Interesting Stuff

-In the 1400's a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have "the rule of thumb"
-Many years ago in Scotland , a new game was invented. It was ruled "Gentlemen Only..Ladies Forbidden"...and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.
-The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV were Fred and Wilma Flintstone.
-Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S . Treasury.
-Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.
-Coca-Cola was originally green.
-It is impossible to lick your elbow.
-The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work:
Alaska
-The average number of people airborne over the U.S. in any given hour: 61,000
-Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
-The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer.
-The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.
-Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:
Spades - King David
Hearts - Charlemagne
Clubs -Alexander, the Great
Diamonds - Julius Caesar
-111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
-If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.
-Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.
Q. Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?
A. Their birthplace
Q. Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat name requested?
A. Obsession
Q. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter "A"?
A. One thousand
Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers all have in common?
A. All were invented by women.
Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil?
A. Honey
Q. Which day are there more collect calls than any other day of the year?
A. Father's Day
-In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes.
When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase......... "goodnight, sleep tight."
-It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.
-In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts... So in old England , when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them "Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down."
It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's"
-Many years ago in England , pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. "Wet your whistle" is the phrase inspired by this practice.
-At least 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow!
-Believe it or not, you can read this:
I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? (God is so good!)
-YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2008 when...
1. You accidentally enter your PIN on the microwave.
2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.
3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three.
4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.
5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.
6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries. (Yes I have actually done this, usually phone ahead though :)
7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen
8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't even have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.
10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.
11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )
12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.
13. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.
14. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list.
~~~~~~~~~~~AND FINALLY~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOW U R LAUGHING at yourself.
INTERESTING STUFF

My First "Art Masterpiece" Print

In an earlier posting I had said I'd be beginning to do the Art Masterpiece program at my children's school. I have received my list of prints for the remainder of the school year. My first to show is John Fredrick Peto's "Letter Rack". When I first saw this I thought, I start with this! It's not a Monet or a Van Gogh or Renoir.....It doesn't look like what I had hoped for. It is my job though to give the kids an appreciation of art and to view it differently than what my first reaction was. The more I look at it, learn about it, I am beginning to appreciate it. This is Trompe l'oeil "french for fool the eye" it look like a photograph that you can almost touch when in fact there is no photography here. This is amazing that he could paint this way. If you just look at it and tell yourself he painted this! It kind of reminds me of the "I SPY" books my kids like. Sadly, Peto wasn't credited for some of his early work. Credit went to Harnett since his signature brought money, his signature was forged on Peto's work. As with so many artists, the appreciation came after he died. He is also an American painter, born in Philadelphia. He then moved he and his family to Island Heights, New Jersey (the state I was born in) He had previously been commuting there to support his family and play the cornet, apparently an instrument similar to the trumpet. This particular painting represents some of the things that were in his solitary studio, battered books, lamps, mugs and pipes. He died at age 53 as kind of a starving artist type. I want to present this painting to the kids in a way that will heighten their curiosity as to what it is. I'm going to bring it into the classroom covered up. We'll talk about it and I'll describe it before they get the chance to see it. I'm looking forward to starting this program. It will be lots of fun. I'm excited to hear what the kids have to say. Pray for me, my frist day is Tuesday.

Relient K Video Added

I added a Relient K Video to the right it's called "Pressing On".

Ever had a day like this?

Last week I had one of those Candid Camera moments. You know when you asked is this for real? I had dropped something off to my husband at work. He works near a Post Office and my Mom needed some stamps. I had almost an hour until my son needed to be picked up from school. I thought I'll just go into the Post Office real quick. I wanted to go to the craft store before I picked him up. I went to the stamp machine thinking it would be quicker. I had the exact change for a book of stamps. I proceeded to take my money out of my wallet. In the process I accidentally tore the $5 bill I was taking out (must have been torn previously?) I thought Utoh will the picky machine take my torn bill? Sure why not I can make it work. It didn't like my torn $5 bill very much. I think it almost tore the end totally off. It repeatedly spit it out, but I was determined to keep putting it in. Finally alas it must of sensed my frustration and it sucked it in and didn't spit it out YEAH victory. Then there was the other $3.20 to go. So the first 2 bills go in fine, eventually the 3rd one did too after much frustration and my banging on the wall for someone to please help me with this machine. Then there was the matter of the last 20 cents. In no combination would it accept any more of my money not a quarter not 2 dimes not a nickel, nothing! I didn't have another dollar bill to try and I wasn't putting a $20 in there. The machine starts beeping at me telling me if I don't ask for more time I'll loose it all. Mind you this isn't the first time it's told me this. I walk around, keeping a close eye on the machine, looking for a door to knock on, rather than a wall. I find a door, apparently the only activity at the door is on Saturdays, this wasn't one of those days. I thought those post people are in there somewhere I just know it, I can hear them. I check on the machine making sure I appease it. Then I poke my head into the area where the line is. Everyone looked pretty busy, nobody was looking my way. Back to the machine, press the yes I want more time button. Then I go back in where the line is and politely interrupt, the nice customer, rather than the Postal employee offered a $1 that I could try to appease the machine. I put the $1, I think it spit it out, it had to get one more crack at me. Then finally it took the money and gave me the book of stamps I had sought after for 15 minutes (I couldn't be bothered waiting in line) It did however refuse to give me the 80 cents change back Urgggggghhhhhh :) Once the woman who had lent me the $1 came out I had counted out all my pennies and dimes and nickels and quarters to give her the exact dollar back. She said never mind, just laundry money, I appreciated her kindness. I guess I have a bit of a stuborn streek you think? One of those days..........

First Hockey Lessons

Before Christmas my son took some Hockey Lessons. We have an Ice rink nearby and they offered a free introductory program for little ones to introduce them to Hockey. It was the first time my son was on the ice. He was so cute, at first he looked like he was walk-skating. He did pretty well I was really impressed. By the final lesson they had hockey sticks and pucks. He took the lessons with one of his best buds. The two boys were so fun to watch. Had to share this adorable moment.

My son's favorite present

My 5 year old son got a Power Wheels Quad for Christmas from Grandma. He LOVES it and rides it daily around our yard. When my daughter was about his age Grandma had given her a Barbie Jeep. She really enjoyed that and even though she's 12, she can ride this quad! We have a large yard that is mostly grass with some rocks and concrete and he rides it and rides it all around the yard, sister does too ;) Here in the picture he's taking his buddy for a spin. They didn't have anything like this when I was a kid. I guess we did have things that had to be powered by our own little legs. I had a fire engine and I also had a pony that had wheels under his legs. My cousins had a Big Wheel and that was pretty cool.

Happy New Year 2008!

As I've mentioned previously, my husband and children have had the same Christmas break off. I have enjoyed this time with them so much. We've, for the most part, kept to ourselves most of this time and have just enjoyed being a family. On Sunday we decided to leave for California, spur of the moment as we are famous for :) We have talked about seeing the Rose Bowl Parade in person over the past couple of years. We felt this time would be the best opportunity to do that. We began our trip at Joshua Tree National Park. I honestly didn't realize how big it was. It is really a cool place with so many Joshua trees and rock formations and mountains. We spent a day and a half going through the park. We stayed in Twentynine Palms, CA the first night. Apparently the band "U2", while taking there "Joshua Tree" Album cover shot years back, stayed at the "Harmony Motel" in Twentynine Palms also :) My husband gave me this bit of trivia info. We are U2 fans also. The second day after spending most of the day at Joshua Tree we spent in Diamond Bar just outside of LA. We awoke just after 4 AM to get ready to travel 30 minutes to Pasadena for the parade. We didn't know what to expect but knew we didn't want to pay an arm and a leg to view the parade. We found free parking and then walked around just after sunrise to find the best spot to park ourselves. We found a pretty good spot but the parade didn't arrive to us until around 9:30 AM. It was amazing to see all the work and detail put into the floats up close. The flowers were beautiful in person. Once the parade was over we were all ready to head home. We got a bite to eat and headed for home. Glad to be back as we enjoy one final day together before resuming our normal schedule. Thankfully it's only for 2 days then we have the weekend again, yeah!

Merry Christmas

We had a Merry Christmas and I hope you did too! Our kids were so excited about Christmas as were we. We went out to dinner this year. There is a place near the mountains near to our home that is really nice. They serve food family style so it seemed more like dinner at home. Afterwards we went home for dessert and more relaxation. It was so nice to not have to prepare anything. We went with my Mom and my husband's Dad. I did make some Cinnamon rolls and coffee in the morning and some appetizers for the afternoon and that was it. Instead I was able to watch the kids open presents and enjoy what they had received for Christmas. We were able to just enjoy one another and what the day meant for us all.

Enjoying down time before Christmas

My husband and children are now off work/school for Christmas. We are enjoying the laid back life. This morning my husband and I awoke to the sound of peace and quiet. We didn't get out of bed to nearly 8 AM. The children slept for a little while still after we awoke. Later in the AM I dabbled with a recipe called "Sweet Tortilla Snowflakes". I wasn't sure how good they would be, I was glad I could make them one at a time to find out. They were interesting, very messy though because of the powdered sugar. Basically you cut the tortilla like snowflakes, we had a lot of fun with this. You then bake them at 350 for 5 minutes on a slightly greased cookie sheet. Once they are done you place chocolate chips random all over and melt them for about a minute in the oven. Then you spread the chocolate and let them cool in the refrigerator for 5 minutes. Next you sprinkle with confectioners sugar. This led to a snowflake making party with paper. My children and I went to town making snowflakes. See the picture above to see what fun we had. My son who is only 5 did so awesome! You'd be surprised as to which ones he did. My daughter made the most beautiful one. She and I differ when it comes to the thought we put into things. She just cut away and came up with some truly beautiful snowflakes. I was trying to figure out how to make points, try to hard.... We had so much fun making snowflakes. We are so enjoying this time together. All the stresses of life has melted away and we are just enjoying hanging out not having any agenda to follow.

Yesterday we went to see the movie, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. It was actually a special showing put on by our Realtor at the movie theater. For the admission they were collecting canned food to benefit a cause and each of us brought non-perishable items to donate. We are trying to incorporate giving not just receiving this time of year as often as possible. I don't want my children to get caught up in only thinking of what they will gain and receive but what they can give and what a beautiful feeling they can get from giving to others. The movie was really cute. The meaning I got out of it was to not stop being a kid at heart because then we loose the core of who we are and what we're meant to be and do. It was a really sweet movie with Dustin Hoffman and Jason Bateman. Enjoy the season and take time out to relax and be at peace. Thank you so much Jesus for the gift of your life and love that you've given to us. All the Glory to you!

Jesus = The Reason for the Season

One of my favorite times of the year is Winter. My favorite Holiday is Christmas. So often though most of us fall into the trap of being consumed and preoccupied with finding just that right gift for someone, that can sometimes over shadow the real meaning of Christmas if we allow it. The stores are completely crazy this time of year. Side note, I have vowed to never buy toys and ship them! I'm marking it on my calender for next November DO NOT SHIP TOYS! It cost me just as much to send a package this year as the contents themselves! Next time I'll buy through Toysrus.com and get free shipping. I think about a Christmas Carol and wonder what the scrooges of our day must think of this time of year? There are those on the Christmas "list" we feel we must buy for and each year there are some on that list that the task gets more difficult to accomplish for whatever reason. I question why we do this to ourselves? I know also though that God puts into ALL of us something that can't help but love this time of year somehow, believers and non believers alike. So that's why we buy those presents! For some of us, like myself, I want to find what they might like or need. Yes, sometimes that may be a gift card depending on the circumstances. I know my daughter this year ONLY wants clothes, she's beyond toys now. Or at least that's what she thinks. A gift card for her is perfect from those that don't know her taste. At this age she wouldn't find any fault in that. I'm thinking do you want to wake up Christmas morning to an envelope? I personally don't think she's ready for that. From her Dad and I though, we will have some gifts under the tree for her. I know her taste and I've picked up a couple of things I know she'll like. Then we will treat her to some after Christmas sales for some clothes she can pick out herself, that's half the fun at this age. All the while though we can't forget the single reason we celebrate this time we call "Christmas" it has no other reason for this season. We celebrate a Savior that loved us more than we can comprehend, imagine or do ourselves. He chose to come and be born a birth not of the King he is but rather in a humble way. He lived a humble life and died a death so that we could have life! With that in mind I reflect on this song:

Newsboys - In Wonder Lyrics
(Previously I'd posted a video made of this song to the right. Search for it on the side bar, it's the first video bar you'll come to if you'd like to hear it)

So much wonder
Carved in your coral seas
So much wonder
Shaded by ancient trees
I consider all your hands have made
Every new born eyes, every new sunrise
No power can tame your presence
No light can match your radiance

Let all creation sing in wonder
Every sea, every creature, every star
You opened up my eyes to wonder
What a vision what a wonder what you are

Such a wonder
Ordering time and tide
Such a wonder
Bridging the great divide
I consider all that you had, all you gave
all that you endured
From this rebel world
What a wondrous cross you chose to bear
What a wonder you would even care

Chorus

Let all creation sing in wonder
Every sea, every creature, every star
You opened up my eyes to wonder
What a vision what a wonder what you are


Let every rock cry out
Let every knee bow down
You opened up my heart to wonder
What a love what a wonder you are

No power can tame your presence
No light can match your radiance
Such a wonder
Such a wonder

Chorus

Let all creation sing in wonder
Every sea, every creature, every star
You opened up my eyes to wonder
What a vision what a wonder what you are

Let all creation sing in wonder
Every sea, every creature, every star
You opened up my eyes to wonder
What a vision what a wonder what you are

Let every rock cry out ohhhh
Let every knee bow down
You opened up my heart to wonder
What love what a wonder you are