Showing posts with label Monday FunDay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Monday FunDay. Show all posts

Monday, March 31, 2008

AND TO THINK I DRINK THIS STUFF!

At the risk of sounding a little goofy...
One of the little pleasures of my day, each and every single day, is to have a Diet Coke...or two...or sometimes maybe three. I find myself grinning with the anticipation of the cold frosty burn that will cause me to shake my head and shiver my shoulders with that first sip. Oh, since I'm being all honest and vulnerable here, let's call it what it really is...my first big gulp!

I don't really spend a lot of money on small pleasures. I don't make a lot of impulse buys for myself, or for our home. I don't often get a pedicure, or even a manicure. I don't drink a lot of fancy coffee, unless it's really cold; but if you read this post, you know that is hardly ever! I do ~ however ~ spend money almost every single day on a fountain soda. They just taste better in my opinion; and nobody ~ I mean NOBODY ~ does it better than Sonic!

Two o'clock p.m. is the magic time for me. I've been known to give a giddy giggle and a little clap as the hour draws near, "In two and half hours, it's Sonic time!" You get the picture. Every day from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. is Happy Hour, and that means that all fountain drinks are half price! So every day, on my way to pick up the kids from school, I pull into Sonic and order a Route 44 Diet Coke with easy ice, regular cherry syrup, vanilla, and real cherries. It costs $1.03. I know, I know... That's $5.15 for the entire school week, but it's so worth it to me. I get so much more enjoyment from the fountain soda than if I swung through the drive-thru of a trendy coffee establishment where I would spend more than that for a mere two cups! Not that trendy coffee is bad...Diet Coke is just better!

Once the fountain soda is in hand, I proceed to sit in the school pick-up line (at least thirty minutes before the bell rings), roll the car windows down if the weather permits, and enjoy every single sip of that pure joy in a cup! This small pleasure gives me such great pleasure. It's one of the most relaxing times of the day. I enjoy the quiet...the anticipation of the kids being home for the afternoon...the reading of passages in my Bible...the working of a crossword puzzle or word search... the music on the radio... It is just a peaceful time for me, and I'm thankful for it.

If I do have another Diet Coke during the day, it's just from a can, or a bottle, at home ~ much like the ones that these fellows are using in this video. I would post it here for you, but they really prefer that you watch it over at their place, and I'm totally cool with that. I hope you'll check it out, though, because it's really funny...and amazing...and slightly scary for a Diet Coke drinker like me!


Ann Kroeker is hosting "Monday FunDay" ~ "a
carnival dedicated to swapping simple, amusing – maybe even silly – everyday ways you enjoy good, clean fun" ~ over at her blog. I had a "Monday FunDay" watching this video today! And even though I will never have one with Mentos, every day will be a FunDay when I have my Diet Coke!

You can find other fun ideas over at Ann's blog,

and y'all know...we can all use a little fun now and then ~ especially on Mondays!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

THE HIGH PRICE OF FASHION

Every Spring it has to be done. Every Fall it needs to be done, too.

Closets. Those dreaded closets!

Unfortunately, they need to be cleaned out, reorganized, and sometimes replenished! Things need to be mended...things do not fit...things are simply out-of-style.

Now, cleaning out my closet is one thing....
But cleaning out the kids' closets??? That is something ENTIRELY different!

They do not like to do it!
It is not always easy...
It is always time-consuming...
And most of all...it is BOR-ING!

HOWEVER...

I have found an awesome and simple way that works-for-me to get our children to help in this often irksome and tiresome process...with no whining...no complaining...and no battle.

AND they try every single piece of clothing!!!
We can see what still fits...what did not weather well through storage...what needs to be hemmed...

You must be asking...
"How do you do this?
No whining? No complaining? No battle? AND they try on everything? EVERYTHING???"

My answer? "Yes!"
Every.
Single.
Thing.

We have the "Brownstone Fashion Show" with Fall and Spring Collections. It is so much fun because it's like playing dress-up or make-believe. We have judges. We have music. And the models get paid.

Paying my models...THAT is the key!
They get $.05 per item. To them, it's like getting "supermodel pay".

Do I feel guilty for bribing my kids?
Not for one single second!
The ease of cleaning out the closets...the visual of what needs to be mended, donated, or purchased...and simply the sheer fun it brings alone...

Just the fun is worth it...
Every.
Single.
Penny!


Visit Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer to see more

tips this week!

And visit Ann Kroeker, the hostess of "Monday FunDay" ~ "a carnival dedicated to swapping simple, amusing – maybe even silly – everyday ways you enjoy good, clean fun" ~ over at her blog. We had such a "Monday FunDay" having a "Brownstone Fashion Show" this week that I didn't even have a chance to blog on Monday! Maybe this FunDay will work-for-you, too!

You can find other fun ideas over at Ann's blog,

and y'all know...we can all use a little fun now and then ~ especially on Mondays!

Click here to see my other Works-For-Me-Wednesday tips:
  • what meaningful gesture of love we use with our children
  • what we've learned about dining in and dining out
  • "Backwards Edition" tips for shopping at CVS
  • "Backwards Edition" tips for removing white spots/rings from furniture
  • how we master math in the Brownstone household
  • "Backwards Edition" tips for correct "tipping" etiquette in almost any situation
  • how I get my kids (and Mr. Brownstone!) to try new vegetables and love them
  • how we make traveling with kids easier
Click here to find out what works for us regarding chores and allowance!

Click here to see what easy recipes are working for us!

Click here to see my other Monday FunDay ideas!

Monday, March 17, 2008

RED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT

Do you remember playing "Red Light, Green Light" in the schoolyard during recess? How about "Mother, May I?", "What Time Is It, Mr. Wolf?", or "Simon Says"?

When I was young, we didn't have a lot of expensive playground equipment like many schools today. Recess was a time for "Tag", "Red Rover", "Hopscotch", races, and jump roping, not to mention all of the clapping games! We got creative, and some of my best early memories are those of the playground. When Tornado started to school, all of those memories came flooding back to me. Though I could not remember a lot of the rules or lyrics to the games, it just so happened to be the time of Google! Lucky me!!! I won't say it was a complete and total breeze to find what we were looking for back then, but it wasn't really that hard either. After a few clicks, we had several sites giving us all the information we could want for many of those old games!

Today was the first day of Spring Break for Tornado and Twister, and it was a gorgeous day! With the threat of rain and cooler temperatures tomorrow, we played outside for hours! We had so much fun playing these games from my childhood. Of course, I was always "It" ~ whether "It" was "Simon", "Mr. Wolf", or the "Traffic Cop".
We were even inspired to make up new games with math facts and spelling words, too! The kids laughed and giggled and screamed and jumped and practiced schoolwork without even realizing it...we had the best time!

What games do you remember from childhood? I'd love to hear from you in the comment section!

Ann Kroeker is hosting "Monday FunDay" ~ "a carnival dedicated to swapping simple, amusing – maybe even silly – everyday ways you enjoy good, clean fun" ~ over at her blog. We really had a "Monday FunDay" playing these silly games today! Try them sometime, and see for yourself!

You can find other fun ideas over at Ann's blog,

and y'all know...we can all use a little fun now and then ~ especially on Mondays!


Monday, March 3, 2008

SURFER GIRL

One week ago today, I was doing what I like to call "blog-surfing", where I click on blogs from other people's sidebars! (I like to use the term "surfing" in my everyday life because for those of you that know me...you know that this is the closest I will ever get to actually surfing, as I am deathly afraid of the Shark!) In the process of skimming across the swells and currents of the blogosphere, dipping my fingers in the deep ocean of words without care, I eventually carved my way through to a blog that had an interesting little meme.

The author began by informing her readers that she could not remember from which blog she had ripped off the meme, as she, too, had been visiting blogs one day. She then tagged those reading the meme, wh
ich obviously included yours truly, to copy it from her and put it on our respective blogs. After all the "fades", and "stalls", and "pumping" on my key-"board, I cannot remember exactly how I found her but do remember from whom I ripped off this little meme...by invitation, of course! Thanks to Susan at Not That Girl...This Girl for sharing her "currents" and for providing me with a quick and easy topic about which to blog!

Current Book(s):
Now, don't laugh! It's called Nory Ryan's Song by Patricia Reilly Giff. Yes...it is a "Young Readers" book. Yes...I realize I will finish it in about an hour and a half ~ at the most ~ if I sit down and focus on it. And yes...it was a Christmas gift from one of my children. It was purchased with Tornado's very own money from the clearance rack at the Scholastic Book Fair at school. You know that you would read it, too!


Current Play List: In my car, there is currently a whole set of children's song CD's because I am trying to learn some new songs to teach my preschool music classes. Don't you dare ever tell me I'm boring!

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: OK, this one is definitely shame-inducing! I currently watch "Make Me A Supermodel" on Bravo. I think I'll just keep my mouth shut about this one, so as not to draw further attention to the fact!

Current Color: Is "jeans" a color? If so, that is the color that I currently wear...Every. Day. However, my current favorite color(s) to wear with the jeans are "jewel tones" ~ purple, green, pink, and blue. I don't have a lot of any one particular color, so I can't choose only one color to be a favorite!

Current Passion: My one and only ~ Mr. Brownstone, of course!

Current Drink: If you know me at all, then you could skip reading this answer...a Route 44 Diet Coke with easy ice from Sonic. Is there any other? The lady in this video doesn't seem to think so!!!

Current Food: Hmmm! For breakfast, I really like vanilla yogurt mixed with Post Healthy Classics Trail Mix Crunch cereal. It's a great way to start the day! For lunch, I am always game for Chipotle. The Steak Burrito Bol with everything is divine! For snacking, I really like Archer Farms Pomegranate Fruit Bars and also Orville Redenbacher's Smart Pop Kettle Korn! For dinner, I love home-cooking, but we haven't been doing a lot of it in the Brownstone residence the past couple of months.

Current Wish List: This is a BIG one...new flooring!

Current Needs: THIS is a BIG one...new flooring!!

Current Triumph(s): I just $AVED a whole lot of money!!! And it was not by switching my car insurance to Geico!

Current Bane(s) of my Existence: The Super Bowl game that IS STILL on our DVR, taking up 4.5 valuable hours of recording space! I love Mr. Brownstone, but come on...seriously!???!!? The New York Giants win. Who doesn't know that yet?

Current Indulgence: I'd say Sonic, but I think (especially if you really know me) that we all know that has gone way past indulgence. My last spur-of-the-moment indulgence was a whole bag of Munchos. If you have not ever tried Munchos for yourself, then you are missing out, my friends! You know that if there is a Munchos entry on Wikipedia then they must be good!

Current #1 Blessing: I think all blessings are #1!!! However...I am very thankful and consider it a huge blessing that so far my kids have stayed well this season! Saying a little prayer now that we will continue to be blessed in this way!

Current Slang or Saying: "Oh, My Word!" According to Tornado and Twister, this also seems to be the current slang or saying of all my closest friends.

Current Outfit: Today I am wearing jeans and my "Peace, Love, Mom" cozy thermal shirt. I love it so much, I might wear it tomorrow, too!


Current Mood: Happy!!!

Current Picture(s):
Meet Bow Wow Brownstone!










Now, I tag Jenni, Jenni, Jen, Jenn (and no...those aren't typos!), Jill, Cindy, Steph, Shelley, Vicki, Rosheeda, Julie, and anyone else that might want to rip this off from me! If you do rip it off, though, I'd love for you to link back here if you would and also leave a comment telling me so I can come read your blog! If I actually tagged you, leave a comment if you decide to play along, so I'll know to go check your blog ASAP!


OK...this little meme was just supposed to be for fun, but
I just saw that Ann Kroeker is hosting "Monday FunDay" ~ "a carnival dedicated to swapping simple, amusing – maybe even silly – everyday ways you enjoy good, clean fun" ~ over at her blog. Since today is Monday, and I thought this was a really FUN meme, I am making it my Monday FunDay post!

You can find other fun ideas over at Ann's blog,

and y'all know...we can all use a little fun now and then ~ especially on Mondays!