New Jen's Horde


Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Can't blog

 
Playing Toontown. And, when I'm not, some kid is, so there's just no hope.

I need a new computer, not just for games but also because the kids are using my computer more and more for school, leaving me with no computer. Let's hope we get a big pile of money from Uncle Sam...


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Monday, January 30, 2006

Love!

 
Look at these two, just a couple of years from meeting. Of course, they were meant to be together, is there any mistaking true soulmates? Look how their passion smoulders while they wait, seemingly endlessly, for their other half to appear in their lives. Or perhaps it was better hairstyles and orthodontia they're waiting for?

id cards

Yep, these are me and Davin's junior high I.D. cards I found while looking for a picture to enter in The Queen of Spain's contest, she's asking for photos showing love. Aren't we fabulous in that way that only kids who haven't grown into their teeth can be? We met in 1985, so these pictures aren't far off of how we looked when we first gazed into each other's eyes...which may be why we didn't start dating until 1989. Regardless, even though we know our children will no doubt pass through scary phases similar to these, we've chosen to marry and reproduce anyway because we just can't imagine anyone else in the world making us as happy as we make each other. It's true love!


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Sunday, January 29, 2006

It's official

 
We took him to the McDonald's Playland today, and he did just fine in his underwear. So, I believe he's officially potty trained and I will resume normal blogging now. Thanks for your patience.


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Saturday, January 28, 2006

Potty Experiment-Day 2

 
So far so good! Although I'm a little worried for our plumbing as he just unleased a poo whose size and girth would have concerned me had it come out of a much larger mammal, say my husband...or maybe an elephant. Yikes!

Hopefully he's just getting it all worked out after maybe holding back a little yesterday. Either that or I need to buy a professional quality plunger and perhaps a toilet snake, or just dig him a hole in the yard to use.

For those of you bored with this discussion, deal with it. This my last kid and I've been changing diapers non-stop for over 10 years now. I think I'm more excited about this than I was my own wedding. (Not the marriage, just the wedding.)


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Friday, January 27, 2006

I don't want to jinx it but,

 
Tiernan's wearing underwear today! So far, so good!

Now if I could just get him to keep his hands out of there. Is that normal? One hand in the Legos, one hand down his pants. One hand holding his juice, one hand down his pants. Will this stop as the novelty wears off? (Please say yes.)


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Thursday, January 26, 2006

You go, Oprah!

 
You tell him, girl!


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Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Cemeteries don't really bother me

 
but I think this really would. Yikes!

Clara Connelly had one foot in the grave the other day, literally. Rain-softened ground gave way, and she sank up to her knee in a newly-dug grave that was near the one she was visiting, belonging to her husband. She...was stuck for an hour before she managed to pull free. "It was a gloomy day, and it was getting to be dusk," she said. "Nobody knew I was there. No car went by. There I was out in the open, doing the splits."
Poor thing!


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Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Oprah, Osama...Osama, Oprah!

 
Apparently they share the ability to get books flying off the shelves.


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Sunday, January 22, 2006

Just have a minute

 
Crazy busy weekend (even though we're probably the only people in Denver NOT watching the game, just never got into it.)

Anyway, still researching decoupage, and I came across not just a toilet seat, but a whole toilet!

Didn't mean to drop a load on you and run, but when you gotta go you gotta go! (I slay myself!)


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Saturday, January 21, 2006

Decoupage

 
We learned how to do basic decoupage at our Girl Scout meeting, and I was struck by the idea that I want to cover our beat up pine kitchen table with decoupage. (If you're not familiar with the medium, check here for some high brow examples, and here and here for some funkier stuff. Oh, and don't forget the toilet seat!)

I've sorted out that if I cover it with polyurethane, it will be fine to use and safe from my horde of destructors.

So, here's my dilemma. What to do?

Would you go with a theme that matches your kitchen (assuming you had a theme, which I don't), or just go crazy with it and have fun? What would you put on it? I've seen flowers, maps, dragons, pages of newspapers, tarot cards, Bible verses, etc.

Ack! Too many choices!


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Friday, January 20, 2006

The 1000 Journals Project

 
In August of 2000, journals were released into the wild as part of an experiment, The 1000 Journals Project.

The 1000 Journals Project is an ongoing, collaborative experiment attempting to follow 1000 journals throughout their travels. The goal is to provide a method for interaction and shared creativity. If you ask a kindergarten class how many of them are artists, they'll all raise their hands. Ask the same question of 6th graders, and maybe one third will respond. Ask high school grads, and few will admit to it.
At their website, you can see where the journals are, how many of them have been near you, and you can find out how to get one sent to you to include your own work.

When the journals return, the project designer plans to create a traveling exhibit with them, and then perhaps a compilation book.

I just love ideas like this!


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Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Have you all been following

 
the brouhaha over the Oprah book A Million Little Pieces, and how The Smoking Gun ripped the "memoir" right open? If not, you should get caught up, it's pretty interesting.

Gael, over at PCJM, links us up to a book review that was both scathing and side-splitting. Apparently, not only is the author a big fat liar, he's a crummy writer, too, according to this article.

I think I have a fairly interesting life, at least for me. But I know that it probably really wouldn't be that exciting for anyone else to read a whole book about me. That's why I never wrote one. I never considered making a bunch of stuff up and just SAYING that was my life, I guess that's why I don't make the big bucks...


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Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Not a genius moment...

 
Is anyone else having trouble with this? I know there's a country named Turkey, and I know the bird flu has now crossed the borders into that country. But everytime I see headlines like this one:

Bird Flu Virus Has Mutated in Turkey

or

4th Case of Bird Flu Found in Turkey


my first thought is, CRAP, there goes Thanksgiving! Am I the only one?


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Monday, January 16, 2006

The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire

 
It's coming up on 100 years since a tremendous earthquake shook San Francisco and unleashed days of fires, and The Bancroft Library has busily been gathering photos and other memorabilia from all over the country in preparation. The results can be found here.

Along with digitizing images, they've also led us step by step through the disaster, telling us why so many buildings fell during the earthquake, and what measures were taken to try to stop the fire. These included dynamiting untouched building to create a firebreak, which didn't work out nearly as well as they'd hoped, considering they also blew up gas mains in the process. Oops!

Check this website out, it's an interesting place to spend a little time.


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Saturday, January 14, 2006

MLK thoughts and a question

 
Martin Luther King, Jr Day is on Monday. This morning I was reading an article that gives a short history of the struggle to get this day recognized as a holiday in all 50 states.

In many places, people will help with projects aimed to improve the community and help the needy. Supporters of the holiday try to discourage businesses from using it as a marketing gimmick.

"Martin Luther King would turn over in his grave if he thought he was recognized by a day of shopping and rest," said former Sen. Harris Wofford, D-Pa., who worked with Rep. John Lewis of Georgia to establish the holiday as a day of service.
That's good to know, it does seem wrong to have a 3 day weekend blowout sale in honor of this holiday.

This article brought up another thing I'm curious about. They kept referring to people as "blacks" but I was told it was appropriate to say "African-Americans." Which is proper?


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Friday, January 13, 2006

SWAT Team Shoots Armed Fla. 8th-Grader

 
A suicidal eighth grader who pulled a handgun in class and forced another child into a closet was shot by a sheriff's SWAT team member Friday when he later threatened deputies, Seminole County officials said. Read Article
I want to find some statistics on this, because I think at this point there are more student shooters per capita than any other demographic, including the postal workers who are so famous for coming unhinged and killing co-workers that we call it "going postal." Does anyone know where I can find this kind of information?

Should we start saying that an unglued shooter is "going schoolkid?"

EDITING TO ADD: This piece of information was just brought to my attention. As you can read here:
Over 3,500 students were expelled in 1998-99 for bringing guns to school. Of these, 43% were in elementary or junior high school. This means that, in a 40-week school year, an average of 88 children per week nationwide are expelled for bringing a gun in school. And these figures include only the children who get caught.
According to their footnote, this information was taken from U.S. Department of Education. Report on State Implementation of the Gun-Free Schools Act: School Year 1998-99. October 2000.

I am having a hard time thinking of some place that would be less safe than the schools to leave a child. I guess maybe on the battle front in the Middle East or in prison, although I think most prisons have a better record than this... Sorry, just getting a little testy.


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Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Please hand me your license and registration, and PEE ON THIS STICK, Ma'am.

 
Judge: Fetuses Don't Count in HOV Lanes

Candace Dickinson was fined $367 for improper use of a carpool lane, but contended the fetus inside her womb allowed her to use the lane. Municipal Judge Dennis Freeman rejected Dickinson's argument Tuesday, applying a "common sense" definition in which an individual is someone who occupies a "separate and distinct" space in a vehicle.
Obviously this not what HOV lane rules are trying to accomplish, and as the officer has already pointed out, how exactly are they going to determine in the field who actually is pregnant?

Just pay the $367 and use the proper lane in the future, please.


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Tuesday, January 10, 2006

It could be worse...

 
I was thinking about yesterday's post, and all of the neat things from the projected future that we don't have yet. In the comments, people mentioned they're also waiting for transporters, robot maids/companions, and jet packs.

But, then my mind wandered over all of the not-so-pretty scenarios that have been predicted by science fiction writers, and I am glad things aren't as bad as they could be.

For instance, as one commenter mentioned, we are not consuming each other in tasty Soylent Green wafers. I am 5 years past the "renewal" date mandated in Logan's Run. Even with the hullaballoo over phone tapping, and the fact that it's over 20 years late, Nineteen Eighty-Four still isn't here yet. And, hopefully there aren't Morlocks setting up shop underground right now.

Maybe I'll just be content with cleaning my house for myself...


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Monday, January 09, 2006

At least no one's coming to harvest humans for food...

 
I will be away from my computer most of the day as apparently, even though it's the year TWO THOUSAND AND SIX, my house does not come with a self-clean function. I'm still waiting on that flying car and the meal pills, too. New millennium, my butt...

I do have to say cell phones are pretty nifty evidence that the future may not be that far off. Don't you just love to flip yours open and pretend to be Captain Kirk, "Beam me up!" Maybe that's just me.

Anyway, while we're all waiting for the technology we've been promised by 50 years of sci fi movies, you can enjoy the Top Ten National Geographic News Stories of 2005. They invoke the name of Godzilla, so my family is all over it.


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Sunday, January 08, 2006

Maybe we're watching too many cop shows?

 
Overheard at my house:

Do you get arrested for impersonating Elvis?

Speaking of, today is Elvis' birthday. Whether you believe he's an undercover DEA agent, hunting mummies in a rest home, that he's simply omnipresent, or, like John Brown's body, he lays a-mouldering in the grave, you've got to admit the man changed the face of music forever.

Happy Birthday to the King of Rock and Roll.


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Saturday, January 07, 2006

So ladylike!

 
As we all know, the job of trying to raise polite and civilized members of the human race brings all of your natural intelligence, strategy, and common sense into play, and is still sometimes tricky.

For instance, a few years ago while wading on the banks of a mountain lake, we tried to encourage the girls to maintain a sense of gentility and decorum, and keep from from going in too far, by reminding them, "Don't get your dresses wet."

This isn't exactly what we meant...
Don't get your dresses wet!2

Go check over at A Mama's Rant, she's running a contest to find funny kid pictures. You have until Monday night to enter, so hurry!


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Friday, January 06, 2006

It's Ms. Crystal's Birthday!

 
And, in honor of her big 26, I'm going to do the 4s meme that she tagged me with over at I Heart Peanut Butter. Click the .*.*. for the rest!

Four jobs I've had in my life: Police Helmet Factory, Taco John's, Dishwasher at restaurant called "The Smiling Moose," and in the time card department of USWest (back in the day.)

Four movies I could watch over and over: I've seen most every kid movie over and over, and now I can't remember what I like any more...

Four places I've lived: Portage IN, Quantico VA, Evergreen CO, and now Highlands Ranch CO

Four places I've been on vacation: Utah, Mexico, Toronto, and visiting various family members all over the US.

Four Websites I visit daily: My blog (and a zillion others), the message boards at the homeschool group I co-lead, the Five in a Row message boards, the forums at Craftster.

4 (current) Shows I won't miss: All of the CSIs, and House. (Love my DVR!)

Four of my favorite foods: Cheese fries, popcorn, chocolate and Outback steak!

Four places I'd rather be: Can I say "back in bed" four times?

Four albums I can't live without: I'm starting to notice that I don't listen to whole albums as much anymore. Hmmm, I don't know.

I don't tag, so if you want to join in, you can!

Thanks, Ms. Crystal, and Happy Birthday!


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Is it just me,

 
or is it kind of Blair Witch-y in here?

Blair Witch

Yes, this is what my cutie pie 8 year olds made with the Magnetix they got for their birthday.

Should I be concerned?


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Thursday, January 05, 2006

Thursday Thirteen #11

 

Thirteen news stories that are making JEN roll her eyes...


1. Oh sure, but they got a dog sitter!
A husband and wife who found a dog sitter for their new puppies, but left their 9-year-old son home to care for his younger autistic brother while they celebrated the new year in Las Vegas, were arrested Wednesday, police said.
2. Where Disco Inferno meets Ring of Fire.
The home of the late singer Johnny Cash has been purchased by another singer with a distinctive voice. Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees and his wife, Linda, bought the house for an undisclosed amount, an attorney for the Cash family said Wednesday.
3. And this matters, why?
Researchers at a Missouri university have identified the largest known prime number, officials said Tuesday...The number that the team found is 9.1 million digits long. It is a Mersenne prime known as M30402457 — that's 2 to the 30,402,457th power minus 1. Mersenne primes are a special category expressed as 2 to the "p" power minus 1, in which "p" also is a prime number.
4. I'd hate to see what he would have done if they'd given him jail time!
A South Korean man was in critical condition after setting himself on fire Wednesday in a courtroom where he was sentenced to a $300 fine for disturbing the peace, a court official and an emergency room physician said.
5. I'm glad she's sorting this out, but that bulimia thing wasn't really news to the rest of the world...
Lindsay Lohan, who was hospitalized in Miami this week for an asthma attack, tells Vanity Fair in an interview that she has dabbled in drugs and battled bulimia.
6. It appears that Gary Glitter's taking a page from the Michael Jackson playbook.
The disgraced former pop star Gary Glitter has paid £2,275 to the families of two Vietnamese girls he is accused of sexually assaulting after they agreed to write to the authorities asking that the case be dropped, his lawyer said yesterday.
7. Apparently George Clooney will just never have enough money.
Hollywood is planning a new sequel to adventure flick "Ocean's Eleven," with star George Clooney set to reprise his role as a charismatic thief in "Ocean's Thirteen," the entertainment press said.
8. Um, duh! They actually had to fund a study to determine this is true?
Children who see their mothers physically abused may often suffer their own emotional and behavioral problems in response, new study findings show. The study, according to the researchers, adds to evidence that witnessing violence in the home can have serious consequences for children's mental health and ability to function in daily life...They found that mothers who said they'd been seriously abused by their partner -- beaten, choked or threatened with a weapon -- generally reported more emotional and behavioral problems in their 4- to 14-year-old children.
9. No thanks, I think a bus tour is enough of a disaster on its own.
Mountains of debris, collapsing houses, a weather-ravaged stadium: It's yours for $35 a person -- $28 for kids. Gray Line New Orleans began a bus tour Wednesday of the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Katrina, and demand was high enough that the company added a third tour on the first day.
10. Don't worry, we'll bring 'Enry 'Iggins in and soon they'll all sound like they're from the upper crust.
Some whale species sing in different dialects depending on where they're from, a new study shows.
11. He was just unloading all over the place!
Police in a Vancouver suburb reminded residents on Tuesday it was not a good idea to play with a loaded gun while using the bathroom, after a man accidentally shot himself. A 21-year-old North Vancouver man was facing numerous weapons charges after he shot off one of his fingers while apparently playing with a gun on New Year's Day, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
12. Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the Gulf Coast...
Tropical Storm Zeta finally started weakening Wednesday and was expected to turn into a tropical depression Thursday, forecasters said. Zeta developed Friday, about a month after the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season officially ended. It tied a record for the latest developing storm since record keeping began in 1851. Though Zeta appeared to be breaking down, the skimpy history of January storms makes it hard to predict, said Eric Blake, a meteorologist at the hurricane center.
13. Doesn't this officially make it a "shotgun wedding?"
Florida cops nabbed groom-to-be Lonnie Causey, 62, minutes before his wedding Friday — charging him with ignoring a judge's order prohibiting contact with the bride, according to the Orlando Sentinel. In August, French called police to tell them the man ready to pledge his love for her, in sickness and in health, had shot a gun at her head after having too much to drink.
Yep, he's quality. I think the police are doing her a favor.

That's it for today! Leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

FIONNA, you didn't leave me a link! Does anyone know where to find Fionna? Call off the bloodhounds, Fionna has been found! I tracked through comments on another 13. Why can't different blog systems get the link thing together?

1. MommaK 2. Leanne 3. Renee 4.Jeej 5. GreekGoddess 6. Krisco 7. Jennifer at Just My Little World 8. KDubs 9. Rowan 10. Nancy AKA CraZedMoM 11. Uisce 12. Veronika 13. Colleen at Musings 14. Jennifer at Happy at Home 15. Ms. Crystal 16. Colleen at Loose Leaf 17. Lori 18. SquashedToad 19. Karen 20. Audra 21. InterstellarLass 22. Texas_Ivy10 23. Bone 24. Marie 25. Kelly/Nello 26. UziCue 27. Sallwood 28. Shelli 29. Running2Ks 30. Gabrielle 31. Allison 32. Ardice 33. Fionna at Ficklechick 34. Master Enigma 35. Judy 36. Trinity13 37. busymom 38. JK 39. Lisa 40. Holly



Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!





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Wednesday, January 04, 2006

I wouldn't have thought about this,

 
but I guess it makes sense, what with all of the fences being destroyed, and the lack of supervision.

Puppies are popping up everywhere amid the rubble left by Hurricane Katrina — and animal welfare workers on the northern Gulf Coast fear it is only the start of a big boom in dog births. Workers have yet to see a spike in cat births, but there's no doubt about what dogs have been doing since the hurricane, said Tara High, executive director of the nonprofit group. "We're beginning to get litters now," High said. "It's a lot of puppies, and it's not puppy season."
I guess it's good SOMEBODY found all that swimming in crap to be arousing, it's my understanding that most everyone else could have done with a lot less of it...


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My brain hurts.

 
Just so you understand where this story starts, Tiernan turned 4 in October and is still in diapers. We try the potty from time to time, but he doesn't seem to "get" the poo thing, so here we are.

Today, I asked him to get a diaper so we could change him. He turned over one of his cars under the bridge of my sewing machine, and pushed the diaper to me slowly on the upturned wheels while making a "zh...zh...zh...zh" sound. He then exclaimed that it was the "Diaper Printer."

Can someone explain why he can invent an entire pretend machine that mimics one of our computer accessories, yet he still poops in his pants? Where is the logic in that?


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Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Wow!

 
I have no idea how long the song Black Horse & The Cherry Tree by KT Tunstall has been out, but it has caught my ear and won't give it back. And now, watching in this video how she adds the instruments and vocal tracks bit by bit before live audience is just fascinating to me.

Click here and then go down and click on "Black Horse & The Cherry Tree: LIVE On Later With Jools Holland" to see what I mean. (You'll have to watch an ad first.)


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Monday, January 02, 2006

Court TV's "2005 in Crime and Trials"

 
Man, there are some disturbing people out there. Read at your own risk...


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Sunday, January 01, 2006

Happy New Year!

 
And many more...

And a pinch to grow an inch...

Hmmm, what does one say after Happy New Year? No matter. I hope 2006 finds everyone safe, happy, and hurricane-free!


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