Great Review

Over at Luther Library--which you must check out if you haven't yet--my friend Polly has reviewed Every Young Man's Battle. This is the kind of review which is very helpful to those of us who are moms of boys & young men.

There are other great reviews at Luther Library, including a comparison of the 1953 and 2003 Luther movies.

Keeping My Balance

I am having a really hard time keeping all of the demands of my life in balance right now. It's amazing how it all piles up and how one thing impacts another. I've always liked to keep busy, but it's beyond that now and I need to figure out what needs to go.

I'm trying to look at things through the lens of my vocations as wife and mother and evaluate what supports those and what detracts from them. Homeschooling my kids supports them, but I'm not sure that the level of my involvement in the homeschool community does. (So maybe I need to reevaluate the time I'm spending on that.)

I have a business that often gets neglected and pushed aside, but it, too, is important because the income serves our family and also allows us to give more generously to our church and community. I am fortunate that it is very flexible and very forgiving of my busy-ness elsewhere, but my husband and I both agree that I need to put more time into it. But from where will the time come?

It can't come from cleaning my house, 'cause it's not getting done!

Taking ballroom dance lessons with my husband seems like it should be something expendable, but it is probably one of the best things that has ever happened to our marriage. As for my other hobbies--scrapbooking, genealogy--I spend less than two hours a month on those when I average it out. So those aren't the problem.

I think I know where the problem is, but it's the hardest for me to cure. I volunteer too much. I haven't gotten to the critical point with this for a long time because we've moved so often, but now that we've been here four years I've had plenty of time to find things to do. And they're all worthwhile. But added together they often take as much time in a week as a full time job.

So I need to decide what to weed out, but I'm not sure where to start.

Beggar's All has a link to a hilarious commercial.

HT: The Burr in the Burgh

Ablazing Nonsense

Mutti has an excellent post from Friday the 17th on Ablaze. If you haven't read it check it out.

I think this is my favorite line from the article she's quoting:

Working with a dozen LCMS districts in a pilot project last summer, Altenberger helped develop and train leaders for a six-week Bible study called "Motivation for Mission" that's designed to "shift a congregation's spiritual paradigm."


No thanks, I'm quite happy with our congregation's "spiritual paradigm."

Feeling Blocked

You know, I think I finally figured out today why I've been having trouble finding anything to write. First, most of my blog time has been spent on the seemingly endless job of switching things over. I haven't even been getting to read much. Often my posting is caused by the things that I read bouncing around in my brain.

The other big problem is that the news is driving me nuts. The whole Cheney hunting thing, which was STILL a lead story on a newcast I saw this morning is a perfect example of the media making a huge effort to give a story legs.

I'm not brave enough to post what I think about the cartoons.

And then there's the idea of turning over the management of six major ports to a state-owned company from the United Arab Emirates.

The Olympics are boring. You know when the main thing people are talking about is a fall taken by a Candian ice dancer it is a slow Olympics!

I'm hoping this has cleared the logjam. A little sunshine wouldn't hurt any. Wish I was in Palm Springs with my husband!

More Blogroll Additions

I have finally added some of my favorite homeschooling blogs to this blogroll.


I was pleased to find Sandra Dodd's blog because she was a huge influence on me when we started homeschooling. She's also a very interesting person. A new favorite blog is Dragon Writing Prompts. This isn't just for homeschoolers. It's a great resource for anyone who wants great creative writing ideas.

So check them out, even if you don't homeschool.

Another Blogger Makes the Move

Another of my blogging friends has moved her blog. You want to be sure to change your blogrolls! The Rebellious Pastor's Wife can now be found here.

Okay, Now I'm Really Back

I've hardly blogged for a couple of weeks but my house is no cleaner, my waist is no smaller, my kids are no smarter, and I've missed it. I guess that means that not blogging isn't the answer to all of (my) life's problems.


As I'm getting things moved over I'm happy to announce that the demise of Polly's blog was short lived. As a fellow lover of aprons I'm happy to introduce you to Favorite Apron.

Making the Switch

I'm celebrating my return to blogging by posting over here.

I'm still in the process of getting links moved over. It's time consuming and time has been extremely tight lately. Each month I think, "Next month I'll have more time." But that month never comes. It's February and I already know that July, August, and October are pretty much shot!


So my blogroll is being moved. It'll get here.

The Truth Behind the Lies

Okay, so everyone guessed which was true. But now it's time for the truth behind the lies.

1. When I was 17 I backed my 10-year-old Oldsmobile into my boyfriend's parents new Oldsmobile.
The truth: I was 18 and my boyfriend, aka Colin, backed his parents car into his track coach's car. (But I did drive a really *sweet* 1973 Cutlass Supreme.)

2. I threw up while bungee jumping at Deer Creek Music Center (now the Verizon Wireless Music Center) in May of 1999.
I saw someone else do this.

3. I locked myself out of my running minivan with 18-month-old Andrew inside in his car seat.
One of many less-than-stellar mommy moments.

4. When I was taking trampoline lessons in seventh grade I missed the tramp and broke my wrist.
I *did* take trampoline lessons in seventh grade.

5. I spilled a tray of drinks in Gene Keady's lap when I was waiting on him at Damon's in Lafayette, Indiana.
This is my personal favorite. I *wanted* to! I waited on Mr. Keady many times. He took up the best table in my section all night. His food was comped but he barely tipped. (I did however spill a whole tray of drinks on another guy once and it was not an accident.)

Four Lies

I was tagged by my friend Jennifer, who got this from a page of writing prompts for kids. (WHich incidentally looks like a really great site!)

Write five things about yourself with only ONE of them being true. The other four are fiction, and everyone else gets to guess which one is not fiction.

1. When I was 17 I backed my 10-year-old Oldsmobile into my boyfriend's parents new Oldsmobile.
2. I threw up while bungee jumping at Deer Creek Music Center (now the Verizon Wireless Music Center) in May of 1999.
3. I locked myself out of my running minivan with 18-month-old Andrew inside in his car seat.
4. When I was taking trampoline lessons in seventh grade I missed the tramp and broke my wrist.
5. I spilled a tray of drinks in Gene Keady's lap when I was waiting on him at Damon's in Lafayette, Indiana.

So which one is true?