Long Time, No Blog

so it's been a while, eh?

here are my excuses:

#1 MEDICAL

it's been a busy couple of weeks at the daniel casa. m began puking on a monday nite...then b got it tuesday nite...me wednesday nite (i mean i was really sick. moaning sick. just horrific...i digress) then finally w on friday nite. that was over then the next monday m woke up screaming her head off - turns out she had strep throat. so...antibiotic for 10 days (her first) and now she's back to her old self. b has some strange rash on his bum...he's had one there before and it turned out to be staph. it took us almost 3 months (that's right...months) to get rid of it. this rash doesn't look like that one. he's been a real butt scratcher the last couple of days. it is so funny to see him lying on his belly with his pants pulled down to his knees waiting for one of us to rub cortisone on his bum!!! hahahahaha! i've had a sore throat and wretched headache since friday. you know what i'm thinking right? well...i'm better today thank goodness so hopefully it's just sinus drainage and not strep. homey ain't got time for no strep.

#2 BUSY DAYS

i'm so excited about the number of students i have...eight! it does make for super busy afternoons tho. last wednesday was ash wednesday so we rushed after lessons to make it to the service. tmea was a couple of weeks ago. i got a set of bass bars for the church. they add so much to the ensemble. the kids were really excited to see and play them. i hope that v.w. can recover from the pricetag!

#3 MESSY HOUSE

i cannot stay on top of this housework! perhaps it is b/c i stay home or b/c i have two kids but i don't remember the house being this messy when it was just me, w, and b. i've got to become more disciplined in picking things up the night before. i hate cleaning up today's mess tomorrow.

#4 HELLO! I HAVE TWO SMALL CHILDREN!

you know i had to throw that one in.

so that's about it. had j and p over for dinner. they helped w decide where to put our new fruit trees - plum and lime. i'm excited about the spring planting season.

so...in summation:

#1 you know what they say excuses are like, right?
#2 butt rashes are inconvenient butt funny
#3 clean up, clean up everybody everywhere...

A Tirade for an Idiot

so...i was perusing FB this evening when i happened upon a friend announcing her pregnancy. i (along with about 30 others) offered her congratulations, whoots, way to gos, etc. however...one of her "friends" chose this forum to express her extreme disgust with procreation:



(name omitted...)Is blown away. Nothing in life is above being honest. So here goes. You are smart beautiful people whom i love as family. I am happy you are happy. I can not kindly express my disappointment in your decision to breed. 7 BILLION people... How many are too many? 125 MILLION ORPHANS!!! How many are too many? I know babies are beautiful and awesome. Yours will be blessed. You could have saved one. you chose to create one more. I think its very sad. Im sorry.



well...fortunately i have a filter which prohibits me from responding to this drivel in a public place. but since i am on my blog...i'll let you have it:

dear name omitted:

#1 so...how many children have you adopted?

#2 were you adopted? were all your brothers and sisters? were your parents adopted?

#3 sometimes there is something that's above honesty...it's called silence

#4 breeding is what is done in dog kennels

#5 i see that you surrounded your insults with positives (ie..."babies are beautiful and awesome"? these mundane adjectives lead me to believe that a - you've never used a thesaurus and 2 - you've never had a baby)...isn't this sort of like planting a rose in a steaming pile of cow poop?

#6 luckily, as those of us who have "bred" can tell you, pregnancy opens the floodgates of Idiotdom...congratulations...you were the first to swim thru...


#7 one consolation for me is that your comment was read by the other 30 people that commented...now 30 more people on the planet think you're an imbecile

#8 at the end of your tirade you say "i'm sorry"...sister...you certainly are.





no need for summaries here, dear reader...

Gifts and Sales and Attics Oh My!

so...we drove to petal on friday for christmas. when we arrived we opened gifts and began our mississippi diet (fried stuff, stuff with gravy, stuff with melted cheese, etc...).

on saturday brooke and i got up early (ahem...4:30) to hit the post-christmas sales. we went to walmart for christmas stuff marked down...we needed to replace all our lights and i needed to restock our wrapping and tissue paper stash. we went to shoe station where i got 2 pairs of boots and a pair of heels for $80! whoot! then on to new york and company where i got a sweatsuit, two shirts, and a pair of earrings form $62...whoot whoot! we were due at mamaw's for christmas breakfast at 8:30. we had the usual yummy cow patty biscuits with cane syrup and salt meat...my childhood FAV!!! brooke and i played scrabble and, as usual, i won handily...

today is sunday...it was a lazy day. momma had gone thru the attic and made a pile of things for me to go thru. my entire life of things, actually. so i went thru it and threw away alot. i'll also take home alot to go thru it more carefully. i'll probably just store it in a big bin in the attic to look at when i'm feeling nostalgic.

meredith has added to her vocab since my last post: tower, apple, banana, tree, nan, book, hi dad, hi chica, hi mom, more banana...starting to use two word phrases!

bennett has been really great the past couple of weeks. tonight we drove out to the gravel pit (daddy and william are camping out) and on the way home the song "fire fall down" was playing. he was singing at the top of his lungs. there is something very powerful about your child unashamedly singing the words "i know that you're alive, you came to fix my broken life, and i'll sing to glorify, your holy name Jesus Christ". AWESOME!

so...in summation:

1. pairs of shoes for $80...ace. 3

2. everything's better with cane syrup and salt meat

3. m = chatty cathy

Textasrophy

so...i have noticed an increasingly disturbing trend.

on friday nite, i went out with some friends for a girl's night. i'm at howl at the moon, sipping my gin and tonic, when suddenly i noticed that all the people i was with were all on there phones. texting. now...i'm all for technological advances...but at what expense. there i was...i was ready to converse...socialize...but everyone around me felt it necessary to be texting someone, updating their facebook, checking e-mail. don't get me wrong. i'm not mad...but my hide is a little chapped.

another example

after a concert last thursday, a group of us went out for some tortillas and margaritas when i look up from my chips and salsa and see that two of our tablemates were at their phones busily thumbing their way through various messages/e-mails/texts.

i've noticed in some rehearsals that when the conductor is working with another section, people drag out their phones and begin checking things...texting things...you get the idea.

does anyone else find this disturbing? i want to shake these people and say "EXCUSE ME. YOU ARE IN A SOCIAL SITUATION. THIS MEANS THAT YOU SHOULD BE COMMUNICATING AND INTERACTING WITH THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU. PUT DOWN YOUR ELECTRONIC DEVICE."

that and something like: "HELLO. HELLO. I'M RIGHT HERE. YES. ME. I AM A REAL PERSON. YOUR E-MAIL CAN WAIT."

certainly i cannot be alone in feeling this way...right?

on a more important note: today was mamaw martin's wake. she looked really great. i am relieved that she is in heaven. lots of people, lots of beautiful flowers. the older i get the more thankful i am about people who send things, call, write, visit, etc. tomorrow is the funeral. i look forward to visiting more with "them martin's".

so dearest readers...i bid you good evening...but first...you know...

1. thank you Mamaw Martin for being a good example and for making the best scrambled eggs in the universe

2. applications are being accepted for my new "anti-text" task force.

3. do i have a legitimate compliant or is it just phone envy?

Out Of Clever Titles

so...i hate to admit it...but i'm really struggling to get thru the book of jeremiah. i'm about 1/2 way done now. i also struggled to get thru isaiah...pretty much i've struggled with most of the old testament. have you read the book of numbers lately? i feel so guilty about not just loving every minute of it. i did run across something last nite tho that put things into perspective.

God is speaking thru the prophet jeremiah (duh?) he is telling of the fall of Jerusalem, how wretched Israel has been - worshipping idols...just being regular heathens...anyway...God is telling them that yes...they will suffer and be punished...BUT they still have hope in Him...

Jeremiah 31:18-20
"I have surely heard Ephraim's moaning: 'You disciplined me like an unruly calf, and I have been disciplined. Restore me, and I will return, because you are the LORD my God. After I strayed, I repented; after I came to understand, I beat my breast. I was ashamed and humiliated because I bore the disgrace of my youth.' Is not Ephraim my dear son, the child in whom I delight? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him," declares the LORD."

(as an aside) Ephraim was a grandson of Jacob (son of Joseph). sometimes the name Ephraim was used in place of the northern kingdom of Israel. so in this passage, "Ephraim's moaning" is not speaking of Ephraim himself but is instead referring to Israel.)

anyway...i especially was thankful for the part about "Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him". Israel had been pretty ungrateful and unfaithful...God couldn't let them get away with it. They had to be punished...BUT...his heart "yearns" for them. i think that's amazing...and comforting...and most of all, humbling...

i'm on chapter 33...only 19 more to go! i have a renewed attitude!

so...what have we been up to lately?

b and i have been talking about veteran's day this week. we are making a poster for tomorrow's vet day parade here in uc.

m's list of words is getting bigger everyday: mom, mommy, dad, daddy, brother (uh...bru-bah), up, down, more, puppy, dog, ruff, baa, cow, duck, clapping, yay, NO, nose, mouth, cheek, chin, ear, hair, eye, tongue, teeth, knee, shoe, oo-wee, whee!, swing, slide, drink, hi, hello, bye-bye, pa-pa (w's dad), go, ball, baby...hmmm...i hadn't realized how many things there were until i typed them out...

w has the day off tomorrow. we'll go to the parade and enjoy some time together. i'm off to file mail and clean off this messy desk!

in summation:
1. nuggets of truth = motivation
2. m's vocab is moving along
3. i love days off!

Miss Piggy? Table for one...

so...HEB ran a special this week on pork loins - $1 a pound. well...i cannot pass a deal like that up...so i rifled thru the mounds-o-meat and got a whopping 9 pounder (8.83 lbs, actually). this is the largest loin i've ever purchased. the last time i purchased one was a sam's...it came in at just under 7 pounds and cost me around $19. i must confess, dear reader that i LOVE butchering meat. there is something so therapeutic about hacking up a carcass. i carved it into two roasts, 12 - 1 inch chops, and a pound of strips for stir-fry.

i had an epiphany this morning. i've been pretty certain about my plans for the children's choir christmas program since last year (it's the music teacher in me...the night after i finish a program i come up with the idea for the next year's gig!)...i was going to do a presentation on the christmons (what they are, where they came from and what they mean). i'm pretty sure that it must have been the holy spirit b/c i've been stuck with this idea for a while when suddenly this morning ideas just started coming and i couldn't stop them! so...in 1 1/2 hours, i have a script, songs ready to go. i can't believe it - well, yes i can! anyhoot...be on the lookout for "Deliverers and Shepherds and Wisemen, OH MY!" on December 13 at the 9:30 service at UCUMC.

so...my idea is totally different than the original (altho i am using the same information just not in a "christmon" context). here's the outline:

Deliverer - God delivered us out of nothingness (creation), God delivered the Israelites out of slavery, God delivered the Israelites out of lawlessness (10 Commandments), God delivered all (prophecy of simeon, Christ (John 1:1-14))

Shepherds - Moses, David, John the Baptist (W thinks that John was a wise man...but i'm calling him a shepherd in the context of Luke 3:15-18...yes?)

Wisemen - A Call to Faithfulnes (Hezekiah), A Call to Holiness (Isaiah), A Call to Worship (Magi)


there'll be songs sprinkled around, of course. i think we'll end it with the Rich Mullins song "My Deliverer is Coming" with the kids singing the chorus with the praise team. i mention the Holy Spirit above b/c i look at this now and know that i didn't inspire myself! i am so thankful for this! i'm super excited!

so...in summary:

1. butchery is cool
2. pork is delish
3. steph is grateful

Maestro? If you please...

here are some of life's little oddities that intrigue me...i wonder if i'm alone in these observations?

1. the floor is dirty. i swiffer, i swiffermop. i stand back to admire my handiwork. then mealtime comes. the floor is dirty. i swiffer, i swiffermop...ad nauseum.

2. babies only like to poop in a freshly changed diaper.

3. b waits until just after i windex the bathroom mirror to flick his toothbrush on the back of his front teeth spewing spittle and kids sparkly crest in all directions and on all surfaces.

4. when cooking or baking for just us, bread comes out with crusty exteriors and chewy interiers, cookies are the perfect balance between chewy and crunchy, pasta is al dente, meats are tender and juicy. when i cook for others...well...the opposite occurs...plus a small fire and/or copious amounts of smoke.

5. m began her life with 12 pacifiers. over the last 16 months, i have purchased many more and lost many more. we were down to two when i decided that it was time for more. the most recent purchase of 4 pacifiers was tuesday (today is friday). i can only find one. it's actually an old one. what happens to odd socks and pacifiers?

6. i cannot use the self check-out lines. it never fails. no matter what i'm purchasing i still need a cashier to come over and clear something out of the computer, turn a key, push a button, enter my birthdate. this highly offends me b/c i was a skilled walmart cashier for a couple of years in college. i am quite capable of scanning items, typing in produce codes, swiping coupons. i was quite excellent at it, actually. these days, i can't purchase a loaf of bread by myself without two cashiers with jingly sets of keys coming over to diagnose my lack of cashiering skill. but...i digress...

rest assured, dear readers...i am not complaining. just observing. you know how some reality shows will play the "dumb muzak" when they want someone on the show to appear clumsy, crazy, wierd, bumbling, or just plain stupid? sometimes i think that the soundtrack of my days must sound like that.

anyway...as i step off my soapbox...excuse me, my observation tower...i report to you the day's activities:

went for a walk, b on his scooter. i can remember when the top of his head was even with the top of the handlebars. i noticed today that he is getting so big. it's funny how kids grow up so gradually that you don't notice until they move a certain way, stand a certain way, etc and you realize how time has flown by.

i got my fall veggies in the garden. spanish onions, garlic, lettuce, baby spinach, and cilantro. i also noticed that we have 4 cucumbers about ready for harvest and GREEN BEANS!!! whoot!!!

built a marble run. read a chris von allsberg book called "two bad ants". not his best effort.

read "horton hears a who" for the 3rd time since getting it from the library yesterday. it's a long one!!! we seem to have "horton hears a who" perpetually checked out...

m drank rainwater from my watering can.

b and i cuddled before his rest time. that lasted about 5 minutes before he said "i'm ready for you to leave". (cue bumbling muzak)

played soccer.

watered newly planted plants.

marveled at the beautiful weather and wind...all windows open!

so...to summarize:

1. whom do i petition to change murphy's law into "steph's law"?

2. GREEN BEANS!

3. cue the "stoopid muzak" outro...