Multitasking

I haven't been posting so much lately. Well, I have been posting on my family blog some, but I haven't had much inspiration to blog here since the summer has been mostly busy with family things.

But change is coming--my empty nest is actually going to be empty soon. But before that, I need to babysit to baby's parents can get ready to leave.

And who wouldn't want to babysit the world's cutest baby??

Only at My Place of Work

...would you see a hippie wearing a headband walking across campus playing hymns on a harmonica.

More Somethings

...out of nothing.



It really doesn't take much talent to make a burp rag, but it is a good way to recycle those receiving blankets baby got at the hospital.

I've enjoyed doing a bit of sewing this past year after buying myself a new sewing machine at Walmart--cheap, but works great! I've made a couple things to wear, but mostly I use it for mending and making household things.

Brownies

Did you know that the brownies won't stick to the knife if the knife is plastic?

We had a nice little party this afternoon for the start of the new choir season, and we brought brownies and black bean salad. I swam in the pool by myself for 30 minutes while others were watching football or helping Anita cut out stuff for her classroom. I give Anita kudos for thinking to ask all her choir friends for help--smart lady!

Whoops!

You know you're having a bad day when the butter falls butter side down!

Something Out of Nothing

I like to make useful things out of things that are no longer useful. Laura asked me to make a new pillow cover for her Boppy nursing pillow, so that's what I did. I used two flannel receiving blankets which were given to them at the hospital, and saved at least $10.

I need to tag this post and find all the others like it, because I know I've done this sort of thing before.

Another Rangers' Game

Andrew had no other takers, so I went to the game with him tonight. The weather was warm but not unbearable, and the game was good until the later innings when the Rangers got creamed.

We tried some stadium food, and I think it provided my daily requirement of grease for the next several days! But, hey, it was shrimp!

Reboot

I stopped to get some money out of the ATM machine the other day and, could you believe it, it was displaying the Windows logo and singing that Windows jingle just like my computer does! I had no idea. And just like my computer, it took too long to reboot, so I went to my friend's house and came back later.

Recyling Knowledge

It wasn't easy for him (read that: I forced him), but this morning Gary dumped 6-7 boxes of old journals into the paper recycling dumpster. This represents about half of what I wanted him to toss, but we've compromised at this amount and I'm glad for at least that. And since I'm so gracious in defeat, I won't mention that these journals go back 25 years in a field that updates itself very rapidly, nor will I mention the silverfish, and I certainly won't mention that the owner's eyesight is such that reading anything on paper is a chore. But I will mention that the Center will be very happy for his donation since they were just a ton short of having enough recycling paper to meet the double-pay bonus!

Forgetfulness

I got up early on Sunday morning and made a dozen of these blank cards to take to church to donate to the local crisis pregnancy center which our church supports. Blank cards was one of the things on their wish list. Then I forgot to take them. Maybe next week, if I haven't lost them by then.

Women's Work

Did you ever notice that when you finally get the kitchen cleaned up, somebody's hungry again?

No, I'm not the first woman in the world to notice that, nor the first or last to complain about it. And really, I'm not actually complaining, since I know we all need to eat to stay alive. Maybe I'm just feeling a little grouchy about it since I have a cold. Maybe I should live in one of those countries where the maids have maids. But, never fear, there is some good news about housework too--click here.

Men work from dawn
'til setting sun,
But women's work
is never done.

Again

I'm going to have to start adding tags to my blogs. (Tags are words that the software uses to index or label the topic of the post.) The reason I need to do this is because I'm getting so forgetful and tags would help me to know if I've already posted on a given topic or not.

Like tonight. I'm thinking about hope and disappointment. I half think I've already written on this topic. Not that it matters--after all, if I'm just talking to myself, I'll forgive myself for repeating myself, won't I? Again.

Anyway, I'm wondering if it is better to have high expectations and high hopes and suffer from repeated disappointments, or is it better to have no, low or modest hopes in order to protect oneself from disappointment?

The good thing about low expectations is that seldom are you hurt and sometimes you're even pleasantly surprised. The bad thing about low expectations is the nagging shadow that you've sold yourself short.

The good thing about high expectations is that when they are met there is great satisfaction and joy. The bad thing about high expectations is the huge risk that the answer will be no.

Today I told someone, "Don't get your hopes up--what if you're disappointed again?" They replied, "Don't tell me not to have hope!"

Is persistence a good thing? Or is it insane?

A Date at Rangers' Stadium

Andrew gave Gary and me some tickets to go to the Rangers' game on Wednesday night. We were sitting this close, just 10 rows up!

And it was a great game with SIX homeruns. My fireworks photos after each home run weren't very good, but you get the idea.

After back to back homers and back to back fireworks, the stadium was filled with smoke.

And this evening really was a date for some happy couple! (I assume they were happy because I assume she said yes!)

I'm a Mess

In lots of ways.

Shed Your Skin

I wondered why this grasshopper didn't fly away when I approached. Upon closer inspection I saw that his wings were wet and shrunken.

When I turned to go back inside, I found his former home.



A few minutes later, he was off.

Who Owns This Street?

Apparently, Panther does.



But Panther isn't long for this neighborhood. He's about to move to Duncanville and become an indoor cat. I hope he likes that OK. Rachel had to pay an extra $300 deposit and an extra $10/mo so she can take Panther with her to her new home.

Low Tide

My baby girl was born in 1981 in the island nation of Solomon Islands. The poor thing had to start wearing glasses at one year of age due to being born with strabismis. Her glasses were not quite as ugly as mine--but remember, this was the 80s! She went on to have two eye surgeries and years of patching in an unsuccessful attempt to achieve binocular vision.

I'm scanning old slides--a project which will go on for some time--and I really like this photo.

The Skimpy Olympics

The volleyball girls wear bikinis and the swimmers wear full-length suits. Go figure.

At least they don't dress like at the original Olympic games.

You Can Run, But You Can't Hide

I wonder if bloggers realize that if they post a blog, then have second thoughts and delete it, the original post still shows up in RSS readers?

My Dumb Bank

Subject : re: suggestion of something to add to your website
Message :
Dear Ms. Simons,

Thank you so much for your suggestion. We have forwarded it the department that manages EC*Web for consideration.

We appreciate your suggestion and please keep them coming. They help to make our web site more user friendly.

Sincerely,
(name removed)
Member Services

P.S. On a personal note, I think this suggestion is the best one we have ever received!

They did respond promptly to my email, but if they would just look at the websites for other banks they would find lots of other ways to copy to make their web interface better.

Go, Rangers!

When we first came to Dallas over 20 years ago we were semi-serious fans of the Texas Rangers. Baseball is the only sport I claim to understand (I don't have a clue about football). I pretty much understand baseball rules and have even been known to keep score on occasion. In recent years we haven't paid so much attention to the Rangers, but with our family's biggest baseball fan back under our roof (Andrew), we are paying a bit closer attention again.

Andrew, Gary and a friend from church went to the game tonight and they got to see a good one--walk off grand slam against the hated Yankees!

Also, it is the 15th anniversary of a famous event in Rangers' history--a game we were at--Robin Ventura charging the pitcher's mound where he found Nolan Ryan putting him in a headlock. I remember thinking at the time: this is not a very good thing for my sweet baby Andrew to be seeing. Well, maybe he wasn't such a baby then, age 14, but I do remember him saying he thought both combatants should have been thrown out of the game, not something easy for him to say about his hero, Nolan Ryan.

We've got tickets for the whole family for Wednesday night's game, and I think Andrew has talked his wife into letting Baby Isabella go to her first baseball game. He did this by excessive begging, mainly, but also by buying tickets that were out of foul ball range and in the no-alcohol section. We don't want any beer spilled on this pretty baby, now do we?

Another Bridal Shower, Another Bridal Shower Cake

Homemade carrot cake seems to be everyone's favorite, covered with cream cheese icing. That is what we have here. I covered the top with crystalized sugar for a sparkle, used butter cream icing to make the decorative edges, used fondant to make the letters and the one rose. (I found a youtube video to learn how to make fondant roses.) The real roses are much prettier, however.

I hope the cake made it safely to the shower venue this afternoon, and didn't melt in the 100+ degree heat out there.

What Goes Around, Comes Around

Today Rachel and I went to a friend/colleague's garage sale. We did this to look for cheap stuff for Rachel as she moves into a new apartment soon (details here). She bought lots of good stuff, and I bought a couple things too. Our friend also just gave me a bunch of stuff for free including some rubber stamping supplies. When we got home we started going through our treasures and found some examples of old cards that the owner was keeping for getting ideas.

Rachel picked one of these samples up and said, "Oh, look, mom. She has the same stamp as you." I took the card, opened it up, and discovered it was a card I had sent her over 10 years ago! We got a laugh out of that.

Widget?? Nope.

I tried to embed a widget in my blog today. The website of Faith Comes By Hearing presented the code, which I copied and pasted, but it didn't work. So sad.

My point was to give you a quick link to listen to a moment or two of a story from the Pijin New Testament. I found the widget embedded in this blog, which you should click on to see what I'm talking about.

Use the drop down menu to select Pijin language, then hit the "Play Sample" button.

My mind is still thinking about the Pijin Bible dedication which took place recently. A wonderful elderly Australian friend was kind enough to mail to us photo copies of the newspaper clippings from the Solomon Star telling all about the event. This is a scan of a photocopy of a newspaper photo of the open Pijin Bible being carried into the sports stadium on a specially carved canoe. The canoe is being carried by two Melanesian Brothers (full-time workers in the local Anglican church)in traditonal dress on their way to present the Bible to the Prime Minister.

Recycle, Reuse, Repurpose, Part 3

This time I made an under-bed storage box instead of buying one.



I had to get rid of this box anyway, so half of it got recycled and half got reused for a new purpose. I cut it down from 8 inches to 5 so it would fit under our bed frame. Now I have a place to put my sweatpants and winter pajamas while it is 100 degrees outside.

Recycle, Reuse, Repurpose, Part 2

(This isn't really part 2, because I've posted more than twice on this topic. Someday I'll have to go back and find all the blogs about them and make links to them.) In the mean time, here's my latest: a new lid for my big plastic all purpose bowl (whose lid got melted on the stove many years ago). I reused some of the plastic that a mattress was wrapped in.

Here's a link to the real version of this item, which is too small for this large bowl. And while researching that I found a site that said you could get 100 disposable shower caps for $2 which work wonderfully for this use. I may have to try to find a box of those at a beauty supply store.

Losing My Mind

When I can't remember where I put something, the only solution is to think, "Now where would I have put it if I had it to do over again?" Often this logical approach works, even if I can't actually remember doing it the first time.

Slow iGoogle

Has anyone else noticed how iGoogle has become slow, slow, slow? I got fed up with it and no longer use it for my home page. I liked it before because you can have lots of nifty things on it, but it has gotten too slow to reload and it was making me mad.

The Pijin Bible is Dedicated

The Pijin Bible was dedicated in Honiara, Solomon Islands on July 7, 2008. That date was the 30th anniversary of independence.

We worked in the Solomons so many years ago it seems like it was in a previous life. We went there first in 1976 at the age of about 23 where we did language survey work that was also part of Gary's research toward his Ph.D. We returned in 1979 to begin translation work on the island of Malaita. Andrew was 9 months old at the time. Rachel was bred and born on Malaita, and I was pregnant with David when we returned to life in the USA at the end of 1983. Only once since then were we able to make a short visit back, in 1987, I believe.

We were advisers for several language projects on the island, including Lau and To'abaita. The Lau project was taken up by another team and the NT was published in 1992. The Solomon Islander who worked most closely with us on the Lau project was Aloysius Jack. Why am I telling you all of this? Because Jack went on to also be involved in Pijin translation, and that fact brings us great joy and satisfaction.

Here is a link to photos of the dedication ceremony. Photo #9 shows Jack with the boxes of Bibles. He and two others received the Solomon Islands Medal to honor their work in bringing the translation to completion. Also, here is a link to a press release about the dedication.

Driving in Seattle

We rented a car to use while we were in Seattle for David's wedding. I think this is the only photo I got showing the minivan, parked here in front of the house we stayed in. A minivan costs twice as much to rent as a little car, but with the number of people we had to get from A to B on numerous occasions, and how few of those people were drivers, we decided to go for the minivan rental. It was pricey, but worth it.

I hate driving. I hate driving anywhere, but I especially hate driving when I don't know where I am or how to get to where I'm going. I hate when people rattle off directions followed by "you can't miss it." I'm having to learn to deal with the fact that under those circumstances, I almost always do miss it. And that is embarrassing when the car is full of people who intimidate me, even if they are non-drivers.

Having gotten that gripe off my chest, here is the rest I have to say about driving in and around Seattle. The bad things: the roads are curvy and hilly, the signs are purposely small and hard to see (some of the suburbs must have signage laws), gas was expensive, traffic can be bad, and the house numbering system was logical but cumbersome. The good things: the HOV lanes on the freeway are organized in a fashion much more sensible than the ones here in Dallas and my friend Janet made more than one trip to SEA airport that I was supposed to make.

...Buy Me Some Peanuts and ....

My silly husband had a great idea for watching the All-Star game last night. At least we owned a tarp.

She's a Beautiful Baby

So which grandma do you think competed in the Miss Universe contest??

Hint: not me! :-)

Zoom, Zoom

The cable guy was just here and installed a new cable modem for our internet service. We used to be 7 and now we are 10. 7 and 10 what, I don't really know. Nor do I know if that will make any difference in reality. But 10 sounds a lot faster than 7.

Recycle, Reuse, Repurpose

Don't throw those wilted roses away. Instead, pluck off the petals so kitty can enjoy her bowl of water like a princess.

Yes, sometimes I do get carried away with the idea that I need to use everything at least twice before I throw it away. But wouldn't you say I did a pretty good job of reusing stuff when I made myself a matching purse and Gary a tie with the fabric I cut off to shorten my dress for David's wedding??

Pro-Life and Anti-Abortion

I've always thought that abortion was killing a human being and I've always thought that life begins at conception. I base my thoughts on science--the fact that at the moment of conception there is a qualitative difference in the state of affairs as compared to the state of affairs the moment prior to conception.

But this post isn't about thoughts, its about feelings. And I just want to say that as I hold my "perfect" granddaughter, I feel that abortion is wrong. She is so alive.

And so were the 3500+ babies that were aborted yesterday in our country, to say nothing of the others around the world (one source puts that number at 115,000 per day worldwide).

Blog Update

Wow, it seems like I've abandoned this blog, it has been so long since I've posted. I have been posting quite a bit on my family blog, since that seems like the best place to talk about all the family things we've had going on and to spew out all my cute baby photos. Last night I dusted off my minimal movie-making skills and used Windows Movie Maker to make a movie of Isabella and grandpa--less than 2 minutes, if you want to check it out on YouTube.

I am quite enjoying being a grandma. It is lots easier than being a parent, especially when it comes to sleep. The pain has long since been forgotten, but I have a favorite story I repeat--probably too often--about how I didn't get a full night of sleep for seven years, due to the fact that I was either pregnant or nursing.

In other news, soon I'll write a post about the publication and dedication of the Pijin Bible--the whole Bible. That recently happened and brings us lots of joy and good memories of the days when we were working in the Solomon Islands during the early '80s. God is faithful and it is a joy to see the fruit of one's work decades later, even from a distance.

I also made notes while in Washington about driving in Seattle--ugh, I hate driving! Maybe that will turn into a blog, too.

In some ways I feel like I might be on the cusp of some changes in my daily life. Maybe it is just that my interests have been changing some in the past year, and having so many family things going is a catalyst to make that a reality.

Enough blather--I need to go mop the kitchen floor. And vacuum the house. And balance the check book. And write thank you notes. And, and, and.

My Grandmotherly Duty

...is to make sure the world has enough photos of this child. I hope no one is making fun of me.

(and to see some more of those photos, see my family blog)

Baby Report

It is official--there are four generations living in my house at the moment. Maybe later we can get a photo documenting that fact.

We've just gotten home safely from the hospital--discharging was a lengthy process--and now the new family is trying to get settled. Their small end of the house might work for two people, but now there are four living there--mom, dad, baby, and maternal grandmother.

I've made Isabella a bilingual Birth day cake--that will probably show up in tomorrow's photos.

Lord, get them off to a good start as a little family.

The Grandmothers/Las Abuelitas

The other grandmother has arrived from the Dominican Republic, and now we all await baby's arrival. Since baby has shown no signs of wanting to leave her warm abode, the doctor is taking measures, starting tonight, to make her move on out. If all goes as planned, she should make her arrival tomorrow afternoon or evening.

Please pray with us for a safe delivery. And safe driving for me as I go back and forth tomorrow to the hospital which is 22 miles away.

I brought Grandma Miguelina home and embarrassed myself with my faltering Spanish, but she seems not to mind. I asked her if she would like lunch before we left for the hospital at 7am. She replied, "you mean breakfast??" My Spanish is very rusty!

Self-aware?

Is there a word for "the ability to see yourself the way others see you"?

Two Down, One to Go

I know you've been wondering why no new posts from me lately. Or, maybe not. In any case, I've been busy marrying off my youngest child. We've been in Seattle for the better part of a week to accomplish that feat. Lots of family time, eating, and meeting our son's new in-laws. Tomorrow, maybe a little sightseeing.

On my family blog I've posted links to four online photo albums which I'm made to document this event. So have a look if you don't have anything better to do.

God Is Watching Over You

OK, you don't have to listen to all of this music video, but it is the song that came to mind today as Rachel and I were having a weird experience.

Today was Rachel's payday, so we decided to go out this afternoon to do some errands together, one of which was picking up her paycheck and taking it to the bank to deposit along with some other checks she had in hand. She made out the deposit slip, laid it down on the floor of the car and off we went on our errands. We went to Cox Farms, we went to the Dollar Store, we went to the post office. Then we went to the bank.

But then she didn't have a pen, so we had to ask for one while sitting at the bank drive-through. Pen in hand, then she tried to find her check to add it to the deposit slip and we couldn't find it. She was getting frustrated because it was gone, to say nothing of the fact that we were holding up the drive-thru line. Then her phone rang. It was a total stranger saying she had Rachel's check. Apparently it had fallen out of the car at the store and some sweet old lady picked it up and contacted Rachel. So we rushed over to the store again, and realized: how did she know Rachel's phone number?? I said to Rachel as we drove, "God is watching over you." She went inside the store and found the little old lady with her check.

Turns out this lady called information and got our house phone number, and Andrew just happened to be on our side of the house to hear and answer the phone and gave the lady Rachel's cell number. When the lady gave Rachel the check she said, "God must love you a lot to watch over you like this." Rachel replied, "Yeah, my mom just said that too."

So, it the space of maybe 15 to 20 minutes her check was lost, and found, and deposited, and we were reminded that God is watching over Rachel. As always.

Craving an Apology

I've been told that my biggest personal failing in life is my inability to apologize when I do something wrong. Instead of apologize, I deal with the situation by putting it behind me and trying to "do better" in the area where I failed. Usually that works, because I don't feel I have many terminally broken relationships in my life. But still, it is true: I admit I have a hard time apologizing.

Right now I'm personally going through a situation where I wish someone would apologize to me. I'm not going to say who or why, but deep inside I hurt and feel like that hurt won't go away unless that person would personally apologize to me.

However, I'm not stupid or blind, and I'm pretty certain that this person is NOT going to apologize to me, ever. Very likely, the person has no idea of the pain I'm feeling. And even if they did know, they wouldn't likely feel any obligation to do anything about it.

So, I guess I'm left in a position that I've often put others in.

Let's hope my hurt isn't entirely wasted.

Proverbs 20:31 Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways.

Money Laundering

Well, maybe not washing, but at least ironing. Word on the street is you can't get into Kenya (that is, you can't pay for your visitor's visa) without a crisp $50 bill.

How to make a Baby Book Cake for a Baby Shower

I've made my second fancy cake. Here's proof in a Picasa web album. And it even tasted good since it was homemade carrot cake. The theme of the baby shower was Children's Books.

How to make a Baby Book Cake for a Baby Shower

Update

I haven't posted much this week. I have written a couple blogs, but then relegated them to the draft bucket while I think about them some more. I'm still cogitating on faith and want to write a couple more posts about that. But I don't want to say anything too stupid, so I'm still mulling over my faith-full thoughts.

I'm also adjusting to my non-Empty Nest. There are now 5 of us living here, with a 6th in the cooker. And speaking of cooking, we're eating the evening meal together so I'm back to cooking at least once a day. Somehow my daily walk has gone by the wayside this week--one of the adjustments I've made in the wrong direction. Also, it is getting too hot.

Rachel is still checking out housing options. There seem to be numerous opportunities for summer-only, and a few others for long term. May God give us all wisdom and guidance as we talk with her considering the options.

We're having a big party on Sunday right after church, a BBQ-Baby Shower. I've got lots to do today and tomorrow to prepare.

Really Hungry

Practicing

I got an early birthday present so I could make a special cake for a baby shower next weekend. And I needed to bring a dessert to our Sunday School picnic today, so I decided to give my fondant cutters a try.

In other news, I mowed the lawn this morning so Gary could work on a project, cleaned the bathroom, made homemade guacamole, and started hemming my dress for David and Sarah's wedding. The newcomers went to Babies R Us and bought a car seat/stroller combo this morning--they didn't want to risk the baby arriving early without a car seat. The weather was nice at the picnic so we sat by the pool and enjoyed chicken enchiladas.

Internet Personalities

I've been a conversationalist on the internet for a few years now. By that I mean I talk to "total strangers" via forums, social networking sites, blogs, and occasionally, email. I can't help but analyze lots of things in life, including how people act on the internet. Of course, I don't claim to have met anything like a cross section of the people out there, as I've been pretty picky on where I've spent any time. Even so, I've met a variety of personalities and I'm beginning to form these internet personality types:

The alpha-male: strong, intelligent; runs the show; the topic isn't settled until he weighs in; not likely to admit he is wrong.

The debater: very intelligent, geeky, well-read; lives to argue about any and everything; can argue one side of an issue successfully, then turn around and argue the other side just as persuasively; has no problem running rough-shod over anyone in order to win an argument.

The yes-man/beta male: a minor player; defers to the alpha male; rarely has his own opinions, but may be skilled at restating the opinions of the alpha male.

The ladies' man: very self-centered; uses colorful language; often reminds his readers of his physical assets; has a view of marriage that is, shall we say, shallow; finds sexual innuendo and double entendre in any normal conversation.

The peacemaker: skilled at diverting attention to a tangential topic during a heated argument; often see both sides of an issue, but doesn't really like confrontation, so states his opinions with equivocation.

The whiner: insecure in his opinions and unable to state his position clearly; blames other people for his troubles; eventually notices that no one is paying attention to him or taking his opinions seriously.

The stalker/peeping Tom: this milquetoast has no life--at least none on the internet--so he lives vicariously through the words, acronyms, and emoticons of others; sometimes he asks questions, but seldom contributes anything of substance to a discussion.

The manipulator: skilled at getting what he wants by being "nice"; waits patiently for the right moment to speak in order to trip up others; is offended when shown his opinions are weak.

Some other observations about socializing on the internet:

• I used the male pronoun in the above list for a reason--there are way more men on the internet than women.
• The typical internet person is male, well-educated, a bit under 30 years old, and self-centered.
• If you don't have a thick skin, you won't last long.
• Internet friends are somewhat fickle--after all, they do have lives, and the time they spend socializing with you is leftover time, not primary time. So don't expect too much emotional satisfaction because it likely won't be there in the long term.
• Not only are internet friendships short lived, so are blogs, social networking sites, and email addresses.