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The (Finally) Book Club
June 16, 2010 by NaysWay · Leave a Comment
I took a personality test once. It was before there was a Mooter or a Booger. But not before there was a BFam (because he’s been here forever! …sucker). Everything about this test pointed to me being an A-type personality. Organized. Regimented. Law-abiding. Calm. Methodical. Then there was this one question, one where I had to say whether or not I was a procrastinator. (I think I skipped that one, answered all the rest, then forgot to come back to it later.) Needless to say, the way I answered that question totally changed the scope of my personality test.
Hi. My name is NaysWay, and I’m a procrastinator.
For some months now (maybe since January?), I’ve had an icon on the bottom of my home page touting a Book Club that did not exist. At first I put graphic stickers all around it. “COMING SOON!” they said. Then life happened and craziness ensued. Before I knew it, I didn’t have the time or resources to make good on my Coming Soon promise. I felt like a failure. A hopeful failure, because I still wanted to do it, but a failure nonetheless.
Now, with barely any more time than I’d had before, I am giving myself the necessary kick-in-the-pants I need to finish what I started. Instead of punking out and removing the feature from the site, I am following through. Hallelujah! Hooray for follow-thru!
Introducing The Book Club.
Every week, I will showcase a new book I’m reading. That’s right. I said every week. (I just heard my mother laugh at me and I want to say, for the record, that’s not nice.) Will I finish the book? That remains to be seen, but I will try my darndest. It’s Summer, for goodness sakes. The perfect time for reading! Or, in my case, catching up. In conjunction with my showcases, I will highlight fun finds in the literary world, great sites about writing, places to go for youth reading programs and other wonderful goodies.
Amazon Associates has made it virtually impossible not to promote their products and your desires in a web-friendly format. You’ll see a few widgets on this site here and there. AND, get this… they even have set-ups where you can create your own bookstore. Guess what? I DID! If you like a book I referenced, look no further! No, seriously. You don’t even have to leave the site. Consider this your one-stop shop for all things literature. How cool is that?
Budget permitting, I will even have give-a-ways! Wa-hoo! Fun things like Amazon gift cards. Don’t want to buy books? No problem. Take your gift card and buy what you want. I’ve always wanted an opportunity to give back, and what better platform than getting people reading again?
So get involved! Tell a friend! Spread the word! EXCLAMATION MARKS ALL AROUND!!!
OK, I’ll be quiet now.
Tone Deaf Bell
June 14, 2010 by NaysWay · Leave a Comment
I know I’m going to burn in hell, or have broken some perfect parenting code from the perfect parenting handbook, but the days Mooter doesn’t have softball practice or games light up my life. Sure, I want her to be active. Sure, I want her to make friends and learn team sportsmanship. Yes to all these things.
But momma’s tired. And momma needs to clean house. And momma needs to pay bills. And momma needs to shop for groceries.
Did I mention how tired momma is?
Over the weekend, we had no practice. No game. AND RAIN! HA! See. Even the universe is tired of softball. Who can argue with the universe? So, momma got to clean. And sleep. Sleep was nice. While I cleaned, I could hear a loud, off-key song being sung from the girls’ room. This is not uncommon. My children often break out in fits of song.
No, their last name isn’t von Trapp. Why do you ask?
As they’re singing, one sounds like Mushmouth, while the other is clear as a bell. A tone deaf bell, but a bell. Mushmouth then asks Tone Deaf Bell for help. “Sing the song again. Slowly because I’m messing up the words. OK, stop playing around. I’m serious. Will you just sing the song already?” Tone Deaf Bell finally relents long enough for Oh-So-Tired Momma to eavesdrop, grab her camera, stand her in the family room, and demand she do it again. For future blackmail documentation purposes.
What is this song, you ask?
Excuse my focus, or lack thereof. It’s hard to hone in on a nervous four-year-old.
Also? As I learned later? The Pledge of Allegiance? Yeah. HAS to be said in conjunction with the song. HAS to be. ‘Tis unpatriotic if it’s not… or something.
Oh, and the flag t-shirt was purely coincidental. I swear.
The Jowels of Discontent
June 11, 2010 by NaysWay · Leave a Comment
There are times I wonder about Bo.
I mean really, really wonder about him.
He’s a pug. Pugs always look… sad.
Depressed.
Malcontent.
Discontent.
What’s the difference between malcontent and discontent? I looked them up. I feel like I’m getting tricked in thinking there’s a difference.
Either that, or I can’t read.
Even running is a chore.
I’m not sure you want to call this running, now that I look at it.
Trotting? Walk-running? High stepping?
Uh oh. I think he heard me.
D’oh!
iPlay: James Brown
June 10, 2010 by NaysWay · 3 Comments
My first year in college, I was listless. The mentors I was assigned wanted to screw me. My academic advisors just wanted to fill graduate school credits. The campus was hit with one of the worst blizzards on record. The major I’d initially chosen sucked, while all others required me to be on a waiting list that would take me well beyond a four-year college career. And, to top it all off, I was busted for a contact high. I had no idea what to do with myself, and I was frustrated.
That same Fall, Dead Presidents hit theaters. A huge Larenz Tate fan (and a clear sign I have a thing for short men), I mowed people down just to see it. I was obsessed. The next day, I bought the soundtrack and a huge wall poster that glowed and scared the hell out of visitors whenever the lights were out. (Turn on a black light, and it was Pee Pants Central.)
I played the soundtrack so much, I was almost sure I’d break the stereo in my room. Filled with soulful hits from the 60′s and 70′s like Walk On By from Isaac Hayes, and If There’s A Hell Below from Curtis Mayfield, I was also almost sure I was scaring the living crap out of my very white roommates.
And, whenever I was having a particularly bad day, I would play this song. A lot.
Yeah. I’d have been a little scared of me, too.
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Song: The Payback
Artist: James Brown
Album: The Payback (February 1974)
FEAR says: Before Bill Duke, this was the man who told you you’d effed up. Classic.
Whatever Wednesday: Smells Like Summer
June 9, 2010 by NaysWay · Leave a Comment
This plant grows in what used to be my neighbor’s yard. Every now and then, I like to look at it and think it’s her stopping by for a visit. It’s the only plant my children won’t pick from, the only plant Bo lays next to, and the one indicator that summer is coming soon.
Mooter wants to see the new Karate Kid movie. I told her we could but, even without seeing the movie yet, she thinks she can do the karate moves just because she can do a split. To prove how right she was, she demonstrated the same kick seen on the promotional poster. Then promptly got her foot stuck.
I love that kid.
Father’s Day is coming up and I have no idea what to get my husband. Subsequently, our ten-year anniversary is coming up… and I have no idea what to get my husband. This is bad. Anyone else having this problem? (With Father’s Day, not my anniversary. Though suggestions would be nice there, also.)
I signed the girls up for a summer reading program with our local library. Neither of them were excited until I told them they win prizes the more they read. Bribery. Such a long-standing tradition in my house.
A friend of mine asked when was the last time BFam and I went out for an adult night. When I told her never, she was shocked. The more I thought about it, so was I. Hopefully, we can remedy that problem over the summer.
This is the last place BFam and I visited for our anniversary, five years ago. We haven’t been anywhere again since.
I’m detecting a pattern here and I can’t quite put my finger on what it’s called. Oh, I got it. LAME.
Summer. Don’t leave anytime soon. We need you.
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