Happy New Year!!!!

May you all find Peace, Love and Joy in the year to come. Hang onto the Hope, for that is what gets us through. That and a lot of hard work! Party hard and sleep well. See you in the new year.

I mentioned before about the allowance system that we are now using, didn't I? Anyway, the way it works is that for each chore we do, we earn cash. Jobs we hate (laundry) earn more ($4/week) and easy jobs (straightening the living room) get less ($.25/day). We have chart up the tells the chores and the wage and then as we choose to do something, we mark down that it is complete. At the end of the week we tally up the earnings and that is the spending money we get. There are also some fines in place. Leaving dirty dishes around costs you $.25/each time and I have to pay $1 for each hour of TV I watch beyond my three favorites and the news. (I get a little slack here because if we are eating or if I am doing another chore, like folding laundry, it's okay.) We started the system yesterday and so far we have gotten lots of things done. The part I like best is I don't have to nag Mikey to do things. Either he does them under his own steam or eventually I get to them and then I get paid. Nice. Much better than feeling driven to do things and then resenting the fact that he wasn't driven the same way. Plus, I am looking forward to payday. I have already earned a good $10 or so beyond the $10 base pay. This is money that I can spend however I choose without feeling like I have to check with Mikey and without feeling guilty. Very nice.

I also have the "New Year/ New Look" bug. I am rearranging and redecorating all the rooms in my house. I have started a picture wall in my hallway. I hung up the beautiful print of falling leaves that my daddy sent us. I totally rearranged the bedroom. I really enjoyed that because we have had it exactly the same since we moved in. That's a long time for me! Oh! and I hung up a big laminated map of the world that I bought at Costco. It fills up a big empty wall in the bedroom very nicely and adds quite a bit of color. And it's educational! : )

My other big accomplishment for the day was practicing my guitar. I started the program taught in the book I bought and it was FUN. It only takes 10 minutes of drilling, but it shows me things that I wouldn't be doing on my own. When I am done I fiddle around or try to hear phrases and chords on my own. I can hardly wait for the fakebook that I ordered so that I can really start learning an actual song! I really want to learn Happy Birthday so that I can play for all the kiddo's when it's their special day!

So, that was my day...I TOLD you I was feeling productive. : ) Have a nice night.

So where is everyone??? I want all 3 of my avid readers to return from their holidays and resume talking with me. I'm LONELY!!!

Hee hee! This is so scary that it's funny.

Thanks to Zander for helping me with my new hit counter. You're a pal!! : )

Just one more example of science doing what it CAN without thinking about whether it SHOULD. What more can you say? I know that there are people born every minute who have illnesses or deformaties or whatever makes them different from everyone else. But that is EXACTLY what genetics are all about...diversity. Being different. Personally, I feel that even if we were able to be 100% sure that there were no side effects or unseen negative consequences we STILL shouldn't be cloning people.

1. Doing so attempts to define perfection and sets a standard by which all humans will be judged. Either that, or it creates a sub-race of people who are seen as less than human. I don't want to be around for either of these possibilities.
2. Cloning removes all possibilty for the human race to evolve. Granted we have been pretty stagnant for hundreds of years already, but as a species we are still able to adapt to changing viruses. Oh wait - we could always throw some genetic manipulation into the mix. (Wipe away the dripping sarcasm and see above comment regarding sub-human race.)

So to sum it up, I think this is a very bad idea and I am deeply disturbed. Of course, any of you who read regularly know that I have serious concerns about the direction the human race is headed.

STOP THE PRESSES...
"Clonaid was founded by Claude Vorilhon, a former French journalist and leader of a sect called the Raelians. Vorilhon, who calls himself Rael, claims a space alien visiting him in 1973 revealed that extraterrestrials had created all life on Earth through genetic engineering. " (CNN.com/Health article)

OH! Well that makes PERFECT SENSE. I take it all back. Full steam ahead!!!

We worked on our 2003 budget and our New Year's Resolutions. They were more like a series of goals.

"I will save my babysitting money every week to go towards my trip home in late May."
"I will contact each of my siblings by phone at least once a month."
"I will take one class covering something of interest to me (sign language, cooking, sewing, etc)."

There are many. I won't bore you. We also developed a chores/allowance system so that we can have guilt free spending money. However, this means that anything we want to buy or do (games, eating out, movies) will be paid for by allowance money. We are hoping that we will end up actually saving money now that there is a specific fund for that sort of "fun" spending. One of the best things about being married to a game designer...he can make ANYTHING into a game. This actually sounds fun! I hope we manage to keep it going for awhile!

So what are YOUR resolutions/goals? Do you intend to keep them?

We watched Insomnia this afternoon. It is a very dark movie that explores what happens when someone becomes severely sleep deprived. There are other factors involved, of course, but the main idea is that when you lose sleep you suffer from all kinds of hallucinations and faulty thinking. Your ability to analyze a situation and make decisions becomes seriously impaired along with your attention to detail and reaction time. Lack of sleep got Detective Dormer into some serious problems in the movie. The whole thing was shot very dramatically. Lots of playing with light and angles and flashbacks. I had to pay very close attention during the whole thing to follow the story. I would recommend it, but only if you are ready to see the not-so-nice side of humanity. I was particularly disturbed by how adamantly the killer denied his guilt. "It was an accident. I didn't mean too. It's not my fault." BLEH.

Poor Mikey is sick. It's my turn to baby him like he babied me. I'm off to be a good wife. : )

Friday Five
1. What was your biggest accomplishment this year?
Hmmm. It would have to be landing my current teaching contract. Or possibly landing my current husband. Altho neither of them was very hard to get. It was all a matter of being positive and being patient. : )

2. What was your biggest disappointment?
The continued fighting and pain happening between my parents. Although it is slowly getting better now, it was very ugly there for awhile.

3. Will you be making any New Year's resolutions?
Yes, of course. I am big on introspection and planning. We both are. I have a feeling there will be personal resolutions, family resolutions and for Mikey, business resolutions. These will be in the areas of finances, employment, travel, health/fitness and relationships. They will be discussed for hours and carefully analyzed. They will also probably fall by the wayside within a month. Sad, but true.

4. Where will you be at midnight? Do you wish you could be somewhere else?
I will be here at home with my Mikey playing board games and drinking sparkling juice (I saw some great flavors on sale at Albertsons!). Hopefully, I will also have my friend Angie and her husband here. That would be my first step towards reaching my 2002 Personal Relationships goal. (Spend more time developing local friendships.)

5. Aside from (possibly) staying up late, do you have any other New Year's traditions?
Nope. I don't remember even having any big traditions while I was growing up aside from playing board games and laughing alot. I guess, we all had to share some kind of resolution. Or maybe I am making that up. I don't know. I don't really remember.

We're all done building the coaster. It is awesome. Thanks, Sue!!! Here's a pic of the happy rollercoaster owner starting it up for the first time...



Click here for some other coaster shots.

I love talking with my brother. He turns 18 tomorrow (egads...it already IS tomorrow...I have to get to bed!). I called him earlier and talked with him for some time about life, girlfriends, music, family...it was nice. I miss him. I worry about him. I hope that he has an awesome birthday and has fun with my gift. : )

Happy Birthday, Brooks!

OUCH!!! The tips of my fingers HURT! I made a feeble attempt to tune my guitar...I think I need new strings, because I can't get the low E to be low enough without it buzzing against the fretboard. I was able to tune up the rest tho and then I practiced the fingering for some chords. I hope it doesn't take too long to build up some protection on my fingertips! Hee hee hee. I am having fun with this. I found a Guitar Noise, a really great website with lots of articles about chords and songs and all kinds of things. I want to have a real live teacher, but this site will be a great resource. I think tomorrow I will go out and get new strings and any little gadgets I might need. I am considering getting an electric tuner thingy, but I really want to train myself to be able to HEAR the differences. We'll see. Today I was using a handy dandy midi tuner, called Guitar Assistant, that I found here. You play into a mic and it tells you what you need to do. Oh, and another one called Tuner Tool. Download it free from here. (WARNING - this is an immediate download link.) This one doesn't evaluate your pitch at all...you have to listen carefully!

After we buy a new vacuum (Ours died a loud, painful death a couple days before Christmas) Mikey and I will still have some cash to spend. I know that Mikey's share will go towards video games and 80's music. I am writing up a list of CDs and DVDs for my share of the loot:

CDs:
Indigo Girls
John Prine (Acidman got me missing all my dad's old CDs)
David Wilcox
Pete Seeger

DVDs:
Forrest Gump
Princess Bride
Dogma
Usual Suspects
American Beauty

It's not easy to find the Indigo Girls and David Wilcox that I want. Maybe I will be feeling ambitious and I will search them out. Otherwise they will stay on my wish list.

Mikey got a 6 ft long, 3 ft high K'nex rollercoaster set from his sister. We started putting it together this afternoon. Fun, fun, fun.

What a wonderful Christmas! We had so much fun at Julie's - enjoying the baby, playing games, talking, watching movies (James Bond marathon!), eating fabulous food, exchanging gifts, basking in the glow of togetherness and love. It was wonderful. I got to talk to my family on Christmas and although I wasn't there to celebrate with them I was consoled by the feeling that I was at least in the same time zone. Funny what makes us feel better.

I am feeling incredibly spoiled and guilty about the number and quality of the gifts I got this year. I am overwhelmed. I received so many wonderful gifts. I feel very undeserving. I will do what I can to justify this plethora of presents and enjoy them in the spirit they were given.

Aside from all the wonderful family time, my favorite gift was the little accoustic guitar that Mikey got me, complete with a coupon redeemable for lessons from the place of my choice. I have been wanting to learn how to play for some time now and I am eager to see if it is something I can follow through with. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Now I am going to go eat something and watch Mikey play Tony Hawk 4. : ) Merry Christmas to you all and I hope you are writing up your New Year's resolutions! : )

I went to the babysitting gig and got to enjoy the boys playing with and being thrilled over the little gift I got them. Sometimes they are incredibly materialistic and greedy, but yesterday they didn't even ask if I got them a gift and when they got to open it they said "thank you" repeatedly. Maybe I am having some kind of influence over them after all! : ) My voice is returning and I still feel pretty good. We're rushing around getting packed up to stay with Mike's folks tonight and then we are going to San Antonio for a couple of days. To my family: I am bringing a calling card so that I can call everyone on Christmas day. : ) Gotta go shower.

We wish everyone a super, duper, fabulous, wonderful, cheerful, merry, happy, better-than-you-could-have-imagined, terrific, outstanding, perfect holiday. Peace, Love and Hope to you and yours on this most joyous of days. Now put on the Nutcracker Suite, break out the eggnog and holiday punch, stick an extra bow on the gift you are wrapping and get into the spirit! : )

Yep, today is going to be a quiet day for Soso. I've got nothing above a whisper. The only question is: do I cancel the babysitting job or go anyway?

In the middle of last night, I was pretty sure I would be facing the wild exhuberance of my class voiceless and with a fever. Thanks to Tylenol Sinus (or the cheap generic equivalent) I was able to breath and talk for most of the day. And the chills that had me shivering most of the night were gone by morning. Hooray for that wonderful concoction of drugs they call Tylenol Sinus. (Yes, that is a shameless plug, but DANG that stuff has always worked like a charm for my worst sinus headaches.) : )

We partied the day away. It was pouring rain all last night and into the morning. Enough that there was water starting to come in through the classroom roof! We got our 2 little tests out of the way and from 10:30 on we did nothing but fun things. The kids got an extra long recess, then we did our book exchange, then they had lunch, then we had our class party and then they got to do their Friday Club activities. Fun, fun, fun. I think the best part was during the party when a bunch of the parents were there. Those kids just LOVED showing off the classroom and their friends and their teacher to their families. I got to talk to several parents I hadn't met yet AND with the plethora of adults in the room...everyone was on their best behavior. On behalf of all teachers I hereby officially thank any and all parents who take the time to come in and participate in classroom activities. Everyone benefits from it - parents, teachers and, most of all, kids. Thank you for caring and being there for your child. THAT is what it's all about. THAT is the thing that makes the difference. THAT is what is going to help your child succeed in this crazy, mixed-up world. Thank you.

Right around the end of the party my voice finally gave out and I spent Club time whispering. After cleaning up the room and participating in traffic loop duty, I headed home - tired but energized. As if that wasn't a nice enough way to end the day, I was given a special treat. Turning the corner from the school I was met face to face with a very energetic rainbow. Not a shy, quiet rainbow that you had to look for. A bold, cheerful, joyous rainbow that started in a dark rain cloud in the sky and lept its way to earth. It was beautiful. The perfect way to start my vacation.

Now that Firefly is over, I am going to tuck myself into bed and hope that this throat thing goes away quickly. I really don't want to be having sinus and ear problems when I fly to San Antonio on Sunday. We'll see.

Peace to you all. Goodnight.

Ouch. My throat still hurts. The kids were so good today. I told them at the beginning of the day that they would have to listen very carefully because I couldn't talk very loudly and they tried really hard to do just that all day. I was very proud of them. I am looking forward to our day of fun tomorrow. I always like the days when I don't have to push them through a PILE of work. It's nice to be able to just have fun with them every once in a while! And this group does a really good job with fun days. They enjoy themselves and most of them manage to not go crazy and wild while they are doing it so I can have fun too! : ) I really just adore each and every one of these kiddos SO MUCH! Even the ones that bug me sometimes...I would do anything for them. It doesn't keep my throat from hurting...but it sure makes the rest of me feel good! : ) Night, all!

I found this over at Zander's place. I stole the beginning...if you want more (there really are 100!) then go see him.

This Evil Overlord List is Copyright 1996-1997 by Peter Anspach. If you enjoy it, feel free to pass it along or post it anywhere, provided that (1) it is not altered in any way, and (2) this copyright notice is attached.

Being an Evil Overlord seems to be a good career choice. It pays well, there are all sorts of perks and you can set your own hours. However every Evil Overlord I've read about in books or seen in movies invariably gets overthrown and destroyed in the end. I've noticed that no matter whether they are barbarian lords, deranged wizards, mad scientists or alien invaders, they always seem to make the same basic mistakes every single time. With that in mind, allow me to present...


The Top 100 Things I'd Do
If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord

1. My Legions of Terror will have helmets with clear plexiglass visors, not face-concealing ones.

2. My ventilation ducts will be too small to crawl through.

3. My noble half-brother whose throne I usurped will be killed, not kept anonymously imprisoned in a forgotten cell of my dungeon.

4. Shooting is not too good for my enemies.

5. The artifact which is the source of my power will not be kept on the Mountain of Despair beyond the River of Fire guarded by the Dragons of Eternity. It will be in my safe-deposit box. The same applies to the object which is my one weakness.

6. I will not gloat over my enemies' predicament before killing them.

7. When I've captured my adversary and he says, "Look, before you kill me, will you at least tell me what this is all about?" I'll say, "No." and shoot him. No, on second thought I'll shoot him then say "No."

8. After I kidnap the beautiful princess, we will be married immediately in a quiet civil ceremony, not a lavish spectacle in three weeks' time during which the final phase of my plan will be carried out.

9. I will not include a self-destruct mechanism unless absolutely necessary. If it is necessary, it will not be a large red button labelled "Danger: Do Not Push". The big red button marked "Do Not Push" will instead trigger a spray of bullets on anyone stupid enough to disregard it. Similarly, the ON/OFF switch will not clearly be labelled as such.

10. I will not interrogate my enemies in the inner sanctum -- a small hotel well outside my borders will work just as well.

Just in time for the holidays - a story to warm your heart and freeze your tongue!

Head on over to Joanie's new digs to hear about the ICEE corporation and how wonderful they are. It is a very sweet story. Nice to know that not all companies are peopled by scumbags and criminals! ICEE has my highest recommendation! : )

Wanna know how big a geek I am? Mikey and I went to see The Two Towers today. Opening day! I am such a geek! : ) It was very good, although there were quite a few things that made me wonder...just some inconsistencies or very unrealistic moments. Not enough to detract from the story however.

There were some very good antiwar scenes - a close-up of a scared little boy (about 11) all decked out for war knowing that he was going to die - but much of that message was counteracted by the fact that no one important ever dies. I realize that this is an epic adventure and it just isn't right for main characters to die...but unfortunately that leads to a very twisted view of war in our young people. They grow up thinking that war is bad, but only in the sense that strangers die. People we LOVE don't die. Main characters can't die. I wish.

I really enjoy the strength of the bonds between the characters. There is very obviously love between them all...Pippen and Merry...Legolas and Aragorn...Aragorn and Gimly...Frodo and Sam. They take care of each other and stand by one another. But it's more than that. They tell each other how they feel. They cry for each other. They openly and honestly love. To me, that is the most important part of the whole story.

I also liked the Ents. The biggest mistake the bad guys made was pissing off the trees. You can't mess with the land without paying a price! : )

So that is my review. It was good. Go see it. Enjoy.

Grr. I am missing a perfectly good conference about guided reading and literature circles because I am still sick. I hate this kind of sick. It is just enough that I wouldn't be able to be at work (takes too much energy) and no one wanted me to go to the conference (who wants to be stuck in a car for hours with someone who is sneezing and wheezing?) but not so sick that I am laid up in bed all day. So instead of getting paid today or learning something useful, I am here feeling guilty. Bleh.

I am going to work tomorrow, no matter what. I only have 2 days left until winter break and I am not using up my sick days on them. (I am only using a sub today because I already had one lined up due to the conference.) It should be interesting on Friday tho, because I have this tendency toward losing my voice and our holiday party is Friday. Hooray! Good thing there will be lots of adults there to supervise!

Buffy is so cool! The last line of tonight's episode...

"There is only one thing on Earth more powerful than evil. And that's us. Any questions?"

Whoo hoo! : )

Whoo hoo! Now you can all see how i am feeling...tons of fun! Thanks to Mikey and Zander for getting me through it! :)

Been messing around with the blog a bit today. (In between errands and resting - I think I spoke too soon about whipping that cold into shape.) Nothing too drastic being done. I just break it when I try to do drastic!

I have added a new friend to my list. Zander is a teen who has had more than his share of experiences (com'on, leave some for the rest of us!!) and plenty to say about it. It's been a pleasure to get to know him better.

Gardenwife, Laine and Joni all have blogs that I have begun frequenting. Such an interesting mix of people I read! : )

I have put up a couple of pictures of our Christmas tree for those who are interested. Also one of Mikey's nephew. Enjoy!

(Manny the Mammoth) "That's what you do in a herd. You look out for each other."
(Sid the Sloth) "Well, I don't know about you guys, but this is the strangest herd I've ever seen!"
~ Ice Age

Yet another reminder of how lucky I am. I have a great herd. Strange, but great! : )

"She didn't whip on my head or put out cigarettes in my armpits or anything like that, but so what? I mean, big whoop. I've never had any kids, so I guess I can't say for sure, but I somehow don't think being a great parent is about the stuff you didn't do to your rug monkeys." ~ Stephen King in Everything's Eventual

Exactly.

About 4 pm on Saturday I started feeling crappy. Sore throat, headache - typical junk. I have learned that if I totally give into a cold immediately...just give up as soon as I feel it coming...then I can stop it before it gets miserable. It's when I try to push it and maintain my usual speed despite the symptoms that I get really knocked on my ass by an illness. So I took it easy Saturday evening and Sunday morning. I was feeling better by yesterday afternoon and spent much of the rest of the day on the phone with various family members. During the middle of the night I woke up feeling like the inside of my nose was on fire (it's really dry in here!) and this morning my sinuses were going crazy. Fortunately, I have a darling of a husband who ordered me back to sleep, brought me breakfast, fluids and Tylenol Sinus. He made a special trip to the drugstore just for me! Even surprised me by renting Ice Age on DVD so I would have something to do as I rested myself back to health. Now after a dose of the meds, a watching of the movie and a couple of naps I am feeling pretty good. I have that "I am just getting out of bed for the first time in two days" feeling but I don't feel sick. Ah, the healing powers of sleep. And the adoring hubby. A very nice combination, if you ask me.

I have experienced a couple of personal revelations in the past few weeks...

1. I don't get personally attached to cars.
I used to. Our family cars all had names and I picked out my first car not because of price or looks or style, but because it called to me. I named her Mary Jane and I adored her. She was decorated all up and greatly loved. She was more like a beloved pet than a machine. Then came the fateful day that my mom had to use MJ to get to work in the middle of a snow storm. She ended up in the ditch. Mom was fine and MJ wasn't damaged. Dad and I figured it would be no big deal to get her out of the snowbank she was buried in. Wrong. The bully of a pickup that the other end of the tow chain was attached to yanked so hard that MJ's axle was broken. Dad realized he was going to have to call a tow truck to bring her into town. Upon hearing this, I patted my dear little car and said goodbye. I don't know how, but I knew that I wouldn't be seeing her again. A few weeks later all that was left was a $500 check presented by the insurance company of the repair shop she went to. While welding the axle, the man had gone to answer the phone and returned to find the whole building on fire. It burned to the ground. A tragic story, I know. After several troublesome vehicles (including one that reminded me of "Christine") I have finally settled on a trustworthy, hard working, little Ford Escort. It has faithfully transported me for 4 years but I am unable to name it or develop more than a working relationship with it. Poor thing. Just it's luck to end up with an owner who has "issues".

2. My principal reminds me of my dad.
I have felt an instant connection with the principal of my school. I automatically considered him someone who I could trust and go to for help. At a meeting the other day I realized that he looks like my dad. He has the same facial features, expressions, and coloring. He even approaches things in a similar manner (although personally I think my dad surpasses him in many ways). It was an interesting revelation to see that I was so easily influenced into trusting someone just because he looks like someone I have the ultimate trust in. Interesting.

There is my personal introspectiveness (is that a word?) for the month. What do I do with this new found knowledge? Who the heck knows! : )

Dogma is on. That is one of my very favorite movies. I hvae to get it on DVD. I NEED to see it with the commentary. Really...I need it. : )

Mikey and I are really bad at waiting and at keeping secrets. Therefore we have developed a game. Our own little version of the 12 days of Christmas. Literally. It required fitting the gifts into categories such as "for work", "for play", "to smell", "geeky", "for indoors"...there are 20 categories, but many can be covered by more than one gift. Sounding like fun? It was. But that is just the beginning. We numbered the gifts and put those numbers in a hat. We get to draw a number each day. The 12 days of Christmas. Fun. Having a game designer for a husband has it's perks! : ) Anyway, so far I have gotten...

slippers (something I really wanted)
a Sugarcult cd (to hear)
peppermint pattie type mints (to taste)
and a book about composting (to smell)

Christmas is fun!!

Today I looked like Alice in Wonderland and there was nothing I wanted to do more than find a magic looking glass and crawl through it. I was feeling like a raging bitch all day. I almost felt sorry for the kids...almost. If they really wanted my sympathy they should have been listening and following directions. Ugh. Sometimes it's like their heads are filled with fluff. Or, as is the case these days, visions of sugarplums. The only things they can get done with any semblence of proficiency are the holiday activities. *resigned sigh* I guess I will have to be patient and wait for my adorable class to return after the winter break.

From In Passing

"But if I were rich, I wouldn't have to deal with reality."
--The most somber and scary and utterly serious seven year old I've ever overheard in my life, outside The Cheese Board.

My classroom is looking more like the holiday season now. We have a bulletin board called "My holiday wish..." that displays short essays written by the children. They were all so good at thinking of important things to wish for, including stopping child abuse, feeding the hungry, peace and hoping that all people have a good holiday whatever they choose to celebrate. I have a group of students who are very empathetic, perhaps because they have been through so much themselves. It is touching to see how very caring and giving they really are. We also have a butcher paper tree which we will be decorating over the next couple of weeks and we have made and hung stockings above the whiteboard (closest equivalent to a chimney in the room). It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Sat in on the Site counsil meeting at school this afternoon. That is the group of teachers and parents that the principal has to talk to about budget and how and where the money is being spent. I was totally lost. It was quite and eye opener though. Here we are, half way through the fiscal year and the state is cutting $1 BILLION from the education funds due to the overwhelming deficit we are in. For districts that have already spent all the money they were allocated, this means they are going to be put in the red for the next year. Fortunately, I am in a fairly conservative (in OH SO MANY WAYS!) district that forsaw this crisis. There has been a freeze on district spending for some time and when the state comes to take back our money we will have it for them to take back. Not good for this year - classroom funds are gone, repairs on laminators and copy machines aren't happening - but at least we won't be starting with negative dollars next year. Ugh. If my head didn't hurt so much tonight I would really get into how frustrating this is...but for now I just can't get up the steam. Suffice it to say that this is bad. Very, very BAD.

Mikey's birthday went well. First, we spent the day hanging around the house. We watched several episodes (with commentary) from the Buffy DVD he got from his sisters. I also cleaned house and mowed the yard (my in-laws were coming, what do you expect?) but Mikey was not required to do any of that. Later, I surprised him with a trip to the mini golf course (lots of fun) and dinner at the new Chinese place in town. Yummy food. We all (Mikey, his parents and myself) decided that it was some of the best Chinese we had ever had and the waiter was lots of fun too. He gave us a free dessert! It was a very enjoyable day. I hope he thought so too!

Happy Birthday, Mikey!!

Today the love of my life turns 28. A grown-up, mature age. He is a grown-up, mature person. Someone who you can trust to be responsible, caring, logical and stable. He is careful about money, he remembers to do his chores, and he can do the dishes without breaking things. He is everything you could ask for in a grown-up.

But he is also the kind of someone you can buy video games for. Someone who wakes up at 6:30 am on his birthday because he is so excited. Someone who still has that spark of joy and curiosity that I love so much in the children I work with. He has a fabulous imagination and uses it every day. He likes to be snuggled and hates to do his chores. He has retained many of his endearing childlike qualities.

My Mikey is a wonderful balance of adult and child that keeps our life fun, safe, adventurous, silly, protected and happy. He is the very bestest and I can't imagine life without him. I love you, Mikey. Enjoy your birthday. PBWY.

Isha

I recently learned that Isha means woman in Hebrew. That makes me like the title of my blog even more. As I explained recently in a letter to a loved one...

"When I was a kid, my dad wrote me stories about a little creature called Isha who lived in the rainbow. Each birthday I would get a story about some adventure Isha and I had when I was small. Usually they would tie into some picture of me as a child. (The one where Isha has to free me from an evil trap came with a picture of me about 4 years old with my head stuck in a turtleneck shirt.) I still get an Isha story a year for my birthday. She's kinda like an imaginary friend. I don't know if he knew what Isha meant when he named her, but thinking of her as a kind of future me, a grown-up me to help the present one, is a comforting thought! : )"

Yep, it's nice to think that I have a little guardian angel who knows me even better than I know myself!

Tis the season

Hooray! The tree is up, the wreath is hung, the windows and doorways are draped and there are lights on my front porch. It is officially the Christmas season in my house. Huzzah "helped" me decorate by rolling in the garland, pouncing on small ornaments, trying to eat the bows, attacking the tree and generally making a nuisance of himself. Adorable. Zazzy just watched. Mikey provided encouragement and speculation as to what might be in the multitude of packages with his name on them. I think he is excited. :)

Despite my joy at decking out my house in holiday spirit, I am also feeling some of that famed holiday melancholy. Growing up my house was steeped in tradition, and it always made me feel good to know that even when I wasn't home, I could guess what was being done. The 15 foot tree was being hunted with spiced cider and singing. The Nutcracker was being read to the little ones at bedtime. Mom was making eggnog. Everyone was together and somehow the differences and disputes were put aside for a time. This year, I don't know what they are doing at home. There are new people, old traditions are being abandoned and new ones developed, presents are being mailed to numerous addresses instead of just one. Everything is changing and although I can handle that any other time of the year, I don't like it at Christmas. I want every one of my Christmases to be just like the ones I used to have - back when I thought everyone and everything would always be the same. Back when I was young enough to think that all those sad and mad feelings actually went away instead of just being masked for a month.

Yep. That Christmas melancholy. But it doesn't last long. Pretty soon I hear a favorite song, or pass a smiling face and remember that change isn't always a bad thing. Change means growth. New people sometimes mean new friends, new loved ones. Old traditions aren't really lost, they are adapted. This is the season that brings out the best in people. Hearts are filled with love, voices are filled with cheer and for one month the evening news acknowledges the miracles that are happening every day. I lap it up until I can't hold anymore joy. I wallow in it until I am wrinkled and pruny. I love Christmas. I wish you a happy holiday season, whatever holiday you choose to celebrate, and I wish you enough.

Peace be with you.

Sorry I haven't been around...been working and babysitting and just plain being too busy to turn on the machine at all. Today I will put up our tree, clean the house, and transfer all my necessary files over to a new computer. Yep, using a new (well, new for me) machine for the third time this year. What a pain. See ya later.

From a forward I received this morning (or possible several days ago...it's been awhile since I turned on my computer!)...

I Wish You Enough

"I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish enough "Hello's" to get you through the final "Good-bye.""

I feel wordless lately. Several times I have come here, wanting to post, wishing for inspiration...but there is none. I guess I am too overwhelmed by the length of my to do list. Egads.

I have always wondered if all the training and dieting and bodily abuse necessary to become a gymnast was healthy. After all, those are still young, developing bodies. Now I have my proof! This picture shows one of the horrible things that can happen when you push too hard for that perfect gymnasts body.

Brr. It's cold in here. And messy. I suppose I should do something about both of those things. Hmph.

Thanks to Joanie for aiming me towards the official Adam Sandler website. I got to hear 2 versions of the Chanuka song, plus see some funny shorts based on other songs. Laughter abounds. Not for the faint of heart, however. Consider yourself forewarned.

Just for some laughs...

First, go see Kikkoman, the king of sauces. Yes, he's a superhero! We are saved!!

Then, you should check out the Banana and Shrimp Show. They are the evil enemies of Kikkoman. They sing. They dance. They are delicious!