Bienvenidos a three day blog. If you've just stumbled your way here or you arrived from a Google search (you know who you are), you may want to visit my about me page....and then subscribe to my RSS feed because, yes---I am that addictive.



Saturday, September 29, 2007

down the shelf

Friday, September 28, 2007

lunatic fringe


Irene has bangs.

Finally.

I resisted for a long time because I was afraid of the result.

At the same time I was very tired of this:


And this:


Clips seemed to work just fine for about five minutes.


I still find clips stashed around the house with huge clumps of hair in them.


This works fine, but I am not sure if she will always want to wear her brothers undies on her head, when she is older.


Yes, they are clean.

I think that the bangs make a big improvement.



Don't you?


Tell me what you think.



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Thursday, September 27, 2007

something funny

Update: scroll down to vote. I will feature your choice this Monday, so lets keep voting till the polls close. But don't worry if you were mortally concerned that I might not feature book love weekend. Have no fear. It goes on as planned. Did I just hear an audible groan?
I have felt so uninspired lately. I really want to write something funny, but I can't think of a darn thing. I hate having you all come here and get serious post, after serious post. I am so desperate, I ended up asking Anthony what he thought a funny thing to write about would be. He said that I should write about a car that tastes and smells like root beer. I thanked him through a clenched teethed, fake smile, waited until he was out of earshot, and called his sister. Her suggestion of chicken and bubbles tells me that I am on my own.


So now it is up to you, dear readers. I will put it to a vote.



What humorous story would you most like to hear?
The Artichoke
Hot Girl
The Watcher
pollcode.com free polls

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

flying with the egels


I was honored with yet another award---wow, that sounded quite humble, let me try again---I have been once again mistakenly awarded, this time from what works for us, a blog that I have recently started enjoying. The award originated from the egels nest,very cute name for a blog, that promises to be a permanent addition to my bloglines family.

In turn, I am going to pass this on to a friend who apparently likes to up and decide to tear her house down for the heck of it. You always need someone like that in your life. Her blog is, ironically titled, Home Sweet Home.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

and the lion shall lay down with the lamb...

....and yes, Irene is the lion....
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here we go again

I got this meme through more of my incessant blog hopping. This is from a blog of a blog. I am sure that many of you turn tail and run when you see the word meme but this one was just too delicious to pass up. If you want to do this too, then please do so but leave me a comment with your blog address or email me. I want to see what your result is, as well.

My answers are in red and Edgard's are in blue and anything, extra I will note in green.

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car):

Catso Jetta

Ruch Ranger

My absolute all time favorite answer belongs to my father: Princess Magnum

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie):

Chocolate Chip Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie (also known as Cha-ookie)

Coffee Snicker doodle

3. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal):

Blue horse

Blue Dog

4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born):

Sarah Elizabeth xxxxx sorry can't give you the rest of that one.

Edgard La Ciudad de Mexico

5. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink):

The Black Coffee

The Dark Grey Pineapple Juice

The Blue Jarrito (Anthony)

6. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers):

Frederick William

Jose Maria Guillermo

Frederick Otto (my mom)

Gary Jose (Anthony)

7. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ):

Ann Gordon

Luis Mejia

Edgard Sarah Elizabeth (Anthony)

8. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter):

Castenholz Caracas

Ofelia Oslo

9. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower):

Spring Lily

Fall Tulip

Winter Dandelion (Anthony)

10. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”):

Kiwi T-Shirty

Banana sweat-shirty

11. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree):

Coffee palm tree

Cereal Locust

12. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”):

The Book Thunder Tour

The Music Snow Tour

Saturday, September 22, 2007

treasury of david


The Treasury of David by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

"The Treasury of David is a superb literary achievement. Eric Hayden, pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle a century after Spurgeon's ministry began there, calls this work "Spurgeon's magnum opus." Spurgeon's wife said that if Spurgeon had never written any other work, this would have been a permanent literary memorial."
Quoted from The Spurgeon Archive.


Friday, September 21, 2007

wait...?


I asked her to go in her room and put on her socks and shoes. In retrospect.....I think I could have been a little more specific.
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questions

People say there are no dumb questions. I submit then for you these brilliant queries. Decide for yourself.

  • Are there other types of dogs in Mexico besides chihuahuas? Honestly I didn't think that there were any chihuahuas left. Aren't they all on the arms of drunk bimbos in Hollywood?
  • Do they have tea in Mexico?
  • How did you get here? A question for Edgard, who answered: "by plane." The person then replied, "no...really, how?"
  • Is this your first child? A question put to me several times while I was pregnant with Irene and holding Anthony's hand. I have also been asked, in front of Anthony, if he was mine. I just think that is such a stupid question with all the different families nowadays.
  • Are there universities in Mexico? Well not much of one... UNAM is only the second oldest university in all of the Americas---UNMSM in Peru takes the honors, as it was founded on May the 12th of 1551. It is a little embarrassing as they missed the number one spot by a matter of months. UNAM was founded September the 21st of 1551. (¡Feliz Aniversario hoy!) I am sure they have been hanging their head in shame for 456 years.


  • Do you guys play music in English? This questioner was extremely astonished to hear this, after Edgard was explaining how classic rock stations in Mexico are better, since they play a vast selection; b sides and the like.
  • Be careful, he may want to marry you for papers. Okay so this wasn't a question, per se, yet it was good enough to include. Although, in retrospect, I realize that he may have married me for convenience rather than love. After he crossed the border on his trusted burro "pepe" he was agonizingly single and could do whatever he wanted. He had no one to spend his hard-earned money or fight with him on his days off. Since our marriage, he has been thrown up on---by the kids, not me---nagged almost to the point of convulsions---by me, not the kids. He has the joy of the famed marital relations, as well. I don't mean in-laws. He, now, has to ask permission to move or breathe. He never had that kind of care and concern when he was a, miserably single, immigrant. I almost feel sorry for him, until I remember he is just using me and the kids as an excuse to go to work every day for the next 33 years. Jack ass. Sorry, Pepe.
  • When is cinco de mayo? Can I just say, that I was very drunk at the time? I wasn't, but can I say that I was?


I can't think of any more at the present. I must say, though, most of the blatant stupidity could have been avoided, had the person just thought for one second, before they opened their mouth.

Anyone else want to play along and add the stupid question they have had to deal with? It doesn't have to be on any particular subject. Is it stupid? we will take it. Add it in the comment section.



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Now playing: Phil Wickham - Sailing On A Ship
via FoxyTunes

Thursday, September 20, 2007

ninety-seven more than three

I am so excited that this is my one-hundredth post. I am sure that seems like nothing to all of you seasoned bloggers but I am excited nevertheless. The name of my blog is due to my intense problem of procrastination. Even now I should be cleaning my house. I truly have never done anything for more than a matter of about three days so I felt that my blog would suffer a similar demise. Now you understand why I am so happy that I have made it this far. There are more things that I want to accomplish for more than "three days" but now my little success here makes me feel as if I will be more capable to accomplish it.

On another subject---yesterday Anthony started his 4th AWANA year. I am very excited that he has a chance to take part in this. Up to now he has memorized 180+ bible verses and is on his way to become an approved workman for Christ. The difference with this year is that about a month ago he accepted Christ. I always told him what was what, but never pushed him. Never told him he had to. I told him there would be a choice, either way, and of his own volition, and then I said no more, unless he asked questions. In fact, when Anthony actually asked Him into his life, he was alone in his room. I am so happy. I am so blessed.



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Now playing: Smalltown Poets - Anthing Genuine
via FoxyTunes

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

wordless wednesday---round two



For other wordless Wednesday participants go here...

Monday, September 17, 2007

just think what cute kids they will have

So Edgard and I took tests concerning which world leader that we most resemble in personality.


This was Edgard's result. Leading with his mind...hmmmm.





This is was my result. I think that we make a cute couple....what do you think. We are like a dream team.

testlink

Thanks to Bridget over at Don't Lick the Floor for the idea...

happy anniversary...again

So I know that I just did an anniversary post a month ago...but guess what? It is our anniversary again! It was exactly 9 years ago, today, that Edgard and I met.
I am sure that I have enhanced his life in every way, right?



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Now playing: Jars of Clay - Good Monsters
via FoxyTunes

a pizza and week two

Last Monday (week 2): 191

Today:191


Loss for this week: 0 pound

I will accept a no gain/no loss weigh-in.
I had a bad weekend as my fitday account will show. I couldn't exercise on Saturday because I babysat 2 children from 12:00p.m.-9:00p.m. Although, four children total, for nine hours was exercise in itself. On Sunday, I bow my head in shame and admit that I could have exercised and ate well and simply did not.
I plan to exercise everyday this week excepting possibly this Wednesday. Wednesday is Anthony's first day back to AWANA. We are all excited about that. This will be his fourth year. We hope that he can continue in it until he graduates from high school. The other days should be workable to fit in some exercise. But I will also challenge myself to include Wednesday in this, as well. I also have to give a huge congratulations to Groovybabe, who has reached and surpassed the 100 day mark on her way to changing her life. You should check her out if you want a little motivation. She is really dedicated. If a nearly 40 lbs loss doesn't show you that, I don't know what will!
In other news: my book love weekend was a success. It
must be that I will assume that my readers are exceptional liars. Either way, I couldn't be more thrilled! So book love weekend continues.

The other thing that I wanted to share is that I made a vegetarian pizza on Saturday for the two kids that we were babysitting. It was fantastic! Edgard rolled out the dough because he didn't approve of the way that I rolled it out. Everything was perfect. The crust was perfectly thin and the sauce was the perfect blend of spices and the cheese was...well, cheese.
Oh, happy accident.
Maybe I should take up this cooking dinner thing more often. It would really round out this whole housewife image that I have going on over here.


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Now playing: Smalltown Poets - Long Long Way
via FoxyTunes

Saturday, September 15, 2007

first official "book love" i'm a nerd weekend





A Six-Cylinder Courtship by Edward Salisbury Field is a book that was written to be very trendy. The bad thing about being trendy is that trends go out quickly And then they are no longer fashionable, they are simply absurd. The good thing about trends is that after 100 years they go right past the absurd, right into quirky and quaint. (two Q words in one sentence...that is impressive)
This story is about a man who falls in love-at-first sight with a well moneyed young lady who mistakes him for a chauffeur. The reason for this, is because he owns a car. In those days they were owned primarily by rich people, and she assumes that he is too young to be rich, so he must be a driver. Alas, he is rich but continues to pretend to be her driver until such a time as she will fall in love with him. Hilarity ensues.
It is not a great literary contribution, but it is a sweet, innocent look at life in 1907.



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Now playing: Robi Draco Rosa - Penélope
via FoxyTunes

Friday, September 14, 2007

my dad's reaction

So my Dad is fairly new to reading my blog because I was too chicken to let him read it before. This is what he had to say about the previous post.

Hi everybody,
I love all the pictures. That's a cute story about the old couple. But who are those people in the pictures. Yep, I still think you're a natural writer. Some magazine or newspaper is going to pick you up and you will be rich. Behind a keyboard, getting writers cramp, blurry eyed, and rich. But you will be online and rich so you can buy me books. Did I mention, I like books?
tee hee.
It's really a cool blog Ra.
Love, your Dad



I think I just figured out where I got my writing style from.
My parents also read the comments and were quite touched.
Have an excellent weekend and don't forget that I will be posting a photo of another book.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

a little story for thursday

My parents married August 31st 1973.
Twenty-nine years later, a few days shy of their anniversary, they separated.
A year later the divorce was final. They would have been married thirty years.

There were so many situations and issues of why this occurred and I am not going to tell you even one of them.


(Sorry)


Sufficed to say I was devastated.


It has been five years since that happened and everyone has moved on as best they could. They have both stated a wish to begin to meet new people. They have grown and matured and learned a lot about themselves.
One of my parents made the initial choice to separate, which left the other one feeling abandoned and betrayed, and as a result, they made the decision---because the pain was too great---to not have any contact whatsoever with the other one. This has been awkward, to say the least, and heartbreaking when you really get down to it. Anthony was 6 months old when his grandma and grandpa split up so he has had no recollection of ever seeing them together. It is odd to me, considering it is normal to him.

About a month ago my mother called and told me that she had a date planned for the following week. My first thought was that it wouldn't pan out. My second thought was that if this panned out that it would kill my dad. I then brushed it from my mind.
I meant to call my mom and ask her about the date but time got away from me. She ended up calling me and I told her that I was going to call and that I was sorry. She said that it was fine but at the same time I felt that she was acting very strange. She proceeded to tell me that the date went fine and that in all probability this was it. What kind of it I wondered? Very soon I realized she meant the I do, till death do us part, kind of it. So I started getting very quizzical about this potential new dad.
What is he like?

Is he nice?

Does he have kids?

The whole bit.

My mom patiently answered all my questions and then quietly said

"Rachel?"

"It's your dad."


Wednesday, September 12, 2007

my first wordless wednesday

This really is a building that I saw, on trip with my best friend, in a city 2 hours distant. Talk about unfortunate names. I think I might have chosen to change my name.


If you would like to have a look at all of the Wordless Wednesday participants haz click aqui por favor

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

today

Just remember all of the races that lost their lives that day.
We all suffered loss.
Beauty and love comes in all colors.



Mi Familia

Monday, September 10, 2007

double tagged

I have been double tagged for the same meme by Lady-T and Groovybabe
So without further ado here are eight random facts about Rachel at www.threedayblog.blogspot.com (thats me!)


1.I have attended 13 schools and not one of them was college. Yes, I moved that much! And they were all in the same school district. My parent flipped houses before it was a tlc show.

2. When my older sister, Michelle, had a newborn I stayed with her for the first month to help out. She was a single mom and at that time had no car. I woke up the morning I was to move back home with an overwhelming urge to buy her a car before I left. We spent the whole day looking everywhere before my mom found an old ford on a used car lot that had the price tag I could afford. Price=triple cheap. The thing that is interesting about this whole story is; the car that I bought for my sister was previously owned by Edgard. Yep, my husband. I met him about 6 months after I bought the car.

3.At last count I own 880+ books. I haven't counted in a while. I am scared to.

4.
I chose to learn Greek as my language credit in high school. I was very opposed to learning Spanish. So glad that I married a Greek man! Oh wait...I didn't! I speak Spanish (with poor grammar) now---but not due to Spanish classes. I learned from rock in Spanish. Thanks to Edgard for introducing me to La Barranca and Jaguares and Julieta Venegas and Molotov ( I can't say the words that Molotov taught me so that hasn't turned out so well) and Cafe Tacuba and many more. And not to leave out a Chilean band (para Mamacita Chilena)...La Ley.

5.My favorite Mexican actor is Demián Bichir. I like several of his movies but I really liked his character in sexo, pudor y lagrimas. Just saw rojo amanecer two nights ago. Very intense.

6. I speak to myself in a British accent. All the time. I have done it since I was very young. Not sure why....

7. I name houseflies. The one that is with us now is named
Shocksley. (this is random...remember?)

8. I can't drink after myself. I have to keep turning the glass each time I take a drink. If I run out of "drinking spots" before I am done, then I am out of luck and I must dump out the rest of the drink. It is lost to me. This, curiously enough, does not apply to pop cans or straws. I know.


I am going to, rather than tag anyone, invite you to play along instead. Just leave a comment that you are going to name eight random facts about yourself and where to find you so we can all come and check it out.

fitday: week one

So I am starting my weigh-in, all new....again.
I am so frustrated with all the ups and downs and I really had thought that I could solve that by airing my dirty laundry here...on my blog. Not so, apparently. I still eat with wild abandon
regardless of how embarrassed I will be on weigh-in Monday. So here I am on my way down again. Needing a miracle. I know that I can lose weight. Last year taught me that. I also learned that it is purely a mental thing. If your head is in the right place...then eating differently will be an easy choice and once you start registering a loss, then you have another mental reason to keep going with it. Well I don't know what the answer is. I need everything to click back into place so that I can start losing...again...for the LAST time!
That being said:
This is my first week anniversary of using fitday. I love it! It is easy to use and has all those great graph and pie charts. I have recorded everything regardless of if I did well or not. It really gives me a great picture of what is going into my gut. Plus there are definitely things I won't eat because I don't want to post them on fitday. The other great thing is that, with the exception of Friday, Edgard and I have worked out everyday! For certain, things are being affected by my using fitday. So we may see a steady half pound or one pound loss every week. It may be slow but even at its slowest I could be at a weight I could live with in a year. In two I would be at my goal weight. As John over at John is fit said: we are learning to eat for life.
So last Monday (the first week I started fitday) I was 192
Today:191
Loss for this week: 1 pound

Here is the link for my fitday public journal and yes...I eat oddly.

Sunday, September 9, 2007

a new feature

So I thought that, for the weekend lull, I would introduce something that is near and dear to my heart. Books. More specifically---the beauty of books. Every weekend I will be sharing a picture of one of my books. I may tell you what the title is, who wrote it and maybe even what it is about. Then again, I may not deem a description necessary. Maybe the picture can stand alone. And yes...I have that many books.


Outre-Mer
a pilgrimage beyond the sea
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

And please, by all means, let me know what you think about this idea....


Thursday, September 6, 2007

bragging rights

My idyllic life...


THE REALITY!!!



And I wouldn't trade it for the world.


good to know

We don't need to ask ourselves where genius comes from. We simply need to avail ourselves of it when we are lucky enough to have it cross our path.

As you may remember, I am now using FitDay.
A friend let me know, in the comment section, a little (read: freaking important) tip about Fitday. I would like to repeat it here.

oh yeah, and one thing about fitday...you should enter in the amount of hours you sleep every day under activities, because otherwise fitday calculates the amount of calories you're burning as if you were awake 24 hours a day!
I would say that is important to know so all of you that use fitday and read my blog...take note!
Thanks Mamacita Chilena from your friend Mamacita Raquelin.

Oh, and one last thing...this is where my sleeping an average of 4 hours a night is finally gonna payoff!

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

speaking of uprooting trees


You will, no doubt, notice the gorgeous tree in the front yard of our home. Isn't it pretty? isn't it sumptuous? You should smell the beautiful chainlike pink blossoms in the springtime. It smells like California. And not the stinky littered parts of California either...the nice blossom filled California.

But you can't. It is no more. That is why my husband spent a half a day, in the blinding hot sun, uprooting a tree. And yes, in case you were wondering, it was not salvageable. We strongly suspect that some kids tried to hang on it. We have neighbors, whose children are allowed to run wild, and they often choose to play in front of our house, alone, and in the street, I might add. They range in age of about 3 to 17.
Stinking kids parents.
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jojo the bag-faced girl


How was your labor day weekend? Exciting times at our house.

This is what my husband busies himself with on a three day weekend.


...to heck with house projects.
To be fair, Edgard uprooted a tree, mowed, weeded, changed a tire, cooked his own dinner (pobrecito) and exercised everyday. ...and yet... I bet the bag will be the highlight of our weekend. Simple. Perfect.

Posted by Picasa

Monday, September 3, 2007

my new commitment

I am taking a page out of Melodee's book and signing up for a FitDay account. I originally used a different web page to record my foodery but FitDay is, by far, the most user-friendly. I especially love the small do-able goals that you can set for yourself. Oh yes, and the big blue dot on the graph that tells me I am "severe overweight". That is just the added bonus.
So I have a link to my personal food journal on the side and here it is again just for the heck of it!!


www.fitday.com

Sunday, September 2, 2007

I joined the group top mama.
...thought you should know.


I'm a Top Mommma!

Saturday, September 1, 2007

nombres y otras cosas

Whoever it was that said parenting is a serious job, has never read the blog--- Up in the Night.
I found Shauna through hopping from one blog to another blog and, after I stopped laughing, I subscribed via bloglines and have been enjoying her hilariously quirky takes on motherhood ever since. Well I have, lately, been twice honored by her. Firstly she tagged me for a meme and secondly she awarded me a very touching award. I can't tell you how much that I appreciate that. I haven't been writing my own blog for long but I really enjoy it! This lets me know that others, kinda, sorta, enjoy it as well.

Here is one, out of the many that I love, that I think really deserves this:
Linda Wagner over at The Ten Pound Club
---This blog always brings me back to the place I need to be. You would be hard pressed to find a kinder woman. In fact, if she is open to adoption... one can never have too many moms!

Now onto the rules for the meme:

  1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.
  2. Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of their middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.
  3. When you are tagged you need to write your own blog-post containing your own middle name game facts.
  4. At the end of your blog-post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.
Okay so I know that Shauna had no way of knowing that I have two middle names, one of which is long with an impossible letter----but still...I wonder.....

So here goes:

S-simplicity To know me is to know that I am crazy and late and disorganized but I crave simplicity and I have made some really great advances into this realm lately and am very proud of it
A-appreciative I am deeply appreciative of all that I have. My husband who gave me two gorgeous children, a home and love. And I appreciate God who gave me my life. Now this sounds like the academy awards
R-real I like to be as honest and real as I can to myself and all around me.
A-amiable I try to be as friendly to everyone as I possibly can.
H-hilarious No one else may think that I am funny but I sure get a kick out of myself. (what can I say? I like stupid jokes!)

E-
earnest I don't seek Him as I should or study to show myself an approved workmen like I should. Through all my human ways, though, I earnestly love God.
L-lies & liars My biggest all time pet peeve. I actually despise people who lie. I lose all respect and they seem weak to me. I get that from my dad who shares a similar distaste for dishonest people.
I-interesting Where some people say weirdo and freak, I say pleasantly interesting.
Z-zest Cheesy word, but actually very apt, I think. I have a zest for life that shows especially when my back is against the wall. I look at hard times as an adventure. Something you can pull yourself out of.
A-acumen My husband has said this about me...I'm not making all of this up...you know. I feel that I have some good insight in a lot of things. It really comes in handy when I need to deal with things with my kids and husband. not always mind you but at times I can sit down with them and say exactly what needs to be said to get them to understand.
B-brave While I may not like any kinds of heights, spiders or dark small spaces. I went to meet my in-laws in Mexico city with a 6 month old baby and sans husband (he had to work). We had been married, at that point, for 2 years but I had never gotten to meet the family...and no I really didn't speak very much Spanish and no they didn't speak very much English but I stayed for a month (I have, since that time, spent a combined total of 4 months there and I love it). There are varying degrees of bravery, I think.
E-Edgard Really I am silly about him.
T-together My husband and children and I are stuck like crazy---and I emphasize the word crazy---glue. And I, personally, wouldn't want it any other way.
H-hotheaded I am quicker to anger than I would like, but I am praying about it.

....And that is the most that I will talk directly about myself for a very long time.

So I will not follow rule #4 very closely since it would be cruel to do so, but I will tag two other people. Two sounds like a good compromise between none and 14, right?

1. funny sweet Lady T
2. beautifully honest betzy at her blog: a work in progress