This past Friday night we were at Walmart (why? BECAUSE WE WERE BREATHING, THAT’S WHY), and Alex asked if he could have a little puzzle book of mazes. The child loves a good maze – always has – so I threw it in the cart and bought it, and he spent the entire ride home trying to catch little rays of traffic lights and street lights so that he could look at all the pages.

Once we got home he sat down at the kitchen table and made his way through every single maze – about 40 of them – and then he told me that as much as he loved the maze book, he was a little sad that he’d worked them all because it made him feel like he’d wasted them.

Oh, bless him.

Anyway, later that night I was relaying the whole maze adventure to Melanie on the phone, and she mentioned that she’d found a bunch of free connect-the-dots printables for Caroline on the internet, so maybe I could check the Google and see if there were some free maze printables as well.

And I was all, “FREE STUFF? ON THE INTERNET? WELL, I’VE NEVER!”

So the next morning I did a quick Google search, and sure enough: FREE MAZES GALORE. I downloaded and printed about 60, I think, and do you know that Saturday afternoon A and our neighbor B sat (relatively) still for over an hour while they plowed their way through one maze after another after another?

THEY DID.

And in the midst of all the maze-ing, I cleaned out my laundry room – which was a hot spot all its own – and even organized my storage shelves. It looks so much better now that I find myself walking in there just to look around and admire my neatly displayed paper products (the surplus is thanks to D’s last trip to Costco) and Pellegrino bottles and smile.

And yes, that last sentence is absolutely the lamest thing I’ve ever written.

MIDDLE AGE IS AWESOME.

- I don’t know if any of you are country music fans or not, but right now, on the People Country magazine site, you can download eleven country songs for free. And do you know what I enjoy? FREE.

- My Eggland’s Best $100 Visa gift card giveaway (along with a six-month supply of eggs) ends tomorrow, so if you haven’t entered yet, time’s a wastin’!

- We have laughed and laughed at Garth & Kat’s Valentine’s duets today. Classic.

- Loved Tater Mama’s post about what she would tell her 18 year-old self.

- I am uncharacteristically excited about Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains. And I’m not exactly sure how I’m going to fit it into what is already a jam-packed Thursday night TV-watching schedule (I mean, I haven’t even watched last week’s Project Runway yet, THAT’S HOW BEHIND I AM), but I’ll make a way somehow. I am determined.

Happy Super Bowl, everybody!

This afternoon Alex and I ran by the bookstore so I could pick up a copy of Beth Moore’s new book. The book is called So Long, Insecurity, and I’d be glad to tell you all about how I sometimes struggle with insecurity if I weren’t so worried that you wouldn’t like me afterwards.

We hung out in the bookstore for a few minutes because, well, I have determined that bookstores are officially the most relaxing places on earth. Every once in awhile I even think about carrying a blanket in the bookstore and then settling in for a quick snooze, but maybe it’s better if I just stop right there before I run the risk of oversharing and thereby alienate at least half and maybe even three-quarters of you.

See? BRIMMING WITH CONFIDENCE.

Anyway, after we left the bookstore (FOR THE RECORD: I DID NOT FALL ASLEEP THERE), we ran by Walmarts. I’m usually not a very enthusiastic Thursday night cook because it’s my Bible study night, and given the amount of meat we cook around here, I hate to walk into Bible study and know that the girls can smell FRIED MEAT all over my clothes. Lucky for me David was totally on board with having nachos for supper – mainly because he is completely and totally addicted to the salsa recipe I posted yesterday – so I only needed to pick up a few things at the store.

(Do you know what else I should’ve bought at the Walmarts?)

(SOME BREVITY.)

(Would’ve done me a world of good.)

So Alex and I were making our way around the store, and when we got to the end of the chips aisle (it’s my favorite!), the little man said, “MAMA! LOOK!”

And do you know what? Not three feet in front of us there was a sweet lady handing out samples of a new flavor of Cheez-Its – which, as we all know, is the very best snack cracker in the history of all snack crackers in the universe and beyond and even in heaven.

Don’t tell me there are no Cheez-Its in heaven. Because I will not believe you.

The boy and I both took a sample, and I admit that I was skeptical. There have been all sorts of new Cheez-It flavor combinations over the last couple of years, and after an unfortunate experience with the Smoked Cheddar / Monterey Jack combo, I’ve tried to stick with old school Cheez-Its.

You know. The ones that God makes.

But let me tell you: after we sampled the new flavor, I looked at Alex and he looked at me and after a few seconds of wide-eyed staring he said, “Mama, these are DELICIOUS. We’ve gotta get some of these, Mama.”

So that’s exactly what we did.

A little child shall lead them, y’all.

A little child shall lead them into exciting new snack food options.

And just in time for the Super Bowl, at that.

So tonight I was walking from the kitchen to the guest room – where I had big plans for folding clothes and watching the State/Vandy basketball game – and I realized that pretty much anytime I get ready to commit to the night’s TV viewing spot, I always take three things with me.

(And please notice how I very lovingly placed these three things on a throw before I took their picture. I wanted them to be comfortable.)

(After all, they’re family.)

1. Mississippi State stadium cup – because I like to have ice cubes in my presence at all times, and a stadium cup is the perfect size

2. Mentholatum – because I have a deep and abiding fear of needing to soothe my chapped lips but not having lip balm handy

3. My phone – because I find that reality shows and sporting events are infinitely more enjoyable when accompanied by some quality texting

What about y’all? Do you have any “comfort items” that you like to have at the ready when you’re watching TV? Or just stuff that you always take with you when you move from room to room? Or am I just strange?

You don’t have to tell me if it’s that last thing.

Really. You don’t. Promise.

The end.

- You know how sometimes something strikes you as sort of funny, and then the more you watch it or hear it the funnier it gets, and before you know it you want to watch it over and over? Well, that was my exact reacton to this SNL skit. Also: Kristen Wiig is a treasure.

- I’ve read a couple of posts over the last few days that have really encouraged me as a mama: this post by Brandi and this post by Priscilla.

- Holly has written the sweetest post about her struggle with infertility, and I think you’ll love it. I did.

- I made Ree’s salsa Monday night after Melanie told me how good it was, and oh my word, D and I may be addicted. I used a little chili powder instead of cumin, but other than that I followed the recipe. And just FYI: I’ll be making another batch of the salsa goodness tomorrow.