Too Good To Keep To Myself

I am having a rough day. Rob and I are once again in the low part of the firm cycle, and he is always working. I have been doing a little grieving of my own, which is why I was particularly moved by Tammy’s entry on her blog. Her loss is complete, and I’m sure she would give anything to even just sleep in the same bed at night with her husband, or be able to call and ask him a quick question on the phone. I’ll do my best to appreciate my blessings.

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Twenty Years Already?

I am one of those goofy people that loves the movie, “The Princess Bride.” My Dad sent me a link to this cute article about it’s twentieth anniversary. It is one of those movies that doesn’t try to prove itself, and tells a story that is fun and G-rated. Oh, I guess there is that one line when Inigo Montoya finally corners the six fingered man… I have always thought that the raunchy comedies are sort of the easy way out. It’s always harder to make the clean jokes funny.

One memory that came back to me as I read through this article was of my Dad doing career day. When I was in sixth grade we had parents come in and tell about various careers. Mine came in to talk about making movies. (He worked on several movies the most memorable to me being, “Mr. Krueger’s Christmas” and “Windwalker.”) I remember being so proud of how cool my Dad was for knowing about how movies are made, and remember him using the scene from this movie where Fezzick is climbing the the rope up a cliff as an example of what a blue screen can do. Anyway, I highly recommend this movie, and will gladly sit with anyone and rattle off great quotes. 😉

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAfMLPqUkeU

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It Works 100% of the Time

Or so the claim goes. Have you seen the email circulating about curing a persistent cough by rubbing Vapo Rub on your feet and covering them with socks? I have tried this with Hannah, who has had a cough for a few weeks now, and it seems to help. She asks0 for the feet cream when she gets going on a real coughing fit. You can read more about it at snopes.com. Has anyone else had luck with this home remedy?

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Being Hannah

Hannah took all of these pictures this afternoon and we made this slideshow together:

Being Hannah

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Meteor Shower to Peak Thursday

A Geminid meteor streaks across the night sky, with circular star trails whirling the background, in a time-exposure photo made by astronomer Jimmy Westlake in December 1985.

 

What could be the best meteor display of the year will reach its peak on the night of Dec.13-14.  The Geminids perform excellently in any year, but British meteor astronomer, Alastair McBeath, has categorized 2007 as a “great year.”

Last year’s display was hindered somewhat by the moon, two days past last quarter phase. But this year, the moon will be at new phase on Dec. 9. On the peak night, the moon will be a fat crescent, in the south-southwest at dusk and setting soon after 8 p.m. That means that the sky will be dark and moonless for the balance of the night, making for perfect viewing conditions for the shower.

The Geminids begin to appear noticeably more numerous in the hours after 10 p.m. local time, because the shower’s radiant is already fairly high in the eastern sky by then. The best views, however, come around 2 a.m. local time, when their radiant point will be passing very nearly overhead.

Heidi, Heather, and Mel you have the best chance of seeing this since you’re up at this time anyway.  I will probably miss it, so I expect a full report. 😉

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Report on Last Week

1. Solicit parents in Emma’s class for $ for teacher’s Christmas gift.

Done, now I just wait for the money to trickle in.

2. Solicit parents in Hunter’s class for $ for teacher’s Christmas gift.

Done, now I just wait for the money to trickle in.

3. Solidify plans for Hunter’s and Emma’s class parties next week. Yes, I am a room parent for both classes, crazy I know.

In progress.  Went this morning and cut out winter themed die cuts for making door hangers. 

4. Drop off the girls at Gretchen’s house (thanks!) so I can go work at the school’s holiday shop. I’ll be helping the kids buy little things as gifts for their family. My job is to keep them within their budget.

Done.  It was so fun to see the kids trying to find the perfect gifts for Grandpa or baby brother.  Especially fun to watch Emma because she used money she had earned herself. 

5. Finish sewing costumes for the ward Christmas activity, A Night in Bethlehem. I have one tunic finished so far, but have 4 others that are only just cut out.

Done. Got one for all of the kids, and Rob and I went Toga, wrap a sheet around you style. It was a nice party too.  Great turnout!

6. Get fabric to make some humanitarian blankets for the victims of flooding in Mexico. They have to be turned in on Sunday.

Done.

7. Sew the blankets, I have one finished already.

My goal was 3, but 2 was ok too.

8. Start to Pixie !

Done. Although as we were unloading the kids to leave it on the front step, guess who came walking out of the garage? Oh well.

9. Clear a path through the house so that the repairman coming this afternoon can find the repairs he needs to make on our running toilet, and exposed carpet tacks.

One done, still waiting to hear back from the carpet guy on getting the tacks redone. 

10. Trip to the post office to mail a package.

Did it this morning. 

11. Finish shopping for Christmas.

Almost done! 

12. Keep up with Secret Siblings – we all drew names on Thanksgiving and are supposed to do something nice for the person we picked every day until Christmas. I’m also doing Hannah’s and Sabrina’s. Maybe should have thought this through a little better…

Maybe not something every day, but I made an effort.

13. Grocery store trip for the basics.

I decided to use a  coupon from Vons.com for free delivery and got them online.  A cool thing, but they arrived at 10:30 at night instead of between 4 and 8pm that I had signed up for.  The poor driver  was way overloaded when a guy called in sick, and it was also his birthday! 

14. Write off any cleaning, because realistically, it’s not going to happen this week!

Yep, didn’t happen. 

15. Send Rob a cute email message or call him because this is our only communication until his deal at work closes on Friday.

Done.  Thanks to Hallmark.com 

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Gotta Love Josh

Last night was the Christmas tree lighting at Rockefeller Center in New York City. The opening act was one of my favorites, Josh Groban. Rob took me to one of his concerts a few years ago as a Christmas present, and it was so much fun. He’s got such an interesting mix of fans from teens to Grandmas and it was great! I love his performance of this song. It seems so sincere, not just for show. Enjoy!

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFq2JhPce5I

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