Things that just might change in 2006

My hair...I really need to do something with it. Some suggestions I've gotten

• perm
• thin it
• cut off about 6 inches.

My employment...I love being home with my kids, but it is hard on the budget. Now that Roger is done with school, I'm contemplating a part time job in the evening.

• I've heard that Waldenbooks at Park Meadows would not be fun.
• I've heard of some childcare I could do, but besides my own, I can't say I'm a huge little kid person.
• I have an opportunity to do transcription for a District Attorneys' office, but the content would be less than an enjoyable and I'm afraid may make me even more paranoid than I already am.
• What I'd really like to do is tutor High school students in English/writing and Spanish(probably 1st or 2nd year only).

The cleanliness of my home...but this is only because I really am getting sick of how cluttered it is. I don't know if I have the true gumption to do it, but if I were to set a goal that might be it.

Where we live? I'm not really counting on this, but Roger is more than ready. If anyone hears of any free houses in Castle Rock, please let me know.

Sometimes i don't really like God's sense of humor

I'm not a very generous person, naturally. I wish I could say I am. My husband has the spiritual gift of giving and is often willing to give more than I think is prudent...because what if WE might need it.

So when my oldest friend in the world mentioned in passing that her hand-me-down laptop only has a 20 minute battery life, all of a sudden I just decided to give her my old laptop...I've had my new one for a year and the old one was just collecting dust. This is VERY uncharacteristic of me. I told Roger my plan, and I enlisted close friends to pack it in their luggage and meet up with her in Chicago, so I wouldn't have to pay to send it. Roger spent hours getting it ready and didn't ever mention anything about why we were giving it away or who we were giving it to. Like I said, he is generous.

Just 5 days later my own laptop stopped working.

Lest you feel really sorry for me...remember, I'm married to a geek, so we have more than one computer. I'm not at the library blogging; I'm standing in my kitchen. It's just so strange how I finally gave without even thinking...and really I wasn't even expecting God to give me a pat on the back...but I wasn't expecting to get a piece of coal in my stocking either. I don't regret giving my gift...even knowing that my own machine is sitting dead by the edge of the couch...and I wouldn't want it back...its just I don't get it...what's the punchline, Lord?

Say Congratulations to your parents for raising you

Now this is the thing that a parent dreams of hearing. I really don't know what my kids' personalities will be like as they enter into or even get near adulthood. I don't know the kinds of choices they will make nor the interests they will pursue. I don't know if they will excel at many things or have a single focus. But to hear this would be very encouraging! Congrats to Bill and Julie!

For context check out http://www.purplefingercampaign.com and under Media Campaign, listen to the interview with Bill Bennett.

Love those misplaced modifiers and such...

Take a look at this fun list of flubbed headlines.
You may need to scroll down to see them.

Sign Language

Sometimes God sends us little signs.
When you are the parent of the young infant, there are times you feel like there is no way that this child cares at all for you. At 6 weeks or so, you start seeing a smile here and there, and before you know it they are smiling at everyone...not just you. On rough days, sometimes God lets you know that this little one really does love you...in the way that only a baby can. Those are things that you treasure in your heart.

Ode to Crescent Rolls

Yummy yummy golden bread
O how I love to eat you
Breakfast, lunch or in the night
your soft insides warm me
Even your dough delights me

Versatile beyond compare
Appetizers and Desserts
request you in their plan
Eight are never enough
especially when I have to share

How do you know

when to call the doctor?

Back in 2001 during the Anthrax scare I was working with mail in my job at the "small software company out of Redmond, WA" and I freaked out because of basically just a cold or something and went to the emergency room. OK...that was lame.

Then as a new mom I freaked when Katrina basically emptied her stomach one afternoon, and so I called the dr. Just to clarify...it was the dr. on call, not the kids' doctorand he told me exactly what it said in the New Baby handbook regarding vomiting thereby making me feel stupid.

So now I am nervous to call the dr when maybe I should have called sooner. So how do you know when sick is sick enough? I guess when Alex and I go today, I might ask him.

On cancelling the Prom...

"This is supposed to be a dance, not a honeymoon."
Administrator of Kellenberg Memorial High School in Uniondale N.Y.

What is Prom all about, anyway? What have we made it into, and why is it not even about the dance itself anymore? Intriguing to think of a school cancelling it because it is "opposed to our value system" Information from the NYTimes...reprinted in the RMN...New culture clash: proms vs. values 53A

Why is it even called Prom? Prom is short for Promenade--a ceremonious opening of a formal ball consisting of a grand march of all the guests (webster.com). Funny that most people don't even make it for the opening of Prom anymore.

I admit it

I read Penny Parker's column in the RMN...almost every day...and why? well, it's not really because I care that much about the big wigs in town or who thinks their lives are so exciting that the rest of us care...its mainly the Eavsdropping at the end of her column. Today's eavsdropping is dedicated to my buddy Glen.

On a similar note

I don't know why in the world I can't learn to wash out my kids' old milk cups...cause rotting milk does not smell good. That is just another scent...similar but different...that I won't be longing for.

NOT on my list

Somehow I don't think Eau de Spit-up will ever be on my Christmas list

Corporate Giving

A friend recently commented in passing about giving up shopping at certain stores because of where they give money. That got me thinking...things are always more complicated than you think.

I used to work at a "small" software company out of Redmond, Washington. In my local office we were giving a certain budget every year for donations. While the lady in charge was on maternity leave, I got to be in charge of giving....let me tell you about it.

We took requests for software from any 501C3 (with the exception of alumni associations and strictly religious organizations--although if they had an outreach arm it was fine) in our 4 state area. Then we looked through and saw what they wanted and ordered it. We rarely turned anyone down...so a lot of where our money went was to the people who knew to ask. Some were groups I'd never give a penny to, but others I loved and wished they had asked for more. We even got a few larger grants each year, and one went to the Denver Street School.

Then there are matching gifts. Basically, corporations match what you give to a charity of your choice. So, when I donated to the DSS or to Alternatives Pregnancy Center, they matched. And when my liberal friend donated to a lousy cause, they matched that too.

It's easy to boycott based on basic numbers, but if you do more research, you might find that these places donate to many different organizations. Maybe they do deserve to be boycotted, but maybe they don't. Just a thought...but maybe they are made up of people...some of which make bad choices and some of which make good. I guess I'm just not planning to jump on any boycotting bandwagons until I know a little more about their policies.

Messy Christmas

Life is messy. People, their emotions, relationships....all messy. And Christmas is messy...piles of wrapping paper, loads of gifts, heaps of goodies. But that first Christmas was the messiest of all.

Count back and you can see that baby's conception and the wedding don't match up. Then a long trip by donkey at 9 months pregnant. Giving birth in a stable. No clean white sheets or stringent smells. We're talking manure...

were you born in a barn, and Christ would have to say, "why yes, I was".

So where did we get the idea that we need a plastic Christmas celebration?

My Christmas Tree

Call me Charlie Brown, but I'll take a REAL tree any year. Real needles to mess up my living room, and real trunk that needs water every other day. A real tree isn't perfect...the branches aren't symmetrical. The real tree doesn't hold a 3 pound ceramic piece without bending. It's messy. And I'm a true purist...as long as I have a say, I'll be up in the mountains cutting my own tree...not from a farm where they are planted in neat rows, and certainly not at a lot on a corner that got set up on the 4th of November. Those are fine for some, but I want authentic...from the beginning to the end.

Real trees are OK not being perfect, just like I want to be. No constant happy face and generic "great" when I'm hurting or frustrated. I want to be real...with a few brown needles and a hole here and there. I think God can use me better that way...real. No shiny pink aluminum tree at my house. Good grief!


(Charlie Brown Christmas was on tonight...if you haven't seen it in a while, make a point to see it next year!)

Must be December

...cause my blogging buddies seem to be too busy to post. I think Dec 4 was the last post...so I guess that is only 2 days...but some folks haven't even posted since before Thanksgiving. You guys aren't fueling my addiction to blogs with your lack of posts....wait that made it sound like a good thing. Let me rephrase...you aren't stimulating my intellect with your interesting posts. Come on people...help me out.

Hmmmmmm

You Are Karamel Sutra

Plain on the outside, but once someone gets in, they're stuck

What Flavor Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Are You?