I need a new profession.

So Abbie and I are sitting on the couch doing Algebra. We're working with radicals, and as you probably know, having a radical in the denominator of a fraction is a no-no, mathematically. So I pointed to one particular fraction and said, "What's wrong with this one?"

She replied, "It has a thingy in the bottom."

In my best teacher-voice, I gently reminded her, "Say it using mathematical terms. It has a radical in the denominator," expecting her to say it along with me, or at least repeat it after me. Her answer?

"Gotcha."

Where can I find a brick wall?

Be thankful ~

Karen

Happy memories. Or something like that.

Chickadee wrote about making memories with her children today, and that got me thinking about the memories MY children will grow up with.

Now, Chickadee's post is full of wonderful, warm visions of happy childhoods spent finding natural wonders in the woods around their home. Sounds idyllic, doesn't it? It is.

That's not what my children will remember.

My children will remember camping trips. The crunchy centipedes in the bathrooms, and the rain.

One time we went camping in Paris Mountain State Park in Greenville, SC. It was a beautiful, warm May weekend. Our kids ranged in age from three to eleven. As usual, we had the two-room monstrous tent for the kids, and the small honeymoon cottage for Ben and I. We got everything set up, had dinner, enjoyed time around the fire with Ben's brother and wife who lived in the area. It promised to be a wonderful weekend.

In the middle of the night we heard the breeze whispering peacefully through the trees. After a while it was a bit more than a whisper, but because it was so warm, it was lovely. Then it became a little louder, and there was a distinct rumbling in the distance. Before we knew it, the lightning was flashing, thunder crashing, rain coming in sideways. But that was no problem, OUR tents were WATERPROOF. It said so right on the label. Nothing to do but stay in the tents and keep dry - these things blow over pretty quickly, right?

Wrong. We are the Sargents, and we never do ANYTHING halfway. EVER.

At some point, the two older kids made a beeline for the van, leaving the 3, 5 and 7 year olds in the tent in the midst of growing puddles. Ben and I tried vainly to tough it out, but finally decided it wasn't going to blow over. I felt like Noah's neighbors, watching the water rise around me. So in the middle of the driving rain and crashing thunder, we got up and starting cramming stuff in the van. Sleeping bags and pillows. Bags of clothes. Blankies and teddies. Children. Then came the part about rolling up the tents. Did you know that when tents get wet, the air doesn't come out of them? Even with the windows unzipped? We finally did get it all in - two adults, five children, all the stuff - in a Ford Aerostar, and not the extended version. The one that has 13 inches behind the back seat for stuff. Because we couldn't get the air out of the tents, there were huge dripping tent-bubbles hanging over the kids in the back seat, raining water on them as we drove. We made it to a hotel in Asheville, NC and when we opened the back of the van, and I am not exaggerating here, at least ten gallons of water literally poured out on our feet.

The next time we went camping was with my brother and sister-in-law (who had heard the previous story), and when we woke up in the morning to a light rain, I heard my sister-in-law say very loudly, "Jim, we are NEVER going camping with the Sargents again."

Clearly, we have a reputation.

So when we go camping next week (yes, I'm a glutton for punishment), you know what I'm doing? I'm renting a cabin. Oh, yes I am.

Be thankful~

Karen

I need first-aid training.

Lovely called yesterday. That's almost never a good thing.

She began the conversation by telling me the amount of this month's electric bill. Oh, goody.

Then we talked about whether or not throwing up can be part of PMS (from which Lovely suffers quite a bit), or if maybe she had a stomach virus the night before.

Then there was an ominous pause. I braced myself, knowing the worst was coming.

She then told me that, in the midst of the puking the night before, her upper retainer was, um, lost. You can guess where it went, and obviously there's no retrieving it. Our orthodontist loves us. He has straightened the teeth in all five of my kids' mouths, doing the last two for half price, but he's more than made up for that good deal with all the replacement retainers we buy.

Ben says our checking account is a hemorrhage. Someone bring a tourniquet.

Be thankful ~

Karen

I don't know about you, but I'm NOT missing THIS party.

Chickadee is hosting a birthday party and she's GIVING the gifts AWAY! Come wish her a Happy Birthday and see if you win something!

Be thankful ~

Karen

Some days are like that. Yes, they are. Or, how many men does it take to make coffee?

Sunday was going to be a difficult day. I knew it the moment I tried to move my big toe. You see, Saturday I spent 8 hours at the church workday. We are building a new auditorium (and kitchen, fellowship hall, offices, bandroom, classrooms, and elevator), and we are trying to save some money by doing the finish work ourselves. So every Saturday a bunch of people show up and the project manager has a list of tasks for us.

Saturday was sow and straw, and paint. A lot.

The sow and straw is not for the purpose of growing grass. It is solely for the benefit of the inspector, who insists that all areas prone to erosion be seeded and strawed, about three acres.

That's alotta straw. And since it is late February and everything is cold and damp and gray, there is much mud. Oh yes, much mud. And quite a large quantity of it came home on Elijah and me.

Then there was the paint. We rolled. We sprayed. We trimmed with two-inch cheap brushes. And if you've ever tried to cut a straight line with a cheap brush, you know how hard it is. Most of this painting was over our heads and we were standing on five-gallon buckets, so we did a lot of getting up on the bucket, getting down to load the brush, getting back up on the bucket, etc. You get the picture. Did you know that climbing up and down like that really gives your calves a good workout? Which is why my calves refused to work this morning.

Then we got to Sunday School where we had a new coffee pot. Actually, it's one that's been sitting in the pantry closet for a long time. We can't remember when it was used last, but figured it would be fine. Here are Ben and two other guys trying to make the thing brew:


We never did get coffee out of it, so after Sunday School Ben walked the whole thing to the dumpster. That'll teach the unruly coffee pots of the world!

In the end, we came home, ate lunch, and all went to sleep for a few hours, so the entire day was not wasted. It will take me until next Saturday to recover. Just in time for more paint and carpet.

Be thankful ~

Karen

An old post from another blog

I was thinking about this story last night, and since I posted it on a different blog before I came to blogger, I thought I'd share it again. Lovely won't mind, I'm sure.

Posted in March 2007:

Boy, do I have a story to tell. This past Saturday, Abbie and I went into DC to get Leah from the CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) at the Omni Hotel in the Woodley Park section. Since I hate driving (and parking) in DC, we decided to take the metro in, and the Woodley Park station is half a block from the hotel. This would be easy.

Ummm, no.

We got there, found Leah, and started for the metro station with the two girls carrying Leah's huge duffle bag between them, while I carried her book bag, purse, violin, and my purse. This station is waaaaaay underground, and the escalator is the longest one I've ever seen (though Ben says there's one longer in Atlanta). Here it is:

We had to wait for a break in the crowd to take the above picture. The girls were in front of me on the escalator with the duffle, and Leah had on these really cute little black lace soft-soled shoes. As we approached the end of the escalator, Leah tried to get a better grip on the duffle, put too much weight on the heels of her feet, and one of her shoes got sucked into the escalator.

There were literally hundreds of people behind us and the whole thing stopped! Leah stopped, dropped the duffle, and yelled, "Oh crap! My shoe!" So here we were, dropping all our stuff, trying to get out of the way of many hundreds of people, pulling at the shoe. We quickly realized it wasn't coming out, so we stood to the side, while half of DC walked by saying, "Oh, that ****s." No kidding, we heard that more than any other comment, though there were a few that said, "Oh, I'm so sorry!" Like they could do anything! One guy came back to ask if he could take a picture for his friends. Here are Abbie and Leah, shortly after we decided we'd better get help, and sent a station manager to call a technician:

Doesn't she look sad? She said, "This is the story of my life. Stupid things that happen to me, and playing music in random places."

So the waiting began. After about 20 minutes, Leah was bored so she decided to serenade us all. One guy came by and threw a dollar in her violin case!

We wound up waiting an hour and a half. So you know what happens when you get tired and bored? Everything gets funny. And Abbie starts taking pictures of really dumb things. She was the one who noticed the trash can nearby:

Now, this may not seem very funny, but look closely at one of the things that's not permitted:

So at least we know it's ok to put seeing-eye animals in the trash, but no others. Only in DC.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Hey! That's my baby! And so is THAT!

Two of my daughters have blogs here at blogger now. Abbie started hers out of frustration with facebook, which is nice for staying in touch, but not so good for blogging, and Leah switched from another site because it kept screwing up. So go visit and say hi! Now if we could just get Deb to start one. . .

Be thankful ~

Karen

I need to make some crumpets.

I was thinking about tea today and remembered this joke Mike Pearl of No Greater Joy told us years ago:

Mike and Debi went out to dinner with two other couples. In trying to prove how sweet he was, one husband said to his wife, "Pass the honey, Honey."

Not wanting to be outdone, the second husband said to his wife, "Pass the sugar, Sugar."

So in true competitive-male spirit, Mike said sweetly to Debi, "Pass the tea, Bag."

Ahem. Probably untrue, but a good Mike-like story anyway.

On to tea.

My friend, Eleanor, at A Cup of Cold Water is sending me a box of Celestial Seasonings True Blueberry tea and I can't wait to try it. She mentioned it recently and when I went looking for it, couldn't find it anywhere. A new flavor of tea always gets me excited. What do you supposed that says about my personality?

Ben called from work and we were discussing the fact that I finally found him some Lady Grey Tea - he's particularly fond of it but it's hard for me to get. But then he told me that he hadn't had heartburn today until he drank a cup of it. This is bad because he battles frequent heartburn and really didn't want to give up his Lady Grey. But then he added, "Of course, it might have been the five Thin Mints I had with it. . ." Ya think?

Then Mike called from school today, something that usually gets dollar signs flashing before my eyes. But instead of another $150 book, he wanted to know where I got the Rooibus tea I gave him when he was home in January. Rooibus is red tea, full of health benefits, and comes in a huge variety of flavors. Mike's favorite is the Pumpkin Creme. It's funny to me that a houseful of college guys sits around and compares the flavors of tea, but it's better than beer, so I'll keep buying tea. The problem is that my friend, Marty, gave me the Rooibus, and got it at a tea shop in Indiana, so now I've got to find a supplier closer to home.

So. You know it's a slow blog-day when all you have to talk about is tea, but at least it's comforting and cheap. Gotta be thankful for the little things.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Good news on the financial front!

Let me begin by giving you the short version of my family with regards to vision therapy.

Abbie couldn't read at age 10. Had her tested, went through several months of in-office vision therapy and she could read. Then Elijah was found to have the same problems around age 13 and used the Home Therapy System. Between these two, vision therapy has cost us well over $3000, none of which is covered by insurance, of course.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago. Abbie is taking her first college course and started complaining that she couldn't read for more than 20 minutes or so without getting a headache and her eyes swiming around.

God, please have mercy.

She had her regular eye exam, got new glasses for reading, and today met with the vision therapist and started the Home Therapy System. For yet another $300. I keep reminding myself that reading is a fundamental skill that is necessary for success in life, so this is all money well-spent.

Then a few days ago, Elijah was amazed that I had finished a book I was reading in just a few days. His comment was, "Man, if I could read that fast, I'd read ALL THE TIME!"

Well, let me tell you, that was a GIANT RED FLAG. But at the same time, I was seeing dollar signs flashing before my eyes. Repeat reminder.

So today I asked Colleen, the vision therapist, about Elijah and we shared ideas for a few minutes. I worked up the courage to ask if I would have to buy the Home Therapy System again and she said, "Oh, no! I'll just call HTS and have them re-activate his program. I can do that today, if you want."

Glory to God! $300 may not sound like much to you, but with three in college and one already doing Home Therapy, that 300 is a huge gift!

*Breathing a sigh of relief.*

Be thankful ~

Karen

My computer is little-box-possessed!

I'm about to rip my hair out, and that won't be a pretty sight.

I've been to several blogs tonight, and each time I try to leave a comment, I get this little box that warns me the page contains secure and nonsecure content. Do I want to show the nonsecure content? I am given the choices of "yes," "no" and "more info."

Now this little box is a dear friend. I've seen it many times, always clicked "yes," and gone my merry way. But tonight I click "yes" and get stuck in a vicious cycle of little box - yes - little box - yes - little box - yes - and it goes on and on until my computer freezes up like a Hawaiian in the Yukon.

Someone please send help!

Be thankful ~

Karen

Come on, hormones!

Poor Elijah. It's hard being the youngest. He keeps trying to grow up past the other kids, and it keeps not working.

For years he would answer the phone and the person on the other end would invariably think it was me. Or Deb. Or one of the other girls. But never Ben. Or Mike. Or any male.

Elijah is now almost 15, the voice is still cracking and squeaking, but he has a new tactic. He answers the phone in his deepest, Randy-Travis-sounding voice. The problem with this is that he can't talk loud enough when he's doing the deep-Randy-Travis-sound, so mostly the person on the other end doesn't hear him, then when he says "hello" louder, they still think it's me.

This morning the phone rang. When Elijah answered it, and this is what I heard:

Hello?

Excuse me?

Who?

What did you say?

No, you must have the wrong number.

He hung up the phone and told me some woman was looking for Varina. That's another homeschooling mom in our church, which I told Elijah. He said, "You know, that did sort of sound like Miss Becky. Well, at least now I'm getting called other people's mothers."

Bless his heart.

Be thankful ~

Karen

I think there's a message in here somewhere.

This morning our pastor has the flu. So does the Executive Pastor. But that's ok because we have about a billion pastors, so there's always someone to fill in. Today it was Jeff's turn. I always like hearing him preach. Seems like he gets me right where I live, and today was no different.

He talked about "agents of discontent" - you know, all the advertising that works hard to convince you that you need more, bigger, better, different. It's amazing we can get through the day without buying a new mattress, changing banks, saving money on car insurance, and having a colonoscopy. He talked about how God provided PERFECTLY for Israel in the form of manna, and they still grumbled. They wanted flesh. He gave them quail. They complained. Psalm 81:10 says, "I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it."

Open it WIDE people! He will FILL it!

But then look at what comes in the very next verse: "But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me."

They would have NOTHING to do with Him. God forbid I ever get to that point.

Then we went to Sunday School where we've been studying Ruth and we read about how God provided PERFECTLY for Ruth through Boaz. Read chapters 2 and 3. Think there's a message here? I won't try to preach - God does it much better than I do.

And finally, I leave you with a quote from my oldest daughter, who lives far away and I miss terribly:

"Life is short; buy the shoes."

I raised that girl right. Here she is with Lovely and Abbie:

Be thankful ~

Karen

Doggies and drunks. But not drunk doggies.

In looking through the millions of pictures on my computer I finally came across the one very special picture I've wanted to share for the longest time, but couldn't find! I'm so excited!

Oh how they hated each other! But this was the prize spot in front of the woodstove and I caught them both there for just a few seconds. Spanky would lie down, Pete would see him there and saunter over, Spanky would get up disgustedly and walk away. He usually jumped up on the couch because Pete wasn't allowed up there. *sigh* I really miss my little dog.

Elijah and I were getting out of the car today at the grocery store and in the car next to us were two Yorkiepoo puppies. Oh. My. Goodness. It took every ounce of restraint to not smash the window and steal them both. But enough of my confessions.

In other extremely uninteresting news, Ben and I went to the retirement ceremony of a friend we were stationed with the last 7 years in the Navy. It was over at Andrews AFB on Friday morning. 10 am to be exact. Followed by a lovely reception. We left there at about 12 and had to kill the entire afternoon before dinner with these friends and their family at 5. So we had fun exploring the base, wondering what it would have been like to live there (we had tried to get orders to Andrews), and generally had a lovely, lazy afternoon.

At five we got to the restaurant with another couple and we were showed to the room reserved for our party. We sat and talked while we waited for the family to get there. When they finally showed up at 5:30 we understood why they were late. They had spent ALL AFTERNOON at a bar. A few of the ladies were sober (designated drivers, I'm thinking), but the rest of them were rip-roaring drunk. Now these are middle-aged people. Responsible adults. With jobs. And children - some of them present. I don't get it. Am I just out of touch? It was almost embarassing. But dinner with this other couple was lots of fun, so we had a good time anyway. But really! Is that what it takes to have a good time? How sad.

Be thankful ~

Karen

If you are a conservative Republican, read on. If not, you might want to skip this.

In honor of primary day in Virginia, I share the following e-mail thread posted by various members of my family yesterday, ending with a message from my son (no, I'm not proud), the graduating-in-May Political Scientist:

From my brother, Jim:

Okay, listen here. I have had an epiphany! Much as I swore I never would, I will be voting for McCain on Tuesday. And I have B. Hussein Obama and Hillary Rob 'em Clinton to thank. I have listened to them ramble about how my dear Uncle Sam is going to watch over me and use my money to do it. I have listened to them describe how they will benevolently rob me of my freedom. The interesting thing is that they are not trying to hide their intentions. I appreciate and applaud their honesty. I have come to the conclusion that McCain can't be anywhere near as bad as these two would be. I hear the strains of a Stalin style totalitarian government in Obama's words, and a Marxist style government in Hillary's words. I desire neither. We the people defeated the McCain/Kennedy amnesty bill. Little did we know that that was a precursor to the work we will have to do to keep McCain in check. Maybe he'll surprise us, but don't hold your breath. I will not sit this election out, nor will I vote for a style of government which have proven record of failure over the past several centuries. Let Limbaugh and Coulter do what they want. I need one more person to go along with me and we can cancel out their votes. Personally, I suspect that this is a sham on their parts to try and energize the conservative base. If that was their intent, then give me a pink bunny costume and a bass drum. You all must vote your conscience, and I'm sure you will. God bless you, one and all.

From our mom:


Jim - Your reasoning is the best I've heard - and, of course, you are right. You have your second person - and I think you will have more than a few others with you, too. Mitt Romney would have been my choice; however, it was not to be. And perhaps Mitt, like Newt, can do just as much good for the Conservative causes in a position that he never anticipated. We need strength in other areas to "fight the good fight" - especially if a Democrat should be elected.

...and P.S.: Your mother knew that you would never sit one out!! You are much too intelligent for that! Your love for your country is something I treasure and admire very much - in you and in all our children.

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

Love, Mom

From Ben:

Here is why I'm voting for Billary II. If McCain gets elected the Republicans will continue to lose ground in Congress and when the whole thing is a pile of dung in 4 years I want the Democrat administration to get hammered, not a pseduo-Republican administration that acts like a Democrat administration. To paraphrase Mario Cuomo "When you run a Democrat against a Democrat you get a Democrat". I will not vote for our Democrat. McCain is going to destroy the soul of the party and I'm not voting for someone who is going to promise me a strict constructionist and then give me David Souter. (He's done that) A vote for McCain is a vote for the Rockefeller wing of the party and I won't be party to that. I'm calling fire down on my position. I'm voting for the toughest man in the fight... Hillary. Say it w/me "President Hillary!" BTW, Rush is going to turn, trust me, he's in your camp. - B

Jim again:

That would work if the MSM will hammer the Dems, but they won't. They never do. McCain will not destroy the soul of the party, he will continue the destruction. Both Bushes have pushed the GOP closer to the left than anyone thought possible. With the exception of the war in Iraq (which Rumsfeld helped him bungle), SCOTUS appointments and tax cuts, W is a big government eastern liberal Republican. Without the aforementioned positions, he too would be a RINO. Do I like McCain? No. But when faced with the choice of Stalin, Marx or McCain, I'll take my chances with the latter. The GOP has been on a downward spiral for several decades. The only say "We the People" have is to cast our votes. Our government has been stolen from us, and our country is hot on its heels. Voting for Stalin or Marx will only speed up the process. Once you give the huddled masses something they think is a "right", you'll never pry it out of their greedy fingers. Class warfare works. I am very sad that it has come to this, but I think this may be a turning point in national politics (probably not, but I can hope). Thinking people are not happy with any of the choices. Unfortunately, we are outnumbered by the morons who don't have a clue. Time will tell.

Mom again:


Ben - you mention several good points - but imagine where we'd be if Gore had won in '04. I am not as pessimistic as you - and my Dad taught me many things - among them to have some faith in "we, the people". I know a man (quite well) who has spent his political lifetime stating "people are stupid". There are times when I absolutely agree, but more times that I don't. George W. hasn't been all bad for us - but now we face the prospect of whatever good he did being undone by the left, whether it be Obama or Clinton. You are right about our choices: there wasn't one of them (not even Romney) in whose oratory (?) I saw "the shining city on the hill". We ache for a Reagan - and I have a hard time accepting that somewhere out there, we won't find another. Maybe I don't have a clue, either!

Love, Mom

And finally, from Mike, a 23-year old Political Science student: (if you're still reading, let me shake your hand)

About the choice between worse and atrocious…

I won’t work for support for McCain – quite frankly, he is a liar and a charlatan; either one makes him not worth my time. And yet, I find it equally (if not more) awful to directly oppose him. Don’t get me wrong, I disagree with him on every domestic stance I can think of which he has spoken on in the last ten years. I disagree with his (understandable) position on torturing enemy combatants; I think that if our enemies are dumb enough to be captured on the field of battle, they should pay for their crime of opposing us with all the information they can give us – and we should actively make them as uncomfortable as possible until they give us that information.

All this being noted, McCain also is not planning to nationalize a trillion-dollar industry (medicine). He is not planning to raise the average federal tax rate to economy-stifling levels. While his assertion that he was “the only Republican to support the troop surge” is factually incorrect (and he knows it), he is not publicly planning to end the war on Al-Qaeda’s terms. I can’t think of anything that would make me more righteously angry than for our next president to bail on the mission of people who died to see it through. What is their sacrifice worth, if we don’t have the moral fiber to give everything for victory in their memory?

Also, there is something else that is not widely known which you may want to consider. After Romney’s withdrawal speech, he met with the current leadership of the conservative movement (think Gingrich, Armey, and Morton Blackwell, just for starters – there were 50 conservative leaders in the room, and those are the only three that I’m almost sure were there). Long story short, Romney is now running the conservative organization. If you have studied Romney’s past at all, you know that he is at his best when leading an organization of experts. What we have, then, is shaping up to be Romney and the conservatives against either McCain, Hillary, or Obama. If his past performance is any indicator (single digits in national polling to roughly 32% by the end of his campaign), Romney will win most fights with McCain, and stands on roughly equal footing with Hillary. I would put him on slightly weaker footing against Obama, just because Obama is a fantastic orator. (By the way, if Obama wins Virginia , watch for Hillary to tank quickly. If Hillary is Giuliani , Virginia is Florida .)

The choice for me comes down to this: Do we elect Billary or Obama, who we will fight around 90% of the time; or do we elect McCain, who we will fight on only important issues, about 20% of the time? Either way, we’re back to being in the minority – but with McCain in office, we have the opportunity to expose him for the fraud he is. Also, it is a lower-risk environment in which to rebuild conservative momentum. It is always rough going when building a political movement; but when both houses of Congress and the President are against you, it takes a 1994 miracle. I believe in the raw leadership ability I have seen in Romney – but I would not ask him to lead the charge into an almost-sure defeat. By not working against McCain, I’m trying to give him something to work with. I can’t stand McCain, and I’ll make my choice whether to vote for him or not by looking at his choice for Vice President; but I can’t vote for a baby-slaughtering, big-spending, tax-raising, cut-and-run supporting, amnesty-granting, Ginsberg-nominating, feminist-apologist, Marxist-Leninist, social-entitlement-expanding, HillaryCare-creating Trotskyite. And I also refuse to sit out the election. So I’ll have to see who the VP candidates are – I’ll be voting for them this time around.

Mike

I want to eat her right up!

Please go meet Charlotte - the baby daughter my friends are adopting from Poland. She is gorgeous! And they are the perfect family for her.

Be thankful ~

Karen

The drama begins. . .

Did I mention that I'm a NASCAR fan?

And did I also mention that I'm a closet Junior fan? Well, no more. I'm coming out with it. Totally public. I'm a fan. I just KNEW he would do well this year driving for Hendrick, and it only took him 70 laps to prove me right. He won the Bud Shootout Saturday night. Can't wait for the rest of the season.

And just in case you want to join me, the Daytona 500 is Sunday, Feb. 17. Coverage starts at 2 pm.

Feel free to root for Jimmie Johnson too. He's on the pole for the 500. If you don't know what that means, buy this book. See you at the track!

Be thankful ~

Karen

The stories, they are a'comin

I love when my kids go to CPAC every year. They come home with the best stories. Last year Leah got to meet and actually CONVERSE with Ann Coulter. This year they saw President Bush speak - had to get up at 4 am to get in line for that one - as well as Dinesh D'Souza, Michele Malkin, and Newt Gingrich. Leah says it's a huge Republican PARTY and just tons of fun.

You know how sometimes you'll be standing there talking to someone and somebody taps you on the shoulder as they're walking by, and you turn to look and no one's there? Well, Leah and her friend were in line waiting to see Ann Coulter when Leah felt a tap. She turned to look and, sure enough, no one was there, but her friend was standing with wide eyes and mouth agape. When she could speak, she said, "That was GEORGE WILL!!!" Too cool. George Will played a joke on my daughter. I feel famous!

Here's her view of the President speaking:

And this one of Newt Gingrich:

And a good time was had by all. Now, unfortunately, they are back at school studying to make something of themselves. Real life does get in the way sometimes.

Be thankful ~

Karen

The way to my heart is NOT through my stomach.

I love reading. When the rest of my family is watching TV at night (except for those nights when American Idol is on), I can be found on my bed, reading. I enjoy biographies, Agatha Christie, Jeanne Williams, Louis L'Amour on occasion, some political stuff, and all the lawyer stories John Grisham writes.

So last week when I found out Grisham had a new book out, I went straight to my library's website to order the book. Sure enough, there it was, and I added my name to the waiting list. When I clicked on *complete order* it informed me that my queue position was 167.

Excuse me?

You mean as in 166 people get this book before me? Let's see. If each person gets the book for two weeks with no renewals allowed, that's 332 weeks. So I'll get the book in just over six years. I could get it in paperback by then, fer crying out loud!

So my sweet, who doesn't buy Valentine's presents but truly understands the romantic value of a GOOD BOOK, went to Border's and bought me my very own copy!

Who wants flowers? They die. Chocolates? They make me fat. Give me a book and win my heart. Told you I was a geek.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Technically savvy, I am not.

I do believe things are finally getting back to normal.

We've talked to Mike and Lovely several times in the last few days. First, Mike was crying the blues because Mitt Romney has suspended his campaign, and frankly, we think John McCain is a liberal democrat posing as a republican. And not doing a very good job of it. Then they called quite excited because they were going to hear the President speak - they are at CPAC in Washington DC communing with fellow conservatives. They were going to hear Ann Coulter speak, but her session was full with a 500 person waiting list. Lovely got to meet her last year, and got her picture taken with her. I told them both to get me some good pics, but you know how young, fanatical conservatives are.

Now that I think of it, I never did get that picture of Mike with Ted Danson in Iowa. Hmmm.

I would have loved to go to CPAC, but it just wasn't in the cards this year. Or rather, the budget. So I've been consoling myself by window shopping online. BooMama has posted links to some adorable things at Old Navy like these and these. But instead, I will be buying a glass door for my woodstove and having two new tires put on my car.

In my mind I am the best-dressed 46 year old I know.

Today I got in a throw-it-away frame of mind and started, you know, throwing things away. There have been two computer CPUs in my bedroom for a year and a half. One I donated to our church school, the other, which I remembered being inoperable (that's why we bought a new one way back when), I opened up and took a hammer to. I was afraid to just throw it away because I knew there was personal information on the hard drive and didn't want some technically savvy thief to get it. I was so proud of myself!

When I was telling Ben about it he got silent.

"Wasn't that smart of me?" I asked, encouraging him.

"Um, there were pictures on the hard drive. That's why we haven't thrown it out yet."

Oops.

It will take a really technically savvy thief to get those pictures NOW!

Be thankful ~

Karen

A title escapes me because of the brain fuzz.

Have I sung the praises of Tamiflu yet today? I won't bore you with a repeat, but really, if you ever get the flu. . .

This is short because I'm still feeling pretty weak, but, in the words of Mac Powell, there's a light at the end of that tunnel.

Last night I made a pot of creamy broccoli soup that I found on Jeana's blog (not the actual soup but the recipe) and it was delicious (the soup, not the blog). I can't figure out how to link straight to that post, but it was the Jan. 30 one. It's so easy and you can do it in the crockpot and have dinner or lunch waiting. I also got a recipe from my mom and sort of combined the best of both. If I had thought to take a picture of it you would have been terribly impressed, but my thought processes are just a tad fuzzy still. Forgive me.

Today we have a few errands to run, Elijah has PE at the Y and says he wants to go, Abbie has class, and someone around here has to make dinner. I'd better get busy.

Be thankful ~

Karen

The answer to the question I posed two posts down. . .

No. There is no hope that I won't get it.

By nine o'clock last night I knew it was coming and it wasn't long before it hit. That's how you know it's the real flu and not just a bad cold. It hits like a ton of bricks at break-neck speed, and the coughing allows you to see your body inside out.

So we put in a call to the good doctor this morning, he called in three prescriptions for Tamiflu, and Ben went to the drug store to pick them up.

Except that they only had one box left.

Will the fun never end?

Seems everyone else in our area has discovered the wonder-drug-abilities of this stuff and all the pharmacies are out. They did tell Ben they would have more tomorrow, to come back after 3 pm, and this one box would be enough to get all of us started on it. I may go camp out to be first in line.

Yet, in the midst of all this suffering, we can still rejoice that the New England Cheaters didn't win the Superbowl. There is justice in the world.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Where the party never ends

Since everyone else in the house is sick, I'm staying home tonight to play nursemaid. I'm refilling drinks, bringing cold compresses for fevered brows, emptying trash cans full of used tissues, and generally ministering love to the sickies.

But what's the Super Bowl without a party, right? Please, come enjoy ours with us.

Bring chicken soup.

Be thankful ~

Karen

I'm buying stock in Tamiflu.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse.

Ben stayed home from church this morning. He had planned to, since no one likes to have toes coughed up on them.

Abbie had planned to go, and got up early to shower and do her hair. By 7:30 she was sitting on the floor in front of the woodstove looking pretty pathetic. So she stayed home too. She has been in the recliner all day, covered with three blankets and has a cold washcloth on her head. Headache, fever, cough, aches, fatigue.

Elijah went to church with me, and when he came to the car after Sunday School (we have church first, then Sunday School), he looked at the box of donuts in the back seat and DIDN'T EAT ONE. Came home and went to bed for three hours. Woke up with fever, cough, aches, severe headache.

Oh. My. Goodness.

Everyone here in my family is sick. Even my grandchildren.

Except that they're not born yet.

I'm beginning to feel like Elijah - I'm the only one left, Lord! But I'm still washing my hands feverishly - no pun intended - and praying like crazy. Is there any hope?

Be thankful ~

Karen

A little FYI.

Two weeks until Daytona. Just in case you were wondering.

Today Abbie and I stopped for some chicken nuggets, waffle fries, and Coke, and of course we had THE SPECIAL SAUCE that is now called Barbecue Mustard or Honey Barbecue or something uninspiring like that, but whatever they call it, IT IS DIVINE. We decided right then and there in the car that we could put that stuff on pine bark mulch and it would be incredible.

In health news, Mike says Tamiflu is a wonderdrug, Leah is not much better, Pete has finally stopped itching, and Ben is almost toeless. My hands are raw from washing.

And that's all. I quit for the day.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Dont' blink - you'll miss the fun

And now you can add Ben to the list. He's been coughing up his toes since last night. When he gets sick, he takes up residence on the couch with a box of tissues, a garbage bag, and the remote. Right now he's watching some show on the Military Channel - comforting, huh? I just heard the narrator say this:

Every infantryman will come through Ft. Benning at some point in their lives.

You might as well run your fingernails on a chalkboard - that's what grammar like that does to me.

*sigh*

Abbie is babysitting during a wedding at our church this afternoon, and I'm going grocery shopping. Hold me back - the excitement is too much.

Be thankful ~

Karen