Who will reach the Emerald City?

Forget the diet!

This just in from First Colony Mall:

A refreshing taste of Italy is headed to First Colony Mall. Just in time for a holiday shopping break, PaciugoGelato, a Dallas-based company specializing in authentic Italian gelato,will open in The Courtyard, next to the shopping center's other Italian newcomer, Grimaldi's Pizzeria.

I'm getting on the treadmill right now.

Words of Wisdom ... from my dairy products

My Daisy Sour Cream container must know I have been trying to lose weight. Well, I guess I did buy the low-fat version, so it doesn't take a really smart marketing person to figure out who is going to buy that.

On the inside seal, it says: "Jumping for joy is good exercise."

Well, then, forget the treadmill!

Russia and Such

If you missed SNL on Saturday night, you missed this awesome rap from Amy Poehler. Check it out here. (Couldn't have been funnier if Palin did it herself!)

SNL Sarah Palin Rap
http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/update-palin-rap/773781/

one, two, three
my name is sarah palin you all know me
vice president nominee of the gop
gonna need your vote in the next election
can i get a ‘what what’ from the senior section
mccain got experience, mccain got style
but don’t let him freak you out when he tries to smile
cause that smile be creepy
but when i be vp
all the leaders in the world gonna finally meet me

how’s it go
eskimo eskimos tell me what you know
eskimo eskimo show you feel eskimo ice cold
tell me tell me what you feel eskimo super cold

i’m jeremiah wright cause tonight i’m the preacher
i got a bookish look and you’re all hot for teacher
todd lookin fine on his snow machine
so hot boy gonna need a go between
in wasilla we just chill baby chilla but when i see oil lets drill baby drill
my country tis of thee
from my porch i can see
russia and such

all the mavericks in the house put your hands up
all the mavericks in the house put your hands up
all the plumbers in the house pull your pants up
all the plumbers in the house pull your pants up

when i say ‘obama’ you say ‘ayers’
obama. ayers. obama. ayers.

i built me a bridge - it ain’t goin’ nowhere.[ohhh]

mccain, palin, gonna put the nail in the coffin of the media elite
she likes red meat
shoot a mother humpin moose, eight days of the week
[three gunshots]
now ya dead, now ya dead,cause i’m an animal, and i’m bigger than you
holdin a shotgun walk in the pub everybody party, we’re goin on a hunt
la la la la la la la la[six gunshots]
yo palin, i’m out

SNL Sarah Palin Rap, Lyrics & Video (Amy Poehler)

Yearbook Yourself

It's School Photo Time! Feeling left out? Yearbook yourself!
Go to http://www.yearbookyourself.com/ and superimpose your face onto photos from the 1950s through the year 2000.
Almost as funny as your real high school yearbook photo.
Here's me ... if I had gone to high school in 1976!

Cook and Play

Two cool new kid places coming soon to Sugar Land ...


http://www.youngchefsacademy.com/stores/store_page.php?franchise_id=200


www.stompinggroundsplayland.com

Odd Mrs. Perfect

Are you the "odd mom out" or "Mrs. Perfect?" Or, are you a little bit of both?

We all know a mom who seems to have it all together, all the time. (And, yes, we all hate her a little bit.) She looks great, seems to feel great, has perfect children who are always clean and nicely dressed, she always has the perfect nails, the trendiest accessories, the coolest car, the professionally decorated house, a great career or foundation of some sort she is supporting (or both), and she is always smiling and apparently happy. I feel sick just talking about her.

We all also know a mom who is a little bit "off." Maybe she looks a little frumpy, is still wearing her workout clothes -- from yesterday (wait, that's me). She doesn't have time to get her nails done or her hair professionally colored, nor does she have time to workout regularly. She usually has a coffee in her hands from Starbucks ... or a Big Gulp Diet Coke. She is a great friend and super sweet, but she is not going to invite you over for a cocktail party (unless she is required to do so because of Bunco commitments) because her house always looks like something just exploded in there. Usually, she either has three kids under age 5, or she is being pulled in all directions by commitments at work and home.

Do you wish you could get into each of their heads for just one day and see how they deal? How does that mom pull off balancing so many things and look so good doing it? Why is that other mom always so harried? Well, read Odd Mom Out and Mrs. Perfect by Jane Porter, and you'll get a heartwarming and hilarious glimpse into both of their lives. Porter rips the cover off Mrs. Perfect, Taylor Young, and shows us that all of those great looks can be deceiving, and she shows how the "Odd Mom Out," Marta Zinsser, isn't so odd afterall.

Visit www.5-spot.com to read more about these books.

Check out some Real Moms of Sugar Land at www.sugarlandmom.com. Do you have a story? Tell me about it! E-mail info@sugarlandmom.com.

The $3 a Day Diet

Could you live on $3 a day worth of food? That's $1 a meal. That's a lot of mac n' cheese ... and only mac n' cheese (and not Annie's Organic).

It's estimated that something like 10 percent of Americans live on Food Stamps, and the average amount they receive (per person) is $3 a day. If you've been to HEB lately, you know that $3 doesn't go very far. Sure, pears might be 99 cents a pound, but how many pears do you get for that 99 cents and, if you only have $1 to spend on a meal, do you want to make a couple of pears your meal? Sure, you could do it one day but what about all year?

I can't even imagine trying to feed my kids nutritious meals for $3 a day. They eat $3 worth of snacks everyday afterschool!

Some members of Congress are taking the $3 a Day/Food Stamp Challenge: http://foodstampchallenge.typepad.com/ in an effort to show how little that really is and try to get the amount increased.

Could you live on $3 a day?

T-shirts for Terrie

We all know it's Breast Cancer Awareness month, and there is so much pink stuff out there you kind of just see a blur of pink after a while. And then someone you know gets breast cancer. Then every pink thing you see reminds you of that person and their cancer fight. Terrie is no exception. A super Sugar Land mom, Terrie just found out she has breast cancer. In Sugar Land, a mom who needs help will always find other moms (and dads!) who want to help her, so of course someone has thought of something really sweet to do for Terrie.

Check out the cool t-shirts the McNallys are selling to aid in Terrie's cancer fight:
http://terriewillwin.spreadshirt.com/us/US/Shop/

Terrie WILL win ... and it will be with the help of friends like the McNallys. Go Team Terrie!

It's the Little Things

My life is good. I am pretty healthy. I have a house. I have a fun job. I have a great husband, beautiful children, good friends, loving family. It's all good. Yet, I feel exhausted. I mean, T-I-R-E-D. And, it's not just because I stayed up too late talking with out-of-town friends on Facebook last night. It's the little things that are pecking away at me everyday, leaving me without any energy to enjoy all the great things I have. Darn those little things.

What are the "little things?" You know ... the school tag sale this weekend, the laundry I need to fold, the minor ceiling damage from Hurricane Ike I need to get repaired, the birthday cards I need to send, the e-mail I need to write, the small projects I need to accomplish for work, the things I need from the grocery store, the friend I need to call, the person leaving a message on my answering right now (what are they saying?), the ideas that are swirling around in my head that I can't find the time to do. Oh yeah, and the new blog I am setting up to go alongside the Web site I decided to do in June. That's just the first part of a list that goes on for pages and pages and includes items that need (or that I want) to get accomplished sometime in 2009.

I bet many of you have a list like that and, like me, as you struggle to get through that list, whether it's just in your head or on paper, you are going to exhaust yourself with the little things and forget why you're even doing most of it. But, you know what, forget what they say about "not sweating the small stuff" for a second and think about it: Life is all about the little things.

Reading one book with your kid isn't a big thing, right? String all the books you have read with him or her together, though, and it's a pretty big thing that has contributed to their love of reading.

Making dinner is a little thing that, nearly every day, causes me anxiety because I'm at a loss for what to make that will make everyone in our house happy. Yet, put together all the nourishment you and I have provided our loved ones for a lifetime and it's a pretty big thing.

A dear friend who recently lost her father (a big thing) sent me an e-mail (a little thing) with a prayer from St. Therese. I'm not a big prayer chain letter sender, as I told my friends when I sent it to all of them, but this one stuck with me. So, after sending out the note, I read up on sweet old St. Therese, the patron saint of roses. (Strangely, my husband brought home roses the day my friend sent the e-mail and he hardly ever does that. So, that's a "little thing" that was a "big thing" to me!)

St. Therese became a nun at age 15 and started out washing, ironing and cleaning and then moved up to head of the convent. She was selfless and always striving for perfection, yet she lived a pretty unremarkable life. She was depressed (and tired, I'm assuming) most of the time but hid it from everyone because she wanted everyone to think she was fine. When she died, the skies were overcast, and another nun commented it was too bad there weren't any stars overhead for Therese's passing. Well, of course, that's when the clouds parted and revealed a twinkling sky and all kinds of crazy miracles started happening in the lives of those who knew St. Therese.

Pretty much, St. Therese lived a life similar to the one many of us are probably living (except you're probably not a nun). We have lots of little things to do that are making us tired and, let's face it, maybe even a little depressed at times. Yet, when it's all said and done ... you just know all those little things are going to result in a miracle. Like, maybe just maybe, everyone will like the dinner I make tonight. THAT would be a miracle.

So, go grab a cup of coffee and a snack to get some energy before you tackle the rest of your "to do" list for the day. Check out St. Therese's prayer below for a little extra boost.

May today there be peace within. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us.

Amen!