a golden birthday

March 13 is Jedd's golden birthday.

13 on the 13th.

We have strands of golden beads and golden streamers and golden plates and in my opinion we are redeeming friday the 13th to an un-superstitious day.
As usual, the lad doesn't want a big party. Just family. He's requested the usual giant chocolate chip cookie baked on a pizza stone in leiu of a traditional cake.
Annie is picking him up from homeschool co-op and taking him to Salisbury to pick up Chick-Fil-A nuggets for his special dinner.
Thankyou Lord. We treasure this boy and are grateful that you've trusted him with us in our family.
Happy Birthday Jedd!

red wine

This is my brain at 2a.m. after red wine with dinner...
Staring out my second floor bedroom window, sleepless, listening to the whistling wind, and thinking how barren it looks with no leaves on the tree tops, I ponder that the night is brooding and cold.
hmmm....barren...and broody. Odd. One can relate to a childless woman, while another can relate to a woman deeply desiring children. And they can certainly be both at the same time.
A cold, empty night...barren and broody.
An empty woman...barren and broody.
There you have my brain in the middle of the night.
At 2 a.m. this seemed somehow noteworthy and important. Not so much in the light of the day.
I am exhausted today.
Is it any wonder?
No wine tonight.

sceptical

Just call me a skeptic or even a conspiracy theorist. But when the curators of the Smithsonian opened Lincoln's pocketwatch yesterday for the first time ever, on rumor that the jeweler in the mid-1800's had inscribed a secret message, and found "Thank God we have a government!" in it....well, sorry, I'm not buying it. I would have believed, "thank God you're our president!" But Government? Nope!
In this time of economic turmoil when so much of America is starting to feel angst and anger against this stimulus package, and towards our politicians double standards on taxation, and taxation without representation,and further stripping of rights for the unborn, the list goes on and on and on.....The government is stripping us of our rights to the pursuit of Life, Liberty and Happiness on a daily basis....How very convenient to have Obama's hero president's watch opened with a loving message about "government"...
Like I said, just call me a skeptic....

pressie hints

I'm a bit like a jellyfish right now in this chair. I couldn't be more relaxed. You see I've just returned from the Stillwater Spa where I was massaged and oiled and steamed and cleaned and dried and buffed and sent on my merry way.
I've booked another session for May, so if anyone would like to inform my husband that a gift certificate to the spa would make a perfect Mother's Day present for the woman who birthed all three of his progeny....please feel free to do so.

Slumdog Millionaire

The girls and I saw Slumdog Millionaire today after church. I wasn't expecting too much or too little. I was going to take it at face value.
It was wonderful! I had read so many reviews that had said it was extremely depressing. Yes, depressing, true. But it was balanced with perfect hits of humor as well. And for all those who said it was an "unbelieveable" storyline, as a Christian I saw nothing unbelieveable in it. God has worked out many stories more "unbelieveable" than this one, that are in fact, amazingly true. I could see this happening with no problem at all. (with the small exception of the wonderful scene at the very, very end. That just brings to film, my love of a good Bollywood movie. That's it. No juicy review today. Just a suggestion that you go decide for yourself while it's still out on the big screen.

forget cash cow, try cash dog. they're opposites

Over the Valentine weekend, Eli, our 130 pound chocolate lab (he lost 10 lbs.!) attached himself to a little white teddy bear. He would carry it around like a mother cat would her kitten. He would lick it clean incessantly and care for it. Very sweet right? Then, a few days ago, we found that little bear with no head. NO HEAD! Eli loved it to death, so to speak. Then Eli started showing uncomfortable symptoms, no details necessary I'm sure.
This morning Jedd and I took the beast to the vet for a checkup on the situation. They took him for x-rays. Minutes passed. More minutes passed. Jedd and I paced the small room we were in, waiting. On a shelf was a glass jar containing a heart in whatever that type of specimen is preserved in. Riddled with worms. I kept finding myself sickly drawn back to it, and I really didn't want to be. I resolved to go home and give him his heartworm pill which should have been given on the first of the month.
Looking through the door window I can see across the hall through another window to where the doctor and his assistant are slipping x-rays onto a lightboard hanging from the wall. I can see Eli's x-ray. It doesn't look good.. There is a large black mass that the doctor keeps pointing to. I cracked the door a bit so i could hear what was being said. I heard "heart disease" and my own heart sunk. It shouldn't have been a surprise really, the dog is huge. It must be a burden on his heart carrying all that weight.
We kept waiting and I kept trying to hear more.
Finally, we see two nurses gearing up to heft Eli off the x-ray table two rooms over through open doors and windows. Even with the news we heard, we had to chuckle at the sight of them lifting him down.
He was so happy to see us again. I think he thought we were kenneling him there for a while.
The doctor came in and put the x-rays on our lightbox. There was the black mass and there were the blocked bowels. He raised his authoratative finger up to the mass and starts with the news there. " This black spot seen here is normal and as it should be" What!!! Then he points to a tiny white spot. "This is an unknown." But he's not terribly concerned there either. Basically, he thinks at best Eli is blocked up and needs a good bowel movement. So we've started him on high fiber( expensive) dog food and an antibiotic for infection.
On the way out the door I hand over my credit card and say goodbye to $160.00. I don't even like dogs....in general. I'd never felt the urge to own one. But ours is special in his own smelly, lumbering, loveable way. I'm trying hard not to think of the money but to think of Eli....I'm trying, but I am a sinner after all and its not easy......

catsup or ketchup?

Today Emma had another snow day from school. In Jedd's mind that automatically means he has a snow day as well. I wouldn't dream of arguing this point with him. Our dear friend Henley came over and, along with Annie, we all decided to go to Salisbury (highways are perfectly clear). I figured with that many hands along I could do a mega shopping trip with multiple shopping carts. But, one must feed the mighty belly of the beast first so we started out at Chick-Fil-A. No debate; all in agreement. Five of us, five orders of 12 piece chicken nugget boxes. Mine always comes with cole slaw. I then cut each nugget in half and hide them under the slaw to soak up the juices. Jedd says it's like I'm planning a treasure hunt for my nuggets. Henley put catsup/ketchup on her nuggets! What!? Ewwww..... my kids say that they always do this when I make homemade nuggets. (these are known in our home as "Mrs. Tina Chicken" and that's how the kids request it. Named so after Tina Maddox's utterly divine homemade nuggets that I don't even pretend to come close to re-creating!) I have never witnessed this destruction of chicken before. No matter what my children say. Annie is the queen of the red stuff, and I've never seen her do this. In our home it's honey mustard on nuggets all the way. Except for Jedd, who eats all food dry. No mayo or mustard on ham sandwiches no condiments on hot dogs or hamburgers for this boy. But, today, my daughters tell me I am wrong. That catsup/ketchup is always squirted into deep dipping piles for those tasty gems. Has anyone ever witnessed this on my kids' plates before. I'm really wanting to know. What else have I missed it on? Waffles?

After that odd little lunch, Henley's not mine, we headed over to Super Walmart where I designated Henley's cart the healthy cart, and Jedd's cart the junk food cart. We filled them both. I tried to put oatmeal into Jedd's cart but he rebelled and insisted they go over to the other trolley. Henley was disgusted with him in a loving manner. He wouldn't give in. Spaghettios were allowed into his. (Don't anyone even try to shame me about feeding my children Spaghettios, please. I've loved them since I was 5 years old and will hear nothing against them). I also picked up a new rice steamer which we tried out tonight. It was the fluffiest rice I've ever eaten. I am thrilled with my new purchase! I've always secretly wanted one. Kate Howard once called me a gadget junkie or something to that effect. At first I was mildly offended. But, as I froth my coffee or chop apples into french fry shapes, I'll proudly wear that badge. I AM A GADGET JUNKIE...... (let's amend that to kitchen gadgets though, all other gadgets would belong to my husband.)

another day, hopefully another dollar

I'm off to work today and then to Pennsylvania tomorrow. I feel like a seasoned country traveler these days. In the past month I've driven to Georgia, NYC, Vermont and now PA. Emma and I are going tomorrow to visit Messiah College for an "accepted student and their parents tour". We'll be up at 5 a.m. and on the road. That is actually my favorite time of the day to start a trip. I really enjoy beginning my journey in the dark and then watching the day open up before me. It rarely happens any other time as I don't usually roll out of bed till 7 a.m., unless I'm in a menopausal state of insomnia. which usually occurs in the middle of the night, therefore knocking me out cold for several hours right at the time I wouldn't mind getting up. Did that makes sense? Hmmmm...

Three Cheers For Skirts!!!

Skirts. They swish against one's legs and immerse one in femininity. On cold days they wrap around the legs and let the body's own heat rev up a notch and heat the body. On hot days they let a cool breeze blow up to the nether region and cool off naturally. Circulation is key in either form of weather.
They can be an expression of seriousness, playfullness or flirtatiousness. Not limited to certain weighted fabrics as trousers basically are...they can be heavy wool or gossimer chiffon. Layers of ruffles are a personal favorite. While sewn tiers are to be found and often appreciated on others, they aren't a staple in my own closet. I think I wore too many in high school and burned out on the peace, love and hippiness of them the first time around.
If you know me you know my favorite length is below calf. Many might believe this is a modesty issue. They'd be wrong. It's a fat-calf issue. Skirts are perfect for camoflaging different body parts. They, in my humble opinion, give a better balance to the top and bottom of the human form. Feel free to differ in your own opinion.
I think it's a bit sad that so many women "save" their skirts for good occasions. Isn't every day good? My mother laughs that I never "save" any clothing for special ocassions. She's right. When there is something special, I recycle or if it's really special, I buy new. But I get my money's worth out of my clothing. I rarely wear a "special" skirt once or twice and keep it under wraps in the back of my closet awaiting the next big event. I wear my things to the grocery store, library, my store, church, lunch with friends, field trips with kids. You get the idea. It may have started in high school. We were required to wear skirts or dresses every Wednsday from morning to night (it was a boarding school). I remember girlfriends complaining that this was unfair. Not to me! It was my favorite day of the week. Okay, the fact that every Wednesday was a half day of school may have had something to do with that....
When I became a stay-at-home mom, I had a short period of feeling as though I was supposed to wear blue jeans every day. That didn't last long. It felt like a punishment. I do own one pair of blue jeans. Sometimes I even wear them two days in a row. But for me...it's three cheers for skirts!

Hurry Up and Wait!

...."a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defence of custom. But the tumult soon subsides. Time makes more converts than reason. "
Sound familiiar? It's from the opening paragraph from "Common Sense, The Rights of Man and Other Essential Writings of Thomas Paine".

I've been calming myself with this thought in recent weeks and months. (and years?) The strength to do so comes directly from the Lord.

It seems the world is turned upside down in its reason these days. Nancy Pelosi is now the queen of "hurry up and wait". Push through this absurd "stimulus package". Quick, quick, quicker! No time to read 1,071 pages! No time to follow through on the 48 hour promise for the American people to look over it. No time for public discussion or amendments. A plane must be caught to Rome for an important award and the sky is falling! Okay....package signed. Whew! Nancy boards her plane and the president will now pick up pen in hand to sign the....dinner bill in Chicago? Huh!? All that rush and the president is having a Valentine meal in Chicago and playing basketball with his buds? He's having a mini vacation 3 weeks into his presidency when the sky is falling around us, and there is no time for the house and senate to read these pages of pork? Sooooo, maybe the president will sign this monstrosity on Tuesday...four days after the big rush. Is it possible that time will help him see reason and he'll refrain from picking up pen in hand and marking that swath of ink on the line and committing us to such error?

I imagine my disgust is shining through these words. When will our society as a whole start questioning this government? Obviously reasoning hasn't worked, so will the passage of time start opening eyes now?