rain on tulips

I’ve been using my tablet PC for about 2 months now with the swivel keyboard going quickly defunct: it broke in one small spot that was a major support to the screen. I went immediately out to locate and acquire a replacement keyboard, then decided that I would just use this one for as long as it would last and make the most of it.

Well, the “most of it” ended today, when I reached to readjust the angle of the screen, & heard an awful crackling, crunching noise: the screen snapped back, fell flat, and left small bits of plastic and exposed wire on what used to be my mostly laptop computer.

So, now I get to go and discover (again) the best location (online) to purchase a replacement keyboard for my poor computer.

The good news? This incident has prompted me to finally go ahead and figure out how to use the current handwriting input panel. (I upgraded my computer sometime last summer with the newest version of XP tablet, and the input screen changed from what I was used to, so I just quit using it because it wasn’t as intuitive as the previous version.) So. I went and was ready to find some “fix” out there - surely there must be one! - and came across this on the Microsoft updates page. Apparently they already updated the thing, and it actually has better, move useful features!

The main problem I am facing now? My hand is rather unused to actual writing… it will be good for me, yes? I sure hope so! Oh, that and I need $50 for a new keyboard. Always something!

Via cicadabug:

Experiment

1. Get yourself a large sheet of bubble-wrap, the stuff with the big bubbles.
2. Lay it out carefully on the floor. (This is fun, really! Do it!)
3. Get your favorite wheelie office chair, and roll over the bubble wrap.
4. Admire the wonderful sounds. (See, aren’t you glad I made you do this?)

I haven’t tried this, but I am eyeing the big blob of pink bubblewrap sitting across the room, and considering whether or not my kids would usurp the game from me if I tried!

Over a lot of years, since Fuul and I were first married and having kids, I developed the identity of a ‘mom of boys’. I mean, in 4 years I had given birth to 3 boys and one girl — I was a ‘mom of boys with a princess thrown in for good measure’!

In the ensuing years, that identity was ingrained: we played soccer, games that involved guns and wrestling and yelling and jumping and and and! I have driven back and forth dropping off and picking up boys from scouts and football and baseball… playing in the mud and muck… watching the shoes and jeans come home with gaping holes and shredded seams. Typical ‘mom of boys’ fare.

The other afternoon, though, I had picked out a new shade of pink nail polish at the store, and had even splurged on a ‘nail decorating’ kit, with sparkly do-dads to adhere to the newly polished nails (I’m learning to be more ‘girly’ myself the past couple of years), and when I got home and started removing the old, chipped polish, I was quickly surrounded by little girls who wanted to paint their nails as well!

Suddenly, we had a half hour filled with giggles and pink and purple nail polish and sparklies and butterflies — the end result being 40 toes all decked out in polish and decorations! (Even EK is sporting pink toes with a sparkly heart on one!)

And I realized that, with three girls mixed in with my three boys, I am no longer just a ‘mom of boys, with girls’… but a ‘mom of girls’ as well.

I think I’m going to like that side of my job a lot!

I ran across an interesting set of posts here and here, from Holly, discussing how her mind thinks. (In Iambic Pentameter, if you’re curious!)

You ever sit and think about how you think? I visualize my thoughts as a twenty-four hour news program (though when I’m asleep, some ass changes the channel to horror).

Big picture on the screen is what I’m doing at the time — either I’m in a book I’m writing, seeing and hearing what’s going on there, or I’m with my guys, or I’m mowing the lawn and we’re getting the “Grass, Weeds and Solar Activity Report.”

Break-in news interrupts regular programming with bulletins like, “Cat Boxes That Kill — Have You Cleaned Yours Today?” and “Tragedy In the Bill Box: Time Is Running Out!” (These bulletins occasionally interrupt nighttime programming, too. Sometimes, frankly, I don’t mind.)

Picture-in-picture up in the corner is the “What’s the Kidlet Doing?” radar report. If he’s awake, it’s on and tracking.

And down on the bottom, the crawl.

I’ve been considering how my mind thinks… and I get lost trying to describe it. Or figure it out. Or something! I know that it never runs on just one thing… there is always what is going on — the primary channel, if you will — but there are always the ‘picture-in-picture’ boxes all over… neat sewing idea… new quilt pattern… what was that story idea I had?… and the running commentary. I don’t think its quite so visual as that sounds, though. Its more like a running jumble of voices — mostly mine! — talking about what I’m doing and what I should be doing and what I wish I was doing. And the permanent ‘kid radar’ that can burst in at any moment.

I actually enjoy watching TV a lot of the time because it requires nothing of my brain, and I can actually override all the constant buzz. Yeah. That’s a better description: its a buzz of activity, with different bits buzzing more loudly or more consistently than the rest. But there is always more there than I can cope with at once, and often times I will actually become overwhelmed by it all.*

So, have you ever considered how you think? How would you describe it to someone else? Feel free to comment, and share your brain’s inner working parts!

*Especially when I am trying to figure out how to respond to complex emotional questions… my mind starts running with what I want to say, what I should say, and composing and editing and on and on… until I get too overwhelmed to even try to express any of it aloud. Frustrated Fuul on more than one occasion with that!

That’s the word that describes my face after spending (essentially) the entire day outside today… playing the always entertaining game called…

Garage Sale!!

I didn’t think to get a picture of the event until about half way through, and I had already sold a carseat, a stroller, a kiddie pool, and several other larger sized items. But, we still had quite the spread on our driveway! We may go ahead and pull things out again on Monday, and see what else we might be able to sell.

I had two strollers in the sale; one I used for GC, the other was one I got when I only had two little boys! (Nearly a lifetime ago!)

The double stroller (the blue and white on in the front of the picture) has been about everywhere with us: several trips to Disneyland; used for a grocery cart when we lived close enough to the store to walk; up and down the many hills at the zoo; loaded down with 4 kidlets at a time! (more…)

DS, 9 1/2 months, just before his cast came off:



Sunshine Boy, 10 months:

(more…)

I pulled away from Fuul’s office parking lot, the blazing sun searing through the car windows, fairly negating any effect of the straining a/c unit. We’d been in the van, near continuously, since 9:30am. It was now 2:45.

EK has recently decided that she really does not like to sit in her carseat for hours and hours on end, bottles and toys and kids making funny faces at her aside. After a while, she is simply no longer entertained. Really can’t blame her, to be honest.

On the list for today still loomed the empty gas tank, and DS’s impending birthday, for which I still had not completed the requisite gift shopping. She could last through one more stop, right? Right??

She started screaming the moment I slid into the driver’s seat. None of the tinny-little-musical-flashy-light toys were placating her any more. I pulled into the nearest gas station (the little orange gas pump icon on the dashboard scares me, even when the needle on the gauge is still solidly above the 1/8^th tank line) and waited while the 16+ gallons ran into the tank. I think the heat of the day slowed down the passage of the gasoline from the cold underground tanks into my hot van; surely it took longer than normal, and EK let me know of her growing impatience. Louder and louder, more and more insistent.

I still needed to buy gifts, it was only a 5 minute drive to the store, and she could be extracted from the prison of the baby-bucket seat for a few minutes while I ran to the Legos and the board games and the cupcakes… right?

Louder. Shriller. Done.

I made the decision to drive home instead, to let the poor girl out of the heat and the sunshine and into our air-conditioned home to play without straps or arms holding her up away from all the ‘fun’ stuff in the world. Surely I can fit in one more quick trip out tonight to pick up the last gifts, while Fuul watches the kids. Right.

Decision made, (scream!) I drove quickly (though within legal limits, honest!) over the heat-mirage-laden streets, (scream!) along the winding neighborhood streets, (scream!) onto our cul-de-sac, (scream!) and into our driveway.

(Silence!!)

Seems that the moment we pulled into the driveway, EK decided it just wasn’t worth complaining any more, and had nodded off to sleep.

Ah, the irony that is my life!

In all the rush of Star Wars posting since the release of Ep.III, there have emerged an amazing number of “I remember when…” stories… Heaven knows I’ve got my own, including the first time I got to see Star Wars on our VCR at home… horrible bootleg copy or something, but to get to see it at home… well, that was the end all!

So, the story Darth Vader Made Me Cry , by Matthew Baldwin, had a very, “Oh, yeah, I remember that feeling of being 8 and totally enthralled… and wow! He got to meet Darth Vader!” feeling to it! I’m jealous — and yet at the same time very thankful! — that I never met the Dark Lord of the Sith… *shiver!*

(Via Defective Yeti)

DA & JS both have science projects due this week; of course, we heard about them maybe Friday of last week!

DA is pretty self-contained when it comes to projects like this: he has his ideas, then runs with them, occasionally asking for me to pick something up at the store for him (like the requisite tri-fold poster-board display thingy).

JS, though, is building a volcano to test the destructive properties of lava vs. lava on a snow-capped volcano. Its a great idea, but is rather labor-intensive. (Have to run to the store to buy salt to make the dough to build the volcanic exo-structure… fun never ends around here!)

Someday, I will understand why it is that I am doing more science homework NOW than I did when I was a kid… somehow, that seems patently unfair!

I wish I had found this site for them — and that we had had time to look at it! It’s the Elmer’s Science board, and they list things like “How Judges Think” and “Plan your time” as it relates to developing a science fair project.

Now… if we could just advance to this: PowerPoint instead of trifold boards for science fair presentations. (They could take it to school on a disc instead of my having to drive the massive boards to school! Wishful thinking!)

Update: We finally found the papers describing the science fair requirements, and they are not due in class until next Thursday! Yeah! Another couple of days to build and erupt a volcano, and to print out all the pictures and captions. Can you hear the sigh of relief yet??

I am increasing my anxiety levels exponentially every passing moment as we are looking at this impending move. Things aren’t getting done, and are definately not getting done quickly enough! Which then just adds to the anxiety! (Self-fulfilling anxiety??)

But while I was checking out my regular, daily blog reads, I came across this great post by Liz:

The third step in 12-step recovery programs is “Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of god as we understood him.” I’m not a religious person, and the wording of this step has always been a little difficult for me. Similarly, the Al-Anon slogan “Let go and let God” has been tough for me as well.

Today, however, has been a good day for remembering that even if I don’t know exactly what I’m turning things over to, the idea of taking something difficult to manage and “turning it over” is worth trying.

---

Gerald finally said to me around lunchtime, as I was sorting through car specifications, posting our house to every online listing site I could find, and hovering dangerously close to my emotional redline zone, “just turn it over.”

My first thought was “Don’t be ridiculous. If I let go of all this, it won’t get done, and we’ll be even worse off.” But then I realized he was right. I needed to let go of trying to control everything, and trust that if I did the next right thing, the rest would follow.

So. The trick now, I guess, is figuring out how to have the faith to let go and let everything happen as it will. But it sure isn’t the easy way out — or maybe it is, and I’m too stubborn to accept it?

When I was younger (teenager and forward several years) I had the wonderful motto, “Fashion before Comfort”. And that was it. Disneyland in the summertime? Still wore long sleeves, long pants, and layers. High heels with mini-skirts: absolutely. Combat boots and heavy leather jackets in the summer in the desert? Definately! (It all was junked in with the hair ‘products’ that were nearly as heavy as the layers of clothing!)

But, Jaquandor has a different take on the role of fashion vs. comfort:

Ultimately it all boils down to comfort. I just don’t really have the time or the inclination to wear something that I find uncomfortable, if I don’t have to. This is why I never wear neckties, unless I happen to be attending some kind of function at which a degree of formality is required (and even then, I think that neckties are just plain dumb articles of clothing). I find the overalls more comfortable than regular blue jeans, given that they are looser and baggier. Now, I freely admit that my “comfort-above-all” paradigm might not work if I didn’t happen to be a suburban father who works in a grocery store and has aspirations of being a writer, but hey, it works for me. And that’s all I really have time for, these days, when it comes to clothing.

Its interesting how polar-opposite that opinion seems to me! Even when I have been whale-sized pregnant, and comfort is highly appealing in ways it never is otherwise, I still find myself considering the fashion side of whatever I am wearing. Even if its sweatpants and a t-shirt. If it doesn’t ‘go’, off it comes!

I guess I need to keep this in mind while I’m sorting through the closets getting ready to pack: no matter how cute something is, or how comfortable, if it never gets worn because it just doesn’t ‘go’, then it really needs to go. Really.

(Even if you can remember where it came from!)

The other night at Star Wars I saw the trailer for Disney’s The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Its live-action. It looks amazing!

(To see the teaser trailer, click the image above, then click the wardrobe door on the flash site. Select “The Movie” under the Lion’s head, and click on the television… they make you dig for this one!)

Its scheduled to be released December 9^th. Can’t wait!

(via Tambo)

(disclaimer: please do not drink any liquid while perusing this list if you value your computer screen or keyboard; this list rates a rather high spew-factor!)

The Rules of Writing:

1. Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. And don’t start a sentence with a conjunction.
4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
5. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They’re old hat)
6. Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
7. Be more or less specific.
8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
10. No sentence fragments.
11. Contractions aren’t necessary and shouldn’t be used.
12. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it’s highly superfluous.
14. One should NEVER generalize.
15. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
16. Don’t use no double negatives.
17. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
20. The passive voice is to be ignored.
21. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas.
22. Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.
23. Kill all exclamation points!!!
24. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
25. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth shaking ideas.
26. Use the apostrophe in it’s proper place and omit it when its not needed.
27. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.”
28. If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times: Resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly.
29. Puns are for children, not groan readers.
30. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
31. Even IF a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
32. Who needs rhetorical questions?Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
33. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.

Tambo has several people adding more ‘rules’ in her comments section… some of them are wonderfully funny!

(OK, I admit, its nearly 3 weeks late, but better late than never!!)

The concert was AMAZING!! FANTASTIC!! MORE THAN I COULD HAVE IMAGINED!!

(Cliché enough for you??)

We were right on the floor (cheaper tickets than ’seats’ but I can’t imagine wanting to pay more to be further from the stage — *shrug*).

The opening show was surprisingly good — Hoobastank played, and were rather entertaining for the 45 minutes they were on stage. They were loud and in tune and a lot of fun to watch.

The 45 minute wait for Velvet Revolver to take the stage was a little boring — long time to stand on cement floors. But it was interesting watching the roadies test the mikes and guitars, and the light guys climbing up into the scaffolding above the stage before the show started. But, that’s not what we went to see….

So, finally, they take the stage…

And I couldn’t hear a normal volume for 24 hours afterward!! It was wonderful!

Duff played amazingly — far too many notes for a bass riff, but isn’t that what makes the music??

And Slash — Fuul got to see his guitar idol 20 feet in front of him, playing on one guitar after another. Wow.

And Scott Weiland had all those wonderful, powerful vocals thundering through the colliseum… wow!

I remembered at the end how much I loved live concerts; haven’t been to one in 15 years. Its been far too long.

(I am just now, a month after the fact, beginning to be able to listen to the album again… it just isn’t the same as the live performance. I guess thats the tradeoff.)

*smile*