Things that fall into the category of WHAT ARE WE THINKING....

Those of you who know me know that I don't whine much. I'm easy going and I pretty much accept things the way they are and don't spend a lot of time lamenting what could or should be. Today I was struck by a couple of things that really irked me and I want to tell you about them. So if you bear with me to the end of this post, I will teach you how to make a smiley face. *Ü*

First, I took Seth to a birthday party at a place called Wonderland. (Think Chuck E Cheese on steroids) They have mini-golf, play areas, laser tag, and games and tickets galore to spend on little piece of plastic junk that costs three cents to make and 600 tickets to buy. Let me say that I hate those kind of places. I hate seeing kids running up and trying to get more and more tokens. It just breeds greed and a desire for more. I don't like places where everything looks so fun, but they make you pay for everything you do. But, if someone else wants to pay to have their birthday party there, I guess I'll drive 40 minutes across town to drop him off. I wonder what message do we send our kids in a place like this? Blech!! What are we thinking?

Second, I went to the mall to kill some time. I am not a shopper. I wouldn't have even gone to the mall, but I had to return something. I went into one clothing shop because I had a $10 coupon, and I couldn't find one thing I wanted. I gave the coupon to two teen girls who thought I gave them the winning lottery ticket. They were excited, and I made a bee-line for Barnes & Noble, which is the only place in the mall I really like to be. I finally got my copy of this with the B&N educator's discount! Woohoo!! On my way, I passed a crowd of people watching some young girls performing their dance routines. The costumes these girls were wearing were terrible. The routines were sleazy and these girls were attempting to shake things they don't even have yet! They were caked with make-up and it disgusted me. What kind of message are we sending young girls when we dress them up like that and clap for them. Blech!! What are we thinking?

So, there is my whine for the month. My day got better when I picked up Annsley at her friend's house. They were filming a "talk show" project for one of their classes about the lost colony of Roanoke. They wrote scripts, researched information, and put together a nice presentation. They were so innocent (and properly dressed) that it warmed my heart!!

Good, clean, wholesome, educational fun, now THAT's what I'm talking about, people!! No need to overstimulate or underdress them.

In order to make the smiley face, you have to put the number lock on and then push "alt 0220" with an asterisk on either side. *Ü*