The return of our Friday Fragments

Wayne hasn't been blogging because he's been running every day - I hate him... he's been running for less than a month and he's already regularly running 5K or more every day... if I started running I'd be able to get to the end of our road... more or less...

He's also lost twenty pounds.

I haven't been blogging regularly because I've been caught up in the kids world... their end of school and summer schedules haven't made it easy to carve out blogging time... we also have had several wonderful visits from family and it's meant that blogging fell by the wayside a bit...

We are leaving for our Summer Adventure on Saturday - it all starts with an overnight drive to Toronto to see family and will continue with visits to a cottage, Ottawa, Hershey PA, and finally Washington, DC before heading home - or at least that's the plan...

We've already had several fun detours in our planning - and we expect that Murphy will guide our trip, so the best laid plans may all fly out the window... the most recent one involves adjusting our arrival in Toronto because the city (in it's infinte wisdom) is shutting down two of the major arteries into the city from 2 am Sunday to 12 Noon for a Triathalon... I appreciate a good race, but hate when it interferes with our travel plans...

As for the kids, well... Everything is AWESOME with the boys... and if you have Lego fanatics at your house you'll know what that means... if not, check out this youtube clip:


We were also invaded by a variety of Ninja Turtles this week - all seemingly arriving in a similar disguise - you can check out the whole post here

And if you are sad that I am ending my fragments here, you might want to continue reading my latest rant... just click here!

Hooking up once again with the fabulous Mrs. 4444 and the rest of the crew -

Friday Fragments

Wow - it's February already... the world is moving way too fast!

Wayne has been incredibly busy, but that is hopefully slowing down a little bit in the next three weeks when he'll have one less course to teach

• although I know he'll add something else to the mix...
• at least he's back in the office with heat and lights on... it was almost a full week in the dark last week.

Knock on wood, everyone is starting to feel a little better here, some are still sounding a little rough, but everyone is back to work and school

• Unfortunately, my grands have both caught a nasty virus that landed them in hospital.  My Grandmother is home and resting, but my Grandfather is still in hospital (and having to put up with all the pretty nurses), but please keep both in your thoughts this weekend.

Liam had another successful day at FitKatz - he's learned to float on his back and "superman" in the pool!  I can see lots more fun for him in our pool once the weather gets nice!  Two more weeks to go!  I really hope they offer the program again!

Erik had an up and down week - we're still potty training with some success, but he's also had a toy throwing incident at preschool... hopefully next week is better!

As for me, well I feel so much better and I hope to be blogging more this week than last... it was kind of pathetic... but I promise to do better this week.

Friday Fragments

Thanks to Mrs. 4444s for hosting Friday Fragments...

Wayne - The first week of spring term is done.  The beginning of any term seems to have a combination of excitement and anticipation.

• H - Robyn isn't so lucky - she is doing her first mid-term test today and has the rest next week.

Wayne - Erik woke us up with a puke session Wednesday night.  That is always a nice wake up for anyone.  Even better that he woke up his brother who never went back to sleep either.

• H - Wayne had to deal with Liam, because Erik was attached to me... and I got the puke and the laundry... plus the rest of yesterday when whatever he had finshed passing through the other end...

Heather - I feel bad that I had to bail on my volunteer position three times this week - Tuesday it was because there was a 2 hour delay for the schools due to freezing temperatures and Erik's preschool was cancelled outright and then yesterday it was because Erik was sick and today.. well Erik's sleep schedule was so far off that he was up from midnight until 5am... needless to say I was asleep most of the morning myself... Luckily, Erik seems to be back to his old self...

Well two days of sleep deprivation have taken their toll on us so that's it for our frags...

Friday Fragments

Thanks to Mrs. 4444 for hosting at halfpastkissintime.com

W - The kids are ready to go back to school and we are ready to have them go back - time before Christmas and even before the New Year is great, but now they are just restless and ready to see their friends.

W - I really hate Lego - I loved it as a kid, but now I know why my parents shuddered when I got some.

W - You would think that after a couple of weeks off, I would be rested and re-energized... not so when the kids still don't sleep through the night and run through the day.

H - I have to apologize - I have no fragments - well, they're probably in there, but honestly I am so far out of routine that I can't get anything close to logical out... so I apologize and send you off to find much more fragmented worlds by visiting:

Friday Fragments

Thanks to Mrs. 4444's for hosting the Frags...

W. - Heather is back from Canada.  I am thinking she wishes she had taken an extended vacation.  The boys have been affectionate since their return. - 

H - I love the boys and I appreciate their affection... I just wish they weren't affectionate by attacking or sitting on my shoulders... day two is better than day one so far... then again it's only 6am.  I also now know why people say that Erik is tiring - keeping up with him after a week off was exhausting!

W. - The kids are officially off for the Christmas break.  Two weeks of madness.  

H - Aren't you glad you can escape to the office when it gets too bad...

W. - The boys have both really discovered Christmas this year. Santa Claus is a big deal in our house for the first time in a long time.  I guess we need to make a list and check it twice. 

H - And I need to go shopping without help... oh boy!!

W. - I wonder if Santa brings timing belts on his sleigh?  It would be even better if Rudolph and Blitzen could install it.  That is the expensive part of the repair.

H - I wish Santa were bringing me a camera, instead it will be a new radiator for the van... oh well.

H - I had a fantastic visit to Toronto and Ottawa, got to see the family and especially got a visit with my grandparents!  I also learned that living in the South has made my blood a little thin... I would never have had cold feet in the past, but I succomed to buying a sturdy pair of snow boots for the rock bottom price of $10 at Grove City - glad I did, because we had a fair amount of snow.

H - I also came home and was greeted with a small Canadian gift... my car was frosted over enough to need to be scraped yesterday morning... luckily it was warm enough to watch the boys ride their bikes after school wearing just a t-shirt... 

H - I also want to give a big shout out to Southwest Airlines - I booked an evening flight out of Buffalo NY, connecting in Baltimore to get home to Charleston.  My first flight was delayed by almost an hour and I was sure I was going to miss my connection that was 40 minutes after I was supposed to land... but it was delayed too... and then they held it long enough for me to sprint between gates... and then delayed even longer to make sure my luggage came with me.  I apologize to my fellow Charleston travellers who were inconvenienced!

H & W - Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone!

Friday Fragments...

Heather is in Canada and I am here in the sunny south with the three kids leading to my designing cartoons such as... I am trying to avoid having Mr. Mom mornings.

Then again Heather hit weather that looks like...

When Charleston looks like...

The boys are adjusting to not having mommy around though Erik refused to go to preschool today...though it is 9:00 and both boys are officially asleep which means I should head that way soon too.  I will let Heather take over from here...

H - Well, Wayne managed to share my big news... I have arrived in the frigid north... after two days of travelling and getting progressively colder... I broke down in Grove City and spent $10 on a pair of winter boots... useful for this week at least...

H - I'm planning to make the most of my trip home, and I'm booking up quick - tomorrow I'm heading out to visit my Mother in Law and check on her - she broke her shoulder while out walking last week, then I'm meeting friends from high school at Tim Hortons and finally hanging out with my sister tomorrow night!  I've also got a big family dinner and a trip to Ottawa on the agenda!

H- I'm hoping that all of these winter storms are gone by Wednesday - named or not, I need to fly out of Buffalo with a stop in Baltimore to be able to get home to my babies!  That's if I am not frozen solid first...

H - I do have a ton of guilt about leaving Wayne with the kids, but I hope it goes well... poor Liam is beside himself right now - every time I call he gets upset and it breaks my heart.  In a way I wish he'd care less, but I'm also appreciative that my kids love me so much!

H - It's been a long day and I'm already 15 minutes past the time that Wayne went to bed, so I'm going to stop here ... happy fragging.

Friday Fragments

It's Friday... a chance to clear out the cobwebs, fragments and other lurkers in our brains.... thanks to Mrs. 4444 at halfpastkissintime.com we have an outlet:

It's been a busy week, yet I feel like I've accomplished very little - I did finally get out and get Robyn some new jeans... gotta love Goodwill - 4 pair of jeans including 2 pair of designer for just over $20!

• I have been productive this week.  It is the last week of semester, so I have classes wrapping up.  Add to that some ummmm two R&R papers, three research projects in data collection phase and another two the initial phases.  Yeah, I am sort of busy at the moment.

Erik has decided what he wants for Christmas - Gym-tastic classes... I think Santa will be granting that wish ... if only to teach him to roll properly ... and not to cartwheel onto his head.  Hopefully it will help channel some of the engergy - although I doubt it.

• How much are they?  I mean Santa is on a tight budget don't you know.

Liam is harder for Santa to figure out - his obsession this month is a little out of our price range - he's obsessed with cars, trucks and vans... he amazed his teachers today by telling them exactly what each of them drive... 

• He apparently is turning into our little stalker boy.  Then again, maybe he will become a mechanic and I will have someone I can actually trust to fix my car.

Robyn is heading out on Saturday to chop all her hair off for a good cause - she's donating to Wigs for Kids and going from this:

 

to something like this:

She's had a pixie cut before and loved it... except that she got called a boy... Now that she has curves I think that will be less of an issue.

• What can I say?  I know very little about hair... 

My parents are still hanging out in the Mediterranean - if you haven't visited retired-not-tired.blogspot.com lately, you're missing some fabulous pics that my dad has been taking as part of their 42 day cruise!

• I hope they are enjoying their trip...

Good luck to the C of C women's volleyball team who are playing in the CAA Championship is weekend!  

• Hopefully we can take the boys to see a game or two!

The end of term is always bitter sweet for me.  I am happy to see the students progress, I am sad that I will not get to see many of them every week now.  

•   They will be around - so many of them are your advisees!

Heather and I have not seen much of each other lately - I would say we could catch up soon but I she is headed to Canada just as I slow down.  Thems the breaks I guesses.

• We are at least getting a night away sans kids thanks to my globetrotting parents who are stopping here to get their sea legs back and do some 'Christmas' type stuff with the kids before taking me away with them!

Well - both boys are asleep at a reasonable time for once, so we're signing off... happy fragging everyone!  We'll see you again after the thanksgiving feasting finishes!

Friday fragments...

Thanks to Mrs. 4444 for hosting again this week... it's time to frag on...

W - Robyn had a sleep study last night.  Of course a parent had to stay with her for the entire thing.  So I got to have a lack of sleep study (and a cold) as a result.  On the bright side, at least Robyn didn't have to study to ace that test.

• H - She also had to stay throughout the next day for 'naps' ... she admitted that she was so bored that she'd rather have been at school.

W - My car this week had to go in for $700 worth of repairs which at the end was told I need another $800 worth done soon.  Think kind thoughts for my car and pocketbook.

• H - My car needs to go in too... I think I'm getting car repairs for and from Wayne for Christmas

This is advising time around the College.  I have 60 advisees and while I enjoy seeing many of them, this time of year gets really hectic.  End of semester, advising combined with the fall festival season.... I need sleep just thinking about it.

• H - Love you... miss you... who are you again?

Yesterday, I posted a talk about the wealth distribution in the USA.  I strongly encourage all of you to check it out.  I am not social justice zealot but the results of the video are truly eye opening.  I am not sure what can be done about this but in a country as rich as the USA to have this great of a disparity is just plain wrong.

I hope my in laws and friends enjoyed their trip to Charleston.  I didn't get to see you much but I know Heather loves having you visit and me cleaning the house.

• H - I think they had a fair time... I know they got to spend lots of time with Erik ... who doesn't love that?

Friday Fragments

Thanks to Mrs. 4444's for hosting...

• W - Let me get this started by saying that politics whether it be Federal and workplace suck bigtime.
• H - yep...
• W - We hosted a alumni event on Monday night.  It was great seeing so many graduates of the program.  Since I teach freshmen, I get to know many of them for a four year period.  It is nice to connect with them again.
• H - And I'm glad you chose a date that wasn't my birthday to hold it :-)
• W - On Wednesday I conducted a new version of my Charleston SC walking tour.  I think it is a big improvement over my previous.  We discuss a lot of tourism issues over the 1.5 hours while seeing some incredibly beautiful locales.
• H - On Wednesday, Erik and I played in the park and he made two new friends...
• W - Started with working on Sunday so far this week I have put in 53 hours.
• H - I've only slept about 14 hours this week... 
• W - I have over 500 pages of mid-term exams to grade this weekend.
• H - Guess we're postponing my birthday dinner... see you when you dig out...

Friday Fragments

Thanks to Mrs. 4444's for hosting Friday Fragments ...

H - Took Wayne's advice this week and interviewed fellow fragger Lisleman from A Few Clowns Short for our Behind the Blogger segment... if you missed it, you really need to check it out here.

• W - I love his blog.  He is one funny dude!  Thank to Lisleman for taking time out of his busy schedule of grandchildren and other fun to fit this in.
• H- If anyone is interested in being interviewed, I'd love to include more fraggers!  Just email me at heather at actingbalanced dot com and I'll send you the interview!

H - I am enjoying the chance to actually get ahead with my blogging now that Erik is in preschool two mornings a week!  I have gotten into a good routine, bringing my laptop with me and setting up in Barnes and Noble or one of the local fast food joints that has free wi-fi and getting to work!  I am so far ahead that I've started writing my half of the frags at 11:35 am on Thursday!

• W - Me on the other hand am a bad blogger boy (maybe Heather can discipline me).  My work schedule at the moment is on this side of insane but I am working it out.  I just need to work a couple of weekends to catch up...:-(

H - Speaking of Blogging, I've put up a whole pile of new giveaways in the past few days!  You can win a Blu-Ray copy of Modern Family Season 4, Keurig Brew Over Ice Prize Pack, Lovable Labels Halloween Sticker Pack or a case of Pirate's Booty

• W - Sell out...
• H - Rebuttal... yep :-)

H - Poor Wayne and Robyn are both sick - Wayne's got a cold that's knocking him flat ... literally, and Robyn has lost her voice, which would have been funny... but she has a drama presentation at school today so it's a little less funny... hope her drama teacher appreciates mime.

• W. - No one appreciates mime.

H - Wayne has been goading me the past few weeks because he's been writing and I've been rebutting... glad to have had the chance to get my frags off my chest...

Hope you all have a wonderful Friday!

Friday Fragments

Thanks to Mrs. 4444s for hosting Friday Fragments...

• W - It has been a fun week with my parents here (or at least that is what I am told - my work hours have been brutal).  The kids love having their grandparents here...and Erik has actually slept through the night three times in a row.  
• H - We haven't done too many 'touristy' things this visit, but the kids have had a blast having Papa and Nana here!
• W - This week has been a trying week at work dealing with issues with a colleague, a school (like any other) which has policies that don't make sense but in the end - I got to spend part of Monday meeting with a GM of a posh county club where a student will be place, I developed a project with a local restaurant for my students to mystery shop them (in exchange for free food) and a plan to bring MBA students to China in May has come together.  Painful at times but sweet can come with the sour.
• H - And I have been trying to potty train a surprisingly resistant Erik... 
• W - Happy early birthday to Liam.  It is hard to believe that he is growing up so fast but man he is one cool kid.
• H - I can't believe it's been seven years already... from being finger-fed to the big boy he is now!
• W - Robyn apparently has to go a sleep study.  Apparently my joke that - Isn't that what she usually does didn't make a positive impression.  
• H - It's the only way that Robyn and I are going to get an overnight Girls Night Out... although I really should send Wayne - there's probably a lot to be gained by someone studying just how much he snores...
• W - Heather and I for a date night tonight?  Is it possible?  We will let you know. 
• H - Will we both be awake for it?
• H- I was selected to be part of the Chick-fil-A Moms panel... don't know too much about it so far, but I'm excited!
• W - What about the Chick-fil-A Dad's panel?

Friday Fragments...

Thanks to Mrs. 4444s for hosting...

W. - Welcome back to Charleston to my parents...sorry about the house condition.

• H. - It's great to have Nana and Papa visiting ... it's especially nice to be able to leave Erik napping when I go to pick up Liam - even if he only naps for 10 minutes after I leave the house.

W. - This week has gone at 1000 miles an hour. I feel like I have not really had a moment to breathe.  I am however, being quite productive in the time though.

• H. - Breathing is overrated... ask Robyn - we still haven't figured out what's going on with her health - although Asthma has been ruled out and it looks like we're moving on to option 2 and 3, hoping we get answers soon!

W. - Since my parents are here and it is restaurant week in Charleston; perhaps Heather and I can have a date night.  Anything is possible.  

• H. - Date night, what is this date night you speak of?

W. - I just saw an ad for a new sitcom called Trophy Wife.  Why did we get TV again?  

• H. - I still don't watch the over the air shows - I'm too spoiled by the lack of commercials on Amazon Prime and Netflix to get much enjoyment from TV...

W. - I don't get political very often on here but seriously, just stay out of Syria.  There are no winners there.  It has quagmire written all over it.

• H. - I totally agree - there can be no good in causing more bloodshed... there have to be better ways to deal with the atrocities instead of inciting World War III

H - Erik has totally taken to preschool!  Of course we're still working communicating with mom about what went on - every question I asked today was answered with "I got a sticker!"

• W - I just get the bill...and therefore sticker shock.

H - I know my teacher friends will appreciate this one - I have become the tardy desk volunteer at Liam's school and I spent the last few weeks coasting along with a tardy or two - until yesterday ... officially two weeks and one day since school started, and the tardy student floodgate opened wide and the onslaught began... welcome to the rest of the school year...

• W - I am just they are done the destruction along my drive route.  That is shortening the drive by 15 minutes.

H - I want to welcome my parents and their friends back to dry land after their two week cruise around Northern Europe... I wish they'd had a better trip - you can read about the issues on the boat at point 8 here, and I sincerely hope that their 42 day cruise that starts in October goes much more smoothly...

H - I am a horrible, no good, very bad granddaughter - I forgot until moments ago that it is my grandma's birthday today and it's now too late to call her - happy belated birthday!  I promise to call tomorrow.

• W - Ditto

Friday Fragments

Thanks to Mrs. 4444s for hosting this weekly festival of fun.

• I finally have new furniture for my office...I am no longer using old stuff pilfered from various office spaces.  Okay, it is not that exciting but I spend significant time there and I want it to be at least kind of inviting.
• H - I'm just happy you are happy!  And I kinda like that you have real natural light in your office

• Erik went to his first day of preschool this week.  The 4 am wake up with backpack indicated that he was excited about it.  
• H- Yep, excited didn't cover it... the only time that there was a possibility of tears was when I picked him up and he wasn't ready to go... he'd be there all day, every day if he could... luckily Wayne packed some cookies in his backpack that helped lure Erik back to the car without tears... cause I would have been way crushed if he'd cried leaving ...
• One side benefit though is that Erik has taken an active interest in potty training tonight... hopefully that continues

• My Tuesday/Thursday basketball is making me feel real old.  I just need to remember it is about the weight loss and not about my lack of talent.  The sad truth is that I am prideful and I do not like the idea about being the crappiest player on the court.  The good thing is that I am stubborn enough not to give up.
• h-Hate to tell you, but you are old...

• My students wanted me to let class out early on Thursday so that they could watch football.  Ummmm, C of C doesn't have a football team.  I know the roosters (Carolina) and paws (Clemson) are popular but my loyalty is with the Cougars football or not.

• I think I have talked to Heather for a grand total of maybe six minutes this week.  
• h-Who are you again?

• I wrote over 5000 words this week in various letters, encyclopedia entries and short pieces.  I am not getting to my article writing.  I am frustrated but I think Heather will divorce me if I work on Sunday.
• H- I was bad... I barely wrote anything except forms - and cheques... I didn't even write as many blog posts as I should... lots to do this weekend

• Then again, we have to do a mega clean this weekend and that always ends in up quite the arguments. I love my significant other but cleaning makes her grumpy.
• H- I'll take the boys swimming while you clean ;-)

• I wore one of my old shirts today.  After wearing my custom ones I got made in China, I feel like such a slob.  I could see how people get addicted to nice clothes.
• H- I like your custom shirts too.. good thing I have your tailor's email address for Christmas presents.

• It's been a busy few weeks - and getting used to the new schedule has been tough... but I am loving the volunteering in the morning...  Thank you Wayne for messing up your schedule for mine... 

Friday Fragments

Thanks to Mrs. 4444s for hosting Friday Fragments...

• W. - You'll notice that Heather's blog has been invaded by me lately.  We kind of decided to share some blog space.  I am not sure if Heather like the idea but I think it is nice that we can share this hobby.
• H - I really don't mind... but it means that the blog needs an overhaul... the debate is on... just a redesign in blogger or making the leap to WP and a whole new shebang...

• W - School starts next week.  I have been getting classes ready but between moving offices, trying to finish up summer projects and just keeping normal everyday work under control - life at work is going 100 miles an hour.

• H - It would be nice to say that Wayne has had time to be home, but he took on a lot this summer and the kids and I appreciate just how much he's done... and still has to do to get ready for next week...

• W - I am sure Heather is quite upset that the kids go back to school next week.
• H - Yep, I plan to drown my sorrow in a glass of celebratory champagne... but I can't really celebrate until Erik starts preschool in September... so it will just be that glass 

• H - I said something today that I never dreamed I would need to say to my two year old son - "We don't eat lipstick" ... to be fair it was actually flavored lip gloss, but still...
• W - He then kicked me in the nads and laughed about it saying 'I got you daddy.'  Yeah, you 'won' that one.

• W - The kids need to go back to school.  They need the structure that comes with it.  The more I think about it, the more I become a believer in year-round schooling.
• I totally agree with you... especially for Liam - he'd do much better with 4 semesters and 3 week breaks... but there are so few schools that offer that in SC and I do truly love the class and school he's in now... it would be a really tough choice...

• H - Okay, one more thing... Erik has a new obsession ... Band-aids... and he'd be covered head to toe if I didn't insist on seeing blood before giving him a band-aid for his owie... the latest request came while crying because he bit his tongue... yep he wanted a band-aid for his tongue..
• W - On a related note, Heather refuses to kiss better a certain area mentioned above...
• H - Rebuttal - there are children present ;-)

Four Fill In, Five Question and Fragmented Friday

1. Keeping viruses in the family is the worst... especially when it's a stomach bug...
2. Volunteering at Liam's school is my chance to give back AND to have adult conversations!
3. I like to think I can do it all; but I know better.
4. If I just had more hours in the day, then I could do it all ;-).


1. How many times have you moved and do you have any tips?

I've moved six times since I got married... and I have to say that if it's still in a box from the last time you moved - you don't need it!

2. Do you have a budget for the holidays, or just keep sliding the credit card and have a heart attack in Jan?

We have a budget and I try really hard to stick to it!


3. What is the one medical thing you avoid like the plague?

I try really hard to avoid prescription medication if at all possible.

4. What your least favorite Christmas song?

I can't figure out why this is considered a "Christmas song" and it drives me nuts that it's on heavy rotation on the radio station in town:


 

5. This Christmas are you spending more, less or about the same? Why?

We're spending less... partly because Robyn got her big gift early because she needed a new laptop for school... and partly because we've stopped exchanging gifts with the adults in our family - just shopping for the kids...

It's been sickie week here at Chez Smith... I had a double dose of head cold and stomach bug... and so has Erik. Robyn caught the stomach bug today and bought herself a four day weekend... the school doesn't want her back after she 'decorated' a hallway and restroom... only Wayne has survived unscathed... hoping he stays that way and the rest of us heal up fast!

I am pleased to say that Erik is finally over his Curious George obsession... unfortunately he is now fixated on a show called Rescue Bots ... and while George had over 100 episodes, there are only 26 shows for this one... the repitition may kill me.

I've finished my Christmas shopping - other than helping Santa finish stockings when we get to Canada ... it feels good!

Despite the sickies, I've managed to get several giveaways up!  If you're into that kind of thing, check the left sidebar to see what you could win!  And there are even more great giveaways to come!

I said something repeatedly this week that I never thought I'd have to say to my child:
"Erik, stop eating your father's shoe"  - does that mean he wants more soul in his life?

Well, I'm headed to bed early... ttyl - please visit all these great Memes!

As the frags turn... Friday Fragments from my fragmented mind

No soap operas here, but the phrase was catchy don'tcha think?

I am officially a whole year older now than I was when I last posted a Friday Fragments... how come it feels like I'm 10 years older tonight?

Oh yeah... that would be taking the boys to see the trains at the mall and then having to go back the entire length of the mall to grab a pull up because I didn't have one in my purse for Liam, then going back to meet up with Robyn and the boys, only to find out that the closest restroom was closed for repairs, necessitating another trip the length of the mall, then going all the way back and finally going back to the food court and chasing Erik instead of eating... but the boys had a great time - and Robyn came home and went straight to bed, so maybe it's not age, it's just that the boys are tough to keep up with ;-)

My fabulous Disney connection, Marshall, sent me another really funny clip from Wreck-It-Ralph!

Are you planning to see it when it launches in November?

I ranted this week... for the first time in a while - is anyone else struggling with finding a costume for their daughter that doesn't have the word sexy or naughty in the title? Read the whole story here

My computer has been acting up all week and I couldn't figure out why until I sat down today and really worked at it... it was Google Chrome's latest update... something did not play well with Windows and kept crashing my system... I tried reinstalling but had the same problem so I'm back to Mozilla Firefox - it's tough switching back after so long with Chrome, but we're getting along okay now...

Since the Media Center at Liam's school doesn't need my help right now, I'm taking up another volunteer position - I'm going to be the main office receptionist every Friday morning!

I am also UNJUNKING our Halloween with UNREAL candy - check out my post about that here

And as Wayne says, when it rains it pours... and it seems to be pouring giveaways this week, so please check my sidebar if you like to enter giveaways - there are some fun ones, including the top one on the list (that ends 10/15) where I'm giving away a $20 GC to the store/restaurant/whatever of your choice OR $20 Cash via Paypal... yep you choose your own prize!

Please wish Wayne and my family safe travels this weekend... Wayne is heading to Germany for a conference and my Mom, Dad, Sister and Aunt are heading down here to 'help' and visit while he's away.

Well, Erik is jumping all over me, so I'm going to sign off and try to calm him down or at least see if he'll stop long enough for a hug or two...

Oops, one more thing... I'm collecting a list of the memes and linkies that everyone hosts... so if you host one, please consider filling out this form
Please check out the rest of the great fragments rolling around at:

Friday Fragments

It's yet another Friday and it's time to grab the frags that are rolling around in my brain and put them into cyber-space and link them up with:


I honestly am having trouble concentrating on what exactly to write... the sleep deprivation is kinda getting to me this week..

Friday Fragments

Wow! It's Friday already... I feel like I just blinked and a week went by... time is really flying these days!  Since it's Friday, I am gathering all of this week's frags, tossing them up in the air and seeing which ones land face up to share with you all as part of:


Well if you're following from last week you know that I spent my last Friday at the Charleston Wine and Food Festival checking out the Grand Tasting Tents... good thing Wayne was driving home because I was happily tipsy after lunching there... I started writing a frag about my adventures there and realized it wasn't a frag at all... it was a full post... so I went ahead and posted it here and now I'm back to wring some real frags out of my sieve of a brain...

Friday Fragments

It's that time of the week again, where I clear out the combination of cobwebs and clutter from the grey matter I lug around and turn them into semi-coherent fragments for you all as part of Mrs 4444's Friday Fragments extravaganza!

I was listening to the local radio station this morning while heading to another IEP meeting for Liam and they were doing a contest involving the song Bennie and Jets for tickets to next week's Elton John Show in North Charleston... and I realized that despite hearing the song hundreds of times I never knew that the opening verse is:

Hey kids, shake it loose together
The spotlight's hitting something
That's been known to change the weather
We'll kill the fatted calf tonight
So stick around
You're gonna hear electric music
Solid walls of sound

That's probably the only rock reference to a fatted calf in the world... and it's so garbled you'd hardly know it exists...

Friday Fragments

Wow - do I feel fragmented this week... I think that it's a combination of grandparent leaving letdown and kids four day weekend along with being sick that just has me moving incredibly slowly this week... luckily, Mrs. 4444 hosts Friday Fragments and I can spend a little time getting down all the strange little thoughts running through my mind so you can see just how out of balance I really am...