feel good friday...!

It's Friday and time for The Girl Next Door Grows Up's meme - Feel Good Friday. Today I have opted to write about something that happened to me this week that really made me smile.

And this may seem silly and trivial, but one thing that really made me smile this week was having a meeting I was supposed to go to be cancelled. I didn’t want to go to the meeting. I was tired. I was feeling drained and overwhelmed… and I really just wanted to stay home.

When I got the email letting me know that the meeting had been cancelled, I was ecstatic. I could just stay home with my family and not have to do anything. I could rest. And I needed that.

And what was really amusing, was that the girl canceling the meeting felt awful for having to cancel it at the last minute: apologizing for the inconvenience. And all I was thinking was, “yes… I get to stay home now… I am so glad that meeting was cancelled.” I did, of course, send her an email letting her know that it was no problem and not to worry about having to cancel the meeting (although I did not let her know how happy I was that the meeting had been cancelled).

So thank you Natalie for canceling the meeting! I really appreciated the evening off. It was a much needed reprieve from my hectic day/life!

Well that's it for my 'Feel Good Friday'. My thanks again to 'The Girl' and her meme. I really appreciate going back through my week, thinking of the positive things. It's a great way to end the week!

m and m's and popcorn.

This past Sunday, my husband and I went to see the movie Valentine’s Day. This is a rarity. We hardly ever get the chance to see a movie at a movie theater. The movie was cute, but certainly not as good as my all-time favorite movie Love Actually.

But anywho, that is not what this post is about.

While waiting in line to purchase some ridiculously over-priced refreshments, I noticed an advertisement promoting the notion of mixing M&M’s with popcorn.

See below:

I apologize for the poor quality of this photo. It was taken with my iPhone.

I have never heard of doing this. I immediately nudged my husband and filled him in on this “new” phenomenon. He looked at me like I was an idiot and told me that I was “about 2 years behind” and that lots of people eat M&M’s mixed with popcorn.

Really? Where have I been?

I am apparently very out of the loop.

Side Note: I also nudged my husband during the movie to point out that Topher Grace has a very nice body (I also think he is just flat-out cute/attractive). I think of this proclamation as a sure-sign of our comfortable, humorous, loving relationship. Am I wrong? I think not.

helmet hayden.

This picture is from last May (so about 9 months ago). It features Hayden wearing my husband's helmet.

These pictures were taken last week. Again, Hayden is wearing my husband's helmet. It's neat to see how he has grown.

a simple non-smiling picture. i like it for some reason - despite the fact that he isn't smiling. i think he looks serene.

blogging: why I blog and why I read what I read.

In yesterday’s “career path” post, I mentioned that I blog: that blogging is something that I do. It may not be a real job, but it is like a job (and obviously I blog… I mean, here you are reading this and it’s my blog).

For me, blogging is an outlet. It’s something I enjoy doing. I like to write. I like to share. I also like getting feedback, attention, and support from other people (doesn’t everyone?).

I don’t do reviews or giveaways (although I will talk about personal things that I like – I don’t do actual product reviews).

I also don’t do advertisements.

I just write about me, my life, and how it’s going (hence the title of this blog).

So that is essentially why I blog.

I also like to read other people’s blogs. I prefer blogs that are simple in appearance and straight-forward (some blogs overwhelm me). I tend to stay away from blogs whose primary focuses are reviews and giveaways or who feature a lot of advertisements. I like personal blogs. Blogs that I can relate to. Blogs that I enjoy reading.

And that is why I blog and why I read what a read.

Enjoy. I sure do.

career paths (re-visited).

Back in October of 2009, I blogged about my “career path.” This post came about after my sister recommended that I blog about my future and whether or not I ever wanted a “career” (and if I did want a career, what I thought that career might be).

I thought it was a pretty good blog post, so after editing it a bit I have decided to post it again.

Here it is:

The other day, I asked my mom what I had wanted to be when I was little. More specifically, I asked her, “When I was little, what did I say that I wanted to be?” Her answer: A doctor. When I was little I was rather sickly. Not deathly sick by any means… just lots of allergy issues. I was at the doctor’s a lot: getting allergy shots and what-not. I loved it! I loved the attention I got. It made me feel special (note: I still love going to the doctor, being a patient, etc. – I really like being cared for and attended to)(note: Hayden HATES the doctor...).

So I wanted to be a doctor. As I got older though, the blood and gore associated with being a doctor disagreed with me so I changed my mind and decided I wanted to be a child psychologist. My friend’s mother was a child psychologist and her career and job appealed to me. Plus, I could still be a doctor and I wouldn’t have to mess with the “yucky stuff.”

Then, I wanted to be a marine biologist… The main reason I wanted to be a marine biologist was because I didn’t want to eat seafood and being a marine biologist gave me a good excuse not to eat it because I couldn’t eat what I worked with (at least in my 10-year-old mind this sounded like a good argument).

Then I didn’t think about my future for awhile. In high school, I really liked writing - although my English teacher didn’t make me feel like I was a good writer. My work was too dark… she rarely gave me an ‘A’. This prompted me to think that maybe writing wasn’t my forte. I did like Psychology a lot in high school and I was really good at it. I took an AP Psych class and did very well in it. I understood Psychology. I enjoyed it. It made sense to me.

So that is what I majored in when I went to college (well, Psychology and Criminal Justice). Not a good decision in retrospect. You can’t do much with that degree. Looking back, I wish I would have become a speech pathologist or maybe even a lawyer. Something more practical.

When I graduated, I went and taught 2-year-olds for a year. While teaching, I realized that I was drawn to certain children. I wanted to work one-on-one with the kids who needed more help and attention. This is not possible as a teacher… so I decided maybe I really did want to be some sort of child therapist. The easiest and most appealing way to accomplish this goal was to go back to school and get my Master’s in Social Work. So that is what I did.

At the same time though, I wanted to be a mother. I had this idyllic vision that I would be a stay-at-home mom to two kids, two years a part, while my husband worked and supported the family (while also helping out tremendously in the parenting department – I mean, don’t get me wrong… I am traditional in some ways, but I certainly didn’t want to do it all… I expected Randy to help out as much as he could)(note: after having Hayden, I realized there was no way I could have another child so "quickly," so the two-year plan went out the window).

A few days before I graduated (getting my Master’s); I found out that I was pregnant with Hayden. I was elated. I was going to be a mother. After conferring with Randy, we decided that I would be able to stay-at-home with Hayden. This did result in one significant “compromise” of sorts. I decided to let my Social Work licensure lapse. I am appreciative of my education and my degree; however, for the time being I have opted to be a mom and not a Licensed Social Worker (note: don’t get me wrong, it is possible that I could have done both but I didn’t want to… I “just” wanted to be a stay-at-home mom).

So that is essentially where I stand now. I am a highly educated stay-at-home mom, and I am happy. Seriously… now that isn’t saying that I don’t have my “bad moments” or “bad days”… sometimes life can be very mundane, yet stressful.

I do keep myself quite busy volunteering. I am co-chair of the Women’s Giving Circle’s Grants Committee, I am a member of the Junior League, and most significantly I am President of the Peace at Home Family Shelter. These volunteer jobs keep me quite busy and require a good amount of time.

I also blog. I’m not getting paid for it (although that would be WONDERFUL), but I think of it as a job. It’s my outlet… it’s my hobby I guess. Although it feels more important than that: it’s more like a means of communication that I feel compelled to distribute and impart.

Now back to the initial question: Do I ever want a “career” and if so what? Honestly, I’m not sure. In a year or two, we may have another child. If that happens, I want to be able to stay-at-home with him/her too. Therefore, I may be a stay-at-home mom for another 6-8 years. Wow. That is a long time!

Either way, once I'm done procreating I’m still unsure what I will do (procreating... that sounds SO funny!). I may want to continue being a stay-at-home mom, although I may find myself bored at home all day alone. Then again, volunteer jobs could keep me very busy and they are jobs too (just non-paying ones). Another thing I think I would really like to do is work at my son’s current school as an assistant teacher. The ratios at the school are small and the school is wonderful. I really think I would enjoy it and be good at it. I could work part-time or full-time: also very appealing - to work part-time.

That is really all I have my eyes on right now in terms of my future “career.” Who knows though? Something else could always come up!

I will admit though that if I was a more career-oriented person and I hadn’t met and married Randy… if I didn’t have Hayden… if I didn’t want to be a mother… essentially, if the situation was different, I think I would be a good lawyer or judge (for children). I’m not sure if I would really enjoy it though. A Speech Pathologist for Children though… that might have been a good, better fit. But seriously… who knows?

This is my life and really… it’s not too bad. Not too bad at all.

P.S. I again, have to thank my sister for suggesting that I write this post. It never hurts to get recommendations in terms of writing topics!

feel good friday...!

It's Friday and time for The Girl Next Door Grows Up's meme - Feel Good Friday. Today I have opted to write about something that happened to me this week that made me smile.

First off, I have to briefly mention that 'yes indeed' reaching 100 Followers yesterday made me smile... in fact, it made me ridiculously happy; however, I have chosen to write about something else today... something adorable my son did.

So here goes:

Yesterday, we went to Wal-Mart to do some grocery shopping. On our way home, Hayden (my 3-year-old son) said, "it's hard work going shopping." He was very sincere when he said it. And honestly y'all: it was ADORABLE.

And then, when we came home, he noticed a bird in the tree who "was scared" of us (it had flown into the tree when we arrived home). Hayden kept yelling up at the tree, "it's okay bird." I mean seriously folks... how cute is that?!? And then he helped me carry in and unload the groceries.

All of those great things (and more) made me smile. Hayden is definitely a keeper!!!

Well that's it for my 'Feel Good Friday'. My thanks again to 'The Girl' and her meme. I really appreciate going back through my week, thinking of the positive things. It's a great way to end the week!

another happy number... 100 followers!

A significant event just occurred. Well, maybe it’s not historically significant and maybe most people could care less; however, it is momentous to me.

And what was this event you ask (and some of you may have already realized the answer)?

Answer: I hit 100 Followers. Oh yes I did.

I am pumped. I have been at this blogging thing for nearly 2 years and to finally reach 100 followers is a big deal – at least to me.

I hit 50 Followers mid-November, so to get another 50 in 3 months is pretty awesome!

I realize some blogs I follow have MANY more followers, but I am quite happy with 100 – not that I’m opposed to having more (I welcome and appreciate as many followers that are interested in following me).

Anywho… I just want to thank all of my Followers… I appreciate each and every one of you!

I hope you continue Following me and enjoy reading my little blog.

The end… or is it the beginning? (How dorky is that?!? I couldn’t help but write it... sometimes I can be a major “cheeseball”).

P.S. A special thanks goes to Meg at It's the Little Things for being my official 100th Follower. Thanks Meg!!!

happy number...

This picture was taken in my car (yes, I took this while I was driving... and please don't "hate on me" because of that).

I HAD to take it (while I was driving) because of the reading on my odometer. Check it out: 57575.I love myself a palindrome and this sure is a good one! Makes me happy just looking at it now (and I do realize this is a little odd... but I am a quirky girl and this happens to be one of my quirks).

interviewing Hayden.

I LOVE interviewing Hayden. This is the 4th interview we have done (the last one was almost 5 months ago and the first one was about a year ago)(go here to see the prior interviews).

I really enjoy doing this. It is so neat - to see what his mind is thinking is truly intriguing.

I am constantly amazed at his answers.

So here is the interview in it’s entirety (note: this is the EXACT wording of both what I said and what he answered - although the items in parentheses are my thoughts on his responses, not anything that was actually said). Enjoy!

• What is your full name? Hayden Samuel Werner.
• How old are you? 3-years-old.
• When is your birthday? I don't know. January.
• What is your favorite color? Red.
• What is your favorite thing to watch on the tv? The Wiggles (not true. Currently, his favorite things to watch are 'Bob the Builder' and 'Sid the Science Kid').
• What’s your favorite thing to eat? Smoothies. We don't eat it. We drink it. I like to drink it. (this answer is probably accurate. Hayden is a big fan of smoothies.)
• What is your favorite thing to do? Eat (I suppose that he does like to eat, but I don't think this is his favorite thing to do. I think his favorite thing to do is watch movies).
• What is your favorite toy? Microphone.
• What is your favorite thing to play with? Puzzles.
• Who is your favorite friend? Madelyn.
• What do you want to be when you grow up? I don't know actually.
• What is your dog’s name? Alfie.
• What is your favorite animal? Lion.
• Why? I don't know.
• What is your favorite word? Hayden (a little conceited, don't you think?).
• What is your favorite thing to say? Yes we can (this is from 'Bob the Builder').
• What is your favorite number? 2
• What is your favorite letter of the alphabet? the 'O' (this is VERY true. He loves the letter 'O' for some reason).
• Are you a boy or a girl? Boy.
• How are you feeling? Good.
• Are you sad or happy? Happy.
• Where do you live? I live in this house.
• Where does mommy live? At the post office (this is what he always says. i have no idea why. i do not go to the post office very often.)
• Where does daddy live? The office (this is what he always says. again, I'm not sure why.)
• Where does Alfie live? He lives here.
• Who is your favorite person? Popi.
• Is there anything else you want to tell me? Yes.
• What? I like toys.
• Anything else? No.
• Was this fun? uh huh.

valentine's weekend 2010.

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day. I spent the day with my family.

Sunday morning, we went to church to hear my mom preach (she was “guest preaching” – she is an ordained Presbyterian minister). Afterwards, we went to my parents’ condo for lunch.We then came home and rested (I love myself some “rest time” – despite the fact that Hayden no longer naps, he at least goes into his room for an hour and gives me a little respite from the chaos joy of motherhood – and of course, the rest time is also good for Hayden).

Following rest time, we went to Randy’s mom and aunt’s home and had dinner.And it was a lovely day.

Note: My wonderful husband got me some beautiful flowers that he hand-delivered Friday afternoon. They are lovely. He also got flowers for my mom, his mom, and his aunt – and he hand-delivered all those bouquets as well. He really is a “winner.”
Note: On Saturday (the day before Valentine’s Day), we went out to dinner with my parents to celebrate Valentine’s Day. This may not be a typical Valentine’s Day dinner (being that we were with my parents and not going out as a couple: just the two of us), but we had a great time. I love my parents, I love my husband, and it was a wonderful Valentine’s dinner.

feel good friday...!

It's Friday and time for The Girl Next Door Grows Up's meme - Feel Good Friday. Today I have opted to write a list about 5 things that made me happy this week.

• After Hayden's gymnastics class Wednesday, Hayden said, "I had too much fun" (I am really glad to see that he is enjoying gymnastics so much).
• Last Saturday, we went to see 'Goodnight Moon & The Runaway Bunny' at our local theater. It was Hayden's first "theater experience" and we all had a wonderful time.
• Our house got cleaned yesterday. Now it is clean and smells yummy!
• We hung out with our friends Don and Leslie (and their little man Jack) this past Sunday. Great Conversation + Yummy Food = A Really Good Time.
• Later this morning, I am getting a massage... I am SO excited!!!

Well that's it for my 'Feel Good Friday'. My thanks again to 'The Girl' and her meme. I really appreciate going back through my week, thinking of the positive things. It's a great way to end the week!

strikethrough update.

check me out with my strikethrough!

Thanks for the help with my "strickthrough dilemma" blog friends!!!

I know this is a lame post. I haven't gotten a chance to write much lately: Hayden has been home due to school being cancelled (because of the weather) and I have been VERY busy which isn't allowing for much any writing/free time. But oh well... 'tis life.

Have a happy Thursday!

strikethrough... help me.

How do I “strikethrough” words on my blog? I realize this post is rather ridiculous as I am simply asking a question, but I cannot figure this out and it should be easy… right?

On another note, my sweet husband has agreed to design a blog button for me and the process is coming along very well! I should have my own button within the next few weeks.

And I have to say 'thank you' to all of my readers who offered their assistance with my "blog button dilemma." I really appreciate your kindness!!!

Now if y'all could only help me with my "strikethrough ignorance" I would be even more grateful!

Thanks in advance for any and all assitance provided regarding this "issue."

- Melissa

firefighter Mimi.

A few weeks ago when Hayden celebrated his birthday, my Mimi came in town. She stopped by to hang out Saturday afternoon and I took this picture. I love it! It makes me happy.
Note: My "mimi" is my mom's mom - so my "grandma."

i want a button!

I want a button. I am excessively envious of all the blogs I follow that have buttons (which I must note is pretty much every blog I follow).

Having a button – to me – signifies presence and worth. Without it, I feel amateur. Which I admit that I am – but still… I would like my own button.

I might be able to do it on my own – I have done some research on how to make one and I may be capable of accomplishing this task; however, I have no idea what I would want it to look like (and to be honest, I’m not sure that I truly am capable of making my own button).

I am sure that my grandma is reading this and wondering what in the world a button is, and I don’t think I can explain it well here (so Grandma… you’ll have to give me a call later and I will do my best to try and explain what exactly a “button” is).

Suffice it to say… I want a button. And more importantly, I want to have some inspiration/awareness about what I want “my button” to look like.

Wish me luck with this!

chuck norris rocks!

A few weeks ago, Ian over at The Daily Dose of Reality gave me an AWESOME award! I kid you not: I think it is super cool… It is the ‘Chuck Norris Stamp of Approval’.How cool is this award? I mean: it’s Chuck Norris!

Anywho… now I get to bestow the award to other “kiss ass” blogs.

So here goes:

1. Brandy at You Don't Know - I thought her post on birth control was particularly kick ass!
2. The Crazy Baby Mama - She has two little ones, yet continues to put out great blog posts which in my book rocks!
3. Sarah at The Stroller Ballet - Sarah seems super cool and shares my love of Target... and she has SO many followers! I am a little jealous (to say the least).
4. blueviolet at A Nut in a Nutshell - blueviolet has TONS of Followers (over 1700). And yet, she had the time to respond to one of my comments. Very kick ass!

Yay for kick ass blogs!!!

And thank you Ian for the award...! I do apologize for how long it took me to accept the award and bestow it to other blogs... I hope you forgive me!

feel good friday...!

It's Friday and time for The Girl Next Door Grows Up's meme - Feel Good Friday. I am going to list 5 things from the past week that made me happy... Here goes:

1. I went grocery shopping yesterday and got a bunch of yummy "bars" (as well as some other good things)!
2. Hayden is feeling better.
3. Randy and I went and saw 'The Drowsy Chaperone' this week with The Wetsells and had a lovely time.
4. Hayden enjoyed gymnastics this week and seems eager to return for another class (it was his second class).
5. I conducted my first 'Peace at Home Family Shelter' Board meeting last night as 'President'.
   

Well that's it for my 'Feel Good Friday'. My thanks again to 'The Girl' and her meme. I really appreciate going back through my week, thinking of positive things. It's a great way to end the week!

sick and snow.

sick.

taking a little nap with my mom.

snow.

Note: Hayden seemed to just have a viral infection. After having a fever ranging from 100-104 for 5 days, he finally returned to "normal functioning" this past Monday (the "sickness" also included a runny nose and a nasty cough).

Note: We got about 5" of snow and yes - the sickness and snow did overlap. Hayden and I didn't leave the house for 3 days. It was interesting.

blog comments...

I love comments. I really do. And I like to respond to them directly (especially if there was a specific question asked of me).

Sometimes this is tricky.

In order to respond, I have to have an email address. And sometimes I don’t have it… in those cases, the return email address I get is: noreply-comment@blogger.com. Which is not helpful in the least.

If you’re on Blogger, you can “remedy” the situation by checking the 'Show My Email Address' box under your Profile settings. By doing that, I can respond to your comments directly. Pretty spiffy, huh?

Anywho… keep on commenting and I will do my best to respond!

Note: I have actually “researched” some of the individuals’ who have commented on my blog to figure out their email addresses. I’m such a smooth sleuth!

spit shine.

The other day I noticed that my husband had something on his nose – I recognized the smear as smoothie (he had just made Hayden a smoothie and had taken a sip of the concoction).

He asked me to “get it off.”

My response: to lick my finger and rub it off his nose.

He just stared at me and said: “I am not Hayden. I am not 3-years-old. I don’t want you to use your spit to clean me.”

Oops. My immediate inclination had been to use what was readily available (my spit and finger) to clean my loved one. I had not even realized that might not be an appropriate or welcomed gesture.

I guess that’s what you get when you hang out with a preschooler all day. My bad.

In the future I’ll try to find a napkin.