Semi-colon Corner

Yo.

2009-04-09T08:39:00.002-06:00

I started a business, bought a house, started a new blog over at PunctuatingReality.com, and oh yeah ... got married!!! I've been kinda busy. :-D So if anyone wants to check out more recent material, go to punctuatingreality.com. I'm hoping to have anemoneflynn.com up at some point in the near future as a more personal blog, but we'll see when I have time. Meanwhile, there's still stuff going up at writtenbytrialanderror.info on occasion.

--Heidi

Still here ...

2007-02-27T11:25:00.000-07:00

I'm still alive, not a whole lot has changed ... regrettably. Anyways, I've been updating rather regularly at the xanga site, so please do check it out.

Anemone

The Anonymous Anemone.

2007-01-23T08:16:00.000-07:00

So, I joined an anonymous writing forum the other day. It's called Written by Trial and Error, and I'm going to try to use it to actually finish a coupla stories that keep bouncing around in my head, screaming "We want out! Let us out!"

Confession ... I actually started this forum, and I know all four current participants. :-D But don't let that stop you! Anyone is welcome to join, the only caveat is clearly posted on the visitor's page: If you join, and you try to use inappropriate language or scenery, Imma kick you out. So, if the necessity of honest, clean creativity somehow stifles you ... Sorry. There's other venues for that. On the other hand, if you want to read some funny stuff, and either encourage other people to spill, or be encouraged yourself, this is the place to be. I, at least, will be keeping up on it. 'Cause I kinda have to. Being a moderator and all. And the owner.

But I'll enjoy it, all the same.

Written by Trial and Error

Come check us out!
Anemone

January 20.

2007-01-20T23:06:00.000-07:00

Today is my birthday.

I'm exhausted, annoyed, tired, discouraged, thankful, content, stubborn, yearning, pessimistic, and cold. All at the same time.

So much for a new year ...

Anemone

The Anti-socialite.

2006-12-22T14:25:00.001-07:00

Okay, I admit it. I've been feeling rather anti-social lately. Don't ask me why. (Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies ...)

It probably has something to do with my new job, which I do have and am enjoying, by the way. After (and some during) being let go from the seasonal job at the nursery, I spent a few weeks looking for work -- had a few ups and downs, a few highs and disappointments. I'm pretty happy with where I am now. Schumacher and Co. installs carpets and granite and tile, floors and countertops and bathrooms, commercial and residential, old and new. And they have paperwork, which I, although I daresay this makes me sound quite weird, don't at all mind doing. I've also been learning a new bit of software. I'd never used Quickbooks before, but it's fairly straightforward.

I don't actually work for this company, however. I work for a temp agency, and they posted me out there. Or in there. It's a 45 minute commute, because they are more central and I live out in the boonies. The last couple trips were fun, now that we have about 3 inches of snow, which is slowly melting in the 35-degree sunshine. I expect there will be lots of nice ice tonight and tomorrow. Hopefully, I won't have to drive anywhere over the weekend.

I enjoy looking at all the stone and tile samples. It's fun to learn a little about this, and a little about that. I've worked at a pizza place, a law office, a social services office, a garden nursery, and now a tile and stone installation headquarters. Oh, and an apartment managing office. Hmm. I think that's all. All this experience should stand me in good stead when I finally set up as a court reporter. It's useful to learn esoteric vocabulary and various job-specific things when you're going to do varied work.

So, raise your glasses of milk (or preferred beverage), and here's my toast to a merry and relaxing Christmas for all of you. I'm going to do nothing, very determinedly. We'll see how that works out.

Anemone

Word of the Day: Inspissate

2006-11-21T10:47:00.000-07:00

"Amid a deafening babble of voices in a low-pitched cellar, the Soviet Club meets and dines. Ethics and sociology, the latest vortices of the Whirligig school of verse, combine with the smoke of countless cigarettes to produce an inspissated atmosphere, through which flat, angular mural paintings dimly lower upon the revellers."

-- Lord Peter, the Complete Lord Peter Whimsey Stories, by Dorothy Sayers. "The Fascinating Problem of Uncle Meleager's Will," pg. 39. (c) 1972 Harper & Row Publishers, Inc.

(And, as "No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews," I hereby state: It's a great book. Go read it.)

Buenos Dias, amigos.

2006-10-30T23:23:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I know it's been boring around here. But it's not because I've been lazy. At least, not exactly. I've been posting rather frequently on Anemone Flynn, and I don't always want to repost or even mirror the posts.

My friend temporarily relocated to Africa, and that's the site she's subscribed to. I know, weak excuse, but so it goes. And I haven't forgotten you, but I'd like to re-direct you. On the other hand, if I develop a split personality, they won't have to take out another blog.

What was that, Anemone?

Oh, yeah, Anemone wants me to go for a walk with her. Arrivederche, m'dears.

Heidi

Bubbles, Anyone?

2006-09-29T08:13:00.000-06:00

If you feel you need a refresher course in Bubble-Wrap Ethics, Anemone's got the stuff.

Heidi

Dark and Stormy Fiction

2006-09-26T15:50:00.000-06:00

There's a new story on my Anemone site.

Please, read the disclaimer.

Heidi

I'm not Complicated today.

2006-09-25T08:58:00.002-06:00

But I was last week.

I've had to buckle down and make some decisions -- I can't try for this test my whole life, not doing anything else (as appealing as that sounds). So, I'm giving myself a last try. If I don't pass two legs on November 4th, then I will be looking for a permanent job.

Ay, I feel a bit better. And sad at the same time. But, here goes!

Pray for me.

Heidi

Before & After

2006-09-06T20:35:00.000-06:00

So, there I was, minding my own business, playing with the turtle and going to work.

Then, bam. All my hair starts to fall out. After losing two-thirds of the normal volume, I had to get it cut short. It's still falling out, and I may have to get it cut again. If I go bald, I promise watercolors on the back of my head. ;-)
Just something to look forward to.

And, now ...

Well, ta-ta for now.

Heidi

Home again, home again, diddledy dee ...

2006-09-04T21:44:00.001-06:00

... a house by a meadow, a hill with a tree.

Well, I just finished another bout of housesitting the two poodles, failed the August test, decided to try for the November one, and got all my hair cut off.

Well, that last may be an exaggeration. Pictures to follow.

Heidi

P.S. I stole the profile quote from Cheshira's site. Thanks, Shari!

Where to begin? ...

2006-07-31T01:18:00.000-06:00

Outline:

A. Ongoing Events:

I. Testing for court reporter certification.
a. Failed last test.
b. Taking test August 26.
c. Studying now.

B. Recent Events:

I. Mom had oral surgery.
a. Turns out she may not have trigeminal neuralgia after all.

II. I have a new job.
a. Working at same plant nursery as my brother.
b. Got a sunburn as a result.

III. Was extremely ill.
a. Temperature over 103F. (103.9F, highest recorded.)
b. Almost completely recovered. (Hanging bit of cough. Not much.)

C. Current Events:

I. Family on vacation to Oregon beach.
a. I stayed behind.
i. Milking goat at 7am & 7pm.
ii. Studying for test.
iii. Working full time.
iv. Watering garden.
v. Tending all animals at home.

II. Computer MMORPG.
a. Playing with brother.
i. Fun game. But a bit addictive. Have to watch that.
ii. Very lax in posting. Sorry.

D. Future Events:

I. I'm going to bed now.
a. It's very late.
i. I have to milk a goat in the morning.

II. Good Night.

It's not that I don't like you.

2006-06-18T22:51:00.000-06:00

It's just that my temperature has been over 102 degrees Fahrenheit for the last several days. Honest.

Blech.

Heidi

Maybe ...

2006-06-06T19:38:00.000-06:00

Maybe the word verification function is merely a conspiratorial ploy to help bloggers with their typing accuracy.

I don't look at my fingers when I fill in the nonsense boxes. Do you?

Flipping the coin

2006-06-01T15:09:00.000-06:00

Here's another side. Anemone Flynn reigns supreme.

I just had to try it ...

2006-05-15T21:57:00.000-06:00

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet and current street)
Ivy Ivanhoe (Had to switch them around to make it a girl.)

2. YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME: (grandfather/grandmother on your mother's side, your favorite candy)
Kathy Chocolate

3. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color,favorite animal)
Blue Aardvark

4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, town you grew up in)
Marie Eagle (Much better than the other options, I think.)

5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (first 3 letters of your last name, last 3 letters of mother's maiden name, first 3 letters of your pet's name)
Fly Dav Som (Hmm. Not as bad with the make-believe of my last name. See below:)

6. JEDI NAME: (middle name spelled backwards, your mom's maiden name spelled backwards)
Eiram (And I'm sorry, I'm not authorized to give out that information ;-) But with my make-believe character, who is used for all sensitive information, it would maybe be "Eiram Nnylf." I like it.)

7. SUPERHERO NAME: ("The", your favorite color, the automobile you drive)
The Brown Escort (I'm not sure I like where this is going ... )

That was so much fun, I'm going to tag Liz, Justin, and Mr. Phunk. Come on, let me see!

Maybe I can add one:

Your Elven Name: (One of the scientific names of your favorite flower, your youngest sibling's middle name or that of the youngest person in your family)
Hyacinthus Rose

Then, maybe:

Your Dwarf Name: (Your least favorite vegetable, the first element you find on a periodic table)
Lima Indium

Hmm. Not too bad. Now, how about --

But I'm running out of time.

Don't forget, Liz, Justin, Mr. Phunk. You're tagged!

Huh.

2006-05-07T16:49:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm not having a nervous breakdown.

The test wasn't so bad. It actually felt doable, and now I just have to wait a month for my results. Gaah. I don't want to think about it. That road leads to rapid pulse and shortness of breath.

How was your week?

Blackmail, Bribery, Life

2006-04-24T22:55:00.000-06:00

They're just different words for the same thing.

That's what I told my sister when she was being difficult. I threatened that I wouldn't recommend anymore good books for her unless she cut it out and responded to my inquiry in a straightforward manner.

It worked.

(Evil laugh.)

Of course, now I have to look for more reading material for her. Ah, what a hardship ...

The kittens are doing well.

You know, stress makes me tired, but anticipation keeps me awake. So here I am, it's near 11pm (Don't think that's late? I usually go to bed nearer 9pm.), and I'm posting. My test is on May 6th. By now you all know that I failed the last one; this is what some might call a last chance. My opportunity to prove that I'm serious about wanting to work and support myself in a field where I have studied for 4 years. Whether because I didn't study hard enough, or because it is simply impossible for me to move my fingers fast enough (not really an option -- I have passed fast tests), if I don't pass this test --

Let's just say I have an overwhelming feeling that I could never live it down. I hate failing. I don't do it very often. Maybe that's because I don't try things I might not be able to do, but it's a fact. And now I'm getting to the point where I just don't want to talk about it. If someone asks me how my studying is going, I have to consciously steel myself to politely say, "I'm doing fine. We'll see what happens." It's the not knowing that kills you, as I've heard others acknowledge.

Maybe I'll just write some famous books and become a rich author. No, wait, isn't that word pairing on the list of oxymorons?

Heidi

I Saw a Dog Today

2006-04-23T13:51:00.001-06:00

Not that I don't see dogs all the time. I have a dog. Or, rather, an eighth of a dog. Just yesterday the neighbor's undersized foot-stool was threatening to committ mayhem upon my person if I came one step nearer the fence.

I was driving along today, window down, singing along to Heart's "Straight On," and I saw a truck stop at the four-way stop I was approaching. It caught my attention, because the driver didn't seem to realize it was a four-way and she (he? I think she) just sat there for several seconds until it became apparent that I was also stopping. The dog was in the truck's bed, standing as tall as it could hanging its head over the side in the breeze.

Now, this happens all the time around here, but what caught my attention was the straining that poor animal had to do to get his little pug nose properly in the air. Yep, the lady had a pug in the back of her truck. At first I thought it was a little one, then I saw the mound of fawn-colored fur and realize that he was as big as a medium-sized bulldog. And probably fatter.

I want a pug.

Or maybe a chihuahua.

Or maybe a great Dane.

German shepherds are nice.

I don't really like greyhounds. Too skinny. My friend has one, and the bones on that thing ...

If I'm going to have a smelly, slobbery dog, it will at least be cushy and pettable. And cute. And friendly. And not too smelly.

Maybe I'll just get a cat.

Sacrilegious Easter?

2006-04-16T21:58:00.000-06:00

I went to see the 'No Greater Love' Easter pageant at a nearby church.

Plays and pageants involving Jesus always make me feel faintly uncomfortable. A bit like blasphemy is going on right in front of me, and if I don't keep an iron control on myself I might accidentally join it.

From the time I was about 14 and I participated in a showing of 'The Tree' to Friday night, whenever my emotional strings are pulled by music or movie or whatever, I can feel myself tense up and my heart becomes a rock.

(For those of you who don't know, 'The Tree' is a play or impressionistic pageant portraying Eve / humankind being tempted by a tree / Satan / various demons. There is a Jesus figure who tries to prevent her inevitable downfall and is later crucified.)

When I played in this pageant, I was terrible. I cannot disguise my feelings enough to act on stage; I am simply too self-conscious. As I was playing a demon / tree limb, I was supposed to swagger on across the stage and slam a nail into the hand of this boy who was playing Jesus. I'm positive I had a rictus grin plastered across my face the entire time, and I think I almost dropped the hammer. On second thought, that grin should have been plenty scary. I was also blushing like anything, which I do quite easily. And, of course, to top it all off, the boy who was playing Jesus was, shall I say, not the ugliest in the class.

Last night, the music was wonderful and engaging, the singing was both tuneful and heartfelt, and when Jesus was crucified and then resurrected and the disciples fell at his feet and worshipped, right there on stage -- ah, but there, they lost me. I remember another pageant I saw many, many years ago, where the crucifixion was off-stage -- I didn't like it at the time, but now I feel it would be preferable.

I am always of two minds when I watch a portrayal of Jesus. Part of me is overawed by the actual majesty and poignancy of the sacrifice He made for us. And then the other half is critical. How dare we even attempt to have another person act Jesus? Are we being idolatrous by having a type of icon which people are bowing down to? I know it's only on stage, but still ...

I had the same feeling when I watched The Passion. There have been many different people playing Jesus over the years, which I definitely prefer to having one, overarching personification. That, I believe, would be even more dangerous. I don't think that the people who are acting want to worship the man who acts as Jesus, but I can't help but feel that it is extremely dangerous to even make-belive to adore and worship another person. I don't think the man who plays Jesus is trying to garner any backsplash from the emotion of the moment -- but I know that I would feel extremely uncomfortable portraying anyone being worshipped. It smacks of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, and that is something I wish to avoid.

Of course, I feel uncomfortable playing at being anyone besides myself, and sometimes I even feel silly doing that!

Sorry, Liz, I know this isn't the sarcastic / chipper note you were hoping for. However, on a lighter note, the kittens are all doing fine and Beth and I had a long discussion about whether I was behaving like a gypsy, American, bohemian, or a citizen of another country altogether. I should have suggested another planet. Ah, well, there's always next time!

Heidi

Pictures!

2006-03-31T12:25:00.000-07:00

Now, these are not actually from the pizza party in question -- but I am blessed to have a sister who has a digital camera and knows how to use it.

(Me, Liz, Starry-eyes. She's the one with the camera.)

You're not getting any more pictures of me for a while. I don't like them.

And, alas, there do not seem to be any pictures of the outside of the pizza oven. Anyway, being unfinished, it looks like a lump on concrete on stilts.

Enough!

Heidi

Pizza Party!

2006-03-13T09:34:00.000-07:00

If any of you are in town on the 18th, drop by!

We'll be testing my dad's new backyard pizza oven for the third or fourth time. Bring your favorite topping, take a personal crust and line up, 'cause the oven is going to be HOT!

Seriously, like, you know, 750 - 800 degrees Fahrenheit. Really.

Pictures to follow ...

Note to Self:

2006-03-06T18:25:00.000-07:00

When dirt is flying towards your face at a high velocity, do not open your mouth to exclaim about it. Zip those lips, baby.

Failed it. Again.

2006-03-01T11:11:00.000-07:00

Well ...

2006-02-24T14:55:00.000-07:00

I've recovered enough from my last test to finally say: Yes, I felt like I did well; no, I won't find out until halfway through next month.

I'm getting tired of this.

Currently, I'm looking for a job/jobs transcribing anything from audio into written word. I need a job.

Other than that, life ain't too bad. I learned to play pool and I'm not absolutely terrible at it. In fact, I enjoy it more than I ever thought I would. Of course, that may be a factor of the company in which I play ...

I'm still practicing my piano, and I'm going to accompany a cousin while she sings "Alla Luce Dal Sole." Now I want to learn Italian so I can sing it, too! She doesn't know Italian, but she's pronouncing it very nicely to my unschooled ear. Musica, por favor!

Life in general has suffered some recent complications since my mom was diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia, but it seems to have been acute instead of chronic and the pain is ebbing at present. She was told her sodium and potassium levels were low, so the doc is making her take horse-pill-sized supplements and eat sea salts. And just ask Liz, nobody can say my mom isn't healthy. Oh, well. Starry-eyes has just about taken over the kitchen in her absence -- I'll let them fight it out. Whoever wins will be making lots of cookies, anyway.

Ta,
Heidi

Make Me Laugh?

2006-01-31T14:47:00.000-07:00

Quotes from Terry Pratchett's "Thief of Time."

One of life's certainties is that there is generally a last chocolate hidden in all those empty wrappers.

Death found Pestilence in a hospice in Llamedos. Pestilence like hospitals. There was always something for him to do. Currently he was trying to remove the "Now Wash Your Hands" sign over a cracked basin. "Soap? I'll give 'em soap!"

I've never liked philosophers. They make it all sound so grand and simple, and then you step out into a world that's full of complications.

IT HAS BEEN RATHER PEACEFUL OF LATE, I AGREE, said Death.
"Peaceful?" Said War. "Ha! I may as well change m'name to 'Police Action' or 'Negotiated Settlement'! Remember the old days? Warriors used to froth at the mouth! Arms and legs bouncing in all directions! Great time, eh?" He leaned across and slapped Death on the back. "I'll bag 'em and you'll tag'em, what?"
This looked hopeful, Death thought.

Age and wisdom don't necessarily go together. Some people just become stupid with more authority.

A chocolate you did not want to eat does not count as chocolate. This discovery is from the same brand of culinary physics that determined that food eaten while walking along contains no calories.

The yeti of the Ramtops, are one of the few creatures to utilize control of personal time for a genetic advantage. The result is a kind of physical premonition-you find out what is going to happen next by allowing it to happen. Faced with danger, or any kind of task that involves risk of death, a yeti will save its life up to that point and then proceed with all due caution. Yet in the comfortable knowledge that, should everything go pancake-shaped, it will wake up at the point where it saved itself with, and this is the important part, knowledge of the events which have just happened but which will not happen now because it's not going to be such a damn fool next time.

People have been messing around with time ever since they were people. Wasting it, killing it, sparing it, making it up. And they do it. People's heads were made to play with time. You watch the Procrastinators even on a quiet day. Moving time, stretching it here, compressing it there; it's a big job.

You had to hand it to human beings. They had one of the strangest powers in the universe. No other species anywhere in the world had invented boredom. ... Trolls and dwarfs had it, too, that strange ability to look at the universe and think 'oh, the same as yesterday, how dull. I wonder what happens if I bang this rock on that head?"

Some humans would do anything to see if it was possible to do it. If you put a large switch in some cave somewhere, with a sign on it saying "End-of-the-World Switch. PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH," the paint wouldn't even have time to dry.

Nine-tenths of the universe is the knowledge of the position and direction of everything in the other tenth. Every atom has its biography, every star its file, every chemical exchange its equivalent of the inspector with a clipboard. It is unaccounted for because it is doing the accounting for the rest of it.

Nine-tenths of the universe, in fact, is the paperwork.

This is an Official Announcement

2006-01-30T15:09:00.000-07:00

We will not be adopting any children from Zambia.

We will not be organizing any orphanage in Zambia.

We will not be moving to Zambia. (Of course, this doesn't rule out Chad, South Africa, Mozambique, Kenya, or any other African countries, but Dad hasn't mentioned any of them yet.)

I Am Not Perky. This has nothing (or at least not much) to do with the announcements above, but rather with the fact that the test on February 11th is still in the future. At least I hope that's the reason, 'cause I'd be really put out to discover that I'm coming down with some rare disease that makes me cranky and stressed out.

After re-reading that last sentence ... Oh, well. I'll leave it.

I hope everyone else out there in the ether is having a much better month. But my birthday was nice. This doesn't overshadow my birthday.

Enough, already!

Ta.

January 20th

2006-01-26T10:02:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful birthday. Several friends came over and played cards with me, and Starry-eyes made some scrumptious brownie-with-cream-cheese-filling cupcakes. All in all it was a very satisfying evening. Nothing much happened, except a lot of giggling, but I was spending time with people I don't get to see as often as I would like.

I'm studying very hard, so I can't write much. Also, I get sick and tired of writing when I'm not sure whether anyone is reading my posts! I haven't had a comment in months. Oh, well. I'll just write on my book, I suppose. Maybe someone will read that, someday.

Heidi

I know, I know.

2006-01-04T13:22:00.000-07:00

If I don't give y'all something new to look at, I'll lose what little readership I may have. So, here's what's new.

I had a wonderful Christmas and New Years. We had a little family celebration with my grandparents on Christmas Day, and I got everything my heart desired. Well, almost. I received a letter informing me of my failure to pass the stenography certification test almost immediately before Christmas. But, I bucked up and enjoyed myself anyway, and now I'm nose to the grindstone until I pass that thing.

I got a medical dictionary for Christmas. I'm sure you're all wondering why that would make my day, but I like dictionaries. And grammar guides, and almost anything else that has words or is made of bound paper or both. I'm not even picky about it. (Usually.) The dictionary will go onto my work reference shelf (as soon as I have a work reference shelf!) with my humongo Black's Law Dictionary that was given to me for my birthday last year. I'll have to get a sturdy shelf.

I also found a replacement Swiss Army knife in my stocking (the last one was stolen when my purse was stolen for the second time last year), and an FM broadcaster for my ipod. I like that very much, because all my audio is available to me in my car now, when before I had to change cds. I am extremely spoiled. I know it. And yet, so sweet ...

(Snigger. I'm also very silly today.)

I did make a skirt and blouse and go to the Winter Ball this year. Yes, there are pictures, and no, they're not currently available for me to post. I'll try to get some up soon.

My sister had her 12th birthday yesterday. They're all trying to catch me, but ha-ha, I have a birthday coming up too! January 20th, just in case you wanted to know, I'll be 22. What a nice number. (Now, Liz, control yourself! 23 is nice, too.)

I can't think of anything else just now. But if any of you have a craving for old-time radio detective stories, check out www.soapdetectives.com. I've listened to all of them so far, except the Christmas special. I don't think I want to listen to 'It's a Wonderful Life' on the radio for an hour. And there's not even a mystery, really.

So, life's trickling along. I am reading your blogs faithfully. Liz, Justin, no news I see. (Who am I to say anything, anyways!)

New Year's resolutions? Nada. Not a one. I made them all in November.

Ta,
Heidi

Merry Christmas

2005-12-24T16:32:00.000-07:00

And a Happy New Year!

(Feliz Navidad a todos.)

Heidi

Gingerbread House

2005-12-13T22:21:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm sure you all think it's about time I posted again! Nothing much new has been going on. I have also seen Wardrobe, but I didn't like this version as much as some others did. Sure, it had good effects, but I thought the old series caught the attitude and spirit of the characters better. Okay, maybe I'm just used to the old version!

Anyway, I built a gingerbread house, and I thought you might like to see it.
Gingerbread House

I've been studying in classes, working out, and interning. Nothing much new. Tan-man's coming home again this next weekend. He'll probably try to make me play chess with him again. Ouch.

Heidi

I Talked to Liz

2005-12-05T23:08:00.000-07:00

She's alive.

At least, I think that was her. I'll believe it when I see her in person.

Heidi

I did it (well, so far)!

2005-11-22T20:26:00.000-07:00

I have officially passed my last speed test for school. Mark down another 225 words per minute test against my name! Now, for certification.

Meanwhile ... the interning continues.

Heidi

Interning

2005-11-21T08:30:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been doing a considerable amount of interning in the last few days. There's a civil case that I've been sitting in on -- today is my 3rd day. It's not bad to write to. I've listened to a couple expert witnesses talk about interesting things like 'awake fiberoptic intubation,' and 'direct visual intubation,' and 'nurse anesthetists,' and anything you want to know about spinal cord injuries. It's been interesting, and the expert witnesses have spoken slowly enough for me to get most of it. I also sat in on drug court one day last week -- now, that's pretty fast. In drug court almost everything is rote and repeated about thirty-seven times, so it goes by pretty fast.

I'm waiting for court to begin this morning, just thought I'd drop y'all a line. Do you know, courtrooms are usually quite chilly.

Heidi

Time Well Spent

2005-11-15T19:58:00.000-07:00

Caution. Measure carefully
The hours you are given.
Passing once
Through time at hand,
How are your passions driven?

Listen. Many tell you
Your plight is not unique.
What is useful
For eternity
Will stand up to critique.

Work well for others' honor.
Toil for true rest.
Little value
Vanity,
True beauty lasts time's test.

Cherish. Closely guide them.
Let kind attitude remain.
Forgive soon,
Healing wounds.
Friendship scarred is hard regained.

Laura

Are Bazaars Really Supposed to be This Relaxing?

2005-11-12T17:22:00.000-07:00

I had a table at a boy scout troop's fundraising bazaar today. There really weren't very many people there at all. The scouts had a baked goods/chili table, and there were about 6 or 7 other tables. I took my beading -- the necklaces, bracelets, and earrings that I like to make. I was able to manufacture quite a few, owing to the lack of traffic past my table. That's one of the ways I like to relax, though, so I had a nice morning. I sold enough to cover the cost of being there, and to pay for gas next week, so I consider it a success. I received many compliments on my jewelry, too. All in all, a very enjoyable morning. If I ever do it again, though, I'd want more customers. I can always use the money.

Then I came home and mowed the lawn. For the last time. Now our yard looks better than our neighbor's yard. But they're compulsive lawn manicurists, so I don't suppose it will last. I feel a bit of suspense in the air -- who will get the last mow in before it snows?

Here it comes!

2005-11-04T13:44:00.000-07:00

Okay, everyone, the big test is tomorrow. I've got to report to the courthouse by 9:45am (I think, I'll double check that for sure!). Pray for me.

Just in case you were wondering, my favorite shoes are sandals. Slip-on, with a heel. I like about a 2-inch heel. And I usually go for black or brown, because that matches everything. Although I have seen some virulent greens a time or two ...

And yes, the reason I want them slip-on is so I can slip them off.

Heidi

P.S. The discussion about traditional churches is still going on in 'The Promised Post.' I may even do another main post at some point, but I'll have to think about that more.

Be Nice to Spiders.

2005-10-31T13:39:00.000-07:00

Put them out of their misery!

You know it's getting cold outside when you move anything that's been on the floor for more than an hour and spider starts to scuttle madly toward the middle of the room. Idiot. If you ran for cover you might escape, but I've usually got a shoe handy if you give me a minute ...

I did leave the ones I saw outside alone. But they have to stay outside. Or I'll sic the cat on them. That'll teach'em.

Heidi

The Promised Post

2005-10-26T20:52:00.000-06:00

First, a little history.

We moved to Idaho when I was four. We began attending the congregation that my grandparents were at. My grandmother was a secretary for the pastor. I don't really remember too much about this time, because I was very young at the beginning. I do still have one friend from then, but overall I was a bit shy and withdrawn. By the time I was about 10, I was starting to be more interested in books than people. When we had been there for about 6 to 8 years, my parents had some good connections within the congregation. Then we realized that the pastor was definitely untrustworthy, especially where finances were concerned. I don't know who first drew our attention to this, but from my (limited!) understanding, it was an ongoing problem. My grandma was able to tell us more about it, and she soon quit her job as a secretary there.

We next went church hunting in the area where we were living at the time, which is where we are now. We found a nice, little place and started to attend. I was old enough at that point, and I volunteered in the children's church. My mother played her flute. But something just didn't work out. I know the least about this place, because we weren't there for very long. My father says that the young pastor was uneducated and his children were out of control. Our family met another family who taught their kids at home here. They were not particularly well received in this congregation, which may have contributed to both of our families leaving so quickly.

We had 'home church' meetings with this family and two or three others (depending on availability) for the next year and a half or so. Then, when some of the other families began to discontinue coming to the meetings, the first family invited us to a church they had just found. It had about 50 attendees and was meeting in an elementary school. We were very excited about this new opportunity. We became full-fledged members. We attended that church for about 8 years, I think. Up 'till the end of this year, anyway. I started this blog about when we first began to seriously consider never going back.

Nascent congregations are usually terrific places to be for the first few years of their existence: you still know almost everyone who attends and no one is very uptight about the order of service or the exact music. However, in our society now, growth is the ultimate goal. If your numbers do not grow, you are obviously doing something wrong. Once growth happens, suddenly there is a staff, multiple programs to attract new members, and a definite hierarchy is set in process which relies on fallible human integrity. Too often compromise is one of the first new members of a growing church. This relates to the consumer mentality I've read about, where churches will do whatever it takes to get more members.

My father was elected to the stewards board about 5 years ago. After he had served a year, my sister was diagnosed with leukemia. He resigned from the board, because he simply did not have the time to devote to anything extra at the time. She died 2 years later. After a year or so, they re-elected him to the board. Our congregation was growing phenomenally, and we had been given a small building by another congregation that could no longer use it. Of course, the next step was obvious. We needed to build our own building! So we did. We moved into it a year ago.

After we moved into the new building, the staff began to put pressure on the board of stewards. My father resisted this effort, and finally wrote a letter stating his objections to what they were wanting, and offering to resign if they decided to persist. In his opinion, the staff wanted to spend a significant amount of money in a way that they had promised the congregation that they wouldn't. He felt they could not do so without first discussing it with the congregation. That idea was resisted, because the staff realized that such a request might not be very well received. He then had to leave for China on a business trip. While he was gone, the board and staff held a meeting and officially accepted his resignation, in the process portraying him as a trouble-maker.

My mother was at home, and she received phone calls from some of our friends who knew what had happened. She became a bit upset about the whole thing, and when my dad returned (a week later) he told all of us children that we were not going to be attending on Sundays; at least not until he had a chance to speak to the pastor and assistant pastor and see if he could straighten anything/everything out. I took myself off the lists for things I had been volunteering for, and we have only been back as a family one time. My dad received a phone call from the pastor, and as he thought that was a good sign, he went back one other time.

He has not received any other communications from anyone from the staff or board to my knowledge. They seem perfectly fine with letting us go in order to keep face. The other family who introduced us to this congregation had already become a bit disenchanted when they were again slighted.

It has only been about a month since we were pretty sure we were gone for good. We were originally thinking about looking for another place, but we have been reconsidering that in the past few weeks.

I keep saying 'we,' because my mother in particular is very open with me about how they are tending, and I am also old enough to make my own decisions along these lines! Always guided by older and wiser heads, of course.

We began the first efforts toward once again meeting with other like-minded families last Sunday. Singing, brunch, and good conversation! There wasn't anyone my age around, but I'm now able to converse with adults, so I had a good time too. We discussed the 'church format,' including the cookie-cutters for 'pastors,' 'Sunday school,' 'sermons,' and 'fellowship.' The only one of those words you will find in the Bible is 'fellowship,' and the rules there for how and when you have to have it do not coincide with the church format most congregations follow.

In a typical church you come in, sing, greet other people, listen to announcements, give/take an offering, listen to a sermon, greet other people, and leave. How does this line up with what we ought to do?

Singing: We (now I mean the two parents of the family we had brunch with and my parents and my self) all agreed that this is our favorite part of any church service. The power and unity found in glorifying God together is greater than just about anything else on this earth. My mother, for one, would be perfectly satisfied with heaven even if all it was was one eternal song service. But heaven is a subject for another time.

Greet other people: Okay, so this -- both after singing and after church -- is supposed to be your 'fellowship' time. It may be just us, but haven't you ever felt that 5 minutes a little tight to take kids to Sunday school, refresh your coffee so you don't fall asleep during the sermon, and have a meaningful conversation with all six people who are sitting around you -- especially when they are most likely complete strangers? And then, after church, I don't really know anyone who isn't straining to go home and eat something! It's dinner time, doncha know!

Listen to announcements: These usually have to do with committees, events, and other functions that the 'church' feels obligated to provide and you feel obligated to attend. I'll expand on this a bit later.

Give/take an offering: There are many different reasons we give money.
- We are supposed to support those who minister to us.
- We feel obligated.
- We want to give to missions and support people who are struggling.
- We want a tax break -- okay, that's a bit tongue in cheek.
The tithe, or tenth, is from when God told the Israelites to give the temple a tenth of all their produce every year. In 1 Corinthians 1:7 it says 'So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.' There is no room for making people feel guilty if we feel they are not giving enough. We are neither required to give a tenth, nor limited to that. As for missions, is this really an effective way to give? Sometimes people may give just so they don't have to think about it. Once they have tithed, it's no longer their problem. Personally, I appreciated the fashion in which this was approached at the congregation we left. They had two stationary boxes where you could place your gift. However, this did not eliminate all problems: when there are people who put their names on the offering they make, there is a record of amounts and who gave what. This is supposed to be for tax purposes, but even a congregation is still a human organization, and humans with human feelings and prejudices are placed in positions to know more than they probably should. My father tells me the tax break is insignificant, so I can certainly see why people would choose to honor what Jesus said about giving in private.

Listen to a sermon: The position of authority that a pastor has in a traditional format is not justified anywhere in the New Testament. The roles of elders and deacons are outlined, and Timothy is represented as a young pastor, but I do not believe that he is described the way a modern pastor would be. Our type of pastor seems to be a sort of relic from the Catholic Church. Too many times a pastor is placed in between the congregation and God. With counseling sessions, it is even possible to 'confess' to your pastor! I think -- and I know this is an ongoing problem throughout the world -- that people use church services and the sermon as a replacement for personal Bible study. They sit and listen to a pastor who will teach on a text or topic, tell a few jokes, and philosophize with a bit of worldly wisdom everyone can relate to.

Again, as soon as the service is over, everyone hurries home to relax, watch football, and recover from dressing up.

And Sunday school! Take the children away from their poor, exhausted parents, let them smear glue all over themselves, feed them candy, and tell them a cute little story about how the animals went in two by two. Everyone knows children have to have the Bible in teeny-tiny little doses, or they won't understand it. Now, in my family, my mother has consistently read to us straight from the Bible almost every day of our lives. As a result, my siblings come home and can explain exactly how the Sunday school lesson was oversimplified or even incorrect.

Back to the events and committees. In every cookie-cutter church, there is a trend to have a committee or group for everything and everyone. I think this is an effort to have everyone involved in some kind of ministry and to make up for the lack of fellowship on Sunday morning. There is the youth group, which is usually led by a twenty-something who is either fresh out of college or still in school. I have even heard youth group characterized as an escape from you parents! You can imagine how well that went over with my parents. Now the church is taking on a semblance of public school, becoming a place where you can know better than your parents. Children and youth should learn how to respect adults, not regard them as a burden. Youth group may provide a valuable service for those whose parents are not Christians; but I can't help but feel that they would be better served by finding mentors among adults than by joining in a large group of typically uncontrolled teenagers.

There are committees and study groups for college aged young adults, young married people, women, men, single people, people with kids, people without kids, people who like to ride motorcycles, people who like to eat donuts, and just about anything else you can find in which you are different. Doesn't this seem to promote a type of division? It's great to have things in common with other people, but a balance is needed. I happen to attend a not-in-college-but-not-married group myself, and the father of the family we had brunch with had a great way to describe this kind of a group. He called it 'the Great P of I.' Any guesses? That means 'the Great Pooling of Ignorance,' and it just about describes how I feel most of the time. I have some fairly good friends in this group, but the very description of the group displays how very unbalanced it is in terms of experience and knowledge. "Hey, lets all get together and talk about things we don't understand. A couple of self-help books, and we're all set. So, do any of you understand this passage? No? Huh, me neither. Let's move on." Argh!!!

So the consensus was that our system is seriously messed up. But, can we change it? Mr.-whose-house-we-went-to-for-brunch pointed out the verse where Jesus says not to put new wine into old wineskins, or both will be lost. One lesson we gained from that parallel was that God still values the people who are in this system. In no way do I mean to imply that they are not valid, saved-by-the-grace-of-God Christians. It is simply that, especially in view of our experiences, we wonder if there is a better way.

We are going to continue to make an effort to regularly fellowship with other Christians. Thankfully, we have an abundance of Christian friends who are not dependent on our attending with a certain congregation. I'll let you know how it goes.

So, instead of lots of little posts, how about one big one?
With great expectations (and amazed at the length of this!),
Heidi

I really haven't been ignoring you.

2005-10-25T14:22:00.000-06:00

Honestly. I've been reading everyone's blog almost daily. I just haven't written anything in my own.

Nothing much has been going on. I suppose the high point (speaking of excitement) was when we came home from brunch on Sunday and found a German shepherd locked in the rabbit hutch. But that was cleared up quickly. What, you want to know what happened?

We went to brunch on Sunday. That's right, we are no longer attending church. I knew this was going to happen, but it wasn't official. I'm still not sure it's official. Howsomever, since we haven't gone for more than a month, I consider it fair to say we're no longer attending. Maybe we'll pick it back up, but that is extremely doubtful. If I knew how to calculate probability, I would, but I don't -- so take it from me: unlikely.

I had a very fun time at the home where we went on Sunday. They have very similar views on everything, and they also teach their children at home. We ended up spending about 6 hours there, I think, which was much more than we originally intended. But it was Sunday, and we didn't have anything else in particular going on.

When we arrived home, my mom scooped up the kitten and carried it into the house before the rest of the kids entered the garage, so they promptly started to search for it in the garage and backyard. Buddy came in and whispered to my mom, "Um, there's a dog in the rabbit cage and the rabbits are dead." He didn't want Starry-eyes to hear him, because he thought she might get all emotional. So, of course, I had to go see.

I was first on the scene - well, second really since Buddy had already seen it - and a second dog promptly pranced up and slobbered all over me. They were very friendly dogs. Except to rabbits. Apparently the German shepherd had forced its way into the hutch without bothering to break the cage and the door simply returned behind him, effectively locking him in. He was all hunched over, mournfully regarding both his friend and our dog. Sombra was ecstatic with glee over the visitors. Shows how good a guard dog she is!

Dad let the dog out of the hutch, and we tied them to a tree. Buddy and I gave them some water to drink, soft-hearted creatures that we are. Then we called the sheriff. They were carted off by the animal control unit about half an hour later, and we reported the damage: Two dead rabbits. Surprisingly, the third rabbit did not die of fright. He was in a separate cage, and seems to be fine. Starry-eyes came out to dispose of the bodies of her two females, and she did not break down. She said she had been considering discontinuing the rabbit experiment anyway.

That's the most exciting thing I can think of that's happened recently. And that was just last Sunday. If anything else happens, I'll post, but don't hold your breath. On the other hand, I've always wanted to see someone turn blue ...

I'll probably post again sooner than that, but right now I'm preparing for/stressing over a test that's coming up on November 5. Five minutes at 180wpm, 200wpm, and 225wpm each.

(So we close, with screams dwindling into oblivion ...)

What a day.

2005-10-11T22:32:00.000-06:00

Flat tire on the way home today. I was almost home, and I almost just drove the last two miles on it... but no.

I pulled off into the locals' fishing area and began to change my tire. Luckily I hadn't dressed up for school today. Just when my hands where all black and dirty and I was beginning to consider the relative merits of the possible positions for the jack, a nice man drove up in an Idaho Roofing & Repair truck and offered to help me. I love being a helpless female! Okay, I probably could have changed it myself, but starting those lug nuts is hard work!

After he put my spare on and I thanked him, I drove home. To tell my mother that I needed a new tire, and that it would probably need to be done this evening before soccer. So, I wrecked the schedule.

We went to Wal-Mart for cheap tires, because I don't have an income. I can't even afford the Wal-Mart tires, I'll have to pay my parents back!

There was almost no line at the drive-in area. But it took them one and a half hours before they even thought about driving my car over to get fixed, and another half an hour to actually do it. Yecch. So, I spent two hours sitting around at Wal-Mart. Just what I wanted to do today. And I'm slipping farther and farther into debt...

I think I'll go to bed. Again. I know I always write late, but that's when I'm in my talkative mood. See ya 'round.

Heidi

And I still have to find the money to get the oil changed and the tires rotated and the brakes replaced so I don't die this winter... ... ... ...

sesquipedalian

2005-10-11T21:23:00.000-06:00

I like this word!

Sesquipedalian -- Given to the use of long words.

Sometimes, I am afraid my friends think me sesquipedalian.

Oh, that hurts!

2005-10-09T21:32:00.000-06:00

I'm not going to write a big post, because I'm falling asleep and my eyes won't stay propped open much longer. Starry-eyes, me, and my dad went on a hike this afternoon. Technically it was her birthday hike. All uphill and downhill (mostly nearly perpendicular) for about 3 hours. No, not so perpendicular that we needed climbing equipment. Although there was this one place where that might have been safer... Don't tell my mom. I worked my legs and did my deep breathing exercises. Gasps for air and for when one or another of us slipped on the (maybe 65 degree?) slope that was covered in shale.

On a low note, all of our kittens disappeared. It seems likely that they were eaten by a skunk or something, but who knows. We're getting one from my aunt to bring our cat population back to three, which is normal. I guess I don't have to worry about allergies for a while, though. I was probably just being a bit of a hypochondriac. Silly.

Okay, my legs are like jello and my eyes hurt.

G'night, all.

Heidi

Audrey Hepburn

2005-10-05T10:07:00.000-06:00

Thanks for the idea, Justin!

I have always liked Audrey Hepburn's films. The first one that comes to mind is 'Charade' with Cary Grant. I like Cary Grant, too. I've not seen 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'; my parents watched, and returned it before I'd had my turn! My mother didn't particularly like it. I also enjoyed 'Funny Face,' mostly for the good photography and the color contrasts. I've always liked to look at clothes, and Audrey has several good outfits in that movie. I'm just scrolling in the IMDB, and I see 'How to Steal a Million,' which runs a close second to 'Charade.' Hmm, I haven't watched too many of hers. I guess I spent too much time on Cary Grant. (giggle) I have seen 'Sabrina' and 'Roman Holiday.'

'Charade' is the story of a widow whose husband was very rich. He is murdered in the first few minutes of the movie, and all the characters are wondering what became of his fortune. Several dubious men register at the same hotel where Reggie (Hepburn) is staying, and begin to threaten and stalk her, demanding the money they believe should rightfully belong to them. Reggie has to figure out where the money is and stay alive, all while trying to decide whether Peter (Grant) is really who he says he is. Peter keeps changing his name throughout the story, making it even harder for her to trust him.

I like this movie because of the mystery (and the romance, of course!). It is very tense -- I usually end up holding my little sister's hand. (Not for her comfort, either. She used to hold my hand, now I hold hers.) There are also some extremely funny scenes, as in many Cary Grant movies.

'How to Steal a Million' has Peter O'Toole co-starring. I usually don't gush about actors, but I have always liked him in this movie. Hepburn plays the daughter of a painter, and O'Toole plays a detective who is looking into art forgery. When Nicole's (Hepburn) father exhibits a statue at a museum, she must retrieve it before the experts get a close look and discover that it's really a miniature of her grandmother instead of the Cellini Venus. O'Toole ends up showing her how to steal effectively, and the whole escapade makes me laugh out loud every time I watch it.

Any questions? Gotta run to class now!

Ta,
Heidi

Go To Bed Already! (Just Let Me Post This First)

2005-10-01T00:14:00.000-06:00

Okay, party update!

We had a great time this evening! After I arrived (obnoxiously, of course), we spent the next hour or so exchanging the most outrageous comments. There were 5 guests and my three sisters and me, so we were able to furnish a lot of imagination.

I asked everyone very blatantly if they had any valuable jewelry, if what they were wearing was gold, and tried to mention money in at least every other sentence. I passed off my 'smuggling and thieving' activities by saying that I was a traveling inventoryist (I don't think that's a word), and that I was much 'wanted' around the world. My sister acted properly horrified that I would mention 'business' in front of her guests.

Later we played poker. I was winning, but Shelley, a reporter from The Maryland Review (that would be Sarah, Liz), decided to try to lose and promptly won everything. It does happen. She then redeemed her monopoly money for the two bags of M&Ms we had allocated for the poker game. Life ain't fair. Think of the stomachache she'll have if she eats all of those! She shared with everyone. I didn't really want to win, because then I might have felt I was entitled to the candy, and that wouldn't be good.

So, I was up until 1am last night sewing that dress, up at 6:30am for school, and now it's after midnight again. I think I should go to bed. My eyes itch.

Here's a picture of my skirt.

Do any of you know how late in life you can become allergic to cats? Just curious. It runs in my family, and I've been getting allergy-like symptoms lately. It could be the trailing end of my cold (on days I don't get enough sleep), or a cat allergy, or just a regular allergy poking it's nasty head out. Quien sabe. I've never been allergic to anything in my life. Except maybe exercise. I think about running in the morning, and my body just starts to ache, and my legs get strange twinges, and my knees become painful, and I can't breathe properly, and my heart starts to pitter-patter -- well, m'dear, you'll just have to suffer through it! Toughen up. And get more sleep.

Wishing you all a sleep-filled evening,
Heidi

Happy Birthday!

2005-09-30T09:57:00.000-06:00

Happy birthday, dear (Starry-eyes),
Happy birthday to you!

Actually, her birthday was yesterday. She's 15 now, and I'm not sure I believe it.

(Sarah, you are not supposed to read this, or she'll kill me. Figuratively.)

I'm sitting here at school in a bright neon blue leopard print fuzzy skirt, with overdone blue eyeshadow, black boots & top, and wayyyy too much golden gilding. Why? I'm gonna crash her party.

Don't worry, I cleared it with her; we plan to astonish her guests.

I am Katrine Schneitzel, Annette Karewis' Aunt Agatha's daughter. Don't worry, I can't keep it straight either. I'm secretly a smuggler, on the look out to wangle an introduction to the royalty and heiresses among her guests. I'm especially interested in the Princess of Austria and the heir to the Cotter fortune. Wow, I remembered two names! Maybe this won't be a fiasco.

Katrine's my name, obnoxious is my game. I can do obnoxious.

So, Happy Birthday, dear!

Heidi

P.S. I'll try to get her to take some pictures that I can post.

Cruelty?

2005-09-27T15:51:00.000-06:00

I suppose it's cruel to leave everyone (are you out there in the ether?) hanging.

We're still waiting for adoption news, so I can't tell you anything else about that.

I've had laryngitis and not enough sleep lately, so I'm a bit spacey. We went to watch 'March of the Penguins' on Sunday. It's pretty good. The parts where the penguins find their true love is a bit graphic... Really, it's the music and the way they pan the camera up and down their necks, like a sex scene in a pg13 movie. I thought that part went a little long. But those babies are so cute! There was some terrific photography, as far as I could tell. I don't take many pictures.

Just been hanging out for the most part; I should be getting ready for Starry-eyes' b-day party, but I've been putting that off. I'm supposed to have a bright blue leopard print fur skirt sewn by Friday morning. No problem, right? Okay, maybe I ought to at least cut it out before Thursday night, especially considering I do need my sleep unless I want a remix of the last week's sniffles.

If only I actually liked to drink tea...or hot chocolate...or very much of any warm drink except coffee! Even my coffee is fake -- gimme chocolate milk, a dash of espresso and some coconut syrup. Mmmmm. Expensive.

Maybe you can tell that I'm having trouble thinking of anything much to say...

'Bye, all!

Heidi

News

2005-09-23T12:15:00.000-06:00

I was going to title this post 'bad news'; then I figured, why be depressing right off? Give the reader some time to work into it...

If you're already having a bad day, read this tomorrow. On second thought, maybe it's not that bad and you should just get everything over with today, instead of spreading it out over a perfectly good week-end.

Many, some, most -- okay, I don't know how many -- of you may know that we've been trying to adopt two little boys from Zambia. We had run into a bit of a brick wall communication-wise over the past few weeks. My last update was that we had heard a 'yes' from one family, and no answer from the second. We were waiting for the social worker to track them down and ask them for us.

Yesterday my mom got a letter from the orphanage director saying that the adoption was off. The first family had really said 'no' and the intake officer had just recorded it wrong. The second family had still not shown up, and I guess if they don't show up that's the same as a no.

It's hard to believe, because these families have had no contact with these children for about four years. Why would they care now? Did we just suddenly remind them, 'Oh, yeah, I've got this cousin. I should visit him sometime, now that he's almost 5 years old.'

Anyway, we're going to make a few calls and see what's going on and if there's any hope at all.

I'll keep you posted as allowed by discretion. :-)

Heidi

Poem

2005-09-21T19:15:00.000-06:00

This one's going out to you, Liz.
My mom didn't know if you'd seen this poem she wrote for me.

Heidi's Game

Heidi plays a game with me
With calculated subtlety
I supervise and organize
She tests her wit and really tries
To comment unexpectedly
And gain an honest laugh from me
Polite and gracious humorist
To common things she adds a twist
On cheerful help you can rely
When Heidi's home and standing by

by Laura 10-04-03

I'm sure I'll have to post more of my mom's poems sooner or later.

I've had laryngitis for the last two days; I think it's the same bug that laid my mom out for a week, so I should be over it pretty quickly.

I finally passed my qwerty-keyboard typing tests at school -- we only had to be 50wpm, but I was afraid it would be hard for me to do. I seem to have gained speed inexplicably, and passed with flying colors. I have my suspicions, though. They may be counting syllables instead of words...but my teacher is adamant that they counted the words, so who knows! I'm just glad I passed.

That means that I only have one more test at school -- 5 minutes at 225 wpm. Then I graduate! That would be nice, but don't forget about that certification/licensing test I still have to pass in November. Of course, if I don't get that I can take it again in March...then again in November...then again in March...let's not go there.

Yo, G'pa! What's up? How was Starry-eye's soccer game? You can comment on my blogs by clicking the button at the bottom that says '# comments.' Yes, I know, it's an extremely small font. Toodles!

G'night, all!

No Laughing Allowed (But You Can Chortle A Bit)

2005-09-20T11:01:00.000-06:00

I said this before, and I'll say it again: I am not the most physical in my family. (Cue Liz's smile.)

However, I am very pleased with my progress lately! I hate running, and always have, but I'm willing to put up with it for the benefits -- not to mention the runner's high I get. I ran my mile this morning in nine minutes and twenty-three seconds. That's four seconds faster than Friday, fourteen faster than last Wednesday, and thirty-nine faster than last Tuesday. YES!

(I can so hear you laughing at me...)

Of course, my mom's loving and supportive response to my boasting and hopes of progess was to quip that I might be able to run two miles at a time eventually.

Napples and Noranges

2005-09-19T16:03:00.000-06:00

I was telling my family about the APS post concerning a/an and the variations that have resulted from misuse of them. My mother was adamant that there was never a norange or a napron; my dad just was curious to know what else could have changed if it were all true. We did look them up on the OED, but 'norange' seems to have been French, so my mom's still not convinced.

My dad is quite the comedian -- he loves to twist your logic against you. My mom has bee sick these last few days and lost her voice, so she's rather helpless against him (not that she can do much in the normal run of events!). He's been in fine form today, and we came up with a few other variations.

napricot: it will put you to sleep.
nbanana: found in Namibia, and liked by those African tribes whose names we can never pronounce.
napples: What a certain city in Italy is named for.

My parents were in the living room while my sister and I were in the kitchen. My dad said something, but I couldn't hear, so I went into the living room to ask him what he said. "Did you say something?"
"Yes!" my mother triumphantly whispered. "Can someone get me a cookie?"

I wish I could better illustrate the way we interact. We have had so much fun deliberately misunderstanding each other today, we had tears in our eyes from laughing!

I spent about 5 hours of Saturday evening watching three children and a 5-week-old purebred (expensive!) Golden Labrador at a black-tie dinner and auction. The dog had to go to the bathroom and the kids were bored, hungry, and filled with the wanderlust. Fun fun fun!

The Prophet Expounds - 9-18-05

2005-09-18T21:50:00.000-06:00

An informal, unprepared, family study time discussion.

Prophecy:
Though much of OT prophecy was purely predicative, see Micah 5:2, e.g., and cf John 11:51, prophecy is not necessarily, nor even primarily, fore-telling. It is the declaration of that which cannot be known by natural means, Matt. 26:69, it is the forth-telling of the will of God, whether with reference to the past, the present, of the future, see Gen. 20:7; Deut. 18:18; Rev. 10:11; 11:3... .
From Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, by W.E.Vine, M.A. Published by Thomas Nelson Publishers, Inc., (c)1985 ISBN 0-8407-7559-8

The text for today is I Corinthians 13

Out of the NKJV:

1. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
2. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
4. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
5. does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;
6. does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
7. bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.
9. For we know in part and we prophesy in part.
10. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
11. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
13. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

In verse 6 we see that love 'does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth.' What is true is real. If something is not true, it is fiction, falsity, a lie. Without truth, what is left? So, if you are not loving, are you rejoicing in a lie? Are you believing a lie? Are you denying the truth?

In verse 7 love 'bears,' 'believes,' 'hopes,' and 'endures.' Now, wouldn't you think that bearing and enduring were almost the same thing? Do you see an emphasis there?

Audience member: Well, if you endure something, don't you get to live through it?
(laughter)

If you can bear all things, endure all things, through love, that's pretty amazing, isn't it?
Think about knowledge. It's easier to have knowledge than to endure something painful, whether it's mental or physical. What about faith? Is it easy to have faith in something when you don't have to endure? But if you have love, then you endure. It says that love is greater than knowledge, faith, understanding, martyrdom, and even a good singing voice! What if you have all these but not love? It profits you nothing.

Love causes us to endure, be humble, be kind, and allows us to enjoy the benefits of the other gifts we may have, such as knowledge, faith, martyrdom and prophecy.

How much better can we serve God when we do everything with love?

Obedience, with love.
Teaching, with love. Don't you think you might get a better response?
Ministry, prophecy, faith, giving, and the list goes on!
Suffering, with love!

"And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

Isn't it strange to think of something greater than faith? Having more effect on a person than hope? Without love, anything else you do is worthless. Love is needed no matter what you are doing.

Now, looking at a note in my Bible here; let me quote it. This is not the Bible, just some dude who was around when they were translating it.

(14:1) The subject is still the pneumatika. Chapter 12 describes the gifts and the body, the Church; ch. 13 depicts the love which alone gives ministry of gifts any value; ch. 14 regulates the ministry of gifts in the primitive, apostolic assembly of believers in Christ. (1) The important gift is that of prophecy (v.1). The NT prophet was not merely a preacher, but an inspired preacher through whom, until the NT was written, new revelations suited to the new dispensation were given (14:29-30). (2) Tongues and the sign gifts are to cease; meanwhile they must be used with restraint, and only if an interpreter is present (vv.1-19, 27-28). (3) In the primitive Church there was liberty for the ministery of all the gifts which might be present, but for prophecy more especially (vv.23-26, 31,39). And (4) these injunctions are declared to be "the commandments of the Lord" (vv.36-37).

Chapter 14 does say that tongues and prophecy are to be used logically, within guidelines to edify the entire church. However, does it really say that tongues and other gifts will cease? What does he mean when he says the 'primitive' church? Do you consider that the church in the time of the apostles was more or less likely to concur with the desires of God? Is there room for that kind of comparison? In chapter 13 we read "...when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away." Has 'that which is perfect' come, by any stretch of the imagination? Surely not! When perfection is come, when God creates a new heaven and a new earth, we will no longer have any need for anything 'which is in part.' When we have the whole, we won't need the orphaned pieces.

But for today, for the Church now, do you believe that tongues and signs are still applicable? They seem to be.

So, Why Don't You Tell Us a Little About Yourself?

2005-09-16T22:54:00.000-06:00

Well, basically I live in a valley in the Rocky Mountains. It's a big valley, with a sort of outlet to Wyoming and the plains near Yellowstone. As for the weather, we've got the same joke as many other people who live near mountain ranges: If you don't like the weather, wait 10 minutes. It's been sunny, windy, chilly, and rainy just today. We're cooling off for summer; I think we only got up to about 70 F today. I never can remember how to transpose to Celsius, so I'll just say that that's comfortable t-shirt weather, but you'll need a sweater in the mornings and evenings if you're not moving much. The temperature reached over 100 F several times this summer, so this is all very nice and comfortable.

We're down below the usual pine tree level; I'm not sure of our elevation. We're about two days by car away from the ocean, and one day away from Salt Lake. There are mountains every direction you look, and the ground is pretty hilly. When I flew to Pennsylvania with my grandparents a few years ago, I couldn't believe that those little hilly things were the Appalachians! It seems a bit trite to talk about 'those bumps they call mountains,' but I really didn't appreciate how flat other places can be -- I don't think I do yet, since I've never been to either Dakota.

We live in a little neighborhood; we have a little more than an acre. We've got a barn, goats, chickens, rabbits, more than enough cats at present (kittens!), and a dog. Oh, and two lizards and various goldfish. We keep the goldfish in the old bathtub that we use for a goat-watering trough, to eat the algae that grows there every summer. The bathtub is pink.

We have a medium sized house, 5 bed/3 bath. I think I mentioned that I am the oldest of 7 children. My sister died of leukemia, and we are adopting 2 little boys from Zambia, so there will soon be 8 children around the house -- more or less. My brother just went away to college, but I am living out of my parents' home while I go to school locally.

Hmm, what else... Well, I share a bedroom with my sister who is soon to be 15, and I usually post from school or late at night in the kitchen where our internet hook-up is located. My mom has been on me lately to pay my rent (chores); she still feeds me, so I want to keep her happy!

I don't really know too much about the usual social scene in Idaho. We're a naturally retiring family (we get a lot of company from each other, as you can imagine!) and I was taught at home, so most of my friends are Bible study partners or friends my family has had for a long time. I have many acquaintances in school, but a court reporting/stenography school is not really a hopping place. Most of the people there are women with families they either have to support or go home and feed every evening, and there are not many males attracted to a 'secretarial' type of school. We're trying to recruit a few more, but this profession is steadily leaning towards women.

We've got quite a few trees; my dad likes big trees and my mom likes fruit trees. We've got a few big pines, a willow, a few locusts, a sycamore, a crabapple, pear, peach, several apple, plum, and an almond tree. The neighbors' elms are 'bent on world domination,' as I read in one gardening book, so we are constantly pulling their seedlings. Any of you know how long a baby elm's roots are? Long.

My mom enjoys gardening, so as much of the yard as she could wangle from my dad and sports-loving siblings is in raised beds for vegetables, a strip all the way around the house is in flowers, and she has a dry streambed rose garden begun. We've got grapes, too. I don't really like to garden, but I help out. I like fresh tomatoes and peas, especially.

My brother inherited most of the green thumb -- He's getting a degree in landscape architecture in college. My siblings are all very good at drawing, music, and math. I usually stick to English/literature related things, but I also play the flute and piano.

My family is rather sports oriented, mostly towards soccer, although my father used to run quite a bit and my brother still does. My dad has a bit of a back/hip problem, so he can't run like he used to. He once won second place in the Idaho Potato Marathon. (Idaho is famous for potatoes. Iowa, I think has corn. Ohio, I have no clue. Many people confuse us, though.) I don't really enjoy sports unless it's just a for fun event with friends. Put me on a team, on a field, and I end up coaching. I'm just good at telling people what to do. I can always see what they should do, why can't they?!

I've been running a bit lately, though, because I need to lose some weight and do some regular activity. I know spelling bees and reading don't count, but I wish they did. Eventually they'll probably invent some kind of machine that lets you watch a movie about superheroes and end up looking as good as they do -- until then, I'll run, I guess...

I've actually been improving. Don't laugh, but I ran a mile today 35 seconds faster than I ran it on Tuesday. Now, if I can just keep that improvement ratio maintained, I could be running in negative time very soon! Couldn't I?

I do tend to ramble a bit. Must be the late night. I'll have to remember: if I have a secret, don't post after 9pm. Got it.

Heidi

My Turn!

2005-09-14T15:06:00.000-06:00

I really don't do these very often, so here's my opportunity to have some fun.

10 Favorites...

1. Favourite Colours: Hmm, so many to choose from; I'd like a smoky blue, a rich brown, a glossy black, and a deep green.

2. Favourite Food: Sorry to join the crowd, but CHOCOLATE! Actually, if we're talking entrees here, I'd have to go with corned beef & cabbage. Go ahead, you can call me German.

3. Favourite Band/Singer: Just now I'm really appreciating Watermark.

4. Favourite Song: Ooh, a hard one. Say, 'Holy Roar' by Watermark. It'll probably change by this evening. I'll snap my fingers, "That's the one I wanted to mention!"

5. Favourite Movie: Master and Commander. All those ocean waves...

6. Favorite Sport: Spelling bee? Oh, you mean something physical! I suppose volleyball would be the best answer just now. Frankly, I'll do anything that other people are doing but I won't do anything alone just for fun. I might start something with a group, but it's not likely. I do exercise, it's just not exactly my idea of fun. (Okay, okay, I already knew I wasn't the most physical in our family. I'm probably the least.)

7. Favorite Season: Autumn. I love the colors, and I like to wear sweaters.

8. Favorite Day Of the Week: Thursday.

9. Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Vanilla with little chunks of any kind of candy or chocolate or cookie or those little swirls of caramel oh stop it you're making me hungry.

10. Favorite Time of Day: About 8pm in the evening. I can justify climbing into bed with a book for a bit before I have to go to sleep. If that sounds early, it's because I get up at 5:30am to go running in the mornings. Ugh, but I still do it... It comes of eating all that corned beef & cabbage and ice cream.

9 Currents...

1. Current Mood: I'm a little spastic just now. Why? It's a secret... Probably because I've been sitting down most of the day and I'm ready to go home now. Please?

2. Current Taste: You mean what I've eaten? Mongolian Barbecue. Mmmm.

3. Current Desktop Picture: I'm at school, so it's that boring blue screen. I've got a blue sunburst on my laptop, and fishies on another school computer.

4. Current Toenail Color: Bronze.

5. Current Time: 3:31:58pm DST Mountain Time

6. Current Surroundings: Many many blank computer screens, a bookshelf, a window looking out on a construction lot, and windows into the hallway (don't ask me why!) and another classroom.

7. Current Annoyance(s): This stupid desk and chair are painful to sit at too long. I have to brace my feet on the floor, which makes my feet hurt, or sit like a ramrod, which makes my back hurt. I alternate.

8. Current Thought: I wonder why I'm taking this test/survey/questionaire -- come to think of it, what is this, exactly? A way to put as much psuedo-personal information in one place a quickly as possible? You know, I think that's it. It's a psuedo-personal-information-catch-all. Ha!

9. Current economic situation: I think I might have $30 in my purse, but I'm going to deposit all of in the bank this afternoon against my growing credit card bill for gas. It's still way up at $2.95. Help!

8 Firsts...

1. First Best Friend: Shari. At least, that's the first I can remember. I haven't used that term since, but I've had other good friends.

2. First Kiss: Never Been Kissed.

3. First nickname: Heidi Cakes. Or was it Heidi-Ho?

4. First Pet: Ivanhoe, a medium sized (humonguous to me!) fluffy dog when I was about 5. I don't remember if I ever knew what kind he was.

5. First Piercing: Ears, when I was 14.

6. First Crush: Now, that would be telling! Besides I think I started getting crushes when I was six. I think I had a crush on one of my Sunday School helpers, who must have been close to 20 at the time. I always wanted to marry young, but I never got any offers... I started reconsidering when I was about 18...

7. First Music You Remember Hearing: I don't remember. Probably my mom singing, which she does quite well and frequently.

8. First Car: I think it was a Honda Accord, automatic. Kind of a brownish color. I had it for about 2 months, then I rearended someone and totaled it. Rats.

7 Lasts...

1. Last Cigarette: Never had a first.

2. Last Drink: Probably the couple tablespoons or so of beer I tried to drink a few months ago. I decided I don't like it. I might be able to drink wine, but the opportunity hasn't really come around recently...

3. Last Car Ride: I drove myself back to school from lunch. Just a couple of minutes.

4. Last Kiss: Never Been Kissed.

5. Last Movie Watched: An Answers in Genesis presentation about UFOs and the Bible. I didn't finish it yet. Purely entertainment movie? I think it was 'The Forgotten.' It had aliens too.

6. Last CD Played: I've been listening to one of Jaci Velasquez's Spanish-only CDs in my car. I always sing along.

7. Last Book Read: Well, I forget. I'm in the middle of three right now:
Dr. Zhivago,
The Red House Mystery (soon to be featured on Aardvark Books),
and The Excalibur Alternative (Science fiction).

6 "Have You Evers"....

1. Have You Ever Dated One Of Your Best Friends?: I don't think I have. I'm not sure what can count as a date. Have I ever been on a date in the first place, or haven't I?

2. Have You Ever Broken the Law?: Yes. The rearending was cited as a misdemeanor. Now, I have to note it on almost every form I ever fill out. Argh!

3. Have You Ever Been Arrested?: Nope.

4. Have You Ever Skinny Dipped?: Nope.

5. Have You Ever Been on TV?: Yep. I'm in a commercial for the vocational school I'm attending. They warned us the day before, and I signed a waiver form; then, when the camera crew showed up I realized I had forgotten and worn the most atrocious neon green t-shirt! I'm in the background of the commercial in a couple of places -- I don't think I was particularly photogenic that day. Not that I ever am, more's the pity.

6. Have You Ever Been Drunk?: Nope.

5 Things You're Wearing...

1. Glasses
2. Earrings
3. Sandals
4. Necklace
5. Necklace as a Bracelet

Places You've Been...

1. Mexico
2. Oregon coast
3. Pennsylvania
4. Hawaii

3 Things You Can't Live Without...

1. Jesus
2. Water
3. Food

2 Choices...

1. Black or White: Black. Ebony, if possible.
2. Hot or Cold: Hot. You know, like towels when you take them out of the dryer right after the buzzer goes off?

1 Thing You Want to Do Before you die...
Graduate! Please! Oh, and get married. And own a bookstore. (I'd even be satisfied with a library. Only it has to be extensive!)

Word of the Day: Vermiculous

2005-09-14T14:28:00.000-06:00

vermiculous
Vermiculose \Ver*mic"u*lose`\, Vermiculous \Ver*mic"u*lous\, a. [L. vermiculosus. See Vermicule.] Containing, or full of, worms; resembling worms.

From: Dictionary.com

I opened a vermiculous can with my questions.

Word of the Day: 'merlon'

2005-09-12T13:46:00.000-06:00

merlon: A solid portion between two crenels in a battlement or crenelated wall. He ducked behind the merlon.

crenelated (or crenellated): 1. Having battlements. 2. Indented; notched: The castle had a crenelated wall.
From Dictionary.com

merlon
"solid part of a battlement," 1704, from Fr. merlon, from It. merlone, aug. of merlo "battlement," perhaps a contraction of mergola, dim. of L. mergae "two-pronged pitchfork."

From the Online Etymology Dictionary
(OED) ©November 2001

If I Don't Know What I'm Going to Say, How Can I Decide What to Call it?

2005-09-11T17:41:00.000-06:00

I finally got my computer back after it was monopolized by first my mother and then my sister and brother chatting with Tan-man. He seems to be fine. He's playing ping-pong and ultimate frisbee, and probably thrashing everyone while he's at it.

My dad took the smaller two girls fishing today; he had promised to take them this summer, but he missed it, so he took them today. We've been trying to keep ourselves occupied. I made peanut-butter cookies, Starry-eyes made toffee, and Buddy helped me. My mom made me a skirt out of some of the printed fabric she brought back from Africa when she went earlier this year -- it's pretty bright prints sometimes, but she let us choose our favorites.

I'm trying to get ready for Starry-eyes' birthday, which is coming up on the 29th. She'll be 15. Yikes! That makes me feel old. er. (giggle) She's having a role-playing party, and I'm the surprise guest. Don't tell anyone! I've got to work out my lines and costume. So much fun!

I've been re-reading "The Red House Mystery" by A.A.Milne. Yes, he did write more than Winnie-the-Pooh stories, and, yes, I will write a review. I just wanted to have it fresh in my mind. Anyone else been reading anything interesting?

My group Bible study is supposed to be picking up again tomorrow. I wonder who will come... I'm interested to see how they respond to what Amber has picked for our study material. I have the hardest time getting anyone to agree with me that we should read a few chapters of the Bible and discuss them each week. They all want to use a book or some type of study guide.

I'm thinking about trying to lead after this particular study is over. I would like to pick a book of the Bible and study that; I also have a great book on apologetics that may satisfy some people who are a bit apprehensive about delving into the Bible without 'guidance.' Half the time, I think 'guidance' and 'study books' are to blame for people who don't study the Bible to learn what it actually says, and end up being people who merely use cute sayings and sermons and don't have a real relationship with Jesus.

I know, I could certainly do more Bible reading myself. God's so great, you're never done learning, or as dedicated as you could be, or as near to Him as you'd like to be (or as He'd like you to be!).

I'm reading Esther right now with my friend -- did I say that already? I hate it when I can't remember what I've said/haven't said, and I refuse to go back and read every single post whenever I want to talk. You'll just have to skip over anything you already know. ;-)

I'm at a complete standstill with the book I'm writing. I finally have a plot, I already had a setting and main characters, but I can't figure out how to pull it all together. I think I'll just have to sit down and start writing and see what happens. It seems to work for this website!

Buddy and Starry-eyes and I spent a few hours outside this afternoon playing baseball with the dog. Sombra loves it when we do this: One person is the pitcher, one is the batter, and anyone else kind of hangs around uselessly. Sombra is the only catcher we need. Sombra loves her tennis ball better than anything else in the world. If you hit it she'll fetch it back to the pitcher. If you don't hit it, she'll get it from behind the batter and give it to anyone who promises to throw it for her. She's very entertaining, and I love not having to run for the ball myself! Sombra will run until she falls down - if you throw the ball she simply must fetch it. Buddy was concerned she would kill herself, so we finally tied her up and continued to play ourselves. We don't hit the ball very often...

I was bored, so I made cookies, but now I don't want to eat any...Should I make something else? I really shouldn't eat any more goodies this weekend, so I guess I'll just have to be bored.

I thought I had some interning lined up for next week, but I still am not getting calls back from anyone. What am I doing wrong?! I guess I'll have to make a few cold-calls...ugh. I hate talking to people when I can't see them, don't know them, amn't sure of my reception, am asking a favor, or any of the above! Grrr.

We're still waiting to hear about the last little boy we're attempting to adopt. One's relatives have signed all their rights away, but we haven't been in contact with the social worker in Zambia lately. My parents keep hoping to get a call to get on a airplane and go get them ASAP.

I picked a lot of produce out of the backyard yesterday. I needed to work for my parents for gas money and I wanted to be outside, so I picked tomatoes, corn, almonds, the very last peach, some apples and pears off the ground, and I can't remember anything else. My mother is an avid gardener, but she's had allergies and a bit of a cold and multiple soccer activities, so she hasn't been out lately. I'm not a gardener. I think I mentioned that earlier; I don't know what came over me. Maybe I should take my temperature...

We watched the movie 'Primer' last night; I'm not afraid to say that I did not understand the ending. We were perfectly happy, figuring out that they had time travel, and then Boom! There were several copies of each of the main characters running around in circles and we lost track of the action. I think something bad happened, but I really don't know. I think it was well received at the Sundance Film Festival -- I'm not surprised, because I think they like incomprehensible movies. I like science fiction, I like time travel, I like puzzles -- I also like to know what's going on! I would rather the character was in the dark about something than me; failing that, I want it explained at the end! Life just isn't fair. (Yeah, tell me something I don't know!)

Well, I have to go and -- what was it I needed to do, again? Oh, well, I'll figure it out. Au revoir, as Tan-man says.

Accomplishments...?

2005-09-08T17:44:00.000-06:00

How often is it that you have this feeling that you didn't get anything done today? I think I have it way too often -- maybe I need to consider that a warning sign, and get busy!

I was driving down the freeway this afternoon on my way home, and I didn't hit a dove. The car behind me did. I saw it starting to cross near the car right ahead of me, so, I carefully slowed down and scooched over to the edge of the lane. I looking in my rearview mirror -- good, I didn't hit -- poof! I dunno, they probably couldn't have avoided it. A dove, just absentmindedly walking across the freeway during rush hour... .

I hope all of you are paying close attention as you walk around, whether you're in Dunedin or elsewhere. It's a dangerous world out there.

I was talking to my grandparents on Sunday. We had chicken for dinner, and my G'ma was mentioning how she cooked it in tin (aluminum) foil so that it wouldn't pick up any carcinogens from the barbecue. Maybe we should cook everything in tin foil, all the time? But, wait a minute, are there any side effects from tin foil? Oh, yes, I remember! Too much aluminum in the brain causes Alzheimer's disease. So, my grandparents are constantly watching each other for signs of Alzheimer's -- when they remember.

I gave them a particularly sassy grin, but they love me anyway.

I think I'll try to get a sibling to read to me out of a book for some extra practice this evening. My mom reads to my sibs during their lunch time out of several books, and they also have a Bible study time during which they occasionally add an apologetics-type book. Note, the book does not replace their actual Bible reading! They are currently reading 'Many Infallible Proofs - Evidences for the Christian Faith' by Henry M. Morris & Henry M. Morris III. Hmm, grandpa and grandson? That's interesting.

We've got soccer coming out of our ears right now.

See - no, wait - blog you later!

The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd

2005-09-06T21:38:00.000-06:00

Those podcasts I was talking about? This is a hilarious, kid-safe parody of -- well, I'm not sure what it's a parody of. It's beautiful, though. I've continued to browse the podcasts in the iTunes music store. I'm referencing this one because I don't think you have to listen to it through an ipod. I think you can just download the files off of their website -- there's a link in the title of this posting (aren't those links cool?). Each episode is only about 5 minutes long, but there are 38 episodes so far, and I'm pretty sure they make a new one every week or so. Once you're caught up, it's a pain to have to wait for the next one... . Maybe I should work on patience this week.

I've been floating mindlessly through the last few days, sleeping in on Sunday now that we're not attending a congregation, sleeping in on the holiday, and lazing around.

We decided that when people say they go to this or that church, what they really mean is 'congregation.' The whole body of Christ is the church, not just my church or your church. The word's been a bit corrupted.

So, we're still not attending anywhere. We've had 'services' at home before, and we're doing that again. The Bible talks about fellowship with brothers and sisters; I've got enough to go around! (giggle) We'll probably get together with some other families or do some church hopping. We've still got Christian friends.

I spent Sunday at my grandparents' house. We went for a nice 3-mile walk. I'm not used to long walks anymore, but it was very enjoyable. I haven't been spending a lot of time with them; now that they've moved back down from Lewiston I've been too grown up to go and spend the night. I remedied that this weekend. We watched a movie together (The Four Feathers, the new one with Heath Ledger) and helped my aunt and uncle unpack.

They are also moving back into the Treasure Valley after living in Spokane for about 4 years while my uncle went to Gonzaga to learn to be a lawyer. Now my cousins are all growing up! They have 3 kids. The oldest is a boy who is 13, the girls are about 12 and 9. They were much younger when they moved away... . My uncle is also at the interning stage in his chosen field.

I have three sets of aunts and uncles. One uncle is a shed-builder, the other is an Idaho State Trooper, and the last is the one interning to be a lawyer. The wife of the prospective lawyer is a doctor -- they have just moved into an absolutely huge house, 3400 square feet. I was looking it over on Sunday, and it's very nice.

After we helped them empty the trailers they filled on Friday and Saturday while I was house sitting (Okay, does that have a hyphen or not? House-sitting? This is driving me crazy!), we ended up going to drop my family's trailer off at my house -- it's a funny feeling to visit your own house, drop something off, chat, and leave again. If I'd realized we were going to my house I might have moved home that night, but I didn't. So, I spent that night at my grandparents' house as well. I went home rather early in the morning; I dropped my grandfather off at yet another aunt and uncle's house and picked up my purse that I had accidentally left there overnight. You can tell that I'm very good at keeping track of my things.

Actually, I was a little more nervous about it than I needed to be -- I had a wallet stolen from school last October, and a purse and bag stolen out of my car last February (they bashed the window, too!), so I figure if I get careless I'm just about due for another hit. I'm tired of having to renew my driver's license.

I've been feeling rather broke lately anyway; I had to spend $25 to fill up the gas tank on my car this morning. You may not be impressed by that until I tell you that last summer I only spent an average of $13 to fill the same tank. I think it's a result of the flooded refineries in New Orleans, but I've also heard on the radio that there's not really a shortage, so prices should come back down soon. Not soon enough for me!

I don't have a job right now; my dad thought I might finish more quickly if I spent the time I had spent working in school. Of course, I have no idea if that's been true or not. If it is, then it's a good thing I stopped working when I did -- I've been in school too long! I can earn money by house-sitting and such, but I'm afraid that it's not enough...especially with the current gas prices. I have to fill that tank about 3 times every 2 weeks. I have a 40 minute commute to school every morning; you can imagine that I'm always looking at new music! Can't afford CDs either, though.

I've been trying to get some more interning done lately. Two working reporters, a deposition reporter and a court official came to school today. They're pretty good about coming in every month or so. I was all set to go out and intern about 3 weeks ago, and no-one was available! I think they were all on vacation. I forget about summer vacations sometimes -- my school is year-round and my brothers and sisters are homeschooled. Not that homeschoolers never take breaks, but we can schedule things around to how we like them without regard for public school schedules.

Oh, I promised to talk about that soccer thing, didn't I. Well, here's how it is. My sister who is 14 wanted to be on a high-school soccer team. There are not very many, if any, opportunities for a high-school-aged sports player aside from the school teams. They have a definite monopoly. There was just last year a new law put into effect in Idaho pertaining to 'dual enrollment.' This describes the students whose main schooling occurs elsewhere, but who want to take various supplementary classes in the public school system. Strangely, the sports program is included in this. Basically, what the law says is that 'fully-enrolled' students have preference over 'dually-enrolled' students. So, regardless of ability or age or anything else, if enough fully-enrolled public school students try out for soccer to fill the team, no one else can even be considered.

My poor sister went to the try-outs (and she's a good player), but didn't get to be considered. My mother has been writing letters to everyone she can think of, but the school feels it is safe behind this law. I suppose it is. My mom wants to get the law changed. I don't know how this will play out. I think my mom has a point: We pay taxes for the public school just like everyone else, and we certainly don't get as much back.

My mom used an analogy with the post office: If you are not a frequent post office-user, and you want to deliver a letter, you don't have to get in a special line and wait until everyone who is there regularly is taken care of before they will even notice you. You get the same benefits, the same lines, the same parking as anyone else who is paying for this government service. So, what's the difference? Hmmmm...

Well, I think I've done my duty by the blog -- besides, my fingers are starting to ache. Come on, I already spent several hours today practicing my stenography! I need a break!

Wow, looking back I have certainly written a lot this evening. Shows what you can do when you tell yourself to sit down and think back over the past few days.

I was going to stop, but I have to mention the project I just finished. When I was up at my grandparents' house earlier this year (it was still very cold -- must have been March or so) I wanted to do a metal-working project that could be a way to mount some of my earrings and other jewelry that has been littering the top of my dresser forever. So we made a watchamacallit spring-hoop, kind of similar to one of those wooden embroidery hoops. It'd been sitting on my bedroom floor for months. Yesterday I finally spray-painted it black and stretched a bit of burlap on it and hung it on the wall. The burlap has the perfect sized holes to push earring studs through, and I wove some cording along the bottom rim to dangle necklaces from. I'm so proud of it! It actually looks kinda artsy. As an added plus, it's in neutral colors so I can keep it out when I finally paint my room -- or move out, whichever comes first!

Okay, I really have to be done. My brother will be disappointed in me if I don't write another chapter in my book and email it to him this evening. What, you didn't know I was writing a book? Isn't everybody?

phooey

2005-09-03T22:42:00.000-06:00

I can't decide what to talk about. Just when I wanted to discuss wry humor, I get a song that sends me into a contemplative mood.

I just found out about podcasts for my ipod, and I've been busily looking around and seeing if there are any to interest me. There are a few; I've looked at comedy, and I'm listening to a music one right now. I'll have to see if there is anyone out there who shares my admittedly varied tastes.

Of course, it might be hard to find that, considering my genre tastes vary as often as my moods -- and that's pretty often! I suppose it would be too much to ask to find someone whose moods varied at the same time...

I'm sitting up late because I don't want to go to sleep; and because I'm waiting for my brother to instant message me. Since he's in college we've talked a few times, mostly extremely late at night for me, since we're in different time zones.

Hmm, this is going to be a short one. My grandparents returned early, so the house is shutting down for bed. So much for a weekend alone -- but a weekend at Grandma's is just about as good, if not better. I won't have to cook so much! (giggle)

Well, that's it for now. Maybe later I'll be in a mood for more...

Sit Back and Relax

2005-09-03T09:55:00.000-06:00

Ahhh...

This is the life. I'm sitting all alone in someone else's kitchen, eating someone else's cold cereal. Only two kitties to worry about, and they stay outside all the time. The Great Black Hunter and the Great Calico Huntress do not get upset, or relieve themselves on the floor, or lick my armpits while I'm trying to catch a minimum of sleep before being awakened to let them out.

I suppose part of my enjoyment is that it's Saturday morning, and I didn't have to get up early to go to school. I will have to journey home to mow the lawn this morning, but I'm not on a schedule.

I finally signed up for the next big test. It will be on the first Saturday in November, I believe. Time to buckle down and study!

KP-PB/AT/HRAOE*S/THAT/PF*S/WAUT/KWR-PL/R-R/SPOEZ/-D/TAO/DAO/FPLT

I'll get busy. At school, this is about when they begin to play past tests for warm-up. I need to pass that last 225 Q&A, and I also have a typing test at 50wpm. I think the real typing scares me more. It's been so long since I've timed myself, I have no idea where I might fall.

It's that Bible study time of the year again, around here. I'd been attending one over the summer, but now that the people have all headed back to college, that's out. The other one is called the Sandwich Group, referring to the fact that we are all in-between things in life. Most of the people who are involved are single, finished with college, and working or taking grad school classes.

I joined up to try to find some young people who actually think. I have found, over the years, that most of the people I can actually talk to are a bit older than I. This group has been good for me -- we worked through the book of James, and the guy who was leading really knew what he was talking about. It keeps me humble when I don't know all the answers before the class.

I hope this group keeps it up. It is connected with the congregation we just discontinued associations with, so I'm hoping I can keep these friendships...

I'm also in a one-on-one Bible study with a very sweet grandmother. She also attends that church -- you can see we were a little bit involved. I hope to retain this friendship, also.

You know, I tend to complain that I don't know anyone. Then, suddenly, when my friendships are threatened, I'm concerned. I still don't think I have anyone to talk to like I want to; but I'm not sure that that's possible in a human being. I don't know if I could ever acknowledge all my faults, dreams, and desires to one person. Maybe a husband? Ah, well, for now I'll just keep it spread around with a few people. If they ever get together and talk...Let's not think about that, shall we?

I'm trying to decide whether I want to attend a dance/dance class that is held in downtown Boise. I think it's free, and it sounds like fun, but I wouldn't know anyone. That's a leetle scary, especially considering my absolute unfamiliarity with any kind of a Saturday-night scene.

I'm listening to Jars of Clay: dig right now. I like their music, but I have to be in the right mood. I've been playing around with my ipod -- there are these things called 'podcasts,' like radio shows that are downloaded, and then you listen when you feel like it. Hmmm, I could like this...

I just found a really interesting website through another blog: The Sacred Sandwich. My mother loves it, I love it, and I'm sure my brother will love it (whenever he gets around to actually reading it...) The link is in the title of this post. Ecstatic Reading to You All!

Semi-colon

Poodles

2005-08-28T15:14:00.000-06:00

So, here I am locked up with two madly barking poodles for a week.

Obviously, I'm house sitting. Romeo is a standard poodle, and Bucky is a toy. At least they don't have sissy haircuts -- I don't know if I could handle that! They're really sweet dogs -- until they see a neighbor. Then they go crazy. I wish there were no windows.... But then, they'd probably want me to entertain them.

I poodle-sat these two once before, last month. The lady of the house called my house looking for me for this time, and told my mother that she was glad the dogs liked me so much and I was so good with them. Of course, my mother promptly told her that I kill animals. Well, ours seem to like her...

I can't blame her too much. It's true. My first experience was with a kitten. I must have been about 5 or 6, so I really wasn't responsible. I locked the poor kitty up in an old clothes-washing-detergent 3 gallon bucket, and it asphyxiated. I didn't know what had happened, and I was quite shocked when I realized it was dead.

A few years later I was doing an experiment with mealworms, and similarly left the lid closed for too long.

The next really traumatic time was when I was about 14 or 15. I had two little baby goats, or kids. I was putting them out on lines to eat the grass, and I let them sample some clippings that were lying on the ground. Fatally, they were boughs from a Japanese yew. Deadly nightshade family. They were both dead after a next day and evening. Since then I must have been more careful, because I haven't killed anything else. Or maybe my mother just doesn't trust me anymore.

I'm really not that great with plants either. This last year I've been trying for the third or so'th time to keep a pot alive for more than a month. I've only succeeded thus far because I've been away from home so much that my mom's been looking after it. Oh, well.

My grandfather, mother, and brother all have extremely green thumbs. I got skipped, somehow. I don't especially care for dirt or sweat. I can get along with them, I just won't go out of my way to get there.

I did eventually, successfully, keep 11 goats at once, and milk 3 for a year or two. I've since sold most of them and given the others to my sister. Agriculture doesn't pay very well around here unless you're a big operation -- or at least a teeny tiny bit dedicated!

So far I haven't killed any pets I've house sat, but I did once leave a whatsit in its little rolly ball thingy for a whole day. Whatsit...I can't remember what it was called. Some sort of little rodent thing with really soft fur and a bottlebrush tail...Aha! Chinchilla. That's what it was.

I really do like to house sit other people's pets. I get the benefit of having a pet for a few days, but don't have to work for it for their whole lives. Luckily for me, animals seem to like me. Poor, deceived little beggars.

All Is Quiet - Then the Sprinklers Come On - Then Go Off

2005-08-25T22:56:00.000-06:00

Well, the reporter meeting was a bit of a flop. We all gathered at Johnny Carino's, eager to catch any words of wisdom dropping like the gems of the fairy-touched stepdaughter from the lips of seasoned court reporters. No one showed up. Well, one of our teachers did; she's been a court reporter, but she hasn't worked this last year. She didn't talk about reporting -- she does enough of that in class.

There were about 13 or 14 students, though, so it was a success as a social function. When I got there they had swing music playing, so I got up and taught Donna a bit of swing dancing. I really don't know much, but she thought it was fun.

One of the male students showed up, and the husband of another girl in my class, so we had their input on our discussions. They were both rather quiet; for some reason, our conversation seemed to revolve around weddings. I kept my mouth shut, not having any experience in that line.

I only stayed for about an hour and a half. I ate my calamari, and when a few of the other girls started to consider going out for more drinks (they had beer with dinner) I bowed out. Not that I wouldn't like to socialize, but I just reached legal drinking age in January, have never gone out for drinks, had to drive 20 miles home, and just didn't feel that they were a very responsible group to hang with right then.

On the way home I sang rock and roll, and then country. Songs about lost love, current love, ever-after love, and, finally, love me or else.

I saw a neighbor watering flowers in her yard, and since I haven't seen her lately I stopped to talk. Louise turned 94 on August 19 or 11, I can't remember for sure. August, anyway. She likes to talk to me; sometimes I have a hard time tearing myself away. I turned off the water for her and walked her back to her house, and she told me what had been going on in her life. It's kind of rambling, especially in the order she told it, but interesting.

Louise (approximated):
I just turned 94.
Isn't it awful how quickly those young people drive? There's one guy who goes past here at 100 miles per hour all the time. They should catch him. He goes by at about 60 miles per hour, and you can't even see who it is.
There's a lady who walks her dog in front of my house every day. She's about 40, but she looks like she's 20. She walks her dog past every night, and young men try to pick her up. She's a grandmother! She doesn't look it. You can see why they'd try to pick her up. (I saw her while we were talking -- she is in excellent shape.) She got permission to carry a gun from a friend of her's who's a policeman. Her dog is just medium sized. (I asked.)
I was real nervous yesterday. I had a hard week. I went and took my driving test. Now I have a license for one year.
I had a real hard time. I was getting in the car, and the key just broke off in the lock. The metal part was stuck in the door. My friend got it out for me. She brought me some spuds from her garden. (How did she get it out?) She just used a sharp knife. I thank the Lord she was walking her dog, because I didn't know what to do. I had to take my driving test, and this happened! She's a good friend.
It's hard to take that test. Especially with that man there in the car with you. He watches every move you make.
See the key, where it broke? I don't use the car much. It's an old car.
(End)

I like Louise. She uses a walker now. She can get around with a cane, but she has a fear of falling and not being found. A pretty viable fear, I think. That's by no means our whole conversation. I weeded it down to the story about the key.

My mother is still fighting with the educational system to let my sister play soccer. We had a law passed last year or so that basically said that any student who is 'fully enrolled' in the public school system has preference in any class/team/event sponsored by the public school system. So, because there were 36 spots on the team, but 38 public school students tried out, Starry-eyes doesn't even get to try out for the team. They automatically filled all the spots required by 'fully enrolled' students, regardless of aptitude. More on this later.

For now, I'd better go to bed. It's a prep day at school tomorrow -- no classes. Three cheers for sleeping in -- but I have a headache, so no exclamation marks after them. Whisper.

'night, all.

Yes!

2005-08-25T16:11:00.000-06:00

I did it! And I'm successfully customizing my page!

Ohh, my, I feel special!

Apostrophe Protection Society

2005-08-25T16:05:00.000-06:00

I have now set the link on my page.

Happy Apostrophizing!

I'm going to try to link the APS forum here as well:

Apostrophe Protection Society

I'm just learing about how to make web pages; I was working through a book at home, but I got overwhelmed, and now I think it's been misplaced. I want to see how much I can customize this page. I'm going to try to figure out how to fix the font for the 'links' section.

Thoughts

2005-08-25T12:55:00.000-06:00

Just a few minutes ago I had all kinds of things to say.

School's going all right.

Family seems to be fine.

I'm reading good books.

There's a court reporter get together tonight at a restaurant nearby. Maybe I can finally have some pasta.

I'm at the interning stage in my schooling, now. I've been out with two different reporters. One's a court official, and the other does deposition work. Neither have returned my calls. I don't believe I've offended anyone into ignoring me -- I think that the message isn't getting through to the official, and the deposition reporter is probably on vacation, 'cause I'm not the only one who can't reach her.

I've got to prepare for this test in November. It's put on by the National Court Reporters' Association. I'd better remember to sign up; the deadline's swiftly approaching. I'll have to pass three tests to receive my certification. I already passed the Written Knowledge Test, so I have a Literature at 180 wpm, Jury Charge at 200 wpm, and a Question and Answer at 225 wpm.

Literature can be (literally) anything. Ha, ha. Jury Charge is usually rather repetitive, material from a court room setting. Question and Answer is, well, one person questioning and another answering. I have to identify the speakers and keep them straight throughout the test. Each test runs for five minutes. Still, at 200 wpm, that's a thousand words -- not to mention punctuation.

I've been posting to a very informative message board. It's attached to a site called the Apostrophe Protection Society. So, I've just condemned myself to complete geekdom in many people's eyes. I am resigned.

Book reviews...

2005-08-25T12:50:00.000-06:00

For anyone interested, I have started a page for book reviews.

I will try to evaluate from a traditional Christian perspective and give what I think might be good age guidelines -- however, parents are always responsible for the acts of their minor children. Please don't take anything I say as gospel. I've been wrong before!

Straws

2005-08-24T21:55:00.000-06:00

I always have trouble trying to say anything in print. Who will read it? Who cares? Will I want to read it later? Do I want anyone to know this, anyway?

So, I just finished letting my nine-year-old sister (I'll call her Rose) cry on my shoulder -- something triggered a memory about our sister (aka Bluebird, here) who died a few years ago. It still amazes me how incredibly deeply that event affected my younger sisters; they weren't very old when all of that happened.

Bluebird was sick for two years, and my mother did much of her nursing at home. We had a lot of support from church, family, and friends; still, what do you say in that kind of a situation? I've been through it, and I still don't know. You just live a day at a time, and suddenly you look back, and what do you know, time has passed.

I feel much more mature than my last post already, ha, ha. I'm in a much better mood since getting all that off my shoulders. I still have a lot of things up in the air, but I'm not completely lost.

You know about the straw that broke the camel's back? Well, I just keep getting straw after straw laid on me, and I start to bend.

I've also been studying Ecclesiates, so that doesn't help. We've only read the first two chapters, and they're all doom and gloom and 'all is vanity.' I think the next part will be better -- we get to read the part about 'there is a time for everything.

My sisters and one of my brothers have soccer this year, so they have to take showers practically every night. Rose, the same one who was just in tears, likes to sing in the shower. We were sitting down to our staggered evening meal, and suddenly loud, yet muffled, moans started to flow from the bathroom. My mother is aware of the singing habit, so she wasn't immediately alarmed. She sent another sister, Starry-eyes, off to check. We waited, listening for any sounds. There was a pause, then more seeming sobbing. My mother was pretty sure that something was wrong by this time, but then Starry-eyes returned and told us that Rose was standing in the shower, huddled against the still-cold water, head down, singing the 'Cheeseburger Song' from VeggieTales.

I can see you'll need a map to navigate the family:

My Father, 'the Engineer';
My Mother, 'Wildflower';
Me, 'Semi-colon,' the oldest;
Brother 'Tan Man,' just off to college;
Sister 'Bluebird,' forever 13 and 11 months old;
Sister 'Starry-eyes' (I know she'll hate that old nickname);
Brother -- Hmm, I'll say 'Buddy.' It fits.
Sister 'Pixie' (but don't tell her)
Sister 'Rose' (that's who she always wants to be while playing)

Got that? Me neither. I'll probably have to refer back to keep the names straight.

So, here I am up late. I think I'll get up and go running tomorrow morning. Hopefully I'll be better than my atrocious 10-minute-mile this morning. Don't laugh -- I'm really not a competitive/sports person.

I finally finished my latest Ngaio Marsh mystery -- I think I'm catching on to her themes. I guessed the correct criminal in this one, 'Death and the Dancing Footman'; I was way off in the last one, 'A Wreath for Riviera.' Can't win 'em all. I think I'll start a running book commentary. That is, if I can stop reading long enough to actually write something.

So, more tomorrow. Funny, my mother always wanted me to keep a journal...

Soliloquy

2005-08-24T15:00:00.000-06:00

What a note to start on, huh? I just realized how many people I've lost track of over time and distance -- I wanted to start this page to have a place to soliloquize. As Belinda thought, it's been a long time since I've soliliquized. I miss it.

So, I'm completely stuck in school right now. I have to pass a test at 225 words per minute - yes, that's two hundred and twenty-five - in November, and I'm still needing so much practice it's not even funny.

Warning-- I use esoteric phraseology.

Soliloquy:

Do you ever feel like you don't know anyone anymore? The people you thought you knew turn on your family, and then, just when you need them, you turn on your family! Sure, you'll say, it was just early morning grumps. Go and apologize. Don't worry, it will all go away. But then I start to think about my character. Is there something I need to look at when I am dismissive of anyone else's feelings? Well, duh. No need to wonder there.

It's a big step to leave a church you've been attending for eight to ten years. Actually, my mother doesn't like to use the term 'church' in that context. She'll say, we're all the church. We're just leaving this congregation, I say. Still, you almost feel lost. So, you marinate in your feelings, and suddenly realize -- Who can I talk to about this? My mother's already stressed out and using me for a sounding board. I want to talk to someone outside my family, but my most understanding friend goes to that church! Then, to make matters worse, you aren't really allowed to say anything that would explain it to anyone.

So, people who were friends with you before: I'm not the glue that holds groups together. My sister was ill, I was starting school as well, and I've lost contact. I hardly know how to talk to any of the girls from that group anymore; sure, it was just highschool, but you have to remember, this wasn't public school. This was a group of homeschooled girls whose families had been in close connection through the graduating class only.

So, now, what do I do? Email my brother, who just went off to college? Sweet, but not exactly what I'm looking for. I don't want to start again. I'm not the kind of person who gets invited places, and I don't send invitations very often. The last party I had was my birthday -- I sent out about 20 invitations and 3 people came.

Whiney, isn't it. Looking over that, I'm tempted to erase it. So much for a pity party -- it's not even constructive, because all I've said is that I don't want to have to work at anything. I want full-grown friends to fall from the sky.

I'll leave it. Maybe I'll come back someday and wonder at how immature I am.

The joy of the Lord is my strength.

So, life goes on.

I do have happy things going on. I am recently finding more and new friends, even though I am losing others. Maybe if I keep my eyes open and I'm not afraid to try a little harder, I'll find a good one.

The adoption of two new little brothers from Zambia seems to be going through. My book-writing effort is encouraging (I'll just have to make sure it's not to sappy with all this emotion I've been feeling!). My family will forgive me for being snappy -- if I promise to clean my room!

I'll keep practicing my stenography; after all, it's not every day that a student reaches the rarified heights of 225 word per minute. And, with these mood swings, I seem to be a perfectly normal, functioning human female.

Aaah, I feel better already. I knew this would help. I believe I've rescinded my earlier conviction not to share this with anyone -- although I still can't think of many teeming thousands of friends. Who needs a thousand, anyway? Okay, I'm still having trouble think of even one friend in the country with whom I could share this. But, this isn't the only country in the world...