We play cards (Liverpool Rummy, mostly) with my parents on a fairly regular basis. In case you aren't familiar with Liverpool Rummy, you can end up with a LOT of cards in your hand, resulting in a rather tired and cramped hand. Hubby & I were at a local game store and saw these seemingly nifty card holders. Since they were only $1.99, we decided it was worth taking a chance.
(for the record, this is not a lot of cards)
Amazingly, they actually work quite well as card holders. There's styrofoam in the center of the plastic disk and your cards go between the two pieces. Relieves the hand strain and keeps the cards snug but not too tight. Not only that, you can set your entire hand of cards down and they stay neat and orderly. We've even found some fairly creative ways to stand them up.
We were all quite pleased with the functionality of these colorful little disks, but little did we know that they would offer some wonderful hilarity following our card games.
It began with the simple act of rolling them across the table at the disks of each other. Then we discovered that we could actually "shoot" them across the table - at other disks as well as other people. They REALLY take off, too! Pretty soon, we're having full-on disk wars with these things flying ALL OVER THE PLACE! They'll run up someone's arm, ricochet off another disk, or go winging across the room. As one soars off the table, we'd look in the direction it was headed, only to find that it had apparently done an about-face and was on the opposite side.
If I wasn't laughing so hard that I couldn't breathe, I might have tried to video tape this entire adventure, but I doubt I'd have gotten anything recognizable. So go get some of your own. Have some fun!
"As the years pass, I am coming more and more to understand that it is the common, everyday blessings of our common, everyday lives for which we should be particularly grateful. They are the things that fill our lives with comfort and our hearts with gladness -- just the pure air to breathe and the strength to breathe it; just warmth and shelter and home folks; just plain food that gives us strength; the bright sunshine on a cold day; and a cool breeze when the day is warm."
Laura Ingalls Wilder
May you consider the common, everyday things for which you are thankful today. May you have a greater awareness of the small blessings that may be overlooked. May you nurture a heart of gratitude today and in the days to come.
"In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1Thessalonians 5:18
Last month, I participated in the HSBA Swap. Participants were paired up, some personal info was shared, and each person sent her swap buddy something. Well, let me just say that my swap buddy ROCKS!!! Learning of my great love of Dr. Pepper, she promptly picked up some of the good stuff from Dublin, Texas. That would be Dublin, Texas, home to the oldest Dr. Pepper plant. Dublin, Texas, where they still make REAL Dr. Pepper with pure cane sugar. Dublin, Texas, the place I might just travel to one day. She doesn't even live in Dublin, Texas. But she thought of me in her travels!
So here it is . . . the real deal Dr. Pepper. We'll be sampling it alongside the current, corn-syrup version to assess the difference. Although I'm sure the stuff from Dublin will be SO much better than that from my local grocery store.
I haven't participated in a meme in quite awhile. Then I got tagged by Amy this morning. Since I have nothing else exciting to blog about, here goes:
8 Things I'm Passionate About Knowing God My awesome husband Raising our boys to be godly men My girlfriends Laughter Dr Pepper Food not touching on my plate Lavender oil
8 Things I Want To Do Before I DieWhile I Live See the fall colors in New England Take an Alaskan cruise with hubby Lots of scrapbooking Be a better photographer Make a quilt Meet some blogging friends IRL Go to the Atlantic Ocean See Transiberian Orchestra with hubby
8 Things I Say Often I love you (to hubs & boys) Don't make his problem yours Put on deoderant! Wash your hands first Hope you sleep well Just get away from each other Whatever Arguing is of NO value
8 Books I've read recently Split Ends by Kristin Billerbeck Light From Heaven by Jan Karon Gift From the Sea by Ann Morrow Lindbergh A Circle of Quiet by Madeleine L'engle Quaker Summer by Lisa Samson The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life by Hannah Whithall Smith Sweet Revenge by Diane Mott Davidson Breaking Free by Beth Moore
8 Songs I Could Listen to Over and Over Only You by David Crowder Band Planet Claire by The B52s Burn Us Up by Shane & Shane Amazing Grace by Chris Tomlin Our God Reigns by Delirious Madame Blueberry by Paul Colman (Veggie Rocks) Majesty by Delirious Never Let Go by David Crowder Band plus many more . . . hard to nail it down to just eight
8 Things That Attract Me To My Best Friend He's ever so handsome His servant's heart His gorgeous blue eyes He's a wonderful listener His ability to problem-solve He's a terrific father His desire to glorify God He's SO good to me
8 Things I've Learned This Year God isn't disappointed in me, even when I blow it How to use Quark Xpress Proxy surfing How to use layers in Photoshop Elements My way isn't always the best way Daniel was around 80 years old when he was thrown in the lion's den How to play Sequence Plans are really important
Nope. That's not quite eight. I don't have anyone else I would tag. Some were already tagged. Others don't know that I "know" them. Ya' know? I'd probably be considered a lurky friend. Kind of creepy, really.
I discovered a new blog today, Large Family Mothering. This sweet gal has 14 children and is so fulfilled and content in her calling as a mother. While I've only had a chance to read a couple pages of her posts, I was absolutely blessed and encouraged. She clearly LOVES God and her family. Go check her out. I think you'll be glad you did.
If you want to nominate anyone for the Homeschool Blog Awards, tomorrow is the last day. Head on over to the button in my sidebar and submit your nominations.
Even if you don't nominate anyone, come back between December 3-15, 2007 to vote. There are some great prizes available to the winners.
I've been dabbling (just a little) with Photoshop stuff. So let's see if my new Bunny Trails thing worked out.
Ooh . . . how fun is that? Yep, I'm all pleased with myself. Cause it's such a big thing, you know, if you're like totally in the dark about computers. If you're a web/blog designer, this is soooo nothing. But for me, it's something. Something that puts a smile on my face. One of these days, I intend to actually redesign my own blog. It may take me years awhile, but it'll happen. I just know it will. Maybe this will be part of my new header.
The one consistency you'll find about my posting is that I'm very inconsistent! Ha! Ha! I'm in some limbo place at the moment - busy, but nothing really post-worthy. I was perusing my post listing to see if I had any good drafts that needed to be completed or might be fun to post. Then I came across this one from early October. This probably won't be of much value to anyone, except me, and probably my sister. Nothing profound. Nothing inspiring. Just silly rambling. Feel free to join in the wanderings of my brain. Or not. It's your choice.
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Imagine, if you will, that right here in this very space, there's a nifty little video screen playing, "Road to Nowhere" by the Talking Heads.
Ha! Through the magic of YouTube, you don't have to imagine. My wish was their command.
Really, the only reason for the video is because I didn't want BooMama to think I was plagarizing by using her "Rambling All The Way to Nowhere" category. So this was my substitute. And naturally, if a Talking Heads song inserts itself into my brain, it'll be on repeat - for awhile. So now you too, can join in the redundancy of David Byrne's ever-so-unique vocals in your head. Well, only if you click on the play button for the video. Or have a good memory.
So, where was I? Oh yes, this was destined to be a rambling sort of post and I just couldn't steal copy off BooMama. What I really need to do is work on the women's ministry newsletter. Last night was the deadline for articles to arrive in my inbox. I have been perusing the hefty file of "stuff to maybe use" that was passed along by the previous editor. I should probably be writing my article as well.
And then there are school plans to be completed. The last weeks have teetered on "flying-by-the-seat-of-our-pants." That can only last so long before the neurons (or something scientific sounding) begin to melt together in my brain, causing me to short-circuit. It's definitely time for real plans again.
What I really want to, though, is read Sweet Revenge by Diane Mott Davidson. I mean the book has been out for weeks already, and I JUST GOT IT LAST NIGHT! I usually buy her books as soon as humanly possible. Finances being what they are, I had to get on the waiting list at the library. Sigh. I think I was #94. So now comes the very enthusiastic, anxious reading which I will do in a nice, calm, rationed pace so that I don't race through the book in, like a day. I did that once. Once. It was so sad. It was like sitting down with a much-anticipated, delectable treat that you get only rarely, and devouring it so quickly that you don't even remember to taste it. Then you want more, but there won't be more - for another year. Or two. Or something.
The boys & I helped our friend move today. It was a short move, like 4 blocks, which was nice. My primary function was providing the trailer. It belongs to my dad, but my parents are out of town. Hubs had to work, so I said I'd take care of it. I am proud to announce that I was able to pull in the alley and back into her driveway at about a 45 degree angle, all in one shot! With a pick-up across the alley sort of in my way. Yessss! Not only that, I even backed it all the way down our very long driveway when I got home. It's one of those things that I know how to do it, but don't have a whole lot of actual experience. Hubby has been an RV technician for some 22 years, so I've had a lot of practice spectating. Apparently that worked. Although I doubt that I should apply the same concept to something like thoracic surgery or knife throwing.
My blog's been feeling a little neglected, cause somehow I only manage to post about twice, maybe thrice, a week. My brain is full of all sorts of things (mostly scatteredly random things) and I even say, "Gee, I should blog about this." But by the time I sit down to write it, that thought has disappeared into the nether regions of my mind. Besides, I had a Pampered Chef party on Thursday night, so that's where a good portion of my thoughts were. Yep, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Yesterday we went to watch the current build of The Extreme Makeover Home Edition folks. It wasn't terribly exciting though. Very windy + lots of dirt = choke, choke, can't see, guess we'll go home. No celebrity sightings, no big Sears truck, chock full o' goodies. Just some gardening. I guess we showed up during a lull. But we showed up nonetheless and have pictures to prove it. So when it airs next year, we'll get to say, "Hey, we were there!" And that's what it's really all about, right?
See this? No you don't. My photo downloader was being a pain, so there's no picture here. I'll add it later. It's a SCRAP of wood. Someone wrote, "Ty, we love you" on it. I'll bet he has a whole collection of these at home. If he even has a home, other than that nice, big RV they take around the country. Sadly, he seems to have dropped this one. It was laying right there by the spectator area. I hope he doesn't miss it. Maybe someone will return it to him.
Back in the day, my sister & I were big Talking Heads fans - not that the words really meant a whole lot to us, but we totally dug their sound. We also have a nice catalog of little inside jokes based upon their music. So, I've been having me a fun time watching their YouTube videos. One of my favorite and just the silliest videos is this one:
Then I thought I'd check out a different version. Let's just say that this was MUCH MORE DIFFERENT than I'd anticipated.
I about fell off my chair laughing. The boys kept asking what was so funny. Why on earth was I laughing so hard? What can I say? It just struck me funny.
If you're feeling just a bit of Talking Heads nostalgia now, you can check out this site.
And one more for the road. Because I'm on a roll. And I couldn't help myself.
The 2007 Homeschool Blog Award nominations are now open. There are 23 different categories (wow!) from which you can choose. Please understand that I'm not posting in order to get nominated. Bunny Trails is SO not a homeschool blog. In fact, I've probably written about homeschooling all of five times in the past fourteen months.
I am posting, as a member of the HSBA team, in order to get the word out. Maybe this will afford you an opportunity to go check out some homeschool blogs. If you don't know where to start, there are links to winners of previous years at the HSBA site. The other great place to find homeschool blogs is at Homeschool Blogger. I think one of the things I enjoy about Homeschool Blogger is that I'm never afaid to click on their "random blog" link. I can't speak for everyone else, but I haven't ever come across anything inappropriate.
I hope that maybe you'll find something encouraging, inspiring, informative, or just plain fun as you go peruse some great homeschool blogs (there are a lot out there!). I also hope you'll nominate those that you think are worthy.
There's just a little some finishing edits left to do with the newsletter and it goes to the printer first thing Monday morning - Lord willing and the creek don't rise!
Well, off to sleep where I get an extra hour tonight!!
To which I loudly proclaim - HA! HA!
What a joke! Oh, I think the Lord's willing and there were no creeks rising in my neighborhood, but that sure doesn't mean that it was a minor task.
My 3-day old computer gave me problems
Everyone has differing opinions on grammar - and you can find rules to support all of them
Went to bed at 2:30 this morning
Got up at 6:45 this morning
Burned two CDs only to find edits in almost every article
That's just the list for the past fifteen hours or so.
Now it's in the capable hands of the printing company. My prayer is that they'll be able to get it done by Friday. If not, it will be a very untimely newsletter. My heart is that women will be blessed, encouraged, and edified, and that God would be honored. That will be diminished if it isn't distributed this weekend. But there's nothing else I can do. Just pray, wait on God and the printer.
In the meantime, I need to try and get back to my REAL life. Which, by the way, has gotten a bit backed up. Hmmm . . . maybe I'll go play Scrabble.
Did anyone see October? I think I remember its presence, but I can't say for sure. I was thinking the other day that this October was one of the all-time craziest, most chaotic months I recall surviving. I think the month prior to our wedding was similarly scattered - 21+ years ago.
I feel like I've posted this already. Hmmm . . . kind of similar to this post. It was apparently a recurring theme. Thus the disappearance of the entire month of October.
Oh, wait! I do remember a few things - my husband had a birthday, my son turned 14(!), and I attended our ladies' retreat. And I did NOT have time for an adequate amount of Scrabble with Mom.
The BIGGEST culprit of isanity was the first issue of the women's ministry newsletter under my responsibility. It seemed that everything that could go wrong did; and then some. The icing on the cake was last night when I took my files to church on a flash drive to print it out (in final draft for proofreading), only to discover I didn't have the correct files! I had to drive back across town (rush-hour traffic, of course), get my laptop with ALL the files, head back to church and print it - after hours.
Okay, that's not entirely true - the true biggest culprit of my wacko month, I believe, is the mortal enemy of my soul - Satan. It's been said that when the attack is heating up you must be doing something right. After all, if we're living an ineffective life for the kingdom of God, the enemy doesn't really give a care. But when you purpose to live for God and do things according to His will, you will get the attention of the enemy. Hmm . . . that sounds like something else I wrote. I think it's important to remember that if you're getting clobbered, you might just be on the right track.
Gee, maybe I should go back and read my own writing! Ha! Ha!
All this to say that I think I'm back. I think I may be able to post somewhat regularly again. There's just a little some finishing edits left to do with the newsletter and it goes to the printer first thing Monday morning - Lord willing and the creek don't rise!
Well, off to sleep where I get an extra hour tonight!!
Married happily ever after (nearly 33 years) to a sweet, handsome, and handy man, mom to two fun, atypical young men (25 and 24), chai latte addict, photography enthusiast, Scrabble junkie, Jesus follower.
"A day without laughter is a day wasted." ~ Charlie Chaplin
Welcome to the insanity that is my life. I spend much of it meandering on bunny trails. Fortunately, I have my GPS - God's Positioning System - to bring me back home.
Last month, I participated in the HSBA Swap. Participants were paired up, some personal info was shared, and each person sent her swap buddy something. Well, let me just say that my 
I discovered a new blog today, 
What I really want to, though, is read Sweet Revenge by 
Did anyone see October? I think I remember its presence, but I can't say for sure. I was thinking the other day that this October was one of the all-time craziest, most chaotic months I recall surviving. I think the month prior to our wedding was similarly scattered - 21+ years ago. 
