Saturday, June 30, 2007
Tagged By Amy the Black! 8 Things about Jen.
Woohoo to Amy the Black who tagged me!
All right, here are the rules:
1. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.
2. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.
These are mine:
1. We have a friend living with us right now. She's going through a rough divorce and needed a place to stay. She's way cool. She cooks and cleans and takes my kids places. I may have to marry her myself when this whole thing is over!
2. I am the oldest of four kids, my sister is just over a year younger than me, and my brothers are 6 and 15 years younger than me. None of them lives anywhere nearby.
3. My sister has 3 kids, and neither of my brothers has started reproducing yet. My BIL and SIL have also not started procreating, but they're getting pretty stable with work and stuff so it may happen soon. I hope everyone has a ton of kids. I want my kids to be swimming in cousins!
4. When I was a kid, I used to be afraid of letting any part of my body hang over the edges of the bed. I don't know why, but I had this picture in my head of a huge rectangular razor slicer hung by chains over my bed. I thought that it dropped every night, and I just had to make sure I was all bundled up on the top of the mattress when it did, or it would cut stuff off. I was pretty sure it wasn't really there, but not sure enough to let my foot dangle...
5. We've started getting a little more regimented with our homeschooling. We used to be pretty relaxed, and it worked great for a long time! But, life sort of degenerated into video games and TV 24/7, and I wasn't comfortable with that. One of the new resources we've been using is the Learning Through History magazine. It's been really neat, and I'm glad that a local homeschool mom turned us on to this.
6. I didn't start dating until I was 18 (not for lack of trying, I was just too nerdy...) There were 2 guys that I was sort of serious about, then I started going out with Davin on my 19th birthday. We've been together ever since!
7. When I was in college, I was studying psychology. If you've been reading here a while you know that I was very close to a degree when I left school. When I go back, it's unlikely I was finish that degree unless I get some sort of cool credit deal. I think I'd rather study nursing or something like that.
8. I like to knit and crochet and bead and do needlepoint, but what I really wish I could do is draw or paint. You know, more "art" kind of stuff. And I REALLY wish I could play an instrument. I'd love to be able to play piano.
I'm not going to tag anyone. I haven't been blogging faithfully enough lately to ask other folks to do stuff. But, if you want to do this, feel free! Please let me know, I'd love to read your 8 Things :-D
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All right, here are the rules:
1. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.
2. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.
These are mine:
1. We have a friend living with us right now. She's going through a rough divorce and needed a place to stay. She's way cool. She cooks and cleans and takes my kids places. I may have to marry her myself when this whole thing is over!
2. I am the oldest of four kids, my sister is just over a year younger than me, and my brothers are 6 and 15 years younger than me. None of them lives anywhere nearby.
3. My sister has 3 kids, and neither of my brothers has started reproducing yet. My BIL and SIL have also not started procreating, but they're getting pretty stable with work and stuff so it may happen soon. I hope everyone has a ton of kids. I want my kids to be swimming in cousins!
4. When I was a kid, I used to be afraid of letting any part of my body hang over the edges of the bed. I don't know why, but I had this picture in my head of a huge rectangular razor slicer hung by chains over my bed. I thought that it dropped every night, and I just had to make sure I was all bundled up on the top of the mattress when it did, or it would cut stuff off. I was pretty sure it wasn't really there, but not sure enough to let my foot dangle...
5. We've started getting a little more regimented with our homeschooling. We used to be pretty relaxed, and it worked great for a long time! But, life sort of degenerated into video games and TV 24/7, and I wasn't comfortable with that. One of the new resources we've been using is the Learning Through History magazine. It's been really neat, and I'm glad that a local homeschool mom turned us on to this.
6. I didn't start dating until I was 18 (not for lack of trying, I was just too nerdy...) There were 2 guys that I was sort of serious about, then I started going out with Davin on my 19th birthday. We've been together ever since!
7. When I was in college, I was studying psychology. If you've been reading here a while you know that I was very close to a degree when I left school. When I go back, it's unlikely I was finish that degree unless I get some sort of cool credit deal. I think I'd rather study nursing or something like that.
8. I like to knit and crochet and bead and do needlepoint, but what I really wish I could do is draw or paint. You know, more "art" kind of stuff. And I REALLY wish I could play an instrument. I'd love to be able to play piano.
I'm not going to tag anyone. I haven't been blogging faithfully enough lately to ask other folks to do stuff. But, if you want to do this, feel free! Please let me know, I'd love to read your 8 Things :-D
.*.*.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Must. Get. Out. Of. The. House.
All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jen a dull girl.
.*.*.
Labels: life
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Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Yeah, sure...
Florida man's headache mystery solved by a bullet
I've had headaches so severe that I wouldn't be surprised if there was a bullet in my head. I've even considered putting a bullet in there myself, if only I could find some sort of "smart bullet" that would just wreck the migraine section of my brain without doing something drastic like, you know, killing me. So, I understand him thinking he had a horrible headache and wanting to go to the ER.
What I don't understand is, how does that not come up? How do you accidentally shoot someone and not mention it? Did she think it was just a coincidence that she shot her husband in the head and then he woke up with a headache? I think there's more to this story than the wife is telling....
.*.*.
A Florida man awoke with a severe headache and asked his wife to drive him to a hospital, where doctors found a bullet lodged behind his right ear, sheriff's deputies said.Ouch!
The wife, April Moylan, fled the emergency room when the bullet was discovered but later told deputies she had accidentally shot her husband as he slept early on Tuesday. She was jailed on a weapons violation charge while deputies pursued additional charges.
I've had headaches so severe that I wouldn't be surprised if there was a bullet in my head. I've even considered putting a bullet in there myself, if only I could find some sort of "smart bullet" that would just wreck the migraine section of my brain without doing something drastic like, you know, killing me. So, I understand him thinking he had a horrible headache and wanting to go to the ER.
What I don't understand is, how does that not come up? How do you accidentally shoot someone and not mention it? Did she think it was just a coincidence that she shot her husband in the head and then he woke up with a headache? I think there's more to this story than the wife is telling....
Labels: migraine, newsworthy
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Tuesday, June 26, 2007
It's True!
My car does indeed need a new transmission. Davin went down to the shop today and talked to the mechanic for about an hour. He said the guy was really cool, and explained the whole process to him, including exactly how a transmission works and how our recent one likely failed. Davin had a great time, so I've got to give the guy credit, Davin so rarely gets to do "guy stuff."
I'm trying to take advantage of the time by cleaning and catching up on the kids' school. Not that we really need to catch up, but we've got a TON of materials about the American Revolution from the library and we'll probably get a chance to go through it.
We'll get the car back a week from today, so I bet we'll be all educated up and super clean by then! I'm reading a few books on my own right now. I always seem to have more than one going, but some of these I'm trying to really blaze through because, although I requested them all at different times, they came in all at once. Here they are: Dead Reckoning: The New Science of Catching Killers, by Michael Baden M.D and Marion Roach, Zodiac Unmasked: The Identity of America's Most Elusive Serial Killer Revealed by Robert Graysmith, The Stand: Expanded Edition: For the First Time Complete and Uncut by Stephen King (again, I seem to have to drag this one out every 1-2 years and read it, I can't help it), Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert (also again, I love this series! Tiernan almost ended up with a name like Duncan Idaho...) and The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (this one I read back in the early '90s, and now I'm hosting a book discussion of it for the parents in my homeschool group.) And, I'm still working my way through the Book of Mormon, a chapter or two most days. :-) I've always read tons of stuff at the same time, no wonder I'm usually going in 40 different directions!
If you get a minute today, will you stop by Renee's blog? Her mom is sick, and she needs prayers and good thoughts!
.*.*.
I'm trying to take advantage of the time by cleaning and catching up on the kids' school. Not that we really need to catch up, but we've got a TON of materials about the American Revolution from the library and we'll probably get a chance to go through it.
We'll get the car back a week from today, so I bet we'll be all educated up and super clean by then! I'm reading a few books on my own right now. I always seem to have more than one going, but some of these I'm trying to really blaze through because, although I requested them all at different times, they came in all at once. Here they are: Dead Reckoning: The New Science of Catching Killers, by Michael Baden M.D and Marion Roach, Zodiac Unmasked: The Identity of America's Most Elusive Serial Killer Revealed by Robert Graysmith, The Stand: Expanded Edition: For the First Time Complete and Uncut by Stephen King (again, I seem to have to drag this one out every 1-2 years and read it, I can't help it), Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert (also again, I love this series! Tiernan almost ended up with a name like Duncan Idaho...) and The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (this one I read back in the early '90s, and now I'm hosting a book discussion of it for the parents in my homeschool group.) And, I'm still working my way through the Book of Mormon, a chapter or two most days. :-) I've always read tons of stuff at the same time, no wonder I'm usually going in 40 different directions!
If you get a minute today, will you stop by Renee's blog? Her mom is sick, and she needs prayers and good thoughts!
Labels: books, car, homeschooling, life
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Monday, June 25, 2007
New new transmission
Yep, it looks like we need another new transmission in the minivan. We just replaced it a little over 2 years ago. Hopefully we are still under warranty! Can you believe that? Yikes!
And, I'm supposed to go get a gum graft for my bottom front two teeth. We would save a ton of money if we just stopped going to the dentist and the mechanic, don't you think? Hee hee!
On the home front, one of our Home Teachers has offered to come help put our kitchen ceiling back together! Yay! So, the holey ceiling shouldn't be a problem for long.
When it rains, it pours! I really think that sometimes God puts all of the bad stuff together in a relatively short period of time just so that you can go through it and get over it all at once, then the rest of the year will be nice. Does that make sense?
Happy Monday to all!
.*.*.
And, I'm supposed to go get a gum graft for my bottom front two teeth. We would save a ton of money if we just stopped going to the dentist and the mechanic, don't you think? Hee hee!
On the home front, one of our Home Teachers has offered to come help put our kitchen ceiling back together! Yay! So, the holey ceiling shouldn't be a problem for long.
When it rains, it pours! I really think that sometimes God puts all of the bad stuff together in a relatively short period of time just so that you can go through it and get over it all at once, then the rest of the year will be nice. Does that make sense?
Happy Monday to all!
.*.*.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Less of Jen to Love
OK, I'm getting really serious about losing weight again. I was doing great for a while, then fell off the wagon, HARD.
My endocrinologist wants me to stay at 1000 calories a day, and that's what I'm trying to do.
My friend Heather is on the same wagon, well, sort of. She's got her own goals, just like I do, but we have a lot in common. So, we started a weight loss blog, just for our own accountability. It's called Friends on Track, and you can go peek at it if you like. We'll pretty it up as we go.
Happy Sunday!
.*.*.
My endocrinologist wants me to stay at 1000 calories a day, and that's what I'm trying to do.
My friend Heather is on the same wagon, well, sort of. She's got her own goals, just like I do, but we have a lot in common. So, we started a weight loss blog, just for our own accountability. It's called Friends on Track, and you can go peek at it if you like. We'll pretty it up as we go.
Happy Sunday!
.*.*.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Where Have I Been?
We found it! We found Where Did I Come From?, and now we have a $10 credit at the library!
Any guesses on how long we will take to blow through $10 in late fees?
.*.*.
Any guesses on how long we will take to blow through $10 in late fees?
Labels: books
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Thursday, June 21, 2007
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
We are done with replacing the pipes! Woohoo!
The guys who came to do the work for us were EXCELLENT, and I would totally have them work for us again. If you're looking for a great HVAC group, you should call them, Square One Heating and Air Conditioning. I can't say enough good things about them. They were here on time, worked hard all day every day they were here, and stopped whenever something weird came up to find out from us what they should do. AND, they have families, so they totally understood how much we needed, for instance, the washing machine to be usable right away!
The problem was that we had a weird kind of quasi-plastic piping in our house from when it was built in 1988. When we bought this house, the owners had to disclose that it was in there, and we just put it off as long as we could. But, we'd gotten to the point where we had leaks that just couldn't be repaired, so we had to have it all pulled out and replaced with copper. Ugh. But, the guys from Square One made it as pleasant as something like that could be.
Anyway, now we need to do some repair to the drywall in different parts of the house. The worst is in the kitchen ceiling, I wish this was a better picture...it just doesn't adequately convey the horror! Theguys did as little cutting as they could, but there were a lot of places they needed to access.
And, do you want to hear the punchline to this whole experience? Our neighbor told us last night that there had been an action against the builders YEARS ago and they replaced all of the pipes in all of the houses in the neighborhood. The former owners of our house just chose not to have it done! My understanding is that they wouldn't cover the drywall damage, so some folks just left it figuring they wouldn't still own the house when the flood came... >:-|
So, anyway, things are more back to normal here. Thanks for your patience!
.*.*.
The guys who came to do the work for us were EXCELLENT, and I would totally have them work for us again. If you're looking for a great HVAC group, you should call them, Square One Heating and Air Conditioning. I can't say enough good things about them. They were here on time, worked hard all day every day they were here, and stopped whenever something weird came up to find out from us what they should do. AND, they have families, so they totally understood how much we needed, for instance, the washing machine to be usable right away!
The problem was that we had a weird kind of quasi-plastic piping in our house from when it was built in 1988. When we bought this house, the owners had to disclose that it was in there, and we just put it off as long as we could. But, we'd gotten to the point where we had leaks that just couldn't be repaired, so we had to have it all pulled out and replaced with copper. Ugh. But, the guys from Square One made it as pleasant as something like that could be.
Anyway, now we need to do some repair to the drywall in different parts of the house. The worst is in the kitchen ceiling, I wish this was a better picture...it just doesn't adequately convey the horror! Theguys did as little cutting as they could, but there were a lot of places they needed to access.
And, do you want to hear the punchline to this whole experience? Our neighbor told us last night that there had been an action against the builders YEARS ago and they replaced all of the pipes in all of the houses in the neighborhood. The former owners of our house just chose not to have it done! My understanding is that they wouldn't cover the drywall damage, so some folks just left it figuring they wouldn't still own the house when the flood came... >:-|
So, anyway, things are more back to normal here. Thanks for your patience!
Labels: life
.*.*.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Women in Art
We're off on a field trip today, but I wanted to post this first. I just think this is so neat!
If you can't see it, click here.
It came to me from ClickSchooling a list that send out educational links each day.
.*.*.
If you can't see it, click here.
It came to me from ClickSchooling a list that send out educational links each day.
Labels: homeschooling, video
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Monday, June 18, 2007
Catching up a little
I'm here! It's true, I'm still alive! Hip hip hooray!
We're still not done with all the plumbing stuff, I'll blog more on that later.
I've been spending a lot of time knitting these days. You know, so the plumbers don't think I just sit my big butt in front of the computer all day... So, I've got some neat stuff to show you!
This is a scarf I made for Davin's birthday. It's from a pattern for a dishcloth called Garterlac, which is a form of entrelac. Check out my cutie man with his new wool scarf in June (he's so patient with me!)
This is another scarf I'm working on, from the Danica pattern in Knitty. It's a true entrelac, which is much easier now that I played around with the Garterlac pattern so long. (Wondering what the difference is between garterlac and entrelac? Just click HERE!)
This will need to be blocked later, then it will lay much flatter. I hope. I've never done this before...
These two are made from Patons SWS a self-striping soy/wool blend. It's pretty neat stuff, and you know I love the striping yarn! Davin's scarf is in "Natural Navy," and the other "Natural Blue."
This is a swatch I made from the Multidirectional Scarf pattern. It's the yard I have left over from Davin's socks.
It's much easier than it looks, and I like the effect. I'm sure I'll be making more of these!
We still have a full day of plumbing coming this week, but hopefully that will be the end. When it's all over, I'll tell you all about it. Until then, take care!
.*.*.
We're still not done with all the plumbing stuff, I'll blog more on that later.
I've been spending a lot of time knitting these days. You know, so the plumbers don't think I just sit my big butt in front of the computer all day... So, I've got some neat stuff to show you!
This is a scarf I made for Davin's birthday. It's from a pattern for a dishcloth called Garterlac, which is a form of entrelac. Check out my cutie man with his new wool scarf in June (he's so patient with me!)
This is another scarf I'm working on, from the Danica pattern in Knitty. It's a true entrelac, which is much easier now that I played around with the Garterlac pattern so long. (Wondering what the difference is between garterlac and entrelac? Just click HERE!)
This will need to be blocked later, then it will lay much flatter. I hope. I've never done this before...
These two are made from Patons SWS a self-striping soy/wool blend. It's pretty neat stuff, and you know I love the striping yarn! Davin's scarf is in "Natural Navy," and the other "Natural Blue."
This is a swatch I made from the Multidirectional Scarf pattern. It's the yard I have left over from Davin's socks.
It's much easier than it looks, and I like the effect. I'm sure I'll be making more of these!
We still have a full day of plumbing coming this week, but hopefully that will be the end. When it's all over, I'll tell you all about it. Until then, take care!
.*.*.
Friday, June 15, 2007
STILL Can't Blog
Still having major plumbing issues (the guys were here for 15 hours today!) Plus, I've been migraining for 2 straight days now.
But, I've still got a smile on my face! I think it's just the painkillers, though. Hope to be back in business soon...
.*.*.
But, I've still got a smile on my face! I think it's just the painkillers, though. Hope to be back in business soon...
Labels: can't blog, migraine
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Monday, June 11, 2007
Can't Blog
We've been having some plumbing problems, and the house is a disaster and the plumbers are here. (Flooding, holes in the ceiling, all that jazz.) It will be OK in a day or two, but until then we're staying out of the way.
When I come back, I'll tell you all about how cool our plumbers are!
.*.*.
When I come back, I'll tell you all about how cool our plumbers are!
Labels: can't blog
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Thursday, June 07, 2007
Food experiment
21 meals on $25 a week?
I wonder what our family would have to spend if we were on food stamps, it looks like roughly $25/person/week. That would be interesting to see how we would do. I believe it was in Living More with Less, I read about a family that allowed themselves to spend the same amount on food as they would receive from food stamps. (That was an awkward sentence, sorry about that.) Then they gave the rest to their church. I remember thinking that was a pretty neat idea, sort of like an extended fast offering.
The woman in the article did pretty well, especially considering she's got medical considerations. But, she also said she was going hungry this week, too. I'm sure a lot of people are going hungry week to week.
.*.*.
Lucia Guzman stalked the aisles of Safeway, comparing various peanut butters and types of beans. She carefully tallied the cost of the items in her basket on a small pad of paper.Wow, that's not a lot of money. (At this point, everyone on food stamps is saying, "Well, duh, Jen!") My family can drop $25 at McDonalds.
Guzman, executive director of the Mayor's Office for Human Rights and Community Relations, and other city officials agreed to live on food-stamp rations for two days or a week - roughly $3 a day, or $25 per person per week.
I wonder what our family would have to spend if we were on food stamps, it looks like roughly $25/person/week. That would be interesting to see how we would do. I believe it was in Living More with Less, I read about a family that allowed themselves to spend the same amount on food as they would receive from food stamps. (That was an awkward sentence, sorry about that.) Then they gave the rest to their church. I remember thinking that was a pretty neat idea, sort of like an extended fast offering.
The woman in the article did pretty well, especially considering she's got medical considerations. But, she also said she was going hungry this week, too. I'm sure a lot of people are going hungry week to week.
Labels: newsworthy
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Wednesday, June 06, 2007
How fun!
This group of students got to spend the night in a "haunted" cemetery, as part of their college coursework! Why didn't they have classes like this when I was in school? I might have graduated...
A spirited search of ghostly haunts
That said, my girls and I do have a date to spend that night at the Stanley Hotel, up in Estes Park this fall. Hopefully, that will be interesting.
I don't have a car today, and since we all can't apparently hitch rides on the Popemobile, I guess I'm stuck home. I should probably clean, don't you think?
.*.*.
A spirited search of ghostly haunts
Nelson and a gaggle of students from Metro State College of Denver's Crypto Science Society set up camp Saturday night at the Silver Cliff Cemetery (Protestant) and the adjoining Assumption Cemetery (Catholic), nestled among the wild grasses on the flank of the jagged Sangre de Cristo mountain range...I can't say that I believe that there are orbs, and that those orbs are spirits. That stuff seems too easy to fake or make a mistake about.
On this evening, Nelson and the other adventurers looked for the soft balls of light that have spooked the people of Silver Cliff for a century or more, darting blue lights that they claim jump and scamper across the cemetery - the nonworldly lights of the spirit world.
Orbs.
That said, my girls and I do have a date to spend that night at the Stanley Hotel, up in Estes Park this fall. Hopefully, that will be interesting.
I don't have a car today, and since we all can't apparently hitch rides on the Popemobile, I guess I'm stuck home. I should probably clean, don't you think?
Labels: haunted, life, newsworthy, stephen king
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Sunday, June 03, 2007
I'm Alive!
I'm surprised, that illness was really nasty. I guess it was just a stomach bug, but it included some HORRIBLE stabbing pains, I couldn't even stand up straight for a few days. It's still a little twitchy.
Since I'm such a drama queen, I decided pretty early on that the stabbing pains were probably a sign of organ failure, or possibly perforated intestines. I had our huge anatomy poster book out and I was trying to determine what was going on, and I had it narrowed down to a ruptured spleen. I figured I was probably already going into septic shock, and would soon be dead, so there was no use calling the doctor or anything.
Of course, I'm completely fine, which I pretty much understood the whole time. But, there always is that nagging fear that something big is going down. Does that ever happen to you?
While I was researching all of the things that could possibly be wrong with me, before I rejected appendicitis because the pains were on the wrong side, I discovered a new word. This word is so amazingly cool that I'm trying to find a way to work it into conversation regularly. I think you should learn it, too, there'll be a quiz.
fecalith
Hope your weekend is going well!
.*.*.
Since I'm such a drama queen, I decided pretty early on that the stabbing pains were probably a sign of organ failure, or possibly perforated intestines. I had our huge anatomy poster book out and I was trying to determine what was going on, and I had it narrowed down to a ruptured spleen. I figured I was probably already going into septic shock, and would soon be dead, so there was no use calling the doctor or anything.
Of course, I'm completely fine, which I pretty much understood the whole time. But, there always is that nagging fear that something big is going down. Does that ever happen to you?
While I was researching all of the things that could possibly be wrong with me, before I rejected appendicitis because the pains were on the wrong side, I discovered a new word. This word is so amazingly cool that I'm trying to find a way to work it into conversation regularly. I think you should learn it, too, there'll be a quiz.
fecalith
Hope your weekend is going well!
.*.*.
