04.27.2007 | 9:14 pm | Memes
Despite the aforementioned excitement of the day, I’m determined to squeeze in this week’s Friday’s Feast. 
Appetizer
How fast can you type?
Very fast. I just took a typing test a couple of months ago, and I can do 73 wpm with no errors. I credit my dad with my typing expertise; he insisted that I learn how to type properly, even when I was a child.
Soup
What is your favorite online game?
I don’t play any games online, but I love to play Freecell on my computer.
Salad
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 as highest), how intelligent do you think you are?
I have a secret, and it’s that I’m pretty smart. I’ll say 8.5. Philip would definitely get a 9 or higher. It so happens that we both did Mensa tests this week, and he got a perfect score (I missed 4). I like it that way, because I always wanted to have a man who is smarter than me! It’s no fun to be a girl & be smarter than your date; I always found it hard to respect—or even be attracted to—guys who weren’t as smart as me!
Main Course
Name three of your best teachers from your school years.
Mrs. McMahon - 5th grade teacher
Mr. Raley - 9th grade English teacher. He didn’t just teach English & Literature; he was an eccentric, older single man who had traveled the world, and he spent half the time simply telling us about his experiences. Both Philip and I still use the “non-book” knowledge that he gave us during that wonderful year in his class.
Mr. Lowrey - 11th grade AP History; 12th grade Psychology/Sociology.
Dessert
What are your plans for this upcoming weekend?
Getting our bathroom prepped for upcoming painting.
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04.27.2007 | 8:52 pm | Uncategorized, Daily Life, Gray Matters
Today was a hectic day. We had our homeschool lesson, and then we had lunch. I had just sat down at the counter with my laptop, when G came up next to me; he was pretending to be a cat. He was meowing and pawing, and he reached up to paw at me, but instead he accidentally hit my glass of water and knocked it over. Water spilled out all over the counter, and since my laptop was sitting on the counter, it was in the path of the water—specifically, the left side, which is where all the USB & Firewire ports are located.
I snatched up the laptop, but not in time to prevent water from entering all those ports. I immediately turned it left-side down so that the water would drain out, and some of it did. But when I put the laptop back on the counter, it had gone completely dead (it had been on before). I tried to re-start it several time, to no avail. Finally, with Philip’s help, we got it to start back up, but the screen just had broken colored blocks and streaks, and the keyboard and touchpad were non-responsive. Philip opened up the computer and did his best to dry out the standing water, and with that, was able to get it to start up and show the normal screen, along with all the programs opening & functioning. However, the keyboard & touchpad were still not working.
He made some phone calls, and he was told that there is only ONE Mac tech in our entire metro area. One! The reason, all the other techs freely admit, is that it’s not cost-effective to hire Mac technicians, since Macs rarely need service of any kind. It’s only when something is actually damaged by an outside source (like water 
) that people need to take a Mac in for a repair. This brings me to ask the eternal question: WHY do people keep buying PCs? Don’t they watch those clever (and oh-so-accurate) Mac commercials that spell all this out? But I digress, so that I can go on to what happened. 
Philip talked to the Mac tech, and he said that before we bring it in, we should turn off the power, remove the battery, and leave it airing out (preferably outside in the sun) for several hours. He said that’s always the first thing to do when you get water in a laptop, because usually the water has interrupted the signals between everything; once it dries out for a few hours, it will often work once again. But if after doing that, it still doesn’t work, we should bring it in, because the motherboard has likely been damaged. So we set the laptop outside for the entire afternoon. Luckily it was a sunny, dry, and windy day—perfect for what we hoped to accomplish.
The verdict? It worked! We brought it in and fired it up tonight, and everything works perfectly once again. Can I sigh a huge sigh of relief? Because if it was the motherboard, I would be out of a computer indefinitely, since repairing it wouldn’t be cost-effective, and buying a new one would be impossible.
So I’m a happy camper tonight. I was pretty sure all was lost earlier this afternoon. I should’ve had more faith in my beloved iBook, though. We’ve been using Macs exclusively since 1994, and this is the very 1st problem we’ve ever experienced—and it had everything to do with a glass of water being turned over into it, not any fault of the product itself.
As for G, let’s just say he’s very aware that he needs to be more careful around Mama’s computer.
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04.25.2007 | 8:10 pm | Uncategorized, Daily Life
I was at a store yesterday, standing at the checkout counter waiting to pay. I reached into my purse and pulled out my wallet, and along with the wallet, out came a blue crayon. It shot onto the counter and rolled toward the store employee.
The crayon was in my purse because we had dinner at TGI Friday’s last week, and you know how restaurants usually give kids those little packs of 2 or 3 crayons so they can color the menu. Well of course, whenever we’re done eating, I always stick the crayons in my purse; we take them home and I eventually put them into G’s crayon box. Hey, there’s no way I’m turning down free crayons!
So back to the checkout counter and the escaped crayon. I leaned over and smacked my hand on it before it rolled away, and quickly returned it to my purse. Then I laughed. I thought to myself how, several years ago, I never carried crayons in my purse. But now, I do.
I am so lucky and so blessed.
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04.24.2007 | 2:21 pm | Uncategorized, Natural Pregnancy & Birthing
So I had a prenatal checkup this morning. 16 weeks & 3 days!
Everything looks great. She even thinks my weight gain is just fine. I, however, do NOT. I’ve gained 20 lbs so far, and that was starting out 10 lbs heavier than my ideal weight. So, I’m not happy about that at all. By the book, I should’ve only gained 5 lbs so far, but Jenny says she’s completely unconcerned because 20 lbs is well within a normal range for where I started. She says I was “skinny” beforehand. 
Ha. Ha. Ha.
I’ve decided that I’m going to start keeping track of my calories every day, and to keep them within a certain limit. My goal is to gain no more than 10 more pounds for the rest of the pregnancy, keeping my total weight gain to 30 lbs. It’ll be tough, since the 3rd trimester is typically when the greatest amount of weight is put on, but I think it’s do-able. I refuse to gain 55 lbs like I did with G. I topped out at 170 with him, which is totally inexcusable! I’m at 150 now. 
Other things we discussed were the frequent contractions I’ve been having for over a week now. She isn’t too concerned, but she told me that if they do continue to pick up, to call her and we’ll do some testing & monitoring to make sure they’re not changing my cervix. We went through a huge ordeal with preterm contractions during my pregnancy with G, and I ended up on medication as well as bed rest for 10 weeks, even though I never did go into preterm labor. However, as soon as I was okayed to stop bed rest, my cervix started dilating within the next two weeks. So, it’s still concerning because I don’t know what to expect this time, and whether or not continuing with my daily activities despite the contractions is going to hurt or not. We shall see!
She had to offer me the AFP screening test, which of course I declined. It tests blood for markers of various birth defects, but the problem is, the false positive rate is over 70%. If it comes back positive, you either have amniocentesis to confirm the presence of a birth defect, or you sit and worry for the next 5 months about whether you do indeed have a child with a birth defect. I’m 100% against amniocentesis, so I’d have to sit & worry, and I’m 100% against that, too. So, I did what wise mothers do, and I declined it. The only real reason for giving this test in the first place, is to give mothers the option of terminating the pregnancy before 20 weeks, in the event that it’s confirmed they do have a child with a birth defect. Niiiiice. No, thank you.
We discussed some things about my labor, too. I want a completely natural labor & birth, with no interventions and no medical interference at all. You know, the way God designed it to work. I wanted to know now whether or not I’ll be able to decline fetal monitoring while I’m in labor this time, and she said that we have the option of intermittent monitoring. *Sigh* I want NO monitoring. The more you monitor a baby during labor, the more chance there is for the nurses to find something “wrong”, and therefore push for needless interventions. I want to avoid that completely. She said she’d work with me in order to get what I want. Hopefully that means she’ll make them leave me alone! She did pretty good getting them to leave me alone with G’s birth, but there are just a few things I want done more hands-off this time, and monitoring is one of them.
Stupid, stupid hospital rules. More than anything, I want a homebirth, and I’m not completely ruling one out, but as it stands, we can’t afford to pay for one. I also don’t want to deliver with anyone but Jenny, and she doesn’t do homebirths (oh, how I wish she did!). So it’s most likely going to be a hospital birth, unless I end up with a breech baby or something crazy like that. If that happens, then I’ll likely have a homebirth, since most hospitals will refuse to deliver breech babies and will automatically deem it a need for a surgical birth.
My next appointment is scheduled 4 weeks from today, along with my big ultrasound! I can’t believe I have to wait four whole weeks to find out what we’re having! I’m really getting anxious to find out. And knowing that if I had an ultrasound today, they would be able to tell whether it’s a boy or girl, just makes it harder to have to wait. Boo hoo! I need to know whether I can relax (if it’s another boy) or panic (if it’s a girl). LOL! Please think blue thoughts for us!
I guess the countdown is on!
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04.23.2007 | 12:34 pm | Reviews
I’ve watched quite a few movies lately, and I plan to get around to commenting on them soon, but this one just cannot wait. The movie is Junebug (click to watch the trailer). Or, if you’re still living under a rock & don’t have Quicktime, click here to watch a sub-standard trailer.
I loved this film! It’s a classic indie film in every way. Low-key, but with intense depth. No soundtrack or quick scene changes to entertain short attention spans. Artsy. A bit dark, and darkly humorous as well. Mesmerizing and thought-provoking, flawlessly scripted and acted. It won several awards at Sundance & Cannes, and one of the actors received a well-deserved Oscar nomination.
The extra plus to this film is that it focuses on rural Southern culture, and it does it in a most accurate way. Much like Sling Blade did, but definitely not as dark as that film. The family portrayed is middle-class (some are lower-middle-class), and their personalities, lifestyle, interactions, and nuances were portrayed very well. At times, I felt like I was visiting with both of my extended families. I would’ve especially enjoyed this film back when we were living in New York, as it would’ve made me feel like I was back home for at least a little while.
It was an hour & 40 minutes well-spent, and I was so sad to see it end. Many questions are left unanswered (typical of most indie-films), and it left me thinking for days. Actually, I’m still thinking about it!
Here is a good review that says it better than I can manage:
| Giving an art-film aesthetic to a touching family drama, director Phil Morrison and screenwriter Angus MacLachlan present their first feature, which was shot in their hometown of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The film is set in nearby Pfafftown and Pilot Mountain, and location is itself a character in the film as long sequences of soundless photography show rows of houses, or rooms in a house, or stretches of farmland–capturing the essence of this area of the South.
Successful, cosmopolitan, and adorable Chicago couple Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz) and George (Alessandro Nivola) meet at a fancy art auction where she is working as a dealer, and they are married six months later. Madeleine is recruiting an outsider artist, and she travels to rural North Carolina to meet him. George accompanies her, as he is originally from Pfafftown, and though it has been three years since he visited home, Madeleine insists on meeting his family. When she does, she finds herself in a world totally different from her own, and sees a new side of her husband. His mother Peg (Celia Weston) and father Eugene (Scott Wilson) are quiet homebodies who aren’t sure what to make of Madeleine’s sophisticated career and lilting British accent. George’s deadbeat brother Johnny (Ben McKenzie) never finished high school, and lives at home with his young wife Ashley (Amy Adams), who is naive and bubbly–and very pregnant. While the family’s simplicity, traditional values, and religion make them suspicious of Madeleine, Ashley is the one bright-eyed spirit who is happy to have Madeleine as a sister-in-law and celebrates her marriage to George. JUNEBUG is an effecting film that sheds light both on the always-surprising nature of in-laws, and the unique culture of the South. |
Junebug is the best film I’ve seen in a long time, and I give it a 10 out of 10. I highly recommend it to everyone who enjoys watching a good, interesting story unfold, and I recommend it even moreso to my Southern sisters & brothers. If you have Encore channels, it’s playing on Encore Love Stories again this week, and also next week:
Wed. April 25 @ 9pm EST
Tues. May 1 @ 7:10pm EST
Otherwise, I’m sure it’s rentable.
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04.22.2007 | 9:37 am | Uncategorized, Ranting
Several times this week, I noticed that flags around our town were flying at half-mast. When I tried to think of why this might be, I realized that it must be for the shooting victims at Virginia Tech earlier this week. However, realizing that left me wondering why we were bestowing national honor to people who hadn’t served or died for our country.
Jennie at Army of Seven Eight has taken the words right out of my mouth. This is what she had to say about it:
Apparently, we are flying our American flags at half-staff because of the murders of the students at Virginia Tech. I don’t think that is even remotely appropriate. It’s a tragedy, yes. We grieve for their families, yes. We pray for their souls, yes. But lower the flag for them? No. That honor should be reserved for those who have rendered service to their country, not for murder victims, no matter how tragic the circumstances of their deaths. …
…I don’t have a problem with the mourning, I just don’t think it should be done with the flag. I have less of an issue with 9/11 because those people were killed because they were simply American, BUT…
I still believe the flag, our nation’s flag, should only be lowered to honor the loss of the men and women who have served this country that the flag represents.
I couldn’t agree more! The VA Tech murders earlier this week are inarguably tragic. Their families, and many people across the country are mourning their loss. But bestowing national honor—an honor reserved for people who served and/or gave their lives for the United States—upon them is inappropriate.
It’s been pointed out that the President can deem a period of mourning for anyone or for any situation, at his discretion. But I still stand by the fact that, unless the person/people being honored served their country or died for it, then the honor of flying our flags half-mast is not one they should receive. No matter how many people are being emotionally manipulated by the endless hours the media spends bombarding us with ridiculous coverage…over and over and over, all day & all night long… (But that’s another rant altogether!)
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04.20.2007 | 8:50 pm | Daily Life, Gray Matters
Our big news this week is that our Library opened! Bliss! This is amazing news, because I’ve been waiting the entire five years we’ve lived here, to have our very own library! Before now, the closest library that we’re allowed to use is at least a 20-minute drive, in a part of town where we never venture. The facility is kind of nasty and gross and not a pleasant place to visit at all. I’ve never wanted to bring G there, and I rarely went myself.
But the new Library is barely 5 minutes from our house, and it’s a brand-new building, with all brand-new books! It’s wonderful! I’ve been twice already, and yesterday I took G with me so he could have his very first library trip ever. He definitely enjoyed it! They have a nice children’s area, with tables and colorful beanbags, and hundreds of wonderful new books to choose from. He picked out several books to check out, and I got a handful of books to use for next week’s preschool lessons.
The geek in me took the camera, and I took a couple of pictures of the building & property.
This is when you’re first driving in:
And this is the building a little closer up:
I was proud when, as we drove up toward the building, G exclaimed, “Oh, Mama! Look! The building has a triangle on it!” Triangle was our shape of the week this week, and sure enough, he’s pointing them out everywhere. Do you see it, too?
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04.20.2007 | 12:38 pm | Daily Life, Gray Matters, Homeschooling
It’s been one of those weeks. Busy, busy, and no time to blog, other than the Ronald McDonald House fiasco that I just had to blog about Monday night. Speaking of that issue, the current situation is that we’re flooding the TX attorney general’s office, as well as the RMH Headquarters & TX board, with letters and phone calls. We must make sure RMH puts into place a universal policy that allows breastfeeding wherever the mother chooses, with no restrictions—exactly as the law states. Thankfully, the mothers involved aren’t going to back down until that happens. And neither are the rest of us.
Other than being involved in that, I was busy getting the house back in order after it was neglected all last week during my sickness. And homeschooling, and grocery shopping. And warding off headaches. The headaches just won’t leave me alone! These are Excedrin headaches, and Excedrin is off-limits during pregnancy. All I can take is Tylenol, and these are headaches that laugh at Tylenol. I end up taking way too many Tylenol in order to just get a little relief, and laying down a lot. Somehow I’ve managed to still get in a walk every evening, so I’m happy about that.
On the homeschooling front, things are going so well! I’ve learned more about my little learner, and while he is very hands-on and seems to love doing physical learning activities, I’m starting to see that his learning style is actually more visual than anything else. I think his physical learning tendencies are more like what’s common to all preschoolers, and that he really falls into the visual learner category. He fits all the common traits of a visual learner: Loves to visualize words and characters, sounding out words (most visual learners are early readers), easily recognizes symbols and logos while out and about, and loves to write and draw.
One thing that’s come to light recently is that he loves to practice writing his letters, numbers and shapes. You know, those tracer pages with the dotted-line letters and numbers. They seem so tedious to me, and I remember hating them when I was young. I was careful at first to only “make” him trace a few things per week, but last week he told me that he wanted to do more. He had traced a few “Ds”, and I told him he could stop and we’d do more later. But he said he wanted to do more now. He added that he liked doing them, and even as he traced “d” after “d”, he never tired of it and continued commenting on how much he liked doing it. So, this week I provided more tracing activities, with the same very positive reaction. He just keeps surprising me!
Today I had him sound out six “e” words, and afterwards he asked me to give him more words to sound out. He was absolutely loving it. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with his desire to learn, but I know that’s a very good thing. He’s getting pretty good at sounding out words, as long as the letters stick to the rules and don’t make any different sounds than what he’s used to. I wonder how I’m going to teach him those differences? I guess I’ll just figure it out when the time comes.
He’s still struggling with recognizing some of the teen numbers, but we’re just continuing to practice. He is very much like his mother—excelling at reading/writing, and not caring a thing for numbers! I keep reading books and articles, looking for ways to interest him more in numbers and counting. If anyone has ideas, I’m open to them!
Here are a couple of pictures from the week before last:
Doing his favorite thing! Practicing writing “Cs”.
This was all our visual work from that week. It was Easter week, so on Good Friday he painted a watercolor wash of the crucifixion scene. It turned out so beautiful, with varying shades of orange & yellow that the picture doesn’t do justice.
I have much more to update, but I have to close for now so this is it for the moment.
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04.18.2007 | 11:33 pm | Uncategorized
The New York Times…
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04.16.2007 | 8:58 pm | Uncategorized, Breastfeeding, Ranting
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