I just saw this on another blog and a few people I know will think it's hilarious. If you don't have a goofy sense of humor you will probably not get it.
www.despair.com
Wednesday, 2 July 2008
nothing new
Sunday when we were on base for church, I forgot my WIC vouchers, so we didn't stop for groceries. Which meant we were running low, so last night we rushed dinner and then went to the base. Naysha and the babies went with me to get groceries while Bob took the other 3 to check mail, wash the car, and go in the BX. William slept half-way through the store, then was awake and happy up till we got in line, and grumped all through the check out. But we made it, and I think I got all the important stuff.
Riah's cut is nearly healed. He still has a bump there, but the scab is gone. He's been praying every night for his "hurt" to go away.
After gaining a total of 3 lbs last month, I've decided to get serious about this diet thing. Bob is with me 100%. What we are doing is counting calories, with "high" days and "low" days. Monday and Tuesday are low, Wednesday is high, Thursday and Friday are low, Saturday and Sunday are high. A low day has 12-1500 calories, and a high day has 18-2000. In two days I lost 3 lbs (yes, I weighed each day), and I really wasn't hungry yesterday. Though it was hard to eat only one of Naysha's homemade strawberry muffins. yummy.
The children's computer - the desktop - is not behaving well, so we are browsing for a new one. Yeah, I know. We shop a lot. This is the computer that Bob had set up for video editing. It was a custom built to begin with, and then when he got the video bug he got more memory, a bigger hard drive, a high-end graphics card with tv in/out plugs... Only it turned out to be a WHOLE lot of work, and we ended up getting a DVD burner that hooks up to the TV and VCR and just burned straight onto it that way. Anyway, now the computer thinks it doesn't have a lot of memory, and it doesn't think it has a graphics accelerator. Bottom line, a lot of the children's cheap games won't run. And then the case broke, and the power switch broke. And if we could figure out which motherboard to buy so it would all work together, by the time we got one, and a new case (which would probably then need a new power supply and fans) it would be cheaper to just get a new one. So there you have it.
Sunday Bob got a big white board (write on, wipe off kind) and the children have had a blast with it. Instead of asking to play the computer they ask to draw. :-) I used it for the little ones' math yesterday. I have to limit the time on it because the markers are so stinky.
It was almost hot yesterday - my thermostat read 85* in the sun. LOL, we are getting so spoiled. I hope our next assignment isn't in Arizona.
I know somebody said something really funny yesterday, but now I can't remember what it was. Oh well, I guess that's it then.
Riah's cut is nearly healed. He still has a bump there, but the scab is gone. He's been praying every night for his "hurt" to go away.
After gaining a total of 3 lbs last month, I've decided to get serious about this diet thing. Bob is with me 100%. What we are doing is counting calories, with "high" days and "low" days. Monday and Tuesday are low, Wednesday is high, Thursday and Friday are low, Saturday and Sunday are high. A low day has 12-1500 calories, and a high day has 18-2000. In two days I lost 3 lbs (yes, I weighed each day), and I really wasn't hungry yesterday. Though it was hard to eat only one of Naysha's homemade strawberry muffins. yummy.
The children's computer - the desktop - is not behaving well, so we are browsing for a new one. Yeah, I know. We shop a lot. This is the computer that Bob had set up for video editing. It was a custom built to begin with, and then when he got the video bug he got more memory, a bigger hard drive, a high-end graphics card with tv in/out plugs... Only it turned out to be a WHOLE lot of work, and we ended up getting a DVD burner that hooks up to the TV and VCR and just burned straight onto it that way. Anyway, now the computer thinks it doesn't have a lot of memory, and it doesn't think it has a graphics accelerator. Bottom line, a lot of the children's cheap games won't run. And then the case broke, and the power switch broke. And if we could figure out which motherboard to buy so it would all work together, by the time we got one, and a new case (which would probably then need a new power supply and fans) it would be cheaper to just get a new one. So there you have it.
Sunday Bob got a big white board (write on, wipe off kind) and the children have had a blast with it. Instead of asking to play the computer they ask to draw. :-) I used it for the little ones' math yesterday. I have to limit the time on it because the markers are so stinky.
It was almost hot yesterday - my thermostat read 85* in the sun. LOL, we are getting so spoiled. I hope our next assignment isn't in Arizona.
I know somebody said something really funny yesterday, but now I can't remember what it was. Oh well, I guess that's it then.
Monday, 30 June 2008
things that make me go hmmm
I got an email yesterday that gave me pause.
It claimed to be from an American woman who had found my blog via search engine and wanted to know a couple of specific (seemingly innocent) things about the military base. #1, I couldn't get to my blog by searching for what she was searching for. #2, My blog doesn't give my email address anywhere (as far as I know). #3, Some information is best not given.
So I'm posting for a couple of reasons. If it really was a legitimate email question, sorry but I won't be answering you in case you aren't who you claim.
Also, I would like to know if any internet savvy people can get to my email address by my blog.
Makes me wonder if I ought to blog so freely... On the other hand, given #1 and 2 above, I wonder if the email was totally Phishing and had nothing to do with this blog at all. On the other hand, maybe it really was just a lonely American on foreign soil. And as Bob says, that's already more hands than any one person ought to have. :-) If you ask for my opinion, I'm likely to give you all of them.
It claimed to be from an American woman who had found my blog via search engine and wanted to know a couple of specific (seemingly innocent) things about the military base. #1, I couldn't get to my blog by searching for what she was searching for. #2, My blog doesn't give my email address anywhere (as far as I know). #3, Some information is best not given.
So I'm posting for a couple of reasons. If it really was a legitimate email question, sorry but I won't be answering you in case you aren't who you claim.
Also, I would like to know if any internet savvy people can get to my email address by my blog.
Makes me wonder if I ought to blog so freely... On the other hand, given #1 and 2 above, I wonder if the email was totally Phishing and had nothing to do with this blog at all. On the other hand, maybe it really was just a lonely American on foreign soil. And as Bob says, that's already more hands than any one person ought to have. :-) If you ask for my opinion, I'm likely to give you all of them.
Saturday, 28 June 2008
Fun fun
(A little catch-up.)
Bob did not get promoted to Master Sergeant this year. We were kind of hoping he would (more money), but as we've been thinking about it, we realized that there's no real reason to want it. We have enough money now, and promotion would be more responsibility/headache/work. So we're okay with it.
A new guy at Bob's work wants to buy his Honda, so we are getting the water pump replaced and then he will (hopefully) buy it. We are undecided about a replacement car. I want a vintage Jaguar; Bob said today maybe we'd better get another van to have transport in case our van breaks or needs servicing.
Bob took out Riah's stitches Wednesday night, and he's doing well.
Wednesday a lady that we met at the BX (I wrote about it at the time) brought her family over for lunch. I made blonde brownies and fruit salad, and we had sandwiches and chips also. They were here about 2 hours and we had a nice visit. Maybe we will get together for July 4th. (They have 4 children and seem to be on the same page as us on many issues, but we didn't talk too much doctrine just yet.) She told me about a Pick Your Own farm in Isleham.
Today we didn't plan too much because Bob was pretty tired and stressed from work. I'd seen a sign for a "Togs and Toys" sale in Newmarket, and there was the PYO, so...
We drove into Newmarket and parked at the Waitrose (grocery store) which is next to the Catholic Church where the sale was. We got out and realized we didn't have any British money. (duh!) So we went into the store first, thinking we'd get cash back on our purchase. We bought bread, cookies, and Nutella, and didn't get cash back since the card ran as credit. There was an ATM outside, so we got cash there.
We took our stuff to the car and walked over to the sale. It was pretty small; about 10 tables. We got one cute dress for Ella.
Then we went to Mildenhall for lunch and shopping. I signed up to get a gift for the biggest loser in a blogger weight loss group I'm in, so I wanted to look for something, and we got a couple of other things. Ran into one rude (British) employee, but I think I'm over that now.
Then we drove out to Isleham (not far from Mildenhall) and found the PYO farm. Strawberries are in season and were selling at 1GBP per pound. (Though the cartons the man gave us to pick into hold about a kilo each... one day they will figure out which system they are using.) William was asleep so we put his seat on the stroller, and out we went. Riah and Ella came with me and Cedwryck went with Bob (who also took the stroller); the girls were more or less on their own.
I showed Riah how to pick, and he spent the next 45 minutes saying, "Is this one good? ... This one isn't good... This one is good." Ella tramped back and forth across the rows and ate the ones we tossed out for being overripe. She also picked a few and put in my basket. We got 5 baskets full - about $20 worth. They are very delicious. I don't think we'll be freezing them, if you know what I mean.
So that's that. Sorry if this post isn't well written; I can't think straight today.
Bob did not get promoted to Master Sergeant this year. We were kind of hoping he would (more money), but as we've been thinking about it, we realized that there's no real reason to want it. We have enough money now, and promotion would be more responsibility/headache/work. So we're okay with it.
A new guy at Bob's work wants to buy his Honda, so we are getting the water pump replaced and then he will (hopefully) buy it. We are undecided about a replacement car. I want a vintage Jaguar; Bob said today maybe we'd better get another van to have transport in case our van breaks or needs servicing.
Bob took out Riah's stitches Wednesday night, and he's doing well.
Wednesday a lady that we met at the BX (I wrote about it at the time) brought her family over for lunch. I made blonde brownies and fruit salad, and we had sandwiches and chips also. They were here about 2 hours and we had a nice visit. Maybe we will get together for July 4th. (They have 4 children and seem to be on the same page as us on many issues, but we didn't talk too much doctrine just yet.) She told me about a Pick Your Own farm in Isleham.
Today we didn't plan too much because Bob was pretty tired and stressed from work. I'd seen a sign for a "Togs and Toys" sale in Newmarket, and there was the PYO, so...
We drove into Newmarket and parked at the Waitrose (grocery store) which is next to the Catholic Church where the sale was. We got out and realized we didn't have any British money. (duh!) So we went into the store first, thinking we'd get cash back on our purchase. We bought bread, cookies, and Nutella, and didn't get cash back since the card ran as credit. There was an ATM outside, so we got cash there.
We took our stuff to the car and walked over to the sale. It was pretty small; about 10 tables. We got one cute dress for Ella.
Then we went to Mildenhall for lunch and shopping. I signed up to get a gift for the biggest loser in a blogger weight loss group I'm in, so I wanted to look for something, and we got a couple of other things. Ran into one rude (British) employee, but I think I'm over that now.
Then we drove out to Isleham (not far from Mildenhall) and found the PYO farm. Strawberries are in season and were selling at 1GBP per pound. (Though the cartons the man gave us to pick into hold about a kilo each... one day they will figure out which system they are using.) William was asleep so we put his seat on the stroller, and out we went. Riah and Ella came with me and Cedwryck went with Bob (who also took the stroller); the girls were more or less on their own.
I showed Riah how to pick, and he spent the next 45 minutes saying, "Is this one good? ... This one isn't good... This one is good." Ella tramped back and forth across the rows and ate the ones we tossed out for being overripe. She also picked a few and put in my basket. We got 5 baskets full - about $20 worth. They are very delicious. I don't think we'll be freezing them, if you know what I mean.
So that's that. Sorry if this post isn't well written; I can't think straight today.
Thursday, 26 June 2008
Chocolate Gravy
Monday at lunch Taryn mentioned chocolate gravy, and Lorella, instead of the normal "ewww" reaction, said, "How have I lived x years and never heard of this?"
So, Lorella, this is for you. (posted rather than emailed in case someone else wants to know)
In microwave safe 2 qt bowl, combine:
1/2 c sugar
2 heaping Tablespoons of cocoa (probably close to 1/4 cup)
3 heaping Tablespoons flour
Gradually whisk in (keeping the mixture smooth):
2 c milk.
Microwave on high 2 minutes, whisk, repeat. Continue to microwave, stirring at 1 minute intervals until desired thickness.
Serve over hot buttered biscuits.
(Notes.
1, biscuits are basically scones.
2, this can be made with all or part water instead of milk, but flavor will be lost. Use whole milk for best taste.
3, this can be made on the stove, just stir constantly.
4, some people [meaning Bob] like to crumble the biscuit in a bowl, spoon in a dollop of butter, and then pour the gravy over it, stirring to melt the butter. Other people [meaning me] prefer to split and butter the biscuit, then pour the gravy over, and cut off bites with a spoon.)
So, Lorella, this is for you. (posted rather than emailed in case someone else wants to know)
In microwave safe 2 qt bowl, combine:
1/2 c sugar
2 heaping Tablespoons of cocoa (probably close to 1/4 cup)
3 heaping Tablespoons flour
Gradually whisk in (keeping the mixture smooth):
2 c milk.
Microwave on high 2 minutes, whisk, repeat. Continue to microwave, stirring at 1 minute intervals until desired thickness.
Serve over hot buttered biscuits.
(Notes.
1, biscuits are basically scones.
2, this can be made with all or part water instead of milk, but flavor will be lost. Use whole milk for best taste.
3, this can be made on the stove, just stir constantly.
4, some people [meaning Bob] like to crumble the biscuit in a bowl, spoon in a dollop of butter, and then pour the gravy over it, stirring to melt the butter. Other people [meaning me] prefer to split and butter the biscuit, then pour the gravy over, and cut off bites with a spoon.)
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
The love of God
For some reason this came to mind today.
You know the story of the pearl of great price, right? Jesus said the kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sold all he had to buy a pearl. I had always assumed the pearl was God and the man was me and the moral was that I needed to give up everything to follow God. But we have a "Donut Man" video (sing along for children), and on it the donut man explained it this way: You are the pearl. God is the man, and the price he paid for you cost him Jesus - everything He had.
Also, the same thing from another angle:
We have a video of a play about Pocahontas. John Rolf was talking to her about God and the devil. She told of the Indian god who demanded human sacrifice, and how horrible it was, and how she was glad to "renounce the devil" as the catechism taught. And then John Rolfe said, "The true God doesn't demand that you die for Him; The true God died for you."
I could go on moralizing a while, but I think I'll leave it with those two stories.
God bless.
You know the story of the pearl of great price, right? Jesus said the kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sold all he had to buy a pearl. I had always assumed the pearl was God and the man was me and the moral was that I needed to give up everything to follow God. But we have a "Donut Man" video (sing along for children), and on it the donut man explained it this way: You are the pearl. God is the man, and the price he paid for you cost him Jesus - everything He had.
Also, the same thing from another angle:
We have a video of a play about Pocahontas. John Rolf was talking to her about God and the devil. She told of the Indian god who demanded human sacrifice, and how horrible it was, and how she was glad to "renounce the devil" as the catechism taught. And then John Rolfe said, "The true God doesn't demand that you die for Him; The true God died for you."
I could go on moralizing a while, but I think I'll leave it with those two stories.
God bless.
Tuesday, 24 June 2008
the visit
My cousin Chris and his wife Lorella celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary this year by spending 15 days in Europe. This concerns me because the last day of their trip was at my house. :-) Chris has done a good job of telling about the rest of their trip, but for me things started Sunday.
We straightened the house Sunday morning and left for church about 10:45, which gave us time for lunch at Burger King beforehand. After church we stopped at the commissary for ice cream, since I forgot that Saturday, and then on home to relax a minute before making supper. I had just started on the salad when the children all started shouting "They're Here!"
Chris came to the door to ask where to park (good question). When I opened the door, Ella looked up at him and said, "Daddy." No, Ella, that's Chris, not Daddy. So they got parked and we had a visit while William nursed and Taryn made the salad. Cedwryck had previously decided that he wasn't going to talk to 'those people,' and it turned out that we wished he hadn't. While we were all sitting around chatting, he pointed at Chris and said, "You're fat!" Mortification! They took it kindly, but I'm feeling the need for some refinement in our life. Not like we normally go around commenting on people's body shape, but maybe we do talk too much about the unimportant things.
All the children took up with Chris and Lorella right away, and we had a good visit. They were very generous guests, and brought gifts for each of us, as well as buying us dinner on Monday (but I get ahead of myself), and sharing with the children. They've definitely set the standard high for future visitors - and there had better be some future visitors!
We had chicken enchiladas for Sunday dinner, with chips, beans, and some vegetables. For dessert there was Taryn's cake with ice cream. yummy
Monday we got up pretty early and had breakfast of sausage, scrambled eggs, and homemade cinnamon rolls. William decided to take a nurse-and-nap after breakfast, so that gave us time for more visiting and relaxing. Lorella packed up their bags, and we generally got ready to go. We were out of the house by 9:30 or so, and they led the way to Orford Castle, following directions of their in-car GPS. It took us a different route than Google maps, so we got to see the outskirts of Ipswich for the first time.
Taryn didn't think Orford had a lot of stairs, but it is on 4 floors altogether. It didn't feel like a lot, but my knees are a little sore today. Anyway, we got the audio tours and wandered around looking and listening. When we started up the last flight of stairs, onto the roof, we noticed Chris wasn't with us. Lorella said he'd probably gone looking for a bathroom, so we went on up. There are two guard towers that have rooms inside, kinda dark, and the children discovered that the doors were open (I think they were locked last time) and started in one. There was a big noise, and everyone screamed and ran out laughing. Yep, Chris was hiding in the guard room to scare us. Cedwryck almost cried, and didn't like being scared. Guess what the children spent the rest of the visit doing.
It was this incident that reminded me of what an ornery boy Chris used to be. He was the one who got an extra dinner roll at a family dinner, took it to his place and stuffed a napkin inside before "deciding" he didn't want that many, so he took it back to the serving line. He got into a bit of trouble when our grandma ended up with the false roll. It was Chris who would stand outside the bathroom window in the evenings and make funny noises at my cousin while she was in the shower. And Chris was the one who "laid hands on" the burnt-out light bulb in our Great Grandma's "old house" and commanded it to come on, "in the name of Jesus," in classic televangelist style. I'm glad he's settled down some. ;-)
Anyway, after Orford we went to Framlingham Castle, about 30 minutes away and explored it's museum, curtain wall, and gift shop. We were getting pretty hungry by this time, so we walked toward the village and the first pub we saw, just outside the castle grounds, had plenty of seating so we went in. It was about 3:00. Lorella easily remembered what everyone wanted and ordered at the bar. Bob had fish and chips, which he said was much better than what we'd got at the pub in Orford last time, I had a sandwich and salad, and most of the children had chicken nuggets (Riah had fish). Then we had dessert. Each child had an ice cream scoop, and Bob and I shared a "caramelized apple tart with ice cream." It was VERY good. Lorella also had a tart, and Chris had strawberries and cream - which all the children made eyes at, so he gave them each a strawberry in addition to their ice cream.
After lunch we walked down to the church and went in. A man was playing the big pipe organ, and a few other people were wandering around. In the back of the church is the tomb of Henry 8th's illegitimate son and his wife. It was about 5, and we each had a little driving to do, so we said our good-byes in the parking lot and we went home while they went toward Heathrow.
Today I am feeling quite tired, but I got a boost when Misty, the lady whom I met at the BX a couple of months ago, called and we decided to get together tomorrow.
The weather was very nice yesterday - blue sky with white puffy clouds, about 65*, a little breezy at first but calming down later.
We didn't get lost, but did have a couple of incidents. #1, Taryn and Naysha rode with Chris and Lorella in their rental Audi. Halfway to Orford, on the highway, Taryn's door came open! Turns out she was checking to see if the car had child safety locks. #2, on the outskirts of Framlingham, a bee flew in Bob's open window and down his shirt, stinging him on the chest. OUCH.
so I guess this post is about long enough.
Who's next?
We straightened the house Sunday morning and left for church about 10:45, which gave us time for lunch at Burger King beforehand. After church we stopped at the commissary for ice cream, since I forgot that Saturday, and then on home to relax a minute before making supper. I had just started on the salad when the children all started shouting "They're Here!"
Chris came to the door to ask where to park (good question). When I opened the door, Ella looked up at him and said, "Daddy." No, Ella, that's Chris, not Daddy. So they got parked and we had a visit while William nursed and Taryn made the salad. Cedwryck had previously decided that he wasn't going to talk to 'those people,' and it turned out that we wished he hadn't. While we were all sitting around chatting, he pointed at Chris and said, "You're fat!" Mortification! They took it kindly, but I'm feeling the need for some refinement in our life. Not like we normally go around commenting on people's body shape, but maybe we do talk too much about the unimportant things.
All the children took up with Chris and Lorella right away, and we had a good visit. They were very generous guests, and brought gifts for each of us, as well as buying us dinner on Monday (but I get ahead of myself), and sharing with the children. They've definitely set the standard high for future visitors - and there had better be some future visitors!
We had chicken enchiladas for Sunday dinner, with chips, beans, and some vegetables. For dessert there was Taryn's cake with ice cream. yummy
Monday we got up pretty early and had breakfast of sausage, scrambled eggs, and homemade cinnamon rolls. William decided to take a nurse-and-nap after breakfast, so that gave us time for more visiting and relaxing. Lorella packed up their bags, and we generally got ready to go. We were out of the house by 9:30 or so, and they led the way to Orford Castle, following directions of their in-car GPS. It took us a different route than Google maps, so we got to see the outskirts of Ipswich for the first time.
Taryn didn't think Orford had a lot of stairs, but it is on 4 floors altogether. It didn't feel like a lot, but my knees are a little sore today. Anyway, we got the audio tours and wandered around looking and listening. When we started up the last flight of stairs, onto the roof, we noticed Chris wasn't with us. Lorella said he'd probably gone looking for a bathroom, so we went on up. There are two guard towers that have rooms inside, kinda dark, and the children discovered that the doors were open (I think they were locked last time) and started in one. There was a big noise, and everyone screamed and ran out laughing. Yep, Chris was hiding in the guard room to scare us. Cedwryck almost cried, and didn't like being scared. Guess what the children spent the rest of the visit doing.
It was this incident that reminded me of what an ornery boy Chris used to be. He was the one who got an extra dinner roll at a family dinner, took it to his place and stuffed a napkin inside before "deciding" he didn't want that many, so he took it back to the serving line. He got into a bit of trouble when our grandma ended up with the false roll. It was Chris who would stand outside the bathroom window in the evenings and make funny noises at my cousin while she was in the shower. And Chris was the one who "laid hands on" the burnt-out light bulb in our Great Grandma's "old house" and commanded it to come on, "in the name of Jesus," in classic televangelist style. I'm glad he's settled down some. ;-)
Anyway, after Orford we went to Framlingham Castle, about 30 minutes away and explored it's museum, curtain wall, and gift shop. We were getting pretty hungry by this time, so we walked toward the village and the first pub we saw, just outside the castle grounds, had plenty of seating so we went in. It was about 3:00. Lorella easily remembered what everyone wanted and ordered at the bar. Bob had fish and chips, which he said was much better than what we'd got at the pub in Orford last time, I had a sandwich and salad, and most of the children had chicken nuggets (Riah had fish). Then we had dessert. Each child had an ice cream scoop, and Bob and I shared a "caramelized apple tart with ice cream." It was VERY good. Lorella also had a tart, and Chris had strawberries and cream - which all the children made eyes at, so he gave them each a strawberry in addition to their ice cream.
After lunch we walked down to the church and went in. A man was playing the big pipe organ, and a few other people were wandering around. In the back of the church is the tomb of Henry 8th's illegitimate son and his wife. It was about 5, and we each had a little driving to do, so we said our good-byes in the parking lot and we went home while they went toward Heathrow.
Today I am feeling quite tired, but I got a boost when Misty, the lady whom I met at the BX a couple of months ago, called and we decided to get together tomorrow.
The weather was very nice yesterday - blue sky with white puffy clouds, about 65*, a little breezy at first but calming down later.
We didn't get lost, but did have a couple of incidents. #1, Taryn and Naysha rode with Chris and Lorella in their rental Audi. Halfway to Orford, on the highway, Taryn's door came open! Turns out she was checking to see if the car had child safety locks. #2, on the outskirts of Framlingham, a bee flew in Bob's open window and down his shirt, stinging him on the chest. OUCH.
so I guess this post is about long enough.
Who's next?
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