13 Recent Things That Has Happened in the Last Two Weeks.
- The dog ran into a truck. Don’t worry, the truck is okay. The dog is okay too, if a little shaken up.
- The morel mushrooms were affected by the freeze around Easter, so mushroom hunting has been disappointing this year. .
- A lot of people go out mushroom hunting this time of year. And I found a hunter on my property. It was creepy seeing a guy slowly moving through the forest on my land—but I knew what he was doing. We explained that we’d appreciate it if he’d leave a few for the children to find. .
- Since I got my ears pierced on my birthday in March, my 2-year-old daughter has been asking to get her ears pierced too. I don’t think so—not until she’s older.
- I finally started some veggie seeds. I know I’m a little late, but the weather earlier this month had me scared.
- I transplanted some hastas from across the street where they are growing like weeds to my front yard. Technically, they ~are~ growing on my yard, but I want them closer to my house and looking like I spent money on them. .
- My 2-year-old daughter seems to be very afraid of bugs and anything that looks like a bug. She runs away from them screaming “Bug bite me! Bug bite me!.” If she keeps that up, she’ll never want to get out of bed. Where we live, there are bugs everywhere! .
- On the other hand, my son wants to be an entomologist—a scientist who studies bugs. I think he might figure out a way to create cyber-bugs, since he’s into robotics too. .
- My husband is almost done with his doctorate degree in music composition. He passed his written with flying colors and he said his oral exam was fun. So right now, he’s Dr. Creekistan, ABD (All But Dissertation). .
- My friend and co-worker, Aimee the Red, is running in the Country Music Marathon in Nashville this Saturday. This is her second marathon. Last year she ran in the Rock-n-Roll Marathon in San Diego. We tease that she’s going to have to find a “Classical Marathon” or “Hip-Hop Marathon” for next year. Good luck Red!
- We're thinking about summer vacation now. How about a nice trip to Disney World? I've never been! But for sure we're going to drive to my hometown of Omaha, Nebraska to visit friends and family there. Anyone from Omaha? Watch out, 'cause here we come!
- I found out that an old friend of me and my husbands is a professor of music at Virginia Tech. We were able to connect with him again and he said the situation there at the school was the most difficult thing he's ever had to deal with in his short time of teaching. We gave him our support.
- Every evening when I come home from work, I notice that the “Siding Gnomes” have visited. I have never seen the gnomes myself, but cedar shingles are creeping up my house. Hopefully in the next few weeks the project will be done. And I’ll have to thank and pay the Gnomes.
13 Movies for Children That I Almost Forgot About
- The Neverending Story - This adventure story puts the watcher of the moving into the mind of the reader of a book who puts his mind into the story. Or does the story really happen to the reader of the book? Kids love to think of the possibilities.
- The Dark Chrystal -Jim Henson puppets doing a serious Tolkken-like story.
- The Muppet Movie - Who couldn’t love the movie that introduced The Rainbow Connection. It’s reminiscent of the Bing Crosby, Bob Hope “Road To . . .” series of movies from the 1940s.
- *batteries not included - A cute Steven Spielberg movie that’s great for the whole family. It has Sci-Fi, but it also has a great story.
- The Last Starfighter - A “period piece” (okay, 1980’s) about a guy who likes to play video games that gets caught up in some out-of-this-world action.
- The Princess Bride - A cult classic that is also great for kids.
- For The Love of Benji - Who could forget about Benji, the cute little dog that seems to have more emotion than Tammy Faye Bakker?
- Where the Red Fern Grows - I can’t talk about this film without crying. So lets leave it at that.
- Snoopy Come Home - A touching cartoon.
- Titan A.E. - I love futuristic, doomsday movies. This one includes that, with a bit of hope for the human race. Plus, it happens in space. My son loves this movie.
- Small Soldiers - War toys come to life and battle humans.
- The Red Balloon (Le ballon rouge) - It is not out on DVD. If you can find this, it’s worth seeing. Probably only 30 minutes long, it’s a touching story about a boy who finds a balloon (or visa-versa) and the adventure that they have.
- Harry and the Hendersons - A friendly Bigfoot. Perfect for a family living in the forest in potential Bigfoot country, like me and my Creekistan family.
13 Things that My Grabber Is Good At
- Grabbing garbage on the side of the road. Why do people think its okay to throw their stuff out the window? I hate that! I just want to follow them home and throw my garbage on their yard. But then again, they may not care.
- Grabbing chunks of deer hair that the dog somehow brought back to the house. During deer hunting season, some people field dress their deer, cutting out the stuff they want to keep and leaving the rest for my dog to find.
- Grabbing dead, frozen moles that the dog dug up.
- Picking up toys. Don’t worry, I clean it first. Don’t want deer hair and mole residue getting on my kids’ stuff!
- Picking up laundry. It sure beats bending over and it’s a lot more fun this way.
Getting things from under the bed. You know, that elusive sock that’s just out of arms reach.
- Grabbing things that have fallen behind furniture.
- Picking up small sticks in the yard. Small stick help make big fires. I like fire.
- Chasing the kids around the house saying “I’m going to get you!”
- Being chased around the house by a 2-year-old with a grabber while she repeats “Get You!”
- Launching rocks--an activity that my son loves. He get a rock in the grabber, rests it on his shoulder, and then quickly launches it at the dog. This activity was what ruined my first grabber.
- Grabbing my husband in inappropriate places. Keeps him on his toes!
- Grabbing dead mice that the cat is playing with in the middle of the night. Then launching the dead mouse over the deck for the dog to find.
- My favorite: capturing a LIVE flying squirrel and launching it over the deck so that we can all watch it “fly.” The cat somehow finds these squirrels and sneaks them into the house. I have only done this once, but look forward to the next time. I got the squirrel by the head, gathered the children to watch, opened the door, and launched it as hard as I could. We watched it fly, land, and run away. I considered it a learning experience for both my children and the squirrel.
