Swap your DVDs

If you've read here very long you know that I just looooove Paperback Swap. We've also enjoyed using SwapACD. Now they have Swap-a-DVD too! How fun!

Freedom Writers--Movie Review

Tonite I had the pleasure of watching the movie Freedom Writers, starring Hilary Swank. I always love inspirational stories about educators that inspire kids that would have otherwise gone in a bad direction. This true story is one of those, and I loved it. Highly recommended, though not for young children.

So I FINALLY got the satisfaction of seeing SOMEONE on The Bachelor be realistic! Bachelor Brad ultimately decided to choose neither woman at the final rose ceremony. Thank you, Brad, for having the integrity to not make false promises.

But the audience of women at the After the Final Rose show.....what a mess! Here's a perfect example of what's wrong with women today. They don't get it that it's BETTER for a woman to be alone than to be with a man that isn't wholeheartedly wanting to be with her. What is UP with that?!

Gardener Follow-up

Two months ago I told you about The Gardener in my community and how I wanted to somehow say thank you for the way his garden has filled my all-around-town drives with beauty. Well, yesterday was the magical day! During preschool pickup I saw both of the guys out working on their yard (putting up tall, skinny artificial Christmas trees in white, pink, and purple! what a hoot!) so I decided to take the opportunity. I raced home and put together a bag of sample sized Larabars, wrote them a note, and bravely drove back over there. I was feeling pretty nervous about it because the one guy does look very intimidating, but I felt strongly that their garden was also a true reflection of the people they are, so who wouldn't want to meet people like that?

They were still out in their yard when I came walking down the street. I introduced myself and told them how I had admired and been blessed by their beautiful yard all year long, and I gave them the gift. They seemed very surprised and appreciative that I stopped by. I got to learn some about their plants (many are transplants from the intimidating-looking man's grandmother's house, which is also right in town--she no longer lives there, but the plants have deeper significance for him than just garden store purchases), how they find time to do such extensive gardening (intimidating-man is currently out of work on disability, the other man is a student and takes classes on the internet, so they are both home a lot), about their careers (intimidator used to be a school teacher! The other guy is getting a social work degree), and their five dogs. (I had since realized there was more than one dog, but did not notice so many!)

Overall, they were very warm and friendly, very kind and appreciative. The intimidating looking man was very well spoken and gentle in his speech, and I felt so glad that I had been brave and followed my heart on doing something so simple as letting a stranger know that they have made a difference in my life. They invited me to stop by anytime. :) It's definitely on my list.

Guitar Hero

Just in case you're wondering what I've been doing tonite--I'm playing Guitar Hero with my kids. They have given me the "Very Cool Mom" award for learning to play. It's quite fun once you get the hang of it! :0

What are you doing this evening?

Catching up

I've been busy lately....my new books sold well on the official opening day last week, so that was exciting! Unfortunately I discovered that my web site is not working as it should be, so the process was not as reliable or simple as I expected it to be. Of course we always find these things out on the day when we have more sales than ever before! ugh. Nevertheless, it will get straightened out eventually.

We had good news this week. My grandmother had been given a preliminary diagnosis of breast cancer, but the biopsy results came back negative. Needless to say, the entire family is very relieved about that.

In the past I mentioned my desire to play cello again (I played for 2 years as a child). Well, the opportunity presented itself recently, so I have decided to give it a try. I got "my" cello this week and have had fun practicing and getting reacquainted with such a wonderful instrument. I'm not entirely confident that this is going to be the best opportunity for me, though. The timing for the classes is not turning out to be very good, I am not feeling very sure that the teacher is going to work out well for me, and I am having some pain in my hands that I have struggled with for probably 10 years. Glucosamine sulfate has helped the pain in the past, so I will try it again. Right now when I use the bow my hand starts to hurt and cramp up. It may be related to the way I'm holding the bow (possibly not doing it right) but it's a familiar pain that I also get if I have to grip small objects and so on. I have paid for the month of November so plan to at least stick with it for these weeks and see how things progress and how I feel about the entire situation by the end of the month.

My next musical adventure that I am looking forward to is playing the bodhran. I first learned about the bodhran by reading about it in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, and then got to watch and listen to a bodhran in a video that we have, and then live at the Glasgow Highland Games in June. I have fallen in love with this drum! Here's a sample of bodhran playing:


If this 10 year old can do it, surely I could learn. Right??

Today at church I had the funny experience of finding out that
1. a friend there had also just gotten a cello this week (I had no idea he was interested in cello)
and
2. another friend there has taken bodhran lessons while in Ireland for a semester in college. How fun!

Bodhrans aren't expensive and I've been told by my friend at church that it's not difficult to learn the basic techinque. I am thinking about buying one this week and giving it a try. I have been dreaming of this for months and it seems like a fun thing to work on during the winter months. My businesses have actually been profitable for the last couple months so we've not only reaped some financial rewards for our family, but I have some wiggle room to enjoy these little musical bonuses as well. What a nice feeling! And a good experience for me, because I often have difficulty spending money on non-essentials.

I read this interesting article about a couple that is married but chooses not to live together. I haven't heard of many people that do this, but honestly--I kind of like the idea. What appeals to me about it is the ability to maintain a little more mystery in a relationship. Sharing the bathroom and hearing somebody fart just doesn't translate into romance...you know? I have imagined that once the kids are grown it might be kind of fun to have my own apartment someplace else. The idea of having my husband pick me up for a date, come over for dinner, or get a sexy invite to spend the night sound like very appealing novelties to me. Of course, the fun might wear off after a few months, but the idea of an experiment like that interests me. What do you think? Can you imagine a scenario where you might enjoy being married but not living under the same roof?