*Should I rename this blog the Ollie Blog? Probably. ‘Cause really, the little guy is about all I want to write about. It’s his two-week birthday today…and already he’s spent more time in a hospital in his short life than I have in all my 28 years. Not gonna lie – there were tears last week when I saw him hooked up to so many IVs and tubes and machines. But God is good and Oliver is recovering from his open heart surgery last week. He’s a little fighter. Adorable. And oh what a spoiling he’s in for from his Aunt Melissa!

*So, last week I discovered that young adult fiction is so totally cool. (And yes, by the sound of that last sentence, YA fiction’s right up my alley. Not to say that I’m not mature…uh, friends, please stop laughing.) Highly recommended: Jenny B. Jones’s “Charmed Life” series. Just make sure not to take a huge gulp of tomato juice right before a funny part (yes, I said tomato juice – it’s healthy and good if you can ignore the ketchupy-ness). Because when you spit it out and it ends up on your shirt, it will look you’ve been shot. This, I know. And, well, considering pretty much every page of all three books is hilarious, it’s probably best just to get all hydrated before reading, okay. Always looking out for my reading friends…

*Because one blog just isn’t enough…I’m excited to introduce the MBT Ponderers blog. I’ll be a periodic contributor with my debut post set to go live this Friday. Woohoo! Here’s to the Ponderers and our new venture. Oh, and make sure to enter our contest. So many cool goodies up for grabs. Check it out here. 

*I like to think I stay hip. Er, you know, updated. Like, I know what’s cool and what’s not. (Hey, just because I still listen to cds and haven’t bought iPod, don’t be thinking I’m not with it.) But, well, last week while sitting in the hospital during Ollie’s surgery, my sibs and I worked together on a crossword puzzle. And clue 62 Down says “Lady _____.” Four letters, and I’m thinking, Lady Bird, right? As in Lady Bird Johnson. Obviously. Only, how come it doesn’t fit? Well, my 18-year-old sister takes one look at it and goes “Lady Gaga.” Doh.

So anyway, here’s how much I know about Lady Gaga…(cue Jeopardy music)…uh, she wants toddlers to be able to pronounce her name? Yeah, I don’t know. (But can you blame me? I’m just so content with Coldplay.) But since we’re talking about her, I saw this super sweet video on YouTube – a clip of a Newsies dance to one of Lady Gaga’s songs. Too funny. (Thanks to whoever showed it to me…)

See, super sweet! And if you watched that clip and thought, “Hmm, funny, cute. But what’s this Newsies thing all about?” please…watch the movie. Christian Bale as Batman…sure, it’s cool. It’s entertaining. But you haven’t seen anything til you’ve seen the guy dance as Jack “Cowboy” Kelly and sing “Santa Fe.” Trust me. If you need to borrow it, I’ve got it on video. (Big, bulky black thing…goes in a VHS player. Yeah, go ahead and ignore what I said above about staying current.)