It is possible that, like Misty, I am addicted to Project Runway. There’s something about the reality TV format coupled with the contestants actually doing something creative that I find utterly fascinating.

It is also possible that, in the throes of this affliction, my fevered brain has tossed off doggerel Project Runway haikus. Flee! Flee! And if you don’t flee, know that here there be spoilers.

Angela’s team won???
Why is she still on the show?
That shit’s Bedazzled.

Here’s a little tip.
Ignore it at your peril.
Listen to Tim Gunn.

Vera Wang’s a judge?
Judging quality has dropped.
Come back, Michael Kors!

Laura and Michael
work very well together.
Boy, that surprised me.

Keith has shown us all
It’s okay to be an ass
but don’t ever cheat.

There was an early Candy Land game played in the kitchen floor after bagel breakfast and before Dad left for work. Mom swept the game with an early jump to the sucker square.

Our 8:00 a.m. meeting. We discussed the pros and cons of water pistol vs. straight hose.

Grouchy pre-teen Eli takes a coffee break. Not much conversation from this one today. He’s recovering from short nap yesterday and extensive excitement with Will at the Indian restaurant last night. Also, he refused to smile this morning. The cheese in the previous photo doesn’t count because he often does that when he sees the camera.

There’s a joke here for this photo, I just can’t quite come up with the right words while gasping with giggles.

After the pool action we very earth consciously emptied the contents of Eli’s pool onto the three trees that needed the water the most.

9:30 snack and Dora on tv. Mom gets a chance to check email and post the morning schedule.

This morning Eli had no books in his bed. He was just hanging out with his binky and a blanky.

I asked him why he wasn’t reading any books.

“Because they’re all ona shelf.” He replied and then popped his binky back in his mouth.

It didn’t come with an “Awww, Moooom” and an eye roll but in another two months he’ll have that down pat. He’s just that advanced.

My friend Joyce has been contemplating going to grad school and pursuing a different, but related, field than she is working in now. I solute her for making the commitment to take the GRE. You go girl! I’ve really been relating to her entries this week because I don’t know what I’m going to do for a real job when Eli and potential kid #2 go to school.

Ideally, I’d be able to keep a similar schedule and be home when they are. Which leaves teacher, teacher, and oh yeah, teacher. I am so very, very not cut out for teaching. Not on any level. I have a hard enough time dealing with adults in the workplace and they are supposed to behave in a semi-reasonable fashion.

So what does this leave me with? I’m not sure. I’ve thought about getting a masters of library science (MLS). In fact, I’ve talked about getting this degree for a very long time. That hankering actually started while we lived in Durham because UNC offered MLS degrees and had a (then) really sweet internship with the EPA. But at no time while we were there did I feel as if I could abandon my job and do it full-time, what with Stephen already doing the nearly-nonpaying student work. This degree would potentially put me in position to work in a school library. I know, I know it’s with kids but it would be different than having a classroom full, at least I think. The down side is once I have the degree it could take ages to actually get a job in one of the schools.

So the other option I’ve been considering is getting a masters in psychology which would then put me in a social work type situation. I already have a BA which is one class short of being a BS that was entirely geared toward grad school. At one time, I really thought I would be a councilor. So now I’m wondering if this is where my future lies. Was the decision I made in high school actually the correct one and I’ve just been spending all this time fighting it?

Here’s the kicker. When potential kid #2 gets to kindergarden I’ll be almost 40. Yeah, it’s a harder number to write than it is to actually read. So if I’m going to do something different, I’m going to have to get some training and get it soon.

I know that I don’t want to do Mac support again. I’m just not interested. And the only way I’d do graphic design is to work at a company, not working out of my house. Which defeats the goal I’m trying to achieve and actually potentially puts me at mega-overtime.

Any thoughts? Do you think I’m particularly cut out for either of these above listed jobs? I’d be interested in hearing what you have to say.

Misty and I like playing games. I’m talking about board games here, not the Games People Play kind of games. We’ve decided to start Eli early on games. He’s not yet ready for SNAKES ON A BOARD, but we did discover one game he can play: Slap Jack.

Ah, yes, the game that combines all of the strategy of War with the chance for physical conflict. Divide the cards up so that everyone has an equal pile. Take turns flipping your top card over. When you see a jack, slap it to claim the entire pile.

Eli loves this game with a fiery passion. It has cards! It has slapping! What more do you need? The following is a partial transcript from a recent game.

S: Now you turn your top card over.
E: Okay.
[Eli turns over a three of hearts]
S: What is it?
E: It’s a three. A three of hearts.
S: Now I turn my card over.
[Stephen turns over a jack of diamonds]
S: What is it?
E: It’s…it’s a…a J!
S: That’s right! And what does J stand for?
E: Um, joker?
S: No, but close.
E: Queen!
S: No! It’s a jack.
E: Yeah! A jack.
[Pause]
S: What do we do with a jack?
E: We…we slap it! I slap it!
[Eli raises his hand in the air, waits, and then slowly and deliberately slaps the jack]

Later…

E: I have a J!
S: Right! And what does J stand for?
E: …Queen?

The sad thing is, he still beat me.

Happy 25th birthday, MTV! You are now older than your target demographic.

I woke up to Eli singing, “Here we go round the Mulberry Bush” over the monitor this morning. When I got to his room this is what I saw in his crib:

He had liberated books from his shelf by his bed and he was having a great time! John and Fahmi, there is hope yet, only two years to go!

A while back I took Amy’s code for creating popup images and turned it into a little WordPress plugin. I’ve been cleaning up the code and making a more robust UI, and now I have released the Simple Popup Images plugin into the wild. Those of you with WordPress blogs and a need for popup photos and whatnot, enjoy.

One afternoon this past week I was sitting on the couch reading a book while Eli watched Sesame Street. He walked over to me and patted my leg and said, “I’m proud of you, Mom.”

I don’t know if he knows what proud means. I wasn’t shocked that he knew the word. We’ve certainly said, “I’m proud of you, Eli” to him often enough. What I was shocked by was how incredibly glad I was that he had this kind of positive thought floating around in his head to draw on.

So you might be wondering what I do with my tv time in the summer since nothing is on network tv. Well I watch Project Runway of course. I know it’s a guilty pleasure but I love to see what they make and how they get it done and I love hearing Tim actually give good criticism to try and help them. I am constantly shouting at people to listen to Tim because he knows what he’s talking about.

So I say to all of you now, if you are doing something creative, listen to Tim Gunn because he knows what he is talking about.