As you know, we have started the college search for the older boy. As we begin this journey, we’re trying to get a feel for what he wants in a school: size, location, programming, community, etc. Here’s what we’ve done so far: 1. Visited a small, private college (student population: 2,400) 2. Visited a large, public university (student population: 26,000) 3. Attended a College Fair, where we collected information for more than twenty-five schools that offer both majors the boy is interested in pursuing 4. Sent off for additional information from a few schools 5. Visited the local community college Number five? We did that just last week. The community…
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What’s Next, Bungee Jumping?
A couple of days ago, just READING about something had me in a mini panic attack. Your honor, Exhibit A: The I’ll never, as long as I live, call it the Willis Tower, ever, ever, ever Sears Tower has already begun some, renovations, shall we say, that will be completed in June. They are taking out four windows on the 103rd floor in order to install glass-bottomed skydecks, so certifiably insane adventurous people (and, obviously, non acrophobes) can feel like they’re “walking on air” over the city. The attraction will be called The Ledge. A ledge is what folks normally talk others OFF OF, so I find myself wondering if…
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Hello? Is This Thing On???
Just checking to see how much of a pain in the you-know-what it is, posting from my phone. I guess it's better than a poke in the eye with a stick…
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Creative Parenting 101: Holding Onto Your Babies, One Illegible Page At A Time
Every now and then here at the Scrawl I like to throw in a “Creative Parenting 101” post. It’s been a while, and I thought that Fatherhood Friday would be a good day to bring it back this week. Whether you are a parent or not, you absolutely know that each little bit of childhood is a fleeting thing. Once those crazy kids grow a bit and move beyond the current stage they’re in, it’s all over (most of the time! I’m not talking about when they move out and then move back…). That’s why I have mentally frozen moments in time for my own selfish purposes; for example, I…
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I’m Just Helping You Locate A Season Premiere, That’s All
Here’s a quick programming note: One of my tv obsessions, “The Locator”, has a new season starting this Saturday, March 21 at 9:00 Eastern/8:00 Central on WEtv! Yay! You may recall the little post that I did about the show back in October when I first, er, located it. Troy Dunn, the Locator himself, even left me a comment! That was thrilling. (and, when you think about it, not surprising at all that a P.I. would have a Google Alert set for his own name or tv show title) If you missed it, click here to read it. So, I for one know where my butt will be on Saturday…
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Paradise By the Dashboard Light…
…but not tonight. See this picture? That’s a Shamrock Shake from McDonalds. Was that photo taken this evening? NO. It was taken a couple of weeks ago, when we treated ourselves to the newly available (for this year) Shamrock Shakes. I love those things. No, you don’t understand. I LOVE THEM. Not like some women love their fences, mind you, but I definitely have a weakness for Shamrock Shakes. I like them so much that, where most normal people will nurse a shake for oh, I don’t know, thirty or more minutes?–I risk serious stomach issues because of my borderline lactose intolerance, sucking that shake down in record time. Like,…
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Happy Homemaker Tip #2
First, before I officially start this post, I have to tell you that if you came by for a visit yesterday and found that the link at the end of yesterday’s post didn’t take you to the place you were thinking, it has been fixed now and you will be taken to the right place. Or the wrong place. Depends on how you think about it. Long story short, it’s been fixed. Click away. I dare you. Today’s Happy Homemaker Tip is not something I personally came up with, but it has saved us lots of time and arguments around this house. The boys, though once were in sizes far…
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Happy Homemaker Tip #1
There are a lot of people out there (myself included) who love to get little tips on how to make life just a little bit easier. Anytime I come across a magazine that has a “Reader to Reader” section (I believe “Family Circle” and “Family Fun” are two of them that I have devoured many times), I am in heaven. Sometimes the tips are no-brainers to me; sometimes I feel like I’ve found buried treasure. It’s for that reason that I decided to add another sporadically appearing feature here at the Scrawl: Happy Homemaker Tips. You won’t see any Martha Stewart-ish complexities like labeling the shelves of your linen closet…
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Sometimes You Just Need A “Little” Push From Someone Already Over The Edge.
If you watch “The Biggest Loser”, you have seen (and enjoyed) this clip of Bob *totally* freaking out all over Joelle, the woman who notoriously slacked off of her workouts, squandering the opportunity (to be on the show) that so many other people in the country would have given their first children to have. If you watch “The Biggest Loser”, you know that Bob does *not* freak out on anyone, ever. That’s what Jillian is known for. If you watch “The Biggest Loser”, you will be thrilled to watch this particular clip, because it’s the extended version of Bob’s rampage. If you don’t watch “The Biggest Loser”, I think you…
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At A Crossroads, Again.
A couple of days ago, I was rooting around, trying to find some stuff to donate to Amvets since I committed to leaving a bag out for them. I looked at my bookshelf and started pulling books out…and then I noticed a theme. With the exception of the Writer’s Market at the bottom of the stack, all of these books that I pulled to donate to Amvets are books I bought ages ago with the hopes that they would help me get to various personal goals. How’d it work for me? Let’s see. 1. Simplify Your Life by Elaine St. James (subtitle: 100 Ways to slow down and enjoy the…