03 June 2010

7 Quick Takes Friday: Volume 7



1. World Cup Fever has swept through our house. Almost everyone has been hit, and hit hard, by the epidemic.



Those, my friends, are flags from 25 of the 32 countries competing in the 2010 celebration of the beautiful game. The other seven are still under construction, but will be added soon, I am sure.

And this promo gets played and replayed around here. Give yourself a treat and watch it. My son has taken to telling me to "Write the future, mom."



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2. Do you ever feel like the day is just impossibly short? Why is it that even though I have 3 hours stretching in front of my before I have to pick up the kids from school, I already feel defeated, like there's no way I can get even one thing done? Today is one of those days. I feel like throwing in the towel and taking a nap. That's fine, from time to time; but a stronger feeling I have is the desire to NOT feel monumentally behind when the kids are unleashed from school for the weekend. Really, for the summer. Next week, they have two half days and one super short day, so after today, it's pretty much over. I could get so much done in the next 3 hours if I can give myself some kind of kick start. What do you do for a kick start? I need one, and bad.


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3. And speaking of summer, I got an email the other day suggesting 101 Things To Do This Summer. Most are things you can do without having to go anywhere or spend much money. I think I'm going to print it out and put it on our fridge so the kids can see it and pick stuff. I remember learning the alphabet in sign language when I was a kid, and thought that one, in particular, sounded like fun. I've tried finding a way to link it here, but have been unsuccessful, so I'll give you some samples instead. If you'd like to see the full list, send me an email at mon.alatorre (at) gmail (dot) com, and I'll forward it to you. Here are a handful of goodies:


Learn to sew, embroider or crochet.
Maybe your grandmother can teach you.

Every day, look up and learn 2 new words from the dictionary.

Learn about musicals. Watch Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,
West Side Story and Fiddler on the Roof.

Read The Little Prince. This is a phenomenal piece of literature with multiple layers,
and it's a short read. Discover why it has been translated into more than
180 languages and why it has sold more than 80 million copies making
it one of the best-selling books ever.

Walk around your block and pick up all the litter you can find.
Take a trash bag... or two...

Lie outside at night and watch the sky for shooting stars.
Find out why shooting stars aren't really stars at all.

With your parent's permission, redecorate and rearrange your bedroom.
You can get paint for as little as a dollar a gallon at your local paint/hardware store.

Learn the alphabet in sign language.

Get up at dawn and appreciate the coolness and peaceful
feeling of the early morning. Compare it to the sweltering afternoon.


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4. Another great read. Perfect for those days when you are feeling like maybe you are not such a great parent. Let yourself off the damn hook already!


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5. Why do we expect our kids to do things that we are unwilling, unable, or nervous to do ourselves? Or is that just me?


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6. I am continually relearning that we cannot raise our families in isolation. For most of the past several years, we've cringed at the idea of anyone coming into our home. It's usually kind of messy, usually kind of noisy, usually fairly chaotic. We try to hide our raggedy band, at least within the confines of our own home. But it's so much better when we don't. Things have been just ever so slightly less messy around lately, and that has encouraged me to open my doors to people, or be more willing to have them drop by, rather than my usual "Oh no, I'm on my way out anyway, I'll bring that item right to you!" My friend Nicole stopped by the other day...and it was so nice to have her here. I am going to work on opening that door more easily and warmly this summer. We are social animals after all; I just need to emphasis the social part more and the animal part a touch less. I am better in the company of friends, and would like to be better more often.


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7. I'm terrible at the QUICK part of 7 Quick Takes. These posts always take me forever. That is so not the point; must work on that.


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Go visit
Conversion Diary, the host of the original 7 Quick Takes Friday.

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2 comments:

nicole said...

i loved being at your house. thanks for having me!

Kerri said...

I love it! Days are shorter (especially when school lets out at noon!!!) and so it's all the more reason to open the doors and let some love in (because life is short, too). Living on our busy street, where EVERYBODY knows your house (that I've lived in for over 19 years), we get our fair share of drop ins from our previous and present lives. I told you already, people come to see you, not the house. I always let people know to wipe their feet on the way out, who knows what's lurking on my floors. It feels great to share a laugh, a thought, a memory with a vistor. Stop in anytime....we always have a soccer ready to be kicked around and beer that's cold!

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