The wind is howlin'

It's windy tonight. I like the wind at night. It puts me so sleep like raindrops do. It was windy last night too. At Cruces today, it was a very crispy 65 degrees Fahrenheit.

I got some new undies, Giovanni, one pair of hipster Levis, and a cute pair of black Converse tennis shoes. Chucks they call them. I always fancied a red pair of high tops but I got black low tops for the dancey aerobic class. I wanted a pattern to sew something like a summer dress or a top and my husband even stayed in the truck and read a book while I was in Jo-Anns shopping, but it was not to be. The shrug pattern I wanted they were out of, and for the other pattern I just couldn't find fabric I loved. So I left. Some other time...

I didn't get sick so that's good. I thought I was coming down with something because why was I so tired. I dunno. I'm fine now!

Sounds like Guiliani may have to drop out of the primaries for lack of money. I'll be disappointed. McCain, I like him but I worry about how he authored that bill with Kennedy to make all illegal immigrants American citizens. Sure, he backed off when he realized how unpopular it was and I respect that. I like a man who can admit he was wrong and go a different way based on what the people want; but as president he could change his mind. I have the utmost respect for him as a war hero. Obama, I like him. I have to say I do like him. Hilary, I'd never vote for her anyway, so she can cackle all she wants. I was so set on Guiliani that I don't know diddley about the other Republican candidates. November is too far away still. But here's an article about Ted's recent rant (well deserved) on Bill and Hilary.

Obama: Resident of the new Camelot at politico.com

Week-end done

I feel really tired for some reason. Hope I feel fine tomorrow.

I wanted to write to Morticia. Remember her? I liked her a lot. So where is she? How come I don't see any posts from her anymore? Is she okay? She used to do the pop-in at the Loom once in awhile but it's been years. I couldn't find any posts by her at TLHC. I figured she could tell me if Dr. Martens are comfy. I picture her wearing them. I don't know if she ever mentioned them or even if she wears them actually, but she's imprinted in my mind wearing Doc Marten boots. I tried to log on to TLHC to search for her journal, but for some reason my password disappears as soon as I click Log In. That's weird. Then it tells me I've used an invalid username or password and I've used 4 out of 5 login attempts. Hopefully, they'll contact me and tell me how to fix it.

Tonight I'm going to bed early. I'm so tired but I didn't do anything except church, chicken soup, and a nap. I didn't even go to evening church. Yeah, pretty strenuous day all right.

Help me! I'm falling!

Oh my gosh. I'm looking at casual boots at Zappos. Do I need Doc Martens? No. Yes. No. Yes. No.

Sigh.

I've been planning on buying new boots. My current every day boots are tired out and my husband wants me to get new ones. But I want to buy a pair I can wear for the rest of my life. A pair, that I can die in. I have to buy very carefully.

Very.

Cautiously.

Sewing machine repaired

I got my machine back a week ago and finally got round to sewing our son's Christmas blanket today. I had to re-cut it as the border was not looking right, then I pinned the satin binding to it, then I sewed it. I have not enough room to lay it out anywhere in here to cut it, so I took it outside and laid it on our front yard which is blue Astro Turf. It turned out nicely and he likes it. A lot. Yay! I made him a card to go with it. My old machine is sewing like a dream now. I should have gotten it repaired way before now. All the stitches are uniform and the fabric goes through the feed so smoothly, and there's no clattering sound. I'm so happy with it. It's practically like having a new machine. Except our son went to a friend's house today and said the ten year old girl has a nicer machine than mine! Heh. I'm sure she does. They make them so nice now. Perhaps, next year a new Bernini for me. I have to figure out how badly I want one first. Mine works pretty well for what I do.

So Monday I'm going with husband to Cruces. I need stuff! I need Giovanni, and new undergarments, and I want to buy a pattern and fabric to sew something.

The time just sped by since Wednesday night. I guess I was tired and sleepy Thursday and Friday nights. I went to bed kind of early (for me).

Thursday at ballet I was fitted for toe shoes. Oh la la! It was fun, but they weren't quite a perfect fit so I didn't buy them. They feel really weird. The sole doesn't cover all of the bottom of your foot and so it feels uncomfortable. I presume you get used to it. And they have to fit just right otherwise when you go en pointe you'll have loose shoe behind your heel. The front of the shoe is hard and they call it the box, or the toe box. I'm not sure which. And it is uncomfortable too but it molds and stretches to your foot with time. They fit me just about 1/4 inch too big when I went en pointe. They're so pretty. Dancers wear a gel insert that fits over the toes and that's how they're able to get on their toes without pain. Whenever I get my stuff I'll totally take pictures of it.

The jazz class I signed up for is really more of a dancey aerobics class. That's cool though. I had a blast. There were three of us and when we did the step in perfect timing together it looked kinda neat. Friday my waist was sore and that can only be a good thing. Whittle that waist! I wish.

My belly dance teacher is starting classes in February. Yippee! She emailed me and said she wants me to dance with her in El Paso on March 1st. I was going to go with her once (in January) but I chickened out. El Paso's all big and everything. I told her I was worried about going so far. She does it all the time though and told me not to be a scaredy-cat. I told her "RAWR," I'm not a scaredy-cat. But we both know I am. Ha! My husband said this time he'll take me if I want him to. That way, if I want to go home, I can.

Did I say that I'm going to Ladies Prayer Group on Tuesdays? I am. And they're starting a new book called "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World." It's supposed to be about not being too busy for God. I guess Jesus was visiting the two of them and Martha was getting frazzled in the kitchen getting a meal ready, and Mary was sitting at Jesus' feet listening to Him and Martha was fit to be tied trying to get everything done till finally she said, "Lord, will you tell Mary to give me a hand?" and Jesus told Martha to chill. Well, it doesn't read exactly like that, but that's it in a nutshell. I'm not very Martha though as I don't cook much, and don't do much housekeeping, so I hope there will be something applicable to my life.

A day

We're supposed to get up at 6:30am to homeschool so we can get it done early. Son has an email friend who starts this early so he wants to try it now. (Rolling my eyes here.) We'll see.

I'm such a ditz. Husband told me to light the oven and put in the potatoes. I have such a terrible problem with forgetting to turn the temperature up to the right temp. I turn the oven on but forget to put it at my temperature. Duh. I was so embarrassed. I did it tonight. I haven't done it for awhile. He was a sweetheart and didn't get mad at me. I really wanted to bang my head against the wall.

I smell good though. And I smell so good that I look pretty too. I shouldn't say that about myself. Pretty is in the eye of the beholder. I look okay, I feel very pretty. I have attitude! (Although I was fully deflated after I realized the potatoes cooked at 170 degrees instead of 350 for an hour.)

MLK Day

I talked about his life as a preacher, and where he was when he gave the famous "I Have a Dream" speech; where he was standing when he was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee; and that he planned to lead a protest march for equal wages and equal rights for sanitation workers the evening he was shot. My son brought up Rosa Parks, whom he learned about last year, and so we talked about the bus strike. I told him Rosa Parks was the spark and Martin Luther King, Jr., went to lead that protest too.

I explained the definition of activist and wrote it on the chalkboard.

I explained the definition of philanderer and wrote it on the chalkboard.

Then we discussed that MLK was a political and social activist and he was a philanderer. He hurt his wife and children deeply and caused them shame and anguish and pain. But he was also an agent of change. He was charismatic, a leader, a motivational speaker, a believer in God. He was a plagiarist, a womanizer, a sinner. He was all of these. The question was, is, did the bad he did as a husband negate the good he did as an American?

I taught that people aren't perfect. My goal is to teach him to exercise discernment. I don't want him to blindly place people on a pedestal. Life is more complex than that. My objectives include teaching him about famous people and their accomplishments and imperfections. I want to develop a critical thinker.

MARTIN LUTHER KING, Washington, D.C., August 28th, 1963 at YouTube, 4 min. and 43 seconds.

Sunday

I didn't get up all that early. When I did get up I heard my son say in the living room, "I better get in the shower now." Duh. So I wore my hair in a sock bun today. Now I have lots of avocado oil in it, braided it, and I'll wash it tomorrow. For conditioner, I used none last week and this week I'm going to use a teeny, tiny little drop mixed with a cup of water to see how it works.

Worked out for two hours while my husband went to the bar to watch the game. I say 'bar' but really it's an inn and everyone's like over 65 years old except the bartender. You know it gets wild there. Yeah, hold onto your hat.

Today I tried a little beeswax on the edge of my scimitar. It stuck too much to my hair. I thought it was going to pull my hair out! Definitely it was a bad idea. Perhaps I may have been less than bright because I do use the beeswax for epilation, but I don't want to epilate the top of my head for goodness sakes. Sometimes I think I'm thinking, but I'm not. Friday I tried hot glue. When it cooled it slipped right off the edge of the scimitar like butter. Word up, hot glue doesn't stick to stainless steel. I didn't know that, but I do now. All I have left to try is sticky hair spray. I despise hair spray. Never have found one I like.

Morning church and evening church were good. I've been waking up each morning with church songs in my head. I kinda like that. But, yesterday morning I woke with ugly faces from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie we watched Friday night instead of a song. Blech. I'm very impressionable.

I guess I don't have any deep thoughts tonight.

Wait. I might have one. God is always with us and He knows our hearts. He knows my heart and he's known that I've wanted a fragrance of my own, an everyday pretty fragrance that is Liliana, for the longest time. I don't pray about it, but my heart has been desirous. I just haven't been able to find one. I try a spritz from the tester bottles at the mall whenever I can and they're always too loud and strong. I've tried a few perfume oils and essential oils. They didn't work either. Still too strong, or my husband didn't like it. I think a smell should be soft and surreptitious. Like when you have designs on your husband and he knows it by your eyes and the way you move, but no one else does. It ought to be personal, not overbearing. What is the big deal if the whole room can smell the person. Why that's no big deal at all. It's like yelling "Look at me. I sprayed a giant fragrance on myself today!" The perfect scent should be sweet to your children and sexy to your husband. I used to use a spray on called Impulse, I used the purple one, but they quit manufacturing it in, uhhh, the '80s.

So, what was I saying? Oh yeah. I think I found a fragrance for me!

G'nite

I'm going to bed early so I can wake up early. Hopefully it will keep me from eating night time graham crackers and milk too.

Saturday

Received an email from my sister. A Saturday morning email. I had to pinch myself to see if I was dreaming! She is a sweetie pie. Sometimes. Hehe. Last year she made a promise to herself to keep in touch better after we left. (We visit in San Diego for a month each year.) And she's kept that promise. I have to admit I'm very impressed. In the past she's often been busy with work and family so she had no energy left over. She's abounding with success in her job currently and her sons are teenagers. The law of seed time and harvest at work in her life. Now, if I'm lonely I email her and I know she'll email back within 10 or 20 minutes and if she doesn't I know she's not at her computer, and when she is, she'll write. I used to be jealous when we were little because my parents called her 'poopsie' and 'stinkerpot' and they only called me Liliana. I guess I'm not a special name kind of person. My husband calls me Little Mamma a lot, so that makes up for it.

I signed up for a new forum. A dance forum for oldsters. I don't know if I'll post there much but I was compelled to write a short thank-you to the poster who inspired me to ask my teacher if I could go en pointe. If I'd never read that particular post I'm sure I'd never have asked. Well, it appears I'm not getting any younger. It appears that I shall not be a ballerina. And that's okay! No matter! I shall study and practice and enjoy the dance anyway!

Now I go take a shower to have a fresh canvas to test out more of my handcrafted scented goodies sent by Avrilon. You know how when you walk out of the library with an armful of good books? You know that feeling? I have that feeling with this box of oil, balm, butter, soaps, and talc. It's a small box but I cannot even repack it because she had everything arranged to fit in there just so. I have more than one woman should have. Between knowing Kara and Avrilon I may never buy another leave-in or butter balm manufactured for the masses.

Lord, bless the hands that create elegant, scent-i-licious hair and skin care products that nourish body and spirit. Such a commodity cannot be purchased at the shopping mall.

It's like flying

Two good things in one day. I got approved to go en pointe (woo hoo) and second, I got a package. As a result I was all ecstatic and couldn't fall asleep. I'm kind of draggy and cotton headed this morning, er, afternoon.

There was a hoot owl here late last night and he sounded so hooty. I think it was that big white one that I've seen a few times. Couple days ago we saw a magnificent mature bald eagle on the lake.

Thera-bands

We used to use Thera-bands in class when I was in college. They helped me get so strong. I decided to order a pack from Amazon. When I was in my best condition I was able to do sit-ups as slow as I wanted, up and back down, even hovering half way between up and down indefinitely if I wanted, by building up my muscles with the help of a Thera-band. I loved my teacher. She was so good.

The rubber cement on the edge of my scimitar decidedly did not work. It rubbed off onto my hair. Luckily it rubs into little balls, so it wasn't hard to get out. Had me worried for a second there though!

We have a volunteer meeting at 1:00pm.

Washed my hair yesterday evening. I had an itchy ear. Apparently something about either Garnier Fructis or VO5 conditioner does not agree with me. Before this, Nature's Gate did not agree with me. I had a leetle bit of Giovanni shampoo left so I poured hot water in the container and shook it up and used the remnants. Since I'm out of Giovanni condish I used no condish. Actually, a post about using no conditioner gave me the idea. I wouldn't do it all the time because comb-out is too much work, but my hair feels soft (from the 48 hours of olive oil?) and shiny today.

I got a big idea from reading posts at the over 40 dancer's forum. I know I'm not currently strong enough, but I'm going to ask my ballet teacher if I can go en pointe someday in the future. Just at the barre, that is. I've always wanted to! Why shouldn't I do it before I die?

Been reading my Bible every morning, first thing before I do anything else. This is my second day. Heh. Pretty good I think. I'm on Genesis 12. It's fascinating that the story of a flood is recounted in almost every religion in existence. I've read that some scholars, though it's not yet proven, believe that a single language once existed. And a few months ago there was an article at CNN or somewhere that DNA testing indicted that all of us on earth are genetically connected to one, single woman. Those are things that make you go, hmmmm. Or, those are things that make you shout, Glory to God! And how about those clouds up in the sky? They weigh tons and tons with all the water droplets they hold, yet they're floating. Boy howdy, that's some kind of something. And bananas? Fit perfectly in the human hand, they're edible, taste good, and they're good for you. It can't be accidental!

Monday and onstagedancewear.com

It was a less than stellar homeschool day. It happens.

Husband went to Cruces for supplies. He picked up my sewing machine from the repair shop and I haven't used it yet, but it looks beautiful. He said I could go to the store and look at the Bernini machines. Oh my. I love him so. Bernini's are Swiss made and very nice. But I said I'll wait. Since my old Brother machine got fixed I'll use it. If after a year I sew a fair amount, then maybe I will look at the whoop-dee-doo nice ones. Mine is fine for now. I'm going to finish the blanket I was making for our son for Christmas before the zig-zag stitch stopped working. It's a fleece blanket. Larger than the others. A big eagle. I hope it'll turn out.

Canceled my leotard and shoe order. Don't ever order from http://www.onstagedancewear.com/. I'll tell you why. They emailed me last Tuesday and said my order shipped. I emailed them Wednesday and tell them UPS has no record of my order - where is my shipment? I get an auto-response from them, and they never do reply to my email. I check UPS and for two days it ain't going anywhere. Thursday I call to check on the status. What? They have the leotard but not the Capezio jazz boots. Did they bother to email me that tidbit of info? No. Fine, I say. Cancel the boots and send the leotard. Okay, he says. It'll ship out Friday. Monday nothing has been shipped to me. UPS has no info. I call for the status again. This time he transfers me. A girl says the leotard is on order. Whuh? I told her you gotta keep people informed of the status of their orders. Sorry, she says. Cancel it, I tell her. Cancel this leotard I ordered almost a week ago, which you said you sent me, didn't, and you don't even have it in stock. Are they in lala land?

So I'm shopping again. It's hard labor shopping for dance wear when you're 48 years old. Don't make me say any bad words!

Found a great studio to dance at while where in San Diego so at least I can stay in shape through April. Prices are a wee bit higher in the San Diego area.

What else. I have deep conditioned with olive oil today. Meant to wash it out but I was busy. So I'm sleeping with EVOO on my hair. My hair won't mind. I don't either. I'm really happy with my hair still.

Got a new space heater because one stopped working last night. Husband picked a nice one. It's cozy in here. We keep three space heaters going - one on each end of the trailer and one in the middle. Even down to 17 degrees it's stayed warm in here.

Oh, one more thing about my order from http://www.onstagedancewear.com/. Check this out. The Capezio dance boots I wanted cost $59.95. When I phoned the guy says size seven is out of stock, do I want size eight? What? I wanted to say if you wear a size 11 shoe, do you want to buy a 12? I bit my tongue though. Next day I look at the jazz boot on the web site. Why? I don't know. Just to gaze at it. I notice the price has changed. Yeah, buddy. The price of the jazz boot I ordered went up a bit - from $59.95 to $169.95. And you can get it now special order, 4-6 week delivery. That's just bad business.

All right

I've had it. Can't stands it no more. Stick a fork in me, I'm done.

I deleted all the news stations off of my personal toolbar. I deleted Fox News Network, CNN, MSNBC, LA Times, NY Times. I left Drudge on there. He might get the boot later though, depending.

I need some good news for a change. I'm back to the Good News Network.

Yum

We went out for dinner and I had a shrimp linguini dish with cream sauce, scallions and lemon, a side of garlic bread, and salad with bleu cheese dressing. It was a tasty treat. We brought chocolate cake home because we were too full to eat it at the restaurant.

My scimitar slipped off my head today during practice at home, but I was on the floor so it didn't fall far. I don't have any broken hair on top of my head from the balancing. They're already short (for a reason which will remain unnamed) and I don't need them any shorter. Since it's going well so far without a head covering I tried putting some rubber cement on the very edge to see if it'll stay on my head a little better. I'll test it out tomorrow. I definitely can't balance it on my chin or forehead. It hurts because it's too heavy. I can get down to my knees and up, no problemo, now. I can do an almost decent layback on my knees too. I just need so much more strength and endurance to do what I want to do.

I put together my own ballet work-out for home too. Here it is:

Plié (bent)
Tendu (to stretch)
Frappe (to strike)
Fondue (to melt)
Petit battement (small kicking movement)
Grand battement
Développé retiré
Rond de jambe

Turns
Barre
Splits
Balance

Head with feet going forward
Head opposite feet backing away

Make up a count of two eights

Now squeeze the orange dry. Beethoven made a symphony out of two notes.

I cleared the counter and I can swing my leg up and use it as a barre. Necessity is the mother of invention. You use what you've got, eh. And I found a nifty ballet dictionary with short Quicktime movies for various movements: http://www.abt.org/education/dictionary/index.html

I don't know if Beethoven really wrote a symphony with only two notes. I'd sure like to know whether it's true or not. But squeezing the orange dry means to make the movement all it can be. Do it with all your might.

Take a figure eight hip movement in Middle Eastern dance for example. You can do them forward, you can do them in reverse, change the direction you're facing as you do them, do some on your toes, flat footed, with knees very bent, or on your knees on the floor, do 'em small or do 'em big, fast or slow, layered with a shimmy, layered with a shimmy and add a pop. If you put your mind to it you can do a lot with a little old figure eight. Same concept can be applied to a lot of dance moves.

Article demonizing homeschooling

Article at the NYT: Lack of Supervision Noted in Deaths of Home-Schooled

Here we go again. A mentally sick woman murders all four of her babies, ages 5 to 17, and says she home-schooled them. Now the mayor of Washington in D.C. wants to establish better tracking and monitoring of all home-schoolers.

1. The mother took her kids out of public school in March 2006. She never submitted a request for withdrawal to the school district. That's not home-schooling. Legally, they were in the public school system.
   
2. If the public school system protected children from abuse and murder then logically speaking, all children who go to school are safe. Read the newspaper. America's children in the public school system are not kept safe from harm.
3. I deduce that whatever was happening in that family, there was no education going on.
   

The worst of it is that social workers made several attempts to visit the family and reported the kids' absences from school to the authorities. So how do four children go missing, are murdered, and nobody anywhere in the entire community notices?

Tightening requirements on genuine home-schoolers is not the solution. Blaming the horrifying deaths of these babies on home-schooling, and as a mother I call them all babies regardless of age, and pointing the finger at home-schooling is a red herring.

I'm not particularly politically active, but we would take action necessary to support and preserve the right and the freedom to educate at home without intervention from the government. Our forefathers who established the foundation of this country received all or part of their education at home.

Just because a murderous mother claims she was home-schooling doesn't mean she was home-schooling. She also claims all four of her daughters were possessed by demons and died in their sleep; the eldest with a knife beside her and the youngers with evidence of ligature markings and blunt force trauma upon their little bodies.

To evade county officials all the mother did was not answer the front door. Since no one came to the door for months Child and Family Services Agency closed the case. I think there should be some investigation all right, and home education regulation in Washington, D.C. is not at issue.

Chocolate chip cookies tonight

My husband mixes and I bake. It was his idea. I'm happy.

And ballet is back. Yay. It felt so good. My Middle Eastern dance teacher hasn't started classes yet though, so in the meantime I'm going to sign up for a jazz class.

I wore my hair in a braided bun that looked nice and actually stayed without distracting me. Took me three tries to do it right. An older lady in class, she's real sweet, she has cancer. And she told me I looked lovely. I admire her a lot. On my way out of class I gave my teacher a hug. She's got a tough row to hoe with her husband abruptly leaving after 31 years of marriage. She was upbeat though. She's not one to feel sorry for herself. I don't know how she's doing it. Anyway, after I hugged her, and I could feel she needed that hug, so I was glad I did it, then I turned around and the younger student. It didn't feel right to walk on by so that's why I laid a hug on her too. Then I hugged the older lady. Finally, I hugged the mom of the younger dancer and she said she hasn't had a hug is so long and thanked me. By the time I got to the exit and turned around, they were all laughing and hugging each other.

Our son is playing trucks on the floor and they are spread out all, I mean all over the living room. I treasure this time. He's ten and a half. It won't be long till he won't be playing truck games on the floor anymore. What, till age 11, perhaps 12? I wish to slow down the clocks immediately.

I avoided the abyss

Yesterday I almost fell into the abyss. It's this perimenopause I think. It's not a good thing. So before I completely alienated my husband, I prayed last night. I prayed pretty hard. Sometimes the prayin's easy, sometimes hard, right? I asked Him to take this sin offa me, which He can't exactly do, but I can repent and I repented pretty hard.

I wish I would be a good person all the time, but I get all pent up and angry once in awhile. Worse thing is, I've got it so good and it's nothing more than me gettin' all twisted and tangled up in myself. It's my own fault. And when I'm hateful to my family I feel ten times worse and ten times ugly.

It's lucky to have a family who loves you; faults, and meanness, and temper and all.

I'm sorry J. (Who will never read this, but I will.)

At least I cooked a pretty good meal tonight, and the gravy was better than last night. I make tasty, delicious gravy now that I'm 48.

Crummy connection

This connection tonight is so bad that I'm going to go read a book. WHAT! Yes. Read a book.

After dinner I read aloud The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. It's such good poem. I prepared to read it today and got choked up. Good thing I practiced because tonight I read it more smoothly and didn't choke up. I'm not sure, but I think my husband's eyes got misty for a minute there.

Testing

Made a progression set that I might add to my siggie if I like it well enough. I didn't have a set all from the same month unfortunately. Plus, it seems I named a lot of photos "today." Duh. It would help me if I dated them.

Untitled

Got a tummy ache today. We went to watch football (blech) last night and I woke with a tummy ache. I'm a third wheel. I have to grow some courage to say no.

Technically I did say no, but it didn't take.

A good hair day

I wore my hair down on account of I was brimming with confidence, and I even got a compliment on it at church. Actually, I have a set of matching zits on my neck, so I also had to wear it down for camouflauge.

This one was taken yesterday also and I took it because I noticed that in our bath mirror I can only barely see the bottom of my hair now. I'll need to use a full length mirror to see the bottom from now on. I wanted to do one of those self back-of-the-head shots too, just for posterity.

On my good hair day, my heart was heavy though. Aunt Arline passed on last night. Now my Grama has four children left here on earth. She's been getting more and more frail and she wouldn't take her medicine last night. When they checked on her later, she had passed on. I cannot be sad for long though because I know she's in heaven with a perfect body and a perfect mind now. But I will pray for her and for my cousins too. It's been exceedingly stressful for them. Alzheimer's is hardest on the family, I think. Aunt Arline thought the world of her son and his wife and their children. She'd go on and on about how wonderful they are, and they are that wonderful! I'm no longer very close with my cousin, but he used to call me a little puke when I was eight years old (I was 12 when I found out it meant barf) and I thought he was the greatest thing since sliced bread. He's funny too! He and I would tease my sister mercilessly and I relished every moment of it! I cleaned up his room for him once when he was 18. Was so proud of myself and was waiting for him to tell me what a great thing I did for him. But he came home from work that evening and I overheard that he was less than thrilled because I'd cleaned up so well he couldn't find his good work shoes. It was the only day that summer that it rained, and he had to wear his old shoes that had holes in them. Hahahaha! I had set his good shoes neatly under his bed. That's where anybody looks for their good shoes, right?

I will miss Aunt Arline who made me big, giant bowls of ice cream and let me play in her basement. She did drive me crazy once in awhile and I would take back a thing or two I said if I could. Ah well.

Did you hear about the dead guy who brought a suitcase of gold to the Pearly Gates? Saint Peter says, "What are you bringing that for?" Guy says he told God about all the wealth he'd amassed during his stay on earth and he wanted to bring at least a little of all he'd worked for, so God told him he could bring one, count 'em, one, single suitcase full of gold. Saint Peter looks at him and says, "Yeah, but why do you want to bring pavement?" Get it? There's so much gold in heaven that it'll blow your mind. There's so much of it that the streets are paved in gold.

The word 'glory' in the Greek language translates to something like weightiness, as in gold.

Today

A pic of 40.75 inches on a 5'2" person. (Update: Some is at 41", thus the fringey ends.) Taken in awful, low light, but I was needful of a photo since I washed it today. (Second update: I think I'm liking my no-flash chocolate hair color. It's prettier than real life.) Outside it was in the upper 60s, so I dried it in a lovely breeze. Look at my ends. They've fringed out all of a sudden - just since November. Whuh? I never would have noticed if I didn't have pictures of the back! And if wishes were horses I would wish for my sides to fill out more. All in good time. In 2004 I had such thick bangs. I'm sure glad I seriously thinned them out when I did. Hopefully as the sides get longer they'll help fill out the back some day in the far future. In March I'll get a trim. Perhaps my trim will put me back to about this length, but straighter across. That would be a good deal. I'd like that.

I believe a thought just hit me. I could make fingertip length my next goal. Hmmmm. Why not? Okay. I will.

Our son got a haircut and he looks so handsome. Ivan, the excellent hair cutter, invited him out to see his ranch sometime. I hope it comes to pass. Wouldn't we be lucky to go to a ranch. Our ranger and Ivan are cousins! I can see it because they're both kind hearted. We've been to the one ranch and to see a second one would be awesome.

The sky looked like an artist splashed it with watercolors tonight. The magenta was striking and there was so much of it.

I came across a tidbit about Elijah. He got beamed up to heaven at the Mount of Olives. I wondered what was so big about him. I hardly know any of the prophet books. Well, I know none of them. In the Old Testament I'm fairly well versed in Genesis and Job and that's it.

Right now I'm thinking about John 14:1 a lot.

Cowboy

He's tying up his horse, er, bike at the end of a work day, wearing his workin' boots and workin' hat. I asked him if he's been saying 'Boy howdy' or "Holy mackerel' or 'Mercy!' and he said nope.

Cruces

We drove down to Cruces because our son has been dying to own cowboy boots and a white cowboy hat like one of his favorite rangers does. The girl who helped us was sweet as could be. He found boots. He found a hat. He shopped, he saw, he bought, just like his daddy. Me, I shop and shop and shop till I'm ready to drop and I may or may not buy a thing.

It must be winter because it didn't get above 53 degrees today. Chilly.

My hair is 40.75". I didn't get my usual half inch of growth for some reason but I shan't be distressed. I did notice that I measured about a week ago at 40.5" and did a special post about how great it was to be at 40.5. Then I realized from my critical hair data that I was already 40.5 on December 1st. Oh well. Such is life. You hit a certain age and everything old is new again. Haha!

Funny lines to start 2008

Numbers 3, 7, 13, 14, and 15 are my favorites...

1. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

2. If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved and never will achieve its full potential, that word would be "meetings."

3. There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."

4. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.

5. You should not confuse your career with your life.

6. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

7. Never lick a steak knife.

8. The most destructive force in the universe is gossip.

9. You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight savings time.

10. You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests that you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.

11. There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age eleven.

12. The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above-average drivers.

13. A person who is nice to you but rude to a waiter is not a nice person (This is very important. Pay attention. It never fails.)

14. Your friends love you anyway.

15. Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

16. Men are like fine wine. They start out as grapes, and it's up to the women to stomp the coconut out of them until they turn into some thing acceptable to have dinner with.

By Dave Barry, Nationally Syndicated Columnist (Liliana changed one word to coconut because #16 is lacking in funniness.)

Sandhill crane in flight

We went to Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge this afternoon. It was cold with temps between 47° to 54°. Windy too. But I was a trooper and braved the bad weather. I haven't been taking many pictures of late, so I was like Shaky the Moyle (on Seinfeld). I got all excited seeing the birds, pointed my camera, and couldn't focus for diddly. I'm taking picture of open sky and blurry birds! My husband was patient and gave me enough time to keep trying. I want to go back. I need to go back! The sound of thousands of snow geese is incredible.

It wasn't as awesome as last year though. That's a terrible thing to say, eh? But there were more birds last year. I suppose they're there this year too, but a lot of the lake is frozen. Strange, because the weather hasn't seemed that cold. But where it was frozen the birds were quite far away. Too far even for my telephoto lens.

Son had an amazing sighting this morning - four bobcats playing on the ice that had formed on a small lake outside the park. He was riding with one of the rangers in the truck when they spotted them. What luck. Who gets to see one bobcat let alone four, let alone playing on the ice in plain daylight. They stopped on the side of the road and watched until the bobcats wandered into the brush. Couple nights ago my son and I saw three big, healthy raccoons trying to get in the garbage bin. They ran across the street in front of us as were driving by. In three years we've never seen raccoons here. Oh and tonight on my way home from church I saw a big, white owl take off from the top of a stop sign where he was perched. The first time I saw him last year I about jumped out of my seat - he startled me so. This year I noticed that I hadn't seen him and I wondered if he was still around. Guess he is. He must have a wing span of four feet. Huge.

Rock House

There was no pecan harvesting yesterday because the orchard owners had a medical emergency. We will go in January. So instead we went to the ranch (saw the horses below and our son got to ride one) and then we ventured out to a place I've never been before called Rock House.

There's not much out there except the endless miles of the very striking Chihuahuan desert. You know, I thought we were in the Sonoran desert until I watched a ranger presentation a couple weeks ago and I found out I'm not in the Sonoran desert. I'm in the Chihuahuan desert. Hhmmph.

My friend said he wants to camp out there a couple nights when it warms up, but I tell ya, I'm a fraidy cat. Maybe if I'm with a ranger or someone who has a weapon for protection, but I don't know about staying out there alone. My friend the journalist, he's up for it though. He's got a wild side.

So can you see Rock House? It's that leetle, tiny, house made of, um, rocks, on the left, that blends in with the desert. It was hard for us to see and we were driving there. It's 17 miles off the interstate. No one knows who owned it. Even the historical society doesn't know who built it or who lived in it. That's a bit peculiar. The desert can be a peculiar place.

And here's a shot of the house. This is its best side. The inside was no great shakes. I can't imagine who could have lived out there.

Here's a silhouette of a pecan tree. It was a cloudy morning in the 40s. Shiver-me-burrrsky cold! I had on a big warm coat. My husband picks good coats. Although it was cold at Rock House too, at least it was mostly sunny.

Meow

Kitty cat face. I love kitty cat faces. She's the friendliest little thing.

The nerve

Is he sticking his tongue out? Well, I never!

Divot in my head

Ooooh, so I worked out yesterday and practiced with my scimitar. I didn't drop it. I haven't dropped it yet. I just move soooo slowly with it. I put a cork from a bottle of wine on the end of it so if, that is to say when, I drop it it should be a little safer. Logically speaking.

And I noticed after ten minutes I had a pretty big divot on the top of my head where the sword sat. Haha! That could be good, right? Long as it's not permanent!

Tomorrow I get to go with a journalist to see pecans being harvested. That should be pretty neat. I guess they use a machine that shakes the trees a lot.

Is anybody up

Well, I am. I'd like to go to sleep, but same old, same old.

I hit 40.5 this week. Not bad. It means I'm on track and that's good. I'm really content with the length. I've been wearing it in a French twist the last two days. I like that when I take it down I can smell the shampoo still and it has a nice fragrance. The new shampoo (Garnier Fructis) and V05 creme rinse are super slick. They even make the bathtub slick. Giovanni has cones but not that much! My hair was a dream to comb out. Practically effortless. Guess I'll just keep an eye on it and see how it fares. Maybe I'll go make up some nice hair dreams and put myself to sleep.

I haven't been working out for a week. Gotta get back on track with working out tomorrow.

Tags

I got another email about how popular the blankets were and how everybody enjoyed the tags! These were the tags.

I hope everyone had a loverly day today!

Merry Christmas to you!

That's what my husband just said to me and I pass it on. I was awake so I got out of bed. Went to the hiding place which must remain unnamed and got the two gifts from Santa. Son is dead asleep. A bomb could drop on the trailie and he'd sleep through it. He's been so excited today that he tired himself out. He did the dinner dishes for me tonight. He did the morning dishes too, and vacuumed. Crazy kid.

As I walked to the truck I looked up and what did I see - a constellation I'm always looking for and can never find - the Big Dipper. It is glorious. So clear out tonight. Saw Mars earlier too.

Jesus is the light of the world.

Dad called me. Everyone is over there. The mothers liked the blankies I made for their babies. My sister said they looked perfect. She exaggerates though. One baby is sick at home though so he wasn't there. He was home with his daddy. The hat fit the new baby girl. I feel happy that I did handmade gifts for them.

At this time of year and at Easter, these are the two times I feel a deep and abiding affection and connection with all the world. It's like a glow within and without.

Fifteen years ago the holiday was quite a big 'to do.' I don't want to say how much money we spent. Oh how I could have spent it better! How much of that stuff is at the dump now, returned to Mother Earth? The boxes, the bows, the tape, the tissue, the gift wrap, the shoes, the special outfits, the many mall purchased objects. I don't know. As a child, for me the celebration was strictly secular. Much is lost if you celebrate in a secular way. It's like an awesome shuffle of material goods with the most shuffling among the wealthy, a middle amount in the middle class, and a wee bit or none among the poor. These are things which do not satisfy. Makes the heart ache when people are alone after the celebrating. It's too much, too big, all wrong.

So now we do it small. I will miss Advent. It was fun this year. We tried to sing "Hark the Herald Angels" tonight but we can't hold the melody after the first stanza. I quit singing, but my husband went with it the whole way through. It was pretty bad. Haha!

Two thousand and seven years ago, well, thereabouts anyways, a baby boy was born... Even the people who have no faith agree He was here. It's been established and was written about by the historian, Josephus.

Next comes the New Year.

(P.S. - My sister emailed that the blankets were a SMASH, so now I'm even happier!)

It's Christmas Eve

Son has been antsy all day. He's excited about opening presents tomorrow. He completed almost ten pages of vocabulary independently before I even got out of bed. I was up late, so I slept till ten. Yesterday he peeled an orange for himself and at dinner he insisted on serving himself his own soup. He's sure growing up.

My sewing machine is in for repair, so I couldn't finish our son's blanket. I'm bummed, but happy that it will be fixed. I will just have to finish the blanket when it's back from the repair shop. It started skipping stitches. Maybe next year, if I sew much, I can get a computerized machine. They're supposed to have very even, consistent stitches, moreso than a mechanical machine. I loved my mom's Singer machine. But Singers of today are not the same as those of yesteryear. I learned to sew on it when I was in eighth grade. I sewed a really pretty halter dress and a gorgeous spring dress from my friend's wedding. My machine is a Brother and I'm not crazy about it. It's frustrating that little things go wrong and I have to fight with it a lot.

Guess I'll go get cleaned up and wash my hair so it'll be fresh for Christmas Day. It's 4:05pm. Shall I get out of my pajamas?

Calendar nearly done

I've spent the week-end at my computer...working on my 2008 calendar at Shutterfly. It should be pretty good if it turns out like it's supposed to.

dailycoyote.net

Are you needing some good pictures to look at today?

http://www.dailycoyote.net/

Parenting is good

Sometimes I want to throttle him - like right now - as he purposely drags in feet through vocabulary. But Wednesday was different. He received an award. We didn't know it was coming. Nobody told us!

We were at the Christmas potluck. The first award went to two men, a ranger and a volunteer, who saved seven people from drowning in the lake last summer. The superintendent read the official report which was rather dry. He then shared with us the details that weren't included in the report. The boat had overturned. One adult and a child were still in the boat though it was barely above water and sinking quickly. The rest were in the water. The winds were blowing the tiny vessel and the people onto dangerous rocks that are in that area. It was during a storm. The lake can be mean during a storm. Did I mention it was at night? It was dark. Dark night. Have you walked along the beach in the dark of night? Even though you're safe onshore it's scary when you can hear the water, but you can't see it. It strikes a chord of preternatural fear in the human heart.

By the grace of God, the boating officer on duty had only minutes before taken on a long time volunteer on board who offered to patrol the lake with him. Without this volunteer who was highly experienced on the water, a single man would have had great difficulty doing the rescue and maneuvering the boat at the same time. So the call came in, S.O.S, precise location, and they rode full speed to that place on the lake. The eight year old girl was screaming hysterically. The others, those in the water, this is not in the report, were giving each other last rites in the water. They thought they were checking out of this world.

Our New Mexico Boating Officer and the other a long time volunteer, saved all seven people one at a time. That's a story with an awesome ending and that's what their award was for. Sometimes the rangers pull dead people out of the water which as you can imagine is traumatic. The rangers have to deal with it in their mind and heart afterwards and it's not an easy thing. It happens in a lake this big. Last year a 15 year old boy drowned in the lake. The rangers save lives when they can. They're trained to do so. But when they can't save a life the repercussions are real.

The second award went to our ten year old son. The badge in the frame is an official one. Normally, men and women must graduate from the police academy and work in law enforcement to receive this badge. It is an true honor to have this badge! Our son is not allowed to wear it, it would be unlawful, but he can display it. The super went all the way to the top to get approval for this. As far as we know he is the youngest volunteer in New Mexico, and the only Honorary Ranger in the state. He was bustin' with pride. We were too.

Yesterday at the school where he takes a class he gave a presentation about his award. It's his first presentation in front of anyone other than family. He did pretty well! This I love about home education.

Me, as a kid I dreaded "Sharing Time" or "Current Events" at school. I still get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach about Newsweek magazine because my mom had it delivered to our house so I could pick out news items for school sharing. Our son on the other hand informed me he was doing a presentation about his award the next day at school. Just like that. He practiced on us that evening and did it Thursday. Wow. And he showed off the plaque, a letter they wrote him last year selecting him as a volunteer, his official volunteer card, and he defined the word 'honorary' (that was his idea) and showed off the flyers and spreadsheets he created on his computer as part of his job.

I'm kind of proud of him.

Picked a gift

I was stressing out about what to get a little girl. Naturally, but naturally, I've left it to the last minute. We got her a coat that I absolutely loved last year, but found out later it was a size too big. It took me all of three minutes to select that coat. It's like from the '70s, a very cute coat. Anywho, this year I picked for her a ballerina jewelry box from Nordstrom. Why didn't I just go to Nordstrom's in the first place? Every little girl should have a ballerina jewelry box. My grama gave one each to my sister and me when I was ten and my sis was six. I really liked it. Here it is:

I searched high and low online for genie pajamas but genie pajamas could not be found. I got a a pair for Christmas when I was a kid and they were really pretty. I also had some fancy lacy pajamas that were a gift so I also just searched for feminine pj's. Man, there are a lot of flannel, cotton, utilitarian fugly plain pj's to be had, but not much on the luxurious side. There should be. Dora the Explorer and cartoon pajamas? I don't think so. A girl deserves some genuine wholesome girly loungewear.

My mom finished a genealogy book about my grandmother's life and sent me a copy. It's awesome. She must have spent a few hundred hours compiling information. My people are from Ireland. Came over during the potato famine. Pioneers they were. Real pioneers in the mid-west. Back then there was right and there was wrong and not much in between. You didn't get coddled for having anxiety attacks or wanting everyone to support your alternative lifestyle. Time was not allotted for things that don't matter. Life is so precious. Too precious to be frittered away on self. I must remind myself of that next time I can't sleep.

I miss my grama

GRAMA! I miss you tonight.

America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great. -Alexis de Tocqueville

It's been rumbling around in my mind. I think it's true.

My husband came to church today and remarked on how good the pastor is. This pastor should be in a metropolitan area. I can't believe I found him in a town of 7,000.

I don't know if he'll come to church again. I can't nag him. There's a line between nagging and asking. The pastor is so articulate I don't know how he can not want to go back. But I always get to church late (at least I'm consistent?) and my husband is a very timely person. He even wants to go to parties, well, actually nowadays I'd say "get-togethers" on time and I tell him it's very uncool to be right on time. So since he came today we were on time and the talking, it's called fellowship, is too much for me. Now I can't sleep. Guess I should go read something.

For evening study, this is the first time in awhile that I was completely lost. I didn't follow much of the teaching. It was about Jesus and David and the lineage. Quite confusing if you don't get it. And a guy whose name starts with M who was Jesus incarnate or something. I need my notes, but it's dark right now so I'm just blathering. I'm fascinated by what I didn't understand though. Can't wait to read through my notes.

My hair. My husband ran into one that was across the doorway somehow and he thought it was a spiderweb. Then he sat in the chair and pulled a long one off of the chair. I might need to vacuum this place. More frequently it's getting caught in a screw that is in the wall behind me in the bathroom. I'm needing more elbow room lately.

Which reminds me. Tonight I saw a group photo of my graduating class (1977) from the reunion in October. Talk about disillusioned. Thought I was going to have a heart attack. Does 48 look that old? It does. Sadly, it does. You can't stay young forever. And I recall that at the Luminaria a kid about 17 years old called me Ma'am. Brutal. I am so crying in my soup tonight. Not that I want to be 17. Far from it. But I wouldn't mind 27. Shoot, I wouldn't mind 37. I wouldn't mind 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, or 46. Sigh.

The other day I was looking for a word. I hate it when I need a word and I can't think of it. It's like I can feel the word but I can't find it. I have to settle for some one or two syllable word that's not as descriptive. Anyway, it was anecdotal. What was it I was writing that I needed it for now? Hmmmm. Can't remember. Ha! Small annoyances never end.

Ready to mail

Finished the tags (that only took three and a half hours due to printer challenges), attached them to blankets, gift wrapped three blankets, made chicken soup. That was my day. And it was a long day.

We fasted, but it wasn't difficult. Next time we're going to do water only fasting from sun up to sun down.

My sewing machine isn't working very well and I have two rice bags to make. The stitch length regulator is messed up. Then after dinner I guess I was too tired and I forgot to turn the seams to the INside. Duh. Had to toss it and will try again tomorrow. Fresh.

I am hoping my husband will come to church tomorrow morning. Only our son can convince him to come. This week-end and next he's not working. Those are our two chances.

Girl's blanket done

It's sweet! Of the three I made I'm the least happy with how the binding came out on this one, but I'm packaging her up and sending tomorrow. I even got wild and made a little matching tie top cap to go with it. The satin feels wonnnnderful. I washed it because it's flannel backed for extra warmth and I expected the flannel might shrink. I ironed the satin to make it look brand new, but it came out of the wash nicely enough and I'm glad about that. I was a little worried it would wrinkle terribly, but it didn't.

I get an achy back from cutting on the floor, so my back hurts. I took a couple ibu but they don't work fast enough for me!

Have a good week-end my friend!

My dear ballet teacher

I asked her why she was so stressed. Being the Christmas season I fully expected she'd let loose with a litany of Christmas errands; shopping, wrapping, cooking, crafting, etcetera. But no. She said only a few people know...two weeks ago her husband called her on the phone at work and asked for a divorce. He left her, as in went away. She is a good woman I think. She's petite and blonde haired, blue-eyed. We talked for about 20 minutes. I almost cried full on twice and she didn't. She has too much to deal with to have time for tears. Her vehicle insurance lapsed because he didn't pay it. She didn't know how to open the top on the truck to put in the anti-freeze. She told me what happened to her water well and I didn't understand what she said (as I nodded my head) but she had to turn off the water. She has no water in her home. She's living my nightmare. Every woman's nightmare, yes? Life as we know it is tenuous.

I gave her my phone number. She works during the day and teaches dance at night. Some days she doesn't return home till 10:00pm. There but for the grace of God go I.

She apologized for sharing all her troubles and I told her, don't be, I have strong shoulders. It was a little bit of a lie, but I want it to be true. I pray the Lord will give me half a brain to be a good friend she can lean on if she needs.

Gotta git in gear

I want to mail off the baby gifts on the 15th. I still have the girl blanket to sew though. I have all the stuff out. Here it is right beside me; I just have to DO it. I did sew a fleece baby hat this evening that's cute to look at but I need a test baby to see if it will really stay on. I used the pattern from here. It's a tie top baby hat and I've always liked that style. The other online pattern I found that I'm going to attempt to go along with the horsie blankie is this fleece stocking hat.

All three of us got our flu shots for free today. They didn't even hurt.

Son and I are going to the eye doctor next Wednesday. He says his sight goes blurry in one eye sometimes so we need to see what that's about. As for me, I need a glaucoma check. My dad has it, his mom had it, and all five of his siblings have it so I need to be careful. Glaucoma kind of sneaks up on people because of the way it quietly takes your peripheral vision, but you don't notice it till it's too late. If you pray, please pray that I may have no signs of it. I also made an appointment for a rash that our son has on his hands. He has my super sensitive skin, plus the air is so dry, plus he plays with the dogs even though he's allergic. I know that's what the rash is. I hope a doctor can prescribe something to control it.

Husband read in the news that Mormons are healthy because they fast, so we're going to fast on Saturday. I'm doing the spiritual part, but he's not. We've never fasted before. I told him he better have lots of drinks in the fridge cause I'm gonna need alotta drinks. Ha! I asked him to buy some Gatorade too because it contains electrolytes. I need electrolytes.

It's the 12th. Where has the year gone?

I stopped cussin'

Once you delve into The Word, you'll never be the same.

I've ended a lifelong habit of using foul language. I'll have to check my blog to see when I decided to stop cussin' and cursin' but I know it's been over a year. At first I just wanted to challenge myself to exercise mindfulness on a daily basis. But after the first day I realized it was gonna be a leetle bit harder than I thought it would be.

Try not to use any foul language for 24 hours. Next, extend it to 48 hours, then go for seven days in a row. It'll fry your brain.

I set this goal for myself on a whim, but it changed me. I know it sounds like such a minor undertaking but it turned out to be so much more. I used to spew forth four letter words right and left right in front of my eldest son when he was a tot. I didn't give it a second thought and little did I realize how awful it sounded. But I sounded like everyone else I knew. My mother and father both use foul language. Everyone I knew used foul language. I never gave it a thought. It is an outer expression of an inward state of mind.

I didn't see anything wrong with pornography either. I told my oldest son when he was 15 that I didn't want it in the house, but such a hypocrite I was. Question is, why did I figure it was okay for me but not for him? Seventy-five percent of Americans call themselves Christians and yet pornography is a 6.3 billion dollar industry. I considered myself a Christian when I got a survey from our internet service provider that asked what type of subjects we wanted more access to and I clicked several options, including pornography. Well! I was being an honest Christian consumer!

Doesn't look like I'll be running for office any time soon. They'd wipe up the floors with the Liliana. But a worldly Christian looks just like the world.

Now when I hear profanity it's ten times uglier than it used to be. When the human ear is constantly exposed to vulgar language the mind grows desensitized. The nose becomes accustom to the stink. Habitual cussers no longer smell the putrid stench and it flows out of them unabated.

At first I'd get by a couple days. Every time I let loose, I'd say "Okay, I'm starting over...starting...NOW!" I had lots of new starts and lots of prayer time. I admit, I still think bad words sometimes. Sometimes a good cursing just seems like the best thing to make a problem, an irritation, a hurt, smaller. I suppose it releases some energy, but is it what I want to release into my world. Words matter. Words are powerful. People, as Fox once said, remember words.

We have a neighbor who says that she and her husband are cussing a lot less because our son reminds them that they shouldn't. She was smiling when she told me about it and then she said our son is a good kid. I think she felt good about cussin' less. They were successful truck drivers before retirement. Sometimes my husband tries to cut back on his cussing. He's an ex-sailor.

For Bible study today I did a drama with my son. I acted like a truck driver spewing forth the Lord's name in vain (he got a hearty laugh from my acting) and I asked him, "What should you do when you hear someone use our Lord's name in vain?" We are so weary of hearing Christian and non-Christian alike say "Oh my God." It is the most worn out, overused, tired phrase, eveh. We discussed it and I told him this. Say, "Hey, I know God's son, Jesus! He lived. He died. He said in three days He would Rise. And He did." I'm going to do this too. We're sick of hearing the Lord's name used in vain. People need to get a life.

Anyway, I challenge you today to stop cussin'. Go for it. It's the road less traveled. It's a worthy endeavor.

Now if I can just be more thoughtful of others every day. That ought to revolutionize my life.

That's a big whoops

Last night I was feeling for the light switch but I hit the switch to pull in the slideouts. My husband came flying out of the bedroom. He'd gone to bed early and when he heard the room folding in he jumped up from a dead sleep quicker than lightning. The thing is, I only tapped the switch, but the automatic slideout wouldn't stop rolling in. It was pretty exciting all right. I was calling my son and was almost crying because I thought I messed up the trailie. I thought there were jacks under the slideout, but there aren't. It was okay. Now there's duct tape over the switch so no one inadvertently does that again. Yeah right, duct tape looks real nice on the wall. Great stuff, duct tape is.

My dispute with eBay is closed. My money order officially lost. My bad luck.

I might possibly dance in El Paso next week. We'll see. I don't have all the info yet. I told my teacher I'm interested if it's a family venue. My husband said it's okay if I go.

It might snow a bit tonight but there are no clouds right now. Snow would be neato!

I want to write about cussing and cursing. Should I do it here or make a separate post?

Kettletop Mountain today

Received my scimitar this afternoon. It balances! I'm thrilled to have it in my hands. It balances very well which I'm glad about because some people said not to buy one sight unseen, but what choice have I? It's not like I'm going to run into a balancing scimitar somewhere in the New Mexican desert. I'm going to use it for a few days then submit a good review to the web site where I bought it. It's so shiny! I will need a little padding for my noggin though. I'm not sure I can get used to it with no padding. I've read that some women got some broken hairs from where the scimitar sits on their head and I surely can't afford that. I walked around with it on my head for about ten minutes. My husband doesn't want me to use in in the trailer. I hope I can change his mind about that because sometimes it's cold outside. I want to get a piece of cork for the tip because, dang, it's sharp. Saroyan swords can take a long walk off a short pier as far as I'm concerned. I have a sword that balances, cost a lot less money, looks like a bad mojambo, and if I didn't like it I could have returned it. Saroyan doesn't take returns. Saroyan will never get my money either.

My hair is so dirty. I wanted to wash it Sunday morning but our hot water heater wasn't working very well. After my last chilly shower I was not too keen on taking a chance with another one. I wash my bangs and pull my hair back and it's passable. I figured I'm probably the only one looking at myself that much at church anyway.

We went to Cruces today. I'm kind of getting to know one of the employees at Jo-Ann Fabrics. She's Chinese (I think) and I like her. I think she has a son in Europe. We chatted about weather and she asked me what I'm making and said I'm clever, which I'm not but she's awful nice to say so. I feel her personality and I like it. She's always helpful and nice even with people who ask inane questions like how much of this do I need. I think she gets that a lot!

My money order for my purple skirt and veil seems to be lost. I submitted a tracer request at the post office today and WE3Bellydance cancelled my order. I guess eBay has a time limit for orders. It's the skirt I really wanted after intense online shopping, so don't know what I'll do now.

The photo is my favorite landmark here - Kettletop Mountain. Ted Turner owns all that land over there. Guess he's buying up Nebraska too and peeps are upset about it. He's buying everything over the Ogallala aquifier which is the largest aquifer in the world. And it just happens to be smack dab under Nebraska. My family on my dad's side are there and that's how come I know how to fry chicken so well.

The day was rainy. All day. But there was a rainbow at the end of the loop here tonight and across the lake Kettletop was partially bathed in sunshine. The clouds above it are an unusual sight. This is the view from the front of our trailer. I wish we had a window pointing that direction, but we have to go outside to see it. I'm not complaining!

Chocolate mice treat

The day is done. The luminarias were not lit, the crowds were smaller due to the wind, but those hardcore people who out came had a good time. My chocolate mice were a big hit!

The ladies at The Friends site went on and on about how cute they were. They asked me how I made them and said they wanted to make them too. One lady said she had to take two to her daughters and that one of her daughters made these sort of things and she just had to show her one. I felt a little shy that they carried on so, but I was complimented too. I felt good. I never make things like this! After about 1/2 an hour of announcing to passersby that we had free posole soup I said I have to check my mice to see if anyone ate them, but I couldn't find the plate. One of the volunteers said, "Oh. We hid them. We're keeping them for us to eat." lol! So all the volunteers ate them. As I watched the fireworks I saw two men walk up to the table and the one said to the other, "Hey, do you like chocolate? You have to try one of these." I was bustin' with pride by then. Even men liked them?

They were a little stuck to the foil, so I bought wax paper for next time (like, um, the directions say to do). I let them cool for two hours before I put on the eyes and nose. Here are four that I caught. Haha! I made 23. Not all of the marachino cherries were worthy of being a food craft project. If they were too split up I didn't use them.

Windy wind

We're not lighting anything. Too windy. Maybe at 5:00pm they said, but the wind is not dying down. It's picking up. There are sandstorms on the beach and tumble weeds a-blowin' by.

I made the mice! My husband said they're cute. I'll see if they get eaten and if people like them tonight. I haven't tried one because they look too sweet for me, but the kidlets oughta like them. He had to take me to the market because I bought a big tube of gel for the eyes and you need a teeny tube.

Lunchtime

We put out bags till about noon. I mostly straightened candle wicks and pushed candles into the sand in each bag so that the candle lighters just have to bend down and light the candles without fussing with the candle itself. Now we're home in our trailie eating Coney dogs from Sonic Burger. Yum!

All are concerned about the winds. It's very windy right now. It wasn't like this last year. I don't know if we're going to be able to light the candles! All the bags have been set out but the wind is blowing so much that the bags are bent over. I think when we light them they'll either blow right out or burn up the bags. Either way, is not good.

...I just check the weather report. We've got winds of 30mph and gusts up to 45mph. Oh dear. It's going to be so sad it there are no luminarias. The luminarias add all the ambiance to the beach walk and the boat show. And it's too big an event to call off now.

The lake is pea green and has white caps. Everyone is worried!

I took ibuprofen for my lower back. I need to make chocolate mice or take a nap. Which shall I do? Lighting is scheduled for 3:00pm. I'm scheduled to help The Friends volunteers at 5:30 at their Luminaria site. Aside from the bad weather, shin splints and an achy back, I feel happy! I think our ranger is stressed out though.

Luminaria preparations

Here we go to set out bags! I'm wearing my ski pants to keep my legs warm. The day is blustery. Possibility of showers.

I don't think precipitation is good for Luminarias?

There's good and bad

The good news is UPS says my scimitar will be delivered on Monday! The bad news is my money order for my faux silk skirt and matching veil has not arrived to its destination. It appears to be lost. The eBay lady opened a dispute on the 5th and I think she's being patient, but I am not sure if she might decide to give me a bad mark. I'm not sure if she's nice or not. She seems a little short. When I had a problem with the Akai silks lady she was super nice. When it comes down to the wire, I could care less about a bad mark on my puny eBay history but having my money order lost - that hurts my feelings a lot. I think she should have just emailed with me and not opened a dispute. I do not feel good about a dispute. She asked me to put a tracer on it and on Monday I'll go to the USPS to see how to do that. I've never heard of putting a tracer on a piece of mail. I don't have a lot of faith in the post office. Either she'll get my letter or she won't. I'm not ordering anything from eBay any more.

And I'm at my wits end with doing parables for our devotional with my husband. He says they're all hard to understand - even after I explain them. He says why don't they just come out and say what they mean. I explained that parables were common in those times. I explained that the fact that they are parables is the reason why they survived through oral tradition long enough to be written down. I explained that Jesus wants to make you think and wants to make you ask questions. My pearls of wisdom fall on deaf ears.

I don't know. Maybe I should change my devotionals. He's smarter than I am. I think he's being stubborn and mule-headed. He's trying to make me mad.

First 40" pic

Tonight I came to log on and when I saw my post title I thought it looked like I wrote "dam" glasses and I thought How did I write that! But upon closer inspection I see the r and n in darn are just very close together.

This is my first hair pic since I hit the 40" point. This is 40.5". The bottom of my bottom still evades me. Maybe, hmmm, I'll hit that benchmark in two more months which should, if lucky, be one more inch which according to my scientific calculations will then equal 41.5".

Son is doing school right now. He wants tomorrow off so he can help the rangers with Luminaria preparations. He especially wants to go with them to pick up the hay for the hayride. I like evenings like this when he wants to do his studies and I can just let him go and he tells me what he wants to do - and he does pretty well I'll say. I'm developing him to be autodidactic individual. Nights like this give a sense that I'm doing something right.

I'm supposed to be at ballet, but I have shin splints and feminine aches and a bad mood on top of it all. My bad mood just flew right in at about 5:30pm. It is nice that my class is not a school class where I miss out on learning a combination and am graded. If don't feel like going it's no big. That's nice.

Here's a second one from today. Me fussing and swishing my hair outside. I had on a pretty hair bobble to do a picture of the plain, back-of-nape, pony tail. But alas, my hair is so slick that my bobble slipped right off my pony onto the ground. And this is day one post wash. That's lame.

These darn glasses

Reading glasses are a pain. I can't read without them anymore. I look all over the trailer for them. I search high and low and angrily accuse others of moving them. I throw the pillows and check the sofa creases and pull open every drawer in the kitchen. I sit down in my chair at my wits end. Can't read a thing without them. I put my head in my hands in utter despair. And then I realize I feel something. My reading glasses. There they are. Right where I put them.

They're were sitting on the top o' my punkin head the whole time.

Filling bags for the Luminaria

Saturday night is the Christmas Luminaria! Today our family helped fill 4,000, yes, four thousand, brown lunch bags with sand. Some people filled bags, some pulled up the wicks on the candles, some set candles in the bags, some carried bags from the picnic tables to the staging area, some arranged the bags in neat rows. Best of all, this year kids from the local Christian school came out and helped! The had such bright, shiny faces. Last year the job took us volunteers three hours. This year it took only two hours and we did a thousand more additional bags this year than last. Woohoo! We all clapped and hollered for the kids to thank them when they left.

It's my favorite activity here at the park. Saturday morning we shall help set all 4,000 bags out along the luminaria path. Saturday about 3:00pm we begin lighting the candles. My husband got me a bitchen propane torch for lighting the candles. It's a lot of bending down and if you have only a clicker for lighting them, it's killer. We found that out the first year. Now, it's torches for us!

40.5" today

Hair talk - Forty point five inches.

Second baby blanket finito! This is for a four year old nephew who likes horses and is crazy about the cowboy boots his mom bought him. It feels so soft. My stitches weren't as even as I'd like because my sewing foot didn't walk evenly all the time. Still, for a little boy it's okay. He'll never notice some of the stitching is uneven. The thickness made the sewing a little more challenging. I hope when he sees it that it makes his eyes happy. I'm going to make some kind of a gift card to go with the blankets that will explain that they're meant to be used - in the car, at home, dragged on the floors, and taken out of doors. Hmmm, got a little rhyme going there. I might use that. And they're sturdy, 100% polyester, 100% washable. I'm making the pink one next. Hot pink satin and kitty cats!

Got an email that my sword should be in the UPS mail tomorrow. Hoo boy! I was kind of worried about that back order deal, but looks like it'll be a-okay. I hope it balances well.

Hanukkah starts today my husband said. Advent began last Sunday. I do love the Advent season, a time to prepare our hearts for Christmas - the celebration of the birth of Christ, the Messiah. I made our Advent wreath today. It's a little bit pretty. I like it. We're doing a devotional each night after dinner. My husband is sure warming up to Jesus. I feel he is. Everyone goes at their own speed and you can support and encourage, but no one should be forced or rushed. The waiting is killing me though. I impress myself because I can see that I've learned so much in the past few years. I can actually answer questions regarding the reading. It's important to learn and grow. Many Christians claim the Christianity, but they're like infants suckling still. It takes effort and persistence to grow in faith. After our scripture reading which was Matthew 21:12-22 tonight, we sang the Christmas carol "Do You Hear What I Hear?" We have awful voices, but we have fun singing. We sound so bad that we just laugh and laugh at ourselves!

Fleece

I found a horse pattern fleece. It's anti-pill and so soft. Tonight I pinned the binding on it and tomorrow I'll sew it. I bought cream colored fleece for the other side. It feels rather plush with the two together.

It was a pretty day. Sunny and cool. I still didn't get around to washing my hair though. I absolutely have to get it done tomorrow. We got home from Cruces about 3:00pm, so I had to put away groceries and I just don't know where the rest of the day went.

We stopped for Mexican for lunch and it was the best. Last week we got Mexican food that was barely edible. It was awful. One thing I can't stand are those taco shells preformed that you buy at the store. Awful. There should be a law. I'm appalled to be served those fake taco shells at a restaurant with hamburger inside. The place we found today was just a little hole in the wall place. When we walked in the girl behind the counter greeted us (that's unusual) and after we placed our order she asked if we wanted a bowl of "Welcome Soup." Man, that soup was some kind of good. It was a very small cup full, but what a nice idea. Welcome Soup. Very cool. I told my husband as we ate our lunches at the rest stop that the food we bought was as good as what we used to eat in El Centro when I was ten years old, minus the cucurachas!

Our favorite restaurant in El Centro in 1968 was El Sombrero...until one time during dinner my mom saw a huge, well fed cockroach in the kitchen area. I didn't see it. She never took us back to El Sombrero again. What I remember best are the buñuelos my sister and I ate for dessert. I never see them on the menus anywhere anymore. I think back on those buñuelos wistfully.

Cooper's Hawk

The week-end is over. But tomorrow we're going to Cruces so it's not a normal workaday day for us. I hope to buy some cowboy boot patterned fleece to make a blanket for my nephew. That's the last of the blanket notions and fabric I'll need for the year. And we have to get candles and styrofoam to make our Advent wreath on the cheap.

I didn't get anything done today except for a giant nap after church. I did a big, loud WAAAHOOO in church in support of my pastor's wife this morning. She did today's sermon in her husband's place because he's in the Philippines for the week. He spoke at a pastor's conference and helped feed kids who live at the dump and is visiting orphanages. The U.S.A. stinks in a lot of ways. It's far from perfect and wrought with social and financial problems, but there are no children living at the dumps eating garbage to survive a day at a time. We were hoping to go to Mexico this year, but stories about brutal attacks on tourists has quickly changed our mind. I wouldn't even go down with a group of campers now. Bummer. I think we'll go to Grand Canyon, the Tetons, and Wyoming this year. We think fuel's going to be high so we won't be venturing across the continent that's for sure. Can't afford long travel days at $4.00 per gallon fuel.

Got a pic of that raptor that likes to prey on my po' wittle quail. He's young. Very beautiful bird. I caught sight of him while I was sitting at the kitchen table. Went outside and walked a wide circle round him trying not to annoy him. I've never seen him on that pole before.

Wanted to get a hair pic, but it hasn't been washed for a few days and I kinda want to measure after it's washed and dried. I'm over 40" finally, I know that. Woo hoo! I'm still not classic length though. My bum is so low. Maybe if I squeeze my cheeks they'll go a little higher and I can say I'm classic. I'll try that.