Baudelaire

I am doing my reading for my English class and have come across Baudelaire, aka my new favorite poet. Considering his poetry was composed in French and that I know not a lick of it, I was able to experience the "spirit" and "feeling" of his poetry through the many translations. While they are each different in some ways, the imagery of his words shines through vividly. I thought I would share with you one of these translations.

"My Former Life"

For a long time I dwelt under vast porticos
Which the ocean suns lit with a thousand colors
The pillars of which, tall, straight, and majestic,
Made them, in the evening, like basaltic grottos.

The billows which cradled the image of the sky
Mingled, in a solemn, mystical way,
The omnipotent chords of their rich harmonies
With the sunsets' colors reflected in my eyes;

It was there that I lived in voluptuous calm,
In splendor, between the azure and the sea,
And I was attended by slaves, naked, perfumed,

Who fanned my brow with fronds of palms
And whose sole task it was to fathom
The dolorous secret that made me pine away.

-William Aggeler, The Flowers of Evil
(translated from "La Vie Anterieure", Charles Baudelaire)

The words make you see the colorful, setting sun shining through the porticos and the slaves with their giant fronds, waving over, transmitting their rich perfumes through the warm, sunlit room. I love it!

Another of my fav poets (I only have a few) is Maya Angelou. However, I think, to fully appreciate her poetry, it has to be heard performed by herself or someone with a perfect voice for her words, such as Alfre Woodard.

"PHENOMENAL WOMAN"
by Maya Angelou

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies
I'm not cute or built to suit a model's fashion size
But when I start to tell them They think I'm telling lies.
I say
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips
The stride of my steps
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please
And to a man
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees
Then they swarm around me
A hive of honey bees.
I say

It's the fire in my eyes
And the flash of my teeth
The swing of my waist
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say

It's in the arch of my back
The sun of my smile
The ride of my breasts
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say
It's in the click of my heels
The bend of my hair
The palm of my hand
The need for my care.
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.

Amazing. Truth in every word.

Uncle Fuzzy

My mom shared some distressing news with me today. One of my favorite uncles had to have surgery because he had a crack in his aorta. So, they did heart surgery and he's doing really well. I am talking about my Uncle Fuzzy. No, that's not his real name. He was aptly named thus because he has had a huge fuzzy beard most of his life. He always made me laugh and was the one that taught me how to cuss. Shitdamnpiss! As if they were all one word, coming out of my 2 year old mouth. I remember my dad saying once that Fuzzy's wife asked him to shave his face for once and he did. When he came out of the bathroom, she yelled at him to get back in there and put it back on. He grew it out and never shaved again. It's hard to realize that your aunts, uncles, and even your parents are getting older and the likelihood of health problems and scares will increase. I told my mom the other day that I decided that they are not allowed to grow old. I sometimes find it hard to accept that they will ever grow any older than they are now...I don't want it to happen. They were my first friends and are still my best ones. Don't tell them they're growing old though...they don't realize it yet.

I love you, Fuzzy! Stick around awhile.

By Special Request

We had a fun Saturday going fishing. We didn't catch much more than mosquito bites. I did, however, manage to catch my very first fish...sort of. I accidentally hooked a line attached to a hook that a fish swallowed when I was reeling in. Nevertheless, it was still a catch. We took a picture of it, a medium size rainbow trout, cut the line and let him go. I was pretty thrilled. The rest of the trip, we would see five fish circling our lines with no bites. Then we went to a nearby river and still caught nothing. My hubby took the kiddos fishing again today and he caught and released about a 12 inch catfish. Neither of us fancy gutting a fish, so we've opted to release them lately. We may need to hold onto some soon, cause I'm in the mood to bbq.

The lesson learned though was to leave our dog at home. She stuck close by, but was a real handful, almost getting hooked with our poles a couple of times and constantly knocking over the tackle box. She did, however, accumulate a nice collection of dead fish that she found along the banks. She then proceeded to chew the heads off of them. No harm, until we realized that fish guts are not a great breath mint for a panting dog. The bad breath lasted through another whole day until my husband had her munch on a peppermint candy. That did the trick and she was minty fresh again.

Before our fishing trip, we had to make the obligatory trip to Wal-Mart to get poles and bait and etc. We, of course, had to stop at the first sight of the melon stand because my husband could live off melons for weeks if allowed. While choosing from the watermelons, we were approached by an older asian man. He then gave my husband a tutorial on how to pick the best, sweetest melon by tapping on the melon and listening. I'm not quite sure what you're supposed to listen for, but he seemed to be an expert on it. During the lesson, we noticed that another older man was standing nearby and watching the whole interaction. HE then proceeded to give us HIS method for picking a melon. It was basically what we had just heard with the twist that the melon tapping should be carried out over the whole melon until you find one that makes the same sound all over. During his advice, we also noticed ANOTHER man watching this. Thankfully, he did not share any melon wisdom...he was just getting a lot of amusement and a good laugh. All in all, we left Wal-Mart with three watermelons, a little more knowledge, and a reason to not go there again around midnight.

School is going okay. I had to hire a tutor for my math classes. I still have serious worries that I will not pass. I have, however, come to a very important decision. If I fail to pass these math courses this summer and still pursue my math teaching minor before I graduate, it will set back my grad and grad school dates by a year. So, I have decided that if I do fail, I will focus on just graduating with my major at the end of spring and applying to grad school a year earlier than planned. I will not give up on the math though. I will simply continue to attend the required classes until I am able to be certified to teach it. By deciding this possible alternative, it takes a load of pressure off of me to have to finish my minor requirements in the time space of three semesters on top of my major classes left. Hope that all made sense. If not, no worries.



I was brushing my daughter's hair today after her bath and was in awe of how beautiful she is. Her hair is an auburn color; red, light brown, and a little blond. And if that wasn't enough, her eyes are the exact same color. She is gorgeous and I am amazed that I had anything to do with her creation. I feel the same when my son is reading to me, when he laughs that deep belly laugh, or says something that makes me laugh my deep belly laugh. It's amazing!



Can I just say how stinking hot it is lately! I was driving home from school today and could have sworn that it was 95 degrees easy. I looked at my dash and it said that it was only 88 degrees. Maybe it was 95 in my car. And we don't have decent air conditioning in our living room and are in dire need of an AC unit for that room. I fell asleep on the couch for a few hours and literally couldn't make myself get up because I was sweaty and lethargic from the heat (just the picture of me you wanted, huh?). It sucked. Some water and a couple exedrin later and I was back to resembling the living. Hopefully, we'll fix that soon.

Calculus is Kicking my A.....

Yes, that's an A, as in the grade, not the word. I have another calc midterm tomorrow that I am feeling inadequate and unprepared for. I call upon all the prayers of those in the world of the web. Lord, please grant me more knowledge than I can cram in my brain before tomorrow and help me to recall what IS in my puny storage container of a mind. Wish me luck!

Root Beer and Creme Horns

I awoke this morning to two surprises...one good and one bad. I got up early this morning (Saturday, I know...sacrilege) to go and help put together bags of cookies for the dads at church (Father's Day). I went into the kitchen and saw the bad surprise first....Cocoa (my dog) had gotten into the trash and felt the need to distribute it over the whole floor. The only thing that saved her from a neck ringing was the second surprise. My love had thought of me during a store run last night and bought me creme horns...my fav pastry. I remember a time when we were still newlyweds and we had had an argument one night (probably over something silly) and the next morning, I awoke still upset. I intended to stay mad for a while until I opened the fridge and sitting on the middle of the top shelf was a bottle of root beer. I smiled and forgot why I was mad. Just when I think he doesn't notice me or forgets to...he does something like that. I got pretty lucky when I snagged him.

Through the Eyes of a Child

It's amazing what results when a child picks up a camera and shoots the world from their angle. The following are a few pics taken by my kiddos. Some of the pics remind me of the "Identify the object in this picture" kind of quizzes.




The scattered remains of an unfortunate bug/dog/bionicle war? Nah...just the remains of a fun time on the couch.









Pictures just don't get anymore flattering than this. Poor Cocoa was unaware of the looming paparazzi.

A lonely bunny sits on the pavement awaiting the firing squad. Who knew stealing carrots could lead to this?

The sun blared down, burning the eyes of anyone who dared look upon it.











The detective's questioning was intense, but Bunny stood by his alibi.










A different view of a windchime can bring out the unexpected beauty.









Who knew that a jack, a towel, and a washer make up an artistic view? My daughter, apparently.












Can you guess what this is?









How about this?

Just when you thought the world couldn't get anymore dangerous.........................

Someone actually let me rent and drive a car in a foreign country (Ireland).

My favorite part

This has become my favorite part of the day. I'm back home after my early class and I am the only one awake. I love it. It's quiet and it feels like I live alone for once in this big, nice house. I can choose to not think, enjoy the silence and wish it would last a little longer. I enjoy the stillness until I hear footsteps descending the stairs (which I just did) and my day has begun.

I am hanging in there with my calc class but it's definitely getting more difficult and I need to switch to a higher gear. Trig has been easy thus far...knock on wood. The day is overcast, my favorite, and cool, not liked as much as the first. I looked up my book list for an English class I signed up for and was thrilled by it. It included books such as Peter Pan, Peter Rabbit, Alice in Wonderland, etc. I was so excited that I looked up the books online (did I ever mention my disdain for the college bookstore prices) and bought them immediately. The next day, however, I suffered a letdown when I realized that the books are not for the class I will be taking this month, but are for the class in the fall. Bummer! But I still intend to get a head start on that reading before the fall.

A little side rant about the college bookstore: In the past, I've had a "live and let live" philosophy when it comes to the outrageous prices that students have to pay for a textbook. As a personal choice, I try to purchase my books online from other sources in order to save my money and it has worked well. However, the greedy conglomerate that is the bookstore has recently stepped over the line of ethics, in my eyes anyway. When looking up my required texts, I realized that the bookstore website has taken it upon themselves to make it harder for us students to find the exact book we need. They have altered the ISBN # under the book's description by replacing it with the EAN #. If you enter this # in a book search engine, it does not recognize it. So, I was reduced to the task of having to look at the pictures of the book and trying to surmise if it was in fact the one I needed and then I would have to risk that chance that it wasn't when I ordered it. It amazed me to no end that they could get away with this. Thankfully, Hobby came to my rescue and told me to type the EAN # into google search and I will find the book and ISBN #. She's a lifesaver. I love her.....I HATE the bookstore!

Wow...that was a big sidenote. Sorry, had to get that off my chest. Good news...my brother and his family will be paying us a visit for a couple days in August on the way to their new AF address. I'm really excited cause I haven't seen them in more than 3 years...they've been stationed in Alaska. I'm glad we have the room for them in our new house and look forward to it.

Fun for the day...I will be having a British tea with the LonDolls today and can't wait. We haven't all been able to hang out since...hmmm, I can't remember. Maybe the holidays. Well, my day is beckoning in a loud fashion and I can deny it no longer.

Another London Pic

Welcome back to Sanity! May I take your coat?

I have finally returned to my sanity and find the view marvelous. For those not in the 'know', I had planned a summer filled with 3 condensed calculus courses, one after the next...(starting to understand the sanity quip now?). Well, that plan lasted about three days. It crumbled when I sat down to study for the first of four midterms and realized that I did not understand half the material covered in the preceding lectures...not good. So, needless to say, I had a nervous breakdown (Hobby-style). I love the material, and I know that I can do it, but definitely not while it's in the super-condensed soup version (I need the watered-down broth version). I have also realized that I haven't taken trig previous to now, which would help a lot and is incidentally, a prereq to the calculus.

So, I had my first trig class today, dropped the condensed calcs, and signed up for a term length calc with a short term english course that doesn't start til the second half. Life is good. Instead of sweating about a midterm today that I was completely unprepared for, I am sitting, taking a breath, and untying the knots in my brain that the last few days have caused. I contribute this rearrangement to God and His infinite wisdom and love in His guidance of my life. He knows me best and knows what's best. He makes it happen for us and I am so appreciative cause, without Him in my life, I'm like a hiker without a compass....a cadillac without a navigation map....a commuter without mapquest....you get the idea (I hope).

You know, I realized yesterday that I know a ton of people that are having babies this fall. Five people in my family (NO, I'm not pregnant, Londolls!) and at least one best friend are all pregnant. It's amazing. There hasn't been a baby in so long and now all at once. And in the spirit of my habit of making commitments that I will likely procrastinate, I have decided to make them all baby quilts for each baby. I will use a pattern that is my own design and make each different in some way within the design. My brother actually doesn't want to know the sex of the baby even though everyone else knows. Don't worry, Chris,....I won't reveal it. If you are on a baby watch in my direction, you can take about a 3-5 year break from your sentry...it ain't happening for a while. I'm enjoying the kiddos I have and am in no rush.

Well, I will close for now but am quite proud of myself for actually posting this much. Love to all from Sanity Land and Tranquility Island!

We now bring you back to your regularly scheduled...

I know, I know...it's been too long since my last post. Sue me, tax me, hang me by the toes from the rafters. I'm on break now from school for almost two weeks and am loving it. It took a couple days of recuperating and I'm better. I'm still not nearly ready for all the calculus I'm about to take though. Fun, fun.

We just got back from an open house for Hobby's graduation. I got a bit depressed the other day when I realized that she accomplished a degree at the age of almost 20 that I've been working on for almost 8 years now. A bit of a downer, but it's cool. At least the end is now somewhat in sight though. I'm so proud of her...graduating with honors and soon to head off to Europe for her Masters. *tear* Her open house was really fun, with lots of food and good laughs.

Our other LonDoll, Mody, is on her way to South America tomorrow for a month for fun and to bone up on her Spanish. I'm going to miss her, but she'll be converting to the U in the fall....YAY! I had a dream the other night that I was worried that my ordered textbook wouldn't arrive before I went on my next study abroad. And then I remembered that I'm going to be stuck here taking math classes and not on a study abroad. Kind of a bummer realization, but oh well.

I've actually managed to receive a stream of A's on my final assignments and if that wouldn't cheer a person up, I don't know what would.

Well, I would continue on with much still to tell, but the hour chimes and the bed beckons. Adieu!

A good week

Well, my parents left today to go back home. They were visiting us for a week and I was really sad to see them go. I didn't realize how sad until we were leaving the airport and I couldn't stop crying. I really miss my family. I DO love SLC, but having my parents here made it hit hard how much I miss them and don't realize it.

We got really spoiled this week. They helped us purchase a lot of things for our home and make it more comfortable. The kids got some new clothes, shoes, and toys. And unlimited love from their Mamaw and Papaw. I'm going to miss them. I don't think we'll be able to make it back home until the end of summer or Christmas. It was excellent having them here. My house has never been this clean!

I also read in a friend's blog today and that her friend/coworker died in a car accident this last week. It was really sad. It made me think about how life can end any day without notice. I have so much I want to do and experience with my family. I want to travel with my children all over the world. Learn two more languages. Graduate college and walk across that stage after perservering through almost 11 years of school. I want to teach, and do it well. I want to see my children happy, educated, successful, and enjoying life each day (the good and the bad). I guess I want it all. I hope I make it to see it all. I hope we all do.

Things I Hate

Following the example set forth by the lovely something mcsomethingkins, I will try to make a list of things that tick me off to no end, bother me, drive me bananas, etc. Here follows:

Junk mail-what a waste of paper and ink and money on paper and ink...wasteful.

Litterbugs-I can't stand it! How hard is it really to hold something until you find a trashcan. It shows a total disrespect for your city, your earth, and your neighbors.

Finding a parking spot-This mainly pertains to the university parking lots. I finally broke down and bought a parking permit. Fat lot of good it did me, I may as well have bought stock in Enron for all the use I'm getting out of it. It's ridiculous. Even if you get there early you have to wait for a spot to open up, which only happens between classes. Then there is the lovely breed of commuters that will park in the lane and wait for someone to come along and back out. So, you not only have to weave around them but I have the common courtesy to not steal a spot that's being waited on.

Product packaging-Mainly the hard plastic that is sealed all around and requires a heavy duty razor blade.

Writing assignments-I think that required writing stifles creativity and true talent. (wish my profs would buy into that)

People that drive the speed limit when they could easily go 5 over-Nuff said!

More drivers-Those people who pull up beside your car to turn the opposite way you are turning and block your view of the traffic, causing you to have to wait until they get out of the way to see again. Especially the SUVs.

Spiders-Eewww, nuff said.

Thongs-I'll leave it at that.

Dirty dishes, toilets, and running out of toilet paper.

Movies with sad endings-a total waste of time

Traffic

Overhead lighting-the enemy to all women

Preteens wearing almost nothing in public-grrr.

That whole Brangelina thing.

Women you have ten kids and not one stretch mark!

Well, I will add to this list for sure soon. Hope you enjoyed it.

Creative Writing Musings

Here is a sample of some of my writings. Enjoy and please comment on them!

Success withers in front of the television wearing three-day old underwear. His only pathetic worry is the TV Guide.


Beauty Is...

Beauty is a long-haired girl with a perfect complexion and zero body fat staring at you seductively from a magazine. It is a bare-chested man sweating from his bleached hair onto his chocolate tan. It is definitely toned body parts draped in thin material, leaving nothing to ponder but sex. Beauty is glossy, split-end free hair. It is brand name makeup, boho jewelry, rippled abs, liposuction, tummy tucks, a clutch purse, and that pulse-quickening bikini on a pink beach with blue water.
All that is what we’re told is beauty. But we have seen and experienced otherwise. Beauty is a hand on the feverish forehead of a child while they sleep. It is the pink clouds frosted in the blue sky as the sun retires. A father is ambushed at the door after work by two children with so much to tell him about their day. I have seen the reflection of Big Ben on the River Thames. The regal Cliffs of Moher were draped in infinite Irish carpets of green.
Beauty is the soft, warm breath of an infant dizzyingly intoxicated with its mother’s milk. It is the miniscule white tree blossoms after a cold snow melts away. It is the face-consuming smile and body-shaking laughter of a child. It is a Mother’s day card with more glitter and tacky glue than the construction paper can structurally hold and the words “I luv u” or some other misspelled version on the inside. It is a child’s school picture, no matter how disheveled the clothes and crooked the smile.
Beauty is also, ironically, those pregnancy stretch marks we try hard to hide but we know were worth it. It is the catcalls from my husband after many years and children. It is the snow falling from the sky, illuminated by the full moon. It is the fragrances of lavender, baby soap, and laundry detergent. It is the swollen belly of a mother-to-be. It is the rough, calloused hands of a father. It does not come in a “one size fit all” description.


Lydia

Lydia was an educated, successful woman. At 35, she had already graduated from NYU with a Masters in English, secured her position as Editor-in-Chief at a top magazine company, and had successfully remained completely unattached romantically. Her brain was in charge and her heart in reserve. She slowly applied the lipstick to her pouty lips…”Mystic Red” to match her deep red Hermes scarf and bag. With her face painted and each strand of her wavy black hair in place, she headed out the door. Michael, her driver, was waiting on the curb.
“Good morning, Miss Salas,” he greeted.
“Good morning. How was your weekend?” Lydia asked.
“Oh, you know, the usual. Jetting off to the Bahamas, wild parties, and back to work on Monday.”
“Ah ha. So, you got stuck watching “Barney” 500 times again?” she smiled.
“You know it.”
He closed the door behind her and they began to drive through the maze of traffic to Manhattan. Lydia read off her itinerary for the day while he logged in into his memory. 10 a.m. presentations with a large jewelry company, fashion shoot at 11:30, business lunch at the Waldorf at 1, meetings and deadlines until 5 p.m., business dinner at 6, home at 9 p.m.
“No date tonight?” Michael asked slyly.
“No date any night. Who has the time to date?” she asked.
Before he could push the subject further, Lydia’s phone rang for the first of many times that day. It was Julia, her assistant.
“What’s your ETA?” she asked.
“About ten minutes. Make sure the notes and slides are ready for the 10:00 meeting. I’m going to need you to mail out a few packages, RSVP for three parties on Friday and Saturday, and baby-sit the fashion shoot if it runs late,” she instructed.
“Fine, no problem. But I want to know what happened last night.”
“Last night? I got in at 10, watched “The Big Easy”, and almost fell asleep in the tub. Why?” she asked.
“Because you were supposed to meet us at the club. Jeremy’s friend was looking forward to meeting you.”
“You know, as well as I do, that I’m not about to go on a blind date. I have more important things to do,” Lydia stated.
“Oh, you mean the TV and a bubble bath? Sounds awful lonely to me.”
“Well, that’s how I prefer it,” she proclaimed. “I’ll see you in five.”She hung up and looked out at NY. I’m not wrong, she told herself, and I’m not lonely. She wondered how many more times this self-assurance would work.


Beginning of a short story (latest work)

They were running late again. She rushed Todd out of the front door with his backpack in one hand and his lunch under her arm.

“If he would only get up when I asked him to, we’d be on time,” she muttered in her mind.

But it was no use, he didn’t listen to her early morning urgings even when she said them out loud. Todd sat in the passenger seat, eyes half open with a pop-tart crumbling more in his lap than in his mouth. She was pretty sure that his clothes were the same ones that he wore yesterday, but at least he was dressed and out the door. They sat in silence, her maneuvering through their suburb and him mumbling cranky thoughts in his own mind.

The only sounds were the pounding of the rain and the rhythmic swiping of the windshield wipers. Back and forth. Everything seemed to be harder after Steve left. Sara couldn’t get enough sleep, she was always late, and Todd seemed to be losing interest in everything. She could handle losing a husband to another woman, but seeing Todd slip away behind an emotional wall was more than she could handle.

“I’m getting off early today and I thought you and I could catch a movie. I know you’ve been wanting to see that new alien movie.” She smiled a hopeful smile his way and waited for him to swallow the last of his pop-tart.

“Sounds okay,” he said after a long pause. “But I pick the seats, and I require something with sugar in it.”

“Fine by me. It’s a date then.”

She pulled around the corner from the school to let him out. As a rule, teenagers are not supposed to be seen being dropped off by their parents in a minivan. The exception is when the parent is driving a car that you would see a model or a rapper in, like a Hummer or an Aston Martin. Sara remembered the day that Todd came home and shared how Tony Coleman’s dad got a brand new Hummer with chrome wheels and a killer sound system. He talked of nothing else for an hour and begged Steve to buy one or something equally as cool. Instead of simply saying no fifty times, Steve bluntly stated that Tony’s father was a divorcee with a lot of debt that only bought the car to compensate for the failures in his life. That’s how Steve was…blunt and rarely empathetic.

Random Update

Well, hello my dears. It's been a while since my last post. I am still working on the bathroom that I had hoped to finish two weeks ago during spring break. It's coming along good though. Hubby wants to put a tile mosaic on one part of the ceiling that is inclined. Not too sure about this but he needs his creativity too, right?! Finally got our tax return...YAY! That will come in handy.

And it is also T-minus 14 days until my parents come up for a week. I'm pretty excited about that considering they've never been to this neck of the woods (the country being the woods and our city being the neck, however that works out). I also realized that the week they will be here is also my finals week for school. Ouch! At least they can help with the kids when I have to confine myself to a room and a straight jacket in order to actually study. Studying seems to get harder the longer you're in school...you think it would be the other way around.

I need to figure out how to post music on this site cause it would be nice to have some tunes every once in a while. Oh well.

It's General Conference this weekend and there were some good talks today. Is it just me or does it always seem like they are talking directly to you, like they had you specifically in mind when they prepared their talks? I love that.

When I started this blog, I said that I would post some of my writings and have not done so yet. Well, the time has come. If you feel the need to comment on my work, please do so and be very honest because that is the only way a real writer can better themselves. Thank you and I hope you enjoy the following works to be posted after this.

Back to school

I'm very much not ready to go back to school on Monday. I didn't accomplish my whole list of things to do, but I definitely got a lot done and even a little relaxation squeezed in between. I probably should have also squeezed in some homework. ;) All in good time.

I really want to see the new movie, "She's the Man". Not just because it looks funny, but also because it is based on "Twelfth Night" by William Shakespeare. Should be good for a laugh.

Well, I'm mainly just posting to do a little update on life. Not much to report, just working on the house and prepping for school. Sorry for the lack of wit, but I'm a mom...I'm entitled to some portion of dullness.

Beer and Architecture

This is an advertisement we saw on one of the trains around London and I loved it. It's hard to see around the glare but here's what it says:

"Beer.
It's inspired Britain's best architecture."

Just something interesting!

This is an interesting sight in London. This is near the Thames and is constructed from various appliances. It is meant to show us how many appliances an average person uses up in their lifetime. This sucker is tall. If you look at the middle you can see the stovetop of an oven and that will give you an idea of how big it is.

Moms Gone Wild: My plans for spring break

So, spring break is upon us and I'm loving it. This is the only week in the semester that I have to catch up on all that I have neglected and blamed on school.

On my TO DO list:
finish painting the front hall
organize my hubby's office (call and make sure it doesn't consume me, will ya girls?)
file our taxes
refile my FAFSA
clean every room in the house spotless and yell at anyone that lets in the tiniest speck of dirt (like a real mom would do)
paint my downstairs bathroom
clear off my back porch
organize my house better
try to acquire some more furniture for my sparse living room
find a little "me" time
and continue in the neverending battle against the forces of evil (it's a part-time job but the hubby likes the costume)

I, of course, will not accomplish all this but it's worth a try. I would also love to sleep in but will still need to get up to get the kiddos off to school. Speaking of, we took the kids and their friend to Brighton yesterday and it was the first time that I went along. I must tell you that there is nothing quite like seeing your little ones navigating the slopes on a snowboard like a pro. My girl even rode the lift by herself for the first time. That was pretty scary for a mom, but I soon saw that she knew what she was doing and I didn't need to fear.

New stuff with me:
I am in the middle of reading The Chronicles of Narnia and I'm loving them. I'm on the second book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I didn't know if they were going to be too ambitious of a read, but it is written for a younger audience and is pretty enjoyable. They made me want to see that movie that they made about it.

I also had to change one of my classes to an audit because the stress of a full load was not helped by the fact that this particular class is completely dull, difficult, and taught by a professor that is somewhat dry. No offense, but I've been in college for almost 8 years and I think I have some knowledge on the subject.

Well, that will be all for now. You may all proceed with your lives until I have something else of significance to share. Love ya!

London Underground and Flapjacks

Had to share another fav pic from London. This is the tube in the London Underground. (Yes, like the ones that were bombed recently.) A gal from school went to London recently and brought back me and Hobby some flapjacks. For those not in the know, they are sort of like small oatmeal bars in different flavors that have almost a full day's worth of calories and carbs. They can replace a full meal by themselves. I love them but somehow, my family wasn't that impressed with them. I don't think they were sweet enough or big enough for them. But when we were in London (land of few condiments) we thought they were "the most". YUM...right along with Hobnobs and McVities. YEAH!