They say good news is boring, and the biggest news in my life is that I am ridiculously happy. Not that it’s ridiculous to be happy, but when this pervasive giddiness literally consumes my life and every lesser feeling in it? All the time? ALL SUMMER LONG? Do you really want to hear about that several times per week?

If so, facebook friend me. I’ll spare the rest of you.

And yeah, I am happy dancing like Snoopy. Thanks for asking!

Mary tried to draw a butterfly the other morning. Well, she drew several, but by noon she’d broken down in tears, frustrated that she couldn’t draw the perfect creature she saw in her mind. “What you see as imperfections just make the pictures all the more perfect to me, Mary. And the more you draw, the better you’ll get.” She didn’t believe me. But Ethan had her calmed down shortly.

I didn’t see the picture he drew to cheer her up until today:

No, this isn't perfect, it's good. But it is trying to be perfect. Same with all of us too!

As many times as I’ve experienced this artistic plight, I really appreciated the “same with all of us too!” bit he added there at the end that applies it to life in general. I know what I want to do, and the kind of person I want to be. I’m keenly aware of how far off I am now. But I’ll keep trying. In the meantime, my kids really are perfect for me.

“If you don’t use it or love it, don’t keep it.” Words from the wise. I’m not very good at following that rule, but I do try, and I’ve been trying to teach my kids the same thing. Particularly as we’ve been cleaning out closets this week and trying to get our apartment organized. The problem is, Mary loves everything.

Still, I thought the lesson was beginning to stick — until she started hoarding handfuls of firework fluff tonight. You know those kiddie fireworks that shoot out confetti? At some point Mary asked me to hold the wad of streamers she’d collected. D’oh. But she was running around, and I was chatting with friends, so I figured I’d save that discussion for later.

So, just after we’d pulled into our driveway, I opened my hand to show Mary the fluff, and opened my mouth to say something. But before I had the chance, she threw her arms around me and said, “It’s a gift to you, Mom!”

It took me a moment to reformulate my lecture: “Okay, but what am I supposed to do with it?”

With a kiss on my cheek, she whispered in my ear, “Accept it.”

It's all yours!

Any tips on teaching your kids that stuff is just stuff?

Yes, this is a blog-worthy event. Read the rest of this entry »

Okay, most of you who know me personally know I’m ridiculously happy at my new job. I’m currently redesigning blendtec.com, and little else could fuzzify my geeky little heart like this does.

But many of you, particularly my girl friends, have never heard of “Will It Blend” or Blendtec. And when I say “Oh! It’s so cool! They have these super tough blenders that blend stuff, like magnets and silly putty and iPhones!” you look at me like I’m from another planet.

So here are a few links to fill you in.

Blendtec on Modern Marvels: Super awesome behind-the scenes stuff, and a great overview, too.

Total Blender on Time Warp: Blending stuff is even cooler when it’s filmed at 10,000 frames per second and then played back in high definition slow mo! On this one they blend strawberries, gum balls, a video camera, and butane lighters. Parental discretion advised if your kid is a pyro. Otherwise, be sure to watch it in HD!

Bad guys, good guy, and a blender: A notoriously tough guy gets in the blender with the bad guys. Who will win? Blendtec had to remove this after the tough guy (whose name I dare not mention since I work for BT now, but you can find one of his many fan sites here) sent a cease and desist. But several youtube users had re-posted the original video, including this one. Too funny.

And of course we have Will It Blend? — a huge video collection of Tom Dickson blending stuff. And last but not least, blendtec.com — which is going to look awesome before the summer’s through.

And the best part of all of it? They Gave Me A Blender! Anyone up for smoothies?