Help! My son is nine and he can't read!

(Originally posted January 2006, edited slightly)

I've posted before about why we started homeschooling and about some of the difficulties we faced, but the reading issue was a huge problem for us. Patrick couldn't read when he was six. Or seven. Or eight. Or nine.

My oldest child had been reading since she was four. When she was in school, she had a hard time getting them to let her check books out of the library that she wanted to read, because the librarians didn't believe she could read them. Add to that the fact that my husband and I both come from families that have a lot of teachers and are very conventional. Kids are supposed to read in first grade. End of story.

So we started trying when he was six. But he absolutely could not read phonetically. He had to learn all words by sight. He would "learn" a word one day and the next he wouldn't remember it at all. It was frustrating for both of us.

Our family had been dubious about homeschooling anyway, and I think that all of them, except for my mom, were sure that I was in WAY over my head. But I knew that he was going to read and read well. He was a very bright little boy. He was fabulous at math, had a huge vocabulary, and a fantastic memory.

Then I read a book, that led me to another, and another that began to give me hope. There are a lot of kids, especially boys, whose brains are just not ready at the age of six or seven or even nine or ten for the kind of processing that reading requires. I started talking to other moms who had boys with reading difficulties and had overcome them.

I quit trying to teach him to read when he was almost seven. But that doesn't mean we forgot about books. If anything I read to him more. Sometimes he'd sit by me and follow along with a picture book, but more often we read really good interesting books for the whole family and he would just listen. Every once in a while he'd pick up a book and try to read. He also had several books memorzied that he would "read" to his little brothers. He would spend hours poring over the DK Cross Sections Book that he bought with his own money.

At nine-and-a-half he was still barely reading. It was getting harder to convince friends and family that things were okay, but for some reason I still felt confident. Shortly before his tenth birthday, many people in our homeschool group were in an uproar over the first Harry Potter book. A group of them even burned it. Well, that convinced me that I needed to read it. Patrick's best friend read it and Patrick really wanted to read it, too. We bought it and Bethany made short work of it, pronounced it "good" and then passed it on to Patrick. I didn't think a lot about it, but a couple of days later I realized that he was carrying the book around everywhere and was actually making progress. And he finished the book. After that, he just picked up speed.

And now, at 17, he reads whatever he wants with good speed and excellent comprehension and retention.He has read many of the great works of western literature. He has read things that I haven't tackled.

What worked for him may not work for everyone, but I think it is vital as parents that we trust our instincts. I knew that Patrick was smart, but already in kindergarten he was being pigeonholed as being behind. It would have only gotten worse. I feel sorry for kids who are in school and labeled. All three of my boys would be wearing a closetful of labels if they were in school. But our goal isn't to keep our kids up to some arbitrary school schedule, it is to produce human beings who love learning. For that we don't need labels.

Messed up priorities

I think most of us know that all is not well within the LC-MS.

Go here and here and here for more about just how mixed up the synodical bureaucracies' priorities are.

Election Day

If you live in Indiana, tomorrow is election day. All over the state people like me are arriving at polling places at 5:00 am and staying there all day. The least you all can do is go vote. :)

Patrick gets to cast his first votes tomorrow, since he'll be 18 by the general election.

Why we started and why we almost didn't make it

(Originally written in December 2005, tweaked slightly)

Before I tell you this LONG story I need to give you a picture of my son in the present. Patrick is 17. He is a wonderful son. He is mostly polite, respectful, smart, funny, helpful, and loving. He is serious about his faith and loves acolyting at church. He is a voracious reader (currently reading Anna Karenina) and loves politics, movies and sports.

I firmly believe that if he had stayed in school, things would be much different.

My daughter was finishing third grade and Patrick was finishing Kg when we began to consider homeschooling. We knew we were leaving the school that the kids were attending, and were looking at other options. Patrick had had a horrible experience in kindergarten, socially and academically. The happy, bright five-year-old that we had taken to school in September had become moody and withdrawn. He was teased because he sang too well, colored too badly, and couldn't match the sounds with the letters. He wasn't going to pass kindergarten.

We knew that he was smart because of his intuitive grasp of numbers and his incredible vocabulary. But there was no denying that in a school system that decreed that all children would read in first grade, he would be in trouble.

I looked at options, and the one that just kept popping back up was homeschooling. I finally decided that I would homeschool him for a year or so, to get him "evened out." Surprise number one: Our daughter--straight-A student and social butterfly--wanted to be homeschooled, too. Since I wasn't thrilled with any of the school options we had, we pulled her out, too.

I've chronicled our bad start in my last post, so I won't repeat that. But that truly was just the beginning. It was bad! Patrick was angry. He was mad at me for ever having taken him to school. And the more I heard what that year had been like for both of my kids the more I understood. So I embraced what was for me a brand new concept: We deschooled. We absolutely did nothing that looked like school for over six months. We, of course, kept living, and--as I've learned--that's how we learn best, but there were no workbooks, math problems, spelling words, or drills. We read lots of books, played games, went to the park, watched videos, and went for lots of walks.

I spent a lot of that time reading about how kids learn. I was especially interested by the differences in boys and girls in learning to read. I went from a reluctant homeschooler to a mom who firmly believed that our education system does many kids--especially boys--a huge disservice by trying to force early reading.

(More to come....)

Okay, they're home. Now what?

(Originally written Nov. 15, 2005, slightly updated)

I am sure that I was not the only homeschool mom asking that question on the first "official" day of homeschooling. Even you parents who have homeschooled from the start have had the moment or moments where you are pulled up short by the realization that you have taken the responsibility for the education of your children into your own hands.

I was not completely unprepared when we began this journey 13 years ago. I had read lots of books. I had heard Raymond Moore on the radio. I had ordered hundreds of dollars worth of the curriculum most frequently recommended in the books and magazines that I had found. But the information was a lot more limited than it is now, and I felt unprepared.

I didn't know any real-life homeschoolers. I had never actually met anyone who homeschooled or anyone who knew anyone who homeschooled. I come from a family with lots of teachers. Several of my aunts are teachers and so was my mother-in-law. To say that I felt a lot of pressure would be a big understatement!

So I did what hundreds of thousands of parents have done. We started.
We opened the books.
We started with lesson one.
And within a month I was sure that we'd made the biggest mistake ever!

Remember, I had chosen my curriculum based solely on what was recommended in the most books that I had read. I hadn't seen anything before I ordered it. We hated most of it. My daughter hated Saxon math. My son--who is very freaked out by clowns--had clowns all through his BJU Kg curriculum. As a history major I was totaly underwhelmed by the A Beka history book. And there was lots of theology spread throughout the books that was definitely not in line with what I was teaching my kids.

What to do? I had spent hundreds of dollars. I had to have a curriculum didn't I?

While I was struggling with this a very good thing happened. I connected to AOL. There was a homeschooling forum with hundreds of other homeschoolers from all over the country. It was like someone had switched on a bright light for me in the middle of a dark night.

I didn't have to use a set curriculum? My son needed to deschool? Unschooling?
Wait, there are other people who hate Saxon?! And Bob Jones! (This is where I learned about the rascism at BJU. These are the only homeschooling books I ever threw away instead of passing along.)

What I learned was that homeschooling is not a one-size-fits-all kind of endeavor. (Actually, I learned LOTS there, but that was just the most important at that point!) We decided to step back from what we were doing. We put the curriculum on the shelf. I asked my then-nine-year-old daughter what SHE would like to learn about. Boy did she have a list! My son--who was the reason we started homeschooling (that's another post)--was really struggling with wanting to learn anything at all. That struggle didn't magically end when we put those clowns in the trash. But we worked on it. I would like to say he came around quickly, but in truth it took years.

The answer to the "now what?" is that you begin to learn with them. It may go smoothly and within months they're learning Latin, churning butter, sewing their own matching clothes, and flying through Saxon math. Or it may be rough. There might be tears. You might buy something that doesn't work. You might have a child who needs to be motivated to want to get out of bed or do anything but play Legos. You might want to pull out your hair. But you just keep going. Tweak what needs tweaking. Or maybe throw it all in a closet and start over.

You can do it.

So, homeschooling

I've been spending lots of time lately answering questions about homeschooling. It seems to go in spurts, and this has been a busy time. I get the questions from those considering homeschooling, those who've just started, and those who have been homeschooling for a while but need reassurance. Or sometimes from those who are just curious.

So I'm going to revisit a couple of posts from the past, from my first blog.

As you will see, we were reluctant homeschoolers. We didn't start for idealogical reasons. We didn't start to keep our kids away from anything. We did it in desperation, because we had a child that school was hurting, and I couldn't see any other way. If I had seen another way, I would have taken it!

Now I can't imagine a different life than what we have. Homeschooling has become a way of life for us.

New computer

I am happily busy getting everything all set up on my new computer.

It's pink.

Happy Birthday, Jonathan!

This is a year of birthdays that feel significant, some because the number attached has some particular importance--18 & 13 arrive this year--some, like this one because of the combination of age and person.

Fifteen years ago Jonathan Max was born in a suburban Chicago hospital. He was almost two weeks past his due date when he finally decided he didn't have enough cartwheel room left in there. He started life off by scaring us all. He made his appearance with the umbilical cord tightly wrapped around his neck and a blue face. Thanks to our doctor's quick action, this was quickly remedied. Jonathan's initial Apgar score was 3, but by the time they did the five minute test it was 9.

Jonathan--later to be known as Boo-Boo--was the easy baby. He was an easy toddler. He was an easy child. He has always had a sweet, cuddly personality overlying a core of iron will. As he gets older the iron will seems to peek through more often, but I think that's how it's supposed to be.

He has a gorgeous voice.
He gets up--on his own and by his own choice--to go to early service on Sundays, even though we will all attend the late service. (Otherwise he sleeps as late as possible!)
He is a huge help to his mama.
He has a fantastic imagination.
He's the middle boy and has long been buddy of choice for both brothers.

Fifteen seems a lot older than fourteen. My sweet boy is becoming a young man. He's finishing his first high school year. He's making plans for the future, and will be attending music camp in Wisconsin this summer and Christ Academy at the seminary. He's growing up.

Happy Birthday Boo!

Common sense wins

The Supreme Court announced its decision on the Indiana Voter ID law today.

Amazingly, common sense won the day. The state can require a photo ID from voters on election day. Indiana has tried to make this as easy as possible. They have made free ID cards available for non-drivers. Nursing home residents who vote at their nursing home do not need ID. A voter who forgets his ID can cast a provisional ballot and has ten days to prove their identity.

I have worked three elections since the voter ID law passed. I worked at a polling place--in a nursing home--that took in three of the poorest precincts in the city. I have never yet seen a voter turned away for lack of ID. We had a couple of people who had to go back out to their cars to grab ID. We didn't have one complaint. People thought it made sense. They were mostly poor people, mostly black and hispanic, mostly democrat, in short, those who the critics say this law will hurt.

This election I will be running another precinct of the same sort. I'll let you all know if there are any problems, but I don't anticipate any.

Prom, again

Some of the responses to my post about sleazy prom dresses take issue with the prom itself.

For the record, I love the idea of the prom. I went to four. (The grainy picture is of me in my pink Nadine formal with a four-bone hoop that I wore to my senior prom. The cute young guy is now my hubby.) There's not much I like better than getting really dressed up for a nice evening out.

I was quite excited for my daughter when she got to attend the prom with a friend from church. It was an interesting experience, and she got to wear a beautiful dress. Shopping for it was a challenge, but we got really lucky and found a beautiful $700+ dress marked down to less than $100 because of some slight damage. I am glad that when she went it was with a friend. That takes away a lot of the worries for mom and dad.

I do think that there are problems with proms. Often these are because--as with the dresses--parents aren't being parents, they're being buddies. So they let the group of couples go spend the weekend at the lake cottage unchaperoned. They charge the cost of the limo so that the kids don't have to drive. (One mother I know told me, "I know they're going to get trashed. It's part of prom.) The expectation of many parents seems to be that their teens will misbehave, so they will make sure they're relatively safe doing so.

A couple of years ago there was an ad for color-coordinated underwear for prom. Very skimpy stuff to match the dress. Exactly who was supposed to be seeing this?

Books and more books

I'm having fun with this whole reading challenge thing.

But I have some problems. One, I read too many mysteries. Two, I keep going to the bookstore and adding to my to-read pile. Three, I am lazy. Thus, I am tempted to replace the classics with yet more fluff.

I must not give in to this temptation or these books will languish on my shelf for yet another year.

Hmmm...guess this is why it's a challenge.

Another blogger in the family

Another of my children has started a blog.

"Don't those girls have parents?"

THAT was the question on my lips last Saturday night while waiting to be seated at Biaggi's. We were subjected to some of the most awful prom dresses that I have ever seen. This site, which is the first result in a google search for prom dresses will give you a clue about the kinds of dresses we saw. Lots of sequins and satin, but mostly lots of skin.

We saw cleavage on high school girls that would have been risque on a pop star. Lots of dangerously low backs and cut outs in bodices. On the other hand, we also saw some girls who looked beautiful, in dresses that were lovely and fashionable, without being skanky.

As the mother of teen boys, I can emphatically say that they would not leave the house with a girl wearing some of the dresses we saw.

As the mother of a 21 year old daughter, I know how hard it can be to find fashionable clothes that are modest. But we have to raise our daughters with enough self-respect--and respect for others--that they understand that the message those kind of dresses are giving isn't a positive one!

I'm not suggesting they need to dress like this. (Although that might be fun!) I am just suggesting that some of these girls could really use some parental guidance in the way that they dress. And maybe there are a few parents out there who need a reminder that it's okay to tell your kids no.

I want a president who thinks like this

I love the eloquence of times gone by. These are arguments that have been part of many gun control discussions in which I've taken part, but I love the way he makes them. I don't think that Cesare--or Thomas Jefferson--would find much to like in our ever-expanding nanny state.

False is the idea of utility that sacrifices a thousand real advantages for one imaginary or trifling inconvenience; that would take fire from men because it burns, and water because one may drown in it; that has no remedy for evils except destruction. The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature. They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Can it be supposed that those who have the courage to violate the most sacred laws of humanity, the most important of the code, will respect the less important and arbitrary ones, which can be violated with ease and impunity, and which, if strictly obeyed, would put an end to personal liberty... and subject innocent persons to all the vexations that the guilty alone ought to suffer? Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man. They ought to be designated as laws not preventive but fearful of crimes, produced by the tumultuous impression of a few isolated facts, and not by thoughtful consideration of the inconveniences and advantages of a universal decree.

Cesare, Marquis of Beccaria, quoted by Thomas Jefferson in his Commonplace Book

Shower

This is why I haven't blogged for a couple of days:


We had a bridal shower for Bean on Saturday. I spent the two days leading up to it cleaning my house and fixing food. Saturday morning was spent frantically assembling food. After the shower, my dear hubby took my friend PPP--who was tremendously helpful in getting the food together and also provided me with the photo-- and I out of for a much-needed relaxing dinner.

Sunday was our semi-annual voters meeting at church, followed by a brief nap. The nap was needed because Sunday night was Bunko. It was a record-breaking Bunko night for the Redeemer ladies! We had 23 people! Twenty played while the others swapped in and out of the game or just talked. I don't know the last time I've laughed that much!

I've got a couple of blog posts swirling in my brain. They may make it out today.

Earthquake

It's not often we get to feel an earthquake. The only other one that I remember was in 1987 when we were living in Anderson. It is rather strange to wake up and feel your bed shaking and hear the house creaking. None of our kids woke up, and Bethany was disappointed. She also missed the one significant aftershock that we had at 11:30.

The USGS website has some cool information on it. I hadn't looked at it before, but I went this morning and reported what I felt.

Accomplishment

I just got back from a visit with my good friend Susan. There's nothing like a visit with Susan to make me ready to turn over a new leaf in some area of my life.

Susan often thinks she's not getting anything done, but she blows me away! While I was at her house she washed all of the sheets--at the laundromat, no less--hung them on the line, and made an unplanned tasty, balanced, homemade dinner, in an hour, from ingredients that were in her house. She made homemade tortillas for lunch-time burritos. And interspersed in all of this she posted to her blog a couple of times, hung out with me for hours. This was all in about 27 hours, and I'm assuming she slept.

The tortillas were awesome, and I have to try to make them for my family. But the thing that made the most impact on me this time was that dinner and lunch were eaten at the table with everyone who was home. We almost never manage to eat at the table together. So the first day after I got home I cleared off the table and we all ate together. It was very nice.

Unfortunately, for us, it's a rare occasion, but it's one of those new leaves I always want to turn over after I hang out with Susan.

Behind the cheddar curtain

I'm having a visit with a friend for a couple of days.

Maybe spring will have sprung when I come home.

This and that

It's been a while since I posted anything about Issues, Etc. So here's an update:

Folks are making a road trip to Saint Louis tomorrow to show their support for Issues, Etc. Looks like the people at the Purple Palace know they're coming.

The Issues programs dealing with Life issues are all collected here.

The petition now has over 7,000 signatures from all over the world, and--from some of the names on there--a good cross-section of the synod.

The discussion continues on the Wittenberg Trail, including in this blog post.

Pastor Cwirla applies lessons from the film Big Night to the LCMS. (Sounds like a movie for the Netflix queue.)

Today I finished my taxes. I spent two hours at my desk wishing that I could listen to Issues, Etc. while I worked. It got me ticked off all over again.

Book Review: The Ungarnished Truth

This book reawakened a desire that I had all but forgotten. I would love to enter the Pillsbury Bake-Off. Heck, even some other cooking contest would likely suffice. But reading this book reminded me that I used to dream of what I would make for one of these competitions.

I had never read many memoirs. A few years back I read A Girl Named Zippy and enjoyed it. A couple of years later I picked up a sequel to it, She Got Up Off the Couch. About the same time I picked up Bitter Is the New Black. Shortly after that came Angela's Ashes. I was hooked on the memoir.

It's gotten to the point that I read almost as many memoirs as anything else. So when I saw this one, about a writer who also cooks, I knew I had to read it.

It was good. I was definitely drawn in, but I didn't feel the connection to Ellie Matthews that I so often feel to memoir writers. I think maybe she was a bit too much of the self-consciously unconventional west coaster for me. But I read it at the same pace I would read a James Patterson or Faye Kellerman book and almost the pace that I'd read a Lee Child. So I guess that means I enjoyed it.

The Godfather revisited

If you don't yet subscribe to Gottesdienst, here's more enticement.

Oh my. When I read this last night, I laughed so hard that I was choking.

In the news

A couple of stories today really caught my attention.

This one is distressing. What makes kids think these kind of things are okay? Why do they do this? I've heard some pundits talking about how they want fame. They don't care why.

Then there's this one. I cannot count the number of times that I've called my kids or my nieces monkeys when they are climbing trees or simply being goofy. It's just one of those things people say!

And, while we're talking political correctness, this one.

Which Muppet?

I've got a rule. If I take a test, I have to put the result up, no matter how silly I think it is.

You Are Kermit

Hi, ho! Lovable and friendly, you get along well with everyone you know. You're a big thinker, and sometimes you over think life's problems. Don't worry - everyone knows it's not easy being green. Just remember, time's fun when you're having flies!

The Muppet Personality Test

Book Review: He Said Beer, She Said Wine

Before I start, I want to warn you that if you pick up He Said Beer, She Said Wine, you'll want to read it with a glass of wine or beer in hand.

I was pleasantly surprised when I got a book on my very first try from LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program. I laughed when I saw that it was a DK book--that is, a book published by Dorling Kindersley Publishing--because I have hundreds of DK books. Once upon a time I sold them, and shortly after I laid in a big stock for a book fair, they shut down our division with almost no notice. So I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with DK. I still love the books, but I'll probably never like the company.

The first thing I noticed when I opened this book was that it doesn't have the DK look. I have noticed lately that they are going away from this, with many of their books and I find it sad, because, in my opinion , that was what made them great.

All of that stuff aside, I liked this book.

I've done a bit of reading about wine, but never about beer, so I found the basic information about both beverages at the beginning of the book very interesting. The book is formatted as a debate over the relative merits of beer and wine paired with particular food groups. Within each group, specific examples are given. For example, among the recommendations in the sandwich section are pairings with a burger or with a tuna salad sandwich. (I'm not enticed to try either beer or wine with tuna salad!)

On the other hand, the suggestions for pairing with some foods have made me resolve to try some new beers, and to revisit a couple of wines, particularly merlot. I also plan to try some of the recipes that they offer for pairing with wine and beer, possibly in the context of a "beer versus wine party." This is a dinner party at which guests are given the opportunity to taste a beer and wine with each menu item and vote on which is the best. Sounds like fun to me!

The back and forth between the authors was a bit much for me. The "debate" felt contrived, but I mainly skipped those parts as the book went on. This is one of those books that I can see returning to again and again, both for specific suggestions and for its general information about the flavors and characteristics of various beers and wines.

Trapped in the basement

If you've wondered where I am, the answer for the past couple of days has been the church basement.

We're having a rummage sale for the youth trip this summer to Turkey Run State Park.

If you're in Fort Wayne you can come buy junk until 1:00 today.

Book List Adjustments

I knew it would be a fluid thing, but today I made more changes in my reading challenge list. First, I needed to include the free review copy of He Said Beer, She Said Wine because I need to get it read and post a review.

I also found some good deals on a few books that I have been wanting to read, so I'm adding those. I have an Amazon order coming this week, so it will likely change again.

Remembering to give thanks

I spent today with my nieces at my mom's house. It was just a garden-variety fun day with family, but I was reminded again of how very much we have to be thankful for.

If you were reading my blog in December, or if you know me well, you will remember that we nearly lost my niece Abby to a blood clot in her brain and that her recovery has exceeded our wildest expectations.

I couldn't help but think as she climbed onto my lap after her turn bowling that things could have been so different. Not only is she alive, but she is almost completely back to normal.

That is something to be thankful for.

Wow! It's getting deep

Sorry, but my BS meter is going off.

These words of Jerry Kieschnik, President of the LC-MS, about Mollie Hemingway's piece in the Wall Street Journal are too much.

What is even more disturbing is the false and misleading picture she presents of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) as a deeply divided church regarding its mission and ministry.

False? Misleading??

Either Pres. K. is seriously delusional or he needs to go re-read his catechism, paying special attention to the eighth commandment.

For more on this go here, and here.

Going scrapbooking!

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That means no computer until Sunday night.

I'll probably start with the shakes in about an hour, but once I get into the scrapbooking groove and remember to relax, all should be fine.

I'm glad I'll be out of town

The Clintons just can't stay away from Ft. Wayne.

First Bill came to visit and now it's Hil's turn. Her choice of location strikes me as strange, and will doubtless cause some nice congestion in an already very busy commercial area with a convoluted traffic pattern, especially coming as it does on Friday evening.

I am thankful that I'll be safely out of town before her arrival.

Issues in WSJ

There is a piece in today's Wall Street Journal about Issues, Etc. and the larger issues in the synod.

Updates on Issues

There have been some new developments today, one week after the cancellation of Issues, Etc.

First, a member of the Board for Communication Services of the LC-MS released an open letter to the Praesidium.

The wording of the explanation on the KFUO website for discontinuing Issues, Etc has changed slightly. It still doesn't provide any answers.

By the time I finish writing this, over 4,500 people will have signed the petition.

Pastor Asburry asks Why?

Pastor Petersen weighed in with some ideas about how to put the best construction on the cancellation.

And I spent all day at my desk doing taxes. In the past this activity would have been accompanied by Issues, Etc. from the archives. But the downloads are almost impossibly slow now.

Taxes, taxes, taxes

I have so many things that I could use this day at home for:

I could clean my room.

I could put some stuff on ebay.

I could bake something. Like bread.

I could drive and see my nephew, who I still haven't met!

I could get ready for my scrapbooking retreat this weekend.

I could continue my wrangling with the insurance company over what constitutes an emergency, and with the hospital over their mis-coding.

I could read a book.

Instead I will be trying to finish my taxes. Every year it seems we have some twist to our already complicated and time-consuming taxes. This year is no exception.

Flat tax, anyone?

Easter

Although it is late in the day, I must still say,

He is risen!!

Each year it seems that Holy Week couldn't get better, and yet each year something seems to be sweeter.

Last night, standing in the darkened sanctuary with my sons each taking part in the gorgeous vigil, singing with my husband and my daughter and my friends, smelling the mixture of incense and lilies that will forever be the smell of Easter to me, (replacing the ham of my childhood!) I thought, "It just doesn't get any better than this."

Then I realized that the beauty of that moment, the thrill of the pealing of the bells while we sang the long-silenced Gloria, and the closeness in the Holy Supper are just a peek, just a hint, of the glories of Heaven.

At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing

At the Lamb’s high feast we sing
Praise to our victorious king,
Who has washed us in the tide
Flowing from his pierced side.
Alleluia!

Praise we him, whose love divine
Gives his sacred blood for wine,
Gives his body for the feast
Christ the victim, Christ the priest.
Alleluia!

Where the paschal blood is poured,
Death’s dread angel sheathes the sword;
Israel’s hosts triumphant go
Through the wave that drowns the foe.
Alleluia!

Praise we Christ, whose blood was shed,
Paschal victim, paschal bread;
With sincerity and love
Eat we manna from above.
Alleluia!

Mighty Victim from the sky,
Hell’s fierce powers beneath you lie;
You have conquered in the fight
You have brought us life and light.
Alleluia!

Now no more can death appall,
Now no more the grave enthrall;
You have opened paradise,
And your saints in you shall rise.
Alleluia!

Easter triumph, Easter joy!
This alone can sin destroy;
From sin’s power, Lord, set us free,
Newborn souls in you to be.
Alleluia!

Father, who the crown shall give,
Savior, by whose death we live,
Spirit, guide through all our days;
Three in One, Your name we praise.
Alleluia!

Notes:
Hymn # 126 from Lutheran Worship
Author: Bohemian Brethren
Tune: Sonne Der Gerechtigkeit
1^st Published:

Easter Vigil

Come, You Faithful, Raise the Strain
By: John of Damascus

Come, you faithful, raise the strain
Of triumphant gladness!
God has brought his Israel
Into joy from sadness,
Loosed from Pharaoh’s bitter yoke
Jacob’s sons and daughters,
Led them with unmoistened foot
Through the Red Sea waters.

This the spring of souls today:
Christ has burst his prison
And from three days’ sleep in death
As a sun has risen;
All the winter of our sins,
Long and dark, is flying
From his light, to whom is given
Laud and praise undying.

Now the queen of seasons, bright
With the day of splendor,
With the royal feast of feasts
Comes its joy to render;
Comes to gladden faithful hearts
Which with true affection
Welcome in unwearied strain
Jesus’ resurrection!

For today among his own
Christ appeared, bestowing
His deep peace, which evermore
Passes human knowing.
Neither could the gates of death
Nor the tomb’s dark portal
Nor the watchers nor the seal
Hold him as a mortal.

Alleluia! Now we cry
To our King immortal,
Who, triumphant, burst the bars
Of the tomb’s dark portal
Come, you faithful, raise the strain
Of triumphant gladness!
God has brought his Israel
Into joy from sadness!

Hymn # 141 from Lutheran Worship
Author: Johann Horn
Tune: Gaudeamus Pariter
1^st Published in: 1859

Book Review: In Defense of Food

I finished Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food last night. It was a good look at what we should be eating and why, with some information thrown in about why we're not. The basic premise is simple: Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.

This is one of those books I wish everyone I care about would read. So many people are still stuck in the "It's low-fat!" rut, ignoring the fact that it's loaded with sugars and no real nutritional value, or still think butter is bad/carbs are bad, etc., and cling to every new nutrition pronouncement that comes out in the media.

As I went grocery shopping yesterday I was struck by how little of what was in the store--including the five new products that were being sampled--was real food. Food products were everywhere, wrapped in plastic with unpronounceable ingredients, or promising "Low Fat," "Heart Healthy," or one of the other claims that have appeared on labels in abundance in recent years.

Pollan looks at what has happened to the way we eat becauseof outside factors. One of these is nutritionism, thinking of what to eat in terms nutrients--protein, fat, vitamins, etc.--instead of as food: meat, vegetables, butter, etc. His book goes along with many books and studies that I have read in recent years that question much of the conventional wisdom about how we should eat. The fact that much of that conventional wisdom has come from research studies paid for by food product companies should tell us a great deal.

Pollan also talks about the importance of food culture: the way that we eat, when and with whom. We Americans do far too much of our eating in the car, on the run, by ourselves, in front of a screen, etc. We need to slow down and enjoy our food.

I've been working on improving what we eat. We still have a long way to go. And we will probably never be free from some food products. Cheez-its come to mind. But the next big step for me is to begin working on the how and when. We are almost always on the run. Dinner most nights is cooked by me, but everyone eats it when and where they will. I suppose it would help if I cleared the papers off the kitchen table!

This is one of those times I need to fight the twin demons of perfectionism and procrastination. (I have a tendency to want to be perfect or I just won't try.) We will never be able to eat perfectly. We aren't going to have a farm with our own grass-fed cows and free-range chickens. But we can grow a wide variety of yummy veggies in our garden. I can bake bread. We may not sit down and eat three meals a day at the table together, but we can at least start with dinner.

And with a little work we can eat food, not too much, mostly plants.

More on Issues

My friend Cheryl has a great rundown of the situation with Issues, Etc. for any of you who aren't sure what's going on.

Pastor Esget has an idea for President Kieschnick.

Update: Pastor Gehlbach offers some possible insight into what's going on.

This and that

Bethany is home and thoroughly exhausted. She had a fantastic trip and will be blogging about it soon. She has either been in class or at work almost all of the time since she came home.

I have emailed and called regarding the Issues, Etc. situation, and I would encourage any of you to do the same.

I am going to be getting a free "early reviewer" copy of a book because of Library Thing. The funny part--and those who know me well will appreciate the humor in this--is that the book is from DK Publishing.

I'm excited about tomorrow. I have a call in the morning that promises some exciting news regarding my primary business and later I will be meeting with my first "paid" genealogy client. (I put paid in quotation marks because she bought my services at a silent action, so I'm not making anything. But she did pay a nice amount!)

Flying through O'Hare

When I plan a trip, I try to avoid O'Hare if at all possible.

My poor husband spent the equivalent of almost two full days waiting, because of delays at O'Hare, on various trips this winter.

Tonight, when I told the hubby that Bethany was supposed to be in Fort Wayne a little after 10:00 he asked, "Is she flying through O'Hare?" I answered in the affirmative and he snorted. Yes snorted! "We'll be lucky if we see her before tomorrow."

Guess what? Right now her flight is delayed by 80 minutes. If it is pushed back just a little bit more, we won't see her until tomorrow.

Reading challenge

Glad this list isn't set in stone, because I'm already making changes! (I'll just keep making changes in a new color.)

I realize that the year is almost one-fourth over, but I came across this reading challenge today and I have to do it.

1. Challenge runs from January 1 through December 31, 2008. (So I will use a couple of books that I've read already this year.)
2. Choose 8 categories of your own that you would like to read 8 books EACH in.
3. You will be allowed 8 overlaps, for a total of 56 unique book titles.
4. You may overlap these 56 titles with any other challenge.
5. You may change your list or your categories at any time.

1. Biography/Autobiography/Memoir
Boone : A Biography by Robert Morgan (finished 5/2008)
The Ungarnished Truth: A Cooking Contest Memoir by Ellie Matthews (finished 4/9/2008)
Miles Gone By: A Literary Autobiography by William F. Buckley (finished 12/22/2008)
My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir by Clarence Thomas (finished 11/2008)
A Pirate of Exquisite Mind: The Life of William Dampier: Explorer, Naturalist, and Buccaneer by Diana Preston
Katherine Swynford by Alison Weir (finished 4/7/08)
Time to Be in Earnest by P.D. James
Such a Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster (finished 6/3/08)

2. Historical Fiction
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (finished 2/2008)
World Without End by Ken Follett(finished 10/17/2008)
Sweetsmoke by David Fuller (finished 8/10/2008)
Buckingham Palace Gardens by Anne Perry (finished 5/7/08)
Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Galbreth (finished 1/2008)
The Jumping-Off Place by (finished 11/18/2008)
A Prisoner of Birth by Jeffrey Archer
Sweetsmoke by David Fuller (finished 8/2008)

3. Quick & Easy
Pandora's Daughter by Iris Johansen (finished 2/2008)
7th Heaven by James Patterson (finished 3/12/2008)
Tombstone Courage by J.A. Jance (finshed 4/17/2008)
Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella (finished 7/6/2008)
He Said Beer, She Said Wine by Sam Calagione & Marnie Old (finished 4/6/08)
The Darcys Give a Ball by Elizabeth Newark (finished 4/19/2008)
Innocent as Sin by Elizabeth Lowell (finished 5/5/08)
Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Elizabeth Newark (finished 5/9/08)

4. Non-Fiction
Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl (finished 1/2008)
Made in America by Bill Bryson (finished 1/2008)
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan (finished 3/21/2008)
An Inconvenient Book by Glenn Beck (finished 5/25/2008)
Richistan: A Journey Through the American Wealth Boom and the Lives of the New Rich (finished 7/15/2008)
The Big House: A Century in the Life of an American Summer Home by George Howe Colt (finished 6/7/2008)
Better Than Beauty: A Guide to Charm by Helen Valentine (finished 7/2008)
The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan (finished 6/12/2008)

5. Classics
Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis (finished 2/2008)
Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens (finished 1/2008)
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank (finished 4/1/2008)
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Bleak House by Charles Dickens
Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Galbreth (finished 1/2008)
Three Men in A Boat (To Say nothing of the dog) by Jerome K. Jerome (finished 12/20)
My Antonia by Willa Cather

6. Mystery/Thriller/Suspense
Blasphemy by Douglas Preston (finished 2/29/2008)
California Girl by T. Jefferson Parker (finished 2/25/2008)
Lady Killer by Lisa Scottoline (finished 3/2008)
The Book of the Dead by Patricia Cornwell (finished 3/17/08)
Stone Cold by David Baldacci (finished 5/11/08)
Compulsion by Jonathan Kellerman finished (finished 4/27/2008)
Quicksand by Iris Johansen (finished 7/26/2008)
Careless in Red by Elizabeth George (finished 6/30/2008)

7. Current Fiction
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (finished 6/6/2008)
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer (finished 6/7/2008)
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (finished 6/9/2008)
Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult (finished 6/19/2008)
Phantom Prey by John Sandford (finished 6/17/2008)
Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva (finished 10/1/2008)
The Secret Servant by Daniel Silva (finished 7/5/2008)
Nothing to Lose by Lee Child (finished 9/2008)

8. On the Shelf (books that are waiting for me)
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston
Plainsong by Kent Haruf (finished 4/19/2008)
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (finished 7/30/08)
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (finished 8/2008)
Uniforms: Why We Are What We Wear by Paul Fussell (finished 5/20/08)
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (finished 9/2008)
Made in America by Bill Bryson (finished 1/2008)
Miles Gone By: A Literary Autobiography by William F. Buckley

9. Books that I read, or want to read, that don't fit
The Front by Patricia Cornwell (finished 8/3/2008)
The Whole Truth by David Baldacci (finished 8/5/2008)
The Dirty Secrets Club by Meg Gardiner (finished 8/6/2008)
Schooled by Anisha Lakhani (finished 9/2008)
Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain (finished 10/5/2008)
The Ivy Chronicles by Karen Quinn (finished 9/2008)
The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer (finished 9/2008)
Devil Bones by Kathy Reichs (finished 12/1 2008)
The Last Patriot by Brad Thor (finished 12/3/2008)
The Winds of Marble Arch by Connie Willis (finished 12/18/2008)
The Host by Stephenie Meyer (finished 11/2008)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins


It will be fun to see how many things I change. Right now this is a pretty lazy, off-the-top-of-my-head list. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know!

Is this for real?

Christvertising.

This link came through this morning on an email list that I am on. Do you think it's for real?
Visit first then scroll down past the random photo for my opinion.




I think it's a spoof. I could be wrong, but I don't think so.


Addendum:
The more times I watch it the funnier it is. Be sure to click on all the tabs!

Sunshine

Today was beautiful. Sunny. It was a day to convince us that spring isn't far away.

Car repairs

Why is it that when something goes wrong with the car, and we take it in for repair, I should be quizzed about why it cost so much?

Do I look like I can tell if the repair dude is telling me the truth?
Do I look like I want to spend too much money getting my car fixed?

If a man is going to second guess the results of a trip to the garage, he needs to take the car in himself and wait while the car-fixer-dudes work so he can quiz them.

It's that Library Thing again

I've spent a bit of time on LibraryThing again this week. Cataloging and describing my books is addictive to me. I think it's the wanna-be librarian inside me.

If you are a bookaholic, or if you just like to organize things, or if you like online social networking, check out LibraryThing.

Consolidating

I have decided to shut down my homeschooling blog. There just isn't enough that I want to say about homeschooling that I haven't already said. In a way, it never made sense for me to have a homeschooling blog, because our homeschooling really is in no way separate from the rest of our lives.

So you'll be seeing some homeschool posts from time to time, including some that I'm going to transfer over.

Pooh on a jet ski?

This cookie was the accidental result of the baking of our cookie scraps when we were making Christmas cookies. I'd forgotten about it until I saw it on Bethany's computer.

We all thought it looked like Pooh on a jet ski, but now I think it looks more like a pig.

Pushing through

I have spent the past three days making myself move forward, push through, go and do, whatever you want to call it. Saturday was a clean up day at church and we went out for our anniversary. Sunday was church, a council meeting, seeing Bethany off at the airport, and bunko.
Today I ran lots of errands, made some phone calls, worked on my calendar, and took Jonathan to his voice lesson. I feel like I'm starting to get back in the groove.

I'm still feeling a little less enthusiastic about social events than usual, but I'm sure that will pass as my energy continues to come back.

I think that some changes that I've made in my diet are helping, too. I'm trying very hard to only eat real food. After reading French Women Don't Get Fat, I have been really making an effort not to eat unless I'm paying attention and to only eat things that taste good. Really good. Right now I'm reading In Defense of Food and it is just strengthening my resolve to stay away from things that come in a package or have ingredients that are unpronounceable or aren't "food" in their own right. I know that eating right will only make me feel better.

Twenty-two!

Just got back from a lovely dinner at Cork 'n Cleaver with our friends. It was a wonderful evening, celebrating 22 wonderful years!

They have the best salad bar, and the steaks are perfect. The six of us shared dessert. We just kept passing it in a circle around the table until it was almost gone.

Since we had a gift certificate, the evening didn't even throw us off our budget!

And yes, we were young.
And Colin had hair.
And yes, we were high school sweethearts.

He's the only guy I ever let know that I was interested, without being fairly certain that he was interested in me. In fact, one of my friends who was on the cross country team with him told him that I wanted to go out with him.

What can I say? He was cute, smart, and funny.
Still is.

Out of sorts

Maybe it's the weather. Maybe it's just a phase. Maybe it's because I've not been feeling well.

But I am feeling incredibly out of sorts lately.

Usually I thrive on activity and being around people. Right now I hardly want to leave my house. This is making it more than normally difficult to keep up with everything.

I'm hoping warm air and sunshine--which must surely be on the way soon--will help.

In the meantime, I need to just dig in and work on the many projects that need to happen. I am determined to sell this house this spring/summer in spite of the slow housing market. A move close to church, which also cuts Colin's drive to work by two-thirds, will save us hundreds of dollars a month is gas & car expenses alone. There are several houses for sale right now for $30-50,000 less than the very conservative amount that we hope to get for ours that would be perfectly livable for us.

In the meantime, we have more snow on the way.

Spicy?

Apparently I'm not very spicy.

Basil is my favorite herb. But the mild temperament will probably make the people who know me best laugh.

You Are Basil

You are quite popular and loved by post people. You have a mild temperament, but your style is definitely distinctive. You are sweet, attractive, and you often smell good.

What Spice Are You?

Pretzels

I love pretzels. I'm a salty snack craver and pretzels do a wonderful job of satisfying the desire for crunch and salt in a relatively healthy way. And they're good with beer.

My all-time favorite pretzels were Mr. Salty pretzels, but they disappeared from store shelves a few years ago. I've tried lots of different kinds since then, and I've found some good ones: Extra Dark & Salty Beer Pretzels, Snyder's Butter Snaps, and a couple of others, but nothing that could replace the thin, crispy, pretzel-ly taste of Mr. Salty.

Until this weekend. There sitting on the shelf at Meijer were Schultz Salty Stix . The first good sign was the fact that they were in a box. Really thin crispy pretzels need a box. A bag would leave them in pretzel crumbs.

We opened them almost as soon as we got them home. The crunch. The taste. These are so close to Mr. Salty!

Of course the box has already disappeared. Usually pretzels stick around, because I am the only one who eats very many. But these were so good that the box was gone in a day.

'Bout time for a return trip to Meijer.

Back home again

It is good to be home. It will be even better when the weather warm up a bit more.

My family got along fine while I was gone. They even did some cleaning. But I think they missed me almost as much as I missed them.

A get away is a good thing. This is the first break that I've had in almost four years aside from a couple of scrapbooking weekends. It was so nice not to have to worry about schedules, bills (mine or the church's), returning phone calls, cleaning, cooking, buying groceries, etc., for a few days. And the fact that some sunshine and seafood were thrown in was a bonus!

Now I'm home and about three weeks behind on life after being sick and then being gone. But it's okay. I can--mostly--catch up.

My BIG goal for this week is to see my new nephew! He was born just as I started getting sick and I am anxious to see Caleb and his mommy.

Coming home

In the morning, I'll be getting on a plane and heading back to cold and frozen Indiana. My wonderful sister-in-law will be getting me from the airport in Indy and my family will be heading down that evening to get me.

It's been a really great, relaxing trip. I have have been horribly spoiled and am feeling so much better. I am looking forward to getting home to my family, but a trip like this again in the future is certainly not out of the question!

This is me with my Wicked at the Sandbar on Anna Maria Island.
This was taken at Siesta Key Beach on Wednesday morning. It was really foggy. About ten minutes after we took this picture the fog started to burn off and it was gorgeous. I'm not dressed like this because of the temperature. I'm trying to avoid further sunburn.
This is my mom and I at Siesta Key Beach this morning.It was only on the 50's this morning--but it was still beautiful--so we just took a quick walk and got a few pictures.

I have a sunburn

My mom and I went to Siesta Key beach this morning and walked for a while.
Then we laid on the beach.

This afternoon we went out to their pool for a while and I have this strange reddening of my skin.

Oh yeah. A sunburn. I remember those.

Off to the beach

My suitcase is mostly packed.

Pinky (my iPod) is charging.

When the occupant of my office wakes up I will print my boarding passes.

My two oldest children have volunteered to keep my appointment at On My Thyme so that I can rest. (This is a really great way to be sure that the family has dinner while I'm gone. Otherwise, I have a feeling they'd be eating a lot of frozen pizza and carry outs.)

We'll be leaving here for the Indy airport early in the morning, but first tonight is the Gala Banquet and Silent Auction for the Bach Collegium. I'm in charge of the silent auction. Usually I am so organized and really do this up--decorations, coordinating colors, etc.--this year they're lucky to have bid sheets and my presence.

But after I get through tonight, it's a week of relaxation. My mom will pamper me. We'll go to the beach. I'm mot up for long walks yet, but we can take some short ones. I'm going to eat a grouper sandwich and some of the best clam chowder on the planet at Captain Curt's.

Prayer

My friend RPW has a wonderful post on prayer.

Go read.

The world may never know

(Did anyone besides me love those old Tootsie Pop commercials?)

Anyway, I had an appointment with the neurologist yesterday. It was satisfying and not so at the same time. It was satisfying because he listened, asked lots of intelligent questions, and didn't try to attribute my symptoms to anxiety.

He agrees with my doctor that my nervous system is oversensitive and is reacting to things--in this case a virus--in an unusual manner. He can't rule out relapsing GB, but he doesn't think that's what it is.

The unsatisfying part for he and I both is that there really isn't anything to do about it, or a definitive answer. I've had a few tests that have ruled out other underlying causes. I'm supposed to see him again if I have other symptoms or if things get worse, but in the meantime, I just need to live with it until it gets better.

I am feeling so much better. The aches and exhaustion and weakness are gone, leading us to believe those were caused by the virus.

Thanks for all of your prayers and nice notes!

Maybe I do, after all

Just back from yet another doctor appointment and more blood tests. My family doctor has managed to get me in to see a neurologist on Monday, but in the meantime, she wanted to see me this afternoon.

After checking me over thoroughly, she thinks that maybe what is happening is that my central nervous system is whacked out and "hyper" and that I am having a weird CNS reaction to one of the viruses that's going around. So she thinks maybe I do have a virus, after all.

I have had weird CNS reactions to things before, but not quite like this and not for a long time.

I definitely like this explanation better than recurring GB, and since rest is the current prescription either way, that's what I'm doing this weekend.

Things I learn from Facebook

I got an email from Facebook yesterday that shows how well my friends know me.

I'm the #1 person they want to go shopping with and I'm among the most talkative, but I'm the least organized.

That about sums it up! They know me.

Why can't I just have the flu?

We thought that I was just having a light case of the bug that my boys have had, but some of my symptoms weren't fitting.

I made a visit to my doctor yesterday and it seems that I am most likely having a recurrence of the Guillain-Barre Syndrome that I had a little over eight years ago. Right now it's not at a point where they will do anything, but if my symptoms get worse I may end up in the hospital.

Right now I'm at home trying to take it relatively easy and trying not to constantly dwell on whether the numbness is spreading, whether I'm getting weak, and whether I can still swallow.
Ugh.

Attempted bread

So, I'm home fighting a little bit of a bug. We were out of bread so I had one of the boys get out my bread machine. I put the ingredients in, as I have done many times before, but, as happened the last time, it didn't rise.

It was different yeast this time, and it was new.

The water was the right temperature.

All of the necessary ingredients were present.

I got out one of my books that has a lot of information about baking bread. One of the things it mentioned was that sometimes city water has too much chlorine, which kills the yeast. All kinds of bells started going off in my head. I haven't made a successful loaf of bread since we moved here. I had begun to think that I was just doing something wrong, but this could be an explanation. We have horrible water. Sometimes it even has a perceptible smell of chlorine. Our previous house had well water, as did the house before the one before that, where I did quite a bit of bread making.

So I called the hubby and asked him to stop on the way home. Along with some bread for tomorrow's pb&j's, I had him get some spring water.

We'll see if that makes a difference.

Food, glorious food

I like food. I like to cook it and I like to eat it. Planning meals, shopping, and cooking occupies a fair amount of my time. Food also accounts for a huge chunk of our budget. (Feeding six--or seven-- people is never cheap, but when three of them are teen or pre-teen boys, wow!)

I also like to read about food. I've been reading about nutrition for several years, realizing more and more that the conventional wisdom is often wrong. (Can anyone say butter?) I enjoy reading cookbooks and watching cooking shows to get ideas and inspiration. Books like Real Food have made a big difference in the way we eat. Sometimes it can take me hours to do my grocery shopping because I spend a lot of time reading labels.

My big challenge is to take these things I've learned and the ideas I've gained and fit them into the constraints of my available time and budget. Some things have becomealmost non-negotiable. We buy free-range organic chicken because it tastes better and is healthier. Same with cage-free eggs. We buy most of our meat from local farmers or from nearby sources. We do really well in the summer with fruits and veggies because they almost all come from our garden or we go pick them.

However, there are lots of places we could do better. I would to make my own bread, because we love really good bread, and it's expensive, but time shortages get in the way. So right now we eat mediocre bread most of the time, with good bread thrown in for a treat now and then.

I'm trying to make more soup, because it can be a great way to deliver flavor and nutrition in a cost-effective way, but I need to do better planning so that I don't need to purchase broth or stock. And I could always use more recipes!

I want to try buying raw milk, because each friend who has switched has seen health benefits in her family, and it tastes better,too, but it takes some effort. Up to this point, the changes I've made have mostly been relatively easy. I think I keep waiting for it to be more convenient.

For a while I was feeling guilty for knowing that there were things that I could be doing better and wasn't. I don't feel guilty anymore. I do the best I can without too much difficulty. I try to cook tasty meals that are reasonably nutritious. And if my kids eat the occasional frozen pizza or we share a bag of Doritos Hot Wings and Blue Cheese , overall we're still doing pretty well.

Get fired up

For all of us who are feeling gloomy about the choices we are going to have for president, Michelle Malkin has this advice: Get fired up.

Book thing

Okay, RPW tagged me in the book meme that's going around. She would catch me on the couch where I have no interesting books at hand.

Instructions
1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

From Indiana Off the Beaten Path. "That was before Ladyhawk came down with a mysterious illness that even the famed Mayo Clinic couldn't treat. In desperation, they turned to an alternative treatment that involved a special macrobiotic diet. Ladyhawk recovered, and to supply the special foods that she needed, the Youngs opened up a health food store in a converted stable behind their home.

Tagging: Bethany, Meg, Laura, Me

Good times

It's snowing.

I've been scrapbooking since this afternoon.

The Patriots got beat.

Life is good.

They're coming back!!

Less than a year after we saw them last, RUSH is returning to Indy.

I thought that we were going to have to go to Milwaukee to catch them this summer, but they will be at the Verizon Wireless Center again.

I know where I'm going to be June 25!

Meg??

Politics, again

I'm having a really hard time even thinking about voting this fall.

I've voted in every election I've been eligible to vote in, either in person or via absentee ballot. I've volunteered for campaigns. I work each election in a polling place where the vast majority of voters are Democrats and I help insure that each person is able to vote. I've always felt like the process was important.

This year it's all seeming pointless.

We are going to end up with a president who is a liberal. That is almost certain. It doesn't matter if they bear a D or an R. They will continue expand the scope of the federal government. (Now they're investigating the New England Patriots. Don't get me wrong, I despise the Patriots as much as the next Colts fan. But come on!) [HT: Schreiber] They will continue to advance the nanny state. And no matter who wins they will continue to ignore that dusty old constitution.

Today I watched Ann Coulter say that if McCain is the nominee, she will campaign for Hillary.
I won't go that far, but I do think if it is McCain or the Dem, I'd rather see them Dem win. Then at least it will be their fault.

And maybe--just maybe--the Republicans in congress would find their collective missing spines--or principles--if they are faced with a president named Hillary or Barack.

I want more snow!!

I know that this probably sounds strange to many of you, but I wish we'd gotten a bit more snow. It's nice; it's pretty, but I would love a little more. Like this:

Update on Patrick

I wanted to let you all know that Patrick's face is healing beautifully. He goes back to the burn center Monday and I would guess that will be our last visit.