Journeys in Journaling

My Proud English Major Moment

2011-12-27T22:05:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I had a very proud (yet incredibly nerdy) English major moment. Munchkin offered us her first pun. I can't be sure it was intentional, but I can dream, can't I?

Munchkin is obsessed with crocodiles getting her. If she is up on the bed, couch, or even a blanket, she always warns us to watch out so the crocodiles don't get us.

After coming into our room in the morning with her amazing bed head, she climbed up on the bed. Instead of the usual warning, she told Wifey that she was the mommy crocodile. Then she proceeded to tell us that she was hungry, and that we needed to get out of bed.

And then it came.

"Come on mommy crocodile! Snap, snap!"

I cracked up pretty hard, and it got me laughing throughout the day as I thought about it. I can only hope that there will be more to come.

Christmas Time Is Here

2011-12-26T17:37:00.001-07:00

I have kind of a love-hate relationship with Christmas. The saccharin music that plays on the radio doesn't seem to hold the spirit of Christmas to me, and by the time the holiday actually comes around, it seems as if there should have been more meaningful things to celebrate the reason for the season.

The difficult thing is that Wifey's family are Christmas-aholics. Anything that they can do to celebrate Christmas is encouraged. I do my best to play along, but I often feel a bit empty by the end of the season.

This year, Christmas was different. I was able to see one of my sisters that I don't get an opportunity to see very often. We had Christmas a week early with my parents, but the best gift was the time I got to spend with her. She has had a rough go for the past couple of years, but while she was here with her family, all we heard was laughter and all we saw were smiles. She is moving on with her life, as are her kids.

While she was here, my father-in-law was hospitalized for some bleeding in his brain. He had a sub-arachnoid hemorrhage, which resulted in a few trips to the emergency room and a couple of different stays in the hospital.

Having both of these experiences sure gave me a different perspective on the holiday season. I found I spent more time thinking of the people I spent the holidays with than all the crazy people rushing to buy the latest and greatest new widget. My Christmas shopping was completed in about two and a half hours, and since we were on a strict budget this year, it was easy not to pick up just one more thing.

In short, I experienced old wounds healing, and new wounds starting this Christmas. It helped to help me forget about some of my own wounds, and helped me to make the holidays meaningful this year. What is a good story without a little bit of struggle?

My S Walk

2011-12-01T20:52:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I went for a walk (as I often do) during my lunch break. I generally stay within the same mile and a half radius, but take different streets through downtown. The same road takes me from my building, and I was surprised to see a previously unnoticed statue within a block of my building. The monument was a space shuttle, probably to honor Barbara Morgan, the Idahoan and backup teacher/astronaut to Christa McAuliffe from the Challenger tragedy. I could tell it was not new, as a bird had decided to leave its own mark across the nose of the shuttle.

As I started walking, I took a lazy route that loosely resembled the letter S. The first thing I realized was the space shuttle, so I started listing all the things that started with S that I saw. Here goes:

A spaceship
Steeples (four of them)
Surreptitious smokers (near the local high school)
Sycophants (at the same location)
A solitary sentry (waiting for a ride at the school)
A serpent (actually an awesome red stone dragon, but it was the Chinese kind that are long and skinny)
Skeletons (of trees)
Sea of leaves (the wind pushed them around like waves lapping at my shoes)
Scarves
Street vendors (selling hotdogs)
State capitol building
Sewer grates

After about 20 minutes, I decided that I had better head back to my office. I forgot a hat, and the wind was cutting through the streets of the city. The wind began gnawing at my ears, and the dull ache that comes from semi-frozen ears became more powerful than my desire to hunt for S things.

It occurred to me just how quickly winter can move in. The briskness of autumn had left the air, replaced by the biting chill of winter. The previous day had been very pleasant, although brisk, and the sun warmed me through my coat. But today was not yesterday. Instead, I found my balled fists in my coat pockets and my hunched shoulders trying to keep my scarf firmly in place in hopes that my cocoon of warmth would keep me going until I got back to my building.

As I got within a block of my building, I realized that the wind had died down. The building I work in is not directly against the street. During the summer months, there are staff members sprawled out on the grass having a picnic or reading a book. I have a sneaking suspicion that the wind is always calm around our building because it isn't a tall building next to another tall building. I think the extra space gives the air a more natural movement, yet the surrounding buildings (which are significantly smaller than my building) offer a refuge from the wind.

Or the wind is calm because it knows about all the dervishes within the building and figures that it would rather escape the drama.

How to Completely Engage a Four and a Half Month Old

2011-11-27T22:54:00.001-07:00

One of my brothers mozied his way up to my parents house with his family during his Thanksgiving break. We were able to spend time with them on Saturday night. In the words of Junie B. Jones, Munchkenna "got all jazzied up."

Munchkenna is starting to become quite interactive. She smiles and sticks out her standard issue chameleon tongue (yes, it seems that long) when someone she recognizes talks to her. She coos and talks to you as well. When she gets really excited, her fists ball up and lose some of the limited control she has mustered. Her leg often starts pistoning up and down as well. But there is something that completely entranced her that my brother's family brought—a chiwawa.

I don't know if it was the fact that there was something smaller than her that was highly mobile, or jingle from his tags, but Munchkenna was GLUED to Mojo for a good 30 minutes. Her eyes would enlarge when she spotted him, then she would hold still as a statue until Mojo moved.

Once Mojo moved, everything in Munchkenna's power came to life. To tell you the truth, I'm a bit surprised she didn't break a sweat. Her arms waved, her feet stamped in the air like Thumper, and she started to try to sing her siren song to get Mojo's attention. I guess husky voices just don't work as an irresistible siren's call for a tiny dog. Every once in a while the treble range would come out in the form of a squeal, but other than that, Mojo was aloof.

She sure got everyone else's attention though. Next time you are looking for something to get your baby engaged, try a chiwawa. And pull out the video camera.

Nice Try, Wifey

2011-11-21T22:47:00.001-07:00

It is no secret, but this time of year is not exactly my favorite. With the holiday season approaching, it comes as no surprise that the stores start to market their wares in preparation for Black Friday and Cyber Monday (read Christmas). I understand consumer spending was up more than expected, but there is one important bump in the road before the jolly old elf comes—Thanksgiving.

It seems to me that stores attempt to bump Christmas up a bit every year. I am already seeing snowscapes painted on storefront windows. One if the local radio stations has been playing Christmas music since November 12th. I even saw some Christmas decor before Halloween this year in a non-specialty store.

I have a rule for myself that I don't listen to Christmas music until after Thanksgiving. We should be thankful and celebrate what we have before we start asking for more. And don't try to pull the "But I'm thankful for Christmas" stunt. Wait until it gets here to be thankful.

Wifey knows about my rule, generally adhering to it when I am around. Tonight, she tried to pull a fast one on me though. Don't think I didn't notice, Wifey.

On our ride home from my parents, she told me that she wanted to tell me something. She then proceeded to turn the radio dial to the obscene station that won't stop playing Christmas music. In an appeal to let her listen, she informed me that Munchkin loved listening to the music.

All I have to say is that there is a reason one of the eight famous reindeer is named Vixen...

Golden Retriever Mastermind

2011-11-19T16:16:00.001-07:00

At work recently, my boss has been having us do some personality tests. I have taken some before, but I ran across one that I haven't done before. The test results listed you as a type of animal. My strongest trait was a golden retrieve, followed closely by a beaver and otter, then a large gap for the last classification (lion). My supervisor charted the scores of everyone on our team, and I realized that I was the most straight line out of anyone, as well as the the one with the lowest overall scores. I found that quite interesting with my recent blog post about engaging with people that I was the one that had the lowest overall scores. It didn't bother me that I was the lowest score, but I thought it noteworthy. We also took the Meyers-Briggs. I had taken this one before, and got the spread of INTJ. The bucket they stuck me in was Mastermind. I thought it sounded a bit nefarious, and that was supported when one of the famous people I was lumped in with by having this personality was Ghengis Khan. I was happy to be lumped in with C.S. Lewis, Sir Issac Newton, Nicola Tesla, and Gandalf. Okay, so the last one isn't a real person, but he is pretty cool anyway. I had to laugh when it said that my personality type makes up 1-3% of the population. Wifey has always told me that I am Type B, and this supports her observation.

WTWDKTJK

2011-11-09T23:12:00.001-07:00

With the recent flood of work that has been coming my way, I have had no hope in keeping up. Someone asked me how I was doing yesterday, so I told her that I felt trapped between Scylla and Charybdis.

All I got back was a quizzical stare.

Because of that incident, along with other random words I throw out there, we got a new whiteboard in our cube. The heading matches the title of this post, which happens to be Words That We Don't Know That John Knows. Not the most straight forward writing I've ever seen in my life, but I'm not about to correct their acronym.

The new girl to the cube called up her husband after the board was up and going with a few words. She quizzed her husband on them, and after he threatened to hang up on her because he didn't know the first one, she explained that the word (Scylla) was from the Odessy, then asked him if he remembered reading it in high school. His retort was something along the lines of, "I won't read the Odessy because it will never get me anywhere."

What a pity.

My retort to him comes from the introduction to Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. "Fiction, because it is not about somebody who actually lived in the real world, always has the possibility of being about ourself.

We recently saw the final Harry Potter movie, and it kind of bothered me that I was a lot more emotionally invested in the characters in a book written for young adults than I was with many of the people in my life who are friends or acquaintances. Thanks to Mr. Card, I now have my answer.

I feel a bit bad for my co-worker's husband who won't know the thrill of living a thousand lives and making a million vicarious mistakes through books. I have hope to eke past my own personal Scyllas and Charybdii in my life because someone has already blazes that trail for me and shown me that it can be done.

Keep making friends you'll never talk to, and keep imagining places you'll never see. You might be surprised one day to realize just how familiar your situation might be...

Impaired by Hearing

2011-11-03T23:45:00.001-06:00

The girlies have been sick the past few days. We had to cancel Wifey's birthday party because Munchkin was coughing up a storm and Munchkenna was too hoarse to cry. I think they are both on the mend, but we'll see.

Wifey and I didn't get much sleep last night. Munchkenna kicked me out of our bed so Wifey could take care of her. I took Munchkin duty.

Since we were both pretty tired tonight, Munchkenna decided to wake up about 10:00 to disrupt a good night's sleep from happening. Knowing that most of the local tv stations had news on, I sought something more entertaining on PBS.

Independent Lens had a program on tonight about deaf poetry slams. I've never been to a poetry slam, and I don't know that I would ever go. Poetry feels too contrived to me. I would be interested in seeing a deaf poetry slam though.

The first thing that struck me was how emotive the poets were. Their poetry was like dance, but with concrete meaning. I didn't feel like someone was looking down on me because I didn't understand their poem--instead, I felt like someone being told a story These high school kids were passionately showing emotion and engaging in a way that most adults could not do today. They wanted their voice to be heard.

This message resounded in me. I have felt stifled at work lately. I give feedback in hopes that things will change, but instead I get to repeat myself as my workload mounts. I want my voice to be heard--not only because I am trying to make things easier for everyone around, but also because I believe what I have to say.

It was a bit odd for me to find my voice tonight through a female high school senior from Israel who spoke only one word I could understand, but I did. Now I just need to keep letting my voice be heard and using it with a hint of the same fervor that she had.

You Might Have Missed...

2011-10-15T22:11:00.000-06:00

Since I have been so quiet here lately, I thought that I needed to stage a return. Instead of trying to relive all the events of the past three months, I decided just to give you some of the highlights. I can state the following happened during these months:

Munchkenna is now three months and tries to do situps. She can sit (supported) by herself, but prefers to be held (facing out to take in the wonders of the world).
I'm getting really good at bouncing Munchkenna to sleep in my own particular way.
Munchkin is now 2 years old. Some days, she acts every bit of it. In honor of her two year old birthday, her binkies sailed away like a dirigible on a pink balloon with white polka dots that was about 2.5 feet in diameter. I hope that some other baby finds them so that I don't become a liar.
Munchkin talked about birthday cake on an almost daily basis for at least a month.
Munchkin is trying to comprehend that not every birthday party is for her.
I turned 30.
Wifey threw a surprise 30th birthday party for me two weeks early, so I was surprised. It was fun to see a lot of past and present friends.
I now own an iPhone and an iPad.
I've frivolously lost many hours of sleep by playing with my iPhone.
I joined Instagram (jawkneew8, if you want to join me there).
I work at a job I don't love.
I work at a job I don't hate. I just have been getting dumped on recently, which is never a good thing. Such is life as the low man on the totem pole.
I cut down half a tree today that is older than I am. The other half will be cut down next Saturday when we have a truck to haul all the wood.
I got sick.
Wifey got sick.
Both the girls got sick.
We're all better now.
I saw the final Harry Potter movie. It was just as good as I expected it to be.
I gave a guest lecture at Boise State University in a technical editing class and loved every minute of it. I was able to do this last year as well, and was just as thoroughly pleased.
I've felt a longing to write again.
I've felt a longing to make music again.
I've felt a longing to learn to draw.
I'm addicted to The Singoff.
I'm intrigued to see what the EP with Ben Folds and Sara Bareilles sounds like.
I've bought Wifey a birthday present.
I'm searching for a great dessert recipe for her birthday. I've made some contacts to see if I can't come up with something different and exciting.
Some good friends from college are in the process of getting a divorce and I feel sorry for them.

What have you been up to?

Mowing the lawn

2011-07-31T16:16:00.002-06:00

My in-laws have been out of town for the past week or so. They had a family vacation planned to take a trip to the Oregon coast. We were invited to go, but respectfully declined many months ago when we found out that Munchkenna’s birthday was going to coencide pretty closely with the vacation. A two-week old and traveling long hours in a car for mommy don’t really add up all that well.

Knowing that they would be gone for the week, and knowing that my father-in-law likes to meticulously manicure his yard, I hatched an idea. He would probably get up early the morning after they returned to mow the lawn, putting off the remainder of the unpacking process. I decided to mow the lawn for him the night before they got home to make life a bit easier for them.

Wifey planned to bring the kids over there so I could get clipping. When I got there, Munchkin ran up to me without any pants on. I learned that she had been a bit of a stinker that day—waking up shortly after 6:00 AM, having a couple of meltdowns, messing her pants a couple of times, taking a short nap, after undies had run out at the in-laws place, deciding to go on the floor. I could tell it had been a rough day all around.

Wifey suggested that I bring Munchkin out with me to mow the lawn, at least in the back yard. It is all fenced in, so there is no way that Munchkin could get out, so I was fine with that. She loves the trampoline, so we put her up on the trampoline to bounce around for a bit as I started getting the far side of the yard done while Wifey was still out there to watch her.
Wifey went in once I had mowed all the parts where I couldn’t see Munchkin, and I kept mowing.

After about one round, Munchkin stopped me and told me that she was done with the trampoline. Knowing that Wifey was feeding Munchkenna, and knowing that Munchkin had been a pill that day, and knowing that Wifey didn’t need any more creative “assistance” from Munchkin, I decided to see if she wanted to help me mow the lawn.

And this is what we came up with:

Munchkin loved it. The rest of the time I mowed the lawn, she held on to (read pulled) my hair as I completed the mowing. She was completely quiet and well mannered, even though it was hot and sticky out there. I think she was just happy to have a grown-up’s undivided attention.
Munchkin is still getting used to the idea of a little sister, and I’m glad that she doesn’t manifest her frustrations by poking Munchkenna or throwing things at her. That could make for a very unhappy family all around. In the mean time, I’ll continue to try to find ways to get Munchkin occupied once I get home so that Wifey gets a breather.

Flushed

2011-07-24T21:23:00.000-06:00

Yesterday morning I was going through some morning rituals with Munchkin. We had just finished the morning potty ritual, and Munchkin was headed on her way to tell Wifey that she had successfully gone. Realizing that she didn't have her binky, she turned around to come claim it. It was sitting on the counter next to the sink. As she ran to grab it, she fumbled the binky and it ended up falling right into the toilet as the final swish was leaving our view.

And thus ended binky.

Munchkin asked for it a bit after it was gone because she likes to have it in the morning after she gets up for a bit. Then she goes and throws it on her bed until nap time, when she gets it again. After naps, she generally just throws it on her bed when she gets up and doesn't think twice about it until bedtime.

Nap time came and went without incident. She asked for binky once, and I reminded her that she had flushed it down the toilet. She didn't fuss or ask again, just wiggled a bit more before falling asleep.

So tonight we tried just putting her to bed without binky. She asked for binky when we laid her down to sleep, and we reminded her again that it had been flushed. As soon as we left the room, she started crying a bit. This is not uncommon for her to cry for a minute or two as she expresses her disgust that we are going to be doing something without her. But her crying continued, so Wifey went up to try to console her.

All was quiet through the monitor, but as soon as Wifey left the room, she started crying again. So then I gave it a try. I got her calmed down, but once again, right after I had left the room (after singing her two songs and telling her one impromptu story about a girl who happens to share her name who went to school), she started crying again. And hard.

We (like any sane parents) have backup binkies for emergencies. Last night was an emergency. We gave her the binky, and she informed us that her "purple binky flushed down the potty." Right after that, she rolled over and fell asleep.

Even though Munchkin is growing up, I still have to remember that she isn't a kid yet. She is still a toddler who understands a lot, but not everything. She will still have problems dealing with small changes. And I am willing to let her have her binky while she is handling the substantial change of being a big sister incredibly well.

I'll know next time not to set the binky so close to the toilet when she runs out of the room, and I'm sure that she'll make sure not to fumble it so easily next time she tries to grab her binky.

A Bit of Validation

2011-07-23T22:24:00.001-06:00

I recently put up a page on Facebook representing this blog. It was mainly because I was applying for a position that required some business Facebook use. If I created a page, I could legitimately say that I had done some promotion on Facebook for something besides myself.

A week or so ago, I got an email notification stating that someone liked the blog. A bit surprised (mainly because the name wasn't familiar), I went over to Facebook to investigate if I had any connections. There was no connection.

And even more surprising to me was the fact that there was not only one person, but three people with whom I've have no personal connection. It feels good to know that other people are interested in what I have to say, but more importantly, that you like what you see enough to claim it publicly.

So, to encourage some interaction, head on over to my Facebook page and let me know if there is something you want me to write about. This not only includes those three people who have publicly liked my page, but also anyone else who happens to post there. Or here in the comments, for that matter.

Family Reunions

2011-07-22T23:19:00.000-06:00

My parents got unofficially done with their volunteer position a couple of weeks ago. July 9th, to be exact. On the 10th, one of my brothers came up with his family to visit my parents. He stayed one week, leaving on Sunday morning. That afternoon, my other brother came to visit, and wil be leaving tomorrow. My parents have had someone staying with them for aboutnthe past two weeks straigt.

Not that they haven't loved it. They haven't had the opportunity to play with their grandkids this much in quite a few years. Even though it makes them a bit tired, they wouldn't trade it for the world.

On a sad note, we are missing a family reunion for Wifey's side of the family. She has been a bit sad that we are missing the opportunity to dabble our toes in the ocean along the Oregon coast, munchkin would have loved being there and playing in the water, but we will go another time.

I'm faring much better than Wifey is. I think this is the first family reunion that she has missed in her 27 years in the family. Good thing she has Gilmore Girls to keep her occupied. Oh, and a little thing I like to call Munchkenna. She is slumbering peacefully right next to our bed right now, so I think I'll follow suit.

Rewired

2011-07-21T22:43:00.000-06:00

Hello again. It has been a while, hasn't it? Things e starting to settle down again after some momentous occasions. The new job started getting busy, but it is still going well. I had the opportunity to start doing some things that I hadn't done before, but also done some things that I haven't done in quite some time. It has been a good challenge. I overheard from a colleague that my boss was worried that I didn't have enough to do. So far I have only had to ask him for more work once.

We also had a baby! Well, not me (naturally). We had the greatest nurse ever known to a woman in labor who was greater than I would have ever expected a nurse to be. I felt good that I only almost fainted twice.

The funny thing is, I didn't have the urge to faint with the parts that I thought might make me queasy. I inherited a bit of queasiness around blood from my father. But I was able to do fine with all of that. The things that got me were all the surgical tools. When they came in to give Wifey her epidural, I just stared at the contraction monitor, knowing that the big needle made me a bit light-headed last time. I didn't look, but started feeling my hands tingle after hearing the conversation about placing the needle. This guy did great, and wo Wifey's epidural didn't wear off this time.

The next time I got woozy was after Munchkenna (Munchkin II's official name on this blog) was born. I took a peek over at all the unused medical tools sitting out in case of emergency, and that got me again.

We had a pleasant surprise when a girl I sang with in high school choir came in to help out with Munchkenna after she was born.

All in all, Wifey had an exponentially better experience this time when compared to Munchkin's delivery. It was half as long, and much more enjoyable for all parties involved, despite my queasiness.

Munchkin has been doing great being a big sister also. There have been some very minor jealousy issues that quickly get resolved. You can see how much they like each other, take a peek at this picture.

I should be making more frequent appearances here, but if you don't find me here, know that I am busy holding a sweet little girl.

Untethered

2011-06-20T22:30:00.000-06:00

Wondering where I’ve been? I’ve been doing things. First off, vacation was wonderful. It was nice to be completely untethered (meaning that I left all my technology at home, except for my iPod, which was only used as background music as we played games with other people. And also for portions of the car ride). It was nice to be liberated from computers, phones, and any other way people could contact me.

That euphoria was quickly dispelled on Monday when I returned to work. There was plenty waiting for me. But I got caught up quickly.

We have also been potty training Munchkin. Wifey found an eBook that does a pretty good job at getting a kid potty trained in three days. This weekend had a few bumps along the way, but we found out that she had toilet paper rash (as opposed to diaper rash) from being wipes so often. Her fair skin is so sensitive that any little thing could set it off. We got that cleared up last night (after staying awake with her until about 1:30), and Wifey reports that today she has been accident-free. Go Munchkin!

Because of some of the potty training activities, Wifey tweaked her back a bit. A woman who is 8 months pregnant generally shouldn’t be lifting a lot, but potty training requires it. And Wifey faced the consequence. Luckily she got better quite quickly.

We also had our second annual Nacho Party with the gang. We don’t often get together with all our old friends, but we had all but one of the couples there. It was great to see them all and catch up a bit.

Meridian celebrated Dairy Days. They have a carnival that comes to town, complete with petting zoo, fair rides, and parades. We only made it to the parade, but Munchkin was in heaven. When the trucks came down the street, she would exclaim, “Beeg one!” When the horses came down the street, she would point and yell, “Horsies,” followed by a whinny. When there was any music, she would start bopping and bouncing. She loved being around all the people, and we were proud that she kept her pants dry for the three hours we were there.

Father’s Day also came and went. It was good for me, as I got a new pair of work pants that fit quite well. Wifey started mocking me because she bought me some brand name pants, and they actually fit. Normally, I have a hard time getting pants to fit because of my slender waist and long legs. If I could reverse my proportions, I would be able to find pants galore. But unfortunately, fewer stores are selling pants that have a 30 waist that have more than a 32 inseam. When you need a 30x36, you are kind of out of luck.

But these pants fit. When I asked her how she could tell if they were long enough, she told me that she held them up, and they came up to her chest, so she figured they would be long enough. I had to laugh, because I know that she doesn’t come up to my belly button. We aren’t that disproportionate!

We also found out that the foreign exchange student from Brazil that lived with my brother for a year is coming up with her dad for a visit. It will be fun to see her, since last time we saw her was about four or five years ago. July will be a busy time.

We are unsure whether or not Wifey will have the baby by then. She had an appointment with her doctor last week that told her that he would probably induce her since he was going to be gone the week of her due date. Wifey is fine with that, because Munchkin was relatively large (8 lbs, 8 oz) for Wifey’s petite frame. If the new babe comes a bit early, we are hoping that she will be a skosh smaller. She is already measuring larger than normal, but then again, so did Munchkin.

With that being said, Wifey might have the baby while my brother is up here with his family. The next week, my other brother is coming for a visit with his family. I have a feeling that my parents will be pretty tired after all the company leaves. But they love being able to see their kids and grandkids. In short, summer is beginning officially tomorrow, and I believe that mine will be quite the busy one.

Recent Things I Enjoy

2011-06-08T21:29:00.000-06:00

The muted squeals I hear through the window as Munchkin finds I'm home.
The faces Munchkin makes as she is squealing (big eyes, wide mouth, slightly rosy cheeks).
Snuggles from Munchkin.
Walking/jumping in a circle in our house with Munchkin as she held my hand for a half an hour tonight while dinner was simmering.
Wifey's yummy new recipies.
Wifey's new boldness to try new recipies.
Wifey's enjoyment at finding a new hobby (sewing).
The idea of a new addition to our family in July.
A new job where I'm treated like an adult instead of a second-class citizen.
The prospect of real insurance for a reasonable cost (come on August).
Going out to dinner and seeing a movie for our anniversary.
Change.
Perspective.
New things to learn.
Helping people by making their jobs easier.
Healthy raspberry plants.
The fact that my mom picked out some fabric to make a baby quilt, only later to find out that Wifey had almost purchased that same fabric to make something for the baby herself.
Relatively healthy bonsai trees.
Flowering pots.
Rain.
Going 370 miles on one gas tank before the light came on (my previous record was 340 in this car).
A nice hot shower.
Walking to the library to check out books.
Spinach.
Waking up to a quiet house.
Eating an apple for breakfast.
Motivation.
Helping my parents with yard work.
Helping my in-laws garden.
Trying to understand people.
Trying to encourage people.
Sharing books.
The upcoming four-day vacation in the Sawtooths at Lake Alturus (starting tomorrow).
The fact that part of this vacation is paid time off.

Your turn. Leave your post in the comments so I can enjoy them too.

A New Instrument?

2011-06-06T21:51:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I had the opportunity to fill in for the church organist that normally plays. She called me on Saturday night and told me that she wasn't feeling well. I have played the piano for quite a few years, so I happily obliged.

Recently I have become more interested in the organ as an instrument. I have heard it called the king of instruments, and I can understand why. It has so many different stops that it could sound like a lot of different things—bells, woodwinds, trumpets, strings, and voices. There are a lot of possibilities that it has, and I think I want to start exploring them.

As with a lot of organ players, I'll probably start out with some religious works. The music coordinator in church asked me a couple of weeks ago if I would try learning an organ solo. She told me that she had heard many different types of musical numbers at church, but that she had never really heard an organ solo. I think I'll take her up on that offer.

I'll probably go pick up an organ book or two when I get a chance. I want to find one that would be hard enough to keep my interest, but easy enough with the pedals to keep my interested without overwhelming me. Maybe the library will have some music. I know the libraries in Finland did, so hopefully the ones in Idaho will follow suit...

The Wall

2011-06-05T21:50:00.000-06:00

Some days it seems that writing just oozes out of my pores. I think of plenty of things to write about, interesting connections, and ways I can express what I'm thinking.

Lately, I've been hitting a wall.

I don't know what it is, but since I have started my new job, I have been feeling less creative. I enjoy what I do for work, and I am learning and growing in a lot of ways, but instead of finding time to think about life and who I want to be, I find my mind being filled with things to do for work—how to create a new document, the next piece of technology I need to learn, or a new design for a flyer that I'm creating.

And I'm not sure why that is. Generally I am pretty good about turning off work when I leave for the day and turn it back on during my commute in to work. This position has been different so far.

So, dear Internet, please post something that inspires you in the comments. It can be anything—a website, a book you have recently enjoyed, a picture, or a quote. Heck, it could even be a cool cake or something.

Hopefully it will pull me from my creative void and help me be a more productive (and sharing) blogger. Blogging is something I enjoy, but it has been hard for me lately.

Another thing I am hoping will help out is I am taking a vacation this week. We are heading up to the mountains for a few days with Wifey's family. I hope to take lots of pictures and have time to sit and think in the forest. While we won't be away from civilization completely (we are staying in cabins), I'm hoping that there will be some time to curl up with a good book, take a stroll through a forest, or just sit by the water and think.

I need to stop by the library and find a good book to read. I'm feeling a bit bored with the ones on our shelves as of late. I'll probably try to find something completely out of character for myself to see if that provokes some inspiration. If not, I'll try something else until I get some hints from the Internet.

Not So Neeky

2011-05-23T21:51:00.000-06:00

Munchkin decided to be not so neeky today. Or maybe she was super neeky. After we got home from my parents' house tonight, I happened to peek over at the couch to find this:

Oops

Munchkin is to the point where she loves coloring. If there are pens, pencils, crayons, markers, or other writing implements around, she wants to color.

Wifey told me that she caught Munchkin with a pen today sitting on the stair, but didn't think that she had tagged anything. She is just too neeky.

If the end of the world would have come on Saturday like some were predicting, then I could have officially said that Munchkin was the perfect child. Her reputation is slightly tarnished, but how can I be mad at this:

"You're not mad, are you Daddy?"

On a not-so-random tangent, my nephews decided to celebrate last Saturday by making this awesome video. Hopefully they will make more.

Transplants

2011-05-19T18:37:00.001-06:00

Last year we decided to get some plants for our house. The thing that I was most excited about was the raspberry bushes from my parents' place. We planted them late in the year, and they didn't get enough water, so they ended up dying. I was able to keep one limping along through to the fall, and hoped that it would enjoy life again when the spring came.

Now it is a champ. And we got it some friends (who will hopefully fare better than their predecessors). We got them in a bit earlier than the ones last year, and this spring has been quite cool and rainy here in the valley, so I am hopeful.

Can you guess which one is the champ? The one on the right is actually a start from the one on the left.


Some raspberry friends

The lilacs we planted last year also have been doing well this year. They were just twigs really (as my dad decided that they didn't need any leaves in order to be transplanted), but now they have leaves. No lilacs this year, but I have faith that they'll come around next year.

Munchkin showing off where the proliferation of lilacs will be next year

Here are a few other things that we have got this year. Some look better than others, but I'm hopeful for a lot of them.

Our most surprising entry goes to this ground cover. I'm not sure what it is, and I know that it generally flowers each year in the spring. I didn't expect it to flower this year because it had a few buds on it when we transplanted it. I thought all the strength would go to the roots and kill off the flowers. Boy, was I wrong!

Surprise! I'm healthy and flowering.

A close-up of the flowers.

The chives took quite well to their new environment as well. My mom always had some over on the east side of our house, and I always wanted to see more purple flowers. Whenever she would send me out to get some, I would always leave some of the more mature ones in hopes that we would get more flowers.

Chives look happy (and taste good).

We have a couple of lavender starts as well, so you only get to see the best one. It is about on par with the one at my parent's house that was started last year, so I think both of them will be champs by next year.

Even though it isn't blooming, you still can smell it.

The mums are starting to perk up also. I can be patient with them, since they are more of a fall plant. We got three different colors, but we'll see if they cross-pollinate and become one color. I think yellow was the dominant color at my parents' place.

Mums getting ready for the fall.

There is an asparagus plant somewhere in here. I promise.

A lonely sprig of asparagus. We'll have to let it go to seed so that we get more.

And here is another ground cover that we got. It gets little purple flowers, and the leaves are kind of a milky green.

Another mystery ground cover.

We also got some grape hyacinths, but they are past their prime, so you don't get to see them until next year. They only had three blooms on them anyway, so they weren't that exciting this year. It is hard to pull up bulbs (especially really small ones) after they have already flowered.

What's in your garden this year? Any blooms you want to share?

Lil' Sprouts

2011-05-18T21:20:00.000-06:00

Since I have a few bonsais sitting in the back yard, I am happy to report that they are actually getting leaves on them this year. HOORAY! Wifey accused me of growing sticks last year, so hopefully the leaves will stay on better this year.

I realized that I was just watering them last year. They never got any plant food, and if they did, it was only once in a blue moon (if that often). I gave them a dose a week or so ago, and so far they look pretty happy. Take a look yourself.

A smaller version of a nicely shaped tree we have in our yard

If you are a bit confused that my trees don't look like the ones I have posted before, that is because some have changed. My dad had some trees that I have been wanting to get my hands on, so I sacrificed trees that I wasn't as excited about for flowering trees. My goal is to have some trees that will flower in the spring, so I am going to try keeping them happy this year so that next year they might come out and bloom.

Cherry and little crab apple

I think part of my obsession with this is the fact that when I was growing up I had two windows in my room. In the spring, I would see white cherry blossoms out one, and pink crab apple blossoms out the other. Now I have a small crab apple and a small cherry. I just got the cherry last night, so I hope that it will do okay. It is actually a succor from the same tree that was outside my window, and was probably receiving some food from the mother tree. There were some offshoot roots that were well established, so I'm hoping that it will keep on establishing its own root system and do well.

The tiny crab apple

The maple is the champ this year. I was pleased to see all the leaves that were sprouting out of it. It is amazing what a little bit of food will do for a lil' sprout. Hopefully the other trees will catch up shortly, especially the crab apple.

Maple

Another possible maple harvested from the flower garden

Neeky: Part II

2011-05-17T19:38:00.001-06:00

Yesterday night, we were over for our weekly meal with my parents. Munchkin has gotten into quite a routine. We get there, we eat, shortly before dessert is served, she gets antsy and reaches for my dad to go play, we tell her to wait and give her a pudding cup (which she devours), she gets antsy again, my dad wolfs down his dessert, we clean her up, she is released and belly laughs/screams with delight that she gets to go play, my dad lays down on the floor while Munchkin plays with the toys and occasionally shows him something that has piqued her interest and we do the dishes.

Rinse, then repeat.

This happens like clockwork, with surprisingly little variation. My mom is secretly a bit jealous that Munchkin doesn't come looking for her, so she was very excited tonight that after dinner Munchkin approached her to give her an unsolicited hug.

Munchkin doesn't just hand out unsolicited hugs. She is to the point where she really doesn't snuggle with you for fear that she will fall asleep (unless she is reading a book with you, where she will be utterly content to sit and turn the pages as you read to her). I was a bit surprised that she would go so far as to come up and give my mom a hug.

Munchkin and Grandma

As she had her arms sweetly wrapped around Grandma's neck and her head resting on Grandma's shoulder, Munchkin quietly repeated one word—treat.

To bribe Munchkin, Grandma gives her m&ms every time she comes. This generally occurs before we leave. Tonight she got some early and came back for seconds about a half an hour later by being neeky. To my surprise, Grandma didn't give in.

But I'm sure it won't stop Munchkin from being neeky and trying again.

Neeky: Part I

2011-05-16T21:51:00.003-06:00

As a good father should, I try to teach my daughter some of the finer things in life, like scaring people. When I’m holding her, we walk up to Wifey real quiet—well, Munchkin generally whispers “Neek, neek, neek” as we are walking—and then Munchkin yells, “Boo!” Wifey makes a good show of it, and acts surprised. Munchkin immediately starts saying, “Again! Again!”

Lately, she has started trying to be sneaky on her own. One time, she put her hands on her thighs and started walking like a sumo wrestler preparing for a match. We were cracking up, because her loud footfalls did not match her furtive whispers of “Neek, neek, neek.”

Neek, neek, neek.

Shortly after my alarm went off this morning, I heard Munchkin moving around and moaning in her bed. She had done this a few times before during the night, so I didn’t think much of it and pressed the snooze button again.

Ten minutes later, I heard the door start to creak open. This was followed by the pitter patter of little feet running toward the bed. The footfalls were punctuated by as large of a resounding thud as a 19-month-old can make while jumping and an excited exclamation of, “Boo,” which woke up Wifey (without a scream).

She was so proud of herself that she had snuck into our room. And I have to say that although this was pretty darn funny that she had created this scenario in her mind that she was going to scare us awake, it worries me a skosh at the same time.

Is this going to be the start of Munchkin getting out of bed in the middle of the night? Is she going to start getting out of bed whenever she is awake, regardless of the time? Instead of coming into our room to scare us awake, is she going to start realizing that she can go downstairs and find her toys?

I hope the answer is no, but she is a pretty smart little cookie. I’ll just have to see how neeky she ends up being.

Introductions

2011-05-15T20:49:00.001-06:00

Yesterday evening we went to the park for a family gathering. There were lots of kids there who weren't from our family as well, as the park was packed—packed as in all the reserved spots were full, and the playground is hopping. If I looked around, I could easily imagine that the fair was in town.

I wasn't amazed at how many people were there. What really struck me was the fact that there were so many kids around who were so friendly. At least five kids (all boys) came up to me and said hi and introduced themselves. I was shocked.

I've been told that I was quite the gregarious little kid. I spent a lot of my time talking ears off of women who happened to come to my mom's beauty shop. I even helped them put their coats on as they were leaving in the winter. But I don't think that I would have walked up to a complete stranger and introduced myself.

One of the kids even started following me around as I was helping Munchkin, and he asked that I help him out on the monkey bars. I'm sure that their parents were around somewhere, but I didn't see many parents with these kids. I don't know if they were attention starved, but they seemed bright, capable kids. Their parents had obviously taught them well, but I would have thought that they would introduce themselves to Munchkin instead of me.

So, my question to you is this: have you met kids who introduce themselves to complete adult strangers? If you have met kids like this, what has been your experience with them? Does it weird you out like it did me (I felt a bit like they were trying to create a business relationship)? Am I just being strange myself?

P.S. Wicked was WICKED!

Social Media in Education

2011-05-13T22:32:00.000-06:00

Early in my college career, I often sat among my classmates being a bit jealous that many of them had brought some kind of laptop into class. After I was an upper classman, I realized that many of the people who had a laptop spent more time playing solitaire or updating their Facebook status than taking notes or engaging in the lecture.

Today kids in school are even more wired (and I'm not referencing caffeine). They are used to texting, tweeting, updating their status, and jumping from one browser window to the next at alarmingly fast rates. Sometimes it is enough to make my head spin.

I ran across this article in the New York Times today that talks about engaging students through social media. The thought of sitting in an English class talking about an article that we read is pretty interesting to me. One teacher even believes that her class is engaging more students.

I ended up being an English major in college, but I know that some of my high school classes would have been a lot more interesting to me had I had the opportunity to use technology. I fear that people are going to stop printing books in the future, because it is so much cheaper to have a digital copy of things. There is something about holding a book and smelling its musty pages that makes me want to read it. It is inviting.

My parents think it is crazy to have online courses. I participated in some in college, and while they had their unique challenges, I found that I was placed in charge of my education. I couldn't fake reading an assignment and posting something on it. The teacher could see when you were presenting an unsupported argument. And I found that I enjoyed learning more when I could engage myself in something besides a three hour lecture (yes, some of my classes were three hour night classes).

If this actually helps kids learn, what is there to lose? I would be interested to hear from some of you teacher types (I know you are out there) to see if you would be interested in implementing this. Or, tell me how you implement other technologies in your class to save time and money.