Where Do the Mermaids Stand?

It's Moving Day!

2007-06-22T17:46:00.001-05:00

I'm moving over to wordpress!! :D From here on out, you can find me at www.monicaraab.wordpress.com.

May I recommend....?

2007-06-15T08:30:00.000-05:00

While I'm gathering together my pictures and whatnot, may I recommend taking a little field trip over to the True Womanhood blog? There's an exceptionally interesting discussion going on regarding a documentary and book put out by Ana Sophia and Elizabeth Botkin. Gentlemen, this discussion is quite germane to you as well since the Botkin sisters are trying to "reclaim" the father/daughter relationship. There are a lot of posts, but it's well worth reading through. This is scary stuff.

sigh.....

2007-06-14T08:58:00.000-05:00

I've been so remiss about posting lately. Life has just been going by so quickly!! But, fear not, fair reader. Soon I'll have graduation pictures, garden pictures, bird pictures, book reviews, and yes, Becca, I'll even respond to your tag. :-) But for the moment, work calls....

There's always something to smile about

2007-06-07T10:28:00.000-05:00

Summer Reading

2007-05-29T09:53:00.000-05:00

Summer is here and so are my books. :-) Right now, I'm in the depths of Bleak House, When Presidents Lie, and Capitalism at the Crossroads. I just finished Zapp!, and I just started Fundamentalism and American Culture (which I'm terribly excited about).

What are you reading?

Please pray

2007-05-18T15:27:00.000-05:00

Please pray for my boss's family. He passed away just a few hours ago. He left behind a wife and two boys, 12 and 10.

What love looks like

2007-05-15T14:24:00.000-05:00

My First Lesson in Motherhood

Demerits in all their terrifying beauty

2007-05-08T10:15:00.000-05:00

Find the video here.

Congrats, Anita!

2007-05-07T09:22:00.000-05:00

Hooray! You made it! :-) Congratulations on graduating. Now you get to be a real grownup. Gotta go be responsible and get a job and all that.

You are officially old now. You can't fight it any more. Game over. Welcome to adulthood.

CHRIS IS DONE WITH LAW SCHOOL!!!

2007-05-03T15:07:00.000-05:00

doin' a happy dance. oh yeah. oh yeah. oh yeah!

Happy happy birthday to Sonia!

2007-05-02T11:43:00.001-05:00

Happy birthday, kiddo! :-) I hope your birthday is more of this than of this.
:-)

Just don't do it

2007-05-02T11:43:00.000-05:00

It's not worth it. It never is.
34 Duke Business Students Face Discipline for Cheating

Right in the middle of the road

2007-05-01T14:36:00.000-05:00

Yup. If I were a gator, that's where I would sit. Wherever I wanted to.

My celebrity look alikes

2007-04-30T23:08:00.001-05:00

http://www.myheritage.com

WHY?!?!? WHY WHY WHY?!?!

2007-04-20T08:41:00.000-05:00

How can anyone be this twisted and hateful?

Group Plans To Picket Va. Tech Funerals

When I remember that they do this in the name of my God who I know HATES this behavior, it makes me want to vomit.

Ban on Abortion Procedure Upheld

2007-04-18T10:31:00.000-05:00

Praise God! I haven't sorted out all the details of beginning of life and end of life issues yet, but I can't imagine a time when carrying a baby to term and then crushing its head at birth would ever be necessary.

Ban on Abortion Procedure Upheld by Supreme Court in 5-4 Ruling

Contact your representatives, folks!

2007-04-17T13:02:00.000-05:00

That greedy RIAA has done it again! If it's not enough to charge us $20 a CD, now they're trying to shut down web radio. They've gotten the Copyright Royalty Board to approve a sharp increase in the fees that webcasters will have to pay per play per song. The fee increase is significant enough that most webcasters will probably go out of business as a result, and our musical options will degenerate even further into mass marketed pablum. Find out more at http://www.savenetradio.org/about/index.html.

Feel free to use my letter (with the appropriate modifications) as a template for your own protest. The old wisdom said that paper letters were better than emails, but now with all the security stuff, paper takes so long to get into the Congressional offices that email is the only way to get something to your reps in less than two months. The text of my letter is below; you can find your representatives' names here.

Dear [recipient name was inserted here],

I was unpleasantly surprised to find out this morning that there is a plan put forward by the Copyright Royalty Board to drastically raise music royalty rates. It is my understanding that for most webcasters the new royalties will exceed their revenue, forcing them to stop webcasting.

I oppose this increase for two reasons. First, closing down webcasting services will sharply curtail the wide variety of musical choices currently available to me. And second, making it impossible for small independent operations to broadcast music from independent artists will without a doubt hurt the potential of young or unknown artists to break into the public consciousness. I'm no bleeding heart advocating that everybody with a guitar should get radio time, but I am a constituent who happens to love music and who would hate to see our rich independent musical culture degenerate into mass marketed pablum.

I respectfully request that you, my duly-elected representative, look into this matter and take action to prevent it. This letter expresses my personal concerns, and is my own composition, not a mindlessly forwarded form letter. Your prompt attention to this issue is essential. The new royalty rates are retroactive to January 1, 2006, and they will cause immediate bankruptcies if they become effective for even one day. You can find more information about this issue at http://www.savenetradio.org/about/index.html. I hope to hear very soon what actions you take to prevent this increase from taking effect.

Sincerely,

Monica Raab

True Womanhood in the New Millennium

2007-04-17T10:21:00.000-05:00

The blog that was "got me a college gal" is now making a second appearance on the stage as True Womanhood in the New Millennium. Come by, stimulate your thinking, and participate in the discussion. We've had a lot of activity in the last couple of weeks and some very thought-provoking posts!

She has a name!

2007-04-16T09:44:00.000-05:00

So, my new baby finally has a name. :-) On Saturday night, we named her Gwen. I was randomly thinking of Gwen Egolf on Friday, and then I thought of my new bird, and it just seemed to fit. Welcome to the family, Gwen!

She's doing pretty well. I was a little worried about her when I got back from Greenville on Saturday; she looked really skinny and kind of lethargic. And her poop didn't look good either. But yesterday she ate some bird seed (only a little, unfortunately) and lots of romaine lettuce and some fresh spinach. Both of those veggies are really good for her, and she's looking a lot better today. :-)

More pictures of my new lady

2007-04-11T19:47:00.000-05:00

That mysterious lady....

2007-04-11T14:31:00.000-05:00

Poor DeWitt is quite discombobulated. On Saturday, quite mysteriously and without warning, a new parakeet made an entrance at the Raab residence. A lady parakeet, at that. And poor DeWitt just doesn't know what to do with himself.

The first time that I had them both out together, DeWitt was doing all right for a few minutes, and then he tried to step on her back! Well, she didn't think much of that at all, and I didn't like the look of it either, so I immediately pulled him away from her and separated them to keep her safe.

But a few days later, shortly after the picture above was taken, he pulled the same stunt. Only this time, before I could react to protect her....she bit his foot! :-) Good girl. DeWitt was quite shocked. He shook himself, and backed off a couple of steps, and since then he has been much more respectful of her space.

They're slowly getting used to each other. DeWitt is almost a full year older than she is, so he's quite a bit bigger. I'm still not letting them be around each other unless I'm right there to intervene if needed. I don't think he's trying to hurt her or push her around, but he's kind of like a five-year old playing with a baby--he's gotta learn that she's not as sturdy as he is just yet.

Here's a close up.

So. Name suggestions, anyone? I don't know what to call her. She's feisty, but I think she's more of an introvert. You can't tell from this picture, but she's got a beautiful deep blue/green spot right above her tail.

More news about my mom

2007-04-11T10:05:00.000-05:00

I talked to my mom yesterday. She's still in the hospital, and her leg is still giving her a lot of pain. Her heart finally kicked back into a normal rhythm, so they're going to let her go home soon. That's good, but the long term news isn't so good. :-( She's going to have to have open heart surgery soon, within the next six months or so, to replace a valve. We don't know when it will be scheduled yet. Please keep praying for wisdom for my parents: they have a lot of hard decisions to make now.

My poor mother

2007-04-05T13:29:00.000-05:00

Please keep praying for my mom. She was back in the emergency room this morning with a blood clot in her leg. They got it out without too much difficulty, but she's going to have to stay in the hospital until Sunday. They're doing a full work up on her heart. They think that the clot was caused and/or shaken loose by atrial fibrillation. That's scary stuff; we're praising God that He did not allow it to land in her brain where it could have killed her. As it is, she could have lost her leg if they hadn't gotten to it so quickly.

Update

2007-03-27T21:40:00.000-05:00

Mom's out of surgery, and they tell me she's doing well. When I talked to her, she was still pretty groggy, but she said the pain wasn't too bad. They put a rod in her shin, two screws below the knee, and two screws above the ankle.

Thanks so much for all your prayers! Please keep praying that she will heal well and quickly without much pain.

Please pray

2007-03-27T14:18:00.000-05:00

Please pray for my mom. She fell yesterday while she was out roller blading with my two youngest brothers, and she broke her left leg in two places. She's in surgery right now to get a rod put into her leg.

Please pray that there won't be any complications with the recovery process or any problems with secondary infections!

More Pi Day Fun

2007-03-14T13:48:00.000-05:00

It's Pi Day everybody!

2007-03-14T09:19:00.000-05:00

Go eat some PIzza PIe, have some PIna colada, and gobble down some yummy PIe al a mode for dessert. :-) [ht: Thinkgeek Monkeys]

If you run out of other fun things to do the official Pi Day website can help you memorized more digits of Pi than you ever knew existed.

Happy International Women's Day!!

2007-03-08T13:45:00.000-05:00

Stand proud, my sisters.

Celebrate the amazing women in your lives, my brothers.

Remember the ones who are hurting and abused. ((prayers))

International Women's Day Website

breathing

2007-03-07T20:51:00.000-05:00

OK, so by providential arrangement, I came across a job posting looking for a motivational speaker. So tomorrow night I'm taping my audition speech. And Friday I send it all out--audition tape, resume, and cover letter.

And then I wait.

Please pray!!

I want one

2007-02-22T12:29:00.000-05:00

I really need one of these.

Hello, Mr. Robin!

2007-02-22T11:28:00.000-05:00

I saw a flock of robins yesterday. That's not all that unusual since they winter down here, but this flock was bigger than normal. And so I wonder... are they grouping up to fly back north? 'Cause that would mean that spring really is peeking around the corner!!! :-)

I can't wait for things to warm up permanently. It's about 70 degrees here today. I love being able to walk out the door and not flinch when the cold air hits me. But I opened all the windows and doors yesterday, and I'll do the same thing when I get home today. It's marvelous.....

Announcement

2007-02-20T09:59:00.000-05:00

Excuse me, everyone. I have an announcement.

Winter is over. The end.

It is going to be 60 degrees outside today, and winter is over in my head. So from now on, it's all spring clothes. Cute hats. Flirty little scarves. Short skirts and sandals. I am going to bring spring in by sheer force of will and pretty dresses. No more cold for this girl. I am done with winter.

Thank you.

That is all.

See Spot Grow

2007-02-03T16:08:00.000-05:00

And Tom and Jane and Sarah and Harry and....

Little green seedlings are popping up all over the place. There's at least one of everything peeking out of his or her comfy little peat pot. It won't be long now until they graduate to the big plant pots. :-)

Beware the LGSs!

2007-01-31T14:17:00.000-05:00

The LGSs are coming! The LGSs are coming!

This is what they looked like when I left this morning:

And this is what I found when I went home for lunch!!!

We have growth in the flower, bean, cucumber (above), and herb (below) quadrants:

Starlog Entry 823472450sdliksg7b890werjg

2007-01-31T09:35:00.000-05:00

[BEGIN LOG ENTRY]

Tuesday finished off fast and furious with the Little Green Seedlings (LGSs) popping up in several cells.

Overnight, the situation accelerated. Wednesday morning found the LGSs pushing ever closer to the roof of their domicile.

Great watchfulness and caution is called for now. The LGSs are on the move! It won't be long before the last of them break free....

[END LOG ENTRY]

UPDATEUPDATEUPDATEUPDATEUPDATE

2007-01-29T22:46:00.000-05:00

Day Three of the Great Garden Gallivant:

The seeds are sprouting! We have growth in cells A2, E4, and A8 (per the charts in the previous post ;-)). A8 is still only visible through a tiny crack in the peat, so here are pictures of

A2

and E4.

Sigh....aren't they precious?

I know you all want to get some sleep tonight...

2007-01-27T22:06:00.000-05:00

...so just in case you were wondering where each plant is slumbering in my seed tray, here's a diagram. ;-)

Snarky alert!

2007-01-27T21:06:00.000-05:00

If you're not in the mood for snarky, read no further. 'Cause this just makes me boil.

Check out The Modesty Survey. I'm sure they mean well, and I'm truly not impugning their motives when I say this, but what are they thinking? How can this not turn into anything other than a list of arbitrarily defined rules drawn from a statistically invalid survey? Is this really anything more than one more stick to beat women over the head with? As if we all don't get beat over the head enough with the modesty stick and the submission stick enough already?

I am an ardent supporter of modest dressing for men and women, but I hate hate HATE the overemphasis on female modesty to the virtual exclusion of male responsibility. (And for the record, I'm not accusing the Harris brothers of doing this. I'm not.) It's a murky, self-defeating path. No matter what a girl wears or doesn't wear, somebody somewhere could "stumble." What are we supposed to do? Never come out of the house and--for goodness sake stay away from the windows!

Women ought to dress modestly because it reflects their worth as children of God. Women ought to dress modestly because it strikes one more blow against the sick idea of women as sex objects. Women out to dress modestly because it'll help keep at least some of the creeps away. And women ought not to intentionally provoke lustful thoughts in men not their husbands because that kind of behavior doesn't reflect the kind of love the body of Christ is supposed to demonstrate.

But strangely enough, the only one of those principles that gets taught and emphasized is that last one. The one that takes all the responsibility off of the men. The one that makes all women subject to the frailities of all men and in doing so makes all women subject to all men.

OK, breathe....

The following bit of genius, I'm afraid I can't lay claim to, but I was lucky enough to get permission to post it up.

What if ....we get turned on by a man in jeans that ride low on his hips or a tshirt that pulls across a broad back? Would we dare ask them not to dress that way JUST IN CASE they came across a girl that struggled with looking at nice figures? Would we ask them to wear their hair sloppy or not wear the latest fashions so we wouldn't be tempted to look? MEN--don't brush your teeth...cuz ya know what...I like a fresh mouth with pearly whites. I might actually look twice and think "nice teeth , cute lips." and you know where THAT will lead! Yessir...I will most likely SIN in my thoughts about your nice teeth and cute lips...and you don't want to make a sister "stumble" do you? And those forearms and manly hands!! What a serious weakness that is to many women I know. We'll often whisper to one another "Did you see his forearms ? They were huge! And his hands! *sigh* So handsome. Just a light dusting of hair." Men, did you know this was a big thing for us? And since you are so concerned with us girls covering up to keep men from 'stumbling'...you need to award us the same favors. Heaven knows when I see man's hands, I just can't stop thinking about them all day. It would help if you wore gloves. Seriously..cuz then we wouldn't see your man hands and we wouldn't be tempted. And the forearm thing...wear long sleeves. Even in summer. I know how you hate to do that in summer time...but all those muscle shirts just send us swooning. Which in turn leads to sinning. We can't figure out why men would walk around flaunting such things in our faces!
Just last week I saw a man with a broad back, a nice-fitting t-shirt that showed his broad back , and when I looked at his hands, he had them decorated with a watch and ring , his jeans fit perfectly to his trim hips and thighs. He smiled at me as I walked past and his teeth...wow. Even and straight and whiter than white. I could tell he was wearing lip balm because his lips were full too. He probably used the excuse of "dry lips" but we women know he does that so we'll look. WHY WHY WHY would he do that? Why would he go out in public just to stir us women up like that? He has got to know he's asking for it dressed like that. Women WILL hit on him. How can we not? He clearly is dressing and grooming to get our attention. And biblically speaking , that just isn't right. I could pull dozens of scriptures that show a man should only do those things for his wife.
Which brings me to bathing suits. The way those boxer shorts sit on low on those trim hips? Yum. ohmyohmyohmy. Something needs to be done about that. Not even a shirt to cover your nipples. And then you have to do some sort of sport to show your athletic prowess. Either volleyball or surfboarding. We see you. We watch you. We like it and you know it. We see you strut your stuff. All to get us riled up and make us “stumble.”
In the end the men are only hurting themselves by grooming and dressing fashionably. Sooner or later they will be hurt by the way they've been treating themselves. Let us women help you repent from your flashy, flirty ways. Let us teach you how to dress so we won't 'stumble' and stare. Sure it may not be as quirky , fun and individual , but that's okay....because you know deep down you want to please us. Your future wife will thank us for teaching you how to dress modestly.
Honest.

I'm baaaaack.....

2007-01-27T17:36:00.000-05:00

I am very pleased to announce that it seems that my carpal tunnel has gone into remission. :-) Many, many thanks to all of you that prayed for me. I am very thankful that God has cleared that up.

I embarked today on the adventure that is my summer garden. Hooray! My seeds finally, finally arrived. (I will NEVER buy seeds from Burpee again. :-( It was a very, very bad experience.)

Here are the peat pots and the peat tray, floating about merrily soaking up hot water.

My happy little seeds! We have dahlias, impatiens, mixed flowers, tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, peppers, oregano, thyme, basil, and cilantro.

And the fully assembled project.

The first seedlings should start peeking out in about a week. If I don't die of anticipation by then ;-), I'll be sure to post an update.

Hiatus

2007-01-08T17:42:00.000-05:00

I know I've been gone for a while, but I'm afraid I'm going to be out of commission for a bit longer. My doc says that I've got carpal tunnel syndrome, so that means as little typing as possible for at least the next two weeks and possibly longer. Please pray that the braces heal it up! We don't want to consider the other options. :-(

Say cheese!

2006-11-20T13:38:00.000-05:00

I am inspired. This weekend, Chris gave me an early Christmas present, a beautiful full-color book on photography. So we dug out his film camera, and I have been playing with it ever since. Photography has always tickled the one very small creative bone that I possess, largely I think, because of my dad's constant instructions on how to take good pictures with his camera. The goal is to have a decent command of aperture and what not before going to Yucatan next summer. I can't wait!!!

Let the record reflect

2006-11-17T16:25:00.000-05:00

The more reading I do for this Family and Society class that I'm taking, the more thankful I am for my hubby. Our relationship is so far out of the average, and he takes such better care of me than the average would predict that I can hardly stand it.

Just for the record, I love him to pieces. He's the best!

Ah the mountains....

2006-11-15T23:02:00.000-05:00

Psalm 98

O sing to the LORD a new song,
For He has done wonderful things,
His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him.
Tthe LORD has made known His salvation;
He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations.
He has remember His lovingkindness and his faithfulness to the house of Israel;
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth;
Break forth and sing for joy and sing praises.
Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre,
With the lyre and the sound of melody.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
Shout joyfully before the King, the LORD.
Let the sea roar and all it contains,
The world and those who dwell in it.
Let the rivers clap their hands,
Let the mountains sing together for joy before the LORD,
For He is coming to judge the earth;
He will judge the world with righeousness and the peoples with equity.

Fair Food

2006-11-15T22:43:00.000-05:00

OK, I know it's been forever, but I promised to put up pictures of the State Fair food, and here they are. Don't worry--I kept them in the fridge so they wouldn't get moldy. :-)

I took pictures of the food places we didn't get to, but as you can see, we enjoyed what we did get immensely. :-)

Eaten but not pictured: basket of cheesy fries and one very sugary funnel cake (that one's for you, Becca!)

On this auspicious day

2006-11-14T13:32:00.000-05:00

Please welcome to the sidebar the two newest members who are also arguably the cutest, Chloe and Eli.

We're going to the fair tonight!!!

2006-10-13T10:58:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited! I can't wait to get there. I've only been to a state fair once (maybe?).

I'll post up pictures of the food.....mmmmmmm.

Hooray!

2006-10-05T09:44:00.000-05:00

My MP3 player is finally here!! Major kudos to my bro who found me a 4 gb player for $45. Thanks, bro!!! :-)

Praise God for Christian schools!

2006-09-28T16:52:00.000-05:00

I just have to say that as I am now in the depths of a class at a secular (and rather liberal) institution, that I appreciate as I never have before the chance to learn in an environment that is not hostile to Christianity. There's a lot of pressure that comes with being the only one who is willing to stand up and say that the favored world-view of a class and/or teacher isn't necessarily the right or even the best way to look at life, and I am so glad that I did not have to fight through all of my high school and college classes the way I'm fighting through this class!

Falling

2006-09-21T10:06:00.000-05:00

It was chilly on the way to work this morning. The air had that extra little bit of edge that foretells the end of lush green days and the beginning of nights cool enough to spend with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book.

It was a happy realization. It made me remember how nice it was to snuggle up with my newly acquired hubby on the first cold day after we were married. It's nice to know, going into this winter, that I won't be enduring the cold on my own. I got out my terrycloth robe (that I originally bought for Chris) last night, and we snuggled and watch a little TV. Nice and cozy.

Our new living room is all cleaned up now, and we're starting to feel settled in. We can generally find what we're looking for, and soon we'll get all the books out of their boxes and line them up on the shelves. That's Chris's project; he enjoys organizing them just so. He didn't work in the library for nothing. :-)

Life is happy in our little town house, and we thank God for all of His blessings.

Today be the day!

2006-09-19T09:16:00.000-05:00

Arrr! Me hearties!

Take yer pick o' the pirates below, but whatever ye do....

Be ye piratical!!!

For my wonderful hubby

2006-09-15T09:45:00.000-05:00

A happy marriage is a long conversation which always seems too short.
Andre Maurois

I love you!

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..........

2006-09-14T11:02:00.000-05:00

She be coming!

Oh happy day!

2006-09-12T16:00:00.000-05:00

Rebecca's kitty has a name now! Cute kitty....

Just for the record...

2006-09-07T12:16:00.000-05:00

Putting politics, Christianity, and lots of emotion together is never a good thing.

Ever.

Everybody comes out looking bad.

Argh. Stuff like Jesus Camp makes me so mad! I feel like I need to watch it, but I don't want to. I know I'll spend the entire movie yelling at the screen. People persist in lumping every little group of people that call themselves Christian together as if everything that called itself Christian really was. Even within what could properly be called Christian, there is a huge variety of practices and beliefs. You can't lump us all together! STOP BEING SO CLOSED MINDED!

Sigh. Guess it'll never really stop...

Shoutout

2006-09-04T22:31:00.000-05:00

Please find for your continuing edification and general delight new links on the sidebar. My own dearest brother is now at the top of the list, and I have added my good friends from college Tim and Ashley and Lincoln as well. There is also now a special section with breaking News from Abroad.

And of course, now that the school year is back in progress, much fresh meat has landed on the Frittering Away platter.

May a good time be had by all!

Caught me!

2006-09-04T16:21:00.000-05:00

OK, Camille. You caught me. :-)

1. One book that changed your life: VanVonderen’s Tired of Trying to Measure Up

2. One book that you’ve read more than once: The Lord of the Rings trilogy (so I was a speech major, not a math major!)

3. One book you’d want on a desert island: The book of Psalms

4. One book that made you laugh: The Paper Bag Princess

5. One book that made you cry: The Atonement Child

6. One book that you wish had been written: Hmmmm... (I may update this later.)

7. One book you wish had never been written: Anything by Robert Rector (grrr...)

8. One book you’re currently reading: Selling Women Short

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read: The Broken Mirror

10. Now tag five people:
Becca
Mel
Ben
Joanna
Laura

Marvellous Miscellany

2006-09-01T15:33:00.000-05:00

Well.

Now that I am mostly done tinkering with Blogger code, I can breathe and catch up on posting.

Prais the Lord, Chris has a job! The firm he worked for this summer called him back one week after his internship ended and offered him a spot for next fall. We are so thankful for that offer! It takes a lot of pressure off of this next year, and it allows us to start making plans in advance instead of at the last minute.

Equally exciting is that there is a university about 45 minutes from where Chris will be working that offers a Master's of Social Work. So, Lord willing, next fall I should be able to make some serious progress towards that degree. I'm a long way behind on prerequisites, but I'm taking a class this semester on Family and Society, and I'll take another class next semester as well. Then perhaps I can do the remaining 10 or 12 credits that I need to be accepted next fall, hunt up an internship or some kind of work experience, and then get going full time on the degree in the fall of 2008, with completion in May 2010.

DeWitt is merrily gaining weight. I thought that was a good thing (just a growing boy!), but now the doc tells me that we have a pudgy budgie. :-( I'm not sure what to do with him since he won't touch the food that the vet recommended to replace the seed, but I comfort myself with the knowledge that my family raised four or five birds on seed, and they all did just fine. He has recently recovered from a mite infestation on his beak and feet. Non-transmissible to humans, but they can do some serious damage to a bird's beak. They're all gone now though, and he's going to be just fine.

Under Construction

2006-08-30T16:50:00.000-05:00

Well, I have finally taken the plunge.

After two weeks of tinkering with Blogger code on a test blog, I think I'm finally ready for a test run of a new and improved (I hope) blog.

Please let me know if you run into anything strange so that I can fix it.

Coffee as a Health Food

2006-08-15T17:00:00.000-05:00

Can the world get any better?

Coffee as a Health Drink?

Happy day!

Happines is...

2006-08-02T16:05:00.000-05:00

...waking up and seeing your husband next to you.

...climbing over all the boxes in your kitchen and being rewarded with a glimpse of your vegetable plants growing serenely on your deck.

...watching your bird hanging upside down on a new toy.

...having a few extra moments in the morning to thank God for a beautiful day.

...seeing your church family after two months away.

...pretending your car is a spaceship.

...going over to a friend's house for popcorn and a movie.

...grilling supper on a huge charcoal grill that God provided for free.

...watching a friend get married on your wedding anniversary.

...finalizing plane tickets to go see your family at Christmas.

For all the beautiful little things in life and all the little things that make life interesting, I am thankful.

We are a bright one, aren't we?

2006-07-27T09:33:00.000-05:00

So.

Pamela Anderson is getting married this month, but she's having four ceremonies to celebrate. (Sounds like fun to me! *roll eyes*). Someone asked her how she's "coping with her nerves," and the Associated Press has kindly recorded her stress reducing remedy for posterity:

I have two words for you: champagne.

Marvelous.

Remember the workers!

2006-07-20T11:06:00.000-05:00

You know, Wal-Mart has been trying hard to look less exploitative in the last couple of months, and I was beginning to think that maybe public pressure just might have worked this time. But here's the ruling that knocks down the Maryland bill that would have forced Wal-Mart to meet a minimal standard of corporate decency, and the news is not good.

Rollback Ruling Favors Wal-Mart

Maryland wasn't asking for much, and they weren't unfairly picking on Wal-Mart. The big box store dumps thousands of workers onto public health roles while other large corporations do their part to take care of their workers.

Excellent advice!

2006-07-14T13:09:00.000-05:00

I just got the first of my GRE study materials in the mail. Prominently displayed on the Algebra I review chart is the following:

Stand firm in your refusal to remain conscious during Algebra. In real life, I assure you, there is no such thing as algebra.

Thank you, Fran Lebowitz, for the validation of our educational system. Great. That one really motivates me to study for the GRE.

*roll eyes*

So much for peace in the Middle East

2006-07-14T12:33:00.000-05:00

As I got ready this morning, I was thinking about all of the military actions going on between Israel, Palestine, and Lebanon. Without being willing to blindly support Israel in every action, in this case, at least, it seems like they've been aggravated beyond all reason. Kinda reminded me of a cornered animal being poked with sticks. At some point, that animal is going to come out of the corner and inflict some serious damage.

Israel isn't asking for much. Just give them their soldiers back, quit shooting at them, and take the guns away from Hezbollah. Doesn't seem unreasonble. You've gotta feel bad for the Lebanese people, though. It stinks for the Lebanese to be the ones getting blown up when it sounds Syria and Iran are the ones bankrolling Hezbollah.

It's so sad. There's so much suffering going on.

BIRD FLU COMES TO FLORIDA!!!!

2006-07-12T15:42:00.000-05:00

HEAD FOR THE HILLS!!!

{My thanks to Becca over at The Mercied for this crucial breaking news.}

Zinedine Zidane

2006-07-09T16:48:00.000-05:00

Absolutely unbelievable. I could hardly believe my eyes when he headbutted Materazzi in the chest. Completely unacceptable behavior for any participant in any sporting event, but so much more unacceptable in the captain of team in a sporting event broadcast worldwide. And in light of the extreme liklihood of penalty kicks, his boneheaded temper is incredibly irresponsible. How could he possibly do that to his team?

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrre you ready?

2006-07-07T12:29:00.000-05:00

As the commercial says, "Get your booty..."

"...To the theater!"

Absolutely cannot wait to join the unwashed masses in enjoying what should be a delightful little piece of brain candy. :-)

Homes for the homeless

2006-07-06T11:51:00.000-05:00

You know, as much as I would love to be a part of a serious effort that would really get the chronic homeless off the street, I'm not sure that this is the way to do it. Admitting that there are people who are chronically homeless is the first step toward figuring out how to get them off the street, but giving them places to live on the public's tab can't be the answer. Not unless we're going to house all the people who can't find somewhere to live in the same fashion. This is essentially discrimination with vice being the determining factor. What about all the people that can't afford housing but aren't being a public nuisance by being drunk on the sidwalk all the time? Why don't the single moms get free housing too?

No Mo' Gitmo

2006-06-29T10:22:00.000-05:00

Quite a beating for the administration this morning. Can't say I'm much surprised, and I think I'm glad for at least one check on the ever-expanding executive power grab--not sure though completely.

Here's the story.

ETA: All right, so on closer review this doesn't actually close Gitmo. My apologies.

Diet Coke and Mentos

2006-06-29T08:49:00.000-05:00

While I'm still working on the new site, I thought I might provide a bit of divertment to while away the time. Take a look at what you can do with enough time, lots of pop, and breath mints. Pretty cool, if you ask me.

It's coming...

2006-06-28T10:36:00.000-05:00

Very soon. A new blog on a new server. New options. New posts (hopefully :-)).

Stay tuned!

Pictures please!

2006-06-27T15:30:00.000-05:00

I'm working diligently to try to update my blog, but I'm running into a dead end looking for a picture for the header. Anyone have any suggestions that follow the mermaid theme?

Eugenics in America

2006-06-16T09:59:00.000-05:00

I just finished reading a book called A Merciful End. It was a very thorough and balanced historical walk-through of the euthanasia/eugenics movement in America, starting about in 1900. I'll definitely need to do some more reading to get a better grip on some of the philosophies that shaped the movement, but I thought it did a great job of chronicling the movement.

I vaguely remember running across a reference to eugenics laws in America sometime in the last year or so, but this fuller accounting just blew me out of the water. Call me naive, but it hadn't ever occured to me that there was a time not so very long ago that a large portion of the American public was in favor of laws mandating involuntary sterilization specifically targeting the mentally disabled and ill.

How can you possibly be so convinced of your own worth to think yourself able to proclaim that "three generations of imbeciles is enough"? Thank you, Oliver Wendell Holmes in the Buck v. Bell case. This declaration in an age where they used such clear-cut definitions of mental illness as "feeble-minded" as a catch-all for anyone just a little bit different. Wikipedia argues that there wasn't anything wrong with Carrie Buck other than that she had been raped by her adopted mother's nephew, that she was put into an institution to save her family's reputation. That may or may not be true, but Holmes declaration is no less obnoxious either way. It makes me sick to think of it.

Check out this article by a U of Virginia prof giving a little more background on the Carrie Buck case.

Off to Charlotte!

2006-06-09T10:47:00.000-05:00

Praise God Friday is here, and in about seven hours, I'll be in Charlotte with Chris!! :-) I can't wait. :-)

Unless we find hotspots for an internet connection, I probably won't post over the weekend, but I've got lots of things to chew on until Monday. As an intro to a post that will go up next week, ponder of the fact that Helen Keller was outspoke in support of eugenics and euthanasia. Huh?!

Please welcome to the stage

2006-06-08T16:25:00.000-05:00

Joanna!!

Welcome back out of the bubble and into blogdom. We're glad to have you around.

Whew

2006-06-06T16:54:00.000-05:00

So, now Chris is settled into his internship, and after crying all the way back to the highway, I've settled into a rather more stable emotional state.

I keep telling myself that it could be so much worse, you know? He could be in the military and be gone for indefinite periods of time in highly dangerous areas. As it is, I'm going to see him every weekend, and it's only for 8 weeks, so it could be so much worse. But we haven't even been married a year, and it still stinks. Sigh...

On a rather lighter note, I planted a sort of veggie garden yesterday. Chris and I got ourselves a sweet cherry tomato plant, a green pepper plant, a yellow pepper plant, a hot red pepper plant, a cucumber plant, and a flowering plant just for fun. :-) We bought them on Friday, but as it was pouring down rain Friday night, we left the planting for after the weekend. So yesterday, I diligently got out my brand new trowel and the big bag of dirt and put all the plants into their respective pots and troughs. The tomato got its own pot (it's already twice as big as when we bought it!!), and the flowering plant came in a sturdy enough pot to be left alone. All the others went into a long skinny trough kind of thing. I have my doubts about whether it's deep enough to let the roots form properly, but Chris insists that it's fine, so we shall see... :-)

I'll try to take some pictures tonight and post them up some time. Does anyone know if veggies will keep producing over the winter if I bring them inside and keep them warm?

Patience Please

2006-05-30T19:15:00.000-05:00

I regret to admit that circumstances have forced me to desist posting for a while. Chris and I are in the process of moving our apartment to three separate locations, so the posting has been sparse and will probably continue to be sparse for another week or so. I may randomly post things up now and then during this week, but please be sure to check back next week when I should be able to resume regular posting.

Heh

2006-05-25T08:29:00.000-05:00

Don't think he's going to get to plead out of this one.

Sound and Fury

2006-05-17T11:12:00.000-05:00

Signifying what?

After all the furor over the book, I expected something rather more than this.

The Da Vinci Code - Reviews - Movies - New York Times

I was too busy being annoyed by the inaccuracies in the book to enjoy the story, and the movie doesn't sound like it's worth paying to go see. Maybe once Netflix has it...

Ducks in a row

2006-05-17T09:39:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, Chris took me to the Duke Gardens to feed the ducks (yeah for my sweet hubby! :-)). We didn't get there until about 8:10, and I was afraid that they had all gone to bed already, but the first few ducks that we fed made enough noise to bring everyone else out for a late snack.

When we saw them two weeks ago, they looked like this.

There were nine of them, all lined up behind mama mallard. Last night, they came out again, and while there were still nine of them with mama (hooray!), they looked more like this.

Very, very cute. And lots of fun to feed. The adult ducks would eat out of my hand, but the ducklings wouldn't quite come close enough. Chris got them to brush up against my hand by dropping pieces of bread in the water near where I was holding a piece. They were so soft! (The ducks, not the bread.) :-)

{My thanks to the websites of Illinois Bird of the Day and birdperch.com for the pictures.}

Got CDs?

2006-05-11T16:48:00.000-05:00

Got old CDs? Got some time now that exams are done?

Well, this blog can't think of any better way to burn that time than by performing challenging science experiments.

Hooray for my hubby!

2006-05-09T19:49:00.000-05:00

Exams are over, and they all feel good. Proud of him is what I am. My man is now officially a 3L. Or for the time being, as he prefers to say a "no-L" which means that he can spend all day long lounging about zooming through his for-fun book list.

They said it was "special"

2006-05-04T10:12:00.000-05:00

Yummy

And this wouldn't work in Iraq because...?

2006-05-04T09:42:00.000-05:00

Now, why couldn't we have tried doing this with Iraq?

In New Problem for Palestinians, Banks Reject Transfers - New York Times

Delightful

2006-05-03T16:58:00.000-05:00

Here's a collection of Rudyard Kipling's "Just So Stories," which are really positively delightful. If you've never read Kipling, you must. It's wonderful literature (caveat: there are a few of the failings that were common in his day--he uses "nigger" in one story that I know of).

It's all clear now

2006-05-03T16:13:00.000-05:00

This is why I hate politics.

A successful campaign almost requires some fibbing -- the candidate is either less extreme than he's telling his party's base, or more extreme than he's telling the general public. The trick is not to get caught -- not to be too obvious in the tactical compromises that are necessary in the marathon race of a presidential campaign.

From A Man Who Won't Sell His Soul

So, will there be anyone to vote for in 2008? Or will it once again be voting against? Sigh...Why can't we just put honest people in office? I know politics is about compromise, but still. I think I'd rather vote for a raving liberal that is up-front about it than vote for a waffling sit-on-the-fencer that stands here, there, and everywhere.

Please welcome

2006-05-01T18:46:00.000-05:00

Please give a warm welcome to Barely Legal, a wickedly funny blog detailing law school culture. It's all the fun of law school without any of the work.

(Editor's Note: Please read with discretion.)

Ahhh, married life...

2006-04-29T11:58:00.000-05:00

Ain't it great?

Sometime last week, after Chris and I had tucked ourselves nicely into bed and fallen sweetly to sleep, I awoke to an odd sensation. Something was doing something to my ankle. My sleep-fogged brain wasn't very sure what was going on, but as I moved from comatose to conscious, I realized what was happening--Chris was pinching my ankle with his toes.

Now why he was doing this, I am still not sure, and he denies any memory of such an odd action, but I still have to wonder what he was dreaming about.

Glad he keeps his toenails trimmed. :-)

Where's Waldo?

2006-04-28T23:15:00.000-05:00

Can you find the thirsty birdy?

Yesssssssss!!!!!

2006-04-26T12:12:00.000-05:00

Aeon Flux came out on DVD yesterday, and it should land in my mailbox today courtesy of Netflix. I can't wait to watch it again! That is one fantastic movie, let me tell you. It's one of the few movies about a girl that doesn't end up making her just a prop for the main guy who shows up halfway through. Don't get me wrong--I don't have anything against movies with male main characters, but a movie that bills itself as about a girl should be about a girl, and Aeon Flux does that well. Props to the director!

The movie is worth watching for its acting (Charlize Theron, come on!) and special effects, but the philospohical take on life intrigued me the most. It walks the line between the price of perfect safety and the value of life as it comes with all its inherent risks. I like it a lot. Definitely worth watching more than once, and really pretty clean (violence and a few skimpy costumes, but no profanity--a welcome change).

Who are you?

2006-04-26T11:39:00.000-05:00

With a nod to Camille's site, this is rather a fun little test.

I came up as Caspian: "As Prince Caspian you are a noble, goodhearted but mischievous scallywag! Fun loving, you are admired for your easy going nature."

Please welcome the latest addition

2006-04-25T11:02:00.000-05:00

This blog has undertaken the reorganization and updating of the sidebar. Please note that the wedding pictures have been moved to the brand new Fun Links section (because this blog thinks that being married is fun and also that speaking in the third person is amusing to this blog and probably annoying to everybody else) and that links have been added to The Button and Homestarrunner, each of which this blog considers to be a fantastic way to waste time. The musically inclined portion of this blog's audience will appreciate The Music Genome Project.

(OK, so this blog has been reading too much Dave Barry, but this blog thinks there are few people more amusingly addictive.)

We hate billboards, but...

2006-04-25T10:52:00.000-05:00

It could be worse, folks.

Word of the Day

2006-04-22T16:42:00.000-05:00

In light of Hu Jintao's recent visit, I found Ambrose Bierce's definition of interpreter particularly apropos.

Interpreter--One who enables two persons of different languages to understand each other by repeating to each what it would have been to the interpreter's advntage for the other to have said.

ETA: While I typically decry the source, here's a rather amusing interpretation.

Hee hee

2006-04-20T13:01:00.000-05:00

Just for fun

What if everybody did?

2006-04-18T15:54:00.000-05:00

Reminds me of that kids book designed to get us to stop picking flowers and jumping on couch cushions.

Really, though what would happen if everybody had one?

Don't like your government?

2006-04-17T14:32:00.000-05:00

Protest

A Little Monday Humor

2006-04-17T14:14:00.000-05:00

After such a raging discussion on gender, I thought a little humor might be in order.

Law School Timeline

2006-04-17T10:40:00.000-05:00

As law school exams approach, the time that you could spend studying would surely be spent most profitably in a look at your course throughout history.

Say it ain't so!

2006-04-12T13:35:00.000-05:00

Geologists Find Ancient Worm Feces

Can I do anything else but laugh?

Where Do the Mermaids Stand?

It's Moving Day!

May I recommend....?

sigh.....

There's always something to smile about

Summer Reading

Please pray

What love looks like

Demerits in all their terrifying beauty

Congrats, Anita!

CHRIS IS DONE WITH LAW SCHOOL!!!

Happy happy birthday to Sonia!

Just don't do it

Right in the middle of the road

My celebrity look alikes

WHY?!?!? WHY WHY WHY?!?!

Ban on Abortion Procedure Upheld

Contact your representatives, folks!

True Womanhood in the New Millennium

She has a name!

More pictures of my new lady

That mysterious lady....

More news about my mom

My poor mother

Update

Please pray

More Pi Day Fun

It's Pi Day everybody!

Happy International Women's Day!!

**breathing**

I want one

Hello, Mr. Robin!

Announcement

See Spot Grow

Beware the LGSs!

Starlog Entry 823472450sdliksg7b890werjg

UPDATEUPDATEUPDATEUPDATEUPDATE

I know you all want to get some sleep tonight...

Snarky alert!

I'm baaaaack.....

Hiatus

Say cheese!

Let the record reflect

Ah the mountains....

Fair Food

On this auspicious day

We're going to the fair tonight!!!

Hooray!

Praise God for Christian schools!

Falling

Today be the day!

For my wonderful hubby

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..........

Oh happy day!

Just for the record...

Shoutout

Caught me!

Marvellous Miscellany

Under Construction

Coffee as a Health Food

Happines is...

We are a bright one, aren't we?

Remember the workers!

Excellent advice!

So much for peace in the Middle East

BIRD FLU COMES TO FLORIDA!!!!

Zinedine Zidane

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrre you ready?

Homes for the homeless

No Mo' Gitmo

Diet Coke and Mentos

It's coming...

Pictures please!

Eugenics in America

Off to Charlotte!

Please welcome to the stage

Whew

Patience Please

Heh

Sound and Fury

breathing