Wild Card

One of my favorite things about being a homemaker is time flexibility. I love that, at the drop of a hat, my friends can call on me when they need something and I can come through for them. There's almost nothing that can't be put off until tomorrow. Positive procrastination. I think I'm on to something. I'm not "just a mom," I'm a jack of all trades, a wild card. I can be/do what someone needs me to be/do at (almost) any given time. I know a lot of people who probably look at that sentiment and roll their eyes--who wants to live a life solely to serve other people? Well, in truth, not me. I desperately miss my alone time to work on all my fun creative projects (oh knitting needles, we WILL meet again!). However, being able to help other people and just doing the simple things I need to do to keep my life and home in order provide me with immense satisfaction. For example, my amazing writer friend (Sheralyn Pratt, check out her books!) just got an in with Random House IF she can get her completed manuscript tomorrow. And guess who she asked to help her edit? C'est moi! Sheralyn's awesome. This is a huge honor. So, now I eagerly await her manuscript in my inbox.

Some things I've been able to do lately in my coveted role as Wild Card:

*Edit Sheralyn's drafts

*Take my pregnant friend to the ER when she had APPENDICITIS (yikes, can you imagine?)

*Organizing a mom/baby swim group for the cooler months

Other things the Tingeys have been up to lately:

*Me: Making FHE visual aids (and let me tell you, they make a difference!)

*Chris: Starting his new semester

*Will: Learning to say 'Sorry,' 'Please,' and 'Thank You.'

*Me: Writing an essay for an essay contest (grand prize $3,000 and a trip to NYC to meet the mag's editors!)

*Chris: Finding a new counselor for the EQ presidency. Done!

*Will: Singing songs out of the primary children's songbook

*Me: Couponing my way into hundreds of free/inexpensive items (just today was dbl coupon day at Smith's. $100 worth of groceries for $40? Yes, please!)

*Chris: Putting up (and ever so graciously) w/my insatiable appetite for girly BBC movies. The Anthony Trollope collection. The Elizabeth Gaskell collection. And, of course: Pride and Prejudice.

*Will: Holding mom's hand as we walk down the hall. Taking Curious George to the grocery store. Losing my Costco card while we were there today. Eating ever so many blueberries.

*All of us: Church, church, church. Hanging out with our families while they were here. Eating more nutritious meals.

What a great little family I have!

Hard at Work

Facts about Will:

*Loves to work in his "office" we've set up for him in the guest room (note the mouse doubles as his executive phone)

*Favorite song: "Downtown," by Petula Clark (which he sings while working in his office)

*Likes to lip sync to Chris Issak's "Pretty Girls Don't Cry"

*Tells jokes to himself in his car seat

*Likes to help fold laundry

*Loves his stuffed-animal monkeys, especially Ganz the gorilla

*Folds his arms at prayer times and sometimes helps say the prayer

*Adores his cousin Ethan and Auntie Debbie

*Is currently covered in Spaghetti-O's

Oh no

Will is dipping everything in ketchup. His peppers. His olives. His cheese quesadilla. I was afraid it would come to this.

And now he's mixing the ketchup with the honey mustard. Time to lock up the ketchup bottle before he can actually say the word and ask for it. I'm much more comfortable pretending I don't understand what he's talking about.

Guy With Guitar Music Summer Playlist: A Long Rant Followed by Some Exceptional Groovy Tunes

While growing up, it seems like my musical tastes were constantly shifting. I was listening to what my parents played because I was too young to buy music; or, when I could buy music, too inexperienced to buy music I'd still like for more than a few months. I guess finding one's long-term musical preferences is all part of the self-discovery of teen and young adult years.

I'll be the first to admit that I am heavily influenced by what the people around me are listening to. I used to worry this meant I was weak-willed, but I've learned that it has more to do with the fact that I like experiencing new things. I have always been interested in looking at things from new angles. Even if I don't agree with something, I enjoy the mental exercise.

That said, it does seem that I am starting to form a musical flavor all my own. I can say pretty confidently that I am NOT interested in bubble gum pop. It offends me not only because it sports with my intelligence (anyone with a rhyming dictionary could write those lyrics), but because in my opinion it's the wolf in sheep's clothing in the music industry. It is made to sound so innocent, so kid-friendly, all the while promoting promiscuity (what they call love) and a pervasive attitude that reaches beyond materialism and into the never-satiated state of mind of being glamorous. It's even on the Disney channel. These girls are, what, 13 years old? And they're already made up to look like sexual objects. Yuck. Does no one else find this disturbing?

Country is better, but the womanizing, honky-tonk, let's-get-drunk type songs just make my skin crawl. Pretty sure that sound isn't going to be making its way back into my musical lexicon any time soon.

Let's not talk about muzak, k?

A few months ago, Chris and I were discussing my musical tastes, and I was saying how I don't really know what I would call my style; I couldn't think of any over-arching term to encompass my cross-genre eclecticism. He sort of giggled under his breath, said, "It's guy-with-guitar music!"

Friends, this is pretty accurate, but I'd redefine the description as a propensity toward the singer-songwriter tradition. After all, I listen to Eva Cassidy, Carole King, Carly Simon, Grace Slick (pre Starship days), Janis Joplin, and Joni Mitchell as well. And it must also be said for the sake of my sanity that I also enjoy a healthy dose of classical music, jazz, MoTab and movie instrumentals.

But Guy-with-Guitar Music is definitely my favorite and I propose we make it an official genre starting...NOW! Whew. Summer time is especially filled with these troubadour types; something about the sounds just makes me feel like I'm on the beach, trying to block out my siblings' silly antics to get me to look up from my book. And so I thought I'd pass a long what I'm listening to this summer. I guarantee you'll like at least one of them.

Becca's Summer Playlist:

1. "Three Little Birds," Bob Marley & the Wailers

2. "Pretty Girls Don't Cry," Chris Isaak

3. "Brown-Eyed Girl," Van Morrison

4. "Who Loves the Sun," The Velvet Underground

5. "Invisible Sun," The Police

6. "Love Will Keep Us Alive," The Eagles

7. "Banana Pancakes," Jack Johnson

8. "Dusk and Summer," Dashboard Confessional

9. "Better Together," Jack Johnson

10. "Making Memories of Us," Keith Urban

11. "Going Back to Georgia," Adam Duritz & Nanci Griffith

12. "For What It's Worth," Buffalo Springfield

13. "Long Cool Woman," The Hollies

14. "F-Stop Blues," Jack Johnson

15. "Skinny-Dippin' Girl," Joe Purdy

16. "Lay Lady Lay," Bob Dylan.

17. "I'm Yours," Jason Mraz

18. "Any Colour You Like," Pink Floyd

So, there you go. Check it out. And let me know: What are YOU listening to this summer?

The Appendix: A 4th of July Metaphor

This last weekend, my dear sister Debbie came up for the patriotic festivities. We had plans to watch our latest fascination, The Way We Live Now, an extraordinarily captivating BBC movie based on the novel by Anthony Trollope (thanks, Renee!!). We had three more episodes to watch. On Friday night after W was asleep, we settled in to watch the next episode. Within just a few minutes, Debbie was crying and writhing in pain--not from the dramatic story, I'm afraid. Long story short, we were up all night in the ER waiting for her to get into surgery for an appendectomy.

For those who are unfamiliar with appendicitis, let me give you as much as I know. The appendix is a small organ roughly the size of your pinky finger on any average day. It has no use to speak of, but when inflamed, it swells and will spew deadly toxins into your body unless quickly removed. These days, if you undergo surgery for any other abdominal reason, it's fairly common to remove the appendix even if it's not causing any trouble (kind of like when you're in SoCal visiting relatives; you're there for one reason, but Disneyland is so very nearby, so you might as well): there's no reason to leave in a life-threatening, useless organ, right?

In any case, suffice it to say I was still recovering from the sleeplessness yesterday at lunch when we grilled hot dogs as part of our 4th celebrations. As we indulged in this all-American tradition, I began to wax poetic (as I am wont to do on very little shut-eye and on special occasions). Consider this: On the 4th of July, we celebrate the day we officially kicked the British out. The British (or at least the British sovereignty) had become an unnecessary appendage to to the thriving colonies on the expansive American continent; and the colonies were tired of living under the tyranny and oppressive taxation of a distant government they were allowed no part in. Rather like the appendix, no?