Athena in a Minivan

Our Word Cloud

I saw this in The Common Room and thought it was really cool so I had them make me one and with some editing out words I didn't like and capitalizing some words here is Athena in a Minivan's word cloud and I am going to get the t-shirt because it is all I wear and I think it is really cool. Thanks for the link.

No, the Christmas Decorations are still not put away....

...but my attitude is better. I love to write. I have not always loved to write but lately, I have found myself writing to get my thoughts out of my head. I use to talk to my mom about my thoughts and my ideas and she was always willing to listen and let me ramble on and on. Since she is gone, I find myself putting these thoughts here instead of rambling on to someone.  My friend, Tim's Mom, put it into perspective for me that this writing is for me. She is right. Women use to write long letters and keep journals but now we blog. I never thought anything of it when everyone wrote letters. That is how we communicated. This is how I communicate. I don't write letters. I blog. Check out Pearls before Swine.

I have a very dear friend from college who keeps up with me by reading my blog. One semester I left college to try to figure out what I was going to do with my life. She wrote me the most wonderful letters. I picked one at random and it is full of love and encouragement along with what was going on. Her love and encouragement is one of the main reasons I decided to return to college and finish my degree there. My mother wrote wonderful letters. She would tell me about the weather, what she had for lunch, the score of the Texas Rangers games and what she was doing at work. My sister writes great letters. She always tells me some funny story that makes me smile.

I like the that people tell about how to cook new recipes, what they are reading, how their children are. I love to look at pictures of various children being cute, flowers, and beautiful photography. I am not going to give up blogging or reading blogs. I need to know what others are doing around me and what they are thinking and doing. One of my favorite plays is "Our Town" by Thornton Wilder. In the Third Act, Emily has died and asks to go back to a particular day. The narrator tells her to choose an ordinary day. She goes back to her 12Th birthday. She watches her childhood with adult eyes and she says, ""It goes so fast. We don't have time to look at one another....Oh, earth, you're too wonderful for anybody to realize you. Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it? -- every, every minute." I needed to be reminded of this. I needed to remember to love and live life each and every day.

Now about those Crocs. Head over to www.crocs.com or Walmart or Payless and buy some for yourself. Who cares if they cost $10 or $12 or $30. I got off my pitty pot and got a bit of perspective and now you know what? It just does not matter. In the grand scheme of thing, I just does not matter.  Your feet will thank you!!! Oh, and the Christmas decorations are still not put away and it really does not matter.

Are Blogs becoming Pase?

When I started this blog in November of 2004, hardly anyone I knew had a blog. I usually had to explain what it was. I discovered blogs and blogging during the 2004 election. I had to pay for the service I used to blog. It was not alot around $50 per year. Since then, it seems that everyone has a blog. You can find blogs about any subject. The Old Schoolhouse magazine, for homeschoolers, offers blogs for free. Blogger.com offers blogs for free. Everyone can blog as long as they have access to a computer. There is even a blog for a homeless man who used the library to make his posts.

It is sorta like this, I have a favorite pair of clogs. They are called Crocs. They are not super expensive and I have enjoyed them for a while now. They are warm in the winter, cool in the summer. They don't require much in getting them on. They don't really go with anything but that is why I like them. I can wear them with shorts, pants, skirts, well, anything. Another thing I like about them is that not everyone has them. They are different and I have people ask about them. The cost around $30 so they are not out of everyone's budget. I saved so I could buy them. Here is the deal, yesterday I saw a knockoff of them at Walmart. The ones at Walmart looked like the original but the back strap did not move and the rubber felt well rubbery where my Crocs feel soft. The cost of them is around $10.

If someone wants to buy them at Walmart and wear them than that is great. They saved money, they have something similar to the original but it is not exactly the same. I grow weary of stores finding an idea and then copying it. I know it is the American way, there are not original ideas, yada, yada, yada. Or the argument, it is capitalism at its best. But wouldn't it be OK for once to not have Walmart copy my favorite shoes?

I think I may take a little break from blogging. Not forever just for a little while. Maybe like until Monday, then maybe I can get these darn Christmas decorations put up.

What should your major be?

Maybe I should have had this before I decided on a Business major. Then I would not have wasted so much time in college. At least I finally got my act together and got an Education degree.

You scored as Anthropology. You should be an Anthropology major! Anthropology 100% Sociology 92% Theater 92% Psychology 92% Philosophy 83% Mathematics 83% Engineering 75% Dance 67% English 58% Journalism 58% Biology 58% Chemistry 58% Art 50% Linguistics 33% What is your Perfect Major? (PLEASE RATE ME!!<3) created with QuizFarm.com (HT to Tim's Mom)

Carnival of Homeschooling

There is a Carnival of Homeschooling at in the Common Room. There is a plethora of articles and information about why people homeschool. I have learned in my short time of homeschooling that not all homeschoolers think alike. (go figure) I had a preconceived notion about what homeschooling was before I began to investigate and make decisions for Butch and Sundance.

I can be who I am and find a place in the homeschooling community both here at home and online. I have not had to change my political ways, my spiritual ways, my housecleaning ways, my parenting ways, or my friendship ways. Though I do evaluate all of these on a regular basis to see if they are still in line with the teachings of Jesus or if I have gotten off track somewhere.

If you are thinking about homeschooling, this is a good place to start.

Paperback Swap

I may be late coming to the party but I just discovered PaperbackSwap.com. It is awsome. You list the paperback books that you have already read or have not read or do not want any longer. Then people request your paperbacks and for the cost of the USPS Media Mail ($1.59) you send them the book. You can get credits for mailing books and with the credits, you can request books. I had a lot of books laying around that were not being read or I had read and no longer wanted. Already, I have received credits and am waiting for some books that I have wanted to read to arrive at my house. If you decide to post some books, you can use the above link and I will get credit for your joining this service. Check it out. I am waiting on books for our school too.

Accusations

What is it with life? I have been accused of doing something that I did not do. The person doing the accusing did not check her facts nor did she come to me first before she went around to other people saying I had done this thing. I am the first to admit when I am wrong and being the middle child who does not like discord, I am quick to make amends.  I was brought up being taught to go to the source of my problems. In my family, even when it was difficult or painful, my mom always made us go to the source of our problems to confront face to face what ever it was. We were not allowed to gossip, spread rumors, or talk bad about someone. I am angry, I am hurt, I am frustrated. I know God knows the truth. I know I know the truth. I just hope this person realizes the truth.

Update: This has been resolved. When I was able to go to the source of the accusation and explain that it was not possible for me to have done this deed and that it saddened me not only that this had happened to her but that I would never hurt anyone on purpose. My very dear friend (and our pastor's wife) made sure that everyone in the meeting knew that I had not done this deed. I am grateful to her for doing the research to find the source of the problem and to make it right. Turned out it was a missent email. MORAL: As my mom use to say, don't put anything in print that you would not want published in the paper.

Back to School

We have battled sickness and attended my aunt's funeral so we are now getting back to school work regularly. I have so loved homeschooling Butch and Sundance. Yesterday I talked to a friend whose little guy is in PS Kindergarten. I picked her brain about what he was doing and she didn't know. I could not stand not knowing what they were doing. When I asked about field trips she said that they had gone to a pumpkin patch in October but no other ones.  The school her child is in is suppose to be one of the best in our area and I am sure the teachers there are hand picked. Her son is smart and I know he is learning. But not to know what was going on? I asked her about work that is sent home and she said sometimes there is a small reader or maybe some sight words. I am grateful I can be fully involved in my children's education. I know that the foundation for learning is being laid in the best way possible for us. I am grateful to my parents who encouraged me to pursue an education degree and I am grateful to my husband who is supportive of my decisions for education. Mostly, I am grateful that God has given me the desire and the ability to homeschool. Now, back to trying to write those long names I graces my children with. (Butch's real name has 7 letters and Sundance's has 9.)

Serendipity in Austin, Texas

This past Tuesday afternoon my cousin called to let us know that his mother had died. My aunt had a stroke and was in renal failure and her body was not strong enough to continue on. She was a loving wife, mother and grandmother. I did not get to spend much time with this part of my family as my cousins were 15 years older than me and we were children as they were in college. We always knew where everyone was and what they were up to thought. My father and his older brother would talk on the phone at least once a month "just to check in". My aunt's funeral was beautiful and a testimony to a life well lived. Her body is now whole and she is with Jesus.

This is about what happened while we were in Austin attending her funeral. A serendipity is finding something unexpected and useful while searching for something else entirely. We were there for a funeral. My father, my sister, Butch, Sundance, Toddler and I had traveled down on Wednesday night and had taken a suite in Round Rock (a suburb of Austin).  Wednesday night also happened to be the night that the University of Texas was playing for the National Championship.  We arrived at our suite in time to watch the game. There were three TVs for a two bedroom suite. The game was playing in the lobby of the hotel. You could hear the game from the other rooms in the hallway.

My father, a UT alumnus, was excited to see his team win. He and my mother had both gone to the University and he has fond memories of attending games together.  (matter of fact, as the story goes, he proposed at half-time of a 1952 UT Cotton Bowl game so he would not miss any of the game). In case you have been in a technology free bubble, Texas won the National Championship. Loud cheers were heard all over our hotel. As is tradition when Texas wins a football game, the tower at the university is lit in honor of the win but for a National Championship the tower is lit orange with an number 1 in lights. We decided at 11:30pm to load the pajama clad kiddos into the minivan and head on down to the campus to see the tower.

As we got closer to the campus, the traffic got heavier and heavier, just as if rush hour had come early. Horns were honking, people were hanging our of sunroofs, flags were being waved and everyone was smiling. We exited the freeway and found ourselves in bumper to bumper traffic but unlike the gridlocks of Dallas, this traffic was celebrating. We were able to see the tower and honk our horn along with the rest of Austin. The state capital dome was even lit orange. The kids loved the ruckus until it got to be 12:30am and they had all succumbed to sleep in their respective car-seats. We decided to abandon our attempt to get to the campus and turned around but not before a young college student of maybe 19 high fived my dad who is 76.

Butch, Sundance and Toddler learned to say, "Hook 'Em Horns", they learned the words to the Eyes of Texas, they ate Happy Meals in a hotel room, they learned a little Texas pride, and they learned what makes their family do crazy, spontaneous things.

{Photo is not mine, mine are blurry and horrible. Here is the link to this photo: http://www.utexas.edu/student/utlc/wint_inst/images/pages/tower_with_moon.html}

Hook 'Em Horns

Wednesday night my favorite college team, The University of Texas Longhorns, compete for the National Championship. My family has been Longhorn fans all our lives. My grandfather, mother and father all went to UT. Since I went to a university without a football team, I have been able to keep my loyalties to UT. I have been to many UT football games in my life. We grew up within walking distance of  Texas Christian University and we able to attend many UT football games. Our family traveled to Austin to watch the burnt orange pass, punt and kick their way to a victory.

One game when I was a little girl, I went to sleep under my parents feet while the game went on around me. Another game, it was raining crickets. My father stayed until the last second but the rest of us retreated under the stands. Thanksgivings have been spent traveling to see UT play. My blood still stirs to the strains of "The Eyes of Texas" and "Texas Fight". Which you can hear here.

Wednesday night, I will be infront of my TV as the Texas Longhorns take on USC. I will be wearing my Longhorn hat and my children will wear Longhorn shirts as we introduce the next generation to the grand traditions of our family and yell together,"HOOK 'EM HORNS".