My Daughter's 10 Favorite Wedding Dresses

If I were to get married again, I would be late to the ceremony, just like I am today for Monday Listicles.  

I took the weekend off from blogging every day and yesterday my kids were off from school for Rosh Hashanah, which meant no time to write. 

Well, that is not true.  I chose not to write.

Today, Tuesday, I chose to write for this week's Monday’s Listicles' theme, Weddings.

I am divorced, so I have mixed feelings about weddings.  A wedding means marriage.  Mine failed.  Therefore, other than the pretty dresses and the party, I am somewhat unenthusiastic about the notion of a ritual designed to break a big hole in the savings account with little left over to wager on whether or not it will last forever.   

Sophia with Randy of SYTTD.
Antonia and I were jealous!

Notice I mentioned I like the pretty dresses.  My younger daughter, Antonia, does, too.  There was a time when we could be found cuddled next to each other on the couch watching episode after episode of SayYes to the Dress streaming from Netflix through the Wii.  We have since then watched every episode and watched with envy from afar as her older sister got to visit Kleinfeld's with her dad last year in New York City.

Because we have seen every episode of Say Yes to the Dress, Antonia and I have moved onto watching David Tutera’s, My Fair Wedding.  Our favorite part of the show is, of course, when the bride-to-be tries on fabulous dresses to replace the dress Tutera cannot possibly seem to tolerate.  We attempt to guess which dress Tutera will choose, which is not revealed until the day of the wedding (aka the end of the show), and we are usually right.

Yesterday while I was grumbling about needing to write, I asked Antonia to make a list of her 10 favorite wedding dresses.  She carefully chose the following 10 from the 45 she has proudly curated on her Pinterest board, Wedding Dresses.

Antonia’s 10 Favorite Wedding Dresses

                                          Source: stylemepretty.com via Toni on Pinterest

                                           Source: Uploaded by user via Toni on Pinterest

         Source: morilee.com via Toni on Pinterest

                                                                     Source: theknot.com via Toni on Pinterest

                                                                   Source: Uploaded by user via Toni on Pinterest

                         Source: Uploaded by user via Toni on Pinterest

                                                   Source: kleinfeldbridal.com via Toni on Pinterest

                                                  Source: kleinfeldbridal.com via Toni on Pinterest

                              Source: demetriosbride.com via Toni on Pinterest

                             Source: demetriosbride.com via Toni on Pinterest

It is safe to say that Antonia has exquisite taste in wedding gowns.  She also has an eye for gorgeous cakes which she is curating photos of here: Cakes!

[Thank you, Antonia, for your contribution to today's post.  I promise to adjust my attitude about marriage if you ever find yourself shopping at Kleinfeld's.]  

photo credit: qousqous via photo pin cc

10 Things I Wish I Could Delete

Meaning of delete (verb)

forms: deleted; deleted; deleting

remove or make invisible; cancel; erase

Monday means it’s time for Monday Listicles.  I love Monday Listicles and hope it never to be deleted.  However, there are quite a few things I would like to delete.  Here they are in no particular order:

1. My property tax bill
2. Photos any “friends” downloaded from my old MySpace page
3. Stretch marks on my lower abdomen, upper thighs and hips; acne scars; cellulite
4. Fashion Story from my phone.  I’m addicted
5. Pinterest, because I love it way too much
6. Genes that carry addiction          
7. Parents who are too afraid to protect their children
8. Every Facebook page that belongs to a female under the age of 18 wherein the user has photos posted in which she is posing provocatively 
9. The need to go to the dentist and gynecologist
10. The world’s clock so that we could live in timelessness

What would you like to delete?

photo credit: Carlos Smith via photo pin cc

Mother's Day and My Pink Hat

              Source: bonanza.com via Sperk* on Pinterest

My maternal grandmother wore hats.  I have an image of her stored in my memory--a fitted dress, fabric printed with voluptuous yellow flowers and on top of her head sits a hat--possibly from my mother’s wedding album, I am not sure.  I am not sure if she even wore hats in my presence when I was a child.  Even so, when I think “grandmother,” I think, “she wore hats.”

I wear hats.  One hat in particular, a pink ball cap.

I purchased it two years ago when the girls began playing softball.  I needed to keep the sun off my forehead to minimize the production of giraffe spots that were beginning to appear on my 40-something-year-old forehead.  

I was surprised at the comfort I felt wearing it.  It looked relatively cute, kept sun out of my eyes, and allowed me to forego hair styling all summer long.  Primarily though, it felt like a shield of some sort, a personal one.  I liked it.

Two years later, I am still wearing that pink ball cap.  Softball is merely in practice with no need for sitting through games under the sun, but I have been sporting my cap at all times with the exception of when I sleep.

  

Why?

In an attempt to save money, dodge sitting in a hair stylist’s chair for two hours, and avoid the intimacy that comes with getting one’s hair done, I colored my hair myself.  Not only did I color it, I took a stab at highlights, too.  In short, I look like a skunk.  No exaggeration.

This morning I woke thinking of my grandmother.

It’s Mother’s Day.

She would have worn a hat today. 

I’ll be wearing my pink ball cap until 1:00 p.m. 

It is then I will remove it, expose my skunkness for the world to see and sit in a hair stylist’s chair for a color correction.

This will be my Mother’s Day gift.  M and the girls are insisting upon it and have agreed to join me there for the afternoon.  I am too afraid and embarrassed to go alone.

I know this hair correction business would make my grandmother happy.  She was always well coiffed, never using hats to hide her hair.  If she saw me hiding beneath my pink ball cap, she would call me out on my lack of respect for life itself.  Even though she was far from a perfect mother, she was the epitome of a picture-perfect lady.

It will be a happy Mother’s Day.  Maybe even picture-perfect.

Here’s to moms and grandmothers.  And here's to hats.

In celebration of Mother's Day, browse my Pinterest pin board "Stories about Moms"

                                                  

Source: mymothersstory.org via Sperk* on Pinterest

                                                    

Save It for Later on Pinterest

I have to say, I have a million posts swirling around my brain.

There is so much I want and need to deliberate in the form of sharing here at Sperk*.  The high-quality responses I typically receive in the comments always surprise me and I am grateful.  Your stories and insight propel my initial pondering into compelling conversations, helping me to discover even more of what I am trying to grasp.  THIS ALWAYS HAPPENS.

To gather my thoughts into a cohesive and purposeful state, I usually read articles of interest via Twitter or Pulse News, or I will pin, pin, pin on Pinterest.  However, today, organized thought eludes me. 

I am thinking that if I share some of the content I have been curating at Pinterest (or using in desperation to bind an idea into a succinct bit of writing), it may be fruitful in helping me to work out whatever restlessness keeps me from focus.

 

I visited Delilah over at Confessions of a Semi-Domesticated Mama this morning because I know she regularly shares her pins of interest in a category she calls “Pin…teresting.”  I was taken aback to find that she too is feeling restless.  She questions the change in weather in being the cause and I, too, am going to go that route:

Please enjoy this bit of a highlight from my beloved curating project over at Pinterest as I attempt to deal with the global warming that is transpiring within my brain:

For Fun: Vintage Dresses

Did you know that I love vintage dresses?  I do.  I really do.  If I ever acquire a ton of expendable cash, I'm going to line my mega walk-in closet with archival quality boxes full of them.  I may wear them, too!

                                                                       

Source: nymag.com via Sperk* on Pinterest

                                                                       Source: omgthatdress.tumblr.com via Sperk* on Pinterest

                                                                       

For Kids: Tech and EdTech

Summer is coming!  What are you going to do with your kids on a rainy day?  How can you be sure your students don't lose skills they acquired during the school year?  Check out my Tech/EdTech board for ideas on engaging your children over the summer.

Are you a fan of TEDTalks?  You'll love the newly launched TEDEd:

                                                                        Source: youtube.com via Sperk* on Pinterest

Kids too young for Facebook but dying to get social online?  

Help your children learn social media skills on PixyKids: Social media for ages 6-12:

                                                                          Source: pixykids.com via Sperk* on Pinterest

Maybe summer is a good time for your kids learn Spanish?  There's an App for that:

                                                                        Source: blogs.kqed.org via Sperk* on Pinterest

For You: Stories About Moms

Just in time for Mother's Day, I created a pin board of stories found around the blogosphere about mothers.  If you come across an great one, let me know.  If you would like to collaborate in gathering content, by all means, let me know and I'll add you to the board.

Me, My Mom and Elizabeth Taylor, 
by Jenna Petroff of Girls's Guide to the Galaxy via BlogHer:

                                                                                  Source: blogher.com via Sperk* on Pinterest

Stephanie, at People Do Things With Their Lives, 

shared this moving story about her mom this week 

in the YeahWrite #55 Writing Challenge:

                                                                        Source: peopledothingswiththeirlives.com via Sperk* on Pinterest

There couldn't be a pin board curating stories about moms

without this one from Ado at The Momalog:

                                                                        Source: themomalog.com via Sperk* on Pinterest

My brain now feels cooled off and clear.  Thanks for accompanying me as I sift through the stuff that obstructs clear and concise thought! Go check out my Pinterest profile for more curation-creation by Sperk*.

5 Good Things I Do and 5 Things I Want

One of my favorite bloggers, Anna at The Mommy Padawan, had the opportunity to choose this week’s topic for Monday Listicles.  Apparently she had trouble deciding, because there are two topics.  I love Anna, but I do not love making decisions. 

“If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.” ~Rush, Freewill

I chose not to decide.  And as the great progressive rock band, Rush, tells us, this means I made a choice.  So here’s this week’s Monday’s Listicles divided in half.

Things I Am Good At:

1. Dancing:  I’ve been a dancer all my life.  I no longer do it formally, but if you set up a secret video recording device in my home, you’d catch me in the act quite a bit.

Source: fastcompany.com via Sperk* on Pinterest

2. Web Surfing/Curating Content:  I curate a lot of content.  I used to think it was a waste of time.  However, a recent article at FastCompany (can be found within the 191 pins in my pin board for Tech and EdTech)indicates that Content Curators are the New Superheroes of the Web.  You may now address me as Super Sperk*

3. Procrastinating:  Most of my procrastination time is spent on Web Surfing/Content Curation, so it is debatable if I even have a procrastination problem.  I may enter a program for Library Science to make my penchant for procrastination legit.

4. Teacher:  I am not one by trade but considering obtaining my license.  I’ve spent many hours volunteering in my kids’ classrooms and offering lessons to my family members and everyone agrees—I’m good at it.  I happen to like it, too.

5. Being a Mom: My lack of boastful self-confidence almost kept this one off the list.  Significant Other said it should be on here.  You want to know how I ended up being a good mom?  I followed my instincts (and of course looked up any relevant content on the Web).

Things I Would Do in 48 Hours 

With Unlimited Resources and Time:

1. Purchase VIP tickets to Bonarroo Music and Arts Festival:  I’ve been twice.  I’d go every year regardless of the lineup because I love the atmosphere of live music surrounding me at all times.  Plus, it’s in Tennessee and I love the south. 

2. Buy a 2013 Mustang Shelby GT500 Convertible:  It's just a bad ass American car.  I've always wanted one.

Screenshot via Ford

3. Acquire Residence at The Condominiums at North Bank Park: I’m not a house girl. I want one of these condos in the heart of the ArenaDistrict in downtown Columbus, Ohio. I’ll take one on the top floor.

Screenshot via The Condos at North Bank Park

4. Hire a web designer and marketing expert for Sperk*:  I have a vision for Sperk* but I need help.  Plus, everyone needs Sperk* and I have a responsibility to make sure it’s easy to get.

5. Day at the Salon:  I'm not picky.  I'll take a day at any nicer salon in town with hair and skin services.  My hair needs done, my face is broken out, and I have deep lines between my brows.  I would feel much better if I could have the aforementioned rectified.  And I deserve to feel good!

Save It for Later Saturday: Open Classroom, LEGO Friends, and Pinterest

I am excited by information.  Every time a tweet with a link shows up in my feed, I click, it appears, and a great rush overtakes me.  I enthusiastically begin to read, yet there is always something waiting to distract me:  another tweet, an email, or a dog scratching at the back door. 

Thankfully my Diigo toolbar never fails me.  I click “Read Later,” throw in some random tags, designate the article to a list, and it is added to my endlessly increasing inventory of great reads from the Web.  But when do I read them?

Saturday.

By the time Saturday arrives, the items I have chosen to save for later have accumulated into a sizable catalog that rivals the overwhelming lump of laundry that is thrown in the corner of my room.  And because I find catching up on the week’s reading a priority over a clean cardigan, you now have Save It for Later Saturday.

In Save It for Later Saturday you’re getting a brief run-down of the stand-outs from my week's "Read Later" list.

airport

One of my favorites on Twitter is @timbuckteeth, aka Steve Wheeler, Associate Professor of learning technology in the Faculty of Health, Education and Society at Plymouth University.  His background in e-learning is extensive.  He is a vanguard in the field of educational technology.

In Open door classrooms, Professor Wheeler challenges us to look beyond the classroom where learning is restricted to a teacher and students behind a closed door: 

It is happening in some schools. Many schools are using videoconferencing links to connect with schools in other countries to facilitate cultural exchange and language learning. The next step would be to enable live web streaming, dynamic social networking and Twitter backchannels to operate while classroom sessions are in progress. Think of all the archived learning resources that could be generated for later, on demand use. Think of all the live interaction, dialogue and discussion that could take place during such lessons.

The causes for obstacles in creating open door classrooms are surprising.  After reading Professor Wheeler's article at Learning with 'e's, you will want to email your school's Superintendent which will provide you with a voice in making decisions about your child's future.

On Thursday night I was busy writing about Sydney Spies' senior photo that she submitted to be published in her high school’s yearbook.  While I was speaking out for mothers to support their daughters in expressing themselves beyond their sexuality,  Nancy Gruver, founder of New Moon Girls, was hosting a #GirlsNow Tweet chat to discuss LEGO Friends.  Perhaps if toys were marketed differently to girls, they would not grow up thinking their self-worth is limited to stereotypes.

I think the LEGO Friends controversy is valid and significant.  We should take note of what toys we purchase if we want to change the way our young women see themselves. Parents play an important role in shaping a child’s vision of what she can do with her life.  And in LEGO Friends vs. LEGO Education: What's the Lesson Here?, Empowered by Play gives weighty reasons why understanding the LEGO Friends controversy is vital to understanding girls.

 

I finally received my Pinterest invitation yesterday.  In the middle of carefully, and sometimes randomly, selecting things to pin, I stumbled upon some tips from Mashable’s Stephanie Buck in Pinterest: 13 Tips for Cutting Edge Users.  I found the pointers helpful and even a seasoned user will pick up good ideas.  After devouring the article, I pinned some great infographics I found at Good. Have I told you that I love infographics?

See you next Saturday!