Sandbox Gems

Versatile Blogger Award

2012-01-26T09:38:00.000-05:00

It turns out I was just in a bit of a blogging funk (yet again!) and wondering if I could come up with something to write about when I received the Versatile Blogger Award from Loressa at Curious Wisdom.

I was going to take a little bloggy break and see if anything magically transpired to write about again and hope that the silence coming from my blog absence wasn’t going to worry anyone but now I have something to write about!

Thanks Loressa for including me. And thereby encouraging me to keep it going.

If you haven’t been by Loressa’s blog, please go now…I’ll wait…then follow her too. You’ll be glad you did. She's sweet, funny, and crafty! She just started an Etsy shop and you can find her beautiful creations here. You might find something perfect for a Valentine's gift.

For this award, I’m supposed to name 7 things about myself and then share it with other bloggers.

I have received this award before so now I have to dig a bit deeper to pull out some things I haven’t mentioned in a past one. Hmm…here goes…

1. I don’t like to brag, but I can still fit into the earrings I wore in highschool! *

2. I’ve got the attention span of a 5 year old and pretty things distract me. Like jewelry. And clothing. And art. And pictures of food. And crafts. And DIY things. Pinterest is NOT good for me. I get lost and wonder where I started from 40 pages and 4 hours later.

3. While I suck at humor and singing, I really, really appreciate funny, witty and snarky humor and all kinds of music. Sometimes I share it on my blog. Cause I like you to laugh too!

4. I like to read my horoscope and then see if it relates to my life in any way. I promptly forget it after reading it. I read my kid’s horoscopes too. And anyone else I know. I think it gives me some good insight into what to expect from them that day. Because these things are so accurate, right?

5. When I was a teenager, my mom wouldn’t let me get my ears pierced with a second earring (80’s—second holes were very popular and cool) so I went up in my bedroom, numbed my ears with ice cubes, and stuck a safety pin through each one for the hole. I was very proud of what I’d done. Today, I’ve let the second holes close up and just have a barely noticeable scar where they were. Cracking up because my niece just did this a while back and my sister was about to change her mind and let her get the second piercing.

6. Unlike the above, I am pretty much of a rule follower. I like to blend in rather than stand out. And I don’t like confrontation. Why haters gotta be hating? I don’t like drama in my life unless it’s on my TV. (have you watched Dance Moms yet? Talk about drama!! Holy cow!)

7. I really don’t have too many talents but I can take my bra off without removing my shirt. It’s a skill I learned from freezing cold winters growing up in Syracuse!

*note, yes, I ripped this off Pinterest, where I now get all my ideas! I couldn’t help but smile!

So, here are just some of the blogs that deserve this award.

McCormickMadness
My Dishwasher’s Possessed
Its all good in Mommyhood
Caught Butterflies
Its All Good Until You Burn Dinner

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-25T10:34:00.000-05:00

Time to get the creative juices going again....

Thursday Thinks

2012-01-19T09:39:00.000-05:00

All this technology is killing us!

Turns out you don’t have to be under the influence to inflict injury or death upon yourself or someone else when behind the wheel. All you need is your handy cell phone and an attempt to return a text or read an email. A distracted driver is a deadly driver. And technology in today’s world is rapidly to blame.

All’s I gots to say is practice SELF CONTROL, PEOPLE! You know you will be ranting and raving at your kids to not talk on the phone or text while driving.

So why do you do it? If you practice not drinking and driving, then why would you text and drive? Check e-mail and drive? Call someone and drive?

You know what I’m talking about because we’ve all done it. Does that call really need to be made while driving? We’ve become so compelled to return that message, read that email, or respond to that call that we can’t wait until we reach our destination to respond!!

Do you really have to answer that email at the stop light? Have you ever been driving and watched people balance the steering wheel with their knees while rapidly texting and looking up and down from their phone? Or watched a person in front of you slow to a crawl while driving along, often times weaving in their lane, while obliviously chatting away on their darn cell phone or typing a message?

I get steaming mad and want to shake my finger at them and tell them that their stupid actions could kill someone. In fact, they do. 3,092 deaths could be attributed to distracted drivers in 2010, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety administration. 3,092 people who died because of someone merely being distracted. Not drunk. Not on drugs. Distracted. Doing something else while driving. Unwrapping a Big Mac. Sipping coffee. Checking makeup. You name it. And today, more often than not, it’s due to talking on the cell phone or texting.

Poll and surveys of drivers still find that most people believe confidently that they can handle this. Read this article for people’s attitudes on this. Despite all these bans and warnings, people will STILL continue to text. That there is no way they are going to get into an accident due to talking on their cell phone. At 25 mph, what’s the harm they think? The decrease in their reaction time is what. A big one. More so than if they had been drinking….

I think the temptation is just too great. And I don’t think speaking into your phone through an ear piece or talking your texts out with text translation is the answer. When you’re doing something else while driving, your mind is not as focused and alert as it should be. And a 5 year old running after a ball should not be caught in the middle! Ask someone who’s lost a loved one through this senseless act.

It also turns out that merely walking or biking with your headphones in your ears is just as dangerous as more pedestrians are being struck and killed or seriously injured due to inattention.

This article from NewsCore shows the startling evidence that as iPods and electronics go with us everywhere, so too does the increased risk for getting into an accident. A deadly one.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/01/17/serious-injuries-triple-for-headphone-wearing-pedestrians/

Despite bans and warnings, people still continue to use their phones to receive and send messages, or make calls. That is something we all need to calculate the cost of before we take that call, send that email, or text that message. Are we willing to take our eyes off the wheel for that split second to change a life??

What’s your experience with this? Do you see distracted driver’s coming close to accidents because they weren’t focused on their driving? Enforcing this ban proves to be the most difficult part of it. Do think people believe they won’t get pulled over for it? What should be done to get people to change their behavior?

We've all chuckled at this video that went viral on the web a while back. Luckily it was just a fountain and not a car. It shows distraction in action.

Let the Valentine Preparations Begin!

2012-01-17T10:09:00.000-05:00

Valentine’s Day is coming up and I’ve asked my son if they are doing much at school and he just shrugs. Who is the one who will have to buy the valentine cards? Me! Who is the one who will have to nag and nudge and cajole son into filling out said cards? Me! Son doesn’t usually get too involved in the details of this hallmark holiday. But I know if I don’t get on the ball soon, all that will be left in the stores are the little cutesy ladybug cards or animals like this…

Not that there’s anything wrong with these, it’s just that they would cause some embarrassment for a 5^th grade boy! Hence, the asking begins now.

The whole valentine card swap thing is an exercise in control. The kids don’t want to give the wrong message to someone of the opposite sex. Or even the same sex for that matter! My son will carefully go through the messages on each card (assuming they are different) and pick which card should go to which kid.

Valentine, You’re Cool! (okay for a friend)

You have my Heart (no, son does not want this one to go to ANYONE, thank you very much!)

Valentine, You ROCK! (Perfectly neutral, can go to either boy or girl)

I’m your Love Bug! (not happening, no way!)

Cutie, Bee Mine! (uh, no.)

I’m left with a whole bunch of unusable cards and had to buy extra to cover to the rest!

I need to look for the generic Happy Valentine’s Day greetings. Then we have no problem whatsoever.

I’ve toyed with the idea of getting my craft on and actually making some clever ones like you see in the magazines.

Notice I said “I”? Son is not going to craft a whole bunch of clever cards with me if I bribe him with all the chocolate in the world! My daughter would have been happy to cut, glue, paste and color all 32 cards herself. I’m not about to go all Martha Stewart on my son and make these elaborate hand crafted Valentine’s that will end up in the trash (save the candy) in about 3 seconds or less.

I know it’s not a competition but I have been known to have feelings of inadequacy when son has brought home some Martha Stewart-esque hand made Valentines. Dang, I think, some mom spent her Sunday night wrapping up candy boxes to look like iPods and gluing on the controls and then carefully handwriting each child’s name on them.

Meanwhile, we brought in the pokemon cards with the gross lollipop that came with the kit! (thank goodness most kids aren’t picky when it comes to candy although I think chocolate is a top hit 99% of the time!)

5^th grade is that funny age where they might just start to be aware of appearance, how they relate to the opposite sex, etc. I know it’s young but some do get the notion of a crush. (what grade was Charlie Brown supposed to be in, anyway? Even Linus and Lucy were younger for goodness sakes!)

Valentine’s day just emphasizes the awkwardness of it.

I’m all for the cute crafts and creativity that the holiday brings out to show someone you love them. I adore it! My 5^th grade son? No. So, I’ll have to keep my crafting in check and make sure he isn’t embarrassed by his mother getting carried away with some really cool, fun thing I found from Family Fun or Disney or something. That might have worked in 2^nd or 3^rd grade, but my baby is growing up now and it just won’t cut mustard anymore.

FYI peeps—by middle school (6^th or 7^th grade, depending) this all goes away. I figure this is one of my last years having to sweat these details for 32 kids anyway! Phew!

In the meantime, I put together this Etsy heart themed Valentine mini. Some super sweet things all with a heart theme. Click on any to be taken to their shops. Plenty of time to start planning for YOUR special valentine! And, I might have some cute crafts and ideas for you in another post coming soon. Stop back again. Enjoy!