Random Tuesday

I'm doing the random, but may not get it linked up.  I am headed to a retreat for work.  We get to go to a lake and do some boating and on Wednesday I am going on a field trip to look at  a rock formation that is very prevalent.  Yes I am a rock geek.

• Small boys boys come with two volumes--full on and the occasional whisper.
• They also come with to speeds--full tilt and dead stop.
• These things combined will cause mom to lose it when applied correctly.
• I avoided vacuuming.  I'm not ready to make up with the vacuum.  But I think I'm going to have to.  I saw a dust rhino thinking about getting Bruiser last night.
• I'm really not looking forward to any movies coming out this fall.
• I am looking forward to what should be coming on DVD or pay per view.
• Nick and I are not movie going people.  It costs way to much and with the small people in our house it's way easier to watch a DVD or pay per view.  We can pause it or stop it all together if needed.  Sure we miss out on the big screen experience, but I don't really miss it too much.  I always freeze in movie theaters anyway.
• I'm ready to get back in to a routine.  After Labor Day things should settle down for us.  I'm really looking forward to the normalcy of a routine.

Well that covers my random for this week.  Go see Stacy for more random thoughts for Tuesday.

What a Weekend!

We had quite the weekend.  Little boys played, we danced, we got to see family, we got out of town and had a glorious time.
Nick's brother and his partner had their wedding out here for all the family that was not able to be present at the first ceremony.  They had a fairly simple outdoor location at a local guest ranch.  The weather was wonderful and the whole thing went off really well.  There was even another little boy about Turbo's age for him to pal around with.  And with a river running through the property, the boys were in heaven.
There was dancing.  Lots of dancing.  Turbo cut quite the rug.  I think the kid even learned a few new moves and he has a pretty good air guitar.  Nick and I even got to dance together.  We have not danced together for more years than I can remember.  We didn't even dance at our wedding.  Nick is not much of a dancer.  I like it, but don't do much more than Just Dance any more.
I don't have any pictures--those are on Nick's camera.  But I can show you some shots from our weekend at the lake a week ago.

Splashing and floating in the water.

We all love the water.

The small dot against the cliff is Nick jumping in.

I'm not sure if I said much about our weekend other than it was wonderfully relaxing.  Nick did do some cliff jumping, the boys got to play in the water, and I got to read and over all we just had a great time recharging before school starts.

Swapping Colors

Mamarazzi is doing it again!  She's hosting a Favorite Colors Swap!
I get to participate again.  The last one was sooooo much fun.  I looking forward to making a new friend and of course sending goodies and getting goodies.



So a swapping I will go.
Now to find out who my partner will be...

Friday Confession

Time to confess:

• I love going to yard sales.
• Getting a bargain just makes me all happy inside.
• Hunting for that bargain is fun.
• But only with a friend that gets yard saling.
• I don't really like to go with my mom.
• She's way to thorough and takes way to long looking.
• I can't believe that this boy went to Third grade yesterday.(oday too!)

• I am most definitely not old enough to have a boy that age.
• OK, I'll admit I am but I don't feel like it.
• So who's ready for fall?
• Me, Me, Me!
• I am sad to see summer go--it seems to have gone by so quickly.
• I don't feel like I really did anything.
• I can tell my news next week.
• It's good news and we are so happy about it.
• It's been mostly unbloggable for the last year.
• It's all better next week.
• I think we may start potty training next month.
• God help me.
• I am having a hot threesome with the laundry this weekend--Nick's helping out.
• Sounds like fun, right?
• The vacuum has cheated on me with Nick too.
• I'm not at all heartbroken about it.
• It's been trying to make up and showing me the dust rhinos in the living room as proof I need to forgive and forget, I don't really wanna.
• I think I gonna have to though, before one of those things eats one of the boys.

And that covers my confessions for this week.  Hop on over and see Mamarazzi and see what everyone else is confessing this week.

Winner of the giveaway!

So I had that giveaway last week for my 500th post.  I had a few entries and went off to Random.org and the resulting winner is Jill from Jill's World.
She gets a free download of the My Memories software and I hope she has fun with it.
Go visit her and congratulate her on her win.

Use Your Words--Spin Cycle

Jen has assigned us language for this weeks Spin Cycle.  I did a word picture for a post over a year ago and thought it might work as a different take on words.
I went to Wordle and pasted in a bit of text that I wrote about me.  It takes those words and makes a picture of them, making the words used the most larger.
Here's what I got:

Here is the link to the the Wordle.  They hold it and you have to make a screen shot to get the image, but still, it's fun.

I like how it turned out and it's a fun way to use language.  Go check it out.
And that is my language spin for this week.

WWTK-Advice and Accomplishments

Time to get a bit nosy and check out what everyone's saying.  Go see Mamarazzi and Queso, they have the We Want to Know thing all wrapped up.
This week the questions are from Queso:

1. What is the best advice someone has ever given you?  Just to try.  You'll never know if you can until you try.  Failing isn't the worst thing, failing to even try is the worst thing.
2. What is your greatest accomplishment?  I could say my boys, but they are still a work in progress.  I'm going to go with going back to school for my geology degree.  I was scared of the math I would have to take and not sure if I could juggle a toddler, school, running a house and a part time job and keep all the balls in the air, but I did it with the help of my husband and my mom and Nick's parents.  And now I have a job that uses my degree, which is an even better accomplishment.
3. Who do you admire?  My husband, Nick.  He has accomplished some awesome stuff and he is so encouraging to me and our boys.  He's a wonderful person and truly my best friend.  And, bonus, I love him too.
4. If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?  I wish I was a bit more outgoing and comfortable with strangers when I meet them in person.  I don't like social situations where I don't know anyone, I don't mingle well until I get to know people.  Once I'm comfortable, I do OK.
5. How do you want to be remembered?  As a wonderful wife and a good mother.  At least that's how I would want to be remembered at this stage of my life.

So there you have it.  Head on over and see the other lovely ladies who have thrown their answers out there for all to see.

PS--this is the last day to enter my giveaway!

Random Tuesday Stuff

Hi everyone!  It's time to random it up because it's Tuesday and Stacy is still hosting the rebellion.  So random it up!

• A long weekend at a lake will do wonders for your motivation.  We had sun, water, a bit of cliff jumping, lots of splashing, good food and good company.  I feel refreshed and relaxed.  It was an awesome way to turn 38 19 again.
• Yes, I started counting backwards at 29, just like my mom did.
• Nick did coordinate with his family to have three roses waiting at home for my birthday.  Only three because I'm not 40 yet.  It totally surprised me and I thought it was so thoughtful.  Love you honey!
• Turbo starts school on Thursday.  How did the summer speed buy so fast?
• Oh I know, we were busy.  If we had done nothing it might have seemed longer.  Maybe it would have been longer.  The whining about being bored would have extended it , I'm sure.
• I haven't looked at my e-mail since Friday morning.  I'm scared to check it.  I now there will be lots and lots of emails to wade through.
• It was kind of nice to sit back, unplug (mostly) and unwind this weekend.
• Fall is coming.  We have a decided chill in the air in the morning.  It's still hitting the 80s during the day, but at night we are hitting the upper 40s.  Gotta love those temperature swings.

Well that's about it for my random this week.  It really wasn't that random, but hey, I'm still getting back into the regular schedule--relaxing will do that to you.

Remember to rebel it up with Stacy.

Friday Confession

Time for confessions, cause it's FRIDAY everyone!  Oh yeah, oh yeah, it's FRIDAY!
I confess:

• I may be a wee bit excited for Friday.
• OK a lot excited.
• We are going camping.
• At a lake.
• With a sandy beach.
• You have no idea how excited I am about this.
• Finding a sandy beach in this state is tough.
• Rocky lake shores we have tones of but not that many sandy beaches.
• Monday is my birthday.
• I don't think I'm posting Monday as we are coming home and with getting everything put away, wrangling little boys and having something resembling a birthday dinner, there just won't be time.
• I will be back to random it up on Tuesday.
• I'm sad.
• I'm having a giveaway to celebrate 500 posts on this here blog.
• I have one entry.  
• How lame is that?
• You can go here to enter.
• Please?
• OK, enough begging.
• I have great news.
• But can't share it quite yet.
• No, I'm not pregnant (with a huge sigh of relief).

There you have it,  My confessions for this week.

Go see Mamarazzi for more confessions and to link up your own confessions.

Spin Cycle--Nature/Nurture, Which Is It?

Last week I mentioned that Bruiser twists his hair, kind of like I do and that he has done it since he could reliably put hand to hair.  This got Jen to thinking and this week's Spin Cycle topic is Nature vs. Nurture.
Just looking at my boys I know there is a lot to be said for nature.  It is easy to see the physical traits that each boy has gotten and from whom they got them.  The less tangible traits are a bit harder to see, but they are there.
Turbo has Nick's out going personality, has since he could talk.  He's the kid who would say Hi to any kid he saw in the grocery store, can make friends with anyone and will with everyone.  The confidence and friendliness Turbo has comes directly from Nick.  A love of visual things--having to see something, then being able to create something else from it, is a trait from me.  I need a guide of some sort, then I can be creative.
Bruiser, well his personality is more like mine--a bit cautious initially, but once we are comfortable we are just as friendly as Nick and Turbo.  However, Bruiser has a drive to create and this comes directly from Nick.  They both love to draw on anything, with anything.  This is a good thing, but less good for my walls (however, Nick does know not to draw on the walls, we're still working on Bruiser).  Bruiser is also fascinated with books.  This, I think, comes from me.  While Trubo loves to hear a story, Bruiser has been interested in looking at, carrying around, and most recently sleeping with books.  He has been "reading" them to himself and his stuffed animals for a while now.
We see the differences in the attitude toward bikes.  Turbo has not really been all that interested in his bike.  He likes it now that he has learned how to ride, but it is not a passion.  Bruiser on the other hand, loves his bike.  He likes nothing better than to zoom up and down the side walk.  He will be riding a two wheeler far sooner than Turbo did.  The love of biking--that is a Nick trait.  I learned to ride my bike at about the same age as Turbo.  It was never more that a means to get around.
I see a lot of nature in the interests and traits that my kids have.  I'm sure as they grow nurture will come to play a bigger part in who they become.  And that right there is what the whole nature vs. nurture thing comes down to.  When they are little nature wins out.  As they grow nurture becomes more important.  My boys are still small, so I see more nature in them, it has not been covered up by nurture (peer pressure, incidents that leave their mark in one way or another, influence of other authority figures, etc.).
So what do you think--nature or nurture?