What Did You Do? Wednesdays - Garage Sale Glory

You know, once I actually got started with my garage sale prep, I've kind of been in my glory.  I have truly enjoyed the organizing, the pricing, the sorting, the straightening, the WhereAreWeGoingToPutAllThisStuff decisions.  The colors make me happy too.  All the bright colors of the toys, the little girl pinks and purples, the sea of book covers....I feel pleased when I look around.

I'm content with the memories I have with each item as well.  Most of the items were more well used by our oldest daughter.  It's different with the second, isn't it?  They go right into whatever the older ones like/have.  So, maybe I remember what my oldest and I played in the time she fit into a certain outfit, or where we went, and what we did.  I recall the vast amounts of time spent doting on her in a tiny, little house far away from any family or friends, while we played with many of the toys we're now selling.  It's bittersweet, you know?

It's like Where's Waldo....could you find me in any of these pictures? No? Of course not.  I'm buried under all the other stuff I didn't post shots of. Oh,trust me. There's A LOT.  I've overflowed from the garage significantly.  If it rains, we're in big trouble.

WDYD? Wednesday - Flashback Cereal

I don't recall eating a lot of sugary cereals when I was a kid.  I think we had Apple Jacks once in awhile, maybe Honeycomb on rare occasion, and possibly Tony the Tiger showed up with his Frosted Flakes a time or two.  Sure, I've consumed my share of the sugared junk on my own while I posing as an adult.  But now it's been many years since I've purchased anything like that, and it's rare I even purchase a cereal marketed by a big, national brand.  However, this does not mean that I don't love sugar.  Au contraire, mon frere!!  It is quite the opposite. I Love Sugar!!  LOVE.  SUGAR.  Too much.  So much so that when I was forced to do an elimination diet last summer to discover if I had food allergies, I realized how addicted to it I actually was.  Detox is not fun.

Fast forward to having put the kibosh on massive over indulgence of the sweet stuff.  Now I try to stick with just dark chocolate, and eliminate, avoid, limit my intake of straight up, nutritionally empty sugar products.  But.....But.....once in awhile I cave.  Come on ~ cotton candy?!  Cotton Candy, people!  Sugar and food dye on a stick.  My GOSH I love that stuff.  However, the more I learn about the harm too much sugar can do, the more hesitant I am to consume it (never mind the red #40 and blue #1 ~ how awful).  I do allow myself cotton candy once a year.

I think my favorite sugared cereals were ones that also incorporated chocolate.  How I'd dig and dig through a box of Count Chocula to devour those marshmallow bats (let us again acknowledge red #40, yellows #5&6, blue #1).  My dear roommate warned me during my entire search mission of the disappointment I'd experience when they were all gone.  Didn't listen ~ slow learner I guess, but I was driven.  Drat!  Must have bat!  The cereal alone was certainly no great shakes.

**Note that the box itself even beckons a taste of their "Spooky-Fun Marshmallows."  How was I to resist? 

Remember the chocolate milk you'd end up with at the bottom of your cereal bowl thanks to the chocolaty, sugary goodness flowing over the abnormally chiseled nuggets of hardened corn?  So good and gross all at once, it gives me a stomach ache just thinking about it.

I also loved Coca Krispies, but feeling the same way about all products vastly processed and of no redeeming value, these things just aren't part of my life anymore.  This is where I'd like to introduce you to EnviroKidz Organic cereal.  I broke down and purchased a box of the Koala Crisp, and it curbs the chocolate cereal fix, that's for sure!  It's a nice option for gluten free diets, and I like the fact that it has no preservatives or additives.  I've formed a new relationship with brown rice flour in my baking, and this is also the first ingredient in the cereal.

 

So as it stands, this week my WDYD? Wednesday consisted of treating myself to a taste of childhood.  I have selfishly hidden this cereal from the girls and plan to keep it all for myself.  It is with my bowl of chocolaty rice puffs and a mound of freshly sliced strawberries on top, I shall yearn no longer for both a sugar fix and a healthy dose of childhood memories.

University Training

Once upon a time my husband was a physics professor, which gave me the opportunity to experience two contrasting universities not as a student, but as a "pseudo faculty" member. I have liked the feel of the colleges I've experienced, as both a student and visitor.

During the last two years of my first undergraduate degree, I worked in the admissions office....liked that. Lots of paperwork involved. I also served as a tour guide for families interested in attending my alma mater....tons of fun. There sure are interesting dynamics in groups. Finally, representing the university operations department, I had a wonderful time as an attendant at the information desk. Need help finding a tutor? Allow me to assist. Want to carpool for a trip home? I'll check the ride board for you. Don't have a clue how to cash a check? Oh boy, pity that kid, but nonetheless, let me show you. I answered everything from how long to hard boil an egg to what I thought the next right answer would be on Wheel of Fortune. Important stuff here, as you can tell. But really, I loved it. Information Queen at your service. I often thought I would have made a great private detective. I can find out anything, and I enjoy the challenge. And really, no one would ever take me for P.I.

I have friends who have graduated from Ivy League schools, friends who have gone through state universities, and friends who have received their specialized degrees in community colleges. I like that we all have different interests and abilities. Lately I've wondered what type of higher education specialty training I might be able to offer if I were dean of a college. This is the list I have established.

BLESS U (Religious Studies)
EXCUSE U (Manners/Etiquette)
HAY U (Farming)
KNOT U (Massage Therapy)
FORGET U (Memory Enhancement)
SCREW U (Carpentry)
SEE U (Optometry/Ophthalmology)

The admissions offices are now open.

S-A-F-E-T-Y Dance

I am, by definition, a Gen X-er. That means I used Aqua Net, wore neon pink lipstick, had every color Chuck Taylor Converse imaginable, had one side of my hair longer than the other, wrapped pastel lace scarves around my neck, and enamored myself with all the other fashion favs of the decade.

I also knew every video on MTV like the back of my hand, even the earliest ones. I knew what happened on the video for each line of each song. I logged many splendid hours memorizing them at my friends' houses during grade school and junior high. (We lived in the country when that meant no cable option.) I was freaked out by Billy Idol's White Wedding, as enthralled with Thriller as much as you were, and overjoyed when Twisted Sister's We're Not Gonna Take It played.

So it is with great delight that I invite you, oh great lover of blessed 80s music, to view one of the most hilarious videos I have ever seen. We can watch if we want to. We can leave your friends behind. 'Cuz your friends don't watch and if they don't watch, well they're no friends of mine.

I seriously still Want My MTV!!!!