have self-esteem and confidence issues. The dream may also be due to REM paralysis.</span></div>
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Whoa, nelly. That one kinda hits home. I do have self-esteem and confidence issues, always have. I was a very shy kid, and I've gotten over some of that but not all of it. If I seem confident at all, it's usually a front. There's definitely some <em>things</em> I'm confident about, but as a person in general, eh, not so much. Being in a marriage where your significant other puts you down constantly can really do a number on your self esteem, too. [ My first marriage, I mean; this second one is soo the opposite :) ]</div>
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Now "REM paralysis", what the poop is that? I've heard of REM, a cycle of sleep, and I was going to google that phrase. Then I remembered who I am, and that if it said anything remotely worry-worthy about my sleeping patterns, I would never sleep again, convinced I would die before I wake. So yeah, skipping over that part. </div>
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Lastly:</div>
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~<em><u>Teeth falling out</u></em></div>
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Another weirdo dream I have a lot is my teeth falling out. Like it'll just be a regular day, and all of a sudden <strong>Plunk</strong>, one of my teeth unattaches from my gums and lands in the bottom of my mouth. Ew. Gross. And stupid, right? Who dreams about their teeth? <br />
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Apparently, it's one of the most common dreams that Dream Moods gets asked about. </div>
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<span style="color: red;">One theory is that dreams about your teeth reflect your anxieties about your appearance and how others perceive you. Your teeth help to convey an image of attractiveness and play an important role in the game of flirtation, whether it is flashing those pearly white, kissing or necking. Thus, such dreams may stem from a fear of rejection, sexual impotence or the consequences of getting old. To support this notion, a dream research found that women in menopause report to have frequent dreams about teeth. This points to teeth dreams as being related to getting older and/or feeling unattractive and less feminine. Teeth are an important feature to your attractiveness and how you are presented to others. Caring about how you look is natural and healthy. <br /><br />Another rationalization for these falling teeth dreams may be rooted in your fear of being embarrassed or making a fool of yourself in some situation. These dreams are an over-exaggeration of your worries and anxieties. Perhaps you feel that you are unprepared for the task at hand. However, you will find that your worries are unfounded in most cases. Sometimes what plays out in your mind is far worse than what is</span></div>
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Once I stopped laughing over the use of the word 'necking', I realized that this too is pretty right on. I do worry about my appearance, especially my weight, and am having a heck of a time accepting the fact that I'm getting older. old<u>ER</u>, not old, got it? Right. So. Moving on...</div>
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I also do get really tight-assed about embarassing myself and looking stupid. I've sat out of many activities because I was afraid I would look like a doofus and embarass myself. I really envy people that just jump in and try new things, and hey if it works it works, if not, it was fun to try! I'm trying to work on that, and realize that the world won't end if I don't do everything perfectly, and that laughing and saying Wow, I really suck at this! is better than sitting in the corner being afraid and self conscious.</div>
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With the Flavor Flav kissing and the Muhammad/Angelina brawling and the fang-falling, I'm always glad to wake up and realize it was all a dream. </div>
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Black Sheep Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03632448192837281806noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092090438608932650.post-85694117618977436242013-03-06T00:15:00.001-05:002013-03-06T00:20:37.137-05:00Rollin with the big dogs!Oh, hey Bleeps, didn't see ya there. I was busy doing an epic, if highly awkward, happy dance, cuz I have been nominated for<strong> 3</strong> <span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;"><span style="color: blue;">Blogging awards! Holy shit on toast! Me, a random sheep in a small town pasture, rollin with the big dogs! Can you believe it?? Like everything else in the blogosphere, I'm brand new to the awards circuit, so I'll do my best to follow directions and not break the rules</span>!</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkwi9YqOo09ckyCtGJKpSwywVTYFMxIQ9NE_cqCwlZ6JQpeU79xdc1csiOrFiOpM6FNuSvlgm3AyJ87hyphenhyphen_Oq1_6BCEBQA6N9X2ZbruMlHmjw34sQ6E4o1TPXgohofHFIhhWssEbq7U0vk/s1600/veryinspiringblogaward.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkwi9YqOo09ckyCtGJKpSwywVTYFMxIQ9NE_cqCwlZ6JQpeU79xdc1csiOrFiOpM6FNuSvlgm3AyJ87hyphenhyphen_Oq1_6BCEBQA6N9X2ZbruMlHmjw34sQ6E4o1TPXgohofHFIhhWssEbq7U0vk/s1600/veryinspiringblogaward.jpg" /></a></div>
I was given the Very Inspiring Blogger Award by her royal blogging highness <a href="http://menopausalmother.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Menopausal Mother</a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/">.</a> She has been rooting me on since the very beginning, helping me out and lending encouragement. She is an amazing writer y'all, you have to check her out. <br />
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Rules:<br />
1. Link back to the person who nominated you<br />
2. Post award image on your site<br />
3. List 7 random facts about yourself<br />
4. Nominate 15 other bloggers<br />
5. Notify the bloggers that they have been nominated and link back to their site <br />
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<u>7 Random Facts About Me:</u><br />
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1. My fave pre-school shows are Max & Ruby and The Backyardigans.<br />
2. I looove Coach, but am way too <strike>cheap</strike> <strike>broke</strike> frugal to buy any items except from the online factory outlet or Marshalls once in a great while. <br />
3. For each of my first 6 pregnancies I got the gender I secretly wanted. With #7 I was convinced it was a girl.... wrong. <br />
4. When I get bored I mess with my hair. Usually the color.<br />
5. You can often find me bumping Cypress Hill in my car.<br />
6. My parents divorced when I was 2. My "dad" that I refer to is actually my step-dad, in name only. I consider him my "real dad". <3<br />
7. I am an Ancestry.com addict. <br />
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I don't yet know a whole ton of bloggers, I'm still exploring. And a lot of the ones I read are the same ones everyone else reads and they get nominated A LOT. So I'm just going to nominate a few:<br />
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<a href="http://www.theinklingsoflife.com/" target="_blank">The Inklings of Life</a> <a href="http://www.thatsuburbanmomma.com/" target="_blank">That Suburban Momma</a><br />
<a href="http://www.buriedwithchildren.com/" target="_blank">Buried With Children</a> <a href="http://www.peanutlayne.com/" target="_blank">Life On Peanut Layne</a><br />
<a href="http://www.theveryworstmissionary.com/" target="_blank">Jamie the Very Worst Missionary</a> <a href="http://www.diapersorwine.com/" target="_blank">Diapers or Wine?</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheT4fto25Qsrv6QgKcYF7l7Rf8aObAhX0mdK9U8SX2MavHXWIgJlPJ0lL3TOxCyIlmfJqQM0r8A6BNa5k2Z7l3uL8x9Gk1v-tMTc_BRV5jyb3S54eU2yB8mHIHOnW8ybPBNu3qrOM8CU9r/s1600/liebster-award1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_uid_923933517="2" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheT4fto25Qsrv6QgKcYF7l7Rf8aObAhX0mdK9U8SX2MavHXWIgJlPJ0lL3TOxCyIlmfJqQM0r8A6BNa5k2Z7l3uL8x9Gk1v-tMTc_BRV5jyb3S54eU2yB8mHIHOnW8ybPBNu3qrOM8CU9r/s1600/liebster-award1.jpg" /></a><br />
I was also given this very cool pink award, The Liebster, by super duper Sarah from <a href="http://sadderbutwiser.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">The Sadder But Wiser Girl</a> who has been showing me much love on my blog and FB page and helping me to keep going, AND from the excellent, extraordinary Ellen at <a href="http://badwordmama.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Bad Word Mama!</a> I love this hilarious chick and am so glad I'm on her radar! BTW, Liebster in German means Favorite :) (ok maybe I googled that, whatever). <br />
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I'm supposed to answer the 11 questions made up for me, nominate 11 other bloggers that have less than 200 followers (no tag backs) and make up questions <strike>to torture them </strike> for them to answer.<br />
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Here's my questions from <a href="http://badwordmama.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Bad Word Mama!</a> (oh boy!) :<br />
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<span style="color: purple;">1. How do you feel about PDA (Public Display of Affection)? <span style="color: black;">I'm fine with PDA, it's kinda cute, but I do not like PDM (Public Displays Of Mauling); seriously, if I wanted to see that shit I'd change my name to Tom and peep in people's bedroom windows. </span><br /><br />2. Have
you ever dumped someone on a holiday? <span style="color: black;">Does their birthday count? Kidding, kidding, no I have not done that. I'm usually the dumpee anyway.</span><br /><br />3. Have you ever locked yourself
in another room to eat a snack you didn't want share with your kids? <span style="color: black;">Um, hell yes! I've even hidden snacks in my car (there may be a bag of chocolate covered pretzels out there right now). </span></span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: purple;">4. Do you know what a Shart is? Have you ever done it? <span style="color: black;">One freakin time, ok?! Don't you dare tell or I won't be your best friend.</span><br /><br />5. Do
you embarrass easily? <span style="color: black;">Yes. See panic over answering question above ^^^</span><br /><br />6. Do you laugh when someone falls
down? <span style="color: black;">Hysterically. Then I feel like a bad person. Then I laugh some more.</span><br /><br />7. If you could change something about yourself what would it
be?</span>
I want bigger boobs. And higher self esteem. Tho that would come along with the ta-tas, like a package deal...</span></span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"><br />8. Do you pee in the shower? <span style="color: black;">Saves on toilet paper, right?</span><br /><br />9. Have you ever read
someone's text messages on their phone without them knowing? <span style="color: black;">If one of my kids is reading this, then no, absolutely not! I would never skim their messages just to reassure myself they're not doing anything stupid/illegal/fun without me.</span><br /><br />10. What
is your guilty pleasure? <span style="color: black;">Eating cookie dough. I make it without eggs so I don't get food poisoning (again) and then eat it like a friggin meal. </span><br /><br />11. Do you hate answering these stupid ass
questions? <span style="color: black;">Actually, no, they're kind of fun! And a great distraction from the 917 dishes overflowing my sink.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">Goodness Ellen, my brain is tired now. <br />
<br />
But here is a list of bloggers that I nominate for The Liebster Award because they are some of my favorites:</span>
<span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<a href="http://www.sorrykid.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Sorry Kid, Your Mom Doesn't Play Well With Others</a> <a href="http://www.gelatomama.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Gelato Mama</a><br />
<a href="http://www.adventuresinhickeyland.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Adventures In Hickey Land</a> <a href="http://www.myboringlifeinpictures.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">My Boring Life In Pictures</a><br />
<a href="http://www.confessionsofafailingdomesticgoddess.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Confessions of a Failing Domestic Goddess</a> <a href="http://www.teresahermann.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Teresa's Tidbits</a><br />
<a href="http://www.mydanceintherain.org/" target="_blank">My Dance In The Rain</a> <a href="http://www.simplysmilingblog.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Simply Smiling...Everyday!</a><br /><a href="http://www.mydanceintherain.org/" target="_blank"></a><br />
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<span style="background-color: #3d85c6;"><span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; color: blue;">And here are my 11 questions:</span></span>
<span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">1. How old were you when you got your first kiss?</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">2. What household chore do you hate the most?</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">3. Beach vacation or ski vacation?</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">4. If you had a million dollars, what is the most useless thing you would buy?</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">5. If you could only watch one movie for the rest of your life, what would it be?</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">6. Do you have any tattoos?</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">7. Peanut butter and what?</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">8. Did you have a nickname as a kid?</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">9. Have you ever had surgery?</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">10. If you had a time machine, would you go to the future or the past?</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">11. What's the first thing you would do if you had an entire day to yourself?</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">Woo! Awards are hard work!</span><br />
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Black Sheep Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03632448192837281806noreply@blogger.com24