Computer Glitch

O.K. not really a glitch, more of a death. The hard drive on my laptop crashed last night. Totally and completely. Thankfully I saw it coming and had backed up all my photos and such. I was trying a recovery move, you know, F11 and all that. It never restarted after the disc wipe. When Todd called this morning and they walked him through a diagnostic my computer told him to replace the hard drive.
Praise the Lord that I have 36 days left on my warranty. Seriously.

And I'll try to blog all about Christmas when I get my computer back.

:-(

Christmas Card, etc.

Merry Christmas everybody!

and Happy Anniversary my Love!

Ah the wonders 17 years hath wrought.

I love you!

At my house:

What do you think he's looking at?

P.S. The only editing I did to this photo was to crop it. He really did have that look on his face. What are the odds?

What Daddys Do....

...while the family is out shopping and the snow is falling and the Mommy is fussing at the kids, "Don't touch other people's cars! Leave that snow alone! Hurry up, it's cold!"

No, that's not our car. No, I have no idea whose car it is. Yes, I'm glad the owner didn't walk up while my husband was drawing on his or her car. Yes, Todd is now a super-hero in my kids' eyes. Again.

8^D

Snowball

We had a little snow here last weekend. A very little. It was technically just a "dusting" but it was enough to get the kids (and parents) excited. It was really pretty and if you looked real hard for a large flat surface, you could maybe even scrape together enough snow for a small snowball to stow away in your mom's freezer.

Just so ya' know...

It's 24 degrees Fahrenheit according to Weather.com and it feels like 18.
I tried to copy and paste the little box from the page but it won't let me. It will only let me take the little clouds. And what's up with there being no "degree" symbol on the keyboard? I hate that.
I have so many blog posts in my head to share with you. sigh. Unfortunately, I also have 3 kids to get to school and a job to get to. Hopefully I'll have some time this afternoon.
Later....

Happy Thanksgiving

Interns. A blessing and a curse:

We did get the sign fixed within 12 hours.

Sorry the greeting's late. It was a busy day for us then I pretty much crashed the rest of the weekend. It was fabulous!

Here's the before and after of our at-home feast:

From home we went to some friends' and had a really fabulous meal/visit. It was a really great Thanksgiving!

Thankful.

As Thanksgiving aproaches I feel like it's appropriate to mention some of my favorite things. That fire in the last blog is one of them, but even more than that is Unique Thrift. It is an amazing wonderland of affordably priced cast-offs all neatly organized.
Far off the the right there is another whole section of Flea Market-type stalls.
Truly, it is a wondrous place.

New Fire Video

While I'm hoping this is a nice video, it's also a test. I made it with my phone. It looked great on the phone's screen. We'll see how it does in Blogger.

I had some lovely Bach playing in the background but it didn't make it into the video. I'm not sure if that's because the phone won't record it, the sound is too far away for the phone to record it, the email transfer lost the sound or the Blogger Video option won't do it. Who knows? Just put in your Bach CD when you watch.

Sorry there's no Josiah head in this one. I am slightly appalled that my phone makes nicer video than my camera..... but only slightly.

Brrrr....

Hey! It's cold out there!
And none of this, "You don't know cold until you've lived in....." I don't wanna hear it. It's 27 degrees out there in the November daylight and that is stinkin' cold enough! And yes, my fire is blazing, thank you very much.

I didn't even try to break the ice for the birds, it's frozen completely solid and if I poured water on top of it, it would just refreeze before I got back into the house.

Spotted in my yard earlier this Autumn:

Ike's eye view.

The county recently repaired a stretch of sidewalk in front of our house. I sent Isaac out with the camera to get a few shots of the action. He was a big hit with the workmen and got some pretty good shots, in my strongly biased opinion.
I love the shot through the fence pickets. I know it's how he sees the world most of the time. :-)

More reasons to wonder....

So the main reason my neighbor thinks I'm a nut may be this racoon....actually "these", there were two of them. I heard something in my trash and looked out to check. I saw that there were 'coons in my yard (a first for me, btw. how come I had to move into the CITY to get racoons in my yard?) and stepped out in my jammies to take a couple of pictures. After flashing a few shots I started trying to scare them away, you know, yelling, jumping, carrying on. It's cold. I'm up on my porch. I look up and on the other side of the fence from these racoons is my neighbor trying very hard to ignore me. I start trying to explain, but he won't make eye contact and hurries into his house.
Sigh. He's trying to sell his house and I wonder if sometimes he feels like Squidward in the Spongebob episode where he tries to sell his house.
And FYI, racoons do not care if you yell and jump at them. They look at you as if to say, "So?" If, however, you throw walnut shells at them, they will leave.

So will your neighbor.
Just sayin'.

And here we are cavorting in the leaves:

Catching up...

Seriously, I have like 75 photos to show you. I take all these photos all the time thinking I'll blog them and then...... well, obviously I don't. As much as I'd love to put all 75 into this particular entry, I'm thinking I may have to settle for 4 or 5.

These are just a few of the many reasons our neighbor thinks we are insane:

Home Fire

We got a nice fire going today. It's just chilly enough for a warm fire to be comforting ..... and the marshmellows don't hurt either.

This is a really poor quality and long video but hang in there, there's a surprise at the end if you can see it.

:-)

Happy Birthday.....

.....to Josiah.

How I see him:

How he sees himself:

I think reality may be somewhere in the middle.

12.

whahappen'?

Redirecting.....

You know how sometimes when you google something you get all these web sites and every one you click on just seems to be a link to a list of links which will take you to another list of links which will supposedly eventually take you to information on....well, whatever? I hate that. I am, however, redirecting you.

Some pretty good stuff has been posted lately on the web about the elections and current policital climate and I'd like you to read it.



It's found here and I'll give you some teasers from the two posts I'd like you to read.



From Sometimes Jesus Does Drive an SUV... :



I’ve seen that sometimes Jesus does drive an SUV.

Sometimes he drives a hybrid or even rides the bus.

He’s also been known to ride her bike to work.


Sometimes Jesus has her hands so full just trying to pay bills and raise a couple of strong-willed kids that she really doesn’t have time to think too much about the big, global questions out there.



and from Why I Probably Won't Vote for McCain or Obama.... :



And talk about a mess… I heard an author underscoring a good point just a couple of days ago: we have four people, all very admirable and diverse in their public service, all claiming to be followers of Christ, and all of them divided into teams bent on the ridicule, defeat and public destruction of the other. Nice! If only all the Christians could rip each other like that! Oh wait…
.....
.....I listen to both sides, and they both say the same things! The other side is bad, evil, racist, stupid, elitist, ignorant, liars. The other side wants to kill children, neglect the elderly and wreck the economy. And both sides think I’m a fresh cucumber who will just nod and chuckle and be so grateful they’ve enlightened me. I switch channels back and forth on the radio and the only thing that changes is who is doing the talking.

*Sigh* So, here are my party platforms as they currently stand…



No, it's not all a big downer. It is, however, quite thought provoking. Don't let the fact that I sleep with the author sway you. It is worth reading. If nothing else it'll give you something to rant about at the office tomorrow.

Once again, here's the address: http://afaithfulpath.wordpress.com/

Visiting Friends

She's not yet 18 months old. She's the child of some friends at church and we were visiting for dinner. He wanted so badly to hold her and carry her around. We talked him into sitting down with her and he ended up reading her this entire book. Not a long or wordy book, but I can't even get him to read two sentences at home (unless it's a comic book)!
It was painfully sweet and I want to not forget.

Visual DNA

A Brief Encounter

My Dad forwarded me an email. It's a picture of a woman in Gardendale, AL at a Flea Market outside of Wal-Mart. Come on. Does it get any more redneck than that? I'm not knockin' it. I love me some Flea Markets and I really, really miss Wal-Mart. (Bethesda is too pretentious for Wal Mart....and we don't have the space for one.)
This, however, is taking it to a whole new level:


As the email said, "Who looks at a pair of men's briefs and says...hummmm....I can make a nice summer top from these!"?

And don't say, "Teresa," 'cause that's just tacky!!!
........would the boxer-briefs have sleeves?

Hmmmm.........

First Day

Today was the first official day of school for our boys. As far as I can tell all went well. Hunter has a big list of things to whine about but also seems quite content. It's interesting having a 13 year old in the house.

Josiah, after much prodding and leading with pointed questions, leads us to believe that he had a good day and that everything went smoothly.

Isaac says, "My teacher is nice, unless you 'disbehave'." Perfect!

All-in-all I do believe we will survive this year. The only one who really had trouble today was Todd. He had to do some serious talking with himself to let Josiah get on that "big bus" and go all the way to Middle School. What a sweet dad! His worry helped me not to worry so much, know what I mean?

So. All is well. Off to lay out tomorrow's clothes!

Happy Birthday....

....to ME!!

Many of you know that I have been waiting for gray hairs. Seriously. Don't you think I've earned a few silver badges of honor? I truly should have a head full by now. Well, they are finally starting to make an appearance and they're not gray, they're white. I kinda dig that. They are also all in one spot on the right side of my head. I also dig that. Maybe I'll end up with a "skunk tail" like several of my relatives. How cool would that be? If you have to get old, do it with flair!

Meme

Copy and paste and place an X by all the things you've done and remove the X from the ones you have not. Answer the 30 questions at the end and post it to your blog. This is for your entire life, not just recently.

( ) Gone on a blind date
(X) Skipped school
( ) Watched someone die
() Been to Canada
(X) Been to Mexico
(X) Been to Florida
(X) Been to the Caribbean
(X) Been overseas
(X) Been on a plane
( ) Jumped out of a plane
( ) Been on a helicopter
(X) Been on a train
(X) Been lost
(X) Been on the opposite side of the country
(X) Gone to Washington , D.C.
(X) Swam in the ocean
(X) Cried yourself to sleep
(X) Played cops and robbers
(X) Recently colored with crayons
(X ) Sang Karaoke
(X) Paid for a meal with coins only
(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
(X) Made prank phone calls
(X) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(X) Danced in the rain
(X) Written a letter to Santa Claus
(X) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(X) Watched the sunrise with someone you care about or love
(X) Blown bubbles
(X) Gone ice-skating
(X) Gone snow or water Skiing
(X) Gone to a drive-in movie

1. Any nickname? T or Mama T
2. Mother's name? Diane
3. Favorite drink? coffee, lots of cream and sugar
4. Tattoo? no
5. Body piercings? ears (twice in each) and nose (it's grown shut, though)
6. How much do you love your job? hmmmm, I like it but I'd rather be knitting.
7. Favorite vacation? turn of the millennium in Serengeti Park
8. Favorite TV Program? CHUCK
9. Ever been to Africa? lived there
10. Ever eaten cookies for dinner? YES, and breakfast, and lunch....
11. Ever been on TV? yup
12. Ever steal any traffic sign? NO
13. Ever been in a car accident? Yes, and caused a few.
14. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle? mini van
15. Favorite salad dressing? Honey Mustard
16. Favorite pie? blueberry or chocolate
17. Favorite number? 3
18. All Time Favorite Movie? tough question. Princess Bride and a whole slew of others
19. Favorite holiday? anything involving sleeping late, family time and food. gifts are bonus.
20. Favorite dessert? Tiramisu
21. Favorite food? pasta in almost any form
22. Favorite day of the week? Friday. I'm off work and the kids are in school.
23. Favorite Brand of Body Wash? Bath and Body Works
24. Favorite toothpaste? Colgate Total
25. Favorite smell? Africa.
26. What do you do to relax? Read or knit
27. Favorite Sport? meh.
28. How do you see yourself in 10 years? Older, fatter and right where I am

These last two are obviously from this meme's days as a chain e-mail. I'll alter them a bit to fit our purposes:
29. Furthest place you will send this message?
or Furthest place from which someone regularly reads your blog? Benin, West Africa
30. Who will respond to this the fastest?
or Who will leave a comment first? Geraldine...or Aunt Rita since she's the one I ripped this meme from.

So far so......somethin'

O.K. So today is "Practice Day" where the 6th graders go to each of their classes for just a few minutes to find where they are and learn to work their lockers and all that.The Right Reverend leaves 30 minutes before time to go get a Diet Coke at the gas station, half a block from here....you see where this is going?.....

He gets back out to the truck and it will. not. start. While he's fiddling with it trying to get it started, a lady hits the tow/carrier dealy on his truck and digs a big gouge in her car. Seriously? At least she didn't hurt him or incur any police action. Arg!!!

He tries for 15 or 20 minutes to start it, even trying to jump it, and eventually just walks home, quietly gets the van keys and tells Josiah to wait out front and he'll pick him up like a limousine (so he won't notice the truck missing and panic). God love that man.

They still somehow managed to arrive at the school too early and had to go in search of someone who knew what to do with my baby. Found. Delivered.

Now the waiting without a clue how he's doing begins.

I'm not a basket case. Really I'm not.

More news later.......

Dry Run

Tomorrow Josiah goes to Middle School for the first time. It's a half-day "dry run" where the kids meet their teachers, find their class rooms and learn to work their lockers.
I have some goals:
I will not panic.
I will not obsess.
I will not drink a bottle of wine before lunch.

It'll be a "dry run" for both of us.
8^)

Beach Shots

Magical Day

Today was a magical day. We didn't plan for it to be and nothing earth-shattering happened to us, it was just little bits of "magical" sprinkled all through the day.

It actually started yesterday when we headed to Virginia Beach, but I'll tell you all about that later. For now I want to tell you about today.

First thing we did today after leaving our hotel and eating at McDonald's was to drive to Portsmouth, Virginia to the Navy Medical Center Portsmouth to see our dear friend Bob take command there. Dr. Bob put on Admiral yesterday and today he took command of NMCP and also Navy Medical East. It's a big, freaking deal folks. Huge. And the ceremony was....well, ceremonious. And pretty cool. (As is Bob and Geraldine's new house, btw.) And seeing good friends being made into big, freaking deals is magic.

After watching, congratulating and hugging our friends we headed to First Landing State Park. The beach there is alright, pretty nice actually as beaches go, but the magical part was the dolphins. We saw dolphins! I even got video but I'm too tired to upload it. You'll have to just believe me for now. We weren't "swimming with dolphins" or anything but it was totally unexpected and really magical.

We stayed at the beach (it was our second day at a beach, remember) until we couldn't stand it anymore and then headed home. Then, about half an hour out from our house, right there on the Beltway, I saw a shooting star! It caught me by surprise and it was magical. Totally magical.

Then when we got home, there was a package from Grandma (my Mom) that was as tall as Isaac! It contained fishing rods, which we had left at Mom's in July, and a few other fun things, including a GORGEOUS quilt she made for Hunter and a pillow case she made for Josiah. The case has minky fabric around the trim so it feels really nice but Josiah only wants it for the smell. It smells just like Grandma's house! He's asleep with his face buried in it. We all know, expected or not, packages from Grandma are always magical.

We arrived home at about 10:30, unloaded the van, dropped everything in the living room, stumbled upstairs (after opening the magical package, of course) and fell into our beds. The only reason I'm blogging right now instead of sleeping is that I didn't want to forget anything. Some days are just too magical to let slip past without documenting them, ya know?

Thank you God for magical days when we see your fingerprints more clearly.

Pictures later.

G'night.

S'More Texas

Again with the obligatory "all the grandkids" shot. This is where the difference between having 1 sibling and having 3 becomes very apparent. And again...3 photos, 3 train wrecks. Someone different was mad in each shot. Really funny...you know...in retrospect.

This is my Dad and I talking with Todd's mom. Kudos to my parents for "going with the flow". We had company over at their house at least twice, I'm thinking maybe 3 times. Most of our time at their house was spent sitting around the dining table, which makes for a great vacation but not so much for photos.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the real reason we fly back to Texas yearly. Taco Bueno. Never doubt the healing powers of Bueno.

Mustachioed

Texas Trip 2008

I figured it was high time I showed some photos from our Texas trip last month. Here is the all-in-one birthday party. We have 5 on this side of the family with birthdays in the first half of July.






And here we have Todd's brother, showing off for nieces and nephews, which invariably leads to pain, right?





Yup. Todd's. These bruises were much, much more impressive the next day but I didn't have the heart to make him raise his arms for another photo shoot.






Here's the obligatory "all the grandkids" photo. There's one missing but he lives in Washington State so we let it slide. I got several shots of this and in each one someone different has his or her eyes closed. C'est la vie, eh?






I have more photos from my side of the family but Blogger only lets me put up a few at a time so I'll save them for another post.