You know what I wonder? Why do I have a calendar? I mean, I occasionally write things in it, but then I close it up, stick it in my stack of stuff that I tote back and forth every day, and never look at it again.

Case in point: last Friday. Though just two days before, I’d sent my friend Christelle a note on Facebook saying how much I was looking forward to our scrapbooking date on Friday, I sat at my desk that afternoon and thought, “Hmmm, what am I going to do tonight?”

And then, because my life is so very exciting, I logged onto TVGuide.com to see what was playing on the old boob tube.

Thankfully I had an occasion later on to open my calendar, where I saw “Scrapbook with Christelle” written on my Friday box. I say thankfully, because a) it would have been quite embarrassing to have Christelle find me in my usual Friday routine (you know, lounging on the couch in my stretchy pants watching Wife Swap), and b) it was pretty slim pickings on TV and I had decided I’d just watch Kate & Leopold again.

I didn’t even like it that much the first time. Mainly because Meg Ryan has her weird fish lips in that one, and it’s just too distracting for me.

Let’s pause for an important disclaimer: Yes, Pysch is on Friday nights, but I tape it, so Mark and I can watch it together over the weekend. Now, carry on.

So, I remembered my scrapbooking date in time to order pizza and pick up the toys decorating our floors. And more important than organizing my photos and picking out the perfect rub-on or brad, I had a great time catching up with my friend.

Which is a good thing, because I wasn’t so successful in the scrapbooking part of our evening. I am either on or off with that stuff, and I was off.

I don’t really remember what we did on Saturday, although I distinctly recall it involved an extremely pleasant afternoon nap.

Oh yes, we also went to the park – for 15 minutes. Because by the time we got there, somebody was getting cranky and needed a nap.

No, I don’t mean me.

But kind of.

Anyway, Saturday night was a big deal: Mark’s dad watched Annalyn for the first time, while we went with Smitty to a birthday party. I could bore you with details about how the restaurant we went to used to be called Johnny O’Quigley’s but now it’s Paddy O’Quigley’s but I didn’t know that and assumed the invitation had the wrong name but then I saw it was right but still Smitty wanted to mock me and assume that I was crazy.

But really, all you need to know is that they served green tortilla chips – because dying the Mexican food green makes it Irish. And Annalyn had a great time with her Grandpa Jim.

We wrapped up Sunday with choir practice and church, the longest 90 minutes ever (also known as our monthly service in the toddler nursery), another nap for the whole family, lots of giggles and Mark’s awesome grilled chicken.

How was your weekend?

I haven’t done a Random Readings in a while, but since I read some really great posts in the past week, I decided to share them with you. Have you read anything inspiring, hilarious or interesting lately?

• Discipline: MckMama shares tips on disciplining kids. So timely for our house – anyone else relate?
• Ask me what I did last night: Amy wrote about freedom in Christ. And she blew me away.
• Checkout lines are no place for non-church attending Catholics. Jennifer had a terrible experience a couple Sundays ago. Made me feel sad…and mad…and a little guilty…
• Hope and Hope, part 2: Colleen bared her soul about her childhood, some changes she’s considering and how it’s all connected.
• Before I Was a Mom: Jill wrote about how motherhood has changed her. (And to think she claimed to have writer’s block before this? I’m not buying it!)
• Prayer: Why We Struggle (and how not to): Ann writes beautiful poetic words, and her post about prayer and why we don’t do it brought me to my knees.
• For class of ’13, times are a-changin’: Beloit College takes time to make me feel old. Thank you.
  

Have a great weekend. I’m hoping to clean my house, balance my checkbook (yawn), take the kiddo to the park and eat up this amazing weather, go with Mark and Smitty to a birthday party, and make it to church on time for choir practice before worship service. And then? A nap. With the windows open and the breeze blowing . . . and the Zyrtec on call.

We’ve recently switched Annalyn’s naptime from the morning to the afternoon. This makes her a tired girl. I don’t eat enough vegetables, and I haven’t worked out since Day 4 of The Shred. This makes me a tired girl.

And that, my friends, is not a good combination when it comes to after-work trips to the Walmart.

Fortunately, between contact solution and tortillas, we stumbled into the cracker aisle. And since I know how anything labeled “cracker” makes my daughter oh-so-happy, I decided to pick up a box.

Plus, it was after work. And she wasn’t the only one who was ready for dinner.

As we strolled down the cracker aisle, my eyes were drawn to the red and yellow boxes of little cheese-flavored squares. Right. You know the ones.

The Cheez-Its. The one kind of cracker that I can’t buy and keep in my house, no matter how much my daughter loves them. Possibly because I, too, love their salty, cheesy crunch. And possibly because a box of Cheez-Its in our house disappears faster than, well, a box of Pop Tarts in our house.

But the Cheez-Its we saw tonight? Oh, they were something special. They were . . . Scrabble Cheez-Its!

My friend Jeremy bought a box of these several months ago. When I saw them at his house during our Bible study, he acted all casual. All, “Oh, I bought them at Target.” Right. I’ve been to Target, mister. And I saw no such Scrabble Cheez-Its!

Okay . . . honestly? After I saw the special crackers at his house, I looked at every store around for a week or so. When I couldn’t find them, I figured it was a limited time, short-term, blah-blah, should’ve bought it sooner thing.

And then I cried.

Just kidding.

But when Annalyn and I found them tonight at Walmart? Well, you can be sure I bought a box.

And opened it up before she starved to death right there in front of my eyes. I know that was a possibility, because of the way she kept shouting, “Cracker! Cracker! Pease! Pease!” No, we’re not dramatic in this family. Not at all.

The good news is that somehow, putting letters on the cheesy squares of goodness makes them somehow, less good. I think Annalyn will actually get to eat all of her own crackers this time.

The bad news is that it’s just as hard to find the letters you want with Scrabble Cheez-Its as it is with the real game.

Way back in February or March or maybe May, Autumn asked if I would share with you all what I’ve learned at the blogging conferences and seminars I’ve attended in the past year. Being generous and a giver in general, I said, “Of course I will!”

And then I promptly did not do any such thing.

Ohhhhhhh, I’m so sorry. My friends, I have a huge folder that won’t even close anymore, jam-packed with notes and handouts and presentation slides and ideas and rules. And I carry it with me, from home to work and back again, intending every single day (well, you know, most days) to write up a great summary of all the knowledge that has been dumped into my brain in the past several months.

But here we are. And still no post. [Insert big, guilt-ridden sigh here.]

By this point, I’m not even sure if anyone out there wants this information. And I’m not sure typing out my scribbled notes from a conference six months ago would help anyone. But just in case someone is still interested – and honestly, to alleviate my bloggy guilt – I’ve gathered up a bunch of great resources for improving your blog design, content and more.

Blogging Basics 101 – Exactly what it sounds like! Here are three of the best posts, in my opinion: 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Starting a New Blog, 5 More Mistakes to Avoid and Blogging Etiquette Tips.

Mommy Always Wins – Colleen writes great how-to posts for all sorts of bloggy design projects. She’s also helpful, hilarious and oh yeah, starting her own blog design company!

Musings of a Housewife – Jo-Lynne runs her own blog design company, but she shares her secrets every once in a while. Easy step-by-step tutorials that anyone can use.

Michael Hyatt – As CEO of the largest Christian publishing company, Mr. Hyatt is – of course – on my must-read list. But he writes about so much more than books! I have not found anyone else who writes posts that explain social media better, and I highly recommend checking out all his posts about blogging. Two recent posts are 13 Idea Starters for Stuck Bloggers and Focus on Blog Content Before Traffic.

ProBlogger – Darren Rowse is one of the few people out there actually making money by blogging full time. Even if that’s not your thing, he has great posts about how to blog well. Try 9 First Step Goals for New Bloggers, 13 Things I’ve Learned, and Warning: Do You Recognize These 21 Blogging Mistakes?

Also:

• CopyBlogger writes about the seven deadly sins of blogging.
• Darcy at Life with my 3 Boybarians is refreshingly honest about 10 Blogging Mistakes.
• Kevin & Amanda share tons of blog design tips, as well as tons and tons of free fonts.
• Sarah at Real Life Blog has a few tips about blog design, too.
• Nathan Bransford, a book agent, goes over the absolute basics of blogs right here.

Okay, what do you think? Am I leaving something out? Do you have any burning blog questions? I don’t know that I have answers to your burning questions, but I’d be happy to help you find them.

And though this whole darned post is belated, it will be linked to What I Learned This Week and Top Ten Tuesday.