She's Awesome

And I made her....

Daughter is blogging. Apparently she's been at it for awhile, but only told me yesterday. She's eclectic, funny, and fun.

I like this post from her nanny adventures.

This post from her restaurant job.

This one where she mentions me.....

Please check her out. She's new to this! She could use a follower or two.

Looking at the stirrups...

I closed up my classroom for the summer yesterday....

I'm hoping to get back to the blog. It's got some competition with other summer projects, but I am looking at the stirrups and thinking about climbing back on this lil' ol pony.

I feel like I am starting over and in that respect I'd like to ask anyone who wants to be in the blog roll over there to the right to leave a comment.

I'm redoing and reorganizing and, hopefully, getting back to public pondering.

Aloha and happy summer.

Ah Eddie, You're the Greatest!

I'm getting roasted at Eddie's at Clouds and Silvery Linings this weekend. Come on over and bring some marshmallows.

BTW. Is it just my computer, or is all the good stuff in my sidebar not showing up? Effing blogger.

My First.....

While I was at the conference in Sacramento, I met my first blogger face to face. It was like a blind date (a good one) and girls' day out all in one. But how could it not be. I got to have lunch with Margaret from Nanny Goats in Panties.

We met at Pyramid Brewery, and since it was the last day of the conference, and the conference ended at noon, I enjoyed a pint of apricot ale on tap with lunch. Oh. Sigh. That was nice.

It was a great first for me and I had a blast having lunch with another blogger. She is even more fun in person than she is on her blog, and that is saying quite a bit. We got on like we had known each other for ages. Before I knew it my colleagues were calling me and asking why I was late....

Margaret was one of the bloggers I found in my beginnings, through the MidLife Bloggers website. She was already quite a popular blogger and I was a newbie. However, she did stop by my blog and left one of my earliest comments; it was a post where I was lamenting my lack of skills at prettying up my blog.

You really can lose a lot of precious time trying to make your blog look "pretty". But if you are a writer, then THAT will be the most important part of your blog. Spend time on that first, because that is what you have to offer the blogging world. Less is more anyway when it comes to all the crazy things people put on their blog's sidebars.

Thanks for stopping by my blog and saying hello! And thank you for the kind words.

Margaret

Nanny Goats is a humor blog that will always make you laugh; but Margaret is also thinking of including tech advice on blogging. I'm hoping she will.

Today's travel tip? If you get a chance to meet up with another blogger while visiting a new place - go for it.

Got Travels? Link on up.

Scenes From Behind the Blog: A Spin Cycle Production

Intention: Have regularly scheduled posts. Themed days. Let the readers know what to expect. Relax into a routine.

The Reality: Try on and throw off themes like outfits to a party after one has gained ten pounds and nothing looks right. When inspired and on a roll, write posts 4-6 times a week. When challenged, say, “Blog, what blog???”

Intention: Carry a notebook and pen and jot down ideas, happenstances, funny sayings of students and occasional strangers.

Reality: When notebook is within reach at the right time, seeds for some of the best posts are planted and sown. More often than not, notebook is in another room. Buy more notebooks. Eventually 17 notebooks are placed in all most likely needed places. Still, none within reach when needed. Scrunch head and try to plant seed in brain. When seed of idea disappears, remind self to make doctor’s appointment for early dementia detection.

Intention: Write an inspiring post for the Spin Cycle on the intimate details of why blog and blog community has become such an important and yet ethereal entity in Pseudo's life.

Reality: Daughter calls 15 minutes after leaving for college class. She has severely wounded my car. Spend day getting car towed to auto body shop where it will spend the next 4-6 weeks. Write silly post and take bus to much needed hair appointment to touch up grey roots.

Daughter is fine (no- I did not kill her).

For more spins on scenes behind the blog, head on over to Jen at Sprite's Keeper

I'm back... kind of...

Well. I certainly did not think I would stay away this long. The last time I moved was nearly 17 years ago. The kids were 4 and 1 and we owned a bed, a crib, kitchen stuff, and clothes. And toys. Lots of those.

I was all sassy, thinking with packing and sorting and getting rid of stuff over the last couple of months that I had paced myself.

Son a freaking bitch. I had no idea.

I do now know what the term bone tired really means. I have felt it for a week or two now.

We still have about 15 boxes unpacked. Since I am living without whatever is in them I am OK with that today.

I was going to try and finish unpacking this weekend, but got sidetracked by emergency sirens and phone calls.

Mesmerized all morning by the live news shot of Hilo Bay where the tsunami was going to hit first. It is a horrbile thing when one watches the tide moving in and out three times and wonders when the real deal is coming. Apparently I am the victim of too many action films.

But really very thankful that Hawaii is OK. My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of the earthquake and is it just me or does it seem like there have been a lot of natural disasters this year?

I miss all my internet buds. It will take awhile to get around to everyone and I feel like I have been in a cave. Reading posts after being gone for awhile feels like walking into a movie half way in.

So I'm back. Or at least trying.

Travel Tip Thursday: Virtual Swap

Featured blog under sunset has been updated. Go have some fun...

I’m doing a bit of a cheat and going virtual traveling. Rules? What rules?

Sherri over at The Claw does a blog swap now and then. I joined in her Fall swap last year and it was actually a bit adventurous for me as I was still new to the whole blogger thing. If you don’t visit Sherri you should check her out. She keeps me up on music and popular culture and design ideas.

My swap partner is Raina and I first went to her blog when through the swap. Check out her too, all about interior design.

The blogger who got me for the swap was my dear friend Movie from Don’t Worry it’s Only a Movie. Movie was one of the first three bloggers I met out here. For weeks (months?) she was often my only commenter. Movie is a special person. A teacher who works with emotionally challenged children. We have similar tastes in music and more in common than most of the people I hang out with in flesh time. She lives in Maine, likes to hike, and posts gorgeous photos of mountains and waterfalls I hope to get to someday.

Movie knows my unblogable stuff and went overboard on the swap to cheer me up. Here’s the gifts she bestowed upon me. I wish I hadn’t gone through the box like a kid at Christmas and taken photos along the way. Each item was wrapped in beautiful fall colored tissue paper. Guess you had to be there.

Thank-you so much Movie....

Hope some of you join us on virtual traveling today. I know I am late, but last night joined the unblogable.

I’m Back: More or Less… or is Less More?

First of all I’d like to thank the wonderful awesome bloggers who were pinch hitting for me last week over here in PseudoLand. Braja, Jen at Sprite’s Keeper, Captain Dumbass from Us and Them, Jan from the Sushi Bar, Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin, and Mama Dawg from Two Dogs Running. Your posts were amazing and I’m finding it a bit of a hard act to follow.

Life sometimes throws you a curve ball and let’s just say there are a lot of unbloggable events in my life right now. Hence, the time away from my blogger friends…

I’ll be getting around to visit everyone, but perhaps not as often as before.

I’ll be posting, but perhaps not as often as before.

Slightly worn out, but I’m back….


When I am not in the blogosphere, I'll be busy working on my ability to communicate and love people here in real time - family time.

Introducing Travel Tip Thursdays

You don’t have to travel to feel like you are on vacation.

Sometimes travel is a mindset. I mentioned at the beginning of the summer that I could not get off the rock this break. I longed to. ROAD TRIP has been a siren song serenading me 24/7.

Since I could not travel, I have made it a goal to take a “staycation” day at least once a week.

Whenever I host a vacationing family member or friend in my home, I noticed we take advantage of the perks of living in Hawaii much more so than I do myself on a regular basis.

However, when I do live outside the four walls of my home and the comfort of the normal routine, it always ends up being the kind of day that will stick in my memory and not get swallowed up by the amorphous blob of normal.

Those days are also excellent blog fodder. With that in mind, I am introducing Travel Tip Thursdays.

Isn’t the badge cuter than all hell and back? A friend made it for me. Ah, that I should have skills like this.

Every Thursday will feature something about living life like a person on vacation. For now, from me, that means featuring the best days of life on Oahu and occasionally the outer islands.

Hopefully, these posts will offer ideas not only for those who are planning a visit here, but also plant the seeds of ideas for similar activities wherever one may live. Or just make someone feel like they came here for a few minutes through their computer.

I invite anyone inclined to do so, to join in the virtual travel fun. Between now and next Thursday, I will figure out how to put up Mr. Linky. On Thursday, if you post a Travel Tips post, grab the Thursday Travel Tips badge’s code in the sidebar, put the badge in your post, come back here and add your name to Mr. Linky. And let the virtual travel extravaganza begin.

May it inspire our weekends.

Ideas for posts…

What you do close to home to feel like you are on vacation? Like this post of Jan’s where she takes us to Ohio’s Amish area. Or Movie’s trip to the mountains only a few hours from her home. If you live someplace exotic to the rest of us, like Braja in India, or Michel in Sudan, just about any post could become a Travel Tip post.

Actual travel too! Smart Mouth Broad’s biker trip stories (look in her sidebar – amazing photos accompany a narrative that makes you feel like you are on the back of the Harley with her) or Mama Dawg’s day by day virtual tour of Disneyworld.

Anything and everything that makes us feel like we were there.

Hope to see you next Thursday!

Wouldn't You Like to be a Panda Too, be a Panda...

I did a post last week showing off the cool stuff I won from a contest in the comment thread over at Oz Girl's. In my excitement, I posted as soon as I could after the box arrived. But Oz Girl had sent me TWO boxes. How generous is that? The second box arrived the other day and contained beautiful note cards made with Oz Girl's own design. She also included this gorgeous pitcher.

Thank-you again Oz Girl! Now, everyone please go pay her a visit. She just got her blog uplifted with a new layout and design.
Amy over at Keeping up with the Schultz Family has bestowed upon me some bloggee bling. This is a different kind of award as it is honoring commenting. Amy is a sweet and regular commenter on my blog, so I can see why she received the award herself.

The award features a Panda Bear. I love Pandas and am not quite sure how this fine animal came to be associated with comment love, but I love this image...

Thank-you Amy! Great timing on the award as several of the blogs I read have posted on commenting and commenting protocol lately. There's Smart Mouthed Broad, Braja, and IB. All great posts as well as comment threads to get an idea of what other bloggers like/don't like going on in their comment threads.

I would love to pass this on to everyone who reads my posts and leaves a comment. Amy's instructions were to pick five bloggers so I have tried to pick bloggers whose comments I enjoy regularly and to bloggers who I did not pass on the last award that came this way. But any and all commenters who love the Panda, go on and take it back to your place.

Braja at Lost and Found in India.

Casey at Half as Good as You

Blue Violet at A Nut in a Nutshell

Jane at Gaston Studios

Lori at My Life Interrupted

Thank-you to all who stop by and read the posts here at PseudoLand. I wish I could say I am able to keep a discussion going in my comment thread, but my timing on the computer is rarely conducive to that. I love reading your comments and appreciate each and every one of them. I especially like those who leave their email in the reply so I can get back to you personally.

If you are a reader and do not always, or even rarely/never comment, I'm OK with that too. I like to write and feel very grateful if people like to read what I write, even if they do not want to comment.

Weekend Stuff

I won a contest over at Oz Girl’s blog. She sent me a box with cool stuff. Look how pretty.
And I learned something. Oz girl made these stamps from her own photography at zazzle! Now there is something else on the internet I want to go fiddle with. You can go to this site and use one of your own photgraphs and make your own postage stamp.

The juice book should really help with my healthy intentions too. If any of you readers haven’t visited, go and check her out. Her full blog title is City Gal Moves to Oz Land. Her blog is down to earth, a lot of fun, and Oz Girl also has a photo blog with beautiful pictures.

Thank-you Oz Girl!

On another note…

Jane at Gaston Studio’s has passed on an award to little ol’ me. Jane is one of the best story tellers out there, and my goodness she does she have some stories to tell. From Savannah to Bahrain to Egypt, Jane has led quite an interesting life.

Here’s what Jane had to say about the award:

The Renee Award, I’m told, is one of the most meaningful awards in blogland because it honors someone who is incredibly inspirational in his or her intelligent and witty writing.This award further celebrates a person’s smart, strong and inspirational spirit and it honors those who spread joy and love like an acorn, a small package growing into a tall and sturdy oak tree which spawns more acorns.

Thank-you Jane! This is such an honor coming from you with the stories that you tell.

I’d like to pass this award on to these blogs whose stories I come back for time and time again.

Irish Gumbo

Jan at Jan’s Sushi Bar

Mo “mad Dog” Stoneskin

Only a Movie

Sprite’s Keeper

Words of Wisdom From a Smart Mouthed Broad

All these bloggers are wonderful storytellers and inspirational as well. Grab yourself a weekend beverage and check them out. I think Mo Mad Dog is on vacation. He forgot to tell me where he was going. Despite this slight, I'm passing it to him, but he better pop up soon. I'm just saying.

Me? I need to go back to organizing the office and filing six months worth of crap. Apparently, it is a three day summer project. The computer being in the same room as a big chore can be a little distracting.

In Ohio Today..

My sweet young writer friend Kristan Hoffman asked me to guest post while she's away at a workshop. So please come on over and visit me in Ohio.

Also, Braja has a link to help Joanie. Joanie has a lot on her plate right now and she could use some help.

Friday Foto: And The Winner is...

Lucky#17: True Random Number Generator Min:1 Max:82 Result: 17 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Comment number 17 happens to be Smart Mouth from Words of Wisdom from a Smart Mouthed Broad. Her blog says she's gone fishing for the weekend. Hmpf.

Well, I set off shopping for exotic prizes for her package on a sunny Saturday mid-morning. Only for the love of blogging or out of town guest do I brave the swap meet.

Baskets made into purses? Maybe...
Da slippah no wear sign?

Who does not need more beach towels in the summer?

Or who wouldn't want a lovely bongo drum?

Local snacks....

I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable buying anyone a Brazilian bikini....

There were a lot of choices out there at the swap meet.

Next, I hit the local market with a huge Asian selection. I know SMB likes to cook and thought a few odd ingredients might be fun for summer cooking.

You can click on any of the pictures to enlarge them, but the grocery items are fun to take a gander.

Filipino?

Hot sauces?

Well, I can't post what I ended up buying for the Hawaii goodie box cause I want SMB to be surprised.

Thanks everyone who played and celebrated my 200th post along with me.

For more Friday Fotos, head on over to Candid Carrie's.

Happy 200: A Mixorama

Da da da da da daaa! Pseudo has made it to 200 posts! Plus I consider June kind of the one year anniversary of the blog. Blogger will tell you differently, but since I barely wrote, like, four posts in the first six months, I don’t count those months. June was also the month where I started leaving comments on other blogs, beginning the process of creating a network of friends.

A lot can happen in a year and 200 posts.

I think one of the things I like best about blogging is that there really are no rules. Sure, there are guidelines, suggested ways of doing things. But in the end each of us gets to make what we want of our blogs and the experience of blogging. I love that.

I started the blog hoping it would lead me back to writing and feeling creative and it has. The no rules thing really helps and I find the blog so much more satisfying than my last experiment with writing. I also had hoped I would find a way to bring in extra income. Everyone knows that teachers do not make a lot of money, and the way things are going, after years of hard work and going into debt for a graduate degree, the State wants to cut my salary next year. So far I have not put ads on my blog, but this summer I am going to look into doing just that. I am planning to take it slow and not compromise the creative integrity I strive for.

I am hoping the blog has inspired me enough to pump out the first draft of a book this summer…

The biggest change in my life that has come to me through blogging is the people I have met. The closeness I feel with my online friends. I think we all expose a part of ourselves in our writing that lends itself to an immediacy of kinship. These friendships are a bonus I did not see coming when I began this experiment called blogging.

In honor of this bonus, my blog friends, my 200th post will host a contest as well as a peek at Pseudo. I remain anonymous mostly because I put the word teacher in my “experimental” blog title. This blog was supposed to be a test, an experiment. If I ended up enjoying it, I had planned another blog to be permanent. However, when that moment rolled around it was already past summer, I was already back to work, and there was never time to start another blog. So. I kind of got stuck with my lame blog title. Pseudonymous HS Teacher. I don’t want school or State authorities to get all up in my arse, so I remain anonymous.

I do like seeing photos of my blog friends though.

Thistle did a big reveal for her 200th. She was one of the first blog friends I met. She’s not been blogging lately due to a back injury and it is amazing how much I can miss her presence on the Internet.

Anywhos she gave me this idea.

Well.

Here goes.

My daughter took this on Mother’s Day.

Hit 40 freaked me out and now you only get my back... there were more.

There I am..Since I am fairly pissed off at some work related things and may end up writing about them, the photos will probably come down after the weekend. If you are reading this late, you are probably wondering WTF because the photos are already gone.

Next, I’d like to give a nod to the first blog friends I met last summer. The bloggers who helped influence me from sporadic blogging to full on commitment.

I already mentioned thistle. If you visit her, wish her well so her back gets better and she can sit long enough to go on the Internet.

My sister Shaunna at Shaunna' Soliloquies pushed me to start a blog for two years before I finally got to it. She is an incredible writer and we hope to work on a memoir project together this summer. Stay tuned for more tales from the eclectic Surf and Sand Mobile Home Park.

Kristan is a talented young writer. I left my very first comment on her blog. Her post was discussing being biracial and some of the issues hit home for me as my children are biracial. She’s working on the revision of her first novel and has a series online called Twenty Something that I love.

I found Movie in the beginning. I was looking for other teachers. She leaves the kindest, most empathetic comments, and for weeks she and Kristan were the only people commenting regularly on my blog. I’d wake up every morning and would be like a kid opening a Christmas present when I’d see I had 2 comments waiting to be read on a post I had written. Movie and I also have a lot of parallels in our lives. I feel like I have known her longer than one year.

Laura at Rebellious Thoughts of a Woman is also an English teacher. She blogs honestly and bravely about the demise of a bad marriage and the beginning of a new life.

Jane at By Jane hosts Midlife Bloggers. She posted a couple of my posts about being a cancer survivor over at Midlife Bloggers and fast forwarded my blogging. Thank-you Jane.

Liz at Inventing My Life blogs is in the middle of the adoption process. When her child comes home I feel like I will have been on the front lines from the beginning because of her honest writing.

Smart Mouth Broad over at Words of Wisdom from a Smart Mouthed Broad hosts a blog that is like the neighborhood hang-out. I love SMB and feel grateful to call her a friend.

Kate at What Kate Did Next lives in England and is a writer working on her fourth novel. Her blog (which posts writing prompts and thoughts) has been a huge influence on inspiring my creative side. She has recently published through blurb a book which features the best from her first year of blogging. She is donating all proceeds to War Child. How cool is that?

Twenty-Four at Heart writes about everything that I feel I should not with the word “teacher” in my blog title. Boobs, nekkedness, sex toys… She is funny and endearing and lives close to where I grew up. She posts photos that make me incredibly homesick, but I adore her anyway.

Jan at Jan’s Sushi Bar is amazingly funny and witty. She befriended me from my first comment. And I love her recipes. I wish I was going to Blog Her in Chicago so I could hang out with Jan and 24. I cannot even imagine how much fun that would be. Well, I CAN actually imagine it and so am jealous. They are going to have a blast.

Mama Dawg at Two Dogs Running is so much fun and I feel like I know her and her daughter LOML. Mama was brave enough recently to ask me to guest post.

Vodka Mom, well, everyone knows her. Despite her wild popularity, she has always made me feel like I know her personally. Her funny posts about her kindergarteners inspired me to write some posts about my classroom.

Braja at Lost and Found in India found my blog with a bang of an insightful comment. She is another blogger who has gained enormous readership over a short period of time; however, she always has the time to connect through her comments and emails.

There are many others I wish I could mention in this 200th post, but I’ll end there.

And now for the contest. I’m going to go with my last contest. Kathy, who won, seemed to like the contents of her Hawaii goodie box. The prize is a box of “stuff” from Hawaii. Swap meet stuff. Exotic snackie stuff. A shell or two from Pseudo’s beach walks.

To win the random drawing.

Leave a comment.

If you are a follower leave a separate comment for another entry.

If you voted for me in the Blogger’s Choice Awards, leave another comment. It may be silly, but I am hoping this Blogger’s Choice potential award might help me land an agent this year for the book I plan to write this summer. In the sidebar you can find my favorite posts, which would mean my better writing. I think.

If you post about the contest, leave another comment.

Leave your comments separately, as the comment numbers will be the contest drawing numbers. The contest will run all week and I'll do the random number thingy next Saturday.

Good luck and thank-you for sticking with my incredibly long 200th post.

Hey Y'all, Come Check Me Out in Mississsippi

I'm guest posting today at Two Dogs Running. I'm down in Mississippi while Mama Dawg and her sweet daughter Light of My Life live it up at Disneyworld. So follow me on over folks! This is a big first for me in blogging.

Lie Revealed

If you have no idea what this is about and you want to, yesterday's post will help.

#3 True. I did enter my horse in gymkhana events, and in the cloverleaf barrel racing we won every time. Sometimes first, sometimes second, a few thirds. Pole bending not so much. However, the full discloser is that these gymkhana events were at the stable where I boarded my horse and only local kids entered. The family that owned the stable had the events once a month so I had plenty of opportunities to acquire ribbons and hang them around my bedroom. However, I never kicked it up a notch and entered county events or rodeos. So when I won those ribbons, it wasn’t all that competitive.

#2 True. My dad was a film editor for a production company that did mostly commercials. He got me a job as an extra on this commercial. It was a defining moment, when I realized I am a behind the camera kind of person and am totally not at ease in front of the lens. And all I had to do was sit at a fake bar acting hot, until the hot girl walked by, when my expression was supposed to show I knew I was second fiddle. The jeans were called Made in the Shade. The model was actually a VERY cool chick. I was a 20 year old from the suburbs and my jaw dropped when half way through the shoot she had a wardrobe change and she dropped her shirt and stood non-pulsed in the middle of a crew of mostly men with her titties showing (rather than walk back to the dressing room). She also made small talk with me in make-up and made me feel like a million bucks for treating me like an equal when I was just an extra and there on my dad’s say so.

#1 THE LIE! Bald-faced, only in my dreams, never even came close lie. Only in my fantasies have I ever sung in a band. Although I was in the school choir from 3rd to 8th grade, the fun stopped there. But, like many, it was always a fantasy. If I could be a singer for a day, this is my alter ego – Susan Tedechi. I pretend to be her when I vacuum.

Would I Lie to YOU?

Apparently I would. Jane at Gaston Studio’s tagged me for this little game.

Tell two truths and one lie and dare the game players to guess which one is the lie. I have played this game mucho times with my students. It is one of my favorite getting to know each other, class bonding games. The students have very little aptitude for stepping into the teacher’s shoes and hardly ever guess my lie. But I have no idea how well you folks on the internet will do.

1. Right after high school I sang backup vocals and played tambourine for a local band that played at parties. Our highlight was a couple bar gigs, after which everyone went their separate paths.

2. I was once in a jeans commercial where I was the one NOT in the jeans, envying the hot model who walked through the night club IN the jeans.

3. I was a gymkhana barrel racer. My horse and I placed in every event we entered and my teenage bedroom was decorated with ribbons.

I’ll post part two tomorrow, where I will reveal the lie.

I’m encouraging any and all who want to play along to tag themselves….

Meanwhile, if you have not checked out Jane’s blog, you should head on over. She is a great storyteller with some terrific tales. Like this one where she was living in Egypt and had to find her way back home after riots broke out.

And in the theme of things, treat yourselves to five minutes of Annie Lennox, circa 1980's. She is so awesome. You have to click over to YouTube as they would not let me embed the video, but it's a classic.

Weekend Wrap Up

If I could straight up trade jobs with someone and had to pull a specific name out of my ass, in say like two seconds, I hope I'd have the where with all to spout out Anthony Bourdain. I love his show and thought I had seen them all, but today he went to Hawaii. So, OF COURSE I dropped everything I was doing and sat down and watched the show.

His production assistants that research the locations really know what they are doing. He did a tour that made me proud. Hawaiian food at a place my husband has gone to since he was a boy, a local bar known for its great local pupus (appetizers). He even hung out on the North Shore with the old guys and went to a local barbecue in Kalihi. If you are a foodie and want to see a couple of the great places the locals go to eat, watch this segment.



Remember how last week I was wondering how each of these blog awards get started? The zombie chicken one to be exact. Well, ask and you shall know. My good friend Jan from Jan's Sushi Bar has created an award. If you are not a regular reader of Jan's blog I highly recommend it. She has wonderful recipes, including delicious cocktails, and she has got dry wit down to a science. She carries her dry wit and fun sense of humor with her as she makes her way around the Internet. Her comments are always favorites of mine. One day I went blog reading and I just happened to come about 15 minutes behind her on almost every blog I went to. She was a hard act to follow in the comments section.

Thank-you so much Jan!

A Sushi Grade Blog is a cut above other blogs that are canned and turned into salad or casseroles. A Sushi Grade Blog is fresh, lively and of superior quality. It is rare, has character and is of good taste.

Oh, and it’s packed full of heart healthy Omega 3 oils.

And since it seems there must be rules for awards, here they are:
1. Grab this nifty little graphic and display it proudly on your site.
2. Choose 5 blogs of superior quality and list them, along with why they are A Sushi Grade Blog.
3. Link to them, announcing their award.
4. Leave them a comment letting them know they’ve been given an award.
5. Link back to the blog that awarded you.

I'd like to pass this award on to some humor bloggers who tickle my funny bone on a regular basis. They are lively indeed and very deserving of the sushi award.

Serving some sushi to:

Ann's Rants

Bern This

Life Just Keeps Getting Weirder

Motherhood in NYC

Vodka Mom (so happy you're back)

A new friend of mine passed a Friendship award on over. Jane over at Gaston Studio. She's led a very exciting life and has the most wonderful stories to tell. I love the fact that it did not seem to come with any rules or restrictions. I read on some blog somewhere that the awards are kind of like a game of telephone, with every passing the rules and such change a bit.

I'd like to pass this one on to some bloggers I met when I first started out who have become a network of friends to me. Not only through our blogs, but also through emails. Nine months ago, these people were the bulk of my readers. Their comments and encouragement made this blogging thing something I wanted to keep doing.

I'd like to pass the friendship award on to

Don't Worry it's Only a Movie

Kristen Hoffman

My Life Interrupted

of thistles and maple leaves

Twenty-Four at Heart

Words of Wisdom From a Smart Mouthed Broad


Borrowing some words from Mad Dog, you may choose to not post the award that is fine by me, but your friendship means a lot to me.

Spin Cycle: Mistakes

So, it seems the post where I have the most to say is the hardest to write. I am barely getting my mistakes post in under the wire for the Spin Cycle over at Sprite's Keeper.

To set the mood:


Top reasons I took so long to start spinning:

1. I started a new unit at work and have been busy lesson planning.

2. Progress reports go out next week, and since it is the last quarter I have to call each and every parent whose child is failing or may fail my class (anyone want to be me this week?).

3. Oh, trying (unsuccessfully) to keep up with the reading in my reader.

4. My husband’s hotel is slow and he has been off more, or working shorter shifts. He seems to think me being on the computer when he’s home is rude and neglectful.

5. I was a child in the 60’s and a teenager in the 70’s. I made more mistakes than could fill a book.

6. I’m a parent. Enough said there. I’m sure the mistakes I made in this arena I should let my children write about when they get their own blogs.

So, instead of a story (or a million anecdotes), I will impart my philosophy on mistakes. Wait. Don’t go. Ah. Well. For those still here….

Number One. Mistakes are a part of the learning curve. One of the biggest, and for some people (like my son) hardest lessons is to learn to own your mistakes.

Number Two. If there is an area for growth that is meant to happen and you avoid it or try to live in denial, the mistakes will escalate until the universe makes sure you get the lesson. WHAPAH!!

Number Three. People who feel the need to rub other people’s noses in their mistakes and go overboard with the negative consequences usually are the very ones who never admit their own mistakes. I suppose they figure everyone will be as hard on them as they are on others. These kinds of people are very hard to live with as their shaming and blaming just gets tiresome.

Number Four. Remember to say sorry and mean it. Sometimes presents help.

Number Five. Some mistakes are life altering or life ending. So be careful. I always think of the scene in Vanilla Sky when Tom Cruise gets into the car with Cameron Dias against his better judgment. So, listen to your instincts.



Yeah, yeah, I know. I am on record for not being a fan of Cruise. But I did see this movie and always remember the scene where he made the fatal mistake of getting in that car.

For more spins, head on over to The Spin Cycle at Sprite's Keeper.

I also want to thank Midlife Jobhunter for honoring me with the Honest Scrap award. Thank-you Jobhunter!!

It comes with rules, but I have been pretty good about following rules of late and feel the need to break the trend. So for a copy of the rules, I'd like you to head on over to this post at Jobhunter's.

I'd like to pass it on to all the spinners over at Jen's (Sprite's Keeper).

Money in the Bank Meets Earth Day Leftovers

Words of Wisdom from a Smart Mouthed Broad hosts a very cool blog theme, Money in the Bank. I’ve written a couple of posts for MIB, but truth be told, I am not creative with money saving ideas because we never have much after paying bills. We stopped going out to eat except for rare occasions years ago, I hardly shop, and we rarely travel. The smartest thing we did was to buy a house. Then we never did anything else except make mortgage payments, raise children, and go to the beach. Which is mostly free except for the gas...

However.

My friend P is hosting a potluck clothes swapping party next week. This idea/event is one I’d forgotten about and is a worthy enough to make mention. P is hosting this one in the name of Earth Day, but we have been doing this for years. Most of my circle of friends come from my days of working in restaurants. Most of us have been friends for over 25 years. Some, like me, have gone into professions that provide a living but where one will never be wealthy in material things. A few others have done quite well financially. There is a definite advantage at the event for those of us less wealthy, but my more affluent friends are happy to leave with less than they came with and have room in their closets once again. They enjoy passing their clothes on to their friends much more than getting the tax break for donating them.

So, once every couple of years, we have a clean out your closets party. Everyone cleans out her closet and brings the unwanted items. Each of us brings a dish for the potluck and there are several bottles of wine. We throw all the clothes into a huge pile and then go through it after eating, but of course while still drinking. Redistribution.

It is a great money saving idea. Loads of fun with friends. Have a fashion show. Walk about half nekkid. It’s just the girls, you know?

And, speaking of Earth Day, I came upon some really good reads lately for those of you who are interested. Salon has these articles:

Can we afford to eat ethically?

Big agriculture’s big lie.

We are what we eat.

I also have been following a blog, Reduce Footprints: Easy ways for each of us to reduce our footprints on the earth. I found the series on the Rainforests really interesting and well written. There are parts one, two, three, and four.

And while we are on the subject of green, let’s go full circle back to Smart Mouth. She gave me something green for the blog.

Smart Mouth passed on the Zombie Chicken Award to moi.

I love you Smart Mouth. But, seriously. I really would like to have the time and tenacity to find the blogger that created this one. What was he or she drinking? The award definitely stands out in the crowd. And in the theme of things, the zombie chickens probably represent what we have to look forward to if we don’t take better care of the earth.




It comes with this description:

The blogger who receives this award believes in the Tao of the zombie chicken - excellence, grace and persistence in all situations, even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. These amazing bloggers regularly produce content so remarkable that their readers would brave a raving pack of zombie chickens just to be able to read their inspiring words. As a recipient of this world-renowned award, you now have the task of passing it on to at least 5 other worthy bloggers. Do not risk the wrath of the zombie chickens by choosing unwisely or not choosing at all...

Well then. That snazes it up – quite a wonderful write up. Thank-you again Smart Mouth for such kind words in my direction.

While there are many blogs out there I’d crush a zombie chicken’s skull to get to, I’ll pass it on to these must read bloggers.

Bern This

Captian Dumbass at Us and Them

Braja at Lost and Found in India

Mo "Mad Dog" Stoneskin

Suburb Sanity