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December 31, 2005
Seeing Red
We did our grocery shopping yesterday and right away, I noticed that Valentines Day had already taken the Christmas isle over:
These changes occur quickly. So quickly in fact, that we don’t have enough time to savor the holiday that has just past. In the case of Halloween, we don’t even get to fully enjoy it because they bring out the Christmas stuff at the same time. Remember THESE pictures?
When we left the store, the sky looked like this:
I found it beautiful on such a nasty day.
Posted by tami at 10:43 AM Comments (2)
December 30, 2005
My Version of Fun
I have accomplished my goal during these two weeks off. I have completed one book each week.
The first week I read Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt written by Anne Rice. Last night, I finished The Regime: Evil Advances written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins.
I feel as if I am just being wound up! I want to read more, but there are only four more days until I have to return to work and there are other things to do. The kids want to play some games with the whole family and I got a cool puzzle that looks challenging.
Most people would be bored at my house, but I love it. This is one of our versions of fun:
If you look closely, you can see Ashley reading in the background. Then there is Kevin reading, and lastly you see my book. I love quiet times like these.
Posted by tami at 10:44 AM Comments (6)
December 29, 2005
Ready For Kids?
I received this via email. I have no idea who wrote it, however it is brilliant!
How to tell whether you are ready to have kids
Mess Test
Smear peanut butter on the sofa and curtains. Place a fish stick behind the couch and leave it there all summer.
Toy Test
Obtain a 55 gallon box of Legos (you may substitute roofing tacks if you wish). Have a friend spread them all over the house. Put on a blindfold and take off shoes. Try to walk to the bathroom or kitchen. Do not scream because this would wake a child at night.
Grocery Store Test
Borrow one or two small animals (goats are best) and take them with you as you shop. Always keep them in sight and pay for anything they eat or damage.
Dressing Test
Obtain one large, unhappy, live octopus. Stuff into a small net bag making sure that all the arms stay inside.
Feeding Test
Obtain a large plastic milk jug. Fill halfway with water. Suspend from the ceiling with a cord. Start the jug swinging. Try to insert spoonfuls of soggy cereal into the mouth of the jug, while pretending to be an airplane. Now dump the contents of the jug on the floor.
Night Test
Prepare by obtaining a small cloth bag and fill it with 8-12 pounds of sand. Soak it thoroughly in water. At 3:00pm, begin to waltz and hum with the bag until 9:00pm. Lay down your bag and set your alarm for 10:00pm. Get up, pick up your bag, and sing every song you have ever heard. Make up about a dozen more and sing these too until 4:00am. Set alarm for 5:00am. Get up and make breakfast. Keep this up for 5 years. Look cheerful.
Ingenuity Test
Take an egg carton. Using a pair of scissors and pot of paint, turn it into an alligator. Now take a toilet paper tube and turn it into an attractive Christmas candle. Use only Scotch tape and a piece of foil. Last, take a milk carton, a ping-pong ball, and an empty box of Cocoa Puffs. Make an exact replica of the Eiffel Tower.
Automobile Test
Forget the BMW and buy a station wagon. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment. Leave it there. Get a dime. Stick it into the CD player. Take a family-size package of chocolate chip cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Run a rake along both side of the car. There, perfect!
Physical Test (Women)
Obtain a large bean bag chair and attach it to the front of your clothes. Leave it there for 9 months. Then remove the beans. And try not to notice your closet full of clothes. You won't be wearing them for a while.
Physical Test (Men)
Go to the nearest drug store. Set your wallet on the counter. Ask the clerk to help himself. Now proceed to the nearest food store. Go to the head office and arrange for your paycheck to be directly deposited to the store. Purchase a newspaper. Go home and read it quietly for the last time.
Final Assignment
Find a couple who already has a small child. Lecture them on how they can improve their discipline, patience, tolerance, and toilet training and child's table manners. Suggest many ways they can improve. Emphasize to them that they should never allow their children to run wild. Enjoy this experience. It will be the last time you will have all the answers.
Posted by tami at 11:55 AM Comments (1)
December 28, 2005
Rools
I received the following via email and had to post it for Liz:
Rools for Righters (Rules for Writers)
Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects.
Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
Avoid clichés like the plague. (They're old hat.)
Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
Be more or less specific.
Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
No sentence fragments.
Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used.
Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.
One should NEVER generalize.
Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
Don't use no double negatives.
Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
One-word sentences? Eliminate.
Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
The passive voice is to be ignored.
Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas.
Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.
Kill all exclamation points!!!
Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth-shaking ideas.
Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed.
Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations.
Tell me what you know."
If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: Resist hyperbole. Not one writer in a million can use it correctly.
Puns are for children, not groan readers.
Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
Who needs rhetorical questions?
Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.
Posted by tami at 12:08 PM Comments (2)
December 27, 2005
Going Mad
I don’t know what has gotten in to me. I have plenty of wrapping paper. I have enough Christmas wrapping paper to last me for years. So why in the world did I go to Wal-Mart and buy 15 more rolls?
They were 50% off, but I didn’t need them.
I also bought some of these even though I didn’t need them either:
I must be mad.
Posted by tami at 3:34 PM Comments (1)
December 26, 2005
New
The Christmas Eve Photo Gallery is ready for viewing. This gallery has two pages.
Also ready is the Christmas Day Gallery. This one has three pages.
As always, you can click to enlarge.
Posted by tami at 12:31 PM Comments (0)
December 25, 2005
Christmas Card Pics
Merry Christmas from:
Church the Cat …
And
Guido Da Pug …
Posted by tami at 9:22 AM Comments (2)
December 24, 2005
Eve
The kids opened their presents and stocking stuffers from Kevin and me tonight. They don’t “believe” if you get my drift and they never have, so they have always opened their gifts from us on Christmas Eve. Christmas day is reserved for gifts from Nene and Papaw.
My parents were gracious to let us use their house tonight for the festivities. Since they have a dining room, this made things much easier for us. All we had to do was bring the food.
I plan to make a photo gallery when I have the time, but for now, here is a picture of the food we had tonight.
Posted by tami at 10:13 PM Comments (1)
December 23, 2005
Tins
It’s amazing what time off from work can do for a person. I was actually able to start a book, read it, and finish it before the weekend. Wow! I think I’ll even read another one before it’s time to return. After all, I won’t get another break until spring.
******
I enjoy tins whether they are big, small, or oddly shaped – I take pleasure in having them. The problem is that I have no extra space and they DO take up lots of space.
I have given many, many pretty tins away filled with goodies. I never expect their return either: the tin is part of the gift.
Below are some tins that I have managed to hold onto:
For me, nothing can be quite as enjoyable as sitting in the dark starring at the Christmas tree. The colorful lights make me happy and give me a cozy feeling. That may sound corny to some, but it’s the truth.
By the way, we watched Home Alone last night and it was just as funny as ever. You won’t want to skip it this Christmas.
Posted by tami at 9:15 AM Comments (1)
December 22, 2005
Advent & Door
Not much has been going on these past few days. Yesterday we did get the last of the presents bought and wrapped, but I still need a few more stocking stuffers, which I will pick up today. I’m kind of sad that I don’t have anything left to wrap. I do love wrapping presents.
Since I have no news, I will share a few pictures.
This is our advent calendar that we bought a few years back. The kids actually argue over who gets to put up which piece. This year, they are doing odds and evens.
Here is the front door where I put up all of our Christmas cards. I love getting Christmas cards in the mail!
Posted by tami at 9:22 AM Comments (0)
December 21, 2005
Not Too Bad
I forgot to tell you about something that happened Friday night.
Kevin, Ashley, and I went to a coworker’s house for a Christmas party. As Kevin was talking to one of the girls, she asked how long we have been together.
Kevin suddenly looked over at me and asked, “What’s the date today?”
I had to think. “The 16th, I think.” I replied.
He stared at me and kept staring. I had no idea why. Then he said, “Do you know what date our anniversary is on?”
“The 14th!” I said. “Oh, no! We forgot again!”
Yes, it is sad. We have forgotten our anniversary in years past and not remembered until January. At least this year it was only two days late.
Girls, don’t feel bad for me. Kevin and I are like this. We get whatever we want all year long, so we never exchange gifts. He forgot and I forgot. We find it somewhat funny.
Posted by tami at 9:42 AM Comments (0)
December 20, 2005
Funny Photos
Thanks goes to Gardenwife for sending me the link to the SCARED OF SANTA GALLERY. I would highly recommend clicking through these very funny photos.
Posted by tami at 7:37 PM Comments (0)
Music
Here is my collection of Christmas music:
I’ve actually acquired a new Christmas CD since that picture was taken. It’s called Christmas Party with Eddie G. For traditional Christmas music, Bing Crosby can’t be beat, but this CD is non-traditional music and it is awesome.
Click HERE and listen to songs #2, 6, 9, 21, and 24. They are all great, but those in particular are my favorites, especially #24 with George Jones and Tammy Wynette.
Posted by tami at 9:32 AM Comments (0)
December 18, 2005
Houses & Bells
I have been meaning to blog for several days, but you know how that goes. Besides being busy, it seems that the family computer has become more popular in recent days. That could be because of the addition of several new games. Anyhow, it makes it more difficult for me to blog.
Friday was the last day of school for us all. We had a party day where we did many different activities.
We made gingerbread houses out of milk cartons:
We played “pin the nose on Rudolph”:
We danced and sang songs, wore jingle bells around our necks and antlers on our heads. The kids ate cupcakes and cookies and drank juice. The cafeteria served Christmas dinner, but what kid wants to eat broccoli casserole when they’ve licked sweet icing from their gingerbread house? It was chaotic, but it went fast.
Yesterday, Kevin and I rang the bell at Wal-Mart for The Salvation Army. After a while, our friend, Shannon joined us. We had all signed up to help weeks before at church.
Here is a great picture of Kevin and Shannon:
Posted by tami at 8:40 AM Comments (1)
December 15, 2005
The Others
Earlier I showed you a picture of only part of my Christmas book collection. I’m just realizing that it actually IS a collection. Anyway, I promised to share the others with you, so here they are:
Most of these are books that are more adult:
The only ones that aren’t pictured are the caroling books.
My whole family only has one more day to go before we are all off for two whole weeks! I can hardly wait!!
Posted by tami at 4:49 PM Comments (0)
December 12, 2005
Fun Things
I taught the class again today. This time I was able to meet a new substitute. She was very intelligent; however, what impressed me the most was her artistic abilities.
I told her that I wanted to cut Christmas tress out of green construction paper. She immediately cut the perfect tree. Then I told her that I wanted to cut circles out of all different colors of construction paper to use as ornaments. After all, I’ve always used plain old circles. She said, “Oh, well, I’ll make real ornaments.” I really didn’t understand what she meant until I saw her ornaments.
They looked like dye cuts. They were absolutely amazing in every way. She made elves, houses, fireplaces (with fire), balls, candy, bows, birds, candles, sleighs, angels, trains, stars, and much more! I was blown away with her talent. She took the paper and scissors – and wham-o she made something beautiful! What a gift!
Look and you will feel the same I’m sure:
Here is our Christmas tree complete with candy canes, white lights, gingerbread men, and strung Froot Loops.
Don’t ever let anyone tell you that stringing Froot Loops is quick and easy. It took a very long time for the kids and adults to do this, but the result is very pretty.
The construction paper tree we made today was my idea. Here are a few other things that I came up with that turned out great:
We colored the picture and then glued cotton balls to the snowman. We used real buttons for the eyes and chest.
This next one was simple. We colored the picture of the ornament and then printed each child’s name in glue. They then sprinkled glitter over the glue and that was it!
We’ve been studying the letter ‘M’, so I brought in miniature colored marshmallows and we glued them to a big letter ‘M’.
‘M’ is for marshmallow:
Well, besides teaching a little, that is what I have contributed to the classroom. I hope the ideas keep coming. I’m sure things will be blah after Christmas so we will need more fun things to do!
Posted by tami at 4:40 PM Comments (1)
December 11, 2005
Mix
Every year we make our own Chex Mix. I like our version much better than the store bought. I think it’s because ours is spicier.
Here are the ingredients:
This is the finished product:
Posted by tami at 3:44 PM Comments (0)
December 10, 2005
Colorful
We did some much needed shopping for Ashley today. Check out her new leggings:
Posted by tami at 6:50 PM Comments (1)
December 8, 2005
A Walk Down Memory Lane
I wanted to post all week, but I was too tired. Monday and Tuesday, I actually taught the class. I was in charge of everyone and everything. I went through all the processes including the Montessori lessons and the crafts for the day. I had to “come up with something for them to do” the night before. I don’t think I slept much at all Sunday or Monday night. I was thinking too hard about what would be happening the following day; what I might or might not forget to do and so on. I guess if I had to teach every day I would get used to it, but boy, those two days were stressful!
Things went perfectly, by the way. The other assistants told me that I did a great job as did the substitute teachers. I was blessed. This experience has made me more confident in myself and my abilities.
So far, this whole experience in working has been surreal. I am back where I started. I am back in my old elementary school – the elementary school that I loved. Every day when I go in, memories of the past flood my mind. The rooms have changed: the library is now the music room and the music room is now the family resource room. When I was there, there was no “family resource”. Several years ago, they built a new library. I haven’t had the chance to visit it yet, but I’m sure it’s very nice.
Just visiting the bathroom last week brought back memories. It may sound silly, but my thoughts were, “Gosh, I was actually here in this same place when I was a little girl.” I had the same thoughts today as I ran my hand over the old wood boards on the stage – they were the same boards that supported my class as we sang about Tall Tales and Heroes for a school choral concert. The posters in the music room are the same posters that were there when I was little.
Everything looks smaller though. I walked down the lunch line one afternoon after the kids had left and couldn’t believe how short a distance it was. The cafeteria seemed enormous back then.
The first day I was in the building, I found out that the principal’s office had moved across the hall. Where my old principle’s office used to be is now the teacher’s workroom. I asked where the restroom was and was told it was in the workroom. As I was washing my hands, a smile came to my face as a new thought came to mind. “This is where Mr. Wells (my old principal) used the potty!”
Yep. I’m strange.
Posted by tami at 4:04 PM Comments (1)
December 4, 2005
#1
This weekend has been so hectic we havent had time for anything soothing at all. Maybe next weekend we will get to relax and watch something Christmassy.
I bought many ingredients for different things to make yummy things. I had good intentions, but things didnt work out.
I would still like to get started on my Christmas cards though. If youre interested in exchanging cards, send me an email. My contact info is on the side bar.
Here is pic #1 of some of my Christmas books. You have two more pics to look forward to as I have many books and I couldnt fit them all in at one time.
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Posted by tami at 7:08 PM Comments (2)
December 3, 2005
Elvis Has Entered The Building
My sister brought home a new addition to her family Thursday night. Let me introduce Elvis, the Basset Hound:
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Check out the expanse of his ears:
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In this shot, you can see his enormous paws:
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While Im on the subject of pups, look at what my thoughtful son gave me last night:
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Right now, I have it stuck to the refrigerator. I would love to put it on the car (that is its intended purpose) however, I am terrified that someone will steal it. Kevin commented that we could super glue it to the car, but I dont think so!
Posted by tami at 12:16 PM Comments (2)
December 2, 2005
Red & Blue
I know that I do not need any more ornaments, however, there are some that only come along once and you have to grab them while you can. This is one of those ornaments:
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It reminded me of my favorite computer game of all time: American McGees: Alice, so I had to have it.
And, since I bought it in red, I naturally had to have it in blue too!
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I found these lovely items at Home Goods. To me, this store is up there with Kirklands (my favorite store). They have lots of unique ornaments and gifts.
Posted by tami at 6:51 PM Comments (2)