Am I bothered??

So I missed the last two days of blogging. Honestly, I think I'm over the whole blogging everyday thing. Scratch that, I *know* I am. Still, there are a few things I never got around to writing about, so you have that to look forward to!

I'm kind of hating that we are all back to school/work tomorrow. I tell myself that I need just one more day, but I know if I had it I'd wish for just one more day after that, so there's no use in complaining. I'll just look forward to Christmas Break (only three more weeks!).

If I'm perfectly honest, I have to admit that the next few weeks are my favorite time to be a preschool teacher. I have a lot of fun activities planned. One of the benefits of teaching at a Christian preschool is that no one has a problem keeping 'Christ' in Christmas. I'm going to bring in my Little Tikes Nativity for the kids to play with, and I found a really cute little Baby Jesus in a Manger craft that we're going to do.

Thanksgiving was great. I'm always appreciative that Eileen and David (and Mom and Dad) put up with all of us decending upon their house. ;) The food was fabulous, although my corn casserole was decidely NOT (so disappointing!), and James had a good 35th birthday, even though he is now officially out of the target demographic for almost everything.

The highlight of the day was discovering one of Jed's snakes had gone missing. In the room where we were sleeping. Good thing I'm not afraid of snakes. :P Here's a picture of the girls holding the *other* snake.

With my hand up a turkey's rear...

Happy Thanksgiving, peeps!

Salty Language

The older I get, the saltier I finder my language becoming. Rarely out loud, though. Mostly in my head. I never (and would never) use the really bad ones, but there are just a few choice phrases that have no 'polite' translation. *sigh* I'm afraid I'm going to be that 80 year old woman at church who is so sweet and kind and gradnmotherly, but also occasionally cusses up a blue streak, much to everyone's shock and awe.

Just thought you ought to know.

Giving Thanks

I am so, so, SO very thankful that today was the last day of school for the week. I'm not sure I could have made it another day.

I am also very thankful that I am done with my Thanksgiving shopping, because if I had to spend ONE MORE SECOND in a grocery store-type place I'm pretty sure I would kill someone.

I am very thankful that my husband and children are coming home tonight, because it's no fun sleeping alone. I am also thankful that I *have* husband and children, which gives me holiday options other than 1)spending it alone or 2) being the sad single spinster who gets to sleep on the floor and eat at the kid's table at her parent's house.

Last, but not least, I am thankful that Sam's had some take-and-bake pepperoni pizzas in the case, meaning I don't have to cook dinner tonight.

Stuffed like a turkey

1. I have decided that this posting every day thing is completely overrated. I will, howver, see it through.

2. We had our Thanksgiving Feast today at preschool. All of the two, three and four year old classes ate together in the church Fellowship Hall. The food was provided by the party moms from each class, and it was absolutely delicious!

I was a little wary of the whole "eating together" idea, but it actually turned out really well. The moms did all of the work, including serving all of the food and doing all of the clean up! They had tables set up specifically for the teachers, away from the kids, and we were able to simply enjoy our lunch. The kids were all very well-behaved, and given that there was about 75 of them, that's saying something!

3. It's quiet here, because James and the girls are over in Tifton, being nice to my parents. :P James is actually helping with some ongoing home-improvement projects, and since the girls are already out of school they went with him. It was weird watching them drive away today, off to have fun while I went to work. Bit of a role-reversal.

I'm trying to be productive and work on January's lesson plans. That way I can get alll of my copies done before we go on Christmas break and not have to worry about it when we go back to school in January! Because that's me- I like to plan ahead and not worry about it at the last minute. Crazy, I know. :P

Further FYI

I've thought of a few more terms you might want to incorporate into your own lives...

1. Squee (noun) Squeeing (verb)
Ever been around a group of teenage girls who are laughing and talking and getting excited over something random? That's squeeing. Adults are capable of squeeing, and so are teenage boys and men, for that matter. Just listen to my dad on Christmas morning as he opens up some new power tool.

2. CRAX (pronunced crack)
This one is complicated, as it can be either good or bad. It's all in the context. (It's also spelled with an X for some unknown reason. And you have to use all capital letters. Actually, I do know the reason, but it's too long and convoluted to explain right now. Just don't let the X throw you off, okay?)

It's roots lie in the drug choice of crackheads everywhere, crack. The stuff so addicting it only takes using it ONE TIME for you to be addicted. (Or so they always told us in school.) Basically it's a term to be used when you are obsessed with something with no inherent value other than you just enjoy it. Conversely, you can also use it when you are obsessed with something with no inherent value other than you just enjoy it, but you can figure out *WHY* to save your life.

See also: My relationship with Twilight.

It can also be used as a term of affection for those who share your obsession. Like I might say to Stacey and Shauna, "Hey you CRAXheads! Are we going to summit when New Moon is released??"

Which brings me to...

3. Summit
A summit is a meet up of friends, usually getting together for a specific purpose. 'Summiting' just sounds better than 'visiting', don't you think??

Exactly my brand of Heroin

Oh, Twilight. You are exactly what I would have wanted as a teenage girl. As an adult woman who is free to touch her man whenever she chooses, I find you to be a little cheesy. More than cheesy, you are cheestastic. But there is something about you that draws me in every time. WHY??!?!??!? Why is that, Twilight?

Your script could have been stronger, but you managed to include all of the right lines from the book. The soundtrack hit all the right Emo notes and the cinematography was gorgeous. The actors did a fine job, given what they had to work with. Even Mr. Jennie Garth was believable as Carlisle, whom I adore.

But like that eclair I looked at in the Publix bakery the other day, I know that our relationship will ultimately be some what unsatisfying. Oh, I know how good you'd be, with your yummy pudding in the middle and chocolate ganche on the top. I would be in hog heaven while eating you. But then, a few minutes later, I'd feel bloated and on a total sugar high, and I would know the ugly crash would be coming. Somedays I can walk away, like I did in Publix.

But today...today I couldn't walk away.

So, Twilight, we continue our Pas de deux. I will continue to revel in your cheesetastic glory, somewhat anxiously watching until the box office returns are high enough to assure that the sequel is made. But I'll always hate myself, just a little, for not being able to make a clean break; for not being able to walk away. For you, Twilight, are exactly my brand of heroin.

FYI

When you've been blogging as long as I have, especially in a blogging community like Livejournal, you eventually get to the point where you start using terminology that no one else would understand unless they are also a part of that community.

I've already introduced y'all to snark, and it's been a huge success, no? So with that in mind, I'd like to introduce two other shorthand terms/symbols/expressions/etc that I'm going to start using here.

1. Polarious
Pronounced like 'hilarious' but with a P. The genesis for this term is Isabella. When she was around 3 or 4, things that were very funny to her were "polarious". I have no idea where that term came from. The only thing I can figure is that she heard us talking about the Polaris vacuum in the pool, then heard someone say 'hilarious' and made her own little portmanteau. Since then, anything thing that is really, really funny is 'polarious'.

2. asdkfjalsjdflkajskfljasldfjlasdjfl;s
You know how 'LOL' is short for 'laughing out loud' at something you read on a blog post?? (Admit it- you've LOLed at *many* of my blog posts and comments. ;D) But sometimes just typing LOL doesn't really convey just *HOW* much you enjoyed one of my posts. (Like this one, for instance.) That's where this shorthand comes in.

Basically it's just typing in random letters and symbols from the home row on your keyboard. You do this because you are LAUGHING SO HARD YOU CAN'T TYPE PROPERLY. Try it- it's very effective.

Quirky quirks that exemplify my quirkiness

If you type the work "quirk" enough times after awhile it begins to look like you're spelling it wrong every time. Interesting.

Anyway, Stacey tagged me for this little game- name six quirks that I have.

1. I sleep with four pillows. (Used to only be three, but I need a fluffier pillow for under my head, so I temporarily have two pillows for my head.) Two under my head, and one on each side of me. I need one to "hug" on each side of me. Also, the one in the middle serves as a barrier between James and myself. Sleeping beside the man is like sleeping with the human radiator, so the pillow keeps his 'heat' over on his side.

2. I don't like odd numbers. (See? I even made sure this quirk was an even numbered one!) The only excpetions are the numbers 1, 5 and 15. ( 1 because it's first, 5 because it's easy to multiply and divide by 5, and 15 because it's the middle of the month and also because for all of those years in the military payday was on the 1st and 15th.) But seriously, I hate odd-numbered dates. James' birthday kills me. I wept with relief when Madeline was born on an even numbered day, and I made sure I scheduled Isabella's c-section on an even numbered day. It kind of bothers me that their birth months are off numbered months, but mine isn't and I'm okay with that.

3. I don't like feet. I like my feet and my children's feet and that's it. When James arrived for our first date and he was wearing sandals, I almost called it off then and there.

4. I like extreme temperature changes. Like going from a really cold pool into a hot tub. Or taking a really hot shower in the winter then going into my bedroom where they window has been left open and it's 30 degrees outside. Or being snuggled all toasty warm under the covers but keeping the room temp around 60 degrees. Of course James dislikes all of this, as he likes to be a moderate 76 degrees year-round.

5. I have my scrapbooking cardstock arranged according to the color spectrum: ROY G BIV.

6. I like my ice cream mushy, and I like to eat it out of a plastic bowl. Glass bowls get too cold.

Your Inspirational Thought for the Day

This made me laugh really, really hard.



So did this one.

Thanks,P Dub!

Random Thoughts

1. It's cold here. And windy. I actually had to turn on the heater in the house this afternoon.

2. I'm really, really tired.

3. In lieu of a real post, you get RPFJHD. (Random Pictures from Jennifer's Hard Drive)

An interesting experience

Yesterday afternoon, James got a phone call asking if he would mind helping give a blessing of healing to a less active member of the ward. We didn't recognize the name, even though this sister lives right up the road from us. He said yes, and waited for the other brother to come by the house to pick him up. It turns out the sister is one-half of a less active couple: A lesbian couple.

Both ladies are members of the church, or at least were at some point in their lives. They obviously still have some sort of testimony of the gospel or else they probably wouldn't have called their home teacher and asked for a blessing. Heck, the fact that they 1) have ahome teacher and 2) feel comfortable calling him is something in and of itself.

There's been a lot of hatred and bitterness from both sides of the Prop 8 fence. I think those of us of the LDS persuasion here in the south have been a bit isolated from it all, especially those of us who live here in south Georgia. I mean, honestly, how many of you reading this post right now have regular contact with someone who is gay, let alone LDS? We haven't seen the sadness and grief and division this issue has caused between family members.

Along those same lines, I wonder how these women would be treated if they were to walk into our Sunday meetings one Sabbath day. Would we welcome them with open arms and with love in our hearts? I'm sure some would, but I'm sad to say that most probably would not. I've heard too many snide and cruel remarks by members over these past fews months to have that hope.

Perhaps I'm underestimating my brothers and sisters in Christ. Perhaps I'm overestimating my own ability to be Christ-like and kind and welcoming. All I know that is today, I have been humbled and reminded of Heavenly Father's love and mercy for ALL of his children. His blessings are not mine exclusively. His blessings are not just for those who think and feel the way I do. These women must know that there are some members who would hate and revile them, yet they still feel the light of Christ in their lives. It's something to think about.

For the record-

1. The book montage is my last post is courtesy of a Goodreads widget. I didn't make it myslef! :D I simply cut & paste the code and inserted it into the post.

2. There are two hundred books in the montage, but I didn't read them all this year. The widget selects the last 200 books you have added to your "Read" bookshelf. So many of those books are books I have read over the course of my life.

What does this say about me??

Every so often I find myself surfing around Goodreads, just to see what total strangers are reading. Some people keep their profiles, and therefore their bookshelves, private (like me- I went private after the girls got their own profiles, and I didn't want people to link to their sites from mine), but others keep everything public.

It's pretty fascinating actually, to see what kind of things people are reading/have read/want to read. Like this one lady I just came across. She had a good mixture of chick lit, thrillers, children's/YA, self-help and recent bestsellers. She also had at least a dozen or so books dealing with addictions; food and alcohol mainly. It'd be really easy to make some snap judgments about her, right?

So that leads me to wonder what judgments a total stranger would make about me, based solely on my list of books. Personally, I think it would show that I am a well-read, eclectic person with a keen sense of humor. ;)

So here's a montage of 200 books I have listed over at Goodreads. What do you think it says about me?

Jennifer's book montage

Powered by Goodreads.com

Note: I'll make my profile public for a few days. If you click on a book, it will take you to my Goodreads review.