SPF - Takin' Names and Makin' Wishes

This week, Kristine has assigned the following:
Stuff unnoticed
Your wish
Stuff under your sink

I really should not wait until 7:45 Friday morning to look at these assignments. My brain does not run correctly this early in the morning. Okay, here goes:

Something unnoticed: I know I sure didn't notice how fast time was passing. This adorable little bundle in my arms is about to turn 10 on Sunday! How? When did that happen?

My wish is a two-part photo. You see, I decided to donate my hair to Locks of Love. So here I am yesterday before the hair cut.

And here I am after. My wish is that they will be able to use my hair to make someone who's lost their hair to cancer very happy.

Under my kitchen sink. Not terribly exciting.

So there you have it! Did you play?

Summer vacation

One of the little perks of teaching my children at home is the ability to observe the summer vacation. I remember so fondly the years of my own schooling, when we'd get down to the last few days in June and I knew summer was coming. As much as I loved school (yes, I was a freak), I looked forward to three months of time off, to do my own thing on my own time.

Well, now that my own kids are school age and I teach them at home, I get that same feeling every year. I know some people school year round, and certainly we do educational things year round, but I really crave that summer vacation time, when I don't have to be the task master and we can all just relax. The boys get to do what they want, when they want. And I get to take on projects I just don't have time for during the school year, like assigning Dewey decimal numbers to all my books in a database (Shut up - I know I'm a freak).

So while many people who send their children to school outside the home scramble to think of things to do in the summer, for me it's just the opposite. I get to take time for me. And that's the best summer vacation of all!

WBW - Home Sweet Home

In part 2 of the assignment, TKW wants to see the interior of the house I grew up in. I have quite a few photos of this. My parents bought the house in the late 60s, so it went through quite a few changes over the years, but here's what I found in my photo albums.

This is our basement, or at least one end of it. Our house was a rancher with a full basement. Part of it was unfinished for many years, but this end, which we called "The Den," was finished for as long as I can remember. Dig that 70s wood paneling!

This is one of the later incarnations of our living room. We had a sunken living room, and I used to use that step on the left as a stage to entertain family and friends. Yes, even at that young age, I was shy and introverted.

This is me sitting at my desk. Next to it is my dresser. Behind me would have been my canopy bed, with a canopy that matched the curtain you see. And look! Nikes! I never knew I was that cool.

Now, while this is a very cute picture of my cousin, the real point of this photo is the wallpaper. That wallpaper was in my room from the time I was little until I was a teenager. If that wallpaper doesn't tell you what decade I grew up in, nothing will. Well, the avocado green appliances would, but my scanner stopped working just as I was about to scan those in. Maybe it got scared to death.

So, did you play?

Mardi Gras recipe for Tee

I mentioned this recipe on Tee's blog, and now she's asked me to post it. So here it is. This is something my great-grandmother used to make, which my mom then made all the time (and still does), and which has become a favorite of my husband and my boys. It's called Mardi Gras, but I don't know why. Anyway, here it is:

Mardi Gras
In a large casserole dish combine the following ingredients:
1 1/3 cups Minute Rice
1 cup water
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can tuna or chicken
1 tsp oregano
cayenne pepper to taste

Then, over medium high heat in a saucepan:
1/2 stick butter
3 Tbsp flour
Stir until blended. Slowly add 1 can evaporated milk, stirring until thickened. Slowly add 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, stirring until melted. Pour the cheese mixture over the casserole. Sprinkle the top of the casserole with paprika. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

I usually use fat-free cheese and evap. milk to lower the fat content. Enjoy!

Making it up

Well, at the risk of boring my Dad some more, let's do makeup tips today, shall we? I didn't wear makeup until I was 25, except for at the pageant I was in and at my wedding. But now there are certain things I won't do without if I'm going out in public for any extended period of time. Certainly my way of applying makeup is not the only way, but it has worked well for me for ten years. In fact, when I taught a class at my homeschool co-op on Image for Girls, my class helper was a Mary Kay consultant, and she had never been taught some of these things. So, here we go.

• When choosing a foundation, select several colors that are close to your skin tone. Put a stripe of each color along your jawline. The one that disappears is the correct one for you. We've all seen women who are wearing an orange "mask" - don't be one!
• Apply foundation from the forehead down. This smooths down all the little hairs that, like it or not, are all over your face, and keeps them invisible.
• Blush should be applied starting at the little triangle in your ear and sweeping forward. Avoid cheek "balls" and emphasize cheek bones!
• Your "natural" blush color is the same color as the inside of your lip. Choose a color close to that for the most natural look.
  
• Eyeliner should be applied from the outer edge of the eye in. The top lid should be lined all the way across. The bottom lid should be lined 1/2 to 2/3 of the way. The longer the bottom line, the smaller your eye will look.
• If you use eyeshadow, apply it after the liner. There are many different ways to do shadow. Experiment and find the one that works best for you.
• A translucent powder, if you use one, should be brushed on from the forehead down before you apply lipstick. I use one to set my makeup and reduce shine.
• Lipstick is as much eye makeup as it is lip makeup. Don't forget it! Using a lip liner first can reduce feathering.
• If people compliment your makeup, you should tone down the colors. People should notice you, not your makeup!

That's about all the advice I can give online. I used to do makeup for Glamour Photos so I'm pretty good at the one on one thing, but obviously that's not going to work here! I hope this helps somebody!

In "Other" Words - 7/18

The one enduring lesson of womanhood that Christian author, Mary Pierce, learned from her rag doll, Lulu:

"When life whacks you so hard your head flies off, sew it back on and keep going."
~ Mary Pierce ~

I think this is the Mom's Credo. Seriously. It doesn't matter what is happening to me personally, psychologically or physically, I am still Mommy. I still have to get up in the morning, get the kids up, make breakfast, do laundry, and all those other million little things moms do. Sometimes, I know I'm not putting my all into it. I know I could be doing better. I know I'm just hanging on by a few rapidly unraveling threads. But I keep going.

And something amazing happens. Slowly but surely, those threads grow stronger. What I have rapidly sewn together in an attempt to just make it through the day is strengthened by my family. Every "Mommy, I love you," adds a thread. Every time my sons say dinner was yummy, or my husband does a load of wash for me, or I get hugs and kisses for no reason, those threads grow stronger. And then the next time life whacks me, it's not so hard to hold onto my head.

I'm falling apart!

I almost had to check my birth certificate to make sure I'm only 35.

On Friday, I had this pain in my knee. It hurt whether I was sitting down or standing or walking. It wasn't really bad, so I could kind of ignore it, but it still hurt.

Saturday morning, the knee pain seemed to be gone. But as I got up and around, I realized that the pain had migrated to my right hip. If I stood with my foot pointed straight ahead, it was fine. But if I turned my foot at all, or rotated on that leg, ouch! At one point, I almost fell down it hurt so bad.

So I was happy yesterday morning to wake up and find that pain gone. We went to church, I sang in front of the congregation, and everything seemed fine. Then, as we sat there during the message, my back started to hurt. It was both sides of my lower back. By the time I had to get the baby from the nursery, I could barely pick him up, and I had to hand him over to Hubby right away. It was bad. We went straight home and I spent the day lying flat on my back because doing anything else hurt too much.

What in the world? It seems to be better today. My oldest son pointed out that the pain seemed to be migrating north and I should expect my shoulder to hurt today. Thanks, son, that helps a whole lot.

Carnival #6

The new Carnival of the Blogging Chicks is up here. The theme this week, as you can see from the graphic, is dreams. Go see what other women have to say on the subject!

The skin you're in

Today, I will focus on skin care. Many of you were kind enough to tell me that my eyes don't look 35 back when I posted a picture of one of them (see October's archives). I try to take care of my skin. I have the skin of a teenager - covered in acne. Haha. No seriously, in all those hours of class I took, I learned some tips that I still follow. I've been doing this stuff for ten years now, and when I see some women my age and even younger looking five years older than I do, I can gloat inwardly. Heh heh. So, on with the skin care tips.

• When choosing skin care products, buy from the same line. Particularly your more expensive brands are made to work together, so you want cleanser, toner and moisturizer made by the same company under the same label.
• Your cleanser should be applied in circular motions all over your face and neck. The neck is the most neglected area of skin and consequently, you can really see age on women who don't tend to it.
• Continue the circular pattern of cleansing for two minutes for maximum benefit.
• After rinsing the cleanser with warm to hot water, apply toner with a cotton ball or pad. Think of toner like a rinse cycle for your face. Would you wash your dishes and then just dry them, or would you rinse the soap off first? That's what I thought. Toner also closes your pores after cleaning.
• Moisturizer should contain an SPF of 15 or more to protect your skin. Sun damage is one of the main causes of aging in your skin. Make sure you get your neck, too!
  
• If you use other products, such as an alpha hydroxy lotion or eye creme, apply them before the moisturizer.
• When applying products around the eye, pat gently with the tip of your ring finger. Rubbing the eye area will damage the supporting structure underneath and eventually cause the skin to wrinkle.
• Use a lotion with at least SPF 15 on your hands every day, or especially on days when you will be driving. Think about the sun coming through the car windows and hitting your hands. Hands show age almost as quickly as the neck.

Okay, I think that will do it for now. If you want to see the products I actually use and love, you can go to My Health and Beauty Zone in the left sidebar. Next time, would you rather learn about color (am I a cool or a warm?) or makeup application? Let me know!

The mind of an engineer

The optimist says the glass is half full.

The pessimist says the glass is half empty.

My hubby, the engineer, says the glass is twice as big as it needs to be for the amount of liquid available.

The other night, my oldest son said he was out of tea. Hubby said, "Maybe your glass is just infinitely larger than it needs to be."

WBW - There's no place like home

This week, TKW wants to see the exterior of the house I grew up in. No problemo. My father took tons of pictures of our house. We have the house when my parents first bought it, the house in the winter, spring, summer and fall of many consecutive years, the house in a blizzard, the house with new siding, etc. He does the same thing now, except with his motor coach. You'll have to ask him why, because I have no clue. But it did make it a piece of cake to find one, so here it is:

My parents bought this house before I was born, and only sold it six years ago, so I was lucky enough to live in the same house my whole childhood. I understand the people who bought it have removed most of the trees and shrubs, put on a new roof, new siding, and other stuff like that. Wonder what they've done inside?

And speaking of inside, next week's assignment is the interior of the same house. Wait until you see all the pictures I have for you (thanks to my Dad!).

Did you play?

Hair Care 101

Many of you may not know that I am a certified image consultant. I have taken over 85 hours worth of classes on everything from clothing styles and textures to hair and makeup. I know I don't always look like it (for example, I'm sitting here right now in shorts and a t-shirt [my new Shiner Bock t-shirt - thanks, Jody!]), but I do know what I'm talking about.

Now, with such knowledge comes the ability to give other people advice. But since it just isn't nice to walk up to someone on the street and tell them they're wearing the wrong color, or have applied their blush incorrectly, I thought I'd share some of my vast reserves of image knowledge with you here, where you know I can't see you. And if people across the internet are searching for such knowledge and happen to find it here, than I have helped many.

So today, my subject is hair. Almost everyone has it. Here are some things I've learned that have made a vast improvement in the condition of my own tresses:

• Shampoo is made for cleansing the scalp and the hair near it. Unless you've got dirt of some sort all over your hair (you've been painting, sandblasting, swimming), you only need to shampoo your scalp.
• Likewise, conditioner is really only needed on the ends of the hair. The exception would be if your hair tends to tangle near the base of the skull, in which case you should apply some there as well.
• When drying your hair with a towel, blot. Rubbing damages the hair follicles and over time causes split ends.
• Excessive brushing also damages the hair. You shouldn't brush for any longer than it takes to remove tangles and fix your style.
• Changing to a different shampoo for a couple of days a month can remove buildup left by your regular products, which can weigh down your hair.

So, I hope you found that informative, as opposed to boring. If you'd like me to share more of my image information, please let me know.

There's nothing funny about pirates

As I was recalling several funny moments from The Movie, and proudly showing Hubby my new blog template, he said to me, "You know, there's nothing funny about pirates."

Yes, I realize that. I completely understand that Disney's pirate movies bear almost no resemblance to the historical facts of piracy on the high seas. I know that real pirates didn't go around cracking jokes and fighting each other on rolling water wheels. I. Don't. Care. In much the same way that I don't care that the future shown in Star Trek will never happen, or that the leaves on the Swiss Family Robinson's tree in Disney World are made of vinyl, or that there never was a Middle Earth. It's just fun to let yourself go to that make-believe place, where it just doesn't matter. Let go of reality and just enjoy the entertainment.

As Uhura said in Star Trek 3, "This isn't reality. This is fantasy."

And if they want to put Orlando in a leather coat and pirate boots for two and a half hours, that's my kind of fantasy. I'm just sayin'.

Carnival of the Blogging Chicks 5

Check out this week's carnival! There are a lot of great Blogging Chicks out there, and this is a great way to sample their writing. And of course, yours truly has an entry. Go, read now!

I saw it, I saw it!

Hubby was sweet enough to take me to see POTC: Dead Man's Chest last night, and I loved it. Maybe that's an understatement. I wanted to see it again, immediately. I enjoyed everything about it. And yes, I have even changed my template to reflect my appreciation for this movie. Thank you, Disney, for the wonderful picture!

Now, for those of you wondering, "Should I spend my hard-earned $8.50 (or more) to go see this movie?" let me ask you a few questions: Did you like the first one? Or like me, did you watch the first one so many times you pretty well have it memorized? Do you like action and adventure? Are you willing to suspend your disbelief? If the answer to either of the first three questions is yes, you probably already want to go see it, so go! If the answer to the last question is no, you might want to wait for the DVD. There is a lot to take in during the course of the movie, most of it unbelievable.

I will not spoil any aspect of the plot for you, but trust me, it's fantastic. And it answered a big question I had from the last movie, for which I highly applaud the writers. There is not a lot of romance, but boy, can Orlando ever pull off the hurt/jealous look. I just wanted to hug him and tell him it would be okay. The special effects are of course spectacular, and the stunts so amazing my hubby swears they were done digitally. There is plenty of humor, and the return of some great supporting characters from the first film. The bad guys are maybe not quite as scary as the skeletal pirates of COTBP, but still pretty creepy. And the main bad guy, well, let's just say I won't be eating calamari again anytime soon.

So now I'm counting down the days until I can buy the DVD, watch the commentary, see the behind-the-scenes stuff, etc. And then another wait for the third movie. Does anyone have a time machine I could borrow?

SPF - I hear wedding bells!

As Kristine and Shaun's wedding approaches, she gives us a lovely wedding-themed SPF for this week. Best wishes, guys, and congratulations!

My love: I have always loved this picture. Taken at our wedding, I think it captures perfectly a casual, unposed moment where you can actually see on my face how much I love my husband.

Honeymoon: How about a cruise to a private island, where waiters will bring you champagne while you swim? Yeah, I thought you'd like that.

Something blue:

In keeping with the tropical island theme, you can't get too much more blue than this!

Did you play?

Happy birthday, Joshua!

I can hardly believe my second son is turning seven today! He is such an amazing kid, sweet and funny and affectionate. He loves giving hugs and kisses. His favorite things are Legos and Thomas the Tank Engine. He adores his brothers and plays with them all the time. When he was a baby, I used to stare at him for hours, just so thrilled that he was mine. Now, when I try to take a picture, this is what I get:
Trust me, though, he's still adorable. Happy birthday, Joshua!

Coming soon

I saw him the minute I walked into the room. He stood there, his black, wavy hair slicked back, a few strands loose across his forehead in a careless, casual way. His brown eyes seemed to look right through me. And yet, there was no doubt that despite the gorgeous girl next to him, he was looking right at me. I felt the heat rising in my cheeks as his gaze burned into me, a look that said he didn't care if I had four children running around my feet, a look that ignored that ring on my finger. I smiled at him, but the intensity of his gaze never wavered. There was a daring abandon to his expression. Let the adventure begin, he seemed to be saying, You're in for the time of your life. I held his gaze, as if to assure him. The time is not right, I thought, willing him to hear. But I'll be back.

Just then, a hand touched my shoulder. My husband was ready to go. Reluctantly, I turned away from the poster. I'll see you Friday, Orlando.

[To see what I saw, click here.]

Carnival of the Blogging Chicks 4

This week's Carnival is up, and I actually got my link in on time! Just click on the cute picture!

SPF - Shaun Style!

This week, Kristine has been busy with wedding plans, and has asked her fiance Shaun to come up with the SPF topics. So here we go!

Something with a story behind it

When my great-grandmother died, my parents, brother and I were given the task of cleaning out her house. Now, I was only twelve at the time. I asked if I could keep something from the house as a memento. These teacups were what I chose. She had collected them from all over the world. Some of them are quite old. Most of them have matching plates. The cup on the bottom shelf in the middle is from Germany. Both of her parents immigrated from Germany in the late 1800s, so that's probably the oldest one. I have added my own pieces from my travels, as well. I would have added more, but I ran out of shelf space.

Something truly Random and Odd I found this on my kitchen table this morning. Caption, please!

Something borrowed When I was trying to get pregnant the first time, someone lent me this book. I never told her I wanted to choose the sex of my baby, I just said I was hoping for a boy. She insisted I borrow this book. Then we moved away, and now I can't remember the name of the woman I borrowed it from. So, does it work? Maybe too well. Not only did I have a boy, I had three more after that!

So, did you play?

Monty Python gets married

I recently came across this letter I had written to my former college roommate after attending the wedding of a friend. I won't include names - who knows who might come across this - but I thought it was funny. The groom was a dear friend of ours, and the bride, well, we didn't think much of her. She was a nasty, snarky person who didn't think her intended was funny, when he was actually one of the funniest people I've ever met. Now, I don't think there's anything wrong with having something done at your wedding that other people have done in the past. But since my dad was a wedding photographer, I had seen a lot of weddings, and this one was the grand cliche of weddings. No originality whatsoever. Anyway, here's the letter:

A mutual friend put it this way: "This is like a parody of a wedding. It's like Monty Python Gets
Married." Seriously, it was like the whole thing was planned by Weddings-R-Us. Imagine anything that you've seen at every wedding you've ever been to and they had it at theirs.

First of all, the guys wore black tuxedos, of course, and [the groom] wore tails. The bridesmaids wore the typical bridesmaid dresses of satiny material with lots of ruffles and puffy sleeves. The color, and trust me, this is a very common wedding color, was teal. The other color was ivory, and would you believe [the bride]'s dress was ivory? I wonder why... It was a very plain dress, which is not to say it wasn't pretty, it just wasn't very fancy. And of course, it had puffy sleeves.

The ceremony took place in a church which was extraordinarily plain inside. The only decorations they had were two flower arrangements. The ceremony itself was literally a joke.
The pastor they had didn't seem to think this was any serious thing, this getting married. He stood up there and joked around, announced each thing that was going to happen from the
program as though he'd never seen it before ("Oh, and I see now that Paul's going to sing another song!"), and had us all applaud the soloists ("I know this isn't usually done, but they've sung so beautifully, let's give them a hand."). If our pastor had acted like that at my wedding, I would have been furious.

The reception, of course, was total cliche. They had a buffet for the guests, including cold cuts and that wedding reception favorite Swedish meatballs. They also had a DJ, who played some of the most cliched wedding songs of all time (It's the new album from Ronco: "Wedding Cliches of the Eighties"), including "Always," and "Just You and I." Naturally, they danced to "Daddy's Little Girl." But imagine how amazed [Hubby] and I were at the incredibly original idea of having balloons as centerpieces! They didn't release theirs, though. [We had balloon centerpieces at our wedding three months earlier, which we then released.]

[A bunch of us] and the best man completely nuked [the groom]'s car. [Hubby] and
[his sister] wrapped it in toilet paper, [his brother] filled it with balloons (and I mean FILLED it), and [the rest of us] put streamers everywhere. It was awesome. I also made the Just Married sign which, when flipped over, said "Call 911" - just in case of any highway emergencies. Just as we finished it started to rain and all the colors from the crepe paper ran onto the car, and of course the toilet paper became a wet sticky mess. It absolutely poured. But by the time they came out, it had stopped and the car still looked pretty incredible. [The bride] thought it was
wonderful, amazingly enough. She looked right at me and said, "This is great!" and she meant it. Wow. Maybe she's changed. That would be pleasant.

Anyway, to top it all off, they went to the typical honeymoon spot, a tropical island. Bermuda to be exact. We tried to call them a little while ago to see if they were back, but we got a very frightening answering machine. "Hello, you have reached the blissful abode of ..."
with some kind of sappy music in the background. Ack!

WBW - Let's play dress-up!

I thought I had nothing for this week's theme. I was not a girly girl, and rarely if ever played dress-up. And then I saw TKW's. So I give you this, which, like hers, was taken on a cruise ship:
In December 2003, we went on a cruise on the Holland America line. One evening at dinner, these adorable little Dutch hats were waiting for us on our plates (Holland, Dutch, get it?). The men got little caps (see my little Dutch boy sitting next to me?), and the women got these things that looked like mutated napkins. But, being the goof that I am, I wore it the whole meal.

So, did you play?

Let me give you a hand

My mom had surgery on her hand last week to replace an arthritic joint. I know many people have heard of knee replacement, but it seems as I tell people about my mom's surgery, most are surprised that doctors can and do replace joints in the fingers.

So I found this neat page at Hand University on how the joint replacement surgery works. It has illustrations and animations, but nothing gory. From that website, here is a brief description of the surgery:

An incision is made across the back of the finger joints that are to be replaced. The soft tissues are spread apart with a retractor. Special care is taken not to damage the nearby nerve that passes by the joint. The joint is exposed. The ends of the bones that form the finger joint surfaces are taken off, forming flat surfaces. A burr (a small cutting tool) is used to make a canal into the bones that form the finger joint. The doctor then sizes the stem of the prosthesis to ensure a snug fit into the hollow bone
marrow space of the bone. The prosthesis is inserted into the ends of both finger bones. When the new joint is in place, the surgeon wraps the joint with a strip of nearby ligament to form a tight sack. This gives the new implant some added protection and stability. The soft tissues are sewn together, and the finger is splinted and bandaged.

I am told she is recovering nicely, and my parents will be here tomorrow to set up camp next to our house for a couple of weeks. She had the same surgery done on her left hand a while back, and has been very happy with the results.

Isn't modern medicine amazing?

Carnival of the Blogging Chicks 3

I totally forgot last week and again this week to submit anything, but go check out the Carnival. There are some great submissions from great bloggers over there! And next week, I'll be in there for sure. Unless I forget again.

4 Boys + 1 Toad = 5 Hours of Fun!

You can probably imagine the scene at my house on Saturday when this little guy made the mistake of hopping across my three older sons' paths. Hubby and I were up on the deck, working on putting up posts for the railing, when I heard a squeal of, "A toad!"

I walked over to the edge and peered down at them. Sure enough, my six year old was holding a large brown toad. I smiled and went back to work.

A while later, my oldest came to the bottom of the deck and wanted to know what they should do with the toad. "Um, let it go?" I answered. "Oh, wait, bring it up here. I want to see it." So they all trooped up to the deck and brought it over for me to see. I had never held a toad that big before. It was pretty cool. "Okay, now let it go."

I watched them go back down and set the toad free in the field.

Imagine my surprise when over an hour later, they were playing with Mr. Toad again. Apparently, he had not learned his lesson the first time and had hopped right past them again. By this time, the baby had gotten up from his nap. I suggested that he would probably love to see the toad, too. Sure enough, he squealed with delight watching the poor little thing try to escape from my other boys, repeatedly. I went back up on the deck.

Then things got really fun. There's a large tray on the ground, catching the drips from our air conditioner. It was pretty full of water. They decided to watch Mr. Toad swim. Over and over again, the poor thing would swim to the edge of the tray and climb up, only to be tossed back in, like some kind of survival boot camp for toads. This delighted the baby to no end. Eventually, they got bored and walked away. But Mr. Toad hung around, right near the tray of water. So naturally, when they came back, it was time for round 2 of his swimming lessons.

Finally, they grew tired of the toad and left him. This time, he used the common sense he should have exercised hours earlier and got far, far away from there! It sure made for a fun afternoon.

Update on the poison ivy: Still there. Still itching. I am tempted to just scratch it open. It is slowly driving me insane (not that I have far to go).

SPF - June 23

For SPF this week, Kristine has given us the following assignment:
1. Your Drinking Glasses.
2. Your Address book/Stationary (remember that stuff we used BEFORE email?)
3. SOMETHING NEW

Here are my drinking glasses, still in the dishwasher:
I think this is the most recent address book I used. It's got loose pieces of paper stuck in everywhere and things crossed out. I was so happy when computerized address books came along. Of course, our kids will say, "You mean you used to write down people's addresses? In a book? Why?"
Here is my new shirt. This is the first time I've worn it. I love purple and for five bucks, how could I say no?
So there we go. Did you play?

Itching to blog

I have always been one of the fortunate ones. People around me have fallen to its power, but I remained untouched. I suppose some would say I got cocky. Others might say I deserved it. Either way, that which I so long mocked has its revenge: I've got poison ivy.

Now think of the worst place it could be. No, not there. The other worst place. Your mouse hand. It's on my wrist, precisely where I normally rest it when I'm mousing or typing. It's also on my index finger, the one I click with. By the time I finish this post, I'll be itching so badly I'll have to soak my arm in hydrocortisone.

So if you haven't seen me commenting much recently, that's why. No longer will I mock the power of the poison. Never again will I defiantly pull weeds bare-handed. I have learned: payback is an itch.

WBW - Summer fun!

In honor of the first day of summer, TKW has asked to see any photo showing summer fun. I had come across these pictures the other day and wished for just such a topic for WBW. So here goes!

Here is a cookout on my back patio, complete with hot dogs on the grill! From left to right, my mom, Kenny (a friend of mine and hubby's), my brother the goof, me, Hubby, our friend Dan, and Sonia, the Spanish student who stayed with us the summer of 1988. Dan truly thought he was going to get somewhere with Sonia. Her favorite phrase that summer became, "No, Dan."

Here we are on the Fourth of July, sitting on the side of Federal Hill in downtown Baltimore. You can tell it's the Fourth of July, because I'm wearing a red and white striped shirt and blue shorts. We went up there to watch the fireworks over the harbor. That's Sonia, Dan, me, Hubby, and my brother down front. That was a fun summer. The same summer, Hubby ran a house painting business and Dan and I were painters for him. Dan used to sing "Roll With It" by Steve Winwood every time he was rolling paint on a wall. Drove me nuts.

So there you have it, summer fun of the past! Did you play?

Oh, and check out my wedding photos below - I love to show them off!

Fourteen years!

I really cannot believe it's been fourteen years already! If you recall my series back in January about how Hubby and I met, and how I chased him until he caught me, you know that we spent a lot of time apart during our courtship. I am still thrilled and thankful every day that I am with this wonderful man, who is everything I ever dreamed of, and more.

And now, the wedding photos! Sorry for the quality - my album is way too big to put on the scanner.

Happy anniversary, my love!

Families and fathers

We had a nice day Saturday, going to the annual reunion of Hubby's family. His father was the youngest of twelve (I think - I lose track), so he has tons of cousins, second cousins, etc. Every year we meet at Cowan's Gap for a potluck lunch. Afterward, Hubby took the boys for turns in our bike trailer, while his sister and I and one of the aforementioned relatives went for a walk around the lake. Isn't it pretty?
Yesterday, we invited my parents over for a Father's Day dinner. I grilled pork chops, and even though the grill caught fire, they turned out very well (done - haha). Then Hubby and I went over to the motor coach to watch The Dead Zone season premier, a show I have now managed to hook my parents on, too. Incidentally, the preview for next week's episode, which is on the website right now, could be called "Every Dead Zone ever written." All it shows is Johnny saying, "Something's going to happen here. People are going to get hurt. Some people might even die." That's it. If you've ever watched the show, that could be any episode!

So, that was my weekend. Tomorrow is my anniversary, but we're going out tonight so my parents can watch the kids. Fourteen years, people! And yes, I will be posting wedding photos tomorrow.

SPF - Puzzled

Ick, it's been a migraine morning. I'm feeling a bit better now, so I thought I'd pop on here and play SPF - wouldn't want to let Kristine down! (Yeah, like she'd notice if I didn't play...)

Anyway, here is My Puzzle: How does this room end up messier two days after they clean it than it was before they cleaned it? I think if I could answer this puzzle, I could solve the problem of world peace.

My Best: I used to love to sketch people's faces. This is, IMO, the best one I ever did. Bonus points if you know who it is.

Something Old:

An authentic Little Black Sambo Story Book. We found this at my great-grandmother's house after she died. It was published in 1930 and, of course, isn't in print any longer. A fascinating little piece of history, no?

So, that's it! I'm going to go see what other people have done. Let me know if you played!

EDITED TO ADD: My son decided to play this week! Go give him some love at Caleblog!

Photo Safari

My dad had this great idea and I thought it would be fun to share it. He gave each of my older boys a camera, he and my mom each took a camera (yes, they have that many), I got mine, and we went for a walk down our street. Dad had given each of us a list of things to take pictures of, no two exactly the same.

The first thing on my list was Red, White and Blue. I saw this:

Then later, I saw this:

See the red bricks hiding behind the white paint?

Next, I had to find something fuzzy. First, I saw this:

And then I saw this:

Then I had to take a picture of someone not in the family. I thought this would be the hardest one, but there were some little Mennonite kids sitting out on their front step. They all ran inside after I took the picture. I think I scared them.

And finally, I had to take a picture of a horse. Now, just about everyone on this street except us owns a horse. I thought it would be easy. Wrong! For some reason, no one had their horses out yesterday morning! I had to wait until we got home to get a shot of my neighbor's horse.

We had so much fun, we're going to do it again today! I can't wait to see what Dad comes up with this time!

A few updates and such

No WBW this week - I have no picture of myself in a tub that I can access at this point in time :(

So, I will give you a few updates as to what's been going on around here. My parents are here in their coach and will be until next Wednesday. Mom and I have been working in my front weed patch garden and have got it looking pretty decent. Now we just need about a ton of mulch to finish it off. The boys have finished their "official" school for the year, though of course there will be numerous learning opportunities throughout the summer.

I am 90% sure I'm going to keep Joshua home again and just try to be very relaxed and not stick to any really strict curriculum. I've been researching my options and there are tons of nice curricula to choose from. If it's not working, then he will be enrolled in private school mid-year, but I'm very hopeful that changing the way we "do school" around here will change his attitude. It definitely did with Caleb, and he was MUCH more difficult than Joshua from the beginning!

I have lost a grand total of six pounds so far just by dieting. Now I have to get myself in gear and add some exercise. My muscles definitely got a workout pulling weeds, but I need to get some aerobic activity in there, too.

I've also started the Clean Heart, Clean Home Challenge. Sort of. It has way too much stuff for me to keep up with, so I'm just trying to do the devotions and the cleaning. So far I've cleaned out my vehicle. Today I'm going to clean the front door area outside, including windows. Tomorrow I move on to the living room. It's a 52 day schedule, so it'll take a while, but I hope to be rewarded with a sparkling-clean home and a bit of organization. And maybe I'll find a few things I haven't seen in two years. I just found my bathrobe the other day! (Not in the car - just during some unrelated cleaning).

Maybe this time

I caught the end of the movie Somewhere In Time yesterday, and I did that thing I always do. I started yelling at the screen, "Don't look at the penny!" But he did. Why does he always have to look at the stupid penny? (If you're lost, suffice it to say there is not a happy ending.)

I'm the same way when I watch Titanic. Maybe this time they won't hit the iceberg. No, don't turn! Don't turn! If you turn, it will scrape the side of the ship and sink you! Don't... oh, man, he turned again.

Or in Romeo + Juliet, every time he just narrowly misses getting the message from the priest that Juliet is alive, I am screaming, "Go back - you just got a letter! Go back!" Or later, when her eyes flutter but he's not looking at her, "She's alive! Look! She's alive!"

What is it about these movies that makes me watch them over and over and expect a different outcome every time? I guess I'm drawn to great tragedies. Of course, I knew ahead of time what was going to happen. As the story of Somewhere In Time progresses, before he ever does the time travel thing, you know that at some point he's going to get taken away from her. Unless you live in a bubble, you know that any movie named Titanic is not going to end well. Same for Romeo and Juliet. Of course, Shakespeare is nice enough to tell you up front that they're going to die in case you haven't seen it before.

Then there are movies like The Perfect Storm. No warning. Boom, everybody's dead. I know it's based on a true story, but really, why bother getting us all invested in the lives of these fishermen just to watch them die? I won't watch that one again.

How about Ladder 49? Same deal. You get so involved in the life of this character, and then, well, he dies. I understand the point, and I actually really liked the movie, but I won't watch it again.

Or Pay It Forward. Why does the kid have to die in the end? Stupid.

So what's the difference between the ones I'll watch over and over and the ones I dismiss after one viewing even though they were good movies? I'm thinking it's the romance. All three of the first movies have a payoff. At the end of Somewhere In Time, they're together (in death). Same with Titanic. And in R+J, the director uses imagery of the two together from earlier in the film to get the same message across. Even in death, there is hope. In the last three, they're just dead. The end. No hope there.

How about you? What movies make you yell at the screen?

Ways to tell your grass is too long

After spending three hours cutting the grass on Saturday, I devised this handy list to help determine when it next needs to be cut. And being the helpful soul that I am, I now share it with you.

Top Ten Ways to Tell Your Lawn is Too Long

• You don't need a weather vane, you just watch the grass waving in the wind.
• Your kids are outside playing. You can hear them. You cannot see them.
• Your cat has learned to walk on his hind legs so he can see where he's going.
• The local farmer offers to lend you his combine harvester.
  
• On your way to the mailbox, you run into a man with a pith helmet and a machete.
• You get a notice in the mail that your property is now a wildlife preserve for endangered insects.
• You know you had a shed out there... somewhere.
• You could take down your privacy fence and no one would notice.
• The neighborhood kids are seen daring each other to go into your yard.
• Your lawn mower takes one look at the grass and breaks down.

Hope this helps!

Carnival of the Blogging Chicks #1

The first Carnival of the Blogging Chicks is up! Go here to read all about it! And if you're a woman and you blog, you're welcome to join the blogroll and participate in the next Carnival! Could I use any more exclamation marks in this post?!?

SPF - Aperture

Soon-to-be-bride Kristine has given us the following assignment for this week:

A wide-open space: This is going to be the view from my new deck. In the other direction, there's more field and more mountains. And of course, I'll be able to watch my little monkeys playing in the sawdust pile down there (see the Tonka trucks?). All we have left to finish is the floor boards and the railing!

Brightness: This is my dog, Zelda. I guess the flash was so bright, she had to put on shades. My oldest son took this picture.

In the dark: Hubby took this picture of our coal stove glowing in the dark. He was trying to make me see how cozy and inviting it is. And it is. It's wonderful. As long as I don't have to be the one to keep it burning. The stove and I have a definite love-hate relationship. It hates me and it loves to torture me.

Did you play?

Lessons from a landlord

My husband and I have been landlords for seven years now. We started out living in one half of a duplex and renting the other. When we moved, we bought another duplex and did the same thing. So now we own four rental properties. Overall, I've been pleased with our experience as landlords, and I've learned some important lessons. I think all of these lessons can also be applied to life in general, and so I share them with you.

1. There are good people in the world and there are bad people; you can't tell them apart by looking at them. After the first tenants we had skipped out on us while owing two months' rent, we found a service that will do background checks for landlords. It's worth every penny. I've met plenty of potential renters who I really liked, until I read their credit history.

2. Don't be bullied; there's always a better tenant out there. I once had a call from a man who was opening an Italian restaurant in town with his brother. When I met with them, all I could think was mafia! They were seriously like people straight out of the Sopranos. Anyway, the house needed new carpet and paint before we could rent it. I told them this. I told them it would be a month before it was ready. They told me I would have it ready in a week. I stood my ground, and they finally stopped calling me when they realized it really couldn't be ready in a week. I always feel like I dodged a bullet with that one (no pun intended).

3. Trust everyone. But file an eviction anyway. We have lost a couple thousand dollars in non-payment of rent by trusting that people really are going to pay us. Now, if a tenant is late with the rent, they get one phone call from me, and one chance to pay me within two days, or I file for eviction. It's easy to stop the eviction process and it lets the tenant know I'm serious.

4. Some people are really good liars. Some just think they are. If you're going to lie to someone, at least make sure it can't be easily refuted by the neighbor who is also renting from your landlord. Because yes, your neighbors really are watching you! My favorite was the couple who swore they didn't have a dog, even though the neighbors could hear it barking, saw them walking it, and (gross!) could smell when it was left in the garage too long without walking.

5. Some people are just weird. As long as they pay their rent, I don't care. We've had a tenant who wanted us to get her a new stove because the clock on the stove was too loud (we didn't get her one). We've had tenants who painted a whole room in paint that could only be seen by black light. One of the current tenants periodically cleanses the house by waving burning herbs around the foundation. None of this bothers me. The first two moved out without owing us anything, and the third pays her rent faithfully.

Eventually, we'll sell the houses, pay the capital gains tax, and "retire" from the landlord business. But the lessons I've learned will last me a lifetime.

Books for summer

Back when I was childless, I used to dream of the day when I could share my favorite books with my kids. Books have been my constant companions through life, and there are some that have been very special to me. It's been such a thrill to see my oldest son embrace reading, and boy #2 is well on his way to being just as enthusiastic about it. Since summer is coming, I thought I'd put together a reading list of some of my favorites, and maybe you can share a few with your little readers as well!

For the pre-readers:
Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt- Kids can never get enough of this book. It has no story, just lots of fun things to touch and look at. Both my copies have been well used,

Dr. Seuss's ABC - I adore the way the alphabet is done in this book. Many real words, many made-up words, all Seuss!

For the early reader:
I Can Read books - I remember going to the library and just getting piles of I Can Read books. You're bound to find many great stories, and your child will be improving important reading skills along the way.

For pre-teens:
Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys books - I loved Nancy Drew. I own a few of them, the rest I got from the library. It was always fun to try to figure out the mystery.

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White - What child can resist a story about talking animals?

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster - I adored this book as a child, and when I read it to my boys, they loved it, too. Milo drives his toy car through a toy tollbooth and ends up in another land, where he is sent on a quest to restore Rhyme and Reason (the two princesses) to the throne. Along the way, there are many interesting characters and hilarious puns.

All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor - I loved this book about a Jewish family with five little girls and the events in their lives. I especially recommend it for girls to read, but I think boys would enjoy it, too.

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket - Obviously, I didn't read these growing up, but I am reading them aloud to the boys and we are all loving them! If you haven't read them, by all means go grab book 1, The Bad Beginning, and get started!

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein - Oh, how I love Shel Silverstein's poetry! I have many of his poems memorized and like to recite them at appropriate moments. My kids have enjoyed reading from this book. It's a great way to introduce kids to poetry beyond Mother Goose.

Whistle in the Graveyard by Maria Leach - If you like scary stories, you'll love this collection. I used to get this book out of the school library in elementary school at least two or three times a year. It's out of print now, but you can still find it used. If you see one, grab it!

Teens:
Lois Duncan books - Long before "Goosebumps" there was Lois Duncan. Now, I can only vouch for books she wrote before 1990 or so, but she always had a way of creeping me out and making me want the light on at night.

The Belgariad by David Eddings - Long before Harry, there was another boy named Garion who discovered he had special powers and a special calling. I read these books as they were being published and it was torture waiting for the next one! It's a wonderful fantasy series, which is continued in The Mallorean series.

The Hitchhikers Guide series by Douglas Adams - You might have guessed I love these novels. Hilariously funny and fun, I could read them over and over again. And I have.

The Myth series by Robert Asprin - This series started back when I was a teenager, and he's still writing them! A great fantasy series with a great sense of humor, the Myth books will have you laughing out loud. They follow the adventures of Skeeve, a young magician's apprentice whose magic doesn't always work quite right. Read them in order; each one builds on the last.

I know there are more, but I'll leave it at that for now. Happy reading, to you and to your kids!

Wonderful 9/11 tribute idea

I think this is a fabulous idea for honoring the memory of all those who died on 9/11. Go here
and sign up.

Ghost stories

I'm not sure what started it, but the boys decided they were going to shut their door and tell ghost stories last night, the only light in the room coming from the flashlight held under the storyteller's chin. I could hear them in there laughing at the stories, all of which seemed to have a silly ending. So I told them that I knew a silly ghost story.

I shut their door and held the flaslight under my chin. "One night," I began, "a little girl went to bed. She looked up at her dresser and there was a ghost sitting on it." As soon as I said that, my oldest crouched down in the corner and started whimpering. "So she called her parents, who came running, and told them. They turned on the light," which I did at this point, "but there was no ghost." Light off again.

"The next night, the little girl got in bed, and when she looked up, there was a ghost on the ceiling!" Oldest boy whimpers louder. "She called her parents, who turned the light on, but there was no ghost." My six year old, Mr. Know It All, is saying, "Of course! Ghosts don't like light."

"The next night, the little girl goes to bed, and the ghost is sitting right there on her bed!" My oldest sounds like he's going to pass out from fear. I keep giggling because of his reaction, and because I know what's coming. "She started yelling at the ghost, 'What do you want? What do you want?' And the ghost said..." At this point, I blew a really loud raspberry! The boys all screamed and then started laughing. It was a big hit.

Of course, they didn't want the lights off after that!

It gets colder at higher altitudes - DUH!

Saturday was a pretty cool, cloudy day. We were attending a picnic in the evening with some people from church, and by mid-afternoon it had warmed up somewhat, so did I pack jackets? No. Put on long sleeves? No. At least I didn't change into shorts. The park we went to is up on top of a mountain. It was cold.

You know how usually when you go to a park, you hunt and hunt for the picnic table in the shade? Well, we wanted one in the sun, hoping to get just a bit of warmth that way. There was only one. For thirty-some people. That wasn't going to work. So we sat in the shade and shivered, waiting for everyone else to arrive.

There's a fantastic playground up there, so the boys were happy. Even the baby really got into it, climbing up the equipment to get to the taller slides, then coming down feet-first on his belly. I spent about an hour pushing Isaac (4) on the swing and made myself sick on the merry-go-round. It was fun.

It did rain on us at one point, but it was a short shower. Nothing goes with icy winds like damp clothing, right?

After that, we went to the brand-new WalMart in town. It's so nice and new and shiny. Even the cement floors are shiny. And it's a lot closer than the one we used to drive to. The only downside is that it's in PA, so they have the minimum price for milk. Yes, in PA, there is a minimum price which must be charged for milk. So while it might be $2.49 a gallon in MD, just north across the border, you can't find it for less than $2.85. We bought a gallon anyway, though: we were out.

Then we got home and worked on our deck a bit more. It's coming right along. I'm really looking forward to sitting out there in the morning with a cup of coffee, or in the evening with a telescope aimed at the nearest planet. And then maybe we can finish the master bedroom we've been working on for two years.

SPF - Ooo, pretty!

Kristine's assignment this week is relatively simple. Play along, won't you?

Something shiny (okay, apparently it was "sparkly"): I was going to go take a picture of the sun, but it's a nasty, cloudy day. So instead I give you my favorite picture of the sun, taken by my Hubby back when he was in college. We have it blown up to poster size and hanging in our basement family room. Look at how the sun sparkles on the water!

Something dull: If you majored in English, as I did, then you were no doubt forced to take some dull literature classes. The dullest I had to endure was 19th century English lit. We had a professor who liked to read long passages out of the books in the most monotonous tone imaginable. Then he would give us quizzes with stupid questions like "What was the name of the cat in Chapter 2?" My roommate and I were both in the class. We used to make faces at each other across the table to stay awake. Back in our room, we'd do imitations of the professor and crack each other up. Anyway, the dullest novel we had to read was Middlemarch, by George Eliot. This book is so dull I bet not even George read it when she was done.

Something colorful: Last night's weather map for our area. We live in that triangle between Washington, Pittsburgh and the I-80 symbol, so we got some nasty rain last night. It didn't last long, but boy did it pour! I love thunderstorms, though, so I hope some of that stuff around Columbus is headed our way!

Did you play?

In which I slowly lose my mind

I have been debating something for a while now, and I'd love to hear some feedback from everyone, especially those who keep their children home for the purpose of educating them.

My second son, Joshua, started out kindergarten absolutely thrilled to be "doing school" like his older brother. He was usually finished the entire day's lessons in about an hour and a half. He did really well with everything. But this year, first grade, has brought a big change in his attitude. He never wants to come into the school room (I have a separate room in the house just for school). When he does, he wants to take control of the computer and surf Lego websites. It takes me an hour and a half just to get through one lesson with him. Frequently this year, we have started school at 9:30 a.m. and, including lunch, not finished until 4 p.m. It's been tremendously frustrating for me because that leaves no time to work with my older son, not to mention keep house and cook dinner.

Near us is a very good Christian school, where quite a few of the young people at our church attend. Joshua is definitely the type of child who would love being in a classroom with other kids. I'm sure it would be an adjustment for him, but he would do fine eventually. If we sent him there, I would have all day to work with my fifth grader, not to mention more time to keep up the house and play with my younger two boys. He would learn not only his lessons, but also why it's more fun to be home all day than stuck in a classroom, and maybe he would be more receptive to staying home for third grade.

On the other hand, if we sent him there, we're tying ourselves to the school's schedule. We can't just take off whenever we want to. And I would have to be here when he gets off the bus every day. Not that I'm not home normally at that time, but I like having the freedom to go out if I want. And then there's the matter of tuition, which is reasonable, but still would make a dent in our budget that would mean cutting back on things like weekend trips to the amusement park or buying DVDs. Not that we need those things, but it's nice to have the option. Plus, he would be away from his brothers all day. He and his older brother are best friends and I hate to take that away from either of them.

So my other option is to keep him at home, but switch curriculum. Maybe he would do better with unit studies, or something less structured than what we've been doing. I'm leaning toward this option because I think he really benefits from being at home and having one-on-one interaction with his teacher.

But on the con side, what if I keep him home and he continues his rebelliousness? I had a neighbor years ago who kept two of her kids home and sent the other to school because she didn't have a "teachable spirit." I never understood what that meant until this year with Joshua. He doesn't want to be taught. You would not believe the struggles we have had this year. If he continues this way no matter what the curriculum, I will lose my mind. And it's not fair to Caleb, who needs more time from me than he can get when I have to spend all day fighting with Joshua.

So I really don't know what to do. Should I put him in school for half a year maybe? Or keep him home and then put him in school if he can't behave? Or just pick one or the other? I'm so confused! Any help would be appreciated!