Pseudo-Words

Do you ever wonder about those little security "psuedo-words" you have to type in when you leave a comment on someone else's blog?  Sometimes they make me laugh and sometimes they make me look over my shoulder to see if someone is in the room with me, and sometimes they make me completely erase and revise the comment I was about to write.  Like some sort  of freaky prophetic sniglet.

I think my most memorable one was when I was accepting a pseudo-friend on Facebook and the security word was unfriend and the next day she was arrested for attempted homicide. Naaah, but isn't that sort of weird?  Usually these quasi-words just bear a vague resemblance to a word and they aren't the real thing. They really want to be a word, but instead get cast off into the gutter of blog comment world. Is unfriend a real word? I think it  probably is in this world after Facebook.

Can you define and use these "pseudo-words" in a sentence? ( These were all security words I have typed in over the past few weeks. Really.)

tivipro:  (noun) a person well adept at watching, operating, and channel surfing on TV. I am married to a tivipro. He is not a tiviamateur, he is a tivipro.

pangaser: (noun) painful and malodorous gas pangs you get after eating a large Thanksgiving meal.  My tivipro has pangasers.

wonsi: (noun) that irritating eyelash that gets stuck in "one's eye", leaving only one eye useable and the other watering profusely. No, I am not crying, I have a wonsi in my left eye.

throppe: (verb) the act of regurgitating a small amount of one's stomach contents into one's mouth only to have one swallow it again because there was no better options of ridding oneself of it.  After smelling the pangasers of her tivipro she thropped.

Well, you get the point.  Have you had any strange or funny word security situations?  Or is it just my weird and slightly paranoid self?

Perfect Pairings - John 14:27

John 14:27

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Oh, to be a dog lying in a puddle of sun...*sigh*

Go check out Baloney for some more pairing perfection.

In Defense of Thankfulness...

I guess it's time to decorate this blog for Christmas. I am feeling the pressure and had to decorate something, right?  Seemed much less daunting than getting out the Christmas decorations for the house.  Also, we were not allowed to play Christmas music until the day after Thanksgiving in our house, and I do love me some Christmas music so what better way to enjoy than making a new playlist? Old habits die hard.

Maybe Christmas decorating would seem less of a task if I hadn't gotten up at 3:30 AM this morning to accompany my mom and little brother to the Black Friday festivities. (It was all Nate's idea.) We were more the  gaping and curious on-lookers. I am sure we looked wimpy, pathetic and lost to the true lunatics shoppers out there, but we had a fun time with a few memorable moments (watch out for those Target muggers, Mom...) and I got to have a nice peaceful breakfast with Nate and Mom and tell me how often, if ever, that happens.  I am thankful.

So don't you think Thanksgiving is getting a bum deal these days?  The day after Halloween we get Christmas whispered into our ears and let the shopping begin.  It is hard not to get caught up in the hoopla. Christmas seems to get shoved down our throats instead of being savored and enjoyed. So, before we go there, I have a lot to be thankful for this year, and I want to give Thanksgiving its due.

I am thankful for a daughter who writes me stories, leaves me momentos, and gets teary-eyed and sentimental at the drop of a kleenex.

I am thankful for another daughter who loves her black high-heeled Christmas shoes, eats eggs and bagels for breakfast, and who gives the sweetest hugs and kisses around.

I am thankful for God's healing for both my Grandma and my dad.  Dad had a scary bout with H1N1 this fall. It was doubly good to have them both sitting at our Thanksgiving table this year.

I am thankful for a pastor and his family and all they have done for our church and for our family.  This is especially true in light of the fact that they have accepted a call from another church and will be leaving in January. And yes, Marissa gets teary and sentimental every time she thinks of losing her wonderful piano teacher. Why does it sometimes take a loss to fully realize how grateful you should have always been?

I am thankful for our friends and families both near and far.  Grateful that both the Captain and I were raised in loving homes.  Blessed be the ties that bind.

I am thankful for a hubby that somehow gets me and still puts up with me. And what other Daddy can give such fantastic after bath airplane rides and listen to "Party In the USA" 100 times a day after Marissa gets home from school?  TLA Honey!

I am thankful for God who has such a remarkable plan to redeem us and adopt us as HIS very own children.  How amazing! Thank you Lord!

So the list could go on and on and it probably should.  One day should not contain our thankfulness, but we shouldn't forget that one day either, as it seems so easy for me to do. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Hope for Spring

Our weather here in NW Iowa has been ridiculously nice this November.  October was a little dicey, but November, well couldn't ask for better.  And in my mind, that just means less winter to endure and that is a good thing. 

Soooo, we got rather adventurous one weekend and planted some tulips.  I have never planted a tulip in my life and being of Dutch heritage, there must have been some sort of genetic mix-up in my DNA that has made it so.  Also lacking in my DNA is the propensity to garden.  I am a farmer's daughter. My mom likes to garden.  My grandma has one of the greenest thumbs in the tri-state area.  I got nothing.  The Captain thought it would be a good family bonding time.  Turns out it was.

Here's the Captain looking all Iowa farmer-ish.  Don't think my Dad ever wore sweatpants and sneakers when he farmed, but then again we're talking tulips and not field corn here.   I think it is totally appropriate to plant tulips in sweatpants.  A new day has come. 

If I were famous and I needed more money and more endorsement deals, I would create my own scent and call it Iowa Black Dirt.  Love that smell.  As long as it doesn't mix with Iowa Cow and Hog Poop.

  That scent is just a bit overwhelming.

We had to do some negotiating for job positions.  I did design and layout and was the roving candid photographer.  The Captain did the prep-work, refereed, and became the official bulb planter expert.

  He then passed on his skill to Marissa.  They got so good at it that for the last few bulbs, they could remove a whole bulb-planter full of dirt at the appropriate depth of 6 to eight inches, in one fell swoop.

 Miss Maren got a little frustrated with the bulb planter ( though not without lack of effort or determination and much whining and tears) and finally gave in to being the color coordinator. We had yellow and pink tulips and she handed out the appropriate alternating color to the hole diggers and would help drop the bulb in pointy side up and fill in the dirt.  She is a great color coordinator. Note the pink shirt with the frilly pink bow.  She dressed herself that morning and said " Mom, do you think this is too boyish to plant tulips?")

Here are some things I learned that day:

Enjoy every single minute of your children being this age.  Time goes too fast.  Even Iowa winters.

Just say no to crack.  (she is gonna hate me for this one day)

And any gardening task can be accomplished with a little fun and cooperation.

Who knows, maybe next Spring we will actually plant a garden. We'll have to see how the tulips come up.  I'll keep you posted.

Chasing Pilots

Love Norah Jones' new song. I thought she was saying "Chasing Pilots". 

Sorry Johnny/Jack...

Glee-Full

Glee...or the music at least has taken over our household.  I received an iTunes card from the Cali Beatys (thanks Cali Beatys!) for my birthday and downloaded the soundtrack.  It has inspired an impromtu living room family dance session and we have to listen to the "Bedtime Stories song" (Don't Stop Believing) on the way to school every morning as the girls play their air guitars and do their best Steve Perry impressions.  Then we move on to Defying Gravity if there is enough time - or lack of gravitational pull.

So, on the way to Walmart last night, the highway we take runs parallel to the train tracks where we often do spot a train with many cars to count.  Princess Maren takes a break from her air guitar and says, "Mom, maybe that's the Midnight Train going anywhere."

Oh dear.  Maybe better turn down the Glee-factor a bit. 

Or maybe you could just pull out your air guitar and join us!

The Girl Can't Help It

I got a new laptop. My very first actually. Happy early birthday present to me.  I may just be blogging like crazy these days.  Or not.  Sweet Marissa is pretty excited about it too.  One gadget she cannot get enough of is the webcam.  Personally, I would have been fine without one, but they seem to come standard on most PC's these days.  I have to admit, I like it because she likes it.  I never know what I might find in my pictures folder.  She just can't help it.  I love the little momentos she leaves me.

Good

Better

Best

Sweet girl, you always make me smile...or go like this.

Perfect Pairings Psalm 16:11

Psalm 16:11  You make known to me the path of life

in your presence there is fullness of joy;

at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Follow this link to Baloney's blog and add your own Perfect Sunday Pairing!

Halloween Recap

Ok, going to do this Baloney style. Understand, she is the Three Words or Less Master, so do not judge too harshly. Here goes. Three words or less....

Guts of  pumpkin'

Stink or somethin'

Worked real hard

Got punkies carved

Sweet Old Lady

My Cowgirl Baby

Having fun

Flowers are done

Spooky (blurry) moon

Winter's coming soon.

The End.

Hope you had a fun Halloween with your friends and family!

(Phew, that was hard!)

Perfect Pairings John 8:12

John 8:12

12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

For more Perfect Pairings or to add your own, stop over at Baloney's and she'll give you the scoop. Let your Light shine!