three day blog

It is Irene's 4th birthday today.   So far she is still cute so that is good.   I suspect that one of these birthday we will wake up to realize she is all arms and legs and very klutzy like her mom.   But for now she is still cute---so we celebrate.

Just in case you were all in doubt about the level to which we have twisted our children.... I offer you Anthony's homemade thanksgiving day card... So have a happy Thancksgiving and remember to be thanck full because you never know what is lurking right behind you.

I am taking the opportunity to show off the kiddos in their Halloween costumes because they rarely look this cute on a daily basis. *sigh* As you can see Anthony is taking his roll as knight, and protector of princess Irene, very seriously. Well--he started taking it more seriously after I told him to stop slaying his sister with his sword. Irene was protecting herself of course, but it was still disconcerting to see such a sweet princess cold cocking a knight... After that little interlude, we went to our church's harvest party and the kids had too much candy--and it instantly put them to sleep like sugar always does... er wait...? The reality was that after they got home they bounced around like mexican jumping beans---not as high as daddy though, because they are only half mexican but still enough to drive us both crazy. I hope you all had a great Halloween and I hope you are %100 more ready than I am for the upcoming holidays.

See my water rats? When you live in rainy Oregon where you get nine months of rain...you just have to make do. I remember my days as a puddle jumper. Those were the best times to play. Heck with those boring sunny days...

Do you have a favorite cheesy movie...? When I say cheesy movie, I mean so dorky you don't like to admit to people that you like it. It probably is one that you watched as a child before you had the ability to discern bad acting, terrible special effects, impossible 1960's hairstyles, etc. I personally have two... The first is Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) . I think the acting is good in this movie but the special effects are laughable by todays standards. A really good part, though is the score by Bernard Herrmann ---this guy lends an ominous tone to any movie. But the embarrassing fact is, that when I used to watch it as a child, I had a huge crush on Pat Boone. Yes I said Pat Boone....but this Pat Boone not that Pat Boone . When I grew up I developed a (still-going) crush on James Mason ....maturity has its advantages. My second movie is Jason and the Argonauts (1963) . The acting is touch and go, but the special effects---done by Ray Harryhausen and t...

My newest addiction is my mother's fault...she sent me the link to the Pirates of the Caribbean online game . I have to say, I enjoyed the movies tolerably well...and I am not wholly unaware of national talk like a pirate day... ...but, all in all, pirates aren't my thing. Wellllll ... weren't my thing. Now ....I am Rachel Bluemorrigan---captain of my own ships...a light sloop named Scarlet Rogue, and a galleon , the Red Queen. I am also a sometimes crew member on other people's ships as well as skillful with the sword and pistol. ....also, I'm a complete nerd.

I have to say that I was impressed how mature you guys were about my last post. I know some of you personally (and the rest internetally) so I know that you all run the gamut, politically speaking, and that all of you believe in the power of voting. Yet not one of you stooped to any low blows. I am proud of you guys seriously. A little update on the guy that sent me those emails... I wrote him the following email: Hi Xxxx, I hope everything is going well with you. I was wondering if you might remove me from getting the forwarded emails? Thanks so much and a pleasant rest of the week to you. Rachel Xxxxxx This was his response: Wow. I am sorry. I have a friend named Rachel Xxxxxxxx that asked me to forward some of these emails. I hope they did not offend you. I don’t even remember who you are. I am sure that was supposed to make me feel better. ha.... ha.... ha.... I just have to say shame on you Rachel Xxxxxxxx, whoever you are, for requesting those emails... you give the rest of us R...

So after a fun few hours in the hospital and multiple attempts at x-rays on a child who only stands on her tiptoes....we got a diagnosis. Irene has pneumonia! What do you mean this sounds familiar ??? You would think that I might take pity on her at a time like this and wouldn't make her talk or sing songs since she has lost her voice , right ? And now enjoy a song from Irene ( starr ing pneum onia) : Just a friendly little hint...you might need to turn the volume UP!!!

  Well I thought homeschool was going okay, but this morning Anthony asked me what language Archibald, from veggie tales, speaks.  When I told him english, he said  "eng...what?"     As Anthony's teacher....should I be worried?

I am not sure.... but I may have a slight problem with procrastination and follow through.... .

So I am doing this whole homeschool thing and I am really thinking... what's the big deal??? This is so easy. I don't get all the stress and complaining that I am hearing from other homeschool moms. This is a piece of cake! So I'll let you know how day two goes.

I am now embarking on year two of irrevocably ruining my son's academic career.  Otherwise known as:  Rachel does homeschool.  The program that I am doing consists of classes three days a week with an actual teacher with actual brains. He is taking creative writing, beginning piano, and beginning drawing. I am not sure...but we may be a little heavy on the creative side.  For academics, we are doing a curriculum called Calvert . I just received the box today and this thing has everything---down to the very pencils....so I guess I could have saved that $0.99 at Walmart. But my favorite thing is that there is a guide that tells me what everything is for. Thank goodness.  I hope it has pictures... ...and an instructional dvd... ....and a real live teacher.  The great thing is that all of t his is for free because we are getting the Calvert through an online academy that is a fully accredited public school. A public school without the evil influen...

Seriously....don't you love how I say I am going to do something (i.e. my last post ) and then I just disappear for nearly 2 weeks? It seems like whenever I tell myself I need to do something, I end up doing everything else but that particular thing. I think I am going through my teenage rebellion---15 years late. I skipped it the first time around. I didn't have any of the fun that all the normal teens have... You know... ...alcohol poisoning, girls gone wild, teen pregnancy... I just really had no fun at all. So now the revo lt from my sheltered teen years is coming out by rebelling against myself. You are welcome mom and dad. I do fully intend to write that book list. I just wished I would have realized that there was actual work involved before I opened my trap. Oh well. And speaking of work...my n ame is being passed around at my husband's workplace for my mad skillz as a web designer. I guess better that than having it passed around for other reasons. ...

I wanted to draw your attention to my navigational tabs below my header. I have added a new tab entitled reading list. If you click on it now, you will be taken to a page that says "this page coming soon" and then goes on to use an immature amount of exclamation points---so really this is just a page of little to no information. Why am I telling you? Because I was asked a very long time ago , by a couple of people to make a recommended reading list. And because I will be adding the information very soon...promise--either the next few hours, or at the latest tonight while all of the normal people sleep.

First I was having a problem connecting to the Internet (which is grievous in itself)...so I went to reset my modem and check on things at our main computer. I reset it with no luck so I got the phone and called my Internet provider. In the meantime I decided to restart it once more. Of course, the time I decide to call for help also happens to be the time that it starts to work again. So I got off the phone and went back to what I was doing (writing a post)....and when I looked down at the keys... that is when I discovered that my computer was covered in water !!!! da da da I don't want to name names ... they will keep their protection of anonymity ... I will protect the guilty .. I shan't point a finger at the criminal. Serious heart attack time. This is my lifeline.... I know you are not supposed to have favorites but my laptop is my favorite child---no contest! I feel a bulleted list coming on: My Laptop Never... talks back to me wants me to taste food it thinks is di...

In addition to keeping you highly entertained with my wit--and maybe a tiny smidgen of sarcasm--I also enjoy playing around with a little HTML, and other web design related stuff. I don't claim to be any great hand at it, or to have any non-pilfered technical knowledge---I pretty much just started experimenting with my blog template one day and when it was successful...I was hooked! If you have any questions or want me to create something, you just need to ask. I really love to do it and everything is a learning experience for me. sotsublehcar (at) gmail (dot) com And now on to the show and tell (what little there is so far). Not including the many incarnations of three day blog my first foray into designing aspects of someone else's site, was for Michelle over at brown eyed girl . I designed her header for her and had a lot of fun doing and since she also loves photography, I was able to use her own pictures for nearly the whole thing. I like the fact that it makes i...

In honor of our ninth wedding anniversary, I am going to list 9 things that I love about my husband. I love his laugh and smile.  It is contagious.  To hear him laugh, you instantly have to start laughing too.   I love that we have the same twisted sense of humor. I love that we both feel the same way about what we want for our children I love he provides for me.  And that I can trust him in that. I love his strong work ethic and that he is respected for it by others, as well. I love, and am proud of his musical talent.  I love when he takes the kids out of the house to give me break and focuses solely on them the whole time---I love the memories that he is giving them. I love his culture and the goodness and richness that it brings to our life. I love when we met, how special he made me feel everyday---I love the memories that he gave me from that time. Feliz Aniversario

So what do you do on a Saturday, home alone with the kids, with nothing but a cellphone camera and some imagination? You take some pictures..... ...send them to your husband, and make him think that you plunked down his hard earned money on some unneeded and expensive new toy for the children. It is at this point, around the third frantic interrogation text message, that you can start laughing...and I don't mean your everyday laughter... this is where you can pull out the evil villainous laughter you have been practicing since 5th grade. Go ahead....you've earned it.

Apparently there is something about me that is so irresistible that women want to give me flowers. Thank you Michelle . On the other hand, there also seems to be something so re sistible about me, that no men seem to find the urge to bring me any. Hmmm... Must investigate this...

Today is the big day for my x-ray. Of course, the hope is that the gray, cotton-candy looking substance, which unceremoniously invaded my lungs, has taken it's leave of me. Honestly, without going into too much detail, I really haven't been as "productive" as I think I should in getting rid of this gunk. I don't really know what is next, though. I took a strong three day antibiotic that stays in my system for ten days---I am only on my sixth day, so I suppose I should try to be patient for the remaining 4 days. It is just hard knowing that there is a foreign invader in my body. In the past I have taken kindly to foreign invaders...I ended up marrying the last one I came in contact with. Of course Edgard doesn't make me all phlegmy so that could be why he is still around. This current invader is a little less pleasant. Although, having pneumonia garners me more sympathy than being married to Edgard does---so I guess that is sort of a bonus. Other t...

I have been trying to think of the good parts of pneumonia, and the only thing I could come up with was, that the best thing about pneumonia is not having it at all. Too late. One really nice thing that has come out of it was this beautiful and romantic bouquet. Thanks Mom. The other thing that is admittedly nice is guilt-free computer time. Who is going to guilt a sickly woman with a potentially fatal infection, right? Besides when would they ask me to give up my laptop...between the paroxysms of coughing or all the choking? This has been interesting, though. I have found that with a little help from my mom willpower and more help from Edgard some ingenuity, you can pretty much parent completely from the comfort of your soggy week old sheets. Just a note: the sheets in the picture are not the previously discussed week old soggy sheets but a brand new set that Edgard put on when I called him from the doctor's office to tell him of my pneumonia. Hey... I could add tha...

I was trying to figure out which part of my thrilling Dr.'s visit I should tell you about. Maybe the part where every time I had to use the elevator---6 times---I ended up being trapped in there with someone who smelled badly...really badly. And as if that weren't punishment enough, they always got off before I did and there I was... left in in this funky elevator looking highly embarrassed and very guilty. I obviously could have skipped the shower and no one would have been any the wiser. Then there was the part where I saw John Travolta's character from Love Song for Bobby Long in the waiting room. Well at about age 35 but he looked about as healthy as Bobby Long. Or there was the fun moment after being jabbed and x-rayed and the waiting.... all the flipping waiting... I was told that, after being in bed since Saturday, I was going to get the bonus of five more days of bed rest. Yipee! I truly hope the sarcasm hits you right between the eyes in that last exclama...

I am sick...please feel sorry for me. I have a temperature of a 103. I've been reduced to a cheesy foreigner song . image by opk

So I have really been thinking a lot about the whole working mother/stay at home mother "feud." Just lately I have taken a part time job as an administrative assistant. It is a two days a week job that is supposed to last through the summer. My mother babysits half the time and the teenage sister of my boss babysits the other. What has gotten me aggravated though, are all the well-intentioned people that are saying "oh, it is so good for you to get away from your children." I probably wouldn't get quite as annoyed if they were saying that it is good for me to get out into adult interaction... this is very true... ....but they always, without fail, say: "away from my children." I know I am a bit biased, but my kids are really great and I don't have any desire to get away from them . Whenever I need a break, my husband will stay with them or even takes them out so I can have the house to myself (where I usually indulge in wild house cle...

What attracts you to the blogs that you like? John says: Insightful commentary, informed author, a topic I am already interested in, and (if you promise not to tell my wife this) if it is written by a beautiful woman that certainly helps. Hey, it is something that catches my eye and gets my attention. Groovybabe says: …subject matter, writing ability, visual look... that’s initially... Mamacita Chilena says: For me the blog either has to be a subject I'm interested in, or if it's not a subject that interests me, it needs to be very well written, and usually funny. What keeps you coming back? John says: Consistent posts, high quality, some humor. Groovybabe says: interesting content and interaction (someone who comments on my journal as well as me on theirs) Ten Pound Club says: Writing style is important. I also need to feel a connection. I enjoy seeing pictures. And I love your sense of humor--a huge draw! What detracts from one? John says: No consistency in posting! ...

So I have a question, or two, for all of you. It concerns bloggers and non-bloggers alike. What attracts you to the blogs that you like? What keeps you coming back? What detracts from one? What makes you decide you don't like a particular blog? Each question that I am asking pertains to content, appearance and any other aspects of blogs. So speak up, comment...be heard. I am very interested to know. If you have been reading and you have never commented...then consider this your big chance. I would love to hear from you.

Update Below The whole blogging phenomenon is quite fascinating and the reasons for having one is varied. I have met so many people and been invited into so many lives and in turn invited others in. I have learned much in the past year and still have immeasurably more to learn. On a side note, I did design the blog header and footer for a friend/blogger so by all means check it out Link update: http://browneyedgirl30.blogspot.com and be sure and leave her a comment telling her how lucky she is to have a friend like me....hee hee...oh man, I crack me up. When I asked why you all blogged---I got the answers that I think are pretty typical reasons for everyone yet each and every blog is as unique as a fingerprint. And by the way.... about my mom reading my blog. She only reads it when I ask "mom, did you read my blog?" Then she scrambles to get caught up. Even worse is my husband...he only reads because he fears retribution. My best friend reads it for entertainment...not the...

...so then I asked myself..."what is the point of blogging?" "Nothing." I answer myself, you see. Just like a real honest to goodness crazy person. Nope...no point to blogging, except for the creative outlet, coupled with the satisfaction of seeing some proof that our nerdly existence is accepted...even if it's only by other nerdly bloggers like ourselves. ... you know ...that reach out and touch someone, happy feeling that all of us social networkers get when someone "gets" us. We haven't had that kind of acceptance since---well...since mom started reading our blogs on day one. And that feeling, my friends, is what keeps us going. Leave me a comment and tell me what is your main motivation? Why do you blog...?

UPDATE: (I need to do a huge shout out to Amanda Fazani at Blogger Buster ---because without her tutorials I would not have been able to do this. You can definitely find template tutorials on the web but they are not always clear or updated. With Blogger Buster, everything you need is in one spot and very easy to understand. However, if you are more interested in the social side of blogging rather than the technical---then I think playgroupsarenoplaceforchildren is a great place to start. Jennifer has some great ideas, backed by experience, along with useful links, all in a neat concise little series ) End of update. ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ So I have finally unveiled my new blog (re)design. What do you think? If you are having trouble remembering exactly what it looked like before... here is a screenshot, taken shortly before I started fiddling with it. You may have to click on it to get a better look. go ahead click... ...you ...

So you in case you are wondering where I am and why the heck I am not here working on and contributing to my blog. I am very busy doing important things like taking this quiz: Created by OnePlusYou

After going through major blog withdrawal , I have decided that the comeback from my "bloggatical from sogging," as shauna calls it, will be sooner rather than later. Just as soon as I wrap my mind around some of these HTML codes and redesign the blog, I will be back to annoy you all further .... ~thanks to all the comments of support...and keep them coming...it gives me something to read while I muddle the design of my blog~

It has been wonderful and fun, but for the time being, and with a heavy heart, I am taking a blog sabbatical. Would that be a bloggatical? Or a sablogital? Whatever it is, I will miss you and I hope you will miss me and welcome me back with open arms if and when I return.

Since I missed a good opportunity to post on Mother's day....I will inflict a post on you now. This didn't happen on Mother's day but it is about my mother. I know... I don't even make sense to myself. The other day my mother and I were having a deep, earth changing conversation when it suddenly turned to poetry. I won't say that my mom changed the subject to poetry so that she could share her own poems but when she said "hey, let's talk about poetry...want to hear mine?" ...the conversation naturally drifted there. I was a bit hesitant to listen, so I tried to hint as gently as I could with: "mom please don't read me any of your poetry...you know I hate that crap." My mom, who always tried to teach me perseverance, replied "you are my daughter so you have to listen to it...in fact if you don't, I may just read you some of my short stories as well." So as she started in on the first poem I tried to be a gracious listener....

Is it just me, or does my son resemble Gilbert Gottfried?

My son Anthony , it turns out, is a genius. It is always comfortable to have at least one of these in the family. And since it very apparently wasn't going to be me---I am glad that one of my children is. I have for you exhibit A: At first glance it appears to be the typical scrawl of an average 6 year old. Not so, though. Take a second look and the genius of it gradually comes into focus. First you have the main part of the picture which shows a painter--as evidenced by the objects I have pointed out. Here I have circled the easel as to draw your attention to the fact the painter is at work on a self portrait. In this other circle, which is rather difficult to see, there is a second painter painting his own self portrait. Now he is dealing with the subject of infinity... I know, right? And if you notice on this last circle...all this genius can be had for a mere one dollar! I bet you were thinking he wouldn't charge me, his own mother. But if you know Anthony then ...