Is This the Real Life? Is This Just Fantasy?

So...I've been thinking about this for awhile.

Y'know how a lot of people kinda separate their lives on the internet from their "real lives?" I don't mean like making a totally false identity online...I mean how people say, "Oh, we're blog friends...I don't know her in real life." Or, "I met him online. We might even meet in real life!"

I get that. I do.

But it weirds me out. Because, people, this is real life. I'm sitting at my keyboard, in real life, typing a post. And you're reading it, at a different keyboard, also in real life. You're reading it at a different time than I'm typing it, but it's still real.

We hear a lot about how mean comments on the internet can hurt people's feelings in real life. And how cyber bullying affects real lives. The line between the internet and "real life" can get blurry, and that's something to keep in mind anytime we're using the internet.

But I think this concept can have a positive spin, too. Just like a mean comment can hurt someone, a nice comment can lift someone. A positive post can change someone's real-life day.

And I guess what bothers me about distinguishing between "on the internet" and "in real life" is that I've met a lot of bloggers who I consider friends. I've never met them face-to-face, but they've cheered me up and cheered me on. That's what friends do. Real-life friends.

So next time you find yourself referring to your "internet" friends versus your "real-life" friends, think about it. Because friends are friends. Period.

{PS-- I don't know why this post came out double-spaced. Sorry about that.}

The Storybook Shelf

So...I made a third blog. Y'know, because I do such a good job of keeping up my other two blogs. (Heh.) It's like...a children's book review blog. I love to read, and I love all kinds of books. And I love recommending books to other people. So I started The Storybook Shelf to help me remember children's books my family has liked, and to maybe help my friends find books that their kids might like. Children's books are fun, and let's be honest...both children and adults can enjoy a good children's book. It doesn't quite work the same with grown-up books. So, if that sounds like something you might want to look at, click on through. I don't update it very often yet, but I hope to pick up the pace soon.

When Daddy's In Charge of Haircuts...

...this is what happens.

Sugar Is Sugar...Wait, What?

{image source} 

So I'm feeling a little controversial today.

Y'know that corn syrup commercial, where the nice lady assures us that she is just as concerned about your family's health as you are, and that she did some independent research, and she concluded that "sugar is sugar"?

Anyway--that commercial makes me angry. Because there isn't enough research to know whether "sugar is sugar" or not. Because corn syrup is not a natural product. Because the commercial implies (to me, anyway) that you can eat corn syrup whenever you want. Because corn syrup is in everything, which makes it very difficult to eat in moderation. And the biggest because of all: Because the Corn Refiner's Association (who produced the commercial) is losing money, and that's why they're making claims that can't be proven either way.

I'm not a big reader of the Huffington Post, but I do like this article on the corn sugar issue. Whew.

Quotes of the Day

(totally unrelated picture)

Y'know what? I used to post Quotes of the Day once in awhile--usually cute stuff that Little Boy said. But for the last year or so, I've put most of them on Facebook instead of here. Which is fine, but posting them here makes them a LOT easier for me to find when I want to look back at them. So (for mostly my own looking-up-old-stuff benefit), here are some that made it to Facebook but not to the blog:

Me: "Remember to tell me if you need to go potty." Little Boy: "No, I don't poop anymore."
~
Little Boy and Isaac are building a helicopter with Little Boy's building set.
Isaac: "D'oh! Poor design."
Little Boy: "Tartar sauce!"
~
Little Boy, looking at my craft stuff: "What are those?"
Me: "Foam sheets."
Little Boy: "Phone sheep?"
Me: "...Yes."
~
Isaac: "When I get hired and we're making $40,000 a year, and we have $20,000 to spend on burgers..."
~
Me: "We're going to Grandma's house for Christmas, and we get to ride on an airplane to get there!"
Little Boy (confused): "Oh...did someone get us an airplane?"
~
Little Boy: "I tried to read this story while you were asleep. But I didn't do a very good job."
~
Little Boy: "Daddy's wrapped up like a burrito and he can't get up!"
Isaac wasn't really stuck, but that's what he told Little Boy--and Little Boy was VERY concerned.
~
Kaylyn, looking out the window: "Mom, the Russians are coming."
Mom: "No, I don't have their money!"
~
Me: "That's a fruit fly. They like to eat bananas."
Little Boy [as if everything in his world finally makes sense]: "Ohhhh. Flies like bananas, and I like bananas, and monkeys like bananas, too!

The Most Pervasively Dangerous Message

“Popular culture today often makes women look silly, inconsequential, mindless, and powerless. It objectifies them and disrespects them and then suggests that they are able to leave their mark on mankind only by seduction—easily the most pervasively dangerous message the adversary sends to women about themselves.”

-M. Russell Ballard

I Wanna Be Sedated

{Not my actual medication. Don't the pink and orange ones kinda look like M&Ms?} So. With Isaac being unemployed, he and I were a little bit...uninsured...for a few weeks. He and I both take medication that we can't do without, so the lack of insurance made things interesting. When we finally did get insurance, we had to switch pharmacies. The Walgreens pharmacy here is pretty reliable, but they don't take our new insurance. So we switched to our local grocery store pharmacy. And it's been a huge pain. It's really not the pharmacy's fault--some of it was even our insurance's fault. The grocery store pharmacy is small, but very busy. So I'm not trying to drive business away from them (although that might make things better for me); I'm just frustrated. Grr. (See?)

Time Keeps on Slippin', Slippin', Slippin'...

{image link} I know I say this all the time. Really, I do. But I'm going to say it again: I'm still here, and alive, and reading your blogs. The only time I really have for blogging is when I'm caught up on my own schoolwork and caught up on planning for Little Boy's schoolwork. Turns out, that's not very often. But I just want to reassure everyone, yet again, that I do love to blog and that I'll keep blogging when I have time. And thank you, those of you who have stuck with me for so long. You guys are the best.