Midwestern Mommy

The very cool and crafty Heather awarded me a Rockin’ Girl Blogger Award awhile back. And sorry for not passing the love along sooner but better late than never, yes?

There are alot of blogging babes who totally rock. (Like, dude!) So I’m gonna highlight a few that come to mind…

Rebecca is a St. Louis blogger whom I met at a blogging panel. (Kristie and Dana were there too.) Rebecca has the shiniest hair ever. Worthy of a commercial even. And she has a thing for Chris Pronger. (And that just cracks me up.)

Another Rebecca (Or Reba)is getting married soon and is moving with her son to her hubby’s farm — an area so rural, the closest grocery store (aka Wal-Mart) is 30-something minutes away. Ask her about hubby’s love of mancrafting. Hysterical.

Linlee is not only a rockin’ blogger but a rockin’ new mom. She and her hubby are handling their beautiful little wild woman wonderfully. I hope she’s up for a few drinks at Trainwreck soon.

The next chicks are moms who collaborate on a really great blog. Andrea, Erin, MK and Nicole have alot of fun just “shootin the poop.” I would love to be a fly on the wall after they’ve all gotten together and have a few drinks in them.

Also, have you ever stopped by Quin’s place? She says she’s a total dork socially but, pshaw. I think she’s probably wickedly funny in real life.

I think of Isabel daily ’cause she sent me the most adorable photo of her little guy. (Its on the fridge o’ fame, baby.) She recently met her favorite-est musician Rhett Miller AND had an actual conversation with him. Its a cool story. Go look.

Finally Hollow Squirrel is a cool chickie. She loves Harry Potter and has a thing for quadrants. And she’s got cool features like, “What the J?”

Am back from BlogHer and have pics and stories. Will get to those sometime this week. But I did get to meet lots of cool chicks. T’was fun.

Dear Dude,

Today I took my little man to the pool. BlogHer is coming up and in a fit best described as “brave stupidity” I bought a few sleeveless blouses. I hear a tan will help the look of my old-lady arms so we headed out for a bit o’ sun.

And what to my wandering eyes should appear but you, dear old man. You were, um… something — sauntering around in your shorty-short trunks. And wow, the tightness of those shorts really, uh… highlighted your “package”.

I quickly realized that looking at your “junk” was like looking directly at the sun. I shouldn’t do it at all, lest I WANT scorched corneas.

But next time, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE wear some trunks that actually fit you. You may think squeezing into your 8-year-old grandson’s shorts makes those chicken legs look good but, um…. No.

Good luck.

Lisa

P.S. Your lady friend didn’t seem embarrassed at all in regards to your “look”. In fact, she seemed sort of proud of you. I guess she agrees with that saying — “good things come in small packages.”

And happy to be back.

How are you? How’s your summer going? Have a cookie. Sit a spell. Yeah, put your feet up. I’ll get the drinks. Would you like wine? Beer? A martini?

Ok. So some of the hiatus was to sort out some health-related stuff. (Which is much better.) I got on some new allergy meds with some sort of asthma med which opens airways. I can BREATHE at night. And I sleep! Through the night even! Its freaking awesome! And I don’t wake up with a nasty headaches. And I have some energy. Wooty-woot-woot-woot.

Some of the hiatus was spent party planning, cleaning, doing home improvement projects and drinking. Oh and working on my new website. I would debut it now but there’s something wrong with the SQL server (what ever THAT is) and its not letting me customize mah columns. But if you are interested in a little peeky (even tho it ain’t finished because I still needs mah “flair” and some important linky-links) go here.

Another reason for the hiatus is that I’ve come to some sort of bloggity-type crisis. I have no answers for the following questions: What kind of vibe do I want to put out there? Should this blog be funny, philosphical? Should I curse? Should I not? Is it ok to be rude and crude at times? Or bitchy and whiney. (Cause if there’s one thing I do well, its bitchy and whiney.) I have family reading these days. Are they comfortable with the TMI? Are they going to read some of my stories and think, “That Lisa. She just ain’t right. I think she must have gotten kicked in the head by a cow in her youth.” (And no I didn’t. But I did get hit in the face a number of times with softballs. And not THOSE kind of soft balls. So get your mind out of the gutter. See? What an inappropriate comment. Is that ok to do? Will my in-laws read this and feel a bit ill because WHAT KIND OF WOMAN IS RAISING OUR ONLY GRANDSON?)

A blog is like a blank canvas. You can create anything you want. But some times knowing that so many possibilities exist and knowing you want to create the bestest thing you can can be a bit daunting and overwhelming.

So what do you guys think? How do you look at your blogs? Do you look at it as a sanity saver? A way to fulfill your dreams of being a fiction writer, reporter, fashion photographer, researcher, or teacher? What are your goals? Are you hoping get a book deal? Or get a fresh career start? Or are you just looking to stay sane and meet new peeps? Enquiring minds want to know!

And THANK YOU so much for your lovely, warm comments. They were the equivilant of double fudge brownies to a woman who’s suffering from a raging case of PMS. Much need and very appreciated! You chickies “Rock the Casbah”.

Albin was the father of 10. As a man who had spent his entire life farming the land, he also had a penchant for pranks, smokes, and playing his steel guitar. When I was nine, I saw my dad cry for the first time. His father, this tall, strong farmer, had lung cancer. I watched my grandpa fight. He admirably did so for a long time. But in the end, cancer won. Since then I’ve come to know more people who tangled with “the big C”. Some have beat the beast, some are in the process of administering a beating and some fought until they could no longer.

A. is a mother to an active preschooler. She has a quick wit and — whether through written or spoken word — has an extraordinary gift for telling a story. Like an experienced gold miner, she can spot a piece of comic gold a mile away. And she can glean the bits of funny (that most people would miss) from the most ordinary situations. Two years ago, A. (a woman I’ve known since we were babies) was diagnosed with ALS.

It is so gut-wrenching to know the people you love are grappling with stubborn diseases like this. But thankfully there are organizations in the United States on a quest to cure these diseases. That’s why Cancer Research Institute and The ALS Association, St. Louis Regional Chapter are charities almost as dear to my heart as these Albin and A.

Now there’s a way for you to help charities or groups you admire. Ibakesale is a supercool way to shop hundreds of great merchants and earn cash back (a percentage of the purchase in most cases) which can be donated to the charities or groups of your choice.

How it works:

1.) Go to ibakesale.com and sign up (this is free.) This is where you also can choose from the expanding list of charities in which to donate a percentage of your purchase or add a new charity. This is also where you can decide what amount of that percentage you’d like to donate. (You can do 100% or 20% or whatever.)

2.) You shop a number of merchants like Lucky Brand Jeans, Sports Authority, even Macy’s.

3.) iBakeSale sends your group a check at the end of every month. (Once the funds have accumulated to $100.)

More info:

After you sign up, you can shop as well as choose from the list of charities of which to donate. (For example — I chose to donate 50% of my proceeds to The ALS Association of St. Louis and 50% to Cancer Research Institute.) Or you can create a listing for an organization dear to your heart. Want to include several? You can do that and split the proceeds from your purchases. And if you change your mind? You can add or drop organizations too.

In order for your charity to get the profits, you must go through ibakesale and click on the desired merchant. After your purchase is made, you will be contacted through ibakesale. And once you accrue $100 you can decide how much of that money goes to charities or how much goes back into your wallet.

I’m not be in a research lab working on a cure. But donating to a worthy cause does help me feel I’ve helped in some small way. Like Mother Theresa once said, “In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.”

Years ago, a few days shy of my son’s due date, I found a strand of fine, reddish hair in my panties. For a moment I had a wild thought. Is it my baby’s? I should have called my doctor but I didn’t. I asked so many questions during my pregnancy only to be met with a “you’ve GOT to be the biggest moron I’ve EVER come into contact with” look from my doctor. After scouring my pregnancy volumes, I failed to find an answer.

Later the mystery was solved when a different doctor, who was supposed to break my water, informed me that there already was a small tear. My suspicion had been correct.

Like most moms-to-be, I had read a lot of literature on pregnancy. I found that most books focus heavily on the bodily changes but not much else. I wondered if these writers viewed a pregnant woman as a real, live person or as a walking, baby-growing container. Body, Soul and Baby, written by Tracy W Gaudet and Paula Spencer, is quite different.

The rest of this review, done for (Parent Bloggers Network) can be found at Midwestern Mommy Reviews.

P.S. The hiatus will soon end. I am feeling better and less serial-ish bitchy, (which is a GOOD thing for my poor husband and son. Yeay them! Consider their “survival skills” sharpened.) Regular (kinda-sorta) blogging is slated to continue Friday. I MISS you all!

Hey you! Yeah, you there with the ibuprofen (or aspirin).

Did you know that while the drug in your hot little hands may relieve your headache, it is also robbing your body of folic acid? And your body NEEDS that folic acid.

The 24-hour Pharmacist, by Suzy Cohen is chocked full tips, tricks and human body know-how. From dealing with insomnia, slagging energy levels, lagging sex drives, to how to handle PMS, Cohen’s got lots of ideas and information. For the rest of the review please click here.

This book was reviewed on behalf of the Parent Bloggers Network. And if you visit PBN and leave a comment on the campaign launch, you could win a $50 CVS gift card! Woot!

Because I lost my mind. Really. I think I left it at the grocery store. Or maybe it was Bed, Bath & Beyond. Maybe the dog ate it. Or maybe “the boy” saw it, decided to take it outside and now it is sitting in the sandbox.

Either way… I don’t know if you’ve noticed lately. But this blog sucks. I mean really. Not funny. Not interesting. Just sort of… blah. And I guess you’ve noticed I haven’t been visiting ya’ll as much either…

I’ve talked alot about my migraines (I have at least eight triggers) and sinus problems on this blog. If it weren’t for a two-hour bedtime ritual, air purifiers, allergen reducers, and the plethora of weird things I have to do/or not do, and lots of Benedryl for severe sinus and Tylenol PM, I’d be in constant pain. (Course there are times I do everything “right” and I’m still in pain!)

The last few months, I’ve been very, very tired — just so lethargic and unable to concentrate. I don’t want to do anything. Even blogging has started to feel like a chore. I’m tired of being tired. I wonder if I’m sliding into a depression. I’ve been there before. And it sucks. And I don’t want to find myself there ever again. (At the time, the depression was tied to my lagging thyroid, my continuous headaches and my slagging energy levels. Which, hey! Looks alot like what’s going on now.)

So I need to step back from the blogging and take better care of myself.

So I went to an ear, nose and throat guy recently. Monday morning is a cat scan. It’s not a big deal. Just trying to find out “what’s going on with Lisa’s sinuses.” I know I have alot of allergies. So I also need to get tested for that. From there, maybe we can figure out “What’s going on with Lisa’s head?”

After that, there will be fun little game called, “what’s going on with Lisa’s thyroid” as well as “what’s going on with Lisa’s lady parts?” And don’t forget, “what’s going on with Lisa’s stomach.” And hopefully by then the “why in the hell is Lisa so tired” mystery will be solved.

Oh and the other game I’ve still got to schedule is the one where I get naked and have a dermatologist look at every speckle and spot on my body. As one once told me, “With all of the time you’ve spent out in the sun, its not an ‘if’, Lisa. Its more of a ‘when’.” BAH!

So the point? I won’t be posting as often — save for a review or a singular post here and there. But hopefully this quasi-hiatus will prove to be a productive one. And I’ll returned invigorated — with a fresh, optimistic perspective and ready to read your brilliant posts.

Make no mistake — I’ll be thinking of you all. You are all in my heart. I can’t imagine living life any other way.

On Sunday night I couldn’t find the cordless phone typically kept on the main level of our home. By Monday morning, I’d conducted an exhaustive search of house, yard and the garage. I’d even looked in the mailbox and refrigerator.

Feeling frustrated, I gave up. We walked to Seth’s friend Drew’s house. We were “picking him up” for a playdate. While talking to his mom (Bunko babe Stacey), Drew noticed something odd on the side of the road in the front of his house. It was a phone. It was OUR phone. We live EIGHT HOUSES down.

We left our phone in the garage Sunday while cleaning. The garage door was up. The neighbor’s dog, (aka “Sneakashit“) has been out alot Sunday and Monday. Methinks she nabbed the phone while we were inside and dropped it while making her social rounds in the ‘hood.

Strangely enough, this incident does give me a sense of hope. Because the things still missing? (Like my sanity, energy levels, and more recently, *sex drive.) Maybe I’ll eventually find them too!

*Dear family members and friends who read this site. Sorry for giving you far more information than you ever wanted.

P.S. Linlee’s baby is here! YEAY.

Last week was a tough one for WhyMommy. She found out she has cancer. But luckily, she has two little boys, a wonderful hubby, a great mom, and lots of fellow bloggers cheering her on. Her story hits home. (I have a cousin and aunt who beat breast cancer a few years ago.) And I KNOW WhyMommy can too. So let her know you’re thinking of her as she begins her treatments.

And speaking of cancer… There’s also a very cool rocker chick named Amanda (Marc’s cousin) who’s neck deep in the ass-kicking process. Her birthday is today, so why not stop by and say, “Hi.”

Amanda’s step-sister, Trish, was involved in an ATV accident at the beginning of summer. She’s now undergoing some serious physical therapy. But she’s doing some major butt-kicking of her own and gaining more independance each day. Give her a “shout out” too.

Did you see my last entry with the hair? Do you know who’s got fabulous hair? This lady. Oh and this lady too. Seriously, when I met Rebecca, I kept stealing looks at her hair — very shiny. And thick. Oh and you’ve GOT to see Melissa’s new do. (Pink!)

Oh guess who has such awesome hair, she’s often been asked to be a hair model? Isabel!

Last year, at BlogHer, Izzy had tons of people talking about how amazing her haircut was. (If you go to her Flicker pics, you can see the fabby-ness for yourself.)

Oh speaking of fabulous - this shoe whore (and I say that with love) sports some seriously fabulous heels. (Check out her blog’s header if you don’t believe me.)

You know who else is fabulous? Alissa. She’s quite a talented photographer.

Hope ya’ll have a FABULOUS week.

P.S. Colds and flu bring chaos to households. Whether its the kids, spouse or you — getting sick just plain sucks. That’s where Nozin comes in. Check out a review for Nozin on my other blog, Midwestern Mommy Review with Parentbloggers Network.