Never say never, right? But sorry, mom and dad, as much as I love you, this list is dedicated to the reasons we won’t be moving to AZ anytime soon:

1. I like grass … and trees.
2. I don’t play golf.
3. It’s hot, hot, hot!
4. I enjoy a change of season (I’m looking forward to the change toward spring right now though!).
5. I’m a big fan of turtleneck sweaters and hoodies.
6. Building snowmen and having snowball fights.
7. Good ol’ sledding.
8. Never been a fan of the Southwestern decor.
9. Cacti can hurt (I know from experience)!
10. Too much stucco.
11. Baseball’s season is already too long without spring training, too.
12. Time change isn’t in synch with the rest of the country.
13. How can I say it delicately? Too many old people.

We had some time to kill during a delay at Tucson Airport last week, so I thought some chocolate-covered pretzels would be just the thing. They were quite a hit–for all of us, although Charlie had the most fun with them overall!

For more Wordless Wednesday entries: WordlessWednesday.com and 5 Minutes for Mom.

If you are as confused as I am about which candidates support which causes (yet you KNOW how important it is to vote), maybe this Presidential Caucus Voters’ Guide will help. It reviews eight positions held by the major candidates on a wide variety of issues: human life amendment, traditional marriage, gun rights, business freedom, taxes, gay pride, the Iraq war and education.

Even more important: how about those mysterious names that seem to appear on your local ballot? For those who are in Illinois, there are Local Voter Guides from the Illinois Family Institute–one for each of Illinois’ Congressional Districts. Click on your Congressional District for specific information about the candidates and races in that particular district. Don’t know your district? Look it up here.

Somebody REALLY wants me to visit Missouri. Maybe it’s me … Somewhere, somehow I must have indicated that I might in some time within my life want to go to Missouri. Our mailbox over the past few weeks has been flooded with tourist information for visiting the state. I don’t know who, why or how, but I do know this: If you ever go to Missouri, here are some potential lesser-known highlights (beyond the Ozarks and the arch!):

Missouri Wineries
Did you know there are more than 50 wineries in the state of Missouri? I certainly did not.
www.missouriwine.org

Bissell Mansion Dinner Theatre
Experience the original partipatory comedy/murder mystery in St. Louis’ oldest home.
www.bissellmansiontheatre.com

The Cathedral Basilica
A true architectural and cultrual wonder (within St. Louis!) with more than 83,000-square feet of mosaics.
www.cathedralstl.org

Miniature Museum of Greater St. Louis
You’ll find everything from cute dollhouses to an entire recreated wester town on display.
miniaturemuseum.org 

Harry S. Truman Presidential Museum & Library
By visiting these exciting exhibits and archives you hav ethe opportunity to “explore the powerful decisions of the Truman era.”
www.trumanlibrary.org

Purina Farms
Free admission to pet shows, petting zoo, hand’s-on activities that allow kids to explore animals and their role in our lives, in Great Summit, MO.
314-982-3232

The Magic House
This children’s museum in St. Louis is doubling its size for summer 2008.
www.magichouse.org

Sikeston and Miner, MO
“Where cotton is king, rolls are throwed and you are always welcome!”
Apparently this is a town at the intersection of Interstates 55 and 57.
www.visitsikeston-miner.com

Joplin, MO
This town in the Ozarks of SW MO has all you could hope for: Joplin Museum Complex, Sandstone Gardens, Candy House Gourmet Chocolate (now I’m listening!), The Bridge recreation center, Reptile World Zoo, Precious Moments Park & Chapel (I’m confused, intrigued and a little bit disturbed), Wildcat concervation center and Grand Falls (in case you don’t want to make the drive to Niagara).
www.visitjoplinmo.com

Colinsville Catsup Bottle
Technically, this is in IL, but it’s so close to St. Louis, I just had to include it. Stop and see this excellent example of 20th century roadside Americana. It’s on the way!
http://www.catsupbottle.com/

I’m sure there’s much, much more because the mail doesn’t seem to stop. I don’t think the fun will ever end!

Return that box of highlight treatment you just picked up from Target (That is, unless you are not a slave to fashion and will just keep doing  what you’ve always done becuase that’s what you do–like me)! Tracey Cunningham, Redken’s creative consultant for color has the 411 on Spring 2008’s must-have hair color trends straight from the runways and her A-list clientele.  She says trends are transitioning from highlights and focusing on more rich, classic haircolors (yeah!).

Clients such as Renee Zellweger, Jennifer Lopez, Cameron Diaz and Amanda Peet are requesting deep reds, sophisticated browns and authentic warm blonde shades this spring. One of the hottest, easiest cuts to get is still the angle forward, popularized by Victoria Beckham. Inspirations come from runway designers such as Prada, Cynthia Rowley and DKNY, each featuring talented industry leaders who created the fashionable trends with their juxtapose of color and pattern. If you are looking to upgrade your hair color, Cunningham recommends rich, solid tonal colors for spring (usually reserved for fall). Have fun!

Packaging can be a real waste. How many times have you opened a box within a box or a plastic package within a box, with extra cardboard material inside? This is particularly the case in fragrance packaging. I can understand that the fragrance, usually housed in glass, needs to be protected. However, with consumer awareness continuing to rise, companies are beginning to take some responsibility for their effect on the environment.

Brands like Modern Organic Products and Aveda reinforce an eco-conscious philosophy through their packaging, not just in the colors and labels, but in the materials used. With a diverse range of new sustainable and biodegradable materials that has become available in recent years, the packaging of cosmetics and personal care, including fragrance, finally has a chance to not only look the part but embody a green brand identity, without sacrificing a luxury look. But I believe any brand can make a difference by using some type of premium uncoated paperboard made with post-consumer waste (commonly 80% although some believe the industry eventually will be able to develop a high-quality 100 percent PCW package using a natural binder that allows virgin raw materials to be omitted). Read more about it in GCI’s February issue.

The “trend” toward sustainable materials has become a necessity, which will lead to further technological advancements for biodegradable packaging that will not sacrifice performance. As consumers, we shouldn’t have to choose between products that do or don’t care about the environment, when options are available. And, for luxury fragrance brands, offering more eco-friendly packaging is a great way to reduce the company’s overall environmental impact and give themselves the opportunity to market an environmental message consumers who are more eco-conscious than ever.

My flight home from AZ went pretty well, despite the fact that:

1. I’m sick.
2. Charlie is sick (at some point he threw up–I don’t even know when but suddently there was red, stinky vomit on his shirt).
3. Charlie was cranky and thrashing in my lap.
4. In doing so, he clocked me in the jaw, making it hurt to chew most of the flight!
5. The flight was scheduled during naptime.
6. The flight landed after bed time.
7. We were initially delayed 45 minutes.
8. As we about to board, we were told we’d be delayed another hour (so, we didn’t).
9. All in all, we landed 3-plus hours after our scheduled arrival.
10. I almost missed the flight because we left the terminal for 30 minutes (during an “hour” delay). This added an exciting rush, hearing my named mentioned during a final boarding call, as we flew through security and ran to our gate.
11. We barely ate any lunch and completely missed supper.
12. The kids were both hopped up on sugar, and everything was super sticky (by the time I got home, I had one precious baby wipe left!).
13. Oh, did I mention I was the only adult, with a 3 1/2-year old and a 17-month old?!?

A few things did go right: I stayed calm, cool and collected. Friends and family were praying for me (thanks, Erica!). We continually found new things to do (including running in remote corners the airport; thankfully, it’s small and not crowded). We had an extra seat so we had a row of 3 to ourselves. Charlie actually slept on the plane (and not in my lap), and he didn’t mess his diaper while on the plane. And most important: we had a continual flow of food and snacks! Finally, my husband was there to greet us when we got to the baggage claim area (with food and water, too!). We all were glad to see him.

I am really struggling with, well, discontent or maybe guilt, because of my kitchen. Even though—or maybe especially—now that it has crossed over from simple “desire” to “need” and we are actually talking the first steps to getting it done, I can’t stop focusing on how much I want it. I truly am obsessed with getting a new kitchen. I can’t think of anything else!I want to please God with my life and with my heart. But, I know that I am distracted; my heart wants a new kitchen. I am constantly thinking about it, researching it, studying it, planning it, dreaming about it … It is exciting and it does require thought and execution, but how do I know if I cross a line? How do you be content with something, while still making a change for the better? It’s been the source of my anger many times so I guess there’s some guilt about whether I “deserve” it. But that’s mighty self-centered of me to think that it’s all about me and my desire or will.

Good news: I’m in sunny AZ!
Bad news: I’m sick.
Good news: The weather is beautiful.
Bad news: I want to sit inside.
Good news: The kids aren’t sick.
Bad news: Therefore they have lots of energy and I don’t.
Good news: There’s a pool at my parents’ complex.
Bad news: It’s sunny but not that warm.
Good news: My dad, husband and I have taken Avery swimming a couple times anyway.
Bad news: My dad got sick, too.
Good news: My mom isn’t sick.
Bad news: Zicam tastes icky.
Good news: My mom makes me take it anyway, and it seems to be helping (with a little Tylenol and Airborne)!
Bad news/good news: I go home Wednesday.

So, you’d think Home Depot was Home Depot, right? I am spending 8 days visiting my parents in Tucson, AZ, with my husband who took precious vacation days to be here with my family. It has become clear that our kitchen project is imminent, so we figure we might as well do what we can while we are here. I’ve already drawn out what we want on graph paper, with measurements (I’ve made my husband measure with me for the umpteenth time). The next step is to legitimize it at the kitchen center and get an estimate for the cabinets we want. We’ve got the time, we’ve got the babysitting and we’ve got Home Depot. What could be simpler?

I made an appointment and excitedly arrived at the kitchen design center. Well, it turns out that Peggy at the Home Depot by my parents’ house is on commission, and she will not take the time to electronically lay out our kitchen. I burst into tears. Seriously. I am so emotional about getting this kitchen done that the lady made me cry because she won’t help me complete step 2 of about 2,541. I can understand this particular store wasn’t going to benefit, but it wasn’t like we were keeping her from “paying customers;” we were the only ones in her department the 30 minutes we were there.

Not only this, but she tells me this Home Depot cannot get the cabinets I wanted, and she cannot get the number for the Home Depot nearest me (to find out if that’s the case there, too, or not) because “there are thousands of Home Depots.” Really? That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. That just about put me over the edge.

So, I am thankful that we don’t live here and won’t be working with their kitchen design center. And, I hope to have a better experience when I finally arrive home. I was mistaken to think that one Home Depot is just like any other, but I would imagine employees still should be trained that customers come first, no matter where they are making their purchase (I planned on Mills Pride cabinets, so it’s not like I was taking the design to a competing home improvement store). The good news is, I submitted a comment on the Home Depot web site, although it didn’t appear to go through (I got an error page), the next day I received a nice response and should be getting a $25 gift card to encourage me to come back. It seems whenever I expect to get something like that I don’t, but when I don’t even think twice about it, I do. Funny how things work out like that. At any rate, I am thankful for their quick reponse and appreciate the gift card offer. 

It was the best day of my life and it was … not so much. For the past five years, I have watched my already decrepit kitchen slowly but surely fall to pieces. We were planning a kitchen redesign three years ago when I was pregnant with our first, Avery. But, when my opportunity to work part-time fell through (or, more accurately, was taken from me), it became financially impossible for us. So, we very sadly put it on the back burner.Now, the rate of deterioration has increased. In the past few months, two shelves have fallen and then last week ….

1. I have about 50% hearing loss (my left ear is my “good” ear).
2. It was a side effect of spinal menengitis, which I had when I was 2.
3. I also had to relearn how to walk and talk. Thankfully, I don’t remember any of it.
4. But I don’t wear a hearing aid, so I read lips, and “nod and smile” a lot.
5. I eat all the crust on my bread/toast/sandwhich first, making my way to the middle.
6. I don’t use any condiments except in very specific instances such as sloppy joes (ketchup) or tuna (mayo).
7. The above excludes salt, I love salt on just about everything.
8. I only wash my hair twice a week.
9. I save almost every magazine that comes to me in the mail.
10. But I don’t subscribe to any.
11. We also don’t get the newspaper (or watch the tv news for that matter).
12. I love to read, but I never rarely buy books. I always check the library first.
13. I do not drink coffee nor do I have a coffee-maker. (My apologies to visitors who have to walk the two blocks to the gas station in the morning!)

I think airline regulations are ridiculous. It’s not that I don’t want safety, by all means, I want to be safe flying thousands of miles up in the air in a metal tube. But I think a  lot of the hoops we have to jump through to get on a plane is an illusion of safety, that actually may even make us less safe (meaning: wouldn’t it better if the security personnel was simply better trained to find weaknesses, without letting the entire world know what it is they are looking for or what they may overlook?).

I wholeheartedly believe that if a terrorist wants to get a weapon on the plane, they will find a way. Hasn’t anyone seen Con Air? j/k! Anyway, my point is, if we don’t have so much as a craft scissors or nail file, we are completely defenseless should an evil malcontent somehow may his way through the crack squad of security personnel. And terrorists can just as easily read these guidelines. Why TSA seems to think 6 bottles of 3 oz chemicals (in a baggie, of course!) is better than one 18 oz bottle, I’ll never understand. I think it poses a bigger danger, because they might be much more easily able to pass security without as much as a sniff from personnel. For example, perscriptions are fine so long as they are in the original packaging with the perscription information. Do they think a terrorist can’t imitate that or find a way to get a legitimate package to put whatever it is they need in?

But that’s just me. Maybe there’s more to the regulations than I know. Hopefully, it’s just a ruse to make the public feel safe and there is another entire level of security I’ll never know anything about. Thankfully, I have never been a nervous flyer, and I can look forward to my trip to AZ this week (even if it means flying home with my two kids by myself at naptime–yikes!)

Birthdays are fun but they are always a little disappointing. You’d think after 32 years, I would realize nothing miraculous happens simply beacause it’s the day I was born … But, while my husband is always sweet and friends and family make the extra effort to call or spend time with me, somebody needs to tell my kids that they should be extra nice to each other and to me today!

Anyway, I am looking forward to a night without them and a trip to the movies. I am like a little kid at the big screen because it’s such a novelty now that we have two children. When we saw Transformers many months ago, I was in awe of how BIG the sound and colors were on the screen. And even just having the bucket of movie popcorn (with lots of butter!) in my lap is all part of the experience. It helps, I guess, that we’ve been going to the AMC 30 in Barrington, which has extra large theaters and screens with stadium seating and comfy seats. We’ve become so used to renting movies at home that I didn’t realize what I was missing out on. But then I know I didn’t appreciate it so much when we were at the movies every weekend either! So, take a new perspective next time you go, and enjoy it like a little kid would (well, not too little, you don’t want to be squirrly)!

I need a reminder … again. I designed a very nice cover for our next series at church that was rejected because it wasn’t what they had in mind. So, I redid it. And it still wasn’t right. Finally, I had stripped any of my own creativity from the design so that all that was left was (what I thought was) a cliche of a logo and a plain background, and that’s what they wanted. There was nothing wrong with it, I mean, it certainly looks nice. But I was frustrated and, well, hurt. But, it’s ok. It’s not about having a finished product to be proud of–even though that would be nice–especially when you feel you’ve put yourself out there, and what you do reflects you. A wise friend once told me it’s about serving God and not myself. We need to be willing to use our gifts to serve the church, and, thus, serve God even if it’s not what I had in mind. It’s not about me and what I can get out of it–even though I know for me those can be very important too! So, as my friend encouraged me, I want to encourage you, if you’re ever in the same situation, to let it go. Don’t let the frustration be a source of bitterness for you. Give it to God, knowing you did your part. Your reward will be through Him, not earthly. With that, I can approach service differently, with a different attitude, and I hope you can, too.