Remember how I was ragging on Mother Nature to get her menopausal meds in order since she was having a hot-flash just last week?Β  Yeah, about that.Β  When I wanted winter to finally arrive, I meant in the form of snow, not have the highs for the day be in the teens.Β  Seriously.Β  30-32 with copious amounts of snow apparently needs to be special ordered.Β  I guess I’ve been falling down on the job bribing the snow fairies the last couple of years.

Speaking of bribery…Β  Apparently Princess Nagger has become immune to bribery. Or at least not quite as interested as she once was.Β  I finally did get her the coveted Minecraft Lego set she was really hoping Santa would bring at Christmas (he didn’t, because he would have had to get it at Lego.com and they were out of stock even for him).Β  I haven’t told her I got it, just that if she would clean the atrocious mess of hers in the living room – and keep it clean for a full week – I’d get her the Minecraft Lego set.Β 

10 days later her mess still remains and she hasn’t made any effort to clean it up.Β  I’m thinking later today, while she’s at school, I’m going to start filling a box for eBay since that’s what the opposite end of the bribery spectrum is.Β 

Speaking of Princess Nagger… she has been guffawing at a video she ran across whilst watching Minecraft videos.Β  She kept pestering me to watch it, and when I finally did, I understood why it made her laugh so hard.Β  Here, you might need a laugh:

Now she goes around the house saying “Hello, I’m a Mac.”Β  Once she gets your attention she performs the entire video in person and verbatim – complete with mimicking their accents and everything.Β  Definitely an entertainment factor.

Speaking of entertainment factor…Β  I saw a link to this on MSN last week and had to click over – now I have to share with you because it’s hilarious.Β  This little cutie is very serious about playing the xylophone during a school concert:

If only I could get Princess Nagger as enthusiastic to practice and/or play her choice of musical instruments this year for 4th grade, the clarinet.Β  Or clean up her mess in the living room.

Speaking of mess…Β  We still haven’t finished cleaning out the basement after Hurricane Sandy decided to flood it out – the hubby was going to take care of it while I was on my trip to Maytag, but apparently didn’t get around to it.Β  He finally got it halfway cleaned out then stalled.Β  Again.Β 

So my dining room is a disaster as makeshift storage with stacks of stuff that should be in the basement instead of the dining room – I’m wondering if I’m going to have to wait for the basement to be cleaned out when it’s time for us to move instead of sooner like I’d like.Β  Sometimes being married to an Absent Minded Professor can be frustrating when he ‘forgets’ to do things he was going to do, and I don’t want to be a nag.Β  I wonder if bribery would work on him?

I’m keeping it short and sweet for this week since I know you all have busy lives –Β  link up and join in the fun – everyone is welcome, random or not.Β  Be sure to visit your fellow randomizers so they don’t feel so lonely.


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Keeping the random alive – feel free to snag a badge and play along – one for my wino friends:

Stacy

And one for my non-wino friends:

Stacy

I’m also linking up with two stellar ladies, Shawn and Impulsive, the lovely hosts of Talk To Us Tuesday. There are no rules so link away.

Seriously Shawn

More Tuesday hops – if you’re stopping by here from there, please do me a favor and follow via LinkyFollowers – since I was robbed of my GFC followers when the cads at Goggle decided to boycott non-Blogger blogs.


TuesdayTrain friendandfollow

 

37 Comments

  1. Those videos were entertaining! I’m not a fan of winter, especially when it gets below 32 degrees. I’m so ready for spring.
    Hmmm, don’t have any advice on the bribery thing. Sometimes we can beat our heads against the wall with bribery and it still doesn’t work. Good luck!
    Terra Heck would like you to read ..Random Tuesday Thoughts – iPad WinMy Profile

  2. PN watchs Minecraft videos too? Jude is obsessed. It’s all he wants to do – sit at the computer and watch those videos. Freaky! Man, I’m sorry about the bribery thing. I do think that it’s very bold of you to carry through with the eBay threat, I don’t know if I’d be strong enough!
    Gretchen would like you to read ..RTT: Skydiving, Poopoo and BenedictMy Profile

    1. I swear Jude and PN are the same people sometimes! πŸ™‚ Once we move back to the West Coast we’ll definitely need to plot a way to get together with the kids – I bet they’ll talk for HOURS and entertain us in the process! πŸ™‚ I have followed through with my eBay threat in the past, so Princess Nagger knows I’ll do what I say – she negotiated a couple more days to get her stuff cleaned up (she’s a very good negotiator) but as of Thursday, if her mess is still taking up too much space in the living room, eBay will commence! πŸ™‚

  3. Hi Stacey
    Bribery with children I think every parent tries it and some times it works and some times it doesn’t. Usually I think it is used when people haven’t the time to go about the problems the normal route and want things sorted now often with a negative outcome.

    Parenthood never easy lee
    Lee would like you to read ..Random Bucket List IdeasMy Profile

  4. I know exactly how you feel – with the mess…. Hurricane Sandy – the lady just keeps giving…. we finally put everything back (that we were able to save) where it belongs. Now we keep finding out what is missing…. and every day that destroyed list gets bigger…
    Hilary would like you to read ..Bucket List TourMy Profile

    1. Hurricane Sandy seems to be the (unwanted) gift that keeps on giving, right Hilary? I keep finding ruined stuff I forgot was in the basement as I pick through the remaining mess. Sorry your destroyed list keeps getting bigger – you need a break!!

  5. Just when I thought bribery had stopped working for Elliot, he proved me wrong. We bribed him with some candy for doing something last night, which he actually ended up not doing, and he was devastated that he didn’t get the candy. Lesson learned!

    1. AHAHAHA! There must be kid crack in Minecraft – seems to be rampant all over! And probably the same sort of crack that’s in Target stores for us adults – which makes us buy more while there than we planned to. Or is that just me? πŸ™‚ Thanks for the good snow wishes – there’s a chance those wishes may come true on Friday unless Mother Nature changes her mind…again. πŸ™‚

  6. Yeah, by the time they get into their tweens (girls, anyway), bribery begins to cease working. You can box things up for sale on eBay, but stick to your guns and do it, because threats with no follow-up don’t work any better than bribery does. And, I’m sorry to report, it’s only going to get worse; there should be a desert island strictly for teenage girls. They can come home once they’re out of desert island college.
    Jan’s Sushi Bar would like you to read ..Cherry Chocolate Chip MuffinsMy Profile

    1. I really need to look into the desert island college. Wonder if they have a desert island elementary, middle, junior high and high school, too? πŸ˜‰ I’m definitely one of those that follows through – Princess Nagger knows full well that when I say I’m going to do something, I do it. She’s actually learned that the hard way a few times. πŸ˜‰ She has negotiated a couple more days to get her stuff cleaned up – but if it’s not done by the time she goes to bed tomorrow night, while she’s at school on Thursday I’m going to town collecting things, taking pictures and putting them on eBay! πŸ˜€

  7. Bribery might work better if she could actually see the Minecraft Legos. They are a lot more motivating if they are staring her in the face. I hope you get your basement cleaned out soon.
    Anne would like you to read ..Grouchy in the Small TownMy Profile

    1. That is a GREAT idea, Anne! I’ll have the Minecraft Lego sitting on the counter when she gets home from school today – with a note attached something to the effect of “DO NOT TOUCH” with an explanation. I bet she’ll get her stuff cleaned up in the living room in record time. But she’ll have to keep it clean for a week before I’ll give her the Minecraft, since that was the original deal. Here’s hoping it works… πŸ˜‰ I hope we get our basement cleaned out soon, too – then I can revert the dining room back to a dining room instead of a storage room. πŸ™‚

  8. Perhaps suspending all media entertainment for a week may be incentive for her to get the job done. Our kids always hated punishment! It gets their attention in a hurry when they see what Mom can hold over their heads. lol

  9. I have an Absent Minded Professor, too, so I completely understand your frustration.

    I finally told my son that anything on the floor was going in the trash. It took me going in there with a trash bag, but the message was received!

    I would send you some of our balmy weather if I could…
    Tina would like you to read ..Randomly RandomMy Profile

    1. It’s nice to know there’s someone who understands the frustration of being married to an Absent Minded Professor. Nice to know I’m not alone! πŸ™‚

      I’ve done the same threat of stuff on the floor = trash – you should see PN scramble when I bring out the broom and start sweeping everything into a pile. πŸ™‚

  10. Seems like my bribes are never good enough ideas, and I get more motivation if they pick them…However, that being said, I should think that the Minecraft set would do it…it is soooo cool!
    Andrea would like you to read ..WinterandomMy Profile

    1. Heh, if I let Princess Nagger pick the motivation she’d pick the hundred dollar ‘fur suit’ she’s been eying. πŸ˜‰ With how obsessed she is with Minecraft and having had it on her Christmas list you’d think that would motivate her enough. But I think Anne’s idea of her seeing it (that I actually have it vs. just the promise of it) might motivate her…hopefully. πŸ™‚ Especially since it is soooooo cool! πŸ™‚

    1. I’m glad you love the linky with thumbnails – so far that’s the general consensus, so I’ll go with those from now on. πŸ˜‰ Be afraid, be VERY afraid of when bribery doesn’t work… I’ll let you know if I come up with something sufficiently effective! πŸ˜‰

  11. Seriously, you need to be a little more specific with cranky Mother Nature. We are hovering just above the single digits during the day and single digits at night. Brrrrrr! Plus,there isn’t any snow! I hate the bitter cold.

    I can’t wait to show J-Man the Mac & PC video. Pretty cute.

    Man that kid is a serious xylophone player.

    Good luck getting the basement cleaned up. It’s such a hard job.
    Elle would like you to read ..Ever Feel Like This on a Random Tuesday?My Profile

  12. Oh the oys of being married to an absent-minded hubby! Oy vey! I know that all to well too! Sorry about the water damage in your basement. πŸ˜›

    I’ll have to show that egg video to my daughters. I think they will laugh hysterically at it too.

    I totally forgot to link up earlier this week. So, here I am today! πŸ™‚
    Run DMT would like you to read ..Clearwater Marathon RecapMy Profile

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