December 2004 Archives

Steven has such an endearing request: He is asking us readers of the Aubrey-Maturin series why we like the books.

I'll be coming back to this question myself over the next few weeks. Meanwhile, I'm going to cross-post a review I did of the recent film that touches on some of the things I like about the books.

This was originally posted at Popcorn Critics on February 27, 2004

It's a rare occasion that I get to see a movie in the theater, and a really rare occasion that I get to go with my husband (this was the first movie we've seen together in an actual theater since January 2001!) My husband and I both like historical movies; I am also on my first reading through the Patrick O'Brian series that inspired the books (and am completely enthralled.) So I was pleased that we were able to get out and see this on the big screen.

I liked it okay, but I was disappointed. I wanted to like it more.

As far as spectacle and entertainment value, if you like sea spray and dramatic helicopter shots and storms and meticulous attention to costumes and period detail and lots and lots of battle, then this is the movie for you. The movie is a cracking good adventure. It does an amazing job of evoking what life must have been like on a crowded, dangerous ship, and showing us the bravery and resourcefulness of the men who sailed those ships.

But in the O'Brian books, the adventure is only the beginning. Their special appeal is in wit, their humor, their depiction of the human drama, and it's here that the movie almost completely fails. It's a shame, because the casting of the secondary characters -- Pullings, Bonden, Killick, Padeen, each with their own vivid little quirks -- is spot-on. I was laughing out loud at some of the little jokes and perfections. But the heart of the books, the friendship between Captain Jack Aubrey and Dr Stephen Maturin, is completely lost.

A big part of the problem is the inappropriate casting of the two leads. Russell Crowe's Aubrey is 100% action hero, with none of Jack's Aubrey's goofy charm. He might have come closer, though, with a different Maturin. Paul Bettany is physically wrong for the part -- tall, fair, youthful and handsome instead of short, dark, and mysterious. Maturin's Irish accent seems to have gotten lost somewhere too, as well as his gift for languages.

The affection between the two characters is nowhere to be seen. They are seen together at their music, but we are shown none of the funny little exchanges between the two, so that when we are treated to a favorite line from the books, such as one of Aubrey's mangled proverbs, the humor is lost and it makes no sense. Many of their scenes together end up instead as cheesy little debates that strongly reminded me of a different captain and a different doctor: Dammit, Jim! You can't keep cracking on like this! Hang Starfleet, Bones -- I know what I'm doing!

Part of the problem is that the movie is a sort of careless puree of at least four books chosen from the first two-thirds of the series, combined with some schmaltzy Hollywoodish additions, which means that many of the characters' words and actions make no sense. Jack comes up with tactics that we are asked to believe are totally new ideas, but in fact have been part of his bag of tricks from the very first book. Stephen, in particular, comes out with some howlers -- questions that make sense when he asked them in the third book but not in the eighth, and speeches that make him seem like an amnesia victim who has forgotten that he is on a ship of the Royal Navy. And yet we are asked to believe that he knows his way around this ship and is an experienced ship's doctor. Instead of coming off as a lovable absent-minded professor type ("What a fellow you are, Stephen") he seems arrogant and obtusely self-centered.

Another reason it's hard to like these characters is that it's hard to catch their names. The movie is action, action, action from the first scene, and introductions to the characters is not a priority, yet we've got about ten people in the gunroom we're supposed to keep straight. You thought keeping your LOTR characters in order was difficult? At the end of the movie I was still unclear as to who was a lieutenant and who was a mid, and what some of their names were -- and I've read the books!

Dialogue can be hard to catch, as well, in part because of the thick English accents and in part because of all the stuff going on. Subtitles on the DVD (which is supposed to come out next month) might be helpful for some.

The pretentious Hollywoodisms got annoying quickly. The swelling sad music when the captain must make a dreadful decision, the affecting farewell between two friends when you Just Know one of them's not going to make it back (just like the red-shirted ensign on that other captain's ship).... For all this movie's loving attention to grimy detail, someone forgot that it's unlikely that a cello left propped on a chair, balanced on a peg, is going to stay that way through three days on a sailing ship. And as for the cheesy music at the ending, it's a good think I didn't buy a soda, because I'd have been sorely tempted to heave it at the screen.

I hear Russell Crowe wants to do a sequel. I'm not holding my breath; at this writing the movie is still $30 million in the red. If there is a sequel, I hope they recast Stephen and get a little more organized. I wonder if it's even possible to capture these books in a single feature film. Maybe A&E could take a crack at a miniseries someday.

So, overall, a good movie, but one that should have been better. If you enjoy this movie and are inspired to try the books, it's all to the good.

If you want to give the books a try, please allow me to suggest starting with Master and Commander and following quickly with Post Captain.

Lakeland, FL, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- A Florida appeals court has ruled the parents of a Tampa, Fla., woman should not get a trial in their effort to keep her alive.

The decision by the 2nd Court of Appeal in Lakeland, Fla., could leave the U.S. Supreme Court as the only recourse for the parents of Terri Schiavo, The Tampa Tribune said Thursday.

I didn't like it. Well, let me start with the positives. The kids were cute and liked the way they interacted with each other in the story. They stood up for each other and got along. That was the plus.

The negative was Jim Carrey's character was characterised in one interview as "evil but likeable" which was what they were going for. I didn't like this. Count Olaf was a murderer, materialistic, and he attempted to marry his 14 year old ward to get money. There was nothing funny or likeable here at all. I found the story a bit too creepy for children.

The set was also very dark, like the Batman movies, which to me was also too creepy for kids.

The plot started developing mysteries and questions which were never answered. I hate that.

So I didn't like this movie except for the interesting costumes. I think Hollywood really thought they have a winner on their hands (which they very well might by theeir standards) judging from the all star cast. It stars Jim Carrey, Jude Law, Meryl Streep and has cameos by Luiz Guzman, Cedric the Entertainer, Catherine O'Hara and Dustin Hoffman to name a few.

Maybe I would like it better if it were not a kid's movie.

Last week, my brother said he watched an episode of ER in which Abby arranged for a woman to have an abortion because she had 5+ kids and she was so "run down". Her husband could not be convinced that birth control was bad and this poor women was reduced to a mindless breeding machine. Isn't it amazing how ER mirrors real life?

Months before I had Gorbulas, number 4, Andrea Yates tragically drowned her 5 children. This set a precedent that being a housewife, homeschooling, having so many children was a formula for mental illnness, murder, suicide or what have you. People continually started asking in hushed tones "are you alright?" It seems quite evident that only religious, homeschooling mothers with more than three children lose sleep, have controlling husbands, suffer from depression, are busy or are homicidal maniacs.

After I had Gorbulas I suffered from a bit of post partum depression and I believed it was my fault because I had 4 kids. Of course it was the end of January, and I always get a touch of seasonal induced depression at that time. But everyone was so worried, that must have been it. OK, I'm tired of it. I often feel the need to paint a picture for people that I am totally sane and capable-even more so than people who do it right and choose not to complicate their lives by more than one kid and keeping a career. I am woman, hear me roar. But that is not always the case either. So I have been thinking about my life lately and here are some of my very random thoughts on motherhood:
-I love having 5 kids. I want more because I cannot imagine my life without a baby around. They are a blessing.
-However, my homelife is crazy and it is driving me nuts. My two year old nibbled a hole in a bag of Cheerios before I got up like a mouse because he must have been starving to death. (I do feed my kids incidently).
-My boys never sit down quieltly.
-My daughter is such a good girl and I need to tell her that more. But when I am about to, she walks into a wall.
-I do not get out enough to do things just for me. I rarely spend money on just me. I have very little social life outside the home since becoming a SAHM.
-Although I think my lack of social life has as much to do with the fact that I do not like many people in real life than being busy with Mommy stuff. People annoy me-a lot.
-Would people annoy me so much if I weren't a SAHM? Probably not because I would view the world from a much more one dimensional perspective. I would vote democrat and wouldn't see a think wrong with ordaining women.
-My husband does not coerce me into having more children. In fact, from people I know who are open to life, husbands seem to worry more about numbers of children than wives.
-My kids drive me crazy all day.
-I don't think I would ever get to know my children very well if I didn't homeschool. I think I would view them as accessories in my life as opposed to my vocation.
-My doctor keeps asking me if I am getting enough sleep. The answer is "no". Do any mothers?
-My arms and shoulders ache all the time from holding the baby.
-I have great shoulders.
-There is nothing in the world as wonderful as co-sleeping with a little, snuggly baby.
-I need a 12 step program because I am so addicted to pinching plump baby cheeks and thighs.
-Babies rocks.
-Being able to nurse is a blessing.
-I hate how flabby I look after having Fedegar.
-Since none of my pre-pregnancy clothes no longer fit, I just had to go buy all new ones. Oh well.
-I had to swallow my pride and look for them a size bigger.
-They all have to have nursing access. All my clothes have needed nursing access since I've been married. A small inconvenience.
-I love to cook and am glad to have people to cook for.
-I hate to cook, these kids eat at least three times a day.
-I hate mornings. The boys wake up yelling. The baby cries. I need to cook and get dressed. I feel very overwhelmed in the mornings.
-My floors are always sticky because some one spills something at least once a day.
-When we go out, someone usually compliments my husband and myself about what a beautiful family we have.
-I get depressed sometimes because life is boring and the same day in and day out. I very badly want to get dressed up and be whisked away to somewhere with a black dress, perfrume and make-up.
-If I were not a married housewife, I know I would be depressed because I
would want to be. There are far worse things in life than monotony.
-My daughter tells me often how pretty she thinks I am.
-I cannot wait to be a grandmother and I daydream often about having lots of grandchildren and being an eccentric old lady. I want them to call me Suga Mama like on the Proud Family. And when I send them money for Christmas presents in cards, I am going to send it in obscure amounts like $17.97 (like a check for $17.95 and two pennies) so they will deliberate why I sent them that amount. I daydream about stuff like this often.
-My 5 year old is a handful. He cannot sit still, he is always trying to pick up women and he breaks things all the time. Sometimes I wish he had an "off" button.
-My 5 year old is so intelligent it is scary, and I think quite a few times a day that if he survives growing up and gets no one pregnant out of wedlock, he is destined for great things.
-I am sorry my husband only has time to work and come home-and go to the gym. On the other hand I'm not that sorry.
-The period of time that our children are small and need us goes by very fast. People think and act like once you have a baby, they will be needy three year old for the rest of your life. They grow up in the blink of an eye and you will cease to be the center of their world before you know it. It is a blessing to have little munchkins around who think so highly of you. It is an honor.

Harry Potter Personality Quiz by Pirate Monkeys Inc.

Via Steven "Dumbledore" Riddle

"Live mindful of death, time is fleeing."

A nephew!

My sister (who was due on January 8) gave birth to a nine-pound, 21-inch baby boy on Christmas morning! This is the second grandchild in the family. So we are all excited and happy here.

We had an excellent flight in; the only difficult part was trying to keep Hambet occupied during all the waiting part. O'Hare airport has a marvelous children's museum where the kids can run around and pretend to run an airline, and that was extremely helpful. It's cold here but not too snowy. My mother went completely out of control baking cookies. Hambet got a crane for Christmas and is having a blast.

Merry Christmas!

Today is suitcase day. My things to do list:

• Change the bed linens
• Put the clean laundry away
• Pack the clothes
• Pack the Hambet entertainment bag. I was going to wrap the little books and wee toy airplane, but it occurs to me that TSA wouldn't like that.
• Prepare Hambet's car sear for airline use
• If time permits, knock out a few Christmas cards

We leave at the crack of dawn tomorrow and should be in Fargo in time for lunch.

Any tips on flying, especially flying with little people, would be most appreciated -- last time I was in an airplane was summer of 2000.

My husband never reads my blog, so this is not directed at him. (Plus, I know he's done with his Christmas shopping.)

BUT if you are casting about for last-minute ideas, some suggestions...

-- I was in Staples last week and they had a great deal on Brother label makers. I am totally serious! This is a great gift idea, especially for women who are fond of gadgets. I love mine, and when one of my clients saw it you should have heard the squeal of delight she emitted. (I think she got one for herself that very week.) I got one for my sister a couple of years ago and she was the envy of her workmates. Get the second most expensive one -- it's a little bit larger and will take laminated label tapes. You can even use it to make iron-on labels.

-- The Container Store stocks the same model of label maker. It's a bit more expensive than at Staples, but it comes with a cunning little case that holds an AC adapter and extra batteries. (I wish mine had a cunning little case like that.)

-- The Apologia shop is full of unique items designed by yours truly. The newest item is the "uhhh" mug; my favorite is the mousepad. Proceeds go to... well, smock and I haven't decided yet. But it will be some terribly worthy cause, I assure you, even if it's just our bandwidth fund. Oh, the shirts have printing on the back.

-- Speaking of dear Mr Luse, he has dropped a hint that there are extra-good reasons to subscribe to Touchstone this year. He is also endorsing TSO's Little Book.

-- For an album-maker, perhaps a subscription to the new Creative Memories magazine, Lasting Moments? I don't have a link at present; I'll post one if it comes back up. Otherwise please drop me an email and I can help you get it set up.

-- Williams-Sonoma has cookie cutters in the shape of dinosaurs! When we get back I am going to try my hand at rolled dino-cookies.

-- For the little train-heads in your life: the gift shop at the Western Pennsylvania Model Railroad Museum has all kinds of fun train things: train hats, train whistles, train plates and cups, train models, train toys, train puzzles, train cookie cutters.... I stocked up for Christmas AND birthday when I was there. Go visit if you're around Pittsburgh and have the chance -- they have an amazing layout showing scenes on the line all the way from downtown Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Maryland. It is the coolest thing! There's one vignette set near Yough Lake -- if you look closely you can see a tiny model of Fallingwater in the background.

OK, less blogging more packing. This trip is going to be a haul, but I'm so glad that we can go. My mom says that everyone's really excited that there's going to be a little kid around for Christmas this year. Maybe they'll be glad to see Posco and me too!

I really hate it when websites do STUPID things like NOT LINKING to what you need.

For example, you're looking for the claim form on your health insurance website. Of course they don't have a link to it on the fricking FRONT PAGE, and provide no clues, so you click to the FAQ page and find something helpfullly titled, "Where do I get a claim form?"

So you click, and there's no link to the claim form -- it just says, "In the Benefits section!"

So you click to the Benefits section and THERE IS STILL NO LINK TO THE CLAIM FORM.

Thanks goodness for the site map -- it was the only way to find the stupid claim form. But to get there, you click the link on the side bar that says "Site Map" and what pops up? Another link that says "Site Map!" (At least when you click that link you finally get to the Site Map.) And someone got paid for this?

Should I beg for an autograph? swoon?

Oh, this was a good one today:

...is it possible that some people in the overculture lack an elemental understanding of what this holiday means to some? I know, I know. Madness. Bear with me.

I don’t think people in the Evil Coastal Godless Baal-Loving Media hate Christianity. I’m sure some hold it in disinterested contempt, the way they view NASCAR and Simplicity dress patterns and those giant salad forks some people inexplicably used as kitchen-wall decorations. But for many – yes, the dreaded inexact “many” – religious ideas don’t register at all, so they don’t know how their actions might seem to those who take the whole God thing seriously....

And the last paragraphs -- mwah! I wuv you, Mister Lilek's!

I've taken kind of a shine to the new Fox show House (it's on tonight.) It's a pretty formulaic medical show (with some real howlers in the fact-checking department); the twist is that the main character, who is supposed to be a physician with an uncanny talent for diagnosing obscure illnesses, is also a rude, cynical misanthrope. Hugh Laurie plays the misanthrope, and is just amazing. Come for his performance, stay for the allusions to two great literary detectives, ignore the rest as you please.

So I've been watching this show, and I know Victor's been tuning in too. Unfortunately neither of us got around to blogging last week's surprisingly good episode. So allow me to refer you to S.T. Karnick's article in NRO today: Must-Believe TV: Christianity gets a fair shake:

...the [nuns] are portrayed as far more complex and intelligent than one might have expected. Both their ideas and their personal histories are quite sophisticated, and in the case of the one stricken by illness, the revelations of her many past sins show not hypocrisy but the redemptive power of religious faith. The nuns argue quite evenly with Dr. House, and though he usually wins through the sheer force of his great intellect and even greater will, the emptiness in his soul becomes increasingly clear. His doubts in his own abilities suggest that for this man, science is not enough.

Throughout all of this, Christmas is prominent in the background. It is Advent, and the hospital staff members are reacting in various ways appropriate to their characters. Dr. House, in particular, increasingly reveals a loneliness and personal despair that has been strongly hinted at in previous episodes. The context, however, points the viewer inexorably toward a spiritual explanation of his problem: Dr. House is a lost soul who desperately needs to find some transcendent meaning to his life. Though he claims to be a strict materialist, his frequent references to Dante's Circles of Hell suggest what is really troubling him.

(The episode also has a neat reference to the Seven Deadly Sins.)

I do have a couple of quibbles; for example, Karnick writes, "though [House] usually wins through the sheer force of his great intellect and even greater will"; but the way I saw it, House actually doesn't do too well against the nuns. They have his number, and he doesn't even know it. In one argument, when the nun is getting a little too close to the truth, he only "wins" by rudely breaking off the conversation; later, in another, he is stunned into silence. But all in all, I thought it was not only fair (which is rare enough) but showed the nuns as being intelligent and good (!) without being sentimental.

So my kids were whining at me about how we do not have enough Christmas movies. I made a mental inventory out loud as to what we had:
The Santa Claus
Home Alone
Veggie Tales: The Toy That Saved Christmas
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
And the Nest family video on the Nativity.
Yeah, pretty pathetic. I also have While You Were Sleeping. Posco objected because none of those videos are really about Christmas and Baby Jesus. Rosey Posey tried to make it seem better by stating that not everyone is Catholic, so you can't expect them all to watch Baby Jesus Christmas movies. Buzz-wrong answer! But we won't go there because we did that to death this afternoon.

Anywho, my Christmas DVD Library is very pathetic, considering none of those are even DVD's, so I haven't even purchased an entry in like 5 years. I think I never like buying holiday items because they are only good for a few weeks out of the year and my thrifty logic wins out. But I have been thrifty to the point of no holiday fun. And I suck at buying holiday items. Why did I get that Rudolph video anyway?

So, if you were me, what Christmas movies would you purchase? Please don't say It's A Wonderful Life or Bells of St. Mary's because those are the obvious choices.

We've evolved! We are Marauding Marsupials today!

My husband, for the second time in a week, (and in his life} has misplaced something. A relative sent Rosey Posey a $100 check as a Christmas gift, and my husband put it somewhere thinking he put it in his wallet to take to the bank. It did not turn up in his wallet and no one knows where it is. My pride would hate to have to call them to tell them to sto payment on the check because it is from people we do not speak to.

update: Lost the check-my husband thinks it fell out of his wallet while he was out and he felt very bad. He told me to call as not to take any chances that it falls into someone else's hands. This prompted a long overdue communication I think because our prayers do not go unanswered, just not always answered the way we think they should and St. Anthony has been pretty good to the Sleepy Mommies.

From today's Washington Post (registration required): Many New or Expectant Mothers Die Violent Deaths:

Eight months pregnant, Thomas, 18, was walking home from a grocery store when her ex-boyfriend shot her in the head execution-style because, prosecutors said, he believed fatherhood would get in the way of his music career. "This was a big, major inconvenience for him," prosecutor Mark Curry said....

[In another case, the father of the child] at first denied it was his child, then pressed for an abortion, then plotted murder.

"It seems to me that these guys hope against hope for a miscarriage or an abortion, but when everything else fails, they take the life of the woman to avoid having the baby," said Jack Levin of Northeastern University.

...a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection. --Pope Paul VI, Humanae Vitae (17)

I come to you today in my role as intercessor. Hambet has misplaced two toy trains. We've looked in all the usual places, to no avail. Please help!

Your devoted client,
Peony Moss

UPDATE, 12/19: One of the trains has been found (happily, the special favorite that gets taken to bed every night.) The other one is still missing. Hambet seems unperturbed. I'm not sure whether this is healthy detachment or a sign he has too many trains. Perhaps both.

UPDATE, 12/21: The other train has been found -- by Hambet! Yay! And my cell phone did not stay missing for long either -- hubby knew right where it was when I called him, so it turned up before I could post my petition.

yada, yada, yada: The Eugenics Archive: American Eugenics Movement

found in How to Construct a Commonplace Book

If language is not correct, then what is said is not what is meant; if what is said is not what is meant, then what must be done remains undone; if this remains undone, morals and art will deteriorate; if justice goes astray, the people will stand about in helpless confusion.

--Confucius

I would love to staple this onto the forehead of just about every media pundit, judge, and politician out there.
Hence there must be no arbitrariness in what is said. This matters above
everything.

Commonplace books and how to make them

Now if giving virtual high fives over geek quizzes isn't geeky, I don't know what is.

Take the Polygeek Quiz at Thudfactor.com

I have scrapped a very worthy and edifying activity today in favor of just staying home and doing some laundry and tidying up some of the piles of "get to it later" things. (And blogging.)

It's been a busy fall. I enrolled Hambet in a preschool program, two hours long once a week; he had a hard time getting into the routine for a while and was getting kicked out halfway through the session. I think he's finally settling down, though he still isn't totally compliant.

I'm also doing an informal co-op playgroup/ preschool thing with some of the other moms I know. There are six kids in the group, and each week we moms take turns planning a weekly two-hour session -- songs, games, a craft, a snack, stuff like that. Another mom serves as "backup" and minds a couple of toddlers so that the other moms are free to stay and chat or run errands. We also carpool, so that also helps. The kids love it and so do the moms.

So Hambet is learning the days of the week and even asks me what "day" it is: Sunday is Church day, Monday is preschool day, Tuesday is errand day, Wednesday is playgroup day, Thursday is often "go see kids" day (when I am doing to a recollection or something and he plays with the other kids) and Friday is usually Trader Joes-and-library day.

It's so fun watching Hambet and watching the little gears turn in his mind and seeing and how fascinated he is in learning about the world and how things work, and how satified he is when he understands something. He is fascinated by numbers and loves counting; when I mentioned a math problem ("five plus two is seven") he was murmuring it to himself long afterwards ("five plus two... five plus two..."). He's also learning to recognize letters and is starting to spell out words and signs.

Hambet is also trying to learn to tell time, and it is so funny, because he will insist on all kinds of things in an effort to get what he wants (like insisting that it's five o'clock when he's just rolled out of bed in the morning). I've started telling him things like, "we're going to leave when the big hand is on the 6 and the little hand is on the 8" and he's very interested.

This all got started when Hambet went on a chocolate milk jag and started asking for chocolate milk the minute he hopped out of bed. So I told him that he could have a cup at 3 o'clock (knowing that six days out of seven, he would forget all about it by then.) So that led to teaching him to recognize the big hand on the 12 and the little hand on the three, and so on. He's also enjoying mastering "night" and "day," and will bounce down the stairs in the morning and announce, "It's DAY time!" or inform me that pajamas are for NIGHT time, NOT for DAY time. It's also helping with bedtime, in that I think he's beginning to like submitting to the rhythm of the day or recognizes what the clock looks like or something -- anyway, bedtime is much less of a fight than it used to me.

I am thinking about making a little chart showing the tasks of the day with clock faces next to them. But I will have to laminate it because I know he will carry it around all over the place so he can gaze at it. Shhhh... I found a learn to tell time book that has clock faces and trains. I'm trying to decide whether to give it for Christmas or hold it back for birthday.

Maybe I'll hold it for next week. I don't know if I mentioned that we are indeed travelling to North Dakota for Christmas -- I did find a decent deal on tickets, though not as cheap as I would have liked. We are leaving at the crack of dawn on Christmas Eve. This will be Hambet's first time on an airplane, so I'm a little worried. I plan to have some gum and some things with high novelty and entertainment value at the ready.

"why did you draw pictures on Nana and Boompa's walls? You know you are not supposed to do that?"
"Oh, I'm so sorry...I...I...I..."
"Yes?"
"Well, I had to use the walls because nobody got me some paper!"

We're listed on BlogShares!

What does this mean? Thanks to those who felt that TSM stock was worth enough to bring to market.

Take the Polygeek Quiz at Thudfactor.com

And this after spending the whole afternoon setting up a computer? (I do all the electronica at our house) I even tried throwing some questions. Oh well. Thanks to full-blown geek Alicia.

Come to think of it, I guess I was doing geek translation (medjargon into English) when I was doing bedside nursing.

...it's not Frida or Botero.

You have the Vermeer girl look. A Vermeer girl
appealed mostly to the old masters of the Dutch
school, who painted pictures of everyday life
as they knew it. With her fine, fair skin, she
suited a light, natural, dewy make-up. The
Vermeer Girl loved homely things, such as
homemade soaps and candles. The following
artists would have liked to paint you; Pieter
de Hooch and Jan Vermeer.


'Pretty As A Picture' - Which Artist Would Paint You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Thanks to Vermeer Girl Alicia for this quiz.

Library book. Staples (the store.) Called the store, told nobody's turned it in. Went there, personally checked every shopping cart I could find, didn't see it.

St Anthony, help!

UPDATE: Found! by the nice manager at Staples. Picked it up -- and went straight to the library to return it!

At the rate we're going, St Anthony may need his own category pretty soon.

Please forgive my lateness on this, but I had to highlight Mr.Cella's blog on GK Chesterton on birth control.It was too good.
Thank you Jeff "Ain't No Season's Greetings Here" Culbreath for the heads up.

I read someplace (well, to be specific, the Sunday Post; marketing questions) that those little rubber bracelets (made popular by Lance Armstrong) have become a little fashion craze among the tweens.

Well, Dawn Eden has good news for the pro-life tween in your life: blue "pro-life" bracelets.

A son tells the story of his "Mom's Cancer"

Thanks to Barbara for this link.

My husband purchased tickets to take Rosey Posey to the Hilary Duff concert January 24. He put them someplace and cannot remember where-which is more like me not at all like him.
They were a bit more money than we would like to see lost...And he is very upset because he never loses things.
Update: You guys are good! Thank you St. Anthony! I found the tickets on the windowsill in plain view. They were not there before!

I wake up each morning to see my kids dressed, the place clean, to prepare breakfast in a timely fashion and to an uneventful school day-not.
In reality I am seriously stressing out because I cannot seem to get anything done at all. Baby Fredegar likes to be held. I can't blame him, he is so small and needs me, and frankly I like holding him. But it's like I get 2 minutes here and 2 minutes there to get breakfast done, to cook, to clean the bathroom, to feed the cats, etc. Polo is working long Christmas hours which adds to the problem. The two older kids help, but they do it in that kid way. I don't want to say "half assed" because they do their best, but it is never how I would do it. The other thing that drives me nuts is the older kids use the fact that stuff needs to be done as an opportunity to order the younger ones around. I spend a lot of time wondering if I put too much on their shoulders, which in reflection, I don't think so. I know a major part of my problem is I am kind of OCD and I'm a little more stressed about the state of my home than I really should be considering how old Baby Fredegar. But also, since we had the new baby, I was so blase"oh sure, another baby, I can handle that..." like it was no big deal, being this Catholic, open to life, cooking from scratch, attachment parenting, homeschooling Supermom and all that I like to envision myself as, I never stopped to think how much of an illusion that is without at least bit of practice with each new addition. I need to reformulate my new routines and I really need to reformulate the kids routines before I throw them all out.

Then I need to take a break somehow-this weekend, get a grip, and eat more chocolate.

I'm also stressing because I'm seeing my grandmother for Christmas-which I'm looking forward to, but she is starting on about how I am small and I need to make sure I control my weight. Gosh, can't I wait until after Christmas because I needmy chocolate? I'll let you in on a secret, my mother gave me a bag of mini-Twix bars for my birthday and I'm not sharing them with the kids.

here: advice to husbands and wives.

1. Egg nog - yum or yuck? YUM

2. Stay up until midnight on New Years? Nope.

3. Prefer white or colored lights? White.

4. Favorite holiday song. Hark the Herald Angels Sing, with Once in Royal David's City becoming a new favorite.

5. What is your tackiest holiday decoration? A music box shaped like a skating pond. When you wind it up and put the two penguins with magnets on their feet on the mirrored top, they whirl and skate to the music.

6. Do your kids have too much and you wonder just WHY you are getting more?? lol Yes!

7. If you celebrate Christmas, when does your tree go up and come down? We are not putting up a tree this year because we are traveling, but we usually get it right before the fourth Sunday of Advent and leave it up until at least Epiphany.

8. Christmas again - open presents on Christmas eve, morning, or other? I am trying to establish opening presents in the afternoon, after dinner.

9. Favorite holiday tradition? Pizza and Irish Coffee on Christmas Eve.

10. What do YOU want for Christmas? Something there is no chance of my getting.

Thanks to Zelie.

Pansy: Rosey Posey, why are your feet naked?
Rosey Posey:They are not naked, they are simply uncovered.
Pansy: Well, where aare your socks?
Pansy was wondering because a. it's cold and b. if her socks are not on her feet, then they are probably strewn about somewhere...
Rosey Posey: Oh, they got wet, so they are on the stove getting warm.
Pansy: Oh, but aren't your feet cold?
Rosey Posey: Well, no! They are just...unwarm!

I had my 6 week checkup yesterday. My midwife said I lost 20 pounds, which was "very good". She said the rest of the weight should nurse right off. I hope so because I am not as happy.

She also apologized profusely about the birth and she hopes they will change the protocol about waterbirth for insulin dependent and VBAC mothers. I told her it didn't bother me, but that would be a really great change.

There is always this really weird feeling about not being pregnant anymore and closing the door on that life chapter. On the one hand I am so thankful I am not pregnant anymore, that I can breathe easy and get around. On the other hand, there is always a feeling of slight sadness that the pregnancy is over. What is that? I guess because that person will never be that close to you again...

are so kind. We were visiting my mother yesterday and when we came home there were two wagon tracks in the snow. Not unusual because my Amish neighbors use our phone. They left a casserole for us by the phone.

That was just so sweet. It is also a big comparison to the neighbors who used to just stare at us through their windows in Albany.

to Miss Bernadette Luse, card-carrying member of the 2005 LPGA tour!

St Nicholas Center: stories, ideas, coloring pages, kids' artwork, and a place to buy cookie cutters!!!

Hat tip: Coucoumelle.

Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday, dear Pansy,
Happy birthday to you!

*Thanks to Jane for the article*

Addicted to HPT's
(Home Pregnancy Test)©

By Karen Squires

If you laughed at this title, this article may be for you. HPT means Home Pregnancy Test and they are without a doubt, addictive. Alcoholics try to hide their addiction, so do women addicted HPT's. I know because I'm one of them.

I found HPT's at the dollar store for, you guessed it, a dollar. I was so excited. I only grabbed one test the first time I saw them. I ran home and used it right away. I got a BFN (Big Fat Negative). Of course I was only 7 days after ovulation so what could I expect.

The next day, after lying to my husband and telling him that I needed to run and get some shampoo, I was back at the dollar store for more. I bought five this time, figuring that if I ran one a day I would have enough to last until 12 days after ovulation. I always get a positive by 11 days after ovulation so I had enough to see if I had a baby in me this cycle. Two days later I had used them all up and was back at the store needing more shampoo. I bought another five tests. I was now 10 days after ovulation. Five more would last me until my next cycle started, which I hoped wouldn't come.

As I drove home I tried desperately to remember when I had gone to the bathroom last. I needed to hold my urine for at least 4 hours to let the pregnancy hormone build up. I remembered that it had only been about one and 1/2 hours. It was now 10:00 am, I'll have to wait until 12:30pm. I told myself that when I got home I'd do the dishes, vacuum, dust, paint the bathroom, anything to keep my mind off of running the test. I pulled in the driveway, ran straight to the bathroom, and peed in a cup. Another BFN. Dang it. I have no self control. I'll have to start all over again.

It's now 11 am. I have to hold my urine until 3 pm to let the hormone (if there is any) build up again. At 1:30 pm I run another test. BFN! Dang it all to heck! What is my problem. And I get frustrated at my kids not having any patience.

I decide to go to the mall to make sure that I can't run another test for a few hours. I am tempted to take a test with me to use at the bathroom in the mall just in case I can't control myself but I remember that I'll have my five year old with me which would make it hard to run a test there. Off to the mall I go having made it out the door without a test hidden in my purse.

I have now gone most of the day with out drinking as I don't want to dilute my urine and make what might be a BFP(Big Fat Positive) turn into a BFN by having too much water in my bladder. I am thirsty, frustrated and getting crabbier and crabbier by the minute.

We walk around the mall, me trying to get a peak at the baby and maternity things, but a five year old has no need for those so I don't even get a fix by doing that. Two hours later we are bored and my son is begging to come home and eat. I look at my watch. I can't go home yet, I just can't. I tell my son that I'll buy him something to eat, get him a toy, anything to stay there a little longer. He sees the desperation in my eyes and agrees to let me buy him a Hot Wheels car and some chicken strips. That uses up another hour. Soon he wants to go home again and no amount of bribing works this time. It's only been three hours now so I take the long way home. I keep hearing a little voice from the back seat telling me that I've gone the wrong way and a tiny finger points to the east telling me to turn that way NOW!

Okay, Okay, we'll go home.

It's been three and 1/2 hours and I'm so thirsty that I can hardly swallow. We pull into the driveway, I run into the house, down the hall to the bathroom, and run another test. Another BFN!!! Dang it! Dang it! Dang it all to HECK! Grrrr.

I had ran the rest of the tests by the next day at noon and since it was now 11 days after ovulation and I still hadn't got my BFP I knew that Aunt Flo and her dog spot would find me soon. On to the next cycle. I am going to have more self control next time.

A few days later I really do need some shampoo and tell dear hubby that I need to run and get some. He gives me a funny look and asks "Didn't you just get some a few days ago?"

I walk into the dollar store knowing that I'm safe from my addiction for another two weeks but as I walk past the HPT's to the shampoo I notice that they only have 20 tests left. I panic. What if they are all gone in two weeks, what will I do, where will I go. I grab all 20 tests and head to the cash register, kicking myself all the way there. When I get home I find a good place to hide them, way in the back of the closet.

My husband calls from the shower and asks me for the shampoo. I'm still in the process of hiding the tests and I call back to him, my mind still in an addictive fog, "Shampoo! What shampoo?"

You are free to publish this article on websites and print publications. You can also email it to friends and/or associates. We just ask that you include this information with the article and let us know where you published it. This article first appeared in The Wise Mother magazine, published in Salt Lake City, Utah. http://www.thewisemother.com email thewisemother@yahoo.com

My baking soda just vanishes now and then. I don't understand it, especially because the baking cupboard is pretty tidy and that orange box is hard to miss. So where does it go?

It turned up missing at the most inconvenient time today -- when I was in the middle of mixing the cookies. Hambet was asleep and I really didn't want to wake him up and drag him to the store in his PJ's. But if I waited I was going to lose a lot of time, especially because I was expecting a little playmate for him later in the morning.

I ended up (I can't believe I did this) pulling the box of baking soda out of the back of the fridge and scooping my 1 1/2 tsp out of that. Don't worry, it was pretty new and I don't have a lot of smelly stuff in my fridge. So I got the cookies done (mixed, chilled, rolled, and baked) before the little playmate arrived. And they taste fine.

But why does my baking soda keep disappearing?

Tomorrow I'm having an Open House for my business -- so far I think three actual customers are going to be coming, as well as Iris, who is coming out of loyalty and love of cookies.

I'm making fudge and snickerdoodles, and will probably make another kind of bar cookie (trying to decide between raspberry and chocolate revel.) I found myself calling my mother for her recommendations, and she rattled off a dizzying list of cookies and bars on her standard bake list.

Of course, my mom always has a could of hundred people around during the Christmas season, and she's been doing this for a bit longer than I have. But it made me realize that I don't have much on my Must Bake for Christmas List.

I always make snickerdoodles and fudge, and I will probably add peppermint bark, chocolate chip cookies made with red and green M&Ms, and those peanut blossom cookies with the chocolate star in the middle. When Hambet is older I will probably add rolled and decorated sugar cookies.

So how about you? What's on your yearly to-bake list?

Cuz I cannot figure out why anyone would get this for their toddler, or why there is such a fashion trend these days.

Thanks to Patty for the link.