The polls are closed--thank you for your votes!

There is no place like home. The definition of "home" can change, however! This upcoming move has been a new challenge in that we expect to really make this new town our home. We've moved a few times with the Army and enjoyed each place we've been; however, it is easy to find the positives when you know your time is limited. We knew we'd be moving again.

At each new assignment, we reasoned that we were learning more about what areas of the country we liked most. Having rented and owned a couple of houses now, we thought we were learning what would be most important to us when looking to settle somewhere.

Yet we are moving somewhere we have not lived before. While we agree on a few features, we're finding that the some important aspects of our new "home" are different for both of us.

It will be a new adventure--in Lafayette, Indiana!

I was talking to a friend in the grocery store the other day and telling her we were heading to Lafayette. A woman was standing patiently nearby so I thought I was blocking the items she was looking for. I stepped aside, and she moved, too. She was waiting for me to finish my conversation. As soon as I did, she put a hand on my arm and said "when are you moving to Indiana?" I told her we'd be moving to Lafayette in the summer and her face lit up. Both she and her husband attended Purdue many moons ago and still have dear friends in the area. She was very excited to tell me about how much we will love it. I'll take that as a good sign!

I am not a good rememberer!

Both of my children know that if there is anything important that I need to remember, I need to have it written down. My son's kindergarten teacher seemingly made this easy--sent out a snack calendar. It is on the refrigerator. I still forgot. I suck. He was supposed to bring snacks on Tuesday. I remembered on Thursday.

I have all sorts of excuses to reassure myself that I am not already in the midst of Alzheimer's. The hubbie had the day off on Monday--which throws my week off. We were finalizing decisions on which job he would accept. We had guests coming Tuesday night and I was thinking about when they'd arrive. In the back of my mind, I knew there was something else happening on the 10th but couldn't put my finger on it. Until the 12th.

I felt horrible and apologized to my son. He looked sad for a moment and mentioned, "Yeah...my teacher said I was supposed to bring snack that day. You are not a good rememberer, Mommy."
However, that was it! While I still feel terribly guilty, he's fine. His teacher did not scold me or even shake her head. She patted me on the back and sympathized--"you've got a lot going on right now! Just as long as you decide to stay here and not move, we'll be fine!" (More guilt but along different lines...)

I can add this to my growing list of qualifications for Worst Parent of the Year award. At least this latest disappointment was towards my son and not my daughter (who has both an excellent memory and is quite skilled at making me feel guilty, often with high drama). My son is only five, he's pretty laid back and going by the papers and library book that traveled to school and back in his backpack for three days straight without being turned in--I've got a running chance that he'll forget this event, too.

Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall?

We were accused of bringing "Texas weather" back to Kansas with us when we returned from College Station. It was 95 degrees here the day after we returned!

Though the leaves have been changing lately, I've wondered if was a sign of Fall approaching or if they were just over-cooked. However, the winds changed in the last two days---blowing in cooler weather from the north and relatives from the south!

It was wonderful to see my aunt and uncle last night--even if they had to do a little shopping on the way to our house so they could bundle up a bit! I am so glad they could stop by for a visit but between packing for warmer temps and finding that the heater in their truck was not functioning, they may refer to this visit as The Big Chill! (Soon, my aunt will be back in sunny Florida and will likely be grateful that she is not in Kansas anymore!)

So it looks like Fall has finally arrived in Manhattan, Kansas. Or perhaps a small dose of winter? We have a "freeze warning" in effect this week, too!

I never could diagram a sentence.

Your English Skills:

Punctuation: 100%Spelling: 100%Vocabulary: 100%Grammar: 80%

Does Your English Cut the Mustard?

Karma Chameleon

While my dogma has good strong legs, it can't outrun my karma! While I worried about my karma well before Earl made his list, perhaps I should follow his lead!

OK--so Friday's events weren't bad but I started to wonder...

We all headed to school Friday morning. After dropping the kids off, the hubbie noticed that one of the tires on the car was noticeably lower than the other three. I shrugged it off, saying I'd fill it later and talked him into going to the all-school Mass with me. (The plan included saying a few prayers before taking him to breakfast to make our final decision on the big move). After Mass however, we came out to find the tire almost entirely flat. We filled it at the closest gas station before heading home to get his car. I drove his car and met him at Sears where he was already talking to a guy about my tire.

We learned that there had been a large nail in my tire. As we got ready to leave, he noticed that one of his tires was low. They found a screw in his tire.

I'm not real good with odds but I let him do all the driving today.

Mea Culpa V (I've got to stop numbering these)!

While a little caffeine gets the inspiration going...too much causes me to post too often, with complete disregard for accuracy. While I did get a few pages completed on the WIP, I also posted recklessly...with complete disregard for spelling.

I'm sure the poor people over at FOX simply had a typo and did not catch it. Kinda like when I tried to give Marrit credit for her witty comment but misspelled her name and did not notice.
If I can change an "a" to an "e," I'm sure busy tv producers can miss a "D" that should have been an "R." There are certainly a few larger issues to ponder today!

(Marrit ~ I apologize! I enjoy your comments and am sure you don't have to rely on Breakfast Blend or French Roast to get your mind percolating!)

No spin zone

I'm sure the hard working fact checkers just wanted to make it immediately clear the Foley had resigned. They wanted to let us know that he is a de-republican now.


(It's bouncing around the blogosphere. Kudos to Merrit for coming up with the "O Really? Factor!")

What are you reading?

My sister enjoyed a book I'd mentioned and asked for another recommendation! (Thanks, H!) That made my day. (When we were younger, it seemed this sister did not like to read much. Now she's reading and asking for my opinions!)

I have not yet posted a book review for The Red Tent. Hopefully I'll manage that soon! (While it's great to leave home for a few days, it seems it takes me twice as long to catch up on things when we return!) So in case I don't get to that in the near future, I'll just say it was excellent and I highly recommend it.

When we traveled to Toronto recently, the hubbie and I were on different flights. It was exquisite to have a little time by myself (amid a hundred or so other passengers) to get into another book! (Of course, I love spending time with my husband without the kids but there was plenty of time for that after the plane landed!) I did not have time to finish the book but I'm nearing the end of Beloved. I can already highly recommend it as well and will say more when I finally reach the end!

While I still have a few books in my TBR pile and many more on my list, I'm always looking for great titles to check out (and pass along)! So what are you reading? My sister and I want to know!

Return from Aggieland

We are back. We went to visit College Station to help make our decision whether to move to Lafayette, Indiana or College Station, Texas. We were fairly sure we wanted to move to Indiana but felt we owed College Station a visit. When we drove through in July, I thought there was nothing other than Texas A&M in this town in the middle of nowhere.

This trip, it felt comfortable--same weather and many of the same stores as they have "back home." (Even though I've lived elsewhere for almost as many years as I lived there, it's still "home," right?)

What fun! OK, looking for "signs" as to whether or not we belonged there, I found my first negative leaving the airport. It was, in fact, a street sign--but a sign, nonetheless! George Bush Drive. I can't drive that every day.

However, playing in the outdoor pool and getting a little sun during the last week of September was a very positive sign!

The real estate agent helping us was very cool. (A t.v. star, too!)
Natalie seemed a little jealous that he and C hit it off right away, until she and Clay talked closets in one of the houses we saw. "He loves shoes too, Mommy!" She found a new friend instantly! ;)

We liked the houses we saw in Texas more than the ones we were shown in Indiana. I really like the doctors and their wives.

However, the rest of my family enjoys four seasons and Lafayette seems to a better fit for the family. Not to mention the fact that the hubbie fell in love with Chicago while acquiring his EMBA and Lafayette is only 90 miles away.
Of course, College Station is within driving distance of much of the hubbie's family (scattered throughout Texas and Louisiana) and I have good friends in Houston (90 miles away).

Not 100% sure either way ...we're still taking votes!

We're off...again

I'm always a bit off, anyway...but we are headed out of town once more! We leave for College Station in the morning and will return Saturday.

Have a great week!

Take your time!

My aunt emailed me the "world's easiest quiz." Now you know with a title like that, you ought to take your time, right?

Go ahead. See how you do. I'll wait.

http://home.tiac.net/~cri/1998/easyquiz.html

We're back!

We returned Wednesday; the kids and I drove my parents to Kansas City today so they could return to Florida.

We saw old friends, ate great food, drank too much wine and had a great time in Toronto. We came home, ate great food, drank more wine and caught up with my parents! ;)

Additional photos and details will be forthcoming!

Packing, washing, stressing...but almost ready!

My parents are coming in this weekend as we head out! The hubbie and I are flying to Toronto on Saturday for a conference (his) and will return on Wednesday.

My oldest has started to test us again lately. (When she was younger, I called it "testing her limits. " I think now she is trying to test ours!) It'll be interesting to see if she settles down for a few days with my parents or if she tries to see what she can get away with while they're here.
(They've raised 5 kids and often help out with their 11 grandkids so she may be dismayed to learn that her new antics aren't all that new to them!)

I sense no disturbance in the Force

It isn't quite Christmas time but you would have wondered this morning. My son got up with a wide grin and admitted, "I will listen to whatever you tell me today without whining, Mom!"

No...I did not slip any potions into his toothpaste last night. He has been very eagerly awaiting the arrival of Lego Star Wars II in stores. He and his Dad went and put a $5 deposit down on one at GameStop on Sunday to be sure that there would still be one to buy after he got out of kindergarten today! He wasn't going to do anything to risk his chances of me driving him there to pick it up!

He has been giving anyone who will listen a daily countdown until TODAY! SEPTEMBER 12! It is FINALLY here!

And now it is quiet here at home. Not silent--I hear buttons clicking and cantina music wafting through the house--but young C is content.

In memoriam

From Aggieville to Aggieland?

We have one final visit to make before deciding where we want to move next summer. We've narrowed it down to Lafayette, Indiana; Kansas City, Missouri or College Station, Texas. We are visiting College Station once more at the end of the month.

Any advice on why we should choose one over the other (or why we should avoid one) would be much appreciated!

Recommended reading

I fell behind in folding the laundry, getting the dishes washed in a timely manner and blogging this week. Not just because I'm lazy but because I had to keep getting back to reading my book!

Though I try to read when I can, the hubbie took notice of this one. (Rather than remaining on my nightstand, this one has been traveling around the house--and in the car--with me.) The title had him intrigued--and intimidated.
"Is it about sex, or...?"
I just smiled. "Yes."

As he headed up to bed tonight, I was still in the kitchen with a glass of wine in one hand and my book in the other; he asked if I'd like Monk's Travels.
(Running joke/bet--I owe him. I thought he would enjoy The DaVinci Code and while I was reading it, told him he should. All he knew of it was what he'd heard on tv but said he'd read it if I agreed to read Monk's Travels. I agreed; he did read DVC but I have not yet read his book. I did pick it up one night, ready to fulfill my end of the bargain but after reading the back cover and first page, couldn't do it. (I had something better I was dying to get to.) He has given me grief for it and rightly so. However, he picked it up recently (he hasn't read it yet, either) and after reading the first page or two, he put it down himself! Still...a deal is a deal so I'll get to that one, too!)

It was also his way of asking if I thought he should read The Red Tent. I explained that I won't push this one on him but not because of a lack of quality. The main character of the novel, Dinah, makes a claim that "men knew nothing of the red tent or its ceremonies and sacrifices." Reading it now, thousands of years later and married to a man who was present for his childrens' births, I know it still contains things he'd rather not read. And he's a physician! So I won't add this to his TBR pile.

I do highly recommend it, though! I thank Mary P for recommending this! In her comments on another book review, she mentioned this book. I had not heard of it but looked it up online that day. I thought it sounded intriguing and added it to my wishlist. When I happened to pass by it at Target the very next day, I took it as a sign and grabbed it. (The kids were getting all sorts of school supplies that day so I decided I deserved something new, too!)

Of course, once I finish a good book, you know I can't stop with only one post about it. I just finished The Red Tent tonight so I'll likely have more to say about it tomorrow!

Living the high life

Living in a two-story house is great!
That is, until you have to paint.

PSA #2

For my readers with little ones, toy recall info:
Leapfrog toy recalled for entrapment dangers

In which she explains her new seating assignment

I was quizzing my daughter on her spelling and vocabulary words. She was writing them down so fast, I could not read half of her words.

"Slow down! You won't get credit for spelling them right if your teacher can't read them."

This is a constant battle. She is very smart but not patient. She understands concepts easily and CAN spell but misses things on papers and tests because she won't take her time or go back and check her work.

Apparently she has at least heard our admonitions.

"I hurry. That's my thing," she tells me.

"That's your thing?"

"And I'm a talker."