On account of my 100th Post, let me show and tell a few things about myself....

1) I collect perfume. I started when I was a teenager and the mall gave out more than just scented wipes for samples. I use to have more, but I parted with them. The three on top of the decorative box are over or about 15 yrs. old! I do use them just not that much. That's Giorgio in the middle and Liz Clairborne on the right. The one with the greenish bottle -cap top in the front left is the real Samsara oil straight from Egypt!

2) I also like music boxes. The one with the little mice see-sawing on a spatula plays Whistle While you Work. The Precious Moments one says "Friends Never Drift Apart" and it plays That's What Friends are For.

3) I use to stick my head between the two front seats of my grandfather's car and sing. The seats were close enough to each other that it just covered my ears enough to cause the microphone affect. I use to sing real loud in the shower and rather high because it drove my mom crazy. So now you know that I like to sing.

4) I was part of an egg fight at school/out of school in a suppose to be a surprise, "It's your Birthday Bash" at the age of 7. The funny thing is that my mom knew something was up, because I very casually asked her if getting egged hurt.

5) I dissected a human course over a 3 day period at a Medical School with an Anatomy class in some kind of Summer Camp between my Freshman and Sophomore yrs. in High School. I had already decided that I wasn't going to pursue the medical field, so I thought I'd try this out.

6) I also collect scarves that I rarely use now. I just haven't been able to part with them. Because of this, I was able to demonstrate to the 1st and 2nd graders in our co-op what real silk feels like by passing some of these beauties around.

7) I use to trade sandwiches at school because I didn't like ham and peanut butter. Apparently, whoever it was I was swapping with, didn't mind. This happened in South America, Colombia by the way, and peanut butter was not really used much, if ever. My grandmother must have given my mom some she brought home from her trips to the USA and so mom was trying to use it up.

8) I've seen the Redwoods in California, the White House in Washington, D.C., had my honeymoon in Seattle, Washington, visited the squares in Savannah, Georgia and actually lived in one of those big colonial homes on Victory Drive., rode the elevators to the top of the Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, and seen many other states in between. I can say that I'm happily settled where I live.

9) My first real job was as a receptionist for the rectory of the Catholic school parish I attended as a child. By the way, I am not a Catholic now. I was born into the Catholic faith though and remained so till about 14 yrs. of age. I am now what you would call a - Non-Denominational- Born Again -Full Gospel- Fundamental- (of Holiness Doctrines) Christian. Whew! There's a lot to that. To put it simply, I just believe the Bible, nothing but the Bible. I want to follow Jesus so please help me God. (There's a hint of humor in that.)

10) Here's a picture of my family and I. We took this picture in summer 2008.

So there you have it. 100 Posts and now you know me better. Let me know if you do something like this, and I'll come by and read about you.

Yours Truly,

New look!

I thought I'd change things around. What do you think?
I like it! I guess the new year has brought on new colors for me.

You Learn Something New Everyday

I have really enjoyed blogging. Yesterday I visited a blog that had a video on how to make laundry soap.
I was impressed. Would you ever think that full of woes over the laundry herself would be interested in making laundry soap? I can't believe it myself, but I think I'm going to try it. Hey, I grind my own flour. Surely, making soap every couple months can't be that bad.

Our school went good today. While trying to teach my boys a little about the first 13 colonies, I learned how little I knew about these people. The thought that comes to mind is
"What was I doing in school when this stuff was taught?"
Maybe I was coloring and labeling the maps given to me way ahead of when I was suppose to just like my son was doing today. Those Puritans had a lot of problems. Did you know that Rhode Island was started by Roger Williams, who preached that they should buy the land from the Indians instead of taking it outright. He was run off from Massachusetts. This was not popular! Talk about telling someone to "Hit the Rhode..."

The baby will soon be 1 year old. He is also quickly weaning himself. That must be why I've been a little moody. But alas, it must happen and I'll be free again. I feel my obligation to nurse my children is on a 12-13 month contract. He is just about done and not a moment too soon.
We're planning a trip to Washington D.C. soon and having a nurse-free baby will make the trip so much sweeter. I'm kind of getting excited about it.
There is a sadness in it all, the nursing I mean. I won't get to smell his baby cheeks as much as I do now. And the days when I could look at him sweetly sleeping in my arms will dissipate. Being nurse-free has its drawbacks..... several.

Dear Journal Letters # 2 (time, blogging, spoiling children)

Dear Journal,
I'm on this computer a lot earlier than usual because we got in real late last night. We didn't start school at our regular time of 6:30am. I have really enjoyed blogging. It has been a while since I've found an activity that I enjoyed this much. Writing down my thoughts has been good too. There's only one problem with this new hobby. It's additive and time consuming! I have really debated on how I can have the cake and eat it too. So for right now I've decided to blog only at night after everyone has gone to sleep or moments like this. I'm hoping this will keep me honest about how much time I spend on this activity, since a tired and weary body is less likely to waste time. We also started logging ourselves in and out of the computer. This way everyone knows how long they have spent on it.

Here's some thoughts about moderation and stewardship. Yesterday we went to a really nice birthday party for a 2yr. old. It was held at an elementary school, with access to the gym. It seemed they had over 20 boxes of pizza, plus chips, cake..! That's a lot, but my husband's side of the family is large. His mom had 11 kids! The birthday boy had a pinata, a beautiful cake, and so many gifts. My kids had a ball. As I sat there and watched the baby boy open his presents (with help from my girls), some very real questions came to my mind. Is it good to give a child all its heart desires in the name of love? What will it do to the surprise element as he gets older and really knows what's going on? These are questions I face every year as my kids have birthdays and celebrate Christmas. It could make them ungrateful, self-centered, and unsatisfied. I realized early in our years as parents that there is something good about waiting for those things we truly want. Why wait if you can have it now? Because it causes us to discern between the things we don't want. It causes us to appreciate them, and take care of them. It also causes us to learn that things that are worth something don't come without a cost. Whether they cost money, time, sweat, sacrifice, diligence...etc.
Jimmy reminds me every once in a while that less is more.
LESS IS MORE ..less is more. More time, more space, more money, more of the attributes that money can't buy, more freedom from the bondage of things. Less is definitely more!