libraries and some domesticity

25^th April 2011

I accomplished quite a bit more than I thought I would today. We went to story time at the library; actually, I was story time, as the lady who usually does it had a sick child. I love story time. I like the very elaborate ones the most, and I think it would be fun to put them together, with themes, puppet shows, and activities:).

I baked bread, made pizza for dinner, and picked up some furniture…okay, Shawn really picked up the furniture, but I orchestrated the pickup and unloaded, etc. I cleaned, and now I’m doing homework.

I also cut another finger, and am considering giving up knives altogether. I am checking out electric pasta machines…it may be on my wish list for a while, but I at least want to find the one I want. Any suggestions?

Okay- so the above was supposed to be posted yesterday, but I got caught up in that homework till 1 am or so. Today I haven’t been as productive; I did get the tomatoes planted though and some more seeds started in the house. The kids are so excited about watermelon and cantaloupe this year! Hope it works…I’m not sure I’ve ever grown either successfully.

Time flies... and the military isn't as bad as all that

Really- is it almost May already? My computer must have the date wrong. I haven’t even made my New Year’s goals yet. Ah, well, the wonderful thing about goals is that you can make them anytime :). My children are growing up too quickly- suddenly, and I’m feeling my biological clock ticking…starting to count the years in my head and space hypothetical children out to see how old I would be when the last one left the house if I finished by whatever age. Hmm.

I’ve been thinking again. And kind of wishing I was more…artsy? I’m going to learn how to put music on my blog at least. And maybe put something up on the walls in my house. Maybe.

You know- there are plenty of things I don’t like about the military. But there really are some things I like too. Great health care coverage. My seven-year-old’s new outlook on life: I’m going to be a soldier when I grow up so I can keep my family safe and free. Awesome neighbors! The opportunity to travel, even if I don’t know where we’re going. A job. Job security- at least for the next 5 ½ years J. A cool new skill for my husband- who is really extraordinarily excited to be learning Chinese. Fun events to take my kids to, like yesterday’s “Spring Into Green,” complete with a bounce house, face painting, balloon animals, a free ice cream truck, etc. And I’m sure I’ll think of more as I go along. I’ll try to ignore the stuff I don’t like…or at least not curse the military in front of the kids :).

I have a hutch. A computer hutch- but we’ve repurposed it. The tv is now hidden (because I don’t like it to be the center of the livingroom) AND…there’s a LOCK! Hooray; no more videos scattered throughout the house, or time-outs for scattering or stepping on them…just as soon as I fix the lock part, haha.

A short update

I know, haven't been around in a while. Last week my sister came to visit :). Everyone got sick, about 2 at a time, but we managed to go do some fun things anyway. I wish I had pictures but I took most of them with Jer's camera, and she'll send me a disc later. Shawn was worried I'd become addicted to her very nice camera and want my own...and it was very nice, but I'll leave the picture-taking to her. Anyway, have Jer and Audri here prompted me to go see some local things that I hadn't taken the time for yet. I found the pool and MyMuseum (which we are now members of:)), and we got to see a little of San Francisco! We went to the Dennis The Menace Park, which I should go to more often considering the price (free) and how much my children love it.

I'm thinking of painting a wall, and making a chore/good behavior chart complete with stickers, and cleaning the shed so it can be a playhouse. :) Ah, the children are done with breakfast and have surrounded the computer. I give up...I'm coming!

Home, not unpacked yet, but home.

I'm home. I was not sick for about 2 days in the last two weeks. Thankfully long enough to drive home. Now I'm getting sick again. I'm drinking tea, searching for my vitamins, making a point of not eating sugar, and going to bed before 11:00. And just hoping it all works out.

I have so much on my brain that it feels like it's spinning, much like a carnival ride. I guess traveling really throws off a schedule too, so I'm working on taking one day at a time and engrossing myself (well, attempting) in the domestic life for a few days.

At the moment I'm having shipping problems with this not-even-fledgling-yet business of mine. I'm working out some related financial woes, and trying to keep the whole deal from stalling for another several months. Optimism is key. I'll just smile and tell the shipping clerk it's all okay, rub my magic ring, and he'll stamp everything "okay" and send it on over. Okay, okay, I'll do the research on the shipping companies like I'm supposed to.

The semester is pretty much over, at least for me. No finals and all of my homework (except a couple of little quizzes) is done. A needed respite at the moment so I can concentrate on the work at hand.

I'm cleaning my house up, mad at the guestroom bed- I know, it does tons of good to be mad at an inanimate object- and now looking for a futon, attempting to get back into menu planning, and wondering how to get a very nasty smell out of a rug. Trying baking soda next. Also slightly more than irritated at some cute little Army regulations designed to drive people nuts. Ah, well, I'll just keep watching my good old movies and pretending that the Army is like it is in the movies. Some days reality just isn't my thing.

The kids had a great time at Grandma's. And they have absolutely no concept of time. Olie wanted to come back home to see Dad. We're back, saw Dad. Now he wants to go show Grandma a new toy, so he wants to go back to Idaho. I don't even think they remember the drive! Oh, but I do. And it'll be a little while before I voluntarily take it on again. Yeah, like, a month.

Demetri is super excited about getting baptized sometime in the next couple of months. The date keeps changing but I think we're pretty set now with May 21st. The other family whose child is being baptized as well asked if it could be changed to then because they have family flying in from Hungary. Sounds great to me; I like being flexible.

Uh oh. Make that getting to bed by 11:05. I'm going, I'm going...

It's my house...

My brother and my mother just had an argument about whether or not they would record a show called Hot Shots. It's a PG-13 show about people who shoot really well. Mom says its a waste of time and she doesn't want PG-13 shows or movies in the house. How do I justify recording Gilligan's Island but not Hot Shots? I don't. It's completely arbitrary, and I like it that way. It's easy to argue that Gilligan's Island is just as much a waste of time (or more) as Hot Shots and that the only difference is preference. Or even that at least you learn something from watching a movie about real people who shoot really well. I don't care; I have simply decided, like Mom, that I like Gilligan's Island and PG-13 movies and shows are out. And that's one of the beauties of having my own house. (You know, I think a lot of my ideas are shaped by my mother!)

I'm sick. I hate being sick. My friend gave me some Super Tonic and Antiplague. Both are gross, but I'm used to Anti-plague. Super Tonic is the most horrid tasting stuff I've ever voluntarily taken- icky! However, even pico de gallo doesn't drain my sinuses this well; it works like a charm...maybe a little too well. I'm going to have to find out how to make it.

I'm reading a book called The China Study. I'm only about 40 pages into it but so far I love it. I'm never all to sure about health and nutrition books because of all my preconceived notions and my general distrust of “experts,” and I don't know that I'll agree with everything in this book, but so far it's pretty good. Lots of statistics, which aren't really my thing, but my husband will like it.

I think I'll go watch a really good old movie and then go to bed, hoping to feel a lot better in the morning.

Decent day, even if the weather was kinda housy.

My headache is gone. My husband said he cleaned the house today, so it will be nice when I get back...whenever that will be :). I got some of next week's homework done. Life could not better be.
Well, my friend is moving to a place where I'll pretty much never see her again. :( But maybe it'll be an excuse for another trip. Hmmm, maybe. We'll see how this traveling with the kids thing keeps going. So far so good. I do like to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible with no stops, but my sister-in-law made me think maybe I shouldn't be in such a hurry all the time. Maybe it would be nice to stop play for a bit and not rush to wherever I'm going at the last possible minute. I dunno, that would be awfully new to me. :)

My children are sick, but at least my mom is feeling better. It's really not fun to be watching little kids when you feel lousy. I've worried about her all week. I'm going to wait until I see how they're doing before I plan my trip home.

Cold. I have been cold all day long. Okay- bedtime, have to leave early in the morning. Goodnight.

What Sad News

I haven't had time to blog. After a long trip to Idaho I am now on a long trip to Salt Lake City. My trip to the Philippines has been canceled, due to unforeseen natural disasters and the ensuing widespread damage in Japan. We will go later, and meanwhile pray for all of the people in Japan who are suffering. A friend recently said that "they must have done something really bad for God to have done that." I don't buy it. That's like saying when I lose a baby it's because I did something wrong, or when anyone has anything bad happen to them for that matter- that they must have offended God. It's a test. Bad things happen to good people and the test is how we react to our own and others' trials. It may be easy to justify not reaching out or loving others by saying they deserved it or brought it on themselves, but in the end it may not only not be true, but that part is none of our business. The part that is our business is comforting, helping, supporting, and loving.
(On a side note comforting others is one of my own mini trials. When I try to comfort others I become tongue-tied, or ramble on, generally saying the wrong thing, about on par with a teenage boy asking for his first date. It's just that I have no idea what to say in most sad situations, and get very tense and nervous. Handing out hugs and holding a hand is especially hard- mostly because I hate it when others do that to me when I'm upset. Hopefully, I'll improve with age.)

Back on track. It's very sad to see others suffering and not quite know what to do about it except pray. In this case, I will trust that my church will know how to distribute contributions.

In other news, I will be home sooner than I thought, unless I decide to stay longer, or go do something else. (Read, as usual, I'm not yet sure what I'm doing. And I'm okay with it.)