Okay, I almost didn't post a list today; I totally couldn't come up with ten X words. However, I thought of my friend Crayl, and I didn't want to let her down. So, a few are mine, a few I had to look up....but here you go: ten X words that I'm thankful for.
(In no particular order, except that #10 is my favorite. And no fair scrolling ahead. Wait until you get there!)
1. X-Rays. They've diagnosed broken bones for my kids, ruled out/confirmed respiratory infections, showed the cracks in my teeth....all sorts of things.
2. X-Men. Not really up there with my movie favorites, but I'll use any excuse to look at Hugh Jackman for a few hours. (Also, the way Magneto breaks out of jail in the second movie totally rocks.)
3. X Chromosomes. They're a necessity.
4. Xylose. A sugar extracted from wood or straw. Heck, sugar is sugar, right? I'd try it!
5. Xanthophyll. A yellow coloring matter found in yellow autumn leaves. Who doesn't love autumn leaves!
6. Xena: Warrior Princess. Make no mistake, I was never a fan of the show, but we did watch it and laugh at it from time to time. Kind of our own MST3K.
7. Xylophones. Especially the cute, multi-colored Fisher Price xylophones. One of the classic, must-have toys.
8. Xerox Machines. "Makin' copies."
9. Xylocaine. A topical, local anesthetic. With all of the dental work that I've had done, I'm super thankful for the topical that you get before you get the shots!!!
10. Xerxes the Great. Without him, there might not have been the battle of Thermopylae, and then there would have been no need for the movie 300 (one of my absolute favorites) and THEN I would not have been able to list one of my favorite quotes:
"The world will know that free men stood against a tyrant, that few stood against many, and before this battle was over, even a god-king can bleed."
Whew! I did it! :-)
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
Adults Only, Please
While I was sitting in Chili's last night (before I got sick), I came to a decision. I will lay it on you and then I'll explain.
I don't believe that you should sit in the bar area of a restaurant if you have children that are under, say, ten years old.
Here's the thing. AC and I have had a long few weeks, and we had an especially long day on Friday. After a baseball game on Saturday, company over for dinner, and then another game on Sunday afternoon, we were ready for some down time. We decided to go out to dinner while the kids were at Awana. We chose Chili's; it's close, they have a bar, and we knew that they would have Sunday Night Football on.
When we sat down, it was still reasonably empty; nice and relaxing. However, by the time we ordered our food, it was full...of people with little kids!!! Seriously, there were kids everywhere.
-Three tables over, a man and a woman came in with so many kids that they took up two tables.
-Two tables over there was a couple with a baby who was young enough to still be eating baby food; if the mom wasn't quick enough shoveling it in, he would fuss and make noise.
-The table next to us was a couple with two kids; the daughter kept turning around to try to entertain that baby, which just made him louder, and the son spent the the whole time complaining... "when is our food going to be here","they didn't put salt and pepper on the corn", "no dad, I don't want you to do it..."
-The table behind AC had a lady with two boys; they had their crayons and coloring stuff and were mostly quiet, but one kept hacking and sounded like he was going to bring up a lung any minute.
There was one table that had two guys and their sons, and the boys were probably eleven or twelve...they were fine. They ate, chatted, and watched the game. No problem!
Now I don't expect it to be quiet in the bar, but if I'm sitting in a bar, enjoying a drink and watching a game, I want to be greeted with fun bar noise. Loud fans, cheering, things like that. NOT the sounds of a bunch of little kids. If I wanted to be surrounded with kids and coughs and whines and giggling and tantrums and squeals, I'd sit in the restaurant.
Please, people, be more courteous to those who just want to drink a cold one and watch the game!
I don't believe that you should sit in the bar area of a restaurant if you have children that are under, say, ten years old.
Here's the thing. AC and I have had a long few weeks, and we had an especially long day on Friday. After a baseball game on Saturday, company over for dinner, and then another game on Sunday afternoon, we were ready for some down time. We decided to go out to dinner while the kids were at Awana. We chose Chili's; it's close, they have a bar, and we knew that they would have Sunday Night Football on.
When we sat down, it was still reasonably empty; nice and relaxing. However, by the time we ordered our food, it was full...of people with little kids!!! Seriously, there were kids everywhere.
-Three tables over, a man and a woman came in with so many kids that they took up two tables.
-Two tables over there was a couple with a baby who was young enough to still be eating baby food; if the mom wasn't quick enough shoveling it in, he would fuss and make noise.
-The table next to us was a couple with two kids; the daughter kept turning around to try to entertain that baby, which just made him louder, and the son spent the the whole time complaining... "when is our food going to be here","they didn't put salt and pepper on the corn", "no dad, I don't want you to do it..."
-The table behind AC had a lady with two boys; they had their crayons and coloring stuff and were mostly quiet, but one kept hacking and sounded like he was going to bring up a lung any minute.
There was one table that had two guys and their sons, and the boys were probably eleven or twelve...they were fine. They ate, chatted, and watched the game. No problem!
Now I don't expect it to be quiet in the bar, but if I'm sitting in a bar, enjoying a drink and watching a game, I want to be greeted with fun bar noise. Loud fans, cheering, things like that. NOT the sounds of a bunch of little kids. If I wanted to be surrounded with kids and coughs and whines and giggling and tantrums and squeals, I'd sit in the restaurant.
Please, people, be more courteous to those who just want to drink a cold one and watch the game!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
A Slight Change of Plans
What I had planned for this evening:
- Dinner date with the hubby
- A few errands to run, just the two of us
- Some misc. computer/desk work
- Blog (I want to climb up on my soap box for a few minutes)
- Enjoy a few peanut butter cups that my buddy sent to me
- Watch a movie after the kiddos went to bed
How my evening actually turned out:
- Felt a little strange, but went out on the dinner date anyway
- Didn't enjoy dinner nearly as much as I'd hoped
- Lost said dinner in the parking lot on the way back to the car (I'd avoid the wood chips at the 4S Ranch Chili's if I were you...)
- Spent the rest of the evening under a blanket on the couch, alternately clutching and using the barf bucket
Tonight's two redeeming factors:
- The Colts won.
- Andy, in a massive point-winning gesture, turned on the Sounds of the Season station so that I can listen to Christmas music as I rest on the couch.
Well, enough of this sitting vertical silliness. I need to go grab said bucket and resume the position. I'll try again tomorrow.
- Dinner date with the hubby
- A few errands to run, just the two of us
- Some misc. computer/desk work
- Blog (I want to climb up on my soap box for a few minutes)
- Enjoy a few peanut butter cups that my buddy sent to me
- Watch a movie after the kiddos went to bed
How my evening actually turned out:
- Felt a little strange, but went out on the dinner date anyway
- Didn't enjoy dinner nearly as much as I'd hoped
- Lost said dinner in the parking lot on the way back to the car (I'd avoid the wood chips at the 4S Ranch Chili's if I were you...)
- Spent the rest of the evening under a blanket on the couch, alternately clutching and using the barf bucket
Tonight's two redeeming factors:
- The Colts won.
- Andy, in a massive point-winning gesture, turned on the Sounds of the Season station so that I can listen to Christmas music as I rest on the couch.
Well, enough of this sitting vertical silliness. I need to go grab said bucket and resume the position. I'll try again tomorrow.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
I'm In
Today, against my better judgement, I find myself jumping on the NaBloPoMo band wagon. It's where I (or shall I say "we", you can do this too...) post a blog each day during the month of November.
I did this two years ago (when I was blogging on MySpace) and it was actually quite therapeutic; along with normal, funny, everyday life topics, I was able to journal my thoughts as we struggled through the last days of my grandma's life.
While a part of me is looking forward to this, I must admit that there is a part of me that thinks I'm absolutely crazy. What in the world am I going to write about for 30 days? I honestly don't think I lead that interesting of a life. In fact, maybe I should give out an award at the end for anyone crazy enough to stick with me for a month!
Anyhow, good or bad, I'm in. On Tuesdays, you'll get my lists, on Fridays, you'll get my flashbacks, and in between...who knows? Will I be the best writer on the block? Certainly not. Will I have the funniest stories? No. Will I astound you with amazing ponderables? Doubt it. But I'll share a little piece of me with you every day. Sound like a plan?
Now, I need to get back to my movie. (AC was kind enough to pause it so that I could get this post in by midnight! What a guy!!!) We're in the middle of Live Free or Die Hard. They just got to West Virginia, they're heading up to the fourth floor. They know that the bad guys are there, but heck, we all know that due to Bad Guy Shooting School, McClane and (probably) Farrell will do just fine. I'm reasonably certain that McClane will take a bullet before the end, though.
Anyhow, I guess I'll be chatting with you tomorrow. G'night!
I did this two years ago (when I was blogging on MySpace) and it was actually quite therapeutic; along with normal, funny, everyday life topics, I was able to journal my thoughts as we struggled through the last days of my grandma's life.
While a part of me is looking forward to this, I must admit that there is a part of me that thinks I'm absolutely crazy. What in the world am I going to write about for 30 days? I honestly don't think I lead that interesting of a life. In fact, maybe I should give out an award at the end for anyone crazy enough to stick with me for a month!
Anyhow, good or bad, I'm in. On Tuesdays, you'll get my lists, on Fridays, you'll get my flashbacks, and in between...who knows? Will I be the best writer on the block? Certainly not. Will I have the funniest stories? No. Will I astound you with amazing ponderables? Doubt it. But I'll share a little piece of me with you every day. Sound like a plan?
Now, I need to get back to my movie. (AC was kind enough to pause it so that I could get this post in by midnight! What a guy!!!) We're in the middle of Live Free or Die Hard. They just got to West Virginia, they're heading up to the fourth floor. They know that the bad guys are there, but heck, we all know that due to Bad Guy Shooting School, McClane and (probably) Farrell will do just fine. I'm reasonably certain that McClane will take a bullet before the end, though.
Anyhow, I guess I'll be chatting with you tomorrow. G'night!
Friday, October 31, 2008
1983
Ack! It's Friday...I almost forgot to post! This year, we're breaking just about every Halloween tradition that we have; no trick or treating, no harvest festival, no carving pumpkins. Instead, we're going to Disneyland! How fun is that going to be?
Anyhow, before I shove off, I'll post these real quick. (I know that you were all on the edge of your seats waiting...)
Technically, I'm cheating with this one. It's from Christmas Eve, 1982, which is practically 1983 so I wanted to put it in. This is yours truly and my best friend, Nicole. We're getting ready to lead our church choir into the auditorium for the Candlelight Service. Trust me, we felt super special. Please note the lovely color of baby-poop yellow that the choir robes are. I'm not even going to talk about my hair, my dress, my poofy sleeves...
This is one of my mom's favorite pictures of me, so I wanted to include it. It's my 1983 birthday picture (taken at Sears, of course). I'm eight years old. I could nit-pick if I really wanted to, but honestly, it's not that bad.
This picture is significant. The 1982/83 school year was the year that our church decided to start the AWANA program. Being a second grader, that meant that I was entering the program as a last-year Spark. I was not thrilled about this...since all of my close buddies were one and two years older, it meant that none of my pals were in my group. Nonetheless, I buckled down and made the best of it. I completed all three years' worth of handbooks in the one year, so in June of 1983, I received my Sparky Plaque. Yay me! We continued the AWANA program (that church is still doing it today) and I eventually fell in love with it. My own children have been clubbers since they were Cubbies (at another church), and I have been involved with the program in various leader and administration positions for a number of years. Yay Awana!
Lastly, I had to post this one. I never introduced her to you as a puppy, but this is Taffy. Man, I loved her; she was the best dog ever. She was a fierce guard dog, a good playmate (I used to play with her in her doghouse), one of the most athletic dogs I've seen... She was amazing.
Well, gotta run. The Happiest Place on Earth awaits! Happy Haunting, and I'll see you next week!
Anyhow, before I shove off, I'll post these real quick. (I know that you were all on the edge of your seats waiting...)
Technically, I'm cheating with this one. It's from Christmas Eve, 1982, which is practically 1983 so I wanted to put it in. This is yours truly and my best friend, Nicole. We're getting ready to lead our church choir into the auditorium for the Candlelight Service. Trust me, we felt super special. Please note the lovely color of baby-poop yellow that the choir robes are. I'm not even going to talk about my hair, my dress, my poofy sleeves...
This is one of my mom's favorite pictures of me, so I wanted to include it. It's my 1983 birthday picture (taken at Sears, of course). I'm eight years old. I could nit-pick if I really wanted to, but honestly, it's not that bad.
This picture is significant. The 1982/83 school year was the year that our church decided to start the AWANA program. Being a second grader, that meant that I was entering the program as a last-year Spark. I was not thrilled about this...since all of my close buddies were one and two years older, it meant that none of my pals were in my group. Nonetheless, I buckled down and made the best of it. I completed all three years' worth of handbooks in the one year, so in June of 1983, I received my Sparky Plaque. Yay me! We continued the AWANA program (that church is still doing it today) and I eventually fell in love with it. My own children have been clubbers since they were Cubbies (at another church), and I have been involved with the program in various leader and administration positions for a number of years. Yay Awana!
Lastly, I had to post this one. I never introduced her to you as a puppy, but this is Taffy. Man, I loved her; she was the best dog ever. She was a fierce guard dog, a good playmate (I used to play with her in her doghouse), one of the most athletic dogs I've seen... She was amazing.
Well, gotta run. The Happiest Place on Earth awaits! Happy Haunting, and I'll see you next week!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Stopping to Read the Fine Print
Well, not the fine print exactly. The long poem. Let me back up...
In the Spring of 2007, Matt was blessed to have an amazing, godly man as his baseball coach. He is a friend, a fellow home school dad, and a fierce competitor.
After the season was over, each of the kids was given an 8x10 framed picture; well, sort of a picture. There are three smaller pictures; one of Matt and his coach, one of Matt chasing down a fly ball, and one of the team. Then, between and around the pictures is a long poem. A really long poem.
It's been sitting on his dresser along with his other baseball trophies and game balls and such for almost 18 months now. I admit, I never read the poem. It just seemed too wordy and once I read the words "Team Jesus Christ", I chalked it up to just another corny Christian poem. I've looked at the pictures many times, and even read a few lines, but never the whole thing.
Today, however, I did. It's amazing. You may have read it before; if you haven't take a look. It's a good reminder to me, also a fierce competitor, that there's absolutely nothing wrong with my competitive nature; I just need to maintain the proper perspective.
Thanks, Brad. I get it! Better late than never...
In the Spring of 2007, Matt was blessed to have an amazing, godly man as his baseball coach. He is a friend, a fellow home school dad, and a fierce competitor.
After the season was over, each of the kids was given an 8x10 framed picture; well, sort of a picture. There are three smaller pictures; one of Matt and his coach, one of Matt chasing down a fly ball, and one of the team. Then, between and around the pictures is a long poem. A really long poem.
It's been sitting on his dresser along with his other baseball trophies and game balls and such for almost 18 months now. I admit, I never read the poem. It just seemed too wordy and once I read the words "Team Jesus Christ", I chalked it up to just another corny Christian poem. I've looked at the pictures many times, and even read a few lines, but never the whole thing.
Today, however, I did. It's amazing. You may have read it before; if you haven't take a look. It's a good reminder to me, also a fierce competitor, that there's absolutely nothing wrong with my competitive nature; I just need to maintain the proper perspective.
Thanks, Brad. I get it! Better late than never...
The Competitor's Creed
I am a Christian first and last.
I am created in the likeness of
God Almighty to bring Him glory.
I am a member of Team Jesus Christ.
I wear the colors of the cross.
I am a Competitor now and forever.
I am made to strive, to strain,
to stretch and to succeed
in the arena of competition.
I am a Christian Competitor
and as such, I face my challenger
with the face of Christ.
I do not trust in myself.
I do not boast in my abilities
or believe in my own strength.
I rely solely on the power of God.
I compete for the pleasure of
my Heavenly Father, the honor of Christ
and the reputation of the Holy Spirit.
My attitude on and off
the field is above reproach -
my conduct beyond criticism.
Whether I am preparing,
practicing or playing;
I submit to God's authority
and those He has put over me.
I respect my coaches, officials,
teammates and competitors
out of respect for the Lord.
My body is the temple of Jesus Christ.
I protect it from within and without.
Nothing enters my body that
does not honor the Living God.
My sweat is an offering to my Master.
My soreness is a sacrifice to my Savior.
I give my all - all of the time.
I do not give up. I do not give in.
I do not give out. I am the Lord’s warrior -
a competitor by conviction
and a disciple of determination.
I am confident beyond reason
because my confidence lies in Christ.
The results of my efforts
must result in His glory.
LET THE COMPETITION BEGIN.
LET THE GLORY BE GOD'S.
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