Bonkers in Barnhart

Archive for May, 2012

Countess Lady is ready for the ball at Downton Abbey:

This is what happens when you let a 9 year old watch too much Downton Abbey!  Lady had a bustle but she managed to wiggle out of it, although she was very patient about the “gloves”, “dress”, and ear decorations!

The indignity that a dog must endure in the name of historical dressing up

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This looks like so much fun.  I always wanted to go to a Harlem Globetrotters game when I was a kid, but never got the chance.  Now, not only could my son go to one of their games but I can sign him up for one of their clinics – he can learn basketball skills from the Harlem Globetrotters!  As Mac would say – Awesome!   He is signed up for the clinic and really excited about going!

Take a look at the information below and see if this might appeal to your junior basketball fan – it sounds like it’s going to be a blast!

For the first time, the Harlem Globetrotters are conducting summer skills clinics to bring boys and girls ages 6-14 behind the curtain to see the Globetrotters’ electrifying skills and tricks, while also having fun staying active.

Each participant receives:

1. A free ticket voucher (valued up to $40) to see the Globetrotters during their 2013 World Tour
2. Autographs and photos with the stars!
3. 3-day trial pass to 24 Hour Fitness

Clinic Locations:(These are just the clinics – the games for your tickets are in 200 cities)
Phoenix       Houston     San Francisco       New Jersey
Denver        Dallas        Los Angeles         Seattle
St Louis       Miami        Las Vegas

Save $10 on registration! Enter the Coupon Code USFAMILY on the cart page after completing your registration or mention when calling 1-800-641-HOOP (4667) Click Here:  http://www.harlemglobetrotters.com/basketball-skills-clinics/summer-2012

Disclosure:  I will be provided with a ticket(s) to the Harlem Globetrotters Show when they are in town in exchange for this post.  I was not compensated in any other way.  All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Working on Day 11 of the 31 Day Blog Challenge hosted by Boy Oh Boy!

So, 15 of my favorite things:

1. My family, of course!!
2. My pets – even the rather silly dog and two very bossy guinea pigs (who are often much bossier then any of the four cats – really!).  Actually animals in general would be on my list of favorite things since I like almost all of them (sorry spiders you are *not* included on this list – go away!)
3. My friends, who put up with me!
4. Chocolate – my main nefarious addiction
5. Pepsi – the other nefarious addiction (although I also really like Dr. Pepper!)
6. Sleeping – one can never have enough sleep IMO!
7. Exploring new places and things to do with my kids – I love when we find cool things to do and can add them to our list of experiences, especially those that involve nature and/or animals in some way (see photo below of Mastodon Creek, one of our favorite places to explore).
8. Reading – the way I de-stress and relax – another, less nefarious, addiction
9. Baking – when I have the time and inclination
10. Doing crafty things with the kids – again, when I have the time, but I love that both my kids are creative and imaginative and I like to think that doing crafts with them when they were younger helped with that – well, maybe a bit – LOL
11. Pasta – I could eat pasta every day for a very long time, yum!
12. History – although mostly pre-WWI history – including historical fiction/mysteries and historical shows/movies (like Downton Abbey!!)
13. Surfing the internet (mostly blogs, email and Pinterest)
14. Writing real letters (aka snail mail) and postcards – I don’t do it as much as I used to but I do enjoy sending and receiving actual mail that is not a bill or junk.  I belong to LEX (The Letter Exchange) for just that reason!
15. And, last but not least, listening to my children – whether they are talking to me or their Dad or just playing together or even talking to themselves (they take after me in that regard!) I love to hear their voices, their laughter, their creativity, their imagination – I could do without the bickering but then I remind myself that even that will be missed someday (well, maybe!).

So there you have it – 15 of my Favorite Things – what are some of yours?

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My first instinct is to say I don’t have one since I tend to be hyper critical and certainly my own worst critic.  So I asked my kids, more our of curiosity then anything else, but their answers were interesting.  Mac told me that he likes my hair – that it is soft and he loves to stroke it.  He was *very* upset when I got it cut short and informed me that I had to grow it long again, right away.  Since I didn’t like it much short either I told him I would.  When I was younger I did have very thick hair with a bit of a wave.  It was pretty.   When I got sick I lost most of my hair and when it came back it was more curly and not as thick.  But Mac is right that it is still probably one of my best features.  Of course, he also likes my glasses which he says makes me look “cute” — LOL!

Alex, on the other hand, told me that my eyes are very pretty.  Interesting considering my lamentations growing up that my eyes were brown and *so* boring.  But she tells me that when she does something that makes me smile or laugh they light up and she knows I love her.  How sweet is that.

So I think I’ll listen to my kids and remind myself about the good things instead of always being so focused on the negative – and if I forget maybe they will remind me once in a while – LOL

I don’t even know if I have a photo since I tend to avoid photos like the plague so I’m going to publish this and if I can find a photo I will add it.

The 31 Day Blog Challenge is hosted by Boy Oh Boy.

Hmm, do you really have time to read the lengthy list of my worst habits?  I doubt it, not to mention it would be terribly depressing – for both of us – LOL.

But if I cut to the chase and pick just a couple of my worst habits they would be:

1. I worry too much – really, I’m a constant worrier and it’s frustrating since it rarely does any good anyway!
2. If I don’t want to do something I will procrastinate till the cows come home and then procrastinate till they leave the next morning!  I am a very creative procrastinator by the way!
3. I have an Irish temper – it’s an inherited bad habit and one that my daughter informs me she has inherited as well – oh joy!

So that is what I would consider a top three of my worst habits.  I’m sure I could add a lot more to that list but for the sake of my psyche and yours we’ll just stop there – LOL.

Photo credit: cheerfulmonk

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This is not something you see very often in our household – MacKayla the Empress (who does not like any of the boy kitties, *at all*!), Joel Gray (the mellowest of the group) and Giblet Paws the Kitten (who is seldom not in a state of constant motion!) hanging out together on the couch. I rushed to get a photo so I would have proof that miracles do in fact happen in Barnhart – albeit furry ones!

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Since I managed to get a day behind in the 31 Day Blog Challenge hosted by Boy Oh Boy, I am going to combine yesterday and today into one post.

The Day 7 Challenge is about Pet Hates (what I call Pet Peeves).  Depending on the day I can have *a lot* of pet peeves, but I’ll just pick out a couple of the big ones and spare you the ordeal of listening to me whine this early in the day!

My Major Pet Peeves:

1. People who are rude – there is rarely a reason to be rude to someone, yes, I know there are some potential exceptions to that statement, but generally rudeness is not something that I feel is acceptable behavior.
2. People who litter – there are trash cans for a reason!
3. People who are always late – being on time shows respect for the other person.  Occasional lateness is not the issue here, chronic lateness drives me up a wall.

Those are the three big ones that I’m thinking about at the moment.

Day 8 is What is in Your Handbag – well, I always seem to be carrying a lot of stuff and then the kids add to it.  I know that right now I have:  wallet, coin purse, calendar, several pens, card holder, stamps, comb, small travel perfume, various bits and pieces of paper which may or may not have important information on them, camera, my church ID tag which I always forget to put on, two small travel games that the kids and I play when we are someplace stuck waiting (the racing sheep one is our favorite),  some coupons for various things and several small pinecones (that the kids want to make into hedgehogs).   That’s not too bad actually, some days I pull some really strange things out of my purse!

My biggest problem lately is that I just can’t find a handbag/purse that I like and that has been very annoying — hmm, might almost qualify as a pet peeve!  I don’t like to change purses often, I prefer to have one that I can rely on as my daily purse to take care of all my needs and is easy to drag around — is that so much to ask for?!   MacKayla the Empress kitty says I just need a butler or a Birkin bag — LOL

So I’ll just take this one, thank you very much:

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

But at least now I am caught up, for the moment

This meme is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between! D This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

This week I am reading Jane Vows Vengeance by Michael Thomas Ford:

This is the third book in the Jane Austen, Vampire series.  I really enjoyed the first two books and the third one is no exception in that regard – it’s fun, has a bit of mystery thrown in, and I’m rather sad this is to the conclusion to the trilogy.  I would have liked to read more about Jane Austen the Vampire!

Sorry, missed yesterday because things got really busy and I was tired last night, so I’ll do catch up today starting with Your Five Senses Right Now.  The 31 Day Blog Challenge is hosted by Boy Oh Boy!

SEE:  A gray and cloudy day today matching the fluffy gray kitty (Joel Gray) who is sleeping soundly on the couch nearby.

TASTE:  Pepsi – breakfast of champions – LOL

FEEL:  A little stuffy since it’s a humid day.  If I could get Joel Gray to come over by me I could rub his really soft fur but he is studiously ignoring me!

HEAR:  The rain falling steadily outside, the clock ticking in the kitchen, the click of the keys as I type.

SMELL:  Nothing, which is probably a good thing!

In case you are wondering what he looks like, here is Joel Gray is all his sleepy glory – isn’t he cute!

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