I Don't Get It

So, many movies, as well as big-name actors, are tanking at the box office. Is the answer really to produce Indiana Jones and the Golden Viagra? Seriously?

Na na na na...

na na na na hey hey hey goodbye!

Saddam is not long for this mortal coil. 2007 is looking better already.

Don't Hate Me

9/9 Genius You are 80% knowledgable and 92% intellectual.

Amazing! You have an incredible brain (intellect) and a powerhouse of information (knowledge)! Keep up the impressive work-- we all bow to you.

My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 99% on knowledge You scored higher than 99% on intellect

Link: The Knowledge vs. Intellect Test written by rattytintinface on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Popping In for a Sec

I've been busy having fun :) but I thought I'd stop in to say hello. I hope all of you enjoyed your Christmas. Here are some pictures of my daughters in their Christmas outfits.


And I just had to show you these "like grandfather, like granddaughter" pics. :)

I'll Stop Being Lazy After the Holidays

Honest. Besides, Linus does a very good job.

This May Not Be New

but I had to share it with all you people out there who love "24." You know who you are.

We Could Only Wish...

and pray.



Props to Scott Ott (via Dawn Patrol.)

A Special Day

Eleven years ago today, at 3:28 in the afternoon, our first daughter, the Scientist, came into the world. I loved holding her and crooning Christmas carols to her that first Christmas we spent together. Every year since has been an adventure, and we are very thankful that we are blessed with her. Happy birthday, dearest daughter!

Zion Lutheran, Cleveland, Ohio

Stained glass windows are currently a popular topic! I wish I had more photos of the beautiful interior of Zion Lutheran Church in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, but I'll share the two I have, anyway.

This is Zion's altar, and you can see the baptismal font in front of it. This is the font where I received new life in Christ many years ago. Perhaps why this church is a favorite of mine.

And here is the only picture of a stained glass window from the church that I have. I thought I had more, but alas, no. There are also very nice painted murals on some of the walls, as I recall, but no pics of those either! :( Oh well.

Not a Surprise at All

Once again, my Evil Genius self comes shining through. Sometimes I even scare myself.

You scored as Special Ops. Special ops. You're sneaky, tactful, and a loner. You prefer to do your jobs alone, working where you don't come into contact with people. But everyone in a while you hit it big and are noticed and given fame. You're given the more sensitive problems. You get things done, and do what has to be done. "VULCAN NECK PINCH!!!" "owww.......(slump)" Special Ops 100% Engineer 81% Combat Infantry 69% Artillery/Armor 63% Medic 63% Support Gunner 50% Officer 50% Civilian 0% Which soldier type are you? created with QuizFarm.com

Via Susan.

Put on Your Yarmulke

A little seasonal cheer. :) And ya don't even hafta worry about whether it's Advent or not!

New Blogger in Da House

Literally. The Scientist has started her own blog called The Young Explorer. Pop over and say hello!

Christmas in Deutschland, Part Drei

It's fun to look at pictures of snow when almost none of us actually have snow on the ground, isn't it? Isn't this little tree pretty? It was outside of the youth hostel in the Erzgebirge Mountains where our college group stayed for a few nights.

Here is a more panoramic view of mountains, also taken at our youth hostel.

How excited was I to find this web page and see that they still have a similar display to one I saw seventeen years ago! (You need to scroll down to the bottom of the linked page to see the picture I'm talking about.)


In addition to the wooden toy and ornament making we saw in the Erzgebirge, we also saw this beautiful church.

Isn't this street sign adorable?

Lastly, a traditional Christmas decoration in Germany is translated into English as a pyramid, and for outdoor decoration, Germans don't go small.


This one was in a toy museum, and was a total of three stories tall!

Well, What Do You Know?

Your Christmas lights are glowing 100%.

Awesome! Your Christmas tree lights up the whole room! You are a true lover of all things Christmas, and a joy for those around you!

Christmas Trivia
Make Your Own Quiz

I thought it was kinda an easy quiz, though...

Money and Stuff

First, let's have a little fun and talk about stuff, in particular, this cool item, which will be on every geek's must-have list. Wasn't it cool not that long ago to have a phone the size of a credit card?? Retro is the new black, baby.

Now to more serious conversation. I've been thinking about money and what it means in this world, and to Christians. Yes, the love of money can lead to troubles and unhappiness. But not having money can lead to troubles also. Like not having a functioning automobile, although we have been blessed with a temporary automobile on loan from some kind church friends. I know very well that having a great deal of money is not a guarantee of happiness. In some cases it makes people unhappier. It's just a little difficult at the moment wishing we had the money to do things like maintain a car properly, but still keep money in its correct place.

Christmas Fair

As promised, here are pictures of a larger Christmas fair in East Berlin in December of 1989. This one had carnival rides and pony rides for children.



It being a Christmas fair, you could also talk to Sankt Niklaus himself and tell him what you wanted him to bring you!

Also, here is a picture of the top of a food stand. We studied Märchen, or fairy tales, in German, and I thought this was cute. Can anyone tell me, or guess, which fairy tale this is from? Can the Artist translate it? :)

Speaking of food, in Germany at the time, it was considered very rude to pick up food with your fingers to eat. So with food such as french fries, at Burger King, say, you were provided with a little plastic fork. At Christmas fairs, you usually received a toothpick-type object, and in E. Berlin it was a very splintery, chopped-up looking toothpick. But mmmm, the fries were good!

Vote Early, Vote Often

Hey, Quipper, did ya see this swell story? At least I don't live in Cuyahoga County anymore, but if Cleveland really tanks, the whole area around will go down with it. :(

Since I mentioned here the story of a woman who, as a teen, gave birth in her bedroom, stabbed the baby to death and dumped the baby's body in a quarry with the help of her boyfriend, I'll update you that she lost her appeal, and her six-year prison sentence was upheld. Oh, if only abortion was legal then! Oh wait. It was.

Oh, and the Northeastern Ohio Synod of the ELCA has just elected the first woman bishop of the ELCA. So much to be proud of here in Cleveland! She wants to "focus on social justice issues and bring minority leaders into churches." I'm choking up just thinking about it.

Sorry to interrupt my fun Christmas stories with this unsavory but important stuff. I promise I'll be back to posting about Christmas in Germany next time.

Christmas in Deutschland

On November 9, 1989, I woke up in my college dorm room to the radio announcement that the Berlin Wall had been opened. Since I was traveling to Berlin the very next month, this was awesome cool news!

On December 3, 1989, a group of college students, including myself and my DH-to-be, arrived in Berlin, with three professors from our college. Here is a Christmas fair near the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtnis Kirche in Berlin. Christmas Fairs in Germany seem to be the equivalent of the little fairs that pop up in many small towns in America over the Fourth of July. I think this one only had food, but there was one in East Berlin that had carnival rides similar to an American Fourth of July fair. I'll post pics of that later.

Here's a picture of Checkpoint Charlie, as we drove past it.

Here's a Mercedes-Benz building lit up for Christmas.

Here's my DH standing by the Berlin Wall, and taking off a few pieces.


It was exciting to be in another country for Christmas, although the weather was mostly gray and gloomy, and oddly enough, no snow in most of the places we visited. I'll continue to share my experiences with you as the month goes on.

Sunday Fun

Today there was an open house at my husband's place of employ, American Greetings, to show off all the new work that has been done in the building, especially the new American Greetings card shop, and a Starbucks, with an attractive plaza in between. The kids got to do lots of activities; there was actually more going on then I thought there would be. Some of the Schreiber clan came with us, which is why I have no pictures right now, as we forgot our camera and I left the picture taking up to the Die-Hard Equestrian.

To answer Kathy's question, my (future) husband and I were in Berlin early in December of 1989. I will provide pictures and more details later, as well of some of the other places we went and some of the Christmas-y aspects of our trip. Since we were students at the time, it was easier to get into East Berlin and other areas of then-East Germany, such as Leipzig and Dresden. We also got some pieces from the Berlin Wall.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Like Emily, I thought I might have to put off the decorating to start building an ark! Fortunately, the rain stopped, although a strong wind replaced it. But I'm attempting to create some cheer inside. I bought a wreath at the store to give off that nice pine scent, since we have an artificial tree.

I strung some colored lights on the bannisters. I will probably hang lights other places as well, and maybe decorate the bannisters more. I just like the colored lights, and our tree has white ones (pre-strung tree).

These stockings are pictured especially for the Presbytera, and any other kitty lovers. :)


These little singers are special to me. I bought them in East Germany, right after the Berlin Wall fell. It is apparently a tradition for children to dress so, and go around singing carols at Christmas time. We saw some children like this in Leipzig, but I don't think I got a picture, because we were on a moving bus. :( I have two more singers, but they need a little repair. The Scientist was examining them down the basement before she brought them up, and she dropped the box. I'm glad I noticed now, as the girls didn't notice that pieces had fallen off, and the pieces were still on the basement floor. They might have become cat toys. :0

We might not put up the actual tree until after the Scientist's birthday, but at least my dolls are starting to decorate theirs!

Get Me Out of Here

I can't escape it any longer. A Charlie Brown Christmas is on television tonight. From where I sit in our family room, I can see our neighbors have their Christmas tree up. My daughters tell me that our neighbors across the street have three trees up. Yes, it would definitely seem another holiday season is upon us, and I am feeling very Charlie-Brownish.

When do you start decorating for Christmas? We usually wait until Christmas Eve or right before, as the Scientist's birthday is right before Christmas, and we like to keep her birthday and Christmas separate. Besides, there's that whole Advent thing. But I'm blue, and I don't think it comes just from being sick for over a week. I want to start decorating now, and I want to decorate to the hilt. I want to replace emptiness with stuff. Yeah, yeah, I know. But I'm just out of ideas. What I'd really like to do is take a break and go someplace unique.

Someplace out of the ordinary.

See new things.

Everything just seems so dreary and pointless.

Feline Frolics

After reading Marie's post about Christmas, and noticing her cat investigating the tree, I happened upon this adorable site where two cats really go at a Christmas tree. Some of the best pics of our cats and our Christmas trees are not online, but here are two:

Champ reclining after a hectic day.

Champ giving the Christmas tree "love."

Fortunately, our cats have never tried to climb the tree. We did have one that chewed through several strings of lights, however. And we are always careful to put all the breakable ornaments near the top of the tree, plus no hooks and no tinsel. It's fun to share the holiday with our little furbabies!

Hurrah for the Pumpkin Pie!

DH and the girls made a couple of homemade pumpkin pies today. (Okay, the shells were store-bought.) To begin with, here's part of a pumpkin, after the squishy stuff and seeds have been taken out, and after it's baked in the oven for a while.

Next, mashing the innards. And mashing. And mashing.

An interesting collection of pie ingredients.

That looks better.

Et voila!

50 Pumpkin Points for anyone who can tell me where the title of this post comes from.