I saw this video on Jennifer McGuire's blog and she was right. It made me smile. I even laughed. I hope you enjoy the enthusiasm in it.
Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.
I was listening to Verdi's Requiem this evening only because my choir director was in the chorus. Turns out that I could probably stand to listen to it again. Can you tell I'm not a huge opera fan? Anyway, while I was listening I worked on catching up with some of the YITL challenges from Suzanne. Here are the ones I did this evening.
Proud
Happy
Garden
Spring
Time
Pink
Fun
Bloom
I still have a ways to go to get caught up, but that's okay. I know they still love me anyway.
I am not from this Congressman's district, but I wish I was. ( I really don't like my non-representative. I didn't vote for him and he hasn't had a challenger in many years, dang it! If I had the money, I'd consider it myself, but I'm not a politician. Aren't you glad?) If there was ever an argument for reducing government intrusiveness into Americans' lives, this little light bulb makes the point.
I'm not sure I want to have those bulbs in my house if the EPA has a three page warning and use sheet to go with them. I'm all for conserving energy, but being forced by the government to use a product that we don't even produce in this country? I truly believe that our government wants to sell out our country to the highest bidder.
Folks, I can't see Senator McCain doing this quite as soon as I can see Senator Obama doing it, but it doesn't have to start with the Executive branch to change things. Be sure that the representatives you elect are ready to fight for this country with all the might and power of the people beside them, not doing deals in back rooms with countries that want our natural resources and for our people to labor for those countries and to steal our pride. It's time to take back our beloved country and set the government straight!
Do you like to read during the summer? I don't generally limit myself to reading in the summer, but that's traditional time for keeping the kids current. Too bad my kids don't like to read. A friend came to visit recently and on his drive up (about 5 hours) he was listening to a book on tape called The Smoke Jumper by Nicholas Evans. Evans also wrote The Horse Whisperer. I hadn't read either one, but he said that Jumper was a really good story. I think he found driving difficult while listening to it. Anyway, after supper that evening, we went to Half Price Books because he had some books to sell and I love browsing there anyway. While he was waiting for his offer, I looked for either Evans book, but couldn't find them, so I wandered around looking at other stuff. I almost bought a book on making handmade journal books, but decided to save my pennies because I have enough projects going on at home already. Including de-cluttering.
When I caught back up with my friend, he had both books in his hand. I snapped them up and started reading that week. I first read The Horse Whisperer. I haven't seen the movie, yet, so I had no idea what the book was about other than it was about a woman and a cowboy. It was much more than that and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was very surprised at the ending, but I can understand it. I'll probably start reading The Smoke Jumper later this week or next week.
In other news, my younger child is graduated from high school now. We are so proud of him. He'll be attending the University of Texas at San Antonio this fall. I'm still waiting for him to get a job, but I suppose it will happen eventually. With the stuff that's planned for summer, he's concerned about getting a job that will let him take off the time he needs for vacation Bible school and incoming freshman orientation at the university. I'll cut him a little slack for now, but only until after orientation.
We had to rent a tile saw because the tile cutters we had weren't hefty enough for that tile, but let me tell you, for less than $150, we've got a nice new floor in there. Now I just need to think about tearing out the old wallpaper and painting and re-grouting the shower enclosure, caulk. Can you tell I'm not done, yet?
Meet your 2008 Southland Conference Second-Consecutive Champions, the University of Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners! (Photos from UTSA Athletics website)
It was a sight to see because the dugout was in the dark as to the outcome of the Lamar game. I was texting DS#1 in the press box, but he wasn't allowed to give out the status. I guess the coaches wanted the 'Runners to play their game and not worry about how the other team was doing. It worked. They were clueless until after the last out.
After the game, DH and I came home and rested. I made another layout for my Disney trip. Since I haven't seen my camera all weekend I can't post a picture of it and in fact, the camera will be going to Arlington, TX tomorrow with DS#1 to go see the Texas Rangers play the Seattle Mariners. The reason for that is the new Mariners catcher/designated hitter is leaving tickets for him at will-call. They're friends. When Jeff Clement was down here visiting his brother, a UTSA coach, during the off-season, he worked out at the UTSA facilities and DS#1 helped him out, gave him rides, etc. So they know each other. I hope he gets a few good shots with him and Jeff. He'll probably put them on the wall of his store, along with a broken bat that belonged to Jeff. Hmmm....
Anyway, after the game and us resting a bit, the four of us went out for supper. It was nice to have the family together for a change since everyone seems to be off in their own directions doing their own things. DH thought they should take me out for a meal for Mother's Day. We had fun. Even though DS#1 was tired and thinks his little brother is a moron, he still laughed at some of the jokes and had a good time. I know I did.
And in other news, DS#2 was accepted into UTSA last week for his undergraduate work. He graduates high school in less than a month and now I know for sure he's going to college. Yeah!!!
I hope that all you mothers have had a wonderful day in some way and all of you that aren't mothers thanked God for a mother who gave life to you. God bless you all!
Wow, I can't believe it's been two weeks since I posted anything. I'm going to start with Suzanne's blog challenges. If you aren't into reading long posts, now's the time to bail!
Blog Challenge #16
Do you have pets? If so, how did they come to be furry family? Write about them and their personalities. If not, write about a past pet that touched your heart. Please include photos!
We have two cats and a dog. Jericho and Jessica are ranch cats, no that' s not their breed, but where they came from. They were from a litter of semi-feral cats that keep the rodent population at bay at the family ranch. My uncle feeds those cats every few days when he's up there feeding the cows and goats. We had had a couple of ranch cats before Jericho and Jessica (Checkers and Pumpkin) that DS#2 was very attached to, but Pumpkin followed DS#1 to school one day and never came back. Checkers was poisoned by anti-freeze, probably by a neighbor. So we got Jericho and Jessica. They were supposed to be mostly outside cats, but they are mostly indoors now. Jericho must remain indoors at all times because
he was infected with Feline Immunodeficiency Virus in a cat fight. He can infect other cats, so we keep him inside. He misses outside a lot and spends every waking moment trying to figure out how to get out. Jessica has been immunized so she gets to go in and out. They both sleep with DH and I at night which drove DH crazy when they first started. He just kicks them out of his way now. Jericho curls up next to me at bedtime and puts me to sleep.
The two of them are somewhat schizophrenic because they'll be all cozy and cuddly licking each other and a split second later hissing and wrestling with each other. They've been sprayed with a water bottle so many times to break up the fighting that they pretty much ignore it now. They have learned that if they start wrestling at night to do it silently. DH has observed this, but I sleep through it. Jericho likes to hang out in my scrap room when I'm in there. He used to lay on the end of my desk, but since it's so cluttered, he's taken to laying on the top of the piano and staring out the window into the back yard. He's been trapped in there so many times now, that when I tell him it's time to leave, he'll get up, stretch, and casually make his way to the door.
Snickers was a stray that DS#1's cello teacher's wife found in the middle of the freeway on a rainy day. She coaxed him into her car with a Snicker's candy bar, hence the name. They kept him for a while as they tried to find the owner, but no one ever claimed him. He's a sweet dog and just hangs around waiting to be petted. We dog-sat him over Christmas one year while they took their dalmatian with them for the holidays and he got along great with Tango, our Australian Cattle Dog. We decided that if they were still looking for a home for Snickers that we'd take him as a canine companion for Tango. They were both outside dogs until Tango lost her battle with kidney disease. Now he's an indoor dog that loves to go outside with his people and for rides in the car. Doesn't matter whose car it is, he'll jump in and wait for it to go. Dumb dog.
Blog Challenge # 17
Where were you when something incredibly important happened on a worldy level? (i.e. the assassination of Kennedy, the destruction of the World Trade Centers, The Challenger explosion, etc.) Write about it.
I remember two major world events in particular - the Challenger explosion and the attack on the World Trade Centers. What is interesting to me is that for both disasters I was working in the industry most affected by each of them. I was working in the Space Sciences department at a research company when Challenger when up. There had been talk of my director actually being a mission specialist someday on a Shuttle mission. I was a college student at the time and I remember my "supervisor" came running into the room where all of us students worked and with real tears in his eyes announced that the Shuttle had exploded. I don't think he was so much affected by the loss of the souls on board than by the loss of any dream he had of being an astronaut. Not that this loser would ever be an astronaut! He really thought he would get to go in the director's place since he didn't want to go. I do remember, however, rushing to the conference room where they had set up a television for us to view the coverage. It was a really sad day.
On 9-11, I was working for a giant insurance and financial services company and I had gone to the cafeteria to get breakfast. As I was leaving the cafeteria I saw a large group of people gathered in the television room in the cafeteria. I stopped to see what was going on and it appeared that a plane had crashed into the WTC. I remember reading about a plane that crashed into the Empire State Building in the 50's, but the building was repairable, so I figured this was just another accident. By the time I got back to my desk, the word was out that a second plane had crashed into the other tower and I knew that it was no accident. Shortly after that someone in the area announced that the Pentagon had been attacked, too. As the news kept rolling in, people were achieving greater levels of shock. Since the company's primary customers were military folks and we handled a lot of their money, this was devastating to us. We prided ourselves on customer service and we had to be especially ready to deal with this event. Because they closed the Stock Market that day and the whole country was pretty much shutdown and everyone was frightened, senior management sent all but essential personnel home. I was allowed to go home. I know that at the time I didn't understand the full impact that event would have on our world, but I know now that our world will never be the same as it was before 9-11. I know that I won't be the same as before 9-11.
If you've hung through this long post, thank you for reading. Please leave a comment about your own experiences, or if you're doing Suzanne's challenge, then post a link.
From Suzanne's blog:
Have you ever lost anything special? What was it? Did you ever find it?
I've lost a lot of things in my lifetime. Most things I've found eventually, but one thing I lost when I was a child was a special blanket that was probably a baby blanket. I used to carry it everywhere I went, slept with it, used it for a tent...all the things children do with a blanket. I even used it to cover the cage of a pet rodent I was carrying to school for show and tell. I remember it was very thick with a very special woven pattern. I've never seen anything like it, since. I don't remember it disappearing until one day I remembered that I hadn't seen it for awhile. I suspect my mother probably threw it away when I wasn't looking one day. It was pretty ratty looking, truth be told. Needless to say, I never found it.
