old navy photo contest

i just discovered old navy's supermodelquin search contest the other day.  i really should have realized it sooner as i subscribe to its emails.  i guess that's what happens when your inbox becomes so inundated with subscriptions and junk mail - sometimes you miss the interesting and important ones!  the photo entries of the children all looked adorable, and my sons were excited to view them with me as they happen to be sitting next to me.  so i whimsically thought that it would be fun to drop by an old navy store and take pictures of my boys with those notorious mannequins too.  and why not enter them in the contest?  so i did.  unfortunately, the voting period ends in a week, and there are entries out there that are way ahead of the game.  but we can't hurt to try, right?

we do need your support, though!  please vote "10" for my boys - you're allowed to vote daily until march 3.  i was told by jay's aunt that she was able to vote for all three in one day.  you will have to register, although you will be rewarded via email with a 15% off coupon for your next purchase.

noah - http://www.iwannabesuper.com/?challenge_id=1&entry_id=12954#challenge1[12954]

jonah - http://www.iwannabesuper.com/?challenge_id=1&entry_id=12984#challenge1[12984]

elijah - http://www.iwannabesuper.com/?challenge_id=1&entry_id=12990#challenge1[12990]

my family and i appreciate your participation and support!

one month

i survived my first month on a blog!  first, let me rewind a lil bit.  after christmas, i joined fb.  for the few of you in this day and age who are still clueless as to what fb stands for, it is facebook.  don't worry, i was in your boat.  over the past several years, i've been invited and encouraged to join social networks like friendster, myspace, and eventually, the almighty fb.  i always refused, denying my friends and family that gratification and willed myself to not get sucked into that social fad.

then the holidays of 2009 came and went, and i began to wonder about various people, like i do every year.  i was also looking for something to fill the little extra time i recently acquired.  so i succumbed to the one and only F.B.

i was immediately awestruck!  i found so many people that i haven't seen or heard from since high school.  in the first couple of days, i checked my page every few hours.  who confirmed me as a friend?  i got a friend request!  let me see if so-and-so is on fb.  i was able to update myself on their families and careers merely by reviewing their pages.  i received quick greetings and comments and reciprocated.  it was really interesting and fun.  however, by the fourth day, i realized that fb actually wasn't for me.  i wanted to be able to connect, i mean really connect, with others.  that's the impression i got about social networking whenever someone recommended it.  but you really don't, not with everyone who claims to be your friend.  (by the way, i've seen 100+, 300+, even 500+ friends on various pages.  c'mon, who truly has that many friends?) anyway, yes, i've been in more contact with a several people that i've lost touch with, which makes it worthwhile to keep my page and check-in a few times a week.  but the longer your friends, acquaintence rather, list is, the more difficult it is to keep up with all of the posts and comments that appear on your homepage.  some of those comments are also trite and meaningless - do we really need to know this?

hence, the blog - well, after i watched Julie and Julia, in which the challenge of julie powell's blog and goal intrigued me.  as i mentioned before, though, my mere purpose to blog was to share my life with the freedom to write more than 420 characters at a time, unlike in fb.  and i love it.  i've been challenged with a variety of topics for posts, an array of photos to select from, and layout capabilities/inabilities that drive me insane but keep the wheels in my head turning.  and trust me, i've often felt like my wheels have remained parked for too long at a time.  certainly, my sons constantly keep me going, but that's another kind of wheel-turning.

my blog has been visited several times, and i've earned the respect of a few followers (thank you!).  while i still have long a journey ahead of me before i can make my mark in the blog community, i enjoy blogging.  period.  and at this moment, that is good enough.

the grammys

the 52nd annual Grammys incorporated one of the hottest line-up of performers in years - lady gaga and taylor swift featuring legends elton john and stevie nicks respectively, the oh-so-cool black eyed peas, jamie foxx and his energized crew, and bon jovi with my all-time favorite, Living On A Prayer, to name a few.  hands down to pink, who redeemed her risque outfit (if you can call it that) with her amazing Cirque Du Soleil-like acrobatics!

 
MixPod.com
and a bonus, just moments after i had spontaneously asked jay, "what happened to ricky martin?  the last i heard of him was when he adopted twins."  i've had a crush on ricky since i was 10 years old, and he was the youngest of the puerto rican pop group, menudo.  then there he suddenly was, at the grammys as a guest presenter and looking as classy and slick as ever.  below - grammy revisited:  ricky!




 
MixPod.com by the way, congratulations to all the winners! 

photo courtesy of www.justjared.buzznet.com

my husband, the hater

we were in the car heading home.

me:  i think i lost a little bit of weight again.

jay:  how much did you lose?

me:  oh, i don't know.  i can just tell by my jeans.  they're a little loose again.

jay:  i don't understand how you do that.  you eat all you want.  you eat a lot of sweets like cakes and pastries and ice cream.  but you don't gain any weight, and you can lose a few pounds really easily.  if i ate like you, i'd be huge!

me:  are you hating me?  are you hating your wife, honey, because i have a quick metabolism?

jay:  i guess.

me:  (thinks for a moment) well ... at least you have clear skin.  i don't.

jay:  (a bit of relief in his voice) yeah, that's true.

me:  so now we're even.

new diggs

so this is it, my new place.  like it?  i do.  it's bigger, brighter, more comfy, and hopefully, easier to locate.  i brought all the old stuff with me from five men and a lady ... well, minus a thing or two.  there's also still more furnishing and touching up for me to do.  but go ahead, take a look around.  when you're done, let a friend or two know about it, then y'all come back for a visit.  until next time ...

tacos

i had just put my sons to bed, and i met jay downstairs in the living room.  jay was laying on the sofa nursing a bad cold, and i sat next to him.  we chatted, like we usually do every evening as it's probably the only time of the day that we're allowed to have a real conversation.  tonight's subject:  food.  poor hubby, he must've been craving since he hasn't been able to eat normally the last few days.

jay:  rob told me about a taco truck in downtown that stays open all night on the weekends.  he says the tacos are sooo good!

me:  oh yeah?

jay:  yeah!

he glances at the clock.

jay:  in fact, we can go there right now.

sure, honey.  let's hop into the car and go.  the boys are sound asleep.  we can leave them home all by themselves for a little while.  we'll just lock the doors.  they won't notice we're gone.

on second thought ... jay:  what am i saying?  maybe some other time.

me:  yes ...  maybe next time we can all go.

must've been the medication talking.

resolutions

sure, why not? new year, new you, right? i havent invested much effort into resolutions over the last several years, though. that sounds horrible, i know, but really, they take a lot of work. to achieve the initial goal in the new year may vary in levels of difficulty, but most resolutions require maintenance for a lifetime. say i wanted and needed to get fit. sure, i could get my body mass to where it needs to be within the year, then what? let it all go? nooo ... well, i shouldnt. id have to keep fit for the rest of my days on earth; otherwise, whats the point? been there, done that. no thanks. (feel free to argue with me on this one.) so, i figure ill just tackle each issue of my life one at a time, at my own pace, when im good and ready. ... apparently, im ready to tackle one now.

here is mine:
more time for me
jason, my family, and a handful of friends (you know who your are *hugs*) have provided me with opportunities to make this possible. still, its not the easiest thing for me to actually do. if i run errands or take care of responsibilities when others are with the boys, then fine. but everytime i choose a leisurely outing, guilt follows me out the door! its as if, when i close the door behind me, i can hear my children scratching, pounding, and pleading, "mommy, dont leave! how dare you go out and enjoy yourself without us!" of course, that never happens and when i return home, the boys are perfectly okay. i know, i know, ... so whats the problem, right?

one of jasons:
no procrastination
i asked him in regards to what, and he said "everything". wow! i suggested that he be more specific about it because to not procrastinate on anything is huge! you might as well not have any other resolutions on your list for the next few years with that one! we have triplets who only attend school a few hours a day three times a week. jason works full time and attends college at least half-time. i work part-time. we dont have daily help with the kids or the household. with all of that said, somethings gotta give.

jason, on the other hand, is an overachiever at the beginning of everything. he likes to start off with a clean slate and try his best to keep it that way. good luck, hon! im behind you!

to the rest of you with resolutions: i wish you the best!

new year, new blog

i decided to start off my 2010 with a blog. not sure why yet. its been on my mind for the last few years. ive been to many mommy blog sites, especially ones with multiples, and a couple of years ago, i thought i should try it. it would be a great way to let families and friends know how and what we're doing. if mommies of triplets and more can do it, i can too! but i quickly put it out of my head. i tried to think of something to write about, the only thing that would pop out of my mind was a blank page. i just didnt have the time or energy. two or three years earlier, if you asked me something after ive put my sons to bed, i wouldve looked at you with confusion and responded, "huh?".

then last year i created a newsletter of our autumn events and activities and emailed them to family and friends. it was surprisingly easy, and i managed to finish it within a week. i received raved reviews. it was supposed to be an on-going quaterly thing until a friend suggested that i do a ... you guessed it, blog. she thought what i did in the newsletter was worth doing on the internet. i was shocked by her compliment, though thrilled and excited.

so on the free blog searches and pages i went. i signed up for a few - maybe a handful, i dont remember which ones they were. unfortunately, i was quickly discouraged. i didnt have the kind of control and freedom i wanted with the layouts. pictures would appear too big or too small. i was limited to pasting or including things on one side of the page but not the other. i dont know, there were just these little things that irritated me. but a free page is a free page, right? what more could i ask for? and that was that.

then i saw the movie Julie and Julia a few nights ago. loved it! it was cute, and a really down-to-earth success story, the kind that anyone could truly live - not one of those success stories that happens to only one in a gazillion people. anyway, so the movie brought me back to the blog thing again. it was my inspiration, if you want to call it that.

unlike julie powell, though, im not a writer. i really dont know how to write - at least not well enough to believe that i can captivate an audience. the only experience ive had were with school newspapers and yearbooks, which were XX years ago. what good is that? heck, im not even a conversationalist. i am the listener. the one who maintains the eye-contact, nods, asks questions, and giggles or laughs (depending on what i think is expected of me) on cue. i dont volunteer or divulge much information. i dont know how to be clever, witty, humorous, or sarcastic either.

julie powell also had a project to blog about. i dont have a specific goal or subject. no special talent or skill. no "wow" experience or knowledge to share. my life is pretty ordinary. its just me, my husband, our three sons, and our (boy) dog. dont get me wrong, i love and appreciate this life of mine. the question is, will everyone else?

as the saying goes, "you wont know until you try" or something like that. so, here i am world ... hit me!