Archive for August, 2007

I heard on the news that I’d be able to see a total lunar eclipse at about 4am my time. Given that the sky was clear then, and every other time we’ve completely eclipsed the moon it’s been too cloudy to see anything, I had to watch it.

And then I had to decide whether I wanted to wake up the kids so THEY could see it too. Wouldn’t a good mother rather make sure they get a full night’s rest so they can concentrate in school? Well, I am not that kind of mom, so I had them awake for just about an hour between 3:30 and 4:30.

While we watched the eclipse we talked about eclipses, as well moon phases, and planets, the universe, the milky way, what makes the moon shine, what makes the sun work… and dozens of other topics there in the dark. Ethan saw a shooting star, and Mary, queen of out-of-the-box thinking, observed that the fully occluded moon looked just like the cookies daddy had burned that night. (more…)

Yes, it’s a stupid title, and at the moment I’m mad at myself for the stupid title AND for losing essay I’d typed to explain it. So I’ll leave it at this, and if you want an earful just ask me and I’ll rant away. Here’s the gist of the story, and you can quote me:

There are too many teachers who, when told by a parent that a child is bright, will make it their quest to prove that parent wrong.

-Edit

I got this resolved for the most part I hope. Met the kids new charter school teachers and they both seem nice (even one of the public school teachers seems nice enough) so .. here we are. We’ll see what happens.

I was watching the republican debates a few weeks ago thinking, gee, Ron Paul sure looks familiar. When I realized why, I could hardly stop snickering. A quick search on google revealed I wasn’t the only one to notice the uncanny resemblance, but I didn’t find any great photos to support the argument. If I were a mutant, I know my super power would probably have something to do with photoshop — and now is the time to use it.

Disclaimer: This is NOT an endorsement for or against Ron Paul — though I have run into a few spam-happy Ron Paul fans who just may be evil mutants. I just couldn’t help myself.

I will bring you hope, old friend. And I ask only one thing in return: don't get in my way. I didn't take this photo, btw - I will probably move it to another category.

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From a random discussion on time, I’d posted my thoughts:

Think of being in a car traveling at high speed down an unfamiliar road versus how you would perceive the same car from an airplane. In the car everything rushes by because you can only see so much at once. From a plane, that same car hardly appears to be moving at all because you can see its entire path at once . “Time” as we know it is simply a product of our limited perspective.

This morning as I was headed downstairs to get the clothes out of the dryer, I bumped my head. I’ve run up and down those stairs dozens of times every day for the past year and a half, but had never hit my head on that doorway till now. All I can attribute it to is that I just had possibly the best birthday ever, and I’m feeling ten feet tall.

My mother-in-law took my kids for the evening before, so my husband and I were able to enjoy a romantic dinner at Ottavios and see Bratz. No, not the movie — the college girls at the next table. Maybe I don’t feel so bad about saying goobye to my 20s after all? Ladies, next time you have a girls night out, just remember that if you talk loudly enough, someone might make fun of you in their blog. Did you really want everyone in the restaurant to hear you say,

“Yeah like, the guys at this club, like, are SOOO cool, cause they TOTALLY ask EVERYONE to dance. Like, I totally had to, like, HIDE in ladies room to catch my breath. And then I had to like, push my girlfriend in front of me and say, ‘DUDE, I am like SO way too tired. Like, no one’s asking my FRIEND to dance, why don’t you, like, dance with HER?’ I felt kinda like, BAD, like, cause everyone wanted to dance with ME and it was kinda like HER idea to go there, but at least I, like, got her a few dances!”

Wow. I wonder if they’re still BFF… ?

Anyway, so the dinner might not have been as romantic as it could have been but it did make me feel somewhat better about ‘growing up’. My sweetie then waited patiently while I picked out a cute new shirt and jeans to wear on my birthday. I woke up to my favorite breakfast – fresh sliced & sugared fruit with biscuits and sweet cream, then indulged in more pampering than I’ve ever had in my life. I got my hair trimmed and highlighted and my toes prettied up, and then had a fabulous Swedish massage at Main Spring Day Spa. I got a few precious moments with my kids and felt a bit bummed to have to say goodbye to them again.

We dropped them of at my mother in laws again and set out to meet up with my brother and his wife for the Art Festival in Park City. But as we were driving, we got a call saying the weather was a a bit cold and stormy, and that if we weren’t too far on we should get some warm things. Back home we headed, only instead of finding my coat, I found my kitchen full of friends and family there to wish me a happy birthday.

To all who put such an effort into making it special, a huge thank you! I don’t know how you did it. And thanks to ALL my friends for making life so sweet.