A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That

Catching Up

2008-10-06T01:06:00.005-05:00

Much time has passed since our visit to the Audubon Insectarium this summer.

Since we saw the insects, we've:

Visited the American Village outside of Birmingham, Ala. Think of it as the Colonial Williamsburg of the south. The boys -- all three of them -- had a blast. They got to beat an effigy of a British general, sit on a jury of an accused hog thief, join the fight for the nation's independence from British rule and play old timey pub games. The neatest building in the complex was a reproduction of the oval office.

Started school. Joshua is now in 4th grade and will be taking the LEAP in the spring while Jonas has entered the halls of the 2nd grade. Anna is still enjoying her school, giving us the "go away mom" eyes after we drop her off.

Had two unwelcome visitors -- Gustav and Ike. Gustav knocked our power out for two days. Battery operated radio, television and spotty cell service were our only links to the outside world. Not knowing when or how soon the power would be back up wore on all of us, but we read books, played outside and ate junk in the meantime. The two storms showed that our governments on all levels still have lessons to learn about disaster preparation and resopnse.

Played soccer. Jonas has joined the local recreation district team in his first stab at organized ball of any kind. He is enjoying it!

Joined 4H. Joshua is now a member of 4H and eagerly awaits his first project book. They have been electing officers for their club and will soon celebrate 4H week.

Became a Daring Baker. Since I'm not busy enough, I decided to join a group of Daring Bakers. The host for the month presents a challenge and the Daring Bakers are to take on that challenge and produce an edible delight. Last month was lavash crackers and I'm already thinking on how to handle October's challenge.

So, in a nutshell, that's what we've been up to lately. :)

Over and Over and Over...

2008-07-11T22:08:00.003-05:00

I was about ready to pull my hair out yesterday...

I was on the road for a good two hours last evening, going to and from the bi-monthly political shenagians I cover for the local paper.

And -- I kid you not -- Katy Perry's I Kissed a Girl FIVE TIMES...

Don't you just hate it when they play a song until you're sick of it?

Then, since I hadn't heard the song enough last night, Katy Perry played her signature tune on the results show of So You Think You Can Dance?

ARRGGGGH!

If You Have a PS3...

2008-07-03T20:16:00.001-05:00

Don't update the firmware! :0

http://www.geeksaresexy.net/2008/07/02/ps3-firmware-24-dont-update/

It's Been A While...

2008-07-03T19:20:00.002-05:00

Hello again!

I kind of fell off the earth again. Yes, life got in the way!

Let's see, where to start... Hmmm....

Anna is talking much more now! Her walking has greatly improved and she now runs, skips and hops. She loves to wear her tutu and dance around the house, but she can't decide whether she likes dancing or baseball better. She still enjoys going to "school." We are enjoying every minute with her.

Jonas finished school with a bang, making all As, scoring the highest in his class on the Iowa test, getting the reading award and passing to the second grade. He loves playing video games and is enjoying summer day camp.

Joshua passed to the third grade, achieving all the scores necessary on his iLeap and doing very well on his report card. He was selected to attend the Spring Into the Arts camp at the beginning of the summer where he was exposed to many different art forms. He loved manipulating the puppets. He likes playing video games with his brother.

The kids are keeping us pretty busy. We are planning a trip and can't wait to go!

We recently visited New Orleans' newest attraction, the Audubon Insectarium. It was a hit! The kids loved every aspect of it. We enjoyed watching the leaf cutter ants work in a huge ant farm. The bug movie was an experience not to miss. And the butterfly garden -- with bonus koi -- was unbelievable! We hope to visit it again.

All I Really Need to Know I Learned from the Beatles

2008-04-03T22:47:00.006-05:00

I'm an on-again, off-again fan of American Idol.

I was so excited when they finally got the rights to the Lennon/McCartney songbook as well as other Beatles songs.

I was aghast that several of this year's American Idol contestants had never heard of the songs before, much less the Beatles...

WHAT? Have they not been through an all-Beatles weekend? I can remember when those weekends were the rage!

You've got to admit, the Beatles know how to stand the test of time, always making their "something old" something new and introducing new generations to the magic of John, Paul, George and Ringo.

My kids -- all three -- are fans. This is largely in part to the movie Across the Universe, which they just loved.

Jonas has declared that he is going to go on American Idol one day and sing Come Together.

But, the Beatles have made a profound impact on my youngest, Anna, in getting her to talk.

For some reason, Anna is a little bit behind where she is supposed to be. She catches up really quick, but reaches the mileposts a little later than her peers.

She is now saying "kite" and "help."

I recently picked up the cd soundtrack for The Beatles Love Cirque du Soleil show. It is just awesome. It's regular listening for me when toting kids around, including Anna.

Anna developed a love for the song Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! after seeing this little clip from Across the Universe (which we then had to watch over and over and over)...

The song is also featured on the Love cd. Now, everytime Anna wants to hear the song, she says "kite." I don't even know if she knows what a kite actually is! Even just looking at the cd cover art elicits a "kite" from her lips.

The song immediately following "kite" is Help! Anna will say, in a soft voice, "help, help" when she wants to listen to that song.

Who would've thunk that the Beatles would help get a two-year-old to talk?

Let's Go to the Movies

2008-02-17T01:34:00.002-06:00

Well, in our living room, anyway...

Jeff is not a big movie person, but the boys and Anna seem to have picked up my love for moving pictures.

Thanks to Netflix, we are able to have over 10,000 delivered to our door. Flicks from the most current releases to oldies but goldies.

We decided to treat the kids to the Indiana Jones series. They watched a little bit, but didn't really jump into it with both feet.

I had Little Big Man in my queue, and it came about the same time as the Indiana Jones flicks. After watching Indiana Jones, I popped in Little Big Man.

Joshua's eyes were glued to the TV. Jonas, engrossed in a computer game, even stole glances more often than not.

After the movie, I asked them if they liked the movie. They both told me they liked it better than Indiana Jones.

WHAT? Liking Little Big Man better than Indiana? I just couldn't believe it.

(By the way, I love Little Big Man.)

Tonight, we watched The Day the Earth Stood Still. After explaining a little big of the times the movie was made in -- the fears of Communism, the Cold War and atomic bombs -- Joshua was again glued to the tube. Jonas got interested, too.

Yet again, the boys both said how much they liked the movie. A movie made almost 60 years ago with "low budget" special effects -- nothing like the effects of the most recent Star Wars movies or Jurassic Park -- held their attention.

I am really amazed. I'm looking forward to watching more old movies with them!

Makes Ya Wonder

2008-01-13T12:40:00.000-06:00

Crazy things the kids of done...

Joshua -- flew a remote control helicopter into his eye on Christmas Eve. I thought we'd be out of the doctor's office for this holiday, but boy was I wrong!

Anna -- enjoys attacking the cat with her Tickle-Me-Elmo and with her Dora the Explorer bus ride-on. Anna growls while performing the attack. Mama Kitty begs to go back outside.

Anna -- while watching the BCS National Chamiponship Game featuring LSU and Ohio State, she hears Darth Vader's theme. Anna jumps up from her chair and goes over to the toy box. Anna starts crying, and the boys assist her. Anna finds what she's looking for -- a Star Wars lightsaber.

Totally out of character, Jonas hasn't done anything crazy lately....

The adventure continues...

A Shrimp's Tale

2007-12-22T09:03:00.000-06:00

Oh lowly little shrimp, so golden fried and yummy. But I am so afraid you won't make it to my tummy.

For instead, to me, the tail is but a tool. You can have that meat, all crispy and crunchy. For I only use the tail to get that tartar sauce, delish!

But sometimes, I just cannot resist the lure of my delight. A finger makes it easier to do the job just right.

Seasons Greetings!

2007-12-22T07:59:00.000-06:00

Happy Holidays in three parts!

Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBODOrfS96Q

Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6PCdo5w-bI

Part 3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlOD2vi79pc

Ho Ho Ho!

Unbelievable!

2007-12-09T01:04:00.001-06:00

My Tigers have made it, by the skin of their teeth, to the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!

WOO HOO!

After a season of ups and downs, near cardiac arrests, injury after injury and some off-field infractions, the LSU Fighting Tigers climbed head and shoulders above the rest to get a piece of the CHAMPIONSHIP action!

My poor Tigers were so broken up after the Arkansas loss, with only a handful of players willing to meet the press after the game.

At that point, the hopes of a national title were deep in the barrel.

Sure enough, the next week, some male coworkers of mine said -- There's NO WAY LSU will be contending for the national championship.

Oh really? said I. There was still the slimest chance we could slip in, especially with the way football has been played this topsy-turvy college season.

And after LSU beat Tennessee in the SEC title game, slowly the stars started to align for the Bayou Bengals, as both the #1 and #2 team -- who was a 27-point favorite -- both LOST.

I couldn't believe it! I still can't believe it!

Jan. 7 in the New Orleans Superdome -- BE THERE (or in front of your boob-tube)! Ohio State will be WHIPPED!

Geaux Tigers!

A Little Help...

2007-11-12T21:50:00.000-06:00

Usually, younger siblings will catch on to walking, talking, etc., sooner than older siblings do.

That's not the case with us.

Anna is taking her own sweet time. She decided to scoot on her bottom until she was 17 months old, when she started crawling. Then, she picked up walking about a month later.

We're still waiting for her to curse her brothers out. She understsands anything and everything you say to her, but she just can't articulate what she wants to say.

At the 18-month checkup, our peditrician referred us for therapy. However, we were never given a name and were just told that his referral chick would set us up.

And, as always, health insurance issues cloud the whole equation. The group the doctor recommended was not covered by the insurance -- nothing new there.

A month passed, and no word from the doctor's office. Meanwhile, our wonderful daycare recommended a state program called EarlySteps.

But, we said, we won't qualify as we make too much money.

But, we were told, that doesn't matter. It's free -- at this point -- for anyone.

Why doesn't the general public know of these things???

If you know of anyone needing services and the child needing the service is between 0 months and 36 months, check it out.

BCS

2007-11-12T21:22:00.000-06:00

The college football season is winding down and oh what a season it has been!

Of course, being a Tiger girl, I only want to see my LSU Tigers in the National Championship game!

But, as usual, the national media is paying no mind to my Tigers despite what the numbers show. :(

I think LSU deserves a shot at the championship. Why? Well...

Our only loss comes to a ranked team. Other number 1s who lost fell to teams in the cellar and not ranked.

At this point, LSU has played six ranked teams, with a record of 5-1. By far the most teams any ranked in the Top 25 has played this season. Check the numbers from this weeks Top 5:

LSU: 5-1

Oregon: 2-1

Oklahoma: 2-0

Kansas: 1-0

West Virginia: 1-1

LSU has definitely been tried and tested.

Depending on who ends up top on the East side, whoever we play in the SEC championship game will likely be ranked as well.

Right now, the chance for another national championship is LSU's to lose.

GEAUX TIGERS!

D'Oh!

2007-10-14T09:59:00.000-05:00

I knew it wouldn't last.

The mighty Tigers have fallen, and will likely be knocked out of their top rank.

The Tigers beat themselves yesterday. They played in a fog and piled on penalty after penalty. Plus, the Wildcats were a formidable opponent.

I knew that this would be a rough game. It always is for the Tigers after a big win.

It'll be interesting to see where the ranks fall today.

Hopefully, the Tigers can rebound, beat Saban and still end up in the SEC -- and BCS -- championship games!

With the way college football is this season, anything can happen!

A Picture Says a Thousand Words

2007-10-14T09:46:00.000-05:00

If there was ever a picture to describe my state of life right now, this one says it all.

Never a dull moment!

It's the Little Things...

2007-10-07T23:39:00.000-05:00

Raising kids is not only tough work, but a grand adventure.

Aside from the air fresherner blinding attempts and the overnight hospital stays, the kids really do add a certain spice to my life that makes the days interesting.

It's not the grand things they do that make me so happy, but it's the little things that I enjoy and cherish.

And with a baby (well, semi-toddler) in the house, the little things start rushing back to me of how the older two acted at the same age.

One little thing that I will never forget is the night time routine of the kids.

Before Joshua's head would hit the pillow, we would have to tell the school buses, big trucks and fire trucks "nite-nite." Then, in order to fall asleep, he had to hold on to an ear -- not his ear, but someone else's.

Jonas needed a warm body. That's it -- no telling anything "nite-nite." Just a snuggle partner and he was right to sleep.

Anna needs her belly button. She cannot start to sleep until she finds that belly button.

Three kids with three very different routines!

The three kids have also walked at different ages and different stages.

It seems that Anna may be the late bloomer. After scooting from place to place, she finally began crawling at 17 months. She also started to attempt to walk at the same time.

It's hard not to compare her to the boys and to her peers. Everyone in her class of 10 to 20 month olds was walking shortly after they moved up to her class, if not before.

But, now she spends more time on two legs rather than "four." I really got even more excited when we arrived to pick her up at daycare last week.

She was standing, and walking around, just like her peers.

This "little thing" -- standing and walking -- gives me confidence that she's on her way!

GEAUX TIGERS!

2007-10-07T23:24:00.000-05:00

It's finally happened.

USC has been KNOCKED OUT!

YEAH BABY!

It all started four years ago, when LSU was "THE" champion after winning the BCS Championship.

But, the AP couldn't stand for their little darlings -- the USC Trojans -- to not be tops. So, rather than naming LSU #1 at the end of that year, they still picked their beloved USC as tops.

BOOOOO!!!

Well, my dears, USC was BEAT by an UNRANKED Stanford, after almost losing it to Washington State the week before.

Finally, the media have stood up and taken notice that LSU is the REAL DEAL (beaten 3 Top 25 ranked teams, with at least two more to face) while USC is nothing but POSERS!

So, LSU is the undisputed #1 while USC fell from #1 to #10 in the AP Top 25 poll.

Of course, we're only midway through the season and, with the way things have been going, anything can happen and no one is safe.

But, it's never been a question for those who bleed Purple and Gold. The Tigers are always #1 in our hearts!

Cruisin'

2007-10-07T22:12:00.000-05:00

I've hit the trifecta! I've been on a plane, a train and now a boat!

Jeff and I recently returned from the vacation of a lifetime, via a Carnival FunShip out of New Orleans enroute to Cozumel, Mexico.

Hey, if it doesn't involve driving, cleaning, doing dishes, laundering laundry, bathing kids, changing diapers, refreeing fights, then it is the vacation of a lifetime! :)

It was nice -- until we left Cozumel. Eight-to-ten-foot seas plagued us from the time we departed until we hit the Mississippi River. Many people were sick Sunday and the bars weren't doing as brisk a business that day as they were Friday (Don't ask me how, but people were saddled up to the bars at 8 a.m. that morning).

There were things I liked about the cruise and things I wasn't too crazy about. It was nice not to have to worry about anything but having a good time and the food was pretty good (we actually had better food in Cozumel).

But, gambling doesn't do anything for me and I'm usually in bed when the clubs start hopping.

Cozumel was nice. We started out the morning sampling tequilas and brought some home only found in Mexico. Thanks to a friend's recommendation, we found a really neat place to eat and had some delicious grouper!

We hope to cruise again with the kids in tow. Thanks to Camp Carnival, they will have a wonderful cruising experience as well. There will be times where they can play their video games at Camp Carnival in the evening while Mom and Dad are enjoying carnivale!

With this relatively positive experience, we're looking to cruise in the future on a boat having unique activities and itineraries!

The Great Koolickle Experiment -- FAILED!

2007-09-07T21:46:00.001-05:00

So sorry, my friends, no red pickles to show you and no tropical pickles to eat.

A week after they were sitting in the bright red solution, the liquid was cloudy and the pickles were shrivled.

T'weren't none too purty!

Joshua -- our resident pickle connoisseur -- did have a neat quote about the whole pickle thing in general when we were getting ready to eat cucumbers the other day.

"Hey, we're eating unpickled pickles!"

Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil

2007-09-07T20:45:00.000-05:00

For several weeks now, events have transpired in my world that I so want to put to paper (so to speak).

There is a .wav file I want to link to that would just knock your socks off.

Alas, I hesistate.

There are just some things that will likely never make it here.

From the beginning, "Speak No Evil" is what I've resigned to in my writings on this blog.

There is no telling who is out there reading this blog and for what purposes.

Suppose I seek out other employment. There's a great possiblity an Internet search engine may point them straight to my blog, where -- should I choose -- all my dirty laundry would be out in the open for all to see.

Oh how would I love to delve into the amusing world of politics around here. Cutouts and clowns! One candidate that can mend anything but a broken heart and the crack of dawn!Another who wants to free a fellow politico from the federeal pen!

Because of where I work, digging deep into the underpinings of that colorful scene would be risking my job.

Like I said, events from the past few weeks would just blow you away. Things have been done and said that can't ever be taken back. Putting them in virtual ink would make them even more hurtful and permanent.

I'll have to vent through other means.

And life goes on! :)

Am I Pretty?

2007-08-26T21:33:00.000-05:00

Anna decided she was ready for some lipstick.

What do you think?

The Great Koolickle Expermient

2007-08-26T21:27:00.000-05:00

Pickles come in all shapes and sizes.

Kosher dills

Bread and butter

Sweet gherkins

Tabasco hot

But tropical punch Kool-Aid?

Well, that’s what we’re about to see at my home. After reading this article at the New York Times, I decided we had to try it.

Joshua loves pickles – especially the hottest Tabasco hot ones. You have to watch him – he’ll eat a whole jar of hot n’spicy okra or pickled asparagus in one sitting.

The article says pickles steeped in Kool-Aid will be sweet-and-sour tasting.

We shall see. Though the recipe I have says to try them after a day, Jeff says to wait a week. Even after two days, our pickles are nowhere near this color.

Stay tuned!

The Blessing of a Skinned Knee

2007-08-16T21:49:00.000-05:00

The first day of school in my house has come and gone once again.

Off on the bus Thing1 and Thing2 went, on to their newest adventure.

The boys have ridden the bus virtually every day since the first day of kindergarten. No tears shed on either side of the big cheese -- they hop on and don't look back and we wave goodbye.

My cousin thought I was crazy for letting my kids ride the bus in kindergarten. Her daughter didn't ride the bus until she was in second grade.

Dr. Wendy Mogel in her book The Blessing of a Skinned Knee says:

"Our job is to raise our children to leave us. The children's job is to find their own path in life. If they stay carefully protected in the nest of the family, children will become weak and fearful or feel too comfrotable to want to leave."

Mogel goes on to say that too many times, parents try to sheild their children from the skinned knees in life. Instead, we should allow them to experience some bumps and bruises now so that they can handle the larger bumps and bruises when they are older.

Letting the boys ride the bus the first day of kindergarten is but one step in preparing them to be resilient, indpendent people.

Raised in a Small Town

2007-08-16T21:43:00.000-05:00

A friend who I grew up with in my small town home town recently posted a list titled “You Might Be from a Small Town if...”

I enjoyed growing up in a small town and attending a small school. After living in the “big” city, I would be hard pressed to return to my hometown and make a home there.

Though not all the items on the list were part of my experience, several were.

1. You can name everyone you graduated with.

So true, so true! I graduated with a class of 36 – how can you not know the name of everyone. In fact, we were more like brothers and sisters -- a LOT of sisters, as there were 24 girls in our class. We fought like cats and dogs but when it got down to the nitty gritty – when work needed to be done our fellow classmates needed support, we were there.

My children will never experience this. They will have the opportunity of attending a large school with more classes to offer than I ever had, but they will not have that closeness as I experienced with my 36 classmates.

3. You ever went to a party that was held about 20 miles down a deserted dirt road.

I tie this statement to the homecoming hayrides we’d take in Pa-Ta-Sa. Pa-Ta-Sa was filled with deserted dirt roads that weren’t lighted. We’d take our class float featured in the afternoon parade, strip it down to its trailer base, throw a few hay bales and then scoot down the road. Oh, the memories!

4. You used to drag "main."

It was one big circle – start at the car dealership, ride down to Taco Bell and turn around, make the circle at Sonic and then back around at the car dealership.

12. You still go home for Homecoming.
Well, in five-year intervals. I love going back and visiting with my classmates! The fun times continue!

27. You decide to walk for exercise and 5 people pull over and ask you if you need a ride.
I would love to walk the boulevard in the center of town. It wasn’t far from my house and once around was a mile. Several times, I had teachers, friends and parents of friends stop and ask me if I needed a ride!

29. The closest "cool stores" are at least 45 milesaway.
Or else you shopped at Wal-Mart!

Small town life was good when I was small. But, I enjoy my country-in-the-city life here now. We have wildlife right outside our backdoor, but many different activities right down the street.

Sugar and Spice

2007-08-06T23:34:00.000-05:00

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would have bows and dresses in my house.

We felt lucky, dodging any real serious health issue, especially with what happened with the younger of the two.

The fact that we had no girls just wasn't an issue.

Life was good! We were blessed with two healthy children.

So when we found out we were going to have a number 3 -- and knowing the risks -- we were hoping to be blessed again.

Then, after 5 months into the pregnancy, we learned that not only would our baby be healthy, but it would be a girl.

A girl.

I just couldn't believe it!

Since she would have two older brothers, I wasn't sure if we'd had a girly-girl or a tomboy.

I have no qualms with her playing with cars -- which she does -- or rolling around in the mud and chasing toads with her heathen siblings.

But she likes to do girly things, too.

She loves to shop and loves her nightgowns featuring the Disney princesses and the Little Mermaid. She will look at herself proudly in the mirror and puff her chest out.

She also loves to "love" her stuffed animals and wants you to love them, too.

The boys never behaved like that.

And Miss Priss was all on her game tonight:

After her bath -- hair wet and all -- she wanted her bow and tried to put it in her hair.

Then, she wanted her white sandals on.

So, a couple of hours before bed, she was roaming the house in her kitty nightie, white sandals and white bow in her hair.

You go, girlie girl!

Just Batty!

2007-08-06T23:23:00.000-05:00

Bats.

When we first moved to our house here in the "country," I couldn't believe what I was seeing in the dusk sky.

Bats.

Flying an erratic dance, snaring supper in the process.

Bats -- Nature's original insect repellent!

As the insects congregated around our heads, the bats swooped in close searching for their prey.

We tried to lure them to hang out in our backyard. Jeff meticulously crafted a bat house from plans culled off the ever-knowing Internet.

Up went the house and then we waited... and waited... and waited...

After a year or two of no takers and no evidence of tenants, we took down the bat house.

But, the bats have stayed, likely preferring the shelter of our woods to our man-made house.

I don't think I would go to the lengths as this woman has. She has a battery in her basement. :O

People like her make our world a much more interesting place!

Life After Harry

2007-08-06T22:50:00.001-05:00

As a youngster, everybody tells you what to read -- summer reading lists, book report assignments, required class reading.

As I grow older, it has gotten more difficult to find books that I want to read.

Finding an author I enjoy or a series has, for the most part solved that dilemma.

As I read the last pages of the Harry Potter series, I was about to be faced with that choice again.

But, this time, I had some candidates waiting around the corner.

I have finished the first two books of what promise to be two enjoyable series -- His Dark Materials and the Thursday Next saga.

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman is the first of a three-part series revolving around Lyra and her importance to her world.

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde revolves around Thursday Next and her experiences as a literary detective as she tries to find love and peace in her life.

I also hope to revisit a rather old series -- The Dark is Rising.

I remember having to read The Dark is Rising for a book report in junior high, but I don't think I read but one or two of the books from that series.

I plan to pepper my readings with several other books in waiting -- mostly biographies of southern female authors.

So, yes, my friends, there is life after Potter!

Cleaning House

2007-07-30T11:23:00.000-05:00

I'm going to attempt to update my Blogger template with the latest version that's compatible with the newest version of Blogger.

If things seem to go kittywampus over the next few days, know that this is a work in progress and the world will be right again soon!

With an Accent

2007-07-25T19:30:00.000-05:00

C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia, takes place in World War II London and the English countryside.

J. R. Tolkien, the Lord of the Rings, takes place in Middle Earth, which is surprisingly similar to the British Isles.

Susan Cooper, The Dark is Rising, takes place in Cornwall.

Philip Pullman, His Dark Materials, takes place in England at a place called Oxford.

J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter series, takes place in London and the English countryside.

Why is it that the fantasy I read has a British accent?

Maiden Project: Complete

2007-07-25T07:36:00.000-05:00

My first stained glass project is now complete!

I much, much rather the lead stained glass rather than the copper foil technique! Though the lead can, at times, be a pain, the soldering is a much quicker process!

Everybody Loves Harry!

2007-07-25T01:17:00.000-05:00

What a magical adventure I had last Friday! Not only was it the eve of the release of the conclusion to the Harry Potter saga, but -- with kids and husband out of town -- I got to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix!

OotP was, by far, my most favorite book in the series. And the movie did not disappoint! There is no way that they could have fit all 900 pages of the book into a 2 hour, 18 minute movie, but the parts there were truly the ones that would keep you on your toes. Alan Rickman as Snape is still my favorite, but Imelda Staunton as Umbridge stole the show. The role of Bellatrix LeStrange fits Helena Bonham Carter like a glove! The "kids" -- Daniel, Rupert and Emma -- have truly blossomed. I'm sure we can expect great work from them as they get older!

I loved seeing the inside of the OotP headquarters, complete with Kreacher. And the culminating climatic battle was unreal, with love still triumphing, though at a great price for Harry.

After the movie, I wandered over to the Barnes and Noble that shares space with the theater. When I walked up to the entrance, two of the local news station vans were parked out side, live remotes going. What are they doing here, I thought.

As I walked into the bookstore, a friendly witch handed me a treat bag of Potter paraphernalia. That explained the news presence -- how could I forget that Book 7 was but 5 hours away!

Later, I went to the WalMart down the road and stood in line for my copy. I finished the book at 3 a.m. on Sunday.

Oh... my... God! There were major surprises, with the action heating up in the last few chapters of the book. JK Rowling could not have done better. She is a prolific writer who has not only opened the world of witches and wizards and that the true magic is love, but she has truly made reading a book a cross-generational experience.

I hope that, one day, my children will delve into -- and love -- Harry's world!

Project Progress Pictures

2007-07-16T20:17:00.000-05:00

Project #1, the fugly pear...

Project #2, the window...

Maybe I Can Do This...

2007-07-16T20:04:00.001-05:00

Week two of stained glass class was much better than the first, especially the end of class.

Project #1 was a pear using the foil technique. The foil technique requires everything fit "just right." One of my three classmates told me, "This is just like sewing. Just think of it like sewing."

That was bad news on my part. Me and sewing never got along! I'd always trip up before even running the material under the needle -- threading the machine would stop me in my tracks every time!

My pieces were so poorly cut. I spent the most time at the grinder, trying to grand the edges down to get them to fit as perfect as possibly. Finally, teacher gave the OK to round the edges in copper foil.

After the foil came the soldering. Now, this is where it got fun. Though my solder lines are rather thick, I'm rather pleased with my first attempt at stained glass! It is not quite finished, but I hope to have a better picture after Saturday.

I've already gotten a jump on the next project, a window design. This project will use lead as the supports and we will just have to solder the joints, which should be a little easier and quicker than the foil method.

Once I got my glass, I decided to go ahead and cut the glass pieces for the pattern. Luckily, everything came out as it should! Cutting the glass seemed much easier this time around!

Hopefully I'll have more progress to show soon!

(The picture feature is acting funky, so I'll post those in another post.)

With Bated Breath...

2007-07-11T21:30:00.001-05:00

When I first met him, he had already been around for a while.

We never really traveled in the same circles, but I had heard of him in passing.

Finally, I saw him – and needed to know more.

So, six years ago the affair began, and I’ve had to have my Harry!

Anxiously I wait for him to emerge in the Deathly Hollows, and hope JKR wraps up the loose ends in the series!

I haven’t pre-ordered the book, after my experience last time -- where a very pregnant me ended up at Wal-Mart at 5 a.m. for the book while UPS delivered my pre-ordered copy at 3 p.m. that afternoon. At 3 p.m.

I will be picking my copy of Deathly Hollows in person at midnight on July 21.

I have read every book from the first. My favorite of the series is the Order of the Phoenix, which I’ve read so many times I’ve lost count.

I’ve just finish reading Half-Blood Prince for the second time before Deathly Hallows comes out next weekend.

What a series it has been! With video games, the Internet and television eating up more and more of kids’ time these days, JKR has worked miracles in luring the youngsters away from electronics back to curling up with a flashlight and book under the covers at night.

Growing up, I don’t remember any book or series making as the waves that JKR has made with Harry and his adventures at Hogwarts.

Attempting Art

2007-07-11T19:35:00.001-05:00

I’m not a very artistic person.

My art shows up in my cooking, my writing and my pictures – both still and moving.

I decided to try something new.

I signed up for a beginning stained glass class offered through our local arts council.

For the next month of Saturdays, I will be breaking colored glass and attempt to reassembling them in an artistic form.

I don’t know if I’m cut out for this, for you have to score each piece of the glass for the pattern. In some cases, that’s lots of pieces! But, I’ll never know if I don’t try!

Then, there’s that hurdle to cross of actually breaking the glass without fear.

Our first project is a pear. After going over the exhaustive list of supplies, we used some scrap glass and scored out the pieces. I broke the larger piece of my pair twice on two different glass pieces when attempting to break the excess glass from the parts I scored.

After changing the pattern a little – and for the fact we were short on scrap glass, I decided to fashion the two broken pieces of the pear to where they would fit like a puzzle. Hoping to avoid further breakage, I turned to my teacher.

The man took my pieces and effortlessly broke off the pieces giving me trouble. Only if…

Hopefully, with practice, I’ll become more adept at breakage!

All Ages Welcome

2007-06-19T10:44:00.000-05:00

Don't Let Life Pass You By

2007-05-27T00:23:00.001-05:00

In the past two weeks, two acquaintances of mine have passed away.

One was the wife of Jeff's uncle. Jeff's uncle died 38 years ago in an accident where two trains ran into each other in full motion.

From her obituary: "(She) has been reunited with the love of her life after 38 years apart. What a joyous reunion."

She was 64. Her passing was not expected (when is it ever) and surprised all.

On May 17, I learned a woman I attend church with was found unresponsive in her home.

A kindergarten teacher, Mary Lou was 56 and passed away on what would have been her last day of work.

Another whose passing was not expected and surprised all.

Mary Lou will never get to enjoy retirement.

Both deaths were a shock to the system. Jeff's aunt and Mary Lou weren't old by today standards, both about to embark on another signpost of life.

If anything, we should all remember that we are not guaranteed tomorrow. All the scrimping and saving for retirement may be for naught. Waiting to take that trip may indeed never happen.

We should always enjoy what we have today and not put it off until tomorrow, as tomorrow may never come!

No Garden for Me :(

2007-05-26T23:25:00.000-05:00

This year, no garden. :( Rainfalls around here aren't what they used to be and I don't have the time -- or the energy -- to trek water out to the garden. We don't have a ready water source near the spot and I'd hate to invest in planting when the poor things won't get properly watered. We either will re-engineer the beds or install a sprinkler system out there.

We do have a couple of blackberry bushes that are producing a little. Of course, we would have more, juicer berries if we treked water to the bushes every day.

Anna had her first real taste of blackberry today. We sat by the bushes and she kept trying to pick the red ones. She loved it!

We also seem to be growing bluebirds, too. Our couple has laid another round of eggs. The last time I checked, no babies yet. I don't know if we'll check any more this season as the door we use on the nestbox is about to fall off!

First VLog: The Graduate 2007

2007-05-10T23:18:00.000-05:00

So, now I'll put my video prowess to the test.

Jonas, my baby boy, graduated from Kindergarten today. What a bittersweet moment... my baby is growing up!

Multi Media Mamma

2007-05-10T22:53:00.000-05:00

I have now become one of those parents that I loathe at all the grand class pagenants and graduations.

You know, the ones that will obscure your view or hang out on the fringes of the auditorium (or, in our case, cafetorium) to catch every moment of junior's latest school program.

Thus, I loathe, but...

My newest toy is a video camera.

Not just any video camera, but a mini-DV camera.

Now, not only will I annoy friends and family with stills of every breathing moment of my crumbmunchers' lives, but now I have the capability -- thanks to the joys of the Internet and YouTube -- of annoying them with moving pictures of the munchkins' lives!

But, you won't find me taping every minute of junior's performance in the Christmas program.

We are much more apt to pull out albums and look at the stills of our lives rather than power up the VCR and watch hours of VHS tape.

I see the video camera as a way to record snippets of our lives.

It won't replace my digital SLR. It's much easier to slap a few pictures on the web than movies. I don't do much editing with the stills! :)

And now, with digital camera in tow, I am now the ultimate multimedia mamma!

What to do.... What to do...

2007-04-28T22:12:00.000-05:00

Four years ago, the husband and I got down and dirty in landscape work.

After we commissioned plans from a co-worker's husband, we went to work. Although the plans were for the front and the back of the house, we only had enough gumption to complete the front.

We were so proud of the result. I was dutiful in my weeding and mulching -- that is, until the bun in the oven last year.

Now, my landscape has problems. Drought has wrecked havoc on the plants and the grass has taken over the beds. We also have three areas of major washouts from the roof runoff when it rains.

It will be a major undertaking to get the landscape back into shape. Dead plants need to be removed and some just need to be replaced. The house faces west, so we receive some pretty intense sun in the front every day.

I'll have to bring dirt in and rent the heavy duty tiller. I want to include a sprinkler system this time.

But, my major issue is the washouts. Maybe some of you in cyberland know how to fix this problem, no?

Baby Update

2007-04-28T20:21:00.000-05:00

We've been watching the baby bluebirds for about two weeks now.

There are five little chicks Mama bird and Daddy bird are feeding and keeping safe. It is so much fun to watch Mama and Daddy bringing a smorgasbord of insects to the little ones. First -- bearing dinner -- they land on the roof of our house, looking out for trouble. Then, they fly to the roof of their house, land and scope out the situation again. When it's safe, they hope down to the hole, poke their head in and feed whoever is hungry.

In a couple of weeks, these babies will have flown! They will get as high as they can and practice flying from tree to tree, while Mama and Daddy -- and sometimes others -- will continue to feed them and show them how to find food.

I love these birds!

Leaping Lizards!

2007-04-17T22:46:00.000-05:00

Come spring, lizards are a common site around our yards and that of our neighbors.

I like having the lizards around. They tend to eat the insects that I don't want tramping in my house or gnawing on my leg and run the slugs from the tomatoes in the garden.

The kids like having the lizards around, too, though not for the same reasons.

Joshua loves the lizards. At MawMawPawPaw house, MawMaw would get the lizards for Joshua. Then, Joshua started grabbing them. And, when Jonas came along, he joined in the fun.

Unfortunately for the boys, the lizards got smart and stayed high in the air and away from the grubby hands on the ground.

We have video of Joshua at four, holding a lizard in front of the camera.

"This is Lizzy the lizard," he announced. "He goes 'slurp-slurp'."

When Jonas was two or three, he found a lizard outside of our house. At the time, he had this neat HotWheels race track. This track had two wheels that a motor turned to get cars up the loop.

Jonas took the lizard inside the house. He brought the lizard to the HotWheels track. He turned the motor on.

Next thing you know, Jeff was taking apart the motor casing. Jonas had put the lizard too close to the rotating wheels, which is where the poor green thing met its end.

"I was showing him my toy," Jonas told us as Jeff extracted the carcas from the casing.

Jonas has not given up his lizarding ways. He has now introduced Anna to the delightful world of lizards. Oh boy -- another lizard aficionado in the making!

Who says girls are all sugar and spice? :)

And then there were...

2007-04-17T22:42:00.000-05:00

Bluebird babies!

They must have hatched sometime over the weekend. Looks like they're doing fine and well and Momma and Daddy bird are feeding them fine.

I noticed yesterday about four more bluebirds fliting around the trees -- adult or younger.

I don't know if I'll be able to get pictures of the babies, as the house is about to fall apart. But, if I get some snaps, I'll share!

School Dayz

2007-04-08T22:11:00.001-05:00

Things aren’t looking too good for school superintendents in Louisiana right now.

I thought disagreements between the school board and the superintendent were isolated to the nine-member board I cover for our local paper here.

However, stories in the Saturday daily metro paper indicate a different story.

At least two other school superintendents are at odds with their respective school boards.

For the most part these boards, usually by slim margins, vote against what the superintendent suggests to satisfy special interests not connected with education of the children.

Likely, if these three boards can afford the contract buy-outs, there may be three more superintendent openings during the remainder of the year.

Education is one of the most important legacies we can pass on to the children. It should be free of petty politics.

Unfortunately, that is not the case.

What shape my children’s education takes in the future scares me. But we’ve learned quickly to take responsibility for their education and expose them to a variety of experiences, from identifying trees in our yard to dissecting frogs on our kitchen table.

Taking an active part gives me hope that my children will be prepared for whatever academic adventures are ahead.

Movies Movies Movies

2007-04-08T19:18:00.000-05:00

I love watching movies.

Growing up, we'd catch at least one movie -- maybe two -- just about every weekend.

Then, the VCRs came along and video night was a big thing at the house.

With three kids, it's hard to actually get out and go to the cinema to catch a flick. The video store has been my salvation.

With the traffic here now, it's even difficult to run by the video store to drop off and pick up videos.

I decided to look into these "we'll mail you the video and you just mail it back to us" services and the possiblity of getting one of the premium cable movie channels.

The two cost about the same. And Netflix won out over Blockbuster due to about 10,000 more titles in their library.

I've now joined with Netflix. They should be sending my first movie -- You Can't Take It With You -- Monday.

And, you can even invite fellow movie loving friends to join!

So, if any of you out there in cyberworld have a Netflix account or plan on signing up, add me as a friled and you can see what I'm watching! Click here.

(cue Fiddler on the Roof) Tradition... Tradition... TRADITION!

2007-04-08T17:08:00.000-05:00

Hard at work...

Easter Egg dyers...

Anna gives it a try...

Happy Easter!

Good News... More Eggs!

2007-04-08T02:29:00.000-05:00

When I returned from the trip, we found more bluebird eggs in the nest box.

HURRAY!

Jeff checked on them yesterday and Momma bird was tending them. She has five eggs right now.

Leaving On A Jet Plane

2007-04-08T02:00:00.001-05:00

Although the flight to San Diego was uneventful and rather pleasant, the flight back was a whole other story.

A storm had been hanging out between San Diego and home all that week. I was hoping it would blow over in time for my travel that Friday, but that wasn’t the case.

In San Diego, cancelled fights, ever-changing flight plans and fuel adjustments ruled the day. My San Diego flight wasn’t cancelled – though the one before and after it were. However, I would be stuck in Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport for at least one night.

The most nervous I was on the flight was flying out over the Pacific Ocean. But man, what a view! I was relieved when we were over land again.

Watching the landscape change from green, to brown, to mountains and sand was amazing. And on the way to Dallas/Ft. Worth, we were treated to an electric light show in the clouds as lightning streaked the night sky.

With no hotels and no one-way car rental, I ended up spending the night in the airport. After getting a new boarding pass for my flight the next day – which would put me in the airport for 14 hours – I headed back into the terminal areas about 1:30 a.m. and hunted down the blankets and cots they put out for the weary travelers.

People were spread all over the terminal. I found a relatively “quiet” and not-too-bright place under the escalator leading to the airport monorail. I got about four hours of cold, fitful sleep on the floor that night.

Up at 6 a.m., I realized I could possibly get home earlier and cut my time in Dallas if I could get on standby. Sure enough, I was lucky enough to get on an 8 a.m. flight – the weather that caused the ruckus the night before was to be home at about the time my afternoon flight would arrive.

After a bumpy ride, I arrived safe at home, with luggage showing up on my doorstep at 10:30 p.m. that night.

Would I fly again? Yes, I think I would. These were only little bumps in the road.

Take in the Beauty

2007-04-08T01:56:00.000-05:00

Some of the flora...

Tropical Paradise

2007-04-08T01:55:00.000-05:00

I wish I could grow birds of paradise in my landscape.

In San Diego, you can find birds of paradise and many other tropical succulents included in nearly all landscapes.

And these plants are just beautiful!

Like Louisiana, you can find tree lined avenues in San Diego. But, where you find live oak avenues in Louisiana, you find avenues of palm trees and eucalyptus in San Diego.

A City Searching

2007-04-08T01:50:00.000-05:00

Before the trip, I heard nothing but good things about San Diego.

Yes, it is beautiful. The buildings in the Gaslamp Quarter were unique. The harbor was gorgeous.

Yes, the weather is great. (Though, I was amused that the local forecast also included one for the coast, one for inland, one for the mountains and one for the desert.)

But, I found San Diego was lost.

It couldn’t decide if it wanted to be mainland Hawaii or downtown New Orleans.

There were no roots. It doesn’t have a clear grasp on its identity.

Maybe if I had more time to visit the city, I would learn more about San Diego. I would like to visit again one day and hope to bring the family with me!

There's No Place Like Home

2007-04-08T01:49:00.001-05:00

Oh the adventures I had traipsing to and from the hotel!

Daily, I came across many homeless people. The hotel was right across the street from a flophouse and a few blocks from the Salvation Army shelter. One homeless man, with his hat outstretched, called me “the bomb” while others would find places to lay their heads in the alcoves of the movie theater down the block from the hotel.

Central air was not a luxury in my room. My air conditioning and heater were contained in a window unit and a ceiling fan was overhead. I think I used the air conditioner once during the whole stay.

My bathroom sink also doubled as my kitchen sink and was located in the room next to my bed. A microwave and refrigerator were nice additions, but I didn’t use them as I had no plates or utensils to eat with.

The minimal accommodations surely made me appreciate being home!

Art in the Architecture

2007-04-08T01:37:00.000-05:00

Sharp Angles in the Convention Center Front

Angles along the Rear of the Center

A Circular View from One Side of the Center to the Other

Face Sculpture

MMS Home

2007-04-08T01:30:00.000-05:00

The San Diego Convention Center served as the home base for MMS 2007.

The Convention Center sits between a major rail yard and the edge of the harbor in San Diego. At any time of the day, you could see ships – like this Dole one – off loading tractor trailers full of product.

The Convention Center itself was about four football fields long. The MMS was held in half of it while the pathologists inhabited the other half for the same week. Between walking to and from the hotel and around the center to get to the various courses and labs, I got lots of walking in. I haven’t checked to see I that walking melted away the last of the baby pounds.

Architectural features made the Convention Center beautiful. Outside, the features were hard and angular while inside, soft circles defined spaces.

Sticking Out Like a Sore Thumb

2007-04-08T01:24:00.000-05:00

Like these drakes in the lagoon at the Seaport Village in San Diego, men also outnumbered women at the uber geek Microsoft Management Summit.

It never fails. Every time I attend any one of these types of events, women make up the minority of attendees there.

One good thing about the male-to-female ratio is that, for once, the women no longer have to wait in long lines for a stall in the restroom.

In fact, at the block party that closed the conference, there were lines for the men’s restroom at the restaurants.

Cool! :)

Microsoft is really adept at throwing conferences.

Our physical and technological appetites were well beyond satisfied.

Microsoft has so much new technology coming out in the next two years that one can’t help but be excited over the future potential and how it will accentuate and improve the way we do business.

Finally, Blogging the Trip

2007-04-08T01:23:00.000-05:00

The next few posts will be about my adventures in San Diego the last week of March. Enjoy!

Funny, but True

2007-03-25T22:11:00.000-05:00

Day 1 of the Grand Adventure

2007-03-25T22:01:00.000-05:00

Sitting, waiting for the first leg of the trip, there was a couple with a young girl.

The girl – 4 or 5 years old – was bouncing off the wall, behaving like my heathen children behave.

So, I says to myself: Thank GOD I’m on the next flight. I’d hate to share a plane with this one.

You see, I was getting away from that.

Well, as they were loading up that flight, I end up being the sole soul in the section. The airline guy asks me if I wanted to hop on that flight. Sure… that would put me an hour earlier in Dallas before my next flight.

So, I hop on the plane – with the kid bouncing off the wall – embarking on the first flight of my adult life.

The plane taxis down the runway. At the end of the runway is a graveyard – not too comforting to see the resting place of the dead before you jet 30,000 feet into the air.

We get to Dallas without incident. I hope on the Skylink – a monorail a la Disney but without the cat pee smell – and arrive at the gateway to the last leg of the journey.

Waiting for the flight, a lady sits next to me yapping on her cellphone. She seems the high maintenance type. Her flight to San Diego was cancelled and she was trying to hop on ours. She calls someone and tells them to go find a certain kind of product, as she had $150 worth of it in her checked baggage that she was forced to throw out.

The rules are simple: gels and such have to be a certain size – travel – and contained in a zip-lock bag.

There is a man in the line at the ticket gate. I’m assuming he got on standby. Once his business is done, he moves to the side in the area where passengers will travel to get on the plane.

And stands there…

And stands there some more…

One of the ticket agents asks him to sit down. He explains he’s on standby. The ticket agent then tells him to sit down again, that they have this magic thing – a PA system – and proceeds to demonstrate it.

“Testing, 1 2…. Can you hear it?”

It was pretty amusing!

Meanwhile, I hear some children in the back of the plane. I had seen these people with two children – one was about Anna’s age. The whole plane ride – three hours -- these children were crying.

I don’t blame them. I had trouble sitting there, too. But why travel with children that small? They were probably twice as miserable as me!

The view from the plane was amazing. I saw the tops of the clouds – one even looked like a chameleon. I saw the mighty Mississippi.

Farmland covered the ground like a patchwork quilt. Rivers looked like ribbons. The mountains were stupendous.

The more we moved west, mountains dominated the landscape and the land was bare and brown. Lakes were dry, but for puddles in the middle.

Things got greener as we got into California.

I arrived at the hotel. Full size bed, sink in the main room and window unit. Should be an interesting stay.

I’m walking everywhere. I’m thinking – hmm, I could lose the final 10 pregnancy pounds here.

But… I’m surrounded by world cuisines…

… and a Ghirardelli Chocolate and Ice Cream Shop is right around the corner…

Oh Sad Day! :(

2007-03-21T15:03:00.000-05:00

No baby bluebirds for me yet.

Something got to the eggs sometime today. The nest if void of eggs and I found two broken on the ground at varying distances from the nestbox.

It's possible the house sparrows may be at fault.

Looks like it's war with thtem again! Grrrr... >:<

Mmmm....

2007-03-18T15:03:00.000-05:00

There's nothing like fresh Louisiana strawberries!

Mr. Bluebird on My Shoulder...

2007-03-18T13:56:00.000-05:00

The movies tell us bluebirds like to sit on our shoulders and fly over the rainbow.

I have never had one sit on my shoulder, nor have I see none fly over a rainbow.

But I do know that they love our backyard.

In the first year we lived here, there were these birds that would constantly hang out in our yard. We invested in a pair of binoculars and spied on them to see of what feather they flocked together.

Much to our surprise -- and delight -- these were Eastern bluebirds.

Because of pesticides killing their prey, loss of suitable nesting cavities and competition with non-native house sparrows and starlings for the little housing available, the Eastern bluebird population was on a critical decline in much of the 1900's.

In the 1970's, the North American Bluebird Society was founded and helped spur an effort to place nesting boxes specifically for this beautiful species. Thanks to bluebird enthusiasists, the population has rebounded and doing well in many areas.

Our yard must be full of the grasshoppers, caterpillars, crickets, Katydids, and beetles, berries, spiders, earthworms and snails they crave, because they hang out here year-round.

We decided to build a nestbox for these little birds. Luckily, it was a hit with the bluebird population (more so than our failed attempt at providing housing for the bats). It even seemed that the interested couple invited their bluebird friends over to survey the new digs, as about 15 lit on the tree next to the nestbox.

After receiving the family's blessing, we've had bluebirds ever since.

Come the spring time for the past five years, they usually will have two or three broods of young in our nestbox.

Looks like it will be no different this year.

In early February, a bluebird couple was scoping out the nestbox. And now, we have eggs!

We went to check on the eggs earlier today and had a little surprise -- momma bird was sitting on the nest, still as a stone, and wouldn't move! Unfortunately, we didn't have the camera at the time.

Hopefully, when the babies arrive, I'll have some better pictures to share!

Ode to Chuckie!

2007-03-18T13:10:00.000-05:00

Oh how I love my Chuckie!

Chuckie came to us quite by accident. One of three kittens born to VisitorKitty, Chuckie was the odd ball of the bunch.

His brothers were yellow tabby. Chuckie was black tabby.

His brothers could walk. Chuckie could not.

On his way into the world, something went terribly wrong and Chuckie was limited in movement in has back legs.

However, this never stopped Chuckie.

Chuckie loved to play and terrorize our two other cats.

But his favorite game was fetch.

I kid you not! This cat would fetch!

We had a Koosh ball -- one of those balls of rubber filaments.

We would throw the Koosh ball down the hall. Chuckie would run down the hall after the Koosh ball, pick it up in his mouth, and walk in his special Chuckie-way to bring the ball back to the thrower.

Then, when you would go to take the Koosh ball and throw it again, Chuckie would growl.

YES, that could would GROWL at us, like a dog! It was too funny!

Alas, Chuckie's love for the outdoors and his lack of rear movement lead to his downfall. Chuckie had begged to go out late one night -- which he would often do -- and I had let him out.

He would always come right back when I called. But not this night.

The next day was Thanksgiving. We were preparing to spend a weekend in the hospital with Jonas, still fighting NATP, so he could receive another platelet transfusion and treatment.

I spent the morning looking for Chuckie and found him lifeless in the front yard. My neighbor's two rotweillers -- which would regularly terrorize the neighborhood -- had gotten out about the same time Chuckie was on his nightly romp. He had no chance.

Poor Chuckie!

He probably lived longer this his poor little legs would have let him. But my puppy-in-kitty-skin lived his little life to its fullest.

And we'll never forget the kitty that growled!

Attack of the STREP!

2007-03-18T12:51:00.000-05:00

It was just plain weird.

My throat was killing me. It seemed like my tonsils were touching each other and I could no longer eat, drink or talk.

But I had no fever.

I felt achy on and off that whole day. After a visit to the after hours clinic later that evening, the diagnosis was strep.

I always thought strep was accompanied by fever. Just weird!

Husband had been sick for about three weeks with a sore throat...

"Go to the doctor" I says after he was moaning and groaning about this for a week.

He didn't. He said "If I go to the doctor, they're not going to do anything."

Well, he went another couple of weeks and didn't do anything. Tired of it today -- and since number 2 son was complaining of a sore throat -- he and the boy jetted off to the clinic.

The diagnosis --- yup, you guessed it -- STREP!

But, strep without fever... WEIRD!

Here's some things we've been told to do to fight this bug:

Throw out all of your lipstick/chapstick.
Change the linens off the bed and wash them.
Wash the pillows you sleep on.
Wash all utensils and glasses in the dishwasher twice.
Throw out your toothbrush. Buy two new ones. Use one new one for three days, then throw it out. Then, use the other new one.

Nothing Two Glazed Donuts and a Chocolate Eclair Couldn't Fix...

2007-03-13T23:33:00.000-05:00

I'm having another Calgon moment...

I was dressed and ready for work early this morning. The last thing I had to do was dress Anna for the day.

As I was proceeding down the hall with bags in my hands, I heard a sound a dreaded.

Poor little Anna spewed all over the couch and herself.

Then, to add insult to injury, she had an accident in bathtub one.

So, I took off my work clothes and threw on a t-shirt and shorts and

started to bathe the baby
transferred baby to tub #2
bathed the baby
threw diaper on baby
removed the soiled cushions from the couch and placed them outside on the bench
removed the soiled cushion covers and threw them in the wash
cleaned the floor where soiled cushions dripped
cleaned tub #1
dressed baby
replaced work clothes back on my body

I was an hour late to work and worn out. My day hadn't even started good yet and I felt like I should be credited for two. :(

What fun working motherhood is!

Ree-Deep!

2007-03-13T23:07:00.000-05:00

As a child, I could remember how cool it was to go visit my relatives who had children close in age to me.

They had the neatest toys -- an Apple computer and a microsope.

Of course, I wanted a microscope, but the closest "geek" toy Santa Claus ever brought me was a typewriter.

Times are different now. Santa listens to my kids.

Joshua wanted a dissection kit so he could dissect a frog. Thankfully, Santa left such a kit and a frog, grasshopper and earthworm under our tree last Christmas.

After searching for guidance on the 'net, we were able to start the frog project.

Jeff did the honors of cutting Mr. Frog open. In college, the frogs were already cut open for us and all we had to do was open the flaps and identify the parts.

Once we got past the skin, the kids were amazed at what they saw. We identified the kidney, liver, heart, lungs, intestine and stomach. Jeff even cut open the stomach so we could see Mr. Frog's last meal, which appeared to be a cricket.

These days, the schools just teach the minimum to meet whatever criteria are required for the kids to pass the latest standardized test that's in vogue. Thank state and federal mandates for that.

The well-rounded education no longer exists.

The frog on my kitchen table is just one of many opportunities we take advantage of to expand our children's minds!

We Don't Need No Stinking Chicken!

2007-03-04T12:13:00.000-06:00

For a couple of days now, the husband had Jonas convinced that he could lay eggs.

Jeff had found a trick in the Science Sliders that came in one of the kids Sonic Wacky Packs. (Similar to a McDonald's Happy Meal and a Burger King Kids Meal, but different.) You pretend to throw an invisible egg into the air and catch it in a paper bag. You snap your fingers inside the bag, and it makes a sound like a loud "thud" -- the egg dropping into the bag.

Jeff decided he would take the trick a little farther. He snuk a real egg into the bag. He would then do his trick again, and let the kids "hold" the invisible egg. Then, he would through the invisible egg in the air and catch it three times. The third time, a real egg would appear.

Jonas was truly amazed: "Dad, we don't need chickens anymore!" He truly thought Dad was producing eggs in the bag. He wanted him to repeat the trick many times.

Jeff felt bad. He didn't want to spoil the trick, but he thought Jonas would catch on. This went on for a couple of days.

Finally, Jonas figured it out.

Ah, the innocence of youth!

Deja Vu?

2007-03-04T02:51:00.000-06:00

Joshua on his first birthday...

Anna on her first birthday...

Time Sure Does Fly!

2007-03-04T02:40:00.000-06:00

We had talked about having three children. However, after the horrid experience we had with Jonas and the NATP, I couldn’t see putting a baby through that kind of torture again.

Plus, the doctors told us a second time around with NATP would be worse.

So, we were thankful and blessed to have to healthy, boisterous boys…

…and had no intentions of tempting fate.

Fate came knocking on our door and a stressful five months and amnio later we found out our little girl would be NATP free!

We so enjoy holding this precious miracle, hugging her and giving kisses. Imagine our surprise when she started giving those kisses back a few weeks ago!

In this short year that has just flown by, we can see bits of ourselves in this sweet baby girl.

She is so much like Joshua in that she enjoys time by herself.

And, even at this early age, we see her share in Jonas’ love for music.

Like me, she loves her food. There’s a little Cajun in her as she loves boudin and gumbo is her favorite.

And like Jeff, she enjoys playing the Native American style flutes.

What a joy Anna Claire has been!

Happy first birthday!

Anna is 1!

2007-03-04T00:38:00.000-06:00

Anna Claire

Stats:

Age: 1 year old

Weight: 22 pounds

Height: 30.5 inches long

Teeth: 4, 4 on the way

Likes: food, music, nodding her head "yes," helping in the kitchen, outside walks with daddy, calling mammakitty, playing Pokemon Ranger with Joshua, eating snacks with Jonas, dancing

Another Gem...

2007-01-31T18:43:00.000-06:00

Jonas was taking his school work out of his booksack the other day.

One of his papers was this piece of yellow construction paper with zoo cutouts colored pink.

Jonas says: This is the zoo thing that I couldn't finish. wouldn't let me borrow David's scissors to finish it.

This piqued my interest.

I says: What happened to your scissors?

Jonas says: took them away from me.

I says: Why?

Jonas says: Because I was twirling them like this...

Jonas proceeds to demonstrate how he twirled the scissors. Remember, you put one of the finger opennings on your finger and spin it around?

That kid... he makes me laugh!

Eleven Months and Counting...

2007-01-28T15:35:00.000-06:00

Anna Claire

Stats:

Age: 11 months old

Weight: 21 pounds, 4 ounces

Height: 30 inches long

Teeth: 4

Likes: people food, spicy food, king cake, books, paper, pulling her socks off, tae-kwan-do, playing peek-a-boo, dancing, outside, Baby Van Gogh World of Colors, the Baby Einstein caterpillar, shaking her head "no", calling her da-da "ya-ya"

Signs: milk, more

Mode of transport: butt scoot

The City that Care Forgot

2007-01-22T00:44:00.000-06:00

Years ago, New Orleans earned the proceeding moniker.

Those words ring even truer today.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the city still sits stagnated. Crime is blossoming. Rebuilding is not happening. People aren’t returning.

Crime has always been New Orleans’ dirty little secret. You see, crime has always been bad in the Big Easy. But, those affected were usually in the poorer areas. And people would usually not venture into those areas, staying in the vibrant French Quarter and Uptown areas.

Now, the poor areas are empty and the predators are moving to higher groundhttp. At the start of 2007, an unprecedented number of people were murdered.

Among the victims include a young filmmaker. Her husband, a doctor, ventured to the Big Easy to provide care of the city’s poor.

After shielding his two-year-old from the gunfire that wounded him and burying his wife, that doctor -- someone who came to the city to help – will not come back.

Along with the crime, the stagnant rebuilding has likely permanently closed the door to the return of residents to the city.

Large pockets of the city still sit in ruin, lacking the basic services for residents.

Who wants to return to a city when it’s a struggle to keep certified teachers and classrooms secure at the city’s public schools?

Who wants to return to a city where jobs are scarce? Why does it take the federal government to encourage businesses to bring jobs to the city?

Even the Mississippi Gulf Coast is losing business, as Oreck – which once left Louisiana for the Mississippi coast – is now seeking refuge in Tennessee.

Although their Cinderella season has kept New Orleans in the spotlight, the Saints – or the ‘Aints as they’re fondly known as around here – may even leave the Crescent City

Who can blame the franchise when the population and business in the city have yet to recover from Katrina’s blow?

I really don’t blame people for not returning to the city. I ventured there last summer and was appalled at the damage. FEMA trailers stood out like toadstools in formerly flooded neighborhoods.

Areas that were bustling the year before when we visited the now closed Six Flags were nothing but shells of themselves, with boarded shopping centers and gutted McDonalds.

To live there 24/7 with the lack of services and the destruction so close would grate on my nerves.

I don’t know how those that are living there do it.

Another monkey wrench in the system involves the politics revolving around the whole Katrina response and recovery.

Not a day goes by around here where you don’t hear something about how slow the Road Home program is in distributing funds or how the Bush administration bashed Blanco but left Barbour alone.

Even Michael “Brownie” Brown, the fumbling FEMA director at the time of the response, described how the White House had it out for Blanco:

According to Brown:

"Unbeknownst to me, certain people in the White House were thinking, 'We had to federalize Louisiana because she's a white, female Democratic governor, and we have a chance to rub her nose in it,'" he said, without naming names. "'We can't do it to Haley (Barbour) because Haley's a white male Republican governor. And we can't do a thing to him. So we're just gonna federalize Louisiana.'"

In his book The Great Deluge, Douglas Brinkley points out that this “white, female Democratic governor” fought the attempts to federalize and, in the process, opened a door that had been closed since 9/11:

“As a practical matter, few had done that before. Bush, operating with a majority in both houses of Congress and what he seemed to regard as a mandate stemming from the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, had been able to ignore opposition at most other critical junctures of his presidency. Blanco gambled everything in refusing to give the Preisdnet the chance to take charge; she no doubt felt that, due to the work of her office, the momentum of the disaster response was about to change as the first weekend after Katrina arrived. It was a battle largely hidden from the public, but in winning a battle royale with the President, Blanco changed the second term of George Bush, leaving him open to other attempts to curtail the sweeping power he assumed for himself. (619)”

Yes, this little Cajun grandmother’s challenge to the President of the United States woke reporters from their 9/11 slumber and they started asking the tough questions.

What more would a full, thorough investigation of the response at all governmental levels reveal…

Danger, Will Robinson!

2007-01-20T11:45:00.000-06:00

These days, you can no longer innocently surf the Internet without protecting yourself.

Unfortunately, the bad guys out there find ways to exploit holes in programs and hack into systems to extract information at their pleasure or generate spam.

You can no longer trust that your operating system – be it a Microsoft product or Linux – or programs you use to surf the ‘Net, send email or write letters are without an Achilles’ heel.

Without protection, you unknowingly leave yourself exposed to identity theft, credit card theft and becoming a zombie on one of the many botnets that spew spam throughout the ‘Net world.

This article from Geeks Are Sexy describes several measures you can take to protect yourself from swiss cheese software and ‘Net threats.

If anything, always remember to patch your software, keep your antivirus up-to-date and invest in a hardware firewall.

Thursday Thirteen No. 5

2007-01-19T08:41:00.000-06:00

Thirteen Pictures I Took on January 13th

1. Husband visits favorite store.

2. We vist the BEST aquarium in the WORLD!

3. The fam by the Museum of Natural Science.

4. The Kugel Ball fountain.

5. Inspecting the insects

6. Butterfiles prepare for take off.

7. Chasing Butterflies

8. ID'ing a mosquito.

9. Looking at compound eyes.

10. At the Children's Museum

11. Anna's Space

12. Lovin' the Cow

13. Birthday Wishes

Go West, My Friend

2007-01-18T00:10:00.000-06:00

We spent some time in Houston over the holiday weekend chasing butterflies.

Anna wasn't successful, but the butterflies at the Cockrell Butterfly Center were out and about, warming themselves on the windows and finding refreshment in fruit and nectar stations.

These butterflies come from throughout the world. The staff at the butterfly center glues the cocoons to ropes attached to styrofoam boards. After it emerges from its cocoon, the butterfly is then released into the recreated tropical rainforest under glass.

Joshua enjoyed the Insect Zoo housed with the butterflies. The zoo boasted exotic stick bugs, spiders, roaches and grasshoppers. He was able to see the individual sections of a katydid's compound eyes under the microsope.

Our trip also took us to the NASA Space Center for a day long jaunt.

The "Destiny of Man" video, moon rocks, space suits through the ages and tram tour are worth seeing.

On the NASA visit, Jonas has decided he does NOT want to be an astronaut. A somber moment of the tour was when the tram stopped in front of a grove of oak trees. The guide proceeded to explain that the 14 oak trees were planted in memory of the 14 astrounats that died in the 1986 Challenger and 2003 Columbia incidnets. Jonas then questioned Jeff and Jeff explained that there are some risks invovled. So, rather than risk death, Jonas said he is happy to be just an "average person."

Luckily, we made it back home well ahead of the ice and snow that now shroud the southern half of the Lone Star State!

Happy Birthday Joshua!

2007-01-17T23:50:00.000-06:00

The number one son turned eight last week.

Boy does time sure fly!

I can remember the day we went to have him. It was like Christmas… A gift of new life and a new stage for Jeff and me: parenthood. It was so hard to sleep the night before!

Joshua is my quiet, unassuming child who enjoys his time alone with his bugs.

He’s the kid who loved the Tuh-Tuhs (Teletubbies) and would want to watch Clu-Clu (Blues Clues) before leaving for his day.

He’s the kid who knew plainly the difference between our cats Kitty Man and Chucky: Chucky goes MEOW and Kitty Man goes HISS!

He’s the kid who named himself “Kool Bus Nick-Nick” and his brother “Big Digger TV.”

He’s the kid who christened ketchup “gibble gibble gop” and would name the people in the Sears catalog.

He’s a lizard lover and was in heaven our first year in “new house” when we had an influx of caterpillars.

He’s the kid who got on the bus the first day of kindergarten and never looked back.

He's the kid who would rather explore the "amazing and wonderful" things on the classroom floor than do rote learning.

And he’s the kid who was so enamored with his baby sister he could barely utter words.

Yes, our Joshie is a pretty special guy!

Happy Birthday Joshua! May you have many more!

So This is Christmas....

2007-01-04T23:41:00.000-06:00

Man, am I so glad Christmas is over!

You wouldn’t think it, but a younger me was no Scrooge. Two weeks off from school. A gathering with all the cousins. Presents. What was there not to love!

In fact, I was married a mere four days before the Holiday of holidays.

What makes me want to observe Festivus is the wanton want, materialism and greed of the season.

Why does it take a stroll through the mall to get people in the Christmas spirit?

Isn’t one StarWars Force Action Light Saber enough?

I am just plain tired of it!

But, there is hope!

My church ladies’ group and my son’s second grade class got it right.

Instead of secret Santa’s, my ladies’ group adopted several nursing home residents in need and provided the essentials they wished for – t-shirts, nightgowns and robes, for example. We each gathered the essentials and paid our person a visit.

To teach the kids the joy of helping others, we plan on “adopting” one of these residents and paying her visits during the year and helping her with what she needs.

And Joshua’s class, instead of bringing a gift for themselves or to exchange at their Christmas celebration, brought a gift to be donated to a local toy drive.

And getting in the spirit shouldn’t require a trip to the mall, but a visit to the neighborhood light displays with family and friends and lots of hot chocolate!

We need to remember that Christmas isn’t all about receiving, but also the joy of giving ourselves to others.

It's All Relative...

2006-11-25T17:12:00.000-06:00

I hail from a small town and work in a big city. It never fails that I will either run into someone I went to school with in the downtown or into a classmate at the local Wally World.

The office I work in is fairly small compared to other offices in our agency. We boast about 75 people. But, my small town world collided with my small work environment when I met a man who graduated from the same high school I did – though many years before my time – who also hails from my home town.

But, I wasn’t prepared for what happened to me Wednesday.

My grandparents – both paternal and maternal – come from rather large families. I am only aware of and have met a small fraction of those cousins from the extended branches.

I did not think I would ever come across one of these cousins at work.

A co-worker was telling another fellow co-worker of ours about some vintage televisions he has restored and pointed us to his website to see his work.

Curious, I decided to take a gander.

His website not only featured his television work, but some family pictures. One of those pictures was a link to a family reunion from 1997.

Curious, I clicked on the link. There, as plain as day, was a large group of people – and my grandfather is staring at me.

Shocked, I look closer and see my husband, mom, dad, brother, sister and me.

I am not believing what I’m seeing.

I run to my co-worker and start asking him why he has a picture of me on his site. I told him those were MY cousins! He didn’t believe me and pulled up the picture and there I was.

And he pointed out himself in the picture. He was standing with his parents right below my husband and me.

Needless to say, we were both in shock.

We have worked together for at least three years, and neither one of us knew that we were related!

I walked around in a daze all day Wednesday. I’m still trying to figure out exactly how our lines cross!

You never know where relatives will turn up!

How'd They Do That?

2006-11-12T23:18:00.000-06:00

Anytime I ask my kids or tell my kids to do something, it never fails: where I expect quiet acquiescence, I get backtalk in return.

I asked Jonas how he handled requests from teachers and other staff at school -- does he tell them "Nooooooooooooooooo!" or do they have to ask him multiple times?

Jonas said no, he does what his teachers tell him to do.

What is the secret? If only I could have such cooperation from those two munchkins!

The teachers' weapons are the face behavior chart and Cool Conduct Club.

See, there's this wooden chart with five different faces: white, green, yellow, red and purple. The goal is to remain on white and not deviate more than five times or drop more than four levels each month. Those succeeding are awarded with the Cool Conduct Club.

Once a month, those students attending Cool Conduct Club frolic and play. Some months they may make Indian headdresses while other months they are celebrating football season with an LSU tailgate.

It's something my kids thoroughly enjoy and work to stay on white face all month to partake in the festivities.

Will adopting the face behavior chart will work in my household? I can't say. I think it's their job to drive their parents CRAZY!

"Curse You, Woman!"

2006-11-12T22:20:00.000-06:00

It's been a crazy day today!

With nothing planned, I thought today would be a good day to get some cooking and organizing done.

Well, someone had other plans. So, organizing has to wait (still) and I'll be up waiting for the gumbo to cook.

Joshua, number one son, wakes up with fever. By the time I return from the grocery run, it has jumped to 103.

We decide to run to the after hours clinic that just opened up by the house, where they confirm the boy has strep. We then proceed to run to the pharmacy to fill his prescription, which just so happens to be the same antibiotic that Anna is on for her ear infection.

Meanwhile, middle-child syndrome is settling in nicely with Jonas, kid number two. He just talk-talk-talk-talk-talk and can't seem to hush at the clinic, which carries on in the car and at the pharmacy.

Then, he jumps in the car and yells, waking up a sleeping sick Joshua. Bad move...

Then, we get home, and he calls me an unmentionable name -- s___ head. He tries to escape to the outdoors with his dad, but I make a move and lead him to the bathroom, where the soap is waiting. After giving him a good mouth full, he retreats to his dad.

Later, I had some business to tend to outside. Jonas yells at me "Curse you, woman!" and his dad just can't hold it in. We both fall out laughing.

Sometimes, that kid makes us so mad... but then he does things that make us ROTFL!

A Little Bigger...

2006-11-12T22:02:00.000-06:00

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

Anna Claire

Stats:

Age: 8 months old

Weight: 19 pounds, 2 ounces

Height: 28.25 inches long

Teeth: 2 up, 2 on the way

Likes: toddlers, boudin, homemade mac and cheese, music, mustard, french fries, the remote, the keyboard, kitties, pots and pans, Mommy’s tag, shopping, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Baby Doolittle Neighborhood Animals, Fernando's, gravity

Thursday Thirteen Vol. 4

2006-11-01T21:34:00.000-06:00

Thirteen Reasons Bears Hibernate in Winter or to Just Call Me Scrooge!

1. The fights begin about where you are going to spend the holidays: yours, his or ours?

2. Dreading the details on figuring what gifts to get everyone

3. The packed mall parking lots

4. The packed malls

5. Rude shoppers

6. The 2-hour line for Santa pictures

7. Inattentive customer service

8. 5 am shopping trips to WalMart and the mall to avoid the crowds and traffic
9. Dreading taking out and putting up decorations

10. Dreading having to spend the holidays with yours and/or his

11. Dreading having to pack three kids and their stuff to travel to yours

12. Dreading having to pull the kids away from their fun to go see relatives they see only once a year at either of the two major holidays

13. Dreading taking down and putting up decorations

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

I Can Bring Home the Bacon

2006-11-01T21:10:00.000-06:00

I’m the 24-hour woman!

Let me just say…

Most women I know who have three or more children stay home with their progeny.

That’s a difficult job within itself.

I’m not one of those women.

I trudge off to work an eight-hour day every day, and trudge back home to my primary full-time job of being Mom and Wife.

I’m lucky if I leave the house in one piece these days! This three-child stuff is robbing me of precious cranial neurons!

Some days are good. Those are the days when I don’t feel rushed and harried in the morning – when I actually can stop and take a breath.

Some days are not-so-good. Those are the days when I feel totally overwhelmed and I want to drop everything I’m doing and sit down and cry. Those are the times when the day I started at 5 a.m. seems like it will never end.

Right now, those not-so-good days seem to be outnumbering the good ones.

As the baby gets older, I’m hoping that the good ones will outnumber the rough ones and some cranial neurons will return.

In the meantime, maybe I should switch to Enjoli!

Happy Birthday Jonas!

2006-11-01T19:56:00.000-06:00

My miracle child turned six recently.

Not that my other two children aren’t miracles in their own rights.

But, theoretically, Jonas shouldn’t be here.

You would think having a 19,000 platelet count – when it should be 150,000 or more -- and going through the trauma of birth would cause all sorts of internal bleeding.

Not for Jonas. For him, it meant having purple feet and hands, blood blisters on his head and a torso wrapped in bruises.

He defied the odds. Doctors said we dodged a bullet. I call him my miracle.

Parenthood will knock you off your feet. Being told your newborn infant has a problem feels like a truck hitting you. Being wheeled out the hospital without a child in your arms is simply cruel punishment.

After his two week hospital stay and another four hospitalizations, Jonas was finally able to start being a baby.

Before we knew it, he was one – enjoying and instigating antics with his brother.

Then, he was two and spent hours in front of the alphabet magnets on the refrigerator, teaching himself the code and learning to read.

We passed through three, four and five, with question upon question and hijink after hijink. Life was never boring!

This little miracle amazes us every day with his abilities, mind and love!

Happy Birthday, Jonas! May you have many more!

Library Visit

2006-11-01T19:08:00.000-06:00

The last time I went to the library was probably the day before Anna was born.

I surely made up for it today! I checked out six books to peruse for the next few weeks.

IT, Stephen King
I'm not a big fan of horror books, but Stephen King takes the cake. I've only read a couple of his books. The Shining scared the tar out of me. I couldn't sleep after reading that novel. IT weighs in at 1148 pages.

Talk to the Hand, Lynne Truss
From the lady who wrote Eat, Shoots and Leaves, a book about rudeness in the world today and "Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door." The subject matter caught my attention.

Guests of the Ayatollah, Mark Bowden
Mark Bowden wrote Black Hawk Down and bills this book as "The First Battle in America's War with Militant Islam." I vaguely remember the events in 1979 around the Americans taken hostage in Iran. I was in the first grade at the time and world events didn't mean that much to me, a six-year-old kid.

Fat Land: How Americans Becamse the Fatest People in the World, Greg Crister
After World War II, the nation's food producers needed a new market to cater to after the war ended and the demand for processed food stuffs waned. Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser offers an eye-openning view of how what, where and how we eat evolved since the 1950s. I see this as a companion piece.

When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?, George Carlin
A view of life from a skewered man.

My Life in France, Julia Child
When Jonas was 2, about to be 3, he wanted a Julia Child birthday and wanted to be Julia Child for Halloween. We enjoyed watching Baking With Julia on the local PBS affiliate. At this point in my life, I have little desire to crack open Mastering the Art of French Cooking, but her Baking with Julia cookbook is superb! This book covers her culinary awakening and life with her soul mate.

Thursday Thirteen Vol. 3

2006-10-25T23:39:00.000-05:00

Thirteen Halloween Memories

1. DeRidder, La., circa 1976-79: On the neighborhood trick-or-treat jaunt, Mom would stand at the street and I would run down the sidewalk to the front door for the loot. I run to this one door, and it opens very, very slowly. There’s spooky music playing and this monster thing creeps out from behind the door. I haul ass screaming down the sidewalk to Mom.

2. Eunice, La., circa 1981-83: Group trick-or-treating to neighborhoods I didn’t know to relatives I had no relation with. Desires to go to haunted houses were never fulfilled.

3. Euince, La., circa 1985: Everyone was Madonna (first incarnation) or Cindy Lauper.

4. Eunice, La., circa 1986: Made the front page of the paper as some of the first victims to go through the local scare house. Dressed punk and roamed the neighborhood with four good friends.

5. Eunice, La., circa 1987: School has Fall Fest and eighth graders – me included – run the haunted house.

6. Eunice, La., circa 1990: Sick with mono, relegated to candy duty. Stephen King was featured on episode of Quantum Leap that night.

7. Baton Rouge, La., circa 1994: Granny and the pregnant Playboy Bunny party at Southdowns. This Bunny t’weren’t, but we did see a truly pregnant witch.

8. Baton Rouge, La., circa 1995: Roommate spent all night retching (if you catch my drift) in her sleep. No rest for me that night!

9. Denham Springs, La., circa 1997: First trick-or-treat as a married couple. Spent the time at home handing out candy, but realized too many teens were taking the toddler treats.

10. Denham Springs, La., circa 1998: Spent the night at the Mall, watching the merchants pass out treats to toddlers.

11. Denham Springs, La., circa 2000: Sought out sweets with husband and 21-month-old son, while 4-day-old son had paper pumpkins plastered on his crib in the NICU.

12. Denham Springs, La., circa 2001: Everyone home! The now 2-year-old ~~son~~ clown spends his Halloween entertaining our almost 1-year-old dragon by stealing his ~~noo-noo~~ fire.

13. Denham Springs, La., circa 2006: We trek to the local pumpkin patch and find our three little pumpkins there.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Thursday Thirteen Vol.2

2006-10-12T16:42:00.000-05:00

Thirteen Lines from Memorable Movies

1. Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room.
Dr. Strangelove

2. Son, you got a panty on your head.
Raising Arizona

3. Oh, I just think I'm gonna barf... Well, that passed. Now I'm hungry again.
Fargo

4. The color guard is colored!
Oh Brother Where Art Thou?

5. Amelie has one friend, Blubber. Alas the home environment has made Blubber suicidal. [Pet fish leaps out of fish bowl in an attempt at suicide]
Amelie

6. To the top of Mount Wanna-hock-a-loogie.
Finding Nemo

7. Sushi Bar Assistant: [in Japanese] I'm not bald, okay? I shaved my head.
Sushi Bar Assistant: [in English] Understand?
Kill Bill Vol.1

8. Yes, but it was the right decision and I made it for my daughter. She deserved to be born with a clean slate. But with you, she would have been born in a world she shouldn't have. I had to choose... I chose her.
Kill Bill Vol.2

9. I may not be much Mr. Finch, but I'm still sheriff of Maycomb County. And Bob Ewell fell on his knife. Good night sir.
To Kill a Mockingbird

10.Liz: Pop.
Annie: Six.
June: Squish.
Hunyack: Unh-uh.
Velma Kelly: Cicero.
Mona: Lipschitz.
Chicago

11. Frozone: You tell me where my suit is, woman! We are talking about the greater good!
Honey: 'Greater good?' I am your wife! I'm the greatest *good* you are ever gonna get!
The Incredibles

12. Sir!... Sir!... Here's a good stick, to beat the lovely lady.
The Quiet Man

13.Grandpa: Dong. Where is my automobile?
Long Duk Dong: Oto-mo-biiile?
16 Candles

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Bueller? Bueller?

2006-09-12T11:42:00.000-05:00

Jonas, my five-year-old, woke up seemingly normal this morning.

He got out of bed, had breakfast, donned his school uniform and went in the bathroom to have his daddy brush his hair.

Next thing I know, he’s walking out of the bathroom with tears in his eyes, Daddy following close behind him.

“Pink eye!” he cries.

Sure enough, after examining his eyes, I could see the pink veil over his right eye.

I don’t know how he pulled it off.

You see, the video game Lego Star Wars 2 comes out today. Lego Star Wars 1 focuses on movies Episode I, II and III. Lego Star Wars 2 will address movies Episode IV, V and VI.

Both games are all Lego. The characters and vehicles are all Lego. When you plunge your lightsaber into a character or blow up a ship, the Lego pieces fall apart. We – yes, me included – just could not get enough of the first installment.

Jonas loves video games, especially Lego Star Wars, and would play them for hours on end if we’d allow it.

The gears in Jonas’ mind never stop turning. He started thinking of ways to stay home from school Tuesday to play his favorite game – which we have yet to purchase -- all day.

So, Jonas tells us Saturday that he can’t go to school Monday or Tuesday.

Why, we ask, fully knowing his secret reasoning.

“We have fire drills those days, and I’m scared of fire drills,” he says.

A likely story! We proceed to explain the importance of fire drills and that just because his favorite video game is due out Tuesday is no reason to stay home.

Then, today – Tuesday morning -- the pink eye appears.

I think Ferris Bueller is living under my roof.

Carnival of Family Life

2006-09-11T21:51:00.000-05:00

The carnival is underway!

Drop in and see what is happening on the midway!

http://jennifersnapshot.blogspot.com/2006/09/carnival-of-family-life.html

Where in the World

2006-09-10T13:09:00.000-05:00

In the lovely movie Amélie -- one of my all time favorites -- the protaganist kidnaps her father's garden gnome and has her flight attendant friend take it on her travels.

The friend takes pictures of the gnome in various places all over the world and mails them to Amélie's father. Inspired by the gnome's travels, Amélie's father embarks on his own worldwide adventures.

These videos remind me of the Amélie garden gnome.

2005

2006

Thursday Thirteen vol. 1

2006-09-06T22:30:00.000-05:00

Thirteen Things about ME

1. Mother of three

2. I live near a red stick.

3. My husband was a senior in high school when I was in fifth grade.

4. Degrees in Mass Communication and History…

5. …but my day job is supporting computers.

6. I love cemeteries.

7. There’s nothing like rice and gravy.

8. Bacon is my friend.

9. I have always lived in the state I was born in.

10. I have never lived further than two hours from where I grew up.

11. I love taking pictures.

12. I hate doing dishes.

13. Crème brulee is the best dessert!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Dude... Chicks are Cool...

2006-09-05T22:25:00.000-05:00

I've joined the ranks of Blogging Chicks on the Internet... Check us out!

Fernando's

2006-09-04T17:56:00.000-05:00

We spent our Labor Day putt-putting and having a nice late lunch at Fernando's.

Fernando's is a Mexican restaurant which is housed in the old Golden Corral restaurant. The fare there is excellent, being a favorite of Jeff and the kids. The white cheese dip is to die for!

It had been a while since we had been there, with the last time being while I was pregnant with Anna. Mexican was one of the only things I could eat!

Until we received our food, I held Anna in my lap. She was quite content, watching everyone muching on tortilla chips, salsa and white cheese dip.

When my meal arrived, Anna started grabbing for the food on my plate. She wanted my pico de gallo and soft beef taco.

So, we decided to let her have her first taste of Mexican food today -- refried beans. We gave her a taste, and she wanted more. She would open her mouth wide for each bite and refused anything else but beans.

It was too funny! Once she was done, she sat in her chair just smiling and laughing the whole time.

Looks like we have another Fernando's fan!

Golden Nuggets

2006-09-04T15:24:00.000-05:00

The nine months of sickness culiminating in labor and delivery...

late nights...

dirty diapers...

and repeated requests of "Don't hit your brother" or "Let the baby be"...

seem to disappear with moments like these...

Gallaghers-in-Training

2006-09-02T19:46:00.000-05:00

Growing up, I remember watching Gallagher and the Sledge-O-Matic on television.

Little did I know that I would be raising some Gallagher Mini Me's.

We planted what I thought was honeydew melon in the garden this summer. When we picked and tried the ripe melons, they weren't fit for consumption.

Since we're near the end of our summer garden, Jeff started to clean up and weed-eat the beds. He found three melons left.

Joshua and Jonas took the melons, one by one, and smashed them on the concrete.

The boys had their Sledge-O-Matics -- a ball-and-pin head hammer and a claw hammer -- and pulverized the melons to bits, then proceed to throw the bits at each other and the house.

Gallagher would have been proud.

Midway

2006-09-02T18:49:00.000-05:00

Anna Claire

Stats:

Age: 6 months old

Weight: 16 pounds, 12 ounces

Height: 27.5 inches long

Likes: shopping at Williams Sonoma, her ExerSaucer, her toes, kitties, organic fruit orchard medley, chicken casserole

A look over the last 6 months (from birth to now):

The New Toy

2006-09-02T17:47:00.000-05:00

Anna didn't want to come home from daycare.

We couldn't find her when we went to pick her up a few days ago. The ladies there had to show us where she was.

Anna was sitting in the ExerSaucer, intently spinning what needed spinning and pushing what needed pushing.

Jeff went over to her and spoke to her. I went over and spoke to her. She never looked up.

She kept spinning what needed spinning and pushing what needed pushing, feet flying in the air.

"Her feet never touch the ground," the ladies told us.

We were tickled.

Thinking we were done with kids, I brought the ExerSaucer and the walker that Thing 1 and Thing 2 used to the Goodwill.

Needless to say, she's walking on air today.

A Good Reason for Calories!

2006-09-02T16:01:00.000-05:00

Throw the diets out the window and take a break from the kitchen!

On Sept. 25, 2006, Chili's Restaurant will be donating ALL profits to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis.

Chili's is attempting to raise $50 million over the next 10 years for the construction of a new state-of-the-art research and clinical care building. The new building, to be named the Chili's Care Center, will house the Department of Radiological Sciences, the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium (PBTC), inpatient activity areas and new research laboratories

You can also support the cause through purcashing Create A Pepper Gift Cards and T-shirts.

Chili’s will donate $1 to St. Jude for every $25 purchased in Create A Pepper Gift Cards, which can be customized with permanent marker or crayon.

T-shirts can be found at www.createapepper.com and are $12.

You never know if or when you or someone you love may need the services of St. Jude's. Eating a burger is just a small way of showing support for an organization which helps save thousands of sick kids every year.

Chili's is hoping to raise $3 million this year during its campaign.To date, Chili's has raised more than $5.5 million for St. Jude.

For more information on St. Jude, see http://www.stjude.org/.

What Next?

2006-08-28T23:24:00.000-05:00

Douglas Brinkley in “The Great Deluge” describes Mayor C. Ray Nagin talk like this as “Ray Speak:” the Mayor’s attempt to mix up words and ideas and sell them as brutal honesty.

I call it the man putting his foot in his mouth.

It wasn’t the first time and wouldn’t be the last.

What does the future hold for New Orleans?

As the days pass, it seems more and more that people will not return in droves to their flooded-out homes and that New Orleans will become a smaller, more gentrified, whiter city.

In a 60 Minutes piece on New Orleans the year after Katrina, an advisor to the mayor – who has held the position for various mayors since 1969 – pointed out that the change in the city could be seen in the society pages during Carnival time.

Every day, one or another Mardi Gras krewe presenting debutantes would grace the pages of the Times-Picuyaune. However, the majority of these krewes were lily white.

The advisor said most of the black krewes had seen a drastic decrease in membership, as most of them fled the city during the storm and did not return.

Geography is not helping Nagin rebuild his confection. Blacks inhabited most of the flooded areas, which were once marshy barriers to the river and the sea. Meanwhile, floodwaters hardly touched the French Quarter and Uptown – where most of the white gentry live.

Those also just happen to be the areas of the city open for business.

One Nagin critic – Leonard Moore – sees the city becoming the Las Vegas of the south for the next 40 years.

And, it just so happens that Nagin is working with Trump Towers to establish high rise condos in the city.

Still, nothing is set in stone. Though common sense would dictate reverting those flooded areas back into the marshy swamps they were many years ago, it would be political suicide for any politician to decide to do so.

So, we sit and wait to see how the city will fare after this forced metamorphosis.

Read It...

2006-08-28T22:33:00.000-05:00

There are many books out on the market about Hurricane Katrina and the ravage she wrought on New Orleans.

I have only read one of these books – The Great Deluge by Douglas Brinkley.

If you read any books about the great disaster, this should be the one you pick up.

Brinkley and his family lived through the storm. While in exile in Texas, Brinkley decided to write about the week that followed Katrina’s wrath.

Brinkley covers as much as he can about how the storm affected the people and politics of this state, both now and in the years to come.