Camp Mommy 2009 - Final Week Recap on Twitter

Sat., Aug. 1:
1) Cool! Just ordered for 9yo Phenom/RT @bargainhntngmom: 145 Personalized Back to School Value Pack $19.95 w/FREE Shipping:http://bit.ly/Ew4vn
2) I don't think the 7th or 9th grader will go for it (see last Tweet), but 4th grader will be jazzed to have his name on stuff-back2school!

3) I am missing out on GA Sales Tax Holiday this wknd, but gladly pay 7% premium to avoid mob-shopping. Holding out 4 25%+ sales *after* STH!!

Mon., Aug. 3:
1) Rough start for Monday AM, last week of summer vacation. Busy, busy, busy To Do at odds w/strong desire to just enjoy last precious week...

2) NASCAR rained out yesterday. Following re-scheduled race today (now!) on Twitter @NASCARsays - amazing. #14 not doing so good...
3) @dshaut - not a DH [Denny Hamlin, FedEx #11] fan, but he is rocking it today. Can't Tweet much else bout race - hubby Pocono-silence til he can TiVo tonight!#NASCAR
4) That would be a COOL job - to sit there and Tweet a #NASCAR Sprint Cup Race live-action. I could do that!!
5) Have been working, but @NASCARsays Twitter, sounds like heck of a race to watch tonight! Still in progress, but all kinds of stuff happning!
6) Oh man, I know how the race went and who won, thx again to @NASCARsays! Now I have 2 keep hush until later 2nite - hubby wants NO details!
7) It's like skipping to last page of a novel, which I also can't resist. I always go back and read it all, I just like knowing what to expect!

Tue., Aug. 4:
1) Today is Rebel Grammy day, once-a-week caregiver. Visited neuro-psych today & various adventures. At the grocery store - it's a long day.

2) V. Cool - RT @books: ...teen version of self-help bestseller "The Secret" hits bookstores in Sept: Secret to Teen Power //going 2 pre-order!
3) Before The Secret - great book I have been reading on iPhone/Amazon Kindle: Haanel/Master Key

Wed., Aug. 5:
HOTlanta today - helped set up for BTS at our new elem school. 9yo Phenom going to 4th grade. Lunch w/kids & we're going to chill indoors.

Thur., Aug. 6:
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to my fab hubby & beshert - 21 years today, happily-ever-after! (OMG, we can't be that old!)(Married@20/22-we're not!);-)

Fri., Aug. 7:
1) Congrats, Carla - awesome!! RT @carlawhite: Gratitude Journal is in USA Today! Front page no less!! http://bit.ly/ae1hx //great article!

2) No idea 3 kids at 3 different schools this year (elem, middle & high) would lay me out. Completely. Running ALL day today: meet & greets.

Sun., Aug. 9:
1) School starts Monday - in Atlanta, anyway: Mom's New Year - Happy, Happy! 1st day will be catching up, figuring out my life next 9mos!

2) Up late (now early!) working on 3 kids Back To School & big project submit this week: 1st iPhone App & 1st eBook (related)! More news soon--

Camp Mommy 2009 - Week 10 on Twitter

Sun, July 26:
1) Sunday TVmovie: I didn't realize Herbie: Fully Loaded (w/Lindsay Lohan) was such a #NASCAR tie-in! Cameos: J Gordon, J Johnson, Tony!

2) 
Ack! Heartbreak & frustration for Montoya at Indy w/pit road speeding penalty late in race - he was strong in 1st by 5secs - doh! #NASCAR

Mon, July 27:
1) 
Happy Monday! Two weeks until school, the messy job begins: to get everybody back on schedule, esp bedtime & getting up early. It begins...
2) 
Not to mention: school shopping, clothes & 3 lists of supplies, haircuts, doctor/dentist/ortho appts...but, YES - it's worth it!! ;-)

3) Working on Rebel Review: BAD MOTHER by Ayelet Waldman (Michael Chabon's wife).Love her, kindred spirits, fellow "bad" mom:www.rebelhousewife.com/ayelet/

4) 
At Piedmont Park Pool - in the shade, v. nice. Dragged 9yo out - trying 2 get back on schedule, tire him out to sleep before 1am!
5) 
@funkidivagirl - Umbrellas, baby! Late afternoon, farside of the pool is v. nice. Love the pool - great 4 kids, always someone to play with!



Tue, July 28:
1) My bookish heart is split between Amazon online and B&N in real life. I love the physical bookstore and coordinate book group at B&N/GA Tech
2) 
So there you have it, it's a 3-way for me to feed my book habit: B&N environment; Borders coupons; Amazon easy research & purchasing online.


3) 
Confessions of a book ho this morning. I think I'm done! Back to work on
BAD MOTHER review, publish today on www.rebelhousewife.com!

4) Twittered myself out searching interesting T'ers after finishing Rebel Review of BAD MOTHER by Ayelet Waldman - got the work done. Yay!

5) 
Researching best ways to create & distribute ebook - tomorrow's challenge. Suggestions?

6) 
Drop Dead Diva? Filming in Midtown Atl - W Hotel. Just walked the dog by dozens of trucks along 14th & Jupiter. No known celebrity sightings

Wed, July 29:
1) 
@ATLNewsBrew - ebook is downloadable PDF file, book format - can be read onscreen or printed out by end user. Convenient, cheaper.


2) eBook research: best way to make available for download? eBook complete & ready to go, associated w/iPhone app about 2 release: romance app!

3) 
Camp Mommy - Fun Science! Okay, this was fun w/9yo Bill Nye-wanna-be:
Fun Science!
4) 
Of course, I have none of the following left in the house, sacrificed to Science: salt, baking soda, corn starch, vinegar, food coloring...

5) 

Tomorrow's a rough day w/Rebel Grammy - to Cardiologist 6mo after heart attack & strokes. Life is completely different now. Live each day.

Thur, July 30:

Has been A Day. Getting into pjs now - 5:15pm - and having food delivered tonight. I'm done!

Fri, July 31:
1) RT @TMECoopShop: Looking for new savvy mom entrepreneurs to join amazing group of women: The Mom Entrepreneur
[Twitter Note: RT means "Re-Tweet" when you post something on your Twitter that is from someone else, Twitter-quoting.]

2) 
Crime wave in Atlanta, yet I get a ticket for Right on Red last week & harrassed for Kiss Ride today - I was dropping off, not parking!
3) 
And this Kiss Ride harrassment at the office bldg where we no longer have a parking deck (remember collapse?!), so I drive hubby to work.
4) 

Okay, I'm over it. Haven't been been caught "parking" like a couple of teenagers in 20 years. Still, Atlanta cops have better stuff to do.


5) 
Let The Great World Spin by Colum McCann - free book download from Oprah & Random House, avail two days only next week: HURRY! OFFER ENDS TUES, AUG. 4TH!

6) 


Okay: must.stop.Twittering. Close the computer & walk away...

7) 
Picked up hubby 2nite - gdam Midtown Blue ("cop" from this am) was PARKED in the Kiss Ride/"illegal parking" space - not even in the car!
8) 


Guess I wasn't as over it as I thought. I do appreciate police & security ofcrs, job they do. Still, don't have to be [nasty] to law-abiding [so they can park in the "illegal" space!].
9) 
I should probably go into Twitter-silence now and hide my location. Shiny chrome/red Jeep SUV doesn't help. Dammit.

Camp Mommy 2009 - Week 9 on Twitter

Yes, Twitter is definitely the ADHD Media of choice! I am aware of how my writing skills and standards have diminished with 140-character-limited random outbursts throughout the day. Still, it's really fun, addictive and obsessive, too. Navel-gazing? Maybe so, but it has been an ongoing conversation this summer with an ever-expanding group of friends and cyber-acquaintances, which has been interesting. (Look at me, using all those big words while my character count is unlimited!)

Mon, July 20:
1) 
Happy Monday! 2/3 kids away this week, camp counseling (working!) and school program (high school jumpstart). Me & 9yo & dog, enjoying peace

2) 
Now reading: Asperger Syndrome & The Elementary School Experience: Practical Solutions for Academic & Social Difficulties (S.T. Moore,M.Ed.)
3) 

Kind of slow going, as Asperger's is such a spectrum, not all applies. Preparing for new school year - practical strategies for 9yo Phenom

4) Lost an iPod at Piedmont Park - over by the tennis center this afternoon at 4pm camp pick up. Retraced our steps, but no luck. Hope...


Tue, July 21:
1) 
Decatur Book Festival is gearing up for Labor Day Weekend - tons of authors & events, lots of excitement! Follow @DBookFestival on Twitter--
2) 
@DBookFestival - Laurel, also NASCAR Race at Atlanta Motor Speedway Labor Day Weekend - lots going on! Books & NASCAR crossover? Well, I do!

3) 
Good Karma: truly a miracle, lost iPod came back! Security guard found it at Piedmont Park. I had called yesterday to report & left ph#.Yay!

4) 
Not-so-good Karma: right after iPod good K, I got a traffic violation for right turn on red at 14th & P'Tree - doh! Just didn't see sign :-(

5) 
And then I blew almost $300 on back-to-school clothes for 14yo Puberty Angst Boy - 1 kid done, 2 to go...TG for Target, baby! What a day--

Fri, July 24:
1) 
TGIF, but sick (prob swineflu). Long-anticipated Date Nite plans (Star Trek@The Fox!) falling apart due to childcare & kids' plans: snafu!
2) 
(I was kidding about swine flu - just don't feel good, probably summer cold or allergy. Ugh.)

[Off-Twitter note: Later determined, after three days sick, reacting badly to decaf coffee - we'd tried to switch, ease up on the caffeine, but something in the decaf wrecked me, so we are back on full-strength, just one cup in the AM. What is in that decaf coffee?!]

Camp Mommy 2009 - Catching Up Post-Vacation

Weds, July 15:
Post vacation blues: re-entry always rough, what with laundry & getting everything put away, back to Real Life. Rebel Grammy day didn't help

Thurs, July 16:
1) 
Trying to catch up, clean up & get ready for busy weekend: Birthday part(ies) for now 12yo Drama Queen...I can't be old enough for this!!

2) Now reading SHADOW COUNTRY by Peter Matthiessen for #Book Group - Nat'l Book Award - epic, swamps of Florida, 1880s - excellent.

3) 
#Books for Book Groups: Midtown Atl Book Group - 3 Years of Great Reading:
Great Book Group Books

Fri, July 17:
1) 
TGIF - quiet day, busy getting ready for 12yo Drama Queen's sleepover bday party. Two July bdays - what were we thinking?! Enjoy weekend!

2) Just got this week's People Mag - last word on Jon & Kate & new skanky gf on front cover: ewwwww.

Myrtle Beach Family Vacation on Twitter

We had a great time on our quickie Family Vacation to Myrtle Beach - for close to less than $1000, family of five. Of course, we stayed in a very "retro" motel with kitchenette; only three nights (that's all we thought we could handle - we were right!); packed most of our food: breakfasts, lunches and snacks; and, since we didn't find great food and dining options until the last night of our adventure (unwilling to stray too far from the beach/water park), we only had one nice meal out at a restaurant (not counting Burger King)!

We've lived 15 years in Atlanta, but this was our first trip to the South Carolina beach resort of legend. It was FUN, if a bit overwhelming: our favorite beach is still nice, quiet, remote Navarre Beach in northwest Florida, and Pensacola Beach for a big night out at Flounders. Of course, we ventured to Myrtle Beach for the anti-quiet family fun & activity: the resort water park, with water slide and lazy river; the dozen pools on-site; beachfront 'luxury'; world-class miniature golf; and, at the Sea Mist Resort, free passes to nearby Family Kingdom Amusement Park and Family Kingdom Water Park. We packed a ton of fun into 3 nights/4 days:

Saturday, July 11th:
1) On our way 2 Myrtle Beach in the family truckster...so far, so good. Remains 2B seen if possible 14yo Puberty Angst Boy to have fun w/family
2) Gorgeous day to be on a Road Trip!
1:17 PM Jul 11th from Twitterrific:
3) Picnic lunch at I20 rest area, SC Welcome Center. Caged monkeys getting restless & bickery - good food & stretch help (esp me). Near 1/2way.
4) En route to Myrtle Beach from Atlanta - Darlington?! Off the right track to detour, #NASCAR obsessed: Rebel@Darlington
4:34 PM Jul 11th from Twitterrific
5) We are so far off designated route, no idea where we are...ah, to be lost in SC...oh, I20 just ends, apparently...Jeep GPS so bad, TG iPhone

6) Arrived Myrtle Beach: wow. Still settling in, waiting for pizza delivery while everyone else down at pool - 10pm. Beach is beautiful at nite
7) Night beach tip: neon glow bracelets(Target) keep track of your kids.
Also fun:anything that glows/flashes to throw in & comes back in surf!
8) Arrived 7pm - already: arcade, comp drink 4 mom&dad, resort grocery, mini golf/waterpark (2mrw), beach & pool...starving, waiting 4 pizza!

Sunday, July 12th:
End of very long day, but fun. 3 kids buzzin@midnite, 2 tired parents. Resort water park-awesome; beach-also; old school amusement park;-)

Monday, July 13th:
Last night in Myrtle Beach: afternoon thundershowers - big Hibachi dinner @ Kono Asian Grill. Big-time mini golf tourney @ pirate joint!

Tuesday, July 14th:
1) Myrtle Beach to home: Atlanta. 4hrs to go, I can hardly wait! Miss my bed, condo, Piedmont Park & Mocha the Dog (her dog-vacation@Dogaroo).
2) Of course, hubby & I are exhausted from vacation w/kids - broke, too! Good time had by all...no place like home, no place like home!!
4:26 PM Jul 14th from Twitterrific:
3) Home again, home again, jiggity jig! I will never go on another family vacation w/ 14yo,12yo&9yo again! (I always say that.) Unpack begins.
4) We did not bring home any beach creatures (learned that lesson long ago!) - empty shells only. We did have that tantrum though - required?!