lame articles

I know Dust has blogged about ads on the back of cereal boxes before but I can't resist this one. The cereal was a HyVee brand Crispix. There were different articles encouraging kids to go to the library and read books. One headline read: "Hang out at the Library!" "Consider the library the next time you are looking for a place to hang out." What teenager is going to want to hang out at the library? You can't talk above a whisper there. The box shows a picture of two teenage girls leaning against a shelf of books "hanging out." Is that the best that they can do to get kids/teenagers to go to the library? If they want kids to go the library they should make it more relevant. They have the wrong marketing strategy here. Any teenager is going to read that and say "yeah, right." (sarcasm)

On the positive side, an article on the box informed kids that they can check out DVD's and videos at the library. And it suggested that you should join an online book club that some libraries offer. The chapters of the book will be emailed to you.

On a different note, there was a lame saying on the flap of my raisin box. "When you shine, people around you glow." Talk about cheesy.

baby stuff

I was looking through the ads in the paper. A lot of stores are having good sales on baby items. I read a description of a child car booster seat: For children 30-100 pounds. I laughed when I saw that because I am slightly under 100 pounds. I won't be for long, but maybe I need to be buckled in a booster seat. It would definitely help me see better out of the window. : )

Dust and I went to Babies R Us on Saturday. They have a bigger selection of every baby product than most stores. We were mainly looking at cribs. There were regular wood color ones, white ones, black ones, and dark wood ones. I think I like the white ones the best. I want a crib that can turn into a toddler bed. I also want to get a changing table. I liked the ones with rails the best so the baby won't fall off.

I had looked at some of the crib bedding at Babies R Us, but decided to go online also. They had the bedding collections organized in themes. Characters, florals, plaids, cars & trains. If we have a girl, I liked the "Hello Kitty" themed bedroom the best. If we have a boy, I liked the Locomotion themed bedroom the best. Dust has a toy box in the shape of a train and that would work perfectly. I loved "Hello Kitty" when I was a girl, and if I have a daughter she will definitely be exposed to an appreciation for cats.

some observations

I was driving by the mall when something caught my attention on the other side of the street. There was a woman dressed up in an "Uncle Sam" costume advertising for Liberty Tax Services. Do they really think that is a good marketing idea? I wouldn't take that company seriously to do my taxes. I drove by another time and a lady was dressed up as the Statue of Liberty. People dressed up in costumes is a good marketing idea for a carnival or fair, but not to advertise income tax services. Talk about unprofessional.

One time Dust and I were driving home from church and we saw a man on stilts on the side of the road. I figured that some kind of fair was going on. No, he was advertising openings in an apartment complex. Who is actually going to see the man and think, "Wow, I want to live there." Finding an apartment to live in is a major decision. I don't see how the guy on stilts is going to get people to come in and rent an apartment.

not a "finisher"

I am embarrassed to say that I have trouble completing things. I always thought that I was a finisher. Dust brought me into reality and showed me the things that I haven't finished. Here is my list of books that I started reading but never finished: a George W. Bush biography, Shout to the Lord devotional book, The Hobbit, a couple of pregnancy books. I started reading Pride & Prejudice over Christmas but have not finished. I read one chapter of "Searching for God Knows What." I do want to finish that book. I am going through two baby names books.

I started a scrapbook several years ago and quit after a while. I stopped taking pictures.

What confuses me is that I always have a "to-do-list" going and I love to check things off on it. Maybe I should put the books that I am reading on the "to-do-list." Maybe then I will finish my books. Maybe I just have a problem with reading and scrapbooking.

aah! I have my mom's haircut!

I got my hair chopped off yesterday. It is pretty short. It is the shortest that I have ever had it. I freaked out when I saw it. "What did I do?" The salon lady and I had a miscommunication. I did not want it cut short around my ears. I looked at myself in the mirror and thought, "I have my mother's haircut!" I called Dust yesterday and told him that I have our mother's haircut. He tried to be encouraging. I wanted to look older since I am going to be a mother but I didn't want to look like my own mother. I am definitely going to have to style it in a more modern way.

On a more positive note, I got a lot of compliments about my hair at work today. Maybe it isn't as bad as I think it is. I just really need to figure out how to style it.

Finally a label for what I am

My mother has diagnosed my father and I with Asperger's syndrome. She has been substitute teaching in a DSL (disabled speech and language) class with kids with Asperger's. In class, they practice having conversations with other kids. There is a script of questions on the wall with topics of discussions that they can use. "What is your favorite color, Bobby?" "Green." "What is your favorite sport, Billy." My mother went through the list of symptoms and was able to answer yes to the majority of them for my father and I. I have to agree with her. I had heard about Asperger's a couple of years ago and had thought that I might have it.

Here is a definition of Asperger's. I copied and pasted off of a website. Qualitative impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at least two of the following: marked impairments in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body postures, and gestures to regulate social interaction failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level a lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people (e.g. by a lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest to other people) lack of social or emotional reciprocity.

Persons with AS show marked deficiencies in social skills, have difficulties with transitions or changes and prefer sameness. They often have obsessive routines and may be preoccupied with a particular subject of interest. They have a great deal of difficulty reading nonverbal cues (body language) and very often the individual with AS has difficulty determining proper body space. Often overly sensitive to sounds, tastes, smells, and sights, the person with AS may prefer soft clothing, certain foods, and be bothered by sounds or lights no one else seems to hear or see. A few people with Asperger's syndrome are very successful and until recently were not diagnosed with anything but were seen as brilliant, eccentric, absent minded, socially inept, and a little awkward physically.

My mother said that the Asperger's kids have a hard time with abstracts. They need concrete. One boy freaked out because my mom told him to draw a picture of his own house. She had to break it down into: draw a square, then a triangle on top. I have always freaked out with assignments that seemed abstract to me. A cried a lot over homework all growing up. I need specific details given to me.

Asperger's was not known in the U.S. until 1994. There is no medication for the condition just therapy. I really wish that I had known about this earlier. From now on, I am going to blame everything on my Asperger's.

Words that hit you in the gut

Have you ever been listening to a song and it seems like the words are speaking right to you? Or about you? Or hits you right in the gut? I want to share some lines of some songs that have seemed to apply right to me.

"Spending my time at the surface repairing the holes in the shiny veneer. There are so many ways to hide. There are so many ways not to feel. There are so many ways to deny what is real. And I just showed up for my own life. And I'm standing her taking it in and it sure looks bright."-"Just showed up for my own life," Sara Groves. I have the tendency sometimes to just go through the motions of life. I am becoming more comfortable with who I am and feel like I am truly living.

"Why you holdin' grudges in old jars? Why you wanna show off all your scars? What's it gonna take to lay a few burdens down?" Million Pieces, Newsboys. These words really hit me in the gut. The song is a few years old but I still like it.

"Oh God, You have to save me. You're my last and only hope. All my right answers fail me. I can't seem to make it on my own." On my own, Barlow Girl. Their songs are geared for teenagers but these lines can still ring true to adults.

I heard bits of a song on the radio and I really liked it. "I am just your average girl, I don't have a sea of forgetfulness." I think it would be cool if we did. It would make things easier.

another bathroom story

I have noticed something odd the last few times that I have gone into the bathroom at my work. Every time I have stepped into the restroom, there hasn't been anyone else in there. I always check to see how many doors are closed or if I see any feet under the stalls. When I am in the stall, I hear a fizz sound like someone has just opened a bottle of pop. I immediately think, wow, I didn't know anyone else was in here. They must be giving me the courtesy noise or cough to let me know. (Dash mentioned the courtesy cough earlier) As I leave the stall, I look at the other stall doors and there is no one there. That kinda scared me. This happened at least three times. I am in the stall and hear the fizz noise of someone opening a pop.

About a week ago, I was in the restroom at work again. I was standing at the paper towel dispenser when I heard the fizz noise again. I looked up and saw a white container at the top of the wall that had sprayed something. I think it is some kind of air freshner. It said Pez on the side. Not the candy. I laughed but then got offended because I did not stink the place up. I did not go poop. Does it randomly spray out air freshner, or does it detect smell and then spray?

putting people on a pedestal

I had planned on writing my next blog about idolizing other people and thought it was a coincidence that Seminole talked about it in Sunday School. If you observe a family that seems perfect to you, you might put them on a pedestal. But once you get to know them better, you will find out that they are human like everybody else. Everybody has flaws. Some are just better at hiding their flaws.

Throughout my life, I have observed friends and acquaintances idolize other people. I am talking about extreme idolization. I have seen friends mimic everything that another person does and says. The idolized person can do no wrong. I have always wondered if they realize how dangerous this can be? I also wondered if they knew that almost everyone knew that they idolized this person? I always knew that this person was the "favorite" friend and that I came in "second". I know this stuff happens in junior high school, but I have seen it in adults also.

It makes me wonder why people put others on a pedestal. Do they find their worth and value in knowing this person and that they are good friends with them? It reminds me of junior high school when everyone wants to be friends with the popular person. I never really wanted to be friends with the popular kid just because they were popular.

Dust had a guy friend that followed another one of his guy friends around. The friend was always asking where "Joe" was. And the friend was always mad if "Joe" didn't tell them where he was going. The friend talked about "Joe" all the time. It got annoying. I wanted to tell the friend that it sounded like he was in love with "Joe". My brother coined a term for this situation called "manlove". There were some guys that had "manlove" for my brother. (They were not gay). My brother is a very charismatic, fun, and popular person and always had guys that wanted to follow him around and call him all the time. More extreme than his average guy buddies.

There are people that I admire but I don't think that I put them on pedestals. I am not saying that I am perfect and that I am better than anyone that does put someone on a pedestal. I just wanted to share my observations.

Warning: Enter our medicine cabinet at your own risk

A few days ago, I was cleaning out our refrigerator. Since we had been gone for a little over a week, some items needed to be tossed. I looked at expiration dates and everything was fine. It got me thinking that I should probably go check the expiration dates in our medicine cabinet.

I started laughing as one by one the items in our medicine cabinet had been expired for quite a long time. I showed Dust my finds. I probably shouldn't be laughing at something so important as this. I thought about how pathetic we are. I also thought that this has to be a blog. I made a list of the expired items and their expiration dates. They are as follows:

• eye drops, exp. 12-03
• eye drops, exp. 12-04
• Vapor rub, exp. 12-03
• Alka Seltzer Plus Cold, exp. 10-04
• ear drops, exp. 10-03
• Vapor chest rub, exp. 09-01
• Visine, exp. 11-05
• Polysporin, exp. 10-03
• hydrocortisone cream, exp. 05-00 (this expired before we were married!) crack me up!

Obviously, we haven't cleaned the medicine cabinet out since we have been married. I believe that hydrocortisone cream was Dust's. He brought the already expired cream into the marriage.

I should probably do a better job at checking expiration dates seeing how I am going to be a mother soon. I need lots of prayer!

Down with Boggle!

I have issues with games that test your speed/quickness at doing things. Speed is not my strong point. I do things deliberately and try to be detailed. I am a smart person but I feel so dumb when I play games that I have to act quickly in.

Dust's family loves to play Boggle. Dust, his sister, and his mom are very quick in writing down all the words that they can find in Boggle. My brain processes things slowly. It takes me awhile to get in the groove of the game. The timer is set and immediately all three of them are writing down word after word after word. I look at the letters and wonder how they are finding all those words they are writing down. We played Boggle with Dust's sister's boyfriend and he is excellent at Boggle also. They were scoring around 36 points per round!! My best was only 9 points per round!!

I try to be a good sport about the game. I have always played when they wanted to play. But I feel so inadequate and stupid in the process. I made a funny comment to Dust's dad about me being permanent time keeper. He replied back with a comment like, "Well what am I going to do then?" Dust's dad played one round with us and then went to do the dishes.

We played two other time related games with Dust's family. There were two puzzles of the same picture. Boys against girls on who could put together the puzzle the quickest. There were too many women around the girls puzzle and I couldn't get through to help with it. There were 22 people in a small living room and kitchen. Dust's mom yelled out the minutes that had gone by without either team completing it. The girls won.

The other game involved words that sounded like Christmas songs. (Example: nocturnal quiet, Silent Night). This game was also girls against boys. Dust's mom yelled out the words and whoever raised their hand first got to answer. Again, my brain processes things slowly and I never got a chance to raise my hand. I do better when I see the words written.

Needless to say, I hate timed games!!!!

my shopping spree

My Christmas money had been burning a hole in my pocket all week. I never had the chance to go to any stores by myself. I like to shop alone. It makes me nervous to have someone go along with me to shop for clothes. I feel bad that someone would have to wait on me.

I was so excited to go to Target! Target has been my favorite store for awhile now. Here is a list of what I bought for under $100. Fuchsia colored soft gloves with matching hat and scarf($9.98), cool looking black tennis shoes($11.48), black oxford type dress shoes(11.48), periwinkle blue purse with a colorful striped inside lining($3.74), black cloth purse ($3.74), 4 pack of colored socks ($3.99), maternity blue jeans ($27.99), lavender and light blue striped dress shirt ($16.99). (taxes $6.73) total of $96.12.

I debated on whether or not to buy the maternity blue jeans. They were my size and my size is hard to find. Also, all of my jeans are getting uncomfortably tight on me now. The jeans are too big in the waist to wear right now but I am sure that I will grow into them soon. I am really frustrated on what to do in the meantime.

I love getting Christmas money because I can be selfish with that money. I hardly ever buy myself anything throughout the year, so I can justify splurging this one time. I consider it free money that never existed to be applied to our budget.