Snapshot Sunday

Our local children's museum was host to a couple of musicians from a regional music festival (Cactus Pear Music Festival out of San Antonio) going on right now. The event was free and featured Mary (soprano) and Evan (double-bassist). They did a 45 minute concert/lesson/presentation on folk music and storytelling, interactive stuff with the audience and were simply delightful. And afterwards? We got to decorate and EAT cookies! (about 150 folks in attendance) The best part was the comments from the boys on our way back home - "way cool" and "can we go again" were music to MY ears!

Imagine my surprise when I opened the paper this morning and saw a picture from this very concert and could pick out Travis, Tyler and myself in the audience! SUH WEET!

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y NIGHT!

Yay! We're going out to dinner at a new place tonight with some church friends...hopefully this will be just what I need to break up my mid-summer funk!

Flashback Friday - TOO HOT!!!

Oh my. This song has been going through my head for a week now. Wanna know why?

We've been over 100 degrees every day since the beginning of June, with the exception of ONE DAY.

It is, indeed, too hot. Too hot baby.

Visit Christi's Site for more Flashback Friday fun!

It's Too Hot (Too Hot) Too Hot Baby...

I can't even formulate a thought at this point - the heat is sapping every last bit of energy from me.

WHERE IS AUTUMN???????

We Heart The Karts!

Oh, sometimes I really kick myself for not having my camera with me!

Last night, we made a spur-of-the-moment decision to go to our local putt-putt place and play a round. The temperature was in the low-90's, there was a breeze, so it was almost pleasant to be outside!

The kids LOVE doing stuff like this, and having 2-for-1 coupons really helps as well. We played a lively round of 18 holes (I think I won by a stroke - need to check on that). By the time we were done, we were quickly closing in on bedtime.

But MOM! There are GO KARTS! But DAD! Can we PLEEEEEASE ride them?

2-for-1! You betcha!

Travis asked to ride with Scott, so Tyler and I rode together. I never even once considered how Tyler would react to being that low to the ground, open-air, and with the loud engine behind his seat. We just got in and took off! The look on that kid's face! HAHAHAHA Man, see? A camera would have been great about right now.

It was a heated battle, but you will be happy to know that Tyler and I passed up the bigger boys (Travis now knows to ride with Mom since I'm considerably lighter than Scott!) - victory was ours! Tyler loved it and wants to do it again, which was a huge step for him!

I love summer. Too bad it all ends in about 6.5 weeks...

Not Much to Say

Let's see:

• we got rain this morning - about 1/4 of an inch. We're only about 2.5 feet below where we should be. Blah.
• Travis is at a day camp with a friend this week. He's having a great time, it is a small camp (about 30 kids, 4 counselors, at a church about 6 blocks from our house), but that means it is also...
• Tyler-camp week with MOMMY. I'm just not good at this. Monday was his gymnastics class. Today we went to the Children's Museum. Tomorrow we're meeting friends at Schlitterbahn. Not anything different than the usual, but maybe with it just being Tyler, that will make it different enough?
• Please, Dear Lord, can we have a week of temperatures LESS THAN 100 degrees?

Yep, that's pretty much it.

Protect Yourself

A few summers ago, I went through some issues with my identity being compromised. In light of all that (which still affects me, even today), I am posting some tips for everyone to consider this summer, courtesy of IdentityTruth.

• Know where your credit cards/debit cards are at all times: Keep credit card/debit card(s) on you at all times. Don’t leave them at a bar to run a tab because it can lead to the card being compromised.
• Double-check credit card receipts when traveling out of the country: Some receipts still print out the cardholder’s full name and credit card number. If you’re going to throw receipts in trash, be sure to shred them.
• Minimize the number of documents carried: Carrying more documents means more potential for loss and/or theft. Keep important documents in a hotel safe and only carry what’s necessary.
• Be careful when using ATMs: Only use ATMs with monitoring cameras, such as those in bank lobbies. Avoid kiosk ATMs, those freestanding units often do not have cameras and are statistically more likely to be infected by skimmers (electronic devices that allow thieves to record account and PIN numbers). "Shoulder Surfing" can also be a problem at bars or crowded resorts. While you assume that the man behind you is uncomfortably close because of the crowded space, he may actually be looking over your shoulder trying to get your login.
• Pay cash whenever possible or use credit cards instead of debit cards: Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, Credit Cards provide consumers protection against fraudulent charges and your liability is limited to $50. You also have the right to dispute charges and withhold payment during investigation. However, debit cards are entirely different. Although they market themselves to deliver the same protection, they are not required to by any law. Bottom line, your liability for fraudulent charges is the entire amount in your checking account as well as the credit line you have been authorized to receive.

Realize, too, that these are all fabulous tips, but sometimes stuff does happen (as it did to me) and there's not a dern thing you can do about it except protect yourself up front. Make copies of all your account info and keep it somewhere at home, accessible quickly if you need to cancel credit cards or alert authorities. Identity theft is a quickly-growing, hard-to-keep-up-with crime, but it IS a crime. File a police report to protect yourself from further damage to your credit and other identifications.

And have a good summer.