Let’s see…  The last month of school was a difficult one for me on a personal level, but, thanks to the understanding and cooperation of some great professors, I finished with a perfect grade point average!  I also received two awards.  The one I’m most proud of was for “Academic Excellence.”

It seems the summer has flown by, and now I’m trying to mentally prepare for my next-to-last semester of college.  As usual, I’m a bit nervous.  New professors, new challenges, etc.  Hopefully I will continue to do as well as I have thus far.

I’m feeling a bit rusty at this, so I think I’ll keep this post short, and consider it a warm-up for the days ahead!

That is, after I finish the vacuuming, dusting, cleaning the kitchen and the bathrooms, taking out the trash, etc., etc., etc.  Ok, why do I feel a little less excited about summer’s arrival now?  I still want to go out and play!  (/whine)

But, as we all know, motherhood also includes the mundane (and sometimes yucky–why does a five-year-old think leaving a half-eaten popsicle under the sofa cushion is a good idea?! ) chores of keeping the abode shiny clean (even if there is almost always the toy maze on the family room floor, shh!).

What if we could find an affordable cleaning service to deal with all of that boring stuff for us?  I bet that’s near the top of most moms’ wish lists!  I know I’d love it!  I can imagine leaving for the beach in the morning and coming home after a day of  fun in the sun to a clean house.  Yes.  Definitely a dream come true!  Think I just found one more item to add [to the top of] to my ‘to do’ list!

Happy almost summer!

I am here to tell you that I have found the perfect solution!  Tim realized that I wasn’t the only mommy blogger who needed help and guidance when it came to blogging-related issues (beyond writer’s block), so he decided to launch MommyBloggersBestFriend, where a limited number of members can receive technical support for their blogs whenever they need it.  How cool is that?!

Not only can all of your technical needs be met, your MommyBloggersBestFriend membership includes hosting on TimburyDotNet at no additional charge if you would like it.

The launch date is Sunday, May 9 (Mother’s Day–what could be more appropriate?), and if you sign up before then, you will receive a significant discount on your membership!  Please feel free to refer friends, as there is a referral bonus available as well!  Membership is limited so that the highest quality service can be maintained, so don’t wait!

For more information, visit MommyBloggersBestFriend or contact me.

Happy early Mother’s Day!

Last Thursday, Kim’s daughter, Vanessa, was tragically killed.  (See more of the story here:  philly.com)  No parent should ever have to deal with the loss of a child.  This incident has rocked me to the core.  Not only did I know and love this family, my daughter is almost the same age as Vanessa, and that adds another element of fear.

But this isn’t about me; it’s about the family getting through this horrible time.  There are several ways that you can help, and I hope that you will.

• You can visit the R.I.P. Gina Gentile and Vanessa Dorwart Facebook page and offer words of encouragement to the family and friends.
• If you are in the Philadelphia area, you can attend a benefit for the family.  More information can be found here:  Benefit for the Gentile and Dowart Families.
• Donations to help cover funeral costs can be sent to:  The Vanessa M. Dorwart Memorial Fund, c/o Beneficial Bank, 1862 Delmar Drive, Folcroft, PA 19032.
• Wired 96.5 is collecting donations and will be holding a benefit as well.

Hug your children close.

Vanessa’s obituary.

This week’s theme: Give me five things you would do if money were no object:

1. Buy a new car so I would no longer have to worry if I’m going to make it to my destination!
2. Set up trust funds for my kids.
3. Take a cruise.
4. Pay off our house, and our parents’.
5. Make generous donations to charities I believe in.

Be sure to stop by Becca’s Buzz to see the other Give Me 5 participants!

* Don’t forget to visit Singing With My Heart to help support Heather’s mission to spread awareness for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and National Domestic Violence Awareness Month!

Heather decided she wanted to help raise much needed funds for these causes, so she came up with a brilliant idea!  Here is what she is doing:

For every comment I receive in my blog, starting tonight, and all through the month of October, on any entry, I will donate .25, up to $250. For every person that writes a post about this, and links to it? Another .25 thrown into the pot. If you tweet this? .5 added. At the end of the month, I will tally the comments, the entries, and the tweets, and I will split the money in half and donate to each of the two charities that I have chosen. The person who comments in my blog the most, out of the entire month, will get a $25 gift card to Amazon.com.

Please head over to Heather’s blog and contribute a comment. Not only will you be helping to raise money for two important causes, you’ll find some great reading!

The expectations (from others as well as yourself), the hectic pace to do it all (and do it well) just leaves you mentally and physically exhausted all the time.

You see no way out.

Unless you are willing to admit defeat and let it all go.  Or at least let parts go.

Is dealing with failure better than pushing yourself beyond your endurance (just waiting for the proverbial shit to hit the fan–big time)?

I wish I knew…

Visit the other Wordless Wednesday participants.