Behold the power of the cookie.

Anyway, I wanted a little snack.  We went down the cookie aisle and I found these:

On a whim, I picked up a package–it was only $2.00, so if they were bad, it wouldn’t be a huge waste.  Besides, I could give them to the baby and she would probably eat them.  I was hoping they would taste like the Girl Scout thin mints.

I opened the package.  This is what they looked like.  Ignore the ring on the counter and focus on the cookie.  Kind of promising….

I took a bite to taste.  They look just like the inside of a thin mint…

And now that I’ve eaten one, I must stop eating the entire box.  They taste really close to the thin mints, and they’re cheaper.  Seriously, if you have these at your Wal-mart, you need to try them–especially if you are addicted to the Girl Scout Thin Mints.  I would have to say that this generic is just as good as the brand name.

Oh the deliciousness.  And with a glass of milk.  And more cookies.  And more cookies.  And more…

I thought it was a great analysis. We are adults now, we have to stay out of the childish arguing and stuff like that and rise above it–because we are better than that.

Anyway, that isn’t exactly what this post is about. This post is about facebook.

For a long time my 2 children and husband told me I needed to be on facebook. It was fun and you could talk to people you had lost touch with. I resisted. But I finally gave in and signed up for an account. I had fun looking for people I knew and looking at their photos and catching up. For awhile, I was on a LOT. But the novelty wore off and I check it once a day now. (Ok, maybe a couple times, but nowhere near as much as I did when I was first on.)

My problem is that facebook can be a good way to keep in touch with people, but it can also be a route to reliving the worst of your Junior High Years.

I thought it would be interesting to find out what people are doing and say hello. Whenever someone added me as a friend, I would go to their page and say hello and how nice it was to see them. (Even if it wasn’t, I’m not going to be a jerk about it.) My friends were added slowly and I only added people if I wanted to be their friend, not just to have a huge list of people I knew. So I write on people’s pages and on certain pages, I get NOTHING. Not a hello. Not a “how ya doin’?” Not even, “I’m busy now, so I’ll have to get with you later.” And I’m thinking, well, I’ll give it a couple of weeks, since not everyone is on here every day like I am.

Weeks go by. Nothing. I’m seriously feeling rejected–but not too bad–just a little. I hear nothing. There are some people who have NEVER said anything to me. And on my page it says, “Julianne and Snotty Susie are now friends”. It sits and mocks me.

I don’t get it. Am I not cool enough? Is my profile picture ugly? Are my status updates boring or worse, too religious? So after I think about this it just makes me mad. I have one “friend” that added me–(I didn’t add them.) who I said hello to and asked what was going on with them. I hear nothing, but see that this “friend” has written to a couple of my other “friends” and hasn’t said anything to me. And its not like I’m sitting by the computer waiting for my friend to talk to me. Weeks have gone by and I’ve given them plenty of time to respond and they don’t. This is someone I haven’t seen in years who I considered to be a friend. And it is more than just one person. There are probably 20 people who haven’t said a word to me.

I’m really not bitter. Just kind of irritated and the phrase “living in junior high school” came to mind. Do I really want to waste my time with people that won’t talk to me on facebook? I decided that no, I don’t want to waste any time or energy. So now, I have a couple of people on facebook I truly have reconnected with and had a great time emailing back and forth and I have some friends that comment occasionally, but are still in my life.

Then I have those stupid people I used to know that apparently just want a higher number of “friends”. I just ignore them. It isn’t exactly that it bothers me, it more irritates me that people haven’t grown up in the 10-20 years that I haven’t seen them. I feel like face book can sometimes be a big class in Junior High.

But I have moved beyond them. I have better things to do than worry about someone “talking” to me over facebook. And as I say that, inside, I am sticking my tongue out at all of them.

Maybe I have to move beyond elementary school…

1.  You will always need the diaper bag at this age.  The minute you do not have the diaper bag, is the moment the baby messes herself up her back and out the sides.  

2.  Do not take a baby, no matter how sweet they are, into a cave tour that lasts 90 minutes.  You can’t get out once  you get started because it is dark down there and the turn the lights out behind you.  Suck it up and stay behind.

3.  A nap is never as long as it should be.

4.  Losing weight at 40 is harder than it was at 30.

5.  People that tell you, “Call me to babysit!” don’t really mean it unless you are my friend Theresa.  Everyone else means they think the baby is cute, but for the love of God, please don’t call me, even as a last resort!

6.  The gray hair just keeps on getting worse–don’t expect it to get better.

7.  Going back is never as good as you thought it would be, in fact, it is quite a disappointment.

8.  Nobody I know will ever look good in spandex pants.  Really, even if you ARE going to work out, just put on the sweats.

9.  I hated high school when I was in it, and I never want to revisit that chapter in my life again.

10.  Your own kids are the cutest, even if they are ugly to everyone else, they are beautiful to you.  

11.  Don’t compare yourself to anyone else.  If you were supposed to be someone else, your name would be different and you would have a different life.  God made you just the way you are and you are his treasure.

12.  It’s ok to cry about losing a pet.  Losing a pet may be quite uneventful for some people, but I still cry when I think about our cat Slippers.  

13.  All that icing on that piece of cake will make you feel sick to your stomach, so don’t even attempt it.  Throw the rest out.

14.  You never know as much as you think you know.  And you always know more than you think you do.

15.  After eating  your fries and burger, the perfect drink is an ice cold coca-cola.  

16.  Being honest is no longer a virtue in this world.  Sadly.

17.  There are two sides to every issue and both think they are right.  The usually are both right in their own mind.  

18.  Texting is NOT a form of communication.

19.  Don’t use email to write out your thoughts to someone.  Use email for informational purposes only.  The words you type cannot be misconstrued this way.

20.  Most people talk behind your back.  Some people even stab you in the back.  Don’t do the same to them.

21.  As appealing as it may seem, the grass is never greener on the other side.  It is usually full of weeds.

22.  Babies really do like Baby Einstein.

23.  Don’t think you have it all figured out.  You don’t.  In fact, I still have a lot more to learn, so maybe I’ll share that insight when I learn it.  :)

My first real experience with this genre was “Star Trek” and “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “Star Trek: Deep Space 9″ and the other various Star Trek’s out there.  For the record, I am not a Trekkie.  I don’t speak Klingon or dress up like Jean Luc Picard for Halloween.  But I would try to never miss a Sunday that The Next Generation was on.

After the series was over, I entertained myself with the Star Trek books.  At least Data and Counselor Troy could live on in the life of the books.  Then, a new series on Fox piqued my interest.  It was called The X-Files and it looked interesting.  We didn’t start watching it right away, but about season 3 was when we got interested.  It was my replacement for Star Trek, and again, I tried not to miss a Sunday night.  I loved Scully’s skepticism and Mulder’s blind belief in all things paranormal.  What a great team.  I watched every season from then on, even up to season 9, when things got really stupid because Mulder wasn’t even on until the last episode.  The series finale was also a huge disappoinment, but I watched anyway.  I even went to the first movie.

When Emily was born, I needed something to do when I had those late night feedings.  At the library, they had the complete X-Files series on DVD, and now I could watch from the first episode to the very last one.  David really doesn’t like the X-Files, he tolerates it, but says it is too dark, so when I was feeding Emily at 3 a.m, I would stick a DVD in the computer and watch.  My favorite seasons were probably six and seven.  I was kind of sad to have it end.

After the X-Files finished on t.v., we moved on to other sci-fi shows like “Stargate” and the like.  Since then, I haven’t found one that I like a whole lot, but that might be because we don’t have a t.v. (Ya think?)

One day, I picked up a Dean Koontz book called “Lightning,” at the store because I was looking for something to read on our flight to MN.  It looked pretty good, so I bought it.  Little did I know that this would begin my new obsession with sci-fi.  I didn’t realize it was a science fiction book at the time, but as soon as I started reading I was hooked.  I’m pretty sure I have now read ALL of the Dean Koontz books, except for the newest one that came out last Tuesday.  I have even read them more than once, I like them so much.  My favorites are:  “Velocity”, all the “Odd” books, “By the Light of the Moon,” “The Face,” “Mr. Murder,” “Life Expectancy,” “One Door Away from Heaven,” and “From the Corner of His Eye.”

I’ve also read and liked Ted Dekker books, and of course, Frank Peretti.  I go through them pretty fast, and they don’t last very long.

So I need a new sci-fi book or series to watch.  I don’t particulary like the vampire books, even though I guess they could be considered sci-fi.  I don’t want horror, either, like Stephen King.  What have you read that you’ve liked that could be considered sci-fi?

I also heard that the latest X-Files movie was terrible.  I don’t want to see it if it will leave my memory of Mulder and Scully tarnished.  I just won’t see it.  Besides, I heard it was extremely dark, and I don’t want to go that dark.  So I haven’t seen it.

But “normal” is a subjective word.  Things are not normal, as they were pre-Emily.  Things are normal for our family at this point in our lives.  Baby eats, poos, coos, and sleeps.  Kids do school, practice instruments, go to activities and stuff.  Dave and I do most of the stuff we did pre-Emily.  Although I must admit, it takes a whole lot longer to do!

For example, last night, we headed out to rehearsal for worship.  Before, I used to get the music together, type stuff out and get it all organized.  We used to eat, load up the car with gear and go.  Now, I have to make sure the baby is fed before we go, while simultaneously trying to get dinner together.  I have to get music ready and I had to get Alex to bring all the gear downstairs, ready to load in the car.  I also had to get the diaper bag ready, get another bottle, “just in case,” Get the clothes I was going to give away, get the diapers I was going to give away because Emily outgrew them, get the stroller, because she does better in the stroller than the car seat.  But I did it!  I was so proud of myself.  Dinner was ready, and Emily was fed.  The only thing I forgot was the stroller.  We actually got to church 15 minutes early instead of right on time.  We had time to make copies and David had time to get the sound system up and running.

I think Elizabeth is having a hard time with this new “normal”.  We have made sure that we spend time with her alone–and Alex too, so they know they are loved, but they aren’t helpless, like Emily.  Last week, we went out and had coffee and shopped.  David took Beth out to lunch this week, and last week, he took Alex out.  This is the new normal.

For Thanksgiving, we went to our friend’s house.  That was an ordeal.  All I had to do was bring rolls and pie.  I got the rolls and pie (homemade, by the way.) but the whole getting out and over there was ridiculous!  I had to bring Emily’s sleeping bed, diapers, wipes, a change of clothes, the bottle, the formula, the high chair, the stroller, the monitors and various other things.  I felt like we were moving in!  We got over there and Emily went down upstairs, but since it is so far away, I needed the monitors so I could hear her if she started to fuss.  We had a great time, but wow, this is the new normal!

Tomorrow I am going to attempt to go to Michael’s and get some yarn for a blanket I am crocheting.  I am also going to attempt to go to the grocery store.  We’ll see how that works out….

1.  People that are constantly late.

2.  When I am late.

3.  Violins that are out-of-tune, especially in an orchestra.

4.  When I ask my children to do something and they tell me, “ok.  Just a minute…” and then don’t do what I asked.

5.  Sopranos that are flat.  As in musically, not chested.

6.  When I make a mistake while making dinner and the dinner isn’t as good as it could have been.  

7.  Retail service people that don’t provide service.

8.  Being told that the McDonald’s ice cream machine is broken.  (That is a lie, people.  I had friends that used to work fast food that told me they would tell people the machine was broken because they didn’t want to have to clean the machine.  Apparently, it isn’t that easy to clean.)  Can 3 stores have broken ice cream machines?  

9.  People that send emails telling me that Proctor and Gamble is headed by a Satanist.

10.  Forwards on email that have some sort of conspiracy in it, like saying Madeline Murray O’Hare is trying to take prayer out of school.  She is dead!  Snopes is an excellent site to find out if these rumors are true or not.

11.  Emails stating that Obama might be the antichrist.

12.  Little boys bathrooms.  (Stinky!)  Also cat litter that hasn’t been changed.

13.  Eggplant.

14.  Children that leave their stuff where they drop it.

15.  Being told, “I don’t like that,” when I tell someone what is for dinner.

16.  Going out to eat for a special occasion and having crappy food.

17.  People that get paid to do something that they don’t do.

18.  Gossip.

19.  Dog smell.

20.  Dog drool.

21.  Sniffing dogs.

22.  Jumping dogs.

23.  The smell of the fish department of any store.

24.  People that need to get the last word in.

25.  When someone insists that they are right and you have the proof they aren’t, but you don’t say anything because you don’t want to offend them.

26.  Emails that state “if  you don’t send this to 10 people in ten minutes, you will have ten years of bad luck,” or other such luck related statements.

27.  When children don’t study for tests and say they are ready to take the test.  The same goes for children that say they practice, but you can tell they don’t.

28.  People that use the “f” word in every sentence they speak.

29.  Age spots.

30.  Gray hairs.

31.  Nylon socks.  They make my feet sweat, which in turn, makes them smell horribly.

32.  Having to shave my legs and then getting a nick.

33.  Trying to wax/shave my bikini line.

34.  When someone yells at my kids.

35.  When someone is mean to my kids.

36.   40 watt light bulbs.

37.  Spit up on my shoulder or down the front of my bra.  (Yes, that has happened.  All you can do is laugh.)

38.  Pencils that squeak when you write with them.

39.  Sleeping too late in the morning so you’ve thrown away your day.

40.  The smell of raw chicken.

I took these pictures after she had her bottle and she was sitting cooing and smiling at us.  

We have so many pictures of Emily, I’m going to need to get some more of Alex and Beth up.  Soon.

My dear husband took these adorable pictures, and he also posted them on his blog, but I just love looking at them, so here they are again.

Emily looking thoughtful…

The Piglet outfit.

Goodnight!  Time for bed!