Allergies are awful.

Sorry to state the obvious.  My head has been in a constant state of full and leaking for about a week. I just want to put my head down an sleep a while.  ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz  My sweet Allen has a stomach bug that is causing his diapers to be more unpleasant than the normal ones.  Fortunately everyone else in the house seems to be managing.

Not much to add today.  I can't seem to think straight.  Probably time for more coffee.

It's not exactly around the corner, but......

Christmas is coming, you guys.  I know, I know.  Half of you don’t want to talk about it, the other half is burying their head in the sand and the last half can’t wait.  Yes, I said half three times.  This isn’t a math blog; I can do what I want.  What are you doing/planning for gifts this year?  My husband’s large family refuses to do the honorable thing and draw names so everyone is still supposed to buy for everyone else.  Now that the nieces and nephews are grown and  married (mostly), this is getting hairy (read: EXPENSIVE).  So last year I decided to go with “family gifts” and made a game night basket (well, actually it was a bowl, but whatever).  I put in a couple packs of playing cards, a card game rule book, some microwave popcorn and some hot chocolate.  I packed  it up in a fun bowl with some colorful shredded paper, slapped on some cellophane and there you have it. 

Got any ideas that you’ve come up with for easy peasy gifts for Christmas that won’t sneak in your house and take money from your wallet while you sleep?  I’d love to hear them.  Especially any cool homemade stuff.  But it can’t be too hard.  I’m not sure I can be trusted with power tools.  And not homemade ugly, either.  We all know what I mean. 

                                                                                   Source

**Side note: Have you seen the musical Chicago? Whenever I hear/say/type the word cellophane the song “Mr. Cellophane” always comes to mind.  Now I’ll be singing that in my head all day.  And, if you know what I’m talking about, you will to.  You are welcome.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, get some culture people.  GO SEE A MUSICAL!  Here is a link to get you started: Mr. Cellophane

PopSugar Fall Style Box

Subscription boxes.  Who has one? I am new to the world of the mystery box, but I'm joining up.  I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the PopSugar Fall Style Box.  It should hit my doorstep any day now.  I tried to be good and stay away from spoilers, but I couldn't help myself.  So, see below if you want to know what is inside.  If not, stop here.

Not sure what it is?  PopSugar (among others) has a monthly subscription box.  You pay the fee, $35, shipping included and they send you a box.  It's that simple.  Then, each season, they seem to put out a special $100 box that is supposed to be just a little more luxurious than the rest of them.  That is the box I'm starting with.  I was too late to get the regular September box as it was already sold out. 

I am not affiliated in any way with PopSugar, but if you want to join, I'd love for you to use my referral link.  It's just a way for me to earn a free box if others sign up from my link. 

Now, for the Fall Luxury Box Spoilers:


Rachel Zoe Gold Knot Ring



Beurre & Sel Cookies:

Cynthia Vincent Silkscreen Cotton Shopper Bag:

 

 

 

Christian Lacroix Riviera A6 Lay Flat Notebook:

 

 

Goldfaden MD Skincare Doctor's Scrub:

 

 

 

 

Library of Flowers Bubble Bath:

 

Stila Luxe Eye Shadow Palette

I'm pretty excited to get mine in the mail.  It is a small way for me to treat myself each month.  Once I have the actual products in hand.  I'll come back and post a review.



Mobilize

I remember being a young girl in middle school and watching a close friend suffer through his father’s cancer diagnosis.  He was only getting worse and it was difficult to grasp the enormity of what they suffered.   My best friend and I wanted to do something for the family to help cheer them through the Christmas holiday.  I have no doubt that she is the one that came up with the initial idea.  I don’t even remember how we procured the goods we used, but what we did was a simple thing.  We did the 12 days of Christmas.  Each night, just after dark, either her mom or mine would drive slowly past their house.  She and I would jump out, run up the porch steps and leave an item to two by the door for the family; a cookie jar, Christmas candy, some kind of trinket to play with, etc., then we’d ring the bell and run as fast as we could back to the car and have our driver race away in hopes of remaining anonymous. It was a highlight of my youth and a defining moment for me in terms of who I was going to be.  What kind of person I’d grow into.

Now, I am standing by that same best friend as her husband battles a debilitating lung disease.  I am powerless to help him.  I cannot fix his lungs.  I cannot find a doctor who performs experimental miracles and has just such a trick up his sleeve for her husband.  But I know what I can do.  I can rally the troops and organize deliveries just like she did.   As it stands we are currently arranging a meal rotation for those who want to leave one for her and a gift card rotation for those who just don’t, can’t or won’t cook.  The outpouring of support and love is uplifting. I don’t believe in Karma or putting good into the universe in order to have good returned, but I do like to see someone that is always willing and ready to help others  see that support returned when she most needs it. 

There will be long hospital stays in their future.  I’d love any thoughts on what would make that more comfortable for the patient, my friend and their young son (elementary school age).

You don’t have to be in school to learn!

It took me 35 years and the internet to figure that out.  Do you have any idea the wealth of knowledge there is on the internet?  I was so blown away by the thought that I don’t need to sit in a classroom to learn a subject that it just about knocked me over.  Seems obvious, I know.  I’m slow.  The altruism of the internet is amazing to me.  There are so many FREE tutorials on practically everything that someone somewhere sat down and painstakingly put together.  In the immortal words of Mr. T, "Stay in school! Don't do drugs!" I am not saying you shouldn't go to school by far, but that you aren't limited to a traditional classroom for knowledge. 

Case in point – I had an old sewing machine collecting dust at my grandmother’s house and no idea how to sew two pieces of fabric together.   A few quick Google searches and a hesitant trip to the fabric store for supplies and voila – I made a zipper  pouch.  Can you believe it?  I guess if you sew you can believe it, but if you don’t sew……………………….!  I know, right?  I even lined it. Next I moved on to a few simple skirts for my girls and some PJ pants for my little guy! My next goal is to learn to read a pattern since most everything I’ve done down has just been written directions.   Thanks to a few individuals on the internet and Pinterest to help me bookmark it all, I have plans for sew many projects  (ßDid you see what I did there?)

I'm still new to the blog world, so I don't have any photos on hand, but if I get a little better at this, I'll try to go back and add them.

I started a blog and didn't tell anyone.

I started this blog 4 years ago and didn't tell anyone.  I put a few posts on it and then promptly forgot about it.  Now 4 long years and much blog fodder has gone by without so much as a comma from me.  Since I have such a HUGE following I'm certain that everyone has just been bursting with curiosity at what I was doing.  Not that much, actually, with a minor exception.  We have added a new member to our merry band of weirdos, Allen.  Wait, wait, I guess I should back up and do a re-intro.

I am Lois.  My husband is William.  We have 3 children: Emily, 12, Elizabeth, 9 and Allen 3. We are weird and fun.  William is the "he" in the blog title.  The man really cannot help himself when he comes up with crazy things that he says. He has passed that funny ability on to our children.  This blog is starting out as a snapshot of our funny moments and whatever else that I care to talk about.  I don't know if anyone will ever read it.  At worst I'll have a digital diary for my kids some day, which isn't a bad thing.  At best, I'll make a zillion dollars and can quit my day job.  Who knows. 

**Side note.  I try to catch all the typos and I know they are irritating when you see them.  Give me some grace.  Sometimes I'm in a hurry to go play superheros with Allen and don't check quite as well as I should.  And, should this blog take off or I keep writing, maybe one day I'll be blogging with a grandbaby on my lap.  So the typos my be here a while despite my best effort.  Playing superhero guys with your mama always trumps everything else when you are a 3 year old boy and a 30something mama.

Sheets

I have finally met my match in stubborness in my 5 year old, Elizabeth. I was changing the sheets on her bed last night before bed. I had put on the Hello Kitty sheets only to discover that she wanted the pink sheets. Well, too bad, the Hello Kitty sheets were already on the bed and I wasn't changing them. After a tearful good night (from her, not me) I went downstairs.

When I came up again in the morning to wake them for school, what do I find? Elizabeth is sleeping on the floor. Rather than sleep on those Hello Kitty sheets underneath her cozy electric blanket, she spent the night in her sleeping bag on the floor. When I woke her she casually said, "I thought I'd sleep on the floor last night." To which I replied, "You really wanted those pink sheets, huh?" As she points to the unslept in bed with the offending Hello Kitty sheets she says, "I hate those sheets." Case closed.

I have to admire her for her resourcefulness in solving her own problem, and her pluck for not backing down. Both will serve her will in years to come, assuming she uses her powers for good. :) But I am also a little nervous for what the teen years will bring if this is how she acts now. God help me.

Tonight I am not sure how I will respond. Should/will I put the pink sheets on to reward her effort, or should I leave the Hello Kitty sheets on to test her resolve? Odds her she will have forgotten all about it by bed time, but only time will tell. Kids are strange animals.