What's Been Keeping Me Busy

My daughter The Dancer and Mr. BTEG went to the Origins gamer convention in Columbus, Ohio last week. The Dancer wanted to cosplay as Princess Anna from Frozen, so I put together this costume for her. She and her daddy did the painting on the front of the bodice (as well as the back.)

Oh, and Mr. BTEG also had his gall bladder removed last month. That was a thing that took up a bit of my time as well.

Can't Wait to Be Done

I'm glad that the suggestion for students in the United States to go to school year-round has never gotten much momentum, because I really need a break. A long break. And it's not even like we're going to be sitting around all summer. The girls have another Higher Things conference, the Dancer will be taking several classes for the six week summer dance season, the Musician has gotten a job working with the high school theatrical tech crew and of course she will be involved in marching band. Mr. BTEG and I will be taking a short trip to celebrate our twentieth wedding anniversary. But the pace will be so much more laid back and relaxed, and I need that. I'm so sick of just about everything, and I'm hoping to refreshed and ready to start "normal" life again in the fall.

Do You Want It All?

What does it mean for a society when children are seen not as gifts, but as a burden, something to avoid? We hear from a DINK, that "Not Having Children Is Letting Us Have It All." If by "all" they mean the material goods of this world, then yes, they have a lot of stuff. Of course, I don't think they'll always be happy with the amount of stuff that they have. There is always a bigger house, a fancier car, new furniture, a pool, a boat, a bigger boat, and then of course there is the curse of more, more places to visit, more clothes to buy, more purses and jewelry and shoes. This woman is very foolish if she thinks that she has it "all." First, because as I just stated, no one can have it all. Secondly, because she really doesn't have it all.

Maybe she and her husband will never appreciate it, but there is nothing like holding your newborn baby, a gift that God enabled you and your spouse to create with love. There is nothing like the special love that a toddler has for her mommy. There is nothing like that brief span of life where Daddy can fix anything. There is nothing like watching your child take her first steps, hug a sibling, learn to read, learn to play an instrument, go en pointe. There is nothing like the joy in the eyes of Mr. BTEG's late grandmother, as she held her newest great-grandchild, the last one she would live to see. That joy is even reflected in the Dancer's eyes.

If you look at the map towards the bottom right of my page, you can see that I have traveled. There are even places I've been that aren't on there, because I haven't figured out how to update the map. I've rafted the New River in West Virginia, been to the French Quarter in New Orleans, hung out on the beach in Costa del Sol, touched the Berlin Wall. I've had *experiences*. But experiences don't last. Since most of the traveling I listed above was done before I was 21, they are becoming dim memories of experiences, at that. I have plenty of photos, but even looking at the same photo can get boring over decades. Sure, I could do more traveling, and I probably will, but again, those are brief moments in the big picture of life. And even traveling can get old after weeks of living out of a suitcase.

For some reason, memories of the people I love never get old in the same way. Not just with my children, but also people like my grandfather or my dear friends. If you are blessed enough to be happily married, do you still like to think fondly of your wedding day? Do you remember sharing an activity with a grandparent, or the road trip you took with your friends in college? We are meant to want to be with people, to have people in our lives that we care about, and who care about us. Not all of us will be blessed with children, and the author above says she is happy she doesn't have any. That may never change; she might be eighty and be glad that she didn't have children. But I think that when I am eighty, I'll have a lot more to show for my life than old W-2s, purchase receipts and travel albums.

Maryville, Missouri

I wanted to blog about our trip to Missouri in a series of posts in order of when we did what, but I'm still not interested in writing about our first interesting stop on the trip, which was Antique Archaeology, home of the American Pickers show, seen on the History channel. So for now, I'm going to skip straight to our destination, Maryville, Missouri.

Unfortunately, Maryville, Missouri was... boring. I was hoping to find some yarn stores or some fabric/quilting stores, but there weren't any. There was the Mozingo Lake Park and Golf Course, but I don't fish or play golf, and it was too hot to do any walking. We had the additional misfortune of hitting Maryville right when the big heat wave swept the Midwest.

Actually, Maryville is in rather sad shape. It has three large employers: an enormous Kawasaki engine plant, Northwest Missouri State University, and a jail. However, there were many empty storefronts in the city square, and there were two burnt-down restaurants and a vacant lot where it looked like something had been torn down. The one restaurant seemed to be in the process of rebuilding, but the other one was just there. No indication that it was going to be rebuilt and reopened anytime soon. It's sad that even with employment in the area, it has still felt the effects of the recession.

One interesting thing about the prison compound, there was an enormous church inside the fence, and one of the other buildings looked like it could have been a school building at some point. Mr. BTEG and I wondered if it could have been a regular church and school before becoming part of a prison.

At least the main part of our trip was successful. The Dancer and the Musician got lots of Law and Gospel, learned a lot about the faith, made new friends and got to hang out with old friends they hadn't seen since last year. Is it silly to say that seeing so many kids greeting each other after a long time apart, seemed almost like a foretaste of heaven?

And Now, We Recuperate

Just got back from four days spent in Missouri at the latest Higher Things conference. Higher Things is an organization that teaches the Lutheran faith to young people. It is a great organization. This was the Musician's fourth year, and now that the Dancer has been confirmed, she was eligible to attend as well. We attended the conference in Missouri because the Musician already has a large number of friends from previous conferences that were going to attend this one. Because we didn't know anyone else from our area who was attending, Mr. BTEG and I drove the family to Missouri and stayed in a hotel while the girls were at the conference. As a result of the heat wave and the fact that there turned out to be not much of anything to do in Maryville, Missouri, our side of the trip was rather uneventful, but the girls learned a lot, had a lot of fun, and made even more new friends. It does feel good to be home, especially after pulling an all-nighter to get home from Missouri without booking yet another hotel room. More posts will follow about the trip!

Awake...Asleep

Very tired. Drove to Toledo and back tonight to pick up the Musician. She attended the annual Higher Things youth conference with a church group from that area. I'm hoping I will be able to slow my mind down enough to get to sleep soon. Having to stay awake and alert for several hours only to try to go to sleep soon after is frustrating.

Gifts

Do you ever feel that you have certain talents that you don't use? When I was in college, I loved studying foreign languages, German and Spanish in particular, and was fairly good at them. I also enjoyed the smattering of Hungarian I picked up from a Hungarian friend. I was sure I had been given these gifts for a purpose, to make use of them in my future. Unlike Miss Kate, I don't have the gifts necessary to make a good teacher, so I gave up on that idea, but I still felt somehow something would come out of my abilities.

Well, here I am twenty years later, and I use a small bit of German when I talk with a friend who originated from Bavaria. I've started to pick back up on the Spanish since the Musician started it this past school year. Of course, after three years of Latin, Spanish was fairly easy-peasy for her. She'll actually be in Honors Spanish at the high school this year.

Of course, my German was extremely valuable when I visited relatives during a ten-week college trip to Germany and Austria. I spent a few days around Christmas with my mother's first cousin, her husband, children and grandchildren. Only one of the grandchildren spoke much English, and I didn't bunk at his apartment.

My Spanish brightened someone's day at a food trailer during that same trip to Germany. I can only assume this guy was a migrant worker from Spain who had come to Germany for opportunity, and he was buying something at the trailer. I don't know how I picked up that the guy was from Spain, probably something the food trailer guy said. They seemed to know each other. So I spoke to him in Spanish, and the man seemed thrilled with this little touch of "home." I can still remember him exclaiming excitedly to the man behind the counter, "She speaks Spanish!"

And I had a fun time on that same trip when the future Mr. Evil Genius and I ate dinner one night at a Spanish restaurant. The menu was dual German/Spanish, and I ordered in Spanish. The waiter began his very own version of Germish, along the lines of, "Gracias, Fraulein." Poor Mr. Evil Genius was very lost.

Who knows what the future holds? I'd definitely have to brush up on my foreign languages if I was to make use of them again in the future. In the meantime, I sometimes wonder, "Why?"

Given

First of all, the Equestrienne is now the Musician.

Secondly, the Musician just returned from a fantastic youth convention in Nashville, Tennessee, through a Lutheran group called Higher Things. The theme for this year was "Given." She not only had a great time with over a thousand other teenagers, but she worshiped, communed and learned more about what being Lutheran means. I'm so glad that she has this opportunity, and I wish something like it had been around when I was a teen. I'm also glad that my daughter takes her faith seriously and enjoys learning about it.

Twenty Years On

Hard to believe that it was twenty years ago that I woke up to the news on the radio that the Berlin Wall had fallen. Not only was it fantastic news, but it was personally thrilling for me because Mr. BTEG and I would be in Berlin a month later. I hope we still have what is necessary to take on communism and win.

I See the Light

Today I of course partook of the Sacrament, which makes it a good day, but I also sewed a little on a shirt for me that I'm working on. And Gino took me clothes shopping! There was a 40% off sale at my favorite store, and I really needed some new clothes for the warmer weather. Plus, we spent the money alloted for Christmas gifts for me last year towards our trip to Great Wolf Lodge. I was glad to do it, since we needed to get away, but Gino promised he'd make it up to me later. Today was it.

I'll try to get some pics up on Facebook, Kate! X

Road Trip

We had things to take care of in Columbus yesterday, so Mr. BTEG, the Dancer and I hit the road. If it hadn't been necessary that we go, we wouldn't have, as none of us are feeling our best. I have been getting better, but walking around downtown Columbus in the cold trying to find the Max and Erma's Restaurant (or Max and Earmuffs, as the Equestrienne used to call it) let me know I'm still not 100%. Well, there's that and the laryngitis. We would have left the Dancer in the care of her big sis if her cough wasn't croupy sounding when she first got sick. She had a bad case of croup as a toddler. Although the hospital of course would never tell us, I have always suspected we came close to losing her then. I really don't think the crash cart was routine. Anyway, she still gets that seal-bark cough on occasion, so we like to keep an eye on her.

We stopped at an Amish restaurant on the way home that we used to favor when we lived in Columbus and made the trip north often. The food was not as good as it used to be, although the broasted chicken was still yummy. There was an Amish restaurant close to where we lived when I was pregnant with both of my girls, and I enjoyed going there for the all-you-can-eat buffet. I got hungry when I was pregnant. Not to mention all the little snacks I needed to calm my stomach down.

Speaking of restaurants, we had much better luck with the Max and Erma's down there than we've been having up here. I wonder if the proximity to corporate has anything to do with it. We stopped at the Wendy's years ago that was right down the street from their corporate, and ordered a Double Stack sandwich for me. The sandwich was a really good deal, but it came with cheese automatically, and we tried about three times to get it without cheese. Finally, Mr. BTEG went up to a few corporate looking guys with clipboards and explained the problem. We got the sandwich right the next time.

Good, Bad, Unusual

The good is that the weather was lovely today -- warm, and even with some sun. It was nice to have a break from the cold. And I know I need all the sunshine I can get.

The bad is that I've a little bit of post-holiday blues. At least I think that's what I'm feeling. I'm hoping as we ease back into normal living that I will feel normal too. And we're spending the New Year holidays having Christmas with my in-laws, which will be fun. I do have a lot to look forward to in 2009.

The unusual is that we saw a bald eagle in flight on the way to Great Wolf Lodge. It was an awesome sight, and the first time any of us had seen an eagle in the wild. It's neat to think we have a bald eagle (or eagles) so close to where we live, also.

Holiday Wrap-Up

We had a gloriously happy Christmas. The Dancer got a new mp3 player, which her father set up beforehand with songs from the Disney triumvirate, High School Musical (1, 2 and 3), Hannah Montana, and the Cheetah Girls. There's even a video, London Tipton's "Yay Me!" You'd have to have a girl the right age to understand all of this. :) This morning we awoke to the Dancer in the living room warbling along to her favorite tunes.

The Dancer also got her American girl doll, at last. She even has earrings! The Equestrienne has two American Girl dolls, so we felt the Dancer had the right to at least one. This morning she has the doll's hair done up the same as hers.

The Equestrienne got a digital camera, but we gave that to her early, so she could take pictures at her birthday party. She also got the mitten gloves she wanted, with a matching hat.
The lobby of the hotel was all decorated for Christmas. For the little ones, there was story time in the lobby at night, which they do all year 'round, and it "snowed" in the lobby too. That was fun.


Our hotel room was very nice. We ended up with the "Kid Cabin". The girls had a separate sleeping area made to look like a log cabin. It had a bunk bed, a twin bed, their own television and a game controller, if you wanted to pay extra for games. I love the themed rooms; it adds to the whole "resort" feel.


Breakfast is especially good. It's an all-you-can-eat family style meal, with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, pancakes and biscuits. There was also a toast station, an omelet station where a chef makes up your omelet according to your order, and a fruit and yogurt bar. Wish I could breakfast like that every morning!

Oh, and I got some mystery books and two chocolate boxes. The perfect gifts, no?

Christmas Time Is Here

Once again, our family is at Great Wolf Lodge. It ended up being the four of us this year for Christmas, and I thought we might get blue hanging out at home just us, which is what we do normally, and with the weather so gray. I wanted to do something special, and there are not many special things to do in Ohio in the winter, especially on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Plus, as repeat customers, we got a very nice room at a special price. It's not much more than a regular hotel, and we get the water park thrown in. And I don't have to cook! Not that I am not outsourcing a lot of the cooking and baking as the girls get older.

I hope everyone has a very merry Christmas. I hope to post some pictures tomorrow.

Getting Back to Normal

DH is back after a week of being all the way across the country, for work. It's amazing how much of a difference it makes when he is gone. Our whole family dynamic is changed; our lives are thrown off kilter. It's good to have him back.

More Dreaming

So since we've talked about our dream *vocation*, what would your dream *vacation* be? The more I think about it, the more I realize that sitting around on a beach somewhere is not for me. My dream vacation, and this is not a surprise for those who know me, would be to hit all the major amusement parks in the U.S. I want to ride on all the top roller coasters in the country! So far, besides all the biggies at Cedar Point, and that is saying a lot, I've only ridden the Beast at King's Island and GhostRider at Knott's Berry Farm, as far as top-flight roller coasters.

Yes, I love spinning in tea cups, and boat rides, and ferris wheels, and especially roller coasters, better than lying quietly in the sun. Am I insane? :)

Salzburg, Austria

Well, I told Laura I would post some pics of my trip to Salzburg, Austria, after being inspired to do so from one of her recent posts. After much computer wrangling by Mr. Evil Genius, and a lot of scanning, the pics are finally ready! It's a good excuse to scan them in; I really should do that for all my Germany-Austria pictures to help preserve them.

Mr. Evil Genius and I took a train from Vienna to Salzburg on February 3, 1990. We were still both in college back then, and not sure if we were dating yet (pretty funny, huh?) We were the only ones in our college group to visit Salzburg; I don't know why. Besides all the Sound of Music stuff






there are a lot of lovely views, and a huge fortress/castle that I would think would be worth going just to see that.



We also saw Mozart's Geburtshaus, or birthplace. Wouldn't you love to have this lovely kitchen, ladies? Ah well, I suppose it might have been all the rage in 1756.


We also took a quick peek at the real Nonnburg Abbey. Pretty cool, kind of built into the mountain below the fortress.

It was a fun day trip, and I'm sure we could have spent lots more time there. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Family Vagaries

Did you ever get a wedding invitation and have no idea who the bride and groom were? That happened to me today, I believe for the first time. The wedding is taking place in my husband's hometown, so I'm presuming they are somehow related to him. I know my husband's family pretty well though, sometimes better than he does, and I have no guess who either of these people could be. His grandmother was the one who really knew all the ins and outs of the family tree, and believe me when I say, there were a lot of ins and outs. My husband's family on his father's side all came from a tiny village in Italy called Sulmona Valley, big enough that there weren't all the problems associated with massive inbreeding, but small enough that DH's family tree sometimes resembles a tangled vine more than a tree.

And yet, when my husband was at a cemetery in Chicago to see Al Capone's grave, he found several headstones that bore our family name, and also a couple headstones that carried another of the family names, and he had never heard of any of these people. It's interesting, because my husband *does* have family that lived in Chicago, and our family name is a relatively unusual one. I have often wished I had the time to do a thorough investigation into my own family tree. I guess the least I can do is write down what I do know, so my daughters can check into things if they are so inclined.

Babylon, via Deutschland

Imagine that all that stuff I did when I was young might actually have some use someday! Well, in school we are studying ancient history, and I have a map of Mesopotamia for class. I noticed the design at the top of the map and realized it was inspired by the Ishtar Gate in Babylon. Wait, I've seen the Ishtar Gate reconstructed at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin! Hey, I can show my pictures to the girls! Maybe they will be impressed that their mommy has seen it. Well, I can always dream, can't I? Hopefully these pics will at least help reinforce the lesson. I'd like to share some with you.

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!