Nerd Family

The Haps With the NerdFamily

2009-07-05T13:47:00.000-07:00

So life around here has been quite crazy lately. I am going to try to catch up those of you who care (the rest of you can skip to the next post;) and possible whine a bit. So please have patience. I also wanted to blog a little because it seems like there aren't many adults out there with veinous malformations. If you are one, trust me, you are not alone.

I had another treatment in Stanford for my veinous malformation. I am still recovering from the tissue breakdown from the last time but I wanted to keep going to get this all over with. Since I had another area the doc could work on, he was game. But now I am dealing with the after effects of having the procedure done.

First off I am trying to avoid my tissue from dying. Apparently when you try to kill off blood veins they like to fight you and cause problems and the agent that is used can (doesn't always) kill off some skin. Because this last procedure is on my backside, I am laying on my side. By staying off of the treated area more blood flows to that skin which promotes its health and growth. It is interesting to lay on you side and type;). But the pain from this is highly manageable and is uncomfortable but not horrible. It is just really annoying to not be able to get anything done around my house. I understand the house will always be here but it was still very exciting when 2 friends showed up Friday to clean! Heather and Bethany got quite a bit done around here that desperately needed doing (like mopping and vacuuming). I love you 2!

But then there are other issues. For this kind of procedure they put you completely out for the procedure. That always means (for me) that it takes me a few days to a week to recover. I tend to be a little foggy and tired but it just wears off and I am usually fine.

My bigger problem is my throat. Often when an anesthesiologist knocks you out they put a tube down your throat to make sure you breath. This can often result in a sore throat for a day or 2. It rubs and irritates the skin. For me I am usually fine within 24 hours. Well, I don't know what the docs did to me this time but I am miserable and hurting. My throat isn't just surface sore. My uvula is swollen, I can feel it moving and gags me. The pain is with hot or cold. I can have a little sip of something it is ok, but the second one will burn. Or if I am lucky it burns afterwards. The burning is on the surface, in the neck muscles and in my ears. The only thing that isn't painful is tepid water. A couple days ago I could have slightly warm Starbucks Frappachinos, liquid jello, room temp cream soup. Last night and today, I can't stand any of it. I tried fruit smoothies and the acid in the fruit juice almost killed me. I did have a very soft scrambled egg last night but it was quite painful too. I may call my doctor tomorrow but I am afraid they are just going to say to give it time.

So that means that I am a lot of fun. I am having to take the strong pain meds to manage the throat pain. This means I can't drive and I don't think real well;). Even when I am not trying to drink anything my whole neck just aches. So I have been waking up at night just miserable. Because one of the only things that has been going down half way is Starbucks, between the caffeine and the meds I am neither really awake nor can I sleep well. And for those who don't know me IRL, I am huge. I say that so you know how hard it is not eating. I find all I am doing is thinking about food. Most of what I have been sucking down is sweet so all I want is protein that has no cream base to it;). What I would give for a steak. My doc also has me on a steroid so all I want to do is cry about how hungry I am;). How sad and pathetic is that?

So now my whine is over. Please have some mercy if my posting isn't at top quality but since I am sitting more I am trying to post more. I will take any extra prayers you want to throw out! Thanks.

SNES Coolness

2009-07-05T12:35:00.000-07:00

I have played a few SNES emulators but then you have to find the ROM file. I love the idea of actually playing my games. They are still in the cabinet! Who knows if I will every have time to put something like this together but it is still cool!

Fireworks

2009-07-04T15:49:00.000-07:00

This piece is adorable. I wonder how long this 30 second piece took to do.

Happy 4th!

2009-07-04T12:24:00.000-07:00

These girls are called the Cactus Cuties and have great voices! Have a great 4th of July!

Glee, 80's Rock, and Kids

2009-07-01T20:18:00.000-07:00

I saw the Glee premiere a while ago and loved it. It isn't kid friendly but it was pretty good. But seeing this video really made me think. We all love this song but would it really be something that we we would want our 14 year olds singing? It seems that 80's rock, and older music even more so, is protected by this "innocence" because it is old. But do parents, and especially Christians, judge this kind of music with the same kind of filter that they judge currently popular music? I think that genre's are just more than content and that is a shame. Rap, hip-hop and pop are not inherently evil. But it is what they say that makes it inappropriate. Now I totally admit that I listen to music that I won't let my kids listen to. But I don't listen to it in there ear shot and I never lie about listening to it (I am rarely asked). It is the passive listening that seems to bother me the most because it is the thing that isn't considered.

So do you test the message of the music you expose your kids to? How about what they hear that you are listening to?

Web Site Story

2009-06-30T22:11:00.000-07:00

My dear hubby has found something that is so me. It is a pairing of old Broadway and geekdom. We present College Humor's Web Site Story.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Stealing Money or Stealing Life?

2009-06-29T21:19:00.000-07:00

Bernie Madoff received his sentence of 150 years. Dr. Helen has a piece wondering why he has received a larger sentence than most murderers. Logically I understand that since there were more instances of crime, there were more years up for penalty. But it does raise some questions. The surface question maybe what is more valuable: money or life? But my question is...What is worse killing 1 or 2 people versus stealing from 100's? Madoff effected more people's lives but they still have them. But by effecting so many people's lives has he made a bigger impact against society? Isn't that what the judicial system is for, to protect society? I really don't have the answer. How about you?

Fingerprint Friday: I Am Not an Only

2009-06-26T00:16:00.000-07:00

I am blessed by having some wonderful friends but, even in the midst of that love you can still feel alone. I'm not the girliest girl and I don't always express emotions the way others think I should. So some assume that I don't have emotions or get frustrated with me. I was reminded by a good friend (thanks Katie) that I am not an only. I never thought I was alone because God is always with me but I felt like I was the only. The only person who responds to challenge this way. The only who can be mournful of a situation at home but completely ok with it out because I feel I must be. The only one who feels that to dwell in sadness is the mistake, but it isn't a denial of the problems or issues just becaue I can funtion happily. I forgot that the Lord has blessed me with some friends who not only accept supressed, uptight me but also are like me. It is very comforting in the chaos we are going through right now. It is great to see yet another Fingerprint of God when we need it so much!

Me and my babbling self are off to bed. Go check out some other fingerprints at Pampering Beki.

Quite a Day for the Stars

2009-06-25T15:30:00.000-07:00

Today both Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson have died. I have to say it is very shocking and my prayers go out to their families. But, does that mean all that will be on tv for the next couple weeks is Charlies Angels and the Jackson Family mini-series?

New Torchwood

2009-06-24T14:28:00.000-07:00

For those of you who haven't heard of Torchwood, it is a spin off of Doctor Who that is shown on BBC America. I do have to put in the caveat that this is built around a character named Captain Jack Harkness, who is not family friendly. This is not appropriate for children. This is definitely racier than Doctor Who.

Starting Monday July 20th there will be a 5 night miniseries called Torchwood: Children of Earth. So set the Tivo's to record!

Unnecessary (muppet) roughness

2009-06-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

I'm not usually surprised by the gratuitous sex and violence I see on TV. Ads for The Cougar during Green Acres, chat lines during Star Trek, and ED pills on almost anything are amoung those I have to vigilanly skip if I want to watch TV with my kids. But how can I explain this to my kids:

HT TV Squad

Real Life

2009-06-19T21:19:00.000-07:00

One of the arguements that I hear often is that homeschooling doesn't prepare your kids for "real life" because they are isolated. I always disagree. I think that being around real people, volunteering and apprenticing lead to a good picture of real life. We now have proof that the education system doesn't care about real life.

There is a person who has been given advanced medical training in the military. But now that she wants her degree, the school won't recognize the training or the experience. So maybe it is the ivory tower that shields your kids from "real life"?

Fingerprint Friday: My Girls

2009-06-18T22:03:00.001-07:00

My Girls. They just had birthdays last week, yes both of them. NerdPie turned 6 and NerdPud turned 2. I started thinking about having girls. See, I always wanted 4 kids but I thought it would be safer to have 4 boys. I mean I am a tomboy (still) and well, moms and daughters. Need I really say more? My mom did quite a job on me and I was petrified how I would screw up my girls. My mom and I always had this weird co-dependent relationship where she defined all I was and all I was worth. I remember when I was pregnant with NerdPie going to the Women's Retreat. Donna Partow was talking about the difference between first and second generation Christians and just over all being a Christian woman. I had a good cry but then this piece came over me about having my first girl.
Then NerdPie was born. Both my girls have been absolutely beautiful since birth. They both have joy but NerdPie has always had this lightness and joy about her. My first stepfather (mom's 2nd husband) has always said how much she reminds him of me when I was little. Well, that really hit me one day.

See by the time I was 6 I was on my 3rd dad and he wasn't all that keen on me. I didn't grow up knowing my birth father and by the time I was in 3rd grade my first stepfather was out of my life. So I always wondered what was wrong with me that not one of my fathers either loved me or loved me enough to be around. Add to that my mother has choosen to be out of my life since I have become an adult. I always have had this cloud weigh over me wondering how bad of a person I must be that my own mother doesn't even love/like me. I figured I walked out of my childhood, teen years and even college without parental love because that must be my punishment becuase I was bad and not worthy of love. Logically I knew that the chaos in my life wasn't all about me but that didn't heal my heart. I knew God loved me but I didn't emotionally understand why or how other than because He said. And that God keeps His end of the bargain. So I felt loved by God as almost an obligation.

So one day when she was probably 2(ish) I was looking at my sweet NerdPie dancing around a room. I saw all her innocence and beauty. What I saw most was her joy. A carefree joy I don't ever remember having. I saw her giggling and reaching for me. And it hit me. God (in my heart) asked what she could do to make me turn my back and heart on her. Of course we say no but then I really thought about it. Is there anything she could ever do that would make me turn away? How about when she is an adult and crying for me? Could I walk away? My answer was of course no, never. So what ever has gone on in these other adults that enable them to walk away from me couldn't have had anything to do with that joyful little girl that I was. Then God took it a step further, that is how He still sees me. As a sweet child who is headstrong at times but His, so of course He loves me. No matter how I stomp my foot at Him or no matter how many times He has to discipline me.

And my girls? They have given me a huge piece of myself that I lost so young due to life. The joy to dance, the joy to both want to paint my toenails and dig my toes in the dirt. They also have given me a value. The value of how God sees me, a child who is loved. A child who was treated poorly but didn't deserve it.

A footnote: My first stepfather and I reunited after my first child was born. He had been kicked out of my life when I was a kid but now we have a relationship of sorts. When NerdPie was about 6 months old my birth father found me. And then right before NerdPud's birth we finally saw each other for the first time since I was 2. We now talk once every week or 2 and are well on our way to a pretty decent relationship. My mother still doesn't want into my life because I bring her to much pain. Only time will tell what God will choose to do in that relationship. But my heart still misses her but I don't need her in order to feel whole. God meets that need.

Go over to Pampering Beki to see some more Fingerprints.

Aloha Friday

2009-06-18T21:38:00.000-07:00

So here is my Aloha Friday question.

Do you make Father's Day dinner or take dad out to a resturant?

So Who Do the Unions Work For?

2009-06-18T21:01:00.000-07:00

We know that the teacher's unions don't work for the parents. We also know they don't work for the students. That is perfectly illustrated by the teacher who got her job back after getting her class to vote a boy out who has Asperger's.

But now it appears that they don't work for the teachers either. The teacher's union in Detroit is trying to get 70 teacher's fired because they didn't pay their dues. I just it just confirms what some of us already knew. The teachers unions are entities that only work to dupport the union itself. It is evidenced by their politics and now this.

Homeschool Posts

2009-06-17T21:32:00.000-07:00

Here is a collection of my posts that I thought would be helpful for those who are interested in homeschooling. You can also go over to my NerdFamily Things blog and click on any of the keywords that seem relevant (such as math, literature, etc).

How to Start Homeschooling in California

Education Styles

Curriculum Choices

First Grade WTM Materials

Wordless Wednesday: First Comic

2009-06-16T22:23:00.000-07:00

It probably isn't surprising that NerdPie got her first good comic book for her birthday!

See I Teach My Kids History!

2009-06-15T21:49:00.000-07:00

Thomas Edison-the first extreme athlete!!!

Don't Stop

2009-06-10T10:35:00.000-07:00

NerdMom and I have head this song performed a few times lately (on Glee, the Tony awards show, and I think Don't Forget the Lyrics) and the quality has varied from "OK" to "Why?". Especially confusing is why it's now considered a duet. If you had Karen Carpenter and Joe Cocker on their best days, you still couldn't compete with Steve Perry singing a Journey power ballad. But that won't stop anyone, as the good folks at College Humor demonstrate.

Flash Mob Show Promotions?

2009-06-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

This is stunt to promote the new MC Hammer show on A&E. I want to know where that store is so that I won't go there;). Though the old guy with the headband is familiar from the dance show TLC tried to do. This just didn't have the same wow effect as the train station in Europe.

Cool Guys and Explosions

2009-06-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

I think that is really JJ Abrams. But not Neil Diamond;). What a good sport he is.

Royal Pains

2009-06-07T22:40:00.000-07:00

If Michael Westin likes him, why wouldn't we;)?

Magic Marker Monday

2009-06-07T21:12:00.001-07:00

My 3 older geniuses made these cute pictures this week. The fun part is looking at the progression as you go up the age tree. The blue one is the Nerdlings (almost 4). It is sparse with just a few foamies. The bottom right one is NerdPie's (almost 6) and she was making a jungle. Then the top one is the NerdBug's (almost 8). He actually made a full picture. It is interesting to watch.

Now go see some more masterpieces!

It's All About the Info

2009-06-07T12:00:00.000-07:00

Awesome isn't it? CraftyHedgeHog over at Etsy made this (sold out right now) and they also have a fetal pig. It gives me a great idea. As a homeschooler I am always looking for new ways of learning. Who says you have to actually dissect an animal? I know of many moms who don't want to do it for a variety of reasons but worry. This is a rite of passage. Can you have a good grasp on biology without doing a dissection? Well, I don't know. Couldn't you do an awesome 3-D model like this? Since it is all about learning the information, you imagination would be the limit.

I really think this translates to all areas of learning. There is no end all thing you have to do. It's all about the info!

Independence Day with a Bang?

2009-06-06T21:43:00.000-07:00

I understand that the 4th of July is to celebrate all our rights but I have never heard about bringing your gun to church to celebrate. Apparently this is what 1 pastor inviting his parishioners to do for the June 27th service. Now you aren't allowed to bring them loaded (and there will private security to check) but there will be lots of festivities including a gun raffle. I find this really interesting, not disturbing but a little odd. I am curious if this give my pastor any ideas. I mean we do have a gun club at our church (well, they go somewhere else to shoot;). What do you think? Pastor?

(HT: Jim Boren)