My littlest sister has started her very own blog. *sniff* She's growing up so fast! I remember like it was yesterday, changing those iddy widdy diapers... *sniff*...
OK. Over it. I think.
Anyway, on one of her posts, my other sister questioned her nickname of Beezneez. I would like to refer her here.
It would seem that she is now the odd girl out, being the only sister wifoub a blog. :)
Friday, July 6, 2007
Tinkerbell
Ring Bling
I went to a different jeweler today about the reaction I've had to my wedding ring. Remember that my doctor diagnosed me with a nickel allergy? Remember that I went to see another jeweler who basically told me that there wasn't much he could do? We were ready to see how much it might cost to get the diamonds reset into something that wouldn't, oh, I don't know, cause my skin to blister up and bleed.
Well, Mr. NewJeweler figured out the problem, after informing me that yellow gold does not have nickel in it. "They" (has anyone ever actually met "them"?) only blend nickel with gold to turn white gold into yellow gold. My ring, being yellow gold, doesn't actually have nickel in it... or it shouldn't.
This jeweler actually spent some time looking at the ring with his little eye-thingy. He went through a few minutes of examining and hmmming and ohhhhing while I resisted the urge to chunk my very adorable but very active and curious son through the front plate-glass window of the store and into the street. Getting Jet to stop touching things!! was harder than nailing jell-o to a tree, but perhaps not quite as difficult as herding cats.
Mr. NewJeweler told me that the part of the ring that had the I Love You cut out of it was actually white gold, which had nickel in it. The light bulb went off in my head -- this would explain why I was having the reaction only on the top of my finger instead of all the way around it. So, he said he should be able to cut that part out and it would stop bothering me. He doesn't think it will affect the stability of the ring, but he can fill it in with yellow gold if it looks like it will. Best case scenario: twenty-five smackers and I get to wear my wedding ring again! Yay! Worst case: about $100, depending on how much gold costs at the hour he decides to fill it in. Still not bad, considering we were looking at resetting the diamonds in platinum for around $1200.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Fantastic Fourth
We had a house full of people for the 4th of July. Jet's Aunt Deanna and Uncle Karl, Grandpa, cousins Big and Little Daisy and another cousin all came over to celebrate. We had lunch, worked puzzles, watched movies, blew bubbles, took naps, and had some fantastic burgers for dinner. In fact, I was a little nervous when she decided to accept my invite to come. What if it's all weird and uncomfortable?, I thought. What if we don't really have anything to say to each other? Our lives are so different these days... Jet and Knight are my world, and she's still freewheeling and single...??? Most of the towns in our area canceled festivities for yesterday. The whole reason for everyone coming to our house was so we could go wander around the festival in the park and see the parade, but the ground is just too soggy. I had been all excited because it seemed like the first year in a long time that we weren't worried about it being canceled due to a burn ban. It's usually so hot and dry this time of year.
Another friend of ours, whom we hadn't seen for a long time, also came over. She and I were trying to remember when we had actually seen each other, and determined that it had been about five years. (Five years?!?! I thought, Am I actually old enough to have friends that I don't see for five whole years?!?!? And we're old enough and mature enough to still be friends after all that time?) She and I have one of those really cool friendships where you don't have to talk every day to maintain the friendship. We've emailed sporadically over the years, but not regularly.
During this not-writing-much phase of mine, we've had literally tons of rain. The main river that goes through our town flooded its banks by 31 feet. My parents' lot backs up to a smaller river; they're in a 500-year flood plain. The water rose really high at their house, too. Their house didn't flood, but the water was probably about 10 feet from their back porch.
Our swim lessons were canceled for several days because the pool is in the park where the river is. The whole park was closed, and then the pool had lost power, so the filters couldn't run... we were supposed to be finished with lessons last Thursday. They were rescheduled to extend into this week, and we finished on Tuesday.
One last thing... Mir referenced a column by Nora Ephron called The Six Stages of Email. Go read it -- it's hilarious!!!
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Whatever shall I say??
The lovely Lady M wrote a post yesterday that really resonated with me. What to do when one's day seemed boring? Does one blog anyway?
I've not posted much this week because I don't know what to write. I've struggled with this before.
I have a hard time choosing WHAT to write about... so much so that I sometimes don't write anything for fear that it will be a boring list of what we did today.
One of my reasons for trying to blog is to practice writing more descriptively. As a science teacher, I write procedural things - very specific, no pronouns, to the point, leave no room for questions. Sometimes I start a post and it begins to sound this way. I usually don't have a "natural flow" for writing... I tend to belch it all out on the page as kind of a list, and then I have to go back and flesh it out with descriptives.
Sometimes I get writer's block for my blog because I think of several things to write about, but doubt whether anyone wants to read about it. Other times, I run out of time and go several days without posting. (You have to understand that I walk around mentally pointing out situations that could be considered blog-worthy, if properly described.) Then I feel overwhelmed because I don't know what to post about.
It doesn't really help that the first blog writer I started reading on a regular basis was Mir at WouldaCouldaShoulda and WantNot. She's just brilliant and witty and funny. Somehow I got it in my head that every post I write should be like that.
Suddenly, though, after reading Lady M's post, I realized (again) that I just need to write. This blog is so therapeutic for me. It feels good to write, to get my thoughts organized, and to have a place to record memories. Diaries or journals never worked for me because I my hand gets tired before I get finished, and I always feel the need to go back and edit things to make the words flow more smoothly. (Someday I'd like to write a post with all of the original words still there, but marked through, just so you could see what I mean, except you wouldn't be able to read it because 75% of the words would be marked through.) But this blog is sort of like an interactive journal... it's fun to read other people's comments.
So, I've apologized to myself for doubting myself again, and for not writing for the last week. Clean slate! Start again! (Or maybe it's Continue!... whatever!)
Monday, July 2, 2007
Jet's birthday party
... was over a week ago. It was great, even though I chickened out on the cake. I did, however, sell the car mentioned in that same post. I doubled my money on it, too, and bought Jet some Veggie Tales DVD's. I got a heck of a deal on them, I might add. Jet's Aunt Deanna and her family came over, we grilled burgers, opened presents and ate cake. It was perfect!!
First, I had received a 50% off coupon for Veggie Tales DVD's from Family Christian Stores. Go sign up on their website, and you'll get their snail mail newsletter, including some great coupons. I read the coupon carefully -- it didn't have any restrictions, so I thought it could be used for more than one DVD. When I got to the store, they had several of the Veggie Tales DVDs on sale for $8.97 (down from $15.99). I picked up four of them, as well as three bargain books for me (at buy two, get one free), and a $5 T-shirt. I also had a 25% off of one item coupon, and a 50% off of one item coupon. The nice girl at the checkout applied all of the coupons just like I wanted her to... and I walked out with 4 Veggie Tales DVDs, three books and a T-shirt for about $22. Yay!
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Toddler Dictionary
The older Jet gets, the less he says things that are toddler-ish and adorable. Let's document them for posterity, shall we?
Bref-tuss: n; the first meal eaten, especially in the morning (ex. "I wanna waffle for breftuss.")
Cooled up: v; the process of lowering the temperature of an object (ex. "I will eat dat waffle after it has cooled up.")
Pee-nit: n; male reproductive organ (Do you really need an example?)
Wif-oub: prep; used to indicate absence of something, best communicated with a whine (ex. "I can't do it wif-oub you, Mommy!")
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Hooray for Eggplants!
I just have to brag on myself in this post. I've discovered the local Farmers' Market, and it makes me happy. Meantime, I sprayed an 8" square baking dish with Pam and opened a couple of cans of Italian-seasoned tomato sauce. I also opened a package of Fiesta Blend Shredded Cheese (this is where the "sort of" comes in -- I didn't actually have any parmesan!) and another package of sliced provolone. After the eggplant was brown on both sides, I spread a bit of tomato sauce on the bottom of the baking dish, and arranged a layer of eggplant. I poured some tomato sauce on top, and sprinkled with the shredded cheese. Then I placed a few pieces of provolone on top of that. I lathered, rinsed, and repeated, and put the dish in the oven at 350. Then I had to figure out what to put with the eggplant. So, I did my standby asparagus (fresh asparagus drizzled with EVOO, sprinkled with garlic and ginger powders and a tiny bit of sugar, also baked at 350, handily enough). Watermelon leftover from the night before would complete the gourmet feast. I mentioned to Knight as the eggplant was baking that I would be supremely disappointed if it wasn't as tasty as my tongue expected it to be. Let's just say that I wasn't disappointed. In fact, let's say that it was heaven on a plate. Not even the President eats like this. :)
Last week, on Thursday (the Farmers' Market Day), I picked up blueberries, cherry tomatoes, corn on the cob, cantaloupe, and eggplants. The corn was fabulous last night as part of Jet's birthday dinner, the blueberries have been fantabulous with yogurt and wheat germ for breakfast, and the cherry tomatoes are perfect to just pop in my mouth for a snack.
The best by far, though, were the glorious eggplants. I'm rather new to the world of eggplants. Heretofore, I've simply had Knight grill them as he's grilled sausage for dinner.
Tonight, though, we moved to the next level: Eggplant Parmesan, sort of.
First, I arranged my three pie tins right next to the skillet on the stove, a la Rachael Ray. In the first tin, I had flour, salt and pepper. The second tin lovingly contained two beaten eggs, and the third had Panko bread crumbs (my other new favorite food). I had my EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) hot and ready in the skillet.
I tenderly sliced eggplant into 3/4" rounds, then pressed it in the flour, egg, and Panko. Into the EVOO it went, sizzling happily.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Essay
I'm a member at Work It, Mom!, which is a community for working moms.
Today, I recevied the following email:
Once a week, starting today, we will post a question or a topic on this blog and invite all of you to write your reactions to it by submitting it as a short article or essay to Work It, Mom! (Yes, you have to join the site, which will take just a few seconds, and our online article submission form is extremely simple. Plus you will have an article published with your own byline, which - ask any blogger or author - is a good thing.) Then post the link to your submission on your personal blog or email it to your friends and ask them to vote for your essay. The author of the essay on the weekly topic with the highest rating based on the highest number of votes will win a $50 gift certificate from Spafinder.com!
This week's question: If money was no issue, would you work and what would you do?
To read my essay, click the "Read More" below, and then go vote here. Thanks!
A Girl Could Get Used to This
I’m a self-professed nerd. I don’t wear a pocket protector, or have tape across the bridge of my glasses. Reading isn’t really a hobby; it’s more of a necessity. I read pretty much anything and everything, from the back of the shampoo bottle to Gray’s Anatomy.
I’m a perpetual student. Not in the classic sense – I don’t attend classes. However, there’s a special satisfaction that wells up inside me after I’ve learned something; I love to learn for the sake of knowledge. This is why I read.
I believe that my love of learning is what makes me a good teacher. I teach high school science – physical science, biology, environmental science, and chemistry. My deepest desire for my students is for them to relish that feeling of success that comes from learning something, to become so addicted to it that they constantly strive to better themselves, that they never become complacent. Even deeper than that, though, is my desire for them to apply that fervor to their relationship with their Savior, Jesus Christ, to constantly strive to become more like Him.
I live for those “Aha!” moments in my classroom, that defining moment when I can see the light bulb switching on above their head, and their eyes light up with understanding. Sometimes that’s a direct result of something I’ve said or done, but my very favorite times are when they’ve sweated through a problem or misunderstanding for as long as it takes to GET it. Then they look up with pride in their eyes, and the surge of adrenaline that accompanies the “I did it!” makes them want to do more. I celebrate those moments with them; I shout and clap and dance and sing for them, but sometimes only on the inside, depending on the personality and motivation of the student.
I’ve taught for seven years and never taken a summer “off”. I’ve taught summer school or worked. In the summer of 2004, I had our son, but I was so sick afterward that I don’t really count that summer as “off”. Even after he was born, I worked or took classes during the summers.
Until now. This year, I remembered that one of the reasons I wanted to teach is that I would have time off with our children. This year, I had my own “Aha!” moment. We have a son now, and that time that I always dreamed about is here. I get to have time off with our son.
I’ll admit that I wondered how I could compete with his playschool in terms of friends to play with and activities to do. Could I really keep him happy at home? I had no intention of finding a zillion things to do in order to fill every second of every day. After all, that wouldn’t make much of a vacation for me. My life is scheduled to the minute every single day during the school year. There was no way I’d do that to myself during the summer, too.
So… I’ve slept in until 6:45 or 7:00 every morning instead of getting up at 5:00 and leaving before the rest of my family is even awake. I’ve made breakfast for my husband every morning and packed his lunch. I’ve gotten early morning cuddles from my son, those sweet, sleepy, heavy, warm cuddles, just after he wakes up, every morning. I’ve colored pictures, rolled play-doh, put together puzzles, blown bubbles, watched movies, swam in the pool, and read books by the dozen. I’ve planned menus, purposefully gone to the grocery store, hunting down the best bargains, instead of dashing through grabbing something quick to eat, and cooked dinner most nights. I’ve caught up on laundry and thoroughly cleaned the house. I’ve not been too exhausted at the end of the day to spend quality time with my husband. I’ve not felt guilty for not doing laundry on Saturdays when family is here.
I’ve also realized that those same “Aha!” moments I’ve cherished with my students are ten million times more powerful when I experience them with my son. I refuse to feel guilty about it, but I wonder how many of those moments I’ve missed because he had them at playschool. I know I’ll never be around for all of his light bulb moments, but I’ve really enjoyed experiencing more of them this summer.
I’ve realized that those same desires I have for my students – to succeed, to take pride in their work, to strive for greatness – run ten million times deeper in my heart when they’re passionate desires for my son. I want to be around more to help ingrain those characteristics in him.
This summer has been like a hit of a new drug, and I’m addicted. My catch phrase has been “A girl could get used to this.” I tell that to my husband every morning when we’re eating breakfast together. We do have plans for me to stay home when we have our second baby, hopefully next summer, but it almost can’t come fast enough.
As passionate as I am about my teaching, I’d give up my classroom in a heartbeat. I like to think of staying home as just getting a new teaching job. One at which I feel slightly unprepared, but still fully capable. I’ll learn as I go, just like my first year in the classroom.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
To my sweet son
Three years ago today, our lives were changed forever when you arrived.
It seems like this should be a long, loving, detailed entry about how wonderful you are and how enriched our lives are since you've been a part of them.
The truth is, I'm just speechless. You are the reason I have a slight taste of what God must have experienced when He sent Jesus to earth.
There truly aren't words to describe the depth of our love for you, or our unending gratitude to God for giving you to us. So, we'll do our best to show you for the rest of our lives.
I love you, little one. My prayer is for you to someday be excited to follow God and discover His plans and rewards for you.
Happy, happy third birthday, sweetie.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Someday
Remember the post I wrote about Planning for Jet's Birthday this week? I found an ABC article that illustrates perfectly the outrageous lengths people will go to in order to "celebrate" their child's birthday. I wonder how many of the people in that article can really afford those types of things, and how many are plunging themselves deeper into debt in an effort to keep up with the Joneses, as if the Joneses really care.
This makes me think of the date that Knight and I had this past weekend. I won a trivia contest on the radio a month or so ago, and the prize was lunch for two at Sullivan's Steakhouse, a ritzy place in downtown Austin. Since we live and work 30+ minutes away from said ritzy steakhouse, there was no way we could make it for lunch. I contacted the restaurant manager and he said he would give us credit for dinner.
We dropped off Jet at his Aunt Duh-Ahnna's (that's how he says it) house on Saturday night and headed out. We love to try new things together, espcially restaurants, so we were pretty excited. Knight, in particular, was looking forward to it because they have steaks.
We ended up late for our reservations because there was a bike race downtown, the path of which circled our restaurant, effectively blocking all vehicular access. We parked a couple of blocks away and walked, yielding for hordes of speeding bicyclists. Thank heavens for traffic directors. I had visions of trying to cross the street and getting run over, limbs and wheels and chains tangling... I was sure I would lose any battle between me and these Lance-wannabes.
Anyway, the moral of this story is coming up, I promise. As we were relishing cajun ribeye and crab-stuffed shrimp in a place where the cheapest entree is $30, I looked around to see who else was there with us. I wondered aloud to Knight about the financial status of everyone else. Who could afford it? Who couldn't? I've always harbored a bit of envy for people who had real money -- those who truly could afford to eat like this every weekend and not worry about what it was doing to their monthly budget.
There were a few families who had brought along their children (and this was not a place I would consider child-friendly). There were groups of college-age students, dressed to the nines. There were groups of older folks, dressed in business-casual. There were other couples like us, seemingly on a date.
We figured that the families with children were the ones who could really afford it. Someday, we'll be in that place, too. For now, we're working our way toward it by only going to places like that when we have gift certificates, instead of charging it on a credit card.
I just don't know if I'll ever be in a place where I don't automatically consider the budget when deciding whether or not to eat out. I don't think I'll ever spend $30,000 on a birthday party for a toddler. Maybe that's a good thing.
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