My new favorite Christmas carol

Love it!

Christmas letter up-date

So, my mom called and I quote, "Not that I'm looking a gift horse in the mouth, but you can't say that not much has changed and then talk about experiences I haven't heard of. I want to hear about the garden experience."

With that thought in mind, I had Nick send my mom an e-mail detailing the 'gardening experience.' With a very little help from me, this is what he sent:

We planted a garden

We planted peanuts, the rabbits did quell.
We planted tomatoes, the racoons dined well.
We planted some okra, the bugs had a feast.
We planted zucchini, it prospered, to say the least.
We planted broccoi, cauliflower, and brussel sprouts.
With the onions, the rabbits had take out.
We planted melons, peppers, and more.
We planted pumpkins and they were seen no more.
We planted sunflowers, which grew very tall.
Fungus and wind then caused a mighty fall.
We planted amaranth with colors galore,
gave wonder and amazement, our only score.

Well done Nick!

Christmas news letter

Hey All! Nick and I decided to do a Christmas news letter this year. Here is a link to the letter. I hope that you enjoy, and have a very merry Christmas! (Ignore the box. I think it's trying to put the letter there....but it's failing miserably.)


2010 Christmas letter

Happy Turkey Days

Happy Thanksgiving!

In honor of Thanksgiving, Nick and I are going to provide a list of things that we are thankful for.

• Nick is greatful that we have two computers for me to use.
• I am greatful we both come from families that are relativly normal.
• We are greatful for each other.
• Nick is greatful that he can hide while I blog.
• I am greatful Nick can find places to hide, so I can get things done.
• We are greatful for "The Turkey Song". (Yes, this is the real reason behind the blog entry)

Donations anyone?

Does anyone want to donate a watermelon? Said watermelon must be whole and intact to be a viable donation.

During the renovation, the construction company left a couple of hard hats. (Yes, this thought is related to the above question.) One of the professors here wants to wear one to his lab. He is curious how long it will take his students to ask if they should be wearing one. When they do, he is planning on saying "No, no. You'll be fine. Just do as I do, and you'll be fine." I think he should add, "If I yell 'duck' you DUCK!" (OK, this thought wasn't so related. But it's still a good one.)

Anyway, as much fun as this would be, I would rather strap them on the ends of a watermelon and drop it off the roof of the building. You know, as a favor to the construction company. To show them just how much bang they are getting for their buck.

So, does anyone have a watermelon that they don't want? It's for a good cause. It's tax deductible.* Tax deductions are good...especially when they involve a watermelon, two hard hats, and a four story building.

*I consider it a charitable donation. The US government might disagree. Mainly, that's why I'm not a tax attorney, accountant, or financial guru.

Seriously! You've got to be kidding me!

So, a while back I mentioned a patent that was featured in Chemical and Engineering News. If you don't remember, or were not reading then, it can be found here.

It has been funded, mass produced, and can be yours for a little less than $30. There's a whole web page devoted to the product. I have noticed, however, that many of the questions that I had went unanswered. (They probably never saw my post, but that is beside the point.)

Sure, they say it's comfortable, but how comfortable can it actually be? If, as a gas mask, the cup acts as a filter, how can it provide for adequate air flow as a bra? Does it have to be worn loose? It has been my experience that a loose bra is worse than no bra.

What about a hot and humid day. The true question that should be asked here is: on a hot, humid and generally icky-sticky day, would you really want to put your face where the girls were...when they weren't able to breathe?

I don't know about you, but I sweat. And on a day similar to the one describe above, I sweat a lot. My bra gets wet. How does this moisture affect the bra? Is it more effective, less effective or will it now suffocate me?

Kudos to Bodnar for thinking outside of the box, and congrats on her Ig Noble Award. But, there are a lot of questions that have to be answered before I will be willing to stake my life (or $30....that's a lot for a bra that won't fit) on it. And the FAQs provided by ebbra doesn't even come close to addressing the real issues.

12 Steps--Step 10

Step 10: Continuing Inventory

Despite my most valiant efforts, I keep finding my self slipping. You will note, however, that this list is considerably shorter than the first one. Yea! Progress can be seen!

**My morbid sense of humor shows in #2. If you're offended by that kind of thing, please skip it.**

#1 Kearney has a building named "The Lighthouse Counseling Center." The name probably is a metaphor for being a beacon of light in a dark time, or some other well thought out word play. However, my first thought upon seeing this? "If I was a lighthouse in Kearney, I would need counseling too."

#2 My mom was giving a talk at my Grandmother's funeral about a month ago. We were all huddled around her looking for a particular scripture she wanted to use. All of us could remember hearing it, but none of us could find it. It turns out that the familiar form of the scripture wasn't in the King James version of the bible. But, I digress. After we found the scripture we started randomly flipping through books to find other quotes for her. Helpful of us, wasn't it? Well, I started perusing A Bit of a Pause for Mrs Claus by Schick-Jacobwitz, Schick-Pierce, and Drake. I came across a quote that I just had to share. "Her muscles were aching, her feet were so sore. This overworked housewife could take no more." It was very well received.

#3 A few months ago, the RS president gave me my visiting teaching assignment. It was in an envelope with a violin bow on it...to fit the metaphor she thought up. I am the bow, my companion is the violin, and our sisters are the strings. Separate we are incomplete, but together we make beautiful music. I thought it was a very nice metaphor; an apt description of the visiting teaching program. When we reached the end of the hall, I leaned into Nick and told him my second thoughts. "So, my companion and I are supposed to irritate our sisters until they squeal?" I think logic has made me a bad Mormon.

#4 The other night Nick was imputing receipts into the computer after our family vacation. He murmured something, so I did my part and asked what was wrong. The conversation went something like this:

"Nothing. I just can't seem to figure out why we are not out of money yet."
"Because we haven't spent it all?"
**Dirty look that could curdle milk, in about 3.5 seconds**
"Do I have to apologise for this on my blog?"
"YES!!"

#5 I recently finished reading a book on the mensa murders. I don't know if anyone will remember, but in the late 1980s a guy tried to kill an entire family because they wouldn't turn their radio down. Anyway, in the acknowledgments a lawyer was thanked for suppling legal advice and "wicked wit." My first thought was, "Why didn't any of that make it into the book? I like wicked wit."

Well, as you see, I still have some work to do. Hopefully I have come far enough along that my backslides are minimal to my overall progression. Ah well, only time will tell.