Friday’s Fave Five

Fave Five

Time for Susanne‘s weekly meme, Friday’s Fave Five, a chance to reflect and pick five things from this past week that make us happy.

Soup1. Big Mama’s soup. I had a friend over for lunch this week and in my search for just the right new recipe to experiment on my friend with try, I came across this recipe for Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup over at Big Mama’s blog and decided it would be the one.  Delicious. It involved lots of chopping, but was easy and yummy. And there’s nothing like the aroma of simmering soup on a December day. The meal was completed with some cheese biscuits, diet soda, and Peanut Butter Toffee Chip cookies for dessert.

2. Chad’s coming home! Chad was out of town on business all this week — not a normal occurrence for us. He’s great about calling home, emailing, and staying connected with me and with the boys, but we are all thrilled that he’s finally back in town and will be home for dinner tonight. L. and I were talking last night about the fact that Daddy was going to be home very, very soon, and he let out a spontaneous, “Yippee!!!” I second that excitement. Yippee!!!

3. A much cleaner storage room. I have apparently become a House-Purging Maniac. Maybe I’ve just been looking for ways to keep busy while Chad’s been gone. I don’t know. I just know I’ve spent hours and hours and hours filling bags with things that must leave our house. Now. A happy result of this crazy cleaning is a storage room that is about two hundred times nicer to walk into than it was a week ago. There’s still plenty of stuff; but it’s more organized, more contained, and less overwhelming.

Package4. Online shopping. Christmas shopping is pretty much done. I have a few stocking-stuffers to pick up, and am awaiting the arrival of one or two more packages. But it’s mostly done. And it’s all thanks to online shopping. I think I’ve only purchased two gifts in actual stores — you know, the kind you drive to, walk around, and carry bags out of? Most of the time, I just wait for Mr. UPS Man to bring the Christmas gifts to my door. And I love it.

5. My two boys. With Chad being gone all week, things could have deteriorated quickly. But both boys have been sweet, helpful, and terrific. Don’t get me wrong — we’ve had our moments (like the yelling that began at 7:03 Wednesday morning [and it wasn't me]). But overall, I can’t complain. They’ve been great.  L(3) made me smile by charming the folks at Rite Aid on Tuesday, asking me to please take his picture next to our outdoor Christmas lights on Wednesday, and insisting on being Fireman L. for most of yesterday (I wasn’t allowed to call him anything other than ‘Fireman L’). C(11) helped me lug multiple garbage bags and boxes up from the basement (see item #3, above), offered to read our evening Advent devotions, and told me that the importance of a Mom’s work is very underrated and should be more appreciated.  (And no, you can’t have them — they’re all mine!) Love you, boys!

Giveaway Winner & a Thank You

First up, I have a winner to announce. The winner of The Friends We Keep (and the bonus 40-minute Bible study) is:

Comment #20 –Viv

Congrats, Viv!

Also, I found out this week that my blog has been nominated for three awards in the Book Blogger Appreciation Week Awards. I don’t know who nominated me, but whoever you are, thank you so much — I am truly honored! And judging by the other nominees I’ve seen, I know I’m in good company.

I’ll be sure to let you all know if I make it to the “finals” in one of the categories, so you can vote for me!

Friday’s Fave Five

friday-fave-five-springIt’s Friday again, which means Susanne‘s hosting Friday’s Fave Five. Hop over there to visit other participants. But in the meantime, here are five things I’ve enjoyed this week.

1. Smoothies A new blender arrived at our house a week or so ago, and we have been on a major smoothie kick. The blender gets used on a daily basis and has, in fact, been given a permanent home on our counter since we use it so often. In addition to creating delicious smoothies loaded with fresh fruit, I’ve also been sneaking some veggies in here and there — you can’t even taste them. Last night we had some Banana, Orange, & Carrot smoothies. Delicious!

2. A gentle transition into summer break. C. has been out of school for a little over a week now, and I think we’ve had a fairly smooth transition into summer vacation. He’s been reading, riding his bike, and even doing chores with a good attitude. (His bedroom is clean, his laundry is folded and put away — and I haven’t had to do any of it!) I’ve also been enjoying just having him home more, and L. is thrilled to have his “big bugger” around every day.

3. A husband and two kids who love me with all their hearts, even when I’m hard to live with, even when I’m an emotional wreck, even when they have no idea what to do with me. Thanks, guys — you’re the best and I love each of you very much!

strawberries4. Strawberries. We visited the local farm market this week and stocked up on strawberries. Let me tell you, the stockpile didn’t last very long. I spent some time making enough strawberry jam to last us for quite a while, and then moved on to making shortcake, which we enjoyed Wednesday night — slathered with sugared strawberries and whipped cream, of course. Yummy! There are a few strawberries left, but I’ve hidden them in the back of the refrigerator so I can eat them all make sure they last at least a couple days.

5. A blooming rose bush. The sight of a blooming rose bush at the corner of our house always warms my heart. What warms my heart even more is when my husband takes a few minutes when he gets home from work to pick a rose just for me, and then greets me with it when he enters the house. Thanks, Chad!

rose

Friday’s Fave Five

friday-fave-five-spring

I’m once again joining Susanne for her Friday’s Fave Five carnival. Here are five of my favorite things from this past week:

1. Breathing through my nose. It’s amazing what we take for granted. But after 11 days of not being able to breathe through my nose, I am thrilled beyond reason that I can actually do just that today. True, I’m still taking some Advil Cold & Sinus, but it’s working. And I can breathe. And I’m not going through tissues at an alarming rate anymore. Hooray!

2. A quiet breakfast at Panera. Chad is off today, and he generously let me go out this morning to run some errands by myself. Ah, wonderful! But even more wonderful was the fact that I started my morning at Panera — again, by myself. A whole grain bagel, cup of coffee, and a book. That’s it. Delightful.

3. Another toddlerism. Have I mentioned that we’ve been sick? Oh, I have? Well, here’s a story to go along with it.

As we were driving home last Sunday, I noticed that L. (age 2) was picking his nose (sadly, a common occurrence during this 2-week illness).

C., attempting to end the grossness, told him, “No nose-picking.”

L. replied: “Yes! Nose-picking!”

C., firmly: “No nose-picking!”

L., vehemently: “YES!!! Nose-picking!!!” And back in the finger went.

I’ve tried to explain to C. numerous times that arguing with L. is fairly pointless; it usually just creates a louder and more adamant refusal.

Nevertheless, C. gave one last attempt. “Nose-picking is bad.”

Without missing a beat, L. answered: “No, C. Nose-picking is FAB-EE-YUS!!”

Fabulous nose-picking? None of us could suppress giggles over that one.



4. Half-Price Books. I did some serious decluttering this week — both in the basement storage room and in the bookshelves throughout the house. As a result, I have three boxes full of books to dispose of. Chad and I will be making a trip to Half-Price Books to see what we can get for them. The per-book amount is usually pretty pitiful, but when you need to get rid of a ton of books all at once, it’s pretty handy to walk into Half-Price Books with a couple boxes, and walk out with enough money to fund a date.

5. Free books. Of course, the reason I have so many books ready to go out the door is because so many keep coming in. But I’m happy to share many of those books with you. Watch for another giveaway from the Hachette Book Group this weekend on my blog (and still another next week!). And check out Lyn Cote’s blog — she’s a Christian author who’s hosting a big book giveaway in May.  Just send her a story of a strong woman — or simply leave a comment on a story on her blog — for a chance to win a big basket of books and other goodies. The drawing takes place May 31st.

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Visit Susanne to check out other Friday’s Fave Five participants

Three years and counting

C. (10) has been reminding me for over a week that my 3-Year Blogiversary was coming.  I knew it was sometime in March, but he had searched back through the archives to find out exactly when I started Callapidder Days. And as you may have guessed by now, it was on March 10, 2006.

So, Happy 3rd Blogiversary, Callapidder Days!

In honor of my blogiversary, I thought I’d share some things I’ve learned from blogging and about blogging over the last three years.

1. I am apparently capable of maintaining a blog for longer than a month or so. Before Callapidder Days, I had started a few other blogs, posted a few times, and abandoned them. Why did it “stick” with Callapidder Days? I think part of it was because I had real-life friends who were blogging, too (Dianne and Jennifer are the first two I found out about). The other part was discovering the fun and community that exists in the blog world. My first exposure to that community was through Works-for-Me Wednesday (hosted for years by Shannon, and now hosted by Kristen). And from there, it just grew. Before I knew it, I was hooked.

2. I never, ever thought my reading challenges would be as big as they are. Back in the summer of 2006, I asked my friend Jennifer if she thought anyone would want to participate in a low-pressure, fun reading challenge. She encouraged me to pursue it, and Fall Into Reading was born. Little did I know that a couple years later, hundreds of participants would show up for my twice-yearly challenges and that I’d be able to give away all kinds of great books every year. These reading challenges have been one of the most exciting and fun parts of the blogging adventure!

3. I’m still insecure about my posts sometimes. You’d think that after three years of blogging, I could just write posts, get them out there, and forget about them. But that’s not true. Sometimes, as soon as I hit the “Publish” button, I begin thinking, “Oh, that post was so lame. Why did I even write that?!” And then, if I only get one or two comments, or if I don’t get any comments for hours and hours and hours, I convince myself that it was the Stupidest Post Ever and that no one will ever visit my blog again because it is Lame-O. Ugh. I hate that. I want to just “write for myself” — write what is on my heart or what made me laugh, without worrying about what others think.  To be honest, I often do. But not always. I still love comments and love thinking that people enjoy my posts. It’s that annoying pride creeping in again, I guess.

4. Blogging isn’t all or nothing. I can’t even remember all the times over the last three years when I came thisclose to quitting the blog. Many things prompted those near-blog-abandonments: no time, no mental energy, thinking maybe I should focus my creative energy on something else, deciding I simply had nothing left to say. But I could never quite bring myself to walk away. Instead, I’ve learned that I can take breaks, I can do easy posts like pictures of my kids, I can post twice a week instead of five times a week. I don’t have to be A Daily Blogger or No Blogger At All. I can blog in a way that works for me, and works with whatever my current circumstances may be.

5. Blogging can take up lots of time, even more time than it should. This is one area I still struggle with. Back when we were new to the blogging world, Jennifer and I would email each other about trying to find balance — we were trying to figure out how to read and comment on all the blogs we liked, maintain our own blogs, & grow our blogs a bit…. while still taking care of our home and family responsibilities. It’s not an easy thing to achieve, at least not for me. At this point, I’ve achieved a kind of balance, but it’s not always satisfying. It seems that there are three areas of blogging for me: writing for my own blog, reading the blogs of others, and commenting on other people’s blogs. And I can’t seem to do more than two of them at the same time. If I’m keeping my “computer time” in check, I just can’t manage to do all three. Right now, I’m posting fairly regularly, and I’m reading blogs often, but I don’t comment very much. I don’t like that (especially since I just noted in point #3 that I love to get comments on my own blog), but I haven’t found another  solution that works. Perhaps sending my kids off to boarding school would give me more time, but then I wouldn’t have them around to give me blog post ideas, so I’d be right back where I started. Besides, I kind of like having them around. :)

6. I am a geek. Okay, I guess I always knew I was a little bit of a geek, but blogging has driven that point home even more. I’ve discovered that I love tinkering around with design and code and CSS and all kinds of things that I knew nothing about three years ago. I’ve gone from having a standard “out of the box” Blogger template, to working “under the hood” of WordPress, modifying my theme extensively. I’m definitely not a graphic designer and have very little sense for what “looks good,” but I still have fun playing. I enjoy everything from creating my reading challenge buttons to making little tweaks to what happens when you hover over a link in one of my posts. See? Total geek.

7. Blogging has been a positive thing for our family. As long as I’m keeping that aforementioned “computer time” within reasonable limits, blogging has been a good thing as far as family goes — both immediate and extended. C. (10) is one of my blog’s biggest fans and checks it first thing most mornings, to see if I have a new post up. He also likes to engage in “bloggy talks” with me, which I always enjoy.  Chad likes seeing what I’m thinking about, especially if he’s out of town. (And he loves seeing pictures of the boys when he’s gone.) Other family members get to see a different side of me through the blog — one that’s maybe a bit sillier or a bit more opinionated. And from what they tell me, they like that. (And if they didn’t like it, they probably wouldn’t tell me anyway, because then I’d blog about them!)

8. I appreciate all the people who stop by to read Callapidder Days. Honestly, I can’t say this enough. To all of you who visit my blog, read my posts, join in the reading challenges, and/or leave comments: Thank You! While blogging in invisible obscurity would provide some small amount of enjoyment, it is so much more wonderful to share this adventure with all of you. I am incredibly honored that you take the time to read the words I manage to string together.