I have a pin

that says "Youth Leader: Shirking Adult Responsibility"

That's what I do every week with 20-30 teenagers on Thursday nights. Some weeks, we do more such as last Friday night when we had a Lock-In. For those who aren't familiar with a Lock-In, some person who must've gone off his meds (that's the only explanation for it) long ago created the idea. The premise is that you show up for an event in the evening, the doors are locked and you can't leave until morning. It's kind of like prison. Only fun! Teenagers beg for them because a)it's a night away from parents, b)night with friends and c)absolutely no sleeping.

Perfect for the teens because they'll get to sleep the next day. The youth leaders kind of stumble through the next day in a haze feeling as though they've just been in a car accident because their body has been deprived of sleep.

Worth it? Every one of those teens will tell you yes and I'd have to agree. The teens will say it's because they didn't sleep, they sprayed the youth leader who did fall asleep with whipped cream, they played extreme hide & seek, found almost all of the 200 eggs we hid for them in impossible places and drank insane quantities of caffeine. What they'll realize later is what the adults already know; that night we saw these teens grow, build stronger relationships, experience fun in a safe, nurturing environment and answered some tough questions in a surprisingly articulate way.

I'm caught up on sleep just in time to go away for the entire weekend with this group for an event where they will be with thousands of other teens for 2 days of crazy. Crazy bands, speakers, classes, beach fun and yes, very possibly, no sleep again. I've got the whipped cream ready to go for the poor youth leader who forgets to sleep with one eye open though!

Ace of Cakes

If you are a fan of Duff Goldman and Charm City Cakes, get thee to a television tonight, Thursday March 13th! They made a cake for my son's college (Mount St. Mary's in Maryland) to celebrate their Bicentennial anniversary. It will be on at 10:30p.m. Eastern time.

If you're actually in the area of Mount St. Mary's tonight, they're watching the show and giving away cupcakes. Wow, a Bicentennial birthday! Does this mean they can really say they're Kickin' It Old School?

Baaaaad, bad Blogger (and yardsale)

I kind of unplugged a bit from the internet there for a while and it was really good for me. I got a lot of work done, finished a few novels and enjoyed the 'primitive' life. My son was home for his spring break which was oddly almost a month before official spring arrived, but it was great to have someone who was so thankful for a home cooked meal that he actually sprinted to the table when he was called and didn't even complain when it wasn't his favorite because even that was better than college food.

The 'Crud' took a great deal of recovery time for all of us effected too. Even now, there is the off deep chest cough rumbling through the house. No one more fervently hopes than me that next year the flu shot will be more on target.

The camera has been acting up, so while it's being examined by an expert, I'm all out of fun visuals.

But....

today one of my favorite movies from last year was released on video! Dan In Real Life even scored the hubby approval rating which is practically like an Oscar for the layman. Steve Carrell makes me laugh and in this movie, he made me cry~in a good way. I rarely purchase dvds because Netflix really makes it almost silly to, but I actually planned to purchase this movie today. I wonder what they're teaching my son up at college because he sends me loads and loads of Youtube videos. He shouldn't have time; nose to the grindstone and all that! This morning he sent me a link to a really cute website called Improv Everywhere. I wasted a good 30 minutes laughing and wishing I could be in on some of these stunts. Check it out if you need an infusion of fun in your day.

With the camera being on the fuzzy fritz, I haven't been able to upload my more recent Deck of Me cards to the Flickr group. We do finally have a group symbol we can paste into our blogs courtesy of Dianna, the wonder hostess and Rhonna Farrer who graciously lent her talents to it!

Last, but not least an announcement on behalf of a friend, Michelle! She has superb taste in scrapbook & stamping supplies and her pricing for this sale is insane. She seriously is parting with amazing stuff for super cheap. If you're in the area, get there any way you can!

THE FINAL SCRAPBOOK YARD SALE
As some of you may have heard (or not), I will be moving within the next month or so. Do not cry, as I will only be moving to Frederick. However, a small place does not warrant such an extensive scrapbook supply collection. So, this will be the FINAL scrapbook yard sale I have. All items will be priced at $1, $5 or $10. I really need to get rid of so much stuff (as well as make some cash to live off of). So please spread the word:
Date: Saturday, March 15th
Time: 8am-12noon
Place: 6939 Fox Chase Road
The Meadows (Lake Linganore)
New Market, MD
Items will at least include—embellishments, scrapbooks, paper (by the sheet and pack), ribbon, books, magazines, tools, stamps, inks, alterables…and the list goes on for miles.
Brand names include—Basic Grey, Making Memories, Artic Frog, 7 Gypsies, Bazzill, Autumn Leaves, Stampin Up, Prima, KI Memories, Angel Company, Close To My Heart, Chatterbox, Cosmo Cricket, Foofla, SEI, My Minds Eye…
Thanks for your support--