Pinspired

Well that worked wonderfully.

2011-08-27T15:47:00.000-07:00

Today's pinspired is:

Make Your Own Photo Canvas

I don't know how many of you know but my husband is a very talented photographer and graphic designer. We've agreed that if we ever sell this house and get to move elsewhere (we've been trying for over a year and a half now with little success) that we will decorate our next home with his photography. I love it and he likes to have his work displayed. So when I found this I thought it would be fun to try with some of Jay's pics. And my favorite part is that it is super easy.

The worst part was buying Mod Podge which is very expensive. But I had a Michael's 50% off coupon so it was all good. The canvas isn't terribly cheap either but it was on sale. I got a two pack for 4 dollars. I got my 8x10 prints from Snapfish.

Then all you do is paint your canvas with Modpodge, then stick your photo to it, paint over it with the Mod Podge, let it dry and then paint the edges of your canvas. I went with black. I think they turned out fabulously. My only disappointment was that right after one of mine dried, it fell of the shelf and directly onto one of my daughter's toys and busted a hole in it. It's on the fall picture if you look closely. But I decided to keep it anyway.

I only wonder what I'm going to do with these once I get tired of them. I'd like to do a whole display like four or five of my little girl... but then what do I do with them. I have such a problem throwing photos away and even more problem throwing photos that I've put work into away. Oh well I'll worry about that later for now, I give this pinspired moment a thumbs up.

I can't believe that worked. Yum.

2011-08-22T18:46:00.000-07:00

So today's pinspired project is this:

Easy homemade ice cream without a machine.

I was suspicious about this. 3 measly ingredients... no rock salt. How in the world is that going to make decent ice cream? But I got to say it does. It's good stuff. It's terribly rich and probably horrible for you but is really really yummy.

The instructions call for Heavy cream and a can of sweetened condensed milk. I used the low fat kind of sweetened condensed milk. I don't think there is a low fat form of heavy cream. I think it has it's name heavy for a reason. But I could be wrong. And then it says you can mix in whatever fixings you'd like. I went with crushed up mini oreos.

All you gotta do is whip the cream to stiff peaks
see aren't you proud to know that I the non-culinary knew what stiff peaks were and how to get them. I did listen to my mother a little bit after all. I can even prove it see:

Then you just mix in the sweetened condensed milk, and whatever candy or add in you want and stick that puppy in the freezer till it hardens.

Here's what it looked like after I stirred it, right before putting it in to freeze.

I took the first spoonful and I was shocked at how creamy and good it tasted. Mixed with those oreos it serious tasted just like a Hershey's Cookies and Cream candy bar only colder. Delicious. It is a bit rich though. You really can't or shouldn't eat more than one scoop. When Jay tried it, he asked me if it had cream cheese in it somewhere because it tasted so rich.

I give this one a thumbs up, it's a keeper and pretty cheap to make.

Meh cookies

2011-08-16T10:14:00.000-07:00

Today's Pinspired are Cookies imprinted with stamps.

When I followed the link this appears to have been in Country Living Magazine at some point. I have to say I was a bit disappointed by my results. Again let me display my disclaimer:

My posts in here are just how things turn out when I try them. I am not terribly domestic or detail oriented, so this does not mean it will be how it will turn out if you try it. I encourage you to try stuff you find out there for yourselves. This is just my little blog of how things are turning out for me.

I wonder if it would be different with homemade cookie dough...I used a store bought roll that I sliced so I had lovely little uniform cookies. Then I broke out my two stamps that I have held onto in my craft box for years but have never used for anything...until now. On one stamp were the words HAPPY BIRTHDAY, the other stamp is a dog. I tried the Happy Birthday stamp first. I floured it lightly so it wouldn't stick to the dough... but I still ended up having a hard time making it legible in the dough. I think I ate about 3 cookie dough slices (because if you mess up you have to eat it to hid the evidence right?) before I switched stamps. The doggie stamp did much better in the dough as you can see here:

My stamps

Stamp in the dough.

What I hadn't accounted for is how much the cookies stretch and move while baking. The one Happy Birthday one I did well, was completely illegible when baked so I didn't even take a pic of it (and it's eaten now). You had to look at the doggie one in the right light to be able to tell anything was on there. This picture was made without the flash and up close to the cookie. If you are standing above the cookies in a well lit room I doubt you'd notice anything was on them.

My conclusion on this pinspiration: It's a lot of work to get those stamps into the cookies without messing them up, too much work for them not to show up really well. I'll stick to decorating my cookies in another manner. However if I ever make my great grandmother's teacake recipe again I might try this method again.. those are thicker cookies, maybe they'd do better.. however I think I'll find a prettier stamp.

Very first post

2011-08-12T05:14:00.000-07:00

*Disclaimer: My posts in here are just how things turn out when I try them. I am not terribly domestic or detail oriented, so this does not mean it will be how it will turn out if you try it. I encourage you to try stuff you find out there for yourselves. This is just my little blog of how things are turning out for me.
For my very first post in this newly revived blog (see I'm already doing better than the last time I tried to revive it) I will show the results of making these:

Aren't they pretty? I thought these would be great for a snack for K or perhaps for a party. So I wanted to try them out. I needed oranges for the peals later to clean the garbage disposal anyway and I had several boxes of jello in the cupboard so I bought a couple and tried it out.

First off, one orange didn't make it to the filling with jello stage. I first tried to eat it like I did as a kid, sucking out the juice and then eating the pulp while turning the orange inside out. I don't know if it has to do with the fruit not exactly being in season right now (it's August afterall) or if I have just forgot the proper way to do that, but the first orange half split down the middle when I tried to turn it inside out to get the pulp off. The second half I ate with a spoon. That worked much better. Then I split the other orange with my daughter by scraping all the pulp out with the spoon then putting it in a bowl.

Then I filled it with my jello mixture. That was not easy. Orange cups do not want to stay standing straight up when filling them. Might want to try setting them in cupcake pan next time to fill them. Then moving them from the counter to the fridge was a little precarious too. Jello un-firmed is splashy. I used cherry jello btw. I ended up with this:

and when I sliced it, it looked like this:

Not bad, My jello didn't seem to congeal as well in these as I had wanted it to. But it still looked really neat. To get the picture at the beginning of the post, you'd have to eat a lot of oranges. But it would still look cool. So I rate this pinspired moment as "Doable", messy but also quite fun.

Third time's a charm right?

2011-08-10T12:58:00.000-07:00

So this is may third attempt at a blog. Lets face it I'm not really bloggy material. I'm a bit too ADD. I get distracted by shiny things and often get distracted after I've started a blog and then forget about it for insane amounts of time until I lose readers completely. But I have noticed something I'm doing pretty consistently now. And that is playing with Pinterest.com -I love that site. It's like a virtual idea board with lots and lots of little pins and you can steal things from other people and it's well organized and I won't forget where I put it. I've been trying all kinds of stuff from there.

And that's when I had this idea.

You see so many beautiful pictures of ideas on there but then don't you wonder what it will look like if I tweek it this way or that, or what will it look like simply when I try my non-domestic hand at it? So far I've been fairly pleased. So I think I'll start this blog and post pictures of my versions and opinions of things I've tried that I've found on pinterest. Goodness knows my normal life isn't blog worthy and who knows maybe I'll even get pinned with some of the ideas of my own that I'll post on here, or ones that were inspired by something I saw on there but did not follow directions for (heck I may pin myself just for shameless publicity and curiosity to see if anyone would repin something I came up with).

Resurrection

2011-02-07T19:54:00.001-08:00

I actually have a recipe that I have never tried called Resurrection cake. That would have been apt to do for today since I'm reviving an old blog to do this. However I don't have the ingredients for it. So for tonight since it is late I will simply tell you what I fixed and what I learned from it.

But first let me tell you that even after nearly 9 years of marriage I am still learning to cook. That is the reason for this blog. Well it and one other but I'll get to that in another post. I'm trying to become a better cook or at least have a more diverse menu to offer my family without having to go on the "Worst Cooks in America" show in FoodNetwork. I have lots of kitchen disaster stories which I will likely share over time, but my mother did try to teach me to cook - it is just that I didn't pay attention when it counted.

That is not to say that I don't cook for my family. I do. However we stick to the things I do well, which is about 12 dishes served over and over again. But there are gazillions of recipes out there and I have at least 3 or four dozen that I've torn out of magazines or gleaned off the internet that I have never once tried. So this is the year. And here's where you will read about it when I fix it.

This will also be a blog where I review children's books but we'll save that for the next post.

Tonight let me tell you that I fixed Meatloaf (which I have fixed before, but this time used as substitution) and I tried a new recipe called Roasted Winter Vegetables.

Which consisted of cutting up bits of sweet potato, parsnip, and butternut squash, tossing it with olive oil and thyme and roasting it.

This was my first time to ever try a parsnip.

Tonight's Lessons Learned should be labeled "Accept no substitutes" because that is the majority of what I learned tonight.

1. Do not try to substitute ground turkey when making meat loaf - or at least not my mom's recipe for meatloaf. You end up with a very bland meatloaf where the ketchup on top is the best part. Blech.

2. Do not substitute ground thyme for fresh - even if you can't find it at the grocery. The roasted veggies would have been better with just salt and pepper rather than the ground thyme.

3. One parsnip, One butternut squash, and one sweet potato cut up and roasted makes enough to feed about 6 people.

4. Parsnips taste quite a bit like carrots when roasted.

A farmwife MEME

2010-04-24T17:47:00.000-07:00

A lot has changed since I last blogged here. For one, my baby is a toddler now. Secondly we have our house on the market trying to move back to a city rather than a town between two cities (if that makes sense). So my answers have changed a bit from what my answers would have been a year ago. But since Farmwife says she'd cry if no one played and I love a good MEME I'm playing:

#1 Do you have a daily cleaning routine? Not normally, I tend to be a do it when it looks like it needs to be done kind of girl. However with trying to sell the house I pick up toys, and vacuum daily and make sure all the dishes are washed as soon as we are done eating off them now in order to be ready in case of a showing.

#2 Do you cook on a regular basis? Yes, on a fairly regular basis. I make a menu once every two weeks, go to the store and get those items and I cook dinner for us at least 6 out of 7 days a week unless there is a special occasion. However every other Tuesday we do dine with my in-laws.

#3 Do you wear aprons? No. I do not. But I have several that were given to me when my grandmother died and I can't bear to part with them because I remember her wearing them. She loved to cook. I sadly, do not.

#4 Do you make the beds everyday Not before we were trying to sell the house. I'm an early riser, husband is a wait-til-the-absolute-last-second-I-can kind of riser. So he was always still in the bed when the notion would strike me. However, now that we are trying to sell it is his responsibility to make sure it gets done after he gets up. I just go in and straighten it. Don't know why it didn't occur to me long before hand to have him take that on as chore.

#5 Not truly a house work question, but it will still fit: What do you call the three meals you eat a day? we are breakfast, lunch and dinner people. Although I have called it supper on occasions. And my family calls a meal between lunch and dinner (where you missed lunch but it's too early for dinner) Scrunch which is a combination of lunch and supper. I don't know if I picked up "dinner" from Jay or what. Here's our discussion question along the same lines. Describe what is called a Pig-in-a-blanket. Is it a sausage wrapped in a pancake? or is it a weenie wrapped in a biscuit? Is it an appropriate meal to eat for dinner?

6# How many loads of laundry do you wash in a week? I hope no one will think me scuzzy for this but I do about 5-6 loads a week. And a lot of times I will wait till the weekend to do all of them. Unless something smells or we run out of something.

7# What is your least favorite chore? Hands down, cleaning the bathrooms.

8# What's your favorite chore? I honestly don't mind laundry one little bit. And I love dusting. Farmwife, if we lived closer we could just switch off for those things.

9# Do you keep a company ready house (or attempt to) or go for that comfortably lived in look or could you be on your own Hoarding: Buried Alive episode on TLC? Mine is that comfortable lived in look most of the time. Or at least that's what I think of it. I'm sure there are some who would think that it's awful

10# I once heard on the radio that 90% of women clean house like their mothers. Do you? Yes. For the most part, though I'm not as detail oriented as she is. And I don't clean if the exterminator is coming like she does, but I do try to tidy as I go like she did and do employ the "blitz" cleaning method she would use at times.

11# (For the mothers out there) Do you expect your children to help out around the house? To what extent?
Well it's tricky right now. I do expect it. But she's 20 months old there isn't just a whole lot she can do yet. She does help me unload the silverware from the dishwasher (after I've removed any knives) and she pulls the laundry out of the drier for me to fold and cleans the lint trap for me. And she's expected to at least pick up some of her toys when we're trying to clean up. So I guess the answer is yes. But really she's so eager to do things like a big girl right now there is no struggle to get her to do those things, I don't know how it will go when there is a struggle. I know I'll expect some (because I want her to have a healthy work ethic) but I believe other things will go by the way side just to avoid the argument.

Just so you know

2010-03-04T17:44:00.000-08:00

Not that anyone has check here in ages since I haven't written anything in over a year. But if you do happen to stop by please note that there is a new blog
zanndoodles.blogspot.com
it's completely doodle related - keeping up and getting back in the swing of things through Illustration Friday. But My personal life sneaks in there too.

Fun stuff

2008-10-18T13:31:00.000-07:00

I have a new internet addiction that I feel compelled to share. I re-discovered and am loving facebook. So easy to quickly keep up with so many old friends and just get snipets of their lives without having to write long amounts. All the fun of reuniting without the awkward silences. I've found friends ranging from preschool to recent. So... if you have a facebook account or just want to see what all the fuss is about.. I recommend it and invite you to find me there as well. you can search by address - and I'm zannhu at hot mail dot com.

2008-09-01T16:59:00.000-07:00

okay so it took a while but....
Our daughter was born on August 7th at 5:29 pm. She weighed in at 7lbs 12 oz and was 21 1/4 inches long. She's doing great and we are beginning to get adjusted. It's a big adjustment for us. Can't believe I haven't made it back here to state that before now. But I'm a little bleery-eyed. All posts about her can be found at livejournal - http://zannli.livejournal.com to be specific (again let me know if you wish to be friended to see the non-public posts). I still read all the blogs in my side bar here, but I can really only keep up with and update one place any more... so this blog is pretty much retired as I'm sure you've guessed by my long absence.

However I may still post something here or there if I ever think of anything.
all the best,
z

2008-08-06T18:07:00.000-07:00

Most likely sometime tomorrow, so I am told by my doctors, I will be a mom.
That will be weird.

The lottery is more green--- sorta

2008-06-28T18:19:00.001-07:00

Yeah... it's been a while. But I made it back before Did, did. :P

I'm just not good at the whole blogging thing. I read them frequently but I just don't feel like I have much to contribute myself. Pregnancy is going well. It's been a relatively easy one so far. I'm a bit fearful that it will get really hard come delivery time... because it almost seems to have been tooo easy. We're getting to the short days now and I'm beginning to get nervous. Today I learned to install and uninstall a car seat from either of our cars. I also made a decision on a pediatrician. I spend a lot of time feeling tired.

But other than that, it's pretty much business as usual around here.
I did try an experiment over this summer that I thought I'd tell you all about.
Upon receiving a Publisher's clearing house sweepstakes form ... I got to wondering... which has better odds - that or the lottery? I think the odds are about the same for either. But I went ahead out of curiosity and entered publishers. A few weeks later I got another entry form - a follow-up to the first, of course to confirm your entry you had to hunt through all the junky product stickers to find the "address confirmation" sticker or what have you and send it back. Obviously they want to get as many views of their advertised products as possible... but I'll admit, I kinda enjoyed going on the little scavenger hunt to find them. So I confirmed my address with that little sticker and sent it back... Then I just got curious... just how many of these things will they send before the actual give-away date?

Turns out if you keep sending in the various confirmations, and decisions (do I want the millions as a lump sum or a several payments? Let me find that sticker...) you end up receiving/returning around 8 things before the give-away date. Each with it's stack of advertisements with stickers and little "someone in your town is definitely going to win at least $10" statements. And they are full color too.. I can't imagine how much they spend on that crap. How many trees they kill.

I would have thought that it would be cheaper to enter a sweepstakes than to spend money on the lottery with about the same odds of winning. And I still believe that as far as online sweepstakes go as long as you don't mind getting plenty of junk mail or weeding through advertisements. But as far as Publisher's goes... I gotta say the lottery is actually a better deal. They don't kill nearly as many trees for the little single ticket that you get and in the end you pay less. Because if you sent all 8 entries back that are telling you that you are "this close" to winning - You've spent over $3.00 in postage. I don't care how much fun the little scavenger hunt for the stickers is... it's just not worth it. I was just rather staggered by that after my experiment ended. I didn't send all 8 back by the way. Though I'll admit to sending some for curiosity/boredom's sake.

Just to make it clear... I'm not advocating the lottery or sweepstakes here. I just got curious. And I figure someone out here in cyberspace may have been curious about that too... so if you are that person.. I hope I just saved you $3.

Mother's Day

2008-05-11T13:40:00.000-07:00

It's been a muli-emotional day for me.
I'll blame the hormones.
As I sat in church this morning I cried at everyone's mention of mom's and their rolls.

I miss my mom. I wish she lived closer. I'm happy I have a good mother-in-law who lives semi-close. But still nothing beats your very own mom. And my mom rocks. Let me just tell you. I may not have thought so at one time. But really she does. I really hope to be a lot like her some day.

I remember last year at this time, feeling that terrible longing to be a mom, only to find out two weeks later that I was expecting and then only five weeks after that, that all was lost and I was right back to the longing again. Have I ever mentioned that I can cry on cue? It was always one of my greatest assets when performed in theater. The secret is to be able to recall something particularly painful and relive those memories. Much like it is good to keep a happy thought to focus on if you need to lift your spirits, it is handy to keep a sad thought on hand if you ever want to bring forth real tears on cue. I've had several sad thoughts to refer to over the years, and that quickly became one of them.

But this year I'm well on my way to being a real mom. And I'm scared. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm assured by many that, that is a common feeling and that no one really knows.. we all just do the best we can. It's one of those learn as you go kinda jobs. But I'm one of those people who likes to know what I'm doing. I like to have a plan. I still get completely overwhelmed and want to hyperventilate walking into BabysRUs or Target because of all the stuff and not knowing what's really necessary and what isn't and some of the stuff I don't even know what it does or how it works and soooo many choices and opinions it is mind numbing. But I keep reassuring myself that people with less life experience than me, have done the job and I can do it too. And no matter how much I dread spit up and stomach viruses... if I can clean up after the dog, and still enjoy having her, I can totally do the same with this kid. After all, I already love her enough to worry all the time that something is going to go horribly wrong and I'll lose her. God has gotten a lot of panic prayers from me over this pregnancy.

But I was happy to receive a mother's day hug from my husband this morning (though he swears up and down that it doesn't count until the baby is actually here) and a DQ blizzard. And I'm thankful for every kick that I feel - though there could be more of them to ease my mind, but then she'd probably have to be kicking every 5 minutes or so and then I'd probably be complaining. And I'm thankful that I think we've finally come up with a name for her other than "Bob". But no one gets to know it until after she's born.... we don't need any feedback changing our minds on this after how much it took to reach the decision.

Oh! And a very happy mother's day to all of you. Whether you're a mom to your own or community mom (one who loves on other people's kids).

Thank You Easter Bunny, Bahck, Bahck!

2008-04-24T08:21:00.000-07:00

Okay I don't know if anyone besides me and my family remember that Cadburry commercial from way back.. but we quote it all the time whenever some one does something nice for us. And someone has indeed done something nice for me.

A couple of days ago a little package arrived in our mail. Real mail!!! not bills! Not junk, real mail! I was excited just by the package. But even more excited when I opened it.

Oh Farmwife how you brightened my day. The same day I found out I was going to have to pay 400 dollars to get my car fixed. But a bright piece of cloth with little taggies on it just chased away a bit of those blues.

Isn't it gorgeous. I seriously think you could make a career out of selling these and those headbands. Ever considered setting up shop on Etsy.com?

I find it wonderfully fun that I got a Tag Blanket from a friend I got to know and love in a group that we referred to as TAG. It just seems very appropriate :)

I'm just sorry it has taken me so long to get up the thank you. But I blame it on forgetting my camera.

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to spell the sound a chicken makes?

Thank you all for you input on the naming thing. I'm glad I'm not alone in having it be a struggle. DH and I are now emailing back and forth as per Sarah's suggestion. We tend to make some of our best decisions that way.. might as well try it out for names too.

Things continue to plug along here. I'm enjoying the spring weather but not my allergies that come along with it. We got the furniture for the little girl's room now.. all we need is a mattress and she'll at least have a place to sleep and some clothes to where. I'm looking forward to a weekend with no commitments :)

Oh look, I'm still alive.

2008-04-15T13:34:00.000-07:00

I really never meant to go this long without posting or replying for that matter. I really am still reading your blogs. I just do it in little burst here and there. Some how spring has brought lots of busy-ness - and tiredness for that matter.

But because I want to make sure I don't abandon my blog all together, I want to make a post of things I've learned recently. That way you at least know I'm still living... and learning.

- I recently learned that if you put cucumbers on your $5 footlong Subway sandwich.. and eat one half and then save the other half for the next day. The other half that you saved will be really nasty. In fact, the cucumbers will actually liquify the white American cheese. Ewwwww.

- Dairy Queen's Tin Roof blizzards, are not at all like the Tin Roofs my inlaws introduced me to and that I love (vanilla icecream w/chocolate sauce and spanish peanuts) - the DQ version has chocholate covered peanuts and brownie pieces... it is however quite tastey despite not being the same.

- Did you know that if you are going on a walk and want to protect yourself from stray attack dogs... it is better to grab a large umbrella rather than a large walking stick. The umbrella when opened will startle and aggressive dog, make you look bigger (a trick many animals use in nature), and also help protect more of your extrimities than a stick will. I learned that from my girl scout leader co worker. I thought that was really interesting.

- Did you know Jerry Springer had a political career before becoming the king of trash tv? I learned that this week from NPR.

- I also learned that Priceline's cancellation insurance is not worth the money. Because you can only cancel if someone dies or if you have a doctor's excuse. How crappy.

- I'm in the process of learning that "pregnancy brain" really does exist. It is not just an excuse (as I brazenly, always thought) - or it could just be that things are so busy right now that I'm scattered and can't keep track of everything that I normally do.

- I've learned that rooms look a lot smaller once you actually put stuff in them. This I've learned before, but somehow always seem to forget.

- I've learned that there is just nothing much I can do with my hair. There are only just a few lengths that don't turn it into a fro, or bozo hair. It is a fine line to tread... I really wish I could find a new style... one that's easy to deal with... but looks different. My hair is naturally curly and brown.... got any suggestions?

- I've also learned that coming up with a name is not an easy task. We may never actually agree on any names. Those we do agree on are already taken by other friends' children or people we know. Or they sound really weird with our last name. This poor child may be called Bob just for lack of anything that her parents can agree on. We have decided to withhold names until the kid is born... even if we finally come to an agreement... because we don't want anyone's opinion to throw us back into a quandary.

2008-03-17T07:07:00.000-07:00

Today is 20wk ultrasound day, and one of the rare days that I will post personal stuff in this blog. Any guesses anyone?

I know some won't guess without a belly picture.. so if you must have one there is one here

Now I also have a question for you mama's out there. I've posted this once before at the other place.. but all input is helpful. Feel free to also post even if you aren't a mom. Not trying to leave anyone out. It's just the nature of the question.

So what have you found to be "must haves" or the greatest helps in caring for an infant. We are a bit over whelmed by all the "Stuff" out there and would just like to know other people's opinions.

EDITED TO INFORM: We Are Having A GIRL

2008-02-28T17:56:00.000-08:00

WWHLR: How to fold t-shirts so that the logos show. Fascinating little technique I found here on the internet. I may never fold shirts the old way again.

Now... on to other matters.
I have been sharing odds and end things that I am learning. It is time for my dear friends on Blogger to share their wealth of knowledge. So occasionally I will be asking a question that I am curious about. If your read this blog and my journal you may see these questions twice, but if you only ready here it will be a whole new question to you. But I like getting a wide variety of answers. So now on to my question:

What are your dinner staples? You know the things you fix on a regular basis. The stuff you nearly always buy the ingredients for just to have on hand. The stuff that you whip together when you don't feel like following a recipe or don't have a lot of time. That's the stuff I'm talking about. The stuff you eat often.

For us those would be:
Spaghetti
Chicken Tacos
Chicken Provolone
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Baked Potatoes
Chicken and Stovetop
RiceARoni
Fish Sticks
Ham Steaks
Crock Pot Roast & veggies

All of course paired with a fruit or vegetable. I just got curious what other people fix for dinner, while I was fixing one of our tried and true the other night.

And another thing:
I just found out about this reading another blog. I'm a ~~weenier~~ ahem, winner. Thanks to Mommyof4LittlePeople.

And now I shall spread the love.
See here's how it works
The rules for the “You Make My Day” award are to re-present it to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blog land. Let them know through email or by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on.
And since I have a rather small number of blogs that I'm able to keep up with over here and some of that small number has already been nominated by other people.. I'm able to give away awards without feeling bad because frankly, you all make my day whenever I'm able to make it over to blogger.

Put on your best red-carpet smile... here we go:

1. I nominate A BOOKWORM because you keep me in the library loop and you've always made my day anyway.

2. ART, because you always have a song in your heart that carries you through even rough times and I find that inspiring and happy.

3. NAN, formerly known as CATE IMAGINES. For being the fun grandmother who just makes me smile because you just exude youth yourself.

4. EMILY - You, much like farmwife, have a great turn of phrase and crack me up on a regular basis.

5. INKLING - I don't often post to your blog, but I do read it and you are ever willing to reach out and ever diligent... you inspire.

6. LAUREN - Your picture posts are always fun and you've gotten me using toilet paper for things I would never have thought I would before :P

7. MADRETZ - Because you are just plain crafty and cool. And your pictures... wow. I get to visit whole new places through your blog.

8. Sarah - another girl with a fun turn of phrase and not afraid to show frustration. I respect... plus you have almost... almost.. gotten me to want a gingerbread latte

9. RAGGED - you just rock... you are so masterful with your needles and so good and writing in a travel journal style. Much like Madretz you let me visit places I may never get to go, through your blog.

9 1/2. MOMTO4LITTLEPEOPLE - It is so great to be reconnected with you. I enjoy hearing about all your happenings... I think I just may have missed you :D

9. GRACE - Lady, you amaze me. You have such joy even during pain... and that is something, plus your kids are just cute.

10. And of course FARMWIFE I wouldn't be on blogger if it were not for you. Plus your comparisons of your children to various figures in history and literature crack me up.

10 1/2. QUEEN MOTHER - I just really enjoy your posts. You are a lot of fun and the little stories about Farmwife, Princess and Bubba are all fun to read for me.

And you can ask any little kid... halve count. They totally do. What you are seeing are actually 10 entries not 12.

And I would have voted for DID, SILAS and GIRL but they have all but quit posting... no guilt though.. no guilt.

WWHLL: I am not an affectionate person

2008-02-16T18:09:00.000-08:00

Okay, that's not really true. I'm quite affectionate. I'm just not big on pet names. Since we are still at that point where we don't know what we are having (hopefully human, but maybe a guinea pig... you just never know :P) I hate not having something to call the baby I just don't like saying "it". I always thought that I would give him/her a sweet little in-womb name like many of my friends did, like "our sweetpea" or "peanut","bean", "pumpkin", "honeybun" or "sweetheart" or something...and I don't find anything wrong with those names... but I just have to admit to myself that, that just isn't me. I can't do it. The words won't roll off my tongue. They feel uncomfortable in my mouth.

I'm the girl who actually hates the word "precious." It's like nails on a chalk board to me. I don't really have a good reason why I feel that way toward that word, other than it is often said very insincerely. And it seems that I don't mind it in certain contexts... like "more precious than rubies" that doesn't bother me at all. But "isn't that precious" just makes me tense up. Maybe it's only when it is said with kind of a sing-song sound in the voice... I don't know. I do know that seeing Lord of the Rings didn't help with my feelings toward the word though because now I any time I hear it, I just hear Gollum's voice saying it.

I quit reading a book my mother gave me on the proper nutrition for pregnancy due to it referring to you child as "your sweet baby" all the time. It just got a little too annoying. Plus the book just seemed to talk baby-talk to the mothers... and that disturbed me.

I've been pondering these aversions lately. Maybe I'm just still too much of a tomboy to enjoy them? Maybe they feel too much like being talked down to or talking down to someone else to me? I don't know.. I've just never liked ootsy cutesy terms.. I'm just weird that way I guess. I have often threatened physical violence to anyone other than my daddy if they ever dared call me "Suzy". My DH isn't even allowed to call me Suzy. (I guess "daddy" might count as an ootsy cutesy term if you are a stickler... but I think all parents in the south are referred to as daddy and mama... so I don't really count it)

I wasn't even into cute names when I was tiny. When my mother suggested that I name my baby dolly "Daisy" or "Lilly" or something like that... I told her "No, name him Bob". And Bob he was in his little yellow daisy patterned dress for the next 5 or more years.

So I guess with my past history it shouldn't be surprising that I wouldn't be able to to come up with a cute/affectionate name that seemed to me to fit this yet undermined gender person that I'm growing in there. But I have caught myself talking to the little one. And I believe I have found the term I am comfortable with. Until gender and names are decided or we see what personality this little person has... the baby will be called Little Person. Just like I call it, when I talk to him or her now. LP for short.

Oh.. and the other think I've learned this week is that I keep changing my letters.
So just for anyone's piece of mine here is a key to what I'm saying in my subject lines:

WWHLL = What We Have Learned Lately
WWHLTW= What We Have Learned This Week
WWHLT = What We Have Learned Today
WWHLR = What We Have Learned Recently

2008-02-02T12:27:00.000-08:00

WWHLTW
Never ask what kind of cheese a Mexican restaurant is serving. Being new to this whole pregnancy thing and overwhelmed by all the things you aren't suppose to do or eat. I just wanted to make sure the queso was pasteurized. That's all. Just wanted to know if it was. I had asked around on my journal (not at the restaurant) and got mixed ideas about it. Some thought it might be goat cheese, others were pretty sure it is processed white American cheese. I decided to give it a chance anyway since DH loves Mexican food and I was craving some nachos and just ask to make sure.

So I asked our waiter what kind of cheese it was. He said he didn't know. Then said he thought it might be American. I said good thinking "okay good it's processed therefore pasteurized" then he said, "but I don't know it could be Mexican. So obviously we were having a bit of difficulty understanding each other. So I asked if he knew if it was pasteurized or not- since that is really what I was trying to find out. And that is where I messed up. Apparently he was unfamiliar with that term. He started telling me how the health inspector was there ever month and they always passed. I apologize and tell him I'm not questioning that the food is safe.. I just want to know if the cheese is pasteurized. It's very good cheese, I think we get it from Scisco truck he says. I thank him, tell him I'm sorry again and just order the nachos anyway. I'm pretty sure from all that, that it is indeed processed cheese and therefore pasteurized.

But I think I unintentionally seemed like I was insulting his country by asking. *Sigh* I really didn't mean it that way. I just wanted to know if it was pasteurized.

2008-01-22T03:43:00.000-08:00

WWHLR
No matter what the lady giving free samples at Kroger says and no matter how frugal I'm feeling at the time. I should never buy an 8lb ham "that freezes well" for just Jay and myself. What a mess that was over the weekend. First I had to cook it for about 3 hours. That was no problem really but the slicing.... wow. What a mess. We have a very small amount of work space in our kitchen. An 8 lb. ham on a cutting board takes up all of it. The dog did enjoy licking the bottom of the cabinets where ham juice ran down as I was cutting. But ewwww. So after slicing the enormous ham. I then had to clean the kitchen thoroughly. And I now have enough ham in the freezer to feed a small army. And what is worse, due to smelling the hammy smell for that amount of time, and being pregnant... I now have absolutely no desire to eat the ham that I worked so hard on. I'm hoping the desire comes back soon. I'm thankful that Easter comes early this year. Perhaps we'll have everyone we know come over and eat ham from our freezer that day. I'm pretty sure it will keep two months in the freezer. Must be sure to look that up.

First post of 2008

2008-01-05T08:41:00.000-08:00

I told myself I'd try to post more to blogger this year or at least go back to my What We Have Learned today format. My goal is to post something at least once ever two weeks. I read other blogs a lot more often than that, but blogging in more than one spot is a bit overwhelming for me at times and as I've mentioned before I'm more of an Livejournal girl. But I do miss having something to say here at least every once in a while.

I had stopped the What We Have Learned Today posts last year because I got so down at one point that all I felt like I was learning were hard lessons that don't make for good reading. But a new year has started with a new start and new outlook. So WWHLT is back with a vengence.

Now I do want to note that WWHLT is getting a new name because WWHLT is not necessarily accurate. It really should be WWHLR - or What We Have Learned Recently.

And to start the new year right, here is WWHLR:
There is a Boogertown Road in Pigeon Forge. That cracks me up, in juvenile kind of way. Wouldn't you just love to live on Boogertown Road? Wouldn't you love telling that to delivery people and getting to spell it out and giggle at their responses. Wouldn't you just love to tell your most sophisticated friend that you are moving to Boogertown Road? Doesn't it make you wonder if there is really a Boogertown somewhere? And just what would Boogertown look like in your imagination?

Gifted: And other things you may or may not have known about me

2007-12-11T06:13:00.000-08:00

I am a happy girl.

Over the last week and right before the weekend, I got good mail.
Mail that truly amazed me. I was gifted. It was all part of the great gift exchange that I mentioned below. Art was the only one who replied to me so I sent a gifty to her. However I don't think I did nearly as well with hers as she and Ragged did with what they sent me. Not that I didn't try. I certainly did, and I certainly hope she will be just as happy with what I sent her. I just can't imagine that it would be any better than these.

Ragged's gift came first.

And questions came to my mind:

How did she know about my obsession with socks? Have I mentioned that here? My obsession with socks? I don't remember it if I have... but otherwise how would she have known those would tickle my fancy :)

And a book motif journal.... I use to be a library worker... did she know that?

Mary Englebreit notecards - she's totally one of my inspirations as a illustrator.

And the other note cards, are just so pretty and right up my alley.

Then came Art's package. Beautifully decorated and all. Made me happy just to see it. By this time DH is getting jealous of the good mail I am getting when he received credit card offers :P I gloated mercielessly.

Art has not seen me, nor been around me (other than breifly at that reunion in 06) in years. But yet she was able to connect with my personality better than some of the people who work with or interact with me on a daily to monthly basis. That just amazes me. Her gift thrilled me as well.

Note cards with my real initial on them - I had been looking for some of those.

Tissues with a little nun on them saying - "Bless You" - made me giggle.

The ornaments - I'm a huge fan of stained glass - I would have it in all my windows if I could. How did she know that? But these will not go on my tree... instead they will adorn my kitchen window year round, because they match it perfectly.

The mug with an ornate "Z" on it. Works perfectly in our office. I don't think I can ever drink out of it. It is too pretty. But it looks awesome tucked in with the artwork that adorn our desk areas. And how did she remember how much I like Victorian style lettering?

The star - Have I ever mentioned a small collection of stars in my dining room? How could she have known.

And the photo album. How could she have known that we will hopefully be needing a brag book size album come August if everything goes well this time? How could she know, when we weren't even telling anyone until after our parents and we just told them this weekend. But I guess I'm telling you all now, if you are good at deduction.

So in conclusion, I am gifted. I have many treasures from two people who are gifted in another sense as well. They are both obviously quite intuitive and "just know" stuff. I don't know how. But somehow they both just knew me well or are super duper guessers either one. And I appreciate it greatly. It made for wonderful holiday surprises.

Another give away - no passing or anything required

2007-11-25T17:41:00.000-08:00

All I need is a little participation.

I need ideas. I work better with a subject. And so I'm looking for subject matter. I've mentioned stickers before and asked what people like but I think I'll take a different approach.

Here's the deal. I need ideas for drawing scrapbook stickers. If you give me an idea for a "different"* topic for some scapbook stickers... * different being defined as stuff you don't find often in stores or wish there were more choices for and also something rather generic (in other words, no portraits or copywrited stuff like Mickey Mouse). Then I will send you a free set of whatever that sticker topic is once I get it finished. Scrapbook stickers are of course good for things other than scapbooking as well. So don't feel like not being a scraper should keep you from participating.

Here's the "catch" though. I don't know when I'll get around to finishing it - because I have to put them behind "real" work. But I will say you'll get them sometime in 2008.

So what do you say?
Are you game?

Been tagged twices and I needed something to write about anyway

2007-11-11T14:01:00.000-08:00

1. Name one person who made you laugh last night? Hmm, I guess my husband, he was the only one I was around last night.

2. What were you doing at 0800? Getting ready to leave to tell stories to 2,3 & 4 year olds at church.

3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? working on an illustration

4. What happened to you in 2006? Went to a reunion, got rearended really hard that february, can't really remember anything else from that far back.

5. What was the last thing you said out loud? "Nope no one's there, good girl for trying though" addressed to the dog after she alerted us to the door, due to the sound of a neighbor's car door slamming.

6. How many beverages did you have today? 2 so far

7. What color is your hairbrush? Hairbrushes cause frizz but my comb is green

8. What was the last thing you paid for? stuff at Lowes... oil stuff husband needed, and a socket converter.

9. Where were you last night? Home, cleaning, working and stuff.

10. What color is your front door? White

11. Where do you keep your change? In my pockets, or in a jar on the dresser or at the bottom of my purse.

12. What’s the weather like today? It's chilly and sunny.

13. What’s the best ice-cream flavor? For me, it is a tie between chocolate chip cookie-dough or Cookies N Cream

14. What excites you? Lots of stuff: travel, having company, fun mail, trips to the library, surprises, eating out, festivals.

15. Do you want to cut your hair? Not cut it, but I'd like to find something to do with it.

16. Are you over the age of 25? Yes.

17. Do you talk a lot? Depends on the company.

18. Do you watch the O.C.? Nope

19. Do you know anyone named Steven? Yep

20. Do you make up your own words? On occasion

21. Are you a jealous person? depends - not typically but I have been known to feel jealous on occasion.

22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘A’. Angela

23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘K’. Kelli

24. Who’s the first person on your received call list? Martha

25. What does the last text message you received say? I don't text. I'm not fast enough.

26. Do you chew on your straw? nope

27. Do you have curly hair? yes, uncontrollably so at times.

28. Where’s the next place you’re going to? Work as far as next time I get in the car. But as far as trips, probably Gatlinburg for Christmas with my family.

29. Who’s the rudest person in your life? I don't know. I don't think I hang out with rude people.

30. What was the last thing you ate? Chili

31. Will you get married in the future? We have plans to renew our vows on our 10th anniversary with my sis & BIL because it will be around their 20th. We hope to go to Vegas or somewhere else that has a drive thru Elvis chapel, just for laughs and to say we did it.

32. What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks? I've only seen 1 movie in the last two weeks and it wasn't remotely good.

33. Is there anyone you like right now? Yes.

34. When was the last time you did the dishes? Last night

35. Are you currently depressed? Not terribly at the moment but have been quite recently.

36. Did you cry today? No. not today.

37. Why did you answer and post this? Because I had nothing better to write about and two people tagged me and that made me feel quite special.

Sharing the Love

2007-10-22T06:32:00.000-07:00

Recently Emily and Ragged both posted about a neat idea and I want to play along. It's a chance to share some love, pass along some good vibes and give a little back.

Here's how it works: I pledge to send five tangible gifts to the first five people that decide to play along. These goodies will arrive by the end of the year. And they are surprises, so I can't tell you what they will be.

Here's what you have to do in return:
-Include a comment here if you want to play along; also e-mail me your address at zannhu (at) hotmail (dot) com.

-Return the favor: post about this on your blog, inviting five people to play along and sending five gifts to them as well.

PS: Like Emily & Ragged, it's ok if more than five sign up, it's just a starting point.

Come on. . . you know you want to.

2007-10-07T07:40:00.000-07:00

What We Have Learned today:
One should buy new sheets more than once every 5 years, lest you forget what size your bed is.

I did this. I can't believe I did this. We've had the same bed since we've been married. We've also had the same sheets. I decided it was time for a new set of sheets. I went to Target thinking we had a Full Size bed. I got a great deal on some really pretty full size sheets. I came home, washed them and put them on our bed....

or rather I tried to put them on our bed.

they are too small, we have a Queen size bed. Don't know where I got the Full Size idea from but I really should write that down so I know for next time.... oh wait. I am writing it down right now. Now unfortunately I bought these at Target, the store with the worst return policy ever and I have already washed them and threw away the packaging because I was "sure" we had a Full Size bed.

*sigh* Anyone have a full size bed? Would you like some pretty garnet colored sheets?

Please be my research assistant

2007-10-01T07:33:00.000-07:00

Quick question... If/when you buy scapbook stuff, what do you buy sticker-wise? What subjects do you look for? Holidays? School days? Flowers? Quotations? Do you ever look for stuff you can't find? Any favorites?

Just For Ragged

2007-09-21T07:23:00.000-07:00

To understand this post, you must go check our Ragged Around The Edges' last blog entry.
This tatoo is for you Ragged :)

Just like being on Oprah... or not.

2007-09-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

My virtual Oprah visit.
The part of Oprah is being played by Farmwife today.

First off, I apologize for my absence. It has been overwhelmingly hectic here and I think the lack of time and the exhaustion of it all kind of led to a struggle with depression. For the past week I think I cried every single day. Not sniffle cries either... we're talking down right boo hoos. Everything in my life felt like it was falling apart, old hurts raised their ugly heads and I just wasn't dealing well... which leads us to the What We Have Learned Today of this week.

WWHLT: A day off, without obligation, and with enough sleep, does wonders for one's psyche So far today I have not crumbled into a weepy little depressed mess, and I am more content with myself. I think I owe it all to the fact that I allowed myself this one day with absolutely nothing that needed to be done (everything can wait till tomorrow unless I want to do it today) and no places that I have to go. I've spent the last three weeks working and running non-stop with my regular deadline-oriented stressful job, social engagements, charity commitments (Dog Jog and Dragon boat race- which were both physically extreme) several free lance jobs (which I pray I get paid for and that the customers were happy with), plus the usual house work and family commitments. Most days I'd wake up at six and not get to bed until close to midnight. Not exactly good for you. But today has been much better - I baked cookies, I've cleaned on my own schedule, I even reorganized my cabinets and J and I are getting along splendidly because we've been able to talk leisurely with each other and not on the run. Sometimes I forget with my more social lifestyle now how much of an introvert I still am, and how important down time really is to my sanity and sense of worth.

And that concludes my confession part of my virtual Oprah visit, now to the more fun questions such as:
#1. Given a free plane ticket to any destination of your choice, where would you go? Oh goodness, it is a round-trip ticket right? I can think of several places because there are a lot of places that I would love to visit if only we had the money because there is just no way that I can get J to ride in a car that long. I'm not sure I could narrow them down and just pick one. But I think since we are only being given a plane ticket and no hotel vouchers or tourist tickets, we would probably visit Wisconsin, because I've heard so much about it and would love to see it and we have friends we could stay with up there, and I'd save my ticket until they are able to adopt their first child (they are in the process and the waiting game) because I'd love to see her, and the child and the land she has so often spoken of to me.

#2. What's your favorite Junior High Fashion statement?
Jr. High and early high school kind of run together to me and neither were extremely nice looking fashion years. But I'd say I miss chokers being in fashion. I loved wearing choker necklaces, and baggy shirts. Loved those too - one of those two periods was the age of grunge and it was stylish to wear ripped jeans, baggy shirts, and flannel. I've never been so comfortable and fashionable.

#3. If you were given the superpower of your choice, what would it be?
instant teleportation. I would be able to zap myself, here, there and everywhere in the blink of an eye. No more traffic, no more car trouble, no more worrying over whether we could afford to go somewhere. Oh! And with my superpower I'd be able to take ride-alongs with me. All they'd have to do is touch my super outfit in some way and they'd be teleported with me.

#4. Do you have a list of things to accompish in your lifetime? If so, what's on it? If not, what would be on it?
I have a list for everything so of course I do. I have a list of things I'd like to accomplish in the next three years, not to mention my lifetime. And my lists are extensive. Some of the things in the lifetime list are - I know I want to visit Ireland or Japan at some point, I know I want to raise a child, I know I would love to be a published author or illustrator, I know I'd like to go on a trip visiting lots of the wacky landmarks or festivals around the country, I want to feel anti-gravity at some point, I want to go scuba diving, I want to take a cruise, and I want to work with habitat for humanity and pet a dolphin or a bear.

#5. If you woke up tomorrow as a man, what name would you choose for yourself? Had I been a boy, my mother would have named me Micah Seth. I'm quite happy I wasn't a boy. I'm not sure what name I'd give myself. I like Seth okay. Maybe I'd call myself Isaac because it means "he will laugh". And that is very important to me as opposed to the meaning of my first given name which means "bitter or sorrowful". Which is one of the reasons I never really went by that name (other than the fact that no one ever called me by it... my mother started out calling me by my middle name). I never felt like it fit me anyway. But I still hold on to it because it was my great-grandmother's name, and though I never got to know her well, I heard so many good stories about her that I was proud to bear her name even though I never went by it. But back on topic, Isaac is one of five top contenders for names we would name a boy if we ever have one.

Thank you Farmie for the fun questions. Now cue the closing credits to the interview :)

Things I've Learned This Week

2007-08-26T14:41:00.000-07:00

1. Employer supplied insurance is not always what it is cracked up to be... particularly if they are in the midst of negotiations... will they pay? Won't they? We won't know until Sept. 1.

2. Farmwife and I may have the same ring.
Is this it FW?

3. Dogs look very cute in Easter socks.
Sasha had to have a growth removed from her neck. The day after surgery, we put my easter socks on her to keep her from scratching at her stitches. She's done very well. We now leave them off entirely. She gets to have the stitches out on Friday.

4. Heat lightning is not caused by heat. It is merely a very big storm a long way off, but the atmosphere is allowing for you to see it. We watched a beautiful display of "heat lightning" the other night. It was when I was describing this that my coworker relayed what she had learned on the discovery channel.

5. I've been singing the line from a hymn wrong for years.
I love the hymn "Jesus Paid It All" Particularly the first verse at this particular part of my life.
I hear the Savior say,
"Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all."

But I realized today as I was displaying the lyrics on the screen for church that all this time I've been singing another verse wrong. Sometimes God makes me laugh at myself. All this time I thought it was:
Lord, now indeed I find
Thy pow’r, and Thine alone,
Can change the leopard’s spots
And melt the heart of stone.

It doesn't say that. It say's "Leper's" not "Leopard's". I kind of giggled when I realized my mistake. Wonder how many years I've been singing it wrong and if anyone has ever noticed but not said anything. Luckily I think with my accent they sound about the same anyway.

Hey, God could change leopard spots if he wanted too and you know it. My lyric fits just as well.

zann doesn't play by the rules

2007-08-17T17:50:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to catch up here. It has been a super busy/stressful/sad/ and annoying week.

in this past week I have had:
1. more work than I almost could handle...but we managed it.
2. more bills from the hospital when we thought we had paid for everything
3. realization that my insurance isn't paying squat on stuff.
4. found out out dog needs to have a lump removed.
5. found out a younger friend from high school committed suicide recently.

See... tough week.
So no WWHLT... I'm just not feeling that perky.

But I will indulge myself with a little MEME
I didn't get tagged and I don't do tagging, so I've changed the rules a bit. But I would love it if you would play along, whether in your blog or in the comments. Your choice. But I got it from Lauren's blog and thought it was really neat and fun.

THE RULES:
1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.
2. You must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.
3.You need to write your own blog post containing your own middle name game facts.

My middle name:

S -Suzanne is actually my middle name but also the name I've always gone by. I use to hate that I was called me by my middle name (not that I felt like my first name fit me all that well) but as I got older I liked it a bit more, because no one could ever guess my middle name because they always thought it was my first.
U - understanding math is not something I'm good at.
z - Zann is my nickname and the letter Z is how i often sign emails.
a - art is something I've always enjoyed since I was very very young, it is wonderful to see my niece and godchild taking an interest in it a their young ages.
n - notes and letters that have meant a lot to me are something I hold onto for years and years. Someday someone is going to open a box and find a whole bunch of letters that don't make sense to them but have meant the world to me.
N - Nature is where I feel closest to God. It is why I chose to have an outdoor wedding and it is where I go when I need some strong one-on-one time with my Savior.
E- Eggs are a food that I use to hate, but I have recently become quite fond of.

WWHLT

2007-08-12T15:09:00.000-07:00

WWHLT: DH and I cannot use spray on sunblock.

At least not after we have both removed our glasses.
We went swimming with some friends yesterday and used a friends' spray on sunblock - after we had already removed our glasses to swim. Neither of us are totally blind, but we do lose detail with out our glasses on. We ended up with some rather weird sunburns. Whereas we managed to rub it in, in most spots we apparently missed some others and have little blotchy spots where we missed. Really it kind of looks like we've been masked and spray painted.

Oh well. You live and you learn and since we very rarely go out in the sun I'm not terribly worried about the effects of this one burn

Slam Book and WWHLTW

2007-08-09T05:38:00.000-07:00

To prove that I am reading but just have not had any time to post nor any idea what to post about. I am taking Farmwife up on her Slambook questions.

I have been quite careful not to read other poster's answers yet for fear of influencing my own. But plan to go back and read them by the end of the day.

What's your name/nickname? If it's a nickname where did you get it and why?
Zann, it is short for Suzanne and was given me by my sister who would sometimes say "Suzannzabar" in greeting of me and then that later got shortened to "Zanzabar" which in turn got shortened to Zann. This all happened long ago - since I have been mostly gone by Zann since I was 12 or 13 years old. My mother also use to call me "Lucy" occasionally... we don't know why.

Do you have a significant other (very important question in the lives of high school girls)?
why yes I do indeed, but I won't tell you his name but he's two grades ahead of me and totally cute and quiet.

Who is your best friend?
Nicky

What's your favorite _________? (I'll let you fill in the blank. Typical Slam book choices were color, band, song, movie, number, food. You can fill in as many or as few as you like. OK, so maybe the questions weren't really that deep, but we were adolescents...sue us!)
My favorite ethnic food is Chinese food.
My favorite mythical creature (I think that was in one of my slam books at one time) is a pheonix

Do penguins have knees?
no, they are like weebles... they wobble but don't fall down.

Who's hotter: Dead Poets' Society Ethan Hawke or Reality Bites Ethan Hawke?
Dead Poets' Society Ethan Hawke

If you were stranded on a desert island which lead singer would you most prefer to accompany you? AdamDuritz, Eddie Vedder, or Michael Stipe . And why?
Eddie Vedder. He's the bad boy of those three and he has that really nice deep voice.

If one train leaves Boston at 2a.m. traveling at 15mph and a bird flies south from your roof at the butt-crack of dawn which side of the bed will you get upon? Considering the velocity of the train and the sense of direction of the bird, I'd say I'd probably just not get up that day as it is the end of the world as we know it.

Given a free long weekend & $1,000 you were not allowed to spend on bills, what would you do?
Take a weekend at a spa (though I don't think I knew of spas in high school-they hadn't gained the popularity that they have now- so my old school answer would probably be "I'm going to Nashville for a TPAC show & out to eat at Kobe steakhouse" )

How much wood would a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood?
Well duh.... as much wood as a wood chuck could chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood

Leave us with your favorite quote.
"What are we going to do tonight, Brain? - Same thing we do every night, Pinky. Try to take over the world!"
-Pinky and the Brain

I actually have a lot of other quotes that are favorites but that was the first that came to mind at the moment. It's so "deep" ;)

WWHLTW
If a little kid asks you to come eat lunch with them at their school... do it. It is a hoot. I loved eating with my neices on Monday, right before driving back home. I think that improved my spirits emensely.

Life's Not Fair...

2007-07-18T11:20:00.000-07:00

"Life's Not Fair Zazu"
That's the quote that started this bit of pondering. I've been thinking and occasionally saying that line from the Lion King since last week. And that got me thinking ... a lot of the phrases I use rather often have come from movies, plays, tv shows or sometimes books. For instance, I often tell my husband that he is:
"A good man, Charlie Brown"

My sister often tells me that she is "Woooried about Percival" (a line from the play "Play On") whenever she thinks someone is a bit crazy.

I often say goodnight by saying "Goodnight, Wesley, Most likely kill you in the morning" (Princess Bride)

Often while cooking I will do Swedish Chef impressions - "Nuw we poot de chicki into da pot"

and there are quite a few other things. It happens on an almost daily basis that I quote a movie, play, tv or book during my everyday speech. I'm challenging myself to keep track of it this week. I challeng you to do the same. How often to we quote literature in all forms without even meaning to?

WWHLT: It is illegal to kill snakes in the state of Tennessee - I learned this after finding a snake in our yard and looking it up to find out what kind it was. It was a Rat Snake... a harmless constrictor (well not so harmless to rats I guess) and we let it live. I knew it wasn't venomous from it's head... but I didn't know what kind it was until I looked it up this morning. It was on the website that I found the snake that I found mention of the law. I wonder if you are suppose to report yourself if you accidently run over a snake with a lawnmower or something?

2007-07-13T08:28:00.001-07:00

Weee! Look what I got in the mail! Thank you Phenn! I think this is much better than a sweetgum blow fish.. but if you think it's a fair exchange I'm not going to argue :D I have just the use for this special little album :D
z

2007-07-11T19:50:00.000-07:00

Wow. I hate it when I go and make a recipe that I've made for years and somehow, someway it turns out terribly wrong. I don't know which step I missed, or what I did wrong but somehow I ruined banana nut bread. It probably would have helped to not have been making it at 9pm. It also probably would have helped to not have to had to leave the half-done batter in the fridge overnight because one of the ingredients (the milk) had gone bad and I had to get more before finishing the batter. And did I mention I didn't have any nuts to put in it either.

As my niece once said after reading the Disney book version of Robin Hood
"Prince John should have thought that through a little better"

Oh well. At least my dessert for tomorrow turned out nicely.

A little better

2007-07-09T10:38:00.000-07:00

Doing better today. Trying to think of good things and focus on projects. Thanks to all who commented on my last post. I was in the depths of depression at the moment it was written and your kind words really helped.

WIHLT : I have learned that work helps. I don't like my job a lot of times, because it can be quite repetitive and stressful. But it helps to get back into a routine when dreams seem shattered, it helps to get back to normalcy. It helps to have something to occupy my mind so that I'm not fighting with it. When left on its own it tends to head toward feeling sorry for myself, or looking for answers that just don't exist. It's much better for it to have something to occupy it. I think there is lots of validity to "Idol hands are the devil's workshop".

Lauren you wonder gardner you.... I need help. Or anyone elses help for that matter.
This is the top back corner of our backyard.

We plan to get rid of the brush, and the "sunken" doghouse*, and I'd like to get rid of the iris garden because it is overgrown past help. It was there when we moved in and I can't even figure out what are weeds and what are flowers well enough to know what to dig up. I know which ones are irises and I think I'd replant them elsewhere. But since none of them seem to be blooming anymore, I think I'm going to dig it all up and start over this fall. But I need a plan. I'd like to do something up there. Something pretty. Something the dog won't get lost in or behind. But something low maintenance. It's mostly shady up there with all that honeysuckle. And I'm scared to tear out the honeysuckle because I think it may be holdingup parts of our fence. Any suggestions?

* About the "sunken" doghouse. It isn't really sunken. It is actually just a doghouse roof. But the doghouse rotted and was being eaten by bugs so we got rid of it and kept the roof as a jump for Sasha. But she has lost interest in it. But anytime anyone has asked us "what happened to your doghouse" we tell them that it just sunk right into the ground one day.. because that's what looks like happened.

2007-07-07T08:04:00.001-07:00

WWHLTW (What We Have Learned This Week) a less than happy post

-I've learned that sometimes even when things seem perfectly aligned they aren't necessarily meant to be.

- I've learned that I have some incredibly wonderful friends, family, and an awesome church home and an astoundingly good husband.

-I've learned that I won't have anything to share with you in several weeks like I had thought I would. Many of you were right in your guesses earlier. But unfortunately things didn't work out in our favor and yesterday we had to say goodbye to those possibilities for a while.

*sigh* I know I'm being kind of cryptic again. But as I've said before, this is an open forum and I just like to know whose eyes are reading when I speak about personal stuff. I don't have a problem with any of my regular readers knowing, (and some of you I probably should have emailed about it but I was foolishly waiting) but I wouldn't want work or others with good intentions but bad timing finding out what is going on, if that makes sense. So everything is explained and has been explained in my friends only journal on LJ. I'll happily email you an invite to be my friend over there if you want to make it easier to figure out the "friending" thing. I consider all my regular readers and those whose blogs I read my friends as well and would have no problem at all friending you. I just like to know who is reading and this isn't my place for that. I promise I'm not trying to lure you away from Blogger or get you to use that platform instead. It's just where I do my journaling and have been for the past 3 years and some things I just don't want to write twice. But if you want to know about how I'm doing personally, that's the place to go. I know you all must get tired of these little pleas occasionally. But I'm just trying to explain that I'm not trying to leave anyone out or anything, and I just suck at email anymore... but there is a place I write personal stuff and there is a place that I just write impersonal ideas and realizations. I hope you all understand.
All the best.
Z

TILTW

2007-07-01T14:06:00.001-07:00

(Things I've Learned This Week)

A sinus infection can cause you to dehydrate quicker than normal

Sometimes I have a tendency to return to my introvert nature.

I really stink at writing letters - whereas I use to be really good at it.

The reply post and things I learned from the bug man

2007-06-25T15:25:00.000-07:00

First off I would like to say thank you for the advice on the pillows. Our bedroom closet thanks you too.

Second FARMWIFE we are praying for you and look forward to knowing how Bitsy is doing when she makes her grand appearance into the world

NAN - Congratulations to P2 and Cath! So glad to know the coloring book was hit, feel free to pass my contact info on to anyone else who may want to do something like that for an anniversary or wedding or any other illustration need anyone has.

GRACE - we're praying for you and your family during the move as well

LAUREN - Praying for your friend who lost her baby at 11 weeks. How heartbreaking.

I think that covers the prayers and congrats - if I forgot anything I certainly didn't mean to or I just haven't made it over to your blog yet.

Now on to the WWHLR (what we have learned recently):
Recently we had the Bug Man come out to our house to inspect for and start prevention of termites. It is a necessary evil. They ate our old wood doghouse, we don't want them to eat our house. The guy was from Orkin. He was awesome. Can't say enough good things about him. Anyway... it was just like on the commercial. He really is a vast wealth of knowledge about bugs.

1. I learned how to tell the difference between a flying ant and a termite
2. I learned where ants most like to hide, and what they really hate.
3. I learned that if you have carpenter ants (the big black kind) that it is a good possibility that you will also have termites as they tend to work off of one another.
4. I also learned not to plant my flower beds against the base of the house, at least not where the dirt covers the slab, as that makes easy access to the house for buggums.
5. I also learned that by the time you see termites on the outside of the wood they have probably already been munching in that location for up to 3 years.

So there you go, that is now my vast info on bugs thanks to the bug man.

2007-06-18T10:11:00.000-07:00

You all will be happy to know that the old pillows now reside in the dumpster.

And now for something completely different

2007-06-17T14:03:00.000-07:00

I don't have a what we have learned today. Well on second thought, yes, I do. But in addition to it, I also have a WWNTLT otherwise known as a "What We Need To Learn Today"
and that would be:

What do you do with old pillows?

Since J and I were both on our own before we married we both had individual pillows... in fact we both had a couple of individual pillows that we brought into this marriage. Then we received pillows as a wedding gift (much nicer ones than our old ones) then several middle-of-the-night-nosebleed stain and unfluffableness later we bought newer new pillows at Sams. All our previous pillows had been accumulating in my closet. And a couple of Christmases ago I used several of them to make the dog a bed. But now that we have the newer new pillows we still have several old pillows in our closet. I figure I'll keep one or two for in case company visits, but then I still have two more and frankly I just don't need those two and they are in pretty bad shape anyway. So what do I do with them. Seems an awful waste and a large chunk to put in a landfill. But maybe that's what needs to be done. They certainly aren't in good enough shape without new batting to donate anywhere. And do any of the donation sites take pillows anyway? I need suggestions. What do you do with old pillows?

And now for the WWHLT or rather WHT (What happened today):

Today we discovered about 8 tiny spiders crawling around on our bathroom wall. We also discovered that J and I have different extermination techniques. I called him into the bathroom to confirm that they were spiders (I didn't have my glasses on and was guessing) he confirmed and disappeared and came back with a bottle of Raid. I on the other hand armed myself with a wad of tissue. I talked him out of spraying the Raid in our tiny bathroom. Mostly because I didn't want to smell that sickening sweet smell, didn't want to worry about the dog licking it and didn't know how it would effect the paint that is on that wall. To me, Raid is for outdoor use. To J it is the answer to all your bug problems... ever. I ended up squishing all the baby spiders with the tissue as I had planned. How do I know they were baby spiders? and not just a small species? Because no sooner had I squished the little boogers who were about the size of gnats did i see a much much larger Mama spider next to the toilet. Mama was big enough to make me jump and squeal. And I am not afraid of spiders. Her size was just startling. She was nickel size- big and black. J came back in sans Raid and stomped on it. And I picked it up with the tissue. Different techniques but a good compromise.

As To Your Questions...

2007-06-13T13:44:00.000-07:00

All I will say is that there are 45 days before I can officially comment on what it was I mentioned. So start your countdown tickers. :P

Yeah I know, I know, bad habits die hard

2007-06-13T08:01:00.000-07:00

Okay so I was wrong about the WWHLT keeping me here on a more regular basis. Things get busy and I go right back to my bad habits of ignoring this little blog. I do read everyone elses.. now whether I reply or not is another issue, but I do read. I know what's going on with all of you - but I have a bad habit of becoming that most dreaded of all internet presences ... the "Lurker"

Anyway. I will add one WWHLT or rather a WWHLR (what we have learned recently) to try to get back into the habit again.
This is my foot. With a rare coat of nail polish on it. I'm very bad about painting my nails. I think because I don't feel good at it. I get frustrated with my lack of steady hands. But I digress. The reason I post this picture is because a friend informed me that there is a name for the condition of my second toe being taller than my big toe. It is known as Morton's Toe I don't know who Morton is, nor how I got his toes. I always thought I had my dad's toes, which would make them Tony Toes. But if Foot.com say's I have Morton's then I guess I do. And that's what I've learned recently.

2007-06-02T14:14:00.000-07:00

Just so that you don't think I've fallen off the face of the earth or forgotten or anything. I am still here and I am still reading. I'm even still learning, I just can't seem to think of anything by the end of the day to write it down, recently.

But since it is Saturday and I am somewhat behind here I will give several WWHLTs:

- Dogs lick their paws for comfort when anxious or because they are itchy.
- They sit on your feet because they want to be near you
- And the lick your face to show you respect.

I found a dog book at the used bookstore today. It was very interesting.

- It is really hard to keep your mouth shut about something exciting even though you know you can't really say anything yet because nothing is certifiably official.

- 2 people can eat an entire meal at Arby's for 6 dollars

- There are no blue plums at the blue plum festival in Johnson City.

2007-05-25T10:33:00.000-07:00

Bon anniversaire mon aime

I figure since the picture is 5 years old and we look a bit different now (though not much) it would be okay to post a picture.

Recognize that place Nan? :D

Tonight we are going out to dinner (possibly at McDonalds if we decide to do a play too).
Then we leave for my home town to go to a wedding in Nashville over the weekend tomorrow. So the "Learning Jar" my be empty for the next several days and I may get a bit behind on your blogs.

However I will leave you with the WHLT for the day:

When I was growing up we had a bush in our yard that my mom referred to as the "Snowball" bush. That's what I always knew it as. When I was 11 we moved from that house to a new one without a snowball bush. But I remember distinctly shaking the due of the snowball bushes big blossoms. I also remember really looking into hydrengeas for my wedding way back when, but ultimately decided they would be too expensive. It was not until listening to the radio this morning and hearing the little gardener guy talk about hydrengeas and their alternate names, that I put the two things together. What we had in our yard growing up was a white hydrengea and I never even knew it. My mother did. But I never asked the name of it because I thought it was really called a "snowball" bush. Hey.. I have a "bridal veil" plant in my planter right now. It was a valid assumption.

WWHLT

2007-05-24T17:09:00.000-07:00

Sometimes experiments in the kitchen just make big messes and not a very good dinner.

8 things

2007-05-23T18:38:00.001-07:00

I thought this was a rather fun idea from a blog that some blogs I read, read. (Does that make sense?)

8 Random things About Zann

1. I absolutely detest tuna and will not eat it in any form or fashion, and will probably move as far away from you as possible if you are eating it.

2.I read about 13 comic strips online every morning before work and even on weekends.

3. If I had been better at math and science, I think i would have been a forensic anthropologist. I am fascinated by the stuff. But I don't have the stomach for the smells of biology, nor the skills in mathematics, so I went into advertising and art instead.

4. I drove two footed for the first 4 years that I drove.

5. I don't like chick flicks particularly. On occasion perhaps, but I would choose a comedy, epic, kid's movie or adventure over a romantic or sappy movie any day.

6. I secretly worry that our yard is a slow forming sink-hole. Enough so that I actually called our homeowners insurance to make sure we are covered in case it does turn out to be one and does something to the house one day.

7. I believe hypochondria and worry come with having a big imagination. I am slowly, ever so slowly (and with the help of my ever cool-as-a-cuke DH) learning to let go and let God and not worry about the what-ifs, or maybes and just live for the moment.

8. I probably have the dirtiest glasses of anyone you know. I never notice how filthy they are until I take them off to clean them. Then I wonder how in the world I was seeing through them at all. I also wonder how in the world I get them so dirty. It's not like I'm touching them very often or anything.

Three!

2007-05-23T18:23:00.001-07:00

Three things I've learned this week.

1. There are members of my family who are more neurotic than me. For instance one such relative brought her own towels and sheets to stay overnight at a hotel, but did not, however bring a change of clothes for the next day.

2. The new Sam's Club is opening tomorrow.

3. They actually make and sell for an unbelievably large sum of money fuzzy elf-like tennis shoes. How do I know this? Because DH sent me the link telling me he thought he should get a pair. Thank goodness he was joking. Who wants to wear fuzzy shoes?

2007-05-20T12:31:00.000-07:00

What I learned yesterday:
JC Penney in our town probably has some of the filthiest and most claustrophobic dressing rooms I've ever been in. And you can smoosh your finger in a grocery store buggy without really trying or doing anything weird.

What we have leaned today:
They only make 26 Ferrari s per day, and they go up in value rather than depreciate like most cars. Of course they are expensive out the wazoo. I owe this knowledge to CBS Sunday morning. It was a very interesting "design" oriented show this morning that we got to watch part of before heading to church.

I knew I liked these for some reason

2007-05-18T18:25:00.000-07:00

Got this from Lauren and thought I would share the results:

I am a
Daffodil

What Flower
Are You?

WWHLT

2007-05-18T18:16:00.000-07:00

As you age you lose your hair. Not just from on top of your head perhaps but also from your legs, armpits and eyebrows. Or at least this is so, according to my older friend Nelly.

For Farmwife:

2007-05-17T12:02:00.000-07:00

Long ago I met this girl. She went to my church and was one of the cool kids at Teen theater group I started hanging out with. But I've told you all that story so I'm not going to do that again. But there was this one night when we had a coffee house (or was it a talent show?) with that same group. In among the angsty poetry, amateur songs and readings of much better, well-written poetry... this girl I met got up along with another girl I had met and did the most amazing thing. It made me laugh. It made me feel nostalgic. In my opinion it was brilliant and I had a new respect for both girls. What they did was perform a deadpan version of the muppet's Ma-na-ma-nah song. From that moment on I knew there was true talent among us.

A couple of days ago I was browsing through Walmart on my lunch break. I ran across a gift that I so wanted to send to the Farmwife for her birthday. But alas I did not have the money to spend. So I'm going to recreate it virtually for you. Sometime virtual is better anyway.

It was a little fuzzy blue monster.
Here is my quick sketchy artist rendering of him:

And if you press his left paw he plays (you'll have to copy and paste since I can't figure out how to get the HTML to work in blogger) this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj6cbM-h8xga

but if you press his right paw he plays this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSjcjHsSCmM

I instantly thought of you FW. And perhaps if you happen to run across this critter in walmart. You will think of me as well.
Happy Birthday!

Along the same lines, DH is a gamer. And while back he found this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEWgs6YQR9A
It is the first time I've ever heard "L33t" speak spoken outloud. It's pretty funny.

*P.S. I realize you may be on dial up and not be able to view the videos... if this is the case.. the first one plays Happy Birthday and the second the Ma nah ma nah song

and now for the WWHLT part of this post After talking with a co-worker today who has a green thumb, I learned of my own brown-thumb mistake. Apparently if you want to have a more than a handful of stawberries... you know like enough for two people to eat throughout the summer.. you have to plant more than one plant. One plant is probably only going to yield a handful of stawberries. Oh well, you live and you learn, guess I'll still be buying strawberries this year afterall.

WWLY

2007-05-17T05:10:00.000-07:00

What We Learned Yesterday:
I do not function well on 3 hours of sleep. Guess it is just good training for when we have "real" kids. Sasha cried for 3 hours because of her e-collar on Tuesday night. We had to just let her cry it out because we couldn't afford for her to possibly rip out her staples while we slept. It left me with very little sleep to go on for a full day of work, then home to work on last minute freelance stuff right afterward. Thankfully last night she only whimpered a little but was fine there after.

2007-05-15T18:51:00.000-07:00

WWHLT: Apparently, I'm hyperventilating almost all the time.

We had a "health" program at work today. We have one once a month. This month it was on stress management. They had us do an exercise where we were to breath normally for a minute and count how many times we inhaled and exhaled (1= inhale & exhale). Then we were to take that number and multiply it by two. I'm not sure why. But the number should have been fairly low. Mine and a couple of my coworkers were quite a bit elevated. The speaker said that meant we were not taking deep enough breaths and that could be one source of our stress. She asked if we yawn or sigh fairly often *gasp* I do! She said that essentially since we are breathing so quickly we are basically hyperventilating all the time and depriving ourselves of oxygen. The yawning and sighing is our body trying to get more. So I've been trying to remember to breathe deeper all day.

Not easy to do when you discover a deep gash in your only fur-child's side in the middle of your post-mother's day get-together with your in-laws and have to cut things short to take your dog to the emergency clinic for stitches (she's fine, some stitches, and elizabethan collar, and some antibiotics later- she's her perky ol' self). And then still have to get home in time finish 5 freelance projects so they'll be waiting for the client in the morning.

No problem... I think my adreneline can carry me through at the moment.

Old McDonald Had a Cookie

2007-05-14T18:25:00.000-07:00

WWHLT: Did you know that McDonalds sells fresh baked cookies? I had no idea until my boss brought some in today. And they come in such neat packaging - I think it said it was a cookie tote. That just makes me giggle. The cookies were very good too. I particularly liked the oatmeal raisin ones. They come in packages of bakers dozens. I can't imagine how bad they are for you coming from McDonalds but they were oh so good.

2007-05-13T18:26:00.000-07:00

WWHLT:
Although my husband and I share a lot of the same interests, even in some music, there are quite a few songs in his collection that drive me absolutely up a wall.

He's been sorting music today in the office. We share the office. Nuff said.

Happy mother's day to all the moms out there.

2007-05-12T16:43:00.000-07:00

What we have learned today:
Today I learned how to grill. For the first time in my life we own a real live, up to your waist gas grill. We had an itty bitty sit-on-the-ground grill when we first got married. They kind most people take on camping trips. We cooked lots of hotdogs on that thing until it rusted out. Then a friend gave us a hand-me-down sit-on-the-ground charcoal grill last year. She let me borrow it for the TAG reunion last year. It did really well for that. Then DH and I brought it home and I tried to give it back to the friend but she said to keep it. We tried to cook on it a few other times. But realized we knew nothing about the secrets of charcoal. So yesterday was the big day that we were going to be grown ups and get a grill we actually knew how to use, and one big enough to cook for more than two people on. Now I'm ready to have people over. Because I have officially learned to cook hamburgers on something other than a George Foreman. I even learned to add the cheese at just the right time. It was a proud day.
However, I do wish I would learn the secret to getting hamburger patties to stay together. And the secret to cleaning a grill.

Any great wisdom to share?

2007-05-11T18:56:00.000-07:00

What We Have Learned Today:
Ants love dog food.

*********
oh how I hate ants. I use to love those little buggers when I was little. I'd go outside and feed them sugar just to watch them come scurring out of their hole and carry it on their heads. Now that it is my home they are invading and now that I'm the one in charge of the kitchen. They are not quite so amusing.

We've had a professional come spray outside, we've used Terro, we've sprayed with bleach, we've sprayed over-the-counter stuff outside. We've hidden all the food and made sure there is no standing water. But still they come. And the dang things just won't die or leave!

*******************

In case you haven't noticed, I haven't figured out how to post replies to comments so that the original poster actually knows I replied to them. So for ease of use I may start doing replies to the last post's comments at the end of each current(and now, hopefully, more frequent) blog entry.

Sarah: I've been wanting to paint a rectangle on our wall with that stuff to use as a message board. You'll have to let me know how well it works.

Look Out!- This Blog is A Jar

2007-05-10T08:21:00.000-07:00

So after yesterday's series of questions I got to thinking about this blog and one of those questions. It seems to me I don't post here much. (We've gone over this before, but bear with me). Part of it, is just that I can't think of much to say in a public setting. And I don't want to try to figure out blogger well enough to make it "friends only" or whatever they call it here - I already have a place I keep like that (don't worry I won't make this another shameless plug to try to get my buddies here to read over there). So I was thinking this blog needs a purpose. Something that would motivate me to write more. I'm not saying this will work necessarily but it's worth a shot and it will still go along with my title.

Plus the idea is kind of an homage to my mother too. And since it is very close to mother's day that seems appropriate.
I think my mother is a brilliant woman. Not sure she knows that, and I certainly didn't think that when I was a pre-teen/teenager but the older I get, the more I believe this is true. She is fun and funny, creative and caring and estudious as well. I no longer cringe at being compared to her. Instead I find it kind of flattering. When I was in college, much to family visitors' amusement, my mother kept a jar. She called it a "Learning Jar." She did this initially for her grandkids (my neices) because somewhere along the way she had shared her great wisdom that "you learn something new every day" and that people forget a lot of what they learn during the year. The kids (I'm not exactly sure this is an accurate story, but it's how I remember it) asked her how she knew.. and she and they started the learning jar as an experiment.

How the learning jar worked is that everytime you would learn a new fact, lesson or whatever during the day, you'd jot it down and put it in the jar. Later you could go back and look at how much you had learned over the year. I'd get a kick out of reading the little jotted notes every time I came home and so would the rest of the family and people who came to visit. One of the funnier lessons I found in the jar that stand out in my mind was: "Never take a two year old to a Japanese restaurant where the cook in front of you with an open flame. This = sheer terror"

So in honor of my mother on the week before Mother's Day, and inspired by yesterday's question "What have you learned today." I believe I am going to initiate the same experiement my mom did, here. I think I can make it back here most days to jot down something I have learned for the day. It may not always make sense. It may not always go along with something else I may mention here. But it will keep me motivated. And you are always welcome to ask me to expound on anything I may mention and I will probably oblige... And you are most welcome to add whatever you have learned that day too. I may also write other bits and pieces here and there that aren't about something I've learned. But I think I feel better knowing my blog has a purpose now. And it will be fun to see what I learn over the year.

Someone cue the Querty music from Veggie Tales "And what we have learned applies to our lives today.... "

What I've Learned Today 5-10-07
1.The side of your ring fingernail is a very bad place to get an injury because you knock your finger way more than you realize during the day.

2. Pickles get really smelling if thrown directly in the garbage. Ewwwww.

But wait! There's more!

2007-05-09T11:33:00.000-07:00

1 - If you could replay a moment in history EXACTLY AS IT HAPPENED, what moment would that be?
Hmm, that's tough - because for me to be there and it to be exactly as it happened, I would have had to have been present at the event in the first place which narrows it down to events from my life. So in that case I think it would be the moment I realized that I really did love my DH (before he was my DH ) and felt freed of the confusion I had been going through. It was such a light, freeing wonderful moment - but I think there are other equally wonderful moments I'd relive... that's just the first one that has come to mind.

2 - What aspect of your daily routine do you look forward to the most?
Lunch - not that I look forward to the food, but I do enjoy the time out of the office with my coworker either running errands or eating out. It's a nice break from the stress of the day. I also enjoy going home... but lunch always seems fun, whether at home or at work so I'm going with it as my answer.

3 - If you could avoid one household chore for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Ironing. I hate to iron. And have pretty much given it up. The other would be cleaning the bathroom.

4 - What did you learn today?
Did you know that if you are extremely left or right handed that it is an indication that the little bridge between the left and right hemispheres of your brain is short, but that if you are ambidexterous it is an indication that the bridge between your left and right hemisphere is longer. This also indicates a more intropsective person according to recent studies. I read that while trying to find information on something else this morning. I thought it was very interesting.

More Q & A

2007-05-07T05:08:00.000-07:00

Let's face it. I just don't have a whole lot to write about right now. Nor is there a lot of time recently, since the weather turned warm. Or at least I have trouble thinking of things to write about. So I'm taking on the questions that Emily left for me now. If anyone else would like to pose any questions to me, anything you've been curious about or just have wanted to ask anyone at somepoint but never had a chance to ask. Please feel free. I'll answer. It may be a couple of days before I do, but I will answer.

Here's my Emily questions. Please visit her blog in my side bar. She's really cool.

1. Do you believe in soul mates, destiny and fate?'

Um.. not really. Sort of. I believe that things happen for a reason, but that our decisions have concequences.

2. If you had to choose a literary character to describe/represent yourself, who would you choose? Why?
I've thought about this for this for several days now. And the only one I could come up with doesn't really respresent me now. I haven't really found a character who would right now. But one that represents my younger self, would definately be Junie B. Jones. I love those books because I relate to that child. She has big ideas and a lot of times her big ideas get her into big messes... and that was and come to think of it, still is, the story of my life.

3. What is one thing you wish someone had told you when you were growing up?
You really can't be anything that you dream or want to be if you work hard enough for it when you grow up. There are somethings that you may want to be/do that you just aren't cut out for. That first line, is just something people tell you to encourage you to work hard. But you can still strive to be the best you can be. And that, no doubt, is a pretty great thing.

4. My favorite day is Sunday. What is your typical Sunday like? Is it your favorite day too?
Sundays are not exactly my favorite day because I usually start dreading going back to work the next day by the end of it. Saturdays are my favorites. But I do enjoy Sunday too. Our typical one starts with me getting up and going to church to either tell stories to the 2, 3 & 4 year olds or run the lights/slide for the grownup services, then I'm joined by my DH for the service we attend and then we go to eat or do whatever errands need to be run in town. Then it is home to work on our own projects, play, finish cleaning or out to visit with someone.

5. Name someone from your past you wish you could talk to again or see again. What would you say?
Hmm. Dead or living?
Living- I'd like to see a former bridesmaid who completely ditched me as a friend after I got married. I'd like to tell her I'm sorry, face to face, for whatever I did to hurt her/turn her against me. I've written it in letters, but have never had the opportunity to tell her to her face. I honestly don't know what I did that made her just abandon me like that.

Dead- I'd like to talk to my Granddaddy L again. Or my Uncle Grant, or my Granny D or my friends' Granny S - I'm not sure which I'd choose, because I just enjoyed them all while they were living and just miss getting to say hello to them. But I know one day I'll be able to chat it up with some of them again. And that's a comfort.

2007-05-04T11:39:00.000-07:00

Meme Tag : Seven

Lauren has tagged me to complete this meme.
Here are the rules: Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves.
People who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their seven things,
as well as these rules. You need to choose 7 people to get tagged and list their names.
Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them
that they have been tagged and to read your blog!

1. I did not get to see the ocean until I was 26 years old. We went to the Gulf of Mexico when I was 3 but I don't remember anything about it so I only count DH & my trip to Charleston as the one time I've seen the ocean.

2. I can't do math for the life of me. I'm notorious for reversing numbers or making stupid mistakes. Calculators are my best friend. When people ask me "how did you decide to go into art as a profession" I tell them that I would have been a forensic anthropologist but there was too much math involved. Yet I'm the one who keeps the books in the family and manages our finances.

3. I am terrified of ferris wheels

4. I'm fairly shy until I get to know you, then I can be quite loud and obnoxious.

5. I absolutely hate tuna fish, it is probably my least favorite food ever.

6. DH and I actually crossed paths 10 years before we met and I even definately saw him and did not realize it until a year after we were married. My parents brought me a bunch of stuff they had been storing from my childhood and in the box was a self-recorded video tape of newscasts featuring the reenactment of the battle of Franklin. In conversations we knew we had both been there even though we lived several hundred miles away from each other at the time. But until we popped that video in we did not realize that I had actually seen him. There he was with his dad, marching in the fife and drum core. The newscast even interviewed his dad. It's our one really cool story of "destiny" ;)

7. I'm a born entrpreneur - though not a successful one yet. Ever since I was a little bitty girl I've been starting my own businesses trying to sell my wares. Such products have included: pot holders, statues made of wood scraps, bathroom sink concocted perfume, greeting cards.... and many more. Someday perhaps I will actually hit upon something. My design professors told me I should definately go into product design... but they didn't tell me how to do that. So I'm still working on it ;).

I tag anyone who actually reads my blog because I don't want anyone to feel left out and I love reading random facts about people.

I did a similar TAG over at the other place a couple of days ago. So feel free to read more.

Random Bits

2007-04-25T18:28:00.000-07:00

- Today I have begun the planting of the season. I have a strawberry, a cucumber, a tomato and a squash plant in my little garden. I added Tiger lilys near my gladiolas and went real crazy and bought myself a columbine. I have no idea if any of it will live but I'm hopeful. I don't have the best record with plants but yet there is something within me that longs to garden. So I do my best and just see what happens.

- TO ART THE OMNIPOTENT: My mom called today to tell me that she ran into you. Well not literally but that you helped her with flooring. She told me how nice you were and how helpful and how cool it was to run into someone who knows me. So thank you very much for taking time to talk with and help my mom with her flooring dilemma :D

- The Bark in the Park went well. Had a good time. Did several portraits but only made enough to break even. Not enough to keep me going back. But as I said, we had a good time.

- We are celebrating our anniversary this weekend, even though our anniversary isn't for another month... exactly a month from today in fact. But we won't have time around then next month to do anything other than go out to dinner because we have another wedding out of town to attend. So I have arranged for us to celebrate in a very special and surprise way this weekend. J knows I'm planning a surprise but not what it is. I'm super excited about it and praying everything works out and no one gets sick or anything.

- TO GRACE: I'm thinking about you girl! I haven't really known what to write in your blog... but I'm thinking about ya and praying for you. Just know that.

- TO DID: when are you ever going to give us another blog post?

- TO CATE: I'm doing my best to fix that PDF and get it back to you so you can see what we have so far.

- TO GIRL: Thank you for the interview thing, I think that was the most replies I've ever had to one of my blog posts. Very very fun little thing. I've enjoyed reading everyone's answers.

- TO EVERYONE ELSE: Anyone who asked for questions - they have now been posted in the comments on the last blog entry if you didn't find them yet. And also since I can't think of anything specific that I need to say to you... I just wanted to say hi.

- My godchild turns 11 this weekend. How can that possibly be? She will now be the age at which her mother and I met and became friends. I can only pray that in her venturing into middle school that she will find a friendship like we did.

Hmm.. that's all I can think of at the moment. Just thought I'd give a brief update. As usual it is quite busy around here.

The interview

2007-04-15T19:40:00.000-07:00

Girl had an interview session over at her place (which can be found in my sidebar) and I took her up on her interview challenge. If you want me to interview you, just leave a note here in my comments and I'll send you 5 questions to answer on your own blog! I figure if nothing else this actually gives me something to write about here:

1) What extra-curricular activities did you take part in in high school?
I was in drama senior year (the only year you were allowed to take it) but involved in a Teen Arts Guild outside of school from Freshman - post senior year (which is how I know Farmwife, Did & Art)and I was a writer/editor for the school newspaper for two years. I was a member of VICA in the graphic arts/printing division and I worked with what was called the Creative Coalition which basically was a group that put together a book of poetry, short stories and artwork every year called The Stylus, and I worked a bit with a history club as well, and was member of the art club and honor society but those two didn't really do anything.

2) If you were looking for a way to restore yourself and replenish your energy (on a budget), where would you go and what would you do?
If it is nice out, I would go to Buffalo or Bays Mountain or Warriors Path Park or maybe Jonesborough. Somewhere close to nature. I'd go sit alone read, listen to some music, sketch and pray. And I'd get myself a McDonalds or Dairy Queen treat along the way. If it wasn't nice out, I'd still play some music, run a hot bath and go to bed early.

3) Same question, but now pretend money and time are no object.
I'd probably still do the same thing, but maybe go get a massage somewhere before hand.

4) What is the longest amount of time you have spent longing for something and what was it? Hmm. Good question. I don't really know. I guess maybe around 15 years? Most of the time growing up, I felt like always I lived in the shadows. I didn't feel like I had a place to belong. I didn't feel good at anything, there was always someone better. Most times I felt like I was in my sister's shadow because she was so much older than me, it seemed like she always did things first and better. My mother would always tell me "Don't worry sweety, you'll find your place to shine" and she was right. I found a place at 14 or 15 where I did feel like I belonged. And actually had opportunity to be center stage.

5) If you could eat a crayon, what color would it by and why?
Now that's a different question. Hmm, I'd say "melon"

2007-04-12T18:25:00.000-07:00

Good news. The potty got vacuumed yesterday. It is now clean and sparkly. But the bathroom saga continues. We've had a pretty bad experience with the contractors we hired. Mostly we have a small job and they have lots of bigger jobs to work on so once our 4 day project ran into problems it ended up becoming a 14 day project because after the 4 days they were booked with other stuff and would occasionally show up to work on ours and occassionaly not. I got mean with them. There is just so long a girl can go washing her hair in the kitchen sink. I was polite but firm. I kept thinking to myself that it's quite obvious from the items in our home that we are Christians, I didn't want their impression to be of a hypocrite or a witch with a capital b. But I really wanted to shower again and I expected them to do their job.

They did finally get everything up and running. Then they came back to "finish up" and we thought they had and we paid them. But... the socket they installed doesn't work. So we've been trying to get them to come back out to fix that, and to bring back our baseboards that they took that they said they'd take to cut and then come back and install. Guess how much luck we are having getting any of that post-payment. *roll eyes*

You live and you learn.

Some day I'll post before and after pics as Farmwife has requested. But I want to have baseboards before I do.

Next weekend (not the coming one) we will be off to Chimney Rock, NC where I will be doing dog cartoons at "Bark In The Park", I think DH and Sasha are coming with me. I did this a year or two ago too and made no money.. but it was in August then and so hot that no one really hung around and DH was sick so I was there by myself. I'm hoping for better this time. I had considered not even doing it, I was so discouraged last time. But DH has encouraged me to give it another try. I'm still leery. I don't feel like much of a sales person and I still have a hard time believing that people will pay to have their dog's picture drawn. But maybe we'll at least have fun at the park together. It will also be Sasha's first trip in the car for longer than 45 minutes. Chimney Rock is two hours from here.

Say a prayer for us if you think about it next weekend.
z

Any helpful hints or tips on this?

2007-04-10T07:28:00.000-07:00

I have an issue.
An issue I have no idea exactly the best way to resolve.
Apparently, the contractors left silt or sometype of non-flushable pile of something in the bottom of our toilet when they left. It looks like sand.
But they hooked the toilet back up and all the water is in it now, with the silt still in the bottom (we were not overly thrilled with the contractors we hired... they will never be hired again... this is just one of many things they did/didn't do).
We can drain the toilet but it won't empty totally and the silt remains covered.
What is the best way to remove the nasty silt without making myself sick in the process?

Big spoon and a bucket?
Wet/dry vac? -it's quite a bit of water that's left, not just a smidgen.
Scrub brush?
Other?

Please help.

2007-04-09T11:01:00.000-07:00

Just another shameless ploy to get try to get you to visit me and let me friend you at that other place.
Plus, I didn't want my friends here to not at least be invited, even though I know some have issues with posting pictures that people you don't know will see. But I can assure you that none of the people on my friends list over there are complete strangers. I have every single one of them's home address, should I need to go kick butt and take names for any reason. :D So please, feel free to come join the fun.

**Edited to Add***
Okay after Grace's comment I took a look to make sure my statement was true. And although it is mostly true there are 4 people that I do not have addresses for on that friends list. But I do know them well quite well, so please feel welcome and comfortable there.
z

Cows and Donkeys

2007-04-03T05:43:00.000-07:00

I learned something new today. For the last while I've been noticing in cow fields up here there is often a lone donkey out grazing with the cows. I grew up around cow farms, my parents even raised cows for a time. But I don't think I ever noticed this back home. Maybe I wasn't paying attention. Or maybe they didn't have the same problems the farmers up here have. But I finally asked what was up with the donkeys and found out that they keep cayotes away.

Who knew.

I was told that cayotes will chase cows until one falls and breaks its leg. But a donkey will chase and stomp a cayote. So.. they keep them in the pasture as guards. Who would have thought. Donkey's just don't look so strong and foreboding but apparently to a cayote they are pretty scary.

I just thought that was really interesting and thought I would share.

2007-04-01T15:18:00.000-07:00

My avatar is now sporting my "red carpet" look for my major award of being the proud namer of Farmwife's van.

I would like to thank the little people in my life.... no seriously the three year olds I work with in Sunday School give me most of my inspiration with naming things :P

The casting agent in my head

2007-03-28T06:12:00.000-07:00

I've always imagined that my body works a bit like a very large corporation. The extremeties are the blue collar workers and the brain, of course, is the corporate office. The thing about my body business is that they are multi-facitied. They take on a great number of jobs but don't really specialize in anything. I guess that could be argued, but for the most part they don't.

Occassionaly the body corporation dabbles in film. Also known as dreams. Bet you didn't know that there is a casting agent dwelling inside my head, but there is. And she doesn't even require auditions. She just grabs people at random to play roles in her productions. Mostly the genre of films is Avante Garde, an occassional comedy, romance or horror film gets in the mix occassionallly too but they mostly stick with avante garde. But Congratulations Lauren, last night you were a star.

The body's latest film production was another avante garde flick about accomodating crazy ladies, and riding buses.The only parts I remember from it were that Lauren and Babybear got on a bus that I was riding on and we were surprised to see each other but happy none the less. Then the scene changed to my parents living room and I was getting ready to go out with another friend (one form Wisconsin) when this lady pulls up in a huge brown El Comino with some rather scary large hillbilly types and asks me if I'm ready to go. She was Native American of some sort (I gathered this info from the dream catcher dangling from the rear-view mirror) and quite obviously not in her right mind, perhaps a medicine woman of some sort. She looked a bit like a tan Morticia Adams. She told me we were going to go find some ghosts. I asked if my Wisconsin friend could come with me. She said no. I asked if Lauren (who had apparently followed me home from the bus) could come and the old woman begrudgingly said yes. The last thought before the dream ended was "I hope this doesn't take long, I have so much to do today, I hate when she shows up like this, but you gotta accomodate her or it will hurt her feelings" then a very smiling Lauren (like she had been fresh plucked out of a picture) got into the El Comino , which was again much like a bus and I woke up.

I didn't say the body makes good movies.. it just makes strange ones. They also make "enactment films" like you'd see on Unsolved Mysteries or America's Most Wanted. Playing out scenes of something I've read or heard about. Like things I read in your blogs. Since I don't know some of you in real life, you and your family members get cast by the casting agent in my head. Sometimes I imagine the little voice in my head whispering "The parts of P2 and Cath are being played by Guy Hannah use to date and girl who works in Classified." And since I watch these little enactments in my head, I'm always completely shocked when I see a real picture and they look nothing like the "actors" my casting agent put in their place. P2 and Cath being case in point :). Now that I've seen pictures to be able to work on them a coloring book, the casting agent is recasting their roles as well as Cate's role. I can hear it whisper as I read Nanabanana's blog "The parts of P2 and Cath will now be played by Stan (a client I work for who looks a bit like the real P2) and girl from the Addys (who looks quite a bit like Cath)". Now why the casting agent in my head doesn't cast P2 or Cath into their own roles now that I know what they look like, I guess is because I don't know their mannerisms because I've never seen them in real life and there fore in moving images (like the ones that play in my head when I read) they have to be played by people I've actually me.

It's an interesting business this body of mine.

2007-03-27T06:04:00.000-07:00

Someone please save me from renovation pergatory.

We are on day 8 without our own shower. The bathroom remodel was suppose to take 4 days. Why is it that no one tells you their stories of "if they say this long, it will probably take twice that long" until after you are in the middle of things yourself and are stressing over how long it is taking?
I found three grey hairs this morning. This is not uncommon to me, since my hair is somewhat dark and dark hair tends to grey early but for the most part all the grey I've found up to this point has been on the underside of my hair. But these three are on the top of my head. Most disconcerting.
Sinks are not fun to bathe in. I'm so happy we decided to do this renovation while we are still kidless. The poor dog is a nervous wreck. She gets sick almost every night.. but is not acting sick so we are petty sure it is just her nerves because things are all out of kilter. Dogs, especially huskies, - much like children, tend to thrive on schedules and repetition. The vet told us in the beginning. She is a mix of two nervous breeds. They like their order and control. Gee, who does that sound like. No wonder I feel like the dog understands me so well.

2007-03-22T09:13:00.000-07:00

Thank you Farmwife - we watched the new James Bond movie last night. And for at least the first half of it, all I could see was Clinton Kelly from What Not To Wear
it took me a while, but I got over it and was able to finally picture him as the debonair spy. Now I wonder what will happen the next time I see WNTW.

2007-03-19T08:03:00.000-07:00

Yes, yes. I've been gone a while again. But I have an excuse. It has been Busy with a capital B. But I'm happy today because I am not at work. Nope, I am waiting on bathroom people .... ahem ... I mean remodelers. We are redoing the bathroom. We are finally going to have an outlet in the bathroom. No more blow-drying in the hall. I am excited. And this ladies and gents (if there happen to be any reading - which I doubt on this blog) is part of my vacation. I am taking today and Thursday. DH will be here with them tomorrow and Wednesday. I'm trying to get a lot done but really I've spent a good portion of the morning catching up with everyone else that I read on here. I'm hoping to get a couple of more illustrations finished, maybe some laundry and a few more things. He's been here once and he is due back around 1(had to go to Home depot for more supples - wondering how much more that is going to cost us). I'll post before and after pics at Farmwife's request at the end of the week.

Until then, just know that I'm alive and that there haven't been any more Possum sitings since the last post.

Oh! I know something I was going to ask you all. What are your favorite novelty sayings? (i.e. "Life is just a bowl of cherries", "live, laugh, love", "What if the hokey Pokey really is what it's all about", that kind of thing) Or if you could hang a sign outside your residence what would it be?

Congratulations you have become my demographic.

Zann vs. The Opossum

2007-03-05T19:50:00.000-08:00

Just to let you know. Possums must die. I've decided that is their sole purpose in life is just to breed and then die to be carrion. Because I certainly can't think of any useful qualities they maintain in life other than to provoke carnivorous and sometimes less than brilliant animals. Last week a possum (I hate spelling it the proper way with an "o" so I'm using my own spelling) trapsed through the field behind our house teasing our dog in her fence. Then the stupid possum climbs the tree in the corner of the yard. Our dog, whose primal instincts for rodents is strong starts jumping at it and discovers that she can get not only around the tree but also up the tree and over the fence. Thanks to this new found knowledge we have to watch her like a hawk at night when we let her out now. If we hear barking we check to make sure she isn't heading to that corner of the fence. Well tonight we got a little lax on that and I thought my fears had proven true. I have no babies. This dog is my only baby. So having her run away is not one of my favorite thoughts. It scares me. Sure she has a collar, and tags and even a microchip, but there are dangers in the world that she doesn't know about and that I don't want her to learn the hard way about. So when she didn't come when I called I got a little nervous. When she didn't come when J (the lead dog in our house) called. I got scared. Threw my shoes on and grabbed my flashlight. She wasn't on either side of the house, but J spotted her in the corner with the tree. She hadn't climbed the fence. In stead she had gotten herself stuck behind the tree. I had to climb through the brambles and honeysuckle vines into the tangles to free her. All this in the dark. I am still picking twigs out of my hair.

I'm pretty sure I heard a possum laugh as J and myself escorted our ashamed dog back into the house. Next warm day that we have, I'm breaking out the trimmer and taking out that overgrowth of honeysuckle and then I'm bringing out the chicken wire and blocking that area of the fence from certain curious hounds.

But I have to say. I'm really glad to have her back in the house. I don't know how I'd go to sleep without getting tucked in by the dog.

And she does tuck J and I in. She sits on the bed with us until she thinks we are asleep then moves down to the floor. It's sweet.

You all knew I couldn't resist a MEME, didn't you ;)

2007-03-04T14:18:00.000-08:00

1) Is your blog identity a pseudonym or part of your real name?
It's part of my real name, kind of a family nickname. Well that is if you remove the "li" from the end of it. Those were the first two letters of my maiden name. I always know who really knows me or who just knows me from some formal meeting by what they call me.

2) How many states have you lived in? Countries?
I have only lived in this state I am in now, unless you are counting states of mind, and then there have been numerous states that I have lived in. I have visited Mexico once on a Summer Mission trip but only for two weeks, and I crossed into Canada once while doing a co-op business trip in Michigan but I was there a total of about 3 hours so I don't think that counts. All I remember is how scary the bus ride back and fourth was.

3) How long have you been blogging?
What exactly constitutes blogging? I've been conversing back and forth, sharing ideas and thought with people over the internet since 2001 when I was posting on the WeddingChannel.com's message boards and had my own little "wedding journal" there. It was a wonderful place to talk wedding stuff with other people who were totally engrossed in planning without driving everyone else who knows me in real life nuts and getting labeled a "bridezilla". Friendships were forged there and several of us from those boards (after some difficulty with stolen information, trolls and what not) moved on to Livejournal (that other place in my sidebar) around 2004 because of the ability to guard your more intimate information. Farmwife started blogging here in 2005 or 06 and convinced me to join, and then later Lauren came along, and then Art and Did (all who I knew in person) and then through them I've met you other great people. And I've been here sporadically ever since, keeping LJ as my main place to ponder.

4) If the Internet completely disappeared, would you have to go through a blogger recovery program such as blogoholics anonymous (BA)?
Absolutely. Not only that but I'd have to go to emailanon, and websiteanon, and comicsanon. Because a big portion of my time is spent working through, communicating with or learning from the internet.

5) When you aren't blogging, what are some of your hobbies?
drawing obviously. I enjoy a good book or movie now and again. And spending time with husband, dog, friends and family. I still enjoy attending live theater, but no longer participate in performing though it is on my list to try out for something within the next 3 years. I also always have about a bazillion little projects that I'm working on, but believe it or not most of them usually get finished.

(6) How many languages do you speak?
Well the only nationally recognized language that I speak is English, but I also speak Southern, Sashaneeze see two posts down, and Pig Latin

7) Favorite vacation spot?
I've only been once, but it was so beautiful that I would love to go back to Charleston, SC. But I suppose my favorite is just going home to visit. Or to Pigeon Forge for Christmas. It's always a bit like a mini vacation to me. But I'd also like to go back to Islands of Adventure in Orlando someday, and there are tons of other places I'd like to visit. Farmwife, I hope to surprise DH with a getaway to Fall Creek Falls sometime this year, I haven't been since I was 7.

8) What is your life verse, quote, or theme?
The verse is one of my mother's favorites as well that she has passed on to me. The women in our family rely on this verse because we are natural worriers. Joshua 1:9 "Be bold and courageous, banish all fear and doubt, For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." But currently my favorite quote that I have been striving to live toward and pray most every morning (I hung it on my fridge) because it spoke what my heart could form words to say is from John Baillie:

Speak in my words today, think in my thoughts, and work in all my deeds. And seeing that it is Your gracious will to make use of even such weak human instruments in the fulfillment of Your mighty purpose for the world, let my life today be the channel through which some little portion of Your divine love and mercy may reach the lives that are nearest to my own."

9) What is the hardest job you have ever had?
None of the jobs I've had have been extremely difficult. Some have been extremely annoying and miserable, but not difficult. But there have been difficult assignments within those jobs, and I'd say for me those would be the ones involving working with groups.

10) What is the most rewarding role you have had in life?
Aunt, god-mother and Wife are all tied for the #1 spot at the moment.

Since the last time I blogged here....

2007-03-03T13:25:00.000-08:00

A lot has been going on around here that has kind of kept me from blogging here. But here is a detail-less recap of what's been happening around here. I sometimes feel guilty for not blogging here much but it isn't because I don't love you girls, it's just that I already let everything out somewhere else and I don't like repeating myself. So once again I will plug That Other Place and I promise that if you comment to me fairly often here, then I will "friend" you over there. But anyway... here's you a quick rundown.

Since the last time I blogged here:

- I have finished a logo, two brochures, 4 illustrations and picked up a new freelance gig that may or may not work out. But could be very exciting if it does. Nana, do you still want me to do your daughter's coloring book? It may sound like I don't have time, but I do.

- forgot my parents were coming to visit until two days before they arrived.

- chased the dog through a field in my work clothes after another opossum incident and her discovery of a tree in the corner of our lot. Why a opossum was out in the morning I do not understand.. but those darn things just taunt dogs.

- received the emails you have sent but have not had a chance to properly think out my answers and respond.

- signed up for a basket weaving class

- started some home renovation projects.

- discovered that we have a termite colony in the back of our lot and therefore need to have the house sprayed/protected.

- discovered how expensive that can be.

- went to an awards ceremony where we got to dress up like gangsters and my hubby won an award and I won a door prize.

- had puppies over to play with Sasha- which was very cute and entertaining because all but one was scared of her, and she was completely gentle and sweet with them. She makes a good puppy-sitter.

- We had our first real accumulative snow of the season.

- Have made plans to visit my family for a mini-reunion in two weeks, and plans to go to two showers at the end of the month (one baby, and one wedding).

- Have been reading Curly Girl and have learned a lot about my hair Art after I finish it, I will happily pass it along to you if you'd like.

- Have watched several movies, DH is on a movie binge, including The Prestige very good twisty kind of movie, Lady in the Water don't bother it was awful, Barnyard Very cute, but kind of weird since there is a male cow in it, and I kept wanting to call the mouse Sheen. Cars super cute and well done. I'm finding that I really like Owen Wilson.

I can't think of anything else right now. I need to go get dinner ready for guests coming over tonight, and see if I can't memorize my story for tomorrow's children's church- oooh! Remind me to tell you all about that sometime.

A message from the demander

2007-02-21T18:42:00.001-08:00

2007-02-20T19:56:00.000-08:00

Reading Wandering Heart's blog today reminded me why I'm not allowed to bake expanding breads. Not long ago (back around my birthday) my mother-in-law gave me a bag of starter and a recipe for Amish bread. It seemed easy enough from the instructions and it was the gift that keeps on giving so I thought I'd give it a shot. Problem was we were going out of town that weekend and the bread batter needed to be burped and fed each day. So I packed it up and brought it with us. Of course the night before we left was the very night that the bread batter needed to be fed and separated making 4 new bags of batter. So I did that and baked one batch. I'm not sure how I managed it. I followed all the instructions and I certainly wasn't trying to be messy but I just kept finding batter and flour in various places. When I went to take DH a slice of bread after it had cooled from the oven. He was amused by pointing out the various places on my person that I had gotten batter and flour. I had it on my rear (goodness knows how, it's not like we have a place to sit in our kitchen), I had it in my hair, I had hand prints on my shirt and a slotch on my glasses. I was a mess. The kitchen was a mess. But hey, at least the bread was good. But it made waaaay too much for just two people. So when we went out of town the next day I took the bread and the batter with me and left it all with my mother, with the instructions and comforting words of "it will not hurt my feelings if you throw this away after I leave". I think she probably made one batch too and got rid of the other bags. But who knows. The Amish bread may be making its way through my hometown as we speak and then on to bigger and better places. It just keeps growing and growing....

But it is just too messy for Mrs. Messy herself.
(that would be me if you are wondering).

I've always identified with this book:
Billy Brown Makes Something Grand

The bread incident was no exception.

Artist/writers/ whatevers block

2007-02-19T19:16:00.000-08:00

I just can't pull it together. This use to come easy, but I'm worn out. I can't think, my brain is tired. I'm at the spot that I wanted to be in and now my ideas seem to be putzing out. Or at least tonight they are. I have one of my very few and far between opportunities to do creative work at work and I can't think of a thing. My mind is an almost blank. It isn't totally blank. I have ideas but I just can't seem to get them to work out in a cohesive fashion. I miss school! I never thought I'd say it but I do. I miss the sitting around drinking soda, eating donuts and having brainstorming sessions in a creative inducing environment with other creative minded people. I miss feeding off of everyone elses ideas until we each had gleaned something that we could present. Some design firms do that very thing, but it seems to be against the religion of newspapers. I've tried it with DH but we think too differently and brainstorming sessions seem to work better the more people that you have. The more backgrounds, the more useless knowledge and ideas that are thrown, in the better they work.

My brain has now switched off of the assignment at hand (or rather assignments as I've picked up another freelance gig which I also seem to be brain-dead on) and I'm now trying to figure out how I could start a website for people who want to brainstorm. How would it work? See the problem with bringing people together online would be that they are all working on different projects and want to brainstorm about different stuff and then there is the possibly of competitors running into each other. But there has got to be a way to provide this service to people who need it but don't get it where they work. Hmm... any ideas on that guys?

Anyone know of any great moments in history involving newspapers working together with the people? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Okay I think I'm going to do something mindless for while and maybe something will come to me. In the meantime, I would love to find a way to show my avatar beating her head against a wall but I can't seem to figure out a way to do that either. But that would best express what I'm feeling at the moment. At least I feel a bit better now that I've expressed the emotion in words.

2007-02-18T19:45:00.000-08:00

Today's Question to Ponder:
Why does orange juice always make me feel thirstier than I was before I drank it?
I'm guessing it has something to do with the acidity.. but seriously that's annoying.

Random bits

2007-02-15T12:34:00.000-08:00

• My good friend had her baby yesterday :D It's a boy and I'm estatic for her. Happy Valentine's day to A & S and their son whom I will from now one refer to as RC-Cupid :)

• I have discovered much to my non-suprise that I am not girly

• I don't understand why people "plant" fake flowers in their yards or in planters. Inside I kind of understand... but artificial flowers outside? I realize they are less trouble but really.. why not just not just plant the real thing or get a low-maintenance plant to go in its place. There are a lot of really pretty low maintenance plants out there. Surely they don't think the plastic sticking out of the ground looks real? Especially in the middle of winter?

• Been having dizzy spells lately. Went to my regular check up yesterday and mentioned them to the doc. He checked me out thoroughly and found out that I have a sinus infection. Said there is lots of fluid on my ears, which is probably the cause of it. I've never had a sinus infection where I wasn't stuffed up before. This is my first SI where I can actually breathe normally, but now I'll have to start using nose spray to clear out the passages. Lovely.

• I want to learn to sew again. I've forgotten how. I need instruction. My mother taught me when I was a kid but I lost interest and have now lost the knowledge. It is not like riding a bike apparently. Unfortunately I'm having trouble finding somewhere or someone to give lessons that don't take place for hours at a time during the middle of the day.

• Why is it that places around here that offer lessons in things that I'd like to learn or get better at ( such as cooking, sewing, scrapbooking, knitting, cake decorating, Tai Chi...) always offer them in the middle of the day. Do they not think that the people who work regular office hours would like to take a class occasionally? Can't they do a Saturday occasionally? *sigh* oh well.

• It is very cold but there is no snow here.

• We are going to the chocolate fest and an advertising awards banquet this weekend. Somehow I don't think my healthy eating is going to stay in tact.

2007-02-13T20:16:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure why, but this illustration reminded me of Farmwife. Maybe it's the hair. Or perhaps that the character is expecting... or maybe it was all those bulb catalogs she got me hooked on ;)

Ponderment of the Day

2007-02-09T13:13:00.001-08:00

Why does bottled water have an expiration date?
When does water go bad?

Sucked in Again or Relating to the Past

2007-02-03T18:53:00.000-08:00

It was just a simple question. Just a curious, simple question that a friend of mine asked. This happens occasionally, you work for the media people and hear about stuff quickly and have access to other forms of media and people start asking you if you know about "such and such". Plus this friend knows I'm an avid history buff and story listener so she figured I might know. She asked about a building downtown, if I knew what it might be. I didn't.

And that's where it started.

Of course since I didn't know, I felt compelled out of helpfulness and curiosity to find out what it was, so I started some online research. And then I found a website with newspaper articles on this town's history. I still haven't figured that one out, but I've learned some fascinating stuff. I've been completely sucked in again just like when I was a kid back in Middle TN. I'm completely absorbed in the history of this town now. I've been reading that website for the last 2 hours. I needed to be working on an illustration or a couple of other things I had on my list to get done this weekend. But instead I got sucked in... just like I did in childhood. I tell you this because I'm shocked at myself. Of course it probably didn't help that my husband is sitting in the other room watching Citizen Kane it kind of added to the atmosphere of what I was reading. I have already seen the movie but he had never seen it so he rented it. This is why I am in here, and he is in there alone. I had to watch it in Civics class once or was it English? Anyway I had to watch it in high school so I don't have fond memories associated with it. But husband seems to have an odd fondness for old movies (something I didn't know when we married - but have found I really like about him). But I digress... what was I talking about? Oh yeah!

Now, if I thought it would make money, I would be looking into how much of an investment it would be to get one of those trolley buses (because I just learned this town use to have real trolleys) and start a history tour business of downtown. Because that is one of my long forgotten dreams. But since this town isn't exactly a tourist destination and I know nothing about running such a business. I suspect it will remain just a long forgotten dream. But if I ever become independently wealthy I may take that up as a hobby. Man, oh man is my history loving blood pumping. And that hasn't happened for a really long time. I may never look at the area around where I work the same way again. Maybe I'll start a photography project! Using the old photos and information from that website and stand at corresponding angles in present day and re-take the photo for comparison. I've always wanted to do that too. Maybe when it is warmer.

What is it about history?? Why am I so fascinated with how things were in comparison to now. Why does it never cease to amaze me how much things can change over a relatively short period of time and how much can happen - how many stories can develop in that space, before things do change. And why did I just find myself teary-eyed over a dog who died over forty years before I was born?

I think the answer is community. I never cease to be amazed at relationships. And I never cease to be amazed by how much things change but yet essentially, deep down, stay the same. Wow. What a fascinating creation community is.

Freeee -dom!!!

2007-02-02T06:17:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine sent this to me and I thought you all would be interested as well - of course the donations have a cap.. but even when the cap is met you can get a free pasta cookbook:

Barilla (pasta) will donate $1 to Second Harvest Foodbank for every download of their free cookbook with pasta recipes from celebrities. You can even choose which foodbank you want your donation to go to. It's really easy and only takes a few seconds. The download is an Adobe .pdf file, is less than 3MB and 34 color pages if you choose to print it.

Barillaus

******************************************************

Then you can go send a Free Pretzel and E-card to your Valentine from Aunt Anne's
Aloveyoucancounton.com

Dear little girl

2007-01-29T19:09:00.000-08:00

To my young friend:

You don't know that this is written for you. I doubt if you will ever see it. Maybe I'll actually mail it to you, once my prayers have been answered. But for now it will stay here in a little corner of cyberspace. If I thought you would be receptive I would tell you these things in person, but at the moment I think it would fall on deaf ears. These are things I want you to know. Truths I feel I have learned and want to pass to you.

1. I have loved you since you were born and I first held you. And I will Always - with a capital "A" love you. You will always be part of my family, even if we are not related biologically. And even when you do things that I don't agree with. No matter what I will love you.

2. Your mama loves you. No matter how much it may seem like she doesn't sometimes, I've known her many years and she loves you more than words can say. Sometimes Mamas have a lot to deal with and it just doesn't come across as well as it should. But I know from everything she tells me, how proud she is of you, and how many wonderful things she wants for you. She may seem really mean sometimes, but a lot of that is just being protective of you.

3. You really are a good artist. I don't just say it to flatter you. I think you honestly have talent. As you grow up and you show your work, you will get rejected. But don't let that get you down. It is no reflection on the quality of your work, it is just a reflection of difference in people's preferences. Just because one person or even one committee of people doesn't like your work, does not mean there won't be a different committee or person who will. That is the nature of art. Just know for a fact that you have a good eye and a good passion and that, my little girl, will take you far in the art world.

4. Our actions have concequences. If we do good, most of the time we will have good results. If we do bad stuff a lot of times we'll get bad results. Sometimes consequences are long in coming. Sometimes they are swift. Sometimes bad stuff happens when we do good stuff and good stuff happens even though we do bad, but as a rule you reap what you sow. We can be forgiven for what we do, but we still suffer the consequences of the action. Keep that in mind before you act on any impulse. Someone once said of jumping off a building and then realizing you had made a mistake... "God will forgive you, but gravity won't."

5. Nothing and no one can separate you from the love of God (look up Romans 8 it's a very comforting book). When everyone else seems to be abandoning you, or not paying attention to you, you can absolutely count on God. Trust me. Better yet, trust Him.

6. People will be mean to you. Some people will be mean to you even when you are nice to them. Some people will use you. Some will break your heart. Some will make fun of you. It will hurt and it will make you mad. But know that they don't have any clue about who you really are. The only one who knows you inside and out is God and He felt like you were worth dying for to save. And know that you don't have to retaliate. They will get their come-up-ance. It may not seem like it at the moment, but it will happen. See #4 about consequences of actions.

7. Boys think differently than girls do. Even if your best friend is a boy, and you feel like you are totally on the same wave-length. You can bet the he thinks differently than you do. Keep that in mind when you think they "get" you, or when you think you "know" what they are thinking. Chances are it probably isn't that accurate. You'll have moments when they do "get" you and you communicate well, and you'll learn ways to communicate better. But the fact will remain that they think different.

8. It sucks to be a girl your age. But you'll get use to all those changes, and at some point they won't seem so bad. They'll always be a bit annoying, but it won't be as bad. You'd be amazed at all the mechanics going on in your body. It is a magnificent machine in there, and once you realize how well it works together you'll be slack-jawed at the complexity of it. It won't make those times of the month any easier.. but at least you know it has purpose and can wonder at the complexity.

I was going to make this list 10 things long. But I think I've covered the important thing, and I can't remember what the other two were. But just know I love you. Know that I'll always be here for you. And that I will always say prayers for you, whether you like it or not.

Sincerely, your aunt zann

I'm not a witch! I'm your wife!

2007-01-26T17:34:00.001-08:00

Which Princess Bride Character are You?
this quiz was made by mysti

Books!!!

2007-01-22T21:24:00.000-08:00

First off, thanks to all for the prayers and comforting words. I know my parents and my Aunt Margie appreciate them. My parents were unable to make it up for the funeral due to weather in the various locations along the route, but they plan to make a trip up in the near future to comfort their friend, and I'm hoping to get down to comfort them this weekend.

Now on to the topic at hand... BOOKS!!

Queen Mother (all hail Queen Mother) tagged me. I can't tell you how happy that made me. I think I was just needing to be tagged. But I'll get into that in another post on another day. Today I'm going to discuss a favorite topic - BOOKS!!

1. A Book that Changed Your Life:
I'd probably say On The Anvil by Max Lucado
because it came around to me at just the right moment in time and
helped me through an incredibly difficult time in life and Mr.Lucado just has a way that speaks God's words and comfort to my brain.

2. A Book You've Read More Than Once:
style="font-style:italic;">Those Who Love a book of
poetry by Sara Teasdale. I remember things too well so I don't re-read
other books very often, but poetry is different.

style="font-weight:bold;">3. A Book You'd Take onto a Desert
Island: A survival guide, that includes detailed
instructions for food, shelter and escape.

style="font-weight:bold;">4. A Book that Made You Laugh:
Junie B. Jones any of them in the series and most
recently "No Paint" a wacky retelling of the three little pigs, and
just about anything by Terry Pratchett.

style="font-weight:bold;">5. A Book that Made You Cry:
A Coroner's Journal
by coroner, LouisCataldie

6. A Book You Wish Had Been Written:
"How
to effectively communicate with and get your Husky to hush." If you did
not know, huskies are notorious talkers... Sasha is no exception.

7. A Book You Wish Had Never Been Written:
Confessions of a Teenage Baboon by Paul Zindel - seriously I hated that book and I was forced to read it in 9th
grade. It was a bad attempt at being Catcher In The Rye, or The
Outsiders, but failed miserably. Of course I had to read both of those
too, and although I remember liking Catcher in theRye slightly more
than the Outsiders - I didn't really like either of those either. I
guess I'm not much on male teenage angst books. I did like A Separate
Peace by John Knowles though, and the Great Gatsby, so all the books we
were forced to read we not for naught.

8. A Book You're Currently Reading:
Facing Your Giants by Max Lucado

9.
A Book You've Been Meaning to Read: There's a list, do
you want it? Here's the first few on the list style="font-style:italic;">Mere Christianity by C.S.
Lewis, Several Terry Pratchett Books, and thesequel to Artemis Fowl (That's right, Did, I finally read it!!)

Is
it weird that I love books but don't read much? Well, not read like my
other friends read. I enjoy reading but mostly hate novels. There are
exceptions, of course, likeSharyn McCrumbs mysteries, or Some of
Pratchett's books for grown-ups and of course the late great Douglas
Adams, but for the most part I don't really like novels unless they are
in the youth section of the library. Go figure. I love lots of novels
I've read from there though. I'll blame it on my short attention span.
If you don't grab my interest in the first chapter, you've pretty much
lost me for good. I'm not a detail person, and tend to get too bogged
down by too muchdescription or back story. I like things that cut to
the chase. And I suppose that is why I like kids books. Maybe I just
have the attention span of a kid? I also read a lot of non-fiction as
long as it is broken into short chapters and a I do read magazine
articles.

Raise your hand if you ever would have guessed that or remembered that I use to work at the public library? Anyone? Anyone?

Yeah,
I barely remember it too, but it was one of my favorite jobs that I've
ever had. I loved shelving the books and getting first pick, and
helping with research (thankfully, you wouldn't think it, but I do get
to do a lot of that in my current profession). But most of all I loved
working in the children's section. I loved the colors, and artwork. The
creative writing. I mean you look at some kids books and think "I could
do that", but then you'll look at others like, ShelSilverstein , for
instance and think "Wow, that's deep. But not too deep for little kids
to enjoy it." - genius. That job led me to a possibility of a career as
an illustrator. Not that I'veachieved that yet, but since I do have
several paid projects floating around out there. I think I can consider
myself an illustrator. I've also seriously considered going back to
school and getting my Masters in Library Science. There are just two
things keeping me from that. Time & Money. I'm not even finished
paying for my first stint in college, paying for more is a miserable
idea to me. But I would so love to work in a library again.

Until
then I will just continue to build my little library of reference
books, art books, children's books and folklore. Someday perhaps myillustrations will find their way onto my shelves. Maybe even my writing (haha
) who knows. I'm thinking about making a t-shirt that says "Thank you
Mr. Gutenberg" in typewriter font. Wonder how many people would get it?
My guess is not many remember who first made marketable literature
available to the masses.

And Inkling, this is for you. My little joke of the day. If Mr. Gutenburg's machine broke down, did it make him de-pressed?

Okay.. I think it is time to get off here and go stick my nose in a book or something. Goodnight.

P.S. Don't ask me what's up with the formatting here. Seems like this happens everytime I run spellcheck on something. And I don't know how to really fix it. So I apologize for the look of this and hope you can still manage to read it.

My cookie

2007-01-22T18:07:00.000-08:00

You Are a Black and White Cookie

You're often conflicted in life, and you feel pulled in two opposite directions.
When you're good, you're sweet as sugar. And when you're bad, you're wicked!

What Kind of Cookie Are You?

Funny, it's kind of like the "girl with a curl" poem. Which is also accurate to me.
I was tagged by Wandering Heart, I tag anyone else who would like a cookie. :)

Make new friend but keep the old....

2007-01-21T14:50:00.000-08:00

Sad news today. My mom just called. My Uncle Grant passed away this
morning. This is not my dad's brother. This is not my mom's brother.
But he might as well have been to both. He and his wife Margie, are one
of those special relations known as life-long friends.

Grant was a tall, quiet man, with mischievous eyes. That's what I will always remember him for. That and his soft spot for a geeky, history obsessed little girl. My parents met Margie and Grant when both couples were stationed overseas. Margie taught my mother to cook. Dad and Grant worked together on base and became fast friends. Growing up we heard many a tale of their adventures together. One of my favorites was when Dad and Grant were babysitting Grants oldest daughter, while Mom and Margie went to do something. The men decided they needed to run an errand too so they dropped the little one off at a base baby-sitting/daycare thingy, and when they went to pick her back up they came close to accidentally taking the wrong baby home.

When they all came back to the States the relationship became a long distance one as mom and dad returned to their southern home and Margeand Grant returned to one in the great white north. But there has never been a month that has gone by I don't think where a phone call was not exchanged between them. All my years growing up, I can remember anticipating the first major event of the holiday season, which was the
opening of what we referred to as "The Margie Package". Every year, Marge and Grant would get us a little gift, lots of candy, stuff from their state, a calendar for mom and dad, and Margie's famous "Nut Balls" (I think most people call them Mexican Wedding Cookies), and my mom did the same for their bunch. I remember a couple of times when they came to visit us. We met them for vacation in Ohio one year and went to Kings Island. Another year they came to visit us and we took them to Mule Day. Then we visited their home and I had my first plane ride. And one time they came down to visit us and we took them to the re-enactment of the battle of Franklin.

This is where I bonded with my Uncle Grant. I had just finished elementary school, was about to start Jr. High and I'm not sure what started it, but something had sparked and interested and obsession with me and the Civil War. I of course really had no interest in the war itself or the causes of it. I was completely caught up in the perceived romance of the era. Big fancy dresses,big fancy houses,unrequited love, oppressed women becoming spys and heroes , the inner struggles, that kind of thing. I read books about it. I watched documentaries. I visited historic landmarks repeatedly in the area anytime anyone would take me. Even became the (probably) the youngest member of the (my hometown) Historical Society. I tried my best to collect enough authentic garb to attend the Antheneum Girls School, but frankly it was far more than we could afford as were authentic costumes. I day dreamed about it. It really was an obsession. I think I might have even asked my mother if I could bind my feet at one point (which was a popular 1800's trend), but thankfully she said no. Well, it turned out that my Uncle Grant shared my interest in history. Hequietly toured the battlefield with the rest of the family but he came to my rescue as I was just about to purchase what I thought was an authentic piece of civil war history... a rusty pocket knife from a peddler at the field. He helped me recognize the piece as being more modern. I left disheartened but with my money. But following Christmas (which was just later that month), my Uncle Grant sent me a real piece of history. He sent me a real 1863 penny and a note. I still have it. It is a treasure. It made it even more of a treasure to me when my mother told me. "you hold on to that. Your Uncle Grant doesn't write notes to many people, I for one have never gotten a note from him, so the fact that he wrote you is very special."

At an awkward preteen age, I don't think that there is any more special of a gift to receive, than to hear "you are special" and have evidence to the fact. My Uncle Grant did that for me the year I graduated high school as well by sending me an ornament that he had picked out himself for me, with a handwritten note. I don't know what happened to the ornament. My guess is that it is with Mom's ornaments somewhere. But I have the box and the note. And every year when I get out the Christmas stuff I take that out and read it.

Grant suffered from Diabetes and smoking probably exacerbated the progression of the deterioration of his kidneys. He had been on dialysis for at least 6 years, as that was why they couldn't make it to my wedding. And though I'm not sure of how exactly he died, I'm told he had been in a coma since Monday. I don't know what his relationship with God was like. And I ask that you will send up a prayer for his wife and grown children, and dear friends that he leaves behind. And I hope that at some point in a letter or note that I wrote back that I made it obvious, but if I didn't let me say it here.

"Uncle Grant, you were special too."

As to the birthday in question....

2007-01-21T08:04:00.000-08:00

Some of you have asked about the birthday garb in my Avatar and my mention of a birthday present earlier this week. I deeply appreciate that :).

Anyway, the birthday in question is my own and it will be occuring on Tuesday. But since I will be at work and then my in-laws on Tuesday, I knew there would be no time to change my avatar then, and since I had bit of time last night, I went ahead and changed it. They say there will be bagels at work on Monday to celebrate the January birthdays. I'm looking forward to that. I love a Panera bagel.

But again thank you very much for the wishes, they mean so much to me. :)

Dancing to my own drummer.

2007-01-20T07:12:00.000-08:00

When I was little I wanted to be a dancer. Lots of little girls do. Dance has always been an instrument of suduction. An expression of fitness and beauty, of grace and dignity. It is in our natural instincts to be drawn to such an effective tool. Not to mention the endorfins it creates. When I was young I would imagine myself as a star on the stage performing. When I went through my Civil War phase in early middle school (remind me to tell you all about that sometime) I taught myself to waltz and boxstep with the image set in my mind that I would be ready when a soldier came to sweep me off my feet. Soon after that when I and started looking at Tigerbeat and such magazines I imagined myself as an exceptional back-up dancer of whom a member of my favorite boy band would take interest. In high school I wanted to be one of the girls on the field or the center of attention in the Senior musical.. or if nothing else the girl the boys wanted to dance with at the dance or prom. There was only one problem with all these fantasies. I have no rhythm, and no coordination.

My mother recognized this longing for dance and got me into the only dance lesson she could find that we could afford and would give me a taste of what dance lessons were really like. Our librarian who was a good acquaintence of my moms taught "Clogging". Oh yes, now there is an boy-attracting dance for you. I was only 9 or 10 when she got me into those lessons. And although I liked it, I just couldn't get the hang of it. I still remember the basic call that I had to practice over and over "double-toe, rock, step" but I have no idea even now what that means or what the moves were. As I mentioned before, I did succeed in teaching myself from movies and videos how to waltz and box step. I also learned social-circle dances from various re-enactment troops and at one time in Jr. High, a friend patiently taught me to do the "Roger Rabbit". And my mother taught me how to "Pony" and do the "Twist" around that same time. And in my freshman year of college I mastered the "Macarena" - embarrassing as that my be. But that is the extent of my dancing career. And I have accepted the fact that I am not a dancer. I dance in the privacy of my own home, occasionally with my husband when he is willing, often with the dog and almost never in public - unless just being silly. I've found many more activities that I find much more enjoyable. But I still I continue to try to learn to dance anyway. Why? Because I enjoy it.

Here's another fun fact about me. I hate aerobics.

This little bit of info does fit in right here and I'll tell you why. Because I've discovered that apparently there is a fine line between aerobics and dance. Or at least aerobics people would have you believe that. I took Aerobic Dance in college as one of my PE credits. I actually looked forward to that class. I had always wanted to take a "real" dance class. And that was the only dance class not requiring a pre-requisite available. And I know some will find this offensive but at the time I didn't consider Clogging a "real" dance. I have since changed my mind thanks to some dear friends who are cloggers. But that isn't the point. The point is that I thought I was going to get some instruction in some good-for-you, good-looking dance moves. You know, like you see back up dancers do.

Nope. Aerobic dance has nothing to do with dance. At least not in my opinion. From what I could tell the only similarities between it and dance is that you had to form a "routine" - or a combination of moves. They very rarely seem to flow with the music. Which to me is what dance is about. I hated every minute of that class except for the breif little bit where we used these nifty "slide-glide" gizmos, but I quickly learned that, that aggrivated my bad knee. So really, I didn't find much redeeming qualities in that class. I was, as in most cases of PE during my lifetime used as an example of what not to do. And I could never keep up or would accidently go the wrong way. It was a ~~humiliating~~ humbling experience. That was 7 or 8 years ago. You'd think I would have learned from that. But no. Since then I've tried videos to learn to "belly-dance" my way to fitness. Which actually was fun, but very complicated. And most recently during these cold months when I'm unwilling to go outside to exercise, I've tried "Dance Your Way to Fitness" or some obsurd DVD title like that. And I have rediscovered. This isn't dance. It's just aerobics disguised as dance! There are parts of it I like, and it is better than no activity at all on the nights that I can't make it to Curves, but I hate the music, the smiley girls who appear to do everything effortlessly, and the voice of the instructor. So I've started doing it my own way. I stick my little ipod shuffle on. Hit the mute button. Follow the moves that I can do and do my own moves to the beat that I enjoy during the parts where I can't keep up or follow their lead. Like turns or those combinations of really fast moves that alternate feet. I'm still tryint to incorporate some of those moves... but really I just keep moving until they get back to something I can do. We'll see if I can keep from getting frustrated with it and quitting before the end of winter (which is what happened a couple of year ago with the belly-dance tape). I've also considered taking a "Shag" class out at a local hotel if I could find a friend to take it with me. But for now I will just do the few moves I do know... and just dance to my own drummer. In the immortal words of Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber. "Dance, Dance, yeah."

Losing the Battle of the Hair

2007-01-17T17:00:00.000-08:00

I'm quite happy with the hair on my head. Sure I have moments when I want to pull it out or shave it off. It has a tendency to go fro and scarecrow on me every now and again but overall I'm happy with it. In the past I've been known as such wonderful nicknames as "fuzzhead" or "frizz". I've had the hugenormous bangs and even really big hair, but I pretty much have that under control now. No, where I am losing the battle with hair is not on my body. It is on the floor and other surfaces of our house.

I'm beginning to think that J and myself shed an unusually larege amount. And between that and the dog, we just can't keep the hair at bay. I can sweep it or mop it up turn around and it's all right back. Or rather more has taken it's place. Perhaps we are related to cousin it.

You know how some people can't stand the sound of nails on a chalkboard (okay so I'm no exception to this but I digress...) well I can't stand the feeling of hair on my hands. It's a sensory issue, I suppose. Particularly wet hair. This is the reason I don't like using mooses that you have to rub in with your hands. Because they make my hair stick to my hands. I can handle shampoos and conditioners because you are standing in the shower and the water will rinse the hair right off. But boy do I hate cleaning it out of the shower afterward and the sink! Why does our hair act like magnets and just stick to the sink? And then I'll find hair in some odd place like on top of a shelf that is taller than all of us and I wonder "how did it get there?" but I know the answer to that... it's air.

In short. I hate sticky hair and I have lost my battle with it. If you see me in person some day and I am covered in unfoliculed hair - just know I tried my best, but the battle was just too great.

Random bits

2007-01-17T15:17:00.000-08:00

- Is it sad that I like the new automatic paper towel dispenser at work because when no one is looking i can pretend that I'm doing Jedi mind tricks to get it to give me paper towels?

- Never park under a lamppost. Lamppost = lots of bird doo

- I designed a van today. It was not my best work. But without longer to think about it and more resources and knowledge of how to design a van it was the best I could come up with.

- My friend in Wisconsin sent me a cheese hat as an early birthday present. It made me very happy.

- I wish our 1099s would come in so that we can get our taxes done and I can get the tax stuff off my desk.

2007-01-14T13:36:00.000-08:00

One little note from church that I wanted to share, that kind of settled my heart a bit and I hope it may do the same for you.

It was on family and parenting. Quoted from our pastor:
"The Bible has a lot to say about parenting, but strangely it has very few examples of it being done well. In fact there are some pretty messed up families in there. Murder, rape, adultery, drunkeness all can be found in the families of the Bible"

Take what you may away from that. I took it as comfort that I don't have to worry so much about doing things right. I can just rest in the fact that as long as I'm relying on God, he'll take care of things should he ever choose to bless us in that manner, and that no one should really feel shame for having a family that isn't June and Ward Cleaver. Of coures, if you are really interested in the full context of it, you can listen to it by sometime next week here the sermon title was "Desperate Households- Money, sex and kids, oh my." and it's part of a study in Colossians.

I just thought I'd share.

Lesson so far this weekend.

2007-01-13T12:44:00.000-08:00

- Never ever forget to stir the cabbage. It makes a very very stinky mess that is black and icky and hard to get out of the pan.

Words, Words, Words and Pictures

2007-01-13T06:17:00.000-08:00

I wrote down this topic over a week ago. Knowing that I had stuff I wanted to say. But I'm afraid as time has slipped away from me without time to write it all down, a lot of what it was I was going to write about has disappeared. By the way, you will probably notice lots of typos and disconnected thoughts in here from now on. I've decided to stop beating myself up about not having intellegent stuff to post. I will no longer fall victim to my control-oriented nature, throw caution to the wind and introduce two new things to this blog. First is "stream of consciousness blogging" in other words, I'm not going to sort it all out and try to compose it anymore, I'm just going to write straight from my head. So be warned it may never make sense to anyone but me. You will even probably see words that don't actually exist because that is just how I talk and how I talk to myself in my head. Secondly I will be introducing "Random Ponderment" posts and they will probably involve bullets like....
- these
- not like the kind used in guns

I think the subject that I wrote down to write about, and that I was trying to remember had something to do with Shakespeare and my love for the play Hamlet. In that work I do believe Shakespeare was a genius. There is such wonderful wordplay in it. Such deep thought. And since I got the Mel Gibson movie version for Christmas and we watched it last week, I'm pretty sure it had something to do with that.

There's a line in it where Polonius asks Hamlet, what he is reading and Hamlet answers "Words, Words, Words" and if I was giving awards I would give one to Mel Gibson for best delivery ever of that line. I've heard other actors deliver it differently and it just didn't have the same effect on me as that did, but to me that has stood out in my head for yeeeaaaarrs. I first saw that movie at the theater with my sister and her fiance - they've been married 14 years now that should give you an idea of how many years it has been. That movie instigated an interest in Shakespeare, and since then I have read a great number and even performed in a few of his plays. That movie developed conversations that lead to relationships that led to me being molded as a person. And you know why? It's all about "words, words, words". I've discovered that words must be one of my dearest passions. I've recently discovered while pulling together ads for our company to enter into competitions that it really isn't the design work that I feel proud of. What I feel proud of are my words. The ads that I've had a hand in the copy-writing* I love illustrating but I love writing ad copy just as much. I love to play with words. And this realization made a lot of things in my life make sense. It made sense that Proverbs and Psalms are two of my favorite and most comforting books of the Bible to me, and why I enjoy the parables so much. And why I enjoy talking and writing letters, and why I get my feelings hurt if I'm not spoken to or mentioned. It makes sense why lack of feed back brings me down, but even mediocre compliments make me very happy. Words have great power to me. And I guess to all of us in one way or another. And if words are so powerful to me then it makes sense to me why it bothers me not to post or that when I post to post incoherently with bad grammer. But I'm going to put that asside, as I mentioned before and because there is something even more powerful and I'll get to that here in a minute. And as I continue thinking about this I'm realizing words are far too big of a topic for this blog post. I could go on for hours. So lets move on to my other passion..

Pictures. Not just drawing pictures, though I enjoy that emensely. No, I enjoy photographs as well. OH! Wait! I remember one of the other reasons I was writing about words. It was the Christmas letters! I love Christmas cards and Christmas letters! Why? Because they have words, they tell stories. Usually ones I haven't heard before. I just wish my house was big enough that I had enough room to store all of them away for years and years. I already do that with pictures, I can't start with letters too or I will need a whole room soley devoted to them. I have this theory though that if I kept all my letters as I keep all my pictures and kept them together, that I would have a perfect biographies of friends and relatives for later generations to see and oggle over. But alas the need for space in our tiny 900 sq fter out weighs the want to preserve the history of the individuals of the human race. I know their stories and tell them with the pictures as much as I can. I don't scapbook... I just picture book. I'm only 29 and with no kids but yet I have 6 gigantic photo albums with pictures and stories in them that I can't bear to part with. I can't imagine how much it will grow when/if we have children. I have pictures of friends from the time I met them to present with photos of their children as they've grown from infants to pre-teens. I hold onto them because who they are and their stories mean so much to me. I know in my little heart of hearts that my children aren't going to care who these people are. They may have a passing curiosity but more than likely they will never have opportunity to meet many of these people in person and this treasure of mine will be less valuable to them. But I care, and I bet their families care. So maybe just maybe someone will want them someday. I love being able to look at time passing through my fingertips. And I keep some letters here and there just to give samples of the people in my album's "voice". I love looking back and seeing how far we've come. How much can happen in such short amounts of time. How things thought impossible become possible. That was another moment with words I was going to write about. I cleaned out our bookshelves the other day and found our "pre-marital counseling book" I hadn't cracked the thing open since the class I don't think. But there were all our little exercises inside. We had fun looking back, and seeing what we've done and what we haven't done. What our expectations were then and what our reality was and is. I was suprised to find that we had met pretty much all of our "long-term (3-5 year)" goals.

Words and pictures must be important to other people too or else movies wouldn't be so popular. I pondered for a moment if words and pictures could perhaps be the answer to life, universe and everything. Of course many know that answer is actually 42** but then I thought that it can't be the answer because the blind and deaf still have led enjoyable lives. But then again they still have some form of communications. So maybe it isn't so much words but rather communication. Which God makes a point of telling us is important all through the Bible... so perhaps communication is the key to life the universe and everything and therefore I should communicate more and one way of doing that is blogging. Thus the creation of "Stream of Consciousness blogging" of which this, I'm sure is a shining example and "Random ponderments" which I'm sure you will more as we go through the year. So here's hoping to make more posts. Probably shorter posts, but communication none-the-less. Just lots more words, words, words and a few pictures here and there.

* Copy-writing as in the writing of copy or text for the ad, not to be confused with copyrighting as in getting that little "c" in a circle to go on everything.

**Reference to Douglas Adams' book Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy some will recognize it, both others might not. So I put a footnote.

clarification

2007-01-10T19:01:00.000-08:00

I fear my last post was read/taken wrong. I'm not saying that one shouldn't blog frequently. In fact, I enjoy that most of the people I read do blog frequently. It was more of an expression at my dismay that I can't seem to manage it. I got stuff to say, darn it! And by the time I'm able to compose it an order that makes sense its all old news. That's happening a lot with a few areas of life right now. I just feel like I'm falling behind. Thing like this come in waves in my business. It's either feast or famine as they say. When it's feast - like now, you wonder at how to get it all done, and when it's famine, you wonder whether you will survive the drought.

It is 10 pm and I must go vacuum now.

playing catchup

2007-01-10T10:16:00.000-08:00

How in the world do so many of you blog so often? I've been reading all morning. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed it. It's like having a lot of letters in the mail. But I've got two blog posts in draft right now that I can't find time to finish, so I sit in awe at your time-management skills.

So in lue of those getting finished real soon (it is terribly busy at work and at home right now) I'm going to answer the questionaire that Farmwife TAGed me for.

When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought? Geez, I've really broke out this month.
How much cash do you have on you? $0 I very rarely keep cash because I spend it too easily, I'm a lot more careful with cards.
What’s a word that rhymes with DOOR? Lore
Do you label yourself? Oh all the time, I really enjoy my label maker.
Bright or Dark Room? BRIGHT!!!! unless developing my own pictures, then I'll use a dark room.
Why is there always a missing question? If I ask "how do you know the question is missing?" that adds the missing question back and therefore nullifies the first question doesn't it?
What does your watch look like? my watch looks a whole lot like a cell phone, because I don't use a watch, I use my cell to tell time.
What were you doing at midnight last night? Just getting to sleep.
Where is your nearest 7-11? I have no idea
What’s a word that you say a lot? "Anyway" and "No problem"
Who told you he/she loved you last? J
Last furry thing you touched? Sasha
How many rolls of film do you need developed? Haven't used real film in about 4 years. I'm all digital anymore.
Favorite age you have been so far? I really enjoyed 17, but 28 wasn't too bad.
Your worst enemy? my mouth
What is your current desktop picture?I don't change it often enough, so there is still a picture of the interstate with fall leaves. At home there is my desktop dog.
What was the last thing you said to someone? no kidding
The last song you listened to? Copperhead Road (I can't remember who sang that though)
What time of day were you born? 10:30 AM
What do you do when vending machines steal your money? Shake them, or if I have more money try to get the next item to bump the first and there by get two items. Last resort is get Garry (my co-worker to come down and shake it for me - he has a knack.
Do you consider yourself kind? most of the time
What’s your life motto? I have lots of them, "Never put off til tomorrow what you can do today", "love one another", "everyone leads a life of quiet desperation", "you should not stop playing because you grow old because you grow old if you stop playing"... and I could go on.
Name three things you have on you at all times. glasses, rings, socks
Can you change the oil on a car? no.
When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it? This weekend to A and one to the little girl I'm doing a Flat Stanley for.