Lights Out

You may recall my riveting account of composting our rotten Halloween pumpkins earlier this month.

Here's another exciting tale of conscientiousness and follow through. 

On Monday morning, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a bin at our community workout facility when I was there for tennis.  The bin seemed to be filled with Christmas lights.

I arrived home a couple hours later and noticed the pile of non-working Christmas lights on the floor of our garage.  My husband had placed the lights (and some other get-rid-of-them-please items) in my parking spot in the hopes that I would get rid of them.  A quick google search revealed that I could recycle Christmas lights at a variety of community locations, including the place where I play tennis.  In an amazing feat of memory and follow through, I moved the lights from garage floor to passenger seat, then remembered to carry them into the building and drop them in the bin when I went to tennis today.  Lights out success.

I successfully parked in the garage this evening.  I'd tell you what I did with the other get-rid-of-them-please items, but I don't know if you could handle the excitement. 

1,000 Books Before Kindergarten

Those of you with young'uns probably already know about the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten initiative.  I did not, another sign that I have passed into a new era of motherhood.  I was flipping through our library's winter magazine and saw the feature above.  The idea is that you read 1,000 books with your child before kindergarten to "Promote early literacy and encourage parent and child bonding through reading."  Who can argue with that?  Apparently, there's even an app for tracking the books.  I checked the App Store, and from the reviews it looks as if they're still working out the kinks, but still, great idea.  The Elmhurst Public Library is offering prizes for each 100-book milestone and some kind of graduation party.  I love it all!  Some of my happiest memories involve reading with my children.  Bedtime, the smell of baby lotion, footie pajamas, chubby fingers pointing, Ten Nine Eight, The Going to Bed Book, Goodnight Moon, Give Me Grace, Miss Spider's Tea Party, and every Little Critter title or any one of the many other books we enjoyed together ... I could cry right now. 

Having this app would have been fun, but I think I exceeded 1,000 books before kindergarten with each kiddo without the app.  No time spent reading with a child is wasted.  Not a second.  Except maybe with those Disney Look and Find books or the Dora or Barbie books -- kidding.  Seriously, just kidding -- reading together is everything, no matter if it's 1,000 different books or a few favorites on repeat.

In case you're not a fellow citizen of Pleasantville, here's the library magazine I referenced:  Elmhurst Public Library's Fine Print.  I am consistently impressed (and amazed, per the cover) by our friendly, professional, dedicated library staff and their ideas for programming, resources, and community outreach.

Gift Idea -- Out of Print Clothing

A dear friend bought me this library due date card tote bag for Christmas last year.  It was a perfect gift:  useful, cute, reflective of my personality, and something that I'd feel guilty buying for myself.  Plus, a inter-generational conversation starter or intra-generational nostalgia/bonding piece.  I've used it for toting books to and from the library (surprise, surprise) and also hauled my laptop around in it a bit.  It's pretty sturdy.  If you visit the Out of Print Clothing website, you'll see this tote and many other cute ones (Nancy Drew, Pride and Prejudice, Gone with the Wind, and classic children's books).  Had I posted this earlier in the day, you could have benefited from the Cyber Monday 30% pricing that expires in a couple hours.  Kicking myself over here.

Cardinal Tree, 2016 -- Hope!

We have an artificial tree that we inherited when my in-laws were downsizing their own Christmas decor.  It's covered with colored lights and every imaginable kind of ornament, chaotic and perfect in the way that family Christmas trees ought to be.  

When we moved to our town five years ago, we started decorating a real tree each year as well.  We had a perfect front window for it, plus our kids' school has a Christmas Tree lot as a fundraiser.  The first year, the real tree had some random decorations and kept falling over (including onto my friend and her son while she was changing his diaper during a preschool lunchtime playdate -- those were the days!).  

I found some cardinal ornaments at Target, Kohl's, and Walgreens on deep discount after Christmas that first year.  Combining the bargain cardinals with the cardinal ornaments my mom had been gifting me ever since my oldest was born, a vision was born.  I could imagine the cardinal tree and knew it would be spectacular.  And it is.  I take pleasure in seeking and finding cardinal ornaments to add to my collection and have been lucky to have friends and family help the cause. 

Cardinals are my reminder that all is well in my world.  For me, cardinals are peace, joy, and, always, hope.  It feels right to write about this cardinal tree on the first Sunday of Advent, the season in which we wait and hope.

Treat Yourself Sale

I couldn't post yesterday because I was freezing my toes off while watching two high school football state championship games.  Very fun day though!  The game watching kept me completely out of the Black Friday scene, which is probably for the best since I have not much idea what anyone on my list really wants or needs.  Had I hit the mall, I would have ended up treating myself to bargains instead of shopping for others.

Having skipped Black Friday, I figured I could treat myself to four books at the Audible Treat Yourself Sale and still come out well ahead.  

Goldy Modalvsky's Kill the Boy Band -- creepy title, but I've seen lots of positive buzz about this one on my Twitter feed

Broken Angels by Gemma Liviero -- this is a book club pick, was going to skip it (the book, not the meeting and earring gift swap) as it sounds too depressing for holiday season reading, but it's supposed to be great so maybe I'll listen

Fishbowl by Bradley Somer -- sounds DIFFERENT, but cool, exactly the kind of title I like for listening

So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson -- I think I'll learn from this one, have been curious about it for a while

If you're interested in audiobooks, there are many great titles in the Treat Yourself Sale:  The Goldfinch, Where'd You Go, Bernadette?, A Man Called Ove, The Time Traveler's Wife (one of my first-ever Audible listens), and many, many more.

Thankful

Fountain Drink Dissertating: Freestylin'

 

We had lunch on the road today and, whadya know, there was a Coca-Cola Freestyle machine at Wendy's.  I am familiar with the Freestyle machine from our favorite local chain, Meatheads, and a few other restaurants.*  If you're not familiar with the concept, it's a fountain drink machine where you can do a lot of mixing and matching.  I've not done the math (as if I could) but there are likely hundreds of possible flavor combinations. 

Positives:

- It's a Coca-Cola Freestyle machine so that means that one of the options is Diet Coke which, as I've noted before, is the only option that matters to me.

- There are a lot of choices.  Most beverage bases (sprite, coke, diet, root beer, minute maid, and many, many more) come in regular, diet, and often in caffeine free versions. 

- There are feelings of power and excitement that go along with these choices.

- Your kids will love it.

Negatives:

- There are a lot of choices.  Usually there are two machines in an establishment, but if you're behind an amateur mixologist or a really indecisive soda drinker, you might wish there were fewer options or more machines.

- Your kids will love it.  They will want to mix their own drinks and whatever rules you have about specialty sugary drinks will be more challenging to enforce. 

- Decision fatigue could set in.

What do I drink when I encounter a Coca-Cola Freestyle machine?  I am choosing a beverage to go with my meal and for me, a regular Diet Coke is all I want.  When (not if), I refill my cup to go, I sometimes top off my regular Diet Coke with a bit of Vanilla Diet Coke.  That's it.  Boring.

Sure, if I had a Freestyle machine in my home (husband assures me this is not happening), I could likely come up with some other exciting flavor combinations, but when out to lunch, I play it safe.

How is the Diet Coke in the Freestyle machine?  Not bad, but not as good a the McDonald's or Chick-fil-A blends.

I was going to list "smaller cups" on the Freestyle negatives list, but I've realized that it's just Meatheads, where I most often do my Freestylin', that does not offer big cups.  Obviously, today's Wendy's cup was plenty large.

Before I close, I'd just like to shout out to the staff at the Joliet Street Wendy's in Dyer, IN.  We've eaten at this Wendy's on several road trips.  The workers there are very friendly and efficient, memorably so. 

Thoughts on Freestylin'?  I'd love to hear them.

*Other Freestyle machine spots include Pie Five and Noodles & Company