Overwhelmed

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed these days. I think this happens to me at the beginning of every school year. There are a ton of papers coming home each night, things I need to sign, homework to do, form notes from teachers to parents, and not to mention sports, work, being a wife, keeping the house clean, faith formation, doing all the errands for the household, getting some projects done around the house, and did I mention work? Am I different than anyone else? Of course not. We all feel overwhelmed at one time or another (and another and another)!

I was whipping through the September issue of O Magazine. The very last page is Oprah's, What I Know For Sure article she writes every month. This month hit me to the core. She writes, "I AM OVERWHELMED!" Only, Oprah seems to have "twenty-uped-me" on how busy she currently is! Damn that Oprah, always one-upping me. What she wrote stuck with me.

She continued, "So I stopped. Everything. For one day I just stopped. Didn't interview anybody. Or take any phone calls. Or return any e-mails. I stopped doing in order to return to the being of myself. I pulled out my gratitude journal. ...I went to my favorite place on earth, the place where 12 oaks form a canopy on the side of my front yard. ...I let myself absorb the sacredness and dignity of the oaks. I let those trees remind me how to be: still. I took a few deep breaths. I said 'Thank you' out loud. ...And I wrote in my journal. ...Yes, there are many things that need to get done, but in this moment I have to do nothing."

Now, I can't stop being a mom for a day in order to do nothing. But I can take it easy, and stop doing many, many other things. And if I'm smart, I'll try harder to get the kids to bed a little earlier and consciously try to get some time to myself.

Umi Shoes + Giveaway!

Remember when Elefanten shoes were the "it" thing? They were one of the first companies to hit the U.S. market with quality and fashionable shoes for babies and toddlers. Everything in life seems to come full circle, and the people behind Elefanten have done it again. In 2004, they launched Umi Shoes - the new "it" shoe for the 21st century.

My 5-1/2 year old wears the Jet Shoes (pictured above). Now, my son gets excited about video games, playing with his friends, Bakugan, and Pokemon cards, but not shoes... until these came in the mail. He took one look at them and couldn't get them on his feet fast enough. Then he ran all over the house and made some comment about looking like his super-cool-dude-self in the shoes. (He just may have inherited my shoe fettish, poor kid.) I'm just happy they fit well and have lasted through dragging his toes on the ground at a break when using his scooter. Do you see that reinforced toe in the picture? Love it!

The shoes are handcrafted using drum-dyed, breathable leathers which make the shoes vibrantly colored and extremely durable and comfortable. The heels and collars are padded for a soft and comfortable fit. My son agrees! And the easy closures make it easy for moms to put them on the little tots or for the bigger tots to do their put on their own shoes.

But enough about how well they are put together, check out all the beautiful styles for girls and boys. Even the soles are adorable. The soles of the Jet Shoes we have remind me of planets and our solar system. Another pair (shown below) have pink and black soles and remind me of a sun and some flowers.

For those who are turning to the green side of life, they are also made from environmentally friendly materials and sold in packaging made from recycled goods.

Side note: you may have noticed some styles are out of stock. Some styles are limited and new styles will be arriving the end of October!

Giveaway

The best part!
The extremely nice people at Umi Shoes would like to give one lucky winner a free pair of the ultra cute black leather Ithica Shoe. I have a size 10 USA (27 EUR and 9 UK) sitting here waiting to be worn by some fortunate little girl. Keep in mind if the size 10 is too big, your little girl will grow into it. Or if you don't have a little girl, this would make an unbelievable gift to a friend who does. (And then just drop a few hints about how it would be nice if she returned the favor by buying you a little something-something... or isn't that how gifting works?)

What you need to do to become the winner:

Click the link below and answer a whopping 2 questions. One of two questions asks for your email. The only purpose for the email is to notify you if you are the winner.

Click here for your chance to win!

The giveaway will end Tuesday, October 7th.
That's only 9 days away, so be sure to enter now!

GOOP

Gwenyth Paltrow has a new website, GOOP: nourish the inner aspect.
Sometimes I think the woman holds secret wonder powers. She does everything. So, I'm hoping she's going to let us in on what she does to obtain and keep these secret Woderwoman powers!
I like the website, but I do think it needs more substance. Maybe that is coming.

I was hoping to find some treasures and handy tips under each image. I assumed the images were for sections on the website. As it sems now, this page is simply a gateway to sign up for her newsletter. Which is fine, I just wish the website was a little more clear about it.

I just received the first newsletter today. Here is how her first newsletter starts.
"This website has been a long time in the making. I have thought about it for years and have been recording information and making notes for this very moment, when I can begin to share it all with you. This week we begin with MAKE. Cooking and food have become my main ancillary passion in life. This may strike some of you as odd, as my friend Mark Bittman of the New York Times once told me, “you have a terrible food reputation, everyone thinks you eat some dry seaweed and a little brown rice.” How did this come to be? I suppose it was my rather strict four-year foray into macrobiotics. I am no longer so restrictive with my diet, far from it. But some of the tenets of macrobiotics have stayed with me and they always will. I try to eat locally, seasonally and always organically. I don’t eat processed foods or red meat and I try to stay away from sugar and dairy but I have a major cheese weakness and, well, you only live once. "

I encourage you to sign up and try it. It might be fun to have a private eye into what goes on in Gwenyth's world!

iPhone Update

Two weeks ago I wrote a post where I was drooling over the new iPhone 3G.
They hooked me, and I bought it, and I love it... absolutely love it. I can't believe how cool it is. I can't believe all the things you can do with it. Having the iPhone and the iPod together in one device kicks right there, but to have all these other features (already noted in other post) is... is... is... just downright amazing (for lack of a better vocabulary)!

If you are on the fence about buying one. Just do it. You will thank yourself.

Here are some free applications from the iTunes store that you can download.

One of the best free iTunes Apps I've found is Shazam.
"When you hear a song and wonder what it is, Shazam is tere with the answer. Hold your iPhone to the music and within seconds we'll tell you the artist and track name."
I ask you, how in the world does it do that? You can identify music from a TV, the radio, a movie, or if you're hanging out in a store and one comes on. You can then save it and buy it on iTunes if you want it. I could see one hell of a game coming out of this little application.

Another cool app is Trailguru.
"Use your iPhone to do more than just listen to music while you run, bike, or hike. With Trailguru capture the activity using the integrated GPS. Trailguru provides you with a display of the distance you travelled, duration, odometer, pace, average speed, max. speed, elevation, and latitude."

Do you like Guitar Hero? Here is a similar version made for the iPhone, Tap Tap Revenge. It's not easy, but then again I'm a novice at Guitar Hero. If you need something more challenging, I wouldn't doubt there are 12 other applications for a little money that you could buy.

Can't decide where to eat? Let Urbanspoon decide for you. Uses GPS to find a restaurant near you. You can filter the choices by neighborhood, cuisine, or price. Spin the wheel and eat up. Don't like the choice? Spin the wheel again.

Stanza. "Read electronic books on your iPhone. With a reading interface that is unprecedented in its clarity and ease of use, Stanza is bringing the ebook revolution to your pocket." Yes, you say it takes away from reading the real thing, having that book in your hand, turning the pages. But when you are on the go or on the road, you can download a book. Don't like it? Start another book. There are a ton of books to download for free. Many of them are books from your High School days, like Mobey Dick, Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Pride and Prejudice, The Divine Comedy, etc.

If you let your kids play with your iPhone (I'm not there yet, it's MINE!), you'll want to check out Lightsaber Unleashed. They can swing the iPhone around like a lightsaber. Yeah, my kids can use their own lightsabers. We only have about a dozen lying around here somewhere.

I could go on and on. There's of course Solitare, Hangman, Casino games, and much much more. Have fun! And let me mention it again, these are all free.

Winners from August Contest

Congratulations to our 2 winners from our August - Happy Birthday to Emily Allyn - contest, Melissa from NJ and Lahia from LA! They each won a copy of the book, Baby Gizmo, and a toddler shirt of their choice.

Thanks again to everyone who entered and took the time to answer the survey questions. Your input in valuable.

Be on the lookout for another giveaway coming next Friday. I know you'll love this one too... think shoes!

Burn After Reading

While in Kansas City, MO this weekend, my husband and I went to see Burn After Reading: Intelligence Is Relative.

Go see it. Go, go, go. Run to the nearest theater. Get the sitter lined up right now and see it tonight. Be spontaneous. Nothing is better than laughing through a date (I don't mean laughing at your date, of course).

It's a Coen brothers movie. So you know it's funny. It's much funnier than Fargo and not quite as dark. Still a tad dark but also an absolute riot.
It's unbelievable cast includes:
George Clooney
Frances McDormand (who is married to Joel Coen)
John Malkovich
Tilda Swinton
Brad Pitt
and more actors you will definitely recognize.

Now, believe it or not I'm in the minority here... I'm not a huge Brad Pitt fan. I like him, he's ok to look at, but I don't get the all the hub-bub surrounding him. But I will admit, he is damn funny in this movie. He plays his character flawlessly.

Speaking of Fargo. I have to tell you this quick story. While we were in Kansas City, a bartender asked us where we were from. We said Minneapolis/St. Paul. To which he replied, "Really? You don't have that Fargo accent." Can I tell you how much I despise that comment! I wanted to say, "That's because it's a Fargo accent. Not a Minnesotan accent. Fool." While, I understand the difference isn't worlds apart, there is still a difference. Not that there's anything wrong with the Fargo accent...

The two funniest scenes to watch for are when Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand are on the phone with John Malkovich and when Brad Pitt is in John Malkovich's car. If you like that humor, you may have tears rolling down your cheeks.

This is a highly confidential editorial on this movie. Please Burn After Reading this.

Tina Fey for Vice President

Did you miss Saturday Night Live this weekend?
If so, you must, must see Tina Fey portray Sarah Palin. She is a dead ringer. With her is the wonderful Amy Poehler doing her spot-on Hillary Clinton impersonation. It is an absolute riot.
You might even pee your pants a little... just a little.

Here is the NBC SNL 5 minute cut.

Put aside your political views and have a few laughs. Of course SNL makes fun of everyone - not just Sarah Palin.

Hook, Line, and Sinker

I want the latest iPhone - the new 3G.
I saw an advertisement for it recently. I decided to go to Apple's website and check it out. (Side note: what is it with me and apples this week? See my other 2 posts.) I watched a tutorial and now I'm hooked. I can't believe how cool it is.

Phone
iPod
Internet on the go
Email on the go
Maps with GPS
I could update my blog anywhere
Calendar
Photos, Camera
Weather
Calculator
Movies

I'm drooling over here...

A Slice of Heaven

Love this idea.
You spend at least an hour making the apple crisp: peeling the apples, cutting the apples, making the topping, and baking it. Your creation turns out beautifully and you are quite proud of yourself. You should be. But when you go to serve it, the piece of apple crisp looks like a heap of mashed gooey apples thrown on to a plate.

The answer to your dilema lies in the Individual Pie Slice Pan. Your presentation will receive a 10 and the lucky eaters will gobble it up because it looks so scrumptious. Then you toss them in the dishwasher and voila, clean. Dare I say, easy as pie?

At only $9.95 for a set of 2 slices, you can buy as many or as little individual pans as you need. Perfect.

Use the handy dandy kitchen gadget from yesterday's post to make this mouth watering dessert!

Slice It. Peel It. Core It.

Sounds like the latest dance move. Slice it. Peel it. Core it.

The handy dandy apple slicer, peeler, and corer all in one gadget. It suctions right to your counter for easy use.

I have had this kitchen gadget for almost 10 years. Granted, I usually only use it in the fall when making baked apple dishes (like apple crisp, I love apple crisp), but it will last. Some versions can be thrown in the dishwasher. This kitchen tool cuts the time it takes me to make apple crisp in half, easily. The person who invented this product should be given an award from some National Baking Association, if there is one.

I have to imagine for all those out there who make their own applesauce or apple baby food, this would be a big time saver!

Garnet Hill

So, recently I received a Garnet Hill catalog in the mail. I really can't remember the last time I paged through a Garnet Hill. Some of it just really isn't my taste. But I discovered some great finds. As usual, I thought I would share them with you so you don't have to scour the website or catalog yourself.

(Thought: Do you think when I reach the gates at heaven and everyone in front of me is explaining how they gave back - maybe they served the public by being Mayor of their town or a Judge in their County, or they gave back to their community by helping with Meals on Wheels or donating scads of money to organizations or spent their time raising money for worthy charities, or they helped children by providing foster care, or they worked in Social Services - do you think I can say, "I gave the gift of time to people by researching great finds on the internet so they wouldn't have to"? Do you think that will fly at the pearly gates?)

On we go...

Modern Merino Sweater - Tunic style - Nice take on the tunic.

Silk-Trimmed Sweater - Adorable (not so big on the tank though).

Asian Wrap Long-Sleeve Pajamas - Different, looks comfy.

Cheetah Faux-Fur Coat - PETA would be proud.

Provence Cosmetic Bags - Who doesn't need a cute cosmetic bag?

Apple Blossom Sateen Bedding - Reminds me of Calvin Klein.

Dot to Dot Percale Bedding - For the girls' rooms. Love the Pistachio Ground and the Ballerina Pink Ground.

I Love You The Purplest

I think this book, I Love You The Purplest by Barbara Joosse, was written for me - seriously. It almost fits my family to a tee.

It's about a mom and her two boys - just like me and my boys.
One has the favorite color red and the other boys' favorite color is blue - just like my boys.
The boys are competitive in every way - who has the biggest worms, who rows the fastest, who has the biggest fish, etc. Is somebody watching my household?
The family is up at a cabin on a lake fishing. This is close to my family though I don't fish much, that's my husband's love.

About the only thing that does not resemble my family in this book is the mom wearing a dress while taking her boys fishing. You will not catch me in a dress on a fishing boat, ever.

It ends with the boys asking Mom who she loves the most. This is how the author ties in the color purple. She loves one the reddest and one the bluest for many reasons.

If you have two boys and they have a little competitive edge to them, buy this book. You will love it! Age estimation is 4 years - 8 years.