In the news

On a sad note, the saxophonist (LeRoi Moore) for DMB died yesterday of complications from an ATV accident he had earlier this summer. Very very sad.
On a lighter note, check out this video from the Today Show. Each Olympics, they do a spoof of one of the sports. For Athens, Al and Matt did synchronized swimming. I think this one is even better, especially because of the music and their outfits. Check it out.

The latest pics

Here are some not-so-recent pics that we recently uploaded. Most are from late-July, I believe.

Finished pillow--I stitched the design and made the pillow. The design is called Summer Line-Up and is by The Trilogy. I did a Spring one a few months ago and turned it into a pillow; I am now working on the Autumn one.

This pic of W has become our new desktop background on our pute.


My butterfly bush and cosmos. A little blurry; I need to try to get a better one since it has even more blooms on it right now.

Look closely and you'll see a bright green preying Mantis on the stem of a cosmo.

A very happy bumblebee--they love my flowers in the front yard--who can blame them?? We also have a large number of Monarch butterflies that enjoy the floral buffet, but I have yet to capture a picture of any of them.

My little gardening buddy. He loves deadheading the flowers--unfortunately, now he thinks ANYTHING is fair game for deadheading--not just the dead ones!

Back to normal

Things are slowly getting back to normal after a lovely visit from my sister-in-law and her two kids. They live in Tokyo, so they had been in the States for about six weeks this summer; we were their last stop. My niece will be four in October and my nephew turned one this past March. Needless to say, the house was a ZOO. We did things like story time, Terhune Orchards, the park and Princeton. I must say, my niece, while the oldest of the cousins, is the most demanding. Maybe it's because she's a girl, maybe it's because she's three. I don't know. She definitely knows what she wants when she wants it and isn't shy about it. Bless her heart, my sister-in-law is working so hard with her please-and-thank-you's. She says some really hilarious stuff; she's very intelligent and has a great vocabulary for her age. Perhaps the funniest thing happened when Mike took the three kids to the swings (brave soul!). My niece was wearing Crocs and discovered how fun it was to kick them off while swinging and have Uncle Mike retrieve them for her. The first time it happened, she said, "Go get my shoe." Mike asked her to say please, which she did; then, as he went to get the shoe, it dawned on him that she had kicked it off on purpose. He asked her if she had; she said "yes," and he told her that if she did it again that he wouldn't get it for her. Well, lo and behold, she did it again. When he refused to get it for her, she said, and I quote, "Well, I'm gonna tell my mom, and we're gonna take your swings and ruin your way of life!" It was all Mike could do to keep from laughing. "Ruin your way of life"??? Where in the world did she pick up THAT?!

A fungus among us

So I've been having mega issues with my ears for the past month or so. Last Tuesday I went to my regular doctor and she diagnosed me with an outer ear infection in my right ear. On Thursday, the left ear started acting up. I called and made an appointment with the ENT she referred me to. I went to the ENT today. He says I have a FUNGUS in BOTH ears. Gross. I probably got it from swimming (the one time this summer I actually put my head under) or maybe from the shower. So I have these lovely drops to use twice a day for ten days. Five drops in each ear. Drop, drop, drop, drop, drop... wait five minutes... stick cotton in to prevent solution from coming out and staining skin and clothing (!!!!)... repeat process with other ear. He also recommended some oh-so-stylish earplugs to wear when swimming and showering. They sized me as a "medium" for them and of course when I went to get them from the receptionist, they were out of that size. So she gave me a little can of putty-like stuff to use until they get another shipment of them in. I have to go back and see the ENT in one month. Really, a FUNGUS?! I disgust myself.

What's your theological worldview?

Thanks to Deanna for posting this nice quiz.

What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Classical Liberal You are a classical liberal. You are sceptical about much of the historicity of the Bible, and the most important thing Jesus has done is to set us a good moral example that we are to follow. Doctrines like the trinity and the incarnation are speculative and not really important, and in the face of science and philosophy the surest way we can be certain about God is by our inner awareness of him. Discipleship is expressed by good moral behaviour, but inward religious feeling is most important. Emergent/Postmodern 64% Classical Liberal 64% Modern Liberal 57% Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 54% Roman Catholic 50% Neo orthodox 39% Reformed Evangelical 25% Charismatic/Pentecostal 21% Fundamentalist 4%

Dis-orientation

I had assistant teacher orientation for Montessori today. It was really eye-opening. It's a different philosophy from that of a regular classroom. Not different in a bad way, of course. It puts so much focus on the child and the environment and is all about the teacher being a facilitator, as opposed to a "leader". The onus is on the child to learn; the teacher simply provides the environment, basic instruction materials for that learning to take place.
I think it's an environment in which W will thrive. It's one that will take some getting used to for me, but I think it will be a great opportunity for growth as an educator. I'm really looking forward to this new experience.

Did you hear that?

Well, I didn't. I have a raging ear infection in my right ear. My right ear has been giving me fits for the past month or so (problems with the inner ear), but last night it was unbearable. I went to the doctor today. She diagnosed me with an outer ear infection. She couldn't even see past the eardrum to see if there inner part was still messed up. So I'm on antibiotic ear drops twice a day for seven days. That's pleasant.
Did you hear that John McCain wants his wife to participate in a "wet t-shirt/pickle-licking/other various sundry inappropriate things" contest? That's right. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: The man needs to THINK before he speaks. Actually, it might be better if he just didn't speak at all...
Show of hands: How many of you out there check the air pressure in your tires? Of course you do! It can help with gas mileage, plus it's handy to know if you need to put more air in to avoid a flat tire. Well, according to John McCain, it's silly to check the air in your tires. Really, John? Oh, that must be because you have People to do that for you... He thinks this is so hilarious that he'll send you an "Obama Energy Plan" tire pressure gauge if you contribute $25 to his campaign. Not clear if it's an operational tire pressure gauge, but if it is, wouldn't that defeat the purpose of his "joke"? Ha, ha, John.
Think about it this way: Under-inflated tires make you lose about 1 mile per gallon to road friction. This translates to about 1 gallon of wasted gas per tankful. McCain may think this is funny, but for me (and probably for you, too, that's real money!). This simple, immediate, FREE action Obama and many others have suggested will save consumers about half of what McCain's gas tax "holiday" would without any other changes and without chipping away at funding for roads and bridges. So check your tire pressure. Oh, and save yourself around $23 (how much gas would that buy right now??) and head over to the auto parts store or Wal-Mart and BUY a gauge for around $2 (or even less!).
For more tips on fuel economy, check out this handy-dandy site put together by our friends in Washington! Click and Clack have some good tips, as well.