Worth earning!

I was buzzing around the Interwebs today and found Mama Merit Badges. They are so clever. And something that would be great to give as a gift - I know plenty of moms that have certainly met all the requirements for several of these badges.

Recap

I've been done with camp now for almost a full week - it was nice to be able to be a "swing" employee - not having to stay for all the heavy cleaning. Camp ended well, with me helping the nurse for the whole week, especially shutting down the house of health once all the kiddos were back with their folks.

I learned a lot about campers, especially their bowel habits. I must have asked 3o kids if their bowels had moved at some point during the week. Nosey, but necessary. One of the 8th grade boys had convinced himself that he had appendicitis - but really it had been over four days since his last BM. Yeah. That was the highlight of my week. Oh, wait, no. The highlight was when a staff member came in, panicked, with the fact that an insect had flown into her ear canal and gotten trapped. I drowned it with hydrogen peroxide, but a real doc had to remove the carcass from her ear. AWESOME.

Go watch it now...

GoogTube - Lifted - Pixar Short

A fun week...

This week has flown by! At the end of last week, I was asked to drive our Outpost unit out to Central Oregon for their "Extreme Week." Some of the staff didn't think I would go for it, as it involved cooking and sleeping like this:

Not too shabby - as long as no one calls them "tube steaks" I'm fine. Plus, I can do just about anything for three days. By Wednesday night we were back in camp and I had had a shower. That is just fine by me!

So we went to Smith Rock
and the kids did all kinds of rock climbing, and even learned to belay. I'm an excellent belayer - because I can act as an excellent anchor.

After two days of rock climbing, we then drove to Maupin, Oregon to spend the night before a white water rafting trip on the Deschutes river. I ended up not going, as I have developed a cold. But it did get to be 106 degrees in Maupin on Wednesday. YIKES.

I really enjoyed this week at camp: we all worked hard and laughed a lot and ate really well. Sadly, the fire danger was so high, we couldn't have a fire and make s'mores. But really, I can make those anytime over my gas range...so it's cool.

PostSecret

This week, the PostSecret site features this short film. While not all the images are G-rated, it is amazing to see the kinds of secrets people keep...



Next week, it will be back to the old postcards of secrets

A little sweetness never hurt

I'm currently working on a swap that involves me writing in a journal each day for a month on a specific topic. The topics are vague and to be defined by the writer, like: "victory," "childhood," "pop culture," "etc." The sad thing is - I will then have to send this journal away. It's a cheap journal - but now it's filled with 30 days of my ramblings and thoughts. I'm worried that I'll just end up make copies of the pages and tie those up and send them and keep the journal for myself. Lesson learned.

This makes me laugh...

I saw this lady - and just have to say - YEAH!! and WHAT?!

Now I know...

I've often wondered where folks hear about books - good, new books. Any joker can read the bestseller list...but I found the Litblog Co-Op and it combines a ton of other literary blogs and makes great suggestions on new fiction, and is updated regularly and is interesting reading in its own right.

Of course, right now I've got four books stacked up ready to be read - but once those are done - I'm headed to the Co-Op to find out what ELSE I should be reading.

You need these, and so do I!

I was visiting Oh Happy Day and saw a featured item from
Greer Chicago. So up my alley!!

From their website:
"In our campaign against rudeness and incivility (think Sisyphus and the rock,) we created these portable thank you notes (sized to fit purse, pocket or wallet) to inject a little more thoughtfulness, appreciation and respect into this world; a little more "Thank You" and a little less "Blank You," if you will.
Hand one to the stranger who used his van to push your idiotically gas-free car to the nearest station (true story,) drop one on the desk of the colleague who spoke up for you during that contentious meeting, place one in the tip jar at your local coffee shop (preferably with a dollar bill wrapped around it.)
With Civilettes we unashamedly hope to spark a "civil-ution," aided in part by the "Please reuse" printed on the back of each card. Cards are printed in brown on heavy white 100% cotton paper encased in a sturdy, yet elegant chocolate package embossed in silver"

And at only 6.95 for 10 cards = AWESOME DEAL! Great gift...

PASS IT ON!

Hey - G4 will be showing a bit of an Arrested Development marathon on August 16, 2007. It will begin at 6:00 a.m. PST (but let your TiVo do the work). PASS IT ON!

Are you watching Grand Slam?

Grand Slam is SO AWESOME! The newest show on the Game Show Network is fast paced and, well, I am in love. Of course, this is another transplant from the UK. Why can't Americans think of such great TV? Anyway, back to the things I love about this show...The contestants stand face to face - and the commentary is provided by Dennis Miller and Amanda Byram. Miller is very funny but a little too hip for the room, but he does make me laugh. Byram - from such classy shows as "The Swan" and "Paradise Hotel" brings her cool Irish accent.

From the Game Show Network website:
"Sixteen of the greatest champions in game show history are set to square-off in this winner-take-all elimination tournament. Only one competitor will be crowned 'The best of the best' and walk away with the $100,000 Grand Prize.

From JEOPARDY's "Tournament of Champions" to MILLIONAIRE's elite, the most accomplished game players from the past two decades take center stage on GRAND SLAM. This special eight-episode series event unfolds in 1-hour installments where 'fast and intense' is the name of the game.

Reputations will be shattered as the battle begins. GRAND SLAM features 'one on one' matches where players face tough trivia questions on many topics including: math, logic, vocabulary, pop-culture and geography."

So, set your TiVo - they've only aired four of the first round matches, so there is still plenty of time to fill out your brackets and join a pool. Or go swim in a pool. You do what you want.

Some cool stuff I've seen...

I saw this at Design Milk - and yes, these are hand soaps - for your guest bath or something. Kind of creepy - but kind of cool, yes?

Also at Design Milk, grappling hook coat hanger - it's so my Dad!

And I saw this - a great demovtivator shirt. This is here for you, Mom.
Naul bes? You kill me

Hiatus?

So, there really hasn't been much to write about this past week - hence, the not posting...

But with the folks visiting over in Boise, I've had a quiet house all to myself.

I have:
cleaned out the cars
watered lots of plants, and nearly killed one...but don't tell my mom.
washed and ironed my sheets - because I roll like that.
worked on personal projects - you don't have to know everything...
taught some acting/musical theater workshops at a dance studio
gotten scared at the sounds in the house at night
prepared for Primary
gone to lunch with a friend, and while eating gelato in the park, had a former camper recognize my laugh and cross the park to see me...apparently I'm loud.
confessed that I would hide a murderer from the law if the murder was justified.
searched high and low for nail clippers - to no avail.
gotten a birthday card from my brother
worked on this blog
paid bills
completed a swap music scavenger hunt
held a trash round-up
wondered how I will celebrate my upcoming birthday

I guess I've gotten a lot more done than folks would really notice...huh.