Monthly Archives: January 2011

Just Another Manic Monday

Posted in Aging, All Posts, Me Time by

Daily Foglifter:  More than 1/3 of all sick days occur on a Monday.

It’s Monday.  It’s raining and I have a cold.  My son missed the bus, but luckily (for me), my husband was home sick so he could get the other three kids to the bus while I drove my son to school.  Fighting the car rider line in the rain is a nightmare.  Traffic wasn’t any better on the way home fighting the elementary school crowd.  As I drove up the driveway, my husband was racing to the end of the street, just  as the bus was pulling up.  I thought, “Oh no, she won’t recognize his truck.”  Fortunately, he was flashing his lights so she’d stop.  They barely made it. 

Oh Monday, why do you have to live up to your reputation?

I was going to write about books today, but I’m too tired to do the subject justice.  So how about something more fun?  How about games? 

Games are an excellent way to get your brain working.  Some great examples are word games, trivia, Sudoku, or crossword puzzles.  If you’re looking for a challenge, Cryptic or British Crosswords will give your brain a workout.  These are not easy to find in book form, but there are many websites that carry them.  The site I use is http://thinks.com/crosswords/cryptic/cryptic.htm . ( Hint:  This site has a solve option.  I suggest using this the first couple of times to get an idea of how they work.  It takes a while to get the hang of it, but when you complete your first one, you’ll feel wicked smart!)

My favorite game site is www.pogo.com.  It’s free and has a wide variety of games.  My favorites are Crossword Cove, Trivial Pursuit, and Word Whomp.

I also love Variety Puzzle Books.  These can be purchased in the magazine section of most grocery stores.  The website is https://www.pennydellpuzzles.com/subcategory.aspx?c=variety.  These books include Sudoku, crosswords, cryptograms, word jumbles, and much more.  

If you seriously want to rev up the brain power, you could use a site like Lumosity. Lumosity is a “brain training” program designed by scientists.  The games are categorized by skill, and results are tracked and graded.  It is a paid service, but the site does offer a two-week free trial, no strings attached.  I’ve done it myself, and seriously considered subscribing.  The games are challenging but fun.  The website is  http://www.lumosity.com/.

I must warn you that games can be addictive, particularly the on-line versions.  Considering that, it’s probably not a good idea to do them while at work.  Even at home, it’s easy to keep saying, “Just one more round,” until it’s 4:00, the dishes are still in the sink, the laundry is unfolded on the couch, and the dinner roast is still rock-solid in the freezer.  My solution is to do my “gaming” while having my morning coffee or eating my lunch. 

Well, Anna is dumping out the salt shaker onto the floor so I better end this. When did she get tall enough to reach the countertop?  Nothing passes the time faster than a growing baby!  

Happy Gaming!

“Our whole life is solving puzzles.” Erno Rubik 

                                                                                                                 

About these ads

Saturday Stew

Posted in All Posts, Me Time, Motherhood by

Daily Foglifter:  There are 53 Saturdays in 2011. 

 

Saturday.  It’s the one day of the week that I don’t have to get up early.  In fact, I have a 9:00 rule for Saturdays.  My kids are not allowed to wake me up before 9:00 am, unless there’s an emergency.  My kids are perfectly capable of feeding and entertaining themselves until then.  If my husband is home (and awake), I get to sleep even longer.  I live for the Saturday sleep-in.  The rest of the day?  Ah, there’s the rub.

Saturdays are loud.  It’s the day of adjusting to everyone being in the same house, all day, with no break.  The kids are letting loose after a week of school, where they have to be quiet, attentive, and well-behaved.  This “letting loose” primarily consists of arguing, whining, yelling, crying and fighting. 

Saturdays are also the preparation for Sunday.  That means cleaning the house, finishing the laundry, and doing any last-minute grocery shopping.  There must be easy snacks that require no more than a quick turn in the microwave.  There must be clothes for church and to change into after church.  There must be a relatively clean house.  Having these things in order makes it possible for me to take an After Church Nap with no guilt.  (Note:  I don’t sleep my life away.  I use the weekend to catch up on the sleep I’ve lost during the week.)

Saturdays are, quite possibly, the busiest day of my week.  They are, by far, the most stressful.  I suspect this is true for most moms.  I combat it by setting aside at least an hour of “me time.”  I spend this time reading a book, doing a crossword puzzle, or, lately, by writing a blog.  It makes the day a little more bearable.  

So, start a Saturday tradition.  Schedule one hour for “quiet time.”  Send the kids to their rooms to read or draw.  Grab a cup of coffee and curl up on the couch with a good book.  It’ll be good for you and the kids.

“Every man has a right to a Saturday night bath.”    ~Lyndon B. Johnson

Trial and Error

Posted in All Posts, Blogging by

Daily Foglifter:  There are 137 words that begin with the letter x. 

 x-ray, xylophone, xenophobia, xerox…um, I’m pretty sure there’s only 4.

 

What a week it’s been.  I started a blog, gave up home schooling, sent my son to middle school, caught a cold, and learned a new language (techie).  Well, I may be exaggerating on that last one.  I think I’m in the ma-ma/da-da stage of that one.  Point is, I feel good today.

I looked over the posts for this week and I did write a lot about the family.  A lot of typical momblog stuff, but I still feel good about it.  Most of my time was spent learning the basics of blog building, and it was tough!  To say I’m not computer savvy is an understatement.  Five months ago, when I got the internet for the first time, I had to ask at least three different people how to use Facebook.  Last week, I had to ask my husband how to get downloaded songs from my computer to a CD or an MP3 player.  Seriously.

As hard as the technical stuff is for me, the actual blog is worse.  The idea of opening myself up for the whole world to see and to judge is my Hell on Earth.  I considered using an alias.  (If everyone thinks Millicent Millpot is an idiot, it wouldn’t hurt so much.)  Then I decided to stop being a coward.  Besides, I was overdramatizing it.  There are thousands upon thousands of blogs out there, so what’s one more?  If people read it, great!  If not, I still win because I get to write a little every day, which is why I started a blog  in the first place.

I am closing the first week of my blog.  The traffic has been respectable, considering I only had family and friends to depend upon.  The feedback could be better (hint, hint).  I welcome criticism, but try to be constructive.  In case you don’t know the difference, “You suck,” may be accurate, but it’s not exactly helpful.  Tell me why I suck, please.

I added another page called “Express Yourself!” I included some links to websites that may be helpful in finding something creative to do.  So, if you want a hobby, I hope it will be useful.  Another thing to keep in mind:  Some people have been able to turn their hobbies into part-time or full-time jobs.  You’ll never know until you try.

I’m taking the weekend to learn more about blogs.  It’s going to be a loooong weekend.

“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.”
Theodore Roosevelt