I'd like to be locked in overnight with 499 others: Why the NYPL should have picked me to Make the Future with them

The New York Public Library is going to host a massive, smartphone-based scavenger hunt that will officially kick off May 20 with an invitation-only, all-night lock-in in New York City. Only 500 people will be chosen to participate in the all night Find the Future at NYPL event.


One hundred historical objects hidden throughout the library with bar codes must be found, photographed and a challenge met with each one.


It's rumured that these are some of the items:
Charles Dickens' letter opener made out of his dead cat's taxidermy paw
the Declaration of Independence




The goal of this game?
To write a collection of 100 ways to make history and change the future, inspired by 100 of the most intriguing works of the past.



I should have been chosen.  And here's why:

1. I found the contest on my birthday & entered...and found out that was the final day to enter.  It's fate.

2. I'm a voracious reader with a huge appreciation for the library system, history and literature.

3. I have an iPhone, I love scavenger hunts, and I know my way around social media.

4. I'd blog about it. I'm goofy and entertaining to read...sometimes...

5. I love mysteries. 


But, alas, the decisions have been made, and I didn't make the cut. 

It's too bad, NYPL.  
We could have been good together. 

Six Strong Reasons Why You Should Never Quit Medicine Cold Turkey

I made a stupid decision to quit some medication cold turkey,

without weaning off slowly or talking to my doctor.

And I regret it.

For a solid week now I've experienced the following:

1. Night sweats

2. Constant vertigo

3. Diarrhea

4. Light sensitivity

5. Excessive thirst

6. Cold fingers and toes

Consider this my Public Service Announcement: 

Don't be stupid and do what I did.

Why Old People are Awesome.

In honor of the Easter holiday, which is about Jesus who never had the chance to grow into an old man, here are the reasons why it's totally awesome to be an old person.



5. You always get a seat on the bus.  If you ride the bus.
4. Everything is cheaper with a senior discount, except medicine. Which you seem to take more of.
3. You can trip people with your cane and act innocent.
2. You can dress however you want and say whatever you want, and people just label you "eccentric"
1. You can drive however you want and all other vehicles just move out of your way.


No old people were harmed in the making of this blog post, except my great-grandfather who we keep tied up in the attic.

If you're an old person, and I've offended you, I apologize. I'm just an insolent whippersnapper.

All the old people in my life TOTALL ROCK!

5 Things Every Boy Should Have

(Caught: Donny & Annie in the creek)

These five ingredients are essential to growing boys.

1. A Dog - every boy should have a dog, and every dog should have a boy. 

2. Balls - footballs, soccer balls, baseballs, tennis balls, bouncy balls, ping pong balls, the more the better! My boys have had a love affair with sports since they were toddlers.

3. Legos or some sort of building materials - Lincoln Logs, connecting magnets, etc. Let them build.  Taking things apart and putting them back together.

4. Outdoor time - A huge space to run, a creek to explore, a tree to climb, sand or dirt to dig in, and time outside to get dirty and explore.

5. Another male to wrestle with - Boys need physical contact and someone to rough house with.  It's just nature for them.

What do you think boys need?

We ran out of rabbit food

Deceptively Cute

The Furballs; Contemplating Escape.

6 Signs you might be addicted to an iPhone

As I've mentioned before, my iPhone was stolen on April 1st this year, and I might have been cursed.
And since then, I've been going through iPhone withdrawal.
Clearly, I was addicted.
It's good to go without technology every now and then...
although not good when your technology is STOLEN.



Signs you might be addicted to an iPhone:


6. You hear iPhone rings, chirps and noises everywhere you go.
5. You aren't really somewhere unless you've "checked in"
4. You don't know how you're going to wake up in the morning because it was your alarm clock
3. You find yourself stealing your children's iTouches when you head to the bathroom
2. You realize you can't photograph and upload to Facebook or Twitpic every cool view or silly animal you see
and
1. You feel phantom vibrations in your pocket





If you have a smartphone, get a tracking app ASAP.  If your phone is stolen, you don't have a lot of recourse and you're screwed out of a lot of money.

I've filed a police report, but I honestly don't expect to see that phone again.



Oh, iPhone, where fore art thou?!
I miss you so!

A tiny island in the South Pacific

A family member of mine is on this tiny island in the south Pacific. 

The Republic of Palau is east of the Philippines and south of Japan.

She sent this photo when she arrived:

Now excuse me while I go try to scrub all the green off my skin...

Monday Randomness

A huge super storm came through the area last night 

and swept away all my thoughts and coherency,

so I'm left to share randomness with you.

It's not my fault.

I blame the weather.

I washed my 9 yr old son's hair last night 

with a pink shampoo called Fairy Berry Strawberry.

It that wrong?

It smelled so good!

It's hard to keep him pleasantly fragrant with his non-stop baseball practices and games.

I helped weed pop in my mom and stepfather's yard yesterday,

and now I'm sore in the strangest places.

My 14 yr old son managed to break off his shower head.

And forget to take his trombone to school with him this morning.

I have no idea how he managed either of those.

He is obsessed with loves bacon.

Both boys swam two hours each day this weekend in an ICE cold pool.

I dipped in briefly, and I have to admit, after your body goes numb, it's not so bad.

And, oh yes, I'm ready to get rid of our rabbits.

How was your weekend?

Anything random to share?

A Selection of Spam

I have certain family members who send me lots of forwarded email.

And, I pretty much just delete them without reading, I'm ashamed to say.

But, today, I'm reading a handful of those emails to share with you.

It's a small sampling of what's going around the web:

1. 45 Life Lessons - Reportedly written by a 90 year old lady named Regina Brett who has occasionally written columns for the Plain Dealer, in Cleveland, Ohio for a number of years.  Regina Brett is not 90, more like 56 years old, but she did write the life lessons, and they're cute!  Such as, "It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it."

2. In Memory of a Time when the World went Mad - This email tells the story about a woman named Irena Sendler who smuggled around 2500 kids/infants out of Warshaw away from the Natzi's and was passed over for Nobel Peace Prize in favor of Al Gore's global warming. Apparently this is a true story, and Irena also recorded the true baby names and buried them in a jar in hopes of reuniting families later on.  However, most of the parents were gassed.  She lived to 98 years old. 

3. 2 Dogs Dining - This email has a You Tube video in it of two dogs eating at a table...and it's actually pretty clever and funny.  




 

4. The Folded Napkin - This email contains a story that is purely a work of fiction about a down-syndrome boy working hard at a truck stop for his mother, etc. He has to leave for a while for some medical stuff and all the truck drivers start leaving money folded in their napkins for him.  Sweet story, but not real.

5. Bear Quintuplets - This email contains a photo of a very rare occurrence...a mother bear with five babies.  Usually bears have two cubs...occasionally one or three, but rarely 5! And, from what I can tell, it's a true story and a true photo!  See below for a link to the photographer's site.







photographer Tom Sears

6. This could work! - An email about the evil gas companies and how we all need to stop buying gas from Exxon/Mobile in order to bring the price down. 

7. Did you lose a cat? - This email contained a funny photo of a raccoon standing on too feet holding a kitten.

8. The Redneck College Exam - This email had a download attached I didn't feel comfortable downloading.  You should never download attachments unless you know who it's from and what it is.  

9. What's an Infidel? - This email shares a story about a religious "presentation" in a prison where the Muslim is tricked into admitting that "All followers of Allah have been commanded to kill everyone who is not of that faith so they can have a place in heaven."  Which is not true for all Muslims, just as all Christians don't subscribe to every bit of the Bible.  Hysterical religious email.

10.  Wrong Email Address - This email is probably not true, but it's funny.  A man sends an email to his wife, but with one letter difference it ends up in a widow's inbox who's minister husband had just died.  

To: My Loving Wife
Subject: I've ArrivedDate: July 19, 2010

I know you're surprised to hear from me. They have computers here now and you are allowed to send emails to your loved ones. I've just arrived and have been checked in.

I've seen that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow.

Looking forward to seeing you then! Hope your journey is as uneventful as mine was.

P. S.  Sure is freaking hot down here!!!!

Do you read spam email?

Do you have someone who sends you spam regularly?

See any good spam lately?

Anyone know how to remove a curse?

You know how sometimes in a fairy tale,

the witch disguises herself as an old woman

and if you pass her without helping her on your quest,

then she'll curse you?

 

Well, I think I must have skipped past some old woman without seeing her.

 

Or, perhaps I accidently stepped on a frog prince?

Sat on a pixie?

Stepped on a four-leaf clover?

Ran over a black cat and a mirror in my car?

 

I've hit quite a string of bad luck.

 

My computer died.  Completely.

My camera's broken. Frustratingly.

My new iPhone 4 has been stolen. Crushingly.

&

My car insurance increased exponentially.

That's bad luck, isn't it?

 

So, how to I make it stop?

Do I need to concoct a complex potion and drink it naked under a full moon?

Should I plant a tree and stop wearing shoes?

Should I stop and help every old woman I see, whether she needs it or not?

Maybe I should head to the animal shelter and adopt every black cat I can find! 

And polish every mirror I pass...

 

I'm determined to turn this bad luck around.

My Boys & Their Fashion Statements

Every now and then, my boys go through different fashion phases.

The younger one wore his clothes backwards...for an entire year, when he was toddler.

Now, however, they are into wearng wristbands.

Mostly rock band emblems or sports teams mascots...

I'm not sure anyone else's kids are doing this around here...just mine?

I know Donny got the idea from his favorte movie,

Scott Pilgrim vs The World.

Boys!

What are your kids wearing these days?

BlogHer's Book Club

As a single mother working full time,

I don't have time to belong to the usual book club,

which is why I'm SO excited to be part of the new

BlogHer Book Club!

I get to combine my passion for reading with my joy of blogging!

BlogHer has partnered with Penguin Group USA to bring blogger reviews of great upcoming books, author interviews, book discussions and much more to the new BlogHer Book Club space.

What’s exciting about this partnership:

BlogHer is paying writers to write balanced, editorial reviews

of the BlogHer Book Club featured titles.

So, yes, I'm getting books to read for free,

but I also am giving my honest feedback after I read them. 

If I don't like it, I'll say so,

although in a diplomatic manner, of course. 

BlogHer's Book Club is the best thing

since mixing chocolate and peanut butter.

And that's serious stuff, folks.

Check out my review of our first book club book,

a historical fictional novel written by Geraldine Brooks titaled Caleb's Crossing. 

A coming of age novel set in the late 1600's Martha's Vineyard island

where a young Puritan girl befriends a Wampanoag chieftain's son. 

I always make time in my life to read.

Don't try to cure me.

Have you read anything great lately?

His First Time

Every boy should do this at some point in their life...

and the more times, the better!

As a good parent, I insist that he needs to learn how, safely.

What am I talking about?

Need a hint?

Remember ths movie:

Can't Buy Me Love.

Still not sure what I'm talking about?

OK, here it is, caught on camera...

my 14 yr old son's first time...

MOWING!!