Castle in the Clouds

Remember that movie? I watched as it a teenager (I think). I thought it was great then and watching with my boys tonight didn't change my opinion. Of course, I am surprised the boys are scared by it. Totally unexpected.

Maybe I'll just do a day-to-day summary since my last update. No fluff, just the facts. Wednesay 1. Worked a full day and then picked up the munchkins from daycare. 2. Went home, ate dinner, put a pie in the oven for Thanksgiving dessert. 3. Oldest boy complains about a stomach ache and refuses to eat his ice cream. 4. Oldest boy pukes all over little brother's bed. 5. Dad takes bedding down to the basement to be cleaned while I tend to the boy. 6. Boy passes out, totally freaking mom out and taking at least ten years off her life. (Never been so scared in my life.) 7. Turn off oven even though pie doesn't appear to be thoroughly cooked. 8. Take boy to ER (checked in around 9:00 pm thanks to a 45 minute drive on slick, slushy roads) 9. Boy is monitored and diagnosed with vasovagal syncope (loss of blood pressure due to vomiting) 10. Boy is given red popsicle, given permission to go home, and promptly pukes in the middle of the hospital corridor. 11. Home by 11:00 and the...

Even though I spent 3 1/2 hours at my mom's house scrapbooking tonight, I only managed to get one two-page spread done. Of course, I was also helping her figure out why her scanner wouldn't work (ended up uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers and such). After I packed up my stuff I had to go grocery shopping. Yes, at 9:00 pm, I was walking into Kroger to pick up some more last minute Thanksgiving dinner supplies. Sadly, I'm sure we'll discover Thursday morning that we're missing something essential. Doesn't it always work that way?

Ha! Just finished the second paper I had to write for tomorrow's class. I thought this one would be so much easier than the first. Not even close. The first one, my commentary, was fun to write. I focused on the use of color in Cristina Garcia's Dreaming in Cuban . While others may be bored by it, I find the whole pyschological impact of color to be fascinating. Paper #2 was a bit more painful to write. We had to identify a community and focus on questions like whether or not women empower or undermine each other. I identified the unique combination of gender and ethnicity of the characters as their community. Then I addressed the issue of empowerment and whether or not I felt the two books in question handled the question in the same manner. Took for-flipping-ever! But the papers are done and I'm ever so grateful. The only homework I should have to worry about over the holiday weekend is reading the next book on our reading list...oh, the agony! lol

The movie was wonderful. It was everything I had hoped it would be. Of all the books, has always been my second favorite (book 6 gets first place because it explained why the adults stood aside while Harry and company stood in the line of fire time and time again). Anyhoo...back to the movie. It's not often you can go to a movie on opening night and spend less than $20 for three people. It's unheard of, but I somehow managed it tonight. The University was sponsoring a movie night at my favorite theatre; all you had to do was show a student ID and you got two tickets free and two coupons for a medium drink and popcorn. I only had to buy candy and one ticket. The ticket cost me $10, which was fine because the show was sold out and only the University held tickets, and the candy cost me $6. $16.00 total. I can't get over it! Standing in line with a four-year-old and a seven-year-old for 30 minutes wasn't fun. Restless doesn't even begin to describe it. Event...

I've nearly beat the game. I've already been inside the last maze leading to the climatic confrontation. A sneaking suspicion told me my characters weren't powerful enough to defeat the big boss--that's what they call the major opponents in these games--so I decided to go online and find a cheat sheet. Boy, oh boy. I missed so many little side quests! These side quests provide incentive for completing them, lovely little goodies to help your characters. Weapons, armor, and various other items of usefulness can be found or won. So, cheat sheet bookmarked and open for easy reference, I started to backtrack. I'm glad I did. I unlocked another fusion monster for Kurando and have powered up several other characters. Of course, having the cheat sheet means I now realize just how many things I've missed and how much more powerful my characters would be if I had only known! Ah, well. It's just a game, right?

Mean and Green. Which B-Movie Badass Are You? brought to you by Quizilla Me, Godzilla? That's hilarious!

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I know I enjoy writing, but do I have what it takes to dedicate myself to it? I'm not sure. When I consider how often it's the last item on the priority list, I think perhaps not. I can't even say its the fault of the husband, children, job, or household chores. I watch too much tv to say such a thing. ~Reading doesn't count. It's part of the whole process for me.~ So then I ask myself if it's not a priority, what is it? A hobby? It's certainly not an addiction. I can go for days, even weeks, without writing a single word. It used to be. I remember when I couldn't get enough time on the computer, when I'd ignore television and even the people in my life, just so I could get the story out of my head and onto the screen. When did I lose that drive? Will I ever get it back? Then there's the whole publishing thing. Is it absolutely necessary to be published in the traditional sense? Lots o...

Last night was parent-teacher conference for my oldest son. We hadn't heard all that much from his teacher this year so we really didn't know what to expect. After last year's continual up-hill struggles I must admit I didn't have high expectations. While he didn't get all A s , he scored mainly between 89% - 70% on the majority of the scored areas. They don't award letter grades just yet. The grading scale is set up something like this: 1 = 100-90% 2 = 89-70% 3 = 69% or lower His report card had a few ones and a couple threes, mostly he scored right in that average range. I can live with that. What I really like is its evident his teacher likes him. She told us "there's not a mean bone in his body". She also told us he's quite the storyteller. Very creative. While most teachers would have labeled his exaggerations as lies, she complimented his public speaking abilities. "He's very confident and at ease in front of his clas...

width="240" height="180" alt="Kitten-Reaping Investigator-Snatching Terror of Anger" border="0">

The little man saw the surgeon as scheduled yesterday. It was pain-free and promising. If in four weeks time the cyst looks as flat as it did yesterday, we won't have to worry about surgery. However, if the little bump that has been there since birth reappears, the surgery is back on. Any and all of your prayers have made a difference. Thank you.