More on that daughter.

The same one who is editing for the well-known Christian university is also driving a shuttle van for them.

This is the girl who has flatly refused to drive my big Ford van, even though it's 18 inches shorter than the one she's now driving. In her defense, it might have something to do with the fact that we didn't replace the shocks until it had 250,000 miles on it. It might have been a little bouncy.

And then there's this thing called a steering box that might be a little worn, so the van swims all over the road. As in, you turn the wheel and nothing happens. But I'm used to it and it just doesn't intimidate me, so I keep driving it.

Anyway, since she had never driven a vehicle that big, Leah was a little apprehensive about how she would do. I assured her it's like any other car, just take your turns wide.

So the other day I got this picture from her:

Not only is she driving it with no trouble, she's parallel parking it too.

Show-off.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Like mother, like daughter. This could be dangerous.

Once upon a time, I had a sweet baby girl. She never cried, was a perfect angel, and talked with an adorable lisp. She was a shy little thing, and looked just like me. As she grew up, we realized she was exactly like me in most ways. Except way smarter. She's the one on the right.

It comes as no surprise then, that she is a graduate assistant at a well-known Christian university, working as an editor in the textbook publishing department.

Today I got this text message from her:

I'm doing editing and data entry for the math team, and one of the authors just handed me a hand-written page to type up about the "Hoover Damn." It was all I could do not to burst out laughing! Good thing I can proofread while I type!

Be thankful ~

Karen

The grand explanation. Or, how to sustain a long-lasting injury using squash.

Alas, I was not miraculously healed overnight. The shoulder still hurts.

And since my public (all two of you) wants to know how I injured my shoulder throwing squash, here's the extremely unglamorous story.

You all know we grow a garden. And since I am married to a Tim Allen type who doesn't believe in doing anything small when hello? Bigger is better! We grow a BIG garden with BIG plants that grow BIG squash. And you know how when you don't pick a squash one day because it just needs to get a little bit bigger, so you leave it and then the next day it's the size of a young sumo wrestler?

Yeah. I hate those big ones. They're nothing but seeds on the inside, so I throw them in the woods. (I bet there are thousands of squash plants out there.)

Well, one day this summer I found the mother of all squash and didn't feel like walking down to the wood's edge to throw, so I just hauled off and gave it my best fastball snap. And something in my 49-year-old shoulder protested and continues to cry out for help. I've been taking 800 mg of Motrin every night and it barely takes the edge off.

Wednesday morning I'm finally going to see the doctor about it. Ben says the answer will be physical torture therapy.

I wish I had a better story for you. But learn from my mistake: walk to the woods to throw your sumo squash.

Be thankful ~

Karen

In which I'll complain and then I'll remind you to be thankful.

My body is falling apart. I damaged my shoulder throwing a huge squash. Hip joint hurts. Hands have arthritis. Hot flashes.

I'm going to bed in hopes I'll be miraculously healed overnight.

Be thankful ~

Karen

This is why they call them Liberty Flames.

I love college students. They really know how to have a good time without breaking the bank. Give them a duraflame log

some trash

and a bag of marshmallows

and they've got a bonfire of epic proportions.

I love that these people don't feel the need to include a keg in their festivities. S'mores and friends make a good time.

I won't share the photos of these intelligent young adults jumping over the fire, especially since there's no proof my daughter actually did it. I'm choosing to believe she did not. Somebody feel free to confirm that for Ben's sake.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Bean update.

I don't know when the last time I posted pictures of Sticky Bean was, but since I know it wasn't yesterday, I'm automatically a failure at Grammy-hood.

Deb is lamenting that he's not a baby anymore—he's a toddler. I think she's just mad because she has to share her Mike's sub with him now.

He knows enough to go looking around the stove when it's dinner time.

And he helps wash the car. What more could you ask? Toddlers are so much fun!

Be thankful ~

Karen

A whirlwind tour on cheap rubber.

Yesterday Man-boy and I went up to D.C. to meet up with a few of his teammates from last summer. We both neglected to take a camera, but never fear! I can still regale you with sub-par shots from my trusty cell phone camera! In addition to forgetting a camera, I forgot my sense and opted not to wear my athletic shoes.

Can I get a "duh"?

This is where we met them. Not bad for a cell phone, huh? Man-boy's friends were significantly late, so we walked to Chinatown for some good Mexican food, because that's what you do in our nation's capital. On the way back, we passed Ford's Theatre, site of the famous Presidential assassination.

Then we ran back to the WaMo to meet the friends, who then wanted to see Mr. Lincoln in his happier days:

Man-boy wanted his picture taken with the WaMo in the background.

And then we had to hurry back because we had 1 p.m. tickets to get the best view of the city:

There's a White House down there somewhere:

Then we hiked (at TMI pace—some of you will appreciate that—and all of this in my cheap $2 flip-flops) up to Air & Space where I promptly found a chair and sat down. No part of the history of flight was going to keep me on my feet one second longer. I sat until it was time for Man-boy and me to catch the Metro home.

Today my feet still hurt, and I gave myself shin splints. Must be those supportive shoes I was wearing.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Multitasking.

My husband is a baseball fan. He started following the New York Mets in 1969 and he’s been faithful through the bad times and even the two good seasons. One of those good seasons happened in 1986. I only know this because while we were in the hospital laboring to give birth to our second child, we were watching game five of the National League Championship Series ("we" used loosely in all parts of this sentence). The Mets won the pennant and went on to win the World Series. (It just took me a full three minutes to figure out what that was called. All I could think of was Superbowl, and something kept telling me that wasn’t right.)

As you can see, I am a diehard baseball fan myself.

Anyway, through the years I’ve learned to appreciate the finer points of baseball, such as how to sit in the third tier of Shea Stadium and yell, “Siddown, ya bum!” loud enough for the batter to actually step back from the plate and look up to see where it came from, and I’m not making this up. I also know that Vets Stadium in Philadelphia has the best hot dogs, and that two of them plus one coke equals a year of private college tuition.

My children have also been raised to appreciate baseball and have seen their dad sing the National Anthem at Harbor Park in Norfolk, Virginia, Tim McCarver Stadium in Memphis, and USA Stadium in Millington, TN. Our family spent many a happy day at Harbor Park watching the Tides (the Mets’ AAA team) play ball against the backdrop of the Elizabeth River.

So it should surprise no one in my family that Ben has learned to multitask so as not to miss any baseball-related opportunity.

In case you can't tell, he's watching TV on his computer while baseball is on the TV. At the end of them, he'll be able to give you all the game stats as well as a full description of the show. This makes my brain hurt.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Food art.

I love when Abbie goes back to school. Not because I don't want her here, but because I get to enjoy all the art she produces.

Someday that girl is going to make millions using mashed potatoes.

Be thankful ~

Karen

The big 4-9.

Yesterday was my 49th birthday. No, for real. I’m not joking. It really was my 49th. And as humans are wont to do on their 49th birthdays (I only know this because I really am 49 now), I spent some time pondering the meaning of my life and what I thought were my contributions to society for the past 49 years.

In so doing, I realized that I am a woman who wears, or has worn, many hats. I’ve decided what things I like and don’t like, and I’m perfectly okay with it all. And because I’m 49 now (really!), here are 49 of my fun facts. Aren’t you glad I’m not 80?

1. I am a child of God.

2. I am a wife of 26 years. (Did I get that right, honey?) I’ve been married more than half my life, and wouldn’t change that for anything. I have a husband who loves the Lord, works hard and provides well, and gave me the ability to be #3.

3. I am a mom of five incredible, awesome, perfectly fantastic, make-you-so-proud-you-cry children. Every one of them gives me the greatest joy imaginable.

4. I am a daughter. I was actually a daughter before I was anything else, but that’s not at the forefront right now. I see people my age losing their parents left and right, and I’m very thankful my parents are still in good health, in love, and happy in their lives. I am who I am in large part because of them.

5. I am an editor. I work for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, editing marketing material and E-Books. I love what I do and the people I work with. Last week one day I sat down to work and had 67 emails from my co-workers encouraging each other to honor God with our families and our jobs. Who wouldn’t want to work for a company like that? And since today is my 49th birthday, I will have an inbox full of emails wishing me a happy day.

6. I am a listener, and my bed is my kids’ favorite place to talk. I lie down to read at night and at some point, I’m almost always joined by one of them. When I’m on my deathbed, I will enjoy those memories more than just about any others.

7. I am a cook. I didn’t start out so hot, but I learned the basics from my mother and figured out the rest as I went. Pioneer Woman’s recipes are a huge help.

8. I am a maid. Call me weird, but I really do like to clean.

9. I am a washerwoman. Five children = mountains of laundry.

10. I am a dog trainer, and I rely heavily on my great-grandmother’s advice: “You’ve got to know more than a dog to learn him anything.” I read Cesar Milan’s books.

11. I am a vacuumer of dog hair. 70 pounds of dog makes a lot of hair. One time we had a 130-pound dog. At the end of his first year he was banished to the back yard.

12. I am a lover of seafood. I grew up in New Jersey, right on the “shore,” as they call it up there. I’ll eat any fish and any shellfish. Just don’t give me calamari; that’s not either one.

13. I am a sun-lover, and I have the brown spots on my skin to prove it. Someday I’ll have a house on a beach somewhere and won’t care how wrinkled I am.

14. I am a bibliophile (that’s a book-lover, not a pervert).

15. I am a music-lover.

16. I am unsure whether I am supposed to be hyphenating these words, but I will keep on doing it because I don’t feel like looking it up in the Gregg Reference Manual.

17. Although I am #15, I am not a great musician. I took piano lessons for ten years as a kid, and still can’t sight-read an easy hymn.

18. I am not a movie-lover, with a very few exceptions. I loved the Bourne movies, loved Sleepless in Seattle and While You Were Sleeping, and not much else. See #14.

19. I am very easy-going until you give one of my kids a hard time. Then watch out.

20. I can keep a secret better than anyone I know.

21. One of my favorite things is to sing with my three daughters, or hear my oldest son sing. Pure heaven.

22. Ooo, I almost forgot! I am the teacher of all five of my kids, all 12 grades. This is my last year of homeschooling. I’ll be done before I’m 50!

23. Oh! And how could I forget this?? I’m a grandmother! Sticky Bean was born in May of 2009. He’s the light of my life, at least until another grandbaby comes along!

24. I guess that means I’m a mother-in-law too. I hope I’m an okay one. I really try!

25. I am picky about gum. It can’t be peppermint or spearmint. It has to be Orbit wintermint.

26. I can’t stand mushrooms, and I’m not real big on bell peppers either.

27. I hate the biting cold of winter.

28. I used to love summer the best, but now that hot flashes have increased the temperature, I prefer spring and fall.

29. I took a test last week which must be accurate because I found it on the Internet, and it said I am 67% left-brained and 33% right-brained. That means I am an organized, linear thinker. I am not creative or artsy.

30. I wish I were creative and artsy.

31.Being a linear thinker means I’m good with directions. I am my own personal GPS.

32. Last week I picked out the same brown paint my daughter has in her living room 800 miles away without knowing it. Of all the millions of paint colors out there, I picked out the exact same one she did! Isn’t that freaky?

(Okay, this is taking a really long time and the day’s getting shorter, so if I hope to publish this post the day after my actual 49th birthday, I’d better wrap things up quickly. Forgive me. Or maybe thank me.)

33. I love office supplies.

34. Especially Post-it Notes and fine-point pens.

35. I realized a few weeks ago that I know nothing whatsoever about Benedict Arnold, so I bought a book and I am now reading it.

36. I read books about grammar rules for pleasure (anything by Bill Walsh).

37. I love fresh cherries in the summer.

38. I’m a really good speller.

39. I once permed my hair and regretted it for the next two years.

40. I’ve worn glasses since sixth grade, and have never been able to wear contacts.

41. I love bird watching.

42. I am a world-class enabler.

43. I studied German for 7 years of my life and couldn’t ask where the bathroom is if my life depended on it.

44. I am one of the very few women I know who has hot flashes and doesn’t get mad about them.

45. I’ve only gotten one speeding ticket in my life.

46. I’m not a risk-taker, hence #45.

47. I used to love roller coasters, but since our trip to Disney World in 1999, I get motion sick. Too much Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.

48. Turning 40 didn’t bother me at all.

49. I’ll let you know how 50 works out.



Our regularly scheduled drivel will resume tomorrow.


Be thankful ~


Karen

A birthday poem for the editor (me).

My co-workers have a tradition of sending birthday greetings to each other, and those greetings are often in the form of poems, or po-ims, as we call them. Here's the first po-im I read today, from Ginny:

2-day I here its ur birthday.

Culd this b tru?

I hope u no wee apreesheate

Everythin u due.

And if u sea a mistake o 2

o three o even mor

We no you will fix em quick,

Thats y u we adoor.

Wit red pen in hand

n dichinairy by ur side

No split infinativ

can sirvive

Ur all ways redee

to git us thru,

Wit beter gramma

n spelin to,

Sew in this greating maid 4 u

My erers r their four u,

Its just cuz I want u to no,

How much we luv u.

Hopping to grately make ur birthday x-tra spechil.

I laughed until I had tears running down my face, and howled so much the dog got nervous. Thanks, Ginny. My birthday wuz x-tra spechil!

I'll be back tomorrow with reflections on turning 49.

Be thankful ~


Karen

PhotoHunt: Numerical

Last night was Man-boy's first scrimmage of the year, against alumnae of the school (he plays for our church's school). He was excited to get #10, which happens to be the number of Lionel Messi.

What? You don't know who Lionel Messi is? Don't worry, I didn't either until Man-boy told me. He's an Argentinian footballer who plays for FC Barcelona. Man-boy says he's the best in the world.

And because I know Man-boy will look back on this and laugh years from now, here's a photo of him in the first scrimmage of the year:

Yes, he would be the one on crutches. His soccer career can only get better.

Be thankful ~

Karen

An official poll.

Monday is our back-to-school day. Since Man-boy is under our church school's oversight program this so he can play on the soccer team, I have to meet all their requirements. Remember when I said I would never do this?

Yeah. Soccer wins.

The school starts on Monday the 30th, so I decided we would start a week earlier and give ourselves some wiggle room.

Then we decided to gut his room and paint it this week. Then I found out I had to give him the CAT test I bought last year and never administered. And then I found out he has to do a semester of Virginia state history. And THEN I found out the program I thought was two years of Spanish is only one.

Ask me now if I love him playing soccer.

I know we'll get through it all, but oh, GAG.

In other news, I had a coupon for a free pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, which is the only ice cream Abbie can eat (no bovine growth hormone), only I forgot to use it while she was still at home. She's back at school now, so I decided to find a new flavor to try. There's just something about an ice cream called Phish Food that keeps me from putting it near my mouth.

So I picked Strawberry Cheesecake. And you know what? It really tastes like cheesecake! Amazing stuff. It's a shame I have to walk two miles and do 30 minutes of Pilates for every teaspoon I eat. But it's my new favorite, at least until I try a new flavor.

Hey, I know! Let's take a poll, and then I'll try whichever ones you recommend. Which one is your favorite?

In other news, I have been saving like mad and am within $200 of my camera. I'm starting to get excited! Abbie's getting excited too because she wants to use it. She's a great photographer, and I'm sure her shots will put mine to shame, but I'm looking forward to learning from her.

Happy Friday!

Be thankful ~

Karen

We didn't cover map-reading skills in homeschool.

Since we've only gotten to spend a few hours with Leah since her trip to Hong Kong, we haven't heard all the stories. But we have heard the one about the team being on the other side of Amsterdam from the airport and finding out the train they needed to get back to the airport was closed.

Apparently they gave Leah the map.

This is the girl who told me she wanted a GPS because she's so bad with directions she can't find the WalMart in Greenville. They put her in charge of 9 teens and one adult male in a city on the other side of the world where people only speak Dutch.

Glad they got home.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Getting your back-to-school supplies at Lowe's. Now that's a real man.

On Monday I will begin my last year of homeschooling. Ever. My last first day of school for the rest of my life.

Homeschooling  year #21.

Boy, that was fast. Just last week we were shopping for five new boxes of crayons, five pairs of scissors with rounded tips that don't cut worth a flip, and 99 cent watercolor sets. Yesterday it was Prismacolor pencils and protractors and giant wall maps.

Now? Laptops. $200 worth of painting supplies—the real stuff. $100 soccer cleats. Dorm refrigerators. Cars, for cryin' out loud!

This year, back-to-school shopping has involved the aforementioned soccer cleats, compression shorts, underarmor, and two cans of paint.

Yes, that was two cans of paint. Actually, one of primer and one of paint.

Man-boy decided that he was tired of his bedroom looking like "an Easter egg" (it was sort of light Sponge-Bob-ocean blue) and was ready for something a bit more manly. He went for a medium brown called "Carmelized Onion." He remarked that "at least it describes the smell."

Okay, maybe that was TMI. But it was accurate.

So for the time being, all of his stuff is in the girls' room and the painting process is underway.

Here's the before:

The pictures really don't do the obnoxiousness of the blue justice.

But that may be because there's more wallboard mud and primer there than paint. Finished photos are coming. Maybe next week.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Back to school packing.

Many moons ago I bought a really big van. Not quite a 15-passenger, but almost. It has seating for seven and a really huge space in the back for cargo. At the time, I was thinking about groceries for two adults and five kids, and camping trips with all the tents, sleeping bags, cooking stuff, and food. It's been a great van for us, and currently has 250,000 miles on it. It's the Energizer van . . . it keeps on going, and going, and going . . . Now that we're down to two kids at home, we have no need for a van that big, but I just can't bring myself to get rid of it. Twice a year, I remember why.

This is some of Abbie's stuff she's taking back to school with her. She's added significantly to this pile. And then we remembered the refrigerator, and the four concrete blocks that she puts her bed up on, and the two giant foam things she puts on her bed.

When we went to pick her up in May, I backed the van up to her room, opened the back doors, and we literally started throwing things in. When stuff started to slide out, we closed one door, crammed in as much as we could get in there, and slammed it. It took us a week to unload at home. I would have gotten hurt trying to get a picture of it.

So we keep old faithful, the beast, the land-yacht. I wonder if it will last through the last kid's college years.

*updated Sunday afternoon*

Ben, Man-boy, and Abbie left after Sunday school for the drive back to LU. When I stood up to hug Abbie before they left, it hit me like a two-by-four that I was now the only female at home. Including the dog. This has never happened before and I'm not sure how much I like being adrift in a sea of testosterone. I guess time will tell.

Be thankful ~

Karen

We drive. We eat. We try on shoes.

So the trip to SC to get Leah was good. Abbie and I loaded up two cars with all of Leah's stuff and drove down to Charlotte, NC, to pick her up at the airport. Why didn't we take a photo of the jam-packed car, you ask? Because we are lame.

Of course her plane was 30 minutes late because we hadn't seen her all summer long and the Charlotte airport was (no kidding) 85 degrees inside. But she finally got there, and we crammed her duffle (Teen Missions lingo for a sea bag that's black. A sea bag is Navy lingo for a really huge, heavy-weight canvas bag that has grommets at the top so you can tie it shut. No wheels and it contains your entire life for a summer.) into one of the cars and left for Greenville and Bob Jones University. She had to check in that night and start her job as a GA the next day.

Did we even take a decent picture of Leah? No. The only one I have was taken with my cell phone.

Abbie really isn't that much shorter than Leah. I think she was wilting from the heat.

I offered Leah anything she wanted to eat for dinner before we got on the road to Greenville. Know what she chose?

Kentucky Fried Chicken. She was a little sick of Chinese food.

Anyway, we got her moved into her dorm, and Abbie and I went to stay with Ben's brother Jared and his wife Rana and their two kids, who live just a few miles away.

Thursday morning we hung out with Rana and the kids. They took us to this cool park, the name of which I have completely forgotten, but a river runs through it. (Doesn't that sound like the name of a movie?)

Here's the bridge over the river

and the river from the bridge

There are nifty places to sit and shoot (or enjoy) the breeze

Ducks to feed

And this cool spot that has fountains for kids to play in on a hot day.

This guy had been riding a bike and couldn't take the heat anymore.

Rana took us to lunch in a great outdoor cafe where we had awesome ham/turkey/bacon/lettuce/cheese wraps with my new favorite: chipotle mayo. You should try it. It will make your mouth happy.

We spent the afternoon in Barnes & Noble trying to get a wireless signal so I could do some work, but all we got was a comfy chair to nap in. I guess that's not such a bad trade-off.

We picked Leah up at 5 and went to get a burrito at Chipotle (are you sensing a theme here?), where Leah ordered hers without rice. Abbie and I think that's just plain wrong, because the rice at Chipotle is the best ever, but Leah informed us that she had eaten rice 67 times this summer and didn't ever want to eat it again.

Then we went to the mall and tried on shoes, because that's how we bond.

I hope someday Abbie actually wears shoes like this. I love them.

Friday we drove home and now it's back to the grind. I'm still trying to catch up on my sleep, and of course, work went berserk while I was gone, so I have projects backed up to kingdom come.

But at least we got to spend a little time with Leah and help get her moved in, and that was worth it.

Be thankful ~

Karen

PhotoHunt: Orange

This was the first shot I thought of:

But then I realized I have this on my desktop:

and I think I like this one better. It makes me happy.

Work without end piled up in the three days I was gone. I'll try to be back later with photos from our trip to see Leah in South Carolina.

Be thankful ~

Karen

The random dozen again!

1. When was the last time you laughed until you cried?

At a Sunday school class gathering when Perry made us play some game where you read a card that looks like gibberish but actually sounds like a common saying. Everybody wound up laughing at me laughing at the card.

2. If you found $10 today, what would you do with it?

Put it in my camera fund.


3. Do you volunteer anywhere?

Does the church nursery count? I only do every fifth Sunday night because that's all I can handle. It takes me a full quarter to recover.


4. What is your favorite summertime veggie or fruit, and how do you eat it?

Fresh tomatoes. I cut them in chunks, sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper, drizzle with a little evoo, and throw in some fresh basil. My mouth is watering.


5. Is your social sphere (circle of friends) small, medium or large?

VERY small. It basically consists of my immediate family. Between working, homeschooling, and taking care of the fam, I have no time for being social. I get all the people-time I need at church activities.


6. When was the last time you attended a family or school reunion? How did that go?

Last summer we went to my 30th high school reunion. It was great fun. I was amazed that people my age still drink like they're in high school. I'm so sheltered.


7. When you're feeling blue, what is the best way someone can cheer you up?

Give me a foot rub. I go to another place. Ahhhhhhhh . . .

8. Have you taken a vacation this summer?

We don't do summer vacations . . . we work. That's what $25K tuition bills will do to you. And really, I prefer to vacation someplace warm in the winter or spring.


9. What is the most unnecessary item you carry with you all the time?

There is seriously nothing in my purse that I don't use at least occasionally. I'm just not one to carry lots of junk, and can't stand a disorganized purse. But if I had to pick one thing, it would be my bank debit card. I might use it twice a year. And I never remember the PIN.


10. What is the best summer flick you have seen so far?

I haven't. I just don't do movies. My kids try to get me to watch this one or that one, but I just can't do it. It feels like such a supreme waste of time to me. Sorry.

11. Describe a perfect summer day.

Mostly sunny, about 85 degrees, no more than 70% humidity, on a beach, nice breeze, good book, no jellyfish in the water. Perfection!

12. Please a share a favorite photo from the summer so far!

Technically it's not from the summer. This was taken in Destin in April, before the oil spill ruined the beaches.

And here's one of my mommy and me.

I don't get to see her nearly enough, but we have fun when we're together.

Thanks to Linda at 2nd Cup of Coffee for thinking up twelve random questions and enabling me to bring your another daily dose of drivel. 

Be thankful ~

Karen

And it doesn't make the house smell funny!

Back in June (or was it May?), Ben and Man-boy went to visit friends of ours in Washington State. The main purpose of being there other than to eat Adam's cooking was to go fishing for Steelhead, which they did. They brought home a cooler full of frozen fillets, and we've been working our way through them little by little. Adam kept telling Ben we needed to cook them on the grill and we've been trying to figure out the best way to do that.

I finally had a stroke of brilliance (or a memory-lapse lapse) and remembered I had a fish basket just for the grill. So yesterday I got it out and fired up the (very) old Char-Broil.

This would definitely work better if the grill were not older than my married daughter, but we do the best we can.

Mmmmmm, a little butter, a little squeeze of fresh lemon, a little kosher salt and pepper . . .

I was going to get a photo of it on my plate, but it wouldn't stay there. This stuff is amazing and the whole experience was wonderful . . . right up until it was time to wash the fish basket.

BIG DRAG. Anyone have any helpful hints?

Be thankful ~

Karen

Cooley

My neighbors have induced a serious case of puppy envy.

There's a really cute little dog in there somewhere.

There he is! He's about 10 pounds dripping wet.

Of course Pete is wildly jealous, and pants and paces until he's worn grooves in the floor. Cooley is just as chill as he can be. I don't think I've ever seen such a calm dog. He wanders around the house aimlessly and stops to sniff some leftover Pete smell every once in a while. Pete hunkers down like he wants to play and Cooley instantly drops the 5 inches to the floor. He wants no part of Captain Nervous. We should all be like Cooley.

Be thankful ~

Karen

PS. In case you know me and are wondering, I really DON'T want another dog right now. It's kind of nice to enjoy this one and know I don't have the vet bills.

I am commentless.

Somewhere in the last few days, Disqus disappeared from my blog and took all my comments with it. I have none. Zip, squat, nothing.

*sigh*

In my next life I want to come back as a geek so I can figure these things out.

On a happy note, only two more days until we get to see Leah. Excitement is building!

Be thankful ~

Karen

Things I learned at the pizza joint.

You know how they say everything you need to know you learn in kindergarten? That's a lie. You learn it from the college & career Sunday school class. These people are incredibly smart with the kind of random-trivia, we-know-something-about-everything kind of smart. And they know how to work iPhones and Droids!

I always learn things from them. Tonight they taught me how to play "Who Am I?", the game in which you all write a person (or sort-of person) on a piece of paper, you all swap papers, and then hold it on your forehead so everyone but you can see it, and you ask yes/no questions to try to figure out who you are. Are you ready? Here's Abbie:

We also had Matt Damon, Lucille Ball, Jerry Falwell, Jennifer Aniston, and Miss Piggy. I was Michael Jordan, and I won by guessing who I was first.

I also learned how to fold a dollar bill into a bowtie:

How impressive is that? Seriously, it's a shame we have to pay $25,000 a year for our kids to become the well-rounded individuals they are.

And now it's 11 pm and I need to get to bed. But first I have to read more of Making Rounds With Oscar, the book about the cat who lives in a nursing home in Rhode Island and knows when a patient is going to die.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Empty nest syndrome.

I decided the other day I was going to take a few more pictures of the wren babies that live outside the French doors in my bedroom in the spider plant. Mama had been going in and out all morning with bugs and I was amazed at how much they could eat. I opened the door and almost stepped on this guy:

I scared him into flying back up to the nest, and by that afternoon the place was deserted. Bye-bye wren babies. Have a nice life! Eat lots of bugs!

What's left to entertain me now that they're gone?

Be thankful ~

Karen

It's a good day.

You know it's going to be a good day when you check the blog and find out you went from 29 followers to 30(!!) overnight! What an exciting start to my Saturday!

Here's the POD (that's Navy talk for "plan of the day"):

1. Iron shirts (for some unknown reason, I keep trying to type irong. I just typed it and erased it five times. Maybe that's my subconscious telling me it's wrong to iron. Yes, I'll go with that answer.)

2. Get out all the stuff to can the latest batch of tomatoes. Yesterday I picked three laundry baskets full, brought them in, and washed them. When Ben came home from work, he offered to help me skin and cut them up. I begged to wait until Saturday. He insisted we do it Friday night. Now that it's Saturday, I'm thankful in the EXTREME that we did it last night. He's so smart—that's why I love him.

3. Practice music for tomorrow's church service with our Sunday school class—11 a.m.

4. Home. Eat lunch. Can tomatoes.

5. Going-away-to-college party for two of the girls in our Sunday school class—4 p.m.

6. Home. Bed. Lie awake half the night because that's what I do.

That should be enough to keep me out of trouble. Have a great weekend!

Be thankful ~

Karen

PhotoHunt: Colorful

As soon as (I mean, the VERY INSTANT) I saw this week's theme, I knew the picture I needed. Every year Abbie dons a colorful outfit to make a happy birthday picture for our friend Nathan. This one was from a few years ago:

Pete is unimpressed.

Be thankful ~

Karen

A real-life superhero.

Check this out. Kindred spirits! I am SO going to buy the book and have it signed when they come to Virginia.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Man-boy arrived home from his 2-week stint cooking for 45,000 boy scouts today. He brought a few things in, took a shower, and went to bed. He says he has a new appreciation for his dad coming home from work and falling asleep in the chair.

Abbie came home, showered, and left to hang out with friends before church.

So what did I do? Made myself dinner. Chips and queso with a side of dried tropical fruit. Because I'm concerned about nutrition.

And now I'm off to my Wednesday night rehearsal. TTFN!

Be thankful ~

Karen

I think I can. I think I can.

Today went pretty much as expected. I worked in the morning, did laundry, cleaned up what little there is to clean up when only three people live in a house, and at 12 went to get a muffler put on Abbie's car. $190 later, I drove out with a quiet car (no more moo-ing!) and new windshield wipers. Ben and I were lamenting yesterday that we remember mufflers going for $29.99 at Midas. I won't tell you how many years ago that was.

Anyway, Abbie and I met at the mall after that to pick up a few items for school which I will not expound upon here, and then went to Wally World in search of office-supply joy.

I love office supplies. Pencils. Pens. Post-it Notes. (except we buy the cheap brand because really, does a stack of paper with glue strips on the back have to cost $6?) I even love jumbo paper clips, but not the plastic ones. They don't hold paper worth a flip. You have to get the metal jumbo ones. And did you know you can find a wide variety of fine-point pens at Staples? Just my little geek-tip of the day. You're welcome.

Anyway.

Is it just me, or has Wally World gone significantly downhill in the last year? I'm thinking of making the permanent switch to Target. The only thing holding me back is a half-gallon container of International Delight French Vanilla creamer. Target only sells the wimpy quart-size bottles, and that just won't do. The best part of waking up is Folgers (with International Delight French Vanilla creamer) in your cup. (Raise your hand if you can sing that ditty. You probably remember $29.99 mufflers too.) But I already get my milk at Target (rBST-free) and their produce is waaaaaay nicer than WW's.

Let's see. Today is August third. Do you suppose I can go the rest of the month without one visit to WW? I have a friend who has always said, "A day is not complete without a trip to Wal-Mart." I wonder if I can do it? What do you think? A Wal-Mart fast?

I'm up for it! I'll let you know how it goes.

Be thankful ~

Karen

The funniest thing I've read today

is this. I'll try it and let you know how it works out.

Be thankful ~

Karen

News from the other side of the country.

A guest post from my son. Mike is in the Air Force training to be an airborn linguist. The Air Force has chosen to teach him Chinese. Please continue to come back and read my drivel after you feast on this incredible writing.

 

Hi everyone, this is the older of the two sons -- Mike, if you like, or Chen Hao if you speak Chinese.  You might be wondering (and I wouldn't blame you) why I've hijacked my mother's blog.  Well, I'm glad you asked (...sorta :D)!

Most of the time, the way someone gets a name is by being born to parents who like them enough to give them a name.  Some people's parents, like my parents, give them good names.  I was named after a guy who, for lack of a nicer way to put it, has Caustic Personality Disorder.  I can also say with confidence that he's also the most brilliant Bible teacher on the planet -- it's one of those Great Unexplained Mysteries that this guy is so hamstrung by his own personality.  Some people's parents apparently didn't like them very much, and end up with names like "A. Blinkin."  

I digress.

The name Michael has an older meaning, however, than the Old Man in Tennessee -- Michael is the name of the archangel of war.  He is the leader of the armies of Heaven, a glorious and powerful being whose purpose is to destroy the enemies of God.

I like that.  I hope I can live up to the name.

My dad gave me a strong name, because he hoped that I would grow to be as strong as the name he gave.  Usually, that's how it works; and exceptional men name their sons for what they will train those sons to be.  But now I find myself in a bit of an odd position.  See, I'm learning Chinese, and my dad wants me to name him.  I could be a real jerk about it and name him something like "Man Who Sets Pants On Fire," but that wouldn't be very nice :D  Besides, he would eventually find out, and there aren't nearly enough continents between us for me to risk that :D  Maybe if he had to come past North America, the Pacific, the Chinese and the Taliban...nah.  They wouldn't stand a chance.

ANYhoo.

English names carry a meaning, but those meanings are usually lost in countless years of forgetfulness.  Once upon a time, people knew that Edward meant "godly", and that Gabriel was the emissary of God, the announcer of God's glorious will.  The Chinese culture has been more or less exactly the same as it is now, for the last five thousand years.  It is the oldest continuous civilization that I know of, with the possible exception of the Jews.  I don't count them as the oldest, because the Jews have been conquered and scattered too many times to think of them as a continuous civilization.  The reason that this ancient culture is important, is that the Chinese still know what the meaning of their names actually is.

Wang, for example, means "King."  Wang Dazhong, if you can believe it, means King David.  Apparently, King David was such a great king in his day, that even the geographically isolated (and rigidly isolationist) Chinese took note.  If you look deeper into the characters, you notice something even more interesting: The characters can also be translated as "King of the Middle Kingdom."  Meaning that the Chinese probably thought of him as the king of the entire Middle East.

That's pretty cool.  But I digress again.

So what should I name my dad?  Most people don't get to do this, and I want to pick a name that fits him.  So I picked this name:  Xiong Zhishide*.  At this point, I'm relying on a dictionary to tell me that I'm right about what this means, so this name is subject to revision :D  But here's what the dictionary says that means (and I'll draw the characters once I get my hands on the technology):

Xiong:  A bear, like the animal.

Zhishide: One who is wise.

The significance of the bear is pretty straightforward -- if you've ever seen my dad when he's protecting something he loves, he's a flat-out force of nature.  A full-grown grizzly could crush the skull of a bison with a single swat; and when I think of my dad, that's the kind of strength I think of.  I also know this about bears: They are the predatory kings of North America.  And I couldn't very well name my dad after a lion or a tiger -- they're cats, and he hates cats.

The second word, Zhishide, is also fairly self-explanatory.  I am reminded of a Mark Twain quote (or at least a quote that was attributed to him :D): 

"When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around.  But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years."

I think many boys think this, growing up.  They, like I did, lose too much time thinking their dads are idiots.  But sooner or later, the reality clubs you in the head with the undeniable fact that your dad is smarter and more experienced than you are, and all you have is your good looks -- which don't last anyway.  So I named my dad "wise."  Because he is, and (as long as I have known him) has been, more wise than me.

So there ya go, Dad.  I hope you like your name, because I did my best to make it fit you.

Be thankful, especially for your dads,

Mike

*PS:  The pronunciation of this, as best I can describe it in English print, is "Shiong Jersherde."  That's not quite it, and my teachers will kill me for writing it like that, but I could use the extra homework anyway :D

Weekend recap.

Let me just get you all caught up on our ever-so-exciting life.

Remember the dying refrigerator? It gave up the ghost for good on Friday, and Saturday morning the delivery guys from Lowe's carried it to its final resting place. I was fretting all morning about how they would get it out (and get the new one in) since all entrances to our kitchen are narrower than any refrigerator.

I shouldn't have given it a thought. These guys are professionals. They put a strap under the fridge and attached it on each side to harnesses that went over their shoulders, stood up, and walked out with it. Open both doors and it fits right through.

It's amazing. They went right out the front door, and brought the new one in the same way. In under 10 minutes, I had a new refrigerator. Ahhhh. Cold OJ again.

Later that day, Ben gave Pete the Terrible the T-bone we brought home from our dinner the night before. Pete was in a char-grilled-beef-induced stupor.

When I saw chunks going down his goozle I took it away. Pete licked the deck for the next half hour.

That evening, Man-boy came home from his job working food service for the Boy Scout Jamboree. He had over 12 hours off and wanted to sleep in his own bed and eat some food that wasn't deep fried. He made up for his 8 days of being gone by eating 12 days' worth of food in the four hours before he went to bed.

And finally, the wren babies are growing and the mama is wearing herself thin bringing them food. I managed to catch them in between feedings.

They don't make a peep until she shows up on the edge of the pot with a bug or worm, and then they act like Man-boy after he's been away for a week, and the amount of noise that comes out of those little bodies is amazing.

And there you have it, the weekend in review. Boy, that went fast.

Be thankful ~

Karen