Glorious, Fabulous Summer

I don't particularly want to start blogging again.
Strike that. Try again:
I really want to start blogging again.
Starting is hard.

Fall and winter were gluttonous.
Spring was stressful.
And now, it's summer. Glorious, fabulous summer.

We've been at the beach more than home. We've been crabbing and fishing and kayaking and boating. Chris and I took Carolena for her first trip to "the" waterslide. We've had days and days on the beach playing in the surf and building castles in the sand.

Nils has been out of diapers and done with naps for sometime - so parenthood around here has gotten considerably easier. Time at home has been spent listening to audio books and playing in the backyard. We've been to the splashpad and the library and spent an enormous amount of time piled into my bed eating popcorn and reading through piles of books.

I spent this morning in Carolena and Nils' pop-up salon where they gave me a new hairstyle involving as many bows as fit on my head and then did my makeup. After approximately twenty-seven layers of various shades of lipstick were applied, I was given a bracelet. At the end I was told the total cost came to "$3" - I wonder if I could write a positive Yelp review for them and get a free treatment next time.

Time Capsule

I'm actually in town this morning so I figured I would turn on a computer.
Where have I been? Unplugged, for one thing.

It's really one of the many wonderful perks of having a "dumb phone" that I am not connected all of the time. Yes, that is a perk. If you don't think it is you need to put your phone down.

The kids and I have been foot loose and fancy free this summer. We went back to the beach and then straight to my parents' house. I could bore you with a summary blog post, but why? It was fun. The beach was perfect. Both kids got to go in the kayak. We did a lot of swimming in the gulf. And I gained 8 pounds due to trading work outs for eating ice cream. Worth it. I'll get back in the grind when school starts.

My parents are working to get their house on the market so we spent time in Beaumont trying to help sort through more than thirty years of accumulated things. I'll be honest, it's mainly books. They should jump into the Dewey Decimal System and start a beach library when they move. They could run it out of their house and probably make a fortune on late fees. Or charge membership. They really have that many books.

We went through old photographs, and attic boxes (oh the never ending Coke collection!), and Gran's linens (yes, please!), and Rush family jewelry. Actually we didn't go through the jewelry I just took it home to look through with Kelly. I think when I see her next I should be wearing every single piece, including all five of Pop's police badges.

Wait, didn't I just promise I wasn't going to summarize? Ah!

All of that is to get to this: I brought home Carolena's old rocking chair. No, not Carolena number three. Carolena number ONE. It's old. And fabulous. And the best little rocking chair that ever was.

How old is that wonderful thing? Like 100?

When I picked it up to bring it downstairs the seat cushion fell off and revealed a torn bottom. Upon closer inspection my mother and I realized it was filled with straw and fabric. *Note to self for reconstruction purposes: straw and fabric are incredibly comfortable rocking chair fillers*

"What if there's money tucked away in there?" my Treasure House mother said.
I gave her a skeptical look.
She shot me a mother look that I know very well from both her face and now my own and replied, "That's what people did. I'm serious. When you take this apart be careful and look for hidden money or family jewels."
"Mom, I don't think we're that kind of family" I replied.

A few hours later I was home and all of my new/old belongings were lovingly put away and on display. I decided to tackle the chair bottom and see what mystery was really inside.

Jewels? Money? Valuable family heirlooms?

No, a time warp to the Great Depression. Or perhaps the start of WWII?

Clearly a woman leading a life so different from my own (and yet so similar?) needed to add stuffing to the caving seat of the rocking chair and looked to her own home. I pulled out about eight pairs of antique undergarments, a small blouse jacket, and an entire dress. All of these things were torn. The tears didn't look like the tears of wear (expect for a few places on the dress), but looked to me like tears from being washed during a time with no "gentle cycle" to do all of the work.

It was astonishing. At first I started to laugh. Who stuffs a chair with old underwear?!

And then I realized who does that: people who had nothing else to stuff in there.

And I was humbled. And stood in the middle of our modern day opulence holding the torn dress turned chair stuffing of my namesake great-grandmother.

Generations of babies have now been rocked on that chair. I think it is safe to assume that my dad snuggled up on a lap in that rocking chair a time or two. I'm sure I did. I am positive that my own children have snuggled and rocked on top of the original Carolena's old clothes.

I don't know what I'll use to reconstruct the seat of the rocking chair. Whatever modern convenience I use I'm sure it be it will somehow be less comfortable than Carolena's old clothes. I plan to wash a piece of it and put it back in. I like the thought of generations to come continuing to soothe their babies on the tangible memories of our family.

Moi?

Oh, what? You think I'm supposed to be blogging?
I was under the impression I was supposed to be outside.

That's where I've been.
Outside.

All of the time.

So, if you need me... that's where I'll be... out.

My cell phone will be inside - let's face it, probably on silent, God only knows where. I'll be sweaty (hello humidity!) and happy and having fun with my munchkins or completely ignoring them while I search for fossilized sharks' teeth on the beach. I found 47 on our last trip. Yes, 47.

Pardon me, I have to go. The beach beckons.

Becoming Clyde

So it turns out I like to whittle.

That Tiki was a birthday gift for my father (and as seen on the right above) now resides in my parents' beach house. A weekend at the beach means I came home with more driftwood. To whittle of course. 

The possibilities seem endless...

How to Win Friends and Influence People: The Wacky Wednesday Edition

Because every day is wacky around here.

I watched a friend's kid this morning so that the friend could go to a doctor's appt sans child. Said friend brought me magazines and brownies. She's awesome.

Does it go without saying that the kids and I ate the entire plate of brownies?

*smile*

When my friend came back I handed her the empty plate and she told me to keep it to which I replied, "Oh no! Do it again!" by which I meant for someone else. So... now she's planning on bringing me brownies again.

Hey, I'll take it.

She is a person cool enough to bring me interesting magazines and brownies. I fed her child lemonade and a ton of brownies and then told her to bring me more. I also told her I think I should start whittling. Whittling tiki gods in fact.

Why is this person friends with me?!

In other news C brought home some drift wood to paint as tiki totem poles. She painted them all pink and then (lost interest? got overwhelmed? who knows?) asked me to finish them. So I did... what fun! Backyard tiki totems galore!

And speaking of turning into my mother (painting driftwood) yesterday I yelled to Carolena, "Kelly!!! Pick up your shoes!!!"
Wow.
Just... wow.

Fun Things

One of the fun things about seldom checking my email means when I do in fact check it I find interesting things like urgent reminders to renew my cars inspection tag (or whatever it is) right now!!! and to get my (unfortunately still over goal) rear end back into Weight Watchers before my online access expires and they start charging me again! Oh the horror! Why aren't the urgent emails waiting in my inbox things like Free latte right now!!? If THAT were the case I'd probably be better about paying attention to my email.

Chris rolls his eyes at me in open annoyance that I never know what's going on at church. "It was IN the EMAIL!" he says in exasperation. Yep. I'm sure that it was. But, as I like to remind him, I am taking the clergy family perks where they come. If I have to put up with him working smack dab in the middle of long weekends then I think it is my prerogative to ignore the email and instead roll over in bed and say, "hey, is there Sunday school tomorrow?" unless of course I'm teaching it...

We went to the beach again this weekend. It's the start to a great summer when we spend the first three days of it at the beach. I found three shark teeth, we saw a bazillion dolphin jumping out of the water, and we fed the seagulls from the ferry. We went to the strand and had lunch at Fisherman's Wharf aka the restaurant where Chris and I went on our first date. We had ice cream at La King's. I told the kids they could each have five dollars to pick out something on the Strand. C looked at necklaces and mermaids and all kinds of things and then settled on a squeaking rubber shark toy. Nils followed suit. Other highlights of the trip include (but are not limited to): Nils' constant quoting of the Country Bears "As soon as I find a ladder I'll be riiight up! mmm hmmm!," ukulele playing, C staying up late to play Ticket to Ride, and this gem...
As C and I went into separate stalls in a somewhat crowded bathroom at the Fisherman's Wharf she called out to me in a loud voice, "wow! I am SO going to clog this toilet!" What?! Of course the entire bathroom starting cracking up. I replied "TMI!" which got more laughter. Geeze.

Home Again Home Again Jiggity Jig

Well, I guess we're home. For now.

After a whirlwind ten day trip to Disney we had only a few days home until Chris smiled mid-bite at the dinner table and announced, "Let's go to the beach! Right now!" And then we did.

So the laundry pile, coffee drinking, and tiredness are great. And by great, I mean large not "Great!"

In other news we discovered that the creature making various holes around our backyard to access the mysterious land that lies under the deck is not in fact a rat. It's a cute bunny! A little magical looking rabbit who steals fruit rinds from the compost and eats them under the play house. I might name it Kelly... as in... "guys, Kelly pooped under the playhouse again!" Bwah ha ha ha! Middle children of the world: unite!

One child awoke sickly Saturday night and thus we missed the great church Pentecost celebration. It was a bummer as we missed Easter this year too (weird!) and the Pentecost celebration sounded awesome. *sigh* Too bad Chris couldn't stay home with the sick nugget.

I've been playing my uke everyday. Yeah. I love it. So long blog, I have a ukulele now. See ya in St. Louey suckers.

Back to the neurologist on Wednesday. The migraine sagas continue.

And... what else... uh... kids' last day of school is Wednesday. Watch out summer vacation, here we come!

I Lava You

Yeah, we went to Disney World last week.
Yeah, it was awesome.
I'll tell you about it sometime.

But for now... well, you see... I received a ukulele for Mother's Day... sooo...

Back off. I'm busy.

Maybe I'll play you a little ditty this summer and tell you about our trip.

For now, I've got to practice!

It's Coming

Summer has been the last thing on my mind... until a few days ago. It hit me like a ton of bricks (or a random hot humid day) that summer vacation is nearly here. So I'm making our summer plans. Here they are: have fun.

That's it. Fun.

I'm not signing up for a bunch of events and classes and camps. I signed C up for swim lessons. That's it. We'll visit Chris when he's at camp. We'll go to the beach. We'll play at the splashpad and meet up with friends from our neighborhood. I'm hoping to have friends over frequently to play and eat. I want a summer of kids in the pool and adults on the deck with a cold drink. I want an icebox cake in the fridge, watermelon running down people's chins, and Chris standing at the grill. That sounds like summer.

I want long days at the beach. Kids in the surf and on the slip n slide. More watermelon. More cook outs. Crab boils and croquet. Boat rides. Yes, summer days at the beach sound just fine.

I'm squirreling away new craft supplies and projects. We'll go to the library. Maybe we'll take a roadtrip.

Summer days are coming. I can't wait!

Go Away Bird!

Did you ever stop to think that maybe I'm not drinking too much coffee... maybe you're not drinking enough?!

Well, unless you're Kelly. If you're Kelly, well done on the coffee intake. Well done.

Speaking of my sis, we met her and two of her kiddos at the zoo yesterday. Now you are probably imagining all of us smiling as we stare at the majesty of the giraffes, laughing as we watch the flamingos, cheering "Go-Away Bird!" as we look upon Nils' favorite zoo animal. You would be wrong. Except for that last thing - Nils always has to cheer for his bird.

Instead, we ignored the elephants behind us (how?!) and scarfed down our lunches at 1030am. We then moved to an area outside of the bathrooms and sat on the ground eating pretzels. After that we sat in a stroller parking area and chatted some more. It was a weird and wonderful morning. We did manage to visit the current Washed Ashore exhibit. Mom, Dad, you guys should make some huge jellyfish out of beach trash for under your beach house. You would be so inspired by the exhibit. Do it! Do it!

My bro is currently planning a trip to Norway. Yes, really. Lucky. So I am living vicariously through him and researching places I would go. First stop: FRAM!

Don't Call it a Comeback, I've Been Here for Years

I read two books last week. TWO. Like... as in... finished two books. In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Voyage of the USS Jeannette was fascinating and insanely good. Then over Saturday and Sunday I picked up The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and read it cover to cover. Sucked in. I definitely recommend both books. So, now what to read?? So many books to read and reread. And so many more books on the shelves of Goodwill!

Spring Break was great - the kids and I spent the week with my parents, my sis, and her kids all at the beach. The kids ran amok. I consumed far too many calories. Nils summed up the week-long trip by screaming, "Nooo!!! Go back Moom's house! Beach!! Nooo!!" when we turned off of the highway and into Katy. Yep.

Luckily for Nils (and the rest of us) Moom showed up at our house yesterday. Chris gifted me with two tickets for me to go see Cabaret with mi madre so we're heading into the bayou city for that tomorrow night. Party! Party!

I'm tired. I've gained weight. My caffeine consumption is through the roof. You know when would be a good time to get control? Yesterday. Instead I ate donuts and McDonalds (I don't even like donuts!). Today: restart. Again.

The Run Down

Reading: Coffee Tea or Me (rereading actually. I read it in college) and In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Voyage of the USS Jeannette. I usually just read one book at a time and really prefer to just read one at a time. I'm not sure how it happened that I'm in the middle of two insanely different books right now, but I am so now I need to finish them. My stack of books to read is growing and growing. My routine on Mon/Wed includes stopping at Goodwill after I drop the kids at school. So yeah, the stack of "to read" has grown considerably.

Consuming: beer... chips... coffee... oh Lord the coffee intake is out of control. Diet Coke. What's happening?!??! At least I can also include edamame and Yoplait Whips yogurt to the list. Those are my healthy over-indulgences. Most days I eat an entire bag of edamame for lunch. On one hand... really? On the other hand... that's a pretty great lunch.

Last night: perfect weather. Beer and chips and guac on our deck. A hot bath. Asleep before 8pm. Heaven.

Excited for: the beach!!! The kids and I are heading to the beach for SIX days. I am giddy. The girls and the kids are all heading to the beach for some fun and chaos and hopefully limited meltdowns (for both kids and moms). So, don't worry about checking my blog for a week. I'll be living it up on Bolivar.

Run and Grab It

Once when I was working out and a cute British gal was instructing she talked about the British tradition of having the first words out of your mouth on the first of each month be "rabbit rabbit rabbit" and this ensures good luck in the month to come.

I thought she was saying "Run and grab it!" until I remembered the British thing of saying "rabbit." For those few moments of lying on my back bench pressing my bar and thinking "run and grab it!" I was totally in. I love that. Forget about "rabbit rabbit." Let's run and grab it.

January and February were disastrous when it comes to eating well. They were highly successful months in terms of drinking beer and eating queso and having a great time. Thankfully I kept working out so not all is lost.

March is going to be different though.

I'm committed to March as a back on track month, which for me means Simply Filling. Anyone who wants to have a great March can join me. No more 10,000 cookies before bed.

My plan is simple... to go back to the basics. I'm going to eat healthy food for every meal I am in charge of (which is most meals). I'm going to only have beer during Spring Break (beach!). Other than Spring Break - no alcohol this month. Rodeo night (tomorrow) I'll eat crapola. Other than that, I'll be on track. I've got to run and grab it.

That's the plan and I'm sticking to it. If you need the moral support of knowing someone else is committing to this month on track - I'm in whether you're coming with me or not.

It's March. Run and grab it.

Just Beachy

For the first time (ever!) my mom and sister and I went to the beach together. Just us (with guest appearances by Jimmers).
It. Was. Awesome.

We drank margaritas and danced the night away at the Ship's Wheel and got manicures and laid out.

*Kidding*

We worked on puzzles and searched for sharks' teeth for hours (I found fourteen!). Then we worked on more puzzles. We wandered through the Gulf Coast Market and Bolivar's one and only thrift store. We worked on more puzzles. We blew right through nap time and looked for more sharks' teeth. We went out for dinner at seven pm (what?! wild and crazy!) and Kelly and I ate a mountain of bbq crabs at the Stingaree.We didn't change any diapers. We didn't refill anyone's milk. We were un-needed for over 24 hours while our own mother took care of us. It was pretty much mom-of-toddlers heaven.

I even stayed in bed until seven. What?!

And then... I came home... to the greatest family ever. One of the best things about going away is missing each other. Chris and I have known each other for longer than we didn't know one another. That sentence was confusing. I met Chris when I was fourteen and I'm now almost thirty-three. So, yeah, missing him every once in a while is kind of nice.

I came home to a clean house and a huge cardboard space shuttle in the living room (I paid 8 bucks for that thing at Goodwill. Score! It's bigger than it looks online). A clean house. Sleeping beautiful children. Bliss.

Minion Parrrtaayy

Birthday preparations are in full swing around here. Until about two weeks ago Carolena had plans for a birthday party at the beach. To pull off that fete I had planned to... uh... bake a cake. Yep, bake a cake... that's pretty much it. I'm sure I would have planned more but...

But construction at the beach house led me to second guess that party plan. And we were in fact at the beach with some of her cousins which was what she said she wanted to do for her party so I felt like she could check off that box. And I had lingering concerns that a four year old (who of course talks about birthdays all year round) wouldn't remember by January that a party at the beach with her cousins was the same thing as a bash with her friends. And last, but certainly most importantly, the beach house is under construction which is kind of a big deal if you want to have a party there. So, we punted and returned home. Punted and returned? Huh, that sounds kind of sporty... weird... I wonder if it is. Punted and returned. Punted and returned. That's fun to say.

Luckily, I grew up in a home with a mom who threw parties. Not big galas where a party planner came with a notebook and wandered around lighting candles and then people in tuxedos served horderves. I mean real parties, the kind where my mom did the actual inviting, and cooking, and cleaning. So, yeah, I know how to do that.

I sent out some emails and voila! People can come! We've got a party!

So, preparations are in full swing and I love it! A pinata is now hanging in the living room exciting all of us (well, at least me) every time we walk by. Carolena and I have had an arts and crafts explosion (yay!) and made minion paper chains and minion plastic eggs. We've sat together with cookbooks open and pens to paper day dreaming about what she could eat for her birthday (she's set on ice cream in cones with sprinkles. I'm convincing her people might need something more than just that).

And yes, the paper mache around here is going to get weird... it already has...

Peek A Boo!

Hey Little Blog... I see you there... I remember you...

kind of.

Ugh! Get off me! I've been busy, okay!

Doing this...

and this...

and of course...

Yesterday I started my first ever paper mache project (first ever! 30+ years without paper mache! how did that happen?!). So sorry to tell you this blog, but I fear you are going to feel the ramifications of that one while I spend my time covering everything in sight in wet newspaper... this could get caaarrrrrraaazzzyyyy. Seriously... how have I never done paper mache before? I now have visions of masks and four foot tall paper mache minion armies and a plethora of pinatas and... oh how the possibilities are endless!

Summer O Fun 2015 plows onward. Where did June go? And wait... what the hell... my eyes flick down to the right and see July TWELFTH? Time does in fact fly when one is having fun. Thus far my plan to have summer fun every single day continues. We haven't had nearly enough sno cones, but as kids do not start school until after Labor Day I think there is still plenty of time for that. My plan to invite friends over "all of the time this summer" has been somewhat unfruitful thus far, but mainly due to vacations and staples in heads (well, thankfully just the one... Carolena...), and I plan to reinstate the Summer of Parties Rule beginging again today.

Now, if you'll excuse me... children are sleeping and I have some wet newspaper to go drape across a balloon... PINATA!!

“after all, the best part of a holiday is perhaps not so much to be resting yourself, as to see all the other fellows busy working.”

When it's fall, fall is my favorite season. When it's "winter," "winter" is my favorite (it gets quotation marks because... well... Texas) but, man oh man, when summer comes...

 

There's just something about summer. I think it's because I live in a southern state on the coast that just makes it so darn easy to celebrate summer. I love the fall, but its hard to do fall-like things everyday when you're still wearing short sleeves and sweating buckets. In fact, just read that sentence again and substitute the word "winter" in for fall. Spring is fun... but mainly as a precursor to the jubilant summer. In fact, right now it technically still is spring... but we're calling it summer. We start the summer season early and stretch it out for as long as possible because we've got a lot of hot and sweaty months to spend along the waterfronts down here.

As mentioned and mentioned and mentioned, we kicked off summer '15 with one of my favorite vacations ever. We came back home and immediately went into my "rule" of doing something fun and summer-y every single day. So, we got a new kid pool (last year's cracked) and put up a clothes line for hanging wet clothes and towels. Carolena really wants to start hanging all of our clothes on it from the washing machine. I could totally dig that if it weren't going to be more work for me... but I mean... I'm barely keeping Mount Everest at bay here. Perhaps I'll throw the sheets out there sometimes. That does sound wonderful.

The pool has been thoroughly inaugurated through both a party with Carolena's school friends (a smashing success except for the moment when I realized there were sugar ants in the cupcakes. Did I mention the friends with "cake ladies" were there?) and a family impromptu water fight last night. Taco dinner is postponed to tonight and peanut butter sandwiches were consumed yesterday as we spent all of dinner time waging a water war in our backyard.

I told Chris and Carolena that I want our house to stay clean all summer so that any time we ever want to invite friends over we can. So far so good. The goal is to have people over on a whim any time we feel like it. I see that Tuesday is Donald Duck's birthday and Thursday is Kamehameha Day (luau anyone?) and Sunday is National Bourbon Day and Strawberry Shortcake Day so it looks like we have a lot to celebrate just this week alone.

I plan for us to spend the summer with iced teas and mint juleps and lemonade and popsicles and cookouts and the bubble machine and good books and good friends and our back deck and the splash pad and the ymca and the beach and well... you get the picture. Join me if you're interested.

“This day was the first of many similar ones for the emancipated Mole, each of them longer and full of interest as the ripening summer moved onward. He learnt to swim and to row, and entered into the joy of running water; and with his ear to the reed-stems he caught, at intervals, something of what the wind went whispering so constantly among them.” The Wind in the Willows

Dear Casey:

Kate Cho from Pearland asks:
Question: If we met this year, would you be my friend? Don't answer that!

Kate,
First of all Mrs. Cho, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

Second, by saying, "Don't answer that!" you guarantee a long answer. Don't tell me what to do. You know I hate that.

Let's explore what it would be like if we met this year...
If we met right now then chances are one of us would bring up the topics of polar exploration and whether or not grown women should wear t-shirts. We would both be drinking a Diet Coke and talking about how we should really quit the stuff. We'd talk about how we just discovered GWTW and how many times we've read HP. We'd argue over whether it's better to be in Gryfindor or Slytherin.

I would comment on how your compost pile looks a lot like Marjory the Trash Heap and you would laughingly agree. You'd tell me about your plans for a bee hotel, and we'd obsess over the fact that there are people in this world who buy paper products besides toilet paper only to throw them away.

Chances are one of us would suggest Taco Bell for lunch and the other would say, "I can’t go to Taco Bell; I’m on an all-carb diet. How about McDonalds so the kids can go in the playplace?" Then we'd sit at McDonalds and eat fries and drink more dc and talk about how much fun it is to go to the beach and how someone could ever choose to live somewhere landlocked (saying the word "landlocked" as though its a cuss word). We would have already learned that we are both Episcopalian because somehow you discover that about someone within moments of meeting. Based on that fact alone we would have discovered at least eight people we know in common two of which being our relatives.

A mutual love for Tina Fey and Christian Bale and Kermit would carry our conversation through the lunch hour. Because the kids are busy playing and we've got nothing else to do that afternoon we'd splurge on iced coffees laughing about how they'll keep us up into the wee hours working on craft projects and watching The Goodbye Girl. We'd talk about how weird it was that we watched that movie so much as children. "Your parents let you watch that too?!?! Were you also allowed to eat macaroni and cupcakes for breakfast? Wait? What?! Me too!" Then we'd talk about what craft projects we've been working on lately.

After lunch you would invite me to join a book club or some sort of women's group you are currently involved with. I'd smile and say, "Sure. Maybe..." all the while wondering why someone so obviously weird and nothing like me wants to be my best friend forever...

 

I would in turn invite you to lift weights or to drink scotch on my patio or be facebook friends. We would stare at one another smiling and thinking, "I picked up a weirdo." Finally you would break the silence and say, "Nobody knows anything, Joe. We'll take this leap, and we'll see. We'll jump, and we'll see. That's life, right?" and we'd be BFF forever and I'd move into the house next door to you. 

Just Beachy

The kids and I spent a rainy cold spring break in my parents' beach house with Moom. It was great. A trip to Galveston, s'mores on the deck, and plenty of playing with beach house toys for the kiddos. I finished the book I've been reading since Christmas (in my defense it was looonggg) and read an entire novel.

After a great break, it's nice to be back home... especially since I married a guy who makes home improvements when I'm out of town. We came back to clean bathroom grout and a previously pesky kitchen light that now works. He's the top. He's a Waldorf salad. Or perhaps this is his way of telling me to leave town more often?

In other news, I am suspending my blog updates until I can resolve this issue:
A friend's sister's husband's nephew told me that blogspot owns everything I post.

Okay, not really. A presenter at my mother's writers' group said blogspot owns bloggers' content. I have yet to confirm this through les internetes. If this is semi-true or false, I will continue on. If this is true, I am going to have to make some decisions about my blog. And by "make some decisions" I mean... choose a different blog provider or just quit blogging. That's about it. I don't like the idea of blogspot owning my content. Not for crazy "the internet is after me" reasons, but for "what if I ever want to get a book published and can't use anything I've ever posted on my blog?" reasons. Is that even what ownership means? I don't really get it. All I know is that the guest blogger said don't go with blogspot... awwwkkkwardd...

Sigh.

Stupid big businesses.
Blah blah blah rant rant rant.
Nothing is ever really free except grace ammiright?

****I posted this a few hours ago. I have since read the blogger terms of service which states, "You retain ownership of any intellectual property rights that you hold in that content. In short, what belongs to you stays yours." Okey dokey, I guess that's good enough for me. Looks like I'm staying put! Woo hoo for the path of least resistance!