Finally!

Welcome to the World, Nathan Christopher!

Boy are we all glad you've joined us, at last. May you have health, serenity, wisdom, cleverness, dashing good looks, and genuine joy throughout your life.

And ... Matthew is absolutely thrilled to finally have a BOY cousin!

Love to my brother, my sister, my nephew.

--End--

Waiting and Waiting

Kristin's in the hospital, ready to have a baby. Haven't heard anything from Chris, yet. So, it looks like today will be the day. (also known as National Escargot Day, as well as Queen Victoria's, Gary Burghoff's and Bob Dylan's birthdays)

What's interesting/weird/ coincidental about this day is that my first-born was born on a 24th (March), and so was Joe's sister, Theresa's first-born (September). Could be 24 is just the lucky number?

Anyway, now just waiting to hear something from upstate New York. Chris?

--End--

Airshow Week

Well, it's Airshow Week in Millville. We live less than 1/2 a mile (as the F/A-18 flies) from the Millville Airport. This Saturday and Sunday will be annual Air Show. Which means that this week is the fly-in week for the various on-the- ground display aircraft. And, it's practice-at-the-local-airfield week for the Blue Angels. For a few hours each day this week, it's like living on the deck of an aircraft carrier.

Last year Air Show weekend was cold, clammy and WET. This year the weather's supposed to be gorgeous. We can't wait. Fried food, spending 6 hours in a folding chair, meet-and-greets with the Geico gecko, stunt biplanes, paratroopers, helicopters, F-15s, P-47s, C-130s, skywriting, and the Blue Angels. It's all good!

--End--

Something Completely Different

Wow.

This totally makes me wish I knew how to crochet.

--End--

Photo Update

I just posted a whole bunch of pictures taken this month. They're not PhotoShopped in anyway, so please forgive red eyes, awkward composition, etc. My bleary, allergy-ridden contacts are not up for any more screen time tonight.

• Puppy pictures and Emily's gifted & talented program ("Invention Convention") at school

• "Night Flight" -- Em's Brownie troop's overnight at the Philadelphia Zoo

Enjoy! Let me know what you think.

--End--

SO cliche!

Oh ... and in completely unrelated news, yesterday we had to write the most cliched note of all to Emily's teacher.

Yes, our dog actually did eat her homework.

The ceiling fan blew it off the kitchen table when Emily got up to go to the bathroom. I removed the sodden mess from the dog's mouth when Emily returned to the dining room and shrieked. Ew.

--End--

Heading into Summer

Well, it's that time of year. My students are restless, my kids are filthy from playing outside until they collapse into bed, Joe's at commencement tonight, and I'm interviewing (again) for a new job next year (again).

This makes the third summer in a row I've been interviewing for a new teaching position. Looong, painful story I'm not going into now. I've interviewed for positions in other fields before, but never before having academic interviews have I come across the search for this annoyingly ambiguous combination of required technical ability and weird attempts to decide if they like my personality.

I mean, I have the degree, the certificate, teaching experience, recommendations, excellent test scores (mine and my students'). So this all basically comes down to whether or not they like me as a person. Joe tells me not to take it personally ... but I mean, come on! What could be more personal than this? It's like a popularity contest. Either they think I'll fit in with their teaching staff and students, or they don't. Do they want vivacious or subdued? Innovative or conventional? Firm or flexible?

I've had three interviews in a week. If I've impressed anyone, there should be some call-back and/or offer phone calls next week. I've sent out about 15 resumes in the past month.

We'll see.

--End--

I Don't Believe in Curses ...

... or do I?

I think maybe my brother's house is cursed. They've had a recent run of bum luck ... but the problem goes back years. Years!

When we visited for Thanksgiving (back in aught-four), we got stranded in a snowstorm with a flat tire (and no jack! And no cell phone!! At 11 at night!!!). During the same visit, Joe had to visit the emergency room with bronchitis/pneumonia.

Lately,

• Chris has suffered a completely collapsed lung, followed by surgery and a chest tube.
  
  
• Kristin has been dealing with the uncomfortable late-stage of pregnancy, complicated by high blood pressure, substantial water retention and multiple trips to various medical facilities ro confirm (or deny) low amniotic fluid levels (she's fine, the levels are good).
  
  
• My mom, staying with them to help the two hapless invalids for a week, had to go to the emergency room yesterday for ... get this ... lacerations of her scalp. Inflicted by the housecat, Oreo, in abject terror of mom and dad's (also visiting) dog. 12 staples to pull her head wounds back together!

Chris, Kristin ... I love you both. I really do. But I think I'll wait until you've somehow exorcised your residential demons before I come visit again.

Just kidding.

Sort of.

--End--

edit: Shadow maimed Mom, not Oreo (thanks, Kristin!)

Quickie Update

Well, things are good. Nothing terribly newsworthy, but things are good.

• My brother, Chris, is home from the hospital and soon to be as good as new.
• Sasha has settled into a basic routine and allows us to sleep a nice solid night.
• Joe is in the throes of finals week. Yick.
• I have a couple of job interviews lined up in the next week. Nowhere I really, really want to be, but we'll see.
• I logged 15 miles of walking last week in training for the 3-Day.

Guess that's about it. Been watching Doctor Who, The Tudors, and NCIS lately. Trying to catch up on laundry, but losing the battle. Hoping to get together some new outfits / dresses for our upcoming college reunion (kind of failing at that, too).

--End--

Pray for My Brother

He's going to be fine, but had surgery last night. Kind of freaked me out to not be able to see or talk to him before he went under. But we talked today and he's recovering well.

Details here.

Love you, Chris! Get well soonest!

--End--

Drives Me Nuts!

Emily's teacher (not for the first time) erroneously marked something wrong on Emily's work, when it was actually correct. In fact, she mismarked the same type of mistake twice on the same homework paper.

Em has to write sentences for all her spelling words every week. She had to use the word "taller" and wrote the sentence "Megan is taller than me." When I went over her homework with her, I explained the whole implied "am" in that sort of sentence. As in, "Megan is taller than I am." So, she erased and corrected it.

Well her teacher (who is brand-new and has mismarked things previously this year) red-penned her "I" and replaced it with "me." She did the same thing with another sentence down the page.

Grrrr..... So, I took out my nice blue pen and corrected the teacher's grammar and am sending the paper back to school for her. No nasty note or anything (I'm reserving my irritation for here).

I know I'm being a defensive Mother Bear here, but it just slays me when primary grade teachers use incorrect grammar, spelling, etc. in front of their students.

--End--

Am I Crazy?

Yesterday I signed up for the Breast Cancer 3-Day. This is a three day walk in October ... 20 miles (!!!) each day. I've started training for it as of this morning. They have a nicely-paced 24 week training schedule that builds mileage and endurance bit by bit.

But the physical training is only half the commitment. Each walker must raise $2,200 in donations before the walk. If you're seeing this and for some reason haven't already gotten a donation request from me, please consider a contribution. How about $60? That's only $1 per mile I'll be walking (not including my many training miles!).

Just click over to my 3-Day webpage and help at whatever level you can. (and please pray for me while I train and prepare for this adventure)

--End--

Bad Scare

Well, Sasha just got loose for about 20 minutes. Emily was holding the Flexi-Leash when the garbage truck came through. It spooked the puppy, who took off into the woods. Em lost her grip, and Sasha was gone. It was pretty scary, actually. We lost all sight of her for long enough to think we'd lost her altogether. She just came back out of the woods a few minutes ago, filthy muddy and without her collar or the leash. I told the kids that this was our one warning. And that we'd have to be more careful from now on. Em was pretty freaked out that "it was all [her] fault."

After breakfast, we're going to PetSmart for a new tag, and possibly another leash.

*whew*

--End--

Interesting Meme-ish Thing

Saw this on Jim's and Mark's blogs, so I thought I'd give it a try.



--End--

Baby Togs

I may totally have to get one of these for my soon-to-be new neice or nephew.

--End--

Broken Record

I hate to keep coming back to the same puppy topic, but frankly she's by far the main focus of my life right now. I'm honestly finding this more mentally exhausting than having a newborn baby. An infant, after all, sleeps several times a day and wears diapers. A puppy ... well, she dozes lightly a couple of times a day (until I move and then she's completely tuned into each and every move I make, barking at me if I leave the room for too long without her), and ... certainly there are no diapers involved.

Even if I sit near her to read a book or work on the computer, I have to look up every paragraph or so to remain aware of what she's chewing on, sniffing, etc. Does she need to go out, or is she merely bored?

I'm glad to have her. She's really a pretty delightful puppy. But, I'm exhausted. Up until 11pm, again briefly at 2am, and awake for the day at 5:30am just isn't enough sleep. And each time she's returned to her crate/bed, she spends at least 15 minutes barking to be let back out before she settles down.

--End--

Happy Birthday to Me!

--End--

Other Side of the Coin

OK, so today was a Perfect Puppy day. Sasha walked calmly on her leash, right at my side. She did her business when and where she was supposed to (even on the leash...hopefully our leash phobia has vanished). She had a great vet visit. We all took a wonderful evening walk together. All in all ... just a Perfect Puppy day.

I'm thinking barking half the night last night wore her out, too.

--End--

Tired (but worth it?)

Well, the first days of puppy ownership have been interesting. And exhausting. She's not cooperating so well with the whole housebreaking thing (rather, she was doing fine until we started taking her outside only on a leash).

Additionally, we haven't been good about keeping her eating, playing, napping, eliminating on any sort of schedule. Which means she doesn't know when she's going to be crated, so she barks for 15 minutes when we put her in there. And, we don't know when she's going to have to go outside, so she wakes us up twice a night to go out. (and we don't know if she means it, which half the time she doesn't, but we can't take the chance) And, with not going to bed until 10:30, and waking up at 5:30 ... I'm wiped out. Exhausted. Irritable. Frustrated. Depressed.

And it's only Wednesday.

Joe will be out of town this weekend (and next!). So I won't be able to catch up on lost sleep then, either.

I "know" it will be all worth it eventually. And I am working on a set schedule for Sasha starting today. In the meantime, I'm just praying things settle into a predictable routine very soon.

It's been several years since we've had a baby in the house. I'd forgotten what real sleep deprivation feels like.

--End--

She's Here!

Well, we picked up our adorable little Sasha on Saturday. The long drive home was mostly uneventful, which was good.

When we got home we realized she was basically just afraid of everything. Joe and I were really dismayed that we may have wound up with a big mushy wimp for a dog. But, we're learning (it's only been a couple of days, after all!) that she really basically just hadn't been exposed to ANYTHING before coming home with us. She'd only even been outside on the grass maybe once before. So ... absolutely everything was new to her. We had to teach her to go through the doorway to go out, how to go down the step from the patio to the lawn, etc.

And, I have to say the Nor'Easter of the Century (or whatever they're calling it) didn't make things any easier. Sasha didn't really mind a bit. Her fur is so thick and wooly that after we toweled her off, she was basically dry. We, on the other hand, spent all day yesterday cold and wet. And cold. And wet.

Anyway, here are a couple of pictures I took yesterday. After we brought Sasha home, she hid under Joe's legs everytime he sat down. Not panicky, but definitely looking for someone big to look after her.












Splashing in the puddles with Emily (you have to know we got a ton of rain for our sandy soil to have giant 5-inch deep puddles like this!).

And, finally ... an awfully cute one of Sasha resting by an oak in our backyard.

--End--

Thank You, Doonsbury

Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.
~Mark Twain

--End--

Email (er ... blog) Scattergories

EMAIL SCATTERGORIES...it's harder than it looks! Rules: Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following...They must be real places, names, things...nothing made up! If you can't think of anything, skip it. Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same first initial. You can't use your own name for the boy/girl name question.

Your Name: Heidi

Famous Musical Artist: Herb Alpert
Four-Letter Word: Help
Street Name: Holly Street
Color: Hunter green
Transportation: Helicopter
Things in a Souvenir Shop: Hats
Boy Name: Hector
Girl Name: Helen
Movie Title: Halloween
Alcoholic Drink: Harvey Wallbanger
Occupation: Head Honcho
Flowers: Heliotrope
Celebrities: Hal Holbrook
Magazine: Hello!
U.S. City: Honolulu
Pro Sports Teams: Hartford Whalers
Something Found in a Kitchen: Hand mixer
Reason for Being Late: Had a flat
Something You Throw Away: Hard-boiled eggs
Things You Shout: Holy Smoke!
Cartoon Character: Hagar the Horrible

--End--

Thriftshop Bonanza!

Went looking for an Easter dress today at the local thrift stores. (Found nothing I liked. I'm very happily fitting into some significantly smaller sizes, but am still afflicted with short, dumpy legs. And I'm sort of between sizes. Nothing looked the way I wanted it to.)

But ... I made out like a bandit for the kids! I bought 10 pieces for them from pricey brand-names (Gap Kids, Limited Too, Gymboree) for a mere $18, total. Yeah!

--End--

ps. Spent time on four different reputable clothing sites this evening, and I'm not really a solid size anything consistently between them.

Retro Flashback

Anyone ever see these cool aluminum tumblers before? I thought about them the other day. I asked Joe to get me a glass of cold water. He pulled out a plastic cup and then self-corrected and got out a glass.

"Why do you always want your water in a glass?" he asked me.

Then I realized that I do prefer water (any beverage, really, but especially water and milk) in a glass. "Actually, metal is even better, I told him."

I remember my Grandpa Christoph stating it, "Always drink a cold drink in glass or metal."

He was absolutely right. And, thanks to retro-ism, these aluminum tumblers (and pitchers and dessert bowls) are available again, even on Amazon.com. I may just have to put them on my birthday list.

--End--

Loved It!

OK, I know I'm a total geeknerd for saying this, but I'm SO glad Doctor Who is back. Of course, it's not actually back here in the U.S., but the first episode of the new season was broadcast on the BBC yesterday. Joe and I just watched it tonight.

After a season of Doctor Nine and then he left, I was a bit shaken up wondering if I'd like Doctor Ten. No worries there. Love him. He's adorable, quirky, bouncy, enthusiastic, flirty, verbose. Yay! So then he and Rose Tyler hit it off, got along famously, and maybe even fell in love (naturally the time transference communicating between universes thingy he had going fizzled just before he actually said it, but still ...). So, then Rose left. Big hole there.

But, I have to say I really rather like Martha Jones. She's smart, for one. She's not going to just limply go along with whatever the Doctor says, not going to just provide (as Eddie Izzard describes NSFW, language) a chance for the Doctor to rescue someone who'd been captured. She seems as though she'll be more of a partner in things. She didn't freak out, but showed appropriate doubt and skepticism. Then when presented with aliens, etc., rather went along with it.

Sketchy science in bits (I mean, normal gravity on the moon?), but then what scifi is truly sctrict about its science? At least they did have the air run out.

I'm aware no one knows what I'm talking about. The show's good. The whole new Doctor Who is good. Really good. Witty, thought-provoking, pretty to watch. Catch it on SciFi soemtime.

In a related but separate note -- the spin-off Torchwood is also wonderful.

--End--

Tired of My Links, Yet?

File this under the category .... WAAAAY too much time on someone's hands (but it's SO cool anyway). Yes ... it's an ASCIImation Star Wars.

                                     /~\
                                    |oo )
                                    _\=/_
                    ___            /  _  \
                   /() \          //|/.\|\\
                 _|_____|_        \\ \_/  ||
                | | === | |        \|\ /| ||
                |_|  O  |_|        # _ _/ #
                 ||  O  ||          | | |
                 ||__*__||          | | |
                |~ \___/ ~|         []|[]
                /=\ /=\ /=\         | | |
________________[_]_[_]_[_]________/_]_[_\_________________________

--End--

Makes Sense to Me

--End--

Interesting Blog

I found a rather interesting blog called Futility Closet. Interesting factoids, unusual word definitions, logic-y puzzles. Pretty nifty all in all. Gonna add it to my list.

--End--

Fantastic Weekend!

This weekend we celebrated Emily's birthday in style. She wanted a space theme, and we did it up right ... from decorating the house for her birthday party Friday night, to an overnight trip to DC and the Air & Space Museum. Click the links for the photo galleries.

--End--

Amazing Photography

I know a lot of it is timing and luck, but some of it is pure, raw artistic talent (and fabulous camera equipment). When we were in DC yesterday at the Museum of Natural History, there was a special exhibit of the National Wildlife Photography Award winners. These photos are impressive in the small scale seen here, but just imagine how breathtaking they were blown up to 36x48" (or larger).

--End--

Mood Music

When you're just in the mood for some music, but you don't quite know what to pick, try this site.

--End--

ps. Finding lots of nifty new sites through the use of Stumble Upon.

Gaining Perspective

These images sort of make all our little stressors seem somehow less significant, don't they?

First Goal Reached

I met my first 10% loss when I weighed-in at my Weight Watchers meeting last night. I blew the 10% mark away with 18.2 lbs lost so far. My next goal is another 10%, then I'll be setting my final goal.

Feeling great this morning!

--End--

Here She Is

Our little Sasha ...

Taking a Big Step

We've decided to finally take the leap. Looks like we're going to add a puppy to our family.

















This is a keeshond. They're in the spitz family. The national dog of the Netherlands, actually. Which is why it's pronounced not "keesh-ahnd," but "kays-hawnd" or even "kayz-hawnd." We've done a lot of online research in finding a suitable breed. And then more research trying to find a puppy. We finally are very comfortable with a breeder in upstate New York (a few miles from Cooperstown) who will have a puppy ready for us the weekend after Easter, which is our ideal timetable.

They have wonderful, child-friendly temperaments, don't require enormous amounts of space or exercise, and are just the right size. Yes, there is all that hair to deal with.

Anyway, tomorrow we're going to visit a local breeder (who won't have any puppies until next fall or winter) to meet a keeshond in person, actually several keeshonden. Then we'll make our final (expected to be "YES!") decision.

Cute puppies, too, eh? This is one of our pup's male littermates. We're getting a female. I have a couple of pics in an e-mail somewhere, but they're not as well posed as this one.

So by this time tomorrow, it looks like I'll be PayPal-ing our breeder and finalizing our PetSmart shopping list! VERY excited, and can't wait to tell the kids (not until we've met the dogs tomorrow).

--End--

Recent Pics

Matthew proudly shows up his homemade "Pinewood Herbie."




















Dottie takes a snooze on the infamous Orange Chair.


Emily and I take a spin at her recent Brownies Sock Hop.

I Believe ...

...that global warming may have some natural climatic components, but that human activity has accelerated and/or exacerbated the problem.

...in a woman's right to choose whether or not to have a baby.

...in restricting the availability of pistols, rifles, shotguns and other guns to the general populous, and in a national ballistics fingerprinting database.

...that people living in the United States and expecting the privileges of such should learn to speak English.

...that the war in Iraq was a very ill-advised endeavor, but that I have no idea what the best course of action would be at this point.

...we should be paying more attention to what's going on in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Somalia, and Rwanda.

...that No Child Left Behind not only leaves many children behind, but leads to a culture of continued academic frustration and disenfranchisement among students, educators and parents.

...in the electric car, renewable energy sources and recycling.

...the government has the obligation to provide for the least of us, whether it be the poor, elderly, ill, uneducated.

...and that expecting churches and individuals to just pick up the slack and care for one another as we all should is overly optimistic and facetiously naive.

...that creation happened roughly the way the Bible descibed it, but that the actual timetable is ambiguous. While I don't believe we evolved from single-celled organisms or monkeys, I do believe the Earth is more than several thousand years old.

--End--

Bad Mommy

Just had an emotional roller coaster blowup with Emily. She is old enough to know exactly what to say that hurts the most. And finally this time I called her on it. She looked horrified that her words were actually hurting me (in a deep down, doubting my worth as a mom kind of way; not just in a make Mommy mad so she leaves the room kind of way). We hugged and made up and managed to get the rest of the way through the piano practice session. But ... *whew*! I'm exhausted.

And I still have to manage to feed the family, burn a DVD for a friend, wrap a baby shower gift, get the kids to clean up a bit and be ready to leave for Brownies with Emily in full uniform in 32 minutes.

Ain't gonna happen. So now I have to figure out what's gonna give.

--End--

ps. Pulled it all off and made it to troop on time. Thank goodness for pasta & sauce.

Plain Jane

Guess I was actually right when I told people I have basically no accent whatsoever.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The West Your accent is the lowest common denominator of American speech. Unless you're a SoCal surfer, no one thinks you have an accent. And really, you may not even be from the West at all, you could easily be from Florida or one of those big Southern cities like Dallas or Atlanta.
The Midland
Boston
North Central
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The South
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

--End--

What Goes Around Comes Around

One of my favorite quotes as long been "plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose."

Excerpting from Thomas Paine: Personal rights ... are a species of property of the most sacred kind.

And now Benjamin Franklin: Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.

Sam Adams: If you love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.

Patrick Henry: Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel.

C.S. Lewis:Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.

Plato: This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector.

Voltaire: Tyrants have always had some slight shade of virtue. They support the laws before destroying them.

James Madison: If tyranny and opression come to this land, it will be in guise of fighting a foreign enemy.


And now ... where'd this all come from today? Well, yesterday Joe and I watched V for Vendetta (yes, for the first time ... yes, I'm behind the curve here). I was really struck. I mean, really struck by this movie. Although the graphic novels were first published in the 80s, it was easy to move this story into the 21st century.

The idea of a government driving its populace to fear foreign attacks so deeply that that same populace would accept nearly absolute mind-control and tyranny ... doesn't seem nearly as far-fetched as it ought to. And, that same government lying about the posisbility of foreign terrorism, mass destruction in order to maintain its stranglehold on the people? Not so out there.

Here's the text of the main speech. Certainly there are bits that make little sense taken out of context, so I've paraphrased (as indicated by the ellipses and brackets). If you'd rather hear and visualize it in its original form, try YouTube.

Anyway, read and think. The Founding Fathers and others quoted above were worried about overcoming colonialism and tyranny. And yet how easily the same words apply to the situation we currently face, almost 250 years later.

V's Speech:

Good evening.... Allow me first to apologize for this interruption. I do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of every day routine- the security of the familiar, the tranquility of repetition. I enjoy them as much as any bloke.

But in the spirit of commemoration, thereby those important events of the past usually associated with someone’s death or the end of some awful bloody struggle, a celebration of a nice holiday, I thought we could mark this November the 5th, a day that is sadly no longer remembered, by taking some time out of our daily lives to sit down and have a little chat.

There are of course those who do not want us to speak. I suspect even now, orders are being shouted into telephones, and men with guns will soon be on their way. Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth.

And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn’t there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission.

How did this happen? Who’s to blame? Well certainly there are those more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable, but again truth be told, if you’re looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror.

I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn’t be? War, terror, disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you, and in your panic you turned to the [government]. [It] promised you order, he promised you peace, and all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent....

More than four hundred years ago a great citizen wished to embed the fifth of November forever in our memory. His hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice, and freedom are more than words, they are perspectives. So if you’ve seen nothing, if the crimes of this government remain unknown to you then I would suggest you allow the fifth of November to pass unmarked. But if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek, then I ask you to stand beside me....

--End--

Mouths of Babes

So, as I mentioned before ... Emily went camping with the Brownies last weekend. When I got back from the Philly Phantoms hockey game (with Joe and Matthew), I checked the messages. As you can imagine, I just about burst into tears when I heard this.

And then (on a much happier note) while I was making dinner tonight, Emily was flying Matthew's Optimus Prime all around the kitchen. "I am the leader of all the Transformables! (sic) I have many powers ... I can fly, I'm very strong ... and I have my own restaurant!"

At this I looked up, "What? Is Optimus Prime part hot dog stand?"

"No," she replied without pausing from zooming around, "Optimus Prime Pizzeriaaaaaa!!!!"

I almost spit in the Stove Top stuffing.

--End--

Very Funny Lady

Just have to put a quick link out here. This is my friend Josette. She and I met online on a Pregnancy Board dedicated to women having babies in June 2001 (and coincidentally we also each had a baby in March 1999 ... I did not, however, join her in having a baby last August).

She is a seriously wonderful writer, and incidentally a fantastic actress, as well. Hilarious, heartfelt and wonderful. Please, if you have any time (if there are, in fact, any of "you" out there at all), go read Josette's blog. Time utterly well spent, I promise you.

--End--

Oh Dear...

As if I don't already have enough negative body image issues. Now they go and develop one of these.

--End--

Busy-ish Weekend

So Emily leaves tonight for a weekend of cabin camping with the Brownies. One of the Juniors troops nearby is going to teach the younger girls how to make a Buddy Burner, cook in a box stove, etc.

And, Matthew is going with the Cub Scouts (and Joe) to the Philadelphia Phantoms game tonight. It's Teddy Bear Toss night. When the Phantoms score their first goal, everyone's supposed to toss a new teddy bear or stuffed animal onto the ice for donation to local children's charities.

Added after the game -- I decided to go to the game and it was a really great time. We cracked up numerous times as handfuls of stuffed critters were flung onto the ice when the opposing team scored their first two goals. The poor announcer, "Please refrain from throwing bears at this time. The Phantoms may be penalized if this continues. Please refrain at this time." Finally with 25 seconds left in the game the Phantoms nearly scored (the closest they came all night). Out came the bears ... like a blizzard of them. The announcer started again, "Please, ladies and gentlemen ... er ... I have word from the officials, go ahead and throw your bears." Wheeeeee!!!! (Can I mention how hard it is to loft a small fluffy toy from the mid-300 level of the Spectrum all the way to the ice?)

Then for the rest of the weekend they're going to perfect his "Pinewood Herbie." Joe took it to the Post Office this morning for a weigh-in and it's apparently 4+ ounces too heavy. Eek! So, there's some drilling and gouging in Herbie's future.

As for me ... I haven't decided if I'm going to go to the movies by myself tonight and relish my solitude. Or, maybe I'll get bored and lonely and I'd rather take some friends up on their offer of a spare ticket to the Phantoms game tonight. Haven't really decided yet, actually.

Mostly I'd rather be going to the movies with Joe.

--End--

Tweet, Tweet

So my contribution to the Great Backyard Bird Count is 1 hairy woodpecker, 8 juncos, 2 house sparrows, 6 tufted titmice, 3 chickadees, 2 cardinals (both female), 1 nuthatch, 1 downy woodpecker, and 1 wren.

We're leaving in about an hour, so I only spent about half an hour sitting and watching and counting. So I don't think that's too shabby for a couple of feeders of sunflower seeds.

Hey ... does anyone have a trick for keeping thistle seed fresh in a goldfinch feeder? Mine always gets damp and moldy at the bottom and then the finches stop coming.

--End--

Aurora Voldemortealis

This recent aurora pic from SpaceWeather seems more like a Dark Mark from The Goblet of Fire than any naturally occuring phenomenon.

Oooooh ... spooky!

--End--


ps. Off to the Poconos for the weekend of snow tubing, see ya Monday!

Inside Joke

Guess what I made for Joe for Valentine's Day?
(hint: we already have a tan van ...)

Snow Geese

In other news, I see a scene just like this most days on my way either to or from work.

Crabby Whiny Rant

First of all, forgive me.

I know I should be thankful to have a job. Even half a job. But it's just not enough of a job.

Our washing machine died ... there's 700 bucks. Our TV is dying / dead ... replacing it will be around a thousand bucks. Our sofa and loveseat are stained, ratty, falling apart ... ??? (reupholstering or replacing would run another thousand or so?)

Our credit card balance is higher than it was a year ago.

I just want to feel like we're moving ahead instead of sitting still, or worse yet ... moving backwards.

And then I feel guilty for feeling bummed. I mean, we're all healthy, we're warm and fed and clothed.

Anyway ...

--End--

Wanna Help?

Emily is working toward selling 400 boxes of Girl Scout cookies. She really wants the incentive for that level -- the lovely and fluffy Blossom Bunny from Build-a-Bear workshop. She's up to 350-some boxes sold already.

So ... anyone want some Thin Mints?

--End--

Super Ads

So we're thinking we'll watch the Super Bowl on a delay tonight. Not to skip the commercials and time-outs and penalty pauses, like we did for the whole rest of the football season (you can watch a 4-hour football broadcast in about and hour and a half and still get everything you'd really want).

Rather, we may just skip the football and watch the commercials and half-time show. Hee!

--End--

ps. Making nachos, Italian sausage sandwiches, and Rice Krispies treats!

Laundering ... on a Jet Plane

So our washer recently died a rather thorough death. We bravely disassembled it hoping something would have a Post-It flag stuck to it, "Fix this part, it's only $12.95." But alas ... dismantling the broken washing machine only led to it appearing even more, well ... broken. After a phone call to Dad and a couple more to the Kenmore Repair folks, we decided investing significant amounts of money in a new washer made more sense than investing slightly less significant amounts of money on the old one.

So ... now we own our first Front Loading Washer. What a difference. I've already run 4 loads in the thing, and it's quieter, using less detergent and fascinating the children for entire minutes on end. "Look, there's Bun-Bun!" Then ... the thing kicks into high gear. The clothes are quickly plastered to the sides of the drum like we were in the old Gravitron ride at Conneaut Lake Park. "Wow," Joe commented, "OK, now I'm impressed."

But, that's not all! Starting to whine like an F-16 warming up, the washer really kicks it up a notch. VOOMP! All the clothes are reduced to a grey smooshed blur all around the sides of the drum. What appeared to be a generously full load of clothes mere moments before is now flattened so that it nearly seems to be spinning entirely empty. The water just streams across the glass (way more of it than I'd though would still be in the clothes after spinning for 5 minutes at a more moderate pace). Soon it winds down and the almost-dry-feeling clothes are ready for the (greatly diminished) time in the dryer.

Go, Frigidaire! Who knew you made such nifty non-refrigerating appliances?

--End--

Recent Pics

Also want to take a second to post some semi-recent pictures. Enjoy!

First, I have Emily and Matthew dressed for Christmas. Awwww! (And, yes ... he's really that much taller than she is.)















Then it's just a quickie shot while riding in the van. My "twins."








Finally, Em and I share a moment at Boulder Field, in the Poconos.














--End--

Vader Rocks

OK, probably everyone has already seen this on Yahoo. But, just in case ... check out DJ Darth Vader, scratchin' to the Imperial March. Cracks me up!



--End--

It Has Begun ...

I now have over 4500 boxes of Girl Scout cookies in may garage. Hopefully most of the moms stop by today and take their shares. I'm hoping to get at least one car back under cover by tomorrow.

--End--

Actual Snow!

It started very lightly yesterday afternoon ... and then actually continued very lightly all night. OK, so yeah ... I can still see grass and leaves poking through it. But, it's honest-to-goodness snow!

Of course, it's snow with a lovely layer of still-accumulating freezing rain on top. Joy.

--End--

Snarky Comics Critiques

This site is one I check in with daily. I don't get a local newspaper, and don't get a chance to read the comics everyday. Particularly when there are so many. So, I just keep up with whatever gems Josh comes up with. The commentary cracks me up.

--End--

One More Thing

Yeah, I know "everyone" is talking about it, but I can't help it. I'm putting in a plug for Ugly Betty. It's funny, offbeat, and clever. It's not everyone's thing. But, it's mine.

--End--

Taking Over My Life

By the way ... as of next Monday ... my garage will be filled with 375 cases (@12 boxes each) of Girl Scout cookies. Caramel Delites, Peanut Butter Patties, Shortbread, Peanut Butter sandwiches, Reduced Fat Cartwheels, Thanks-a-Lots, Lemonades. And, of course my favorite ... Thin Mints.

Anyone want me to save / ship them any? "Only" $3.50 per box.

--End--

Such a Tease

Well, it sleeted last night. And the temperature actually dipped below freezing for a few nights in a row. But, all in all ... this has been the lamest winter ever. EVER. This light dusting of snow (yeah, it was actual snow in a few towns west of us) had people at school today saying, "OK, enough winter, already. We're ready for spring."

WHA? Are you kidding me? We've had temps in the 60s and even the 70s this whole season. How can you be ready for spring when we've essentially had spring straight through since fall? (last week I even saw some forsythia and crabapples starting to bloom)

--End--

Clean and Simple

So every week Joe and I are going to spend several hours simplifying and cleaning up our lives. We're going to pitch, donate and store most of our clutter. The plan is to mentally begin to prepare our house for sale/moving (within the next 12-18 months). We don't want to show the house in this state, nor do we want to move it all.

We start on Friday afternoon. I don't know why I'm really thinking about it right now, actually.

Today went better at work. I think I'll be in a nice easy routine in just a couple more days.

--End--

Day One

Today was the first day of my new job. It went pretty well, I think. I am the reading teacher for 8 first graders and 12 second graders at a small elementary school in rural New Jersey (not an oxymoron). I meet with the lower of the two second-grade groups, then the first-grade (high level) group, then the higher-level second-grade group.

Pros
It's a foot in the door at a new school district.
The kids seem pretty well-behaved.
I have some autonomy with my reading groups.
The hours are good.

Cons
One of the teachers I have to work with seems a bit tetchy.
The reading program is scripted, so there's really not a lot of me in my teaching.
Half-day work isn't going to further our life goals much, if at all.

All in all, I think it's going to be good. One thing is certain, I need to pick up the pace with my first two groups. Familiarity will breed comfort and efficiency. So, it should be flowing smoothly along in a week or so. Then the principal will give me some more to do in my remaining time.

In other news, one of my best friends nearly set Bacon School (where I used to teach) on fire. The sun was refracting just so through a glass fishbowl on her desk. She melted half a tape dispenser before she discovered the problem. It was one of those "Do you smell something funny?" "Yeah, like maybe something burning." sorts of things. The plastic was smoking and smoldering pretty badly when she found it. Good thing it had been blocking the nearby box of tissues from the solar death ray. Of course, if it'd happened on a Friday afternoon or when she was otherwise in a hurry to get out of the building ... my guess is they'd all be having a few days off while they dealt with the water and smoke damage.

--End--

Not Enough Nerve

OK, if I were younger, nervier and into defacing stop signs ... I would totally get these.

Actually, I like a lot of stuff they sell.

Check out the tv recaps on Television Without Pity, while you're at it.

--End--

Scrapbooking Made Simple

I just love scrapbooking. Really! (I know I'm dorky)

But, every now and then even the most-loved hobbies kind of become tedious and uninteresting. I'm kind of scrapbooked-out at the moment (well, I have been on quite a tear lately ... ever since I attended the Creating Keepsakes Convention in Valley Forge in late July I've gone crazy with it). So, it was with great delight I received the second shipment of an album kit series I'm getting from QVC.

I finished the first one awhile ago, "All About Me." It was actually kind of hard doing a scrapbook all about me, myself. Not for the least reason that I have very few pictures of myself, let alone scrapbook-worthy ones. And, it was difficult at first to talk about myself and express my own hopes and dreams, etc.

This second edition has gone much faster. I've been really looking forward to this one. It's "All About You." The you in this case being Joe, of course. I've had a good time singing his praises, recalling old memories and digging through pictures of him. (and I don't have that many good pictures of him, either, oddly ... I guess my photography is generally focused on the kids ... mental note to remedy that in the future)

I'm very happy right now. I really love working on a project and seeing steady progress on it. And I know he's going to be surprised and pleased with the finished product (although he's usually quite blase' about my creations).

--Heidi

ps. In other news, I gathered a bunch of stuff for my new job starting Monday. I'm trying to start small so I can get a feel for the kids and my (extremely limited) space at the school. I'm really hoping this goes well. I'm ready to go back to work and really contribute more (financially) to the family.

So rude!

I have hardly been the most conscientious blogger, have I? Well, I need more reflection, introspection and just plain working out words to put down. So, I really am going to make a conscious effort to post something on a far more regular basis than previously.

Even if it's just train of consciousness nonsense and crappy memes and questionnaires. Just to get the ball rolling, the juices flowing, and other metaphors.

So, here goes ... apparently facial recognition software has determined I look like these people (though I'm hardly taking this seriously, the first photo I uploaded came through with a much higher percentage match to none other than Daniel Radcliffe. Yes, evidently I could be Harry Potter's big sister. Yeesh!) Granted, I have very few (if any) really decent pictures of myself. That what you get from being behind the camera the vast majority of the time. Plus, I'm overweight and never happy with the way I look in photos. And, I have this gigantic toothy grin which I guess looks pleasant enough in person, but when still-frozen-in-time-forever looks garish.

Every now and then ... It's just a Good Day

Elements of Good came together today to make this a Good Day.

I woke up slowly this morning ... one of those undeniably luxurious summer mornings where you just take it slow and simple. As I'm stretching I realize I can't really move my left arm. Brief flash of anxiety ... are my car accident injuries acting up again? Nope, it's warm, snuggly Matthew smooshed up next to me. As I move around, he rolls over and gives me a kiss, "Good morning, Mommy," and pulls my arms back around him.

Much later we meet my Aunt Deb at the Erie Library for a juggling show. Kevin the Juggling Guy. Funny, somewhat offbeat in that frequently-entertaining-children sort of way. Decent juggling. Good patter. Turns out I can spin a plate on a stick.

Quick car ride via Subway to the Dock (I don't care how long they push it as Dobbins Landing). We meet Captain Norm of the Erie Aquabus service. He was one of those nautical types with leathery skin and white hair. Not overly chatty or anything. Kind of thought he had barely noticed us. At one point he did a quick swoop around in a circle and got out his boat hook. After several attempts, reverses and additional swerves, he manages to hook a plastic beach shovel out of the waves. He tosses it back to the kids, "Now you'll have something to play with at the beach." Not long after, he dropped us over on Presque Isle.

We picnicked in the sun (the breeze was a bit chill), and had a nice time ... Mom, Aunt Deb, the kids and me. It was a good, simple meal. We tidied up and walked over to the beach.

I'd brought the kids' swimsuits, but had already decided, after the shivering on the ferry ride, that we'd be wading at best. So, I rolled up their shorts and let them run in the wet sand and surf. It was a glorious day. Breezy, bright blue sky, teal green water. Few people. The kids just raced back and forth. Every now and then one of them would stop and analyze the wave action. Emily would wiggle her toes in the wet sand and watch little mini puddles form. Matthew would smack at the water with a stick and then throw his head back and laugh out loud. I snapped picture after picture. I liked the light. I liked the mood. I loved seeing my kids so gleeful.

Of course, when we made to leave and Emily realized she would really not be swimming, she threw a bit of a hissy fit. They were soggy to their waists and covered in wet sand. A good 40 minutes at the playground dried them off well enough for the ferry ride back. I remember lying back on a picnic table bench, a rolled beach towel under my neck, gazing up at the blue sky through a canopy of quaking poplars.

It was a Good Day.