I can get a little obsessed with inane crap.

My first computery obsession was Tropico. Oh, Tropico. I miss you so. For those of you not in the know, Tropico was a nerd game out in 2001 where you, El Presidente, would take control of an island and build it up to a city and functioning government. I had it BAD for Tropico. I was home most of the day scheming, planning, and wasting my brain while taking breaks to ’study’ for my graduate degree. This was still in the days before high-speed interwebs, so I couldn’t waste my day away on MySpace (yet).

Next came teaching. I put 100% of my time into finding worksheets, projects, planning my day - EVERY day. My money was spent of books and crap for kids who didn’t appreciate my stuff. That obsession lasted about 6 months until I actually got into the classroom. I loved teaching, but the obsession w/ teaching ended.

And that’s when MySpace entered my life. I put my free-time focus into MySpace. My teacher-friends were on. My high school friends were on. My family was on. I checked it 20 10 times a day to see who left me a message or who posted new crap on their pages. Thankfully, that obsession ended in a few months.

Now enters my store. I decided to stay home w/ my girls in 2006, and I quickly realized I was kinda bored being Lady Housewife. Plus, I sucked at it. I started to sell stuff on eBay - maternity clothes, baby toys, baby clothes - ANYthing I could scrounge from around Messy House. From there, I started selling more stuff, I created a webstore, and thus began Good for the Kids. This is my longest-running obsession yet. See: still running.

My most recent obsession is Plurk. I never quite understood the draw of Twitter b/c it’s hard to keep up with conversations and responses. I have just seen it as a ‘Hey, I’m eating Cheetos’ or ‘I love this singer on American Idol’ announcement kind of site. It doesn’t make sense in my head.

But Plurk. Oh, Plurk. It’s like IMing with 1000 of people all at once, but in an organized way. I think I’ve spent the last 2 months of my life on Plurk. I’ve make true friends on Plurk. I’ve seeked validation on Plurk. I’ve helped other plurkers through hard times, good times, and celebrated with other plurkers. It’s a community of other obsessed people.

And I love obsessions and people who are obsessed with my obsession.

But now, this week, I’ve taken a little break from Plurking. A well-needed break. But I know my plurkers are still there ready for me to return. I’ve popped in a few times to greet my Harem, but overall, I’ve needed to step away to take care of some stuff.

And that is my new obsession.

Helping me hold everything, including myself, together.

Thanks, Ma - I love you

A picture my sister’s belly at 7 1/2 months (and ginormous boobies) with my first nephew inside taken under the healthy fluorescent black lights of the bowling alley.

I’ve come to realize that answering the phone during the day brings only telemarketers, surveys, and bill collectors. This said, unless the caller ID says “mom” or “mother-in-law,” I barely answer and the moms are lucky when I do.

But today for some reason, I answered.

uber-friendly recorded female voice: “Hello! We’d like to invite you to take part in a short survey about your feelings on abortion.”

Ummm…. Me thinks I’d like to take part in THIS call.

extra-uber-friendly voice: “If you’d like to take part in this survey, please hold the line.”

Holding….

extra-uber-friendly voice: “If you are Pro-Life and believe life begins at conception and want to see that all babies, born and unborn, are worth saving, PRESS ONE.”

Holding….

non-friendly sad-lady voice: “If you are Pro-Choice and believe that a woman has the right to end the life of her baby at any time during her pregnancy, PRESS NINE.”

Pressing NINE

extra-uber-friendly voice: “Thank you for choosing Pro-Life and believing that a baby’s life begins at conception! If you’d like to help our cause, pleae contact….”

HANG UP

Um. I’m sorry. Is my Pro-Choice-self that dumb that I confused the number NINE for the number ONE? Or are you self-righteous crazies** altering your “survey” to reflect YOUR beliefs to prove your inaccurate point?

Cause, I missed something here.

And I’m PISSED.

*My memory’s not like it was in the Mensa days, so some quoted words may not have been exactly correct in the exact order written, but you get the gist.

**I do not believe all Pro-Lifers are self-righteous crazies - just the people (pro-choice and pro-life alike) who alter their ’surveys’ based on inaccurate information.

I can’t get away without posting this:

Visit my eBFF, Kim, and wish her a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

So I guess this is what I get for getting off my fat ass and participating in my life.

I get pure smiles from my girls when they discover a new park.

I get pure smiles from my husband when our girls cheer him on.

I get gratitude from my girls and my husband when join them in our life together.

I don’t believe in blog envy.

That said, I’m totally jealous of some amazing bloggers who have the brain function to put time and effort into their work.

I, on the other hand, am half-assed in my blogging abilities, but I have tons of excuses. If I had the time and brain function to devote to writing and picture-taking, I’d be an incredible blogger. But, alas, I don’t. So I’m stuck with blog envy.

How amazing is this woman? She milks cows, cooks from scratch, and takes BREATHtaking photos.

And this chick? She does things with a point-and-shoot most SLR owners would DREAM of doing. Not to mention her thought-provoking, emotional, open-hearted posts.

Don’t even get me started with this guy. His quips about suffering through 16 (failed) cycles of trying to knock-up his poor wife are touching, thought-provoking, and laugh-out-loud funny. And if he tells me he doesn’t put a thought into his posts, I’ll throw a stick at him and force him to write a book.

In the event that any of my bloggy friends will desert me after I not mentioning them in this post, feel free to leave your Strengths in Blogging in the comments below.  Maybe your talents rub up on me off on me, my energy will be uplifted, and I’ll get back into my usual thought-provoking, funny-as-shit posts.

Until then, think about the puppies. It’s all about the puppies.

Apparently, this was a Patrick/Claire week.

Nomming on Brownie Batter

Day 2 of riding and already a pro.
And, yes, that is a fancy dress - actually her flower girl dress from my sister’s wedding 2 years a go.

Visit Sarcastic Mom for more Weekly Winners!

Thanks to EVERYone for entering my Bloggy Giveaway!

I used Random.com for picking our random winners, and I did have to pick the shoes winner more than once b/c the first commenter did not comment on which design they liked.)

210. faithfulmommy Said: July 29th, 2008 at 11:54 am “My girls would love to have a pink SAFE sippy cup. Thank you for a super giveaway. Nice blog.

113. Tammy Said: July 28th, 2008 at 7:17 pm “I’d like to win Ellema the Elephant — thanks!”

280. Amanda Said: July 29th, 2008 at 8:50 pm “love to win the Squeaker Sneakers Squeaky Shoes Black with White Bow & the blue safe sippy”

Please check your email for my email!

These are from a previous post, but they fit this theme perfectly. And my brain don’t work.