tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-134559382009-12-10T16:35:19.346-10:00NoSurfGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466860937596192472nosurfgirl@gmail.comBlogger453125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13455938.post-1218496066193238842009-12-10T10:50:00.001-10:002009-12-10T10:50:54.002-10:002009-12-10T10:50:54.002-10:00

Loli has had a mysterious fever these past several days. It actually gets quite high, about 104 sometimes. The odd thing is, she has NO SYMPTOMS. Literally, NONE. She's just as bouncy and lively all day and her fever is about 101. At night it spikes to around 103-104 and then she starts acting tired and sluggish. None of my other kids have anything! I give her tylenol at night, and I've

NoSurfGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466860937596192472nosurfgirl@gmail.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13455938.post-89870168830289948122009-12-10T07:20:00.007-10:002009-12-10T08:00:49.878-10:002009-12-10T08:00:49.878-10:00

May: "Gloon." (Glue)"No Weird Me!" (don't call me weird! Usually to loli)"Mama! Ethiopia, Me, and Woinshet, me sparkles! Coat, blanket, backpack, face, sparkles! And green makeup, and Jaws Green makeup, and Loli green makeup, and Mama and Daddy all buzzo bananas!!!) (Ethiopia has now become a fairtyale place in all our memories)One thing about May is that she is really, really cute

NoSurfGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466860937596192472nosurfgirl@gmail.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13455938.post-39645119287230104322009-12-05T09:36:00.003-10:002009-12-05T09:41:53.261-10:002009-12-05T09:41:53.261-10:00

What do you like best about the Christmas Season?

NoSurfGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466860937596192472nosurfgirl@gmail.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13455938.post-50689712992564456402009-12-03T08:04:00.008-10:002009-12-03T09:30:43.125-10:002009-12-03T09:30:43.125-10:00

My 5-year-old throws a fit at the store parking lot because I won't give her something she wants. She refuses to come with us, standing and yelling outside the store, watching us move away from her. I ignore her, traversing the parking lot (not too far from the entrance) looking for the car. Just about the time I find it, she runs toward me to join the other kids, still yelling at the top of

NoSurfGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466860937596192472nosurfgirl@gmail.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13455938.post-2439229224582122552009-12-01T15:15:00.007-10:002009-12-02T07:04:40.680-10:002009-12-02T07:04:40.680-10:00

From this website. "Republic. That form of government in which the powers of sovereignty are vested in the people and are exercised by the people, either directly, or through representatives chosen by the people, to whome those powers are specially delegated. "Democracy. That form of government in which the sovereign power resides in and is exercised by the whole body of free citizens directly or

NoSurfGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466860937596192472nosurfgirl@gmail.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13455938.post-50574846372498455322009-11-30T18:43:00.006-10:002009-11-30T18:55:46.315-10:002009-11-30T18:55:46.315-10:00

So the other part of my China epiphany was this: China has more than a billion uninsured people.What makes us think we're so important that we can sell China our bad debt, take their money, and use it to insure our current 30 million that are not covered by healthcare? What makes us so much better than them? hmmm?So this is my new political stance: It is not moral for us to be in debt as a

NoSurfGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466860937596192472nosurfgirl@gmail.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13455938.post-20875936872804053212009-11-28T07:37:00.003-10:002009-11-28T07:42:00.473-10:002009-11-28T07:42:00.473-10:00

NoSurfGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466860937596192472nosurfgirl@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13455938.post-71997327453385968852009-11-25T10:53:00.002-10:002009-11-25T10:56:36.923-10:002009-11-25T10:56:36.923-10:00

NoSurfGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466860937596192472nosurfgirl@gmail.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13455938.post-7349355129159110052009-11-23T09:13:00.024-10:002009-11-23T10:08:17.538-10:002009-11-23T10:08:17.538-10:00

I'm not going to post the latest SNL Obama skit because it has a few very crude references in it, and my Mom and Grandma read this blog. Heck, someday my kids will read it. SIGH, because it was very politically interesting, that skit. It was about how much money we owe China. Here's how the situation is: China owns a large amount of our US treasury bonds. Those are the things we create when

NoSurfGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466860937596192472nosurfgirl@gmail.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13455938.post-46541327822074977872009-11-19T11:33:00.010-10:002009-11-19T12:05:17.830-10:002009-11-19T12:05:17.830-10:00

Geoffrey Nunberg's response.OK guys, now you're just trying to find things to fight about. The word Shall? Come on. There are far worse things to worry about in this particular piece of legislation. For instance, I've always found the word, "it," to be offensively neuter in implication. The health care bill has the word, "it", several thousand times. In fact, a lot of these

NoSurfGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466860937596192472nosurfgirl@gmail.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13455938.post-41465020394296127222009-11-14T18:53:00.002-10:002009-11-14T18:57:32.943-10:002009-11-14T18:57:32.943-10:00

Rent this movie, if you haven't already seen it.

NoSurfGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466860937596192472nosurfgirl@gmail.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13455938.post-47704870428249889842009-11-11T07:09:00.011-10:002009-11-11T07:35:13.779-10:002009-11-11T07:35:13.779-10:00

Halloween. The kids are all kinda squished together but you can see Loli was Cinderella, Winna was Princess Aurora (hard to pronounce with an Amharic accent!), Jaws was Tinkerbell and May was Snow White. They've gone a little princess crazy since... May can now tell you the entire plot of Snow White... in English.We've had a MOUSE problem lately. Something about this winter... lots of mouse

NoSurfGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466860937596192472nosurfgirl@gmail.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13455938.post-18057673332594441652009-11-06T09:06:00.003-10:002009-11-06T09:22:13.294-10:002009-11-06T09:22:13.294-10:00

So as the mom (suddenly) of lots of kids close in age, I have learned (painfully) a few things.1) The dull roar just is. I remember when I was a teen, constantly listening to angsty rock music... if I could stand the noise then, I can stand it now. And I have to.2) Kids have this little heirarchy-- The role of Oldest, Best at ______, Fastest at _______, etc etc etc. Everyone wants to Be the

NoSurfGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466860937596192472nosurfgirl@gmail.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13455938.post-15609251830610737952009-11-05T14:34:00.003-10:002009-11-05T14:37:11.944-10:002009-11-05T14:37:11.944-10:00

I'm looking around for a song to perform for my studio's Christmas recital. Often I listen to youtubes of my favorite singers performing the songs I'm considering, to decide which I like best and which might suit my own voice best if I tried it. I came across this.I think this might be what angels sound like... to me, it's definitely the essence of what Christmas sounds like. It's my favorite

NoSurfGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466860937596192472nosurfgirl@gmail.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13455938.post-76563901218836734582009-11-05T05:45:00.009-10:002009-11-05T07:40:29.233-10:002009-11-05T07:40:29.233-10:00

Facebook is making me politically cranky these days. Everyone is stirred up right now. Face to face, I talk about politics to those I know like to talk about politics with-- people who listen and respond and who I can have a real coversation with. Facebook,though, is something where you get this crazy mosaic amalgam of everyone's thoughts, article postings, society joinings and whatall. And

NoSurfGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466860937596192472nosurfgirl@gmail.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13455938.post-73858943883008240232009-11-01T16:25:00.015-10:002009-11-01T17:12:05.240-10:002009-11-01T17:12:05.240-10:00

Oddness. This week has been just plain disrupted. In addition to Skywalker needing some time home to recoup from Second-Wave-H1N1 (he was overdoing it at work, and the cough came BACK!! Another tip to add to my previous post) We've had three (almost) Halloweens... A ward party, a voice-class party, and trick or treating. This has been suuuuch a buildup in anticipation for my kids. Crazy.

NoSurfGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466860937596192472nosurfgirl@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13455938.post-64037099635855854642009-10-28T09:11:00.002-10:002009-10-28T09:25:04.747-10:002009-10-28T09:25:04.747-10:00

We all came down with a "flu-like illness" a couple of weeks ago. I missed a Sunday of church and had a fever for about four days and a horrible chest cough for a few days after, but I think my biggest anguish was mental. Guys, don't google swine flu. They have all sorts of scary, wonderful statistics that will drive you mad with worry. I seriously wondered to myself if I were to not survive,

NoSurfGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466860937596192472nosurfgirl@gmail.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13455938.post-1826250109269716192009-10-21T06:07:00.007-10:002009-10-21T10:44:22.386-10:002009-10-21T10:44:22.386-10:00

These took me (combined for both sets) probably about 16 hrs total to do. That's right.Winna, before and after.May, before and after. I didn't follow thru and take a pic of her hair in the bath like I'd planned, so I'm cheating and using an old one that shows the texture/length of her hair with no messing. BUT they will last (if we take care of them...) for around 8 weeks! I'll have to replace

NoSurfGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466860937596192472nosurfgirl@gmail.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13455938.post-15333375207283102482009-10-17T10:31:00.001-10:002009-10-17T10:32:13.025-10:002009-10-17T10:32:13.025-10:00

Gorgeous song, Gorgeous fiddling, Gorgeous soprano. How much better does it get?

NoSurfGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466860937596192472nosurfgirl@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13455938.post-52584627354976380192009-10-17T10:16:00.004-10:002009-10-17T20:03:13.029-10:002009-10-17T20:03:13.029-10:00

I Love Opera, Love Placido, and love this song, and love broadway in general... anyway, I bet there aren't a WHOLE lot of people who find this sort of bizarre crossover as amazing as I do, but I love it. So I posted it. So there.Ya might wanna watch it with your eyes closed. The visual isn't quite as appealing, I must admit... in my head I picture Natalie Wood from the movie and so seeing this

NoSurfGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466860937596192472nosurfgirl@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13455938.post-7659614225264577702009-10-14T07:15:00.005-10:002009-10-14T07:24:43.096-10:002009-10-14T07:24:43.096-10:00

Skywalker and I have spent years planning on these events that have lately changed our family so drastically. And as all the fallout begins to clear away and the stress and emotional work begins to lessen somewhat, I am left with a clear vision of my five, gorgeous, smart, loving,absolutely hilarious kids. I look at my family and feel really blessed.I was just diagnosed with Giardia. It's

NoSurfGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466860937596192472nosurfgirl@gmail.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13455938.post-61702895218686267342009-10-08T06:31:00.007-10:002009-10-08T06:54:35.089-10:002009-10-08T06:54:35.089-10:00

UPDATE:They're doing even better now! Meaza loves to play and be away from mom a lot, but she comes back for hugs sometimes. Woinshet is learning that "no means no", and is learning about not taking toys from others. She's learning about sharing, too. THey're both doing great, loving each other and everyone else in the family, the kids love playing and get really crazy!!! And love each OTHER

NoSurfGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466860937596192472nosurfgirl@gmail.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13455938.post-61838549442858484732009-10-06T09:02:00.006-10:002009-10-06T10:21:31.822-10:002009-10-06T10:21:31.822-10:00

It is so weird when you look at your hit counter and see which posts are the most popular. It's completely nonsensical to me. For a long time my number one hit has been my Vegan Broccoli-Cheese Soup recipe. Following closely behind, is my post on Fun and Interesting Facts about Ethiopia. Next up is search term like Funny Stories About Fear or Extremely Funny Stories, which leads everyone to

NoSurfGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466860937596192472nosurfgirl@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13455938.post-80172602729295752472009-10-02T16:27:00.002-10:002009-10-02T16:28:29.735-10:002009-10-02T16:28:29.735-10:00

Sometimes I think that B. Obama and I have a lot of similar feelings about the world. One of the moments that has really made me feel that way, was when he was asked who he would choose to have dinner with if he could choose anyone in the world, dead or alive. President Obama said he would choose Mahatma Ghandi.I think I might have chosen Jesus Christ first. But someday hopefully I'll see him

NoSurfGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466860937596192472nosurfgirl@gmail.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13455938.post-80229168715249056702009-10-01T13:52:00.004-10:002009-10-01T14:00:55.057-10:002009-10-01T14:00:55.057-10:00

Even though I'm a health-conscious mom, trying not to feed my kids too many MSG-laden products or nutritionally blank products or starchy carbs all at once; even though I try to make getting as many veggies down tiny throats my focus a lot of the time, I sometimes need that easy-cheesy, cheap, filling, always-a-winner recipe. Usually these kinds of things involve meat, as I've learnt to my

NoSurfGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466860937596192472nosurfgirl@gmail.com4