Monday, February 23, 2009

Just a few thoughts on this precious morning.

If we knew beforehand the scares we would go through as parents, I wonder if we would still choose to have children?

Some advice to parents and parents-to-be:

1. Wear your seatbelt. All the time. Every time. Without fail. And teach your children to do the same.

2. Learn how to perform the Heimlich maneuver on both children and adults.

3. Learn more than basic emergency first aid.

4. Pray a lot.

Not necessarily in that order.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Friday, February 20, 2009

Not this again.

Well, I guess you've figured out I have no time for blogging anymore. I miss it, and hope to be a regular blogger again after this semester is over. Currently I am a wife, mom, tutor, student, homeschool teacher, editor, and gym-rat wanna be. It's just a bit much.

On top of all that, Abbie has been sick for quite some time. She got the first cold in December and hasn't gotten healthy since then. She starts to get better, then gets another cold. Starts to get better, and on and on it goes. Finally, I took her to the doctor last Friday. He diagnosed a sinus infection (this happens every year) and prescribed an antibiotic. She's been taking it faithfully since then and was getting better.

Then came Wednesday. She felt tired and run-down all day. Wednesday evening she started coughing and said her chest hurt. By Thursday morning she was feverish and it all looked terribly reminiscent of last year's flu. I almost cried.

But I quickly got hold of myself and started barking orders.

Drink fluids!

Get Leah's bedding out of that bedroom!

Cough into a towel!

Find the Lysol wipes and disinfect the doorknobs! The mouse! The phone! The remote! The lightswitches!

I turn into a one-man germ-fighting boot camp.

I took her back to the doctor this morning and he did a flu test. Negative. It's not the flu. He took enough blood to make Dracula jealous, so we should know something Monday. Ben thinks Mono. I think it's just another nasty cold.

She needs a bubble.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Monday, February 16, 2009

Annie Oakley with a violin.

Yes, I know. I never post anymore. That's because life has taken a turn for the busier. But today I have a really cool story to share. Go here to read about my awesome daughter and her equally awesome shooting skills documented by the Washington Post.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Friday, February 6, 2009

Because I'm feeling sarcastic.

This news just in from Washington, with my commentary.

Senate Democrats reached agreement with key Republicans Friday night on an economic stimulus measure at the heart of President Barack Obama's plan for combatting the worst recession in decades.

Great. Going almost $800 billion further into debt is a great plan.

"The American people want us to work together. They don't want to see us dividing along partisan lines on the most serious crisis confronting our country," said Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, one of two GOP senators who signaled support for the bill.

Wanna bet?

Officials put the cost of the measure at $780 billion in tax cuts and new spending combined. No details were immediately available, and there appeared to be some confusion even among senators about the price tag

Why does this not surprise me?

In addition to Collins, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said he would vote for the bill.

No surprise there. He's always been a closet liberal.

At $780 billion, the legislation would be smaller than the measure that cleared the House on a party-line vote last week. It also would mean a sharp cut from the version that has been the subject of Senate debate for a week.

I feel SO much better now!

"The world is waiting to see what we're going to do in the next 24 hours," said Reid.

They're waiting for the laugh of the century at our idiocy. I can hear it now, "Those stupid Americans never learn, do they?"

And Democrats in Congress decided to add additional huge sums for the states struggling with the recession, as well as billions more for favored programs such as parks, the repair of monuments in federal cemeteries, health and science research and more.

Great! Because what we really need these days are nicer parks and well-maintained monuments. And it will take BILLIONS--did you read that?--BILLIONS to fix those things.

As Reid struggled to nail down the necessary votes, the White House announced Obama would travel to Florida and Indiana next week to campaign for a stimulus measure.

That's right, Mr. President. Go campaigning. At least you're good at something.

I think I'll keep that house in the country. Just in case.

Be thankful ~

Karen


Monday, February 2, 2009

Monday Metaphor

Jenni over at One Thing has started a new theme day, Metaphor Monday. When I first read about it, it seemed like way too much work, trying to think up something so literary when I'm lucky to get the laundry started and dinner on the table. But she kept encouraging us to just look around, pay attention to the little things that happened, and we would see metaphors all around us. So I did. And I did. Well, sort of. I don't know if you can call this a metaphor, but it's the best I could do while deleting 7000 semi-colons in one week. You can either read through the drivel or skip to the end for the Monday Metaphor. And do check out Jenni's blog--hers is much better than mine.

I'm thinking the E-book I'm working on will never be finished. I'm not quite sure how 93 pages turns into more than a week, but this is kicking my posterior. So all in the spirit of good humor (not ice cream, though that's not a bad idea . . .) I'll share my hints and thrills of the day. In a list because I can. And eventually I'll get to the metaphor.

1. The semi-colon is a nifty little tool that is kind of like the spring-puller you use when you're doing drum brakes. You rarely use it, but when you need it, nothing else will do. Rarely is the key word in that sentence.

2. Auto-wrap is another nifty tool that you don't even have to think about using. Word does it automatically. That means you don't have to hit the "enter" key (the equivalent of the return on an old-fashioned typewriter) when you type. Just keep typing and Word automatically goes to the next line at just the right time. How cool is that? And then the editor doesn't have to delete a bajillion soft returns one at a time.

3. Widows and Orphans. I got an e-mail from a woman I work with last week asking me to look over a document that had already been edited, layed out, and was ready for publication. She said I should "just check the pull quotes, look for widows and orphans, make sure nothing odd happened, that kind of thing."

Naturally, I was thinking what you're thinking: widows and orphans? So I asked. She kindly sent me a link explaining them, which I have yet to open. I'm so dedicated.

Then today in computer class, I was having trouble with a paragraph that would not under any circumstances go where I told it to go. I tried every trick I knew, which didn't amount to much. Finally, I called the instructor over and asked her what was wrong. She tried a few different things and nothing worked. After pondering a few moments, she muttered, "I wonder if widows and orphans are enabled?"

My ears perked up and I said, "Hey, I've heard of those!" So she told me where to click and did you know there is actually a box that is labeled "widows and orphans"??? I thought maybe it was just some lame term someone came up with because he or she didn't know the technical name, but NO, they really are called "widows and orphans"!! The term refers to text that is not where it's supposed to be, looking lonely and scared.

So I was telling my children about this whole thing at the table tonight (they know the true meaning of "charity suffereth long") and Leah commented, "Well, the Bible does say to visit the orphans and widows in their affliction."

Does that count for a metaphor?

Honestly, my life is being taken over by thoughts of editing. It's sort of sad, really. But in a sick way, I enjoy it.

Be thankful ~

Karen

ps. And because my life has gotten so incredibly busy, I'm opting for a more soothing background. It's still a bit too bright, but it's closer to what I'm looking for. Don't be surprised if it changes again soon.