SPYDER: Now that I've gotten you a birthday present, I can worry about more important things.
ME: Like what?
SPYDER: Like my wish list for my birthday. It's only a month away. You need to get started.
Friday, April 11, 2008
My children are equally amusing
Lest you think that Sass is my only funny one:
SPYDER: Now that I've gotten you a birthday present, I can worry about more important things.
ME: Like what?
SPYDER: Like my wish list for my birthday. It's only a month away. You need to get started.
SPYDER: Now that I've gotten you a birthday present, I can worry about more important things.
ME: Like what?
SPYDER: Like my wish list for my birthday. It's only a month away. You need to get started.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Am I really?
You're Catch-22!
by Joseph Heller
Incredibly witty and funny, you have a taste for irony in all that you
see. It seems that life has put you in perpetually untenable situations, and your sense
of humor is all that gets you through them. These experiences have also made you an
ardent pacifist, though you present your message with tongue sewn into cheek. You
could coin a phrase that replaces the word "paradox" for millions of
people.
Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.
Modesty is her greatest virtue
I swear, I can't make these things up. Tonight's bedtime conversation with Sass:
SASS: I don't think I want to grow up.
ME: Why not?
SASS: My face will change.
ME: Yes, it will. It's part of growing up.
SASS: That's what I mean. I'll look different.
ME: Yes . . . .
SASS: But I'm beautiful now! I want to stay that way!
SASS: I don't think I want to grow up.
ME: Why not?
SASS: My face will change.
ME: Yes, it will. It's part of growing up.
SASS: That's what I mean. I'll look different.
ME: Yes . . . .
SASS: But I'm beautiful now! I want to stay that way!
No one can ever accuse us of being seasonally appropriate
The children decided yesterday that they wanted to bob for apples. Why? No idea. Your guess is as good as mine. I know that fall is apple-bobbing time, but I've always thought that apple-bobbing was more a warm weather activity anyway. I mean, really. Who thought it was a good idea to stick your head in a bucket of water when it's cold outside!?!
When they started raiding the refrigerator, they quickly realized that we were completely apple-free. We needed to make a stop in at the grocery store anyway, so we picked up a few.
So today, at long! last! they bobbed. It was amusing.
Sass started out being dainty, holding her hair back.
That didn't last too long though. She realized that she wouldn't be getting an apple with the dainty approach.
Spyder hates getting water in his eyes, so he decided that he'd use his swim goggles to get a better look at the target.
For a while they even shared the bobbing space.
And they ended up soaked afterward, but they had a blast.
And now if you'll excuse me, I have puddles to clean and clothes to wash.
When they started raiding the refrigerator, they quickly realized that we were completely apple-free. We needed to make a stop in at the grocery store anyway, so we picked up a few.
So today, at long! last! they bobbed. It was amusing.
Sass started out being dainty, holding her hair back.
That didn't last too long though. She realized that she wouldn't be getting an apple with the dainty approach.
Spyder hates getting water in his eyes, so he decided that he'd use his swim goggles to get a better look at the target.
For a while they even shared the bobbing space.
And they ended up soaked afterward, but they had a blast.
And now if you'll excuse me, I have puddles to clean and clothes to wash.
Choose your own adventure, blog style
When I was a girl, I loved the Choose Your Own Adventure books (which are finally back in print!). Nerdy? Yes, but I've already mentioned that.
Nancy Pearl Wannabe has coordinated a Choose Your Own Adventure on various blogs! Here is the first installment. Who knows where you'll end up!
Hat tip to Vanessa (who wrote one of the endings) for the link.
Nancy Pearl Wannabe has coordinated a Choose Your Own Adventure on various blogs! Here is the first installment. Who knows where you'll end up!
Hat tip to Vanessa (who wrote one of the endings) for the link.
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Worth 1000
I love photography, but I've never learned how to manipulate digital photos. As a result I'm fascinated by the photos on the Worth 1000 website.
Make sure to check out vintage ads for modern products. Very amusing!
Make sure to check out vintage ads for modern products. Very amusing!
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Lacking
I need to get cracking if I intend to visit all 50 states! I've only been to 19 so far! But I didn't count the ones that I'd only seen through the windows of airport. I can't see that as really visiting.
create your own visited states map
create your own visited states map
Recipe Box Swap: Buffalo Wing Dip
Buffalo Wing Dip
16 oz softened cream cheese
1 lb grilled chicken (I use pulled rotisserie chicken)
1 cup ranch dressing
1 cup Red Hot Sauce
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped green onions (optional)
Stir the softened cream cheese with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add ranch dressing, Red Hot sauce, and chicken. Mix thoroughly.
Pour into baking pan. Sprinkle with cheese and bake uncovered 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted thoroughly. Add chopped green onions to the top for garnish. Serve with tortilla chips.
Check out more good stuff at this week's Recipe Box Swap at I Have to Say!
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Because Super Girl is redundant
SASS: Look, Mama! It's my Super Girl picture!
ME: Nice! Why doesn't she have an "SG" instead of just a "G"?
SASS: She doesn't need it. Everyone already knows she's super!
On moving
I thought I had mentioned the moving thing before, but maybe not . . . .
Skeeter's project is scheduled to last until December 31, 2008. That's a give-or-take though because (as we all know) "schedule" is just another word for "maybe." Plus, it's a big project, and all sorts of things can put them behind (or ahead, but behind is probably more likely). Like yesterday. The site flooded, and this week will be spent repairing existing structures and drives, not making new ones.
That Company already has a plan for where he's supposed to go (Chicago area), but that could change too.
It's all just a big fat "IF" right now. Not enough for me to get excited about it, but definitely enough for me to start preparing.
Good news! I sold two things from my half.com inventory!
Bad news. I think I donated one of the things to the library last week. I'm still looking for it, but I'm pretty sure the library has it. I wonder if I could buy it back.
Skeeter's project is scheduled to last until December 31, 2008. That's a give-or-take though because (as we all know) "schedule" is just another word for "maybe." Plus, it's a big project, and all sorts of things can put them behind (or ahead, but behind is probably more likely). Like yesterday. The site flooded, and this week will be spent repairing existing structures and drives, not making new ones.
That Company already has a plan for where he's supposed to go (Chicago area), but that could change too.
It's all just a big fat "IF" right now. Not enough for me to get excited about it, but definitely enough for me to start preparing.
Good news! I sold two things from my half.com inventory!
Bad news. I think I donated one of the things to the library last week. I'm still looking for it, but I'm pretty sure the library has it. I wonder if I could buy it back.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't this.
You Are a Comma |
 You are open minded and extremely optimistic. You enjoy almost all facets of life. You can find the good in almost anything. You keep yourself busy with tons of friends, activities, and interests. You find it hard to turn down an opportunity, even if you are pressed for time. Your friends find you fascinating, charming, and easy to talk to. (But with so many competing interests, you friends do feel like you hardly have time for them.) You excel in: Inspiring people You get along best with: The Question Mark |
Monday, March 31, 2008
Ted
Do you watch Ted?
From the website:
(How new and different? The storefront for the first tutoring center is a pirate supply shop; the second center's storefront is a superhero supply shop. For reals.)
Even Spyder enjoys them. His current favorite is Malcolm Gladwell's lecture on food science.
While the idea of watching lectures doesn't sound all that great, all of the ones I've seen there are engaging and challenging. I can't recommend the website highly enough.
From the website:
I found this website several months ago, and I've found some of the most fascinating lectures there. Just today I watched Jill Bolte Taylor's lecture on her personal experience regarding brain function in the midst of a stroke and Dave Eggers' lecture explaining how a group of writers began a program to encourage creative writing in a new and different way.TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984)as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.
The annual conference now brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).
This site makes the best talks and performances from TED available to the public, for free. Almost 200 talks from our archive are now available, with more added each week. These videos are released under a Creative Commons license, so they can be freely shared and reposted.
(How new and different? The storefront for the first tutoring center is a pirate supply shop; the second center's storefront is a superhero supply shop. For reals.)
Even Spyder enjoys them. His current favorite is Malcolm Gladwell's lecture on food science.
While the idea of watching lectures doesn't sound all that great, all of the ones I've seen there are engaging and challenging. I can't recommend the website highly enough.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
With little planning
We will probably be moving out of this area within the next year or so. Because of that, we've decided to use Skeeter's vacation time to see some places nearby that we've been meaning to see, but just haven't for whatever reason.
We decided last week to take one of those trips. This weekend we went to Jackson, MS. It was an excellent time!
We had heard good things about the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, so it was our first stop. It was smaller than I expected, but the aquarium hall alone is worth the price of admission. We spent more time in that section than in any of the others, and quite possibly more than all of the other sections combined. We didn't realize it while we were making our plans, but the museum is in a beautiful park. If we had known that, we would have planned to play for a bit.
The Davis Planetarium was another of our stops. We had originally intended to see Dinosaurs Alive! We were there early though, and in time to see Icy Worlds and Point of No Return so we decided to see those first. Something in the theatre was giving me allergy fits though, so we collectively decided to skip the dinosaur one. I think Sass was quite disconcerted to see me with eyes that were red from rubbing them so much.
Another of our stops was the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World just outside of Jackson in Pearl, MS. Spyder had found a brochure for it in the hotel. He's an aspiring fisherman, and it was the one thing he begged to see. This did not, however, make me feel less like a redneck for going to see a hunting and fishing store while on vacation. It was a beautiful store though.
But my favorite part of the trip was meeting a friend! Buncha has been an online friend for the past five years (I didn't realize that it has been that long until this weekend!), and even though we don't live terribly far from each other, we've not had the opportunity to meet. I was so glad that she and her family were available! Our children all got along beautifully and the adults had time to socialize as well. In an unusual move, Skeeter agreed that it was his favorite part of the trip as well. Of the two of us, I'm the more outgoing one, so it was good to hear that he enjoyed the meeting just as much as I did.
I hope we'll get the opportunity to visit there again.
We decided last week to take one of those trips. This weekend we went to Jackson, MS. It was an excellent time!
We had heard good things about the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, so it was our first stop. It was smaller than I expected, but the aquarium hall alone is worth the price of admission. We spent more time in that section than in any of the others, and quite possibly more than all of the other sections combined. We didn't realize it while we were making our plans, but the museum is in a beautiful park. If we had known that, we would have planned to play for a bit.
The Davis Planetarium was another of our stops. We had originally intended to see Dinosaurs Alive! We were there early though, and in time to see Icy Worlds and Point of No Return so we decided to see those first. Something in the theatre was giving me allergy fits though, so we collectively decided to skip the dinosaur one. I think Sass was quite disconcerted to see me with eyes that were red from rubbing them so much.
Another of our stops was the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World just outside of Jackson in Pearl, MS. Spyder had found a brochure for it in the hotel. He's an aspiring fisherman, and it was the one thing he begged to see. This did not, however, make me feel less like a redneck for going to see a hunting and fishing store while on vacation. It was a beautiful store though.
But my favorite part of the trip was meeting a friend! Buncha has been an online friend for the past five years (I didn't realize that it has been that long until this weekend!), and even though we don't live terribly far from each other, we've not had the opportunity to meet. I was so glad that she and her family were available! Our children all got along beautifully and the adults had time to socialize as well. In an unusual move, Skeeter agreed that it was his favorite part of the trip as well. Of the two of us, I'm the more outgoing one, so it was good to hear that he enjoyed the meeting just as much as I did.
I hope we'll get the opportunity to visit there again.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Note to self:
Never send Skeeter to the store.
I sent him out for a tarp. He came home with a portable gazebo.
No, I'm not kidding.
I sent him out for a tarp. He came home with a portable gazebo.
No, I'm not kidding.
I am an unreasonable person
Obviously.
We're leaving early tomorrow for a little mini-vacation, and there is a specific book that Spyder wants to read this afternoon/tonight. (Because he's patient like his mama.)
I looked on the library site, and a branch library (not too far from us) is supposed to have it. We're not regular patrons there, but it's not terribly far. In an effort to save a useless trip in case it wasn't on the shelf, I called the library first to make certain that they actually did have it on hand.
At the beginning of the call, I said, "I checked on the library website, and you are supposed to have a copy of Gertrude Chandler Warner and the Boxcar Children. I have the library number. I just need to put it on hold so we can get it in a few minutes."
The library clerk said, "No, I don't need that" and the proceeded to take ten minutes to check the computer to see if it was listed. That's not an exaggeration. I checked the phone timer --10 minutes, 27 seconds.
Which I had told her in the first 15 seconds of my call.
After she told me that she'd found it in the computer, I said, "Yes, I know. As I said, I already looked it up on the library site." And I (politely) asked if she'd check the shelf. I was rather proud that I was polite, considering that I'd just waited ten minutes for her to give me information that I already knew. And tried to tell her.
I've worked at a library. Asking the librarian to check the shelf is not an unreasonable request. It happens all the time.
Except if you're that lady in that library. Apparently, she was doing it as a Big Favor.
We're leaving early tomorrow for a little mini-vacation, and there is a specific book that Spyder wants to read this afternoon/tonight. (Because he's patient like his mama.)
I looked on the library site, and a branch library (not too far from us) is supposed to have it. We're not regular patrons there, but it's not terribly far. In an effort to save a useless trip in case it wasn't on the shelf, I called the library first to make certain that they actually did have it on hand.
At the beginning of the call, I said, "I checked on the library website, and you are supposed to have a copy of Gertrude Chandler Warner and the Boxcar Children. I have the library number. I just need to put it on hold so we can get it in a few minutes."
The library clerk said, "No, I don't need that" and the proceeded to take ten minutes to check the computer to see if it was listed. That's not an exaggeration. I checked the phone timer --10 minutes, 27 seconds.
Which I had told her in the first 15 seconds of my call.
After she told me that she'd found it in the computer, I said, "Yes, I know. As I said, I already looked it up on the library site." And I (politely) asked if she'd check the shelf. I was rather proud that I was polite, considering that I'd just waited ten minutes for her to give me information that I already knew. And tried to tell her.
I've worked at a library. Asking the librarian to check the shelf is not an unreasonable request. It happens all the time.
Except if you're that lady in that library. Apparently, she was doing it as a Big Favor.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Spyder's Debut
Spyder performed his very first "real" magic show yesterday.
The Michael's company sponsors two programs every month at a local nursing home. One program is bingo; the other is a "birthday party" for the residents. He asked Spyder to perform for this month's birthday party program.
Spyder had a program set out that (at home) lasted about seven minutes. Michael told him before he started, "You probably ought to make it last for about five minutes. Anything over that is fine."
He performed for 25 minutes.
As anyone who has ever performed live can understand, a few things didn't go quite as he planned them. But overall, he did a pretty good job. Better than I expected, actually. He did a pretty good job at working with his mistakes too, and only one of them was serious enough that was really noticeable. He might have gotten away with the others. I'm not sure. I noticed them, but I see him do these tricks every day. And it was kind of funny to see my 9-year-old out there workin' the crowd.
It was a big day for him, and as a special surprise, Skeeter and I gave him a new magician's cloak, made by the ever-wonderful Mika. I told Mika what I wanted, and she made it happen!
Spyder was thrilled with the cloak, and it made him feel like a pro out there. He's already trying to book another gig.
The Michael's company sponsors two programs every month at a local nursing home. One program is bingo; the other is a "birthday party" for the residents. He asked Spyder to perform for this month's birthday party program.
Spyder had a program set out that (at home) lasted about seven minutes. Michael told him before he started, "You probably ought to make it last for about five minutes. Anything over that is fine."
He performed for 25 minutes.
As anyone who has ever performed live can understand, a few things didn't go quite as he planned them. But overall, he did a pretty good job. Better than I expected, actually. He did a pretty good job at working with his mistakes too, and only one of them was serious enough that was really noticeable. He might have gotten away with the others. I'm not sure. I noticed them, but I see him do these tricks every day. And it was kind of funny to see my 9-year-old out there workin' the crowd.
It was a big day for him, and as a special surprise, Skeeter and I gave him a new magician's cloak, made by the ever-wonderful Mika. I told Mika what I wanted, and she made it happen!
Spyder was thrilled with the cloak, and it made him feel like a pro out there. He's already trying to book another gig.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Abundant Life
I subscribe to a few "simple living" blogs in my Google reader. Most of the time I skim the posts because I'm just being reminded of things I already know.
This post from Dumb Little Man has had me thinking since I read it though, particularly this portion (emphasis in the original):
What a great way to think about it.
This post from Dumb Little Man has had me thinking since I read it though, particularly this portion (emphasis in the original):
Instead of thinking [the cup is] half empty or half full, if you were to pour the contents of the cup into a smaller cup, you would now in possession of one full cup.
What a great way to think about it.
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