Well, I have been really busy (yeah, I said busy, not lazy) this week and have barely had time to read everyone's blogs, let alone write one.  But this morning, I took some time to do a little catch up.  I thought I would catch you up as well. 

So here goes.

1.  The birthday party went great last weekend.  We had a blast swimming.  It took hubby and I about an hour to put the drums together, but it was worth it to see the little one play them.  OK, the banging can stop anytime now, but we did manage to clean out her room some, and the booming has at least one wall to travel through now before it echoes throughout my head.  You can check out pictures of the party and the drums and guitar on my Facebook Page if you feel the urge.  (Go ahead, friend me, I don't mind.  I love having "friends" that I can say are real authors.)   

2.  Speaking of cleaning out the room, I love freecycle.  We gave away several toys that the girls don't play with anymore.  The girls always feel good when they give something away to someone who may really need it.  But there is one thing I don't like about freecycle.  I hate it when I get a lot of responses for an offer I posted, and then I have to choose one.  I mean really!  How do you choose?  I usually go for the best story, or for a request that will benefit the most people.  For example, we gave the rocker/ glider to a lady that works at the YMCA nursery.  It should get a lot of use there.  If you haven't checked out your local freecycle, I recommend it. 

3.  Golf league has been rained out two weeks in a row now.  And it is looking like soccer could be canceled two weeks in a row also.  Will it ever stop raining??

4.  I have suddenly become super busy at work.  I am working on two grants that are due within days of each other (June 2 and June 4).  And one of them is a big one, over $700,000, so I have to get it right. 

5.  I interviewed my granny last weekend as part of research for my wip.  That was fun.  And she enjoyed it.  Thanks granny, Love ya!!

Happy Mother's Day to all you great mother's out there.  Hope you get breakfast in bed!!

I wasn't going to do a Friday Five today, but it turns out I have more to say that I thought, so here goes...

1.  As you may remember from yesterday's post, this weekend is my little one's 4th birthday.  On honor of the actual birthday (not party day), I may take my girls out for their very first mani/ pedi.  It will be girls day out.  I can just picture us now, sitting side by side in those big, comfy pedicure chairs, getting our toes polished.  Ahhh... sounds so relaxing.  Wait a minute, did I just describe a day out with my 5 year old and 4 year old as relaxing? 

2.  Another chapter to the birthday story involves the cake.  I found out recently that our Front Desk Supervisor here at work does cakes as a hobby.  she took a cake decorating class a while back and just does them occasionally.  So I asked her to do one for the birthday, and she did.  OH HOW CUTE IT IS!!!  She made a cake that looks like a Princess Crown/ Tiara.  It is bright pink, has her name on it, flowers, hearts... my little one is going to LOVE it.  I can't wait to show her.  Thank you, Tracy - you are the cake Goddess!

3.  I found out yesterday that the United Way Community Fund grant application that I submitted was funded.  We only got half of what we asked for, but hey, $37,500 isn't bad in this economy.  I'm happy with that.

4.  I actually took pen to paper last night and wrote the first few paragraphs of my wip.  It felt good to write something I wanted to write again.  I write all the time, I write grants, this blog, etc.  But to write something else, something that may one day have a purpose other than trying to get funded for our health center or to just let you know what's going on in my life, felt good.  Then I started reading a book about writing historical fiction, so the juices are flowing.

5.  I ran across this website today.  Thought I would pass it along.  It's great for kids, and they have a teacher section, so teachers can use it in the classrooms.  Here is the synopsis (from Commonsense.com), and the website:  http://www.tikatok.com/

Budding authors can find a creative outlet on TIKATOK, an interactive site that lets kids write and illustrate their own online books. Using browser-based tools that mimic simple desktop publishing software, kids input text and images (their own creations or the site's stock art) into a template. Books can be kept private or shared with the Tikatok community, and visitors can buy printed copies of books in hard or softcover. The site also has a social element -- kids can create profiles, find friends, join groups, and even co-author books with fellow users.

 
Kids who like reading, writing, and design will have a blast creating their own books, whether they buy print copies or not. The site has plenty of tools to help users get started -- or get past a bit of writer's block -- such as the "StorySparks," which offer topic ideas and writing hints. The community features are robust and easy to use, and there's plenty of activity -- kids who share their books are likely to get friendly feedback and suggestions from their peers.

 Curious about copyrights? Tikatok owns user-created content but will return the copyright (with some conditions) on request.

 
Have a great weekend, and maybe when I come back on Monday I will have freshly pedicured toes!! 

1.  It's a sad day.  It appears that all of our Sea Monkeys have passed.  So much for our dreams of heading to Hollywood with our Stunt Sea Monkeys.

2.  It's also a HAPPY day!!  I get to go see Mo Willems tonight!!  I'm heading to St. Louis County Library after work this afternoon with my girls.  We are going to see Mo.  I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!

3.  I'm about 3/4 done with the grant I am currently working on.  That's progress.

4.  I am feeling old.  We are going to a surprise birthday party tomorrow night for a friend (a good friend) that is turning 40!  I can't believe that I have friends that are turning 40.

5.  I am loving this Facebook thingy.  It's amazing what some of my friends from high school have done in the last 20 years.  I never would have expected it!  And so far, my husband's ex-girlfriend has refused to "friend" me.  What's up with that??? 

Have a great weekend!!!