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