I wish...

...that I had a camera attached to my eye!  The variety of birds and wildlife in my yard is driving me crazy with joy right now!  I just wish I could capture it all to share.  And, I also wish I had a identification guide in part of my brain.  

Maybe I'll post a bit of what's around the Burrow soon.  :)  

BHIMBGO!

Let me set the scene:   

Teenage daughter hates her cell phone (yes, she is LUCKY to even have one).  Two year contract is up and she'd like more than the "free" upgrade.  Recently she has had a B-day and, just like her older brother, would only like a better phone.  Her parents have very recently been down this road once before and agree to the request.  

Add to this the mother's thought that it would be nice if the texting feature was now unblocked for this child, I'll call her Kid 2.  There have been times where leaving Kid 2 a written message, and not a voice mail, would have been handy.  

This mother was once, long ago, a teen and she knows her daughter.  Also, said mother has been warned by friends...  Teenage Girls + Texting = $$$$$, unless you have the unlimited message plan.  

*****

Not too long ago a new cell phone arrived at our house.  The next day I upgraded our plan to unlimited messaging.  At about 2 that afternoon I was getting ready to hit my treadmill.  I thought I'd send both my kids a message telling them this feature was now up and available. 

 

Here's what I sent:  

Mom to Kid 1 and Kid 2:  Txting good 2 go!  Mom

Kid 1 replies:  Cool, but let's stick to non school hours 

Seriously, whose child is this?   

Kid 2 replies: thanks mom! :D

Two hours later I noticed that Kid 2's phone kept buzzing and buzzing.  At dinner I casually asked how many text messages everyone had sent and received since I sent my message.  

Kid 1:  One.  

Kid 2: 150.  

DH:  Five  

Me: none. 

 Just for fun, that tallies up to $31.20 on our former pay-as-you-text plan.  

It will be interesting to see what our totals are at the end of the first month and over time.  A friend warned me that her very shy oldest of three girls had 5,000 text messages in one month.  I thought she was exaggerating a tad, but I now can see that as possible.  

It is nice to be able to have a phone for each of my kids.  It gives me a certain peace of mind.  They are both responsible enough to keep their phones on them and to use them to contact me.  Our oldest has always been able to text, if needed.  We just paid by the text.  How uncool to have to call your mom!  But, how convenient to be able to text.  I respect the coolness factor, but expect the courtesy of contact from my children.  

We have set rules which all understand can be bent, but in general, 

*No texting at school unless it's at an accepted time phones can be used at school, 

*No texting after 10 pm on school nights and 11 on the weekends.  

*Obviously, No texting while driving.  My funny son pointed out that this was sorta of implied...just like No Killing is implied.  Fair point, still I put it out there and then said: * Oh, BTW, No Killing either!  

*Make sure people you text have unlimited plans, like you!    

*Most importantly, remember that anything you send (text or photo) will live forever on the Internet.  Be respectful of others and respect yourself.  

I am trying to learn some texting shorthand.  Net Lingo is a great site for parents.  Scanning over it is very eye opening.  There are some things there I didn't even imagine people would say!  Naive me!  Even after we'd had the texting/photo pornography talk with the kids.  

After a week of texting I can only tell you what my number of texts sent is:  five, I think.  It appears I run in a crowd that prefers to talk rather than text.  How will I ever polish my texting skills?  If you'd like me to practice on you, e-mail me and give me your cell number.  :)  

Leave a comment below as to what you think my posting title means, "BHIMBGO".  You can check your guess by looking on the Net Lingo site.  I've had to go back there to remind myself what it was three times!  Boy, do I have a lot to still learn!  

The Kiss...

... of Fall.  

What's the Connection?

These guys + Duct Tape + Cardboard = ?????

Rock the Challenge

Corporate Challenge 2009

Which means = More scholarships available for our local YMCA! 

*****   

Last week my husband was on one of the teams that competed in the boat building event.  Each team was given cardboard, three rolls of duct tape and an hour to build.   Most of the captains dressed up too!  Not only were a few members of Kiss there, but Ozzy showed up, Hulk Hogan (I think that's who he was supposed to be), and a few others sporting mullets.  My husband was a pirate.  

To see the boat his team built and him in action check out this 

YouTube link:  Yo Ho, Yo Ho...

His team didn't win, but everyone certainly had fun.  

This Corporate Challenge takes place over the next two months.  I can't wait to see what the next event involves.  :)  

Young Love...

Most of my teenage secrets reside right here.  

A few weeks ago I glanced at my Facebook account and on the right hand side under "Highlights"  I saw that my 15 year-old daughter was "IN A RELATIONSHIP"!  Just a day before we had been talking after her day at school and I asked how things went.  I will not get the exact words correct for our conversation (some thing my teen likes to point out when I retell stories) but it went something like this:  

me: So, how was your day? 

her: fine.

me: anything interesting or fun happen today? 

her: well, yeah actually I think I have a boyfriend.  

me:  you THINK you have a boyfriend?  What does that mean?  

her: well, this guy asked me if I wanted to go out sometime.

me: what does that mean (go out)?

her: like to a movie or just hang out

me: what does that mean (just hang out)? 

her: I don't know Mom!  I've never had a boyfriend before!  

Originally when we started this conversation I was getting ready to just rest for a few minutes on the couch.  Suddenly I wasn't in the mood to rest.  My son is the eldest child in our house by two years.  He's also the most shy of the two siblings.  I haven't been down this path with him.  AND, he's my son.  Somehow THIS is more personal to me.  I actually panicked a bit over this news.  But I said to my daughter, 

me: Well, It is nice when someone you like happens to like you back too.  

Then I started to think back about my first boyfriend.  Can my daughter be as lucky as me?  My first was one of the most fun, kind, sweet, caring, considerate boys a young girl could have as a boyfriend.  I was 15 and a freshman.  He was 17 and a senior.  I attended a very small school, so everyone knew everyone from K through 12.  

Then I started to read through some of my old diaries.  I was shocked to find that I had many guys I thought of as my boyfriend BEFORE what I now think of as my first boyfriend.  Which has led me to think that definitions can be tricky.  I am sure that as a 13 year old I used the term boyfriend (BF) more loosely than I would today.  I consider a BF, someone exclusive  with whom you are paired for a length of time, longer than a day, a few hours or in a dream.  Also that person knows that you exist and agrees to be exclusive with you.  For example, in my first diary (the yellow one in the photo) nearly ever entry ends with me professing my love, heart and soul to Shaun Cassidy.  In my next diary I noted on October 2nd that it was a "BAD DAY SHAUN CASSIDY GETTING MARRIED (but he's still cute!)"  How disastrous for me!  I wrote that  "it was announced (on the bus radio) that he was marrying a former Playboy model.  I felt like crying and half the kids on the bus turned around and looked right at me.  I was embarrassed."  Two sentences later I must have recovered because I talked about how nice a certain boy (who I now consider my first BF) was.  I also noted that this nice boy hung around with a bunch of "hunks" and "foxes".  

Oh, young love!  I do realize that my daughter will have many boyfriends.  That's how it should be so she can figure out who is her perfect match in life.  I just hope her heart doesn't get broken too often and that she's with people who will respect her wishes.  Hopefully she won't break too many hearts along the way either.  

As for my old diaries...wait 'til you hear the OTHER stories I have to share!  :) 

Oh Shaun, you missed out Honey!  

First Boy Friends...

My thoughts on this will be posted soon!  :)  

Changing Seasons...

I guess it's that time of year.  I am noticing little changes around the Burrow.  The squirrel have started hiding nuts.  I witnessed one burying his secret treasure just last week.  This morning I saw a deer outback.  Changed was her coat color.  She's staring to look very dark...gone is that warm golden brown.  She's ready to blend in with the woods as the leaves fall.  

Phil, my groundhog, has grown his family.  I noted Phil and two others hanging out in our and my in-laws back yard.  This picture is of Phil checking me out as he was under my deck.  His burrow there we call his winter residence.  At the end of our yard is his Summer Cottage.  I know we should probably relocate him, but he's so cute!  

This mushroom is under the pine trees on the side of my yard.  It's not in a spot that's easy to photograph and I had to use the flash.  Check out the pine needle pierced through the edge.  Pretty cool!  

About a year ago we found a snake just like this guy in our basement.  We called him Snakey.  Click here for his story.  My son came up from watching TV two nights ago and said we had another visitor in the basement.  Ringneck Snakes are kind of rare.  How fun to find a second one.  

Tiny snakes in the house I can handle!  Still this guy was released outside after the paparazzi got their photos.  :)

Such Choices

There are certain times of the year when it makes it hard to decide where to workout.  

Outside...

...or

inside.  

On the one hand my soul is totally cleansed and refreshed by the nature that surrounds me.  On the other hand, I get a better workout and a ton of ideas for my dinner plans.   Thank you Food Network.

I am glad for the variety of my choices.