A #2 pencil and a dream...

"A #2 pencil and a dream can take you anywhere." ~ Joyce A. Meyers

Writing instruments are serious business for some people. It's no surprise that there are so many types. Your first choice is pen or pencil. For the pen lovers you've got ballpoint, rollerball, felt and even gel. Points come in fine, calligraphy, medium, thick. There are the "nice" pens, with refills, that business-types carry in the inside-breast pocket of their suit jackets. Retractable or capped. And colors! Good grief, so many colors! Do you remember when pens were red, black or blue? Back when the BIC 4-color retractable pen gave you the option of green?! It was so avant-garde! Now there are even ergonomic and "environmentally preferable" selections. I am still in search of that perfect pen that I just can't live without. I'd like to use that as an excuse for why my handwriting is so poor. However, I know that it's just because I didn't listen to my mom when she told me to slow down and write more neatly. (Ironically I now hear the same message, but in my own voice, being told to my oldest daughter.)

The science and number types still seem to prefer pencils...usually mechanical. My father, a nuclear engineer, used a pocket protector until the day he retired...always with mechanical pencils and may be one ball-point retractable pen in case of a needed signature. Although my search for the perfect pen continues, I do love myself a good old-fashioned #2 pencil. I find the lead to be sturdier than the thin point of a mechanical. And graphite on paper...it's classic. I have such an affinity for pencils that I'm regularly purchasing cute holiday-themed or quirky-designed pencils. They make their way into just about every birthday or holiday treat bag I've made for the kids.

That's why the investment in an electric pencil sharpener has brought me so much joy. When the girls first started school, I got a battery operated pencil sharpener. What a waste. It did a miserable job of providing that perfect point. It was so frustrating to pull a pencil out of the cup to find it with a broken point or never sharpened. Now...with this simple little, tried and true invention...I too have the perfect writing implement always on hand.

A new kind of resolution

I really enjoyed the following article that was in the Arizona Republic on January 1st...

Enough already with the guilt-ridden, I'm-so-fat, I'm-so-lazy, I-must-fix-my-life New Year's Resolutions. We're over it. They don't help. Get a grip! There's nothing wrong with you. You're fine. Sure, pick a goal. Do it. You're capable. But no more of this beating yourself up. The phrase is not 'Have a Guilty New Year.' Take a breath. See the good in yourself. If you must make a resolution, start with one of these. Because the biggest word in 'Happy New Year' should be happy.

♥ Leave your change in the vending machine for someone else to find. ♥ Send a handwritten letter to a child. With a stamp. Write their name on the envelope. They should know the thrill. ♥ Kiss someone as if you mean it. ♥ Get 10 things out of your closet that make you feel bad. Take them to Goodwill. ♥ Frame a piece of art. ♥ Thank someone in uniform. ♥ Adopt a dog or cat from a rescue organization. ♥ Go 24 hours without the Internet. ♥ Dissect the junk drawer. ♥ Find a new recipe. No, a new one. ♥ When a friend or co-worker loses a loved one, mark it on the calendar. Ask how he or she is doing in six months. ♥ See a late movie. ♥ Wear your seat belt, and make others do it, too. ♥ Do one thing you keep putting off. ♥ Laugh out loud in real life. ♥ Download music in another language. ♥ Get to know the benefit of the doubt. ♥ Take your child out of school one day and go play. ♥ Leave a wildly inappropriate tip. ♥ Take a leap of faith. ♥ Put a plant on your desk. Something else should be alive in your cubicle. ♥ Change the radio station. ♥ Stop feeling guilty unless you really are. ♥ Get a physical. ♥ Buy something in a new color. ♥ Eat somewhere across town. ♥ Notice someone. ♥ Come up with a new, satisfying cuss word. ♥ Sign your organ-donation card. ♥ Write a manifesto. ♥ Watch an old movie. ♥ Pay anonymously for the person behind you in the drive-through lane at the coffee shop. ♥ Buy flowers for no reason. ♥ Eat on the patio in January. Call a friend in the Northeast as you do. ♥ Find an old friend. ♥ Pick up a rock that catches your eye. Carry it around in your pocket. ♥ Make a CD or playlist of the music you loved in high school. Play it to distraction. ♥ Spend one day by yourself. ♥ Deal with your photos. (You know you want to.) ♥ Make an appointment with yourself at 3 each day to walk around the block. Yes, while you're at work. ♥ Get a library card. ♥ Who was your teenage pop crush? Find a photo and print it. ♥ Put the Christmas lights away right. ♥ Pick one thing you don't understand and learn about it. ♥ Throw out the old ketchup packets in your desk drawer. ♥ Stop texting while driving. ♥ Buy new music. And not just the top-selling hit on iTunes. ♥ Pick one negative thing your brain tells you and set it straight. ♥ Talk to the person in the corner. ♥ Put folded-up dollar bills in a spot in your car so you can easily give one to someone on the corner. ♥ Learn the art of deep breathing. ♥ Watch cartoons on Saturday morning. ♥ Stop using made-up words. ♥ Take old towels to a vet or pet shelter. ♥ Write a fan letter. ♥ Vow to stop dressing up your pets. ♥ Register to vote. ♥ Actually vote. ♥ Make a list of your 10 favorite books and re-read them. ♥ Pay attention to a child who isn't yours. ♥ Vow to look at the cellphone bill and figure out why it costs that much. ♥ Walk up one flight of stairs a day. When you can do that, make it two. ♥ Mute the commercials. ♥ Are you a birthday slacker? Vow not to miss one all year. ♥ Ask doctors hard questions. They work for you. ♥ Deal with what holds you back. ♥ Buy a turntable at a garage sale and play your vinyl records. ♥ Smile at someone cute in a car. ♥ Put an old leash in your car in case you see a lost dog. ♥ If you never apologize, learn to do it well. If you apologize too often, learn to stop. ♥ Buy ribbon. ♥ If you're in a rut, get out. ♥ Send a thank-you note to a teacher who made a difference in your life. ♥ Take a different way to work. ♥ Remember that dream? Take a baby step. Just one. ♥ Stop for a doughnut. Just one. ♥ Write a love letter. ♥ And OK, sure: Eat well, exercise, quit smoking. (No lecture. We just like having you around.) Diane Porter, published in the Arizona Republic, January 1, 2012

How many things did you think, "Oh, I should do that.". I had 29...plus it then made me think of a few more I want to try. How many times has your resolution been related to diet or exercise? Have you been to a gym in January? Based on the crowds, it's been everyone's resolution at some point. Truth be told, most of us have over indulged over the holidays so getting back on track after the first...it comes naturally. So how about trying a few easy resolutions that make you...or someone else...happy?

Giving appropriate credit, here's a link to Ms. Porter's article.

Whistle while you work...

Megan mastered the whistle a few months back. Since then she's taken to whistling all the time. Getting ready for school, homework, doing chores, riding her scooter, in the car, drawing...you name it, she's probably whistling. Sometimes Emily gets a little tired of it and asks her to stop. Personally, I love how it has become regular background noise in our life. It's like having a grandpa in the house...or living in a Disney animated film.

First grade smiles

I don't know about you but I rate first grade smiles as some of the all time best smiles...

Candy Smackdown

In the spirit of Halloween, our local newspaper (yes, we still get the newspaper) recently had a Candy Smackdown. Set up like a NCAA Basketball bracket, you worked your way from 64 candies down to the champion. We had a lot of fun making our "picks". Once we got down to the Elite Eight, we made it count with a full-fledged taste test. This involved a trip to our local candy store, Sweeties, that carries all the old time favorites. My mom even got in on the fun as our official tie-breaker. And the winner at our house?



Twix...winning 4 to 1 in the championship round (Steve picked Butterfinger). It must have been the caramel and chocolate deliciousness combined with the cookie crunch. Yum!

Cat scan

Geddy Lee, 1 year

First day of school 2011

This Monday was the first day of the new 2011/12 school year. Both girls (and parents) were excited to get back into the regular routine that school brings. Emily got the teacher she hoped for and has many of her friends in class again this year. Megan was a little disappointed that she didn't get the same 1st grade teacher that Emily had previously, but she seems to have recovered and is happy have advanced to the 'big playground'. Both are also tickled that their lunch breaks overlap by a few minutes, allowing them to see each other during the course of each and every school day (I love that they still enjoy each other).

Both girls were happy to sport their new outfits and backpacks before embarking on a fabulous new year.