Sorrow and Loss

Today we had to say goodbye to a dear friend, our beloved cat Champ. The initial problem was a sore in the mouth caused by decaying teeth. Today it was discovered that there was a cancerous tumor in the jaw that is almost impossible to treat longterm and might have taken most of his jaw to get out. On top of this, we also discovered he had diabetes, which further worsened his health prognosis. We decided the best thing to do was to end his life peacefully. Still, it broke our hearts to let him go.

He had been a member of our family longer than the Dancer. We brought his mother home when she was pregnant with him. We had him with us from before he was born until the day of his death. We were with him when he died. He was eleven years old. Now he can be with his brother and sisters, who died at birth.

You Know How They Say

that spouses end up acting like each other? Well, when Mr. BTEG and I were in college together, I could have telephone conversations with him during which he was not awake for any of it. I was driving Mr. BTEG to work this morning, and I asked him how the football game ended last night. He said, "I told you last night when I came to bed. We had a whole discussion about it." I replied that I didn't remember having any conversation. I guess I'm turning into my husband!

Kick the Wretches Out

George Voinovich, Ohio Senator, wants an automaker bailout. Hardly surprising, on the face of it, since the auto industry is *huge* in Ohio. There's a Ford plant just down the way from us, and the GM Lordstown plant is one of the biggest employers for my husband's hometown of Youngstown. The problem is, where does it end? I was against the bailout to banks; I'm against the bailout to automakers. First of all, because I don't want to pay the bills for these companies that mess up. Second of all, because when do I get my share? I mean, really. We're not living in a cardboard box but we're not exactly living the high life here. No big house, no flashy cars, not a single luxury.... Oops, got carried away there. Okay, I don't really want a spot on the government dole. I'd be ashamed, not to mention that accepting a handout means you are beholden to the hand, and I'd rather be free and independent. But being free also means being free to decide how to spend your money, not have our supposed leaders just give out oodles of "free" money which is really ours.

So, how do the residents of Ohio get rid of "Cryin' George"? The answer is not a Democrat, as the Democrats in Ohio have plenty of corruption of their own. Not to mention the Democrats are largely supporting the automaker bailout as well, since they're best buddies with the autoworkers unions who have their own share in the woes of American auto companies. Will no one rid us of this meddling Senator?

Hat tip to IB for the automakers article.

For All of You Who Lived Through the 80's

My husband and I spent about fifteen minutes perusing the pictures here and being incredulous at what they considered mullets. Darth Vader's helmet? Um, I totally don't think so. Male pattern baldness? You don't have a mullet.

And by the way, keep this in mind.

I Know It's Silly But

I'm disappointed that American Girl is discontinuing the Samantha doll and her entire line. I have a Samantha doll and there were several things I wanted to get for her, but it was never a priority. You know how it is when you're the mom. Now the one thing I really wanted is sold out on AG's site and is two and a half times the price on eBay. Maybe the price will go down after Christmas. Anyway, I'm also disappointed because I think it shows one more mis-step in Mattel's handling of American Girl. I think the idea is to introduce more dolls from more time periods, but I don't see why they can't keep the ones they have. I thought Samantha was a pretty popular doll, and from one of my favorite time periods.

Fall Cleaning

It's not so much fall cleaning as rearranging furniture and trying to make our living room work better, but there's lots of incidental cleaning going on in the process of moving and reorganizing. I've wanted to take pictures of my neat organizing stuff, but there's still too much clutter in front of it. :) We're making progress here, though. I'm still trying to teach myself that I can't do everything in one day.

In the meantime, Mr. BTEG is working on a new hobby - picking locks. Oh, yes. He found a cheap set of lock-picking tools online, and he has a nice selection of old locks that he's enjoying opening. I guess it's as good a hobby as any other as long as he doesn't get picked up by the local constabulary.

Needle News

The knitting project I have on hand at the moment is a scarf, in a colorful acrylic yarn. I made a mistake today knitting instead of purling a row, which led me to find another mistake, which was that I somehow added a stitch many rows back, so I had to unravel many rows back. That was frustrating, but I'm glad I found the mistake.

I may have to work on the scarf, but I already have a pair of mittens, thanks to a friend. Which is good, because I'm not sure I'm ready to use circular needles. This scarf is only my third project.

Speaking of projects, the Dancer is looking for activities to keep her busy, and she is trying to learn embroidery. Here she is with her practice stitches. She is really enjoying herself, and I hope she can go far with this interest.

Martin Luther Ist Zurück!

Imagine my pleasure at discovering, at Aardvark Alley, that Martin Luther has returned to the blogging world! It's great to have him back!

How's the Sickie?

Movie quote! I went to the doctor today and got some antibiotics as what ails me has been here long enough that it's probably not viral. I also got some prescription cough medicine. No codeine. Codeine and I don't get along. Hopefully once I am not up during the night coughing I will feel like tackling life fully again. I have a huge list awaiting me. :)

Wanted

Boarding school starting at least the junior high level, with good horseback riding program. Small pets allowed in dormitories a plus.

Immigration Complications

So if DH and I wanted to move to New Zealand, we couldn't, because we don't meet their weight guidelines. A German doctor who has emigrated to Australia, whose services are needed by the community he lives in, has been denied permanent residency because one of his sons has Down's Syndrome, and it was ruled that the son's condition would be "likely to result in a significant and ongoing cost to the Australian community." In the UK, fat children are being taken away by the state. And the insanity is not limited to other countries. The U.S. is now requiring all female immigrants ages 11 to 26 get the controversial vaccine Gardasil, whereas it is only recommended for female residents of the same age in the U.S. And what is driving all these restrictions? Shared health care cost concerns. Whether because of nationalized health care or group health care plans, low costs must be maintained in order for service to be provided.

What does this really result in? Government tyranny, and bad precedents that will only get worse. Will the government start directly overseeing the food you eat? Will the government attach some monitor to you to make sure you get what they consider is enough exercise? Will the government force pregnant women who are carrying children with Down's Syndrome or other equal conditions that can cause lifelong health issues to abort? Will older people, or anybody with a terminal illness, be "exterminated"? Where does it stop? I am bi-polar, and the medications I require to avoid suicidal fixations are rather expensive. But everybody at one point in their life or another, and often at more than one point, needs some kind of costly health care. None of our bodies are perfect. And health care improvements can be best brought about by a chance for profit. Do we want to live in a world without continuing improvements in medical care through medical research?

I don't know what the ideal health care plan is. But I think all of us would best be served by keeping the government jackboots out.

(And don't get me started on the hypocrisy of forcing legal immigrants to get otherwise optional vaccines but showering illegal immigrants with free health care and housing and making no requirements of them.)

Halloween Eve

It was a lovely evening in Northeast Ohio for trick-or-treating, or just sitting outside and enjoying the evening while handing out a bit of candy. After the girls made the rounds of the neighborhood, we took the girls and a friend to Dave and Buster's. Mr. BTEG and I were there last weekend to sit at the bar and watch football; we picked up some Halloween game pieces and won $200 in free game tokens, which were redeemable on Halloween. Mr. BTEG and the girls played lots of games; I rested quite a bit in the car, since I am still sick. My fellow Lutherans in church this morning noticed that my voice is just about gone. Today is a good day to kick back and watch football.

Don't Stand Too Close to Me

Our entire family is sharing a cold. I'm not feeling particularly interested in much at the moment. I have been at least getting the girls to their respective lessons. I'm hoping I'll feel better by the weekend so I can accomplish things. Halloween tomorrow will be easy. Just bundle up and sit outside and watch Mr. BTEG throw candy into bags. Fortunately, the girls put their own costumes together this year. Not sure what the Equestrienne is wearing, but the Dancer is recycling her ballet costume from her recital and going as a ballerina. Not sure whether she will wear her mostly-outgrown ballet slippers or just tennis shoes.

I'm trying out contact lenses again. I wore them for years, but quit several years back when we couldn't afford the contacts. I may also get a new pair of back-up glasses. We need to use up the money on our benefits card before the end of the year. I was pleasantly surprised that my eyesight has slightly improved. Ever since I started with glasses at the age of 5, my eyesight has mostly deteriorated.

It's Science!

Read this, and you'll know why my husband and I think it would be cool to take bananas along while trick-or-treating. It's "fashionable" around here to put a black light in the outdoor light fixture for Halloween.

Points of Interest

Orson Scott Card, sci-fi god, wants to have a Constitutional convention and sees homeschooling as a way to get around government subversion. Apparently it's rocking the world of sci-fi geeks. He also asks, Would the Last Honest Reporter Please Turn on the Lights?

Keep Your Hands Off My State

Dear members of ACORN and Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner,
Please stay out of my beloved state with your voter fraud. If your guy can't win on his own, that's just too bad. Cry me a rainbow. Brunner, I hope your ass gets voted out in the next election.

Dear Gov. Ted Strickland, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown and Mayor of Columbus Ted Coleman,
Don't even talk to me about being lying and deceitful. The Chicago machine wrote the book on it, and now it's coming to the national stage. You disgust me. Grow some integrity. I hope you lose your next elections too.

Check out this story by the "unbiased media." Think it could be slanted towards the Democrats any more than it is?

Hope that RICO action works out.

Halloween Scene

In some ways I hate this time of year. Maybe I just have a weak stomach, but the decorations seem to be getting gorier and gorier, and it almost makes me ill sometimes. Am I the only one who finds fake blood (that new window gel stuff) on the window of a pizza joint a little stomach turning when you go in to get your pizza or meatball sub? Also why I'm not going with the husband and kids to Halloweekends.

Giant Killers

The analogy is so apt, isn't it? The Cleveland Browns, one of the "Davids" of the National Football League, beat the mighty Giants handily last night. Mr. BTEG tried to get us tickets, but they were too expensive. I'm happy, anyway. And I'll bet there are a lot of sleepy/"sick" workers in Cleveland today.

UPDATE: The Dancer's ballet class assistant was at the game last night and called in sick to school today. Although she actually *was* kinda sick also.

Light But Deadly?

A man was killed near where we live in a car collision while he was riding a scooter. This is what worries me about these light scooters and new teeny-tiny cars. They may be great on the gas mileage but they're not safe in an accident with any other type of vehicle except maybe an Amish buggy. Not to mention, around here I think they're a luxury, as I can't see driving them during our winters so they're not drivable year-round.

You're Joking, Right?

A little while back, Iceland was held up to me as a socialist utopia, where "healthcare and education are considered human rights and equality means something." Well, Iceland has just gone bankrupt. Yes, the country. The entire country has gone bankrupt and is looking to borrow money from Russia. Yeah, good luck with that. They poison their own, what are they going to do to a country that doesn't pay back its loans? So where's the money for the "free" healthcare and education gonna come from now?

And by the way, equality means quite a bit here. It's written into our Constitution. The only difference is, we offer equality of opportunity, not outcome. It feels all swell for everyone to end up the same, no matter how much effort they put in or how effectively they use their talents. Frankly, if everyone is gonna end up the same as me, why should I try? It's another old problem of the socialist state that gets swept under the rug by people who just want to live in a world that's "fair." As I posted a long time ago, life ain't fair, Buttercup. Man up or go home.

Hat tip to The Common Room for the Iceland link.

It's Getting to Be Hunting Season

If you're into bow hunting and you're looking for a nice, girly bow, look here. It's also supporting an Ohio company.

Why I Don't Want Universal Healthcare

This article is a large part of the reason why I am terrified by universal healthcare. The Australian government is willing to pay for weight-loss programs which are not proven to work long-term, or for bariatric surgery which would mean I would never eat normally again and probably cause me great pain for the rest of my life, but it would not provide health care for me. Mind you, although I am over the average weight, my blood pressure tends to be low, I've had several normal EKGs, and I have my cholesterol tested yearly and have never had a problem. Overweight does not automatically equal unhealthy. Yet the Australian government has latched onto several medical untruths and is proving that "universal" only means "if you fit our unscientific notions of what we politicians think is best."

I'm warning everyone right now that anyone who leaves a nasty, condescending or otherwise impolite comment will have it deleted. This is my house. I'm sharing somewhat private information only because I feel the overall message needs to get out. I won't stand for being lectured in my house.

Saturday Sewing

For some reason my sewing mojo left quite a while ago, and hasn't come back. I've explored a number of reasons, from perfectionism becoming paralyzing, to being distracted by all the other work I have to do. However, I *need* a new skirt for church. All I have is one summery one which I just can't wear anymore. So it's off to the salt mines sewing room to see if I can rediscover my mojo, or at least slog through.

Like I Needed Something Else

I already have places to go three afternoons/early evenings a week. So I went to pick up the Equestrienne from her horseback riding lesson on Wednesday. I found her grooming a pony she hadn't even ridden that day, but who needed grooming desperately. He is shedding his summer coat to make way for his winter one. While I was less than thrilled about waiting for her while she finished, it did garner her an invitation from the stable owner to come and help out at the stable on another day from her horseback riding lesson. So now I'll have places to go four evenings a week. Like I needed that. Of course, the Equestrienne is thrilled to be turning into a stable rat. And the experience in the stable will be good for her. She's not a phenom, but she does seem to be ahead of some of the other riders in her progress. She'll be starting jumping as soon as she gets better about keeping her heels down.

Free Museum Admission!

Mr. BTEG discovered a great deal for homeschoolers this Saturday, free museum admission for two to lots of good museums. For those of you who pay attention to such things, it *is* being sponsored by dictator-owned Citgo, and I'm not sure what business the Lt. Governor of Louisiana has sponsoring a nationwide museum opportunity. But it's still a great chance for learning, for those whose homeschooling budget is tight. Which is probably just about everyone. :)

LOLBrowns

More at the aptly named Waiting for Next Year.

Via Dawgs by Nature.

Choices

It seems fairly easy to me. If you elect Obama, with a Democratic Congress, you will get socialism. Do you want socialism? Vote for Obama. Do you want babies born after a botched abortion to be killed anyway? Vote for Obama. Do you want to vote for someone who had his own private negotiations with the Iraqis, essentially going over the head of the current president? Vote for Obama. Do you want someone who is trying to have members from the opposing party investigated by the Feds and told his followers to "get in people's faces"? All this information is out there on the internet. This is what you'll get.

Now, Republicans were very unhappy with the choice of John McCain as Republican nominee. His stand on illegal immigration, in addition to his Gang of Whatever-Number-I-Can't-Remember association, were real negatives for a lot of Republicans. And maybe one can't believe everything a politician says. But he has never asked for a single earmark in his entire time in the Senate. You can read a great article by the Anchoress about how the Democrats are running away from the economic crisis because they don't know what to do, and how John McCain is trying to provide leadership. Whose answer do you like better? And Sarah Palin already has a record of taking out corrupt politicians, *Republican* politicians at that. You don't have to just go on her words, look at what she's done.

And if you don't like either of them in the end, vote third party. Frankly, my big issue is socialism. We're currently the least socialistic of the major countries. Where on earth are we supposed to go if more socialism gets enacted here? It reminds me of when I lived in an all-girl dorm in college with set quiet hours at night. Men, who weren't even residents but were there sleeping with their girlfriends, were breaking the quiet hour rules. Their response: if you don't like it, move to the 24-hour-quiet dorm. In other words, we want to break the rules; if you don't like it, *you* can leave. Screw that. I happen to like our Constitution and the way our Founding Fathers set things up. If you want socialism, move to Canada, or France (sorry, Canadians. You can move here).

Blogging Meets Real Life

Tonight the Evil Genius family had the privilege of meeting Dan of Necessary Roughness while he is in northeast Ohio for work. We had dinner at a good German restaurant that Lutheran Lucciola would have loved - potato pancakes, schnitzel, Kartoffel Salat, cabbage. :) I remembered a way that my Transylvanian Saxon potato salad differs from the potato salad at the restaurant; in the Saxon kind, the potatoes are boiled in their jackets and cut up cold, skin and all, the next day for the salad. After dinner, we had a wonderful ending in ice cream. We got along so well with Dan, it was like we already knew him, and in a way we kind of did!

It's interesting how the internet brings people together. We would have never found our current church , for example, without the internet, and I never would have gotten to know Dan without the internet. Or Lutheran Lucciola, for that matter, or lots of other great people across the country, or as far away as New Zealand. Hey, the internet even helped us when we were driving home from Michigan Sunday night. We were getting hungry but didn't want fast food. So my husband used his phone/PDA to look up a Pizza Hut a little further down the freeway, we called ahead and ordered a pizza, and arrived there just in time to pick it up.

It was rather interesting driving home from Michigan through the wind and heavy rain that were the last gasp for Hurricane Ike. Fortunately, my husband's nephew had a slightly sprained ankle, so we did not have to sit at a soccer game in the wind and rain. We did have lunch together, and checked out John's dorm, where we had birthday pie. John likes pie. :)

Obviously we had effects from Ike, although nowhere near as bad as down south. A couple of my girls' friends missed school on Monday because the power was out at their school. There are downed branches piled up everywhere, and shingles torn off of roofs. I can't imagine how awful the devastation is down in Texas.

Splashing Surprise

As I type this, I am sitting in the Great Wolf Lodge Resort in Sandusky, Ohio. It's becoming quite a tradition to come to Great Wolf Lodge; we've been here twice before. Both of the previous times were for holidays. The first time we came was Christmas of '04. It doesn't seem that long ago, but the Dancer had "reindeer food" she'd made in her Girl Scout troop that we had to sprinkle on the balcony for Santa's reindeer. It was a *very* cold and snowy Christmas, and it was glorious to spend two days completely indoors, swimming in enveloping warmth, and eating in the restaurants here in the Lodge.

The next time we came here was for Thanksgiving of last year. We had wonderful fun once more, and were thankful for our blessings over a luxurious buffet.

This time, our trip was last minute. We are going up to Adrian, Michigan tomorrow to see our nephew for his 19th birthday, and watch him play in a soccer game. We decided to get a head start on the trip and go part way today. At first, we considered camping, but it has been raining steadily since yesterday. Not good camping weather. If the rain stopped at a reasonable time, we were thinking about spending some time at Cedar Point, and staying on-site there tonight. There are not a lot of hotels between here and Toledo. However, the rain was very persistent, so we decided to come back to the Lodge, where the weather doesn't matter.

We did consider staying at a new indoor water park called Maui Sands. However, we had some questions about their rooms (their website is awful), and we called three times without them answering their phone. Mr. BTEG and I really don't want to work that hard for the privilege of giving someone else our money, so we went back to the tried-and-true. The water park at Maui Sands does sound tempting, so we drove by on the way here. It looks like perhaps it opened too early. Basically what they did was take over a Holiday Inn Express and add some rooms and the water park. They haven't scraped all the Holiday Inn Express signs off the building which doesn't look so good. Also, even though the rooms looked good online, when we got there, the hotel just looked plain boring on the outside. It just didn't look very nice. Plus, they allow day passes at Maui Sands, whereas we're snobby and prefer the exclusivity of a resort. :) So back to Great Wolf Lodge we came.

Tomorrow we head off for Michigan. Hope it doesn't rain.

I'm Sick to My Stomach

But stuff like this needs to be seen. These are the people the Democrats align themselves with. This is not just an "alternate point of view." These people are enemies of our country and all that it stands for. We cannot allow the people who would malign and destroy our country to take hold.

Life on the Merry-Go-Round

It seems there's never a quiet moment around here anymore. Tuesday afternoon the Dancer has ballet and jazz; Thursday afternoon she has tap. Fortunately, her dance classes are very close to a large shopping area that has several stores that are not near our home, such as the pet supply store and the sewing store. While the Dancer dances, I often shop.

The Scientist has Latin on Wednesday mornings and horseback riding Wednesday evenings. And since the Die-Hard Equestrian is dropping her blog name, I am changing the name of the Scientist to the Equestrienne. :)

The Equestrienne is learning through Ohio Virtual Academy this year. There's all kinds of new books, papers and folders around the house, plus we have to find a space to set up her new computer, when we get the rest of it. So far, it seems to be going well. She's putting more of an effort in for this than she did working for me. It's a little hectic for me right now as we learn how to deal with this new system, but I'm hoping I'll have less work to do as we go on. It *is* nice being able to focus more on the Dancer's education.

We still have a lot of organizing to do, but I'm hoping we'll get into a working routine soon. Right now I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed.

I Love My Husband

Check out the license plate he got for his new vehicle.

Now we match.

I've Lost My Way

When I first started this blog, I wanted to write about all kinds of things, not just the personal events in my and my family's life. However, I had a life-changing event at the end of February this year, and since then I'm not sure what I'm doing. I'm not a world events blogger, I'm not a crafty blogger (at this time), I'm not good at exploring or talking about my faith and I'm not good at keeping up with events in my (larger) church, so I guess I'm not much of a Lutheran blogger either. I'm just me, and right now I'm not sure where I'm going. All I wanted to do with this blog is express *me*, and I'm not sure how to do that right now.

Step Number One

to being a Christian witness in today's world -

learning how to spell Christian.

Photo courtesy of Mr. BTEG.

A Girl and a Horse

The Scientist rode in the annual Horse Show at her riding school on Saturday. She participated in three events. The first was Showmanship. This involved judging the appearance of the horse and tack. The Scientist spent two hours the day before, preparing her horse and cleaning the tack. She also put in about forty-five minutes the morning of the show, doing a final grooming of her horse, or pony, actually, cleaning out its hooves and all kinds of fun stuff. She placed eighth out of thirteen, just well enough to garner a ribbon.

She also participated in two Cavaletti events. Cavaletti apparently refers to poles that the horse goes over. She rode Peter Pan the pony for these events. In the first event, she rode a set pattern which included going over poles on the ground. In the second, all the girls rode at once, changing from a walk to a sitting trot to a canter to a posting trot and so forth when instructed to do so. She placed fourth out of five in both Cavaletti events. She was disappointed in her results, but her family thinks she did well for her first horse show.

One girl fell off when her horse balked at a jump, and apparently Peter Pan went to his front knees while another girl was riding him, and the girl fell off. We missed this; it happened when Mr. BTEG, his sister and I were grabbing some lunch in a restaurant and enjoying some air conditioning. My sister-in-law, who is pregnant with her first child, was musing on how parents can bear to let their children take part in things that might be dangerous for them. What do you all think? For me, it's because riding horses, or dancing, seems to be part of who they are, or who they want to be. I can't deny them this chance to develop part of themselves. I do pray neither of them will ever be seriously injured in pursuit of their dreams.

The weather was hot and the sun rather bright, so that the Scientist's mother and aunt both felt the effects of the heat over the course of the day. However, we were all happy to be there watching the Scientist take important steps in her horsemanship.

A Photo Instead of Words... For Now

The Perfect Gift

Especially for a woman with PMS or going through menopause, is this. Just make sure you put high quality chocolate in.

Trying to Keep Up

Ever feel like your kids dirty your house faster than you can clean it? That's where I am right now. And I can't even look forward to shipping them back to school, either. The Scientist may be starting at Ohio Virtual Academy this fall, however. Honestly, she just has not been putting out her best effort. She's discovering this as she does the math assessment for OHVA. So I will probably just have to focus on the Dancer's schooling, while overseeing the Scientist.

Most of my running around is done for a while. I have to drop the Scientist off at her riding school for a couple of hours tomorrow morning, so she can clean and groom the horse she is showing during the horse show at her riding school, which is on Saturday. I have to pick up a couple of new leotards for the Dancer for her dance classes this fall. Speaking of fall, we'll be getting back into our fall routine soon, with Latin for the Scientist on Wednesday mornings, and three dance classes for the Dancer this year. At least two will be back to back so we only have to go out to the studio twice a week. I'm glad I've learned how to knit; I'll probably be doing a lot of knitting while watching the Dancer at her lessons.

Have to go cycle the laundry. I'll be posting about the horse show on Saturday.

Stop the Insanity

Between dropping off and picking up the Scientist for horse camp all this week, seven doctor/dentist/etc. appointments for various members of the family in one week, and watching a neighbor's child for part of a day, I am remembering one of the reasons why I'm glad we homeschool: I hate running around. It has been kind of nice being on a schedule, but all the coming and going is making me dizzy!

Lacking Words

Life is not exactly dull here, and I'm still keeping an eye on the world at large, but there isn't anything recently that has inspired me to share it. I'll post a few notes just to catch readers up with life in my little world.

Wildchild (who I may rename the Dancer) is disappointed that there are no dance classes in August. She'll be taking ballet, jazz and tap this fall and is looking forward to it. In some ways, she reminds me of the character of Posy, from Ballet Shoes, who "lived for nothing but her dancing classes," and "could only say and understand things with her feet."

The Scientist is going to horse camp for five hours a day all this week, and is enjoying herself except for the snotty girls. She's learning more about horses, which she enjoys; she loves animals. She has also made a new friend already, although who knows if she'll see her again after horse camp. The girl is living with her father right now, but will go back with her mother after the summer, and I don't know if the mother lives near. Obviously there are lots of larger issues with divorce, but I feel frustrated with how hard it is for my girls to maintain friendships with children of divorce; it seems like a good bit of their "free" time is spent away with the other parent. It just occurred to me that if I had been younger when my parents divorced, I could have lived through the same thing, and I would have hated it. As it was, they divorced when I was in college, so I was independent in the view of the state.

We haven't done much Olympics watching around here. Mr. EG is almost anti-Olympics, being interested in very few sports and thinking the Olympics are over-hyped, so it's not on when he's home. I should find a schedule somewhere and find out when the equestrian events are on for the Scientist, except that she's gone five hours a day, and most of the riding seems to be already over.

I've often been rather skeptical of the "God provides everything you need" crowd, not because I don't trust in God's Providence, but because it often seems to be used as a reason to give more to the church than you can afford, and "trust God" to make up the shortfall. However, Mr. EG's car just died, and the problems are not worth putting more money into with this vehicle. We had just gotten a substantial amount of money from the government that we were owed, so we were able to afford a "new" car without taking out a loan, which does seem rather Providential.

So, I guess I found some words after all. Perhaps I just need the discipline to force myself to post more often!

Day Care Scare

This is one of the scary things about leaving your child in the care of others. And yes, I know that parents have been known to forget their kids also, accidentally leaving them in locked cars and such. But doesn't that usually happen as the parent is rushing off to work, full of thoughts of the job? I know not every mom can stay at home, but the stay-at-home mom can often live a much more relaxed lifestyle, where the kids *are* the job.

Fun and Games

Here we are in our child-free weekend, and although I miss the chilluns, Mr. EG and I have been having some fun. Yesterday we stopped at Dave and Buster's on the way home and played air hockey, billiards (I'm an expert at slop ball), and raced each other in a race car game. It was something we haven't done in a while, and a nice change.

Today after church we stopped for the first time at Bubba's Q restaurant, owned by former Cleveland Brown Al "Bubba" Baker. Supposedly it is the only restaurant in the country to sell de-boned baby back ribs, which were good but not quite to my taste. My husband, a football fan of That Evil Town to the East, might not have liked some of the wall decor, which included autographed jerseys from Bernie Kosar and Brian Sipe. The football theme was carried throughout, down to the menus, which felt like a football on the outside and were colored orange or brown.

Today I'm hoping to get some sewing and house cleaning done with only Mr. EG under foot. :) I'm glad we're getting the kids back tomorrow. They're probably having a fantastic time at the water park.

Warning: first two links have sound.

Positive Notes

Yesterday was the last night of Mom/Kid Ballet. Even though we only took it once a week, I noticed my stamina was a lot better at the end of the course than the beginning. Now to keep that up! It was a nice experience for Wildchild and I. She loved being able to show her mom how to do something!

We seem to have pinned down the source of Mr. EG's somnolence. His sleep study showed he does not have sleep apnea, so the doctor targeted his meds next, and his asthma medication seems to have been the culprit. He is slowly returning to normal life. :)

We will be getting rid of our daughters for the weekend. :) They are going to a waterpark with their aunt and uncle on Sunday; we're dropping them off on Saturday and getting them back on Monday, since the family lives an hour and a half away. They should have lots of fun.

We Found Our Thrill

On Tuesday we went blueberry picking with the Presbytera and some of her family, and another homeschooling mom in the area. It was a great opportunity for the girls to get some of the fruit they love, at a good price, and a fun experience picking. Fortunately, the day was not overly hot or humid, and we picked quite a few pounds of berries. Wildchild has already made one batch of blueberry muffins, and the girls want to make blueberry smoothees. Many of the blueberries need to put in the freezer still. It was a very pleasant way to spend the day

Irish Experience

We needed to get out of the house today, so we went to the local, and annual, Irish Cultural Festival. Mr. Evil Genius bought all three of his girls some jewelry, I got to see some handsome Irish men ;), and we got to hear some Irish music and see some Irish dancing. The Scientist knew one of the Irish dancers from a sleepover party given by one of her good friends, also an Irish dancer. The two girls hung out for a while, in between performances by the girl's dance school. I bet none of you, even those who live in Ohio, have ever seen an Irish dance performed to "Hang On Sloopy." It electrified the crowd. O-H-I-O!

Debbie's Contest

My friend Debbie is having a contest and giving away some nice things if you are a quilter, or even just a sewer. I've been wanting one of those Clover mini-irons for ages; they're supposed to be great for sewing doll clothes. And the little containers are just too cute!

Dance Dance Revolution

You know what? I like ballet. Our second class was today, and once again, it was a work-out. I've never gotten into aerobics, or lying on the floor waving my legs around, but exercising by way of dance is fun. I wish I could have taken dance lessons when I was young, although I was intrigued by tap then. Perhaps Wildchild and I can continue practicing ballet together after the classes are over.

Celebrity Sighting

While Mr. Evil Genius and I were shopping in our local Target tonight, we saw Indians pitcher Paul Byrd! I did say hi to him. Saved the squee for when we were out of the store. :) And I just mentioned something about his HGH usage today. (lopsided grin)

CU at CP

Yesterday the family met up at Cedar Point with my sister-in-law and her husband, to celebrate my birthday, which is today. I'm starting a new decade, and it is not my thirties! We (most of us) rode lots of rides and all ate good food, which we brought from home. Mr. Evil Genius did most of the cooking! Fortunately, although we had scattered showers, the rain came around mealtime both times, so we ate lunch and dinner at our covered table and waited out the rain. We ended up having a very good time.

Here's a picture of the cake. My husband told the girl what to write on it.

Here's the Scientist and Wildchild with local celebrities. :)

Alas

Tonight was the first Mom/Kid ballet class with Wildchild and I have discovered two things. I am old. And out of shape. After that class I was Ready.To.Drop. I don't know how Wildchild does it. She went swimming this afternoon, had a tap dancing class in the early evening, we had dinner, then ballet. And then she put her tap shoes on and was showing her sister her new tap moves when we got home! But it looks so easy when Wildchild does it!

Deja Vu

The Rebellious Pastor's Wife tagged me for this one. It's similar to one I did not that long ago, but I'm always up for a meme, so I'll play along.

What was I doing ten years ago?

Ten years ago I was fairly early on in my pregnancy with Wildchild. Sometime during that summer was when we had the 100-year-flood that left several feet of water in our basement and turned our street into a river. There were kids floating in a raft in the cul-de-sac directly across from our house, seriously. I'm still bitter about losing a big box of books from college that was too heavy to go on our shelves, and probably would have been on a lower shelf so I would have lost it anyway. We didn't have any trouble with that basement before or after.

That summer was also when I had an earache so bad I could barely eat or sleep, so I got Tylenol-with-codeine and then was miserably ill because I'm allergic to codeine and didn't know it. I think having a little Scientist running around, and expecting Wildchild, were the main redeeming things about that time.


What are five things on my to-do list for tomorrow?

Do laundry so I have something nice to wear to Cedar Point on Saturday.
Keep getting our school books area cleaned up so we are ready for school in August.
Exercising. I've been using the treadmill in the exercise room of our complex. I do better with that than just walking.
Continue going through paper and bills. Fun.
Knit, sew, embroider. Might just sew a new top instead of doing laundry. :)


Snacks I enjoy

Ice cream, especially uber-chocolatey flavors, potato chips, red Delicious apples, cereal, bread and butter


Things I would do if I were a billionaire

Buy a nice house in the country, but not too far out.
Buy the Scientist a horse. Maybe build a stable on our land.
Buy a summer place on Lake Erie, preferably on the long strip of land by Cedar Point.
Go to Germany, to visit family and friends. Plus it would be a great way for the girls to pick up German.
Go to Italy. Check out the major cities and the little valley where my husband's people come from.
Pay for all the repair work and maintenance on our church that needs done


Places I have lived

Bay Village, Ohio
Willoughby, Ohio
Dublin, Ohio
Grove City, Ohio
Sheffield Village, Ohio
Avon, Ohio


Jobs I have had

Secretarial assistant in The President's and Dean's Office for almost four years when I was in college.
Did proofreading, worked on catalogs and did copy work at various times for my father's ad agency. Went from the days of the big old typesetting machine (which I didn't use) and photostat machine to doing everything on the computer using Adobe Page Maker.
At a clothing store when I was home from college. Does anyone remember id?
As a Department Manager at a department store.
Computer programmer for the Department of Defense. Used a dinosaur language, COBOL.
Homeschool teacher.

Again, I'm not going to tag anybody, for the same reasons I listed last time.

I Miss My Husband

Over the past several months, my husband has had various health problems. First it was muscle problems in his back, which necessitated physical therapy. Then we discovered he needed more thyroid medication. However, that hasn't helped much with his general tiredness. When he's not at work, he sleeps a good bit of the time, and when he is at work, he requires lots of caffeine to keep him going. He had a sleep study done this week, which we hope will yield results that could lead to help with his tiredness. I feel badly for wishing my husband was available to do more around the house and to have fun and do things with. What if he was seriously ill or disabled? Still, I do miss really having my husband around, instead of asleep.

I hope everyone had a nice holiday yesterday. We spent the day with my in-laws and had a good time. We even got home in time to catch some local fireworks, although we enjoyed a fine display of (illegal) pyrotechnics for a good bit of our drive through Cleveland. My sister-in-law is pregnant, so I need to find lots of easy knitting patterns for baby items. :) We got to see the first "pictures" of my little nephew-or-niece-to-be yesterday.

Speaking of babies, Blonde Liz, who recently had a C-section, reminds us of one of the things to be thankful for in living in this country, which is the excellent health care. I also had a C-section, and I realized at the time, and have at intervals thereafter, that my Wildchild and I could have died under other circumstances. We also came close to losing Wildchild when she had a bad case of croup. At least, I believe so since they brought the crash cart in. It is indeed a blessing to live in a country where lives can be saved through good medical care. I hope we don't go to nationalized health care! However, Liz makes me feel woefully deficient in the catechesis of my children. I did sing Christmas carols to the Scientist, since she was born on Dec. 21st.

A Bit of This, A Bit of That

Does anyone else listen to WTAM 1100 in the early morning? Apparently a Cuyahoga County school teacher was on with Bill Wills this morning and made an idiot of herself, whining about how little she got paid and talking politics when it was not supposed to be the topic. Guess who she's voting for. I'm glad I homeschool, yet again. I half-slept through her time on air and only started waking up when callers started calling in complaining how stupid she came off.

During the torrential downpour tonight, there was a young male employee at the Outback restaurant we had dinner at, escorting patrons to their cars under an umbrella. Wasn't that nice?

I sewed up a shirt today for the Scientist out of the camo fabric I bought, and started on a pair of shorts for Wildchild. I'm getting back into sewing, but also getting back into my familiar feeling of being overwhelmed with all the projects I need/want to do. Just have to take it my usual two-three projects at a time, lol.

Speaking of which, I also have two knitting projects going, a garter ridge scarf and a dishcloth. Is that typical for knitters, or just knitters with ADD? :) And do you have a yarn stash? If you do, how do you keep track of which yarn is what? I'm seeing the same patterns appear in my knitting career as are already apparent in my sewing. Not surprising, I suppose.

This Blog Meme Brought to You by the Number Five

Having been tagged by jau, I now proceed to answer. :)

The rules:
1. Post the rules at the beginning.
2. Answer the questions only about yourself.
3. At the end of the post, tag five people and post their names, then go to their blogs and leave them a comment so they know they’ve been tagged. Ask them to read the sender's blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

What Were You Doing Five Years Ago?
In June 2003, we were still recovering as a family from my husband being out of work for eight months in 2002. Or at least, out of a job in computers, which paid much better than waiting tables. I don't remember much of anything else. We hadn't started homeschooling our daughters, although Wildchild was only four, anyway. Not much about me, but I wasn't doing much besides housekeeping and maybe sewing at this time.

What Are Five Things on Your To-Do List for Today?
1. Dishes, dishes, dishes
2. Embroidering a dish towel I've been working on (and putting off) forever, for Lutheran Hen for the blog contest I had up here ages ago.
3. Laundry, laundry, laundry
4. Walking. I've gotten out of the habit of exercising since it got so hot; I have to get back to it. I'd love to lose some weight, but it probably won't come off without exercise.
5. Knitting: starting on a dish cloth pattern.

What Are Five Snacks You Enjoy?
1. Ice cream, especially uber-chocolatey flavors (see number four above)
2. Potato chips (ditto)
3. Red Delicious apples
4. Cereal
5. Bread and butter

What Are Five Things You Would Do If You Were a Billionaire?
1. Buy a nice house in the country, but not too far out.
2. Buy the Scientist a horse. Maybe build a stable on our land.
3. Buy a summer place on Lake Erie, preferably on the long strip of land by Cedar Point.
4. Go to Germany, to visit family and friends. Plus it would be a great way for the girls to pick up German.
5. Go to Italy. Check out the major cities and the little valley where my husband's people come from. I bet the Scientist could probably read Italian some after a couple of years of Latin, and I noticed the same thing after seven years of Spanish.

What Are Five of Your Bad Habits?
1. Losing things, especially in the sewing room. By that, I mean not putting things where they belong and then having to look for them when they get buried by other stuff.
2. Procrastination. Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow.
3. Not eating properly.
4. Thinking poorly about myself. Putting myself down.
5. Not establishing boundaries, mainly with family.

What Are Five Places Where You Have Lived?
1. Bay Village, Ohio
2. Willoughby, Ohio
3. Dublin, Ohio
4. Grove City, Ohio
5. Sheffield Village, Ohio
Yes, I've lived all my life in Ohio. It has its pros and cons, like anything else.

What Are Five Jobs You've Had?
1. Secretarial assistant in The President's and Dean's Office for almost four years when I was in college.
2. At a clothing store when I was home from college.
3. As a Department Manager at a department store.
4. Computer programmer for the Department of Defense. Used a dinosaur language, COBOL.
5. Homeschool teacher.

Since a lot of bloggers I know don't like memes, and since something similar is already making the rounds among other blogs I read, I'm going to break The Rules and not tag anybody. If you want to play along, feel free.

Trying to Shop With ADD

The Scientist needed new riding boots; she has a lesson tomorrow morning and can't ride without boots. So the girls and I jumped into the car to head about 45 minutes south where the tack store is. Fortunately, we hadn't gotten as far as the next exit on the freeway when I looked down at the Scientist's feet and realized she needed to be wearing socks to try on boots. We got off at the next exit, and stopped at McDonald's to grab a quick lunch, since the Scientist won a $15 MickeyD's gift card at a party. The girls went in themselves; Wildchild didn't think to order her hamburger plain and the Scientist accidentally bought unneeded extra fries.

So home we go. The Scientist found socks, even though one had a hole, and we headed out again. Alas, the girls were talking and bickering in the car and I just switched into auto-pilot mode and went right past the exit we were supposed to get off at. Oops. So, turn around and head back, and *finally* we made it to the tack store. Which went well, except we had no real ideas about the kind of boot to get for the Scientist. We ended up with low boots, since the Scientist rides in jeans, not breeches, and lace-up boots, since a zipper broke on the Scientist's last pair. At least the ride home was uneventful, except for more talking and bickering by the girls. They're gone now, checking on neighbors' pets that they're pet-sitting, so I have quiet at last!

In My Own Backyard

Today, I checked out a lovely (and large) quilting and yarn store, and a little yarn store, right across a parking lot from each other and practically right in my own backyard. Never knew they were there before! I've only taken up knitting this year, though, and although I've been sewing for years, I've only done a very little bit of quilting. I've developed an interest in doing more quilting recently. I have the fabric and pillow form I need to make a log cabin pillow, and I have fabric to start on quilts for my daughters' beds. I think for the daughters' quilts I will just make simple, large squares, so the prints on the fabric don't get lost in little pieces. I keep wanting to take pictures of the fabric. If someone tells me they want to see it, it might motivate me. :)

In addition to the sewing I *want* to do, the girls and I really need some summer clothes, and I do most of our clothes sewing around here, too. It may not be cheaper than Wal-Mart or Target, but I think the clothes wear longer, and it's not that much more than the stuff at Target, if you get good deals on fabric. Plus, I reuse a lot of my patterns. Of course, I have managed to collect a large number of patterns. :)

Projects and Stuff

I've finally got a picture of a six-gore skirt I made awhile ago that I wanted to put up a picture of. The fabric was in my stash so long (eek!) that I forget exactly what it's made of, but it has a nice linen-y texture to it. It looks similar to some fabric Kate posted a while back.

I made it using Stretch-and-Sew 481. I hadn't used the pattern before, despite it's easy-to-makeness, but it made up into a great skirt.

I want to make another skirt in white using some fabric I just bought in Amish country, but who knows when I'll get to it. I'll be busy with projects for a while.

For example, I bought this camo knit fabric in pink and browns for the Scientist, who had expressed a wish for a shirt in such fabric. I got it at Zinck's in Berlin, which, despite what the link says, is now located in one giant outlet store. Mr. EG took a few pics for me, but I need to get them on my computer. Let me just say that it's a giant warehouse of a place, with row upon row of all kinds of fabric.

Lastly, I did not make these potholders, but I bought them in Amish country because I liked them so much. My kitchen is decorated (a little) with pansies, and I hadn't any Christmas kitchen linens before I bought these two potholders.

I'm frustrated, because Photobucket crashes my browser every time I try to upload video of Wildchild's dance recital, and when I tried to email *one* video to a friend, the software told me it was too big. I don't quite understand, since it's only one minute long. Maybe there's something I can do, but in the meantime let me just say it went well and Wildchild had a great time.

Beautiful View

Here are a couple of views of Amish country from the room at our hotel.


I tried to upload video from Wildchild's dance rehearsal to Photobucket but it kept crashing my browser, so it is not to be for now. Tomorrow is the big recital!

Glad to Be Home

After two very full days, and a drive through heavy rain, we are home again, and glad to be here. Husband and I had a very good time out in the country. I loved shopping for fabric and yarn, and I'll take some pictures of my "loot" to share over the next couple of days.

Our daughters had a good time with their aunt and uncle, and their aunt took them to a few museums that I can add to their homeschool list. :)

I'm tired, but very happy after the good time we had. I think Husband and I really needed the time away, and it was nice to make some more memories together.

Catching Up... Again

Mr. Evil Genius and I have been busy packing up boxes and printing out shipping labels and making runs to the post office. Which fortunately is very close to our house. It's a good thing I accepted international bidders, as many of my eBay bidders are from other countries: Italy, Sweden, England, Norway and as far away as New South Wales, Australia. My items mailed "in country" also seemed to be going about as far away from Ohio as possible: Texas, Florida and California.

Mr. Evil Genius and I are also preparing for a little trip together to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. We leave on Wednesday and will be back late on Friday, and the girls will be staying with my sister-in-law and her husband. I'm trying to get some more clothes sewn up for the girls and I. I've finally managed to get back seriously into my sewing room, after my bad time in the winter. Right now, I'm working on a swim suit for Wildchild. I hate sewing swim suits, as I have a hard time sewing the elastic so the tension is even all the way around, and my machine has difficulty at times getting over the seam bumps and the elastic bumps where the elastic was sewed together. I want to take a picture or two of my latest creations, but the camera lens needs cleaned, and we can't find any "proper" cleaning cloths here at home that won't scratch the lens. Oh, the little things that get in our way sometimes.

I'm hoping the camera will be ready by the time Mr. Evil Genius and I leave; we're going to Amish country, by the way. Ohio has a large population of Amish, and I love the countryside and the shopping. I'm very much looking forward to the trip.

She Can Dance If She Wants To

Wildchild had dance class in costume this afternoon for her dance recital on June 15. Not sure what her dance instructor was thinking when she planned it for Father's Day. Anyway, Wildchild will be dancing twice, once for her ballet class and once for her jazz class.

Addendum

Here's a view of the Indians game from our seats. I didn't have it uploaded in time for my previous post. This game was a company (divisional) outing. I think the seats were nicer than last year's. Although we didn't bother staying for autographs this time. Doubt many people did; it was pretty late. However, Wildchild *finally* (at her fourth game) achieved her goal of getting her picture up on the giant screen. This one.

Is This Thing On?

Hey! I haven't been posting very much lately. Part of it is because I was busy. I took everyone's advice and put my dollhouse and all its contents up on eBay. I'll have a total of 54 individual auctions as soon as I put the last item up today. That was a lot of work! I'm glad I'm doing it, though. Going through all the items, I realized that I'm a different person from the one I was when I was seriously into the dollhouse and collecting for it. It's good to move on and free up the space in my life, physically and mentally.

Monday night we went to an Indians game with my sister-in-law and her husband. We all went out for dinner beforehand downtown, and it was very enjoyable. Good thing, because the Tribe lost after dragging the game out for 12 innings. Ugh. The girls and I also got to enjoy the fireworks afterward; my in-laws left early for their long drive home, and my husband was unselfishly taking the long hike to get our mini-van when the most direct route was blocked off due to the fireworks, and the elevators in the garage were turned off for the same reason.

We spent some of our "tax refund" on some furnishings for our porch, which now looks great and will be nice to hang out in all summer. The girls also like doing their schoolwork out there. Now to get the rest of our place cleaned up so it looks great as well!

Albatross

I have a dollhouse; my parents gave it, or the start of it, to me for Christmas when I was 8 years old. It's a Lundby dollhouse, if any of you are knowledgeable about, or care about dollhouses. I'd like you all's words of wisdom and advice, because I am thinking it is time to get rid of it. My daughters never played with it; they were rough on the plastic dollhouse furniture they had, never mind fragile little chairs in a much smaller scale made out of wood. They've never shown much interest in it. Maybe they've always just seen it as "Mom's." I haven't actually had the dollhouse set up for years, literally. I know the stuff will fetch good prices on eBay, and go to adults, most likely, who will cherish it. Yet, I have a thing about selling it. It feels like giving away the remnants of my childhood, if that makes any sense. It feels like I'm betraying my parents, who I believe were very proud of being able to give me such an expensive toy. Of course, I'm not currently on speaking terms with either of my parents; maybe that's an added problem. Do any of you have any insight on getting rid of childhood items, or "clutter" in general, that you feel you ought to part with, but there's that lingering tug?

I Can Do This

I'm finally making substantial progress in my knitting. It may not look like much, but this is the first time I've managed to get beyond two rows or so. I'm still finding I make my stitches a little tight; I'm hoping this will improve with practice.

I had some motivation to learn. The Scientist decided to pick up knitting and has already passed me. She's completed a project, this little purse.

I'm not sure how far I'll get in the world of knitting, but I'm starting to feel like a simple project may not be beyond me after all.

Tired Out

We attended Opening Day at Cedar Point today. If the line for season passes today is any indication, they should have a good season. High gas prices might be good for Cedar Point, keeping people closer to home. I'm glad we have season passes, as today was very disappointing as far as rides. Blue Streak broke down, MaxAir was down, SkyHawk went down, Maverick was down, and the Wave Swinger was closed as well. This also had an effect on park dispersion. With so many rides down, it made other lines more crowded.

On the other hand, we got to see THE Ohio State University's spring marching band, and the beagle that took best of show at the Westminster. So, you know, totally worth it.


I was a little confused by the new Planet Snoopy area. So many rides are identical to rides in Camp Snoopy, further back. But the Scientist overheard someone say that those rides were transferred from Geauga Lake, which is now strictly a waterpark, and that makes sense. I don't understand the new Joe Cool Cafe being basically for kids, though. The only thing for adults on the menu is pizza.

I'm hoping to lose some weight by walking around Cedar Point this summer!

Cheap Pizza

My husband had to stand in line for over 2 hours, but he did get a 23 cent pizza. The restaurant he was at probably served close to 1,100 pizzas when all was said and done - they were starting to run out of ingredients just as he got in the door.

Pics

First of all, here's a shot of Wildchild at the range with her pink rifle. She's very interested in shooting. Maybe it will be a lifelong pastime for her.

Here are the girls at the Indians game we went to on Thursday. Progressive Field is now doing like amusement parks do, and has a photographer going around taking pictures of fans, which are then put online, for printout or for purchase (from their POV, preferably for purchase.) We all had a good time, but were tired that night and the next day, since the game went into the 11th inning. At least we won after all that. Husband happened to get a picture of Asdrubal Cabrera making the game-winning swing in the bottom of the 11th, and I have a picture of our view of the field, but they're still not uploaded. Husband took the disc to work and then didn't have the right attachment to upload them. Hmmm. I should find a name for him besides Husband or Mr. EG.

Keeping Up

Trying to get back to posting more often. Here is a picture of the lovely bracelet I got from the lovely Kate. The two clear beads represent my two girls. The quality of the photo is not the best; I took it with my camera phone. Our digital camera needs batteries, and I will get those from husband when we meet up later.

And what are we meeting up for? An Indians game! Mr. EG went to an auction last night, and was so good, that in addition to not buying several guns he wanted that we can't afford just now, he got good tickets for an Indians game, parking included, for around half price. We've decided this is my Mother's Day gift. Hope the game goes as well as it did last night. I'll be sure to share a pic or two. I do feel badly that we will miss the Ascension Day service at church. But it will be nice to enjoy a baseball game, at an affordable price.

Oops

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. For starters, Wildchild tried out her new pink rifle at the range last weekend, and I wanted to post a picture of one of her targets, but it's not enjoyable uploading pics from my camera, and I've been putting it off. Wildchild had a great time, though. The Scientist got to muck out stalls on the same day, so both girls were very happy. I didn't feel the need to post a picture of a stall, however.

Also, I wanted to take a picture of the lovely bracelet I got from Kate as part of the Pay-It-Forward contest, but again, there was that whole pictures thing. I will post a picture of it soon, though, just to show Kate's lovely handiwork. I am almost done with what I am making for Charity; I still have to come up with something for Debbie. I am counting on her to be patient. :) She is so talented and crafty herself in sewing, I'm not sure what to make for her.

I've had all kinds of things I wanted to blog about sloshing through my head during the past week. Hopefully some of them will come back up to the surface, and I will post again soon. I do have one idea for a post that I'll probably put up today.

Art Department

A picture of the girls' art-related-to-history project: Minoan pitchers, with their own designs.

They Grow Up So Fast

How our family celebrated Buy-A-Gun Day. Wildchild told Daddy she would go shooting with him if he bought her a pink gun.

Update: Welcome, Kim du Toit readers!

Women Leaders

Here's a tip: if you want to be taken seriously, you shouldn't dress like this.

Catching Up

Should I be brave and take four weeks of Mom/Kid Ballet classes with Wildchild this summer? I know Wildchild would love it; I'm just not sure my (out-of-shape) body could stand it. This is why Mom/Kid Jazz is right out; it looks a lot more strenuous than the ballet, at least right now.

Speaking of Wildchild, she appeared to have a pretty good understanding of nouns, until we started studying action verbs and linking verbs. Now all her grammar knowledge seems to have gone out the window. Is this one of those things that she can get with time and practice, or should I be more pro-active and look for a different way to teach her?

Gorgeous Day

It didn't get as warm as was predicted, but it was sunshine-y and pleasant. We had lunch with friends, then went geocaching to enjoy the weather. We found five caches, well, my husband and the girls did.

I tried knitting again the other day. After watching some videos, I'm doing well with the Continental method of casting on, but after two rows, I went from 20 loops on the needle to 23 loops. Oops. Guess I need more practice.

Plus, I get to enjoy watching an Indians game. So overall, a good day.

In Knots

So if I've been working on knitting off and on, and I still haven't gotten beyond casting on and the first row or so, does this mean I'm never going to make it as a knitter? It seems like it shouldn't take this long to make progress.

Excitement

Popcorn balls, bags of peanuts, soda and beer were featured front and center in the grocery aisle. Indians shirts and hats were around every corner, on employees and shoppers. After a cold and snowy winter, on this gorgeously sunny and balmy day, Baseball Is Back in Cleveland.

Spring Is Here

It's raining instead of snowing. :) Seriously, we went out to dinner with friends last night, and the water was deep enough on the roads on the way home that my battery light came on temporarily. The raindrops also threatened to turn to snow briefly, but it was still rain when we got home. At least we are getting more sunshine, and I'm hearing more birds. Those are good things. Also good: the girls are spending more time outside instead of inside on the computer or whatever. I'm also trying to walk every day, or at least when it's not pouring down rain.

Easter 2008

I hope you all had a blessed and happy Easter. I am so thankful for Jesus' resurrection; it gives me hope to face the future. After church, we went to my in-laws, and had a nice time. The girls colored eggs with their aunts; I was glad to avoid the mess for one year. :) I was pretty good about not eating too much, or too many sweets, except for the ice cream cake my sister-in-law got to celebrate her husband's upcoming birthday. For you locals, it was from Handel's. I couldn't turn down a nice big piece!

Sick of Snow

Seems like Easter would not be Easter in Ohio without some snow. We got a fresh coating today, just when most of the huge piles from last week's snowstorm had disappeared. How discouraging. Definitely puts a damper on my desire to dress up for Easter, when I know it will be cold and probably snowy.

Cooking... Or Not

Yesterday we went out to eat with friends for lunch. For dinner, my daughters made homemade pizza (with pre-made dough.) Today, there was a luncheon at church in honor of our new confirmands. Tonight, I browned the meat and my youngest daughter is making the pasta for our meaty pasta dinner. You can't beat that!

I'm Still Out Here

I'd like to thank you all for your prayers and concern. I've really been struggling lately, and it helps to know there's people out there who care about how I am doing. I'm still not back to 100%, but I'm getting there. There's been several people IRL who have helped, especially the Presbytera, the Chaplain, and the members of Homestead Lutheran Academy. I wouldn't be able to make it through this without all of you.

The Latest

I haven't been feeling so well lately. I'd appreciate all of your prayers.

Winter Blues

I really wanted to go ice skating today, as I need to get out of the house badly. However, somehow my ice skates got lost when we moved, so I can't. I'm going to go insane.

I don't know that I've ever got "cabin fever" before, but this winter I seem to have it in spades. I'm bored with everything, including working on my pay-it-forward contest gift for Charity. Not to mention something for Debbie. I *am* working on the Italian wedding soup we're taking for the Lenten supper at church tomorrow, but as that currently involves boiling chicken in a giant pot, it's not very exciting.

What do you do when you feel cooped up and bored with life?

I Felt So Alone

Yesterday Wildchild and her Brownie troop celebrated Thinking Day, with the rest of the Girl Scout troops in our town. Thinking Day is an event when Girl Scouts learn about another countries, as there are Girl Scouts, or Guides, all around the world. Each troop had a table featuring posters and so forth about their country. However, one older troop had a "Rights of Children Around the World" table that made me feel sick inside. Now, I'm not against children having food and shelter and clean drinking water and all that. It's just the phrasing, as in this country a "right" has started to mean "something someone else pays for." Like how many in this country say that everyone has a "right" to healthcare and so we should start a government bureaucracy so everyone can get it for "free." I was also disturbed by the sign that said that the United Nations as central for dealing with problems of humanity. I, on the other hand, see the UN as a corrupt and bloated agency where the top officials take kickbacks and paybacks and whatever else they can skim off, UN soldiers can be rapists of women and children, and they are generally uneffective and overfunded. I also wondered about a sign that said children have a right to love. This reminds me too much of the pro-abortion mantra that every child should be wanted. Like if you don't think you are going to "love" a child, you'd better get rid of it. Sigh. It just seemed to be that this display was long on feel-goodism and short on anything real. One sign even said, "Think of the children." Isn't that what every slimy politician says when they want to take more of our money?

Also, this Girl Scout event took place at the local public school, and I couldn't turn around without seeing a sign about honesty or taking responsibility or conflict resolution. Nothing promoted was bad in and of itself, but it started feeling barf-worthy when it was everywhere in sight. I felt so alone, so lost in a sea of "feelings" and political correctness and mantras. Like there was no one out there who thought like me.

ETA: Oh, and since Senator Obama is the co-sponsor of a Senate bill to spend at least $845 billion over the next five years to fight *global* poverty, I'm a little worried about a laundry list of things that children around the world have a "right" to have.