More Productive Than Playing Webkinz

Now I know that by reading the title of this entry, you are assuming that one of my children must be writing this. Kids are the only ones that play Webkinz, right? That is where you would be wrong. Yes, that's right I am an admitted Webkinz addict (I'm looking into a 12-step program for it). But before I go on, I might need to explain to those of you who do not have children between the ages of 6 and 12 (or in my case, 34) what Webkinz are exactly. Well, before a year ago, our family, too, had no idea what they were, but thanks to a well-meaning neighbor who gave one to Ryan for his birthday last summer, we've all been sucked into the wonderful world of Webkinz, and subsequently have upwards of 30 now. They are stuffed animals that come with a secret code when you purchase them. You then go to the Webkinz website where you enter your code, thus "adopting" your pet. With that comes a whole virtual world of possibilities for you to care for your new adoptee. You can feed, clothe, and house your new pet, but as in real-life, that ain't cheap, so in order to earn (virtual) money to afford your money-sucking loved one, you can play games at the arcade. You can also go to the "tournament arena" and play games against other players to earn money. The better you do at each game, the more money (or kinz cash) you make and the happier (yes, they have a "happy" meter which tells you if you are adequately spoiling them) is your webkinz.

It's a great website for kids and yes, the occasional "I'll do anything to get out of housework while my toddler is sleeping" stay at home mom. I particularly like the arcade and have gotten quite good at some of the games, which brings me to another point-- I clearly cannot be the only adult out there who dabbles in webkinz. I've entered some of the tournaments for the games at which I consider myself quite adept and I am amazed at how soundly my butt gets kicked. Now, I'm not saying that kids cannot be good at these games, or that they can't kick my butt (My Wii addict -a.k.a. my son Ryan, is proof positive of that), but some of these games require skills that have not yet been taught at grade school level (i.e. speed typing). So, all of you closet webkinz addicts, please know that you are not alone and you don't have to pretend that you're buying your one-year old a webkinz for Christmas. We all know darn well that one-year olds don't even have bladder control, let alone the ability to feed, clothe, and sufficiently care for an on-line pet. Go ahead and buy yourself one and don't be ashamed!

Now, as much as I do enjoy the occasional jaunt in Webkinz World, I've realized recently, that I could be doing so much more with my time. I've never been a good journal keeper. I've had good intentions every ten months or so, but have never been consistent. I've also heard what a good way blogging is to keep people up-to-date about the goings-on of family and friends as well as being a form of journaling, and so I figured that even though I'm quite computer illiterate (I still make Dave upload music to my Ipod because I'm sure that if I do it, I'll find a way to make the whole internet explode), I would try my hand at it. And although I sigh at the thought, it really is a whole heck (yes, there are my mormon roots showing) of a lot more productive than playing webkinz.