Month: May 2007

  • All Sorts of Movies

    What fun it has been to discover that many share my irrational ankle-grabbing fear!

    Yesterday, the kids and I went to my mom’s house for the evening and overnight.  My mom, her friend, and I went to see Spiderman 3.  I liked the movie.  (Do not read next bit if you haven’t seen the movie. Skip to next paragraph!) Harry should not be dead. No, no, no.  That makes me not happy at all.  Harry should live happily with Peter and they should take on the world together. Not fair.

    Music and Lyrics was a cute movie.  TGD was rather bored with it, so you may want to reserve it for a chick flick night.  I liked the movie because I’m a fan of Hugh Grant (HG) and I was a teen of the 80′s. I derived vast amusement from the fact that he performed at a class of 1987 reunion as I’m from the class of 1987.  When HG threw out his hip and had to limp off stage, we just about died with laughter.  Oh, the fun of that.   Will you like M&L? If you enjoy romantic comedy, find amusement in bands like Wham!, or can relate to Drew Barrymore’s insecure, writer-wanna-be character, I think you will like it very well. If you are looking for action, slapstick comedy, or sexual tension, look elsewhere.

    I made my first-ever picture slide show in Windows Movie Maker.  I wish I knew how to fade the music better. Any advice?

    Yesterday, I bought a video camera.  We had my mom’s old one which had no battery. Extension cords will only take you so far…  I went to my grandma’s today and “interviewed” her on tape.  I asked her all sorts of questions about her life and this and that. It was a lot of fun.  I’ll have to download it to the computer and edit it, add pictures, etc. to make a very cool family heirloom.  Or not.

    What questions do you wish you could ask your parents/grandparents about their lives? 


  • Catching Up on Random Things

    My cold is getting better. No longer do the dark circles under my eyes extend to my chin.  I still sound like a TB patient (Consumption be done? Of cough! Of cough!), and nobody blows her nose quite like Teacherperson (for those who have heard me live and in person).  Actually, I was the sound effect in a fifth grade mini-production of Paul Bunyan. I had to blow my nose for the foghorn.  Anyhoo…

    I’ve been tagged and interviewed, and I’ve been remiss with both of them.  I shall start with ChristianFictionQueen‘s Random Things post.  The rules–
    1. Each player lists with 8 random facts/habits about themselves
    2. At the end of your blog you need to tag 8 people and post their names
    3. Don’t forget to leave them a comment and tell them they’re tagged and to read your blog.

    Random Things
    1. I’ve never had a legal drink of alcohol.
    2. I often buy refrigerator magnets as souvenirs.
    3. I take my tea with milk and sugar.
    4.  In my opinion, Jax Cheese Twists (puffs) are the world’s most perfect food.
    5. I usually smell like vanilla.
    6. When I was younger (um, ten years ago or less!), I hated to look into a mirror in a dark room for fear that I’d see something evil. Having a big mirror in my bathroom has cured me of this fear. I still fear a hand grabbing my ankle from under the bed, though.
    7. I always buy Puffs Plus tissues.
    8. I only paint my toenails in the summer.

    Now, for the tagging–I’ll tag the eight newest subscribers/subscribees of Teacherperson: Linaldawen, DiscipleshipAcademy, Belle2b, scarlet_muse, Godzgirl91, DandelionBall, ocelot61, and homefire.  If you don’t care to play, I won’t be in the least offended.

    Interview Me!

    Heavenbound_gurl has interviewed me with the following questions,
    so here goes!

    1. What’s your favorite childhood memory?


    Er, um. I hate to deal in absolutes.  I’d say that one memory I like is a compilation.  My dad used to play in a baseball league on weekends in the summer. I recall coming home from games with a big thunderstorm brewing. We’d come in the house and wait for the thunder and lightning. We’d have strawberry shortcake with those yellow, store-bought dessert cups and Cool Whip on them.

    2. What’s your favorite movie


    Urgh. Another absolute. I like The Saint, Pride and Prejudice (I actually like the KK one!), and lots of other movies. Romantic comedies and adventure romances are my favorite.

    3. What is one thing about you that you want to make sure others know?


    I am a Christian.

    4. What’s your favorite indulgence?


    I am a woman who enjoys indulging. Hot baths, reading, cheese twists, cookies and chocolate, lunches and dinners with my husband and friends, books from Amazon…  I think my favorite one depends on my mood at the time. 

    5. If you had one day to do whatever you want, what would it be?


    Capricious thing that I am, it would really depend on my mood. Would I want a day out shopping with friends or my mom or the girls? Would I want a day of everyone cleaning the house and doing yard work? How about a day to sleep in and read all day?  I suppose it would have some of all of these things. 

    Hmmm…I suppose that was a dull interview. Perhaps you can do better than I!  If you’d like ME to interview YOU, leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.” I will respond by asking
    you five questions. I get to pick the questions (yea!), and I will message or
    comment you with them and these directions. Just update your blog with
    the answers to the questions and include this explanation and an offer
    to interview someone else in the same post.

    There. All done. Now, I’m off to watch Music and Lyrics.



  • Happy Mother’s Day to Me!



    Twenty-one long stemmed red roses.  Fifteen long-stemmed pink roses.  Other various beautiful flowers.  Three yards of mulch spread. Four hanging baskets and numerous annuals hung and planted.  A Mother/Daughter Prayer and Breakfast at the church.  And, tomorrow, our traditional Mother’s Day lunch at Pizza Hut and a trip to visit my mom and grandma.

    Was ever a woman more blessed?

    May all of you–mothers or not–have a blessed Mother’s Day!

  • Pictures!

    I didn’t bother to resize these, so I hope Xanga does it automatically.  I’m rather full of ick right now and everything aches.  But, I have nothing to do tonight except dose myself with NyQuil and hot water in various forms (tea, bath) and several books to read.  I’m glad I didn’t go to the CHAP convention! (PA’s homeschool convention)



    Hunter and Laughsalot12 before last night’s prom.



    Hunter and the ladies



    One of my trees today





      A rhododendron and a head  (I love my heads.)



    Appropriate wish for all



    Cool picture LibbyK took of her flute and a flower


    Wonderfully-colored plants I bought at Laughsalot12′s uncle’s greenhouse



    LittleMiss

       

  • Sunny Day in PA

    This afternoon, Gockle and LibbyK had their homeschool portfolio reviews. Here in PA, we have to keep a portfolio of each child’s work (including a log of 180 days and what was done) and hire a certified teacher to review the portfolio and write up a report. This report and the portfolio are then turned into the school district for a second review.  I like our reviewer. She’s a homeschool mom (former school teacher) and is nice and chatty. 

    Tomorrow, Hunter and I drive to Laughsalot12′s house so the two of them can go to the PHAA Homeschool Prom. Woo! I plan to take many pictures.

    It was gorgeous weather today, so much so that it rallied me from sickness enough to go out and garden. Yes, I have a cold-like thing.   But, more important than my puling illness, my four tomatoes are planted, some weeds are pulled, the yard is mown and weed eaten (?), and the porch and sidewalk are swept. I enjoy sweeping the sidewalk. It makes me think that I am living in Holland. Somewhere, sometime, I read a story about how the homes in Holland are so tidy and the women always sweep the street and sidewalks.  Or, sometimes I think that I’m like a newspaper vendor in New York City (or Mr. Hooper on Sesame Street) keeping my little bit of the city clean and litter-free.  Do you have chores or activities that send you into a world of pretend? 

  • Come on a Tour with Me!

    TheTheologiansCafe will be having a video contest soon, and he asked yours truly to make a sample video for him. The categories are A Day in your Life, Refrigerator Tour, Best Dance, and Weirdest Hidden Talent. I wanted to do a day in my life (heavily featuring chocolate chip cookies), but my .mov files were not compatible with the video editing programs I had. So, I made this one instead. 

    Could I sound more like a Teacherperon in this clip? 

  • Dilemma

    I always think that word should be spelled “dilemna.”  But, all the spell checks say it is wrong.  Anyhow, I’ve digressed  before I’ve even begun…

    This August 4th is my 20th high school reunion.   I skipped the five-year, “Let’s have a keg party in someone’s backyard” and was in California during the 10th reunion.  There was no 15th, so I didn’t miss it.  Besides being my 17th wedding anniversary, the fourth of August is also part of TGD’s math conference in CA which he’s been anticipating. He already has his tickets, his hotel, etc.  He offered to skip part of it, pay to have his ticket changed, etc. but I thought that would be rather unkind of me, especially since two weeks earlier we will just have gotten back from our trip to England. It’s not as if he’ll have been ignoring me! Thus my dilemma. Do I go to my reunion solo? Do I skip Saturday night altogether?  (There is to be a Sunday afternoon picnic the next day, but I do not know if the out-of-towners can stay for it or not.  Granted, a majority of the class seems to have settled within an hour of our alma mater (myself included), so there aren’t that many traveling far.) Do I take Hunter? (How lame would that be to show up with your 16 year old son as your “date”? HA!)

    I bought a dress already, before I realized the conflict. I had time to kill while Hunter and Wit were seeing Spiderman, so I wandered into Dress Barn.  The lady there was one of those cheerful, chatty sorts.  I said, “Oh, I’m browsing, but maybe I could find something for my 20th reunion.”  I found a dress, and the saleslady, who was wandering about, said, “No, that is NOT a dress for a reunion.” (It was rather frumpy, and therefore, more my style!)  Just for fun, I tried on the dresses she suggested, and one worked. I bought it and modeled my black, fitted, v-neck and back dress with a kicky hem and chiffon short sleeves.  I got raised eyebrows and thumbs-up from the men in the house.  I’d show you a picture, but I’m not ready to model it.  Perhaps after a week or so on the Calorie King “watch your eating and and exercise” plan. (I just got the books today. Thanks, Emeralds17 for the recommendation!) Or maybe when I’ve gotten more tan. Or maybe when I get more brave.  I can wear my new dress in England even if I don’t wear it to the reunion.

    But, back to my question, what should I do about Saturday night of the reunion?

  • I Love Thursdays!

    I’ve actually had a long-running love for this day, perhaps stemming from the fact that The Cosby Show and Cheers used to be on Thursday nights, thus proclaiming a wonderful evening to a TV-enamored teen.  Now I love Thursday because it’s a day I get to do many things I enjoy.  I get to spend time at the library, we run errands (shopping!), and I often meet with several college-aged friends. Today I had tea and a treat at Panera with Little Miss and RW. Then, I went out to supper with Sarabelle7 at Red Lobster. Yum! But, even if we had eaten at Brother’s Pizza, it would have been a delightful time.

    Thursday nights sometimes mean a video with TGD, although I didn’t pick one up for tonight. In the absence of a video, I get to spend the evening reading, which is another treat.  Plus, tomorrow is Friday, the end of another school week. Huzzah! Speaking of fun videos for Thursday, here are two worth watching.

    I pilfered this link from TheTheologiansCafe.  It’s nine minutes long, but BOY, did my children and I laugh (sometimes at the replies, sometimes because we realized we were stupid Americans.): LINK

    This VIDEO is sure to amuse Pride and Prejudice/Harry Potter fans.

    Do you have a favorite day of the week? 

  • Eats, Sheets and Weeds

    I think it’s a good night for ice cream. What do you think?

    My dandelions are not dead. This might bring great joy to DandelionBall, but not so much to me. I know that dying dandelions try very hard to reproduce in one last gasp and turn all white and fluffy before they shuffle off this mortal coil. So, before I attempted their death by toxin, I asked the kids to go out an bring me 200 flowers each.  Five children times 200 flowers plus the extra 900 (no kidding!) they added to the pile = 1900 posies. I foolishly thought this would make a dent in the population. Oh, how wrong I was. I couldn’t even tell where they had plucked their blooms!  Perhaps Ortho will take care of the rest.

    This past weekend, I got six new bath towels and a new set of celery green sheets for my bed. I love linens! I so enjoy browsing through the comforters and pillows and imagine.  Somehow I think that a new bedspread will change my life.  But, being a “frugal thing” (sometimes), I rarely indulge. Actually, TGD and I lived in our current house for four years without a bedspread or comforter because I couldn’t find anything to match the floor-length, burgundy floral curtains in the room. Finally, my mom bought me a whole bedroom set for Christmas two years ago.  With my new towels, we can all enjoy fluffy softness and get rid of some of the towels I’ve had since college. I’m a-frayed of them!

    What’s your favorite store department?

    P.S. Happy Birthday to RansomOfThulcandra! Feel free to head over and wish him a happy day!  Also, if you have no clue about my title, you need to read Lynn Truss.

  • The Memory of a Clean Floor

    According to The Writer’s Almanac: “Today is May Day, a day on which you should wash
    your face with morning dew to keep yourself looking young and beautiful. You
    should also gather wildflowers and green branches, make some floral garlands,
    and set up a Maypole to dance around.”  Woo! Let’s go!  Perhaps we could stomp some dandelions to death along the way!

    I finally know what those gold stars are for at the top of the comment section. Apparently, there is now some sort of Xanga “Academy Awards” going on.  You could check it out, but beware that some of the pictures in entries are objectionable.

    Today, I am a cleaning nut. The house was actually looking dirty–not cluttered and messy–but dirty. Ewww!  So, I’ve pulled out the rug scrubber, have seriously mopped the floors (not just the usual “lick and a promise”), and have a big list of other things to do. Of course this day of sanitizing has coincided with a day where I actually have a lot to do on the computer for homeschool–typing of quizzes, questions, portfolio end-of-year reviews, and so on. I think I shall ignore the computer things, scrub all day, and head off to Gockle’s  baseball game with a lighter heart and a buzz from Mr. Clean.

    Memof6 asked me about childhood memories. In general, I’m a poor rememberer. Most of my memories come from photographs.  Here’s one memory that isn’t. Once time when I was a wee-ish thing, I took the hand mirror from the bathroom one overcast Sunday afternoon and walked around the house, the mirror pointed to the ceiling. I kept my eyes on the mirror and felt like I had to take giant steps to clear the hanging lamps or the doorways.

    What about you? Do you have lots of memories from when you were a little thing? What’s something you look back upon with interest?