Grilling Goodness

1. If you had 10 hours at home alone, what would you do?

Laundry, facebook, nap, facebook, catch up on stuff on the DVR, facebook...

2. Do you have a fond memory of your dad?

Many, many fond ones. The one that sticks out today is when he taught me to water ski, and I couldn't keep my feet together, he screwed a small board between them to hold them together, until I got the hang of it.

3. Do you prefer the pool or the beach?

The pool for swimming, the beach for the salty air; the pool for relaxing, the beach for the sounds of the waves; the pool for home, the beach for vacation.

4. What's the furthest you've driven for one day of fun?

We have driven to Sikeston for throwed rolls and outlet shopping, and to Nashville for a Selah concert.

5. Solid, clear solid, clear gel or aerosol? Deodorant of choice, that is.

Solid.

6. Do you tan or burn/peel?

Burn and peel at least once, then tan the rest of summer.

7. What's your favorite pasta-based meal?

Cheese manicotti. Or lasagna.

8. Do you wax or pluck your eyebrows?

Not on purpose.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

On Memorial Day, when I hopped in the car to head over to a friend's house, I reached for my Zune to crank up the tunes.

It wasn't there.

I went into the house to see which kid had helped themselves to MY personal property, and after hearing the denials, realized it wasn't the only thing missing. My GPS, Shawn's GPS, the (very expensive) DVD system, the earrings I wore in my wedding, Shawn's computer diagnostic tool, and various chargers and electrical cords were missing, too.

Thankfully, I had not left my purse in my car. (Shawn had been on me about leaving it out there in our driveway, even though we live in a very quiet, country neighborhood.)

The doors to both vehicles were left unlocked. We have not worried about anything being stolen.

We were wrong.

It pains me to know that someone walked right up to our home and took things that didn't belong to them. Things that we had worked hard to purchase, that meant something to us.

This is the epitome of disrepect, in my opinion. Disrespect for people's privacy, personal space, and personal belongings.

But it is also disrespect for themselves, as well. They are perfectly capable of earning the money it takes to own such items. Of course, I understand that it wasn't the items themselves that the thieves were after, but whatever money they could get for selling them, or trading them. I get it. I know how it works.

But through it all, I can try to teach my kids a lesson.

Do not steal. Aside from the fact that the Bible calls it sin, the victims are hurt. They feel violated. They are mad, sad, and hurt. They will spend time being afraid.

Respect others and don't steal. Respect yourself and don't steal. Respect God and DON'T STEAL!

Grilling Goodness

1. Do you have a cell phone that allows you to check your email?

My Gravity would be happy to let me check my email, as long as I was checking it on the computer, 'cuz I don't have internet access on my phone.

2. Have you ever caught a foul ball at a baseball game?

Nope.

3. What foreign accent can you imitate the best?

I can't 'do' foreign accents, but my brother in law is amazing at it.

4. Do you have plans for Memorial Day?

I thought I might plant some stuff, and visit the graveyard in my back yard, just to see all the graves of soldiers from WWII there.

5. Does your hair look decent if you let it air dry?

I do it all the time, and no one has run from me screaming because of my hideousness.

6. When is the last time you went to a waterpark?

Couple of years ago, Shawn and I went to the one at Six Flags. Had a blast!The cool thing about the slides is that there is no weight limit, and I got to ride everything!

7. Do you turn on your porch light every night?

Porch light, no, but the light on my light post, at the end of my driveway is always on. (even when it got ran over)

8. Have you ever had to call the fire department?

Once, we burned some tree branches and after the fire was out completely, and we were lying in bed that night, we heard sirens. They got closer and closer, until we decided to go outside and see where they were going. To our surprise, they pulled into our yard, in full gear, ready to fight a fire that didn't even exist. When they asked us why we would have a fire when we were under a burn ban, I told them that we didn't know. "It was on the news," they said. I didn't see the news. "It was in the paper," they said. We didn't get the paper. They were going to bill us for coming out.

I told them they could bill whomever called them, because we didn't call, and we didn't need them. We never saw that bill.

The other time a fire truck came to our house was when Hailey had an allergic reaction, and I called 911. The fire department was the first on the scene.

Wordless Wednesday with a twist

Caleb's diagram of his record pogo stick jumping (notice the arrows), and Hailey's of her record hula hoop-ing (those are not b%bs on her stick figure, thank you, they are her arms.)

Mr. College student, studying for his first class.

stuff

I haven't been on in a while, so I wanted to post a couple of cool things: a project I'm working on, and a Grilling Goodness, just because I couldn't resist.

Shawn just started back to college, but since he's working full time as well, finding time to read his assignments is a challenge. He mentioned to me that he wished he could pay someone to record themselves reading it out loud. Then he could load it on his MP3 player and listen on the road and at work. I was delighted to have something that I could do to help him finish his degree, so I offered to do it. So we downloaded an audio recorder program, bought a microphone, and I got right to it. I'm reading textbooks, (yay me) but then I realized I could record any book, so I'm making our own audio books. As I was working on my first project, I had the greatest idea. If I save them carefully, I could be reading to my grandkids and great-grandkids!
How cool is that?

1. Where do your shoes 'live'?

Mostly wherever I kick them off, until they migrate to my room and onto my hanging shoe rack.

2. When it's 'clean house' day, where do you start?

I start in the classroom, at the dry erase board, where I make lists of what needs to be done in each room, assign rooms to each kid, with time limits, and star values. (stars translate into cash) Then we tackle our lists from top to bottom.

3. What instrument would you like to learn to play?

I would love to play the drums, but I have no rhythm.

4. How is your mood when you're tired? Hungry? Ill?

Tired=cranky; hungry=cranky; ill=cranky. I see a pattern here...

5. If you could change a decision you made this week, what would it be?

Riding my motorcycle yesterday, since it meant I was on it for about 3 and a half hours.

6. Have you ever used public transportation regularly?
When we are in NY, we use PT into the city, and all over the city while we are there. We did the same thing in DC.

7. What are you thankful for this week?

My sister's and my Mom's surgeries going well.

8. What do you need to do more often?

Exercise. But we've been doing that a lot this week, so I'm getting better.

Time's a-flyin'

Eleven years ago today (it was a Friday, thanks for asking) my doctor sent me to the hospital to have labor induced.
God gave us a little baby girl, wide eyed, and bald-headed that evening, and my life has never been the same.
She had the faintest red glow about her head, so we knew she'd be a red-head.
She is beautiful.
She is precious.
She'll always be my baby,
the one who first called me Mommy.

Happy eleventh birthday, sweet girl!
I love you Hailey!