Perfectly Poetical: Couplet

From LSL Buttons

Ok, maybe I've said this before, but...

I so can't believe it's time for another Perfectly Poetical Tuesday already! My, how time flies!

Anyway.

Because it's December, and people's calendars are uberfull, let's keep this ubersimple!

• Today's style: Couplet
  
• Coming 1/12/10: Your choice! Start out the year any way you'd like!
  
• What is PerPoTues and how can I play?

You can write about the holidays or whatever strikes your fancy (after all, Every Life Writes a Poem). Just make sure you link to this post. Then come back, link up, leave a comment and enjoy visiting your fellow poet-bloggers!

Also, for the first 5 PerPoTues participants who comment here, I'll tweet a link to your post. (Include your Twitter username, if you'd like me to mention it.)

How 'bout if I start things off?



December showers

Gray drizzly December days make my heart sing!
They bring me hope for wildflowers in the spring.


[your turn....]

Failure to connect - part 1

Network Error

Making plans to meet up with people at Ignite Phoenix last night was a bit of a challenge since everyone was coming from different directions, and I was taking the light rail and walking. So I told everyone I'd be there around 5:00 and to call me when they got there. I commented to my friend Rebekah, "what did we ever do before cell phones?!!"

Funny thing was that about 5pm my phone randomly stopped being able to make or receive calls and texts, even though the bill had been paid and the signal was good.

So I didn't hear from the person calling to say she'd be late or the person calling to say she'd be early or the person that was there somewhere but I never did find.

And I had let the Hubs know I was on the train, but couldn't tell him that I'd made it to my destination. I also didn't know he'd run into his own problems.

Transportation Glitch

Ignite had been on the calendar for months, but I don't think we thought about that when we signed up to lead a Life 101 discussion group at church.

We dealt with the schedule conflict by deciding I'd go to Ignite, leaving the car for the Hubs at his work, and he'd drive to Life 101. Would've worked just fine - had the Hubs remembered his car keys. I may have been able to help - had my phone been working. He must've sent me the text that began with "Transportation glitch! Forgot my car key. :P" about 6pm, but I didn't get it - or his other texts - until 8:30. (Which was very confusing!) His voicemails didn't come through until much later.

In the meantime, it all got worked out - with a little help from our friends. Chanelle ran me home, so I could try to locate my husband. Dale gave him a ride to church and back home. He took the light rail to work this morning, and, yep, the car was still there. So it all turned out fine.

But seriously bad timing for a network outage!

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This was originally part of a post that was so long I decided to break it up. Part 2 is about the reliance on cell phones that this an example of, and it's coming up Friday!

Photo by tysoncrosbie. And, yep, that's me in the back. You'll recognize the Heart tee. ;)


More photos from Ignite.

Giving from the heart

Through Megan at SortaCrunchy, I heard a story that broke my heart.

Gabriella Vega has a rare heart disease called Restrictive Cardiomyopathy and was awaiting a transplant, when she had a stroke. She's now undergoing physical and speech therapy to recover. And she's 4 years old.

Meanwhile, her family is staying at Phoenix Children's Hospital Ronald MacDonald House, and, as you can imagine, expenses - for their stay, as well as for Gabriella's medical treatment - are mounting.

Being the compassionate soul she is, Megan decided to do something to help, and you can join in too!

She organized a raffle to raise money for the Vega family. Purchase a ticket (or two or ten) for a chance to win a fabulous prize (maybe an adorable Frog Organic Kids T-Shirt) and you are helping out this family who is going through a situation I can't even imagine.


The raffle goes today through Thursday evening (10/15). So spread the word and buy your ticket(s) soon! And pray for Gabriella and her family.


UPDATE: I realized I forgot to link directly to the raffle, which (as it turns out) is just as well, because there has been a change of plans. The way the donating was setup is not working out due to some PayPal lameness. So. To give to the Vega family, email sortacrunchy at gmail dot com. Megan will give you information on how you can do that.

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Photo 1 by vonKinder. Photo 2 from Bold Avenue shop.

Hubby birthday

A week ago Saturday we celebrated the birthday of the Hubs.


After changing the plan (because of the Hubs going out of town) and changing it again (because it's been so hot and monsoony), we just went with a laidback afternoon. In fact, it started with a post-work nap.

Once he was revived, we had coffee and a lemon tart at Liberty Market, and hung out there for awhile.

Then we walked across the street to Joe's Barbecue for a seriously good dinner. (Yes, in that order. Dessert first!)


Nothin' huge - relaxing, quiet - but he has at least one more birthday celebration in the works. Maybe more. Maybe we'll just keep partying until my birthday...and then start again. Sounds good to me!



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Photos by me. Thanks to Aunty for help on getting them from phone to blog!

Quick Takes: Igniting Phoenix to Dads' Bad Rap

Ok, I'm getting ready to go, so this week's quick takes are gonna be QUICK!

1)
This past week the Hubs and I went to an event called Ignite Phoenix. Ignite is all about sharing information and sparking ideas within a local community. It was entertaining, interesting and I met (and reconnected with) some great people. There are Ignites in other places too. If you have an Ignite event where you live, you should definitely check it! I took a few pics, and there are lots more if you search "ignitephx" on Flickr.

2)
Speaking of things to do, this weekend is the first of those fee-free National Park weekends I told you about. Get outside and explore!


3)
Chanelle and I finally made it to The Coffee Shop - what a neat place! It's surrounded by a garden. And they have such pretty cupcakes! I should've taken pics, but I just didn't.

4)
So I've been doing a lot of talking about thinking about where LSL has been and where it's going. Next week I'm going to start sharing some of that with you. I'm going to have a series of posts that either REPLAY past posts from the archives or RETHINK (out loud) aspects of Little Stuff of Life. So stay tuned!

5)
Had an absolutely lovely dinner with E, Christine, and Christine's mom Rebekah last night. Just...yeah...at a loss for words here, but good times. And Christine is a fablous cook.

6)
Oh! I don't know how I almost forgot this! But I got my hair cut Tuesday. It's...shorter than I asked them to cut it. But ok. You'll definitely see pics next week when I post my California stuff, but I'm gonna hold off for now 'cuz it's kind of outta control today.

7)
Happy Father's Day (a little early) to all the dads! Don't you think dads get a bad rap sometimes? I do. I think this weekend is a good time to say something encouraging to the good dads you know.


So that's it. My very quick takes. But wait! there's more! over at Conversion Diary!

Deals on fun stuff to do this summer

Three great deals this summer:

• National Park Fee-Free Weekends - During three weekends this summer (6/20-21, 7/18-19, 8/15-16), you will be able to get into many U.S. National Parks free! Visit the NPS website for a list of participating parks.
• Movies for Kids - Harkins Theaters showing a different children's movie each week. Admission is $2 per person. (Adults and children, but they won't let you in without a kiddo.) If you're going to at least four movies, you can buy "season tickets" for only $7. Is there a Harkins near you?
• Culture Pass - This is a great thing where you can check out a pass from your library for free admission to museums and other sources of local culture. I know that Phoenix isn't the only place that has it, but I couldn't find a central Culture Pass website. So check with your local library. If they don't offer it, whine until they do.

Local to the Phoenix, AZ area:

Sunsplash - I had heard something about a deal for water park admission on Friday nights. Here's the scoop:

• Regular admission = $26.00 ($19.50 if you're under 48" tall)
• Evening Admission (after 4pm) = $19.00 (cannot be combined with any coupons)
• Night Splash Friday and Saturday (7pm to 11pm) = $15.00

Not exactly a freebie, but going in the evening will save you some money - and a sunburn.

Museums - Besides Culture Pass freebies, here are three more Valley museums with free admission times:

• Heard Museum - 3rd Friday of the month, 5:30-9pm
  
• Phoenix Art Museum - every Wednesday, 3-9pm and the 1st Friday of the month, 6-10pm (voluntary donations accepted)
• Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art - every Thursday

Desert wildlife

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Photos by the Hubs and I. | More Wordless Wednesday.

Quick Takes: free to funny

My 7 quick takes on this week....


Free stuff is so much fun! I'm thinkin' it's kind of addictive, too. After the Hubs and I got our free rootbeer floats at Sonic, I must've been hungry for more. I say this because my mom called to see if I wanted to get up and go wait in line with her for free Chitty Chitty Bang Bang tickets, I agreed without question. We had fun hanging out, though, and I'll let you know how the show goes.



Good week for exploring new coffee places! After Mom and I scored the above mentioned free tickets, she took me to try the Human Bean. It was a cute little place with good coffee and a delicious blueberry scone (not too sweet - perfect!), and then....

...today I'm meeting Chanelle at The Coffee Shop at Agritopia. I've never been there before either, but she loves it!

I know I've referenced the book Guns, Germs and Steel here at least once. It sounds super interesting from what Dad and E (*my brother) say. So Christine (*girlfriend of E) and I are both going to read it now. I fiiiiiinally got my copy from the library. (It was only on hold for a couple weeks, but it seemed like a long time.) I've just barely started it, and he's still kinda setting things up. But I think it's going to be a thought-provoking read.

I'm putting together a t-shirt catalog to showcase the different styles of t-shirts and polos I offer (including some that are not available in my online shop) with quantity discounts for groups, etc. You'll be able to download it from my website once I get the Big Redesign done. In the meantime, if you want one, let me know.

Some of you who get around in the blogosphere know that Mr. Linky has been having server problems. If that last sentence didn't make sense to you, all you need to know is that Mr. Linky is that box where you post your link on Perfectly Poetical Tuesdays, etc. and it's been having technical problems. Anyway, the point is this: whether the little Linky box shows up on Tuesday or not, the show will go on! We'll still have PerPoTues, and you can just leave your link with your comment if there's no where else to put it.


Also? "Write epic poem" is a funny to-do list item.


More Quick Takes at Conversion Diary!

June

It's June. That means...

• Some people are thinking weddings (June brides and all that).
• Most of the schools are out.
• It's hot here.
• It's been almost two years since The Little Stuff of Life began.

Realizing that last one has put me in even more of a reflective mood than I was before. So many fragments of thoughts and ideas that I can't quite tie together into posts - yet. But it's coming. I'd like to look back a little at where we've been, why I do what I do, and where this thing is going.

I just thought you should know.


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Photo by me.

Quick Takes: Parenting figured out to The Big Switch

You'll be happy to know that after years (almost two) of research. I have parenting figured out. Ok, maybe not totally figured out even close. But I read this really sad article about this child in Siberia who has been severly neglected. And it made me feel - a lot of things actually...sad, angry, indignant, confused...and like, as a parent, you could easily do muchmuch better. There are some very basic (and doable!) non-negotiables to being a parent. Specifically, here's what I'm thinking: 1. Love the baby. 2. Feed the baby. 3. Keep the baby clean. 4. Keep the baby safe and warm. 5. Try not to drop the baby. I know that's not all there is to it, but it's a pretty good start, wouldn't you say?

I heard that there was going to be a performance of The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe at Bethany Worship Center. I don't really know anything about it except what's on their site, but it sounds like it could be good.

Did any of you end up going to the zoo on Monday? Did you tell them I sent you?


You would think that the fact that TV shows are in summer reruns would make it easier to kick our habit. So far, notsomuch.

Did I tell you I added more organic clothing to my shop? Yeppers. Fabulous new colors - check it out!

I didn't do the menu plan thing this week, because I didn't have time to do it before I went offline on Saturday. It's just as well, though, since I haven't actually cooked yet all week. (More on that Monday.) Tomorrow it's back to actual food though.

I'm thinking about making The Big Switch and getting a Mac. I hear they're reliable and better for design work. They have stores with real live staff for you to talk to. Plus, Macs don't come with Windows Vista, which is good. Vista = annoying. Speaking of annoying, I went into a Mac store to try to get some info, and the people I talked with were kinda snooty. But, at least they stay at the store, whereas your operating system stays with you. Thus, I'm still leaning towards a Mac.


There ya go! Those are my 7 Quick Takes on this week. More Quick Takes will be up on Conversion Diary around 6am CT.

Day off

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Photos by me. | More Wordless Wednesday.

Phoenix Zoo for free

Briefly taking a break from taking a break to let you know about getting free admission to the Phoenix Zoo today.

They'll be announcing a secret password on their Twitter profile at 8am. That word is good for free admission from when they open at 9am (I know! superlate! hopefully it's not already superhot!) until 11am.

You don't need a Twitter account to see the Phoenix Zoo's updates - just visit http://twitter.com/PhoenixZoo after 8 this morning for their announcement about the password. (What is Twitter?)

You can tell them Bold Avenue sent you. Don't think that'll get you any VIP treatment - just thought it'd be cool to say that.

Making friends with a giant caterpillar and other summer fun

Since I started this blog and started paying more attention to children's products, I've gotten a lot hipper to what kids like. But I'm still light years behind parents and people who work with little kiddos.


So when my mom (the preschool director) (who's always up on the latest trends within the two- to six-year-old demographic) started telling me about the summer program she was offering at the preschool with that Hermie and Wormie curriculum, there was silence on my end of the phone for a moment.

(**thinking, thinking**) "Who?"

"You know...Max Lucado...Hermie and Friends...Splash..."

(Still silence on my end. All I could think of was that '80's movie with the mermaid. )

"Oh. Maybe you don't know."

Nope. Sorry. That's a new one for me.

I don't follow Max Lucado's career closely enough to have known that at some point switched from writing inspirational Christian literature for adults to doing DVDs and curriculum for children involving a 3D caterpillar and other assorted crawling critters, i.e. Hermie and Friends. (Wikipedia says that happened circa 2003. So...yeah...I'm on top of things...)


Anyway, once I got it all sorted out, I found out my mom's preschool is doing this really cool summer program where Hermie and Wormie come (in puppet form) and teach the kids Bible stories. And, of course, there are all kinds of fun activities and crafts that go along with each day's theme. It's based on the Splash curriculum by Max Lucado, but, knowing my mom and her creative teachers, I'm sure they've added their own fun twists!


Summer programs like this are a great way to give young children some structured (but playful!) time a few mornings a week, so parents can spend some time with older siblings who are out of school for the summer or just to get some errands done.

If you live in the Phoenix area, here's the info on Mom's Splash summer program:

date/time:
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
June 1-19
9am-11:30am

ages:
3 1/2 (potty trained!) to just-finished kindergartners

location:
Trinity Preschool & Kindergarten
Mesa, AZ
fee:
$65

sign up/more info:
call the preschool at 480.834.9120


If you don't live around here, check out preschools and libraries in your area or give your local Parks and Rec Department a call.

So, what's fun in your neck of the woods this summer?

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Photos: Hermie by b r e n t painting by merebearlandon girl by Pixzamillion phone by indi.ca

Is this summer?

Wind chimes singing, sky heavy with gray clouds, cool air fragrant with the scent of rain-soaked creosote bushes somewhere outside the city limits.

Doesn't sound much like May in Arizona, does it?

Just when we thought we were thoroughly in the grips of summer's oppressive heat, we are granted a lovely respite. Again, rain reminds me of grace.

Today is full - quoting for a t-shirt order, revising a web page, brainstorming marketing strategies and more. So I'm posting late and not posting the summer-themed post I'd planned. But it doesn't really feel like summer. And it does feel like a good day to contemplate rain and beauty and grace.


...I go to find the post where I talk about rain and grace and realize it was just this time of year. Maybe I shouldn't be so surprised at rain (or grace). Just thankful.

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Photos by me. Taken just a few minutes ago.

Quick Takes: Open windows to epic oxymorons

Already another week has gone by somehow. The good news is it's time for 7 Quick Takes! So here they are, in the order they popped into my head this morning....


Our high temps this week have been in the 100's (today's supposed to be 101 F/38 C), but I'm grateful we still have cool mornings (for now). I can keep the windows open until about 9:30 or so. This morning there's no breeze, but I'm listening to the birds chirp away. And kids playing outside. Is the bus not here yet? Why do I hear kids? Oh, I think I hear its brakes now. Nope. Must've been the neighborhood shuttle. (Didn't stay long enough.) Hmmm....


Tonight is NU at the Heard Museum. The first 100ish people to the Women and Art discussion will get goodie bags with a really sweet Bold Avenue coupon in them. But I won't be there. Our friend Mariano, who got his PhD in things waaaay over my head last fall, will be walking/going through the official graduation ceremony tonight, so we're very excited to go cheer him on.


Last week I mentioned re-evaluating some things about the blog. One thing I've noticed is that as things got busy the last month or so, I feel like things here got a little more impersonal than I'd like. I'm hoping to change that. (I'm hoping I've already started.)

Thanks for the feedback on Trends & Topics. A couple people told me it was hard to understand what was going on, so I've worked on streamlining it and (hopefully) making it easier to glance through. The news headlines there refresh every 30 minutes. So if you like to keep an eye on the news, perhaps you'd like to make it your homepage--?


Ugh. The air conditioning just kicked on. (I had to go switch it from "auto" to "off".) So much for 9:30. C'mon breeze!

I don't hear any more kids playing now. The bus must've come while I was downstairs adjusting the thermostat and refilling my coffee.

The next PerPoTues will be June 9. The style is epic. But maybe we should call it "mini epic," since they don't have to be super long. Do you think that's an oxymoron?

More quick takes at Conversion Diary.