Manly Lips Theory

I know, I know...I'm not supposed to be here. But sometimes you've just GOT to blog about stuff.

A few minutes ago we were in the car, coming home from a couple quick errands. Megan has been in super-creative mode all weekend. She was talking about "someday." Someday she's going to design dolls when she works in a doll factory and she's going to decide what they're made of and what they wear and she'll paint them herself and on and on she went. So I interjected a question to tease her. I asked if she'd make me a GP doll.

She said, "Sure! I'll make it really realistic if you give me a picture of him. I'll paint his teeth. I won't paint lips though, just a mouth."

Then Alli joins the coversation with, "Yeah, boys don't have lips."

Megan agreed.

So I wondered aloud, "Should I let him know he doesn't have lips?"

Meg said, "He has a special kind of lips. They're called 'maaaanly lips.'"

Alli pipes up sounding very incredulous, "WHAT?!! He's not MANLY!...........He sings."

Hmmmmmm...let's see.






Sorry, Alli. I'm going to have to agree with Megan and her "manly lips" theory.

A Little This and a Little That

Prepare yourselves for a bunch of mixed and match thoughts. And I'm thinking that barring something really interesting this week, it might be the last you hear of me this week. Back to the "sabbatical" idea. (I apparently really like the word "sabbatical" these days.)

It's Sunday morning and we're skipping church today. Allison has been barking like a seal, that nasty croupy cough. Meg's never been the croupy sort, but Alli? That girl knows how to bark. She's been doing it of a morning for about a week. I have been having her sleep with a humidifier and it had been working. But this morning she got up after a whole night with the vaporizer and bark bark bark. So I called into church to cover my responsibilities and we're staying home and resting. I don't know how much it will help but she was miserable. She starts barking and then she cries which makes her bark worse and it sounds like she's going to hyperventilate, so I opted for staying home.

I'm supposed to sing a solo at my church in about a month, so I pulled out a couple songs to try to work on. When I said I was going to do that, the girls retreated to their rooms, ha ha. They began playing. Alli was a pet store owner and Megan ran a "special kind of McDonald's that sells McDonald's food and Sweetbay food." (Sweetbay is a grocery store here.) Alli made out the best, I think. She said she was making 2 million dollars a week running her pet store. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Then I sat here just relaxing and checking things out around the net, when suddenly a box popped up. It's part of my AOL toolbar. There is the option of a counter on the toolbar that keeps track of how many webpages you've surfed to: a surfometer. When I first got the computer (last March) I didn't really pay any attention to it. But when I hit the 1,000 point, a box popped up announcing the milestone and asking me if I have a job??!! Nice. A smart-aleck computer. However, the machine isn't nearly as cocky now. This morning when the box popped up it announced that I hit the 40,000-pages-surfed point and there was the sound of great applause. That's more like it. A little respect.

This is not a pout or a woe-is-me, but I just have to say that this is my least favorite time of year here in Florida. It's scorching and muggy (though the temps should have broken by now) but then it's scorching and muggy a large part of the year. The thing that makes it so unfavorable is the fact that I know so much of the country/world is or has been enjoying autumn. Leaves changing colors, eventually falling and crunching under your feet. Starting to layer clothes...getting the turtlenecks ready. Hot cocoa, weinie roasts, and hayrides. The smell in the air and the feeling in the air that takes my mind back to being a student all excited to be heading back for the first day of the school year. I loved that day and there are scents and feelings in the air that take me back without a thought. I love it. And I miss it. So it's not so much that this is my unfavorite time of the year here. It's just that I miss experiencing my favorite season. So those of you who are experiencing it, live it up, would ya? :)

One more thing. I'm contemplating pursuing a masters in Computer Science or Info Tech...some such. I guess it depends on if I can get financial aid more than anything. Hmmm...

Now if you'll excuse me, my children asked me to model some formal wear from my closet, so I'm off to the ball.

Ta ta.

P.S. - I'm debating doing something here on my blog. Kristen, the MM-Enabler, was talking to me on the phone yesterday when I came across my childhood diaries. She begged me to send them to her. I told her I MIGHT just type them up and email them. I assured her they were as boring as could be...and very few and far between...but she still wants them, so... I'm thinking of maybe putting them on here...a little here, a little there. Not sure, though. I'll have to read them and see how lame or if they could offer any amusement or prompt any good memories or stories.

Priorities, Energy, and Having No Words

::siiiiiiiiiiiiigh:: I've missed this place. And I've missed you all. And I've missed your comments. :D

My little techno-sabbatical must continue because I just need it to. I love sitting here and writing. I love sitting here and reading. And I just let too much time fly out into cyberspace.

This week has been much better in that regard and I've gotten more rest than normal. So I'm wondering why I feel so completely exhausted. I SHOULD feel at least a bit more human, right?? I haven't accomplished a whole lot more than usual, but hopefully this weekend I will wow the world, lol. I have to. My house needs to be a home and my classroom is needing some real attention in the way of some lesson plans and some center activities so it'll be an action-packed weekend with girlies here workin' and chillin' with me. They'll be chillin' and I'll be workin', but we'll all be hangin' and that's the good part. Our last weekend together was party weekend. Let's all say it together: Chuck....E....Cheese. He's freaky and the kids want to run the other way, but he has a lot of games and that's apparently what it's all about. So anyway, yada...yada...yada.

So I won't be around much this weekend. Tonight was my come on here and play night. The rest of the weekend I'm supposed to embrace responsibilities. You can cry for me, because if I cry, I won't work. If I could get some energy to help with the embracing, that would be good. If you're a praying person, you might even pray to that effect for me, if you think of it. I'll be ever indebted.

And now...the sad part.

What do you say when a friend finds out they have Hodgkins Disease? I found out just hours ago that a friend who gave birth less than a month ago to her fifth child found out this week that she has Hodgkins Disease. Another friend looked it up and shared with the rest of us what she found out...that Hodgkins is basically a cancer of the lymph nodes. I know there's a whole lot more to it, but that sounds harsh enough, doesn't it?

I really do NOT know what to say. I have a totally different belief system than she does. And I know I can still extend love to her, but I don't know how to comfort her, because the comfort I get...the comfort I rely on...and I'm talking SERIOUS comfort when life is really rocking the boat...comes from the safety of my relationship with Christ. God doesn't spare us the pain, but He's there with us every step of the way...giving us strength to take those steps...and hope and peace for our futures.

So I don't know what to say to her? She's crushed...completely crushed. I would be, too, if I were facing the same disease. Every mama wants to be there forever for her children, and anything that threatens that can be devastating. But I don't know what to say to her.

I wish I could impart faith to her. I wish I could share my Jesus with her in a way that she can see how real He is. In a way that she can feel His presence and His love. In a way that she can know His comfort, too.

So I don't know what to say to her. But I pray for her. In situations like this I pray for a person's physical healing, but I also feel led to pray for their relationship with God, too. I don't mean that in a judgemental way, either, but feel that it is an important thing to pray for a person.

I remember visiting my dad just a couple months before he passed away. He was in bad shape. While I was there, my aunt had an embolism in her brain. She was, of course, rushed to the hospital and was in intensive care. My dad, weak as he was physically, showed his strong spiritual strength and wisdom and I will never forget his prayer. He prayed and told God that we were praying for her relationship with Him, but at the moment, of most pressing need, we were praying for her physical healing, so she'd have more time here with us and time to deal with her own relationship with God.

I've always felt like it was so important (and it I'm not saying it's NOT important) to pray for someone's spiritual condition when they're facing something life-threatening. But at times I've almost felt bad praying for physical healing as a priority because the spiritual is...well...eternal. I guess I didn't feel actually bad about it, but I felt conflicted. But when my dad led us in that prayer, his voice weak, but his spirit strong, I learned even more from him.

Anyway, I'm rambling a bit away. So I guess in my loss of what to say to my friend, I'd just ask that anyone who reads this thread would pray for her. Pray for her mind and heart right now as she comes to terms with this illness. Pray for her doctors as they develop a treatment plan for her. Pray for her family as they deal with it all, too. Pray for her healing from this dreadful disease. And pray for her strength for each moment.

A Bloggy Sabbatical

Hello, my bloggy friends.

Just a quick note this evening...which is technically really early morning, but since I haven't hit the hay yet, we'll stick with evening.

I don't know how much I'll be around this next week...maybe two. Of course, if something comes to mind that I just NEED to blog about, I'll log on. But my goal is to turn my computer off and leave it off as much as possible for at least a week...maybe two. My life has revolved around it way too much and my habit of sitting here is a portion of my problem. It's like a bad habit that I don't show self-control about.

I have an overwhelming amount of things I should tend to, things that I'm just flat-out ashamed that I let slide ... and slide ... and slide ... and slide. And then I think I don't have time to do anything about it. Well I know one place that will free hours of my life and my fingers are tapping away on it right now.

So I'm powering down. I'll take peeks at my email, but for the most part, I'm going offline for a bit. I need to.

And I'll catch back up with your blogs in a couple weeks.

See ya!

The Great Love of My Life

Sound interesting? Well, *I* think it is...but it's not what you're thinking. At least I doubt it is, but then I'm not a mind-reader, so what do I know?

Nope, not a mind-reader, but I AM a book reader. A lover of books, if you will. Hence my title, "The Great LOVE of My Life." And THIS time the love is reciprocal. I know my books love me. They love to be taken off the shelf and held. They love all the attention. Not a cursory glance, but pouring over the details.

You can't just grab a book and plunge in. You have to read the thingie on the back...which I KNEW the name of until I went to write this sentence. (I can say that and you'll never know for sure, will you????) You have to read the dedication, any prefaces, any forwards, any character maps or explanations, any acknowledgements. It all matters. Really the only things that don't HAVE to HAVE to HAVE to be read are the title page with all the copyright dates and ::yaaaaaaaaaaawn:: publishing's details AND... the chapter titles. Some call this the "table of contents" when the word occurs when they're ready to type it. Yeah, you can skip the "Table of Contents" ... but only if it's fiction ... because some authors just don't think of us obsessive readers who are going to look at the chapter titles and figure out the story before we read it. Then we feel cranky. So you can skip the Table of Contents. (See how I remembered in time?)

I also love my computer ... using the word "love" rather carelessly, but you know what I mean. I enjoy it. It's my greatest past-time ... or is that pass-time??? Anyway lots of time goes bye-bye right here. But that's because I have friends in here AND because I love to write. I do. And in my less humble moments I like to read what I wrote. How's that for a humble spirit?

But I'm sorry to say that this computer has put the squeeze on my favorite hobby. I don't get near as much reading (or cleaning or working or...or...or) done because of this. I used to read every spare minute. And before reading was the thing ... which was a LOOOOOOOONG time ago ... tv was the thing. I was a little couch potato.

And now? Yeah, not a lot of tv ... although I DO have a few shows I like to see. And of course there's movies. Have I ever mentioned Mamma Mia? No? Remind me. I'll fill you in. har har

Man, I'm just a rambling rambling rambling rambling woman tonight.

This is about my great love of reading. Tonight (thanks to Mummy's link on her blog) I found Library Thing and I joined and added my favorite books and voila! in my side column is now a widget with random titles I love reading.

I'm a re-reader too. If I've read it and I liked it, I'll re-read it. Must not just borrow, but OWN good books. Hence a very full bookshelf ... or two ... in my living room.

Top 5 (ok, 6, but one of them is a team, so it kind of only makes 5) favorite authors? Lori Wick (::the crowd goes wild::roaring applause:: ... she KNOWS how people are REALLY and truly supposed to live ... at the heart and soul level ... and relate to each other), Francine Rivers (I stand amazed at the way she weaves so many stories into one), Gilbert Morris (a little history with your romance, folks?), Brock & Bodie Thoene (more great history, especially around WWII...love how the characters in one series show up in other serieses) and Max Lucado (let's hear it for a NON-fiction guy ... although he does some kid's fiction, too ... GREAT writer of inspirational literature ... and a favorite author I shared with my dad.)

Ok, when I started writing, I had no idea where I was going other than sharing that I love reading. And now I'm not sure where I've gone. But I'm tired and don't think I'll bother sprucing this one up. And it MIGHT not be one of my favorite re-reads, lol.

Oh wait ... one last thing. FAVORITE of ALL books (aside from my Bible): The Last Sin-Eater, Francine Rivers. It's a favorite for a couple reasons. First and foremost because it's just jaw-dropping good. And secondly, the first time ... hmmmm ... maybe the second time I read the book, I was on the road with my parents. It was during the month after I'd separated from my ex-husband. The girls were tiny and we did a lot of road trips that month. During one long drive to visit my sister for Christmas, my Dad asked me to read the book out loud. So I read the whole book (not all at once) to my mom and dad. When we'd be driving along quietly, Dad would suddenly say, "Let's see what's happening with the Kai." So I'd take out the book and we'd read some more. I like to read out loud, and for whatever reason I really enjoyed the fact that my dad wanted me to read it to him. I've loaned this book out so many times. I never get it back either, so it must be good. So I re-buy it ... and loan it again. Not a quick learner, lol.

And now that I've gone on THIS long, I hope YOU like reading, too. :D

What a Ride!

Well, it's been about, mmmmmm....FOREVER since I've put up a Friday Foto Finish Fiesta, so here we go.... And if you haven't seen or been part of Friday Foto Finish Fiesta, you MUST visit Candid Carrie, the gracious host at http://carriestuckmann.blogspot.com/2008/10/friday-foto-finish-finesta-100308.html.
I guess this photo doesn't need a lot of explanation. It was taken last February at the County Fair. You'd think they were going on a fast-paced roller coaster, but this...I THINK...was the ferris wheel. Brave souls. LOL. Ok, maybe it was something more...spinny...like the Sizzler, or somesuch, but...no...I think it was the Ferris Wheel. Anyway, that's Alli withOUT caffeine and Megan? Well, let's say she likes blues sno-cones just a wee bit.

Gotta love it.

The Things Kids Take Pride In

Come into my house. Only don't look at anything in it except this cute little girl and something she taught herself to do and now takes great pride in. Don't look at that counter to the right because when I moved in I put a bunch of stuff that I didn't want to deal with right away on top of it ... and eight months later I still am not really interested in dealing with. (But it's bugging me, so one of these days....) And don't look at that horrid table to the left and eventually right behind the cute little girl at the end of the clip because ... well ... I let another cute little girl get every craft pain in creation out and every single one is on that table...along with a grand variety of items that girl felt necessary to create some "craft" of her own design, including but not limited to 2 backs of 500-ct cotton swabs and a bottle of leave-in conditioner. Ok, the conditioner isn't part of the craft and neither are the nail polish bottles and the polish remover, but.... I'm not going to bother to say WHEN I let her get that all out, but ... well ... that will have to be dealt with soon, too.

But check out this cute lil girl o' mine. She came to me just yesterday and told me to watch her. So I watched as she demonstrated (with GREAT pride, I might add) how to fold a sweatshirt. It amused me enough that I asked if she'd do it again while I video'd. Now granted, it's just one of those things that mommies are amused by/take pride in, but it's something I want to remember years from now ... her character traits and how proud she was, moreso than the art of folding.

And be glad for this blog, because before I remembered this video I was going to share ... buh-buh-BUH (that was supposed to sound ominous) ... SECRETS YOU PROBABLY DON'T KNOW ABOUT HILL. (Except for my mom, aka Grandma, and she'd rather watch this video anyway.) (Hi Mom!)


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