Another December Goodie...

This Online Advent Calendar always looks so nice--and then I forget to go click on each day! Maybe if I send it to my kids, they'll remember for themselves ;-) Anyway, thought I'd share it with my blog friends.

Awesomely Cool Website!

I have a recently found interest in origami. DD10 thinks it's not a "proper pursuit" for someone my age. Ahem, sorry chickie babe, but LOTS of old people fold paper, hee hee ;-) Anyhow, check out the Origami Club. The site is a Japanese site but there is translation available. The origami on the site is waaaaay cool, and the best featuer is that, for dummies like me, there are animations you can play so you can see how to fold that @(*#$&)(% little square of paper the right way the first time ;-)

A Police Officer's Christmas

In honor of my LEO hubby....

A POLICE OFFICER'S CHRISTMAS
'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the streets,
not a person was stirring, 'cept an officer on the beat.
As he quietly patrolled the town with great care,
children and parents slept peacefully there.

The officer was clad in his blues and his vest,
gun on his hip, always looking his best.
He'd just pulled aside for a quick bite to eat,
When all of a sudden, out on the street,

A bright light appeared from out of nowhere,
He shielded his eyes from the brilliant glare.
'Twas an angel of the Lord at the squad's rear,
He smiled and spoke, "Dear Officer, don't fear."

"I've been sent by God with a message for you
who faithfully serve while wearing the blue.
He wants you to know He loves you all,
He's pleased with the way you've answered His call.

"To protect and serve others, so selfless you've been,
Your bravery and kindness have known no end.
Even in tragedy, when nights became long,
You've helped countless strangers by being strong."

God sees your heart, the joy and the pain,
He knows the profession can often bring strain.
So he sent me here to let you know,
That as you patrol, He goes where you go."

As you protect others, your Father protects you,
His angels go with you, His Spirit does, too.
No bullet too fast, no bad guy too strong,
I'm sent to make sure that your life will be long.

"So fear not the night, and fear not the day,
fear not the threats that might come your way.
I'm sent to accompany you on your beat,
There's not one moment you're alone on the street."

The officer sat stunned by the love of His God,
He bowed his head, with a tear gave a nod.
As the officer said thank you, the angel took flight,
"God's got your back, carry on, and goodnight."

It's 1 am...

Do you know where YOUR kids are? I do! They're sensibly tucked into bed, slumbering peacefully. I sure wish I were! Only one more midnight shift, yay, and then I have a month of struggling out of bed when it's still dark out and the birds' beaks are soundly tucked under their wings. Am I sure I want the trade-off?

Well there, now you know...

58%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Fresno Dating

Fortune Teller

I persuaded DS5 to read his own fortune from his fortune cookie yesterday! It read, "Your name will be famous in the future." Ummm, yep, no doubt about that one, LOL. The words "name," "famous," and "future" were all new to him. He stumbled just a teensy smidge over "famous" and "future" but he almost had them! He's starting to gain reading fluency that he didn't realize he had ;-)

Cappucino, anybody?

OK, I don't know about you, but I find a warm, creamy, soothing beverage just sooooo addictive, especially since winter is rapidly descending upon us! But yikes, the thought of the money some people spend at the coffee shops every week just gives me the chills, to say nothing of the liquid calories ingested, etc. Anywho, so I bought me a stovetop Espresso brewer and I've turned into a pretty fair amateur barrista, if I may say so ;-) I've also been trying out the recipes at Vegweb.com. I even got me a little leak-proof 16 oz container so I can take the needed ingredients to work and heat up a soothing beverage in the middle of my shift. Yea, I'm addicted--but at least not to having to run to the coffee shop all of the time!

Here's one of my favorite recipes, concocted by a friend from church. I'm quite sure it gives WaWa's Maple French Toast cappucino a HUGE run for the money, all around!

Mary's Cappucino

2 cups soy milk

2 Tbs maple syrup (the real thing, if possible!)

2 Tbs instant coffee powder, or Roma or Postum powder

2 tsp vanilla

Stir well and heat on the stove until it is hot and steamy. Enjoy :-) Even my ds5 loves this stuff!

Happy Birthday to Me!

I'm embarking upon my 39 journey! This is the first year I'm 39, but it's not the last, LOL ;-) I do have a birthday gift for my blog readers, however. I'm offering you the unit study I've put together for my kids to learn in December--Christmas Traditions Around the World. I hope you find it enjoyable.

Pocket full of Kisses

I got myself some new PJs a couple of weeks ago. They happen to have a little tiny pocket on one of the arms. DS5 wanted to know why there was a little pocket there, so I told him it was so he could fill it with kisses for me and if I missed him in the night, I could pull a kiss from him out of the pocket. He proceeded to fill my little pocket for him. Now, every evening when I'm leaving for work, he wants to know if I have a pocket on my shirt (NOT my PJ shirt, thank you, LOL!) and then he fills my pocket with kisses to take to work. Awwww, now isn't that just sweet????

Scattergories

I found this on what she said too. Sorry elena--but you know that imitation is the highest form of flattery ;-)

Scattergories
Choose an answer to each category. It must begin with the first letter of your name

1. Your name: Sue
2. Famous singer/band: The King's Singers
3. Street name: Schade West
4. Color: Sky blue
5. Gifts/presents: skates
6. Vehicle: station wagon
7. in a souvenir shop: settee
8. Boy Name: Seth
9. Girl Name: Sylvia
10. Movie Title: Somewhere in time
11. Drink: soda
12. Occupation: sociologist, speech pathologist
13. Flower: sweet pea
14. Celebrity: Sidney Poitier
15. Magazine: Sports Illustrated
16. U.S. City: Sanford, MI
17. Pro Sports: Seahawks
18.Fruit/Vegetable: strawberries/sugar
19.Reason late for work: someone forgot to set the alarm!
20. you throw away: shoes
21. Things you shout: somebody please help me!
22. Cartoon character: Superman

More vegetarian Thanksgiving stuff!

OK, I couldn't resist. I keep finding more good recipes and info. I think we could feast for a month and not eat the same dish twice, LOL.

Tofurkey vs Unturkey comparison of several commercially available mock turkey products.
Vegetarian Gravy Recipes
More Vegetarian Gravy Recipes
Turkey Add-ons Ideas for spicing up a faux turkey
Tofurky Recipes
Vegetarian and Vegan Thanksgiving recipes, from main dish to dessert. Includes several stuffing recipes.
Pie Crust recipes, including vegan and gluten-free recipes.
Tips for enjoying a low-fat Thanksgiving (just disregard the first bit, about the turkey ;-)
Hungry Girl's Too-Good-To-Deny pumpkin pie (have I mentioned how much I heart Hungry Girl?

Guess what we saw!!!

A bird hit our window today while we were reading together. (See, there's another reason to hs--it keeps you sitting in one spot for long enough to see interesting stuff, LOL!) Anyway, it was a medium-sized reddish-brown and white bird with a white head. Didn't quite look like a hawk. After perusing the birdbook, I decided that it was a bird we don't usually see in our parts. In fact, if this is a hint at all, it's the Alaska State Bird! It was a willow ptarmigan in the midst of its fall moult, hence the brown/white of the bird but the white head. Nothing else in the birdbook even came close to matching! There are more photos here. This bird normally lives much farther north, in the arctic tundra areas, and summers into northern Canada. It is occasionally seen in the US, in North Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, and Maine.

Oh, and did it hurt itself when it hit our window? Not too badly, I'm guessing! It flew across the yard and landed on my parents' porch roof, where it sat for a minute, then it flew back toward our house. I thought it was going to give that window a second try, but it veered at the last second and flew on past the house.

Say WHAAAAAAT?

Saturday at work, my work partner took one of the more bizarre 911 calls I've ever heard of. (In case you don't know, I'm an EMS/911 dispatcher.) Anyhow, she got a call from a person who said they were outside the hospital after being at the ER, and wanted an ambulance to take them home. Yes, they called 911 for an expensive taxi ride! When my partner questioned further, and also pointed out the obvious, that 911 is for emergencies and this wasn't an emergency, the person seemed vague about where they were exactly. My partner called the ER to see if they knew where the caller might be, thinking they were outside ER or had recently left. ER finally located the caller--still IN the ER. The person was still in the ER bed and had used an ER wall phone to dial 911 and ask for a ride home!

Class Privileges meme

I saw this meme on speakinglife blog, and thought it interesting. As Americans, we tend to compare ourselves to those in the social class above us, which can blind us to our own class privileges, especially if we grew up of modest means. This exercise provides a way to think about our privileges in a more objective way.

Speakinglife found it on the Friendly Mama blog. Anyone who wishes to participate is encouraged to do so. Just leave a comment on the Social Class and Quakers blog and include an acknowledgment that the meme is based on an exercise developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University

I've bolded the statements that are true for me.

Father went to college Yes
Father finished college Yes, and graduate school
Mother went to college Yes
Mother finished college Yes, and graduate school
Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor Distant cousin is a doctor, also a cousin who is an attorney but he somehow became higher and mightier than the rest of the family so I haven't had contact with him in years :-(
Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers Well, duh, I was homeschooled so we were definitely all the same class ;-)
Had more than 50 books in your childhood home Yes
Had more than 500 books in your childhood home Ummmm, maybe--I never counted them!
Were read children's books by a parent Definitely
Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18 Yes
Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18 Violin, piano, and cello
The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively And who exactly would these people be????
Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18 Yes
Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs No, I paid for the classes I took myself
Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs I only have a few college credits--I never attended full-time
Went to a private high school Yes, exclusive! I was homeschooled :-)
Went to summer camp Twice. I think it's overrated!
Had a private tutor before you turned 18 Yes, but only because my state forced us to because we were homeschooling. Thank goodness THAT law got overturned and the homeschool laws became MUCH more friendly!
Family vacations involved staying at hotels Only rarely--we usually camped or stayed with relatives
Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18 Yes
Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them No, I bought my own car
There was original art in your house when you were a child Yes--my grandmother is a watercolor artist and also did ceramics for a while, and my father dabbled in artistic photography and printing and framing his own pictures. We never had art that we bought, tho!
Had a phone in your room before you turned 18 Nope
You and your family lived in a single family house Yes
Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home Yes
You had your own room as a child Yes, but not by choice. My sister passed away at the age of three weeks. If she had lived, we would have continued to share our bedroom. I could have had the option of a room in the basement but I never chose to go there. I might have if I'd had to share tho, LOL.
Participated in an SAT/ACT prep course No
Had your own TV in your room in High School No--we didn't even have a TV in the house at all
Owned a mutual fund or IRA in High School or College No
Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16 Yes, several times
Went on a cruise with your family No
Went on more than one cruise with your family
Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up Yes, at least occasionally
You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family I don't recall ever knowing.

Scribblings from a 5 year old

My ds5 and his phonetic spelling just cracks me up. He loves to write and we're left deciphering because sometimes even HE can't remember what it was he wrote, LOL. Here are two very recent examples:

My mom handed me a piece of handwriting paper tonight with his squiggles to decipher. He'd written:

ohiyo
pensuvany
noojrsey
nooyory

Each word was followed by a check mark. I'm informed that it was his itinerary for an imaginary cruise he was on, hee hee. She said he spelled it all himself, except for needing help with the Y in New York. Funny thing is, this is the exact order of the states thru which we travel when going to visit relatives! Except we do it in a van, not in a cruise ship, ROFL ;-)

Today, he wanted an email, so I quick sent him a little note so there'd be something in his inbox. This was his reply to me. It took him a good 1/2 hr to type it but he stuck with it, bless his heart, LOL. He was so funny--he'd come running and want to know if the "k" sound was a "c" or a "k" but he wouldn't tell me what word it was to be in--or he'd want to know what letter makes the "ng" sound, etc. I was just afraid he was going to hit the wrong button and end up closing it before he sent it, after all that hard work. Whew!!!

"mom i luv you yoo r the best mom evr i hop th et y oo r god i hop th et yr brth day iz grat [types his name at this point] hal a muce dans h er ez a nutr wun hal can jup 100000000000 fet hal can a mukey jup on ho ez hed hoo hoohoho hoo hooho ho hoo hoo ho ho wutu mup i am hoo hooho ho her iz a fact uv a mukey cen a mokey th et bnan uz end hang on bran chiz
hoo hooho ho"

Now for the interpretation, hee hee ;-)
Mom, I love you. You are the best mom ever. I hope that you are good. I hope that your birthday is great [mind you, it's two weeks away ;-)]
How a monkey dance here easy a nature one [huh, lost in the interpretation--he couldn't even remember what he typed to help me out, ROFL] He can jump 100000000000 feet. How can a monkey jump on his head ooo ooo aaah aah ooo ooo aah ahh. What am up. I am hoo hoo haa haa. Here is a fact of a monkey, can a monkey eat bananas and hang on branches. Ooo ooo aah aah.

What a crack-up. In fact, he IS a little monkey at times. The sweetest little monkey I know. I love him to bits and relish every baby snuggle I get from him because I know all too soon, he won't be my little guy anymore, nor will he think snuggling with mom is the best thing to do in the whole wide world.

Cool end to the battle of the mismatched socks!

According to the site, Little Missmatched, these are the perfect foil to the sock-eating dryer. They're sold in sets of three, and none of them quite match anyway, so who cares if the dryer eats one???? ROFL, I could get lost on this site!

So, what DOES a vegetarian eat for Thanksgiving?

Thanks to our lifestyle choice, the 50 or so turkeys

who roam thru our neighborhood (ok, this isn't all of them!) are safe for another year. Aren't they lucky, LOL? So, since a dead cooked bird is never the centerpiece of our holiday table, how will we keep from starving, you ask? Here are a few interesting sites/recipes for your perusal.

http://vegkitchen.com/recipes/vegetarian-thanksgiving.htm
http://vegweb.com/index.php?board=304.0
http://www.boutell.com/vegetarian/Thanksgiving.html
http://allrecipes.com/Search/Recipes.aspx?WithTerm=vegetarian+thanksgiving
http://members.tripod.com/~hannahdayan/Thanksgiving.htm
http://www.fabulousfoods.com/holidays/thanksgiving/vegetarian.html
http://www.theveggietable.com/recipes/thanksgiving.html
http://www.gentlethanksgiving.org/guide/recipes.htm
http://food.ivillage.com/holiday/thanksgiving/0,,blhr-5,00.html

If your traditional Thanksgiving feast will be attended by one or more vegetarian guests, the following article may be helpful:

http://vegetarian.about.com/od/specialoccasionrecipe1/qt/vegguests.htm

Hmmmm, I'm hungry! Think I'll go cook me a feast ;-)

Answered Prayer

I just have to share how God listens to even the smallest of his followers. Sabbath at church my ds5 managed to pick up a small sliver on his pinky finger. Of course, it was right during choir rehearsal, which resulted in his being greatly distressed for the rest of rehearsal, and of course distracting me! The anticipation of tweezers just didn't set well with him, even tho it was going to be an easy removal as at the right angle, the end was visible and would be easy to grab. We always conclude rehearsal with prayer. DS5 didn't want to pray, so when it was my turn in the circle, I said "This is ds5's prayer and he is asking that his sliver will come out very easily so his hand doesn't hurt" and then continued with my own prayer. Then we went and found Poppa, owner of a very handy-dandy Swiss army knife complete with tweezers. I took ds5 and got him where there was good light...and couldn't find the sliver!!! I looked both pinky fingers over from every angle, and even pressed on them to see where the owie was. There was not even a scratch--no sign that he'd ever had a sliver in his finger at all! Wow, talk about the way to answer a prayer :-)

Duo in Disguise

Nope, you can't tell at all who these darlings are ;-) Why, Thomas and his girlfriend the Hippie, with Flapper Daughter in her arms, right? Whew, I'm glad you got that all figured out. I was beginning to worry that you'd never guess, LOL.

Tweaking the curriculum

Again. We can never quite leave things alone, can we, LOL?

Well, we're making a curriculum change. A slight one--not the whole thing, LOL. In fact, I mis-stated it to DD10 and she thought I meant we were going to change to something other than Sonlight--talk about a panicked look on her face. It was tooooo funny! The change will be in writing. The new Sonlight LA is great--it's just not at the right pace for us. So we will keep what we like of it (they have good ideas for brainstorming and visuals, we may do the research paper steps but slowed down to our own pace, and their day 5 optional activities are usually pretty fun) but for creative writing, we need something that won't make us forever feel "behind." We couldn't decide which we liked better, so I ordered both Wordsmith Apprentice and Apologia's new Jump In writing curriculum. I figure we'll intersperse the two and make it fun. DD10 was totally on board with that plan. I just want her to enjoy writing, somewhere, somehow. I hardly recall writing at all when I was in school. I know I was not exposed to the different types of writing at all. I remember doing reports and a few book reports, and that's about it. I know I wrote letters to my grandparents and a few friends, but my parents "made" me do that ;-) I had a hard time writing when I hit high school age--I just hadn't had the instruction. I don't want it to be that way for DD10!