boo hoo

I never thought of my self as anything but independant until marridge. Security does funny things to a person and this time I have been not lookmg forward to Gregs absence for much longer than the last trip. It could have been the two weeks we spent not seeing each other up at camp while he worked. When he wasnt working at night he was sneaking off with my brother Daryl, playing board games and smoaking cigars. He came back so geeked out he even signed up for CAMAS CON...an entire weekend dedicated to boardgames. Really the real reason I wasn't happy about his suggestion about attending was the fact he would only be back a short time before leaving again. Am I sounding too much like I have a complex? You can say for sure I miss him terribly :( Do I want to talk about it? no...just blog my sorrows out. moan. I still have two weeks to go. Tomarrow I think I might get tatted up at the parlor. It might help me externalize the pain I feel inside. Dont worry I will find a camera and take a picture for you all to see.

origen of the lightbulb

It was a game in the small christian school I went, to create theory's about the real origin of things. Among other random topics the one circled around the most was light bulbs.
Many people think light bulbs are the harnessing of electricity, I have always known the truth. Light bulbs run entirely off of dark power. They suck the dark from the surrounding area into a router which turns it into energy creating light. The stronger the light the more efficient the router is. Most of you have experienced when a bulb burns out. You cant believe how dark it is. This phenomenon is from the dark settling to the ground and filling the empty cracks again. Before dark suckers people used a more primitive form of light called fire. This ended badly considering fire needs wood to burn and the only alternative it left people for housing was caves. Supposing you don't believe me? Test it out for yourselves. Tonight when its at its darkest switch on one dark sucker and check its radios. One little bulb cannot possibly pull all the dark from a room, thus creating shadows. Those little nooks and crannies where dark likes to hide.

drop off, pick up

Today Greg left for Bolivia. I got to see him to the airport this time. He seemed glad to stretch his international legs again..that is before he crams them between seats for hours on end. After dropping him off I went to Starbucks with my dad and lingered over a late' contemplating what to do with all this no spouse time. Isn't it so handy to have coffee shops attached to book stores? I headed in for inspiration. Kristen informed me ink heart was worth the effort so I bought it and one of its sequels. We then ventured to a music store (like sheet music) where I found the Beatles on banjo and a compilation book with a variety of songs I couldn't live without. Upstairs held rows and rows of guitars and three banjos. I picked up the most expensive looking one and banged out a few licks. Its something I have been wanting to get the nerve up to do. After returning home like a viking who had just pillaged a village full of beautiful women and gold (aka very happy) I worked with my daughter on school. Today was teacher conference day. My daughter chose to read her teacher 25 pages of go dog go. I am truly a proud mama, who ever thought at 5 my baby would be reading books...(brag...brag...brag..) All in all I think my time will be full of things to do with Greg gone. The only time I miss him terribly is when life is quiet. That point right before sleep comes over top of you like a sneaker wave.

misunderstood pets

Respect the paw is what I always say. We hamsters have a hard time of it you know. Take mice and rats for example, they have stories of their wild ancestors taking over town and city, spreading disease and creating chaos. What do we have? Domestication. Nothing but years of tunnels and torture. These devices are cleverly disguised, in the human world, as ‘toys.’ When was the last time someone shoved you into a giant ball for hours without your consent? We hamsters are living out our lives in a cage the size of a shoe box. Some of my relatives have gone so loony they get up in the middle of the night to endlessly run on a wheel until their legs quit out of sheer exhaustion.
After raging against the machine and biting the hand that fed me, they put me in solitary confinement. Sadly I lack the opposable thumbs needed to escape from my metal prison. I am just a child’s play thing….a misunderstood pet.

CRASH!

okay not really, it was more like a slide down a very large hill into a guardrail. The momentum hadn't built very high and it surprised me we made it into the guardrail, let alone over top. It didn't even faze me. (mostly bcause of full coveradge insurance) We were all unscathed and the kids barley noticed what had taken place...it was a s-l-o-w slide. Now I sit in my sister-in-laws house waiting to hear from Greg about a rental car so I can run him to the airport on the 25Th then return here to exchange cars yet again. Just a bump in the road of life.

joy ride

snowmobiling is a great stress relif. Its like with every power surge a wave of anxiety rushes from my five foot eight inch frame. I remember the first time I met my Greg, we went snowmobiling to up to an oober romantic spot called insperation point and we kissed. okay..made out. The best part was driving at break neck speeds untill just the right moment where you jumped into fresh powder feeling your adrennalin rushing through your veins. Motercycle riding has always been that way for me..perhaps that is why my parents were ardently against the purchace of such device.....but that is while I was living with them. :) I am hungering for this excitment on a daily basis. what are you up for?

dont go..

So the movie, though full of funny promises, is a real let down. Think drama! Yes I did find myself laughing out loud several times but it was nothing compared to the mortification of the cheating husband and jilted wife who in the end chose divorce. Bleck! it left such a terrible taste on my soul I am having a hard time thinking positive at all. (wounder why I don't like dramas???) The scene where the wife talks about how she is going to try to move on and start over after her horrible husband trashed their marriage yet the pain and hurt live on in her eyes...oh so heartbreaking. Trust me, no matter how much you like the big name people in this flick, wait for the DVD.

my new little helper

I have a strange love and addiction to technology. My favorite kind is baby gear, but alas I have no more babies in the house,....now I'm on to more sophisticated toys. Like the little dell mini I purchased from the dell outlet! Not only is it cute as a button, it has the capability to surf the net and comes pre-loaded with windows xp. Now I can be a silly blogger and someday soon a serious writer. Did I spend my tattoo money on it? yes, but I have extra just laying around in the savings account for things like that. Today I am babysitting my nephews..so my sister in law and her husband can take a well needed break out to visconnies itallian resteraunt. I cant imagine going months without a night out. Poor thing. Tomorrow we are going to the movie 'hes not that into you' for some girl time.

I've bean thinking

You might be surprised to know the pious bean that drives today's high powered society had very humble beginnings.
The plant originated in Ethiopia where, as legend has it, a man tending his goats noticed the remains of coffee berries in all the goat leavings (poop) and decided to experiment. Expounding on this jewel of knowledge is up to your imaginations.

An Early translation of coffee describes it as 'the wine of the berry' as it made itself an acceptable alternative to alcohol in the Muslim world.

Coffee's first documented nod came from a Persian physician in the 10Th century, most likely mentioned for its 'stimulating' capability's.

This little bean had a long journey ahead before reaching America. From Ethiopia it traveled to Italy. England latched onto it in the 16Th century with France, Austria and the Netherlands close behind. Finally close to 800 years after its beginning it reached the Americas. The Boston Tea party made it patriotic to drink, and ultimately gave it the upper hand. Anther boost was Prohibition.

By the 1920's The united states was importing 70% of the worlds coffee crop. America is famous for its impatience and we were no different with this beverage. Our country spent its time creating the fastest cup o' Joe (aka instant coffee) while Italy perfected espresso. Slowly we began to realize that coffee could taste good as well as provide energy with the opening of Starbucks in 1971. Many consumers turned to their own ovens and stove tops for 'the perfect roast' thus cutting their reliance on company's such as Folgers and Nestle.

Where is the best cup of espresso in the US? This is a question destined for endless debate, we all have our favorites...our loyalties if you must.

One small thing to remember when you are reaching for that steamy, refreshing cup of morning coffee....it was first discovered in goat poop.



information for this post was gleaned from wickapedia.com 2basanob.com and my endless knowledge of all things weird.

a phantoms view of the opera

Classic movies call it stepping out into society. The opera is an entire night dedicated to performing arts and classy evening wear. Early arrival is crucial if crowed watching is on your agenda. The evenings wardrobe selection ranges from nice jeans and sweaters to classy pashmena covered gowns and sparkling shoes. The opera, crudely put, is a woman's version of Nascar. While men shout out driver specs, engine size and lap time, woman whisper in tight groups about hairstyle, jewelry and dress size. Beware! Whatever it is you choose to don that night it will inevitably decide if you will be looked at... or... looked over. (high school anyone?) The doors open for seating 30 minuted before the performance begins. Take care to heed the 5 min warning call. If the door should shut, the ushers will not open it again until intermission.

The Turn Of The Screw opens with a single man standing left stage. The spotlight pours down upon his polished face as he begins to sing about a story he found in some long forgotten journal. The Orchestra enunciates the characters movements. The man sings on. A business man is in need of a governess for his niece and nephew but has a strange stipulation, she is never to contact him. She mulls this over before deciding to take the job, he is after all a busy man and shouldn't be worried with tiny details.

The plot unfolds rather quickly and we find the children, though sweet, are seeing ghosts of former employees. The governess is torn. Will she break contract with their guardian and tell him? The end finds the young girl leaving with the housekeeper and the boy, being torn between his possessor and the governess, dies in the Nanny's arms after finally speaking out the haunts name.

The silence of the theatre is only broken by an occasional cough. The acoustics so strong, a pin dropping might sound like an avalanche. The operatic voices lend an ease to the tense plot, and nearly banish the eeriness created by the orchestras minor key.

The acts themselves are 50 minutes long, and it is sung in English with subtitles for those who can not pick the words out.

If you long for an evening full of culture and finery I heartily recommend buying a black dress, finding a date and taking off for the opera. It is truly an experience that will last you a lifetime.

And my pictures will come later, when I get home.

new weight.....

today I weighed myself and found (much to my surprise) I am now 136. Only 8 pounds to go!!!

faster internet slower me

When our family resided with my parents we suffered through the pains of dial-up. Often the page alone took several minutes to load. Unless you had a large cup of coffee and a book close by, the only thing to do was putter around the house swooping by the computer screen every so often to see if it had finished.
To top it off the desk was placed on the back porch, crammed in with the washer, dryer and dog food. Certain sed pregnant women often found it impossible to concentrate with the waves of nausea, created by kibble smell, sweeping over them. Eventually compassion motivated me to move it somewhere less odoriferous.
Four years of snail paced information compelled us to look into high speed immediately after departing their doors. We went from driving behind a grandma at 25mph to highway speeds. Was it enough? NEVER!
Let me explain, no there is no time, let me sum up.
Netflix movie streaming + video store closing= motivation to bump it up from highway to jet speed...the result is a video store in my house. WOW. not to mention they have all those BBC movies Greg hates so much. two days ago I did a wives and daughters marathon. bwa ha ha ha!
The only back draw? All the piddly things I did while waiting for things to load no longer happen...and I'm not nearly as motivated to work out,....... :)

two weeks till forever

The information has been poasted and most all of you bloggers are aware my husband is going to Bolivia agian. I am excited for his new experiances and his renewed happiness when he gets back, Im just pre-missing him. Lets title it PMH. Dont frett its not contageous. Some have theorys about it being locked into genetics. Seems like everything else is. Latly Greg has been putting in tons of time at work and frantically gathering all the last bits and pieces before he leaves. I miss him already. hence the pmh. Have you ever experianced feelings of anxiety, longing and frustration? do you find yourself wishing for long dates in Italy involving canals and viola music? Do you look at your spouse and think "boy I miss them, even though they are right here"? You too might be suffering from pmh. Fortunatly for you I have the ultamate solution...go on a date! My perscription for PMH dosent come into the pharmacy untill tomarrow when we go to the opera.

worst book ever

Has anyone ever read that book about the little boys mom who rocks him every night until he is old then he sings and rocks her? Do you also remember your mother reading it to you in tears? This morning we read a book titled 'saying goodbye to lulu' by Corinne It needs a large red warning tab on the front specifying how you will end up crying before page 5. Yes, I did. If it wasn't bad enough my two oldest started laughing at me.....so this is what it feels like to become 'the mom' all that's left are the high waisted jeans with t-shirt tucked in.

haircuts

lazy sunday afternoons lead to lollygagging and laughter, also some lounge while others lop loads of long hair liberally.

When do you throw aside all inhabitions about mooching off of friends? When they are beautitians! First city girl and I buttered her up with a back and leg massage...then we asked. Its fortunate for us she is tollerant! Dont worry I only got a trim.

last of the phone

this is all that was left of my phone after the water bath :( My memory card survived. Now I realize I didnt have as many pictures transfered onto it as I thought!

love dare

Fireproof the movie was well done, for a christian film. It was nice to see a plot about people with a terrible marriage who turned it around. The cheesy christian actor dad could have been replaced but the show held my attention throughout. It made me want to read the book and try it (have it tried on me?) The fire rescue scenes were good. Its nice to get to experience the tension through a camera, it helps me understand a little more of his job.


your opinion please?

hello old friend

once in a great while a person runs into an object that had left without notice. In the instance with my son it was remembering his dependence upon a silicone soother, aptly nick-named plug, after discovering it in the recesses of the couch. A treasure hunters gleam leapt into his eyes and satisfaction followed shortly after as the cheeto dust encrusted Binky touched his lips. Whats a mom to do? I felt like the only option was to let him have it. He happily slurbered away thinking about the good times while mumbling his daily conversation to me through it. By evening time I was done with his mush mouth talk and told him he was done. He did not hesitate to hand it over, like all reunions it had come to its end. Till the next time. Lets hope his future discoverys are as untainted as this one.

what to be when I grow up

Its something I have been asking myself allot lately. Technically I am grown up, but your brain ages so much slower than your body..at least mine has. Last night my parents had the new associate pastor and his wife over for dinner. They were quite nice and it seems as though God has chosen just the right people for the job. The interesting thing was they both pursued careers first, then got married and will eventually have kids. I don't ever regret the decision I made to get married early etc. That is what I wanted. It was all part of the plan. The hitch is now that I have gotten through the baby having stage of my children's life I have all this free time on my hands. (take note I did not say sleep) I often ask myself if I should go to college or start a career, but nothing has solidified. I don't want to abandon my kids even if its 2-3 days a week. Writing professionally has its appeal and I know it could work if I put my mind to it. Realizing I need a map to my choices came to me yesterday. Here is a tentative sketch of my life for the next year.

1. Buy a laptop specifically for writing purposes
2. take time daily to draw and write, even if I am unmotivated
3. create a list of realistic goals I want to meet
4. buy a motorcycle (yes I'm serious)
5. find happiness in the many blessings God has given me
6. play my banjo on Wednesdays

If my sister in law can do it so can I!

facebook

Its the social network for the older generation. A way to connect with long lost friends and acquaintances. A tool which allows you to keep in touch without giving much effort. Think of it as a Starbucks with giant cork boards hung up everywhere. Each person has their own individual space that everyone else can look at..right down to the sticky notes you send each other. (wall to wall) Some wounder in to see if anything new happened, others rifle through the layers to find interesting facts or little known tidbits. often when you are in 'Starbucks' another friend you know walks in...do you chat? do you walk away? do you jump from the store only to return tentatively there after hoping you are on a different life schedule than the avoided friend? I never really know what to do when I am bubbled by someone...usually I answer. Where is the manual for this technological turn in life's road? I still don't know. I seem to always bubble one friend during dinner..how that happens, I'm not sure. If there were to be a book written on face book etiquette I think it would be called

"how to survive techno-communication and still be able to make toast"

oh perhaps

"3 easy steps to successful interfacing with your online friends"

then again there is also

"when life gets you down, become a fictional person on face book"

dropped call

The fact I had not heard my cell phone ring for more than an hour didn't faze me a bit. It wasn't until I got a call from my husband on a land line that my suspicions finally began to rise. The call between us was finished quickly after which I hauled all three of my firecrackers into the bathroom for a cleaning. They thought it grand to find Nana and poppies ditch filled with scummy water and smeared the gew on their legs for emphasis sake. Mommy's don't like to hug creatures from the black lagoon no matter how adorable they sound when they are plotting to "surprise" me. After making sure they didn't have any access to liquid soap I turned to the table. My eyes swept across a bowl full of Indians, water and...what was that! My cell phone. I picked it up. Its face was lifeless. The screen resembled one of those water filled bath toys. It just couldn't be saved. Oh, I tried to dry it out by taking it apart and cleaning it with a q-tip. seriously though even u-tube would be sumped.

mornin'

what comes from getting up too early? In this household it means the laundry gets folded, the dishes are put away and the rooms are cleaned but not vacuumed. Why did I get up at 4:30? For the fact that after helping one child to the potty, cleaning up a dog accident, and making hot chocolate I was just too awake. When Thomas was younger he would wake me every morning at 4:30am...and he's not exactly quiet. If I chose to ignore him he would inevitably wake everyone else up in the house. Now that he is SO grown up he usually sleeps till 5:30am, that means this morning I got to have some time to myself. too bad I cant convince my body to get up every morning this early. Thomas and I have been watching u-tube videos on neophilia spiders(banana spiders) they are his favorite. First glance leads you to believe he is a difficult child, in truth he is the easiest to discipline, the most respectful in stores and I rarely have to send him to his room or put him in a time out...the catch is he is a mommas boy. Yup that's my boy!