We have been writing a 2 as the first digit of our year now for 11+ years. I think we’re all used to the fact that any low number year that is mentioned happened in the year 2000 or later. So can we drop the 0 now? I mean, why do I have to say “Oh we got married in 2001”? Or ’01? Can’t I just say 1? I doubt anyone out there is thinking, WOW this chick looks fantastic for getting married in 1901! If you want to share a story of something that happened in 2010 no one would think you meant 1910 or 1810! We’re all busy people. Who wouldn’t want the extra seconds back that you’d save by not saying two thousand each time you mention the year?? Who’s with me?? Start practicing. In 11 we’ll be married 10 years. In 12 we’re going on a Disney cruise. In 13 I’ll be 40. See how easy!
Bless Your Heart
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I recently signed up to receive email updates from Couponing to Disney. I don’t coupon but I like a lot of her tips and freebies. CSP isn’t big on coupons (and he’s a grocery store manager!) and we do the bulk of our shopping at Aldi where everything is private label so they don’t take coupons. But I read recently, I think it was on one of the Couponing to Disney emails, that if you are really diligent in your couponing that your hourly rate (if you equated it to being paid) would be over $80! That’s amazing! I have friends who are really into couponing. They have binders and know how to check all the ads and are real pros at it. I have been thinking about whether or not I should give it a go. Thing is though, it’s just us two. Also, we are short on storage space. We don’t have a pantry. We do have a laundry room but it’s more of an extra large closet. I’ve seen situations where people have mini storerooms in their houses! Rows and rows of product. So for those of you who coupon, would it be worth it for me to do it? I was thinking that if I started now then I’d be pretty good at it by the time the kidlets come home. But if you have to have a ton of storage space to do it right then count me out. Help! -
I asked CSP who did he take to the prom? I don’t remember was his reply. Who was your first kiss? I don’t remember. Your first date? I don’t remember. Your first hanky panky? Again, I don’t remember. How is this possible? He barely remembers our first date. Or where he puts things. Or what we did yesterday. Me? I can tell you every detail of every prom I went to. All about my first crush, first kiss, first heartbreak, etc. Sure, some other details get a little foggy (like where I put my back up pair of glasses), but milestone events? I’ve got that down. So how does he NOT know?? Is this a man thing? Or has CSP just started seriously losing his mind??
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I receive the Photojojo newsletter in my email and the just talked about the coolest thing! They now make SD memory cards for your camera that upload your pics for you- straight from your camera via wifi! Amazing! It’s called Eye Fi. Your pictures go to a photo sharing site like Flickr. Eye Fi is not the cheapest thing but you’re paying for convenience and magic! The more you pay the more features and memory you get. Think about all the cool events this would be great for! Births, birthdays, parties, graduations, trips etc. If some family and friends can’t be there but you’re near wifi, then your fam & friends can watch it unfold as it happens via the photos you upload! It’s like they’re there in real time! Amazing! The photography nut/techno geek in me is drooling! -
On Jimmy Fallon the other night they talked about the worst date you’ve ever been on via hash tags on Twitter. He received some hilarious responses. Got me thinking about some of my terrible dates. I kissed a LOT of frogs before I found CSP!
- One guy took me to dinner at Olive Garden then to a movie. He kept burping up his dinner all throughout the movie. Stunk SO bad! I had to go out for air so I wouldn’t throw up!
- One guy told me we were going out for Mexican for dinner on our first date. He took me to Taco Bell.
- Another guy used a coupon for dinner, stopped at a vending machine and told me I’d better get my movie beverage and snacks at the machine, then I had to pay for my own movie. I’m all for being frugal but come on!
- The same guy (I can’t believe I gave him another chance!) and I went to a friend’s house for a barbeque. Before we all sat down to eat Mr. CheapSkate made himself a sandwich to go, put it in a ziploc bag and put it by the door! He said he was preparing for work the next day. I broke up with him there and had someone else take me home!
Tell me about your worst date!
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I have not read the book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. I have read many articles about the book, which is not as good as reading the book itself. I’m not sure I want to read the book. But that’s not what this post is about. As you can imagine, over the last 5 years of our adoption journey, and even for years before we started the adoption process, I’ve been more than a casual observer of parents and parenting styles. Much like the betrothed girl makes mental notes at her friends’ weddings, I’ve been creating a file of parenting dos and don’ts in my head. CSP & I have discussed at length the different parenting styles we’ve experienced and observed and our feelings on both. We’ve attended seminars and webinars. We’ve read books and articles and blogs galore. We’ve watched films. We completed the foster parenting classes. We have a good idea of the types of parents we want to be. We also know that all our ideas and dreams might be turned on their heads when our kidlet arrives. We’re smart enough to know that we have to be flexible and that each child is different.Back to the Tiger Mother. Amy Chua has sparked quite an uproar on mommy blogs and among parents of all types. I’ve not seen much, any really, talk about this book amongst my mom friends. I’m very curious to hear what y’all think about Ms. Chua’s parenting style. Now, I’m sure that we are all in agreement that it’s not good to call your children “gargbage” and I’m not interested in debating the differences between Western and Chinese parenting styles. Some critics are saying that Ms. Chua’s book is misrepresenting Chinese parents anyway. If you boil it all down though, I think the debate can be summed up with strict vs. indulgent parenting.
CSP & I have been witness to both. And we’ve noticed that many of our friends are more strict as parents than recent generations. It feels almost as if we’re getting back to a similar parenting style that we grew up with. We like that. No means no, there are consequences for your actions, we leave if you act out, etc. I don’t think this is anywhere close to being a “Tiger Mother” but it’s a far cry from the indulgent or absentee parenting that some may say is responsible for kids disrespecting their parents, poor work ethics, the recent rash of bullying and teenage pregnancies, etc.
We want to be firm, fair, and consistent parents. We want to be loving and promote good self esteem while also instilling drive, determination, and a good work ethic. We want to prepare our kids for the harsh realities of the world while they enjoy the fun of a magical childhood. Maybe we’ve got stars in our eyes. Maybe we’re naive. But we think (hope) we can strike a good balance between harsh Tiger Mother and pushover Kitty Mom. And if we do then maybe our kids will turn out pretty great.
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When CSP & I met he had never been on a cruise. We actually met because of a cruise. I don’t know if I’ve told that story here yet. I searched my blog but too many posts came up when I searched “how I met CSP” so I got impatient. Anyway, CSP was invited to go on a cruise by my BIL who was then just my friend because BIL & my roommate had broken up after we’d all booked a cruise. But none of us save BIL knew CSP. By the time the cruise came around CSP & I were in lurve. Anyway, that cruise was super fun but ended terribly. Problems with customs held up debarkation for the entire ship. We weren’t allowed off the ship until 8 and a half hours after we were supposed to board our flight home. And we were in San Juan so that added an extra layer of difficulty. That experience turned CSP off cruising for a LONG time. He didn’t step aboard another ship until Lisa & Pete’s wedding cruise in November 2008. That one he loved. I recently told y’all about our cruise next year to celebrate CSP’s 40th bday and our 10th anniversary plus the Alaska cruise we’d like to take. All of these trips CSP has been keen on, but he’s never broached the subject of a cruise on his own. Until…..
Recently he saw a commercial that combined his greatest love (other than me) and my greatest love (other than him): Starbucks at Sea. My boy LOVES Starbucks. He rarely goes more than a couple days without a stop at Starbucks. He knows that as long as he’s married to me I’m gonna be dragging him on cruises (where apparently the coffee does not measure up). But now he can get his Starbucks fix on the high seas! The Allure of the Seas has a Starbucks! It’s also the biggest ship in the world (for the moment).
I found a picture of the Starbucks on the Allure of the Seas and it’s quite pretty! 
Alas, CSP will have to wait a while before sipping his cuppa on the deck of that ship. The new ships are always in the most demand and are usually more expensive. Plus we’ve got the 2012 and the Alaska trip to save our pennies toward. Ah well, a boy can dream. -
My birthday is August 3. Has been for 37.5 years. I am a textbook Leo.Positive Traits • Generous and warmhearted
• Creative and enthusiastic
• Broad-minded and expansive
• Faithful and lovingNegative Traits • Pompous and patronizing
• Bossy and interfering
• Dogmatic and intolerantLeo Likes: speculative ventures, lavish living, rich food, children, drama, pageantry and grandeur Leo Dislikes:doing anything safely, day-to-day living, small-minded people, penny-pinching and mean spiritedness
I mean, that’s me to a T! Then I find out that there’s a new zodiac sign and I’m no longer a Leo?? I’m a crabby Cancer?? No offense to other Cancers, I’m sure y’all are fabulous.
So I pulled up the traits of a Cancer and….well, it seems they kind of fit me too. Actually they REALLY fit me. Just as much as Leo!
Positive Traits • Emotional and loving
• Intuitive and imaginative
• Shrewd and cautious
• Protective and sympatheticNegative Traits • Changeable and moody
• Overemotional and touchy
• Clinging and unable to let goCancer Likes: hobbies, romance, children, parties, home and country. Cancer Dislikes:failure, opposition, aggravating situations, being told what to do and being given advice…whether good or bad.
And I do love crab legs, but does that make me a cannibal?
Turns out CSP is the new guy, the Opiuchus. He’s NOTHING like this:
- Seeker of peace and wisdom
- Attractor of good luck and jealousy
- Interpreter of dreams
- One who reaches for the stars
- Wearer of plaid (this one is oddly specific)
He does wear plaid pj pants though! Maybe they’re on to something after all!
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When I type out my blog posts there’s a plug in thing that WordPress has called Zemanta that analyzes the text then offers up Wikipedia links and images to help enrich your blog posts. It’s pretty cool. Anyway, every time I type CSP into a blog post it offers me a link to the Christian Social Party of Switzerland. Well joke’s on them cause my CSP is of Norwegian descent, isn’t a fan of parties, and usually works on Sunday so doesn’t make it to church as often as a good Christian should. Maybe one day Zemanta will figure out that CSP stands for Cap’n Safety Pants!
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I went to the coolest place today. This new store opened up in our area and I’ve been wanting to check it out. It’s called Grand Asia Market. I Googled it and they have one in the Raleigh area. I checked out their site and all the reviews on Yelp. Turns out they have a restaurant and bakery inside the store.
So cool! They have SO many cool things. 
A huge area filled with health and beauty aids. So many things written in Chinese and Japanese with no English translations. You know the Japanese make everything cuter so even hand cream and lip balm come in way cute containers. A couple big aisles of housewares. HUGE produce section, more noodles than you’ve ever seen in your life. A giant meat and seafood area with live tilapia. I’d never seen a live tilapia until today. I don’t know if I could pick one out to kill for dinner, but hey, it’s fresh! They were getting ready for Chinese New Year today. 
I bought 100 Jasmine tea bags for less than 16 cost at the regular American store! I also picked up some Thai tea packets. They carry all sorts of Asian things, obviously, but they also cary the Asian version of American products which is cool to see. Oh, and lots of European brands too. The staff was very friendly and all Asian which I think is a great sign. I spotted tons of Asian people shopping and eating there too. Another good sign. You know a place is good if their clientele matches their native cuisine. I don’t go to Mexican restaurants unless I see Mexican people eating there. I like authenticity! Next time I go I’ll try out the cafe. I hear it’s a real hot spot at lunch. I threw out my tiny bit of Mandarin, courtesy of Pimsleur’s Quick and Easy Mandarin audiobook!, and I scored a free coin purse at check out. On the way out I bought a lychee bubble tea. 
So yum!
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Bless Your Heart 