But You Can Call Me....

I was thinking about nicknames, and the sorts of things people like to be called, or call each other. I was at a party last night, and one of our friends just had a baby girl. We all got to talking about what they call her. Her first name is Alexandria. And they call her Alex, Allie, and Al. And I laughed, because my younger son is Alexander, and we call him Alex, Allie, and Al.

But we also have a whole host of other things we call him. Like Lections - this is an older one, it's from when he was about 6 mos old. He was born in 2004, so we were calling him Alex-tions, like elections. And it became Lections for short. Then there's Loo. I call him Loo a LOT. And that was born from "Little Allie Loo Loo" and a song I made up that goes, "Loo loo loo I want some apples, loo loo loo Al wants some too, loo loo loo he is my Alex, Allie lee lee loooooo!"

Yes, I'm crazy. I know this.

He's also called Leggador. He had the CHUBBIEST legs as a baby - you could just squeeze them! He's also Eagle, but then, that's from his spirit totem.

Then there's our older son, Joseph. It's no wonder this kid tells everyone at school, "My name is Joseph, but you can call me Joseph." He's a riot. But I'm sure his desire to be called his REAL name stems from the multitude of weird things he's got as nicknames.

Obviously, there's the usual - Joe, Joey. But we called him JoJoe for a long time - still do. It fit him when he was tiny. We'd also say JoJoe with a strange accent, almost French - like, dragging out and roughening the J sound. Did I mention we're crazy?? He's also been called LoLoe, PoPoe, DoDoe - the list could go on for a while with that.

The strangest one he has is Tumper. This was my husband's work. He was calling him JoJoe Jumper boy....and somehow this melded and became Tumper. Tumper was also sometimes morphed into Tump-a-Toley. He's Bear, as well, for his spirit totem.

And I'm sure we have many, many more names that we call the kids that we're not even aware of calling them. And I'm sure that there will be many more in their future.

So what are some of the weirder ones your kids have?

Like Manna From Heaven

They're delicious. They aren't messy. And they'll give you the kind of energy needed to do an hour of Spin and still be hyper!!!



Caramel Apple Sugar Babies. I found them at the grocery, bought a few boxes, and shared with the instructor, who promptly fed them to a few of us in class.

I felt like a toddler who'd had 5 espressos. I am sure I drove most of the class insane, and most likely the teacher as well. Doh! But wow. They work better than Amp, or Red Bull, or any of those hideous-tasting things.

My recommendation? Have a few at home, at work, in the car - for those moments you just need to add a little pep. Though, forewarned - it'll be a little more than a little pep.

Oh, and uh - beware the appley burps. Reminded me of Apple Pucker shots...

So yeah - try these, they're very very yummy.

Awesome Giveaway!

Bargain Bri, a really good friend of mine who blogs about bargain shopping and getting the best deals possible, is having a giveaway! She's giving away Jessica Seinfeld's book, Deceptively Delicious! YAY BRI!!! So click here to check out her blog - and her contest!!!

If You Think He's Sexy, Come On Sugar Let Me Know!

Last night at Spin, people were discussing Rod Stewart. And they were talking about how hot he still is. And I got just plain old squicked out. I told them all that I needed a shower just listening.

So then the instructor brought up Wolf from American Gladiators.

I'd never seen him, so I decided to search him out online. Uh, yeah - squickable as well.

I can't figure out women. How in the world are these men considered sexy? Let's discuss - lay it on me. Is it just me who is wondering why why why??? And - which one is less (more?) sexy??



Side by side, for your pleasure....

Bargains!

Look at me, two in one day! LOL!

BUT - I wanted to link everyone to my favorite Bargain Hunter's blog - Briana and I have been friends for a long time, and her Bragain Briana Blog is fabulous for those hoping to find the tricks to saving tons of money on groceries and shopping!

I am her guest blogger for the day, since she needed something about Aldi. Click Here to check me out in all my guest glory! :D Also check out her wonderful advice on when and where to shop, and how to use the CVS card to your advantage, as well as coupon do's and don't's!!!

Feelin' Crunchy

I had several ideas for a post today - and they have one thing in common. They make me sound crunchy-granola. Which is funny. I'm not a very crunchy person. I mean, I try to do my part - but I also like my conveniences!!!

Crunchy past-time number one: Hanging the laundry outside to dry.
I've been doing this for 3 weeks now. I actually enjoy it. I'm lifting weight going up the stairs with a basket of wet clothes. I'm out in the sun, smelling the freshly laundered sheets and clothes. It's wonderful. But unfortunately, it wasn't my idea to do it. I didn't decide to try to make the world a better place by using less energy. In short, my dryer broke. And I'm too cheap and annoyed to call a repair man, when I KNOW my husband can fix it. He just was out of town for a week and then we were busy last weekend. And will be busy this weekend as well. It will get fixed eventually. In the mean time, I'll continue my little good deed and keep hanging the clothes out to dry. I love the smell of sun-and-wind dried fabric. It's fantastic. And ironically, on the days we've been having here (90+ degrees) the stuff is drying faster than in the dryer! Funny stuff.

Crunchy past-time number two: Using less gasoline in the car.
Except this one is sort of sad - I just haven't been going anywhere! No hybrid, no hydrogen car. I'm just being lazy and staying home a lot more! Hehehe...

Crunchy past-time number three: Acupuncture.
I tried this for the first time yesterday. I hadn't planned on it. Once again, I fell into doing something different! I go to the chiropractor for my neck and knee issues (my chiro is AWESOME, he's into rehab and helping me avoid surgery and making my life as pain-free as possible without any medications! Love it) and also for my migraines. I told him yesterday that I've had an increase in frequency and duration and intensity/symptoms in the past month. He was actually a little miffed at me that I hadn't said anything sooner. Well, you know how it is - I figured it would stop being more frequent on its own. Anyway - he basically did a bunch of work on adjusting my neck and some pinched muscles in my shoulders to help fix the problem. Then he took me for my muscle stim, and said to his assistant, bring me the acupuncture needles.

SAY WHAT??? UH, I hate needles. Of any kind. I torment myself twice a day with the epi-pen that delivers the medication I'm on for my weight. So yeah - the thought of needles all over? GAH!!!!

I tried to remain calm, and not tense back up all the lovely work he did for the past 30 min. I closed my eyes, and figured what I couldn't see, I wouldn't feel.

Acupuncture is SO different. So weird. But awesome, too. It didn't feel like a needle stick. It felt more like he'd hit my funny bone, only in small spots on my hands, eyebrows, scalp, and ears. It's WILD, is what it is. And it helped tremendously. I was able to make it to Spin for the first time in 3 weeks. BONUS!

I'm going back for another round tomorrow. I'll let ya know how that goes....heheh!

Go me and my new crunchy habits! Hehehe!!

Be The Change....

One of my favorite quotes of all times is, "Be the change you want to see in the world." Mahatma Gandhi said that, and I do believe he has a wonderful point.

I just found a fantastic web site that tracks all the small, seemingly insignificant things people do every day to make a difference. You know the ones - where you feel silly, because you feel like you're using a tear drop to put out a forest fire? Except that, when you combine the people all over the globe who are doing that very same thing each day - you find a deluge instead of a tear drop.

We Are What We Do is a wonderful site, and you can track the "little things" you do each day. You can also find ideas for new "little things" to try out, as well. Well worth the click, if you ask me!