rip it off!

It’s been awhile since I’ve written and it feels sort of like ripping off a band-aid – I just need to do it fast and not think about it. And it will probably leave a little patch of hairless skin afterwards.

Since it has been so long, I feel as if I need to update you on the cast of usual characters. So here goes:

Bryan has quit his teaching job and now works in the oil field again. It’s the same kind of job he had a year and a half ago – the kind of job that makes money. He is still the same guy with perhaps a little less hair on his head. Don’t tell him I said that.

Wesley is three years old, going on thirty. The other day we were driving and the radio was on sort of in the background and he exclaimed, “I haven’t heard this song in years!” He only eats grilled cheese, which makes him a grilledcheese-atarian. Not even chicken nuggets. It’s very un-American and irritating. He is outgrowing a lot of his fears so now we can drive through the automatic car wash without listening to him sob. That is nice.

Wyatt will be two in June. His hobbies include crying for no reason, hitting people with random objects, and climbing things. He is trying to get a good jump on the terrible twos, apparently. Unlike his brother, he will eat pretty much anything, including mouthfuls of dirt. He is terrified of all animals, especially the neighbor’s dogs. He has his daddy wrapped around his sticky little finger.

I finally sold enough of our personal belongings on ebay to purchase a nice camera. This purchase made me instantly into a professional photographer. Or at least I could be one for Halloween. The first couple months that I had the camera, I pretty much took a lot of crappy pictures for free because I didn’t really know what I was doing. I’m getting better. Now I only take crappy pictures some of the time. I still have the home daycare. I love it with the same fondness that one might love a lingering case of hemorrhoids.

There now, that didn’t hurt a bit.

Okiemom is back on the prowl

Cough, cough. (That's from all the dust that just flew out of my keyboard when I opened it to type.) Well, in case you didn't notice, I have been on a little blog-cation for a few months but I am making my reappearance. Some of you have even mentioned my absence. This warms my spleen - makes me feel like if I really disappeared, someone might come check on me before my body had time to COMPLETELY decompose. Thanks, friends. I promise to be back in full swing soon.

hello - is anyone there?

It's like my mom always said - "Your friends are the ones who will be there for you when you need them."

Two days ago, I sent out a plea, asking that you all help me think of something to do every day for a year. And do you know how many responses I got? Are you ready? Two. Yes, that was the number that comes right after one and before three, TWO! I guess it's time to thank God that I didn't really need help - that I hadn't fallen into a well or wasn't choking on my own tongue - because with only TWO people to help me, I'm pretty sure I'd be stuck in that well or tongueless. And it wasn't because the prize offer was vague. In fact, one friend actually said he would take the Poop-Eating Dog. That's a true friend.

So, despite my feeling that you all apparently wouldn't post a comment if your life (or mine probably) depended on it, I'm going to share the ideas I've gotten so far.

Every day for a year, I could:
Hug a stranger
call my mother in law (talk to her every day already, though)
blog 10 words
post a blog
do a good deed
write a letter to someone

These are all good ideas, but I haven't gotten the one that really makes my heart beat faster yet. And don't worry - I haven't lost faith in you guys. Because my mom also used to say, "Cupcakes are not breakfast food," and she was WAY wrong on that one.

Send me ideas!

a plea for help

I need some help. From you.

Here's the scoop: yesterday, my friend, Steph, sent me a link to a website of a lady who made a New Year's Resolution to use her crock pot every day for a year. She writes about it every day, shares her recipes, and as an added bonus, she will crack your butt up. And then in People magazine last month, there was an article about a couple who made a resolution to have sex every day for a year. (Honestly, my reproductive organs hurt just thinking about that kind of workout...) Now, I've made a lot of New Year's Resolutions in my life, but none ever involving a crock pot or daily sex. How could I have missed out on those two?!?

So here's the part I need your help with. This idea of Do Something Every Day For a Year is sort of "in" right now. During my 31 years of life, I've missed out on the "in" thing too many times - I never had a Big Wheel, never had an Easy Bake oven, never wore parachute pants, never had a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese (and isn't that a right of every kid born in America?) I'm not missing out on this one.

I think the next step is to figure out what I could do and write about every day for a year. My self discipline muscle is sore just thinking about doing a year's worth of anything but I am up for this challenge.

I'm even going to come up with a prize for the person who comes up with the winning suggestion - a good prize, not just something I have laying around the house like a poop-eating dog or a baby.

Just send me suggestions. Keep in mind this needs to be something most people wouldn't do every day, but also something that won't land me in prison. Jail is fine, but not prison.

Game on!