kids...

Did you know that yams are not available in the U.S.? We have two types of sweet potatoes here, and neither type is an actual "yam". Yams are native to Africa. I trust Food Network is right about this.

I can't wait until Thanksgiving. We are having a big shin dig at my grandmother's ranch, with spunky cousins and adorable great aunts and funny uncles. I've learned to make some smashing dishes since last year, and I can't wait to share them. I am especially excited because I thought until yesterday that Bubba was going to miss Thanksgiving to work, but now he has that Thursday and Friday off! And he has Christmas and New Year's eve/day off! I'm so happy about this.

Last night the three of us went to Walmart and shopped for Grace's birthday presents. We got her a Dora big wheels-type trike, a Disney Princesses tea set, an outfit that looks very Christmasy, baby doll bottles and diapers (she likes to use her own diapers on her dolls), and.... I forget what else. We had fun. Oh ya, new tennis shoes. As we were leaving Walmart, Grace was hungry (it was after 9pm) and we passed the in-store McDonald's. Grace started yelling and pointing at McDonald's, and I realized that this was the very first of many times she will beg for McDonald's in her childhood. We did stop and get an ice cream for her. (Of course I took some bites too. Which I had to report to my diet accountability partner, MIIIIIIRIam.)

I haven't told you about Noma's birthday, which was the 11th. She turned 12. She was born my senior year of high school, and now she's 12. I'm an old lady. But Noma looked fabulous. She has gotten so much taller and thinner in the past year; she is so grown up now! I have some pics of her in the dress I bought her and boots that Mary bought her. The pics really don't do her justice, she was so pretty in that dress. I'll show you anyway.

And this is the corn snake that mom indulged her love of reptiles with.
And these are the cutest cousins ever, at Noma's party.

I could look at pictures of my Grace and little Malachi all day long, couldn't you?

Speaking of Malachi, I uploaded the picture of him on his birthday, the only picture I got before we lost the camera! He's wearing his cute John Deer boots we got in Fredericksburg.

I also forgot to post Halloween pictures. Here is Grace, Cooper, and Connor, and grandfather Bob, in front of their house, waiting for trick-or-treaters.

And this is Grace packing herself away for the trip back home, ahah.


now here's a random picture of my lounging sweater I just bought at Gap Body for $23. It is so comfy!

Well I'd love to stay and chat some more, but Grace is throwing herself on the floor in defiance of my couch sitting. I'm sure she wants to go outside, like the public service announcements keep telling us to do. Why can't they leave me alone? I have a nice little butt dent in the couch.

Banana Balloons, Jeopardy Bonus, and Sweet Potato polish.

I just baked. I love to bake, I don't know why I don't do it more often. I made marvelous banana and chocolate chip biscotti! yummy yummy yummy...

We threw a balloon-filled birthday party for my nephew Malachi on Thursday. We had Thomas the Train decorations and plates; it was so cute. I made BBQ pulled pork, served on buttered Texas toast, and my grandmother brought tons of fruit straight from Sams. We had a glorious feast. My mom brought a red velvet cake from HEB, and Malachi had a good ol' time diving into it. I was cleaning up that mess for two days. I'm still finding bits of red velvet cake in random places around the house. My only regret was that in the middle of the circus I lost the camera! I have 2 pictures of Hannah holding her son, but none of all the action. So sad. I found the camera right after everyone left. oh well. good memories.

Ok, I could have sworn I had something great to say in this blog, but now I can't think of it.

Tomorrow in my class we are going to play Jeopardy to review for the next test. The kids had a lot of fun last time, so I'm looking forward to it.

Bubba finally got a bonus on his paycheck on Friday. It made me very happy. We paid off a credit card, increased our savings, paid an unexpected doctor's bill, and I have money to buy Christmas presents! :) We have a lot to be thankful for. Jesus is awesome.

This Wednesday is my last Bible study meeting (Ladies Wed. morning Bible study at CBC) and I have committed to make a sweet potato casserole with marshmallows for the luncheon afterwards. I have never actually made one before, but I hardly ever goof up a dish when following a recipe. I'm hoping I can cook the sweet potatoes the night before, refrigerate them and make the casserole in the morning before I go. I hope it turns out good!

One last thought, I am wearing some fabulous, new, dark red shimmery toe nail polish. I makes me very happy. And PedEggs are awesome. Go get one.

I have a joke...

It's a lesson too, but it's so funny. My MOPS friend Terri sent this to me, and I'm still crying over it. I have to do this one day. HAVE TO.

JUST A LITTLE SIN

A father of three teenagers set a rule that the family could not watch R-rated movies. This created a problem when a certain popular movie opened in local theaters. All the teens were bent on seeing the film, despite it's 'R' rating. The teens interviewed friends and even members of their church to compile alist of pros and cons about the movie. They hoped that the list wouldconvince their dad that they should be allowedto attend. The cons were that it contained only a fewswear words that misused God's name, only one act of violence ('which you can see on TV all the time,' they said), and only one sex scene (and it was mostly implied sex, off camera). The pros were that it was a popular movie - a blockbuster. If the teens saw the movie, then they would not feel left out when their friends discussed it. The movie contained a good plot and two hours of nonstop action and suspense. There were fantastic special effects! The movie featured some of the most talented actors in Hollywood. The teens were certain that the film would be nominated for several awards. And Christian friends at their church who had seen the movie said it wasn't 'that bad.' Therefore, since there were more pros than cons, the teens asked their father to reconsider his position just once. The father looked at the list and asked if he could have a day to think about it before making his decision. The teens were thrilled. Now we've got him! they thought. Our argument is too good! Dad can't turn us down! So they agreed to give him a day to think about their request. The next day the father called his three teenagers, who were smiling smugly, in the living room. They were puzzled to see a plate of brownies on the coffee table. The father said he had decided that if they would eat a brownie, then he would let them go to the movie. But just like the movie, the brownies had pros and cons. The pros were that they had been made with fresh walnuts and the finest chocolate. These moist frosted brownies had been created with an award-winning recipe. Best of all, they had been made with care by thehands of the teens' own father. The brownies had only one con. They had a little bit of dog poop in them.
But the dough had been mixed well - the teens would probably not even be able to taste it. And their father had baked the brownies at 350 degrees, so any bacteria or germs had probably been destroyed. Therefore, if any of his children could stand to eat a brownie that included 'just a little bit of poop,' then they would also be permitted to see the movie with 'just a little bit of smut.' By now the teens had lost their smug expressions. They turned down the tainted brownies, and only Dad was smiling smugly as they left the room. Now when his teenagers ask permission to do something he is opposed to, the father just asks, 'Would you like me to whip up a batch of my special brownies?'



Well, I hope you enjoyed that. I deleted a million >>>> thingies for you:)

Waiting for Christmas

This cold weather makes me want to put up Christmas decorations! Yes, I said Christmas. I don't know why, but I want to bypass fall decorations altogether and go straight to Christmas. It is 41 degrees outside! I put blankets in Grace's crib last night (usually I just dress her warmly), and she actually kept them on her all night! Well, they were on her this morning at least. She is mesmerized by Sesame Street right now.

I just want to document right now that I know Allison Johnson. My friend Allison is going to be famous. Last Wednesday I watched Allison speak at my Bible study, and immediately afterward she flew to NM to pitch the book she is writing to several publishing houses. She received positive feed back from all of them, including Tyndale, Beacon Hill, Harvest House, and AMG. Maybe she will actually have to choose which one she publishes with! I'm excited for her. She helps women become everything they are meant to be in Christ.

Speaking of books, I need to buy more books. I'm running out of things to read. Any suggestions? I always have at least two books on my night stand that I'm in the process of reading. I finished "Waking the Dead" (changed my life), and I found "Purpose Driven Life" on my bookshelf, but I don't know if I really want to read it.

Some ladies at my Bible study were talking about a fictional book called "The Shack" by William P. Young. Some liked it, some were completely disturbed by it. I don't know if I want to read it. It has been so long since I read "This Present Darkness" and "Piercing the Darkness" by Frank Peretti that I could probably read them again and enjoy it just as much. It has been 15 years! Wow! I bet I have forgotten most of it. Oh, if you've read the Shack, tell me how you liked it.

Well we are going to Laredo this weekend for Halloween and 2 birthdays, my father-in-law's and my nephew Cooper's. Cooper is turning 2, so that means Grace's birthday is 3 weeks and 3 days after that. I need to plan something!


I just read something terrible. Let it not be!

Joaquin Phoenix declares retirement from acting

Oct. 29, 2008, 2:11 PM EST

Zap2it.com

At the ripe old age of 34, Joaquin Phoenix is thinking about retirement.

The "Walk the Line" Oscar nominee mentioned his intent to leave acting behind at Monday night's (Oct. 27) Paul Newman benefit for camps for kids, reports "Extra."

"I want to take this opportunity... also to give you the exclusive and just talk a little bit about the fact that this will be my last performance as an actor," Phoenix told the entertainment newsmagazine. "I'm not doing films anymore.

"I'm working on my music," he added in explanation. "I'm done. I've been through that."

The actor's rep confirmed that was his client's intention.

Phoenix received a Grammy for his work on the "Walk the Line" soundtrack and is currently recording an album with the British indie rock band The Charlatans. Phoenix, who was also nominated for his supporting role in "Gladiator," next appears opposite Gwyneth Paltrow in the romantic drama "Two Lovers," set for release in February.

Taken from MSN.com. I loved him in The Village and Signs. We Own the Night was good too... except for the opening scene, just fast forward through that and the rest is good. He will be missed.

Pumpkin Patch and Life

HOWDY PARTNER!

Saturday Bubba and I took Grace to the Love Apple Orchard pumpkin patch with Bubba's coworkers. It was hot, but Grace had some fun. She got to run though a maze of hay and pumpkins, see a live scarecrow, play musical instruments, and eat apple ice cream (delicious!)




Here she's running through the maze with her friend Emma. We all call Grace and Emma sisters because they look a lot a like!

This is about as close as she would get to that scary guy in costume. He was nice though. He didn't move while little ones were around.
The obligatory silly picture.


Grace playing tambourine and shaking a gourd.
Grabbing a burger before heading home.


This was Grace's sleeping position of choice on the way home. It was a loooong drive and we were just glad she fell asleep. We drove through Kerrville on the way there, and through Bandera on the way back. Makes me tired just thinking about it.
And this one I took 15 minutes ago. She is just so funny when she eats pickles.

Now for something else entirely.

The evil brownie mix in the pantry is calling my name. I'm trying so hard to resist, but it's Ghirardelli, and I think it comes with icing. Why do I buy these things? I think there is an evil gnome living in my thighs that reaches out and grabs the box of brownie mix while I'm shopping so innocently at the grocery store, not even looking in the direction of the deliciously wicked baked good mixes. Oh dear, what to do about those thighs of mine.

I exercised twice yesterday, and I felt like a weakling. I need to do this more often. No, I will do that more often. I need to win the battle with my thighs. I don't want to weigh more on Grace's 2nd birthday than I did on her first birthday. Shameful!

On the home improvement front, we tiled the backsplash on the other side of my kitchen. You might recall a picture I have posted elsewheres of the backsplash Bubba and I installed a few months ago, but if you don't, here it is. I haven't uploaded pictures of the other side because I'm not finished with the grout, but the tiles are all up and I love it. I love tile! I want to tile everything.

Ok, I'm going to have to get me some chocolate, one way or another. And Grace smells. I should check that out too. I hope Bubba comes home soon. She's bound to get bored of me in a minute. Even with Dora on TV. Oh ya, Grace now calls for "Dora and Boots" by name, and points out Winnie the Pooh where ever she sees him and says "Pooh! Pooh!"

*whew* Glad it's Monday! Science lesson, anyone?

I want to post something cute, but taking care of sick Grace over the weekend has wiped me out. I am so glad that Bubba and I went out to Red Lobster with Miriam and Doug on Friday night, because the rest of the weekend was pretty lousy! We all got the "Endless Shrimp" and I stuffed myself with coconut shrimp! It was delicious. I had not been to Red Lobster since Mother's Day 2006. I don't know how I even remember that. It seems like forever ago. So we had a wonderful time. And Grace stayed up all night loooong Friday night. Crying. And she cried all day Saturday. Get this. She had Roseola. Rosy what? I know. There are just so many weird kid germs these days. New things I never had to catch when I was a kid. It was amazing that I was even able to identify what was wrong with her. I read about it in Parents magazine just before she broke out in a rash that made me certain that's what she had. The rash was not itchy or bothersome, just like the magazine said, but she didn't feel very good over all. Other symptoms were unexplainable brief fevers over that past 10 days and minor cold-like symptoms. Strange virus! Supposedly 77% of babies will catch this before their 2nd birthday. And most parents don't even know their kid has it because the rash doesn't always appear, and it is not always obvious when it does appear. So the parent thinks the baby has a cold and a random fever, explained away as teething usually.

So I'm glad it's Monday. Grace is feeling better and I got to leave her at my mom's house today while I went to ENAACT to teach. She had fun with Malachi and got to drink her fill of good ole southern style sweet tea. I got to talk about how great water is while explaining the Hydrologic Cycle to my class, and how the salinity of the oceans is just one more thing secular scientists have to overlook when they say the earth is billions of years old. Would you like to hear about that? Let me explain.

The salinity of the oceans is constantly increasing. Salt builds up in the ocean because rivers, streams, surface runoff and ground water flow pick up salts from the soil and carry them to the ocean. The only way that water leaves the ocean is by evaporation. Salt does not evaporate with water vapor, therefore salt goes in and does not come out, and the salinity increases over time. This has been studied for years, and we know the rate at which the salinity is increasing. Using this rate, and the assumption that there was no salt in the ocean at the beginning of time, we can calculate that the earth is no more than 1,000,000 years old. Now lets talk about that assumption we used. It is absolutely ridiculous to say that the oceans started out with no salt whatsoever. All the organisms living in the ocean require the salinity of the water to be at a certain level. These organisms could not have evolved from freshwater creatures to salt water creatures in just one million years. So the oceans started out salty. Also, we have evidence that the rate of increasing salinity has gone down over time. Many years ago, more salt was being added in a given amount of time than is being added now. These two things lead us to realize the earth is significantly younger than one million years. Like I said, just one more thing they ignore in their quest to prove we came from nothing and are nothing. Pathetic.

Now I must depart. Grace is throwing iPods, and Bubba is going to put on some Kung Fu movie if I don't start watching the Bones episode I have tuned in to.

Good night, and good luck.

Lint, Fashion, and Something Heavenly

I have a freakish love of collecting lint. I don't mean I keep it, I just collect it from the lint trap and throw it away. I'm not that freakish. When I was a kid my mom never liked removing lint from the dryer’s lint trap, and avoided doing so. Every time I went out into the garage to transfer the laundry for her (maybe once weekly), to my joy I would find thick layers of lint just falling off the trap. I don’t know why it excited me so much. I just like lint. Say it with me, “FREAK”.

Now, I ALWAYS rub the lint off the trap every time I put a wet load of clothes in the dryer. I have to. So I never see those exciting clouds of lint anymore, but I have noticed something.

When I dry Grace’s clothes, the lint looks like this.

Here is a comparison with ‘normal’ lint. You know, lint is almost always blue. I could go into the science of this, or I could just say lint is blue for pretty much the same reason the sky is blue. It’s all about the lighting. But Grace’s lint is not blue. It’s pink. My little girl wears a lot of pink, as she should. Thus creating lint-induced elation once again in my sometimes mundane little life. Pink lint! What’s not to luv?

Speaking of Grace’s clothes, can you say VOGUE?

Baby fashions are just so much more fun than adult fashions, which can be ruined by extra chunk. Babies always look good with extra chunk.

Take a look at that purple sweater dress. ADORABLE. And her wool herringbone skirt with matching hat and pink turtle neck. Her fur coat is her favorite thing to request out of her closet.

Now for something else entirely.

I was buying Miriam some gorgeous silver earrings for her birthday, and I decided to get me some too, while I was ordering. Every time I order something from Amazon, I think, “What else can I buy, while I’m getting free shipping?” Don’t you do that? I do. So I got these delightful silver earrings for like 13 bucks. I never take them off. I took a million pictures of my head to get these shots. I just didn’t want to take them off! They make me look infinitely more gorgeouser. And who can part with that.

That makes me think of other bargains I have snatched up lately. Bubba and I stopped by a garage sale down the street and bought a wood roll-top desk for $65, a microwave stand/cabinet in like-new condition for $10, and this nifty "sit n spin" for a buck.

Just watch her go!

This has been a very productive day. Laundry, vacuuming, cleaning out the office to make it into a guest room, grocery shopping, and now blogging till my heart’s content. I even found my anthem for 2008. I knew it was out there somewhere. Sanctus Real, you’ve had it up your sleeve all this time. Listen, watch, or read, your choice. Something Heavenly.

Something Heavenly by Sanctus Real

It's time for healing time to move on
It's time to fix what's been broken too long
Time to make right what has been wrong
It's time to find my way to where I belong
There's a wave that's crashing over me
And all I can do is surrender

Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
but I'm giving in to something Heavenly

Time for a milestone
Time to begin again
Reevaluate who I really am
Am I doing everything to follow Your will
Or just climbing aimlessly over these hills
So show me what it is You want from me
I give everything I surrender...
To...

Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
but I'm giving in to something Heavenly

Time to face up
Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out
That I've wanted to say for so many years
Time to release all my held back tears


Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but now I can see
This is something bigger than me
Larger than life something Heavenly
Something Heavenly

It's time to face up
Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out

If you have a theme song for 2008, I would very much like to hear what it is!

Hello October

This month feels different to me. I'm turning a new leaf, in the fall, when colorful leaves are plentiful. Starting with my hair. Well first, let me tell you about this blog. I have had a few other blogs, but this one is different. It's not really a networking blog, it's just a page about me. Of course I would love to hear from you if you want to leave a comment. However, I will not be bending to peer pressure on this blog. No way in Hades, no one is getting to me. This is my page, back off.

:O

Did I just say that? Really? Ok, if you're going to read my blog, you better have a sense of humor. I don't want to be taken very seriously. I just want to be able to write whatever I want. It's like a diary, but you are free to snoop through it anytime you want, i.e. bookmark it. I will be showing pictures of my life, my child, my husband, and my home improvement projects. I will talk about spiritual stuff, cooking stuff, decorating stuff, and even shcience schtuff. Since I teach science it is unavoidable that I will be learning interesting things from time to time, whether I like it or not. And then I will share with you. Like the ban on production of CFCs is stupid and will eventually kill people. Some other time, some other time...

So, on with the show, and back to my hair. I made an executive decision to dye my hair for the first time with a permanent Feria hair dye.
Color: Bright Auburn Brown
Colorist: Hannah the Crazy
I always wish my hair was a little darker, and little less brassy, a little more red. Like the color red, not like an orange headed ginger kid. But only a little bit. Not a huge difference. I tried to pick a color pretty close to my own, from the picture on the box. Just darker. So I finally committed to this Bright Auburn Brown color, spent like 9 bucks on it (coloring is so expensive!) and let Hannah shake it up and slap it on me. We did this late at night, so I didn't really get to see the color until the next day, which was a very long busy day, with Bible study in the morning, eating lunch on the run, and teaching in the afternoon. It wasn't until a few minutes before my science class was starting, standing in front of the mirror in the little girls' room, having already been to Bible study, that I got a good look at my hair. Oh nooooo...

I looked like an old lady. With crazy red, and dark brown, hair. How do I describe this? The undertone is very dark brown, but there is a shocking bright red color which is most intense at the roots and fades downward. The bottom of my hair is much less red than the top. For some reason the red just didn't take well at the bottom and underneath. uhh... ok? I'm not sure what to think.

Fortunately, Hannah has been dying her hair red a lot lately and knows that the red dye washes out over time, even with "permanent" dyes. After two washes, I do see a little less red. Oh let me just show you a picture.





I tried to distract from the fact that my face was not yet washed.

But see, it's pretty red. I feel like I'm dressed up for Halloween already, and I'm going as an infamously red headed mascot of an infamously fattening fast food restaurant. Oh maybe it's not that bad.