Sharon's {Simple} Spot

James - 2 months

2009-09-24T10:36:00.003-04:00

Time for a new picture of James! This week Sweet Baby James turned 2 months old. At 2 months he:

Smiles a lot

Eats every 3 hours but usually skips 1 meal during the night

Is awake a lot more

Loves to hear us sing to him

Plays with his baby einstein gym

Still loves to snuggle

He weighed 10 pounds 13 ounces, and measured 23 inches this week which puts him at the 30th percentile for weight and the 50th percentile for length. I may be able to stop obsessively weighing him every week now. Then again, maybe not. He's growing out of his newborn size clothes but a lot of the 3 month stuff is too big. I'm remembering that Jeffrey always seemed to be in between sizes.

I finally got some baby announcements this week and plan to get them mailed this weekend. Two months went by so fast!

~Sharon

1 month

2009-08-23T11:11:00.004-04:00

Sweet baby James is 1 month old!

Right now he:

* weighs 7 lb 12 oz

* eats every 2 1/2 to 3 hours

* has started to smile

* loves to be held

* stretches his legs until they are completely straight

* loves to have his hands by his face

We are enjoying every moment we can with him. With Jeff beginning his senior year, we're all too aware how quickly all this will go.

~Sharon

James is here!

2009-08-02T09:44:00.002-04:00

We are so happy that James Thomas is here!

Born: July 22nd, 11: 23 pm (23:23)

Weight: 5 lbs. exactly

Length: 18.5 inches

Sent and protected by God.

Ummm #2

2009-05-06T07:10:00.002-04:00

Last Friday Jeff went to the high school formal with our homeschool group. I was so glad he wanted to go this year. I hope to post some pictures later this week. They had an hour at the church to take pictures and mingle before they went to dinner. While they were taking the pictures, some of us parents hung out and chatted.

One of the chaperones for the evening is a woman who is newer to the group and I really don't know her very well. She's just one of those people I'm not sure how to take.

She was very dressed up for the evening and I said to her, "You look lovely!"

She replied, "Thanks. ..... You look pregnant."

Okay then. It's good to know where we stand.

Sharon

Spring flowers

2009-04-28T09:03:00.006-04:00

It's been a long winter here but things are finally starting to bloom outside. Spring flowers in my favorite flower colors: blue and yellow.

Ummm

2009-02-21T13:06:00.011-05:00

Since I am 41 years old and expecting my second child, I've been getting some strange and stupid questions/comments. Here's my top 7:

#7 "You should have another one right away so this one doesn't grow up alone." Okay, first of all, I've never had that kind of control over my fertility. Second, Jeff has grown up as an only child for all of his 17 years so far and I happen to think he's a well-adjusted, kind, generally awesome person. Third, another baby at this age? Get real.

#6 "Whoops." Probably the most offensive, especially since it was from someone I barely know.

#5 "How old are you? If you don't mind my asking." I wonder what people would say if I responded, "Actually, I do mind you asking." I don't really mind but I just wonder.

#4 "Better you than me." Yep. Couldn't agree more.

#3 "Did you plan it this way?" Yes. I wanted to wait to see how my first child turned out before I had another one.

#2 "Are you showing yet?" I understand this question from people on the phone whom I haven't seen lately, but I don't understand this from people who are standing right in front of me. If you can't tell by looking, why ask? Then again, there are a lot of people who aren't asking they just talk to me while looking at my belly.

and the #1 stupid thing people have said to me: "You're just like Sarah!" (of Abraham and Sarah in the Bible.) Excuse me?! I'm 41 not 91!!

As you can see, it's bringing out my inner sarcastic self (okay, I don't have to dig deep for it).

Sharon

Snow, snow, snow!

2009-02-09T09:48:00.006-05:00

We have been buried in snow here this winter. We had near-record snowfall in January -- I think we missed the record from 1978 by an inch. We had two storms which dumped about 12 inches each plus lots of days of snow flurries. I have to confess, I've had trouble seeing the beauty in it this winter. But one morning I was looking out the window and saw the sun shining on the snow and creating these lovely shadows so I went outside to try and capture it.

This winter, I've also been especially thankful for this handsome young man who has been our primary shoveler.

Thanks Jeff!

Autumn walk

2008-11-12T13:16:00.006-05:00

After at least a week of cold, cloudy days, we finally had a nice day, so Brenna and I went for a walk this afternoon. Since she's a little chicken, this means a lot of coaxing and encouragement.

This is the look she gives me when I'm trying to get her to go somewhere unfamiliar. Roughly translated, I think this means, "You want me to go that way?! No, no, no. We don't know what might be that direction!"

Just in case I might be confused by her coming to a dead stop and leaning back, she shows me where she would prefer to go. "Wouldn't you rather go this way? I think home is this way. Let's just go home."

Usually, with encouragement, I can get her to overcome her fears or at least resign herself to the fact that I'm leading the way but today I had to stop and pick her up twice and carry her for 10 feet so we could continue our walk. I try very hard not to look up at passing cars when she's doing this.

I was so glad I took my camera along. The leaves are almost past their peak here but there are still some lovely ones hanging on.

~Sharon

Sharpie art

2008-10-15T08:19:00.000-04:00

This is so cool. A man in Lexington, Kentucky decorated his basement with $10 worth of Sharpies. I love all the literary references in his art.

~Sharon

Orange & Yellow

2008-10-09T14:49:00.003-04:00

Today's flowers are all in the yellow/orange/red spectrum. They're trying to get me ready for fall. Today is a beautiful, sunny day which is a nice change from the gloomy, cloudy, rainy week we've had so far.

Purple autumn flowers

2008-10-01T08:18:00.005-04:00

Enjoying the last of the color before it's all gone. It's considerably colder this week and it will be winter before we know it. The last picture is actually a coneflower that didn't grow quite right but I think it looks interesting anyway.

~Sharon

The Last Rose of Summer

2008-09-26T09:08:00.004-04:00

My last rose for this year. To hear the song by this title go here:

~Sharon

Mums

2008-09-22T07:15:00.000-04:00

Power!

2008-09-19T12:41:00.009-04:00

This is a picture of the house across the street as a small sample of the destruction in our neighborhood from Hurricane Ike. Thanks to good old Ike, we've been without power since Sunday night but finally last night, the electricity was restored. Hallelujah. Notice the white danger tape in the picture. That was all the evidence we had that the electric company was even aware we existed for the first three days. That wind was amazing though. God's power is truly awesome.

Being without power has its blessings.

* On our walks with the dog, we saw a lot more of our neighbors.

* We got to bed earlier than normal.

* Reading by candlelight is sort of fun.

* No recorded political phone calls.

* My refrigerator is very clean.

The worst part was not being able to make my coffee in the morning. Having to go out for coffee is so backwards. In order to go get coffee, I have to get myself ready to go out and face the day and how in the world can I do that before I have my coffee?! And without electricity to plug in the hairdryer. This morning as I made my coffee I said to Jeff, "Look at this coffee! Isn't it a beautiful thing?" Of course, being 16, he rolled his eyes and sighed and said, "It's just coffee, mom."

Jeff trying to figure out why we still had no power on Thursday.

Four crews showed up yesterday around dinnertime to begin working. These guys were all from Connecticut.

Finally, they got it all fixed. I haven't figured out how to take decent pictures at night yet.

I'm so thankful for power today!
~ Sharon

Random conversations

2008-09-02T16:08:00.006-04:00

I was at the grocery store and I met this little old lady over by the cheese display. They had a sample plate out with crackers and a cheese spread (a small tub of cheese spread with some flavor in it). The cheese spread had been marked $30.0 and she was convinced she was eating thirty dollar cheese. Nothing I said would convince her that it was probably $3.00 and just got mis-marked.

She just took another cracker and smiled and said, "I just ate two dollars worth of cheese!" Later I saw her in the freezer aisle, chasing down another little old lady to tell her about the dove bars that were on sale. She was too cute.

***
One day last week a teen girl rang my doorbell. I seriously need to put up a sign that says, "If I don't know you, don't ring my doorbell." Usually, I just smile and talk through the window to the side of the front door but that day I was stupid and opened the door. She was with one of those junior achievement type groups that sends out groups of teens into an unsuspecting neighborhood to harrass the residents for no apparent reason. After we got past the "I'm with ___ and I'm just here to improve my communication skills" speech our conversation went something like this:

Her: So, like, I'm wondering what awesome skills you think I need for life? What awesome job do you have?

Me: I'm a stay at home mom.

Her: Awesome. You're a domestic engineer. Give me a high five on that. (raises her hand)

Me: I'm sorry. I just don't have time for this today. (I don't high five -- it's not really something I do.)

Her: (walking away muttering) You don't have to be rude about it.

Good night! Who trains these poor kids?

***

Wednesday at choir practice I was talking to a fellow soprano and I mentioned something about Jeff being 16.

Her: *gasp* You have a 16 year old?

Me: Yep. He's my only one.

Her: Do you mind me asking how old you are?

Me: I don't mind. I'm 41.

Her: *GASP* YOU'RE 41?!! I thought you were younger than me but you're OLDER!

Me: I guess so. Ha ha.

~Sharon
(trying to feel flattered but just feeling OLD)

First day of school - Grade 11

2008-08-27T14:18:00.002-04:00

No new, cool backpack. No new box of crayons. But we still take time to take a picture for the first day of school.

Just for fun

2008-08-23T18:41:00.002-04:00

41

2008-08-19T09:17:00.002-04:00

Dara Torres is 41 years old.
As of last week, I too am 41 years old.

Last week the lovely Ms. Torres won two silver medals in the olympics.
Last week I tripped and fell on my face while walking the dog.

Quite sad really, but there it is.

(Bonus points if you can name the movie that last sentence came from.)
:o)

Olympics

2008-08-13T13:14:00.004-04:00

I love the Olympics! I love the spirit of the Olympics. I love that the mens gymnastic team was thrilled with their bronze medal. I love seeing Michael Phelps win. I love it when the favorite wins (as long as it's not the French relay team), I love it when the underdogs win. I love staying up late and not getting enough sleep because the olympics are on.

The news people drive me a little crazy though.

* During the men's high bar event in gymnastics the announcer actually said, "High Bar 101: Grab the bar. Grab the bar." Really??

* The headline after Michael Phelps won the 200 butterfly was, "Goggle Gaffe." I like alliteration as much as the next person but leaky goggles do not qualify as a "social or diplomatic blunder."

* The worst is the MSNBC anchor in the afternoon. I don't normally watch MSNBC so I don't know who she is or why she's there but she drives me nuts. She wears skintight shiny vinyl clothes. Monday, when they were discussing the shoulder tape worn by one of the beach volleyball players she started talking about her tattoos. She curls her lip when she talks even when it's a human interest story. Someone needs to tell her to stop doing this. She stumbles through her teleprompter reading, but it's even worse when she goes off-script. You can tell within two words when she stops reading from the teleprompter because it's usually inappropriate or embarrassing. She's in New York and the two people actually in China ignore her half of the time. I'm not sure if they're having communication difficulties or if they just feel like I do and it's best to pretend she never said that and move on.

But I will still keep watching because I don't want to miss anything.
Go USA!

Sharon

Thank you card

2008-08-04T15:59:00.001-04:00

I made this quick and simple thank you card for my friend Betty last week. She's filling in for me at the piano at church while I take a couple of weeks off this summer. I love playing piano and I love playing at church but sometimes, I just need a break. Playing at our church means Monday night rehearsal, Saturday morning rehearsal and warm-up Sunday morning followed by three services. When I told the worship pastor I wanted a few weeks off, I didn't know that Betty would end up playing either keys or piano almost every week this summer. She's a single woman who says she has the time and I know she loves to play but this goes above and beyond the call of duty. I owe her big-time.

It was my first time trying the ripped paper thing & I kind of like it but I'm not sure it's me.

Sharon

So blessed

2008-08-03T11:05:00.004-04:00

At church this morning we got to hear Trace Bundy play two of his songs. Simply amazing! I have never seen someone play the guitar like he does. If you visit his web-site, be sure to pause the music on the main page and then watch the video. Wow.

Sharon

Welcome home

2008-07-14T09:30:00.007-04:00

On July 5, Jeff (on the left, with his friend Sean to the right) left with 81 other teens and advisors from our church for Trujillo, Peru to work with missionaries there. Tomorrow he comes home! We got a quick note from him once and he sounded like he was enjoying the ministry there and really letting God use him to the fullest.

I made him a card to take with him but forgot to take a picture of it. Here's his welcome home card.

Praying him home,

Sharon

Cards for Mom & Dad

2008-06-23T11:28:00.002-04:00

Just a quick post to show the cards I made for mother's day & father's day. Love you, Mom & Dad!

Sharon

Fun

2008-06-19T09:38:00.010-04:00

For all you Calvin & Hobbes fans out there, here is a fun way to blow some time. You can type in a word or phrase and see all the relevant comic strips.

If you enter "Calvinball" or "new rule" you'll get a glimpse of our day yesterday when we found out that Jeff's Chemistry teacher for the year decided after the school year was over to change her grading system.

Yep.
Jeff's course agreement and the syllabus both said that his final grade would be weighted: 50%/Tests, 35%/Lab Reports, 15%/Homework. But when I checked on his final grade, I saw that the homework wasn't figured in at all. I e-mailed his teacher to ask about that and she said she had decided to make a change because some kids were getting 100% on their homework and failing their tests. Her new grading system was 65%/Tests, 35% Lab Reports. I e-mailed her and stated very politely (really!) that we never received notification of that change and expressed the opinion that if the student was required to abide by the agreement and meet all the requirements/deadlines for the course, then the teacher should also abide by the agreement.

Her only response was to send me his "revised" grade. Hello! We homeschool. I could have done that myself. I was trying to discuss the principle of the thing.

Oh well.

Lake Fun June 2008

2008-06-18T10:24:00.000-04:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

You learn something new...

2008-06-06T10:54:00.002-04:00

It was brought to my attention this week that the practice of typing two spaces after a sentence is obsolete. What?! I have been using two spaces after sentences for years! As a secretary, it's what I was taught to do and I've been doing it ever since, blissfully unaware that the world had passed me by. As I'm typing this, the compulsion to put two spaces after every sentence is driving me crazy. I keep typing two spaces and then deleting one of them. This is going to seriously lower my words per minute.

So what do you use? One space or two between sentences?

This is going to be a hard habit to break (if I decide I care enough to break it).
Sharon

Thank yous

2008-06-02T08:19:00.003-04:00

This is a picture of my latest stamping project. Jeff is going on a missions trip with our church's youth group to Peru this summer and he needs to send thank you notes to all the absolutely wonderful people who donated money to help him get there. He gave me specific instructions: no flowers, no bows, just "normal" thank you notes. He has a couple more to write and then they're all going out in the mail today!

To read more about what they'll be doing visit here .

Sharon

Words

2008-05-19T13:16:00.003-04:00

I was just reading a blog and the author actually used the word (?) "suddle" instead of "subtle." good grief.

Did you know that Webster's dictionary now contains "irregardless?" They recommend that you use "regardless" instead but insist that irregardless is a word because people use it.

Does it bug you when you read stuff like that? How about when people use the word "mute" when they mean "moot?" I have a friend who likes to throw around "behoove" all over the place. Sometimes it works, but not always.

Words I love: I never say this in conversation but I love when an author uses the phrase "hove into view." If you've never seen this particular phrase, try any of the Jeeves books by P. G. Wodehouse.

{Proverbs 25:11 A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.}

kwerner color challenge #8

2008-05-08T15:21:00.008-04:00

Well, it's her 8th color challenge but I think it's only the second time I've tried it. You can see the inspiration picture by going to her blog at kwernerdesign.com/blog. This is a birthday card for my nephew. I decided to use orange as the base of the card because how often am I going to get to use orange? I didn't have any patterned paper with these colors but I had that little ribbon that went perfectly. I had fun coloring the little cake on the stamped image.

I used to love to color as a kid. I used to sit and color for hours. I have vivid memories of being on a houseboat one summer vacation -- I can't remember how old I was, probably single digits -- and coloring in my malibu barbie coloring book. I loved the big box of crayons with the sharpener in the back. I used to color textures on the clothes and then rub them with my finger to blend them.

I'm off to work on mother's day cards. I don't think my mom is ready for the funky orange & blue mother's day card though.

Sharon

Stamped image by Stampin Up, "Event Full", ribbon by k i

Spring #2

2008-05-06T10:07:00.004-04:00

I just love this time of year when things are blooming and everything is turning green. This is some brunnera that is spreading like crazy in our backyard. Love that blue!

I have to get a lilac bush for our yard. On our walks, I pass a bunch of them and they smell amazing. I don't want any of the fancy new ones, just an old-fashioned, sweet-smelling lilac bush.

Sharon

Happy Birthday Suz!

2008-04-21T09:38:00.003-04:00

Today's post is for my sister. Happy Birthday! Your card is on its way. Love you!

Sharon

Color challenge card

2008-04-09T15:38:00.003-04:00

This card was inspired by the color challenge over at Kristina's blog.

Sharon

Bird-brain

2008-04-05T19:02:00.002-04:00

This week we have been watching a purple finch pair try to build a nest on our front-porch lamp. Actually, the female has been doing all the work and the male has been tweeting directions from a nearby tree. She has spent hours flying back and forth getting twigs and fluff and bringing them to the lamp. The only problem is that not a single twig has stayed there. Every single one has fallen onto the mailbox below or onto the porch.

Every one.

But she still keeps bringing more.

There's a reason they call it bird-brained.

Sharon

Finally

2008-03-30T12:46:00.002-04:00

Spring is finally on it's way. It's still pretty chilly but these snowdrops are braving the cold. We have a fairly large patch of these in our backyard and they're always the first thing to bloom in the spring.

Sharon

Anniversary card

2008-03-29T10:24:00.001-04:00

I made this card for Scott for our anniversary yesterday. The hearts were my first attempt at using an acrylic stamp.

Sharon

21 Years!

2008-03-28T13:11:00.005-04:00

As of today, Scott and I have been married for 21 years! Holy cow. It's been wonderful and I'm very blessed.

Sharon

First day of Spring

2008-03-20T09:20:00.003-04:00

It's officially the first day of Spring! Now if the snow would just melt we'd be in good shape. The snow from the blizzard was almost gone after a week of partially thawing and refreezing. Yesterday it started to rain. Then the temperature dropped 25 degrees and it changed to snow. I'd love to be able to get out and take a picture of the first sign of spring or any sign of spring but it's not going to happen.
---
Yesterday, I was at the grocery store and I was doing the self-checkout thing because I only had a few things, but there was a worker at the end of the conveyor belt apparently ready to bag anyway. Now, lately I've had trouble at this particular grocery store with the baggers putting the raw meat in with other food. I hate that. So, I said to her as the groceries were going down the belt, "I want the chicken bagged separately, please." She nodded and smiled. I go to pick up my groceries and the two packages of chicken are bagged separately -- from each other! One package of chicken per bag. At least they weren't in with the produce.

Happy Spring!
Sharon

Nothing much

2008-03-16T11:19:00.002-04:00

I haven't had much to post lately. Our house has been hit by an end of winter/beginning of spring set of viruses. Scott started us off with a bad chest cough and laryngitis which lingered all week. I finished off the week with a lovely bout of the stomach flu. Our church's Palm Sunday musical is this morning and all three of us were going to sing in the choir but Jeff's the only one who is healthy enough to actually do it. Scott is at church for the service now but he doesn't have a singing voice yet. It's very disappointing to not be able to sing in it after all the practice we put into it. Oh well. Brenna and I are enjoying a nice, quiet morning at home watching the Food Network.

Sharon

Blizzard

2008-03-08T15:29:00.010-05:00

As of 2:30 this afternoon we had 15 inches of snow! It's still coming down and is supposed to continue for the next several hours.

There's so much wind that the snow is not settling on anything except the ground, but I thought the drifting by the front door was pretty in it's own way.

Since Brenna is so small, Scott dug out a track in the backyard for her to run around. It's hysterical to watch her run around and around her little track.

She likes the snow in limited amounts. After a short time though, her little paws get cold and she wants to go back inside.

Sharon

Psalm 51:7

Cleanse me with hyssop and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Ice

2008-03-05T09:42:00.008-05:00

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

Freezing rain last night and then several inches of snow this morning. The trees sure look pretty but it's nasty out there. It looks like I held the camera at an angle for the second picture but that's just the way the wind was blowing.

Sharon

Job 37:5-6

God's voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth,' and to the rain shower, 'Be a mighty downpour.'

Music speak

2008-03-03T17:09:00.006-05:00

It's so nice to be done with jury duty! I thoroughly enjoyed my cup of coffee up at my desk this morning.

This afternoon I had a few piano lessons. One of my Monday students is quite young (6) so we have to review a lot. Music, like lots of other areas of study, has it's own language and it's so hard for kids to remember. This is a conversation we had today:

Me: "Okay, so let's review. What are these lines here?"
Him: "Umm, ... I don't remember."
"They're called bar lines. Say that."
"Bar lines."
"Great! And they divide the music into....?"
"Groups?"
"Okay, groups of what?"
"Groups of four?"
"Good, they divide the music into groups of beats." (I was impressed he got the concept!) "We call the space between bar lines something... it begins with an "m."
"Mmmmm...."
"It's called a measure. Say that."
"Measure."
"Good! So the lines are called ... ?"
"I don't remember."
"They're called bar lines. Say that."
"Bar lines."
"And they divide the music into mmmmm....?"
"I can't remember..."
O dear, here come the tears.
"That's okay. Bar lines divide the music into measures. We'll talk about it some more next week, okay?"

Given my past experience I expect to have this conversation or something like it at least 4 more times before he gets it. Probably just in time for spring break during which he will forget everything. That's okay.

Sharon

Psalm 27:6
I will sing and make music to the Lord.

Jury Duty Day 4

2008-02-29T10:56:00.004-05:00

My third day on the bus! I'm feeling very experienced now. I've gained a new life skill. Every other morning, I've caught the bus at around 7:10-7:15 and after walking my three blocks have arrived at the justice center at around 8:10-8:20. This morning I caught the bus at about the same time but the busdriver today was so aggressive, I walked into the justice center at 7:45! Wow! I'm not sure that was a good thing. This busdriver was changing lanes all over the place. Where the highway narrows down to two lanes he stayed over in the disappearing lane until the last second. His philosophy seemed to be, "I'm bigger and I'm coming over."

Nila and I were actually on the same bus this morning and since we were so early, we had our choice of little tables. I got a cup of coffee at the cafeteria and we settled in. Roberta joined us a little later and we waited. They called a few of the juries that were already in progress and then they called names for one more new jury. That's it. Nothing else happened all day long. We ate our lunch at 11:30, I think out of sheer boredom.

While we were eating, a few of the men who ended up on the jury I was called for came by and said they had finished. They ended up finding the guy guilty on all four counts. Apparently, this guy was involved in other trials at the same time on some very bad stuff and the state had offered him a deal of 2 years for everything. He refused and now will be in prison for at least 8 years. The men from the jury were so pleased with themselves. They strongly felt they had done the right thing and were glad to have been a part of the process of justice. It almost made me wish I had made it on the jury.

At 3:30, they announced that the Wednesday jurors could go home but the Monday jurors needed to stay. Once the Wednesday jurors had all left, they told us that the court had slowed down and if there were any jury calls tomorrow the Wednesday people could fill the juries so we were free to go for the week! Hallelujah! We got a certificate suitable for framing (?) and a letter thanking us for our four days of service.

The three of us left together, we left Roberta off at her bus stop, then Nila and I caught our bus home.

I stopped at Starbucks to pick up the essentials (espresso and decaf espresso beans ground for my espresso machine), went to the grocery store and picked up the ingredients for Lemon Basil Bowties and joyfully went home! Yesterday was the first day this week we've all been home in the evening and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

So glad to have that over with.
Sharon

Psalm 106:3
Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right.

Jury Duty Day 3

2008-02-28T19:44:00.007-05:00

The bus I caught this morning didn't announce any of the stops. It's a recording but I guess the driver does something to activate it. I'm so glad it wasn't the bus I caught on my first day. I would have been totally panic-stricken. People kept pushing the button to request a stop. I had no idea of the protocol for doing that so I was very relieved when someone else pushed it for my stop. The weather here was so bad we had a record number of school closings -- over 330 the last I heard. The busdriver said she hated driving in this weather. I don't blame her but it didn't really make me feel any better.

Wednesday at Jury Duty: Roberta, Nila and I sat in the jury pool quiet room most of the day and read our books. Isn't that exciting? We weren't completely anti-social. We sat together first thing in the morning. We also found a table for lunch and since our lunch break was from 11:30 to 1:15, it's a good part of the day. But the quiet room is so nice because it's ... quiet. It is also much warmer than the big room.

They bring new jurors in every Monday and Wednesday and it seemed they were only calling the Wednesday jurors today. Roberta, who is a 50-something, petite, sweet librarian said she felt dissed.

Some friends at choir practice last night were shocked that I didn't get on the jury I got called for on Day 2 and thought I must have said something very wrong to not get on. So here's my conversation with the judge:

Judge: Ms. ___, what do you do?
Me: I'm a stay-at-home mom and I homeschool my son.
Judge: And what does your husband do?
Me: He's an auto mechanic.

And here's my conversation with the prosecutor:

Prosecutor: So you homeschool?
Me: Yes.
Prosecutor: So does your son get a vacation this week?
Me: (smiling) No, I give him a list of his assignments every day.

That's it. Those are the only direct questions I answered. Where do you think I went wrong? :o)

Okay, so I noticed several women in the jury pool room who had the same strange haircut. Remember the mullet? Short in front, long in back. I've decided this haircut is the Mullett for the New Millenium or it's the Reverse Mullett -- ooooh we could call it the Tellum. It's longer in front and straight like a bob, kind of stuck down to the woman's head and then the back is all short and spiky. Have you seen this haircut? What's with that? How do you even make your hair do that? How many different products do you have to use to make your hair behave in two totally different hairstyles? Okay, done now.

Sharon
Psalm 33:5
The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.

Jury Duty Day 2

2008-02-26T19:41:00.004-05:00

I took a bus by myself for the first time in my life today! Taking the bus both ways is half the price of parking plus I don't use all that gas, and someone else gets to deal with the traffic. I used the "Park N Ride" lot near me. There was a really nice guy where I got on and he told me when we got to my stop. It was where I thought but it was still nice of him. What was kind of strange, though, was that this woman got on and the bus was half empty -- there were empty double seats all over the place -- and she sat right smack next to me. If it had been a man I would have been very freaked out but I was just a little weirded out.

The weather here was horrible today. There were 288 school closings this morning! And I got to walk three blocks downtown in it. But at least I didn't have to drive.

I got there early this morning so I was able to nab one of the small tables. My friend from choir came and joined me and then my new friend Roberta joined us. We had just gotten settled when my name was called for a jury. There were 22 of us from which they would choose 14 (jury of 12 plus 2 alternates). They lined us up by number. Numbers 1 - 14 went into the jury box and numbers 15-22 went in the first row of spectator seats in the back. I was #15. We went into the courtroom and the judge talked for a very long time about being a juror, evidence rules, etc.

We had some interesting people in that room. The woman next to me was older and she pulled out a little 3 Musketeers snack-size bar and ate it in the courtroom. Apparently that wasn't enough though because then she started licking the wrapper to get all the little bits of chocolate off. The woman next to her almost got herself held in contempt of court for mouthing off to the judge. The guy two down from her kept falling asleep and the judge kept saying, "Are we boring you, Mr. ____?"

The judge asked each of us some basic background questions and we were dismissed for lunch. I got salad at the cafeteria again today and then went to see my friends. They were still waiting in the jury pool room. My jury group went back upstairs and the prosecuting and defense attorneys asked each of us some more questions. After that, we went back to our deliberating/holding room and next they called us back into the courtroom to announce the jury. They chose the wrapper-licking lady and let me go. There was one woman in the jury box who, when they said her name, actually put her hand on her chest and blinked her eyes like she'd just won Miss America. I fully expected her to start saying, "I personally believe, that U. S. Americans..." It was too funny.

After that, I was free to go. Tomorrow I'm back in the pool.
Sharon

Psalm 11:7
For the LORD is righteous, He loves justice; upright men will see His face.

Jury Duty Day 1

2008-02-26T19:06:00.007-05:00

I haven't blogged lately but I have an excuse -- I'm on jury duty this week! Yuk. Yes, I know it's my civic responsibility, blah, blah. If I could un-register to vote, I would. I'm doing my best to enjoy it as a break from the routine. So, last week I was getting everything ready at home so I could be gone for a week without too much falling apart. And this week I'm downtown every day all day.

Yesterday I drove down by myself. I got there just fine but parking is $8 a day and I honestly don't have the temperament for downtown rush hour driving. Too much pressure. At one spot, the highway narrows down to 2 lanes (where, of course, traffic comes to a standstill) and then within a mile, two more lanes are merging on and I have to get over 2 lanes so I can get off the highway at the right street.

Right after I got in the justice building, as I got on the elevator I met this very nice woman who is a librarian at a town nearby. My dream job! So she's been my new friend this week. Out of all the hundreds of people there, isn't it just awesome that God put her in my path?! There's also a woman from my church choir that's down there this week and I've been able to get to know her better.

The potential jurors all sit in a big room. There are at least 200 people in there. It's a nice room though -- relatively comfy chairs, a few round tables and a quiet room for those who just want to sit and read and not be bothered.

I didn't get called at all yesterday so I just sat and read my book all day. I brought a great book but this is not where I would choose to read it. My new friend Roberta got called mid-morning so I didn't see her again until this morning but she ended up not getting on the jury so she's back in the pool.

I met a woman at lunch who didn't stop talking for a second. I'm not kidding. She has much wisdom to impart to the rest of us. I can't imagine being closed in a deliberating room with her. Yikes.

Those are the highlights from my first day!
Sharon

Psalm 7:6
Arise, O LORD, in your anger; rise up against the rage of my enemies. Awake, my God; decree justice.

Stampin up workshop

2008-02-11T17:10:00.000-05:00

So, I found a Stampin Up demonstrator near me through the web-site and she e-mailed me her newsletter. She was having a card workshop on Friday so I decided I would be brave and go by myself. I needed to place an order anyway and I thought it would be fun. It was fun but would have been much more fun if I had someone to go with (hint, hint Suz, Lisa, Taylor, Jen). The demonstrator was a very nice woman. I liked being able to use different stamps and tools than I have at home. I wish I had more flexibility in how I used them. Everything was pre-cut and plotted out which meant that I couldn't really do much else with it.

We made four projects -- three cards and a little valentines basket.

My thoughts on these projects:

The basket is cute but I could do without the extra paper on the peppermint patties. How much wrapping do I really want to have to take off before I get to the chocolate?! For me, I would have stuck the heart (or even the heart on a scallop circle) on the side of the basket and called it done.

I like the "time spent" card and I like the wide grosgrain ribbon but it seems like the wide grosgrain knot would be very bumpy in an envelope. I like this stamp set but it's a level 2 or 3 hostess gift which means you can't buy it, unless you want to pay a ridiculous price for it on e-bay.

"Friendship" card: Okay, I like the stem stamp for the flower and I like the idea of the little felt flowers but they're too shiny. That pink paper is hideous. Combining it with that orange doesn't really help.

I'm not even going to show the other card we did. I didn't like the stamp set or the way it turned out. It had a "bling" brad on it. Not really a bling girl.

What do you think?

Sharon

A little reward

2008-02-05T17:15:00.000-05:00

I haven't had time to blog in a few days. I spent a lot of time this weekend and yesterday getting caught up with the financial stuff for our homeschool group (I'm the treasurer). So, after I dropped Jeff off at work this morning, I went to the bank and then I decided I deserved a little reward for all that hard work, so I drove down to Hobby Lobby and bought a couple of new stamps and some paper. So fun. I had some time this afternoon and I got three cards done.

The first card was inspired by this card. I absolutely love her blog.

Flower card: Green card stock: Martha Stewart; red card stock: Cardstock Stack neutrals; Stamps: Stampin Up You Make Me Happy

Thanks card: Small Background Block stamp by Stampabilities; Little Pieces Stamps by Stampin Up; Straight Up Alphabet by Stampin Up

I hope you're feeling better card: Brown card stock: Cardstock Stack neutrals; orange card stock: Martha Stewart; You Make Me Happy flower Stampin Up; Sentiment by Stampabilities

Dots card

2008-01-31T19:25:00.000-05:00

Here's a new card I finished today. I was trying to work on it all week and there was so much other stuff going on I just didn't have the time to finish it. It ended up differently than I had planned -- I had planned to have the card open the other way and have everything running horizontally -- but I like it this way.

As I'm playing around with all this stuff I keep on thinking of more and more things I need to do it right! I don't have any circle punches so I had to cut my circles by hand and they're far from perfect. That's okay though.

The rest of my life has quieted down now, thankfully, and life is returning to normal.

Sharon

Geo Dot Border stamp by Stampendous in versamark ink on green Martha Stewart paper, happy birthday stamp by Inkadinkadoo in Stampin Up Brocade blue on blue paper by the Paper Company (seaside colors value pack), blue ribbon by Bobbin Ribbon, green self-adhesive ribbon by k i memories.

And it's only Tuesday

2008-01-29T16:00:00.000-05:00

I was up late last night, unable to sleep because of some difficult inter-personal stuff (not my husband or son, thankfully) going on in my life. Ever feel totally misunderstood? I went downstairs and turned on the tv to watch a little Seinfeld. At that moment Elaine walked in Jerry's apartment and said, "I will never understand people!" to which Jerry replied, "They're the worst!" I just had to laugh because it was exactly how I was feeling.

Today, our adorable little puppy, Brenna, found a red pen in my son's room, chewed it, broke it and spread red ink all over the floor. So in between unpleasant phone calls, I was trying to get all that red ink cleaned up. Good times.

To work out my frustration I played some lovely Chopin pieces. It's always my first choice when I'm having a bad day.

As difficult as this day has been, God, as always, redeems my mistakes and shortcomings and works things out for His glory.

Sharon

2 Valentine's cards

2008-01-27T18:18:00.000-05:00

These are a couple of cards I worked on this week. I wanted to get something done for Valentine's Day. I can't believe it will be February on Friday! I went yesterday and bought a few more stamping supplies at JoAnn's. I was going to do some embossing and asked Scott where the heat gun was and he said, "Oh, I broke that." Oh well. I picked up some paper and ribbon too.

I had a hard time with that little ribbon on the first card! The dots are only printed on one side so I was constantly trying to figure out how to keep those dots on top.

Well, I played piano at church this morning so it's been a long day...

Oh! The heart stamp is from the Stampin Up Delightful Doodles set, the paper is just plain old red cardstock, the letters are from the Stampin Up Straight Up Alphabet set, the ribbon is American Crafts.

Sharon

Dixon Tigonderoga

2008-01-21T15:33:00.000-05:00

Anybody remember in the movie "You've Got Mail" when they talk about bouquets of freshly sharpened pencils?

This is a picture of one of my favorite things: Dixon Tigonderoga #2 pencils. I love these things! Unlike most pencils you buy, these things actually sharpen without breaking. The graphite is perfectly centered so you don't get that weird lop-sided thing going. I got a new box of them this weekend and sharpened them all in my little electric sharpener. Who wants to reach for a pencil and find that it's flat?! I know, mechanical pencils are always sharp, but there's no way a box of mechanical pencils would look this beautiful on my desk.

It's the simple things that make me happy. :o)

Sharon

Snowman card

2008-01-18T13:06:00.001-05:00

Today I tried the challenge over at splitcoaststampers.com. I don't have a background stamp yet, so I used a small snowflake stamp and stamped it in silver ink on light blue paper and navy paper.

The stamp set is a 1995 Stampin Up set.

Sharon

Card #1

2008-01-16T10:40:00.000-05:00

One of my new hobbies is rubber stamping. It's so fun to do and I get to see the results relatively quickly. This is a card I made for my niece's birthday. I wanted to add another element to the front but the cake element was so big, I couldn't figure out how to do it. So, I just focused on making sure everything lined up as perfectly as possible. Hope she likes it!

Sharon

Sunset in the Caribbean

2008-01-13T15:01:00.001-05:00

One of the main reasons I wanted to start this blog is to post my artistic endeavors. My goal for this year is to post at least something once a week. This is a photo I took of a sunset while we were on a cruise this summer.

Takes me back.

Sharon