Saturday, January 24, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Daily Cuteness
K, I have to be a totally gushing aunt/godmother for a second and say look at this kid! Too cute.
This is Anthony and Leah's second child, Andrew Michael Arnett. He came into the world much more quietly than his big bro, A.J., but we love him all the same. Andrew looks a little more like the Arnetts because he has blue eyes and lots of Anthony's features. He is the most laid back baby I have ever met, and laid back babies are my favorite kind. Our family jokingly calls him the "set it and forget it" baby because he requires so little, especially compared to his big bro. What a doll!
This is Anthony and Leah's second child, Andrew Michael Arnett. He came into the world much more quietly than his big bro, A.J., but we love him all the same. Andrew looks a little more like the Arnetts because he has blue eyes and lots of Anthony's features. He is the most laid back baby I have ever met, and laid back babies are my favorite kind. Our family jokingly calls him the "set it and forget it" baby because he requires so little, especially compared to his big bro. What a doll!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
At Anne's Request....
1. Started your own blog- Obviously.
2. Slept under the stars- Unfortunately. Here's the thing, millions of years ago man decided that he didn't want to sleep outside. He found caves, built huts, hid under rocks or whatever just so he didn't have to sleep outside. I am lucky enough to have a home, so why sleep outside?
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. I'm making up my own #6 since there wasn't one. Joined a secret society with covert and clandestine aims
7. Been to Disneyland/world- We were there for a record three hours. Anthony was scared of all the rides, I wanted to ride EVERY ride, my dad hated it all, and we left. It wasn't exactly fun, and I'll never take my kids there.
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea- I was in one on the Gulf of Mexico. It was scary.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch -It's debatable. What counts as "an art?"
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning- We ate some bad food on Corfu. I thought I was going to die. People probably think I'm exaggerating when I tell that story, but it was the sickest I have ever been, and my digestion didn't return to normal for a month and a half.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train- I'm not sure, actually. I've slept overnight on a train, but I haven't slept on an overnight (sleeper car) train, so I don't know if it counts.
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping- I can't remember if it was 100% "skinny." John can verify.
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice- I know it's touristy, but it was fun.
29 Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33 Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community- I practically live in one. I see Amishes (the proper plural for Amish, you know) in their horse drawn carriages all the time and our Wal-Mart even has a special parking area for them with hitching posts and everything.
36. Taught yourself a new language- As soon as my damn Rosetta Stone CDs arrive, I'll be teaching myself German. I'm excited!
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David- Well, I was right outside the Uffizi, but I didn't go in because it was packed and we only had two and a half days in Florence and there was so much to see. However, they have a huge replication of David outside the Uffizi and I did see that. I got a picture of my David standing in front of the fake David. That's good enough for me.
41 Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted- Go to the basement of Purdue's union and look for the mural of Orville Redenbacher. Right behind him there is a hot air balloon with a blond girl in a red shirt in the balloon. I am that blond girl. No kidding. Again, John can verify. He could verify a lot of these.
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person- I thought it was cool; David wanted to leave to see more Roman animal statues.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie- The movie is based on some Kafka short stories. It's called Why Such Reluctance. I was dating the director at the time, so you know... I got the lead (and only) female role.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64 Donated blood, platelets, or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66 Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67 Bounced a check- It wasn't(all) my fault though. My bank let me deposit a direct deposit slip, which looks a heck of a lot like a check, by the way, and then never called to tell me that it wasn't legal tender until I had done some Christmas shopping.
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy- Pink Schwinn bike with sissy handlebars and banana seat. It totally rocks.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square- Nope, but now that I live in New York, I am only 7 hours away from New York city. Ha ha. We are truly as far from NYC as we can possibly be while still in New York state.
74. Toured the Everglades- Spring Break '05.
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London- Nope but I have seen the changing of the guards or something like it in Athens, DC, Dublin, and the Vatican. I'm just answering these questions however I want if you haven't noticed.
77. Broken a bone- Right arm, some fingers, and a toe or two.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79 Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible- I'm working on it. See previous post.
86. Visited the White House - I mean, I've seen the outside of it. Whatever.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life- I don't know. I hope so.
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous- Norma McCorvey, aka Jane Roe.
92. Joined a book club- We're on Great Expectations right now.
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit- We'll just say that it never went to trial.
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee- And each time it has taken me completely by surprise and has hurt more than I thought it would.
100- I'm making up a 100 so it will be even. Had oblivion described to you by a drunk person and believed the description to be fairly accurate
2. Slept under the stars- Unfortunately. Here's the thing, millions of years ago man decided that he didn't want to sleep outside. He found caves, built huts, hid under rocks or whatever just so he didn't have to sleep outside. I am lucky enough to have a home, so why sleep outside?
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. I'm making up my own #6 since there wasn't one. Joined a secret society with covert and clandestine aims
7. Been to Disneyland/world- We were there for a record three hours. Anthony was scared of all the rides, I wanted to ride EVERY ride, my dad hated it all, and we left. It wasn't exactly fun, and I'll never take my kids there.
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea- I was in one on the Gulf of Mexico. It was scary.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch -It's debatable. What counts as "an art?"
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning- We ate some bad food on Corfu. I thought I was going to die. People probably think I'm exaggerating when I tell that story, but it was the sickest I have ever been, and my digestion didn't return to normal for a month and a half.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train- I'm not sure, actually. I've slept overnight on a train, but I haven't slept on an overnight (sleeper car) train, so I don't know if it counts.
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping- I can't remember if it was 100% "skinny." John can verify.
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice- I know it's touristy, but it was fun.
29 Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33 Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community- I practically live in one. I see Amishes (the proper plural for Amish, you know) in their horse drawn carriages all the time and our Wal-Mart even has a special parking area for them with hitching posts and everything.
36. Taught yourself a new language- As soon as my damn Rosetta Stone CDs arrive, I'll be teaching myself German. I'm excited!
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David- Well, I was right outside the Uffizi, but I didn't go in because it was packed and we only had two and a half days in Florence and there was so much to see. However, they have a huge replication of David outside the Uffizi and I did see that. I got a picture of my David standing in front of the fake David. That's good enough for me.
41 Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted- Go to the basement of Purdue's union and look for the mural of Orville Redenbacher. Right behind him there is a hot air balloon with a blond girl in a red shirt in the balloon. I am that blond girl. No kidding. Again, John can verify. He could verify a lot of these.
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person- I thought it was cool; David wanted to leave to see more Roman animal statues.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie- The movie is based on some Kafka short stories. It's called Why Such Reluctance. I was dating the director at the time, so you know... I got the lead (and only) female role.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64 Donated blood, platelets, or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66 Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67 Bounced a check- It wasn't(all) my fault though. My bank let me deposit a direct deposit slip, which looks a heck of a lot like a check, by the way, and then never called to tell me that it wasn't legal tender until I had done some Christmas shopping.
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy- Pink Schwinn bike with sissy handlebars and banana seat. It totally rocks.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square- Nope, but now that I live in New York, I am only 7 hours away from New York city. Ha ha. We are truly as far from NYC as we can possibly be while still in New York state.
74. Toured the Everglades- Spring Break '05.
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London- Nope but I have seen the changing of the guards or something like it in Athens, DC, Dublin, and the Vatican. I'm just answering these questions however I want if you haven't noticed.
77. Broken a bone- Right arm, some fingers, and a toe or two.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79 Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible- I'm working on it. See previous post.
86. Visited the White House - I mean, I've seen the outside of it. Whatever.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life- I don't know. I hope so.
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous- Norma McCorvey, aka Jane Roe.
92. Joined a book club- We're on Great Expectations right now.
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit- We'll just say that it never went to trial.
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee- And each time it has taken me completely by surprise and has hurt more than I thought it would.
100- I'm making up a 100 so it will be even. Had oblivion described to you by a drunk person and believed the description to be fairly accurate
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
The Good Book is a Good Book
I've made the same resolution for five years. Sure, there were other resolutions along with it, but I've made this one yearly for one simple reason- I've never completed it. Never even come close. I know, I know. Resolutions are stupid and no one resolves to do anything anymore when a new year rolls around. I kind of like them. Anyway, this big resolution is to read the Bible cover to cover. Like I said, I've tried before, but when they start begetting a bunch of people with weird names, my natural reaction is to fall asleep. And as a result, I've never made it out of Genesis... until this year. I'm about half way though Exodus. It's still in the early stages of course, but I'm happy that I've made it further than I ever have before.
It's not like I'm a complete stranger to the Bible. I've read certain books over the years, I know all the main stories, I always read the OT, NT, and Gospel readings during mass, and for about three years in college, one of my most common penances was to read a Psalm, especially Psalm 21. However, I think we all know that one of the most common criticisms of Catholics is that we don't know our way around the Bible. And it's true in my case, so I have to accept it. There are many Catholics that aren't in this group; my father has read the Bible several times over.
I'm finding that the Good Book is, in fact, a good book. And no,I'm not reading it simply as a literary text. I hope I can keep it up and read all of it within a year. If I did the math right, and you know that's a big if, I would only have to read about 3.5 pages a day to finish in a year. I know it will bring me closer to God and I'll be glad to say I've read it all. I probably will never be able to spout off Bible verses at will like some people. I've always imagined protestants who disagree with each other standing around just saying Bible verses back and forth to one another without actually saying any other words: "Well, Matthew 10:24." "Oh yeah, Luke 2:7." "But what about Colossians 1:15?" That was either in a movie or someone told me they actually witnessed this happening, but I've imagined disagreements happening like that ever since.
I'm reading the Bible in the morning and Great Expectations with Anne in the evening. Dickens has taken a while to get used to, but he doesn't grate on me nearly as much as he used to.
It's not like I'm a complete stranger to the Bible. I've read certain books over the years, I know all the main stories, I always read the OT, NT, and Gospel readings during mass, and for about three years in college, one of my most common penances was to read a Psalm, especially Psalm 21. However, I think we all know that one of the most common criticisms of Catholics is that we don't know our way around the Bible. And it's true in my case, so I have to accept it. There are many Catholics that aren't in this group; my father has read the Bible several times over.
I'm finding that the Good Book is, in fact, a good book. And no,I'm not reading it simply as a literary text. I hope I can keep it up and read all of it within a year. If I did the math right, and you know that's a big if, I would only have to read about 3.5 pages a day to finish in a year. I know it will bring me closer to God and I'll be glad to say I've read it all. I probably will never be able to spout off Bible verses at will like some people. I've always imagined protestants who disagree with each other standing around just saying Bible verses back and forth to one another without actually saying any other words: "Well, Matthew 10:24." "Oh yeah, Luke 2:7." "But what about Colossians 1:15?" That was either in a movie or someone told me they actually witnessed this happening, but I've imagined disagreements happening like that ever since.
I'm reading the Bible in the morning and Great Expectations with Anne in the evening. Dickens has taken a while to get used to, but he doesn't grate on me nearly as much as he used to.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Home!
David and I will be heading to Indiana tomorrow after he gets out of school. Please say prayers for us because it is a looooonnnggg drive (800 miles) and we'll be going through a lot of snow. In fact, a huge storm is supposed to start just south of us around the time we are going to leave. Perfect.
But we are excited to go home and see everyone even though we won't be bearing as many gifts as we would like. Sigh. I've been listening to and singing Nappy Roots' "Po' Folks" a lot lately, especially the chorus: "All my life been po'/ but it really don't matter no mo'". David told me to stop because we aren't poor and we've never been poor. True, but it's so catchy that I can't stop singing it.
Anyway, it will be fun to see everyone! I think we'll be home late the 20th or early the 21st.
But we are excited to go home and see everyone even though we won't be bearing as many gifts as we would like. Sigh. I've been listening to and singing Nappy Roots' "Po' Folks" a lot lately, especially the chorus: "All my life been po'/ but it really don't matter no mo'". David told me to stop because we aren't poor and we've never been poor. True, but it's so catchy that I can't stop singing it.
Anyway, it will be fun to see everyone! I think we'll be home late the 20th or early the 21st.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Job Search
I was talking to David last night about the kinds of jobs I would be good at. Here's a bit of the conversation-
Monica: Do you think there are still cartographers around? I love looking at maps. They're so much fun. I could draw maps.
David: Yeah, there are still cartographers. Stuff always needs to be mapped. I don't think you would really like being a cartographer though.
Monica: Why, because it involves math and working with computers and stuff like that?
David: Pretty much, yeah.
Monica: Yeah, I wouldn't like that. Maybe I could just be the person who draws sea monsters in the oceans.
David: You would be good at that.
So if you know of any map companies that need a sea monster artist, let me know.
Monica: Do you think there are still cartographers around? I love looking at maps. They're so much fun. I could draw maps.
David: Yeah, there are still cartographers. Stuff always needs to be mapped. I don't think you would really like being a cartographer though.
Monica: Why, because it involves math and working with computers and stuff like that?
David: Pretty much, yeah.
Monica: Yeah, I wouldn't like that. Maybe I could just be the person who draws sea monsters in the oceans.
David: You would be good at that.
So if you know of any map companies that need a sea monster artist, let me know.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Sigh
I fear my time as a Lady of Leisure is almost up. Gas and electric are way expensive up here and we've just been getting by for over the past month. No fun. So I'm now searching for all kinds of jobs and will pretty much have to take the first one that is offered to me. Please pray that I can get a job fast! I don't want to paint a bleak picture, but I really, really need a job. Oh well, being a LoL was fun while it lasted.
Monday, November 17, 2008
A Little Crafty
Here's what I made this weekend.
(I hope the tails look like tails and not other appendages. HA!)
On Friday, Martha Stewart had this lady on her show who taught us how to make stuffed animals out of gloves and socks. I immediately knew I wanted to try this. It was so fun to make these and really, really cheap. I went to the Dollar Tree and bought a 2 pack of kids' gloves, so 50 cents each for the material. Then I bought a huge bag of buttons for $1.50, and a large bag of polyfill for $2.00. I already had all the needle and thread, and I went to work. I hand sewed these because I find hand sewing relaxing, but if you use a sewing machine, you could whip these things out in no time. Since David and I are pretty poor right now, I'm thinking these will be Christmas gifts for all the little kids on our list. The website gives directions for the dog and the bunny. The pictures above are just my prototypes. Once you see what the animals are really supposed to look like, you'll think that these guys are pretty deformed, but it's a start. Next time, I'm going to use bigger gloves and a couple of different techniques. I've heard there's an elephant you can make out of socks, but the pattern isn't on the Internet. I might have to break down and buy the "Sock and Glove" book when we have some spare cash. Oh, and Scout has adopted the rabbit as her new "murder toy". I've hidden it in a couple different places, but she always finds it and proceeds to inflict flesh wounds. She really wants to kill the rabbit but she ignores the dog. Weird.
(I hope the tails look like tails and not other appendages. HA!)
On Friday, Martha Stewart had this lady on her show who taught us how to make stuffed animals out of gloves and socks. I immediately knew I wanted to try this. It was so fun to make these and really, really cheap. I went to the Dollar Tree and bought a 2 pack of kids' gloves, so 50 cents each for the material. Then I bought a huge bag of buttons for $1.50, and a large bag of polyfill for $2.00. I already had all the needle and thread, and I went to work. I hand sewed these because I find hand sewing relaxing, but if you use a sewing machine, you could whip these things out in no time. Since David and I are pretty poor right now, I'm thinking these will be Christmas gifts for all the little kids on our list. The website gives directions for the dog and the bunny. The pictures above are just my prototypes. Once you see what the animals are really supposed to look like, you'll think that these guys are pretty deformed, but it's a start. Next time, I'm going to use bigger gloves and a couple of different techniques. I've heard there's an elephant you can make out of socks, but the pattern isn't on the Internet. I might have to break down and buy the "Sock and Glove" book when we have some spare cash. Oh, and Scout has adopted the rabbit as her new "murder toy". I've hidden it in a couple different places, but she always finds it and proceeds to inflict flesh wounds. She really wants to kill the rabbit but she ignores the dog. Weird.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Cincinnati
I was looking through some saved stuff on our camera today and came across some pictures of our neighborhood in Cincinnati. I meant to post these a long time ago. I like living in Potsdam, but I sure do miss living in Clifton and Cincinnati as a whole. We'll probably stay in NY for 3-5 years. After that, we have our eyes on Cincinnati, Indy, or Chicago. I think Cincinnati is our top pick right now. Anyway, here are some pics of our totally awesome old neighborhood of Clifton. All these businesses were right on our street.
This was our apartment building. Take a close look and try to guess which balcony was ours.
Our library
Hippie stores 1,2, and 3
Our theater.
Florist
Mediterranean foods and hookah store.
Skyline Chili- a Cincinnati fave.
There are so many more awesome business pics I could show, but I want everyone to see all the cool houses in our neighborhood.
We lived in the gaslight district. That's our street sign behind the light.
Clifton was definitely a neat place to live.
This was our apartment building. Take a close look and try to guess which balcony was ours.
Our library
Hippie stores 1,2, and 3
Our theater.
Florist
Mediterranean foods and hookah store.
Skyline Chili- a Cincinnati fave.
There are so many more awesome business pics I could show, but I want everyone to see all the cool houses in our neighborhood.
We lived in the gaslight district. That's our street sign behind the light.
Clifton was definitely a neat place to live.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Taste the Rainbow... of Shaving Cream
There is this one commercial that has been equally intriguing me and driving me nuts lately. David says I need to take a couple of deep breaths and let it go, but I can't. Here's part of the ad.
This isn't the part that's driving me crazy (Damn YouTube for not having the whole thing). Just before this, the announcer tells everyone that there are seven great flavors of Barbasol. Flavors? I'm intrigued because the commercial shows that the meaning of "flavor" is expanding to something beyond taste. "Flavor" is now starting to mean variety, type, kind, etc. The commercial is at least a couple years old, and I know this usage of "flavor" isn't exactly new either. When I worked at Osco, my co-workers would always talk about stocking different "flavors" of nail polish, dish soap, cleaning products, and other inedible items. I never joined my co-workers in this usage for one simple reason- it absolutely turned my stomach. I didn't want to think about drinking "Autumn Berry" nail polish.
When the Barbasol commercial comes on, I have a fit because I am forced to think about eating shaving cream- usually in a custard cup with a spoon or plopped on an ice cream cone like soft serve. And then I go upstairs, stand in the bathroom, look at David's Barbasol can, and think, hmmm... what would "Soothing Aloe" taste like? Or better yet, what would the flavors "Sensitive Skin" "Extra Protection" and "Therapeutic" taste like? I'm really curious about "Therapeutic." I have a feeling they'll all taste like soap- and I do know what that tastes like. My parents never punished me that way; I just wanted to see what the big deal was about after watching A Christmas Story.
Anyway... I wonder how many people use "flavor" to mean variety. And just as important, how far does the usage extend? Different varieties of liquids or scented materials make sense to me, perhaps because of my Osco experience. But I can't imagine asking for a different flavor of book, CD, or clothing, at least, not in the same way with the same exact meaning.
So keep an eye out for the Barbasol commercial, and try not to eat any shaving cream.
This isn't the part that's driving me crazy (Damn YouTube for not having the whole thing). Just before this, the announcer tells everyone that there are seven great flavors of Barbasol. Flavors? I'm intrigued because the commercial shows that the meaning of "flavor" is expanding to something beyond taste. "Flavor" is now starting to mean variety, type, kind, etc. The commercial is at least a couple years old, and I know this usage of "flavor" isn't exactly new either. When I worked at Osco, my co-workers would always talk about stocking different "flavors" of nail polish, dish soap, cleaning products, and other inedible items. I never joined my co-workers in this usage for one simple reason- it absolutely turned my stomach. I didn't want to think about drinking "Autumn Berry" nail polish.
When the Barbasol commercial comes on, I have a fit because I am forced to think about eating shaving cream- usually in a custard cup with a spoon or plopped on an ice cream cone like soft serve. And then I go upstairs, stand in the bathroom, look at David's Barbasol can, and think, hmmm... what would "Soothing Aloe" taste like? Or better yet, what would the flavors "Sensitive Skin" "Extra Protection" and "Therapeutic" taste like? I'm really curious about "Therapeutic." I have a feeling they'll all taste like soap- and I do know what that tastes like. My parents never punished me that way; I just wanted to see what the big deal was about after watching A Christmas Story.
Anyway... I wonder how many people use "flavor" to mean variety. And just as important, how far does the usage extend? Different varieties of liquids or scented materials make sense to me, perhaps because of my Osco experience. But I can't imagine asking for a different flavor of book, CD, or clothing, at least, not in the same way with the same exact meaning.
So keep an eye out for the Barbasol commercial, and try not to eat any shaving cream.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Just Terrible
I am saddened to say that someone set fire to our church, St. Mary's, here in Potsdam. Thankfully, the damage was limited to the altar, where the fire started, but there is some smoke damage too.
It really tears me up. I feel so terrible for our pastor, Fr. Garry. He is a hard working priest dedicated to the church. Just last week he was excited to tell us he was sending off our stained glass windows to be refurbished for the first time in 108 years. And now this.
It really tears me up. I feel so terrible for our pastor, Fr. Garry. He is a hard working priest dedicated to the church. Just last week he was excited to tell us he was sending off our stained glass windows to be refurbished for the first time in 108 years. And now this.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Fall's Over
Here are the views from our front and back porches.
I think we got 5-8 inches. I'm not sure though because no one will say on the news. At least you can tell that we have good snow clearing crews. Happy Halloween!
I think we got 5-8 inches. I'm not sure though because no one will say on the news. At least you can tell that we have good snow clearing crews. Happy Halloween!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
The French Connection
I'm really liking Potsdam so far. I never thought of myself as a person who adjusts easily, but I adored living in Cincinnati, I love Potsdam, and I loved Lafayette too. Maybe most places are agreeable to me. Lafayette is definitely number one in the friends and family category, and that is why it's great. However, it squarely comes in third as far as aesthetics, activities, smell, city planning, and zoning. And I might fall out of love with Potsdam really fast- It's going to be 25 tomorrow night and there's a 40% chance of snow on Saturday.
One thing that is just crazy-cool is all the French we hear in in this county. We are about an hour from Quebec, so we get french radio stations and Canadian TV. Oh, also our weatherman has the cutest French accent- he sounds just like this Chinese-French guy I knew at Purdue. I've only heard a handful of people speaking French in stores here, but when we go 20 miles north to Massena for fancy things like Taco Bell and a mall, tons of people are speaking French. Potsdam High's entire foreign language department consists a Latin teacher (I hear he's cute), a Spanish teacher, and two French teachers. I first thought that having two French teachers was overdoing it a tad, but now I understand why the school has them.
Since we're so far North, I've also seen a lot of Canadian political ads, and I even watched part of a Canadian presidential debate. They have three debates like us, but one of them has to be completely in French, and trust me, all the candidates have different proficiency levels in French. As you might have guessed, the ones that sucked at French were the most fun to watch. Here's what I understood from that debate about the candidates: there's Steven Harper, the prime minister, and people think he's too close to Bush; then there's some French guy that everyone thinks is crazy, a lady who never stops talking about the environment, and a bald guy with a mustache. And all four of them are ALWAYS talking about the Kyoto Protocol. I've barely heard McCain or Obama touch Kyoto.
One more thing about Canada- They have a lot of different medical stuff. Just yesterday on CTV I saw an advertisement for a colon cancer home screening kit. I can only imagine the type of sample one has to collect to screen themselves for colon cancer. Gross.
Now for quick tidbit updates-
Tidbit 1- Scout gave me a pretty good injury yesterday. I was cooking dinner and Scout hopped up on the oven hood without me seeing. Well I looked up, and she KNOWS she's not supposed to be up there, so when she saw me, she got startled and fell off the hood. As she was falling to the floor,she stuck her claws out and caught my thumb. But it wasn't just any part of my thumb- it was the very tender crevice between the side of the nail and the beginning of the skin (think of the part when you would get a hangnail). And she ripped a deep, long, vertical gash in that tender area. It bled so much and was so deep that it made me sick to my stomach. I am so tempted to post a picture but I won't.
Tidbit 2- David took me to dinner here for my birthday. I had a pork shank that was so good I wanted to pick it up and eat it Henry VIII-style. For dessert I had two freshly made pumpkin spice donuts with maple glaze and mulled hot cider. And OMG, I've been craving those donuts and cider ever since. The part that impressed me most is that neither the donuts or the cider were too sweet. The donuts were so pumpkinny and the cider was nice and tart. Anyway, my birthday dinner was amazing.
Tidbit 3- Someone just stole our recycling. No joke. We put out lots of cans and bottles in our blue bin, and someone just came and stole them. They left the plastic and the paper. It's weird, but I wanted to tell him not to steal our recycling. But what was I going to say? "Hey! That's our friggin' garbage, buddy! You can't have it because we're getting rid of it!" Probably not. And I know he's going to take our cans and bottles to the same place we intended them to go, but he's going to make a profit. This shouldn't bother me but it kind of does.
One thing that is just crazy-cool is all the French we hear in in this county. We are about an hour from Quebec, so we get french radio stations and Canadian TV. Oh, also our weatherman has the cutest French accent- he sounds just like this Chinese-French guy I knew at Purdue. I've only heard a handful of people speaking French in stores here, but when we go 20 miles north to Massena for fancy things like Taco Bell and a mall, tons of people are speaking French. Potsdam High's entire foreign language department consists a Latin teacher (I hear he's cute), a Spanish teacher, and two French teachers. I first thought that having two French teachers was overdoing it a tad, but now I understand why the school has them.
Since we're so far North, I've also seen a lot of Canadian political ads, and I even watched part of a Canadian presidential debate. They have three debates like us, but one of them has to be completely in French, and trust me, all the candidates have different proficiency levels in French. As you might have guessed, the ones that sucked at French were the most fun to watch. Here's what I understood from that debate about the candidates: there's Steven Harper, the prime minister, and people think he's too close to Bush; then there's some French guy that everyone thinks is crazy, a lady who never stops talking about the environment, and a bald guy with a mustache. And all four of them are ALWAYS talking about the Kyoto Protocol. I've barely heard McCain or Obama touch Kyoto.
One more thing about Canada- They have a lot of different medical stuff. Just yesterday on CTV I saw an advertisement for a colon cancer home screening kit. I can only imagine the type of sample one has to collect to screen themselves for colon cancer. Gross.
Now for quick tidbit updates-
Tidbit 1- Scout gave me a pretty good injury yesterday. I was cooking dinner and Scout hopped up on the oven hood without me seeing. Well I looked up, and she KNOWS she's not supposed to be up there, so when she saw me, she got startled and fell off the hood. As she was falling to the floor,she stuck her claws out and caught my thumb. But it wasn't just any part of my thumb- it was the very tender crevice between the side of the nail and the beginning of the skin (think of the part when you would get a hangnail). And she ripped a deep, long, vertical gash in that tender area. It bled so much and was so deep that it made me sick to my stomach. I am so tempted to post a picture but I won't.
Tidbit 2- David took me to dinner here for my birthday. I had a pork shank that was so good I wanted to pick it up and eat it Henry VIII-style. For dessert I had two freshly made pumpkin spice donuts with maple glaze and mulled hot cider. And OMG, I've been craving those donuts and cider ever since. The part that impressed me most is that neither the donuts or the cider were too sweet. The donuts were so pumpkinny and the cider was nice and tart. Anyway, my birthday dinner was amazing.
Tidbit 3- Someone just stole our recycling. No joke. We put out lots of cans and bottles in our blue bin, and someone just came and stole them. They left the plastic and the paper. It's weird, but I wanted to tell him not to steal our recycling. But what was I going to say? "Hey! That's our friggin' garbage, buddy! You can't have it because we're getting rid of it!" Probably not. And I know he's going to take our cans and bottles to the same place we intended them to go, but he's going to make a profit. This shouldn't bother me but it kind of does.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Lake Placid
We went to Lake Placid and the surrounding area yesterday to see all the fabulous fall colors. We live in a really beautiful area. I decided to make this trip part of my birthday week celebration. My 27th birthday is on Wednesday.
Most of our pictures came from the ski resort where the 1980 Winter Olympics were held. We took a ski lift about 3,000 feet up Whiteface Mountain. It was so beautiful that I wasn't surprised to see a couple getting married up there during our visit. We hiked around for a couple of hours and then rode back down. It was such a neat way to see all the fall colors in the Adirondacks.
Most of our pictures came from the ski resort where the 1980 Winter Olympics were held. We took a ski lift about 3,000 feet up Whiteface Mountain. It was so beautiful that I wasn't surprised to see a couple getting married up there during our visit. We hiked around for a couple of hours and then rode back down. It was such a neat way to see all the fall colors in the Adirondacks.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
I'm Never Reading Again
David and I did something yesterday that I never thought we would do- we got cable. We didn't get the big, fancy HD cable, or even the moderately fancy 80 channel cable. Instead, we got the poor man's 10 channel, $11 a month cable. Whene I ordered it from Time Warner two weeks ago the lady on the phone said, "Basic cable? You realize that if we come out again in a month to upgrade your cable we'll have to charge you a second installation fee." I guess this sort of thing happens a lot. I told her basic was fine. Our channels include ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, TBS, PBS, and CBC. Oh, and we also get the TV guide channel. I can only assume we get this channel to show us all the great TV we're missing and convince us to call immediately for a cable upgrade.
After the cable man left, I decided that some brain rotting veg time was in order. I mean, I'm out of college and don't have a job. Why do I ever need to read again? Well, in addition to all the channels already mentioned, I found that our signal picks up some free channels that have already switched over to HD. Most interesting is the Discovery Health channel. I'm sure the channel's mission statement says that it is trying to promote interest in all the wonders of medicine. However, if one watches this channel for, oh say, three hours straight, one will find that this channel is dedicated to incurable medical maladies, pregnancy complications, and obscure diseases. This channel is like the perfect storm of entertainment for any hypochondriac, and like any other horrific and compelling situation, I COULD NOT LOOK AWAY. In one show I got to see a baby born with a head shaped like a three leaf clover, a woman almost die of hemorrhaging after giving birth, and a baby born addicted to crack. Shortly after, I determined that I'm never having children. And yes, all these situations were terrible, and I don't want to make light of it. I cried, cringed, and almost puked during this show. I turned the channel a couple of times telling myself that I could NEVER AGAIN watch this channel. And yet.... I always found myself stopping on it again. Tomorrow, Discovery Health is running a show about a man who grows a tree bark like substance on his body. They call him Treeman. And I will not watch... maybe. No, I have to stop watching, seriously. I already asked David if he thought I had blood clots near my ankles yesterday. I asked because I did not rationally put together that wearing heels all day sometimes causes people's ankles to hurt.
So as you can see, cable is already making me dumber, but if you need more evidence, here it is. We were watching the news last night and a smoking cessation commercial came on. It featured a tortoise and hare reminding people that they should slowly and patiently try to quit smoking. As the turtle was flopping around in the weird way that turtles walk, I turned to David and said, "It's really sad about turtles." He asked what I was talking about. I went on to explain that turtles were like the handicapped of the animal kingdom. They walk around really slowly because the shape of their body prevents them from walking like a normal animal. "Yeah, but they have a big shell to protect them," he said. I reminded David that the shell is what makes them slower and they wouldn't need that big shell for protection if they could walk and run like normal, able bodied animals. All he responded with is " 'It's really sad about turtles' ...that's one for the books." I'm glad I didn't tell him that I thought the commercial would have been much funnier had the turtle been smoking a cigarette.
The main reason we got cable was to watch the news. At least that was the reason we agreed upon. In actuality the reasons are I get bored during the day and I really, really want to watch college football. I'm so excited about watching football tomorrow. Oh, and I'm kidding about never reading. I just took a break from reading Moby Dick to read David Sedaris's Me Talk Pretty One Day. I don't know why, but I can't read more than 10 pages of Moby Dick without falling asleep. It's really funny and well written (maybe that's an understatement) but it puts me to sleep. So I'll be able to tell you what I think of it when I finish in about a year or two.
After the cable man left, I decided that some brain rotting veg time was in order. I mean, I'm out of college and don't have a job. Why do I ever need to read again? Well, in addition to all the channels already mentioned, I found that our signal picks up some free channels that have already switched over to HD. Most interesting is the Discovery Health channel. I'm sure the channel's mission statement says that it is trying to promote interest in all the wonders of medicine. However, if one watches this channel for, oh say, three hours straight, one will find that this channel is dedicated to incurable medical maladies, pregnancy complications, and obscure diseases. This channel is like the perfect storm of entertainment for any hypochondriac, and like any other horrific and compelling situation, I COULD NOT LOOK AWAY. In one show I got to see a baby born with a head shaped like a three leaf clover, a woman almost die of hemorrhaging after giving birth, and a baby born addicted to crack. Shortly after, I determined that I'm never having children. And yes, all these situations were terrible, and I don't want to make light of it. I cried, cringed, and almost puked during this show. I turned the channel a couple of times telling myself that I could NEVER AGAIN watch this channel. And yet.... I always found myself stopping on it again. Tomorrow, Discovery Health is running a show about a man who grows a tree bark like substance on his body. They call him Treeman. And I will not watch... maybe. No, I have to stop watching, seriously. I already asked David if he thought I had blood clots near my ankles yesterday. I asked because I did not rationally put together that wearing heels all day sometimes causes people's ankles to hurt.
So as you can see, cable is already making me dumber, but if you need more evidence, here it is. We were watching the news last night and a smoking cessation commercial came on. It featured a tortoise and hare reminding people that they should slowly and patiently try to quit smoking. As the turtle was flopping around in the weird way that turtles walk, I turned to David and said, "It's really sad about turtles." He asked what I was talking about. I went on to explain that turtles were like the handicapped of the animal kingdom. They walk around really slowly because the shape of their body prevents them from walking like a normal animal. "Yeah, but they have a big shell to protect them," he said. I reminded David that the shell is what makes them slower and they wouldn't need that big shell for protection if they could walk and run like normal, able bodied animals. All he responded with is " 'It's really sad about turtles' ...that's one for the books." I'm glad I didn't tell him that I thought the commercial would have been much funnier had the turtle been smoking a cigarette.
The main reason we got cable was to watch the news. At least that was the reason we agreed upon. In actuality the reasons are I get bored during the day and I really, really want to watch college football. I'm so excited about watching football tomorrow. Oh, and I'm kidding about never reading. I just took a break from reading Moby Dick to read David Sedaris's Me Talk Pretty One Day. I don't know why, but I can't read more than 10 pages of Moby Dick without falling asleep. It's really funny and well written (maybe that's an understatement) but it puts me to sleep. So I'll be able to tell you what I think of it when I finish in about a year or two.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Toga, Toga, Toga!
David is going to show his Latin club students how to make togas today, so last night we practiced making him a toga. We had so much fun!! His students will be making their togas out of old bedsheets, but we bought about 15 feet of material to make a deluxe toga for David. After all, the magister should look like he knows what he's doing. After cutting the material into a semi-circle shape, I used hemming tape to put some reddish-purple stripes on the toga and on a white T-shirt to imitate a tunica laticlavia and toga praetexta. Doesn't he look senatorial?
I think David is going for the Augustus pose here, but I always pictured him as more of a Hadrain kind of guy.
Note Hadrian's cute beard and curly hair.
I have to admit that the toga isn't entirely accurate, and that bothers me a little more than it should, as David told me last night. But we had fun and I can always do more work to it later. David wants me to make a stola and palla for myself next. Then we can go to Halloween and costume parties as Romans! Plus, we live on a block with three fraternity houses, so we'll always be ready to crash toga parties as well.
I think David is going for the Augustus pose here, but I always pictured him as more of a Hadrain kind of guy.
Note Hadrian's cute beard and curly hair.
I have to admit that the toga isn't entirely accurate, and that bothers me a little more than it should, as David told me last night. But we had fun and I can always do more work to it later. David wants me to make a stola and palla for myself next. Then we can go to Halloween and costume parties as Romans! Plus, we live on a block with three fraternity houses, so we'll always be ready to crash toga parties as well.
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Rainy, Rainy, Rainy Day
We finally have the internet. I thought the guy was supposed to come yesterday, but it was actually today. I don't have pictures of Potsdam to post yet because I've been kind of lazy lately. I'm still getting used to the fact that I have nothing to do but vacuum a little and make dinner. Actually, it might surprise some of you to know that I am still employed by Cincinnati State. The writing center has retained me as an online writing tutor. Any students who are taking online English classes have access to online tutoring. I have one class to tutor, which means students who want help will send me an attachment of their paper and I'll comment on it and send it back to them. I can tutor these papers in my pajamas with a cup of coffee on the desk if I want. This will be very little work-- like about 1/50th of what I did all last year, so I think I can handle it. Anyway, Ill be sure to take some pictures of Potsdam as soon as we get some dry weather, which might be next June. Haha. No, it'll be sooner than that, I promise.
I'm listening to Pandora now after going without for more than a week. All I have to say is that I was listening to a lot of depressing music last semester. Here's a sample of my stations: Elliott Smith, Cat Power, Amalgamated Sons of Rest, and the like. No wonder I was so bummed out, or maybe the music was just reflection of the mood I was already in. Now I want some good happy music to listen to, but that is sometimes a tall order with inde music. And speaking of happy, I've certainly noticed a change in my mood, and David has been saying things like "Gee, you're in a good mood" about three times a day. I'm still crawling out into the sunshine to be sure, but I'm so much happier. The constant headache behind my eyeballs has gone away, my right thumb has stopped twitching uncontrollably, I've eased up on clenching my teeth at night (evidenced by the fact that my mouth hurts less in the morning) and the throbbing tension in my neck and shoulder blades is loosening. I'm still afraid I have two or three terminal illnesses, but I never expected all my stress issues to go away overnight.
We miss all our pals in Cincinnati and Lafayette. If we didn't get a chance to say goodbye in person it is because the move was rather hectic and hurried because of several unforeseen, uncontrollable, and tragic circumstances. We don't have any friends here yet, but I suppose that will come, although it may come a little more slowly since the town is small, but I'm not really worried about it for now.
I've made dinner for the past four nights. That matches how many times I made dinner the entire time we lived in Cincinnati. So, I'm pretty much feeling like Donna Stone on the "Donna Reed Show" right now, a show I always secretly admired and despised for the laughable perfection of the Stone family matriarch. Oh, how I love Donna Reed in all her roles, but that is an entire blog post in itself.
I'm also reading non-composition material again. Thanks be to God. Now I'm off to buy flavored coffee, two avocados, and some cans of soup.
I'm listening to Pandora now after going without for more than a week. All I have to say is that I was listening to a lot of depressing music last semester. Here's a sample of my stations: Elliott Smith, Cat Power, Amalgamated Sons of Rest, and the like. No wonder I was so bummed out, or maybe the music was just reflection of the mood I was already in. Now I want some good happy music to listen to, but that is sometimes a tall order with inde music. And speaking of happy, I've certainly noticed a change in my mood, and David has been saying things like "Gee, you're in a good mood" about three times a day. I'm still crawling out into the sunshine to be sure, but I'm so much happier. The constant headache behind my eyeballs has gone away, my right thumb has stopped twitching uncontrollably, I've eased up on clenching my teeth at night (evidenced by the fact that my mouth hurts less in the morning) and the throbbing tension in my neck and shoulder blades is loosening. I'm still afraid I have two or three terminal illnesses, but I never expected all my stress issues to go away overnight.
We miss all our pals in Cincinnati and Lafayette. If we didn't get a chance to say goodbye in person it is because the move was rather hectic and hurried because of several unforeseen, uncontrollable, and tragic circumstances. We don't have any friends here yet, but I suppose that will come, although it may come a little more slowly since the town is small, but I'm not really worried about it for now.
I've made dinner for the past four nights. That matches how many times I made dinner the entire time we lived in Cincinnati. So, I'm pretty much feeling like Donna Stone on the "Donna Reed Show" right now, a show I always secretly admired and despised for the laughable perfection of the Stone family matriarch. Oh, how I love Donna Reed in all her roles, but that is an entire blog post in itself.
I'm also reading non-composition material again. Thanks be to God. Now I'm off to buy flavored coffee, two avocados, and some cans of soup.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Potsdam!
We're here. David starts teaching on Tuesday. I'm posting from the library, but our internet will be hooked up on the 8th. I hate posting from the library so I'll probably write again once we have the internet in our apartment.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Moving Schedule
Packing is coming right along. It's really helpful to live a block away from a grocery store because we can get all the boxes we need. I hope to be done packing by Thursday night. Here's the schedule.
Thursday- My last real day at work. Finish packing.
Friday around 11:00 am- leave for Lafayette to say my goodbyes.
3:00- Hang out w/ family until 6:30.
Go to friends' baby's baptism at 7:00.
Hang out with friends all night.
Saturday- Meet my new nephew, see as many people as possible, tell them goodbye and that I will miss them dearly.
Sunday- Go to mass at St. Boniface, hang out w/ my family, eat dinner with my Aunt Barb, and go back to Cincinnati.
Monday- See as many Cincinnati friends as possible and tell them we'll miss them dearly.
Tuesday- Repeat. Load up moving truck that night.
Wednesday early morning- Watch Dad and David move all the heavy stuff I couldn't help lift from the night before.
Wednesday late morning/early afternoon- Set off on our 12 hour drive to Potsdam.
Thursday- Move in all our stuff, start our new lives.
Thanks for all the prayers from everyone. I have no doubt they played a huge role in us going where we are going. The move is far and we will live in a pretty isolated place, but I think this is where we are supposed to be.
Thursday- My last real day at work. Finish packing.
Friday around 11:00 am- leave for Lafayette to say my goodbyes.
3:00- Hang out w/ family until 6:30.
Go to friends' baby's baptism at 7:00.
Hang out with friends all night.
Saturday- Meet my new nephew, see as many people as possible, tell them goodbye and that I will miss them dearly.
Sunday- Go to mass at St. Boniface, hang out w/ my family, eat dinner with my Aunt Barb, and go back to Cincinnati.
Monday- See as many Cincinnati friends as possible and tell them we'll miss them dearly.
Tuesday- Repeat. Load up moving truck that night.
Wednesday early morning- Watch Dad and David move all the heavy stuff I couldn't help lift from the night before.
Wednesday late morning/early afternoon- Set off on our 12 hour drive to Potsdam.
Thursday- Move in all our stuff, start our new lives.
Thanks for all the prayers from everyone. I have no doubt they played a huge role in us going where we are going. The move is far and we will live in a pretty isolated place, but I think this is where we are supposed to be.
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