Inconceivable!

Since I don't really have anything to post, but I was feeling neglectful, I will comment on my friend's recent post that gave me a near coronary. (Lisa, proceed with caution...you have been warned.) Her brother is a super cool artist and made, among other things, a Star Wars poster for them with their own faces superimposed on the characters. As the descriptions of the main characters, she wrote, "The White Kid With A Gun", "Girl With The Crazy Braids", "Brown Furry Man Boy", "Gold G.I Joe", and "Rolling Robot". It's practically blasphemy. I'm trying to keep alive a hope that it is some kind of a sick joke. (You are joking, Sarah, right???) I'm really curious to know what she would call Yoda.

But then I realized, it was not so many years ago that I had not the slightest clue about Star Wars either. It was a prerequisite to my marriage, so I watched it for the first time when I was engaged, I believe. But I have a high tendency to fall asleep in movies, no matter how awesome, so I dozed off and on, and Todd called me on it. He quizzed me on what happened in the movie, and denying I had slept through much of it, I sleepily answered, "They were fighting, then resting, then fighting, then resting." Not a bad summation of many an action movie, but I did miss much of the good vs. evil theme.

As a side note, I watched "Pride and Prejudice" with my girls once and Brooke summed it up as "Dancing, then resting, then dancing, then resting." Quite accurate for many a romantic, period film too :)

Another Scriptural Gem

I just love these hidden jewels I keep coming across in the Old Testament. The latest is found in 1 Kings 12:10. It's right after King Solomon dies and his son Rehoboam is anointed king. The people are feeling the burden of heavy taxes and are petitioning Rehoboam to ease them. But he's got an impression to make and has no intention of looking like a weakling, so he says to his messengers, "Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins." Colorful, huh? I wonder what Freud would've had to say about him.

Stuck!

Somehow Sophie absentmindedly stuck her foot through a slat in the bench and got herself stuck. I got some of it on video. It's from a while back, but thought I'd share anyway, even though it showcases what an insensitive mom I can be, ignoring Claire crying in the background and telling Sophie to let me know when she needed someone to bring her a bucket to go in :)

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

With a little Vaseline, we were finally able to get it out. We no longer have to bring her meals and have her homework sent home for her.

Not Just Gas and Tomatoes Anymore

All of us have probably been acutely aware of the rising costs of basic necessities lately. It's been happening for a while, but is at a level now that is hard to ignore, particularly where energy and food are concerned. I'm not a doomsday soothsayer or anything like that, but it doesn't take extraordinary perception to see where we are heading. The headlines I've been noticing lately are like a precursor to the headlines of the Great Depression.

2008:

*Food and energy costs lead wholesale prices to soar in March

*Oil pushes to new high above $113; gas prices also at record

*U.S. bankruptcies soared 38 percent in 2007: government

*Producer inflation mounts, fanned by energy

*Aid sector sees lingering woes in food aid crunch

*Dollar falls against euro even as US data beats expectations

*U.S. economy angst hits global stocks

*Consumer confidence falls to new low

1929, 1930:

If you've ever read "The Good Earth", "Grapes of Wrath", or seen "Cinderella Man" you get an inkling of what it would feel like to not be able to provide the necessities of life to your family. Having some food storage is not an act of faith. It is an act of logic.

Wonder Mutt!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Dana Carvey is Coming to Spirit Mountain

May 16, Dana Carvey is scheduled to perform at Spirit Mtn. Casino, so if you're interested, get your tickets online as soon as possible! No gambling is required :) There is a buffet there, but the wait is likely to be long, so get there early if you plan on eating there, or catch dinner beforehand somewhere else (I think we're planning on the latter option, if you want to join in, we'll be meeting at 6:00 at J. Bella's Restaurant 114 South Main, Independence, OR 97351
http://www.jbellas.com/). It'll be a late night, as the show doesn't start till 8pm I think, but should be well worth it. I understand his comedy is pretty clean (a tough find nowadays). Tickets start at $25 plus fees.

Halloweens Past

I know it's not exactly the season for it, but since I've just recently been compiling the pictures, and since I love Halloween more than any real adult has a right to, I thought I'd post a look back at our Halloweens past. I've been unable to locate actual pictures from 1996 and 1997, so my artwork will have to suffice.

1996- Laverne and Shirley with Robyn

Sonny and Cher fits in here somewhere too, but I can't remember when exactly

at least there survived a picture of me and my sis from whatever year it was

1997- Fred and Wilma

1998 - Homer and Marge

1999 - Black Cat (Only Sophie this year)

2000 - Repeat of the Flintstones, with Pebbles

2001 - 2 baby caterpillars and a butterfly

2002 - Daddy Warbucks, Miss Hannigan, Annie, Sandy (the dog), and a little orphan girl

2003 - Poor Cinderella with her Prince

and the mice, Gus and Jaq (I was the wicked stepmother, no pictures)

2004 - Sunflower fairy and bumblebees

2005 - Queen Amidala, Princess Leia, and Luke Skywalker (I was Darth Vader, but had to double as the photographer, so again, was not pictured)

2006 - Shrek, Fiona, Donkey, Puss in Boots, the Gingerbread Man, and the Fairy Godmother

2007 - Hermione, Arwen, Galadriel and Frodo, and Nacho and Encarnacion

Hungry, Hungry Hippos

Last year we planted carrots in the garden. By fall, we were pretty much done getting anything out of our garden, but all winter we noticed a few carrots that kept getting bigger and bigger. They had bug holes in them, and I was just going to dig them up and throw them out when we were ready to plant this year. But the dog beat me to it. Apparently we're not feeding her enough because she always acts like she's starving to DEATH, and she'll eat anything. We gave her pop rocks and gross jelly beans after Sophie's party just to see what she'd do, and she loved them. This afternoon I noticed the dog had dug the last of the old carrots out of the garden and was chewing on it. Whatever. Dogs eat all sorts of gross things and they don't really care. But I guess I'm not feeding Claire enough either. She's kind of like the dog in some ways. She acts like she's starving all the time. She eats like a hobbit (first breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies...). And she'll eat anything too, like those same flavors of jelly beans. I think it's because she's so used to my sub par cooking, she takes it for granted that food is for staying alive, not necessarily for tasting good. I just let her in from playing outside with her sisters to find she'd acquired said carrot from the dog and was eating it herself (blech!). I'm sure she was thinking,"Sick, moldy carrot or mom's dinner....I'll take the carrot."