Quick Takes Friday

1.

Six More Weeks of Winter

I'd be fine with the ground hog's prediction if I could sleep for 42 more days.  If I were the critter, I'm not sure why I'd ever predict anything else. As it so happens, Phil did see his shadow and we are under a BIG SNOW alert.  We are expecting 2-3 feet of the stuff.  It will start around 10 a.m. today and go until 10 p.m. tomorrow.  Then there will be more snow Monday and another storm Friday.  Personally, I'm praying for just a smidge of global warming and in the meatime, I'm off to Home Depot in search of a snow blower and more shovels.

2.

Can I take My Toys and Go Home?

I am very tired of political parties declaring that the other guys are the worst thing since original sin. There is plenty of blame to go around for Republicans, Democrats and Independents.  The deficit is insane. It's scary.  I don't see anyone actually engaged in fiscal restraint or even slightly less exhuberance towards spending.

3.

Hold Please, I'm Mad Libbing

I'm giving up multi-tasking.  I was on the phone and trying to switch the laundry and I couldn't figure out how to spell the name of the town I live in giving those A as in apple, T as in Tom type aids.  Got stuck on R, used "Not" for N and had an unnatural pause before adding the final "G."

4.

Placebo Parenting

With the youngers, citing an outside authority often allows me to enforce order when my own status is insufficient.  The age old "Wait until Dad gets home" works, but for swifter results, I talk about how maybe this situation  (whatever it is) might be the inspiration for a blog.

5.

Maybe It was Bad Then Too

Why does the fact that my middle daughter found and fell in love with 8o's rock (which as a teen I adored), disturb me?

6.

You Could Read a Lot More if You Weren't So Picky

After a steady diet of children's books, my brain feels fried and flat.  My daughter only reads fantasy and I've given her all the good ones I can think of, and am trying to broaden her literary tastes. It's a bit of a problem because I too get into funks where I'm just not excited by the literature around our house. Then of course, there are the crazy ambitious moments when I hoarde titles like a squirrel preparing for winter. 

They stack up and I weed through them until I find the really one I want to read and the rest gather dust until the next manic literary craze hits.  Having finished a book last week, I'm still in the reading zone and thus I'm really pining for a good book.  After rejecting my latest offerings, my daughter suggested I write her one.  Maybe I need to write the book I want to read too.    

7.

But There Is No Chocolate

My husband went shopping for the big snow. He bought chips and ice cream and milk and paper products, diapers and bread and beef, in other words, Man Food!  Now with the Super Bowl in two days, man food is required stuff, but really!  We're going to be snowed in for a few days.  How am I supposed to survive?

P.S.

Husband just called, he's taken care of his omission.  I will now go and purchase a snow blower to make this bearable.  Sorry it took so long to put this up but there were more than the average number of interruptions to writing this morning. This was fun, but getting to seven was hard work!