*UPDATED* What kind of English do you speak?

I found this link on another blog and thought it looked like an interesting test. I am absolutely horrified to find that I scored 5% Yankee. Must be freshman year of college in New Hampshire that did it to me, although I think I rubbed off more on them than vice versa. My best pal from Rhode Island was saying "y'all" like a true Southerner by the time I left. What's your score?

Your Linguistic Profile:

60% General American English

30% Dixie

5% Yankee

0% Midwestern

0% Upper Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

*Update* - I just saw this one: Are You a Yankee or a Rebel? I am quite please to say that I am 84% Dixie (what happened to that other 16%?).

The Pursuit of Happiness

I subscribe to the daily Breakpoint Commentaries from Prison Fellowship. They usually deal with relevant social issues, anything from politics to the latest blockbuster movie. This is one that I found especially interesting, enough so that I saved it. I was thinking of it again today and wanted to share:

September 30, 2003
No. 030930

First Things First
The Pursuit of Happiness

Psychology professor Daniel Gilbert is working on one of the most fascinating projects I've heard about in a long time: He's studying happiness -- scientifically.

Specifically, Gilbert and his associates are doing research on what they call "affective forecasting." That is, they're trying to find out how we predict what will make us happy, and whether our predictions are accurate. Their research has led them to believe that we often don't know what we want -- even when we think we do.

Reporter Jon Gertner writes in the New York Times Magazine, "What Gilbert has found . . . is that we overestimate the intensity and the duration of our emotional reactions -- our 'affect' -- to future events. In other words, we might believe that a new BMW will make life perfect. But it will almost certainly be less exciting than we anticipated; nor will it excite us for as long as we predicted."

On the other hand, bad things don't always hurt us as much as we fear they will; we have a remarkable ability to adapt even to the worst circumstances. Gilbert's associate George Loewenstein told the Times, "In the same way that our eye adapts to different levels of illumination, we're designed to . . . go back to the happiness set point. Our brains are not trying to be happy. Our brains are trying to regulate us."

What all of this means, the researchers say, is that human beings tend to make bad decisions because they're wrong about what will or will not make them happy. Now, Gertner's point about the BMW is fairly obvious, even if you've never blown too much money on a fancy car -- it's easy to see that materialism has never made anyone truly happy. But it's a little sobering to realize just how many of our important decisions are based on wrong thinking and transitory emotions. Bad choices in all of the major areas of our lives -- education, career, marriage, and more -- can be traced back to mistaken beliefs about what will make us happy.

The truth is that spending our whole lives chasing what we want is the best way not to find happiness. Look at the way America's founding fathers used the phrase 'the pursuit of happiness.' We tend to interpret those words from the Declaration of Independence to mean that we're all entitled to do whatever we think will make us happy at any given moment -- exactly the tendency that Gilbert is warning us against.

But the founders were talking about something very different: Those words meant the freedom to make our best efforts toward living a virtuous life. They believed that this was the path toward true happiness. When we seek God's best instead of our own, we find a higher standard by which to make our decisions -- a standard that doesn't change when our feelings do.

As C. S. Lewis put it, "You can't get second things by putting them first; you can get second things only by putting first things first."

This study is the first bona fide research I know that validates what the Bible teaches. Science confirms that chasing our own personal desires is a dead end. Christians know that, and we know that "seeking first the kingdom of God" is the choice that brings true and lasting satisfaction.

---

For further reading:

Jon Gertner, "The Futile Pursuit of Happiness," New York Times Magazine, 7 September 2003. (Free registration required).

Marilyn Elias, "Psychologists now know what makes people happy," USA Today, 8 December 2002.

Nathan Long, "Water for Life," Boundless, 27 July 2000.

C. S. Lewis, God in the Dock (Eerdmans, 1994).

C. S. Lewis, The Joyful Christian (Touchstone, 1996).

BreakPoint Commentary No. 021122, "A Life Well-Lived." (Archived commentary; free registration required.)

BreakPoint Commentary No. 010704, "The Pursuit of Happiness." (Archived commentary; free registration required.)

BreakPoint Commentary No. 001116, "Hollywood and Happiness." (Archived commentary; free registration required.)

Benjamin Wiker, Moral Darwinism (InterVarsity, 2002).

© 2003 Prison Fellowship

Would you look at those thighs?

These pictures are just too cute not to share! This post is dedicated to my little "Swiffer Girl." I've been calling her that because until she learns to walk more than three steps at a time, she is like a human Swiffer Sweeper, picking up little bits of everything on our floors. Bryan thinks it's cute at the end of the day when the tops of her feet are black, but I don't! I'm not sure how much mopping could keep these floors spotless with all of the foot traffic. For now, my baby girl has mandatory nightly baths.

Don't you love the rolls on those thighs and those baby blues? She's actually starting to trim down now that she's more mobile. She also enjoys playing with the stereo, mostly turning up the volume and scaring us all to death. I love you, sweet baby! 

Is this what they teach in medical school?

I have been so worried because Felicity's cast never hardened on the bottom, which is where the broken bones are. It has always felt soft, but now it is completely worn through at the heel and very thin on the rest of the bottom, too. When I called the orthopedist, they told me to use MASKING TAPE to reinforce it. Admittedly, I was a bit relieved. The office is 40 minutes from home and the last visit cost $70. Even the pediatricians' office was a bit surprised by this solution. When I see this blue tape, I usually grab a paint brush and a can of paint, but I've refrained. I taped it on Monday and it's stayed intact so far!
You may also note in the picture that Snicklefritz is wearing clothes now. Felicity has started changing her (or asking me to) all the time. In this picture, she said Snicklefritz was about to get married. 

Welcome to my bloggy tour of homes, y'all!

Well, today is the day for BooMama's Bloggy Tour of Homes! Welcome!

Come into our home in the heart of the Deep South. We've been expecting you! The question of the day has been, "What is that pink spot by our front door?" Tinkerbell?







Here is our kitchen. Some major activity takes place here, feeding the 9 of us living at home (our oldest is in college).

This is our family room. I spend a lot of time saying, "Turn off that TV and go outside!" We finally found a couch that would work for all of us, and even has a hide-a-bed for company. What a blessing!





This is what we call our school room; it is actually a formal living room in disguise. This is one of my favorite rooms in the house. I love to sit on the settee and read or feed the baby. I picked up the table on the left at BJ's about a month ago. This has become a real hot spot. There is always someone sitting there reading, coloring, or drawing. My 9 year old daughter likes to set up our Singer Featherweight there and sew. My desk and computer are also in this room. It is just a great spot!
This is our dining room. I've poured you a glass of sweet tea, "the house wine of the South."









Last, but not least, here's my desk and computer, where "the BLOGGY magic happens," as BooMama says. Please note the dog lying on her rug under the desk, just as she is now. I am currently spending a lot of time here, learning blog template design. With a family of 10, it would be so helpful if I could bring in some extra income from home. If you like what you see on this site and are interested in throwing some ideas at me for designing a new blog template for you, just let me know! I would like to thank BooMama for putting the idea in my head in the first place, with her post on template design. I've kind of taken it and run with it! Currently, my only experience is with Blogger/Blogspot.

I'm really having fun with this!

I decided that I couldn't design a new template for Amber without actually designing one for myself, too. I haven't posted much this week because I've been so obsessed with template design. I'm practically thinking in HTML and CSS now (I actually have dreamed about code this week - is that bad, or what?). When I've tried to post, Picasa has eaten my pictures or my entire post. I emailed them a couple of days ago after losing one; I never got a return email, however when I opened the program tonight, it updated. The update was for - you guessed it - a problem with blogging. I'm assuming it will work correctly now, but for now I'm just going to get some sleep. What do you think of the new design?

A Special Night

This Saturday night was a very special night for us. We had a house full of company, both friends and family. There were faces old and new, and lots of introductions. My Aunt Irene, on the left, is my paternal grandmother's sister. She lives in Oklahoma and I had not seen her since my grandmother's funeral in 1997; she had never met most of my kids (although she's made quilts for them!). Pictured with her is a distant cousin, Carl, whom we met for the first time. Also in attendance were my dad and his friend Frankie; Aunt Linda and Laura; and our oldest son, Jacob, and his girlfriend Kathryn. Altogether there were 17 of us!

We had a huge potluck supper complete with barbeque, Mexican goulash, hot dogs from the grill, strawberry shortcake, peach cobbler, and hot cinnamon apples with ice cream. Afterward, we settled in for a family concert, with my dad playing guitar and singing and everyone joining in. My kids have experienced these concerts a few times, but this was a regular occurance during my childhood and one of my fondest memories. I even got my dad to sing "Just a Pig I Used to Know," which is the crazy take of "Just a (Girl?) I Used to Know" that I always requested as a child. I'm not even positive what the real title is, but I always got a kick out of the "pig" part; I'm sure our version is much more entertaining than the original. "Brown Eyed Girl" is another crowd-pleaser, and my all-time favorite song.

Everyone had such an awesome time. Sabra showed off her quilting; Lily showed off by standing alone and attempting to walk; Christian showed off his new pet guinea pig, Joe Cool. The kids wanted Laura to photograph them riding their bikes; I thought Clayton was going to wipe out because he was trying so hard to ride while looking back and smiling at the camera.
A big highlight for me was the free cosmetics! Laura works for a pricey cosmetic company and gifts me with samples when she comes to visit. As a mother of 8, I don't have a lot of disposable income - well actually I don't have any income - so this is such a treat for me. Thank you, Laura!
I made it clear before the evening began that I wanted lots of pictures, so I'm really grateful to Bryan and Hayden for the photography. Hayden even took video clips of the singing, too. This is an evening I'll always treasure!

Blog Party!

I had an awesome time yesterday having a "blog party" with buddies Michelle and Melissa.

We had 12 kids in the house and they played together beautifully for hours! I can't wait to add these great new blogs to my blogroll, but I'll let them get started first...
Love you gals, and I can't wait to read your new blogs! 

Thirteen Ways I Am Blessed Beyond Measure

Thirteen Ways I Am Blessed Beyond Measure 1. The face above is what greets me each morning. 2. I have a daughter who invites me to tea parties and likes to sit and draw with me. 3. I have a son who asks me to go outside and play catch with him and doesn't say I throw like a girl (because I don't). 4. I have another son who is a fellow geek wannabe and likes to stay up late and discuss HTML, and other interesting stuff. 5. The Lord, in his infinite mercy, has entrusted us with 8 amazing children who enrich my life more than I could ever describe. 6. I have wonderful neighbors who look out for me and my kids. You can't say enough about good neighbors. 7. I have a husband who changes diapers, gives baths, puts the kids to bed, and can fix just about anything. Oh, and he looks at me like he did when he met me at 18 years old, after 22 years together and birthing 8 of his children. 8. I am blessed with a very special church family. The women are sisters in Christ, sisters of the heart, and my very best friends, supporters, and encouragers. 9. I have always had a close-knit family - parents, grandparents, sister, aunts, cousins - who love me, my husband, and my children. I have strong roots in the church and priceless family treasures, such as my great grandmother's hand-sewn quilts. 10. I live in the day of heating and air-conditioning, automobiles, refrigeration, washers and dryers, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, and cosmetics. 11. I am American by birth, and Southern by the grace of God. 12. I have a Lord and Savior who gave his life for me and loves me unconditionally. Because of this, I live a life of joy, purpose, with the hope of reuniting with my loved ones in heaven. 13. I have my own bathroom (well, I share it with my husband). This is something I truly appreciate! Links to other Thursday Thirteens! (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!) 1. armywife 2. Lil Duck Duck 3. Kimmy 4. Kailani 5. Raggedy 6. Carmen 7. barbara 8. gail 9. stacy 10. sherri 11. nancy 12. minthegap

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
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Who Are The Bloggers?

[Geeks are Sexy] technology news: Who Are The Bloggers?
The "[Geeks are Sexy] technology news" blog was one of the featured blogs of the day yesterday at Blogger. I read this interesting post about blogger demographics. Here is the link to the entire original article.

Layered Ice Cream Dessert

Layered Ice Cream Dessert

This is a dessert that I had last week at singing school. When I first saw it, I thought, "Boy! Someone has really gone all out on this!" Appearances can be deceiving, for I learned that it is incredibly easy. I took this to church for dessert Sunday, and it was devoured! I'm including my tips for making it as cost-effective as possible.

First, take a 9"x 13" and place a layer of ice cream sandwiches in the bottom (I used 9 sandwiches for each layer, 18 total). Layer Cool Whip over the sandwiches, and then drizzle chocolate sauce and/or caramel sauce - typical ice cream sundae toppings. Make another exact layer on top of it. Freeze until ready to serve. Voila - an impressive, simple, and yummy dessert!

This recipe was so easy that I doubled it and stored one in the freezer for later. I bought a large box of 36 ice cream sandwiches at BJ's for $6.19, which makes 2 complete desserts. A 2-pack of 16 oz. Cool Whip was $3.99; this is enough for 4 desserts - 2 per 16 oz. tub. I tend to pinch every penny, so I made my own chocolate sauce, which was divine, if I do say so myself! I got the recipe from my Hershey's Chocolate Lovers Cookbook.

Chocolate Sauce

2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. cocoa
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup (Karo)
1/4 cup evaporated skim milk (I used whole milk, which worked)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

In small saucepan over low hear, melt butter. Remove from heat; stir in sugar, cocoa, and corn syrup. Stir in evaporated milk.Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, just until mixture begins to boil and is smooth.Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Cool slightly.
3/4 cup sauce, about 12 servings

Enjoy!

Music Soothes the Savage Beasts

Have you ever noticed what a powerful influence music has on mood and behavior? Today we were having a really bad day. I wanted to tackle some major housecleaning, but the kids weren't thrilled to jump on my bandwagon. One child, in particular, would burst into tears every time I gave her any cleaning instruction. At one point Child A decided Child B was wasting Swiffer duster sheets and forcibly took away and dismantled the duster rod itself (names are changed to protect the not-so-innocent). Child B then whacked Child A across the back of the neck with a piece of the dismantled rod. I turned just in time to see the blow and both kids hit the floor wailing. By this time my nerves were shot and I was tempted to just send them all to bed for the afternoon.

For some reason, however, I went to the CD player and popped in a CD I came across recently while reorganizing our collection: Butterfly Kisses & Bedtime Prayers by Bob Carlisle. I haven't listened to it in years. The music is just so pleasant and light, and the mood started to change almost immediately. I teared up over Butterfly Kisses, a song that could turn a grown man to mush. By the time we hit number five, Edelweiss (what a beautiful song!), I breathed a blissful sigh and observed the transformation that had taken place in such a short time. In the course of a few minutes, we had gone from anger, frustration, and tears, to something out a Norman Rockwell painting. We were in the kitchen making muffins! No more fighting, no more tears, no more cracking the whip.

By the time hubby got home, there was a pot of soup simmering on the stove and muffins cooling on the counter. We never finished cleaning the floor or most of my other grand plans for the day, but we snagged some of that most elusive substance - quality time - and for that I feel blessed.

I Love Gummies

Those who know me well know that one of my great loves in life is the gummy bear, that most amazing of creatures. I've told my husband that we have enjoyed a long and fruitful marriage because he does not covet my gummies. I'm not a selfish person, but you really shouldn't ask me to share.

My aunt works at Neiman Marcus. They used to sell gummy bears by the pound - a pretty pricey pound, but those were some serious gummy bears. At Christmas they sometimes still sell bags of them. My aunt gave me a bag a couple of years ago. Even with her discount, we calculated that she paid an outrageous price for them. I rationed myself and only ate them 2-3 at a time, savoring each one. Clayton found my stash and ate the whole lot. Amazingly, he's still with us.

My high school had open campus at lunch time. The "cool" place to go was Burger King, which was next to the mall. I had already developed my gummy bear craving, however at this time they were only available by the pound at a nut and candy specialty shop in the mall. My friends and I were late getting back from lunch on many occasions because of that last-minute gummy bear run. We always went because I drove most of the time, and in style - my dad's '73 Mustang convertible - but that's another story...

My all-time favorite are Amazin' Fruit gummy bears. They are a Hershey's product, but for some reason are almost impossible to find. You can order them online from various drug and candy stores, but I haven't gotten quite that desperate yet. The ones at Wal-Mart are pretty good and even have real fruit juice, which would remove some of the guilt factor, assuming I felt guilty about eating them in the first place.

One Easter there were small bags of Amazin' Fruit gummies in the Easter baskets. One child said they knew there really was an Easter Bunny because Mommy would never give away gummy bears.

Golden Corral has great gummies in their dessert bar. Whenever we're there, one of my kids (usually whoever is in most need of brownie points) will bring me a little bowl of them. In my gummy research, I read that at the end of a meal at Michaelangelo's Restaurant Cafe in San Francisco, guests are given a communal bowl of gummy bears. What an innovative idea!

The most bizarre thing I learned is that the consistency of gummy bears has been proposed as ideal for breast implants. "Gummy Bear breast implants" have been on the market since 2005. That may be the only form of gummy bears I'm not willing to try.

What I'm listening to now...

My oldest son, Jacob, recently bought some new piece of hardware for his computer. Included in the shipment was a card for 100 free music downloads. For kids growing up in the age of CD burning and JumpDrives, this was no big deal to him. For his mother, who catagorizes her CD collection, whose high school friends used to mess with her by putting her cassettes in "un-alphabetical" order, and who has never downloaded anything but free Amazon.com music downloads, this was huge. Like a good son, he gave the card to me!

Now I'll admit, I would rather have one CD complete with the original case than 10 downloaded ones, but free is free, and I'll take it. The free downloads came from eMusic. Here's the lowdown on eMusic from Wikipedia:

eMusic differs from other well-known subscription music services (such as Napster and Rhapsody) in that the files available for download are in the MP3 format, making them fully iPod-compatible and free from digital rights management software restrictions (such as expiration, copying or CD-burning limitations). While lauded by many, the lack of DRM encoding and low price model have made the service unable to carry material from most major music labels, leading it to specialize in indie rock and pop, jazz, electronica, and classical music.

In other words, your typical top-40 album (can I still call it that?) isn't going to be there, which means I'm having to work a little harder to find what I want. It's actually kind of fun, especially since it's not costing me anything. I have not researched everything about these groups or read every lyric they've ever sung, so forgive me if there's something I should know about them that I don't. Here's some of what I've found:

Tres Chicas: Sweetwater - This is kind of like Dixie Chicks without the baggage. A couple of favorites are the title song and "Deep as Your Pocket," a Loretta Lynn remake that is fun, fun, fun!



I was thrilled to find Ray Charles's Genius Loves Company CD, which I've wanted for a while. While listening to this I picture the older, jolly Ray filming those Georgia lottery commercials with little kids instead of the younger man he was when recording many of his big hits. It's an album he recorded just shortly before his death. It's not going to replace my The Very Best of Ray Charles, which is amazing (although I almost never listen to the last three tracks), but I'm certainly enjoying it.

Jimmie Vaughan's Do You Get the Blues? is possibly my favorite of the three. It turns out that it won the 2001 Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album. I cannot listen to it and sit still - it's simply impossible. My favorite cut is probably The Deep End, which I'm dangling off of much of the time.

I think eMusic will give you 25 free downloads just for trying them. Have fun!

New Look!

How do you like the new blog design? I've been itching to tinker with it for a while, but didn't feel sure of my limited HTML knowledge. I found some great ideas on this blog post, and ultimately I went with someone else's design instead of making my own. I did, however, have to play with HTML coding to add my own links and make some minor changes to the layout, so I had to stretch my brain a bit. I like it! What do you think? 

Mt. Gilead Singing School

The kids and I had a wonderful time at singing school at Mt. Gilead Primitive Baptist Church in Tennille, GA, this week! Everyone learned a lot and spent time with friends, both old and new.




 

The cast is on!

First thing Tuesday morning Felicity came downstairs, half-asleep, and somehow managed to fracture two bones in her right foot. We were asleep when she entered our room and although she cried and said she hurt her toe, she got into bed and fell asleep. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that she was seriously injured until the rest of us were ready and the car was loaded to leave for singing school. I tried to get her up to eat and get dressed, but she said, "Mommy, I can't walk." Two doctor's offices later, we left town with Felicity in a splint and instructions to get a cast when we got home and the swelling was gone.

I have earned a new respect this week for mothers of twins. Boy, it's not easy when you have two kids who can't walk on their own. Fortunately, we were surrounded by wonderful folks at Mt. Gilead who jumped in and helped whenever we needed it. I also appreciate how wonderful it is when your kids have opportunities to burn some energy. This child is wired - very loud and overly emotional. I think she's mostly frustrated by her lack of mobility, although she has started crawling.

She's usually the first child up in the morning, besides Lily, so I wondered what would happen this morning when she was home in her own bed; she slept with me at singing school. Sure enough, when I was in the shower she knocked on the door. When I got out and asked if she'd crawled down the stairs, she said, "I slid down on my butt - on my bottom." Anyone who knew my mom well knew that although she spoke her mind, there were certain words that might be common, but were simply not a part of her vocabulary. These words gave you a one-way ticket into the land of "white trash." This is an area where I have a lot of my mom in me. Kids seem to love to use the words you don't want to hear, and I have something which my mom never had - BOYS. Also, my parents weren't outnumbered 4 to 1 by their offspring. Kids are amazingly clever. They love to introduce these words to their younger brothers and sisters, hoping that the little ones will be funny and charming when they use them, and the words can be introduced into common family usage. Secretly though, I think they love trying to get a rise out of me, so maybe they don't want them to be too acceptable. "Butt" falls into this category, so I'm glad there were no witnesses to my reaction this morning. 

Bloggy Tour of Homes, Y'all!

Bloggy Tour of Homes
This sounds like fun! It's a tour of homes for fellow bloggers, to take place in 2 weeks on Friday, July 28.

Creamy Salsa Chicken

We are out-of-town at singing school this week, so we'll call this "What's Cooking Monday Night"! This recipe sounds a little odd, but is really awesome over rice:

Creamy Salsa Chicken

Directions:
1. Brown 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 1/4 lb.) in 1 cup Miracle Whip Dressing in large skillet on medium-high heat.
2. Stir in 1 cup chunky salsa.
3. Top with 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese. Serve over hot cooked rice, if desired.
Makes 4 servings.

In memory of our friend, Tommy

We have just been so sad this weekend. One of Jacob's best friends, a boy whose family we have known for the past seven years through homeschooling, was murdered Friday night. The killing was very random and actually sounds gang-related. Unfortunately, the police don't have any leads and are hoping someone from the community will come forward with information. I will remember Tommy as a sweet, handsome boy, the kind who called me "Mom" and was always welcome at our home. Please pray for the Canavans - his mother, father, and two brothers - and all of Tommy's friends who are so devastated by his loss.

Baby Basics Blog

I am really excited about a new blog I started for the purpose of collecting and categorizing information about pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and beyond. It is called Baby Basics, and it is located at http://babybasics.wordpress.com/. It's mostly something I'm doing for my own benefit, but the more info I add to it, the more I realize there's already a lot of valuable and helpful information there. If you find any good articles which would be applicable for the site, please shoot me a link; also, feel free to refer any pregnant or nursing friends. 

Man of Steel? I Don't Think So...

Bryan and I went to see the latest Superman movie Friday night. I know some women don't like these kinds of movies, but I'm not one of them. I'm told my first word was Batman, and the Spiderman movies are some of my favorites. The second is especially good, with biblical themes of self-sacrifice and esteeming others more highly than yourself. With that said…I was especially disappointed with Superman Returns. I haven’t read any reviews, so I don’t know what kind of discussion is going on about the movie. These are simply my opinions. Don’t read this if you don’t want me to spoil part of the plot for you.

Superman Returns plays like a sequel. Superman disappeared five years earlier when scientists discovered remains of his home planet, and he went to see if anything/anyone remained. We have Lois Lane as a single parent living with her boyfriend (a long-term engagement). She is bitter because Superman disappeared without a trace or a goodbye. The shocker is that we (and he) discover that her son is actually Superman’s, not the boyfriend’s. Doesn’t this violate some sort of superhero code of conduct? Doesn’t this strip him of the moral authority to be called a superhero? Hey, I know this is fictional, but if you’re going to make a movie about a superhero, you should make him act like one. What kind of example is this for kids?

The characters aren’t very well-developed, either. Lois Lane is the worst. One of my criteria for a good movie is that I have to actually care about what happens to the characters. If you don’t care about the characters, it’s hard to care about the movie, and unfortunately that was the case for me. The most interesting characters turned out to be Lex Luthor’s girlfriend and Lois Lane’s boyfriend. Huh? I think I’ll stick with Smallville, which I really like. I’ve watched the first four seasons on DVD, but haven’t seen season five, which is the most current. In the first four seasons, the Smallville Kents are one of the best family models I’ve seen on TV or movies.

Just my 2 cents' worth!

Easy Pie Crust

As promised, here is my Grandmother Piles's pie crust recipe. The fabulous thing is that you stir the ingredients together right in the pie plate - no rolling or transferring!

PIE CRUST

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup oil
2 Tbsp. milk
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt

Stir ingredients together in pie plate, then shape by hand for crust.

Happy 4th of July!

The Gift Outright

The land was ours before we were the land's.
She was our land more than a hundred years
Before we were her people. She was ours
In Massachusetts, in Virginia,
But we were England's, still colonials,
Possessing what we still were unpossessed by,
Possessed by what we now no more possessed.
Something we were withholding made us weak
Until we found out that it was ourselves
We were withholding from our land of living,
And forthwith found salvation in surrender.
Such as we were we gave ourselves outright
(The deed of gift was many deeds of war)
To the land vaguely realizing westward,
But still unstoried, artless, unenhanced,
Such as she was, such as she would become.
~Robert Frost

 

Poole's Mill Park

Our family had an awesome adventure yesterday at Poole's Mill Park. While Sabra and I were quilting Friday with the Pattons and Shamblins, Mr. Patton and the two of the boys who were there escaped the quilting frenzy and went to Poole's Mill. I was told there were shoals and a sliding rock. The guys came back later and seemed to have a great time.
When our kids wanted to go to the pool yesterday, we told them that we were going to go check out Poole's Mill. If it didn't look fun, we would head back to the pool. We stayed 3 1/2 hours and everyone loved it!
The sliding rock was awesome! Here you can see Felicity sliding. The pool at the bottom was only about a foot deep, so it was like having a kiddie pool. The more adventurous and sure-footed ones could venture further out into the stream.
Lily Rose has been violently opposed to going in the swimming pool. I bought her a baby float and have tried to get her in the water on more than one occasion, but she doesn't want anything to do with it. I sat at the top of the sliding rock with her until she became accustomed to it. Next I put her hands in the water. Initially, she wasn’t thrilled, but I kept slowly working with her. She finally sat in the water. Bryan took her and said that he would have her swimming by the time he was finished. She did end up sitting in a shallow pool of water which even had a nice current. Maybe she won’t be afraid of the pool anymore. Picasa seems to be limiting me to four photos, so I'll send another post with more pictures. Doesn't my little Prince Charming look awfully handsome in that top photo?