80's Mystery Song Lyric

Sorry for the lateness of this week's contest! Better late than never, here it is:

There's a boy I know, he's the one I dream of

Email me with the title and artist.

Adventures in Potty Training, Chapter 2

This one isn't so much an adventure as an update. Many of you have been through potty-training before. (I mean on the trainer side--I hope if you're reading this that you yourself already use the toilet quite successfully!) So perhaps you're familiar with some of the more common challenges associated with the process: frequent trips to the potty, cleaning up accidents, avoiding public restrooms, and many, many more. My biggest challenge though is this: My son has a bladder of steel. This morning, for instance, he changed out of his Pull-Up and into underwear at 7:00AM. He did not pee until 7:30PM. In case you missed it: 7:30PM. Oh and he had many fluids in between. Now, he did pee in the potty--that part was great. But the kid would rather wait until he gets to wear a Pull-Up and suffer the discomfort than go in the potty!

And the winner is...

This week we have two winners! Maya was the first one with the correct title which was "Can't Fight This Feeling" and NerdDad of Nerd Family was the first one with the correct artist: REO Speedwagon. Congratulations to both!

No I can't fight this feeling anymore
I've forgotten what I've started fighting for
It's time to bring this ship into the shore
And throw away the oars forever

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Here's this week's lyric...

It's time to bring this ship into the shore
And throw away the oars forever

Name the song and artist. Email your answer here.

And the winner is...

April of 10:15 ON A SATURDAY NIGHT. Congrats to April and a special congratulations to my readers who were finally able to get one right!!! (That was intended to be a compliment, not the insult it came across as.) The line is, of course, from Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy". (Sorry for leaving that tidbit out in my original post.) Next week's will be a little more challenging.

Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there!!!

80's Mystery Song Lyric

I am sorry for posting this so late--I totally lost track of what day it was! So, here's this week's lyric.

Here's a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note for note

Email me here with your an answer.

Run With Abandon Revisited

Over a year ago (has it been that long???) I posted the lyrics to a song I wrote. (Read that post here.) At the time I really wanted to include a recording but didn't. But here it is. I finally sat down this afternoon and recorded it, sloppy guitar playing and all! Listen to "Run With Abandon" here.

Adventures in Potty Training, Chapter 1

I figured, why not include everyone else in this great adventure of potty training my first child. I'll try to keep it clean...

Today's worst moment... All-out temper tantrum with flailing arms and legs and top-of-his-lungs screaming all because he needs VERY badly to pee but doesn't want to do it.

Today's best moment... Yelled down the hall from the bathroom in a sweet two-and-a-half-year-old voice: "Mommy, I doing it!"

Today's funniest moment... "Mommy look at me!" coming from a bare-bottomed boy with bright green Toy Story 2 underwear worn on head like a well-fitting cap. Apparently at this age your bottom and head are the same size.

Today's most insightful moment... The boy's daddy contrasts our frustration and dwindling patience as parents of a squirming child who refuses to go potty to God's never-ending patience with His children who squirm and wiggle and refuse to do His will.

A Couple of Notes

First: I AM working on my little redesign, but I haven't had a lot of time. I've had a few minutes here and there but not minutes that contiguously form hours and such. Anyway, it is coming.

Second: My posts may be intermittent as they have the last week or so. I'm working on potty training my son. It is quite time-consuming and, more than that, mind-consuming. Something had to give and blog-writing and -reading has had to suffer. I will be very thankful when we're out of this phase! I'll try to post something quick whenever I get a chance.

In the mean time, here's something fun to do: puzzability.com. They have fun little puzzles, some updated weekly, some daily. I haven't been there for a while but used to visit everyday!

Marriage

My sister Cheri has some great thoughts on marriage over at The Barber Shop. Check it out.

Along the same lines: Congratulations to my wonderful husband who has made it through nine whole years with me as his wife--not always an easy feat!

And the winner is...

April or 10:15 ON A SATURDAY NIGHT! The correct answer is "Time After Time" by one of my all-time favorites: Cyndi Lauper.

Butterfinger Pie

Yesterday I prepared two Butterfinger pies for my sister's birthday. She requests this pie every year and I've been happy to make them for her the last couple years because they're so easy and, of course, delicious. Want to make one too? Here's all you need:

1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream
8 2.1 oz Butterfinger candy bars
2 prepared pie crusts (graham cracker, chocolate, or my sister's favorite: shortbread)

Let the ice cream soften while you break the candy bars into small pieces. Combine the ice cream and candy and spread into crusts. Freeze overnight.

Yum!

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Here's this week's line:

Lying in my bed I hear the clock tick, and think of you

Sound familiar? Mail me your answer to what song and who did it. First one with correct answers wins!

From My Hometown

The Kern County, California, Sheriff's Department orders plain white patrol units and has the graphics applied locally. In this case, what they ordered was not quite what they got. This car was driven for 1 week before an officer noticed what the graphics company employee did on the passenger side of the car. The employee did this on his last day working for the graphics company before he retired.

A Peaceful Moment

Breakfast time is always busy: Bottle for the baby. Milk for the boy. Coffee for me. Do you want your bagel toasted? Oh, we're out of bagels. When we finally sit down to eat, it's one bite for baby, one bite for me, one look at the puzzle of the day on my calendar. Repeat, adding the occasional Keep your spoon over the bowl. But for one moment today, in the midst of all that, I was sitting alone on my back patio sipping my coffee, enjoying the cool of the morning. Truthfully, the kids were still there, quietly eating, one on each side. And I wasn't quite outside, still a few feet away, separated by a screen door. And sure, the coffee was instant. But I was enjoying the morning for that moment. Part of me would love to spend the entire morning like that each day. But I know I would so easily tire of it, take it for granted. But to have one moment like that in the midst of such busyness makes it sweeter, a gift from God, something I am still savoring 6 hours later.

And the winner is...

*** I apologize that I didn't get this posted earlier--my internet was down last night and this morning and then I spent the rest of the day barefoot in Porterville. ***

And the winner is... April of 10:15 ON A SATURDAY NIGHT! Congrats to you April for your fine job of correctly identifying Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart". Thanks to NerdDad of Nerd Family for sending this trivia about the song from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Eclipse_of_the_Heart: At its peak, it sold 60,000 copies per day, and approximately 5-6 million copies in total, and was number 1 throughout (almost) the entire world charts according to Bonnie Tyler's greatest hits manual. It is therefore widely considered not just a hit but a "smash hit".

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Time for another round of Name That 80's Song! Email me with the title and artist of the song that contains this line:

We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks

The first person with the correct title and artist is the winner. I will post their name and blog, along with their correct answer, of course, late tonight or early tomorrow. Good luck!

Sara's 80% Rule

A while back I said I would tell you more in a later post about how I like to finish things to about 80%. Since I am out of things to write about, today is that day.

So, as I said, I like to finish things to about 80%. I guess it would be more accurate to say I like to achieve about 80% of what would be perfection and then stop working on it. Let me give some examples: I don't write "rough" drafts of anything. Or, rather, my "final" draft IS my "rough" draft. I remember learning to write essays in 5th grade. The teacher had us write about something or other and then explained that she would mark up our papers and have us rewrite it. I thought this was ridiculous. Why spend time rewriting something that was pretty good already? If I can spend an hour working on something (anything, not just an essay--stay with me, here) and get it to 80%, why would I spend another hour to get it to 95? Because that's what it would be, right? This is how I do almost everything. I do something the first time (play a new sport, try a new hobby, whatever) and everyone says "Wow! You've never done this before? That's amazing!". Well, what are they going to say next time? "Good job. But work on this over here." What? Work? I don't think so.

Obviously, I don't quit everything after the first time. This is about my 125th post to this blog, for instance. I have things that I am more passionate about. Things I will do regardless of what people say. (Well, not regardless, but with less regard.) And I have some things I do that I can't stand to leave at less than 100%.

So, there you have it--Sara's 80% Rule. Feel free to apply it yourself! And let me know how it works out for you!

NOTE: The remaining 20% of this article would not have made much difference, had it been written.