Questionnaire or Questionairre?

I absolutely CANNOT remember how to spell that word and am in too much of a hurry to look the thing up today! Here's another one of "those" for my friends who love to answer questions. Enjoy!

1.What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up this morning?
Not again.

2.The last person you talked to?
My kids.

3.If you wrote a book about your life, what title(s) would it have?
Reverse Skate, although the real Reverse Skate is not about me.

4.And if someone made a movie out of it, who should play your part?
Oh, please! Someone beautiful, I hope! Okay, get real… Stockard Channing.

5.Is there a movie you feel close to?
Nuts

6.A movie that makes you cry everytime you see it?
Ghost

7.A movie that makes you laugh everytime you see it?
9 to 5. I absolutely love the hospital corridor/corpse scene.

8.Sandra Bullock or Julia Roberts?
Sandra Bullock

9.If you could go back in time TWICE, where would it be?
My wedding, the births of my girls. Oops! That’s three!

10.Can death seem like a dream?
No, it’s very real. BUT you live forever if you’ve accepted Jesus!

11.Is a thought a hard thing to control?
Okay, now that is a VERY stupid question to ask someone with OCD!

12.Is there life after love?
Of course.

13.What is your favourite song at the moment?
Any song from Grease. The Christian song about “You are my strong tower.” Don’t know the name of it.

14.What is your lucky number?
9

15.Do you have a middlename?
Yes, but I changed it to my maiden name, much to my mother's dismay.

16.Do you bite your fingernails?
Not anymore.

17.What is on the walls of your room?
Just paint. I hate hanging things on walls.

18.What are you looking forward to?
The end of the busy season, a relaxing 4th of July.

19.What would you do with a million dollars that you could use only for YOURSELF?
A thousand massages, another set of braces, and a motorcycle complete with leather jacket.

20.What will you do when you have posted this questionnaire?
Answer an e-mail that just came ine.

I tag whomever reads this post, and I doubt there are many.

Save the Earth, it's the only planet with Chocolate

~ttyl~

Completed Projects

Here are L and K12 with their completed Alamo Project.



S and K15 with their completed Texas Cattle Ranch project.

Droodle Day #4

K15 drew today's Droodle. Doesn't she do awesome work on the computer? Today's Droodle is titled "Elephant giving an Ant a friendly Pat on the Back."

"There is no creature among all the Beasts of the world which hath so great and ample demonstration of the power and wisdom of almighty God as the Elephant." Edward Topsell, The Historie of Foure-Footed Beastes

Laundry Excuse

As mom, I was not "allowed" to do my laundry yesterday or today. This is the sign I found on our utility room door when I got home from work last night. Sometimes when you are the youngest in the family, in order to be heard, you have to make a sign! This is from the same daughter who said yesterday that she saw a dead "amarillo" on the side of the road. Always keeps me smilin'.

If you can give your son or daughter only one gift, let it be enthusiasm.
Bruce Barton

~outta here~

Person of the Week, Month, or Year #6!

I'd like to introduce y'all to my friend, D! She works in our store! I knew her before she started working here, but now I consider her a really good friend. She is a hard worker and very creative. She is definitely a "take charge," "let's get in there and get it done" type of gal. I am blessed to have her in my life.

Customers love D's friendly smile and helpful attitude. And her northern accent is a delight! Thank you, D, for being my friend!

Some blessings from friends this week were:
1. One friend called me every day to check on me.
2. One friend took my daughters to history class and to the library and helped with the Texas history project.
3. One friend invited my daughters to an awesome Bible study and let the girls stay at her house all day yesterday while I had to work.
4. One friend gave me several cards this week that lifted my spirits.
5. Another dear friend sent me an email card for our anniversary!
6. Another friend is helping me sent up new credit card processors to save me money and is helping get our shopping cart on our website ready!
I LOVE ALL MY FRIENDS!!!

"Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow.Don't walk behind me, I may not lead.Walk beside me and be my friend." - Albert Camus

~have a great day!~

More Project Photos

The Alamo without a face.

Edible grass made from coconut.

It's shaping up!

K15 constructs a barn for the cattle ranch.
Will post final pictures soon! K12 has to write a 3-page report. K15 has to write a 5-page report.

When you want to test the depths of a stream, don't use both feet
Texan Proverb

~y'all come back now, ya hear?~

Texas History Project

Yesterday the girls started on their Texas History projects. Above are K12 and her friend L plastering the Alamo!

This is K15's friend S. L above and S are sisters. S is modeling the proper way to close your eyes when someone is taking your photograph.

The above photo shows how the Alamo appeared originally, as a plain, cardboard box.

K15 is enjoying making a barn for her Texas cattle ranch project. Ah! That floor looks mighty comfortable!

Never trust the man who tells you all his troubles but keeps from you all his joys
Texan Proverb

~more later~

A Manly Man

How do you embarrass a manly man? Give him a manicure and pedicure for Father's Day! Above, the hot wax!!

"Hope this picture doesn't end up on someone's blog!"

"What have I gotten myself into?"


"Please, don't let someone I know walk through the door!"

The true man wants two things: danger and play. For that reason he wants woman, as the most dangerous plaything. -- Friedrich Nietzsche

Masculinity is not something given to you, but something you gain. And you gain it by winning small battles with honor. -- Norman Mailer

~see ya~

Person of the week, month, or year #5

Happy 17th anniversary to the one I love. R, you're the best husband a woman could ever ask for. Thank you for putting up with me for the past 17 years!

Our wedding was many years ago. The celebration continues to this day. ~Gene Perret

~bye for now~

Summer Eyewierd

Here's me modeling my new summer eyewear. Nice, huh? Check out the sunburn! That's K12 with me in the top picture.

"Laugh and the world laughs with you. Snore and you sleep alone."

~sleep tight~

Dusti's Swimming Lesson

The after swimming hairdo.

Teaching a dog to swim is easy. Just throw her in and she frantically swims to the steps.


Swimmers who are willing to work out close to racing speed will ultimately swim faster when it counts.

~all for now~

Ways to Answer the Phone

Well, today is another busy day - no time to write, and I can't get any of my photos to upload. Blah! So while my pork chops are cookin, I'll copy - yes, copy! EEK! and paste - some creative ways to answer the telephone.

Ways to answer the Phone!
"Hi."
"Hola!"
"Hey wassup ?"
"You have reached the residence of ___________, but no one is here right now... so please leave a...."
"Thank you, please pull around."
"Do-do-do- I'm sorry, you call cannot be completed as dialed!"
"burp!"
"talk to I!"
"911 Emergency!"
"Pizza Hut Japan, may I take your order?"

~sorry. no quote tonight, either. above are "telephone quotes" anyway. i must be the least creative person on the planet tonight!~

A Better Day

Today was a much better day than yesterday, so I'd like to commemorate it.

Event
2006 - A better day

Births
823 - Charles the Bald, Holy Roman Emperor and king of the West Franks (+ 877)
1786 - Winfield Scott, United States general (+ 1866)
1811 - Harriet Beecher Stowe, author (+ 1896)
1865 - William Butler Yeats, poet and dramatist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in literature 1923 (+ 1939)
1870 - Jules Bordet, physicist and microbiologist (+ 1961)
1887 - Bruno Frank, author (+ 1945)
1892 - Basil Rathbone, actor (+ 1967)
1893 - Dorothy L. Sayers, author (+ 1957)
1897 - Paavo Nurmi, runner (+ 1973)
1903 - Harold 'Red' Grange, American football player (+ 1991)
1913 - Kid Azteca, boxer (+ 2002)
1913 - Ralph Edwards, television host
1915 - Don Budge, tennis player (+ 2000)
1926 - Paul Lynde, actor (+ 1982)
1933 - Tom King, British politician
1935 - Christo, artist
1943 - Malcolm McDowell, actor
1948 - Garnet Bailey, ice hockey player & scout (+ 2001)
1951 - Richard Thomas, actor
1951 - Stellan Skarsg?d, actor
1953 - Tim Allen, actor
1962 - Ally Sheedy, actress
1970 - Rivers Cuomo, singer, guitar player (Weezer)
1974 - Steve-O, television personality
1986 - The Olsen twins, actresses


Deaths
1886 - King Ludwig II of Bavaria
1918 - Mikhail Alexandrovitch Romanov (AKA Grand Duke Michael), Tsar Mikhail II of Russia
1946 - Major Bowes, radio host
1972 - Clyde McPhatter, musician
1979 - Darla Hood, actress
1980 - Walter Rodney, historian, political figure
1982 - King Khalid of Saudi Arabia
1986 - Benny Goodman, musician
1987 - Geraldine Page, actress
1989 - Fran Allison, actress, television personality
1998 - Reg Smythe, Andy Capp cartoonist
2003 - Hein ten Hoff, German boxing athlete

~hope your June 13th was swell!~

Sunday Musings

Woke up this morning to 44 messages in my spam folder, all from a Stew Trueblood. What a waste of space. R and I will celebrate out 17th wedding anniversary this weekend. Wow! 17 years! K15 and K12 spent all day at church getting their rooms ready for Vacation Bible School. It is the biggest community outreach our church does! I pray that lots of children are saved this week and that their parents come to know Jesus, as well.

Yesterday was a blessing. I was telling a friend who shares my name about how K15’s Irlens was completely cured a couple of years ago. About 70% of all dyslexic people also have Irlens. For more information about Irlens, go to www.irlen.com. Anyway, she was oohing and aahing about the story. Less than an hour later a woman came in to the store who said she was looking for colored overlays to help her keep the words still (that is a symptom of Irlens) and, also, that she has mild dyslexia. My friend started telling her about K15’s experience and she walked away smiling and hopeful, with a phone number and website addresses in her hand! I absolutely love our store helping people!!!!

Thanks to my friend, T, my kids are getting to attend a Texas history class on Mondays in June. T is picking them up and bringing them home, as it is far away from here. I have been pretty lax with Texas history, so this was a real blessing to us. This way, I get to work in the early afternoon while they are in class. They have lots of homework, but at least they will be kept very busy during the week. We have been doing lots of research this past year using thesauruses, atlases, almanacs, and encyclopedias, so they are well-equipped on how to look up information for this class.

Finally, I am considering starting a consulting “service” for customers, especially for moms of special needs kids or working mothers. This would not be a curriculum consulting service, more like how to schedule your child’s day, how to make the curriculum she chose work for her and her kids. I never realized how many moms don’t feel organized enough to fit homeschooling into their lifestyle. I did do a seminar years ago about juggling your time, wearing different hats, so possibly I could weave some of those tips in. Let me know if you think this is a good idea or not by emailing, bmailing me, or posting a comment. Are you an organized person? Would a service like this help you, especially if there were follow-up sessions to see how you’re doing and to tweak the program?

" Teaching does not make learning --- organized education operates on the assumption that children learn only when and only what and only because we teach them. This is not true. It is very close to 100% false. Learners make learning. "-- Education Reformer John Holt

" I suppose it is because nearly all children go to school nowadays and have things arranged for them that they seem so forlornly unable to produce their own ideas. "--Agatha Christie

~all for now~

Blessings from Friends

I don't like to brag, but I am blessed with some of the most wonderful friends there are. I have decided to start writing a list of the kind things people do for me each week to help me remember that fact and to never take them for granted. It's the small, almost insignificant things that touch me the most, things that make my day a bit easier, or make me feel that I'm special. These people rarely, if ever, ask for anything in return. Here is this week's list right off the top of my head. I will try to start jotting them down from now on. These are in no particular order, but start from last Wednesday.
1. One friend prayed for me in her car.
2. One friend called me every day to check on me.
3. Another friend called me every morning to check on me.
4. One friend brought me two cards in a row and a bracelet.
5. Another friend brought me a free magazine rack for the store. I can display over 100 books on it!
6. One friend brought her daughter over to play with mine and spent money in my store besides!
7. Another friend offered to pick up my daughters from a girls conference today!

It's weeks like this that remind me how truly blessed I am!

"Friends are friends forever, if the Lord is the Lord of them.
And a friend will not say never, cause the welcome will not end.
Though it's hard to let you go
In the Father's hands I know
That a lifetime's not too long... to live as friends." -Michael W Smith

~cherish your friends~

Droodle Day #3

Imagine the curved lines in this Droodle to be less shaky. I am still trying to get the hang of drawing on a computer. The title for this Droodle is "Man Playing Trombone in Phone Booth."

The alternate title to this Droodle is found by turning the drawing upside down. It then becomes "Midge Playing Trombone in Phone Booth."
If you turn the picture on its side, counterclockwise, it is subject to a third interpretation titled "Deceased Trombone Player."

Not only is this an extremely clever Droodle, but it affords you a certain amount of exercise.

"You don't choose to play the trombone, it chooses you. It's a loud, extrovert instrument, that makes everyone sit up and take notice."--Simon Hogg--

K12's New Do!

K12 has a new do!
Here's another questionairre. I was tagged by T. Didn't I just fill one of these out the other day? Here ya go!

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, and find line 4.

They circle and crash into it, and may even burn their wings on the hot bulb.

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What can you touch?

My label printer.

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?

Nightline.

4. Without looking, guess what time it is.

9:30 p.m.

5. Now look at the clock. What is the actual time?

9:49 p.m.

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?

My praise and worship music.

7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?

Going to dinner.

8. Before you started this survey, what did you look at?

My e-mail.

9. What are you wearing?

Shorts and a Hank the Cowdog T-shirt.

10. Did you dream last night?

No, because I didn’t sleep.

11. When did you last laugh?

A few minutes ago, when my friend told me that they have bumper stickers up north that say, “In Case of Rapture, May I Have Your Car?”

12. What is on the walls of the room you are in?
My bulletin board and a clock my dad made for me from a 45-rpm record and music CD.

13. Seen anything weird lately?

My hair.

14. What do you think of this quiz?

The most fun I've had today. I am tired of typing. Could not cut and paste for some reason tonight.

15. What is the last film you saw?

No Deposit No Return with Don Knotts and Derrin McGavin.

16. If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy?

A maid.
A building for my store so I could stop paying rent.
Food for the hungry people.

17. Tell me something about you that I don’t know.

Probably know more about me than you really want to already.

18. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?

World peace. :o)

19. Do you like to dance?

Yes! Clogging and polkas!

20. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?

K15.

21. Would you ever consider living abroad?

Nope. You wouldn’t get me on a plane to fly over there!

22. What do you want God to say to you when you reach the pearly gate?

Come in.

I tag Txartcgal, Kim in Tx, and Jaybird

Mary Poppins: Of course, you can say it backwards, which is dociousaliexpilisticfragicalirupus, but that's going a bit too far, don't you think?
Bert: Indubitably.

~off to bed~

I was tagged by Txartcgal on this one a looooong time ago. Here ya go!

Four jobs I have had in my life:

1. receptionist
2. answering service operator
3. teacher
4. small business owner

Four nicknames I have been given.

1. Peanut
2. Brat
3. Moonbeam
4. Motor Mouth

Four movies I would watch over and over:

1. Ever After
2. Apollo 13
3. Star Wars – Empire Strikes Back
4. American President

Four places I have lived:

1. Indiana
2. Texas

Four TV shows I love to watch (but never have time to):

1. Wife Swap
2. Jeopardy
3. Brady Bunch
4. Weakest Link

Four places I have been on vacation/a trip to:

1. Mesa Verde, Colorado
2. Cancun/Cozumel, Mexico
3. Orlando, Florida
4. Ontario, Canada

Four websites I visit daily:

1. T’s blog
2. Teachingmom.com
3. Yahoo.com (it’s my homepage)
4. K12’s blog

Four of my favorite foods:

1. anything from Taco Bell
2. lobster with lots of butter
3. popcorn with lots of butter
4. grilled salmon (you got it - with lots of butter)

Four places I would rather be right now:

1. on a cruise
2. sleeping
3. in Heaven
4. in the pool

Four things I could never do without:

1. Jesus
2. my husband
3. my kids
4. my dayrunner

Four bloggers I am tagging:

1. Kim in Tx
2. I think everyone else has already answered these.

Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most. -- Mark Twain

~have a blessed day~

Homeschooling and Socialization

I borrowed this article from a fellow blogger who borrowed it from Kolbe. Thanks, J! Our problem around here is that my daughters have too much of a social life!It's only June 5th, and already our June calendar is cram packed with activities - a Texas history class, baseball games, bible studies, birthday parties, swim parties, a girls conference.When are they supposed to do their math?

"But What About Socialization?" January 2006 Apparently, the problem with homeschooling is the socialization of children. In the Kolbe Little Home Journal (Fall 2005), there is a brief item called "Homeschooling Family Finds Ways to Adapt to a Public School 'Socialization' Program." Here it is: "When my wife and I mention we are strongly considering homeschooling our children, we are without fail asked, 'But what about socialization?' Fortunately, we found a way our kids can receive the same socialization that government schools provide. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I will personally corner my son in the bathroom, give him a wedgie and take his lunch money. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, my wife will make sure to tease our children for not being in the 'in' crowd, taking special care to poke fun at any physical abnormalities. Fridays will be 'Fad and Peer Pressure Day.' We will all compete to see who has the coolest toys, the most expensive clothes, and the loudest, fastest, and most dangerous car. Every day, my wife and I will adhere to a routine of cursing and swearing in the hall and mentioning our weekend exploits with alcohol and immorality.... And we have asked them to report us to the authorities in the event we mention faith, religion, or try to bring up morals and values."So much for socialization!

Bless me, what *do* they teach them at these schools? - CS Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe

~bye for now~

Child's Play

Worried about your child's safety while playing in the parking garage? Well, let me put your mind at ease. A sign has been posted, so ya don't have to worry.

At work at play, let safety lead the way.

Being safe is like breathing. You never want to stop.

~take care!~

Droodle Day #2

You may think this one is Two Palm Trees on a Desert Island or A Gopher with two TV Sets. Both wrong. It is: An Early Bird Who Caught a Very Strong Worm.