The announcement I almost forgot . . .

Congratulations, Kim H.! You're the winner of Holley Gerth's devotional, Rain on Me. (And thanks to Random.org for drawing a random winner.). E-mail me your address, and I'll send it to you!!

Stay tuned for a Top Ten Tuesday post soon . . . I finally watched a 10th movie, and now I have so much to tell you.

An easy and delicious dessert - on a Monday, of all things.

I've actually seen this recipe on two blogs recently. Unfortunately, I can't remember which two blogs. Anyway, it's one that I've made several times and had the opportunity to make this weekend.

And every time? It is deeelicious!

I'm talking about Chocolate Eclair Dessert. It's possible this dish has a fancier name, but that's what I call it. I can't remember where I got the recipe either.

Do you see a pattern here?

Now, I'm going to give you this recipe. It is both easy and tasty. But don't be blaming me if you must immediately run to the store, make it and eat it all at once. Unh-uh. Not my fault! Besides, you can re-start that diet tomorrow, right?

I may have sorta kinda forgotten to take a picture before we dug into it!

Chocolate Eclair Dessert

2 packages graham crackers
2 - 3 oz. packages instant vanilla pudding
3 cups milk
1 - 8 oz. tub of whipped topping
1 - 16 oz. can of chocolate frosting

Mix pudding, milk and whipped topping. Cover the bottom of a 9x13 pan with graham crackers. Pour half of the pudding mixture on top. Layer grahams, then pudding twice. Cover with graham crackers, then pour softened frosting on top. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Now, there's nothing I can do about the chocolate frosting. (Except lick the spoon. I can do that.) But you can use skim milk, sugar free pudding, low-fat graham crackers and fat-free whipped topping. Making those changes doesn't really affect the taste and it might be enough to help you rationalize that second piece. I know it is for me.

This post will be linked to Mouthwatering Monday, Tasty Tuesday and possibly even Family Recipe Friday. Because if I can't remember who gave me the recipe, then it's completely possible it was a family member. Right?

This dessert is so ridiculously easy. What's your favorite EASY recipe to make?

Five for Friday

1. A family of mosquitoes or some other biting type of bug has moved into my house. I blame last weekend’s unseasonably warm temperatures that caused us to turn off the A/C and open the windows. And the lotsa rain we’ve had this month. Although it doesn’t really matter. The fact is these bugs are apparently here for a long-term visit, and a bug’s gotta eat, ya know?

2. Annalyn went cuh-razy with the walking last night! My parents were here (for what they call “Baby Night”), and that kiddo just walked herself all over the house. I was relieved, because we’ve been practicing her walking – even with the ears – mainly in her bedroom. And I was starting to worry that she would only be able to walk in there (on carpet, as opposed to the hardwoods in the rest of the house). Turns out I didn’t need to worry about that. Nope, but I might need to start worrying about her reaching sharp objects, running away from me and locking herself in the bathroom. This is what we’ve been waiting for, right?

3. As part of a whole social media plan (very exciting!) at work, I am helping create a new blog for my company. And by “create,” I am talking choosing graphics, picking out colors and writing [shudder] code. My manager and I both have a rudimentary understanding of blog design. But since our IT guy does not know how to or want to (we’re not quite sure which one it is) design a company blog, we’re pretty much on our own. Sure, Google is there for me, always willing to listen and offer some advice. But my goodness, it takes me forever and a day, plus fourteen rounds of trial and error, to make one little change. And it is Giving. Me. A Headache.

4. You all said that you like my movie reviews, and I have to admit: I am way behind! I’ve seen so many movies in the past couple of months and haven’t told you about any of them! So I started making a list earlier this week; I didn’t want you to miss out on any of my opinions, you know. I realized I have nine movies to talk about. And being, um, persnickety like I am, I just can’t handle an odd number like that. Just feels unfinished or something. So, yes, I will be renting a movie tomorrow night, for the express purpose of blogging about it. I’m not sure if that’s amazing dedication . . . or just a little bit sad.

5. And because my last comment would otherwise be, “Does anyone else want to buy Proactiv every time they see the commercials? Or is that just me?” I thought I’d use a Plinky.com prompt. Here’s my deep question for the day: What is your favorite cereal? Mine’s Golden Grahams. Always name brand; never store brand. Yummmm . . .

Bringing back the lookalike game

I think you’ll all agree with me that it’s been way too long since we played this game. So long that I’ve gotten pretty rusty.

I guess you’ll just have to help me out.

The only celebrity lookalikes I can think of are:

Elizabeth Hasselbeck and Meaghan Jette Martin
(I can't even take credit for this one. I saw it when reading a review of the 10 Things I Hate About You TV show . . . which yes, of course I've been watching. What do you think?)

David Moscow and Matthew Morrison
(I watched a movie with Moscow last night, and I was just sure it was Morrison, the guy from GLEE. Turns out it was just his blue-eyed twin.)

Bruce McGill and Tyne Daly
(Seriously, how could two unrelated people look so much alike? Every time I see this guy in something, I say, "Oh my gosh, he looks just like Tyne Daly!" So this week I finally got around to looking him up. And nope, he's not related. Just looks like it.)

Have you spotted any lookalikes lately?

And hey, don’t forget to enter the giveaway for Rain on Me by Holley Gerth!

I do ride the bus, you know.

Yesterday at work, I decided to listen to some tunes on Pandora. I was a little tired of my Kathy Mattea and Bobby Brown stations, so I picked my Pink station.

So sue me. I enjoy angry rocker chick music.

But I started noticing that Pink has quite the mouth. Apparently listening to a Pink song on the radio is like watching a Judd Apatow movie on TBS.

You know, all nice and censored cleaned up.

Once I started noticing the profanity, I couldn’t help but notice it in the other songs. That Avril Lavigne? She needs to watch her mouth, too!

Anyway, my reaction to these songs – that I’ve listened to many a time – made me laugh, as I remembered a conversation I had many years ago.

I don’t remember exactly what the context was, but my cousins were discussing something in front of me and assumed either I didn’t understand or was not old enough to hear such things.

So I said to them, my cousins and childhood heroes who happened to be 5, 6 and 8 years older than me, “I do ride the bus, you know.”

Because seriously, who didn’t learn something their parents wished they hadn't on the school bus?

What? That was just my bus?

Well, anyway, my cousins thought that was sooo funny. They laughed and laughed. Or maybe they just laughed and my burning ears heard an echo that wasn’t there. Either way, they thought my bravado was hilarious. And though I don’t remember anything more, I’m pretty sure they waited to finish their conversation until I wasn’t around.

I guess I need to either listen to more uplifting music or remember that I shouldn’t be shocked so easily.

After all, I did ride the bus, you know.

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On another note, Monday night was one more for the books with Annalyn. And by “for the books,” I mean awful, horrible, no good, when is bedtime, I wanna run away from home. As a matter of fact, I gave myself a timeout at one point! But last night was the polar opposite of Monday’s tantrum-filled evening. We spent our precious time together reading, playing, giggling and walking.

Annalyn hadn’t walked in quite a few days, preferring to hold our hands while she walks around or regressing back to her old standby, crawling.

Last night, though, she dug her cat ears from last year’s Halloween costume out of the closet, put them on and got busy walking.

It turns out she was just missing her walking ears.

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Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for Rain on Me by Holley Gerth!

Top 10 Things I Learned From My Survey

Some of you also mentioned enjoying my photos. And since I aim to please...

A couple weeks ago, I had some time to kill in the Detroit airport, and I decided to write a survey. It was so much fun that I can guarantee I’ll do it again.

Maybe I’ll take a survey of what TV shows to watch this fall . . . or what Christmas presents to buy . . . or how to cut my hair . . . oh, the possibilities are endless.

Until all of our survey dreams come true, though, I thought I’d share the results from this first one.

1. Only about half of you (47%) subscribe to this blog. Ahem. If you would like to subscribe – which means every new post from Giving Up on Perfect automatically shows up in your Feed Reader or in your e-mail – just click that orange button over on the right. Easy peasy.
2. Out of the 44 people who took my survey, 14% were first-time readers. Umm . . . you all must really like surveys! Which is cool with me. I’m a big fan of the survey, too. Oh, did I already mention that?
3. Almost half of you know me in real life, with a whopping 7% claiming that I make you read my blog. Honestly, I’m not sure who’s saying such things, because Mark and Smitty don’t even read every day . . .
4. Speaking of reading frequency, 42% of survey respondents (now doesn’t that sound official?) read this blog every day. Thank you.
5. As I suspected, most of my readers are women. Three men did take the quiz, though. I hope you’ll comment on this post and tell me who you are. But since I don’t see that happening, I’m going to guess that at least one of those guys is my brother. And maybe my friend Jeremy of the Cheez-It fame.
6. The ages were all across the board, although a solid 50% are somewhere in their thirties. I’m not sure if that counts anyone who is perpetually 39. The free survey software may not be that sophisticated.
7. Interestingly, the posts that you all most enjoy are rambling accounts of my daily life. I’m not so sure why, but I’m making an effort here to ramble more. For you, my readers. The sacrifices I make . . .
8. Also in the running for top topics: memories and stories (good thing, as I do love to reminisce), my always valuable opinions on pop culture (another good thing, as I will not be turning off the TV anytime soon) and parenting.
9. The less-loved topics – and yes, I know the survey forced you to answer, even though you didn’t want to because you love me – were book reviews, food and domestic life. Hmmm. Well, I can cut back on book reviews and spare you the details of my housecleaning routine (ha!). But people, you need to know this: food and I have a close relationship, and we will probably not be parting anytime soon.
10. Finally, half of you prefer me to respond to comments in the comment section. And boy, have I been letting you down! I will try to get better at this, but even if I don’t respond to your comment, I promise I still appreciate it.

Now, about those essay questions. You all just made my day. Seriously, you do know this was an anonymous survey, right? I can’t give anyone credit for saying nice things or making sweet comments or telling me how wonderful I am. You know this?

And yet you did it anyway.

As a thank you, I’m going to give one lucky reader a signed copy of Holley Gerth’s devotional, Rain on Me. I met Holley at Blissdom and we clicked immediately. Now I’m getting the chance to know her better as we work on (in)courage together, and I just love this girl. You will, too!

To enter this giveaway, leave a comment telling me something you’d like me to write about on this blog. It can be a story, a list or the answer to any question you’d like to ask. Comments will be closed on Saturday, and then I’ll randomly select a winner.

If you’re lucky, I might even answer your questions or write about the stories you request. At least that would keep me from doing those annoying carnivals so often, right, Survey Taker #15?

Oh, calm down. You know I kid.

But this post will be linked to Top Ten Tuesday and What I Learned This Week. (See? Ask me some questions!)

It was a napping kind of weekend.

You know what I wonder? Why do I have a calendar? I mean, I occasionally write things in it, but then I close it up, stick it in my stack of stuff that I tote back and forth every day, and never look at it again.

Case in point: last Friday. Though just two days before, I’d sent my friend Christelle a note on Facebook saying how much I was looking forward to our scrapbooking date on Friday, I sat at my desk that afternoon and thought, “Hmmm, what am I going to do tonight?”

And then, because my life is so very exciting, I logged onto TVGuide.com to see what was playing on the old boob tube.

Thankfully I had an occasion later on to open my calendar, where I saw “Scrapbook with Christelle” written on my Friday box. I say thankfully, because a) it would have been quite embarrassing to have Christelle find me in my usual Friday routine (you know, lounging on the couch in my stretchy pants watching Wife Swap), and b) it was pretty slim pickings on TV and I had decided I’d just watch Kate & Leopold again.

I didn’t even like it that much the first time. Mainly because Meg Ryan has her weird fish lips in that one, and it’s just too distracting for me.

Let’s pause for an important disclaimer: Yes, Pysch is on Friday nights, but I tape it, so Mark and I can watch it together over the weekend. Now, carry on.

So, I remembered my scrapbooking date in time to order pizza and pick up the toys decorating our floors. And more important than organizing my photos and picking out the perfect rub-on or brad, I had a great time catching up with my friend.

Which is a good thing, because I wasn’t so successful in the scrapbooking part of our evening. I am either on or off with that stuff, and I was off.

I don’t really remember what we did on Saturday, although I distinctly recall it involved an extremely pleasant afternoon nap.

Oh yes, we also went to the park – for 15 minutes. Because by the time we got there, somebody was getting cranky and needed a nap.

No, I don’t mean me.

But kind of.

Anyway, Saturday night was a big deal: Mark’s dad watched Annalyn for the first time, while we went with Smitty to a birthday party. I could bore you with details about how the restaurant we went to used to be called Johnny O’Quigley’s but now it’s Paddy O’Quigley’s but I didn’t know that and assumed the invitation had the wrong name but then I saw it was right but still Smitty wanted to mock me and assume that I was crazy.

But really, all you need to know is that they served green tortilla chips – because dying the Mexican food green makes it Irish. And Annalyn had a great time with her Grandpa Jim.

We wrapped up Sunday with choir practice and church, the longest 90 minutes ever (also known as our monthly service in the toddler nursery), another nap for the whole family, lots of giggles and Mark’s awesome grilled chicken.

How was your weekend?

Random Readings 8.22.09

I haven’t done a Random Readings in a while, but since I read some really great posts in the past week, I decided to share them with you. Have you read anything inspiring, hilarious or interesting lately?

• Discipline: MckMama shares tips on disciplining kids. So timely for our house – anyone else relate?
• Ask me what I did last night: Amy wrote about freedom in Christ. And she blew me away.
• Checkout lines are no place for non-church attending Catholics. Jennifer had a terrible experience a couple Sundays ago. Made me feel sad…and mad…and a little guilty…
• Hope and Hope, part 2: Colleen bared her soul about her childhood, some changes she’s considering and how it’s all connected.
• Before I Was a Mom: Jill wrote about how motherhood has changed her. (And to think she claimed to have writer’s block before this? I’m not buying it!)
• Prayer: Why We Struggle (and how not to): Ann writes beautiful poetic words, and her post about prayer and why we don’t do it brought me to my knees.
• For class of '13, times are a-changin': Beloit College takes time to make me feel old. Thank you.
  

Have a great weekend. I’m hoping to clean my house, balance my checkbook (yawn), take the kiddo to the park and eat up this amazing weather, go with Mark and Smitty to a birthday party, and make it to church on time for choir practice before worship service. And then? A nap. With the windows open and the breeze blowing . . . and the Zyrtec on call.

As if we needed further proof.

We've recently switched Annalyn's naptime from the morning to the afternoon. This makes her a tired girl. I don't eat enough vegetables, and I haven't worked out since Day 4 of The Shred. This makes me a tired girl.

And that, my friends, is not a good combination when it comes to after-work trips to the Walmart.

Fortunately, between contact solution and tortillas, we stumbled into the cracker aisle. And since I know how anything labeled "cracker" makes my daughter oh-so-happy, I decided to pick up a box.

Plus, it was after work. And she wasn't the only one who was ready for dinner.

As we strolled down the cracker aisle, my eyes were drawn to the red and yellow boxes of little cheese-flavored squares. Right. You know the ones.

The Cheez-Its. The one kind of cracker that I can't buy and keep in my house, no matter how much my daughter loves them. Possibly because I, too, love their salty, cheesy crunch. And possibly because a box of Cheez-Its in our house disappears faster than, well, a box of Pop Tarts in our house.

But the Cheez-Its we saw tonight? Oh, they were something special. They were . . . Scrabble Cheez-Its!


My friend Jeremy bought a box of these several months ago. When I saw them at his house during our Bible study, he acted all casual. All, "Oh, I bought them at Target." Right. I've been to Target, mister. And I saw no such Scrabble Cheez-Its!

Okay . . . honestly? After I saw the special crackers at his house, I looked at every store around for a week or so. When I couldn't find them, I figured it was a limited time, short-term, blah-blah, should've bought it sooner thing.

And then I cried.

Just kidding.

But when Annalyn and I found them tonight at Walmart? Well, you can be sure I bought a box.

And opened it up before she starved to death right there in front of my eyes. I know that was a possibility, because of the way she kept shouting, "Cracker! Cracker! Pease! Pease!" No, we're not dramatic in this family. Not at all.

The good news is that somehow, putting letters on the cheesy squares of goodness makes them somehow, less good. I think Annalyn will actually get to eat all of her own crackers this time.

The bad news is that it's just as hard to find the letters you want with Scrabble Cheez-Its as it is with the real game.

Wordless Wednesday: Bath Time

Guess whose new favorite words include "bubbles" and "duck"?

For more Wordless Wednesday, visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

The Long-Awaited (??) Summary of My Bloggy Education

Way back in February or March or maybe May, Autumn asked if I would share with you all what I’ve learned at the blogging conferences and seminars I’ve attended in the past year. Being generous and a giver in general, I said, “Of course I will!”

And then I promptly did not do any such thing.

Ohhhhhhh, I’m so sorry. My friends, I have a huge folder that won’t even close anymore, jam-packed with notes and handouts and presentation slides and ideas and rules. And I carry it with me, from home to work and back again, intending every single day (well, you know, most days) to write up a great summary of all the knowledge that has been dumped into my brain in the past several months.

But here we are. And still no post. [Insert big, guilt-ridden sigh here.]

By this point, I’m not even sure if anyone out there wants this information. And I’m not sure typing out my scribbled notes from a conference six months ago would help anyone. But just in case someone is still interested – and honestly, to alleviate my bloggy guilt – I’ve gathered up a bunch of great resources for improving your blog design, content and more.

Blogging Basics 101 – Exactly what it sounds like! Here are three of the best posts, in my opinion: 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Starting a New Blog, 5 More Mistakes to Avoid and Blogging Etiquette Tips.

Mommy Always Wins – Colleen writes great how-to posts for all sorts of bloggy design projects. She’s also helpful, hilarious and oh yeah, starting her own blog design company!

Musings of a Housewife – Jo-Lynne runs her own blog design company, but she shares her secrets every once in a while. Easy step-by-step tutorials that anyone can use.

Michael Hyatt – As CEO of the largest Christian publishing company, Mr. Hyatt is – of course – on my must-read list. But he writes about so much more than books! I have not found anyone else who writes posts that explain social media better, and I highly recommend checking out all his posts about blogging. Two recent posts are 13 Idea Starters for Stuck Bloggers and Focus on Blog Content Before Traffic.

ProBlogger – Darren Rowse is one of the few people out there actually making money by blogging full time. Even if that’s not your thing, he has great posts about how to blog well. Try 9 First Step Goals for New Bloggers, 13 Things I’ve Learned, and Warning: Do You Recognize These 21 Blogging Mistakes?

Also:

• CopyBlogger writes about the seven deadly sins of blogging.
• Darcy at Life with my 3 Boybarians is refreshingly honest about 10 Blogging Mistakes.
• Kevin & Amanda share tons of blog design tips, as well as tons and tons of free fonts.
• Sarah at Real Life Blog has a few tips about blog design, too.
• Nathan Bransford, a book agent, goes over the absolute basics of blogs right here.
  

Okay, what do you think? Am I leaving something out? Do you have any burning blog questions? I don’t know that I have answers to your burning questions, but I’d be happy to help you find them.

And though this whole darned post is belated, it will be linked to What I Learned This Week and Top Ten Tuesday.

This is my associate, Jazz Hands.

Do you all watch Psych? It is one of my favorite TV shows.

(Yes, I'm talking about TV again. My brain has shut off for the weekend and does not plan to resume functioning until sometime tomorrow morning.)

Anyway, as the banner says, it’s about a guy who pretends to be a psychic but is actually just highly observant. His best friend Gus is a pharmaceutical sales rep by day and fake psychic sidekick by night - or days when he's not selling pharmaceuticals. As Shawn, the main character, says in the first episode of this summer, “You know the Mentalist, right? It’s like that.”

Like most shows in cable networks, Psych doesn’t follow the regular programming seasons. Fortunately for me, this means it was perfectly timed to start its season just as my beloved So You Think You Can Dance was winding down.

Just in case you haven’t been watching this hilarious show, which is, admittedly, a formulaic cop/detective show but also chock-full of pop culture references that crack me up every time, here’s a sample of the funny-ness you’re missing:

• A gentleman of leisure never packs his gun next to his socks. It’s uncouth.
• Here I was thinking you’re Thomas Crown. But you’re just Remington Steele. Does that make me Laura Holt? Do you think a guy likes me wants to be Stephanie Zimbalist? Maybe.
• There’s something weird about every family. It’s what makes America great.
• Note to self: be rich some day.
• I have peeps, Shawn.
• You have two peeps, and one is made of marshmallow.

See how funny that is? (What? It's not as funny taken completely out of context? Surely you jest . . .) Oh, and you're wondering about the title of this post? Well, Shawn has a habit of introducing Gus with crazy names when they're investigating a case. And Friday's episode gave Gus the best name ever: Jazz Hands.

This weekend I went to see The Ugly Truth with Smitty, watched my taped (yes, on my VCR) episode of Psych, rented 17 Again, ate way too many carbs, spent many hours with Little Miss WalkWalkWalk and, oh yeah, spent time with both sides of our family. More on all that later.

How was your weekend?

Some light summer reading?

This week's posts have been a little heavy, haven't they? Good, but heavy. Well, I suppose I shouldn't assume you all agree with me on the "good" count.

Anyway. I thought we'd lighten things up today. So I have three questions for you. Answer one or answer all. Just answer in the comments!

Question #1: What TV shows have you been watching this summer? Or, if you are one of those people who are too busy swimming and playing and whatnot in the summer, what TV shows are you looking forward to watching this fall?

Question #2: What is your favorite dipping sauce? Annalyn is a real big fan of all dipping sauces lately - and she calls them "dot dot." That's her funny pronunciation of ketchup, but it goes for ranch dressing and salsa, too. So - what's your dot dot of choice?

Question #3: What's the most fun thing you've done so far this summer?

Today’s the big day. I’m at (in)courage!

A few months ago, my friend Katie e-mailed me and said, “Mary, I just read this book and you’ve got to read it. It is changing my life.”

Now, Katie and I have been known to talk in the dramatic. Our lives are big and loud and messy, and we aren’t afraid to tell each other all about it. But there was something different in that short note. Something that made me stop, find the book online and buy it right then.

Even though the book didn’t sound interesting to me. Even though I was sure that I wouldn’t be changed by reading it. Even though I was a tad bit concerned that I’d just spent $15 for another book to collect dust on my nightstand.

And sure enough, that book came in the mail, and it sat on my table for weeks. Just staring at me. With irritating words like, “What if the life you really want, and the future God wants for you, is hiding right now in your biggest problem, your worst failure . . . your greatest fear?”

[Insert heavy sigh here.]

To read the rest of this post, please visit (in)courage.

Or . . . “I Feel Pretty” . . . What do you think, Daddy?

Last night, Annalyn told me my sock was pretty. More specifically, she said, “Sock,” petted my brown nylon covered foot, and said, “Pretty.”

She also says “pretty” when I wear my blue t-shirt, when I brush her hair and when we put a bow in her hair.

And when her daddy tells her that she looks pretty? Well, that’s enough to make a girl giggle and squeal!

So when I heard about Miley Cyrus’s performance on the Teen Choice Awards, I couldn’t help but wonder if she actually believes pole dancing and hot pants are pretty.

Because not so long ago, shiny purple and fluffy pink and glittery silver were undoubtedly more her taste than black leather. And based on my vast personal knowledge of her as a person (please, please hear my self-inflicted sarcasm here), I feel confident that not so long ago, she only wanted to hear her daddy call her pretty.

I’m not writing about this to judge Miley Cyrus or any other celebrity for clothing choices and public behaviors. Because, honestly, I can’t possibly imagine what their lives are truly like or why they make the decisions they do.

But it’s not like I have to turn on the television to see girls working hard to feel pretty – and missing the mark by a mile.

I only have to look as far as my bathroom mirror – at the girl who gets up early enough to put on mascara, but not early enough to spend time in prayer; the girl who picks out the baggiest pants in her closet instead of going for a walk; the girl who cracks jokes and puts on a smart face instead of daring to admit she’s hurt or confused or (gasp!) human.

And when I think about all this – my pretty sock and my sweet daughter and young celebrities and my bathroom mirror – I wonder if it’s inevitable, the tendency to act ugly in our pursuit of beauty. Or maybe, just maybe, there’s a way to stop myself – or, not too far from now, Annalyn – from acting ugly to feel pretty.

My friend, Becky Jo, said something awesome about this issue during our Bible study. I wish I could remember exactly how she put it. What I do remember (because I took notes!) is that she referenced Psalm 45:11, which says, “The King is enthralled by your beauty.”

What do you think? Are there times when you act ugly and think it will make you feel pretty? Or, looking at the lighter side of this topic, is there anything ugly you do that really does make you feel pretty (see facial mask above as Example A)?

And Becky Jo, are you there? Can you remind me what you said about how our beauty comes from God . . . ??

* And for you movie buffs, yes, today’s title is from Dirty Dancing.

A case of the Mondays.

Most days when I leave for work, Annalyn waves her little hand and says in her sweet little voice, “Bye-bye!” Sometimes, if I’m lucky, I even get, “Bye-bye, Mommy!”

Yesterday was not so smooth. As I got ready, proud that for once, I wasn’t running several minutes late and my hair was perfectly styled slightly dry, my little girl was sitting on the couch by her daddy. She had a waffle in one hand and a sippy cup of milk in the other. I could see an empty bowl; she’d already inhaled her uh-nana.

I walked up the hallway toward the living room and garage, and Annalyn heard my footsteps on the hardwood floor. And apparently that was all it took.

“Bup? Bup? Mommy? Bup!”

In other words, she wanted me to pick her up and hug her. So, I walked over to the couch, kissed her head and told her I’d see her at lunchtime.

Well, you’d have thought I told her I’d never see her again. The waterworks, they started. No, not mine, although it was close.

It is so hard to leave the house when my baby is crying and wants me to stay. Not loving my job makes it even harder. Monday morning after staying up late to watch a movie with Mark makes it darned near impossible.

But I did it.

Over the weekend, I read a story in Parents magazine about helping your kids understand and accept why Mommy and Daddy have to work. So I followed the advice I’d shared with Mark a few hours before: I used my firm yet positive voice to say, “Mommy’s going to work now, Annalyn. I’ll see you after playtime, for lunch. I love you!”

And I left.

But I didn’t like it.

You know what else I didn’t like? When I came home for lunch a short time later, walked in to see my baby, and was greeted by a big grin and, “Mommy!”

Oh wait, that doesn’t sound so bad, does it? How about if that sweet greeting was quickly followed up with her crawling away from me, refusing to let me hold her and responding with repeated cries of “No!” when I offered to help her walk over to Daddy? Not so sweet then, is it?

Thankfully, the tears didn’t last long, and she was happy to eat lunch with Mommy. After all, I am the one who will give her ketchup (or “dot dot” as it’s mysteriously called at our house) for any food, including green beans, grapes and my mother’s homemade banana bread.

So today was a little rough for us. But I forgot about all of that when, for the second day in a row, Mark and I got to watch our not-so-little-anymore baby girl finally take several steps on her own.

That’s right, folks! Real-live walking going on here!

Wouldn’t this be a great time to introduce video to my blog? You’d like that, right? If I embedded a little home video of Annalyn taking her first steps – right here, for you to see?

Well, I’ve got some bad news. The battery on our video camera is dead. As a doornail. Or a dead camera battery.

Either way, I have nothing to offer you. I can give you this:

But, much to my and my mother’s chagrin, I have no video of this last weekend’s miracle milestone. Maybe tomorrow . . .

How was your Monday? Do you find it hard to start the week, or are Mondays no different than the other days of the week for you?

Feels Like Coming Home

When I was a senior in high school, I took College English. One of our early assignments in the fall was to define a word. We each drew a slip of paper from a bowl, and the word we saw was our writing prompt.

The word I drew was “home.”

As I worked to define that word, put new feeling and meaning into those simple four letters, I realized that home is more than just a place to live, a building with walls and doors and windows.

I realized that more importantly than a physical space to sleep and eat and watch TV, “home” was better defined as the place my heart felt at peace, the place my soul felt accepted and loved.

And because I was a teenager in luuuuuv, that meant one of the ways I defined “home” was by describing my boyfriend and the things that made me think of him.

Since I actually married that guy, I’d say it was a pretty good description, even though he’s since given up winterfresh gum, his Dodge Daytona and the Notre Dame football team.

In the decade and a half since writing that short essay, I’ve realized and developed many other definitions of home. And today, one more "home" is coming to life.

The women who have created (in)courage describe their new site like this: “When we asked ourselves what kind of place we were building, we finally came to see it as a bit like a beach house. You can put your sandy, dirty feet on the coffee table, laugh late into the night with friends, and also hear God’s voice clearer than perhaps anywhere else. Life just feels more vibrant and real, as if you’ve stumbled upon a glimpse of heaven and it’s nothing like you ever imagined but everything you’d always hoped.”

The site is live today, and I hope you’ll go check it out. And instead of describing the site all over again, I’m going to tell you about the other women working on the project. Because, seriously, they have done a better job explaining (in)courage than I could do right now. Check them out. And check out (in)courage. Do it.

• Sara Mae at Like a Warm Cup of Coffee
• Nester at Nesting Place
• Lindsey at The Pleated Poppy
• Kristen at We Are That Family
• Jennifer at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
• Jessica at The Mom Creative
• Angela at Becoming Me
• Melissa at The Inspired Room
• Jennifer at Studio JRU
• Andrea at Under Grace & Over Coffee
• Angie at Bring the Rain
• Anne at Flowerdust
• Ann at A Holy Experience
• Amber at The Run-a-Muck
• Emily at Chatting at the Sky
• Ginny at The Thoughts I Think
• Heather at Heather Gemmen Wilson
• Robin at Pensieve
• Sarah at The Best Days of My Life
• Lisa at It’s the Little Things
• Tsh at Simple Mom
• Annie at Annie Blogs

But wait! Before you start clicking around, tell us: How do you define home?

Danke schoen, Mr. Hughes.

Last night, Mark and I took a cranky-pants toddler who is obsessed with “walk!” and “steps!” to a little birthday dinner. After watching several games of Pac-Man, cruising up and down the table, chewing on some cheese bread and spitting it out, and generally causing chaos, Mark decided to take her home.

For about 3.2 minutes, Annalyn was happy. She walked around and around the Pac-Man game, saying, "Wheeee!" It's the little things in life, you know.

My job was to get a box for our pizza, pay our bill and say “happy birthday, good to see you and goodbye.”

That was totally my intention, and I probably would have made good on those goals if my cousin Craig hadn’t started talking politics.

Normally I avoid those conversations – nay, debates – like the proverbial plague. Honestly, I don’t enjoy talking politics with most people, and you know combining family and politics is a dangerous cocktail.

Regardless, I stayed last night and debated chatted. And . . . left with a headache. And cold pizza.

What can I say? Politics frustrate the . . . pepperoni . . . out of me.

How good does this chicken pizza look? I was real jealous of this pie.

You know what doesn’t frustrate me? Teen movies. Or, as I fondly call them, teeny bopper movies. And we wouldn’t have the pleasure of gems such as Clueless, Can’t Hardly Wait or 10 Things I Hate About You (or Napoleon Dynamite, Juno or Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist) without the canon of one Mr. John Hughes.

Hughes died on Thursday, and yesterday our local radio station played a collection of songs from his movies. I only heard a few while I was on the way home from the pizza party that wasn’t, but it was fun to remember songs like “Don’t You Forget About Me” and the song I refer to as, “Bom, Bom, Chick, Chicka Chick Pow.”

Out of all Hughes’ movies, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is my favorite, with Breakfast Club coming in a close second. The Brat Pack gave us the spontaneous and yet cleverly choreographed group dance. And Ferris gave us so many quotable quotes:

• Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?. . . Bueller?. . . Bueller?
• Oh, he's very popular Ed . . . They think he's a righteous dude.
• The key to faking out the parents is the clammy hands.
• He'll keep calling me. He'll keep calling me until I come over. He'll make me feel guilty. This is uh... This is ridiculous, ok I'll go, I'll go, I'll go, I'll go, I'll go. What - I'LL GO.
• Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

What are your favorite John Hughes movies?

Recipe Friday: Crispy S'mores Bars

Lately, Annalyn’s response to the question, “How does it taste?” is, "Nummy!"

And that is exactly how this new treat should be described: “Nummy!” Maybe even, “Nummy in my tummy.”

Then again, that might be silly.

Several weeks ago, I signed up for Kraft First Taste. It’s not exclusive; you just have to sign up. But according to Kraft, it’s “the best place to get the inside scoop on the latest Kraft products, be one of the first to try them, and tell us what you think.”

I don’t know about all that yet. But I do know that after I signed up, I started getting a monthly newsletter with “sneak peak” recipes. Including one for Crispy S’mores Bars.

When I mentioned last night on Facebook that I was going to make “s’mores rice krispy treats,” I immediately had people signing up to do a taste test.

Sorry, guys. But even though I can’t actually send a pan of these bars to each one of you, I can give you the recipe.

Crispy S’mores Bars

2 tbsp. butter
4 cups miniature marshmallows, divided
3 cups rice krispies (a.k.a. puffed rice cereal)
2 cups Teddy Grahams
2 squares semi-sweet chocolate, melted

Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Melt butter and add 2 cups marshmallows. Stir constantly until completely melted. Remove from heat and mix in remaining marshmallows, cereal and Teddy Grahams. Press into pan. Drizzle with melted chocolate. Let stand one hour before serving – if you can!

Instead of the melted chocolate, I sprinkled milk chocolate chips on top. And . . . mmmm!

This post is linked to Vanderbilt Wife's Family Recipe Friday, as well as A Southern Fairytale and Balancing Beauty & Bedlam.

Have you tried any new recipes lately? Or a new type of food? Tell us about it!

Get your nose out of that book!

I heard those words more than once as a child. Actually, don’t tell my mom, but I could probably use someone saying that even now. I’d probably get to bed earlier and have a cleaner kitchen.

But the books – I’d miss the books!

Ah well, there are worse things, I suppose. Like boring you, my dear readers. And according to My Big Survey, you all are not big fans of my book reviews.

All right, all right. I can’t say I’m surprised. The teeny tiny number of comments was already a pretty good indication.

So I’ll lay off on the book reviews. I will probably still talk about books occasionally. And odds are good that I’ll still review some of the movies I see. As a matter of fact, stay tuned for a movie review this Saturday and my take on The Hole in our Gospel . . . just as soon as I manage to read it.

But I’ll try to come up with some more interesting posts for you. However, I will tell you about a couple book clubs. Just in case you want to talk books with someone else!

• She Reads – a new book club started by Proverbs 31 Ministries.
• Books, Blogs & Brownies – a virtual book club on Under Grace & Over Coffee

Now, one last note about My Big Survey: several of you said very sweet things. Unfortunately, in order to obtain objective data, the survey is anonymous. So I have no idea who said what. So, if you were trying to get on my good side, well, it didn’t quite work. But I’m honored that you took the time to answer my questions, and I’m touched that you enjoy reading Giving Up on Perfect. Thanks, everyone!

She (in)courages

Thank you so much to everyone who’s taken my blog survey. I’m noticing some interesting patterns, and I’ll share them in a few days. But since I’m sure you’re just dying to know the results, I’ll tell you one thing.

You all are big fans of honesty.

And that is a darned good thing, considering my creative juice is pretty much tapped by the time I get to share my thoughts, my heart and my life with you. I’d be real bummed out if I had to start making stuff up around here.

Honesty, authenticity, transparency – they’re all big buzzwords these days, but still seem to be characteristics sorely lacking in many environments. Including those specifically made for Christian women.

Let’s be honest about honesty – it’s not always easy. But I’m pretty sure – based on my oh-so-scientific survey – that we’d all agree it’s worth it.

And that’s why I’m excited to tell you about my newest project: (in)courage. Part of Dayspring, it’s a website, it’s a blog, it’s a product line. But more than that, it aspires to be a home for the hearts of women. A place where we can put our dusty feet up on the coffee table and just be. Be ourselves. Be real. Be honest.

Some of you may have landed here from a link at The Mom Creative. Jessica and I are just two of more than 20 women working on this project, and I can’t wait for you to meet them all.

Angela at Becoming Me is another woman taking part in (in)courage, and she'll be writing about (in)courage tomorrow. Believe me when I say that you need to meet her. From her (admitted) struggles with perfectionism to her (former) career in public relations, we seem to have a little bit in common. I’m looking forward to getting to know her – and all the ladies of (in)courage – better!

You'll be hearing more about this whole project soon, and it officially launches August 10th (that’s next Monday!). But check out Angela tomorrow, follow the trail of the other awesome ladies involved all week, and sneak over to http://www.incourage.me/ for a preview today.

Remember – (in)courage on August 10. This is gonna be fun. This is gonna be real. Oh yeah, this is gonna be real fun.

She Learns

After getting a little bit of sleep and reading a few recap posts and uploading my photos, I’m still not sure how best to tell you about my weekend (at SheSpeaks in Charlotte, N.C.).

I guess I’m just going to have to resort to that old standby: the list.

First, the real fun part – a list of the awesome ladies I got to meet and hang out with!

Stephanie Bryant and Holley Gerth from Dayspring

Sisters Emily from Chatting at the Sky and The Nester
(I love these girls and wanted to bring them home. They declined. But they did give a great presentation about the purpose of your blog. Love them!)

Jen from Balancing Beauty & Bedlam, Dawn from My Home Sweet Home and Jo-Lynne from Musings of a Housewife

Annie Downs from Annie Blogs

Hillary from The Other Mama, also known as my bloggy soul mate. Or, at least the most sarcastic and hilarious person I met all weekend. In sum, she's just precious.

Melanie from Big Mama and Sophie from Boo Mama (No, we’re still not BFFs. And yes, I acted like a complete fangirl. At least I can report that I didn't cry this time.)

I also got to meet and/or spend some time with the very sweet Especially Heather, the technical guru Lisa Boyd from Simply His, my new friend Shelly from My Life on the Wild Side and the amazing Lysa Terkeurst. (I didn’t so much spend time with Lysa, of course, as introduce myself and eavesdrop as she talked with some of the other girls.)

I hope I’m not forgetting anyone. If I got to meet you and didn’t link to you, please yell at me! (But you know, nicely. I don’t like mean yelling.)

Now, for the tougher part: what I learned at She Speaks.

1. I am not a beginner blogger. I loved hearing my online friends present information and I certainly walked away with a few new tips, but I wish I could have learned more about blogging. I think I might have actually been better off taking the writing classes instead. Maybe next year!
2. When it comes to blogging and ministry, it’s not about me. It’s not about the numbers. And it’s not a competition. (Rinse and repeat.)
3. Crying just may be my love language. Or I get weepy when I’m overly tired. Possibly a combination of both.
4. I am not a good traveler. I won’t bore you with the details, but it started with getting up before the sun; continued with a missed flight, missed shuttle and traffic jam; and ended with a three-hour layover in Detroit, a head-poundingly loud late-night flight and news of a bomb scare. Does it count as a red-eye flight if my eyes are red?
5. Proverbs 31 is an amazing group of Christ-centered, smart, talented women who are organized, compassionate and just all-around awesome. Exhibit A: The organization’s executive director and her assistant let me join them for dinner when I (finally) got to the hotel on Friday night, welcoming me into their small group and immediately making the weariness of my day begin to fade.
6. God will not place a dream in your heart with no plan to make it come true, no matter how improbable or complicated or even insane that dream may be.
7. And lastly, four days is way, way too long to go without seeing this sweet face and giving it a kiss.

Two more things that didn’t fit in the list, and then I promise to let you move on. To my next post. (Right?)

First – Lysa Terkeurst said that I should write a book. Well, more accurately, she said that my blog title would make a great book title. But I’m pretty sure that means she can’t wait to read my life story.

Second – No, I’m not finished with the cutesy “she” titles yet. And yes, I will try to contain them to this week. But no, I cannot make any promises.

The end. (Except . . . have you taken my survey yet?)

She Surveys

Whew. What a weekend! And it's not really even over, although it will be by the time you read this.

As I'm typing, I'm sitting on the floor in the Detroit airport, plugged into the wall, full from my sandwich and Mrs. Field's cookie, and wearing my shades to cut down on the glare from the big airport windows.

I might look a little strange. I feel a little strange - tired, missing my family, wishing I'd had more time with my new and not-as-new friends, and still trying to process everything I heard and learned this weekend at SheSpeaks.

Later this week, maybe even by tomorrow, I'll have some fun pics to share with you and a recap of the whole shebang.

But until then, will you do me a favor and take this survey about my blog? Thanks. You're awesome.