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Whether or not these are the top 13 depends on my mood, but they are definitely among those that I like to read again and again. Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! |
Mojo Brew bio
6 months ago
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Thursday 13
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
NaBloPoMo "A"
A is for Alphabet
There were a few lessons in school that I learned better than others. Second only to "Never get involved in a land war in Asia" was how to recite the alphabet backward.
It was in 4th grade (interestingly, the grade MJ was in when our kids decided they had had enough school). My teacher was Mr. Hassenstab. He was my first male teacher, and, while I liked him well enough and was fascinated that he was "Dad" to my friend Mary Jo, I spent most of the year wishing he were female. I was in need of nurturing, I suppose, and Mr. H. tended toward the businesslike.
Anyway, this was back in the time when elementary-school students were allowed to have fun occasionally, and Mr. H. encouraged us to learn our backward ABCs. I loved doing this, and it's a
I also triumphed over the multiplication tables in 4th grade.
But it wasn't until middle school that I memorized the helping verbs. I can still do those, too. Ready? Here you go:
is am are was
were be being been
have has had
do does did
shall will should would
may might must can could
Voilà.
Z to A, 12x12, and the helping verbs. Those and a little Spanish might be the only things I really remember from school.
Which brings me to the real point of this blog post.
The theme for National Blog Posting Month this month is "Letters." Since 26 letters will not do for a month that has 30 days (even when I skip one day due to stomach flu), I plan to incorporate a few extras from the Spanish alphabet. That should be fun, since I don't know the ASCII codes for those letters, but I'll figure them out in time, fear not.
Welcome to NaBloPoMo, folks!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
MJ is pregnant
I bet that got your attention!
Actually, MJ wouldn't help me think of an April Fool's headline for this blog post, so she got picked on. :-)
Actually, MJ wouldn't help me think of an April Fool's headline for this blog post, so she got picked on. :-)
Monday, March 31, 2008
Slave mentality
Rue just posted this razor-sharp quote from John Holt on the unschooling boards:
So many people have said to me, ‘If we didn’t make children do things, they wouldn’t do anything.’ Even worse, they say, ‘If I weren’t made to do things, I wouldn’t do anything.’
It is the creed of a slave.
When people say that terrible thing about themselves, I say, ‘You may believe that, but I don’t believe it. You didn’t feel that way about yourself when you were little. Who taught you to feel that way?’ To a large degree, it was school.
~ John Holt, How Children Fail
So many people have said to me, ‘If we didn’t make children do things, they wouldn’t do anything.’ Even worse, they say, ‘If I weren’t made to do things, I wouldn’t do anything.’
It is the creed of a slave.
When people say that terrible thing about themselves, I say, ‘You may believe that, but I don’t believe it. You didn’t feel that way about yourself when you were little. Who taught you to feel that way?’ To a large degree, it was school.
~ John Holt, How Children Fail
The Doings Report
Let's see, where were we?
Oh, yes, I started off the week sick. This was not a great start to the week, since it put me behind on work hours AGAIN. I hate that. In some ways, my manager's flexibility regarding my hours is a drag, since I then feel compelled to make up every hour I miss. This means a sick day or, heaven forbid, two can turn into a week or three of pressuring myself to CATCH UP.
On Monday, Frank drove MJ down to Corvallis to visit with the Zen ones and Patrick G. She spent three days there and had a really good time. They talked, laughed, bowled, ate pastries, slept very little, and bonded with Karma.
Frank then caught my cold and MJ was opposed to riding the bus, so I drove down to pick her up Thursday night after work. (This is called putting your money and time where your big fat unschooling mouth is.) The drive down was lovely, uncrowded, and efficient.
And then I tried to check into the Motel 6.
It was just after midnight. The office was deserted. There was a little bell on the counter that said, "Ring Bell for Service," so I did, politely. Tink tink tink. No response. Then I noticed that the word "Loudly" had been penned in at the bottom of the sign, so I rang the bell again with more force. Ding ding ding. Still no response. Ding ding ding dammit ding. Nada.
Brainstorm! I looked up the phone number for the motel and used my cell phone to call. Phones rang everywhere but nobody came to answer them. I pounded on the office door. I called out. I yelled. I whaled on that stupid f***ing bell. I stuck my fingers in my mouth and released my best "Kids, it's time to come home" whistle. And, finally, I went into the hallway and pounded on the door marked "Private."
Why? Why did I work so hard? I have no idea. Looking back, this is my main regret.
Anyway, the hallway knocking seemed to do the trick. I heard noises from the back, called out again, and was answered with a terse, "Yeah." Seconds later, a very sleepy looking man appeared. He didn't respond to my cranky "Hi," didn't look at me, and didn't apologize. Instead, he began shuffling papers on the desk. He shuffled for quite some time. I'm thinking, "Is he sleepwalking? Is he trying to figure out what rooms are available? What?" But after several minutes, it dawns on me that I am being jerked around. This is my punishment for waking him.
Deciding to test this theory out, I said, "Do you have rooms available?" Without turning from his very busy paper-shuffling work, he said, "Yes." Pause. "Can you help me get into one?" I asked. He smirked a little, said "Yes," and turned toward me. Oh, hell, no. I asked, "Did any of that paper shuffling get you closer to helping me?" His smirk widened, and he said, "No."
So, I turned on my heel and left. Unsurprisingly, he made no effort to stop me.
Ten minutes later, I was tucked into a comfortable room at the Best Western next door, out an extra $25 bucks and STEAMING MAD. I haven't felt rage like that in a long, long time. It took me hours to cool off enough to sleep, which pretty much filleted my carefully planned schedule for not missing any more work hours due to this foray into central Oregon.
Friday morning, I called Motel 6 HQ and had my (sizable) say. They are sending us a voucher for a free night's stay, and I have been assured that the regional manager will be contacted regarding this clerk's behavior. These efforts at restitution have calmed my ire somewhat, but not so much that I refrained from telling this story here. A weekend's free stay and assurances that his ass is fired might have taken me farther.
Anyway, it was a nice morning after that. Mary, Conor, Qacei, Patrick, MJ, and I headed to Sunnyside Up for breakfast sandwiches (yum!) and a much needed machiatto. (Is that how you spell machiatto? I just drink them.) I also bought a SSU t-shirt so I could go to work in a clean shirt. (Yeah, that was the reason...not 'cause I've wanted one for months.)
And then MJ and I drove to Redmond. This drive was less fun, since we hit traffic jams in Portland, Tacoma, and Renton. It was 3:00 by the time we got to Microsoft, and I was wrung out. But I put in a decent four hours anyway, while MJ cruised the 'net. So, with the extra hours I put in mid-week, I am still "only" 8 hours behind.
On Saturday, the four of us drove over to Yakima for cousin Alicen's wedding. It was a lovely ceremony and a fun gathering, even if all you Maiers did leave the girls and me hanging to do the Time Warp alone. What would Dr. Frank-N-Furter say?!
And Sunday we drove home. MJ drove the climb up to the pass, so she got some more roadtrip experience under her belt, and then I took over and got some more completely unnecessary I-405 experience. (sigh)
I've just realized I've completely left Chloe out of this report. She was here all week! She has spent the week filling up on time to do just whatever she wants. After our very social first three months of 2008, she has been feeling pretty desperate for some of that. "Just whatever she wants" has included reading, writing, anime viewing, and quite a bit of conversation with Mom and Dad.
Happy Monday, everybody!
Oh, yes, I started off the week sick. This was not a great start to the week, since it put me behind on work hours AGAIN. I hate that. In some ways, my manager's flexibility regarding my hours is a drag, since I then feel compelled to make up every hour I miss. This means a sick day or, heaven forbid, two can turn into a week or three of pressuring myself to CATCH UP.
On Monday, Frank drove MJ down to Corvallis to visit with the Zen ones and Patrick G. She spent three days there and had a really good time. They talked, laughed, bowled, ate pastries, slept very little, and bonded with Karma.
Frank then caught my cold and MJ was opposed to riding the bus, so I drove down to pick her up Thursday night after work. (This is called putting your money and time where your big fat unschooling mouth is.) The drive down was lovely, uncrowded, and efficient.
And then I tried to check into the Motel 6.
It was just after midnight. The office was deserted. There was a little bell on the counter that said, "Ring Bell for Service," so I did, politely. Tink tink tink. No response. Then I noticed that the word "Loudly" had been penned in at the bottom of the sign, so I rang the bell again with more force. Ding ding ding. Still no response. Ding ding ding dammit ding. Nada.
Brainstorm! I looked up the phone number for the motel and used my cell phone to call. Phones rang everywhere but nobody came to answer them. I pounded on the office door. I called out. I yelled. I whaled on that stupid f***ing bell. I stuck my fingers in my mouth and released my best "Kids, it's time to come home" whistle. And, finally, I went into the hallway and pounded on the door marked "Private."
Why? Why did I work so hard? I have no idea. Looking back, this is my main regret.
Anyway, the hallway knocking seemed to do the trick. I heard noises from the back, called out again, and was answered with a terse, "Yeah." Seconds later, a very sleepy looking man appeared. He didn't respond to my cranky "Hi," didn't look at me, and didn't apologize. Instead, he began shuffling papers on the desk. He shuffled for quite some time. I'm thinking, "Is he sleepwalking? Is he trying to figure out what rooms are available? What?" But after several minutes, it dawns on me that I am being jerked around. This is my punishment for waking him.
Deciding to test this theory out, I said, "Do you have rooms available?" Without turning from his very busy paper-shuffling work, he said, "Yes." Pause. "Can you help me get into one?" I asked. He smirked a little, said "Yes," and turned toward me. Oh, hell, no. I asked, "Did any of that paper shuffling get you closer to helping me?" His smirk widened, and he said, "No."
So, I turned on my heel and left. Unsurprisingly, he made no effort to stop me.
Ten minutes later, I was tucked into a comfortable room at the Best Western next door, out an extra $25 bucks and STEAMING MAD. I haven't felt rage like that in a long, long time. It took me hours to cool off enough to sleep, which pretty much filleted my carefully planned schedule for not missing any more work hours due to this foray into central Oregon.
Friday morning, I called Motel 6 HQ and had my (sizable) say. They are sending us a voucher for a free night's stay, and I have been assured that the regional manager will be contacted regarding this clerk's behavior. These efforts at restitution have calmed my ire somewhat, but not so much that I refrained from telling this story here. A weekend's free stay and assurances that his ass is fired might have taken me farther.
Anyway, it was a nice morning after that. Mary, Conor, Qacei, Patrick, MJ, and I headed to Sunnyside Up for breakfast sandwiches (yum!) and a much needed machiatto. (Is that how you spell machiatto? I just drink them.) I also bought a SSU t-shirt so I could go to work in a clean shirt. (Yeah, that was the reason...not 'cause I've wanted one for months.)
And then MJ and I drove to Redmond. This drive was less fun, since we hit traffic jams in Portland, Tacoma, and Renton. It was 3:00 by the time we got to Microsoft, and I was wrung out. But I put in a decent four hours anyway, while MJ cruised the 'net. So, with the extra hours I put in mid-week, I am still "only" 8 hours behind.
On Saturday, the four of us drove over to Yakima for cousin Alicen's wedding. It was a lovely ceremony and a fun gathering, even if all you Maiers did leave the girls and me hanging to do the Time Warp alone. What would Dr. Frank-N-Furter say?!
And Sunday we drove home. MJ drove the climb up to the pass, so she got some more roadtrip experience under her belt, and then I took over and got some more completely unnecessary I-405 experience. (sigh)
I've just realized I've completely left Chloe out of this report. She was here all week! She has spent the week filling up on time to do just whatever she wants. After our very social first three months of 2008, she has been feeling pretty desperate for some of that. "Just whatever she wants" has included reading, writing, anime viewing, and quite a bit of conversation with Mom and Dad.
Happy Monday, everybody!
Manic Monday
Here's another one I am trying out, just for its conversational bent. Here are Lisa's questions for this week and my answers.
What is the sexiest part of the body?
Brain. Eyes. Well toned arms.
If you kissed a frog, who would you like it to turn into?
Johnny Depp was my first thought (she admitted sheepishly).
What do you have stuck up on your refrigerator right now?
A magnet that my best friend gave to me. It's a drawing of a cat, fur sticking straight out, with a caption that reads, "I am perfectly calm." Yes, she knows me well.
What is the sexiest part of the body?
Brain. Eyes. Well toned arms.
If you kissed a frog, who would you like it to turn into?
Johnny Depp was my first thought (she admitted sheepishly).
What do you have stuck up on your refrigerator right now?
A magnet that my best friend gave to me. It's a drawing of a cat, fur sticking straight out, with a caption that reads, "I am perfectly calm." Yes, she knows me well.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Sunday scribblings
http://sundayscribblings.blogspot.com/
I don't know if I really want another weekly blog "assignment," but anything with the word "scribblings" in it is going to catch my attention.
So let's give it a try. I'm not terribly interested in this week's theme (space aliens), so I'll go with last week's:
As the mother of two teenagers, I've discovered that there is a segment of young adult (YA) literature devoted to tragedy. Fathers murder mothers. Best friends go crazy. Parents abandon their children. Everything bad that can happen does. And these books seem to do very well: they garner rave reviews, win awards, and receive special attention from their publishers and, subsequently, the newspapers and major book-store chains.
I just don't get it.
I don't deny that many of these books are well written. They can be compelling stories with moving conclusions. And maybe it's therapeutic for the authors to write them. But why would people really want to read them? Doesn't life have enough sad times for you? The depressive pall that reading one of these books casts over my life can last for days. It's just not worth it.
And why aren't the happy books receiving the rave reviews and awards and special attention? Why is it that tragic stories seem more worthy somehow?
It's like the Oscars. Comedies are very rarely nominated for Best Picture, and even more rarely win. I don't think this is because they aren't as good as their more dramatic counterparts, and it's certainly not because the actors and filmmakers and crews and studios have worked less hard to produce them. It is simply that because they make us laugh, we take them less seriously. So, Juno—a perfectly delightful "little" film about family, humanity, and love—loses out to a (no doubt excellent) movie about a very murderous psychopath on the trail of some drug money.
I just don't get it.
Why shouldn't we embrace the things that make us smile? Why shouldn't we look for the laughter, and joy, and happy times in life?
I am not an advocate for censorship in any form, of course. People can write what they want, read what they want, create and view and recognize what they want. And I am not an advocate for turning our eyes away from the real horrors in the world; evil happens and should be faced and fought.
But in my free time, when I'm plunking down my money for a couple hours' entertainment, I'll keep giving the happy story more of a chance. How about you?
I don't know if I really want another weekly blog "assignment," but anything with the word "scribblings" in it is going to catch my attention.
So let's give it a try. I'm not terribly interested in this week's theme (space aliens), so I'll go with last week's:
I just don't get it
As the mother of two teenagers, I've discovered that there is a segment of young adult (YA) literature devoted to tragedy. Fathers murder mothers. Best friends go crazy. Parents abandon their children. Everything bad that can happen does. And these books seem to do very well: they garner rave reviews, win awards, and receive special attention from their publishers and, subsequently, the newspapers and major book-store chains.
I just don't get it.
I don't deny that many of these books are well written. They can be compelling stories with moving conclusions. And maybe it's therapeutic for the authors to write them. But why would people really want to read them? Doesn't life have enough sad times for you? The depressive pall that reading one of these books casts over my life can last for days. It's just not worth it.
And why aren't the happy books receiving the rave reviews and awards and special attention? Why is it that tragic stories seem more worthy somehow?
It's like the Oscars. Comedies are very rarely nominated for Best Picture, and even more rarely win. I don't think this is because they aren't as good as their more dramatic counterparts, and it's certainly not because the actors and filmmakers and crews and studios have worked less hard to produce them. It is simply that because they make us laugh, we take them less seriously. So, Juno—a perfectly delightful "little" film about family, humanity, and love—loses out to a (no doubt excellent) movie about a very murderous psychopath on the trail of some drug money.
I just don't get it.
Why shouldn't we embrace the things that make us smile? Why shouldn't we look for the laughter, and joy, and happy times in life?
I am not an advocate for censorship in any form, of course. People can write what they want, read what they want, create and view and recognize what they want. And I am not an advocate for turning our eyes away from the real horrors in the world; evil happens and should be faced and fought.
But in my free time, when I'm plunking down my money for a couple hours' entertainment, I'll keep giving the happy story more of a chance. How about you?
Friday, March 28, 2008
Hooked for ten
Okay, all I want to do is crash, but now I see the 10 things meme on Frank's and Scott's blogs, and I just gotta!
The idea is to note things you've done that you think might be unique or, at least, rare. You might be surprised by how many people end up saying "Hey, I've done that, too!" List them in your blog and let the fun begin. (Alternatively, you could add your list in comments here or put a link back to any entry you write.)
So, here you are...
1. Spent the night in a tent, with one eye and both ears open for flash floods, on a little spit of beach down one of the side canyons of Lake Powell.
2. Did a so-called deep dive (~100 feet) and floated above the Cayman Trench to learn what deep really is (~25,000 feet).
3. Sat in the cockpit of a sailboat while the crews of two Costa Rican shrimping boats argued over the privilege of selling us (my dad and me) the freshest shrimp I had/have ever eaten.
4. Sailed through the Panama Canal. Did you know it's mostly lake? But the locks are the exciting part.
5. Made a passage across the Gulf of Mexico, during hurricane season, with a wild bird sitting on my shoulder for part of the time.
6. Went bungee jumping. We have video tape of this. I could sell my scream to the sound guy for a horror movie. (Hey, somebody ask James if he does any work in horror!)
7. Went swimming with a remora. On two separate occasions, while anchored off of two different islands, on two different trips to the Caribbean.
The second time, we were such a good "shark" to the remora that he followed us as we zigzagged upwind halfway through Sir Francis Drake Channel, anchored overnight, and zigzagged the rest of the way to The Baths the next day.
8. Wrote the Help file and user-interface text for an entire software program.
9. Fell in love with, married, made babies with, and am still very happily married to a man 17 years my senior.
10. Did 36 hours of labor without drugs, loved it and the reward, and 9 months later signed up to do it all again (or at least was a willing participant in the, er, spontaneous moment in a Yakima motel). Fortunately, the hour count 9 months after that was less by more than two thirds.
The idea is to note things you've done that you think might be unique or, at least, rare. You might be surprised by how many people end up saying "Hey, I've done that, too!" List them in your blog and let the fun begin. (Alternatively, you could add your list in comments here or put a link back to any entry you write.)
So, here you are...
10 Things I've Done that You (Probably) Haven't
1. Spent the night in a tent, with one eye and both ears open for flash floods, on a little spit of beach down one of the side canyons of Lake Powell.
2. Did a so-called deep dive (~100 feet) and floated above the Cayman Trench to learn what deep really is (~25,000 feet).
3. Sat in the cockpit of a sailboat while the crews of two Costa Rican shrimping boats argued over the privilege of selling us (my dad and me) the freshest shrimp I had/have ever eaten.
4. Sailed through the Panama Canal. Did you know it's mostly lake? But the locks are the exciting part.
5. Made a passage across the Gulf of Mexico, during hurricane season, with a wild bird sitting on my shoulder for part of the time.
6. Went bungee jumping. We have video tape of this. I could sell my scream to the sound guy for a horror movie. (Hey, somebody ask James if he does any work in horror!)
7. Went swimming with a remora. On two separate occasions, while anchored off of two different islands, on two different trips to the Caribbean.
The second time, we were such a good "shark" to the remora that he followed us as we zigzagged upwind halfway through Sir Francis Drake Channel, anchored overnight, and zigzagged the rest of the way to The Baths the next day.
8. Wrote the Help file and user-interface text for an entire software program.
9. Fell in love with, married, made babies with, and am still very happily married to a man 17 years my senior.
10. Did 36 hours of labor without drugs, loved it and the reward, and 9 months later signed up to do it all again (or at least was a willing participant in the, er, spontaneous moment in a Yakima motel). Fortunately, the hour count 9 months after that was less by more than two thirds.
Friday fill-in
I wanted my theme today to be "Sleep Deprivation," but it didn't lend itself as flexibly as chocolate did. Or maybe I'm just too sleepy to be creative. I'll post the whole story behind my sleep deprivation another day.
1. Some relationships are meant to restore us even when we're cranky.
2. Kimya Dawson is the last concert I saw; it was shiny.
3. Spring should not be snowy (but it is today).
4. Oh no! I forgot to carry a toothbrush and clean underwear with me everywhere, just in case of unplanned trips to Corvallis!
5. I've recently started calming down after my battle with the nefarious Motel 6 jerk—er, I mean clerk. Actually, no, I mean Jerk.
6. Sleep never fails to make me smile.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to sleeping for a million years (okay, maybe not that long), tomorrow my plans include attending Alicen's wedding unless it's too snowy for us to get over the pass to Yakima, and sleeping, and Sunday, I want to have a safe drive home, snuggle with my girls, reconnect with Frank, and SLEEP!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Thursday 13
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You know the ones. Those smiles that add sizzle to a scene—or even an entire movie. Here are some of my favorites and the actors who pulled them off. Warning! Mild spoilers follow. 1. Verbal smirks. While Agent Kujan's back is turned, Kevin Spacey's Verbal Kint indulges in a small smile of secret amusement. The Usual Suspects 2. Vivian shines. With a certain spark that brought the world to attention, Julia Roberts uses her smile to show us the sweet romantic inside the brash prostitute. Pretty Woman 3. Vivi glows. In just one in a string of brilliant examples, Ashley Judd lights up the screen with her pearly whites. The contrasting scenes of Vivi's anguish only make that smile brighter. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood 4. Wednesday frightens. Trying to blend in with the perky terrors at summer camp, Christina Ricci's Wednesday Addams tries on a smile. The result is chilling. Addams Family Values 5. Hannibal terrifies. Anthony Hopkins said once that he found it easy to play Hannibal Lecter. If that's the case, he certainly tapped into his inner psychopath. Hannibal's smile still gives me chills 17 years later. The Silence of the Lambs 6. Maximus takes the next step. Remembering the wife and son he lost, Russell Crowe's Maximus speaks of seeing them again. Then he smiles, just a little. "But not yet." Gladiator 7. Everett chortles. "Baptism!" George Clooney. O Brother, Where Art Thou 8. Dr. Einstein is relieved. Fully prepared to be arrested, Peter Lorre's not-so-good doctor giggles with hysterical relief as he makes his exit. Arsenic and Old Lace 9. Ray loses his composure. Having entirely too much fun for someone getting paid for what he's doing, Dan Aykroyd can't quite keep a straight face as he delivers the line, "You never studied." It makes for a vibrant scene that always makes me smile. Ghostbusters 10. Shoeless Joe anticipates. "What are you grinning at, you ghost?" Ray Liotta's Joe has a secret he can't wait to share. Field of Dreams 11. Mathesar gets the joke. Ideals intact and his people saved, Enrico Colantoni's Mathesar cracks up, in true Thermian fashion. Galaxy Quest 12. Hicks doesn't need to be told. Unnecessarily reassured of Ripley's competence, Michael Bien's Corporal Hicks smiles wryly and says, "Yeah, I noticed." Aliens 13. The Pimpernel surprises. An elderly Frenchman asks Leslie Howard's Percy Blakeney if the woman he's in love with is another man's wife. Smiling with great charm, Percy replies, "No, it's my own!" The Scarlet Pimpernel And three irresistible extras: 14. Nikita breaks our hearts. Anne Parillaud's Nikita, as part of her assassin training, attempts a smile for her beauty coach (the stunning Jeanne Moreau). Nikita hasn't smiled in years and doesn't quite have it in her after all she's been through. Ouch! La Femme Nikita 15. Jack Sparrow succeeds. Our second-favorite cap'n tosses a perfectly devilish smile over one shoulder as members of the British Navy (and their fastest ship) fall neatly into his trap. Johnny Depp. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl 16. Zula prepares to kick ass. Freed from her tether by one charitable stroke of Conan's sword, Grace Jones' Zula smiles with the sure knowledge that now it's a level playing field (even though she's outnumbered about 30 to 1). Rumor has it that Grace enjoyed filming this scene so much, she injured stuntmen and had to be asked to pull her punches. Conan the Destroyer |
Monday, March 24, 2008
The Doings Report
I'm sick. That's the big news in *my* world. And I'm feeling quite pouty about it, because I had thought I was being successful fighting off this cold with Emergen-C. Of course, there's no telling how awful I'd feel without the Emergen-C.
We had a pretty quiet week. MJ and Chloe finished off "Buffy." I watched most of the last episode with them, so I, too, know how it all ends. It's pretty nervewracking watching a Joss Whedon finale, because he does not hesitate to kill off the characters we love most. And Mal (Nathan Fillion, beloved captain of the Firefly Serenity) made a brief appearance as a very badman entity. Evidently a few of the actors from "Firefly" had roles in "Buffy;" the girls filled me in on all the connections. The word (?) "religiosity" is used in both series, too.
Frank got the house caught up after whatever it was that was our most recent excuse for not tidying up after ourselves. And then on Friday I didn't have to work much, so I puttered around "helping" him (not really very much).
On Saturday, we had our lovely dinner and egg-dyeing party. Frank outdid himself with the menu. We had some Cajun boiled shrimp as an appetizer, French onion soup, chicken breats with a yummy mushroom-and-pâté sauce, sides of bread and mashed potatoes and sautéed carrots, and then bread pudding in whiskey-rum-amaretto sauce for dessert. We kind of forgot to have salad between dinner and dessert. And, needless to say, none of the Easter eggs got eaten that night.
We had a very fun night. Lori and Brian went to Italy for their honeymoon a few years back, so we picked their brains a bit. Also, Brian is really into fantasy novels and D&D, so he and Frank and the girls had a lot to discuss. And we covered a lot of cinematic territory, debating the relative merits of various films, secret girl- and boyfriends, and so on.
We also traded some brainteasers. Here's the one that Chloe figured out much faster than the Dungeon Master was prepared for a week ago:
The chamber you're in is filling with water, and there's an alphabet on the wall that you can use to enter your answer. There's no escape. If you don't figure out the riddle, your entire party will drown. The riddle is:
I live in fear but not in light,
I dwell in darkness but not in spite.
What am I?
And here's one Lori actually had presented to her (and solved) during her job interview at Microsoft many years ago:
You're on a deserted island and you're bitten by something poisonous. A witch doctor *poof* appears and gives you two bottles of pills. He tells you, you will die unless you take one pill from each bottle every day for 50 days. Then he *poof* disappears. You do as he says, but on the 48th day, you remove a pill from the first bottle, then accidentally shake two pills from the second bottle onto your hand. Now all three pills are in the palm of your hand. You can't tell them apart; they are identical in every way. If you take the wrong pills, you will die. What do you do?
I got the first one, but I wouldn't have gotten the job, or at least not after three glasses of wine. If you know the answers, put them in a Comment and save me some typing!
On Sunday, we woke the girls up to find eggs (there's a switch), and then they thoroughly explored their Easter baskets (after being testily informed that of course the Easter Bunny wouldn't have forgotten their Cadbury Eggs). Then we went out to Grandma and Papa's for Easter dinner (pesto!) and a rousing game of Cranium.
Then we came home and collapsed.
Happy Monday!
We had a pretty quiet week. MJ and Chloe finished off "Buffy." I watched most of the last episode with them, so I, too, know how it all ends. It's pretty nervewracking watching a Joss Whedon finale, because he does not hesitate to kill off the characters we love most. And Mal (Nathan Fillion, beloved captain of the Firefly Serenity) made a brief appearance as a very bad
Frank got the house caught up after whatever it was that was our most recent excuse for not tidying up after ourselves. And then on Friday I didn't have to work much, so I puttered around "helping" him (not really very much).
On Saturday, we had our lovely dinner and egg-dyeing party. Frank outdid himself with the menu. We had some Cajun boiled shrimp as an appetizer, French onion soup, chicken breats with a yummy mushroom-and-pâté sauce, sides of bread and mashed potatoes and sautéed carrots, and then bread pudding in whiskey-rum-amaretto sauce for dessert. We kind of forgot to have salad between dinner and dessert. And, needless to say, none of the Easter eggs got eaten that night.
We had a very fun night. Lori and Brian went to Italy for their honeymoon a few years back, so we picked their brains a bit. Also, Brian is really into fantasy novels and D&D, so he and Frank and the girls had a lot to discuss. And we covered a lot of cinematic territory, debating the relative merits of various films, secret girl- and boyfriends, and so on.
We also traded some brainteasers. Here's the one that Chloe figured out much faster than the Dungeon Master was prepared for a week ago:
The chamber you're in is filling with water, and there's an alphabet on the wall that you can use to enter your answer. There's no escape. If you don't figure out the riddle, your entire party will drown. The riddle is:
I live in fear but not in light,
I dwell in darkness but not in spite.
What am I?
And here's one Lori actually had presented to her (and solved) during her job interview at Microsoft many years ago:
You're on a deserted island and you're bitten by something poisonous. A witch doctor *poof* appears and gives you two bottles of pills. He tells you, you will die unless you take one pill from each bottle every day for 50 days. Then he *poof* disappears. You do as he says, but on the 48th day, you remove a pill from the first bottle, then accidentally shake two pills from the second bottle onto your hand. Now all three pills are in the palm of your hand. You can't tell them apart; they are identical in every way. If you take the wrong pills, you will die. What do you do?
I got the first one, but I wouldn't have gotten the job, or at least not after three glasses of wine. If you know the answers, put them in a Comment and save me some typing!
On Sunday, we woke the girls up to find eggs (there's a switch), and then they thoroughly explored their Easter baskets (after being testily informed that of course the Easter Bunny wouldn't have forgotten their Cadbury Eggs). Then we went out to Grandma and Papa's for Easter dinner (pesto!) and a rousing game of Cranium.
Then we came home and collapsed.
Happy Monday!
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Happy Spring Celebration!
Here are some photos from the first part of our celebration, last night. We had our friends Lori and Brian over for a most convivial evening.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Lost and found
Did any of you NCN'ers leave behind a Samsung charger? It's gray and looks like it might be for a cellphone or game unit.
The Boys Project
Oh. My. God.
Laureen, one of Frank's cruising/homeschooling online buddies, has summed up my horror over this (or rather, the need for this) quite nicely.
Laureen, one of Frank's cruising/homeschooling online buddies, has summed up my horror over this (or rather, the need for this) quite nicely.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Indexed
I've been tagged by Zenmomma for the alphabet meme. Frank and MJ have done theirs, too.
For those who don't know, I was an indexer in a former (reoccurring) life. For those who don't know, an indexer is a person who has as her job/calling/passion the creation of the lists of page-referenced keywords you find in the back of your nonfiction books. This is a surprisingly compelling occupation for those of us who take to it, and after more than a decade as an indexer, it took quite some time to become accustomed to writing in full sentences again. Writing style, restoration of.
Anyway, as you might imagine, having things alphabetized is just *right*. My books, movies, CDs, records, and often my shopping lists run from A to Z.
Imagine my surprise, then, when MJ organized our homeschooling shelves in a complete jumble of topics, authors, and genres and I LOVED it. It's a wonderful hodgepodge, a sign of unschooling at its finest. I will post a picture of that space someday.
But I digress. It's a Maier thing.
Here, appropriately, is "The Index of Ronnie," aka "Ronnie from A to Z." Enjoy!
A-Available? Of course! (Oh, for that? Only to Frank.)
B-Best friend: Stephanie
C-Cake or Pie? Pie! Especially cream pie!
D-Drink of choice: Strawberry Margarita but only on special occasions (aka, any visit to the Mexican restaurant)
E-Essential thing used everyday: I like Mary's answer ("My brain (hopefully)"), but I'll strive for originality here. My GORE-TEX rain jacket, which really ought to have been included in my list of items I'm glad — GLAD, I tell you — that I own.
F-Favorite color: I like 'em all, tend to prefer dark and bright shades (not pastels, in other words), and will tell you "purple" if pressed to pick just one.
G-Gummi bears or worms: Bears, I guess. But I'm with Qacei on this: Swedish Fish!
H-Hometown: I was born in Ellensburg, remember fondly the house in San Francisco, (mostly) grew up in Marysville, spent very memorable teen summers in San Diego, and am now very much at home in Everett.
I-Indulgence: Yes, please. Not this kind. And not this kind. And not this kind (but more power to ya, Sisters!). But maybe this kind.
J-January or February: They both make me shiver. January for its distance from tax day. February for its proximity to Spring.
K-Kids and names: MJ, Chloe, Chiara, and nephew-son Jerry.
L-Life: Lovin' every minute of it!
M-Marriage date: The ceremony and small kickass party were on August 24, 1990. The big kickass party was on August 25, 1990. Did you really think a single day of celebration was enough for us?!
N-Number of siblings: 1 sister, 1 half-brother, 1 step-brother, 1 sort-of sister, 4 sisters-in-law, and 2 brothers-in-law. And I really hope I didn't forget anybody.
O-Oranges or apples: Mandarin oranges or caramel apples, and either will do nicely, thank you.
P-Phobias: I have this mild claustrophobia that is related to my shark blood (if I stop moving, I'll die). If the way out is blocked, I get a little panicky. And I am afraid of unexpected explosions. I have no idea what the Greek for that is.
Q-Quote: "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." — William Ernest Henley, Invictus
R-Reason to smile: Oh, too many to choose from! My family. Friends. Only 304 days left. Unschooling. Our plans for this year. The small kids in my life. The teenagers in my life. MY LIFE!
S-Season: Summer.
T-Tag three people: I'llpick on honor some family members this time: Mom, Scott, Randi.
U-Unknown fact about me: I don't think there are any, or if there is one, I'm entitled to it, don't you think?
V-Vegetable you don't like: Canned peas and canned spinach.
W-Worst habit: Oh, too many to choose from! Saying "no" to my kids. Biting my nails. Staying up too late reading when I have to get up early the next day. Speeding. Coming home from work with low blood sugar. Procrastinating. Being superstitious.
X-X-rays you have had: Teeth only, I think. (knock wood)
Y-Your favorite food: Oh, too many to choose from! Chocolate. Cilantro. Frank's fried bananas. Bread.
Z-Zodiac: Gemini Air Yin Wood Snake. No wonder there are so many people inside me!
For those who don't know, I was an indexer in a former (reoccurring) life. For those who don't know, an indexer is a person who has as her job/calling/passion the creation of the lists of page-referenced keywords you find in the back of your nonfiction books. This is a surprisingly compelling occupation for those of us who take to it, and after more than a decade as an indexer, it took quite some time to become accustomed to writing in full sentences again. Writing style, restoration of.
Anyway, as you might imagine, having things alphabetized is just *right*. My books, movies, CDs, records, and often my shopping lists run from A to Z.
Imagine my surprise, then, when MJ organized our homeschooling shelves in a complete jumble of topics, authors, and genres and I LOVED it. It's a wonderful hodgepodge, a sign of unschooling at its finest. I will post a picture of that space someday.
But I digress. It's a Maier thing.
Here, appropriately, is "The Index of Ronnie," aka "Ronnie from A to Z." Enjoy!
A-Available? Of course! (Oh, for that? Only to Frank.)
B-Best friend: Stephanie
C-Cake or Pie? Pie! Especially cream pie!
D-Drink of choice: Strawberry Margarita but only on special occasions (aka, any visit to the Mexican restaurant)
E-Essential thing used everyday: I like Mary's answer ("My brain (hopefully)"), but I'll strive for originality here. My GORE-TEX rain jacket, which really ought to have been included in my list of items I'm glad — GLAD, I tell you — that I own.
F-Favorite color: I like 'em all, tend to prefer dark and bright shades (not pastels, in other words), and will tell you "purple" if pressed to pick just one.
G-Gummi bears or worms: Bears, I guess. But I'm with Qacei on this: Swedish Fish!
H-Hometown: I was born in Ellensburg, remember fondly the house in San Francisco, (mostly) grew up in Marysville, spent very memorable teen summers in San Diego, and am now very much at home in Everett.
I-Indulgence: Yes, please. Not this kind. And not this kind. And not this kind (but more power to ya, Sisters!). But maybe this kind.
J-January or February: They both make me shiver. January for its distance from tax day. February for its proximity to Spring.
K-Kids and names: MJ, Chloe, Chiara, and nephew-son Jerry.
L-Life: Lovin' every minute of it!
M-Marriage date: The ceremony and small kickass party were on August 24, 1990. The big kickass party was on August 25, 1990. Did you really think a single day of celebration was enough for us?!
N-Number of siblings: 1 sister, 1 half-brother, 1 step-brother, 1 sort-of sister, 4 sisters-in-law, and 2 brothers-in-law. And I really hope I didn't forget anybody.
O-Oranges or apples: Mandarin oranges or caramel apples, and either will do nicely, thank you.
P-Phobias: I have this mild claustrophobia that is related to my shark blood (if I stop moving, I'll die). If the way out is blocked, I get a little panicky. And I am afraid of unexpected explosions. I have no idea what the Greek for that is.
Q-Quote: "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." — William Ernest Henley, Invictus
R-Reason to smile: Oh, too many to choose from! My family. Friends. Only 304 days left. Unschooling. Our plans for this year. The small kids in my life. The teenagers in my life. MY LIFE!
S-Season: Summer.
T-Tag three people: I'll
U-Unknown fact about me: I don't think there are any, or if there is one, I'm entitled to it, don't you think?
V-Vegetable you don't like: Canned peas and canned spinach.
W-Worst habit: Oh, too many to choose from! Saying "no" to my kids. Biting my nails. Staying up too late reading when I have to get up early the next day. Speeding. Coming home from work with low blood sugar. Procrastinating. Being superstitious.
X-X-rays you have had: Teeth only, I think. (knock wood)
Y-Your favorite food: Oh, too many to choose from! Chocolate. Cilantro. Frank's fried bananas. Bread.
Z-Zodiac: Gemini Air Yin Wood Snake. No wonder there are so many people inside me!
Friday fill-in
For this week's fill-in, I chose "chocolate" as my theme before seeing the questions. Here's how that worked out.
1. German chocolate cake is so exciting!
2. Strawberry fields provide fondue.
3. A chocolate meringue swirl sounds like it would taste delicious!
4. Why does chocolate make me feel so good?! (Oh, yeah, it's the 'happy' chemicals!)
5. A chocolate river like in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is something I've always wanted to see.
6. It's sad when the chocolate's gone.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to getting off early from work and some chocolate, tomorrow my plans include dinner with friends and some chocolate, and Sunday, I want to help my kids eat all the chocolate they receive from the Easter Bunny!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Movies of course
Inspired by my inspired TT for next week (yes, it's written already), I have corrected a foolish oversight and added a new label to the blog: movies. It already has quite a few posts attached to it. Next week's TT will be one more.
Oh no we didn't
I just noticed the price tag shown on the Toto Washlet page I linked to in my last post. No, ours was not that expensive. Oy!
Thursday 13
|
(or share ownership in) We have some friends who are gearing up to set sail on their catamaran, the s/v Don Quixote. They've been purging belongings, in stages, for several months, realizing with each purge that the things they found essential last time are just not. I lack their perspective. I have many, many essential belongings. Here are 13 of the most essential. My MEBs. 1. My books. I am not one of those people who can read a book and call it done. No sirree, Bob. I read decent books at least twice, and I read good books... well, I haven't found a limit yet. 2. Ten thousand photos. They're jumbled, stacked, piled, stuffed, tucked away, saved to disc, boxed up, packed up, scattered about, and even occasionally framed or put into albums, and every one of them is precious. Especially photos of my babies! (at any age) 3. My bed. Our bed. The marriage bed. Haven, heaven, honeymoon, home. This is where I sleep, enjoy my books, read with my kids, talk with my kids, snuggle with my kids, sleep with my kids (rarely these days), contemplate the universe, and, above all, revel in and renew the force and solace and source that is my precious marriage to Frank. Plus our new bed is damned pretty. 4. The Super Toilet. Yes, it's sheer indulgence. Yes, it was too expensive. But oh how I love our Toto Washlet! Try sitting down on a heated toilet seat in the middle of a cold January night, just once, and then tell me it isn't an essential item! (And our friends like it, too!) 5. The computer. As a kid, with a dad in the industry, I had the privilege of playing with one of the first personal computers ever. I've been hooked ever since and now can't imagine life without one. This is where I WRITE, people! 5b. The wrist brace that lets me use the computer without agony. 6. Our video entertainment paraphernalia. Compared to the more video-oriented members of my family, I barely watch any TV at all, but our TVs and players and library of movies are cherished possessions nonetheless. We have movies to suit any mood, and having them *right there* when I need them is a pleasure. 7. My eyeglasses. The trees have leaves. My daughters have eyelashes. I can proofread billboards. I can see the computer screen without squinting or leaning waaaay forward. My eyeglasses are a wondrous thing. 8. My Crocs. Actually, all my shoes. But especially my Crocs. Hmm, it's about time for a new pair... 9. Certain treasured items of clothing. My Seahawks jersey, my Firefly t-shirt, my LIFE is Good t-shirt, my ancient but comfortably oversized "Windows 2000 Resource Kit" button-down shirt, my plush and racy-red bathrobe that Frank bought for me. Wearing these items never fails to make me feel good. Comfort clothes. 10. Our Sonicare toothbrush. I haven't had a cavity since we went sonic years and years ago. (knock wood) (yes, I know an atheist shouldn't be so superstitious, but I am ever All About the Contradictions) 11. The washer, dryer, dishwasher, microwave, and refrigerator. I lived on a boat without these for a while. (No, the boat refer does not count.) I appreciate them very much now. Very much. 12. The stuff in my hopechest. Mementos, letters, dried wedding flowers, newspaper clippings, baby clothes. It's our accumulative time capsule. 13. The jewelry Frank has given me over the years. Especially my wedding ring. This was one of the easiest TTs I've done. :-) Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! |
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
This time
If you missed Barack's speech—the entire speech and not just the soundbites—you can watch or read it here:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/samgrahamfelsen/gGBbKG
Here are the soundbites I like:
"I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible."
"I can no more disown [Reverend Wright] than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother – a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe."
"The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we’ve never really worked through – a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American." (emphasis mine)
"But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races."
"Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze – a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns – this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding."
"The profound mistake of Reverend Wright’s sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It’s that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made; as if this country – a country that has made it possible for one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a coalition of white and black; Latino and Asian, rich and poor, young and old -- is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past. But what we know -- what we have seen – is that America can change. That is the true genius of this nation. What we have already achieved gives us hope – the audacity to hope – for what we can and must achieve tomorrow."
"For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle – as we did in the OJ trial – or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina - or as fodder for the nightly news. We can play Reverend Wright’s sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she’s playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.
"We can do that.
"But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we’ll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.
"That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, 'Not this time.'"
"This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn’t look like you might take your job; it’s that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit."
"I would not be running for President if I didn’t believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. And today, whenever I find myself feeling doubtful or cynical about this possibility, what gives me the most hope is the next generation – the young people whose attitudes and beliefs and openness to change have already made history in this election."
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/samgrahamfelsen/gGBbKG
Here are the soundbites I like:
"I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible."
"I can no more disown [Reverend Wright] than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother – a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe."
"The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we’ve never really worked through – a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American." (emphasis mine)
"But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races."
"Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze – a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns – this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding."
"The profound mistake of Reverend Wright’s sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It’s that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made; as if this country – a country that has made it possible for one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a coalition of white and black; Latino and Asian, rich and poor, young and old -- is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past. But what we know -- what we have seen – is that America can change. That is the true genius of this nation. What we have already achieved gives us hope – the audacity to hope – for what we can and must achieve tomorrow."
"For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle – as we did in the OJ trial – or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina - or as fodder for the nightly news. We can play Reverend Wright’s sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she’s playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.
"We can do that.
"But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we’ll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.
"That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, 'Not this time.'"
"This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn’t look like you might take your job; it’s that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit."
"I would not be running for President if I didn’t believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. And today, whenever I find myself feeling doubtful or cynical about this possibility, what gives me the most hope is the next generation – the young people whose attitudes and beliefs and openness to change have already made history in this election."
TMI
Okay, I couldn't resist this one from Frank's blog.
Level 1
( ) Smoked a cigarette.
( ) Smoked a cigar.
(x) Kissed a member of the same sex.
(x) Drank alcohol.
Level 2
(x) Are/been in love. (For a coupla decades now.)
(x) Been dumped.
(x) Shoplifted.
( ) Been fired.
( ) Been in a fist fight.
Level 3
(x) Had a crush on an older person. (Umm, yeah!)
(x) Skipped school.
(x) Slept with a classmate. (Frank and I have taken classes together.)
(x) Seen someone/something die.
Level 4
( ) Had/have a crush on one of your friends who is now on Facebook. (I don't do Facebook.)
( ) Been to Paris.
( ) Been to Spain.
(x) Been on a plane.
(x) Thrown up from drinking.
Level 5
(x) Eaten sushi.
( ) Been snowboarding.
( ) Met someone BECAUSE of Facebook.
( ) Been in a mosh pit.
Level 6
(sort of) Been in an abusive relationship.
(x) Taken pain killers.
( ) Love/loved someone you can’t have.
(x) Laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by.
(x) Made a snow angel.
Level 7
(x) Had a tea party.
(x) Flown a kite.
(x) Built a sand castle.
(x) Gone mudding (offroading).
(x) Played dress up.
Level 8
(x) Jumped into a pile of leaves.
(x) Gone sledding.
(x) Cheated while playing a game.
(x) Been lonely.
(x) Fallen asleep at work/school.
Level 9
(x) Watched the sun set.
(x) Felt an earthquake.
( ) Killed a snake.
Level 10
(x) Been tickled.
(x) Been robbed/vandalized.
( ) Been cheated on.
(x) Been misunderstood.
Level 11
(x) Won a contest.
( ) Been suspended from school.
(sort of) Had detention.
(x) Been in a car/motorcycle accident.
Level 12
(x) Had/have braces.
(x) Eaten a whole pint of ice cream in one night.
(x) Danced in the moonlight.
Level 13
(x) Hated the way you look.
(x) Witnessed a crime.
( ) Pole danced.
(x) Questioned your heart.
(x) Been obsessed with post-it-notes.
Level 14
(x) Squished barefoot through the mud.
(x) Been lost.
(x) Been to the opposite side of the world.
(x) Swam in the ocean.
(x) Felt like you were dying. (Bungee jumping creates this feeling quite effectively.)
Level 15
(x) Cried yourself to sleep.
(x) Played cops and robbers.
(x) Recently colored with crayons/colored pencils/markers.
(x) Sang karaoke.
(x) Paid for a meal with only coins.
Level 16
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn’t.
(x) Made prank phone calls.
(x) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose.
(x) Kissed in the rain. (Duh! I live in Western Washington!)
Level 17
(x) Written a letter to Santa Claus.
(x) Watched the sun set/sun rise with someone you care/cared about.
(x) Blown bubbles.
(x) Made a bonfire on the beach or anywhere.
Level 18
( ) Crashed a party.
(x) Have travelled more than 5 days with a car full of people.
(x) Gone rollerskating/blading.
(x) Had a wish come true.
(x) Slept with a member of the same sex. (Slept, yes.)
Level 19
(x) Worn pearls.
(x) Jumped off a bridge.
( ) Screamed “penis” or “vagina”.
(x) Swam with dolphins.
Level 20
(x) Got your tongue stuck to a pole/freezer/ice cube.
(x) Kissed a fish. (LOL. Okay, the answer to this would have been no, except we have this Nemo toy that I was kissing the other night while playing with Lila.)
(x) Worn the opposite sex’s clothes.
(x) Sat on a roof top.
Level 21
(x) Screamed at the top of your lungs.
( ) Done/attempted a one-handed cartwheel.
(x) Talked on the phone for more than six hours (in one day).
(x) Recently stayed up for a while talking to someone you care about.
Level 22
(x) Picked and ate an apple right off the tree.
(x) Climbed a tree.
(x) Had/been in a tree house.
(x) Been scared to watch scary movies alone.
Level 23
(x) Believed in ghosts. (I don't know about belief, but I've had some serious heebie-jeebies.)
(x) Have had more than thirty pairs of shoes (not necessarily all at once).
( ) Gone streaking.
( ) Visited jail.
Level 24
( ) Played chicken.
(x) Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on.
(x) Been told you’re hot by a complete stranger.
( ) Broken a bone.
(x) Been easily amused.
Level 25
(x) Caught a fish then ate it later.
( ) Made a porn video.
(x) Caught a butterfly.
(x) Laughed so hard you cried.
( ) Cried so hard you laughed.
Level 26
(x) Mooned/flashed someone.
(x) Had someone moon/flash you.
( ) Cheated on a test.
(x) Forgotten someone’s name.
( ) French braided someone’s hair.
(x) Gone skinny dipping.
( ) Been kicked out of your house.
(x) Tried to hurt yourself.
Level 27
(x) Rode a roller coaster.
(x) Went scuba-diving/snorkelling.
(x) Had a cavity.
(x) Black-mailed someone. (emotional blackmail)
(x) Been black mailed. (see above)
Level 28
( ) Been used.
(x) Fell going up the stairs.
( ) Licked a cat.
(x) Bitten someone.
(x) Licked someone - not in private places…
Level 29
( ) Been shot at/or at gunpoint.
(x) Had sex in the rain.
( ) Flattened someone’s tires.
(x) Rode your car/truck until the gas light came on. (Every week.)
(x) Got five dollars or less worth of gas.
Level 1
( ) Smoked a cigarette.
( ) Smoked a cigar.
(x) Kissed a member of the same sex.
(x) Drank alcohol.
Level 2
(x) Are/been in love. (For a coupla decades now.)
(x) Been dumped.
(x) Shoplifted.
( ) Been fired.
( ) Been in a fist fight.
Level 3
(x) Had a crush on an older person. (Umm, yeah!)
(x) Skipped school.
(x) Slept with a classmate. (Frank and I have taken classes together.)
(x) Seen someone/something die.
Level 4
( ) Had/have a crush on one of your friends who is now on Facebook. (I don't do Facebook.)
( ) Been to Paris.
( ) Been to Spain.
(x) Been on a plane.
(x) Thrown up from drinking.
Level 5
(x) Eaten sushi.
( ) Been snowboarding.
( ) Met someone BECAUSE of Facebook.
( ) Been in a mosh pit.
Level 6
(sort of) Been in an abusive relationship.
(x) Taken pain killers.
( ) Love/loved someone you can’t have.
(x) Laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by.
(x) Made a snow angel.
Level 7
(x) Had a tea party.
(x) Flown a kite.
(x) Built a sand castle.
(x) Gone mudding (offroading).
(x) Played dress up.
Level 8
(x) Jumped into a pile of leaves.
(x) Gone sledding.
(x) Cheated while playing a game.
(x) Been lonely.
(x) Fallen asleep at work/school.
Level 9
(x) Watched the sun set.
(x) Felt an earthquake.
( ) Killed a snake.
Level 10
(x) Been tickled.
(x) Been robbed/vandalized.
( ) Been cheated on.
(x) Been misunderstood.
Level 11
(x) Won a contest.
( ) Been suspended from school.
(sort of) Had detention.
(x) Been in a car/motorcycle accident.
Level 12
(x) Had/have braces.
(x) Eaten a whole pint of ice cream in one night.
(x) Danced in the moonlight.
Level 13
(x) Hated the way you look.
(x) Witnessed a crime.
( ) Pole danced.
(x) Questioned your heart.
(x) Been obsessed with post-it-notes.
Level 14
(x) Squished barefoot through the mud.
(x) Been lost.
(x) Been to the opposite side of the world.
(x) Swam in the ocean.
(x) Felt like you were dying. (Bungee jumping creates this feeling quite effectively.)
Level 15
(x) Cried yourself to sleep.
(x) Played cops and robbers.
(x) Recently colored with crayons/colored pencils/markers.
(x) Sang karaoke.
(x) Paid for a meal with only coins.
Level 16
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn’t.
(x) Made prank phone calls.
(x) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose.
(x) Kissed in the rain. (Duh! I live in Western Washington!)
Level 17
(x) Written a letter to Santa Claus.
(x) Watched the sun set/sun rise with someone you care/cared about.
(x) Blown bubbles.
(x) Made a bonfire on the beach or anywhere.
Level 18
( ) Crashed a party.
(x) Have travelled more than 5 days with a car full of people.
(x) Gone rollerskating/blading.
(x) Had a wish come true.
(x) Slept with a member of the same sex. (Slept, yes.)
Level 19
(x) Worn pearls.
(x) Jumped off a bridge.
( ) Screamed “penis” or “vagina”.
(x) Swam with dolphins.
Level 20
(x) Got your tongue stuck to a pole/freezer/ice cube.
(x) Kissed a fish. (LOL. Okay, the answer to this would have been no, except we have this Nemo toy that I was kissing the other night while playing with Lila.)
(x) Worn the opposite sex’s clothes.
(x) Sat on a roof top.
Level 21
(x) Screamed at the top of your lungs.
( ) Done/attempted a one-handed cartwheel.
(x) Talked on the phone for more than six hours (in one day).
(x) Recently stayed up for a while talking to someone you care about.
Level 22
(x) Picked and ate an apple right off the tree.
(x) Climbed a tree.
(x) Had/been in a tree house.
(x) Been scared to watch scary movies alone.
Level 23
(x) Believed in ghosts. (I don't know about belief, but I've had some serious heebie-jeebies.)
(x) Have had more than thirty pairs of shoes (not necessarily all at once).
( ) Gone streaking.
( ) Visited jail.
Level 24
( ) Played chicken.
(x) Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on.
(x) Been told you’re hot by a complete stranger.
( ) Broken a bone.
(x) Been easily amused.
Level 25
(x) Caught a fish then ate it later.
( ) Made a porn video.
(x) Caught a butterfly.
(x) Laughed so hard you cried.
( ) Cried so hard you laughed.
Level 26
(x) Mooned/flashed someone.
(x) Had someone moon/flash you.
( ) Cheated on a test.
(x) Forgotten someone’s name.
( ) French braided someone’s hair.
(x) Gone skinny dipping.
( ) Been kicked out of your house.
(x) Tried to hurt yourself.
Level 27
(x) Rode a roller coaster.
(x) Went scuba-diving/snorkelling.
(x) Had a cavity.
(x) Black-mailed someone. (emotional blackmail)
(x) Been black mailed. (see above)
Level 28
( ) Been used.
(x) Fell going up the stairs.
( ) Licked a cat.
(x) Bitten someone.
(x) Licked someone - not in private places…
Level 29
( ) Been shot at/or at gunpoint.
(x) Had sex in the rain.
( ) Flattened someone’s tires.
(x) Rode your car/truck until the gas light came on. (Every week.)
(x) Got five dollars or less worth of gas.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Awww
Zenmomma has given me this wonderful little kudo. Provide the woman with a heated toilet seat for a few days and she'll give you anything! Thanks, Mary! :-)I definitely want to pass this award right back to her, because there's no blog I check more frequently than hers. I'm also passing it on to:
- SAM, whose blog posts are full of beauty and wit, and whose friendship has been making my days for many years now.
- Kelli, who, judging by her attitudes toward life and family and fun, must be my secret twin. (Mom, is there something you haven't told me?)
- MJ, who continually proves with her blog that just because you live with somebody doesn't mean you *really* know how wonderful they are.
- Arun, whose blog captures not only the joys of unschooling but the journey to get there.
- And Frank, for never being afraid to say the outrageous thing (see E), and for the Latin, of course, but mostly for his status as the hero in my life.
1. Write a post with links to five blogs that make your day.
2. Acknowledge the post of the award giver.
3. Display the “You Make My Day Award” logo.
4. Tell the award winners that they have won by commenting on their blogs or emailing them the news.
Update on Tom
Great news from the surgeon today!
Tom's abdominal aortic aneurism is small enough that the surgeon doesn't want to operate. It's a 5, and they typically wouldn't operate until it's a 5-1/2. He said these AAAs are really common, it took a lot of years for Tom's to grow as big as it is, and it will take a long time for it to get any bigger.
They'll do another CT scan for peace of mind in four months. In the meantime, Tom is to resume his normal activities, monitor his blood pressure, and avoid lifting anything over 80 pounds.
For the eventual treatment, they are looking at a new surgical method that's being studied in England. It involves going in through the groin to put in some fancy new stent. The surgeon says if Tom is too worried about it, they can do the regular (invasive) surgery through the stomach, but Doc strongly recommends waiting for the new procedure to be approved.
Anyway, all is well just like we knew it would be. Hurray!
Tom's abdominal aortic aneurism is small enough that the surgeon doesn't want to operate. It's a 5, and they typically wouldn't operate until it's a 5-1/2. He said these AAAs are really common, it took a lot of years for Tom's to grow as big as it is, and it will take a long time for it to get any bigger.
They'll do another CT scan for peace of mind in four months. In the meantime, Tom is to resume his normal activities, monitor his blood pressure, and avoid lifting anything over 80 pounds.
For the eventual treatment, they are looking at a new surgical method that's being studied in England. It involves going in through the groin to put in some fancy new stent. The surgeon says if Tom is too worried about it, they can do the regular (invasive) surgery through the stomach, but Doc strongly recommends waiting for the new procedure to be approved.
Anyway, all is well just like we knew it would be. Hurray!
The Doings Report
We've had a pretty quiet week and weekend. On Tuesday, we had a quiet celebration at home, just the four of us, for Chloe's actual birthday. I got off early from work, Frank made Cornish game hens, and Chloe opened her gifts from us. It was a collection of little things—some clothes, some books (including the aforementioned massage book which has paid off so nicely for moi), and a snazzy little purse—but she seemed well pleased with them, and she's well stocked for Europe now.
On Wednesday, I had a deadline, so I had to miss out on our monthly STUN game day. Frank filled in for me, and it sounds like they had a pretty good time. They ate leftover birthday cake (a towering chocolate concoction), and they played Makin' Groceries (a humorous New Orleans version of Go Fish) and Guillotine.
With the help of some birthday money, Chloe and MJ have been continuing their Buffy marathon. This means their schedule has been erratic and we haven't seen much of them, aside from their sudden, laughing appearances between episodes. But it is an incredible bonding experience for the two of them, giving them a whole new language, it seems, for speaking to each other. Joss Whedon has scored another hit with my daughters.
At some point during the week, I got caught up with Cherie. She and Steve and Pat are home from Puerto Vallarta, and Cherie and Steve have taken possession of their new RV. They'll leave soon for a "shakedown cruise" to Texas.
And Frank spoke to Judy. She and Marty are settled into the new place and getting accustomed to their new routine. Now Jerry and Cori are taking a turn househunting. They are looking for a place in Metairie, closer to their jobs, due to some unsurprising but still frustrating developments with MawMaw Jerce (as Frank calls her) and the house in Chalmette. It sounds like Jerry has adopted a healthy attitude, figuring the money he's put into the house is not much more than they would have paid in rent for these months. But they are still losing out on all that sweat equity, not to mention the discomfort they put up with living in a hurricane-ravaged home, and it can't be easy for him to face yet another betrayal from that quarter.
Sunday, we and the girls went in separate directions. The girls attended an all-day private Dungeons and Dragons tournament. I haven't heard the full report yet, but the early word is that they had mega fun and Chloe thwarted the Dungeon Master at one point by figuring out a riddle he'd been sure would stump them for a while.
Meanwhile, Frank and I went out to the beach for Erin's birthday. It was a small group with four of the girls missing (Chelsea and Megan are sick), but the ones who were there had a fine time indeed. And my mom made her incredible fried chicken. Yum!
Tom's appointment with the surgeon is tomorrow. Please send outpatient good vibes his and our way!
Coming up this week: more work for me but a nice, sane amount; some minor plumbing repairs for Frank to the Super Toilet which is leaking (thankfully) from the clean-water side; and I assume some more Buffy for the girls. On Saturday, we're hopefully having our Seahawks buddies (and my coworkers) Lori and Brian over for some dinner and a creative session of Easter egg dyeing. I predict some eggs in blue and green. :-)
On Wednesday, I had a deadline, so I had to miss out on our monthly STUN game day. Frank filled in for me, and it sounds like they had a pretty good time. They ate leftover birthday cake (a towering chocolate concoction), and they played Makin' Groceries (a humorous New Orleans version of Go Fish) and Guillotine.
With the help of some birthday money, Chloe and MJ have been continuing their Buffy marathon. This means their schedule has been erratic and we haven't seen much of them, aside from their sudden, laughing appearances between episodes. But it is an incredible bonding experience for the two of them, giving them a whole new language, it seems, for speaking to each other. Joss Whedon has scored another hit with my daughters.
At some point during the week, I got caught up with Cherie. She and Steve and Pat are home from Puerto Vallarta, and Cherie and Steve have taken possession of their new RV. They'll leave soon for a "shakedown cruise" to Texas.
And Frank spoke to Judy. She and Marty are settled into the new place and getting accustomed to their new routine. Now Jerry and Cori are taking a turn househunting. They are looking for a place in Metairie, closer to their jobs, due to some unsurprising but still frustrating developments with MawMaw Jerce (as Frank calls her) and the house in Chalmette. It sounds like Jerry has adopted a healthy attitude, figuring the money he's put into the house is not much more than they would have paid in rent for these months. But they are still losing out on all that sweat equity, not to mention the discomfort they put up with living in a hurricane-ravaged home, and it can't be easy for him to face yet another betrayal from that quarter.
Sunday, we and the girls went in separate directions. The girls attended an all-day private Dungeons and Dragons tournament. I haven't heard the full report yet, but the early word is that they had mega fun and Chloe thwarted the Dungeon Master at one point by figuring out a riddle he'd been sure would stump them for a while.
Meanwhile, Frank and I went out to the beach for Erin's birthday. It was a small group with four of the girls missing (Chelsea and Megan are sick), but the ones who were there had a fine time indeed. And my mom made her incredible fried chicken. Yum!
Tom's appointment with the surgeon is tomorrow. Please send outpatient good vibes his and our way!
Coming up this week: more work for me but a nice, sane amount; some minor plumbing repairs for Frank to the Super Toilet which is leaking (thankfully) from the clean-water side; and I assume some more Buffy for the girls. On Saturday, we're hopefully having our Seahawks buddies (and my coworkers) Lori and Brian over for some dinner and a creative session of Easter egg dyeing. I predict some eggs in blue and green. :-)
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Prattle
INTRANSITIVE VERB: To talk or chatter idly or meaninglessly; babble or prate.
When I was in high school, my friends and I—A and B students all—would spend our class time writing multiple-page notes to each other. Since our lives were really not very exciting (however dramatic we found them at the time), there tended to be a lot of passages in these notes that lamented the slow passage of time til the end of the period. "Well, there are 20 minutes of class left now... Well, there are 15 minutes of class left now..."
For twelve pages.
Not very scintillating stuff, and yet we all loved writing and receiving those notes. We were addicted to the writing—full of doodles and hand-lettered fonts and lots of talk of crawlstrokes (our code word for guys' behinds)—and we thrived on that constant connection to each other.
Nowadays for me, there's blogging. I'm hooked. And sometimes I want to blog so badly that I'm tempted to get online and tell you all how many minutes until my next meeting at work or until the clothes can come out of the dryer.
I'll spare you.
But it's been interesting to watch my daughters develop their own outlets for communication. Through blogging, fanfiction, e-mail, instant messaging, text messaging, and MySpace profiles, bulletins, and photo comments, they stretch their creative wings and savor that same feeling of constant connection to their friends. I am lucky enough to get glimpses of this content now and then, just as my mother probably came across the occasional note left in a pocket, but it's not really for me.
And it's not really about the content (although theirs is pretty damned good). It's about that connection. Anyone who can look at what they produce and see "a waste of time" is missing the point.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
By request
Ask and ye shall receive. (Likening myself to God here, but hey, why not?)
Zamozo requested links to more info about the cool kids in my unschooling tour of the world. They have been added, where available. Happy touring!
For more info about MJ and Chloe, pick a post, any post. They turn up on this blog with great regularity. :-)
Zamozo requested links to more info about the cool kids in my unschooling tour of the world. They have been added, where available. Happy touring!
For more info about MJ and Chloe, pick a post, any post. They turn up on this blog with great regularity. :-)
Friday, March 14, 2008
Oh, you're so lucky!
Yesterday, our dear president spoke to some folks serving in Afghanistan. He said this:
I must say, I'm a little envious. If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed.
I wish he were there, too.
I must say, I'm a little envious. If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed.
I wish he were there, too.
The commandments
I have fallen in love with a number of songs on my—er, I mean our—cherished "FBS Best of 2007" CDs, but there is one song in particular that is rocking my world right now. MJ swears she has played this for me in the past; I guess I wasn't *ready* for it then. But I'm ready now.
The song: "Thou Shalt Always Kill" by Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip
Here is the music video.
And here are the lyrics (about halfway down).
My favorite bits:
The song: "Thou Shalt Always Kill" by Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip
Here is the music video.
And here are the lyrics (about halfway down).
My favorite bits:
- Thou shalt not use poetry, art or music to get into girls’ pants. Use it to get into their heads.
- Thou shalt give equal worth to tragedies that occur in non-English speaking countries as to those that occur in English speaking countries.
- Thou shalt remember that guns, bitches and bling were never part of the four elements and never will be.
- When I say “Hey” thou shalt not say “Ho”. When I say “Hip” thou shalt not say “Hop”. When I say "he say, she say, we say, make some noise" - kill me.
- Thou shalt spell the word “Pheonix” P-H-E-O-N-I-X not P-H-O-E-N-I-X, regardless of what the Oxford English Dictionary tells you.
- Thou shalt think for yourselves.
A quick unschooling tour of the world
Recently in the Wide World of Unschooling...
Unschooling rocks!
- Dagney made and sold buttons - Massachusetts, U.S.A.
- Linnea danced in a hailstorm - U.K.
- Kyra shoveled the driveway - Minnesota, U.S.A.
- Effie started rockin' (ain't never gonna stop) - British Columbia, Canada
- Jake learned to read music - Oregon, U.S.A.
- Jesse and Owen Brawl'd - Virginia, U.S.A.
- Marty, Hunter, and Logan did battle in separate SCA tournaments - New Mexico and Washington, U.S.A.
- Chloe learned about massage techniques and practiced on her (grateful) mother - Washington, U.S.A.
- MJ demonstrated her compliment-ary vocabulary - Washington, U.S.A.
- M and Z got a new puppy - Australia
- Galaxy bonded with her sister - U.S.A.
Unschooling rocks!
Friday fill-in
1. Contact may cause JOY. (See my previous post.)
2. The parties hereto do mutually agree that living in The Now will bring rich rewards.
3. Disney parks are really fun and really expensive and best enjoyed with fellow unschoolers. While Frank hangs out at the hotel.
4. Everything sounds really good right about now! Life is good.
5. I positively absolutely definitely without doubt celebrate the day Frank came into my life.
6. Craig's videos always make me smile. :-) Especially this one.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to... something... there must be something... ohmigosh, we have no plans for tonight (*gasp*), tomorrow my plans include hmmmm, give me a minute, and Sunday, I want to find (and probably wash) something green to wear on Monday!
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Scenes from a Mexican restaurant
Table 1 - a booth in a quiet corner of the restaurat
Our actors: a family of four
mom, dad, 2-month-old baby boy in a carrier on the floor, 4yo girl
7:45 p.m.
Mom: "Eat your dinner. How many times do I have to tell you?"
Girl: (mumbles)
Dad: "You're going straight to bed when we get home."
7:50 p.m.
The 4yo is standing on the seat in the corner of the booth.
Her head barely clears the back of the booth.
Mom: "Sit down."
Mom: "I need you to sit down."
Mom: "Eat your dinner."
7:55 p.m.
Mom: "Do you want a mushroom?"
(this was the only thing I heard the mom say that wasn't an order)
8:00 p.m.
Mom: "I told you to sit down."
Table 2 - a 10-top nearby
Our actors: an extended family group
Nearest us are 4 boys about age 10, probably cousins.
They are watched closely by a mom-type.
8:00 p.m. - as they take their seats
Mom-type: "First, let's get out the antibacterial lotion."
8:05 p.m. - as the boys are served some mild salsa, just for them to share
Mom-type: "No double-dipping. Now, here's what you do. You dip the chip, then you turn it. Hold the spot you bit before. Then dip again."
Now let's return to Table 1
Let's imagine what the same girl might have experienced tonight if she'd been born into an unschooling family. She would have been as safe, as polite, as well fed, but there would have been real conversation, laughter, a sense of adventure about the food they were eating. The Mexican waiter might have been invited to share a word or two of Spanish. The dad might have made goofy faces at her across the table. The mom might have stroked her hair or pulled her close for a one-armed hug. The murals on the wall would have been noted, discussed, daydreamed over.
The girl might have been willing to speak above a whisper.
And back to Table 2
Unschooling parents worry about germs, too. We dread having sick kids as much as the next person. But can we get real for just a second here? If one of those boys is germy tonight, there's no avoiding the others coming into contact with said germs. When kids socialize, contact is part of the deal. They wrestle; they have thumb wars; they do high fives, low fives, and on-the-side fives; they do "Oh say, oh playmate" and make cat's cradles; they hug, poke, touch, tickle, tap, and bump. They exchange hats. They hang each other's spoons on their noses.
This is the good stuff, people. This is what a childhood dinner out with your cousins is all about.
Besides, 48% of respondents in a recent poll on MSNBC think the "flip the chip" double-dip is bad, bad, bad. How can nearly half of us be wrong?
Oh, wait, I forgot for a minute what country I live in.
Our actors: a family of four
mom, dad, 2-month-old baby boy in a carrier on the floor, 4yo girl
7:45 p.m.
Mom: "Eat your dinner. How many times do I have to tell you?"
Girl: (mumbles)
Dad: "You're going straight to bed when we get home."
7:50 p.m.
The 4yo is standing on the seat in the corner of the booth.
Her head barely clears the back of the booth.
Mom: "Sit down."
Mom: "I need you to sit down."
Mom: "Eat your dinner."
7:55 p.m.
Mom: "Do you want a mushroom?"
(this was the only thing I heard the mom say that wasn't an order)
8:00 p.m.
Mom: "I told you to sit down."
Table 2 - a 10-top nearby
Our actors: an extended family group
Nearest us are 4 boys about age 10, probably cousins.
They are watched closely by a mom-type.
8:00 p.m. - as they take their seats
Mom-type: "First, let's get out the antibacterial lotion."
8:05 p.m. - as the boys are served some mild salsa, just for them to share
Mom-type: "No double-dipping. Now, here's what you do. You dip the chip, then you turn it. Hold the spot you bit before. Then dip again."
Now let's return to Table 1
Let's imagine what the same girl might have experienced tonight if she'd been born into an unschooling family. She would have been as safe, as polite, as well fed, but there would have been real conversation, laughter, a sense of adventure about the food they were eating. The Mexican waiter might have been invited to share a word or two of Spanish. The dad might have made goofy faces at her across the table. The mom might have stroked her hair or pulled her close for a one-armed hug. The murals on the wall would have been noted, discussed, daydreamed over.
The girl might have been willing to speak above a whisper.
And back to Table 2
Unschooling parents worry about germs, too. We dread having sick kids as much as the next person. But can we get real for just a second here? If one of those boys is germy tonight, there's no avoiding the others coming into contact with said germs. When kids socialize, contact is part of the deal. They wrestle; they have thumb wars; they do high fives, low fives, and on-the-side fives; they do "Oh say, oh playmate" and make cat's cradles; they hug, poke, touch, tickle, tap, and bump. They exchange hats. They hang each other's spoons on their noses.
This is the good stuff, people. This is what a childhood dinner out with your cousins is all about.
Besides, 48% of respondents in a recent poll on MSNBC think the "flip the chip" double-dip is bad, bad, bad. How can nearly half of us be wrong?
Oh, wait, I forgot for a minute what country I live in.
Thursday 13
 |
1. My age when I started dating Frank. And also... The number of Thurday Thirteens I have completed. Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! |
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Our blue period
Well, I took a deep breath and did it. The blog has a new template. It was scary! But maybe all this blue will soothe me. And now the blog has those handy Older and Newer links at the bottom.
Bear with me while I get the formatting kinks and color scheme worked out.
Bear with me while I get the formatting kinks and color scheme worked out.
The many faces of Chloe
MJ has put together a lovely little retrospective of Chloe's life so far. Check it out!
http://awesomerandomosity.blogspot.com/2008/03/happy-birthday-chloe.html
http://awesomerandomosity.blogspot.com/2008/03/happy-birthday-chloe.html
I spanked my child today
Fourteen times. Gleefully. While both of us laughed like loons.
What a strange tradition.
Happy Birthday, Chloe!
What a strange tradition.
Happy Birthday, Chloe!
Quotable
"Every day is a once-in-a-lifetime adventure." – Frank, referring to our family tendency to choose the fun option over the more practical one
Monday, March 10, 2008
The Doings Report
It was another busy week for the Krewe. Qacei was here (see her blog for a few fabulous photos), and the girls had a blast together.
On Wednesday, we resumed our STUN activities with a trip to the bowling alley. That was really fun. Hunter scored his personal best in the second game, busting the 100 ceiling wide open, and MJ, Chloe, and Qacei had lots of silly fun bowling left-handed, naming their lucky bowling ball (Spot, natch), and dragging out the game by sharing said named ball. Logan, who was sharing their lane, put up with their shenanigans like the good sport that he is.
The guys spent the night, went home Thursday, and then returned Friday to help Chloe celebrate her birthday. Why we bothered to send them home, I can't tell you.
Before they arrived, the birthday girl took her sister-types to Romio's for Italian food, and then to Tampico for Mexican dessert and virgin strawberry margaritas. Sounds like they had a tasty excursion.
I spent most of Friday evening playing with my niece, Lila, who is almost one and a half. It was fun—we spent lots of time visiting the "babies" (the rats)—but I was reminded why I had my little ones over a decade ago when she wouldn't let me put her down all night. Phew! Gave me some sore kid-hauling muscles to go with my sore bowling muscles.
The teens spent most of Friday night—no, scratch that, they spent all of Friday night having a Buffy the Vampire Slayer marathon. Hunter and Logan went from sleepless night to all-day SCA event. I talked to their mom, Michelle, today and heard that it didn't stop Logan from taking the championship in his swordplay event. Way to go, Logan!
On Saturday, we drove down to Castle Rock, met up with Zenmomma, and made the Qacei exchange. Aside from the usual clogging over the ship canal, it was a painless drive and a nice way to wind down from our Social Season.
Yesterday, we all collapsed. Chloe and MJ have been continuing their Slayer marathon, with only a brief break to sign up for Not Back to School Camp. I read most of the day—rare treat! And Frank pampered his girlie wife by taking care of some MR2 maintenance for me. I got to drive to work with fresh wiper blades today! Hurray!
Finally, we have finalized our return trip from Ireland. We elected to stay the extra days. Is anybody shocked?
On Wednesday, we resumed our STUN activities with a trip to the bowling alley. That was really fun. Hunter scored his personal best in the second game, busting the 100 ceiling wide open, and MJ, Chloe, and Qacei had lots of silly fun bowling left-handed, naming their lucky bowling ball (Spot, natch), and dragging out the game by sharing said named ball. Logan, who was sharing their lane, put up with their shenanigans like the good sport that he is.
The guys spent the night, went home Thursday, and then returned Friday to help Chloe celebrate her birthday. Why we bothered to send them home, I can't tell you.
Before they arrived, the birthday girl took her sister-types to Romio's for Italian food, and then to Tampico for Mexican dessert and virgin strawberry margaritas. Sounds like they had a tasty excursion.
I spent most of Friday evening playing with my niece, Lila, who is almost one and a half. It was fun—we spent lots of time visiting the "babies" (the rats)—but I was reminded why I had my little ones over a decade ago when she wouldn't let me put her down all night. Phew! Gave me some sore kid-hauling muscles to go with my sore bowling muscles.
The teens spent most of Friday night—no, scratch that, they spent all of Friday night having a Buffy the Vampire Slayer marathon. Hunter and Logan went from sleepless night to all-day SCA event. I talked to their mom, Michelle, today and heard that it didn't stop Logan from taking the championship in his swordplay event. Way to go, Logan!
On Saturday, we drove down to Castle Rock, met up with Zenmomma, and made the Qacei exchange. Aside from the usual clogging over the ship canal, it was a painless drive and a nice way to wind down from our Social Season.
Yesterday, we all collapsed. Chloe and MJ have been continuing their Slayer marathon, with only a brief break to sign up for Not Back to School Camp. I read most of the day—rare treat! And Frank pampered his girlie wife by taking care of some MR2 maintenance for me. I got to drive to work with fresh wiper blades today! Hurray!
Finally, we have finalized our return trip from Ireland. We elected to stay the extra days. Is anybody shocked?
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Just in case
I have reason to hope Chiara might be reading my blog today to see the NCN photos, so here's a little message just for her in (probably mangled) Italian.
Chiara,
Siete mia ragazza speciale. Sono così felice che siete mia figlia! Ti amo molto e stiamo contandoci i giorni possiamo essere nello stesso posto. Ciao, bella!
Chiara,
Siete mia ragazza speciale. Sono così felice che siete mia figlia! Ti amo molto e stiamo contandoci i giorni possiamo essere nello stesso posto. Ciao, bella!
Profiling
As my regular readers are aware, we now count ourselves lucky to be members of an unschooling community. We've found some amazing people, and we're having some really good times.
What draws us together?
It's not the usual things. We don't all work at the same company or in the same profession. We don't all come from the same ethnic, socio-political, religious, or any other sort of background. We're not all the same age, and our kids aren't all the same age. We didn't go to school together, or pledge (or refuse to pledge) the same sororities and fraternities.
Yeah, we all homeschool the same way. But homeschooling looks pretty different in each unschooling household. Actually, homeschooling looks pretty different for each unschooling kid.
So, what is it? Well, I'll tell you. ;-)
We're all people who think our kids' needs and our relationships with our kids come first, before anything else. We all want and build and maintain peaceful households. We all try, every day, to stop and think instead of going with the knee-jerk reaction, the old tapes, the bad habits and ingrained patterns. We all try to see, continually, with fresh eyes.
But what draws us together is not those things but the result of them, and the result is a group of people who accept each other for who they are. We LOVE our differences from each other.
One of us is a recovering control freak. One of us likes songs with ukeleles in them. One of us rarely smiles. One of us would rather play or talk about WoW than anything else. One of us prefers not to be addressed by strangers. One of us has no volume control. More than one of us live the nightshift. One of us learned to play the piano. One of us is a diva. One of us likes weapons. One of us uses Latin to make a point. One of us is depressive. One of us makes a mean pomegranate martini. One of us bleeds intensity and it hurts. One of us saves babies from burning buildings.* One of us needs to be alone. One of us needs constant stimulation. One of us just likes to observe. One of us will never outgrow Legos. One of us laughs big gutbuster laughs at the drop of a hat. One of us believes empty wall space is a sin. One of us adores musicals. One of us can't stop moving or she'll die.
Maybe that's it. We all accept—no, we all love individuality.
---------------------------
* An inside joke. No babies were endangered during or prior to the making of this blog post.
What draws us together?
It's not the usual things. We don't all work at the same company or in the same profession. We don't all come from the same ethnic, socio-political, religious, or any other sort of background. We're not all the same age, and our kids aren't all the same age. We didn't go to school together, or pledge (or refuse to pledge) the same sororities and fraternities.
Yeah, we all homeschool the same way. But homeschooling looks pretty different in each unschooling household. Actually, homeschooling looks pretty different for each unschooling kid.
So, what is it? Well, I'll tell you. ;-)
We're all people who think our kids' needs and our relationships with our kids come first, before anything else. We all want and build and maintain peaceful households. We all try, every day, to stop and think instead of going with the knee-jerk reaction, the old tapes, the bad habits and ingrained patterns. We all try to see, continually, with fresh eyes.
But what draws us together is not those things but the result of them, and the result is a group of people who accept each other for who they are. We LOVE our differences from each other.
One of us is a recovering control freak. One of us likes songs with ukeleles in them. One of us rarely smiles. One of us would rather play or talk about WoW than anything else. One of us prefers not to be addressed by strangers. One of us has no volume control. More than one of us live the nightshift. One of us learned to play the piano. One of us is a diva. One of us likes weapons. One of us uses Latin to make a point. One of us is depressive. One of us makes a mean pomegranate martini. One of us bleeds intensity and it hurts. One of us saves babies from burning buildings.* One of us needs to be alone. One of us needs constant stimulation. One of us just likes to observe. One of us will never outgrow Legos. One of us laughs big gutbuster laughs at the drop of a hat. One of us believes empty wall space is a sin. One of us adores musicals. One of us can't stop moving or she'll die.
Maybe that's it. We all accept—no, we all love individuality.
---------------------------
* An inside joke. No babies were endangered during or prior to the making of this blog post.
In jokes
Q. How many testers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A. Testers don't replace lightbulbs; they just report that it's dark.
Q. How many developers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A. Just one, but then the house falls down.
The guy who told me these didn't have one for technical writers, but that would probably go something like this:
Q. How many tech writers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A. "For more information about this topic, click Help."
A. Testers don't replace lightbulbs; they just report that it's dark.
Q. How many developers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A. Just one, but then the house falls down.
The guy who told me these didn't have one for technical writers, but that would probably go something like this:
Q. How many tech writers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A. "For more information about this topic, click Help."
Friday, March 7, 2008
Friday fill-in
1. Ahhhh, it's so nice being all caught up at work (knock wood).
2. One of my favorite things on my desk is a little photo album MJ put together for me a few years ago. And one of my favorite things on my bureau (known as a dresser around here) is a mermaid statuette I found at Seaport Village in San Diego a year ago.
3. Japanese Cherry Blossom SUSHI. (The name of our favorite local sushi place is "Cherry Blossom Sushi Bar & Grill.")
4. With the top contenders being my bed and the cockpit of a sailboat in the Caribbearn, I can't decide which is my favorite place to sit and read.
5. Popcorn and Jujyfruits is delicious!
6. I love to watch really good acting in movies. The subtle kind where the actor reveals everything but doesn't seem to move a muscle.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to entertaining and being entertained by the ten people under 16 who will be celebrating Chloe's birthday at our place, tomorrow my plans include driving Qacei halfway to Corvallis and decorating a coworker's office in honor of her birthday, and Sunday, I want to rest!
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Thursday 13
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1. Inspired by the friendly debate between Mary and Frank over the use of Beatles songs in Across the Universe, this TT was going to be "Thirteen Covers that I Actually Like," but so far I haven't been able to come up with thirteen. Any suggestions? 2. I am mostly aging calmly, but one thing has caught me by surprise: the frown lines forming between my eyebrows. I was prepared for laugh lines and those nifty little crows feet that indicate one has spent a certain portion of one's life squinting into the sun. But frown lines?! No. Not even the knowledge that most of my frowning happens when I concentrate is bringing me any comfort. 3. Speaking of squinting into the sun, it has occurred to me that I can probably credit my commute with the fact that I do not suffer from SAD. Four or five mornings each week, I bask for forty to eighty minutes in whatever amount of light is shining through the T-tops in the MR2. Even with our sad lack of sunny days, it helps. Gotta take my silver linings where I find them. 4. We are facing some tough choices in our European vacation planning. With our start date dictated by Live and Learn and our return date dictated by a certain need to get home and start making money again, there is conflict between our desire to spend as much time as possible with Chiara and our desire to spend as much time as possible in Ireland. Hmm. Maybe Chiara can come to Ireland with us... 5. Here and here are the cottages that have made our short list for Ireland. 6. As I do from time to time, I am considering going blue* and becoming a full-time employee at the Velvet Sweatshop. The Pros and Cons lists are of equal length and weight, so it's a tough decision. Or a shrug, depending how you look at it. * "Going blue" refers to obtention of a blue cardkey as opposed to the orange one I possess now as a lowly temp. (Look, Steph! I just scored extra indexer points by using the word "obtention" in this footnote!) 7. A friend recently asked for my help in disputing an article forwarded to her by a right-leaning friend. The article (in a fine example of yellow journalism) was titled, "Twelve-month-long drop in world temperatures wipes out a century of warming." The article cites Hadley and NASA as two of its top sources. And yet thirty seconds' Googling led me to these: 8. Have I mentioned that I bank online? I love it, especially the page that lets me pay a whole stack of bills in less than a minute. And it has completely cured me of my former tendency to spend an hour getting the checkbook to balance to the penny. Checkbook balancing is a dying art. 9. As I type this, Frank is downstairs watching Keith Olbermann. Keith is complaining about Bill O. again, which is fine. But my Worst Person in the World has been and will be for a long, long time one George W. Bush. Yes, worse than Osama bin Laden. No contest. Here's why: Deaths 9/11/2001: 2973 And counting. With no end in sight. All for a lie. 10. An Irish singer performed at my sister's wedding last month. I'm happy to report that he didn't sing Danny Boy (definitely click that link!). And this pub in NYC is banning the song this St. Patrick's Day. It was written by a Brit, you see. They also think it's too sad, but then many of the best Irish songs are. I've had a soft spot for "Molly Malone" for some time, mostly because the lyrics were featured in a book I read, and reading the lyrics, I realized I knew the tune, despite having no conscious memory of ever having heard the song before. Racial memory? But my most recent favorite "Irish" song (this one written by a Scottish-born Australian) is "No Man's Land," especially as covered by (aha!) Dropkick Murphys. 11. The Danny Boy link above led me to some great drum battles on YouTube: 12. Someone said something last weekend about House not being likable. But I like him very much. Or maybe I just like watching him. He (and occasionally one of his cohorts) gets to say things we wish we were brave enough to say. Example: "Have you ever seen an infected pierced scrotum?" Okay, that was a joke. How about this one: "You put the Queen on your money, you're British." Or the line I'm sure Omar Epps was thrilled to say: "It just means we need to kill more white people." But it is interesting. I don't like jerks in real life, but jerks on TV can be my favorite protagonists to watch. And serial killers. And sleazy cops (at least in the first couple of seasons). But not all sleazy cops. 13. Don't you just love the Internet? |
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Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Dear Craig
Didn't you know you were all here all weekend? I can't count the number of times our weekend was brightened by thoughts and memories and talk of you guys.
(But for future reference, any time one of our planned weekend activities interests you, COME ON DOWN!)
(But for future reference, any time one of our planned weekend activities interests you, COME ON DOWN!)
Monday, March 3, 2008
The Doings Report
Well, we had a lovely weekend with the Golds. We talked and hung out and laughed and ate and relaxed. On Saturday, we drove down to Seattle for the Kimya Dawson concert at the Fusion Café.
For those who don't know, Kimya is featured on the Juno soundtrack. Her songs are quirky and sweet, often political, and unapologetically organic. And also for those who don't know (we didn't before now), the Fusion Café is actually a room in the downtown YMCA where they hold all-ages events from time to time. "All ages" turned out to mean "teenagers," so those of us over 40 were ever so slightly out of place until the show started, and then we were all just fans, sitting on the floor together, blowing bubbles and enjoying varying amounts of (dis)comfort.
Not knowing what to expect and fearful of the Golds driving all the way up here only to be turned away at the door, we got downtown a couple hours early. We found a parking space right in front of the building (!) and were wandering around a bit, trying to figure out the setup, when who should pull up in front but Kimya herself. Mary got a hug and the rest of us just grinned at her.
Highlight: At one point, Kimya announced that she would play a few kid songs. My heart sank a little—"Oh, do we have to?"—but they were SO good, cute and funny and offbeat. I highly recommend her upcoming kids' album, due out this summer. "F is for fart, G is for gorilla fart, H is for huge gorilla fart..."
This show was hosted by Hollow Earth Radio, an underground radio station in Seattle. I've never had any exposure to the underground radio scene, so that was pretty fascinating. A couple of people asked how to listen. The founders got cagey smiles on their faces, then referred us to http://www.hollowearthradio.com/. I suspect there's more to the story. :-)
After the show, we decided to run to Fremont and see if Jai Thai happened to still be open. They were! What a treat! Frank and Chloe and I discovered this place a few months ago and have been itching to go back. Yummy stuff, although we were worried at first that we wouldn't have enough food to fill our suddenly bottomless stomachs. We topped off with a last-minute order of fried rice, and then returned home.
Yesterday, we said our good-byes to Mary and Conor, but Qacei has stayed behind to play and help Chloe celebrate her upcoming 14th birthday.
Meanwhile, I'm trying to get STUN going again. We took a bit of a hiatus while all our February goings-on were going on, but it's time to get rockin' again. Or rollin'. We're starting with some bowling. Always fun to laugh at ourselves at the bowling alley.
In other news, my stepdad, Tom, is facing some excitement: an aortic aneurism. It seems scary stuff to him and to those of who love him, but the doctors are relaxed; his appointment with the surgeon just got moved back from the 7th to the 17th.
And Frank's sister Judy was supposed to and hopefully did close on her new house last week. I'll check and make sure. If people need Marty's new address, drop me a line and let me know.
For those who don't know, Kimya is featured on the Juno soundtrack. Her songs are quirky and sweet, often political, and unapologetically organic. And also for those who don't know (we didn't before now), the Fusion Café is actually a room in the downtown YMCA where they hold all-ages events from time to time. "All ages" turned out to mean "teenagers," so those of us over 40 were ever so slightly out of place until the show started, and then we were all just fans, sitting on the floor together, blowing bubbles and enjoying varying amounts of (dis)comfort.
Not knowing what to expect and fearful of the Golds driving all the way up here only to be turned away at the door, we got downtown a couple hours early. We found a parking space right in front of the building (!) and were wandering around a bit, trying to figure out the setup, when who should pull up in front but Kimya herself. Mary got a hug and the rest of us just grinned at her.
Highlight: At one point, Kimya announced that she would play a few kid songs. My heart sank a little—"Oh, do we have to?"—but they were SO good, cute and funny and offbeat. I highly recommend her upcoming kids' album, due out this summer. "F is for fart, G is for gorilla fart, H is for huge gorilla fart..."
This show was hosted by Hollow Earth Radio, an underground radio station in Seattle. I've never had any exposure to the underground radio scene, so that was pretty fascinating. A couple of people asked how to listen. The founders got cagey smiles on their faces, then referred us to http://www.hollowearthradio.com/. I suspect there's more to the story. :-)
After the show, we decided to run to Fremont and see if Jai Thai happened to still be open. They were! What a treat! Frank and Chloe and I discovered this place a few months ago and have been itching to go back. Yummy stuff, although we were worried at first that we wouldn't have enough food to fill our suddenly bottomless stomachs. We topped off with a last-minute order of fried rice, and then returned home.
Yesterday, we said our good-byes to Mary and Conor, but Qacei has stayed behind to play and help Chloe celebrate her upcoming 14th birthday.
Meanwhile, I'm trying to get STUN going again. We took a bit of a hiatus while all our February goings-on were going on, but it's time to get rockin' again. Or rollin'. We're starting with some bowling. Always fun to laugh at ourselves at the bowling alley.
In other news, my stepdad, Tom, is facing some excitement: an aortic aneurism. It seems scary stuff to him and to those of who love him, but the doctors are relaxed; his appointment with the surgeon just got moved back from the 7th to the 17th.
And Frank's sister Judy was supposed to and hopefully did close on her new house last week. I'll check and make sure. If people need Marty's new address, drop me a line and let me know.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Socialization
As I type this, I have four teenagers in my livingroom. Two are residents, two are guests. They are talking to four people on AIM and two by phone.
So much for the isolation of homeschooling. :-)
So much for the isolation of homeschooling. :-)
Saturday, March 1, 2008
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