Wii -ner

Thanks to all of you who contributed to the 08-09 Dance Fund for the wii giveaway.
In order for those that do not get chosen to have time to procure Christmas gifts – we gave it away today. There were 11 different contributors, all with numbers from 24-50.
I went to a trusty online random number generator to select the winner


With 5 of the 11 contributors as witnesses, the ‘Get Numbers’ button was pushed…

And the winner is…..

Tim Laird!!

Thanks again to all who participated.

Star Girl

Emily is currently reading Star Girl by Jerry Spinelli in her English class.

The novel recounts the junior year of a boy named Leo at Mica Area High School, when a new student, "Stargirl" Caraway, sends the school, which up until that point had nothing unusual about it, into an uproar. Her unusual antics include wearing kimonos, Indian buckskin, 1920s flapper dresses and pioneer dresses to school. She carries her pet rat, Cinnamon, around with her in a bag with a life-size sunflower painted on it. During every class periods she puts a table cloth and a vase with a daisy in it on her desk. When it rains, instead of running inside like the other students, she runs outside to dance. She strums a ukulele during lunch every day and sings "Happy Birthday" to kids she has never met. She cheers for everyone at football games, including the opposing team.

At conferences last night, I was told by the English teacher that Emily is their Star Girl.

I couldn’t be prouder.

OK, OK

I've been told to update. I was trying to leave the wii post up in order to make it easier to get in on the fun, but apparently Katie needs to know what's going on at home.

The fall school, dance, soccer schedule is in full swing and seems to be manageable, thanks in large part to the car pool participants.

Last weekend I took Emily's Girl Scout troop up to Newaygo for the night. The girls planned all the activities and the menu, then rotated prep and clean-up duties. The weather was perfect and we had a great time. Especially because I didn't have to do all the work!

Maggie has been tearing up the soccer fields on weekends. She has scored at least one goal in her last three games. Last night at practice, her coach told me she was a 'little spark plug'!
GO ORANGE TIGERS!!

This weekend we will miss the soccer game, but are looking forward to the Halloween Haunt activities at King's Island with our friends. The Cedar Faire season passes have been well worth the money.

Wii!!!!

OK ladies and gentlemen.

In an effort to generate some much needed revenue for the upcoming dance season I am giving away a Wii!

That's right, I said GIVING AWAY.

How do you become the lucky recipient of this technological wonder? It's easy. Just look over to your right a bit and you'll see the CHIP IN button on my sidebar. For every $10 donation you make you will get a number assigned by me. (I'll email you with your number). Once I've got 50 numbers, I'll use a random number generator online to choose the lucky number that will receive the wii. Easy, eh? So, donate!! My girls will thank you, and I will thank you, and you'll have a 1 in 50 chance to get a wii! If you want better odds, just donate more!

Books that cause me distress

I took INKSPELL up north with me this weekend. It's the sequal to INKHEART by Cornelia Funke. The first book was very imaginitive and wonderful. I had high hopes for the second. Imagine my dismay as I neared the end of the 633 pages and realized with about 20 pages to go that there was NO WAY the book would be able to wrap up all the loose ends in a satisfying package within the remaining pages. I kept reading, hoping I was wrong and Cornelia would pull some amazing twist to tie a neat little bow. Alas, it was not to be. How can an author expect us to read through that many pages and NOT FINISH THE BOOK!?!?!

Especially when the third book isn't even available in the states yet!

Reading is supposed to make me happy.
I am not happy.

conflict of interest

I’ve done quite a bit of buying and selling on Craigslist recently. I’ve sold Katie’s Honda Spree and our pop-up camper. I’ve bought our new vacation home, many of the items to furnish it, and most recently I found uniforms for Emily to wear at Blue Lake this week, saving myself about $80.

My problem is the incredible guilt I feel using Craigslist when I know that the newspaper industry, our bread and butter, is struggling so much to survive.

Kidefinition

Inspired by Maggie after using the port-a-jons at Picnic Pops last night:

Hanitizer: A supplement or alternative to hand washing with soap and water. A variety of preparations are available, including gels, foam and liquid solutions.