Books

Ok, so far this summer, I've stayed true to my nature and stayed up way too late and read too fast to remember everything I want.

Here's my 'so far this summer' brain dump:

This was my first official "read" of the summer. Too bad you don't get to read it for a while. Very enjoyable. Very. Keep writing, author! I will let you know when I am allowed to say more.

The Gurnsey Literary and Potato Peel Society

The title kept me from reading this for a long time-and that was very dumb of me. Read it.

The latest in the 39 clues series.

Fun. If you have a tweener, it's fun to read them together. We are very excited for the fall, when the last one comes out. Scholastic was very clever with the series.  They had different authors write each book. Rick Riordian (of Percy Jackson fame & also from the most wonderful city in TX) wrote the first one and got us hooked.

Follow the River

My mom gave me this one. I told her it looked like a romance novel. She said it wasn't. It wasn't, but there were a couple of romance novel type episodes that I just went gag, gag, gag into and then skipped. Once past that, it was an excellent & disturbing book about a woman captured by the natives and trying to get back home. It's based on a true story. I think I am a magnet for books that freak me out & make me think, "what would I do?"

Kristen Chenowith's Biography

Cute

Skipped around a lot. Fit the personality she presents to the public.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

Thank you Stephanie Meyer for the look into this character. Please make "them" make a movie of "The Host." Please. Please.

The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet

I had to read this one because of the cover. I'm drawn to intriguing covers and smart protaganists.  This protaganist might be a little too smart for me.  This is the one I am in right now & I have to read it very slowly compared to everything else I read. That's probably a good thing. I am loving how the author injects very important information in very subtle ways.

And my favorite so far:

The Hunger Games
Wow. Read it. This was another uneasy, "what would I do" read. I must learn some outdoor survival skills.
(woo hoo- in my search for an image for this, found that a movie based on this book is coming 2011 wonder what it will be rated)


(All the "look inside" images came from Amazon-sorry they aren't links & you can't "look inside." Maybe someday when I am really good and have tons of time I will figure all the somewhat technical stuff out.The one without the "look inside" came from my camera. To the author of that one, did you know someone was taking pictures of your baby? Ah, the paparazzi knows no bounds.----If you have read, are reading or want to read "The Help," we are going to have a little talk about it in the fall. Would love to have you join us!)

The Dog (part 7)

"You are such nice people to put in a sand box for your dog."

Really,

No.

It belongs to a little boy who can't get any playtime.

_________________________________________________________________________--

True quote.
True reply.

But I can see why they said it.

To anonymous:

First--thanks to all who left comments! So glad that's working. Your help is appreciated much.
Second--the post:

Dear Anonymous NFL Picks comment leaver-

Please, please, please contact me.
Your amazingly beautiful run on sentence* has thrilled me to no end and you used "and" six times (if I counted correctly).

I am so in awe. There are butterflies in my stomach. I am sorry I thought it was spam and deleted your first comment under this post. Please forgive me. You clearly did your research and worked hard on your product.

(Other readers, if you don't know why I am saying this, please check here under interests. --I have added my love of run-ons.)

We must help you with your cause.
Especially if you keep writing the way you do.

And, please know-I am being for real.
I am a geek and believe that anyone who can pull off a sentence like that deserves to be heard.

Thank you,
the mrs.
143themrs@gmail.com

*look at the comments after the linked post to read it

We got spammed

Should I be so excited?
Probably not.

It was a really long comment that made no sense at all about NFL picks.
Too bad it was so silly,
We might have all learned something.

Anyway-
I deleted it & changed the comment process to add that step of typing in the extra words.
(Ok, really I should know what that's called, but I am too tired tonight and don't feel like educating myself.)

Again, anyway-
Last time I did something like this, we had problems in the comments. Some of you couldn't leave them.
And that was sad.  Not that many of you comment much-which is fine-but if you'd care to-I'd love to "listen" to them. I do love hearing from you.

So, I'm going to do a test comment and if you are so inclined, would you mind doing the same?
And I promise that this is not me trying to see who is reading BV. 
I promise I am not testing you by asking you to test.

I am thankful you are reading.

And hope you come back often.

PS-If you do have trouble leaving a comment, would you please (if you have time & care to, of course) shoot me an email?  You can find my address in my profile. Thanks so much!

The Dog (part 6)

We found a technique to get the dog to obey.

All it takes is a light saber and a mask.

Aparently Darth Vader is above her in our family's pecking order.

I am not.

When She's Smiling

photo source-the beautiful smiling woman

I want you to know that ever since July 2nd I've been smiling (and obsessing about eyebrows, but I am going to stop that now because apparently I am the only person who watched that movie who was bothered by the eyebrows- and, after analyzing myself for a couple of weeks, I've decided that I am projecting my own eyebrow fears and past experiences and jealousies and now I am going to stop--after tonight's tweezing).

I owe somebody a prize.

A beautiful somebody who's taught me a very wonderful lesson. Please listen:

When I met her, she was smiling. And I can't think of a single time that I have ever been around her and she hasn't had a smile on her face.  And I know it's real and genuine. And it's had a huge impact on me.

I know she's had trials.  I know life has thrown it's challenges at her (like it does at all of us). 

From her, I have learned that even though it's tough sometimes, a smile can help you power through.

Because there is power in a smile. Not a fake, smirkish smile, but a smile that says, "I know."

And she knows.

That smile works something in your soul.

The past couple of weeks, while I've been thinking of her and her smile, I've been smiling.

And smiling.

And even though life's thrown some some of it's lovelies at me that might trouble my heart, somehow that smile is bringing me peace.

I have a feeling that, "I know."

And everything will be alright.

No matter what happens.

And I am thankful

for that smile.

________________________________________________________________________________

Now here's a little PS that I don't want to take away from the power of her smile, but it makes me smile because it shows just how small this world is and I want to share:

We met in Texas a few years ago.  Her husband went to the same elementary school that I attended (many years after me). Her father in law is (or was a couple of years ago) the principal of that school in Idaho-not while I attended, but later. That just makes me smile.

Go Bobcats!

Sunday School

OK, I have a confession to make.
I have not been a very good Sunday School student the past couple of weeks.
But, I have good excuses.

Last week, I "stole" someone's baby.
A beautiful baby, that little mr j is in love with.
He walks around the house singing her name.
And I've heard that there is at least one more little boy his age who is enamored of the little beauty.
I believe there may be more.
And that in a few years, there may be issues and adventures dealing with the affections of her heart and these wonderful boys.
We shall see.

Fortunately, she has a big brother who will protect her.
(A big brother who always has a smile on his precious face.)

Anyway, I got to hold her for two hours!
Two hours!
So I listened to the lessons and did my little responsibilities.
And really enjoyed holding her.

This week we had wonderful meetings.
Here's your message:

We need to be thankful for the sacrifices that have been made for us and sometimes we will be asked to make sacrifices for others.

I know it's short, but I made a mistake and sat by a friend, whom I will not sit by again, because I wanted to talk to her the whole time.  That is not condusive to learning and it was very rude of me. I will repent, maybe.

So, if I don't sit by you at church, that is a good thing.  It means that I love you enough to let you listen and learn. And I am practicing my self control.

In fact, I used this technique so well in a congregation in Texas, that nobody knew that a certain person and I were very best friends. It was funny.

And just so you know, I am not tempted to talk to my kids during church.
So I can sit by them. I love to keep them quiet.

I have mastered the art of the "giving of the eye" and the slight poke on the shoulder. My favorite by far, though, is the quick "shh," shake no of my head, followed by another quick "shh." It is especially fun when they think I've missed their sneaky shenannigans and my attack is a surprise.

I will pay better attention next week.
I will make that sacrifice for you.
I promise.

Smokin' Hair

I am so glad I don't have a picture of this one for you.
Because I think I might be a bad influence if I showed you how to improvise a blow torch.
But, I can use my words.

My hair was smokin' yesterday and it will be from here on out-
whenever I use my hairspray.
Because someone in this household used the hairspray to start a fire.
And I can't get the smoke smell off the can.

Quote from a parent in our house

Not me-the other parent.

Someone's bedroom in our house is not smelling too good.
Not mine.
And it's not just not good.  It's bad.

As a mother, it is my responsibility to let that child know that picked up does not mean clean and clean does not have a smell.

Child did not like me saying that and gave me a dirty look.

At that point, the other parent in this house said,

"Clean doesn't have a smell, but dirty has a look."

Child walked out, to her room and shut the door.

And she didn't slam it.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Clean doesn't smell - did you know that it doesn't?
When we use some cleaning products, the resulting smell comes comes from those things.
So, when you come upon a bleachy clean, lemon fresh, or piney clean smell, you aren't smelling clean.
You are smelling the cleaning product.
That you associate with clean.
So you think it's clean.
But is it?
Probably
You just aren't smelling it.

And-- I love this quote!

This Weekend

When I was in college, Saturdays were lonely days.  Sometimes Sundays were, too.
I would get all my to dos done. Sometimes hangout with friends. Sometimes not.
I often felt very alone.

That is not my life anymore.  I still try to get all my to dos done, but quite often they don't-which is fine by me. I am very not alone and I really am enjoying my life as it is right now.

And because my life as it is right now is very full, I am not having much time to sit and ponder and write about what I am learning.  But, I know my days are numbered and someday, I will have time. So for this little season, I will make lists and be shortwinded. And when that lonely time tries to sprout up again, I will have found ways to deal with it.

So, this weekend, I've been very impressed on the importance of people in our lives.

Here's some of what I did-involving people:

Date Night-dinner & the dreaded WM (which is not so bad, when my mr is with me)-during which my mr recieved a very kind phone invitation to join some friends the next night for some fun

Baby Shower-which was totally cute-they themed it "mr man," so of course I was enamored-and the mom to be is a super cutie-and their cute (already here) daughters remind me so much of my two little girls that've grown up way too fast-and the baby to come is a little boy, so I'm relating greatly to their family pattern

Clean House-putting this under people, because everyone chips in-we use a "zone" system and everyone is responsible for something (except I just realized that mr j isn't & he's old enough now-hmmm-what shall it be?)

Bike Selling-(not me, my mr)-he did his first 'Craig's List' thing and was meeting different people

Asking others to run errands for me-our new evening with friends dashed some dinner plans we had with some kind young men men we know-and they were having some problem and weren't able to make it to our house anyway-so we took them some moola and they got to go to tacobell and jamba juice & I think they liked it

Neighboor Knocked-at door-mr j invited to go swim with a friend-great excitement

Pest Control Appt-we had a time frame-adventure ensued

Real Shower-and I even washed my hair-and told a young family member that if said pest control person came, to have them do the outside, come knock and tell me they were here so they could do the inside because in the course of cleaning a certain bug situation was discovered in a bathroom (not mine) that he could deal with (that and there have been some big spiders in my house and I don't have enought moola to pay my children for the slaughter)

Surprise-when I popped my head out the bathroom door to holler & see how above mentioned child was doing, I scared  the pest control man out of my bedroom-I think I now have great power in that I can scare away the person who scares away my pests-and I am very glad that I put a towel in front of me before I opened that door-and that I did not open to door very wide because he would have been v-e-r-y scared if he'd seen the reflection in the mirror directly behind me.

Dressed-I got dressed-we had a nice chat-took care of the bugs-had a talk with a young man about letting people in the house and telling me what's going on

Hair-miss s curled my hair with a straight iron-I think that is just fun irony

Knock on door-thought it was our evening out friends-not-kind man (friend) bringing mr a bike tool

Knock on door-evening out friends-while waiting for mr, showed mr b how too get started on his tuba

Out-indecision on where to dine, but fun company-decision made-only room at the bar, but it was fun & I found a "drink" I like (ok, don't get all worked up-those who know me-I don't "drink"-and I didn't)-but I did drink blackberry sage lemonade-who would have known

Theater-we saw a car fly-and a little boy from our little school in the child lead-had a wonderful time with our friends-and there were toot sweets at intermission (that reference was for you, Glenda & Becky G, thought you might laugh at the double meaning there)-for some interactive fun, you get to guess the show

Bed-slept well, next to my mr

Hair-slept in-didn't brush-did brush teeth

Church-sitting by children-who some people think are well behaved-but really just know how to elbow each other without being noticed-lots of comments on my cute hair (if they only knew-usually it's straight and the same)-thank you miss s-kidnapped a baby (so precious!) got to hold it for a long time-I did listen & learn, too

Home-different post coming on this one-it has to do with a blowtorch-and a person

Lunch/dinner-son walking around saying "no more dinner for lunch"-think he's hungry and tired of our Sunday eating habits-and it relates to aforementioned different post

Nap-read books in bed with a grumpy/tired 4 year old who doesn't take naps-he put me to sleep and then left

Book-finished reading a book that I will tell you about in a bit

Treats & fun time with family-have a child who loves to make "treats"-my downfall-and my people are a joy (most of the time)

Fun emailing with a friend/neighbor-so we took them some treats & had a nice visit

Found time-to be longwinded and make a long list

Was Not Lonely

Ok, my mom gave me the book I read this week.  When I saw it, I told her it looked like a romance novel & yuck. (While I love my mr, I'm not into reading that stuff-and I'm not really romantic.) It's called,"Follow the River." It's an historical fiction about a woman in the prerevolutionary war era, who is living on the edges of civilization & is kidnapped by indians (their words) & escapes & makes the perilous journey home to her mr.
Along the way, seeing her baby niece's brains bashed out, giving birth, losing three children, an chief wanting to take her for a wife, almost being eaten, and oh so much more. --And mom, there was some (not much) creepy "romance" genre stuff in it--I skipped those parts.

But, I couldn't put the book down. And not because of the romance parts-because of the will to return to her home and the anguish of the family. She had a horrible lonely journey. One that I doubt (& pray) that I will never have to endure.  But I would-for my family.

Because, if I have to endure hard or lonely times, I will.
And I will find time to be longwinded,
and be thankful I had a towel and only opened the door a bit.

Please and Thank you

I asked my daughters to please do me a favor and return something to someone for me tonight when they were on their way out to their evening activities.

I did not ask them twice.

I did not remind them as they left.

An hour and a half later, I paniced and realized that I had not asked them twice.

I had not reminded them as they left.

And feeling lazy, I was bemoaning the thought of walking down a ways to the neighbor and  having to return the thing.

So I went inside to look for it.

And it was gone.

And I got that "oh, no, I lost it and it's really important and I can't believe it's gone feeling" in my stomach.

And then the phone rang.

It was one of my daughers asking  if they could stay at their activity awhile later, they were having fun.

And I said yes.

And did you see where that thing happened to go.

And she said yes.

We took it back.

And I almost cried.

(Does the word paniced look somehow wrong to you? It does to me. It would look better spelled panicked or panicced to me. I think it looks really pan-i-said spelled paniced. Sometimes words bug me.)----
(OK, I just checked --according to dictionary.com, it is supposed to be spelled panicked.--I am leaving my mistake above, because sometimes it's good to acknowledge mistakes.  Especially my own.)

Freedom

Picture and a wealth of information found here.

I am extremely grateful for the inspired men who gave all they did so I can live as I live.

in·de·pend·ence  [in-di-pen-duhns]

–noun

1. Also, independency. the state or quality of being independent.

2. freedom from the control, influence, support, aid, or the like, of others.

3. Archaic . a competency.

Origin:

1630–40; independ(ent) + -ence

Synonyms

1. See freedom.

"Signing the Declaration of Independence" by J. Trumball

Picture found here.

 

If you'd like to read a transcript of the Delaration of Independence, go here.

For wikipedia descriptions, details and explanation of the Declaration go here.

And for what I believe, go here. (And if you go there, you get to count is as today's Sunday School.)

 

The eyebrows drove me crazy!

Eyebrow template found here.

I want you to know that I am having a great summer.

I also want you to know that my children eat my life.

Especially in the summer.

And that's fine by me.

So, sometimes you might hear from me a lot,

sometimes you won't.

I'm beginning to think that all my communications for the next eight or so weeks will be very brief.

Unless I can steal an hour somewhere.

But really, I don't want to steal from my kids, they are nice & it would be a very bad example.

Today I:

didn't excercise

slept in

brain trained

forgot to go to a meeting that I sent out the reminder for

oh the irony

got a phone call

hurried

dried my bangs

went to a meeting

ate a protien bar

didn't eat lunch

watched younger three children

in the backyard

with the dog and the hose

and water

took pictures of them

made  bed

one load of laundry

took two children to the pool because they were wet

laundered two children at pool because I had shampoo in the bag

looked up movie times

didn't make sloppy joes for dinner because didn't have buns

toasted hot dog buns because we had them and they were frozen

I like toasty buns

ate a hot dog

why didn't we just have sloppy joes on hot dog buns?-of course I think of that now. sheesh.

ate sweet corn and watermelon from the farmer's market lady

who let me write her a check

so we could buy a tomato & some weird cookies

with the little cash I had

got the mail

went to a movie

with my girls

and now

because of that movie

I can't go to sleep

I am afraid

afraid of all the eyebrows

And I am up too late.

So, if you can guess the movie, and you are not R OK, you can win a prize-

I don't know what prize, but we can figure out something fun and appropriate.

Hint: I have teenage daughters.  They like to read.  They are in love with love.  They have no idea what I was thinking during "the engagement" scene, but it was sure funny to watch them giggle.

Someday, after they are married, I will tell them what I was thinking. It was not about eyebrows.

Although, the eyebrows in that movie DROVE ME CRAZY!!!!!!!

& PS- I did a lot more today than what is listed above

I have a complete and fulfilling life.

I just need to go to sleep & get back to working out.