Rearranging the nightstand

For any of you keeping up with my lists over there to the left, I have removed a few books from the nightstand and added a few more.

The Price of Motherhood, Ann Crittenden
Insightful and inciteful. (The latter not being a real word, of course, but it should be). Ms. Crittenden got right to the point, a real problem in our society. You hear rumblings, murmurings, unrest…she has stumbled onto what even she believes should be a revolution that, for whatever reason has not come about. Yet.
I want to join the movement! I have not, however, finished the book. While Ms. Crittenden has touched a very important nerve, I (like many of the women who really want to push for change but don’t have time right now) didn’t even have time to finish the book. The library let me have it for three weeks and I did not finish it. I could have renewed it. I didn’t. I will check it out again or just buy it this time.


Finding Balance, Becca Stevens
I had to finish this book, as this was the text we were discussing in my women’s bible study group. Luckily, I was able to vote for this one before we chose it so I should not say that I had to finish it!
This book focused on what we can learn from the women of the Bible. I learned a great deal, though of course I learned more from the women in my group and their interpretations than from the book itself but this one was a great beginning for discussion!
I loved having a chapter devoted to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Someone will judge me for broadcasting this over the internet, but she’s been a tough one to deal with. I could never explain it right until the author found a nun who could: she was a virgin mother. Who can live up to that???
No matter what you’ve learned about Mary Magdalene from the media and The Da Vinci Code, you’ll find something new about her here!
I could go on. If it sounds intriguing, check it out. We did it as a group study so we ordered a video that went along with it. I enjoyed getting to see the author and hear her talk further about topics brought up in the book.
Of course, as a Catholic, I’m still intrigued to see a female priest. (The author is an Episcopal priest at Saint Augustine's Chapel on the Vanderbilt University campus. I find that amazing.)
I’ve only read this in preparation for group discussion but I highly recommend it whether for yourself or for a group. I might go back through it again when I have more time. (Whenever that may be...)

So, there are “updates” for two of the four books that have been sitting on my nightstand forever.

While I should use this time to get through the remaining two on the list, you should know by now that I am not that logical. I have started to re-read the Grapes of Wrath and am astounded at how much I have forgotten! I found this copy on the bookshelf and it still has my maiden name and a college dorm I lived in inscribed in the front cover. Therefore, I’m quite certain I read it in college and I even remember all of Tom Joad’s relatives’ names. I also remember that they could not afford to eat meat for a while. (The vegetarian remembers the important parts of novels).
I am about a third of the way through and thoroughly enjoying it but I honestly don’t remember any of this from the first time through. (I’m sure the fact that I read it in COLLEGE in NEW ORLEANS where there was no real, defined DRINKING AGE has absolutely nothing to do with my lack of recollection!)

In addition, I made a stop at the mall bookstore on Friday. (For anyone who does not know much about me: I hate malls. I will look for ANY excuse to avoid them. However, as I had agreed to an errand or two in the mall on Friday, I thought I deserved a trip to Waldenbooks as long as I was in there!) I picked up Walking the Bible: A Journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses (I cannot put this one down!!!) and Four Souls. I have not had a chance to open the latter yet, but I loved Ms. Erdich’s The Master Butchers Singing Club, and can’t wait to delve into this one!

So, there. Now you know exactly what books are lying on my nightstand when I go to sleep each night.
What's on yours?

Sometimes it feels like...somebody's watching me

Whoever writes this has some sort of camera hidden in my home. I KNOW it's in the kitchen somewhere... 

You can't fool kids!

As my kids note the progress on a construction site on the way to school, they want to know what it will be. I mention that it could be a couple of stores, or doctors’ offices, or any number of things.

This prompted my daughter to suggest that perhaps my husband (a physician) could move into that building. As I explained again that he’d have to wait until his commitment to the Army was fulfilled, she wanted to know:

"Does Daddy still have to be a doctor when he gets out of the Army?"

“No, I guess Daddy can do something else.”

“What if you get a job when Daddy gets out of the Army?” (Does this sound familiar?)

“I could do that. Maybe by then I’ll have my book done.”

“What is your book about again?”

“Good question! Well, it’s long and it’s changed and well, I’ll get it done and show you.”

“Is that a job?”
“Can be. I write the book and send it to people who publish books. If someone likes it, they’ll buy it and that’s how writers make money.”

My son, bored with this, asks “Do I have school today?”
(He goes to preschool Monday, Wednesday and Friday but isn’t always sure what day "today" is.)

“Yeessss!” My daughter sighs with exasperation. “I already told you. We both have school today.”
“Mommy?” she looks at me now. “Do we have school next Friday?”
“No, Sweetie. You both have next Friday off as it’s the day after Thanksgiving. Gran and Grandad will be here and even Daddy has the day off. Everyone has next Friday off!”

“Except you.”

“Well, that’s true. I still have to get dinner ready, wash dishes and clothes over the Thanksgiving holiday but we’ll all be home together.”

“No, Mommy. You don’t have the day off because you have to write that book!”

She's right. So I will. If all goes according to plan, you may not be hearing from me as much as I have GOT TO WRITE THAT BOOK!
*************
The timing this morning was perfect as I'd just read AGK's entry last night. Writers need to write, of course, and remember that we cannot fool our children!!!

Well, the kids don't agree with "frightful"

Oh, the weather outside is frightful...
Well, it's very windy, anway! It's hard to hold onto children and your hat at the same time!

But the fire is so delightful...
OK, gas fireplace is on the fritz.

And since we've no place to go...
I wish!

Let It Snow!Let It Snow!Let It Snow!
Seasonal tunes made an early appearance in my home this morning!

Yes, I was wearing short sleeves last week, telling everyone that while it didn't seem like November, I was thrilled! The hubbie told the kids last night he'd heard the word snow in the forecast for the evening and I couldn't believe it. I knew they'd wake disappointed as I could hear the rain pounding all night. My son decided to get up exceptionally early this morning and pointed out the rain. I could not get my daughter out of bed this morning, nor convince her to wear long pants until Nature intervened. Fifteen minutes before I had to start the We are going to be very late this time, get up NOW, I MEAN IT litany, the rain turned to snow.
It's amazing how compliant a 2nd grader will become if she thinks it means she'll get some time out in the white stuff!!!

Mea Culpa III

I apologize for being in a bitter mood yesterday, hence the *!^*%#!## post below. I really have to remember to give myself a waiting period to rethink some ideas before posting them.

I've had a shower today and in the morning, no less! We're off to a good start!

As far as yesterday, it really wasn't all that horrible. It just went like this, all day.

TGIF!

You didn’t hear this from me, but…

So you want the scoop? Or are you the one with the juicy information and you just have to tell someone? No? You don’t gossip, you say? Spreading rumors is not nice.

Spreading rumors online isn’t any nicer. It just fills up our inboxes with more junk mail. I know so many people who emphatically state that they’d never gossip. These same people have lightning fast fingers when it comes to spreading lies with a computer and a mouse. They did not write the email. They are not trying to cause any trouble. They are thinking of me and they are trying to help me or someone else. These well-meaning, caring people assume the information is true. We all know what happens when we assume.

A well meaning friend, who has kids in the same school as my children, passed along an email recently which urged me to add my name to a list of concerned citizens so we could stop a horrible woman from getting a bill passed in Congress that would take religious programming off of the radio.
The woman who was blamed for this passed away a decade ago.

I get an email from someone at least once a week urging me to boycott either Pepsi or Coke because they omitted the words “under God” from the pledge of Allegiance on their cans.
This was originally the fault of Dr. Pepper and they did not print the whole pledge nor mean to omit any of it. In response to 9/11, they were trying to say that we were “One Nation…Indivisible.”

I am not receiving any monetary compensation to promote Snopes.com. I just think going to the site, typing in a search of the email you’re about to forward and checking on it takes much less time than it does to type all of your friends addresses into the inbox. There are many gifted writers out in cyberspace who spend their time writing hoaxes that they send out into the wwworld. Concerned citizens, worried about the dangers of drinking soda, freedoms being removed from the airwaves and a million political ideas send these things on and on and on.

A note to my loyal friends, relatives and other readers: this post was not directed at YOU. You did not send me the email that sent me here. To those of you who have gotten responses back from me with a snopes link, it is not personal. It’s just my own friendly advice or helpful hint.

Pass it on.

Cheers! 

I could tell you why ...the ocean's near the shore...

If found, are ruby slippers good for a return trip? Maybe the scarecrow, with his new brain installed, could weigh in with his opinion.

I can't complain. I am not a science teacher and our oldest is in second grade so we have a few years to worry about what she'll be taught in biology class.

Think your job stinks?

Me is code for chocolate

Just a side note: as I previewed my last entry before posting it, the codes made me smile. The html code for italics is “em” so on either side of the word “me” it not only looked cute (em-me-em) but spelled out the way my son pronounces “M & Ms”. (He calls them “M…E…Ms!”)

It was actually a perfect ending to the last post. After taking time out to ponder one’s own mortality, one really needs a bit of chocolate!

Degrees of Separation

I did not know the pregnant woman who died, leaving behind a young son and a husband. I barely knew her husband when he was a young teenager. I doubt he would remember my name, even if I sent a card. I was just a slightly older teenager who spent summers kissing his older brother. I do feel for the family though and have been praying for them.

I did not know the woman who lived in this house before me. I do know that she had interesting tastes in wallpaper. There are so many various types throughout the house yet if given the choice, I would not have picked out one of them on my own. Not one. However, they seem to fit each room so well. She did a beautiful job with window treatments, too.
She moved out last summer before we moved in and left the curtains and window treatments for us. We still get mail and catalogs bearing her name.
I read in the paper that she died in her new home on Sunday, after an ongoing illness. I wonder if that played a part in their moving from this house. She also left behind a young child and husband.

I am not afraid of dying. I am afraid of leaving my children. (It takes me twenty minutes to leave them with a sitter who is a grown woman and stays with them often. I am always afraid there is something important that I did not take care of or did not tell her.) I had better get organized soon or I don’t know how many people I will have to haunt to make sure my kids are OK.

This is coming from a woman who, during her own childhood, took great pains to explain to her parents that she was quite independent and most certainly did not need them. (My birthday IS on Independence Day, after all!) As it turns out, regardless of how self-sufficient I believe myself to be, I still need to know others are depending on me.

Then again, my husband is depending on my to clear out my “junk.” I guess I had better get that organized before I step out in front of that proverbial bus or he may spend eternity haunting me!

Might have to give this a try! ; ) 

Traveling Mercies: Some thoughts on Faith, by Anne Lamott

I grew up Catholic. People did not get up on the altar on Sunday and testify about their beliefs or experiences. Retreats in highschool and college were incredible because people did do it there. Not up on an altar but in a circle of their peers. They shared experiences from their life and how God had helped them through it. It was amazing.

It was not until I started going to the Wednesday “all-faith” services when I worked at World Vision that I found that Protestants do this every week. It was still amazing.

Anne Lamott does it in book form. Anne doesn’t tell you why you should believe what she believes. She shares experiences. My life experiences have been nothing like hers but I agree with much of what she has come to believe.

Her life, while imperfect, has made her wise and she shares her simple wisdom. She asserts that the two best prayers that she knows are:

Help me, help me, help me

and

Thank you, thank you, thank you

They are simple but powerful. Her father’s parents were Presbyterian missionaries who raised their children in Tokyo. She mentions how much disdain her father held for Christianity and they all proclaimed that they did not believe in God mostly to win favor with their father. Her mother went to an Episcopal church on Christmas Eve. She was not brought up with any type of religion whatsoever. She was surprised and bewildered to find God when she was a college student. A professor introduced them to Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling and she says her life changed forever. They talked about the story of Abraham and when she left class that day, she knew there was a God. It made no sense to her and she could not explain it but she suddenly or finally believed that God exists. She was bat mitzvahed and even learned Hebrew.

About fifteen pages after that, after much drinking, drugs, bulimia, pregnancy and an abortion, she finds Jesus sitting in her bedroom. Now, while I’ve not been lucky enough to sense His physical presence that close to me before, I believe that she did. She tried to ignore Him for a while but eventually gave in. She has stopped ignoring Him and even looks for Him; then she shares how and where she finds Him.

It is not about a particular denomination or a certain set of beliefs. It is not even as serious as I’ve made it sound. Ms. Lamott is hilarious. She can be relating a story about a sick friend or something her son is going through and just when you’re ready to cry with her, you are laughing out loud at the next thing she says.

The title comes from something that the “old people” at her church say to people when they are leaving for a while. “Traveling mercies: love the journey, God is with you, come home safe and sound.”

This is another book that has sat on my “list” there on the left corner for a while. I read a few pages at a time, and received a little more inspiration each time. I highly recommend it. If you do not have time to settle in with the whole book at one time, just read a page or two. You may learn something about yourself, you might find a new way to relate to people or you might just laugh. Chances are you will experience all three on one page. 

I am an idealist

I like this quiz much better. Of course, in an ideal world, I should be doing something more productive with my time!

Your Personality Is

Idealist (NF) You are a passionate, caring, and unique person. You are good at expressing yourself and sharing your ideals. You are the most compassionate of all types and connect with others easily. Your heart tends to rule you. You can't make decisions without considering feelings. You seek out other empathetic people to befriend. Truth and authenticity matters in your friendships. In love, you give everything you have to relationships. You fall in love easily. At work, you crave personal expression and meaning in your career. With others, you communicate well. You can spend all night talking with someone. As far as your looks go, you've likely taken the time to develop your own personal style. On weekends, you like to be with others. Charity work is also a favorite pastime of yours.

The Three Question Personality Test

Your assistance, please

I should have learned with the whole seasonal test but now I'm curious. My result was WAY off but that could be because I took the "test" with my second glass of red wine in hand!?

I got this from SV's blog and I'm just curious to see if I am the only one who received an inaccurate reading. This is purely for research. (They need another question for people who use the word "curious" far too often. I do not own a large yellow hat, nor do I own a monkey but I'd like to know how you all fare with this quiz...)

(For those of you who know my true identity and how many siblings I may possess.....this test pegged me as an ONLY child!) (I've never had ALL of the tendencies of a "first-born": the "second-in-line" wore me down a bit....then I married a "youngest" who has had some influence...but still??!?! ONLY child??!! Sure, I had fantasies but...) ; )

The Russians are coming!

Well, they're here! At least one, in any case.

Mikhail Gorbachev is in Kansas. In our town, in Kansas! It seems to me, as a parent, I should make my children aware of historical opportunities like this. Honestly, how often do you have a chance to be in the same room with someone who won a Nobel prize? How often do you have a chance to be in the same room with a former leader of another nation (ANY nation)?

Of course, my children are 7 and 4 and not yet interested in many current or historical events that do not revolve around them. I still may make them go--they can color quietly in the back and still be able to say that they were there.

In any case, you can view what's going on here.

Pardon?

We all have these days...

All Hallow's Eve

Well, technically the Christians appropriated this one too. I wouldn't expect the schools to use Halloween as an opportunity for a history lesson, in any case.

Cheers!

I've been lamenting that I can't seem to finish a book in a timely manner but I read The Three-Martini Playdate in three days. Those of you who know me might guess why I finished this one so quickly over, say, something like "How to stimulate your child 24 hours a day!" 90% of the material in this book is common sense parenting that everyone already knows but provides good reminders with plenty of humor and even a few easy (that's key!) recipes! The illustrations are great and the helpful side-hints are priceless.

Sadly, Ms. Mellor does not suggest actually drinking 3 martinis each day but she does say that you should teach your children how to serve them when adults drop by your home around 5pm! She even suggests that they ask your guests "Olive or twist?" when they arrive, being helpful and making a cute literary joke at the same time.

It's light reading....like I said, you already know this stuff! I love the way she presents it all though--darling book!

Theme and Variations II

Do you remember when you were in school and studying different “units?” You know, your teacher had a theme for the whole week on her lesson plan. Maybe you were studying the life cycle of plants and each day you talked about a different element: sunshine (and maybe the solar system), water (maybe touch on weather), soil (and environmentalism). By the end of the week, you knew that you needed nutrients in the soil, clean water and plenty of light for your plant to grow and that healthy plant would contribute oxygen to the air that you breathe. Your teacher had the whole day planned out, each day.

I finally started reading The 3 Martini Playdate and found Mary P’s link to Anne Taintor all in the same week! I love it when a broader plan unfolds and things all mesh—like it was a planned lesson or something! I have not finished the book yet but expect to very soon!

I read a few pages this morning and then made myself get on the treadmill, thankful at least for this time to listen to “my music” as I have various Disney soundtracks playing in the car about 80% of the time. (I thank the good Lord that Disney has at least employed Phil Collins on many recent tracks so I can listen to them 40 times in a row without driving into a building).

After running and walking and still not getting anywhere, I came back upstairs and snuck in one more chapter. This one was aptly title, “Children’s Music: WHY?” This book has given me many “slap on the hand” moments as well as “slap in the head” times too. Of course! WHY?? My parents didn’t have a CD player in the car. We had a few Disney soundtracks ourselves back then (on LPs!!!) but those were not quite portable! We had to make do with what was on the radio or singing “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall” like this author.

I love music. Though I did not graduate with a major in music, I started off in that direction. I want my kids to love music. However, in succumbing to playing some of the tunes repeatedly, I had not considered the harm I’ve done to all of us until recognizing it on page 96.

In discussing “music with a moral” she explains that while there may be nothing wrong with telling your kids to brush their teeth…

…The messages are innocuous enough, but you are introducing your children to
prosaic, overly literal lyrics, coupled with dispirited, mostly lousy music. If
you are preparing them for a lifetime of listening to Top 40 pop hits, then you
will have given them the perfect start, as they will develop no discernible
musical taste.
But there is also a very real mental health danger to bad
music that is rarely mentioned: The melody and lyrics will get stuck on a
continual loop in one’s head, often for weeks at a time. Your child will be
humming the tune under his breath at all hours of the day, and you will
absentmindedly sing it while making coffee in the morning. What little sanity
you had left will slowly crumble; you will soon find yourself making
smiley-faced pancakes, collecting colorfully costumed teddy bears, and
decorating with plaid. You will begin to think that mother-daughter matching outfits are really cute! Your friends will no longer drop by, because you offer
them healthful fruit snacks instead of a glass of wine, and they have to hear
about all the funny things your child said. Avoid bad music and you avoid an
insidious and downward descent into sheer blandness.

I had no idea that this woman had visited my house! I know I’ve been feeling mental illness creeping up but I did not attribute it to the music! It’s time to put the Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald and Gershwin back into the car! I can’t forget Harry, either. I was so thrilled a few years ago to find that Harry Connick, Jr. had recorded an album of children’s songs. He included many of my old favorites, some of which were already on my daughter’s list too (the album came out when she had to watch the Wizard of Oz on a daily basis)—but they’re much more fun when Harry sings them! Not that I have my own schoolgirl crush on the man, I just like his music. Really. Just because his name pops up in my posts from time to time, you should not go jumping to conclusions.

Well, my week started off according to some vague plan. Now I’m distracted. Yep. I do remember when I was in school. I remember how my teacher tried to have us follow her schedule. This was the part of the day where I’d hear “Lory? Are we daydreaming again?”

I've been trying all day to make this appear in the previous post but at least you can see it now! 

Thought for the day

If you want to make God laugh, tell Him about YOUR plans.

This is one of my favorite quotes. I was sure I'd found it in Bird by Bird but I just flipped through the thing and can't find it. Of course, I recall Anne Lamott as saying "tell Her about your plans" but the idea is the same!

As it turns out, from my extensive online search, this quote is attributed to Woody Allen. That sounds right. (Ms. Lamott quotes lots of other people in her book).

I repeat this quote to someone at least once a week. This being an especially odd week for some reason, I thought I'd share it with many of you at once.

Round and round she goes...

Track Wilma

I know this is not the most poignant question of the day, but why does the hurricane name list end with Wilma? I realize they recycle the lists every 6 years or so, and I'm sure everyone prays that we don't actually see 26 hurricanes; however, if you're going to make an alphabetical list, why not go all the way to the end? Is it just that Xavier, Yolanda and Zoe might be on the list every year? I'm sure we could add Xerxes, Yancey and Zach. Maybe that's it.

I hear if there is another one this year, they're going to start over with Greek names. Alpha would be the beginning of the list, obviously.

As far as the name of the current storm, I do wonder sometimes where they get their inspiration. Hopefully Wilma Rudolph was not the inspiration for putting “Wilma” onto the hurricane name list. Being strong, fast and able to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds are fantastic qualities in an athlete but they’re not quite what you’d be hoping for in the case of a hurricane!!

It would have to have been something much worse than coming home late from bowling to get another famous Wilma into such a tizzy! Maybe that’s why this name made the list. Hurricane experts had to be thinking that if we’d get all the way to “W,” we’d be hoping the storm would have a slow, resigned “Oh, Fred!” quality to it.

WIL MAAAA!!!!

Ominous

I found this link at Mary P's blog and followed it, thinking it sounded like harmless fun.

Now, I'm not so sure...

You Are Changing Leaves

Pretty, but soon dead.

What Part of Fall Are You?

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

I was reading an interview of an author a few weeks back. (Plenty of time has elapsed for me to forget just who I was reading about!) Anyway, the author was talking about the importance of reading many different books. I remember the comment that it was okay to put down a book without finishing it. The point being that you should expose yourself to various authors and ideas but don't waste your time with the ones you do not get anything from. I have trouble with this. (Well, I put them down all the time but keep claiming I will get back to them. This might explain the stagnant list of “books I’m reading now” to the left of this blog!) Even when I find that I just don’t like a book, I feel like I am not giving it a fair chance if I don’t read it through to the end. The last chapter could always be brilliant!

However, I have now been “reading” The Heart is a Lonely Hunter for over a year. I’ve had to start over because it had been so long I forgot some of what I’d read. I picked it up during our move last summer. It was sitting in the store with the big “Oprah’s Book Club” sticker on the front cover. I needed something else to read during our trip so this looked like a good choice. I could not get into it during the move so I put it aside, thinking I’d enjoy it more once we were settled in the house. Nope. I brought it with me when I flew with the kids to Florida last summer, thinking I’d read a few pages on the plane or in the evenings when the kids fell asleep. It didn’t happen. Then I left it at my parent’s for a month or so before asking them to send it back to me. I made it through a few more pages the other night but then picked up a new book at the library on Thursday and McCuller’s book is still lying on my night stand. (The book itself can’t be lonely. It is sitting there with the other books you see there on the left side of this page!)
The characters seem interesting. I love the details she has included. This seems to be a work of a truly observant person. However, I still have not made it beyond page 44.

Maybe life is too short to finish every book I pick up. However, I have this nagging feeling that this seems is an important book that I should want to read. Then again, that nagging feeling is just coming from Oprah. I received a degree in English without having read this book and I had not put it on my personal list of books that I really want to read.

There are important books in fiction and non-fiction that are calling for my attention. There are literary classics that everyone should read at least once that I still have not opened. I do not have time to read every book that I want to. Yet, being a successful product of our society, I feel like I need to at least read every book listed in “Oprah’s Book Club” list to be well read.

Perhaps I should put in a call to Dr. Phil. Obviously, this is not working for me.

The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini

SIN. SACRIFICE. REDEMPTION.

Lots of novels incorporate all of the above. In the context of Hosseini’s novel, I had to give them capital letters.

I wanted to warn you that reading this novel is heart-breaking but that term is not strong enough. It is heart-shattering.

Many times, I wanted to put the book down and walk away so I would not have to witness what was coming next. In the end, I could not do it. These characters have so much at stake. You can’t just close the book in the middle and leave them where they are with only your bookmark to clutch.

Hosseini creates characters that we can cry for, and cry with, but also gives us a glimpse of a world far from ours. Hosseini doesn’t give you the nightly news account version, nor does he give you a map at the front of the book. He just grabs your hand and takes you into Afghanistan, whether you’re ready to go or not.

As chapter one opens, you see the date “December 2001” hovering over the first paragraph. Knowing it’s a novel about Afghanistan, and knowing that the date above was a three months after the tragedy that unfolded on our soil, I kept waiting for it to happen again on one of the pages. Occasionally, I’d stop and look back to check the date, just to make sure I hadn’t missed it. Admittedly, it was also a tactic to take a break from some of the intense chapters in this book. I don’t know if I was looking for a tragedy that I could “predict” or just hoping that there was some way we could avoid that one this time.

Then in happened. In one paragraph the twin towers came down, in the next the U.S. bombed Afghanistan and ordinary Americans in San Francisco Starbucks were discussing the towns that had been a big part of Amir’s life. I thought he handled this part perfectly. We witness enough in this novel and he knows that his readers have already witnessed 9/11 many times. We don’t need to watch it unfold again. He did manage to include the right details though.

One Tuesday morning last September, the Twin Towers came crumbling down and, overnight, the world changed. The American flag suddenly appeared everywhere, on the antennae of yellow cabs weaving around traffic, on the lapels of pedestrians walking the sidewalks in a steady stream, even on the grimy caps of San Francisco’s pan-handlers sitting beneath the awnings of small art galleries and open-fronted shops. One day I passed Edith, the homeless woman who plays the accordion every day on the corner of Sutter and Stockton, and spotted an American flag sticker on the accordion case at her feet.

Hosseini includes small details throughout the novel to make you feel like you are in the streets of Kabul or Peshawar with Amir. The pride in his country and its people shines throughout the story. A few sentences about the burst of American flags and national pride that erupted in the wake of 9/11 put me right back in my own country in 2001.

Afghanistan is a character in this book as well as the people but Amir and his family experience as much or more turbulence in their individual lives as the country faces with the Soviet and Taliban occupations. I do not, however, want to give the impression that the entire story is under a veil of tragedy. There are beautiful, bright moments of pure joy and love throughout as well. Our first trip into Kabul in the early 1970s is wonderful.

I am impressed by this writer and I recommend the book but with caution. The quote on the front cover from The New York Times Book Review simply says: “Powerful… Haunting.” That last word is quite accurate. I just finished the book today but have not been able to put it out of my mind for a few weeks now. (I did not have the time or the stamina to read this one in one sitting!) While I feel better now having seen the story through to its resolution, I will not be able to let go of these characters any time soon.

Our aspiring artist

My daughter brought a note home on Friday telling us that a local coffee shop would be displaying artwork by some of the students at her school for the next two weeks, complete with an opening “reception” this afternoon. Of course, she did not want to go and was very shy while we fawned over her work and talked with the teacher but I did catch a little gleam in her eye as we admired her (framed!) artwork on the wall of a busy coffee shop by the university. The owners also have children in her school and they teamed up with the school’s art teacher to put on this exhibit. We found a few other budding artists while we were there.

I am so thankful that there are teachers and members of the community who will come up with things like this to inspire and encourage these kids. My daughter has always loved coloring, painting and “crafts” but during the school year doesn’t do so much on her own at home anymore. Today, though she vehemently protested going anywhere near the coffee shop, she started on some new secret project in the basement the moment we got home. It’s amazing what a little outside encouragement can do for a person!

We're back!

Well, we have returned from a few glorious days in Los Angeles.
Thanks so much to my Dad, who flew up and stayed with the kiddos--took them to school, Taekwondo and even Baskin Robbins--so we could go!

It was sunny, it was beautiful, it was expensive, it was L.A. It was great. Of course, it could have been anywhere--for me, it was enough of a vacation to know I could sleep as late as I liked and no matter where I went or what I did, no one would be calling "Mommy" except on the phone.

We stayed in downtown L.A. and found that we have already turned into small-town folk, but that's OK!
(Hubbie--I don't mind paying $20 for my entree but this is a garnish and me--Does that say $11 for a GLASS of wine?) I thought I knew what was what...I've worked in big office buildings in big cities and I thought I knew what to expect. What I forgot was that those experiences were a DECADE ago!

Ah well---it was relaxing (after drinking the $11/glass wine) and fun but it's good to be back home too. Now I just have to catch up with my blogging friends! ; )

On the Road...well, in the air again!

I'm off! Dh has a conference in L.A. and my Dad is staying with the kiddos!
I'll be back Wednesday night and will catch up with you later in the week!

Please Pray II

I'm repeating my request from last month, with a few changes.

Please just pray. I was so worried a few weeks ago about what Katrina could do if it hit New Orleans. Then it hit. Things were torn up but it turned out so much better than I'd feared. All of those prayers worked! Then the levees could not hold out any longer.........and all hell broke loose.

My family (on my husband's side) all got out OK. Some homes are fine and others are destroyed. Those family members were able to get out and stay with our other family members---in Beaumont, TX and San Antonio, TX.

So please pray again. These cities aren't "bowls" but this is an enormous storm.
So many of my very dear friends from New Orleans moved a few years after I did. They all live in Houston now. Please keep them in your prayers.

For those friends who may read this: Come on up!!!! (I have lost touch with a few of you but y'all keep in touch with each other and one or two of you read this blog---come on up!!) My house, almost smack-dab in the middle of Kansas may not be the most exciting place you've seen in your life but I will promise you that no hurricane will hit central Kansas!!!! Come on up!!! I'll have a hurricane waiting for you---but it will be in a big glass with lots of rum!!! ; )

Just take a deep breath and hang in there. Last year, my family dealt with many hurricanes hitting Florida. This year, my in-laws and friends are dealing with the hurricanes hitting the Gulf. Next year, they've got to just head straight up to Greenland, right?

The Rewards of Being a SAHM

I am very lucky to be able to be a stay-at-home-mom (though we actually stay home less and less these days). I am honored to be able to assist my daughter with her homework, remind the children to actually use the bathroom and make sure all the little nooks and crannies get soaped and rinsed each night.

When my son did his impression of Linda Blair in The Exorcist last night, I was there to comfort him as well as clean him, the floor and in between all of the cushions of our leather couch. When he had a bad dream in the middle of the night, he came to get me, begged me to sleep in his bed and I did. Until my daughter called me five minutes later. Then he cried when he woke and realized I was in her room. I thought I was even handling the “double-duty” just fine until I literally ran into my husband in the dark hallway (he was trying to help but he scared the living daylights out of me in the process)!

So as my son piped up in the car again this morning “When will Daddy be home?” I gave the usual answer: “dinnertime.”

“When can Daddy stay home?”
(Hubbie leaves town twice a month for an executive MBA class so I thought this had something to do with the question.)

“Daddy will stay home all night tonight. He has another trip soon but he won’t be gone too long.”

“NO! When can Daddy STAY home? Like you?”

“Oh! Well, Daddy still goes to work each day. He works hard to make money so Mommy can stay home with you and we can have our nice house and good food to eat. Aren’t we lucky?”

“It isn’t fair for Daddy.”

“No, it isn’t. Boy, I sure am lucky to be able to stay with you two great kids though, huh?”

"Yes. It isn’t fair for Daddy. I want Daddy to stay home all day with us.”

“Maybe one day, kiddo. Maybe in a few years. But it isn’t so bad with Mom, right?”

“I am sick of you.”

*Sigh*

Things that make you go hmmmm.....

I saw this at Miss New Orleans' blog.

My Favorite Quote from this Week

I have so much that I should be reading but I took some time to peruse the Sunday paper today. In the Books & Writing section of The Manhattan Mercury, where I always find a review of at least one book that I want to read, there was a review for the book New Orleans Stories. I’ve got a book or two about folktales and legends from the Crescent City but this is one I am certainly adding to my “must read” list.

If you’ve been reading this blog—you know I love that city. New Orleans is where I went to college, where I had my first taste of real freedom, where I met my future husband and where I had my first real, full-time job but those are a few of the thousands of reasons I love that city. Having said that, I spent a fair amount of time living there in fear (the city has a high crime rate) and anger (there is so much poverty and inherent racism in the city). If it is a love/hate relationship that I have with New Orleans however, the love outweighs everything else! There are so many characters that live there that just embody optimism, faith, love, caring and fun! I used to roll my eyes occasionally at the laissez-faire attitude of some of the people. So many of the problems affecting the city and its citizens seemed and seem to have real solutions. However, I’ve learned that taking a deep breath and going on with life is not necessarily giving up. That’s just another method of dealing with daily life. (Of course, daily life is always easier with frozen daiquiris in hand!)

I can ramble on all night about my observations and feelings about the city. However, I mentioned a quote and I know you are waiting with baited breath. I think it sums up New Orleans perfectly.

At the end of the review, the writer included this quote from Andre Codrescu:
The city can drive a sober-minded person insane, but it feeds the dreamer. It feeds the dreamer stories, music and food. Really great food.

There you have it. I have a dream. In it, New Orleans has risen again, the people all have not just shelter but homes, gumbo and po-boys and I am there.

I just had a great idea. I know it's here somewhere.

I would have thought that early Alzheimer's would be a little more fun, what with the whole forget all your worries aspect.

Reason #32 for Being a Vegetarian

Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant? I'm halfway through my fishburger and I realize, Oh my God. I could be eating a slow learner. ~ Lynda Montgomery

50% of You will Appreciate This

Go ahead---pump up the volume!!

http://www.badgirl1.com/PMS.htm

Daily Affirmations with Opehlia (Katrina’s little sister)

Katrina, Katrina, Katrina!
Everyone always paid attention to Katrina. I can do anything that she can do!

At least, I think I can. Here I come, Florida! Watch out!

Okay, wait. Let’s think…think…where do I want to go first? My cousins visited Cape Canaveral last year. Jacksonville is good but you hear things about Daytona…I think I’d like to see Daytona.

It is so hard to decide. I guess that’s why Katrina always gets all the attention. She didn’t waste time like me. She just started going and hit Florida right in the bottom! After that, she didn’t want to slow down so she just sped up and ran! My big sister could really get moving when she wanted to!

I know I am not that fast. I never did have the windspeeds that my sister did. Once you slow down a bit though, it gives you a chance to think about things. I like to consider my options. It’s nice here off of the coast of Florida. What if I just go ahead on in and hit Flagler Beach? Sure—it’s pretty, it’s historical—but once I get there, will I be sorry I did not head straight for Fernandina?

I’m just not ready yet. I had better head back out east for now. There is nothing wrong with that. There is no use rushing these things. I’ll just come back when I feel ready.

God bless them, every one!

God bless both Mr. Stronach and the good people of south Florida!

In a previous post today, Mary commented and provided a link to the "simply put" blog. Within this blog, Q provided this link to the Globe and Mail. You should read both the blog and the link to the Globe and Mail.

Mr. Stronach knows what it is like to be poor and be without. Now he is neither and he is sharing generously with the people of Louisiana. Floridians know what it is like to deal with both hurricanes and relief agencies. They too are sharing their clothing and their time.

While it almost makes me wish I were Canadian, then I'd have to deal with those winters. (A few years in Alaska was quite enough, thank you very much!) So I feel very lucky to be able to say that I was born in south Florida!

Kudos to them all!

Gone with the Wind and Water

Life's under no obligation to give us what we expect.
~Margaret Mitchell

Margaret Mitchell was a wise woman. I wonder what Ms. Mitchell would say about the tragedies unfolding in the South. She was always interested in survivor stories and there will be many more that we have not heard yet.
(After all, tomorrow is another day. ~ Margaret Mitchell)

I should not compare General Sherman's march on Georgia to Katrina's sweep through the Gulf coast but the fires in New Orleans this week had me recalling some of the fiery scenes from Selznick's version. While Americans are no longer embroiled in a war with each other, our country is certainly divided over whether or not we should be involved in the war in Iraq.
What most people don't seem to realize is that there is just as much money to be made out of the wreckage of a civilization as from the upbuilding of one. ~ Margaret Mitchell

I have no idea which individuals within the Army Corps of Engineers have worked on the New Orleans levee systems over the years so I don't know if some comments have turned out to be truly prophetic. The engineers that constructed the levees did a fine job of protecting the city as long as no really big storms came along.
The south produced statesmen and soldiers, planters and doctors and lawyers and poets, but certainly no engineers and mechanics. Let Yankees adopt such low callings. ~ Margaret Mitchell

I have tried to apply some of Ms. Mitchell's quotes to current events. However, some very sage advice that is even more applicable today was given to Ms. Mitchell by her mother:
“It’s happened before and it will happen again,” Maybelle sternly lectured the girl. “And when it does happen, everyone loses everything and everyone is equal. They all start again with nothing at all except the cunning of their brain and the strength of their hands.” ~ Mary Isabelle “Maybelle” Stephens Mitchell

Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail

I am not a good planner. I rarely have a plan. Knowing this however, I will not run for public office.

City officials knew the predicament New Orleans was and is in. This was not “news” for anyone in New Orleans.

However, as Katrina spun closer to the Crescent City, Mayor Nagin told everyone to leave town and that they would open the Superdome as a shelter of “last resort.” They would send buses around the city to pick up those who relied on public transportation and take them to the Superdome.

The term “last resort” should be used when all other strategies have been exhausted. I do not understand why part of the planning and evacuation strategies did not include a way to actually evacuate the people who had no other way out. There could have been a plan to put thousands of people on trains and buses and send them to Baton Rouge, Shreveport—ANYWHERE ELSE—before having to resort to the Superdome for a very last resort.

Storms turn at the last minute—often—which is a big reason so many people stayed. They were tired after evacuating several times within the past year, spending hours and hours in traffic, spending money on hotel rooms and gas, only to have storms turn and miss New Orleans.
So I understand why there were still so many people in their homes when the storm hit. Many waited to see if it would really come. Then it was either too late to leave (electricity would have been out so they could not fill their tanks at the pumps or get cash from an ATM). Some people even made it through the storm and were glad that they did not waste the time and money to evacuate—until the levees burst. They could not leave as fast as the water was rising.

I really do not blame government officials at any level for what happened to the people who made the decision to stay. My heart aches for those unfortunate people but their situation is not the fault of the president, the governor nor the mayor.

However, in the future, officials need to have plans in place to give people the information and options to get out when they have no other resources.

As my mother mentioned, when Andrew hit south Florida, people only had one way to go—north. When Katrina was heading for New Orleans, people could have gone west or north. Even heading east, which still would have taken them into Katrina’s path, would have gotten them out of the sinking city.

Now I have a plan. I will write the Great American novel. You all buy it. I’ll take the proceeds and buy a fleet of buses and maybe buy out Amtrak too. I’m gonna park ‘em all out in Elysian Fields and the next time there is a storm on the radar, I will personally go down and make sure they load each one with as many people as they can fit into each one.

Mea Culpa II

I apologize.

I should learn to keep my mouth shut. I am not in New Orleans helping right now (though I am trying to find a good way to finagle that one) and I was not living there for the past few years so I did not have a chance to vote for the mayor. Or not.

So I have no right to criticize Mr. Nagin. I have done it anyway but I really don’t have the right.

To those I’ve angered, I must insist that I do not blame the mayor for what happened to New Orleans. I just think that as an elected LEADER, he could have shown a little more leadership and a little less finger-pointing. Telling stranded, hungry, dirty, sick people that they are not getting the help that they need because someone else is taking too long is not going to help them. Whether he believes it or not, it is not hard to get in front of those same cameras and say something like, “People of New Orleans, I am with you. We are strong people and this is a strong city. We will get through this.”

Maybe the crowds would not have believed it. Would it have hurt to try?
I am sure that they do believe the mayor when he says that he is “pissed.” Does that help them? Does it really rush the aid there any sooner?

However, I also do understand that he was in the same situation as his citizens. He had no power, no sleep, probably no clean water to take a shower and he desperately wants to get out of there too. He is the voice of the masses. That message needed to get out.

As far as the stranded citizens, having no power and few radios, they were likely not aware of what was being said anyway.

I understand he did not have the official, legal power to declare martial law as soon as he wanted to do it. However, I did not understand that until the issue was brought forth on the news so I doubt the crowds affected by the order would have understood whether or not it was valid.

Sheriff Harry Lee, in Jefferson Parish—in the suburbs of New Orleans, did declare martial law earlier and the violence was not even close to what it was in the city of New Orleans. I doubt he had the legal power either but he said it anyway and people listened.
(To be fair however, I only lived there for seven years but it seemed people always listened to Mr. Lee.)

I am not saying that martial law was needed simply because there was looting. With regard to the whole “looting” versus “finding” debate, the wording was unfortunate. Regardless of race, ethnicity or anything else—if I were stuck in the situation that these people were and I had to break a store window to get food or water for my kids, I would have done it with no hesitation whatsoever. I can even understand the stolen Cadillacs from an abandoned dealership—if those people thought those cars could get them out of the city.

I will stop rambling now. To Mr. Nagin and your supporters, I apologize if I have unfairly criticized the city government in New Orleans. It took MUCH too long for aid to arrive and the measures that should have been in place in such an event were not even close. If it makes anyone feel better—I am more than ready to continue to criticize state and federal agencies for this debacle too. There have been many opportunities in the last 40 years to work to prevent something like this. However, that’s for another post…

For now, I will stop looking back and I hope others can too. It is time to look forward and do what we can to help our families, friends and neighbors in the Gulf Coast states to recover and rebuild.

Theme and Variations

One of my favorite songs is titled, Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans?

If you change one word, it's also an article written by New Orleans native, Anne Rice. I've included the link below if you're interested in her article on losing her hometown.

http://www.wwltv.com/topstories/stories/wwl090305annerice.21ad697f.html


You can view the song lyrics here.


Hear a portion of the song, as recorded by Harry Connick Jr., here.

Happy News

Seems like uplifting stories are few and far between these days, so I had to share!

http://www.nola.com/newsflash/weather/index.ssf?/base/national-51/1125804544177912.xml&storylist=hurricane

Timely tip

God forbid you need to evacuate your home. I'm still having trouble fathoming the list of trials awaiting our friends, relatives and everyone else in the the Gulf coast states right now.

However, in case another disaster ever encroaches upon your hometown--I thought this was helpful advice. When we moved (from Alaska to Kansas) last year and more recently, for just weekend stays, we have booked all of our hotel stays online. Perfectly fine when everything else falls into line. You can even get great discounts.

However, reading this article from a newsman in New Orleans who was trying to get accomodations for his grandmother--looks like nothing beats good 'ol Ma Bell. After striking out a few times, more than once, he was able to find lodging online. He called to confirm though (good Boy Scout: be prepared) only to find out that the hotel's computers had been down for days and they had NO rooms even though the internet said they did! You could arrive, confirmation number in hand and be out of luck!

If any disaster causes you to seek shelter at higher ground in your future---call ahead to see if there really is room at the inn!

http://www.wwltv.com/gumbo/index.html

Then again--THIS is REALLY different!

You've got to check this out!
(Kris, thank you for sharing this)!

http://www.compfused.com/directlink/574/

And now for something completely different...

I outlined the WHOLE thing! The WIP is moving along!

I have always wanted to be one of those writers who could outline the thing first, include plot twists, etc. then follow it to write each chapter.
I'm just not one of those people. I get an idea, write part of it out and can't figure out where it'll end up or I know the ending but filling in that middle stuff just doesn't work out right.

I've been playing around with this one now for well over a year and keep writing parts and pieces, planning to fit them in somewhere, somehow. Yesterday, however, I sat down to try to outline it again and I got the whole thing down! With details! For 13 chapters!!! Some people fall in love, some don't...a murder even popped up while I was typing! I had NO IDEA that was even coming!!

So it isn't ready to go out just yet but yesterday saw more progress than so many months before it, I just had to do a little dance!

In case you were looking for any evidence of a Higher Being--here you go! The good Lord finally decided this book should get written and I'm just so glad he's letting me help!

Thank you! Don't stop.

Thank you all for both your prayers and your kind comments. I know you've been seeing too much of this coverage on tv and internet already, so I don't mean to beat this into the ground but wanted to thank you for thinking of those in Louisiana as well as Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

We heard that my brother-in-law and his grandmother got out. However, no one has heard from them since. I know that communications are down, cell phones aren't working so no contact is not an indication of safety or lack thereof. However, please pray that these displaced families can reach other friends or family members soon.

Please pray

Please continue to pray for the people of New Orleans. I added a comment to my last blog that at least it could have been so much worse. Now it is. Those levees were the only reason New Orleans could exist. Now they're gone. They can't pump the water out because there is nowhere to pump it to. Even if the water does recede sometime soon, it'll only take a thunderstorm to engulf things again without the levees.

Please just pray. As I said, most of our family is out. My brother-in-law and his 78-year-old grandmother are getting out now. They've been re-routed three times and cell phones aren't working well but my sister-in-law tells me he's out. I don't know how, I'm just thankful they're out.

Who knows when they'll get back in? We may have nieces and nephews up here to get them into school. I hope we do. They have some closer relatives in Texas but I just feel so helpless here. At least if we can get the kids here, or my husband's grandmother, I feel like that may help a little. They all have water in their homes. I can't do anything about that. I'm sitting here in my dry home, enjoying my air conditioning and my electricity and I feel so guilty.

If y'all have been to New Orleans, keep those pictures and those memories. This unique city will never be the same again.

The City that Care Forgot

"The City that Care Forgot" has long been a nickname for the city of New Orleans. They have had enough troubles in the past but everyone hoped that they would never see a storm like this.

Please include the people of New Orleans in your prayers. Most of our family and friends have made it out of the city but only God knows when they'll be able to return.

For seven years of our lives, New Orleans was our home. It hurts to see this happen to your home but even more so as we have family and friends who are going to have to pick up and go on after this.

The Jane Austen Book Club

This was an entertaining read. You do not have to be familiar with all of Austen’s novels to enjoy the dialogue about them.

There are six members of the “Central Valley/River City all-Jane-Austen-all-the-time book club.” The group is made up of four women entering “middle age”, one woman in her thirties (she is the daughter of another group member) and one man, who I’m guessing is forty-something. This is a novel about their relationships both past and present.

Jocelyn began the group and invited each member personally.
Each chapter begins with a different member hosting the group and we are invited in to see their homes and learn about their lives, including how and when they met Jocelyn.

The novel reminded me a bit of How to Make an American Quilt. In that novel a young woman meets a group of elderly ladies and learns about the lives they’ve led as they work together on a group quilt, each of them sewing something of themselves into that project. In The Jane Austen Book Club, most of the ladies are entering middle-age so we learn about their lives up to this point and are left to see how Austen influences the steps they take in the next chapter of their lives.

Though the book focuses on each of the six members of the book club, Jocelyn is the central figure as she has been a part of each of their lives. She, like the other women, is a bit snobbish about the books they read and have a certain opinion about the sort of people who would read other types of books, specifically science fiction. I admit that I am not a fan of the genre myself but much like Jocelyn, I have not read much. Someone else recommended the few SF books that I have read, and I read them a long time ago.

Grigg, the sole man in the group, recommends science fiction titles to Jocelyn and also buys them for her. She waits a long time to read them but eventually, after getting to know Grigg better, she gives his books a chance.

I was expecting to gain a new appreciation for Jane Austen and probably pick one of her books to read after I finished this novel. I was not expecting to be introduced to so many other authors as I read this one. I’ve learned that I’ve been a bit snobbish myself regarding books and while I will read more of Ms. Austen, I just may try Grigg’s suggestions: The Left Hand of Darkness (I’ve actually always meant to read that anyway) and The Lathe of Heaven. After getting a glimpse of Grigg’s childhood and his father’s fascination with Stranger in a Strange Land, I may have to re-read that one too.
(It has been 18 years since I read that one and I did not remember it well.) Armed with the comments from this book and the summary I found on Amazon, I might be able to put it in better perspective. If nothing else, Ms. Fowler and Ms. Austen have already helped me better understand why it may have been recommended to me in the first place!

I recommend that you read The Jane Austen Book Club.
Then tell me what you’re inspired to read next!

The cast is off!

Christian's bright orange cast was cut off today! His arm is free and he is a happy boy!

I'm giving him a few extra minutes of video game time right now before we do something more "productive." The whole ride home from the doctor's, all he could talk about was playing video games because it would be "so easy now!" (My 4-year-old video game addict had become quite adept at maneuvering game controls with one hand. So he was giddy with the possibility of using BOTH thumbs again!)

My son ate a vegetable

He ate a carrot!

Yes, Christian. No, I’m not making a big deal because I’m such a Bugs Bunny fan. It's not even because I am a vegetarian. Christian ate a carrot today.

He has not done that since they came already pre-mashed by Gerber.

Granted, the only reason he ate said carrot was because his preschool teacher told him he’d have to eat either the watermelon or carrot that came with his lunch or he would not get his cookie. He saw other children eating cookies and took a big, crunchy bite!

I know I had lots of guilt about putting him into a preschool with a longer day than the others—but the peer pressure method of trying new foods is SO working!!! Yay!
(Well, OK, he ate the veggie because the peers were already on to dessert but it’s working!)

He does not run screaming from veggies here at home but simply refuses to eat one if it isn’t buttered corn! (Doesn’t matter what dessert I offer here. He just says he’s full.)

Oh, yes. I am the mother that was counting down the days until school started so I would spend my “free” time writing and then blogging about how much progress I’d made each day, rather than just reporting on what my children had been up to! So, in case you’re wondering: after I did a little bloghopping this morning (while waiting for the painter to return but that’s a whole other story….I did finally get the rest of the lawn mowed).

There. Progress.

The kiddos are catching on to our new routine much faster than Mom.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Swappy Jacks

Nope. It’s not a new breakfast cereal or a card game, though that’d be a close guess!

Christian was served “Sloppy Joes” for lunch at preschool on Monday. No big deal (except that he’s my picky eater and I wasn’t sure he’d try it—which is why I’m leaving him at preschool for lunch—trying the peer-pressure route to trying new foods!) but you know kids say the cutest things!

As you may be able to guess, he was stuck playing many card games with his sister during the summer and an all-time favorite for both of them is “Slap Jack!” So when he was served a funny looking sandwich and told it was a Sloppy Joe, he could not quite remember that. (Oh—and we’re still working on words with the “L” sound in them. So “swap” is actually “slap” in Christian-speak.) So I’ve been cracking up this week as he tells people that “Swappy Jacks are GOOOOOOD!”

Getting to work!

Well, maybe I won't save the world today but at least hope to get some productive writing done!
Christian is at a preschool program. He cried and I cried but he's playing now and it's time channel my guilt into something productive!

Making the world a better place

Leave each place a little better than when you found it.

This was the excellent advice I received from another Army spouse many moons ago. At that particular moment, she was referring to her garden and government quarters. Many families had lived in that house before her and many more would follow. She said that the least she could do was to make sure that whoever followed her found a more welcoming place than she herself had found. It was not a negative comment on her quarters. Her important message was that there is always room for improvement.

Over the years I’ve heard the same theme with a few variations. I am lucky to have the chance to move with my husband to various assignments as it is not only an opportunity to experience new places, people and cultures but it is a chance to see if I can contribute something while I’m here.

I have volunteered in various capacities, more in some places and less in others, but I have tried to contribute something. I’m thinking bigger now! This is partly due to the fact that my hubbie is trying to find the right niche to get involved in the community as well. So whether we team up as partners or divide and conquer, we want to give something back to this fantastic community that has welcomed us so much.

I keep getting a more and more involved with school organizations and activities but that is still really helping my kid. (That is part of my job as her mom. It’s time to expand my efforts!)
So as my children venture out into the school year, I’m going to venture out to make my little part of the world a little better than the way I found it. Now that I’ve announced it—I just have to go out and do it! Y’all can help—hold me to it!

The way the cookie crumbles

The preschool we are/were/might be sending C to has a new director and a new set of issues--at least for me. So...spent time today getting him back on wait lists at other preschools where I'd given up previously reserved spots. Such fun.

I was frustrated at first as I'd already made grand plans for my impending "free time." (C came along before N started school, so someone has been home with me all the time for the last 7 years). So I was itinially giddy with all of the possibilities, then upset that things were not going as planned and now I have moved on to acceptance.

C is four and a half and he'll be fourteen in no time. If I don't get him out of the house for a few hours a week this fall, so what? If he doesn't get out and learn how to share with ten other kids at once, he and I can still do plenty of sharing here together.

I'm seeing the pattern now---when Dh is home for a few days in a row, parenting doesn't seem so much like trying to have a snack underwater.
(Or maybe that is just because he took on my anger at the preschool so I don't have to hold onto it as much anymore...)

The Jungle that is my Backyard

I’ve told you about the impact of the rabbit(s) on the yard but it’s me who may be endangering the rest of our plant life! Not intentionally, of course but I’m killing it quietly just the same.

I kept telling my hubbie that the weeds could not be the reason for so many dying spots in the front yard because, after all, there weren’t that many weeds! I did not realize just how many I’d just been mowing over until we went to pull them up yesterday! Yes—I think they have been choking the life out of the rest of our yard after all.

We pulled the weeds from most of the gardens as well, much to the dismay of the insect populations. I think we host a couple varieties of ants, though they have segregated their communities all on their own. Different areas of our yard have different color ants but they all object to me removing the weeds, which, of course, make up a little forest for them. Thanks to Disney, I was sure I could hear them yelling “Princess Ata! Princess Ata!” the whole time!

Then there is the poor young tree, struggling to make it out there in the big backyard. You can see it from my kitchen window and a while ago I noticed what I thought was a bit of tree fungus on one branch. I’ll get out there this afternoon and clean that off, I said.
Life happened and I forgot for a day or two. Looking back out the window, I saw it had spread a little further and leaves were dying. (Those of you who actually care for your yard/garden can already see what is coming. Look away! Go read something else—you can already tell what an irresponsible property owner I am!)

I waited a few more days! I noticed it was spreading up the tree and leaves were beginning to look like lace. So as we finally headed out to pull the weeds yesterday, I told my husband, I have to go save that tree today.

He was insistent that it was just a large, growing spider web. I was sure it was some deadly tree fungus or virus and I’d have to amputate branches. I don’t like it when I’m wrong but I will admit it. I enjoy it more when he is wrong, especially if I’m right but in this case, we were both wrong.

Tent caterpillars were building their own city all over our poor tree. At least I’ve learned that these buggers won’t kill the tree; they eat the leaves and the bark but once they’re removed, the tree should recover. So I destroyed their burgeoning civilization yesterday and hopefully our young tree will develop into a big, strong tree after all.

For those of you caterpillar-rights activists out there that are horrified at my actions, I apologize. Send me your information and if the creatures return, I’ll carefully transfer them to a box with a few leaves and ship them to you for the proper protection. (I can’t guarantee they won’t fly out of the box upon arrival but I will get them to you as soon as I can!)

To any successful gardeners out there who are shaking their heads at me but reading this far nonetheless: is there a something that I can plant in my garden that giant, ferocious grasshoppers will not eat? It does not matter if it is an annual or perennial flower, bush, etc. I’m thinking a nice, fake plastic plant might be a good way to go…

I'm OK, You're OK

I do get by with a little help from my friends!
Though I realize I am a “slacker mom,” these help me breathe easier! Check ‘em out!
http://daycaredaze.blogspot.com/2005/08/interesting-article.html
http://daycaredaze.blogspot.com/2005/08/pernicious-parenting-paraphenalia.html
http://thewritingparent.com/?cat=4

I am a slacker mom

Some of that inspiration is returning. I was going to elaborate on why, once again, my kids got a bargain-rate mom rather than the latest, greatest model with all the gadgets.

Yesterday we had some boys (2 brothers) over to play with my son These boys are wonderful. They sword-fight with Christian, tell him about Star Wars (he hasn’t seen any of the movies) and they have all just discovered the Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles. They’re all about the same age—one of them has been 5 for a while and his little brother just turned 4. My son is 4 and a half, so he fits perfectly.

The boys’ mother is great. She is smart, funny, she does some sort of consulting work from home so she is always home with the boys. She is the latest, greatest model.

As they were preparing to leave, we were talking about future play dates. I mentioned that our mornings, at least on MWF, will be a little busier now that Christian is starting preschool. (I was trying to control my own excitement at the whole prospect!) I thought her oldest was going to kindergarten but not yet. They will both be homes chooled at the first-grade level this year.

I love this supermom; really, I do. I just feel like such a slacker after each play date with her and her kids! This must be apparent outwardly as well. I offered to just have the boys over for pizza and a playdate so she and her husband could have some kid-free time. My daughter was scheduled to be at a sleepover all night and hubbie was out-of-town so I thought I could handle 3 boys under 5 for a couple of hours. She asked if she could come too.

I’m not begrudging her some time here! I honestly like spending time with her—she cracks me up! However, if someone offered to have both of my kids over for a Friday night play date—where they’d get to play with a friend and I could go somewhere else—I would drop them off and try to remember to kiss them before I went running back out the door!

It is not just in comparison to this mom. I am a slacker! We have spent the entire day in the house today. The kids have not minded at all! It is raining and N, in fact, came up with a list of things we could do here so we would not have to worry about C getting wet. (Neither of them want to head back to the hospital waiting rooms to get a new cast if this one gets wet!!)

I have not ignored them. I have played countless games of Sonic the Hedgehog with C and UNO and 2-handed solitaire with N. However, I have also spent much more time on the computer than I do on a normal Saturday and I feel the guilt. We should have gone to a museum, an indoor playground or a movie.

I just have so much more energy and ideas today that I want to write them down. Do you want to know the real reason I am so energetic today? (Other than the pot of coffee I’ve consumed?) Do you? Do you? Do you?

It’s simple. I am the ultimate slacker mom. Today is the day I have been waiting for!
(For a long while now, I have been wondering when the day would come when the kids would be old enough to just get up, get a bowl of cereal and flip on the cartoons while I slept in on a Saturday morning.) Today was the day!!! Well….almost. I helped C brush his teeth and I put the DVD on but then N got up, settled with him on the couch and I left them watching Spongebob for 45 glorious minutes while I went back to bed!

They never missed me.

Only a slacker mom would let her kids watch Spongebob.
Only a slacker mom would leave her kids alone downstairs while she went to sleep!
(In my own defense, my room is right above where they were watching TV so I would have heard any commotion.)

Maybe tomorrow I’ll try it again and see if they even get that bowl of cereal on their own too!
(I know—they’ll pick the sugary cereal so then I’ll be endangering their dental health but they just might survive, I just might sleep and the world just might be a better place!)
The possibilities are endless!

We'll see...

OK--the more bloghopping I do these days, the more I'm reading about how I need to install Haloscan--so I did it.

This should make it easier for anyone wanting to comment to do so (you don't have to keep typing in your name and info each time).

However, this process just wiped out all of the comments you kind people have left me this month! So come back and visit (and say hi!) so I can see if this works!

Thanks! ~ Lory

I hate it when that happens!

I had a profound idea to share with my fellow bloggers at 4am.

I chose to go back to sleep instead and now I can’t even think of the context, let alone the comment!!

(I was awake as I’d just led the 4-year-old to the bathroom but this time he went back to bed effortlessly and went right back to sleep! Yea!)

As I settled back into my own bed, I remember having this great idea and knowing that I should run in here and type it out before going back to bed.

However, since the going back to bed part doesn’t always happen, I did that instead. Now my world-changing, though-provoking, probably Pulitzer-worthy idea is lost forever.

Ah well, at least I got some sleep!

New cast

Christian’s above-the-elbow, blue cast was removed today!

He is now sporting a smaller, bright orange cast! (Dad—and any other UF fans—I did not suggest nor encourage the color sequence! He chose them all on his own!)

This is highway-safety-worker orange but he’s happy with it! Two more weeks and then he can swim again! (School will have started but I’m sure the summer temps will hang around at least that long!)

Detention

I will work on my WIP before I play online. I must write 300 words before I can blog.
I will work on my WIP before I play online. I must write 300 words before I can blog.
I will work on my WIP before I play online. I must write 300 words before I can blog.


You may not hear from me in a while but if I post this, I may stick to it!

Wah

Y'all have much better things to do with your time than read my whining! Other people have actual problems, as does the world.

(In other rambling thoughts: I'm not sure who and/or how someone left the theme music to the Superman movie on my answering machine today. It has nothing to do with anything at all but these are the issues that occupy my life.)

It is not my day

Remember the whole bathroom renovation? (The wallpaper, the color, more wallpaper, the never-ending saga…)
Dh has been home for a few days in a row. He really does not like the new bathroom color.

And in other news: I flew too close to the sun. Yup! For those of you out there who feel inclined, I give you permission to post your I told you so(s)……before I head to the dermatologist. If even I know things have to be removed, you know they’ve gotta go!

The good news: I feel good about sticking with Dh and supporting him (emotionally, anyway)through medical school as he learned everything. When it finally occurred to me that this thing on my arm was not going to go away, I asked him about it (for only the 492nd time). This time, after close scrutiny, the words, “mmm-hmmm, dome shaped, bet it’s basal cell carcinoma,” were uttered. Yeah! A diagnosis! He really is a genius! (And as far as I can tell from my extensive research (on WebMD) he’s right!)

No, wait. No cheer. It’s changing into the same thing I’ve been asking about on my leg for the last three years. Why does the term come to him now?
Ah, well. That’s OK. With my vast childcare options however, I decide that this can wait until school starts. It’s not far off now. The universe won’t really care if I ignore my body for one more week, right?

Nope. Found another one on my shoulder today. Damn epidermis. I want to tell everyone else to leave me alone—now (I mean, again) I’m talking to myself!
This too will pass. Or if it is just me that happens to pass in the night—that’s the way to go, baby!

It’s wabbit season!

Be vewy, vewy quiet! I’m huntin’ wabbits!
No, I’m not. I am a fellow vegetarian who owns no weapons. (This is largely because I’d probably be just as inept with a rifle as Elmer Fudd). Though yesterday I sounded more like Yosemite Sam. “Oooooh, I’m gonna git that varmint!”
These creatures are not official pets. It was cute when there was a bunny or two and SO cute when we found the two little baby bunnies! It’s been like our own Disney movie with little Kansas creatures feeling at home in our yard. (I do not sit amongst them, befriending them like Snow White, but I really relate to the little white one who was always very late for a very important date!)
As I mentioned however, these are not official pets. I feel like I have enough to do in life without cleaning up after wildlife! (Cleaning the moose nuggets out of our yard in Alaska so the kids could play was quite enough, thank you very much!) Now, Flopsy, Mopsy, Peter and the whole gang are leaving little rabbit raisins all over our yard! (By little, I mean little heaps!) If it is true that an animal will not, well—you know, where they eat, then they must not mind eating only an inch away!
The over-100° temps scorched my yard anyway but we have empty patches now where the raisins have really helped to burn away any grass that they didn’t eat!
Then again, it is possible that life is too short to spend it going after the cute little guys. Though their relatives across the pond did some damage to Mr. McGregor’s garden, these little fur balls have left our flowers alone. Much of our garden just houses them, with the exception of a plant that Natalie brought home from school. We put that out in the backyard when it was too big for the kitchen and one of those mischievous rabbits took care of that bean plant faster than you can say “hop, skip and jump!”
Maybe we’ll put out some carrots and sacrifice the yard. I recall important life lessons learned early in my childhood: “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!” After all, “that wascally wabbit always wins!”

Good Karma

If you're in a giving mood...

http://angelagilesklocke.com/blog/

Holding pattern

OK! I'm blogging again while we are in a holding pattern here on the playtime front.

My son wakes up and asks me to play with him. Simple enough.
I say, "go to the bathroom and then I will play with you." Again, simple (I think).
He adamantly refuses. He doesn't have to go. His yelling over the complete unfairness of it all woke his sister, his ally. (She doesn't have to go either!)

So the allies are playing nicely together (a minor miracle in itself) and I will play online until someone acquiesces. (Or until I have to clean the floor!)

Light at the end of the tunnel

• Only one small piece of border left to match up and paste in the bathroom.
• School supplies have all been purchased.
• School begins in another week. (Even the youngest will go to preschool part-time!)
  

There is the possibility that I may be able to get a life!
(Oh—the kids are excited about school starting too!)

It is a good day!

I should not judge

All of this time, I have wondered about those misguided, slightly evil people who would put up wallpaper in a home that they then sell. We won’t like all of their wallpaper and what a pain to remove!! Why, why, why would anyone ever put up the pasty stuff?

Now I know! SO much easier than trying to get my painting even! Why, why, why didn’t anyone correct me? OK—this is just a wallpaper BORDER but it’s going so smoothly! I’ve spent a month working on this tiny bathroom and I have made so much progress in the last hour, I can’t believe I didn’t do this before!

We have tried the borders that you just stick to the walls (like contact paper) several times now and it has been such a horrible experience that again, I wondered why the evil stuff was invented.

Yet I gave it one more try, found a border to match my horrible paint job and THEN discovered it wasn’t already sticky. I have to put it in water and let the glue “activate!” I’ve put it off all week but DH is due home in a few hours and I thought I’d “impress” him by having a new look completed! THIS I can do!!! WHY, why, WHY did you all let me go on and on?

(Mom, I know you always told me I LIKED to do things the hard way but I thought that was just argumentative. Now I know: *choke,* mom was right!!!
Aarrghh! (It even hurts to TYPE that!!) She must be, ahem!, right though! I’ve tried everything else and now…what I thought was the “hard way” is so simple.

My poor kids have no chance.

Amazing Lady!

OK, I have never met this woman. I've read some fantastic advice regarding writing on her blogs and she has responded with even more encouragement.
She has just stayed up for the past 24 hours, blogging each half-hour, to raise money for foster children in Georgia. She is an amazing woman.
(If you read this and want to help children in Bartow County, I believe you can still donate for another day or two...)
Kudos, Angela!!!
http://angelagilesklocke.com/blog/

Muffin top

If I had the poor judgment to actually bare my midriff in public, I would undoubtedly be the poster child for the “muffin top” syndrome. However, now that I’ve reached my mid-thirties and had two children, I’ve come to the realization that there is simply no reason to wear cropped tops or low-rise jeans again. Ever.

Of course I keep stating that I will get back to running several times a week and maybe, one day, I will! In the meantime, I will stay covered. I do want to thank the people who come up with names like “muffin top” and people who tell me that I am not chubby, I am fluffy! These statements will not get me back into the clothes I could wear when I was 25; however, I feel happy snacking and maintaining my soft, comfortable self! No more bothersome sharp edges or bones poking out anywhere! Do you need a shoulder to cry on? Mine are nice and comfy now!

Never say "never." Then again...

This little tiny bathroom project that should have taken a weekend is still not done!
(Tried to carefully remove the tape I put on the baseboards and ceiling to "protect" them from the paint and the tape is peeling the paint (and top layer of drywall) off my walls much more easily than any of the wallpaper peeled away!)

If we ever buy another house in which people have put up wallpaper, I will never take it down to repaint a room. I may, in a few decades, attempt painting a room again but not in the near future. We painted two rooms in this house last year--a tiny bathroom should just not take this long to paint!

I am finished ranting now but I may go get that champagne if and when this is ever completely done!

How To Avoid The Flu

I cannot take credit for these health tips. My husband forwarded it via email but I thought I'd share this wise advice!

Eat right! Make sure you get your daily dose of fruits and veggies.Take your vitamins and bump up your vitamin C.Get plenty of exercise because exercise helps build your immune system.Walk for at least an hour a day, go for a swim, take the stairs insteadof the elevator, etc.Wash your hands often. If you can't wash them, keep a bottle ofantibacterial stuff around.Get lots of fresh air. Open windows whenever possible.Get plenty of rest.Try to eliminate as much stress from your life as possible.

OR

Take the doctor's office approach. Think about it...
When you go for a shot, what do they do first?
Clean your arm with alcohol . . .
Why?
Because alcohol kills germs!
So.......

I walk to the liquor store. (exercise )
I put lime in my Corona...(fruit)
Celery in my Bloody Mary (veggies)
Drink outdoors on the bar patio..(fresh air)
Tell jokes, laugh..(eliminate stress)
Then pass out. (rest)

The way I see it...
If you keep your alcohol levels up, flu germs can't get you!!!!
Just remember . . . "A shot in the glass is better than one in the ass!"

Almost there!

OK! So I am lazy. I spread the bathroom project out over three weekends! (Sure, I’m home everyday but it’s hard to get too much progress made when you’re home alone with two kids—go figure!)

All of the wallpaper is scraped off, the walls are painted (darker than I thought but we can work with it) and new towel racks, pictures, will soon be hanging! It is a tiny bathroom so the work was nothing compared to the manual labor many other people do everyday; with a hubbie out-of-town all last week however and two kids home all day, I was too tired to write more than two words!

Only the finishing touches remain! Maybe I’ll go get a bottle of champagne! (OK—maybe it is not THAT big of a deal but it's a tempting idea anyway!)

Hopefully I’ll get some writing done now!