Owner: Virtue Alert URL:www.virtuealert.blogspot.com Join Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2008 22:40:36 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: The rants and raves of an author mom smack-dab in the trenches of teen culture. Virtue Alert is the official blog page for author, Vicki Courtney, who has written numerous parenting books. She created the blog as proof that she's anything but an expert... Site statistics:Click here
Don't stop believin'--just hold on to the feelin' 2008-04-23 07:52:00 Last night, my youngest son (15) asked me if I had heard about the above story featured on The Ellen Degeneres Show and then showed me the clip. Oh. my. goodness. For the next one hour, we watched vintage clips of Journey on YouTube and compared them to recent clips featuring the new frontman, Arnel Pineda. Part of being a good mother is raising your kids to appreciate good music. Like Journey. And The Cars. And Boston. Which reminds me of a time when my children were students at a wonderful Christian school that tried in vain to expose them to the fineries of classical music (think Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Tchaikovsky). I say "in vain" because I still bow my head in shame over a fancy school function we attended when my daughter was a mere 7 years old. We entered a banquet hall with class
Sugar and spice...and not always nice 2008-04-24 21:22:31 While reminiscing with old friends some years ago at my 20 year high school reunion, a classmate, much to my embarrassment, began to make comments about how mean I had been in junior high school. She recanted in detail things I had said behind her back and times when I had purposely left her out and rallied other girls to do the same. Even though her tone was light-hearted and her words laced with laughter, I found it disturbing that I had earned a spot in the annals of the history of her middle school years as one of the “mean girls.” I apologized profusely for my past behavior and chalked it up to standard adolescent insecurities.Anyone who doubts that the inclinations of the heart are bent toward evil from childhood (Genesis 8:21), need only attend a junior high sleepover where an u Read more:Sugar
, always
Flashback Friday: Snips and snails. 2008-04-25 10:58:43 Vintage 1990: My college boy is headed home on May 8th and I can hardly wait to see him. We talk at least every other day, but nothing beats knowing all your children are sleeping soundly in their rooms down the hall. It's hard to believe that he's almost half way done with college--unless of course, he follows in his mom's footsteps and opts for the five-year plan. Dad has made it clear that he's only paying for four years, so I'm thinking we're half way done. :) Many of you know that I write predominantly on issues pertaining to raising girls, but I absolutely LOVE being a mom to two boys. Who knows, maybe there is a "5 Conversations You Must Have With Your Son" in the future. If you have a boy, I hope you enjoy this excerpt from my Your Boy book!In the early years, I experienced firstha Read more:Friday
I got an "A" y'all. 2008-04-28 13:10:37 This post is inspired by BigMama's laugh-out-loud post today regarding the crafting of her daughter's Fiesta float project for pre-school. Rather than post a reply to her blog warning her of the dangerous trend she has started in doing her daughter's projects, I thought I would create a sort of confessional post of my own. Perhaps, this will inspire the many mothers who ban their children from the craft table when a school project is assigned, or better yet, serve as a wake-up call to the mothers whose poor children are forced to do their own projects. And trust me, I speak from experience, having served in both camps. When my kids were in private school, they (I'm sorry, did I say "they"?) were subjected to a "semester project" assignment which in hindsight, I am now certain was created i
Miley proves nobody's perfect...again and again 2008-04-29 08:31:42 Heartsick. That's the only word I can think of to describe how I feel about the Vanity Fair picture scandal involving Miley Cyrus. Add to it another scandal that surfaced the web last week involving candid shots of her exposing her lacy bra. I refrained from blogging about the latter photos when they came out last week due to the fact that it was rumored to be a Miley look-alike and I was unable to confirm if they were in fact, Miley. But alas, she came clean on Sunday in a statement to People.com where she issued an apology to her fans for the provocative photos that surfaced on the web last week as well as the photos from the Vanity Fair shoot that had at the time, not yet been released."My goal in my music and my acting is always to make people happy. For Vanity Fair, I was so honored a
Jason Castro, will you marry my daughter? 2008-05-01 11:16:53 Dear Jason
,Rumor has it that you are a darling Christian young man who just so happens to be single. I was curious as to how you feel about the concept of arranged marriages? They were quite common in Bible times and given their high rate of success as compared to today's divorce rate, I felt it would be an option worth considering. Because well, I have a lovely daughter I would like to introduce to you. And I think it would be really cool to have you as a son-in-law. (References available upon request)Since my daughter is weeks shy of graduating from high school, I'm suggesting a four year courtship period. During that period, you are welcome to call, text, or Facebook her while she is at Auburn. At the end of that period of time, should you still love Jesus more than life itself, we will Read more:Castro
Have a daughter? Get excited! 2008-05-01 08:15:37 Whew! I just returned late last night from a whirlwind two day trip to Nashville where I met with my Publisher regarding the 5 Conversations Bible study/DVD. For those of you who are new to my blog and don't know what I'm talking about, I have a book coming out in September called “5 Conversations You Must Have With Your Daughter” and a Bible study/DVD under the same title that will release the following spring (2009). Since I just returned from a planning meeting regarding the Bible study piece, I thought I would give you a sneak peek of what you might expect in the study. Picture this:*A Bible study where mothers of daughters (from cradle to college) meet together to tackle the unique challenge of raising girls in today’s culture.*A Bible study where mothers of older girls can be a Read more:excited
Flashback Friday: Formal playrooms. 2008-05-02 11:18:16 We built the house we're living in now, fourteen years ago and moved in when the kids were 6, 4, and 1. It was a standard two story floor plan that amounted to a downstairs living space with a kitchen, living area, half bath, and a formal room next to the foyer. Of course, when you have young children, the word "formal" is absent from your vocabulary, so the front room in the house was quickly converted to a playroom. Over the years, we jokingly referred to it as the "formal playroom." Sometimes it bothered me that the first thing our visitors saw upon entering our home was a room filled with brightly colored Little Tykes toys, shelves filled with books, beanbag chairs, and Hotwheels, doll clothes, blocks, and legos littering the floor. Over the years, the room morphed to accommodate my c Read more:Friday
We have a birthday girl, y'all 2008-05-05 12:29:41 Age 1: A tea party!Age 2: She wanted to sit alone to eat her cakeAge 3: A bike parade!Age 18!Goodness. How many milestones can a mother take in six weeks? Here's a quick inventory just in case you've lost count: April: Senior prom May 5th: Baby girl celebrates 18th birthdayJune: Graduation She's EIGHTEEN, people. We won't even talk about August which as you know, represents D-Day (college DROP-OFF Day) or more understandably, the day Mom curls up into a fetal position in the passenger seat of the car and sobs her eyes out while Hubs makes the get-away. Yep, fun times ahead. So, in celebration of Paige's 18th birthday, here are 18 things I love about my baby girl: (I totally stole this from Amanda, who did this for each month of her son's life at the age of two. We're going to go with years
Vicki + Cooking = Say what? 2008-05-06 11:47:39 Oh, friends. I have found a new hobby. It appears that I am a good cook and I didn't even know it. Had I discovered this hidden talent earlier, well, I just might have made friends with my kitchen years ago and called a truce to this domestic war. As I've searched deep within my soul to discover the root to my previous aversion to cooking, here is what I found: * I feel overwhelmed with recipes that contain more than 4-5 ingredients.* I am not a patient person, therefore, if it cannot be assembled and made with little effort, forget it.* I have flashbacks of making wonderful dishes like Chicken and Dumplings from scratch in the earlier years, only to have my children whine at the table and ask for fruit roll-ups.* I can't stand to clean it all up.And so, as a result, we have managed to l
The morning drill... 2008-05-07 11:40:06 Me (from writing chair, of course): Good morning, Sunshine.Hayden (a groggy-eyed, starving teen boy): Hey, mom. (snuggling, with Scout) Hello my little Scout Muffin.Teenager makes way to pantry. A pantry stare-down ensues. Finally, a choice is made.Whew, we're not out of milk. Ouchy teen outburst averted.Fruity Pebbles: The breakfast of junk-food champions and a staple in the Courtney home.Hayden: Mom, why are you taking my picture? You're not going to blog about this, are you?Mom: (silence ensues)Hayden: (proceeds to table to eat) Mom, why are you so weird?Mom: Not sure, son. It's a question I ask myself everyday. Oh, and the neighbors just called and wanted to know if you can keep the smacking down...Hayden: Mom, you say that everyday. And everyday, I think it's not funny.Mom: And everyd
Pardon me while I have a nervous breakdown 2008-05-08 18:10:45 It seems like yesterday, we were making the long trip up to Auburn........to move the boy into college... and say our goodbyes.It is 3:36 am. Do you know where your child is? Hopefully, my college boy is getting a good night's rest (unlike his mother) before leaving Auburn, Alabama at the crack of dawn. He will begin his long journey home and caravan behind two fellow Auburn friends from Austin, one of which is accompanied by a grown-up mother (praise Jesus). Eight hundred plus miles in one day. He assures us that should he get too tired, he will pull away from the pack and find a hotel for the night.And yes, I am feeling mother's guilt for not flying up to join him, but was assured that he will be fine. Over and over again. All week long. Unfortunately those soothing words of comfort did Read more:Pardon
, breakdown
Flashback Friday: Senior pictures. 2008-05-09 20:36:16 This past week, Paige and I were addressing her graduation invitations and getting them ready to send out to friends and family. While stuffing her senior picture into each invitation, I thought it might be fun to dig out my old senior picture and show her. Let's hear it for the Class of '82! Woot, woot! When I showed Paige the picture, she responded by falling to the floor in a fit of side-busting, tears-streaming-down-your-face, uncontrollable laughter. In between hyper-ventilating breaths, she said, "Mom, please don't tell me you sent this out. This picture needs to be burned at once." (Which begs the question as to why I am posting it to the World Wide Web)I responded to her laughing fit with and edge of defense: "Paige, I have you know that I was in the oh-so-cool group in high schoo Read more:Friday
Meet my Mother's Day hero... 2008-05-12 11:19:49 I had a perfectly lovely Mother's Day. We spent the weekend at our lake house and even attended church at a wonderful little church in Marble Falls (Lakehills Baptist). Normally, we rush back home on Saturday evenings since Keith teaches Bible study at our church, but he had someone cover for him this week. My in-laws met us for breakfast on Sunday morning at the famed Bluebonnet Cafe and spent th
Technology, schmeckology 2008-05-13 14:06:26 Grrrr....I woke up this morning to a sick computer. When I went to load my inbox, lo and behold, 2347 emails started to trickle in one by one. Now, don't be impressed. I'm not that popular. I then spent another hour trying to logon to my server (iPower, cough, cough), in an effort to troubleshoot the problem myself rather than sit on the phone for HOURS waiting for someone to help me who doesn't h Read more:Technology
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