Birthdays

Yesterday was my birthday and I turned 45. I'm having a hard time with that particular number. I am sure I will get used to it, though. It was a fairly low-key day, which is fine. I find that I don't need lots of hoopla anymore. I got a nice gift, which I am looking forward to using this summer. Season tickets to Wichita Music Theater! Yay! Also got an accessory for my Zune, which I think will make using it much handier. The girls baked a chocolate cake for me and we went out to dinner. That is pretty much it. All in all, a pretty good day. :)

It's been a while

Well, it has been a looooong time since I posted anything. I'm sure that anyone who used to read this (not that there were many) have long since abandoned hope of new material. And who can blame them? Certainly not me.

Why exactly did I quit posting? I think it is the lack of time, and lack of anything interesting to post. See---this post is proof!

Of course, too much time has passed to try to catch up. Perhaps I will just begin right here and now. You can fill in the blanks.

Emily applied for a spot in a national science program. She had also applied last year and made the semi-finalists--the ones who got a phone interview. However, she did not make the final cut. Their loss. She sent in another application this year, and I believe it was even stronger. However, we have not heard anything and the days keep passing by. I guess that means that they are not interested. I am disappointed, as I know she is. But, maybe this is just not the program for her. Next year she will be eligible for a completely different program, one that is probably more suited to her strengths. So, we shall try that.

Anna has grown so much! She is now volunteering at the library and they just love her there! This summer she will travel to New Mexico to participate in a Girl Scout program there. I am so excited for her! And proud! It's hard to believe that whe is so grown up. What happened to my baby?

Pics of Anna

Since I posted the pictures of Emily at camp, I thought I would also post a few of Anna. She had her first opportunity to go to camp at Cowtown this summer. Like her sister, she absolutely loved dressing and acting as a girl from the 1870's. It is a great learning experience, and lots of fun, too. In the first picture, she is rolling out dough for homemade biscuits (we also churned the butter to put on them!)


In the next one, she just finished making a flower wreath for her hair.


This last one has nothing to do with Girl Scouts. It was taken at LTC, where she was in the event for signing for the deaf. She does a really good job with it.

Blog title

I'm thinking of changing the name of my blog. While Exasperated is a fairly accurate description at times (I do have 2 kids, after all), it doesn't really convey a positive attitude. So, I am trying to think of a catchy new title. Any suggestions?

Bits and pieces

Our church had its annual "Shopping Free" last week. I have helped with it for several years and last year found myself in charge of it. It is a great outreach into the community. Many people donate clothes, which we sort and arrange. We try to keep only clean, good quality clothes. Then we notify several community organizations, including an elementary school that the church has "adopted." Anyway, to make a long story short, we helped 55 families with free clothing. That number is down from years past, but it still feels good to see people walk out with some needed items. It was a lot of work--I was exhausted afterwards--but so worth it.

The girls and I spent most of the day having our "last hurrah" of summer. We had lunch with my friend, Holly, and her two daughters, then went to a local water park for some fun in the sun. It was horribly hot, but the kids loved it. Soon it is back to school and all the activities that go with that.

Speaking of heat, I sure hope we have a cool spell soon. It has been over 100 degrees for several days, with no relief in sight. Ugh! I shouldn't complain, because this summer has mostly been cooler than most. But, I am ready for fall.

Emily took a cool trip to Michigan. It was a Girl Scout camp with lots of cool stuff for her to do. The girls spent 3 days on a schooner, doing marine biology experiments. Emily's group had a research project where they noted the levels of zooplankton in the lake. They also got to learn how to operate the schooner. Emily's favorite part was raising the sails. Here is a picture taken on the boat.



And here is another one (I love this picture!):






And finally, a picture of her climbing a 40-ft. (!) tower at the camp:











After she got to the top, she took a zip line across the field! It's great to be a Girl Scout!

Ramblings

I'm back from the reunion and it was actually more fun than I had anticipated. There were quite a few people there, including all of my first cousins. Two of them, my favorite aunt's sons, came from Mississippi and I had not seen them for a very long time, so that was fun. There were lots of extended family--cousins of my dad, mostly--I didn't know a lot of them. But my dad had a really good time visiting with them. Lots of kids, so Anna had some playmates. She especially had a good time with my brother's kids. We drove around Coffeyville and saw some of the damage from the recent flooding. It is almost incomprehensible that the water could have gotten so high, but the proof was in the oily water lines you could see on many of the buildings. The only downer to the weekend was when someone stole the girls' portable DVD player out of our van (my niece forgot to shut the door!) They only took that and a Pirates DVD. Kind of a bummer, but they can be replaced. Anna was pretty sad, but I have got to say she is an amazing kid! She prayed for the people who stole it!

Emily is back from Colorado and will leave on Saturday for her big trip to Michigan. She had a great experience in the mountains. It sounds like the youth group really grew close to each other and closer to God. She said there were times when they could feel God's presence in the room. Awesome!!!

Family reunion

I'm leaving later today to attend a family reunion. Many relatives from my dad's side of the family will gather for food and fellowship. It should be interesting and fun, I guess. I say that because I find that I have little in common with many of these people. I have one uncle who is still living, but he is a quiet sort, not given to much conversation. My dad will be there, of course, and it really is for him that I am going. I will get to spend time with my cousins, but most of them are much older than me, so much so that I didn't interact with them much when I was a kid. They were already grown and with kids of their own. Also, very few of them share my faith and values. They just have a different mind-set than I do. Still, it will be a chance to reconnect with some. Plus, my brother is coming....and I'm really excited about that! Til later...

Still alive

I know, I know. It's been ages since I last posted. It's not that I haven't thought about posting. It's just that, most of the time I either have nothing to say, or too much to say. So, I just let the blog sit there.

Since so much time has passed, there really is no way to catch you up on our happenings. It has been a busy time, with both ups and downs. No big trips to report this time around. We have spent the summer at home. The girls sold lots of Girl Scout cookies, so they have been busy at summer camps, both Girl Scout and church varieties. My dear hubby has had a rough summer. In April he was diagnosed with lymphoma, so he's been taking chemo. All is well and the latest tests show no signs of cancer. He still has to undergo radiation, but should finish up with that by the first of September. It has been tough, but God is good and has seen us through.

As I always, promise, I will try to do better to post more often. It is hard though, because my family takes priority. The girls keep me incredibly busy, with homeschooling, Girl Scouts, church, etc. I want and need to be there for them, so this blog often takes a backseat. Plus, sometimes my brain is just too tired to put any thoughts together.

Thanks for stopping by...

I say to-may-toe, you say to-mah-toe

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The West
The South
The Inland North
The Northeast
Philadelphia
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

This was a fun quiz to take. It is fairly accurate in that it got fairly close. What accent are you?

Vote!

I voted!

BOO!

Happy Halloween!

(And no, this isn't our pumpkin. I just thought it was cute. I found the picture here. But I will put up a picture of ours soon. They are pretty cute, too.)

150 Things

The object of this list is to highlight the things that you have done.

Feel free to borrow this and complete it on your blog.

Got this from Laney.


01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing--but only on a traversing wall
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke-horribly I might add
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert"
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge--no, but I drove over it
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

Humorous writing

Emily wrote this for her Literature class. A word of explanation: They had studied Benjamin Franklin, who often wrote under pseudonyms. Their assignment was to create a pseudonym of their own and write a letter to the editor.


Character Description

Fiona Fretter: Fiona worries about everything (as you can probably tell). Every little thing bothers her and in her book, everything matters, no matter how minute. She is also accusatory toward the people that she believes are behind the problem.



To my kind Editor,

I have several matters of deep and precise concern to present to you. Some of the important issues of this community are being ignored and overlooked. Our mayor and city council members do not take these problems seriously and their lack of attentiveness contributes to the serious nature of these matters. So, I am forced to take action and present these devastating and otherwise depressing concerns to you.

For instance, someone with a sharp pencil could turn around and poke your eye out. Then we would have a bunch of blind people running around and bumping into each other! Another concern is that road construction workers could get run over with a bulldozer because they didn’t look both ways. I feel that flattened construction workers would not look very appealing to visitors to our fair city.

Leaves are a big, messy problem, as well. People could hide in big piles of leaves and jump out and mug you. Hair brushes can be used as weapons. Someone could knock you over the head with one and kidnap you.

All of these potential hazards need to be addressed. Therefore, the police force needs to be drastically increased. We need more officers on the force for traffic and to deter criminal activity.

Signed,
Fiona Fretter

Haiku by Anna, written for her poetry class. These were topics that she chose on her own. My favorite is Redwoods.


Sharks

Lurking to find food
Sharks swimming fast and rapid
Its teeth piercing sharp





Redwoods

Trees that reach the sky
Branches reaching for heaven
Beautiful tall trees






Wind

Moving through the trees
The wind blowing in my face
Goes every way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Emily is taking a class in Early American Literature. Her assignment last week was to write an infomercial for a product that would have been available during the time period they were studying (1700's). Here is what she wrote.

Do you dread getting into bed? Do your sheets feel like ice? Here is the solution! Introducing the newest way to go to sleep warm and toasty!

You’ve seen bed warmers before, but never like this. This extraordinary piece of work is hand-crafted of the finest copper. With its intricate designs, it also makes an exquisite decoration when not in use. Now equipped with a new, longer wooden handle, in your choice of oak or cherry.

Just simply take your hot coals from the evening meal and put them in the bed warmer. Place the bed warmer between the sheets for five to ten minutes. After the time is up, remove the bed warmer and dump the coals in the fireplace. Then, jump into your now-warm sheets.

This amazing device is usually 5 shillings. Now, we will sell it to you for just three shillings. If you order today, we’ll throw in a free brass candle snuffer. Get yours today, exclusively at a general store near you!

Take Your SIL to Blog Day...

OK, I have created a new category: Take your sister-in-law to blog day. I'm probably the only one who will ever do this, and this may be a one-time thing, but I think she is a talented artist and I want to show some of her work.












There is lots more where that came from. She has some work in a local gallery and tonight was the opening night. We went to the show and we were very impressed. Other people seemed to like her work as well. She has some neat stuff. Anyway, I hope you enjoy viewing a few of her pieces.

Take Your Kid to Blog Day...

These poems are supposed to be in diamante (diamond) form, but I couldn't get it to turn out that way. So you will have to use your imagination. Anna wrote these for a poetry workshop class she is taking at our homeschool co-op.


Winter
nippy,crisp
freezing, numbing, piercing
frosty toes, parched throats
blinding, boiling, scorching
hot, sunny
Summer




Merle
brave, courageous
unflinching, daring, enterprising
adventurous, bold, timid, bashful
trembling, quivering, fearing,
afraid, scared
Addy

(This poem is about two characters from the book The Two Princess of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine.)

10 Things I Learned from my Parents

Denise tagged me for another meme, so here goes.

10 Things My Parents Taught Me

1. My mom taught me how to balance a checkbook.
2. My dad taught me how to ride a horse.
3. My mom gave me her recipe for fudge and taught me how to make it.
4. My dad taught me how to check the oil in a car.
5. My mom taught me that everyone is equal in the eyes of Jesus.
6. My dad taught me the value of working hard.
7. My mom taught me to stick with something when things get tough.
8. My parents taught me to be more of a "saver" than a "spender."
9. My parents taught me to learn from my mistakes.
10. My parents taught me how to be a parent.

Sick kids

Blah! Both of the girls are sick this weekend. I think that is a first--to have both of them sick at the same time. They both seem to have some kind of stomach flu. Not very fun, especially for them. I just hope that I don't get it, too. I have to teach at co-op tomorrow and our Girl Scout meeting is tomorrow night. No time for me to be sick!

Take Your Kid to Blog Day...

This week, in lieu of something my kids have done, I am including a recent picture taken of them on our vacation. This a picture of them in a redwood grove. They are inside a tree that was burned by forest fires, but is still living.

Take Your Kid to Blog Day...

Up today is Emily's response to a question in her science book. Here is the question:

Galileo faced a very difficult decision in his life. He was convinced by science that the heliocentric system was correct. Nevertheless, his church said that it was wrong and threatened to throw him out of the church if he didn't recant his belief in the heliocentric system. Galileo, in obedience to his church, agreed to publicly recant his belief, even though he knew it was right. Did Galileo make the right choice, or should he have stayed true to his science and been thrown out of the church?

Emily's response, which she worked on for quite a while: "I do not think there is a right or wrong answer to this question. Different people have different ideas or beliefs. In my opinion, what Galileo did was right. He could have kept arguing and fighting the Roman Catholic Church, even though it would get him nowhere and he would be kicked out. Instead, he stopped protesting but he still collected data because he knew he was right, despite the negativity around him. His belief in God was so important to him, he stopped promoting the heliocentric system, even though he knew he was correct. It's really hard for me to give up on an idea, especially if I strongly believe I'm right. Imagine how it was for Galileo. He was scorned and mocked for having a different viewpoint than others. Yet his love for God and the church proved more important than anything, so he publicly recanted his belief in the heliocentric system! Galileo is a role model for me because of his determination and strength in difficult situations."


In addition, I will let them answer the questions from Jennifer's meme. Anna first:

Something I do well is art and math.

Something I'd like to improve on is cheerleading and learning about God.

My favorite food is mac and cheese, pizza and grapes.

Three words that best describe me are annoying, kind to others, and happy.

My happiest moment is when I went to Disney World.

The most important thing in my life now is my family and Jesus.

Were any of the answers surprising? I was surprised that she mentioned cheerleading. She took a cheerleading class at the Y a few years ago, but hasn't really done anything since. I'm not sure why she described herself as annoying. I don't think she is any more annoying than any other kid, although her sister might sometimes disagree. The rest of the answers don't really surprise me.

Now Emily:

Something I do well is English and acting.

Something I'd like to improve on is my attitude.

My favorite food is pizza, mint chocolate chip ice cream, and cucumbers.

Three words that best describe me are caring, outgoing, industrious.

My happiest moment is when I went to Alcatraz.

The most important thing in my life now is God, family and church.

I was a bit surprised that Emily said she needs to improve her attitude. Not that it isn't true at times (she is 12, after all), just that she admitted it! LOL I was also a bit surprised at her happiest moment. I figured she would have said when she was baptized last year, but I guess her mind was on a different track--probably because she heard her sister's answer.

So, that's it for our Take Your Kid to Blog Day. You can go over to Blest with sons to read what other kids are doing and saying.

Updated to add: When Emily read my response to her answers, she said, "Oh, I wish I had said that. That really is my happiest moment. I was just thinking about all the trips we've taken." So, consider her answer changed.