Annie and I had our first official day of school for the new year today. I was quite relieved to find Annie just chomping at the bit yesterday, anxious to get started. She didn't even want to wait until today. I was afraid that maybe the novelty of homeschooling had worn off for her and she wouldn't be so thrilled this year. Thankfully, I couldn't have been more wrong.
I have to say that I'm a great deal more relaxed this year. Surviving last year has done a lot for my confidence, I suppose. It's really weird...I'm not nearly as prepared at this point as I'd hoped to be, and yet I'm not stressing about it. Oh, okay, I'm stressing a little, but not nearly as badly as I would have expected knowing myself the way I do.
Today wasn't a heavy-duty day or anything...just getting our feet wet for the new year. Organizing supplies, talking about what we'll be doing, a few review exercises, some fun writing activities, etc. And I gave her some assignments for over the over the long weekend. Her response, "Oh, all my homework is so fun!" I tell you, it certainly makes all the hard work worth to see her so excited about learning again.
And then we have our public school kiddos. The boys don't head back until Wednesday. I guess I shouldn't really say head back when it comes to Max, as this will be his debut. I have to say that sending him off to kindergarten is hitting me so much harder than I would have guessed! Much worse than it did with Annie or Gray. Maybe it's because he's "my baby"...I don't know.
Yesterday was kindergarten orientation. It was a mixed bag. Max didn't do so well at first. The principle called all the kids up so he could read them The Night Before Kindergarten. Every single child willingly went up and sat down to listen. Except Max. He cried, and clung to me, and refused to go. So I went with him. The only parent sitting up there on the floor with the kids. But then something miraculous happened. After the story, the kindergarten teachers came in and gathered up their new charges. I pointed out to Max which teacher was his...and he actually got up and went with her without any hesitation! And after the teachers took them to show them their rooms and whatnot, they went on a practice bus ride. Again he did this of his own free-will! In fact, when he got back, he was talking a mile a minute. He'd had a ball! And he said his teacher is really nice. Enormous sigh of relief!
Maybe Wednesday will go much smoother than I've been imagining. At least as far as Max is concerned. I'll probably still come in the house and bawl my eyes out.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
in my own little world of books
This week's Booking through Thursday...
There was a widely bruited-about statistic reported last week, stating that 1 in 4 Americans did not read a single book last year. Clearly, we don’t fall into that category, but . . . how many of our friends do? Do you have friends/family who read as much as you do? Or are you the only person you know who has a serious reading habit?
I was one of the people who found this statistic surprising. Almost everyone I know is a fairly avid reader. (Of course, I should probably admit that I don't actually know that many people!)
**************
I'm a wee bit behind in my reviews...well, because I hate writing them so much. Because, well, I'm simply not good at it. But I guess I've procrastinated long enough, as tomorrow is the last day to get up this month's Non-Fiction Five.
I finished up And The Band Played On, by Randy Shilts, last week. I'm having a hard time putting into words how I felt about this book. It's not the kind of book that you feel you can say you "enjoyed"...if you know what I mean. But it was a wonderful, powerful story, and I'm definitely glad that I read it.
The subtitle, "Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic," gives one a feel for what the book is about. Randy Shilts tells the story of the early years of the AIDS epidemic in fascinating detail. In fact, as Rich said to me as I was just starting the book, "He probably could have adequately told the story in half the pages." And I would have to agree with that...the story might have adequately been told in less than the 600+ pages of this book. But I don't believe "adequate" was Shilts' goal. He told the complete, uncut version of this real-life drama.
It was a heart-breaking book. At times, I was brought to tears by the overwhelming sadness of it all, and at times, I found myself feeling so angry that I was brought to tears of another form. Somehow AIDS managed to bring out the worst of humankind's failings...indifference, greed, callousness, bigotry, egomania. And sometimes even more damage was done "with good intentions". That's not to say that there were no heroes in the fight to identify and battle this new disease. This book also told their stories.
I can't say that I would recommend this book to everyone. Don't get me wrong...I think it's a wonderful book. For one thing, as I mentioned earlier, it is a long, exhaustive telling of the story. And for another, there are parts that are probably a bit too graphic for some people. (It is not graphic for purposes of sensationalism, but simply for truth's sake.) I would, however, definitely recommend the movie to everyone. The movie obviously leaves much out, but it is very well-done.
One last note, it goes without saying, that I wish Randy Shilts was still alive today. But, on a selfish note, I have to say that I wish he were here to write the sequel to And The Band Played On. The book ends in 1988, but we all know the story of AIDS does not.
I also finished Lethal Practice, by Peter Clement last week. Another one down for the Medical Mystery Madness Reading Challenge. This is the best one I've read for this challenge so far. Still not among the best of this genre that I've read in my lifetime, but really not a bad book at all.
The general story follows the chief of emergency medicine in a Buffalo, NY hospital. He has a true sociopath working for him...he just doesn't know it. But said sociopath fears disclosure, and all kinds of nastiness follow.
A fairly quick read. Was a nice change a pace from the heaviness of my non-fiction choice.
On a final note for the day, I guess it's time for me to concede defeat in Southern Reading Challenge. Tomorrow night it will come to its official end. And I am only half-way through my final selection, A Time to Kill, by John Grisham. (A book I am enjoying immensely, by the way.) I feel bad that I won't finish "in time"...but I will finish. And I have to say a big "Thank You" to Maggie for hosting this challenge. It not only gave me an "excuse" to read To Kill A Mockingbird again, it introduced me to The Secret Life of Bees, which touched my heart (and I doubt I ever would have read if not for this challenge).
There was a widely bruited-about statistic reported last week, stating that 1 in 4 Americans did not read a single book last year. Clearly, we don’t fall into that category, but . . . how many of our friends do? Do you have friends/family who read as much as you do? Or are you the only person you know who has a serious reading habit?
I was one of the people who found this statistic surprising. Almost everyone I know is a fairly avid reader. (Of course, I should probably admit that I don't actually know that many people!)
**************
I'm a wee bit behind in my reviews...well, because I hate writing them so much. Because, well, I'm simply not good at it. But I guess I've procrastinated long enough, as tomorrow is the last day to get up this month's Non-Fiction Five.
I finished up And The Band Played On, by Randy Shilts, last week. I'm having a hard time putting into words how I felt about this book. It's not the kind of book that you feel you can say you "enjoyed"...if you know what I mean. But it was a wonderful, powerful story, and I'm definitely glad that I read it.
The subtitle, "Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic," gives one a feel for what the book is about. Randy Shilts tells the story of the early years of the AIDS epidemic in fascinating detail. In fact, as Rich said to me as I was just starting the book, "He probably could have adequately told the story in half the pages." And I would have to agree with that...the story might have adequately been told in less than the 600+ pages of this book. But I don't believe "adequate" was Shilts' goal. He told the complete, uncut version of this real-life drama.
It was a heart-breaking book. At times, I was brought to tears by the overwhelming sadness of it all, and at times, I found myself feeling so angry that I was brought to tears of another form. Somehow AIDS managed to bring out the worst of humankind's failings...indifference, greed, callousness, bigotry, egomania. And sometimes even more damage was done "with good intentions". That's not to say that there were no heroes in the fight to identify and battle this new disease. This book also told their stories.
I can't say that I would recommend this book to everyone. Don't get me wrong...I think it's a wonderful book. For one thing, as I mentioned earlier, it is a long, exhaustive telling of the story. And for another, there are parts that are probably a bit too graphic for some people. (It is not graphic for purposes of sensationalism, but simply for truth's sake.) I would, however, definitely recommend the movie to everyone. The movie obviously leaves much out, but it is very well-done.
One last note, it goes without saying, that I wish Randy Shilts was still alive today. But, on a selfish note, I have to say that I wish he were here to write the sequel to And The Band Played On. The book ends in 1988, but we all know the story of AIDS does not.
I also finished Lethal Practice, by Peter Clement last week. Another one down for the Medical Mystery Madness Reading Challenge. This is the best one I've read for this challenge so far. Still not among the best of this genre that I've read in my lifetime, but really not a bad book at all.
The general story follows the chief of emergency medicine in a Buffalo, NY hospital. He has a true sociopath working for him...he just doesn't know it. But said sociopath fears disclosure, and all kinds of nastiness follow.
A fairly quick read. Was a nice change a pace from the heaviness of my non-fiction choice.
On a final note for the day, I guess it's time for me to concede defeat in Southern Reading Challenge. Tomorrow night it will come to its official end. And I am only half-way through my final selection, A Time to Kill, by John Grisham. (A book I am enjoying immensely, by the way.) I feel bad that I won't finish "in time"...but I will finish. And I have to say a big "Thank You" to Maggie for hosting this challenge. It not only gave me an "excuse" to read To Kill A Mockingbird again, it introduced me to The Secret Life of Bees, which touched my heart (and I doubt I ever would have read if not for this challenge).
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
no words
Hard as it is to believe, I actually have no "words for Wednesday" this week. So we'll move right to Wordless Wednesday...
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
not my usual
Well, according to the not-so-rigid schedule I'd made for myself way back when, Tuesday was to be my day to post about any of my creative endeavors. But for the most part, those have been severely lacking as of late. I did finish a layout a couple weeks ago, but am lacking the motivation to photograph it so I can post it today (got a doozie of a summer cold, that is just sucking my mental energies). Did manage to scan this card I made for my wonderful parents, who have been helping us out in numerous ways as of late. (They truly are the greatest!)
But I do have news on a different creative front. I had planned to post about this weeks ago, right before the computer debacle. Anyway, as much as I love to write, it's just not a talent I am endowed with. So when Carl announced his Tiny Story Contest I really had no intention of joining. (I thought it would be the perfect little exercise for Annie to try, but she never got around to doing it.) Anyway, Carl worded the announcement like such a challenge, stating that we couldn't use "but I'm not that creative" as an excuse. So I decided to give it a shot, just to see if I could do it. Now, this was not just any writing contest--it had very specific rules...it had to be exactly 100 words long and you could not use any word more than once. Aaargh. I have no idea if everyone else had as difficult a time as I did or not. The 100 words part wasn't so bad, but the not using any word more than once...now that was tough. Anyway, the unbelievable happened...I tied for third place! Which had me feeling giddy all day, let me tell you! Unfortunately though, I really feel unworthy. Seriously, you should really read what some of those talented people came up with (and you can, right here). I was honestly blown away by the stories the others wrote! My tiny story honestly didn't measure up, but hey...I'll take any boost to the ego I can get.
But I do have news on a different creative front. I had planned to post about this weeks ago, right before the computer debacle. Anyway, as much as I love to write, it's just not a talent I am endowed with. So when Carl announced his Tiny Story Contest I really had no intention of joining. (I thought it would be the perfect little exercise for Annie to try, but she never got around to doing it.) Anyway, Carl worded the announcement like such a challenge, stating that we couldn't use "but I'm not that creative" as an excuse. So I decided to give it a shot, just to see if I could do it. Now, this was not just any writing contest--it had very specific rules...it had to be exactly 100 words long and you could not use any word more than once. Aaargh. I have no idea if everyone else had as difficult a time as I did or not. The 100 words part wasn't so bad, but the not using any word more than once...now that was tough. Anyway, the unbelievable happened...I tied for third place! Which had me feeling giddy all day, let me tell you! Unfortunately though, I really feel unworthy. Seriously, you should really read what some of those talented people came up with (and you can, right here). I was honestly blown away by the stories the others wrote! My tiny story honestly didn't measure up, but hey...I'll take any boost to the ego I can get.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Menu Plan Monday
Finally back with a plan. Things have been so screwy around here the past few weeks that I haven't even bothered. But I think things should now be settling down a bit, and starting to get back to routine. Sort of, anyway. Maybe not entirely...we'd like to get in a few special "little things" before the start of the new school year, but they may not affect mealtime. So anyway, on slate for this week...
*enchiladas/wankerflots/chili cheese puff
*chili/cornbread/tortilla chips
*lasagna roll-ups/Italian bread/salad
*ladle-it-on/muffins/broccoli
*Italian skillet dinner/garlic bread/salad
*kielbasa and potato bake (a recipe from Carrie, that I planned to try weeks ago but haven't got around to)/cauliflower/muffins
*leftovers
*enchiladas/wankerflots/chili cheese puff
*chili/cornbread/tortilla chips
*lasagna roll-ups/Italian bread/salad
*ladle-it-on/muffins/broccoli
*Italian skillet dinner/garlic bread/salad
*kielbasa and potato bake (a recipe from Carrie, that I planned to try weeks ago but haven't got around to)/cauliflower/muffins
*leftovers
Sunday, August 26, 2007
the charm
I absolutely adored the idea of the Short Story Sunday Peril (just one of Carl's many fabulous "perils" for his R.I.P. II Reading Challenge this year). For whatever reason, though I thoroughly enjoy short stories, I don't often read them. This is just the incentive I needed. I'd even picked up a few books of short stories over the course of the summer, but hadn't gotten down to reading them yet.
One of the books I picked up was Neil Gaiman's M Is for Magic. I've been dying to dig into it, but something always seemed to come along to thwart my plans. But our little trip this past week gave me the perfect opportunity. I started with the first story (I'm so compulsive that way...to read them out of order would probably give me heart failure). "The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds"...I found it so delightfully clever! I'll bet I told Rich at least 3 times that he "must" read it. But having said all that, I didn't feel it really fit into the dark, creepy, eerie category. "Oh darn, now I have to read another one," she says oozing with sarcasm.
So, on to "Troll Bridge". I have to admit I wasn't quite as taken with this story as I was with the first. Not that I didn't like it...I did. In fact, I loved the way he transported me right back into my childhood. I felt the tenderness of my feet in those early days each summer before they were "broken in"...I remembered how absolutely convinced I was of the value of my found treasures...I relived the limitless adventures that could be found in a simple patch of woods. And this story was certainly more fitting for the challenge. But something about ending left me feeling disappointed. I can't quite put my finger on it. So, I was off in search of another story.
Hmmm...and believe it or not we just happened to run into a book store while staying in Toronto. Oh, okay, I didn't actually need to buy a new book of short stories, but I just happened to see Stephen King's Everything's Eventual and I couldn't resist. Back, all those many, many, many years ago, when I was in high school and throughout much of my 20s, I read everything Stephen King wrote. Everything. But then, for reasons unknown even to me, I just sort of drifted away. The R.I.P. II Challenge...could there possibly be a better time to get reacquainted? I'd already bought Cell, but I figured some short stories would be a nice addition to my perilous reading.
And yes, "Autopsy Room Four" was definitely the charm for me! This story is what R.I.P. is all about (at least, in my mind)...this story creeped me out! Yes, real honest-to-goodness physical queasiness. There were times when I literally had to close the book and take a few deep breaths. The whole concept of being mistaken for dead and being buried (or worse) alive is certainly nothing new. But Stephen King, master that he is, brought new life (no pun intended) to the idea. The way he drew out the terror was masterful...I kept thinking that I couldn't possibly take anymore. On more than one occasion, Rich actually asked me if I was o.k. Now, I fully admit that part of this may just be that I am a horrible wimp. (Heck, my own grandma once called me a pantywaist...now that's bad!) But I'm fairly certain that this story will give most anyone at least a small dose of "the creeps"!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
words vs. wordless
It's been a few weeks since I've posted a Words on Wednesday, thanks to our malfunctioning computer. I'm afraid that means that I have quite a pile to post today. I wonder if there will ever come a week when I don't come across any new words. Unlikely.
*internecine-relating to struggle within a nation, organization, or group (from And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts)
*inveigh-to vehemently disapprove or protest (from And the Band...)
*melange-a mixture
*abstruse-difficult to understand
*treacly-overly sweet in speech or sentiment
*lavation-the process of watching
*hegira-a flight to avoid danger (from And the Band...)
*plenary-unlimited or full (from And the Band...)
*inimical-injurious or harmful (from And the Band...)
Notes:
---I apologize for not having a source for some of these words; I just can't remember in which book I encountered them.
---My ignorance continues to astound me.
---Make me feel a little better by letting me know if any of these words were new you you as well. Or in your case Jean, just amaze me once again with your outstanding vocabulary!
Okay, and for those of you who don't get all giddy over words, how about Wordless Wednesday (hope that link works...for whatever reason I can't seem to get there this morning)...
*internecine-relating to struggle within a nation, organization, or group (from And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts)
*inveigh-to vehemently disapprove or protest (from And the Band...)
*melange-a mixture
*abstruse-difficult to understand
*treacly-overly sweet in speech or sentiment
*lavation-the process of watching
*hegira-a flight to avoid danger (from And the Band...)
*plenary-unlimited or full (from And the Band...)
*inimical-injurious or harmful (from And the Band...)
Notes:
---I apologize for not having a source for some of these words; I just can't remember in which book I encountered them.
---My ignorance continues to astound me.
---Make me feel a little better by letting me know if any of these words were new you you as well. Or in your case Jean, just amaze me once again with your outstanding vocabulary!
Okay, and for those of you who don't get all giddy over words, how about Wordless Wednesday (hope that link works...for whatever reason I can't seem to get there this morning)...
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
just a few photos
Well, we're heading back out of town tomorrow. Probably won't be back on-line until Sunday. But figured I'd go ahead and post a few pics from our Canada trip last week.
(Yep, Rich figured out how to load them from our new camera...it's apparently so easy that I'll even be able to do it. lol)
On the shores of Lake Nippissing...
The monkeys at Marten River Prov. Park...
Algonguin...
And here's some photos of Annie's new room...
I'll miss checking in on everyone for the next few days, but I you all have a fabulous week!
(Yep, Rich figured out how to load them from our new camera...it's apparently so easy that I'll even be able to do it. lol)
On the shores of Lake Nippissing...
The monkeys at Marten River Prov. Park...
Algonguin...
And here's some photos of Annie's new room...
I'll miss checking in on everyone for the next few days, but I you all have a fabulous week!
Monday, August 20, 2007
the moment we've been waiting for
Annie and I, that is. We've both been so excited about Carl's R.I.P. II Reading Challenge. For the past two months, we've both been making and remaking our lists. And today is the day...this year's R.I.P. II Reading Challenge has been officially announced!
There are several different "Perils" to choose from. Each of them bloody fun, but I'm going to go with Peril the First. Pretty simple and straight-forward...read any four books of the creepy, eerie, dark variety. I haven't been able to weed it down to four yet, but here's what I'm going with:
*Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
*MacBeth by William Shakespeare
*Cell by Stephen King
*Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk
*Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
*The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
*Tithe by Holly Black
I'm also hoping, but make no promises, to be able to finish up with the Addition Peril. Again I haven't quite decided which. One of these two:
*Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman
*The Best of Poe: The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven, The Cask of Amontillado, and 30 Others
And finally, I'm really hoping to also participate in Short Story Sunday Peril. I had a few short story books picked out for the challenge anyway. And with this Peril, there's a lot less pressure...one short story a week. Here are the books from which they will probably come:
*The Haunted Looking Glass chosen by Edward Gorey (among others, the authors include Charles Dickens, Bram Stoker, and Robert Louis Stevenson)
*Scary! 2 edited by Peter Haining (among others, the authors include Philip Pullman, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Dean Koontz)
*M Is for Magic by Neil Gaiman (I'm pretty sure at least a few of these would qualify)
If I understood Carl correctly, even though the challenge officially runs from Sept. 1st through Oct. 31st, he's given us permission to start early. There's no time like the present, right?
A big thank you goes out to Carl, Reading Challenge Host Extraordinaire!
this and that and the other thing
This:
Here it is Monday...and no Menu Plan Monday for me. What's the point as we're only going to be here Monday and Tuesday, right? And we're pretty much looking to eat up a bunch of leftovers on those two days anyway.
That:
Now, one would think that as long as I was off-line, I would have finished up a pile of books. Sorry to say that just isn't so. I did finish To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I'm glad it counts for two of my challenges, as I actually just read it twice. It's the first literature selection for the upcoming school year. And what I do is read a few chapters straight through. And then I reread those chapters, stopping to write down discussion questions and whatnot. So it seems fitting that I should get to cross it off on two challenges, right?
I won't really bother with a review or anything, as I'm fairly certain most everyone has read it. I will just say that To Kill A Mockingbird has been one of my favorite books since I first read it nearly 30 years ago in high school. (Ewww...did I really just say "nearly 30 years ago"?!!) And it continues to be one of my favorites to this day. I'm really happy I chose to use it for homeschooling this year, because it is both straight-forward and full of layers all at the same time. To Kill A Mockingbird is also rich in both the realities of life and wonderful lessons in moral courage.
And the other thing:
Well, I really have no idea what the other thing is. So I guess we'll call this a wrap.
Here it is Monday...and no Menu Plan Monday for me. What's the point as we're only going to be here Monday and Tuesday, right? And we're pretty much looking to eat up a bunch of leftovers on those two days anyway.
That:
Now, one would think that as long as I was off-line, I would have finished up a pile of books. Sorry to say that just isn't so. I did finish To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I'm glad it counts for two of my challenges, as I actually just read it twice. It's the first literature selection for the upcoming school year. And what I do is read a few chapters straight through. And then I reread those chapters, stopping to write down discussion questions and whatnot. So it seems fitting that I should get to cross it off on two challenges, right?
I won't really bother with a review or anything, as I'm fairly certain most everyone has read it. I will just say that To Kill A Mockingbird has been one of my favorite books since I first read it nearly 30 years ago in high school. (Ewww...did I really just say "nearly 30 years ago"?!!) And it continues to be one of my favorites to this day. I'm really happy I chose to use it for homeschooling this year, because it is both straight-forward and full of layers all at the same time. To Kill A Mockingbird is also rich in both the realities of life and wonderful lessons in moral courage.
And the other thing:
Well, I really have no idea what the other thing is. So I guess we'll call this a wrap.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
yearning for some routine
I must say I've really been missing my old blogging routine. Where I posted most days and where I got to catch up with everyone most days. But things have just been so goofy lately. First the computer malfunction and our mini-trip to Canada. And bright and early on the morning after we arrived home and retrieved our computer from its long stay at the shop, my mom arrived to help me with Annie's room. She left this morning, and I've now got a few days to catch up on things around the house (and hopefully get LOTS of homeschool prep done). But Wednesday we're off again. To Canada again. But this time it's just Rich and I...WOOHOO! We're dropping the monkeys off at my parents and heading up to Toronto for a couple of days. (We originally planned to go to NYC, but decided that was too expensive.) Anyway, I'm obviously very excited about our trip, but I'm also longing to get back to some kind of routine around here.
Maybe it's just that I'm so exhausted from the last few days around here. Mom and I worked our butts off! For three straight days we worked. Thursday, we stopped working about 7:00 and all went out for ice cream. But Friday and Saturday, we worked from early in the am to late in the pm. Only stopping for meals (spaghetti, chili, cheesesteaks, etc.) which my wonderful, thoughtful, extremely special husband cooked and cleaned up after! We painted, and painted, and painted. I sewed, and sewed, and sewed. We carried load upon load upon load of crap from Annie's old room upstairs to her new room downstairs. Rich built a "closet" for the room. And we did tons of other little extras. But the results were well worth all our hard work! Annie's new room is absolutely adorable, and she loves it with every fiber of her being! I promise to post some photos as soon as we figure out how to load pictures from our new camera. (Oh, who am I kidding...as soon as Rich figures out how.)
By the way Mom, if you happen to read this...you're the best! Thank you, thank you, thank you once again!
But I suppose I should go busy with all the things I'm now behind on...laundry, cleaning, meal-planning, etc. I'm now behind on my reading "schedule" as well. Oh well, you can't live life by a script, can you?
Maybe it's just that I'm so exhausted from the last few days around here. Mom and I worked our butts off! For three straight days we worked. Thursday, we stopped working about 7:00 and all went out for ice cream. But Friday and Saturday, we worked from early in the am to late in the pm. Only stopping for meals (spaghetti, chili, cheesesteaks, etc.) which my wonderful, thoughtful, extremely special husband cooked and cleaned up after! We painted, and painted, and painted. I sewed, and sewed, and sewed. We carried load upon load upon load of crap from Annie's old room upstairs to her new room downstairs. Rich built a "closet" for the room. And we did tons of other little extras. But the results were well worth all our hard work! Annie's new room is absolutely adorable, and she loves it with every fiber of her being! I promise to post some photos as soon as we figure out how to load pictures from our new camera. (Oh, who am I kidding...as soon as Rich figures out how.)
By the way Mom, if you happen to read this...you're the best! Thank you, thank you, thank you once again!
But I suppose I should go busy with all the things I'm now behind on...laundry, cleaning, meal-planning, etc. I'm now behind on my reading "schedule" as well. Oh well, you can't live life by a script, can you?
Thursday, August 16, 2007
withdrawal sucks
Okay, if someone had asked me two weeks ago how much I depend on our computer, I would have answered, "A lot." But I would not have realized just how much of an understatement that was. Now I know.
Being without this computer for nearly two weeks has been downright torturous, I tell you! I have so much of my homeschool prep stuff on here, not to mention that I use the computer to research a good bit of our homeschool lessons. I couldn't e-mail anyone (which cost me a chance to possibly meet Laura IRL. For that missed opportunity alone, I could throw this thing through a window! And blogging. Oh my, how I've missed everyone! It's been simply awful! I can't stand not knowing what's been going on with everyone. And I suspect it's going to take me a few days to get caught back up. (My mom is due here early this morning to help me with the redecorating and moving around of the kids rooms, so I probably won't have much time over the next few days.)
I have to say, there is one positive thing that happened because of our computer breakdown. Because I had no way to check our e-mail to see how Kara's surgery went, I got to hear the shock and joy in both Aaron's and Kara's voices over their surprising news when I called them. It was so much better finding out the news that way. Oh my gosh...I just can't calm myself down over the excitement of this one...a new little one to spoil!
No earth-shattering news from our little abode. We did take a mini-vacation up to North Bay, Canada. Went to Marten River Prov. Park and to Algonquian. Was a wonderful little get-away! We simply love Canada! It's so incredibly beautiful...and we've seen such a small bit of it. Someday, I hope we can see a lot more. I'll post some pictures in a few days. First I have to figure out how...we finally got a new camera...Rich has been saving his "review" money for almost a year (well, part of it has gone into the "braces for Annie" fund as well). Anyway, we haven't had time (or the computer!) to figure out how to load up pictures yet.
Hopefully in a few days, I'll be back in the swing of things here. But for now, I'm hoping to be able to catch up with a few of you this morning here before my mom arrives and the munchkins get up, etc. I've missed you all!
Being without this computer for nearly two weeks has been downright torturous, I tell you! I have so much of my homeschool prep stuff on here, not to mention that I use the computer to research a good bit of our homeschool lessons. I couldn't e-mail anyone (which cost me a chance to possibly meet Laura IRL. For that missed opportunity alone, I could throw this thing through a window! And blogging. Oh my, how I've missed everyone! It's been simply awful! I can't stand not knowing what's been going on with everyone. And I suspect it's going to take me a few days to get caught back up. (My mom is due here early this morning to help me with the redecorating and moving around of the kids rooms, so I probably won't have much time over the next few days.)
I have to say, there is one positive thing that happened because of our computer breakdown. Because I had no way to check our e-mail to see how Kara's surgery went, I got to hear the shock and joy in both Aaron's and Kara's voices over their surprising news when I called them. It was so much better finding out the news that way. Oh my gosh...I just can't calm myself down over the excitement of this one...a new little one to spoil!
No earth-shattering news from our little abode. We did take a mini-vacation up to North Bay, Canada. Went to Marten River Prov. Park and to Algonquian. Was a wonderful little get-away! We simply love Canada! It's so incredibly beautiful...and we've seen such a small bit of it. Someday, I hope we can see a lot more. I'll post some pictures in a few days. First I have to figure out how...we finally got a new camera...Rich has been saving his "review" money for almost a year (well, part of it has gone into the "braces for Annie" fund as well). Anyway, we haven't had time (or the computer!) to figure out how to load up pictures yet.
Hopefully in a few days, I'll be back in the swing of things here. But for now, I'm hoping to be able to catch up with a few of you this morning here before my mom arrives and the munchkins get up, etc. I've missed you all!
Saturday, August 04, 2007
joy and sadness
August 4...undoubtedly an extremely emotional day for me. A day of extremes. Joy and sadness.
On this day, seventeen years ago, I became the luckiest gal on earth. Yes, seventeen years ago today, I married Rich. And it has been the most wonderful marriage I can imagine. Is he perfect? No. And of course, I am far from it. But we both believe with all our hearts that we are perfect for each other. Oh yes, I am so extremely blessed! So, of course, it goes without saying that this day brings me incredible joy. My goodness, we were really young once:
As for the sadness, it's a sadness we share. We wanted children from the time we got married, but felt we needed to be responsible and wait until we were more "settled" and financially stable. Rich was in school and we had no insurance. And that was okay. But eventually, we after a few years (despite the fact that Rich was still in school), we decided it was time to start trying. (We at least now had insurance.) But it wasn't as easy as just trying. To make a long story short, we battled infertility for a few years. The problem was endometriosis. But I finally had surgery, and then immediately got pregnant. We were blessed beyond measure to have Annie. A year later we decided it was time to try to add another child to our family. But again, it just wasn't happening. As I was now nearly 35, we didn't wait so long to head back to the doctor. He did surgery again. But this time no immediate miracle. So another year went by until we were finally blessed with another child. A child we weren't sure we would ever have, but a child we had loved nonetheless from the minute we decided to try. And wow...his due date? Our 10th wedding anniversary! What a tremendous anniversary gift, huh? But, it wasn't to be. I miscarried. Casey died before he was born. I know that different people respond to miscarriage in different ways, but it was absolutely devastating to us.
Anyway, this day, the day Casey was "due", brings so much sadness with it. We always miss him, but today, as well as the day we found out that he'd died, are always the hardest.
Back on the day he was due (our 10th anniversary), Rich and I bought a beautiful little tree and planted it for Casey. We didn't have our own home then, and we happened to be visiting his parents then anyway. His parents graciously allowed us to plant this tree in their yard. And when we bought this house, they brought Casey's tree to us. Here is Casey's tree today:
I love you, Rich! And we love you, Casey!
On this day, seventeen years ago, I became the luckiest gal on earth. Yes, seventeen years ago today, I married Rich. And it has been the most wonderful marriage I can imagine. Is he perfect? No. And of course, I am far from it. But we both believe with all our hearts that we are perfect for each other. Oh yes, I am so extremely blessed! So, of course, it goes without saying that this day brings me incredible joy. My goodness, we were really young once:
As for the sadness, it's a sadness we share. We wanted children from the time we got married, but felt we needed to be responsible and wait until we were more "settled" and financially stable. Rich was in school and we had no insurance. And that was okay. But eventually, we after a few years (despite the fact that Rich was still in school), we decided it was time to start trying. (We at least now had insurance.) But it wasn't as easy as just trying. To make a long story short, we battled infertility for a few years. The problem was endometriosis. But I finally had surgery, and then immediately got pregnant. We were blessed beyond measure to have Annie. A year later we decided it was time to try to add another child to our family. But again, it just wasn't happening. As I was now nearly 35, we didn't wait so long to head back to the doctor. He did surgery again. But this time no immediate miracle. So another year went by until we were finally blessed with another child. A child we weren't sure we would ever have, but a child we had loved nonetheless from the minute we decided to try. And wow...his due date? Our 10th wedding anniversary! What a tremendous anniversary gift, huh? But, it wasn't to be. I miscarried. Casey died before he was born. I know that different people respond to miscarriage in different ways, but it was absolutely devastating to us.
Anyway, this day, the day Casey was "due", brings so much sadness with it. We always miss him, but today, as well as the day we found out that he'd died, are always the hardest.
Back on the day he was due (our 10th anniversary), Rich and I bought a beautiful little tree and planted it for Casey. We didn't have our own home then, and we happened to be visiting his parents then anyway. His parents graciously allowed us to plant this tree in their yard. And when we bought this house, they brought Casey's tree to us. Here is Casey's tree today:
I love you, Rich! And we love you, Casey!
Friday, August 03, 2007
those anal retentive tendencies
Yep, they're rearing their ugly head again. This time popping up in my blogging habits. (Why can't they just leave me alone?!!) No, I've decided that I'm going to try giving myself a blogging "schedule". It seems as if I've sort of been headed that way naturally anyway...and when that AR part of my brain caught onto that, well there was no stopping things. Mondays are naturally "food" days, thanks to Laura and her gracious hosting of Menu Plan Monday. Thursdays seem to be a good day for all things "book" related, since it's Booking through Thursday day anyway. Words on Wednesday...well, Wednesday, of course. And I kind of like the idea of throwing in Wordless Wednesday with Words on Wednesday. For some reason, I seem to be posting about creative endeavors on Tuesdays these days. And that leaves Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. I decided Sunday would be a good day just to post about what we did during the previous week. Saturday I'll save for "good stuff" or "at this moment" type posts. And Friday, I've been thinking about posting about homeschool happenings.
Of course, I do know myself all too well, and realize that this whole schedule thing will probably last all of two or three weeks before I get bored of the whole concept.
Geez...I sure have been rambling on here. Do you ever get the urge to just delete your whole post and just start over? I feel like that's what I should do...but frankly I'm just too lazy for that this morning. So instead, maybe I should just get on with what I wanted to say to start with.
So, here it is Friday. The day I've set aside for posting about school "stuff". Of course, we haven't even started our new school year yet. And still it takes up tremendous amounts of my time. Yesterday, as Rich had a long day at work, and Gray is petrified to not have an adult upstairs with him at every moment, and I prefer to do my planning in the solitude of my little craft room in the basement...I wasn't able to do much lesson planning. So I decided it would be a good time to go through the seemingly trillions of "educational" websites I had bookmarked and weed them out. And in doing so, I stumbled across this site I thought I would share with you. It's certainly not just for homeschoolers...anyone with girls might want to check it out if you've never seen it before. Girl Power has all kinds of neat stuff for girls. Stuff about fitness and nutrition and body image, games and puzzles, links to lots of science and technology sites, and many more things as well. I even printed out a Girl Power assignment book, which not only has places for writing down daily assignments, but also has lots of blurbs about famous women, quotes, and puzzles. Annie loves it, and is even anxious to have assignments to write down!
O.K...I suppose I've babbled for too long as it is...
Of course, I do know myself all too well, and realize that this whole schedule thing will probably last all of two or three weeks before I get bored of the whole concept.
Geez...I sure have been rambling on here. Do you ever get the urge to just delete your whole post and just start over? I feel like that's what I should do...but frankly I'm just too lazy for that this morning. So instead, maybe I should just get on with what I wanted to say to start with.
So, here it is Friday. The day I've set aside for posting about school "stuff". Of course, we haven't even started our new school year yet. And still it takes up tremendous amounts of my time. Yesterday, as Rich had a long day at work, and Gray is petrified to not have an adult upstairs with him at every moment, and I prefer to do my planning in the solitude of my little craft room in the basement...I wasn't able to do much lesson planning. So I decided it would be a good time to go through the seemingly trillions of "educational" websites I had bookmarked and weed them out. And in doing so, I stumbled across this site I thought I would share with you. It's certainly not just for homeschoolers...anyone with girls might want to check it out if you've never seen it before. Girl Power has all kinds of neat stuff for girls. Stuff about fitness and nutrition and body image, games and puzzles, links to lots of science and technology sites, and many more things as well. I even printed out a Girl Power assignment book, which not only has places for writing down daily assignments, but also has lots of blurbs about famous women, quotes, and puzzles. Annie loves it, and is even anxious to have assignments to write down!
O.K...I suppose I've babbled for too long as it is...
Thursday, August 02, 2007
in my own little world of books
Time again for this week's Booking through Thursday. I feel silly even playing this week, since my answer is simply "no".
This week's question:
Have you ever written an author a fan letter?
Did you get an answer?
Did it spark a conversation? A meeting?
Like I already said, No.
So onto other book news...
I finished my second of eight for the Newbery Challenge a couple nights ago. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell. I hate even saying this, but I was somewhat disappointed in this book. It may be that I just had overly high expectations for it. I don't know. I've read more children's and YA lit lately than I have in a very long time. And I've read a few that I really fell in love with. Like Kira Kira and Esperanza Rising. And I think I was hoping this would be another of those. Especially since it was a Newbery Medal winner.
I'm not saying that this wasn't a good book. It was. I enjoyed it. I just didn't fall in love with it. And I must say, I have a feeling that I would have enjoyed this book much more when I was young. (Annie read it a couple years ago, and enjoyed it much more than I just did.)
Anyway, that's just my opinion, for what that's worth.
This week's question:
Have you ever written an author a fan letter?
Did you get an answer?
Did it spark a conversation? A meeting?
Like I already said, No.
So onto other book news...
I finished my second of eight for the Newbery Challenge a couple nights ago. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell. I hate even saying this, but I was somewhat disappointed in this book. It may be that I just had overly high expectations for it. I don't know. I've read more children's and YA lit lately than I have in a very long time. And I've read a few that I really fell in love with. Like Kira Kira and Esperanza Rising. And I think I was hoping this would be another of those. Especially since it was a Newbery Medal winner.
I'm not saying that this wasn't a good book. It was. I enjoyed it. I just didn't fall in love with it. And I must say, I have a feeling that I would have enjoyed this book much more when I was young. (Annie read it a couple years ago, and enjoyed it much more than I just did.)
Anyway, that's just my opinion, for what that's worth.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
words vs. wordless
This week's words on Wednesday:
*habiliments-clothing (from To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee)
*fulminant-developing or progressing suddenly (from And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts)
*peripatetic-wandering from place to place (from And the Band Played On)
I am simply amazed by just how many words there are out there that I don't know. How many of these are new to you?
And if you don't like words, there's always Wordless Wednesday:
*habiliments-clothing (from To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee)
*fulminant-developing or progressing suddenly (from And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts)
*peripatetic-wandering from place to place (from And the Band Played On)
I am simply amazed by just how many words there are out there that I don't know. How many of these are new to you?
And if you don't like words, there's always Wordless Wednesday:
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