Random Ramblings

Does anyone actually know the words to the song "On Top of Old Smokey"? My boys got a lap harp from Santa for Christmas, and it includes this song. Every time Ethan plays it I sing in my head "On top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese, I lost my poor meatball, when somebody sneezed." Are there real words to that song??
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I had my iPod set to random and plugged into my living room speakers so I could listen to music while I cleaned the kitchen. My kids were happily playing together in the playroom (this is a more frequent occurrence as they get older, thank goodness). The song "Womanizer" by Britney Spears started, and I heard a giant "WOO HOO!" and a squeal come out of the playroom. I laughed but didn't think much of it. When the song ended and another one started, Ethan came out of the room and asked, "Mom, will you start that song again? It's my favorite song of all time."

Uh oh.
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Last month my husband and I started watching The Office on Netflix. We had never seen an episode, but Netflix has the first four seasons on their "watch instantly" page. We started with season one, and watched two (or three or six) episodes every night after the kids went to bed. It completely and totally grew on me. I would find myself thinking about it during the day, and wondering what would happen with Angela and Andy (and/or Dwight), and what Michael would do to be a @%$& on the next episode. My favorite scene ever, the one where I laughed so hard I cried? The one where Jan breaks up with Michael, and he plays the song "Goodbye My Lover" on his computer, but he's too cheap to buy the entire song so he just listens to the free 30 second snippet over and over. That one scene gave me pure joy (if you can get joy from a tv show). And my favorite episode ever was the dinner party that Jan and Michael had at their house, and everyone was supremely uncomfortable the entire night. Who puts a roast that takes 3 hours to cook in the oven as soon as the guests arrive? And the room full of candles that Jan is selling. Oh my gosh. Hilarious. I haven't enjoyed a show like this since Friends. I miss Joey and Phoebe. Sniff. (Kelly saw Phyllis from The Office at the LAX airport on her way to Cambodia, and got a picture with her. Click here to see it. She also spent Christmas in Cambodia and Thailand. The pictures on her blog are beautiful.)
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I read a book last week. That is relatively amazing because ever since I began blogging like a fiend I had to cut something. Anyway, I read The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. I cried at least 12 times. I have two favorite quotes or sections of the book: Chapter 36 is called Look for the Best in Everybody. His friend told him, "If you wait long enough, people will surprise and impress you." I have definitely found that to be true. My other favorite was from chapter 59 (page 197). He says, "As I see it, a parent's job is to encourage kids to develop a joy for life and a great urge to follow their own dreams...So my dreams for my kids are very exact: I want them to find their own path to fulfillment...Kids, don't try to figure out what I wanted you to become. I want you to become what you want to become." Even if you saw the lecture online, read the book anyway. It is amazing.
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Did you know that you can "force" Google Reader to pull up your blog, so that it won't take nine hours anymore? Everyone may already know this, but Vanessa and Stephanie pointed it out to me. If you subscribe to your own blog, you can pull it up in Google Reader, hit "refresh," and voilà! It shows up on everyone's Google Reader. Fun little fact...thanks Vanessa and Stephanie!
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My poor little three year old threw up the night before last. For the third time in three months. He can't afford to lose that much weight! Sweet little guy. He still wanted to play Monopoly, though. (So we did.)
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I heard a quote once that said something about only sweeping the corners of your kitchen, because the middle kind of takes care of itself.

Does someone want to come and sweep my corners? Because it is my least favorite of all of the chores. P.S. I might be willing to do your least favorite chore in return. What is your least favorite chore?