Busy Busy Busy

Is is just me or does anybody else feel like this poor cartoon mom lately? Things get so crazy and hectic at the end of the school year it is unbelievable sometimes! Since I am also winding up my end of things on the academic front in the classes I teach, I feel like all I see at the moment are deadlines and a flurry of papers and projects!

They always pack so much into the end of the year for our children too: open houses, field trips, spirit days, homework, big projects...between my work and my son, my head is getting very confused lol! Sometimes I really feel like that line said by Dolly Parton in the film "Steel Magnolias," so confused I don't know whether to scratch my watch or wind my butt.

To all you other busy people out there, hang in there, I know we will make it! Mostly because we have to, but, I am trying to remain positive in this time of great confusion and exhaustion. So hang in there folks, summer is around the corner and we will have a lot of other things to keep us busy instead!
And so it goes...

Oh Dear Feet: Part Deux

So I finally made a decision and made my purchases for this summer's nails! After perusing the Internet and local stores I found a recurring trend in the hot colors for Summer 2009. They are centered mostly around primary and secondary colors and not the usual shades of light pink or that overdone black that's been lurking around for the past year or two.

Pictured above, Sinful Nails: I like this nail polish brand because it is cheap, true to the color you see, and doesn't chip easily. I am a professional chipper since I wash dishes by hand (no dishwasher, the dishwasher is me), do almost all the house cleaning, and have a 6 year old, which means germs and dirt and therefore, constant hand washing! I also picked up a new bottle of Sally Hansen "strengthening" polish remover to keep these beaten nails strong, and a Dr. Scholl's for her "egg." The egg is just awesome! I have seen a similar one advertised on t.v. and this one was both cheaper and in pink, gotta love that! I gave it a whirl and it does what it promises: removed old skin and hardness from my heels and made my feet nice and smooth. It comes with a buffing side too that you use after the initial tough business to make them soft as a baby's behind. The odd little purple things are toe separators. They are made from a gel substance, kind of like the feet inserts you put in your shoes ("Are you gellin?"), so they do not hurt, and do not fall off when you are trotting to the bathroom or for an iced-tea refill, which, is just fantastic!

All of the nail color finds were $1.99 to $3.99 at my local Walgreens. The egg was $9.99 and the remover was $2.99 also at Walgreens. I hope this gives everybody some ideas for summer digits and tootsies at an affordable price! My first wear of the summer is the Sinful Colors golden shade called "This Is It" which, I found oh so appropriate since I was in search of the "it" colors this year! Happy painting!

And so it goes...

Book Review: All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes by Maya Angelou

This book is number five out of the six in her autobiographical series that begins with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. It begins immediately where the last novel left off: Maya and her son Guy have just moved from Egypt to Ghana (in West Africa) after the divorce from her second husband, an African diplomat of sorts, who is part of the fight to end Apartheid in South Africa. After only a few days in Ghana, Guy is in a serious car accident, which, results in a near full body cast and his neck broken in three places.

In this novel the events take place almost solely in Ghana, save a few small trips here and there, and ends when she decides to leave Africa for the United States, permanently. During her time in Ghana, in the 1960s and 1970s, we follow Maya as she works for a newspaper and experiences what it means to be "Black" in the overall context and not just under what she finds as the incorrect labels of either an "African" or "African American." She makes incredible distinctions on the similarities and differences between Africans and African Americans and, ultimately, decides that she is "Black" and that this title is the only appropriate one for her and others from America, Africa, or anywhere else around the world.

She, once again, discloses the incredible events she is involved in and the amazing people she has come to know as part of her life's journey. She comes into contact with higher members of African and Ghana's societies, as well as some astounding individuals from the U.S., including the president of Ghana, Muhammad Ali, and Malcolm X. During his trip to Africa, after he had made his pilgrimage to Mecca, Maya and her friends spend several weeks with Malcolm X.

Although the entire book deals with Maya's issues of identity and what it means for her to be a Black woman, the section where she is in contact with Malcolm X. is particularly revealing and incredibly interesting. It has astounded me throughout the series that a woman from the South, with only a high school education, born during racial segregation, has done so many amazing things and had personal contact with so many historical figures during her lifetime.

The book ends with a major decision for Maya: her time in Africa has come to an end, she has learned what she wanted to know, and it is time for her to return "home" and share what she has discovered. She makes a rather eerie trip to a village in East Ghana right before departing, which reveals to her, specifically, which tribe she is descended from. The next and final book in the series, A Song Flung up to Heaven, begins with her arrival home in the U.S.

And so it goes...

Book Review: The Heart of a Woman by Maya Angelou

This installment of the series was a great read (four of six). Here she is really starting to come into her own as a woman, hence the title. She goes to NYC and does a little of this and a little of that: acting, singing, dancing, and so forth. She begins by still mostly thinking of herself as a performer and using the jobs she gets to pay the bills. At a certain point, her interest in writing is sparked and she joins the Harlem Writers Guild when prompted by friends.

In this book, she is discussing her life at the end of the 1950s and the beginning of the 1960s, so, we see how she became active in the Civil Rights movement. She eventually ends up running an office for the SCLC and Martin Luther King, Jr. whom she has a face to face meeting with in her office. Maya also becomes engaged to a regular "average Joe" working stiff and then promptly drops him for another man, basically almost the first night she meets him. She ends up marrying this African activist (he calls himself a "freedom fighter") who is striving hard to free South Africa (unfortunately, Apartheid was still a reality at that time).

Eventually, she moves to Africa with him and her son Guy. This marriage doesn't work out either however; he doesn't take care of bills as he promises, and Maya is far too strong willed and independent to tolerate him any further. The book ends shortly after the "divorce" events, but, not before a rather dramatic finish. Guy, being kind and intelligent, drives a few drunkard friends home, only to be hit, while pulled over on the side of the road, by a rather large truck. He ends up with a near full body cast and his neck broken in three places.

Number five in the series of six, All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes, begins with further details on Guy's hospitalization and Maya's attempts to earn money and keep them in Africa.

And so it goes...

Award

Thanks to SquirrelQueen for the lovely award!
The idea is to pass it on to 8 people and include the following:

"These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers."

I am passing it on to:

1. http://makemoneyathome-ihope.blogspot.com/
2. http://apsmac.blogspot.com/
3. http://cameracommune.blogspot.com/
4. http://knutsonupdateonline.blogspot.com/
5. http://chicamom85-sassysasha.blogspot.com/
6. http://criticalmassachieved.blogspot.com/
7. http://comedystylingsofa3yrold.blogspot.com/
8. http://wtrbayb.blogspot.com/

And so it goes...

Oh Dear Feet, It's That Time of Year...

So it is getting to be that time of year...wearing sandals, people checking out your feet, what is the color scheme this summer? I personally have completely had it with the black nail polish that has been going around the last few years. I just couldn't do it...I know it was supposed to be chic and all the celebrities have been wearing it, but, for me personally, it just reminded me of high school: wearing flannel, listening to Nine Inch Nails, and being generally disgruntled at anything and everything before I had any difficulties to really complain about.

I am not a magazine person at all. I stopped reading any magazines about 7 years ago when I had my son. I came to the realization that all they did was pressure me to fit into a mold of perfection which I would A) never achieve, B)could never afford, and C) just made me feel bad about myself. So I am therefore completely in the dark about what are the chosen nail colors of the season.

I did a few searches via google and it seems they are still stuck on this retro 80s look. I am sorry but I cannot go bright neon lime green...too many memories of looking awful as a child in the 80s for me to go there. I also, however, do not want to be wearing a granny color on my toes when I am only 29+2. Any ideas out there for a solution to my pedi-predicament?
And so it goes...

Oh How Time Flies...

Well time is just flying by...I guess my Mother and in-laws were right after all! Last night was the Open House at my son's school. It was a really fun night and quite enjoyable to see all the cool things my son has been doing this school year.

The theme for the first-graders this year was "bugs"and their life-cycles. My first reactions were "yuck" and OMG what a brave teacher! They had bug stuff all over the classroom: inflatable bugs like the butterfly shown here, artwork the kids made, stories they had written, and of course live bugs...EEK!!

I am not really afraid of insects but I am not too fond of them either lol! The picture here is my son standing next to the bag containing their milkweed bugs. They studied the life-cycle of insects: they got them as eggs and saw them through larva, pupa, and eventually to fully formed insects. I know he loved it because he has been talking about it for months. Unfortunately, for me, the only ones "ready" were the red and black milkweed bugs and the burrowing beetles. The butterflies have yet to emerge.

 I just couldn't believe all of the things they do now at such a young age. Maybe it is because he is our one and only child, but I was kind of awestruck at all of the really cool things that they did this year. Pictured here is my son showing off his PowerPoint presentation to us...yeah...you did not misread that...a PowerPoint presentation in 1st grade!!  They also had a class project of the "50 States." My son and his partner were assigned to Alabama.

The thing of course that made me happy as a clam was the art theme this year (go figure lol). The art teacher created an "art walk" that took you through the history of art, how crazy was I about this people! It began in the art classroom with pre-history and went up through the ages to modernism as you walked throughout the hallways of the school, just awesome!!

When we went down to say hello to the music teacher we passed the bulletin board for "Stone Soup"which was the first grade musical production this year. It was earlier this week and made me have a few cheesy "Mommy Moments" when we saw the performance. The idea and the musical numbers were inspired by the children's book of the same name, one that I remember reading when I was a child myself.

 The night ended with what else, an ice-cream social in the cafeteria! Overall it was a great evening. I cannot believe we have come to the end of his first full year in grade school, boy oh boy how time flies!!

And so it goes...

Starting Another Blog

I have started another blog called "My Personal Museum." I decided that rather than just add alot of discussions about art and architecture, one of my greatest passions in life, to this personal "life and a bag of chips" blog, I would create a special place for those things to happen. So far I have created only one entry to start it up and get things going but I will be adding a few more posts in the next couple of days. If you are a fan of art and architecture then please stop on by that blog from time to time and show it some love too :) You can access it by clicking on "view my complete profile" to the right or the link provided here: http://mypersonalmuseum.blogspot.com/

Thanks and happy blogging to you all!

And so it goes...

Great Goodies...for F-R-E-E...hooray!

If you are in the mood for some springtime shopping but running a little or a lot short on cash these days (really who isn't right?), or if you just love free goodies go check out http://www.fantabulouslyfrugal.com/ where they are doing 31 days of giveaways! They are an active member of SITS so if you are a SITS member definitely do go see them, and if you aren't why not check out both http://www.thesitsgirls.com/? I have links to both of them in "Follow the Yellow Brick Road" to the right and their buttons, clicking on either will get you there in two shakes of a lamb's tail!

And so it goes...

Victory At Last!!

If you read my earlier post "The Empty Dog Bed" the image is familiar to you. I am happy to report that I put on my "common sense cap" and came up with an intelligent solution to my daring dog's predicament. Sassy now lovingly sits on her cushy dog bed without a ton of prompting from me to "go lay on your bed" for the 800th time (there is still some resistance but not as much). I moved yonder stacks of large art books to another location (bookshelves are all full, I really must remedy that one of these days) and rearranged a bit.

I can now happily report that Sassy and I have come to an understanding: she can lay right on top of me, yet not worry me about running over her fluffy tail. I strategically placed the dog bed beneath the front window, next to my desk, and behind my chair just past the carpet line. She is now free to relax, as am I, because I no longer have to worry about running her over and ordering her to go lay down constantly. Oh mighty common sense, where were you a month ago?


And so it goes...

Happy Mother's Day!!

"A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path." - Agatha Christie

To all my fellow and future Moms out there, I wish you a fantastic and beautiful Happy Mother's Day!

As a tribute to this day I have included a picture of one of my favorite paintings(above) by Mary Cassatt, The Child's Bath, c. 1891.  It amazes me still...the introspection...the joy and grief...the profound changes that occur when you join this "sisterhood" of billions that came before you and that will be around long after you are gone from this world.


So a cheers to you Moms out there!! And for those of you "children" who are not parents, your Mother loves you more than you will ever know...so please remember her on this special day and honor her...if she is still a part of this world go see her, or if she is far away then give her a call, and don't worry about the monetary things, we just want to hear, as often as possible, how much we are loved by you in return, that is what brings us joy and makes all the effort worth while.

And so it goes...

Playing for Change

I found another great organization trying to make the world a better place. If you are a musician, music lover, or just interested in supporting good causes you should check this out. I will put a link in this post and under my "Some Excellent Causes" link. Here are two excerpts from their site http://www.playingforchange.com/:

"The Inspiration:
Playing for Change is a multimedia movement created to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music. The idea for this project arose from a common belief that music has the power to break down boundaries and overcome distances between people. No matter whether people come from different geographic, political, economic, spiritual or ideological backgrounds, music has the universal power to transcend and unite us as one human race. And with this truth firmly fixed in our minds, we set out to share it with the world."


"Now, musicians from all over the world are brought together to perform benefit concerts that build music and art schools in communities that are in need of inspiration and hope. In addition to benefit concerts, the Playing for Change band also performs shows around the world. When audiences see and hear musicians who have traveled thousands of miles from their homes, united in purpose and chorus on one stage, everyone is touched by music's unifying power. "


Musicians include people such as Bono, The Nazareth Orchestra, Venkat, and more. Happy listening!


And so it goes...

I Feel Like Chicken Tonight!

One of My Favorite Recipes!

You Will Need:
-about 1and 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
-about 2 cups of orange juice
-about 1-2 cups of Parmesan cheese
-a Pyrex baking dish

In a time crunch for a tasty home cooked meal? Try this one out, it is simple and easy! I don't have any measurements because I eyeball it pretty much, but it is that simple and tasty too. I take some boneless skinless chicken breasts that I buy packaged and frozen from the store. I put them in a Pyrex rectangular baking dish. I make sure to poke the breasts on each side with a fork. Then I pour in some orange juice until it coats the bottom of the pan, not too much because I put them in there frozen so water will come out too. Then I bake at 375 for about 20 minutes (approx. 1 and 1/2 lbs. of boneless skinless chicken breasts). The directions are for 20-30 mins. so this is 10 mins. shy of done. I then pull it out of the oven, poke the chicken on each side and flip them over. Then coat with Parmesan cheese (store bought in the plastic container) by shaking a bit over each piece. Add as much or little as you want. Return to oven for 10 more minutes. And voila! delicious chicken dinner. It takes about 2 minutes prep time if that. The orange juice makes the chicken super juicy and tender, which is helpful since it is boneless and skinless (which can very quickly mean dry and tasteless sometimes), and the juice doesn't add any extra fat either! It is a great one to use when you want dinner in a short time. My hubby and son just love the recipe and eat it all up every time. I usually serve it with some frozen veggies cooked in the microwave or maybe a bag salad dressed up with some fresh cut tomatoes and cucumbers.

Hope you like the recipe! If you try it out please leave a comment and let me know how you liked it!

Here is a link to a great recipe website I love that lets you keep a virtual recipe box you can use anywhere and anytime you have Internet access: http://allrecipes.com/. I also put a link to it under "Some Favorite Sites."

And so it goes...

There's Nothing Like a Good Book

This week was a sick one at my house. My son had his first occasion to be put on antibiotics in his life (he is 6 yrs. old) when he got double ear infections, poor guy. Then, about 2 days later, I could not even swallow water because of a lump in my throat that felt like a golf ball on fire. It turns out that I had contracted strep throat for the first time in my life, oh joy! Then, later that day, I received a call from my son's school because he suddenly had rashes and bumps. During our second visit to the doctors that day, we found out that he apparently is allergic to penicillin! What a week I tell you! The happy result of all this sickness is that I got to spend 4 days in bed reading, and I love to read!

My mother recently sent me a copy of Maya Angelou's book "Letter to My Daughter." I have been reading it slowly over the last month or so, since it is comprised of little vignettes only a few pages each, I could pick it up and put it down whenever I wanted. Usually after I finish a book that I was given I donate it to the local library;but, I am keeping this one. It is filled with so many treasures that I can access again and again that I am hanging onto this one. There are so many great little inspirational passages, as well as quotation opportunities for graduations, weddings, new mothers, etc. that I know I will appreciate it greatly for future references when occasions arise. This also reminded me of how much I love Maya Angelou's writing and sent me forth in search of some more of her works at my local library (conveniently located right across the street).

I had read "I know Why the Caged Bird Sings" in high school and I remember how much it changed my perspective. So I decided to pick up the other 5 books in the autobiographical series by Miss Angelou. While in bed this week I read #2 "Gather Together in My Name" which rather surprised me. This book is set in her teen years after she had her son (at age 16). It was a bit of a shocker to discover via reading this book that she was at some point in her life the madame of a brothel, a prostitute in a brothel, and moved around more times in 3 years than I have probably in my entire life, and I have lived in 3 different states. I am now almost finished with #3 "Singin' and "Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas" which takes place during her 20s in the 1950s-60s. This one is much less harsh in content than #2. In this novel she is developing her career, or rather trying to find her career and calling in life. She was a dancer, nightclub singer, and part of the traveling company of Porgy and Bess. This one is a much more fluid and interesting read, and has more of her reflections on life that I love and adore. She has a way of delivering one sentence that profoundly sums up her experience and makes it relatable to anybody's life experiences.

I highly recommend giving this series a try if you are looking for an interesting read. I plan on another post of the last 3 in the series if you are interested in a general summarization before giving it a go yourself.

Happy reading out there!

And so it goes...