bizefingers

My eyes got all watery when I read this.
I love how she can put a mother's heart into words.
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There is nothing like a common foe to bring unity where there is usually opposition. But when an unwelcome invader dared to show its presence in the kidlets' kingdom that is exactly what happened. For 25 minutes they were cooperating and problem solving in complete harmony as they stalked this daring foe. This joint effort just validates my concern that should they ever realize that they out number me two to one ... well, I just can't let myself go there... too scary.

I could hear them in there, moving furniture. Advising each other: don't scratch the wall; get the shoe ready; give me the shoe; shine that flashlight over here... I see it! - Look out! - Get it! - DS even got his air gun out and shot it with a nerf dart -- hoping the noise would scare the critter out of hiding. Then he shot it with his night vision dart gun (also nerf) - I think he missed. All so that his sister could sleep safe tonight night knowing that a spider would not crawl onto her bed.

Shouts and giggles of victory! Yeah! Our little world is safe again.

[DO NOT email me about my ds having guns. -- Save your breath and don't waste my time.]
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I still haven't spoken to you... (as in the whole world -- you -- not a personal you)
So I do not advise talking to me. I would hate to bite your head off by accident or something because then there would be blood and I would have to stop what I am doing and clean that up because it stains...

Yes I am still up -- it is only 11 pm after all with project due tomorrow morning and more work to do before a different project is finished and I am still running on 3 hours of sleep ... plus approximately 45 minute nap... but that almost doesn't count... and didn't actually get my daily allotment of coffee today ...

And -- STanLeyCup PlAyOffS ARE ON the tellie!!! I love falling asleep to hockey on the TV (no I really do, I love HOCKEY!)

*just previewed this post and giggled*... I am rambling on just as I would expect anyone to do who is as exhausted as I am...

sAY GooDnight GRACIE!!
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This could be one of those mornings where I wish everyone -- as in the whole world -- everyone knew me well enough to know that I am not naturally a morning person; that my *peppy-ness* is chemically induced (Caffeine). Then everyone would know that it would be better to not talk to me until I have spoken to them. Then everyone would know that unless *I* initiate the conversation all efforts to communicate will be futile.

ARGGH... fsst, blah, grr...I need more sleep (running on 3 hours at the moment), no amount of coffee is going to help this time.

Don't talk to me

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After just one -- JUST ONE -- monster truck show and ds wants to know if we can get flames painted onto the family SUV!

(What?!)

One: This could be partly due to the fact that almost every day we pass a Red Chevy Silverado that looks like a life-sized Hot Wheels car. On the front of this truck are bright white, orange, and red flames. I have heard such comments from the back seat as: "SuhWeet!" -- "AaaaWEsome!" and "RADiCal!"

Two: His thinking is still skewed due to the bump he took yesterday.

Three: He knows he has a cool mom and this request is not totally out in left field.
(If it is done tastefully....)


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First: Mommy called and imparted her wisdom about the dullness of life being a blessing. As usual, she was right, there is a security that comes from having a set routine, a predictability that can give you an anchor when you are under stress -- say like ... for example ... an upcoming finals week. So, I am now at peace with my mundane-ness.

Second: I have killed! I killed all of the assorted growths that were colonizing in various venues about my home. Ok, in other words, I cleaned house. I love the sense of accomplishment that this task brings. I can concentrate on my homework when the house is clean.

Third: This morning there was a variation to the routine: ds evidently crashed and hit his head on the gym floor while playing a game in P.E. -- the school nurse called me on my cell phone, I went to the school to pick up ds. We are now home and I am watching him and watching the sheet of paper sent home with me that list signs to look for in a severe case of concussion. So far, he seems ok -- maybe a very mild concussion. This happened earlier this year in hockey, but thankfully his hockey helmet is very effective at protecting his head -- he had no symptoms of injury then.

~ I really think that he is ok. Why? Because, I had told him, on the way home, to lay down on his sister's bed (the bottom bunk) and watch TV. As we drove home he expressed a moderate amount of excitement relating to the fact that being home without his sister would mean that he would enjoy complete control over the viewing choices. Then -- he was settling on her bed when he came out to the hall dangling a tangled mess of keys and in an impishly evil voice said, "She left her diary keys here!..." *giggle* (I protected her privacy). Yah, I think he is well on his way to being just fine!
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He's out...

And He's In!

Mostly because He can do the best stunts and he TOTALLY ROCKS!!! (as dictated to me by my ds). And probably because he was at the event we watched on the tellie and the other guy wasn't so the fickle affection of an 8 year old is split -- ds did assure me that he still likes the other guy -- but Grave Digger Rocks!!!


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For a Friend:

How's this for a first draft on your dust cover bio?

Ms. Author shares her Minnesota Northwood’s cottage with her 2 sons -- and -- 2 cats, a retired Beta fish, Raspberry the guinea pig, Whipper the bunny, and Sophie. When not inventing new neighborhoods for her readers to vicariously live in, she enjoys gothic gardening, drinking coffee on her back porch swing, and splitting hairs. In between inspirations, Ms. Author enjoys supplementing her income by teaching writing at the local college; but her real passion is delivering the daily *gossip* er… newspaper.
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And this is one of those times that I am glad that I was wrong. We DO have the "Speed" channel! So at 4:00 I will be earning "Super Mom" points as we watch him and all his friends crush other, lesser vehicles.

*Woop* *Woop* *Woop*!
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As the mother of a son, this is what I learned yesterday:

*The tires on this truck are as tall as I am.

~AND~

*We don't have the "Speed" channel on our cable line-up -- if there even is a "Speed" channel... couldn't find anything on the internet.
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Sorry for the lack of postings. I sit at my desk and try to think over the days events and end up nixing every idea. I just can not bring myself to post about the mundane-ness of my life. I get up, do last minute homework, get the kids ready for school, do last minute correspondence with the kids' school, rush to their school, rush home, shower, go to my school, come home to do more homework, ignore the dirt, dust, and other assorted growths around the house, go back to school, pick up kids from their school, make dinner, help with homework, oversee chores, oversee hygiene of kidlets, herd them off to bed, say prayers, attend to more homework, and finally go to bed myself. I could cut and paste this every single day. Very little happens to liven things up. Very little changes. I am bored with my own schedule, so I do not feel it would be fair to recite this litany over and over to you.


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Technically, we are calling it the "Deer Gauntlet". It seems that we (my kidlets and I) are often on the highways and biways of Northern Minnesota at the hour we are coming to call "Deer" hour. Tonight there were 33 Bambis spotted. The last time we counted 49 -- that is our record so far. The least we have counted is 19. Some families count 'slug-bugs', some count the number of cars of a train -- but we are counting deer. And it is not a game! We are counting deer because if we see them to count them, then maybe we won't hit them!


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Thanks to this man for our daily five minutes of fun.

Not that any woman wants to be associated with anything the size of a country, but here is my result.

You're Brazil!

You're athletic, charming, and probably a good dancer.
 Unfortunatley, you don't really mind chopping down the rain forest, and you probably
consider homeless people expendable in certain circumstances.  Of course, your
personality is so diverse that it's hard to track down exactly what you're like.  You
definitely like Pele, the World Cup, and shouting "gooooal" at the
top of your lungs.
Take
the Country Quiz at the Blue Pyramid

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After spending the better part of my Saturday in the theater I have come to the conclusion that;

one: While it seems like a fun idea, it is rather tiring to sit all day.

two: By the final movie I had seen the pre-screening ads so often that I was starting to critique those as well.

~ and
three: I have a love/hate 'relationship' with the previews of upcoming releases. I love to see the previews, and there are one or two that I am really excited about but, then I hate to have to wait to see them.

(This one is based on the best love story I have ever read).

(This one is from the same producer of The Pirates of the Caribbean).
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I didn't know that there were any men out there who still felt like this.
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This was the hardest of the four to write, which surprises me because it was also my favorite of the four.
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Okay... last one for tonight. I will finish with number four tomorrow.
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I finished my review on the children's selection, Home on the Range. Go check it out.
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The thunder storm appears to be over for now, so here is my first of four. I decide to do this one first because it isn't widely release until next weekend. More later.
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I am living dangerously by being online right now as we are currently having a thunderstorm. But I wanted to let you know that I will post 4 new reviews of these current flicks by the end of the day. My dd and I earned numb butts and sacrificed our comfort for your sakes by sitting through 4 movies yesterday. We spent 8+ hours in the one and only movie theater here in Bemidji so that we could bring you the reviews on:

~Home on the Range

~The Prince and Me

~Ella Enchanted

~13 Going on 30

If you want to go see a movie today and can't wait until my reviews are posted, I will tell you that I liked all of them. Of the four, Ella Enchanted was my favorite.
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I'm sitting here at my desk with fingers poised over the keyboard waiting to see if there are any words of significance, any topics that need my attention -- alas -- there are only minutia bits and pieces.

* I filed my taxes yesterday.
* I signed the title for my dead car over to the junk yard (finally)
* I gave up on my ds EVER finding the plastic egg in the silverware drawer, and finally gave him a *major* hint. (He still needs to find 2 more eggs)
* I finished an assignment for one class and turned it in
* I cut some split ends off my hair
* I filed my papers that have been piling up over the last month
* I went shopping for birthday presents for upcoming celebrations
* I watched some play-off hockey on the tellie
* I read 2 chapters last night to my kids before they went to bed
* I shopped for groceries

~Oh! (a few days late but,) we celebrate the fact that over a month has passed and we are still caring for 3 fish! As one friend put it, "The killing fields are over."
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My daughter is a millionaire!

At her grade school the students participate in a reading incentive program that is called Accelerated Reader. The students read from a special list of AR books all year long. They take tests to earn points for which they receive achievement awards and recongnition. In addition to this, the computer also tracks the number of words each child has read over the course of the school year. When a student reaches the 1,000,000 word mark they qualify for a special end-of-the-year award. Each student who becomes a millionaire will get to ride in a limo over to the local Dairy Queen for a special treat. There are nearly 50 students who have qualified already.

In order for you to understand the mark of personal achievment this is you would need to know that at the beginning of the year it would take relentless prompting on my part for her to even read for 15 minutes straight, or for her to finish a chapter book in less than 2 weeks. She now reads, on average, 60+ minutes per day (that does not include the time that she reads in school) and is finishing 300+ page chapter books in about a week! In this case, peer pressure was a good thing, because she did not want to get left at the curb while her best friends advanced to DQ.

I'm just bustin' -- I am sooooo proud of her!
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Having a bad hair day? Try this approach.
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and...adding to this dream
a gassed up boat fully equipped to troll for Walleye.
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Okay, in my last post I outright insinuated that men have a universal problem finding things that are in plain sight. I didn't mean this as a disrespect to men. I can go on and on about the many positive qualities in men. But, in my defense I have to tell you what happened last night.

To start, my ds is still looking for some of his Easter eggs. In an effort to help him, I purposely asked him to do the dishes knowing that some of the eggs are hidden in places that he would come across them in the course of doing this chore. As he was putting the coffee cups away, he did find the one that I had hidden in the coffee maker (I had propped the lid open a crack so he could see the bright orange egg). But, he didn't find the one hidden in the silverware drawer. It is in plain sight, if you open the drawer, there it sits in all its bright pink glory just waiting to be discovered. He spent at least 10 minutes standing in front of this drawer drying and putting silverware away in full view of this little treasure. I was amazed that he didn't "see" the egg so later I tried to help him again by asking him to set the table for dinner. Again he went to the drawer and again he completely overlooked the egg. It is still sitting there waiting to be found. I will again ask him to do the dishes tonight even though it is his sister's turn. I don't know what else to say. You can lead a horse to water... or you can lead a kid to candy...
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It is official. I may be experiencing an overdose of Jelly Beans... OMG(osh) the Lifesavers brand of Jelly Beans are so good. I dumped 3 bags into a mixing bowl today to facilitate filling the plastic eggs that I was planning on hiding for the kidlets to find. (For some reason the multiple Easter-egg hunts all yesterday didn't count; it only counts when it is held in your own home! Who knew?...anywhoo). As I was saying, I was filling the plastic shells with the candies. Being the good mother (shut up) that I am, I needed to ensure the quality of the product...!! Pineapple, Cotton Candy, Watermelon, Peach, Green Apple, ... all the flavors that a good roll of Lifesavers comes in!

But, my favorite~

Pina Colada! (Almost all the white ones are gone from the bowl now).

I did hide the candy-filled eggs -- and per son's request, made the hunt more challenging this year. Each child was allotted an equal number to find. DS will resume his hunt tomorrow as he is still short by about 4 eggs. I told him that there was a method to my madness (shut up). I told him that Easter egg hunts are 'husband training' in disguise. Someday, when he is happily married and he needs to find the mustard (or whatever) in the frig (or cupboard) he will be able to actually 'hunt' for it and 'find' it thereby contributing to his happily married status. (Don't worry guys, he groaned and scowled at me, he's a healthy young male).

I was just wondering if the flavor people at the Lifesavers company could possibly talk to the flavor people at the medicine company and give them the secret formula for the Pina Colada flavor. I think that my cough medicine would go down a lot easier if it had that pleasing tropical snap! Just a thought.
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Last night I shared a brief "itinerary" for my World Lit. class and I was hoping to add a wonderful link I found to a website that highlights African authors. The bad news: I couldn't get the URL last night. The good news: Now I can. The designer of this website is a classmate in both my blog class and my advanced website design class. She came all the way from Kenya to study at Bemidji State University.
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My latest website, a hypertext essay. I will be posting this address on the sidebar too.
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Can't, for the life of me, think of anything interesting that happened today; at least in my little world. I don't read the newspapers or watch the TV all that much. Being an English/Writing major, I do have a lot of reading to do for my literature courses, so I spend most of my evenings curled on the couch or propped with pillows in bed with my latest selection.

Thank GOD! we are done with Paradise Lost! I did find a website that I used to help me study this epic poem and I was floored when I read that one person had read the whole thing 12! times! EGAD! In case you are not familiar with Milton's Paradise Lost it is a poem that is 12 chapters (or books) long, it took up 263 pages in my book, and it has a total of 10,565 lines. I don't particularly care for Milton's style of poetry, so it is hard for me to comprehend why anyone would deliberately read that poem 12 times.

Right now I am reading a selection from a Japanese writer. The piece is called Snow Country by Kawabata Yasunari. I have only just started it, so I have not read enough yet to form an opinion. This, I am reading for my World Lit. class. We are taking a tour of the Asian writers at the moment. We most recently visited the Middle East, and prior to that we took in some Russian Literature. I have noticed that I have a strong propensity to interpret what I read through a more European/British context. Some of the works that I have read from other cultures are really hard for me to relate to because the cultural traditions of religion, etc are so alien to me. For example, I know very little about the Buddhist practices, so some of the subtleties of The Monkey (by Wu Ch'eng-en) were lost to me.

Well, I think that tonight is a cocoa night, seems appropriate if I am going to be reading Snow Country. ~ Nightie-Night!
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You know, 10 days is a very long time when you are taking medicine!

I got nothin. I am tapped out. I didn't have classes today because it was Student Achievement Day on campus. I have no idea what Student Achievement Day is but -- I had NO CLASSES today. That doesn't mean that I had any time off though. I spent the day as a full-time writer (8 hours of writing).

Oh yeah, I remember what I was going to share with you. In the past I have expressed a certain level of stress about the tests that I have to take in my Milton class. I thought I would share a sample of one of our essay questions. Sharpen your pencils, you have 50 minutes to write a meaningful and well-organized essay (using quotes) to respond to this question:

"Despite its overt theologizing and Christian framework, Paradise Lost expresses for some readers a poetic myth very much in conflict with traditional Christian doctrine. To what extent does Milton's justification of the ways of God to men advance or contradict the scheme of Christian salvation? Explore the notion that at its poetic core (as opposed to its logical peripheries) Paradise Lost offers an alternative myth more concerned with vindicating the ways of Man to God than rationalizing the ways of God to Man. In a word, discuss the dichotomy between text and subtext in Paradise Lost." (There are 6 more just like this one. I had to choose 2, 1 for each day of the test).

Oh wait, you don't have a full 50 minutes because you must also respond to Part II of the test, which involves another articulate response to this:

"Make some perceptive comments about Milton's artistic skill (or lack of it) in handling the following: (choose one/day)
From Paradise Lost:
*the story of creation
*the battle of heaven
*the council of heaven
*Michael's prophecy
*the image of eden

Ready? Go! (Remember, I had 2 days of this).
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I think this whole school should have an assembly and watch this movie.

Maybe if the cafeteria provides popcorn and pop there will be a food fight...!
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"G" for groan... oh there she goes again about her *most adorable children... yadda, yadda, yadda...*

Today we had a beautiful spring day; the snow is gone, the sidewalks and driveways are dry. In a child's economy that means that it is time for sidewalk chalk, bikes, and scooters. And all of the neighborhood munchkins were out. I had no idea that we have been living by so many other children. I opened the garage door and kept my 'ear' on the kids and promptly went inside to take care of homemaking business; dinner, etc. The next time I looked at the clock it had been 2 hours and the hot dish was ready to serve so I went out to round up 2 kids: one boy and one girl... relatively close in ages to the ones I sent out the door. I think I got my original investment back! (WOOHOO!)

But, when I was outside I was overwhelmed with the sidewalk art. The kids had made a lifesized race track in the roadway. To complete the appearance of the racers reaching high speeds, my ds had even added a 'road-kill' skunk! Should the racers have any problem with their vehicles they would find, in the center of the oval: a tire repair shop, a gas station, and an oil change shop. Oh Yes! And a toilet WITH toilet paper. When the race day was over, two of the racers could retire to their studio apartments. These apartments are furnished with beds, couches, chairs, tables, dishes, clocks, phones, remote controls, TVs...and A BATHROOM!

All of this was drawn from a birds-eye-view; as if you were looking at a floor plan of a home. I know that they both just finished a unit on maps at school. I wonder if that had anything to do with the level of detail that was present in their endeavor. I wish that I could take a picture of what they accomplished. It was truly amazing.
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I kinda liked being out of touch two weekends ago. So, I did it again. I was able to finish so much homework. I did see a couple of old movies; the original 'Sabrina' with (Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart) and 'The Philadelphia Story' (with Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant). I will probably add at least one of these classics to my Movie Review site. I am thinking it will probably be 'Sabrina' and I will be watching the remake that was released about 8 years ago. I may link the two together and do a comparison and contrast review of both versions and put it on one page.

I really must dash as I have part two of Milton's Paradise Lost test today, so I am off to review.

TTFN
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All because yesterday, I read a magazine article about this topic in the doctor's office.

I feel so validated...

"Heart rate and blood pressure climb, and due to the increased cortisol levels, more stored fuel (fat and glucose) is mobilized for quick action. Production of insulin, the fat storage hormone, is also dramatically increased. Insulin overrides signals from adrenalin to burn fat, and instead, encourages the body to store fat (for future use) in the abdominal region."

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Just in case you thought I was kidding about that last post... here's another one.

I found this section especially interesting (italics mine):

"When the body’s under chronic, unrelenting stress, what she [Dr. Peeke] calls Toxic Stress, sustained, high levels of cortisol are released. Under ideal circumstances, when a stressful (frightening, frustrating, depressing) situation occurs, adrenaline and cortisol rush through the body but then leave the bloodstream when the body returns to its normal state.

However, when the stress is repeated over and over and it’s never resolved, sustained high levels of stress hormones continue to flood the body in high levels never leaving the blood and the tissues."
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For years I fought with my weight. I often wondered if there was a relationship between the daily fear that was a result of unpredictable attacks (both physical and verbal) and my struggle. Now, I see that there definitely was. And, it would also explain why I was able to effortlessly lose weight (no dieting) when I finally separated myself from the one doing the attacking.

Stress and weight gain...
I always knew there was something to this.
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I'm not exactly sure what I have to share today. I don't want to spiral down into a *Whine* which could easily happen since I am now officially fighting Bronchitis. (There will be chest x-rays in 10 days if the meds haven't been able to improve my health by then).

Yah! (*waves victory fist in the air*) Bring it on... because ya know -- I just didn't have enough challenge on my plate already. So, from my sick bed I will be:

designing my new website project
adding to my movie review site
studying for a 2 day test in Milton
writing chapter 2 of my book
reading Chinese literature
~ All of which can sort of be accomplished via a laptop ~ BUT...
-- and here is the tricky part --
doing laundry
cleaning house
cooking dinner
helping kids with homework
driving kids to and from school (we do not have bus service)

Ah Yes ~ This too, will make me stronger!

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