climbing panda

lighting the "climbing panda"


stepping back from said panda...


jumping back from panda...


happy little panda, through all the smoke it produced.
target audience: most likely 5 year old girls.
verdict: maybe my favorite firework. :)
oh well, what can I say?

Happy 4th!

Today I held my first Roman Candle, threw my first (successful) bottle rocket and wrote my name with a sparkler. By far, my favorite firework of the night, however, was the "growing panda" which looked deceptively cute. The innocent anime creature sits on a stick that's supposed to shoot up after lighting the fuse. We put him on top of the fencepost I reached up high and lit my choice firework. I stepped away just in time as he began to hiss and spin violently, colored flames radiating in a circle and raining down. Next shot out a fire ball just off to my right. I don't think I'm the only one who gasped. I doubt Jon or Walt would admit to it. Maybe Pam will. It was quite a shock! A green fireball shot out and then the panda shot up... all at once. The surprise was worth it all.

Today we grilled out, bought a sprinkler, took Atlas to the farmers market and on a walk at Tom Lee Park (whose monument calls him a "very worthy negro" for heroically saving 32 lives on the Mississippi one night), hung out with friends, watched the Memphis fireworks from Arkansas's flood plain (maybe a 15 minute show with no recognizable finale... but fireworks nonetheless) and enjoyed an overcast day in the midst of summer heat.

It was a great holiday. I think it's finally time for bed. (yay!) :)

Done!

I took my test! Oh what a relief to be done. Although I won't find out officially for 4 - 5 weeks I feel alright about it too. This, for the record, does not mean I'll get credit for the class... with only 1 week of studying my standards may be a little low for this test. I'm just not really sure. Regardless, I am so thankful that my father in law postponed the tree job he'd hired Walter for so that he could drive me to my test. I used the time to study some more and learned (short term, I'm sure) a whole HEAP of info that was directly on the test. Praise God!

After stopping by Costco, Lowes, and Chic-fil-A (for a great salad) we headed home. I vowed not to celebrate with food (the salad doesn't count... even if I didn't make it myself) but instead to go swimming. This was my first real time in the pool (all in) this summer and it was SO wonderful. The last time I peaked my toes in the water was frigid. This time: bath water (as a note, bathwater is cooler than air so it is absolutely perfect). I even did a few decent dives and one or two really bad ones. I have to re-learn every year but gradually it is sticking.

Once we got home and had dinner I had the sneaking suspicion that there was something I definitely should be doing. How irresponsible was it for me to sit around leafing through pattern books, dreaming about which one should be done when. Then it hit me that I didn't HAVE to do anything that night. No responsibilities. How wonderful!

So I fixed a curtain. I got out my sewing machine and made a reinforcement for the area the dogs keep dislodging when they squeeze thru for a better view of the neighbor kids. Walter helped me install my masterpiece and TADA a working window cover yet again. :) I bought three sewing books just before I found out about this test. So once amazon delivered them I only allowed myself a glancing look before hiding them away to study. Now I get to pull them out in earnest and begin tinkering with my new sewing machine. It is a beauty!

I have other good news too. We're getting a camera! It should come in the mail tomorrow or the next day. Soon my posts won't be quite so bland looking. Won't that be the day? ;)

Falafel Friday!

I remember visiting a friend's house one Friday after school and first encountering Pizza Friday. They had pizza delivered, rented a movie, and the whole family gathered round to hang out in the living room for hours. I thought it was great. Movie and pizza? Every week? Heck yah!

Awhile back I talked to Walter about creating our own incarnation of Pizza Friday. We decided it was a great idea but needed a little tweaking. Out went the pizza (at least for most weeks) and in came the falafels. Home made falafels are great fun but quite a bit of work and even more clean up (it's Walter's job to clean out the fryer). This put a damper on the event... on starting up the event, I should say. We talked about Falafel Fridays off and on but never seemed to implement them. Then came Costco. They have some pre-made falafels that are perty good. They're not homemade good and CERTAINLY not fresh from the streetcorner of Bethlehem good... but good nevertheless. Kinda like having pizza delivered when you could go gourmet. Which, looking back, is kind of the point of pizza fridays: fast and easy food traded for time and fun with family. Plus, both delivered pizza and pre-made falafels are slightly guilty pleasures (tho falafel's not too guilty) so I think we've fit the bill.

Today is Falafel Friday (woohoo!) even tho' it is Saturday (shhh). But we weren't home yesterday and I desperately need the break and we sold our Civic today and it seems like cause enough for celebration. :)

and wait

Was it really March last time I checked this? It's hard to believe it's almost July! We've moved on from Spring Break (in Nashville... storms pummeled the gulf coast and what good is beach if you're stuck inside the motel? the hotel in nashville, for the record, was delightful.) to Summer Vacation where, until last week, we'd settled into a nice quiet rhythm.

I've been getting up early to give the dogs the walks they need, making a good breakfast and then eating it back in bed with Wally. After breakfast we'd go our separate ways: Wally grinding out tree stumps or installing cabinets or welding giant pieces of metal or whatever job came his way that day, and I'd either go to the Haps to help out my mother-in-law with whatever needed to be done there or to the Wilsons to babysit the kids. We'd come home, work out, eat dinner, and hang out for a few hours before bed and doing it all over again. It's been really pleasant.

Then last week I got the news that the Psychology class I'd planned on testing out of... in the fall... had to be tested out of by July 1st (oh my.). So scratch me going anywhere and working with anyone. Now I get up, walk the dogs, eat my breakfast, and study... small break to water the flowers... and I study... small break to turn off the soaker hose and empty the dishwasher... and I study... break for lunch... study... sweep the floor... study... prep supper (yay for crockpots!)... and study... work out with Wally, get really stinky, take a shower... and SUPPER... then study some more before calling it quits. I have one week to learn this entire class. It's just a little crazy. Not too bad really. I look forward to our workout and to dinner.

Walter and I have starting doing P90X. It's an intense 3 month workout program and we've just finished week 3. Woo! I'm not sure I've ever looked fwd to a workout before. Doing this, I have so much more energy and my body just feels better. I'm absolutely loving it. I'm embarassed to admit it but it may be the highlight of my day (oh my), and that's not to say I'm miserable the rest of the day either (tho' I know my description sounded riveting... hehe). It really is very satisfying.

So that's life right now, working outside in the heat (yard work and heavy lifting for both of us), spending some time with family before they move (the Wilsons to Chatanooga soon), studying for nursing tests, working out, reading Desiring God with our community group, and filling up the weekend with cookouts (Friday a goodbye/birthday party for the Wilsons/Chris, Saturday a bbq with church celebrating that we have a building to move into in August) and meeting up with ppl (a "playdate" for Phoebe with a prospective new family on Saturday and catching up with an out of town friend Sunday) between bouts of studying (now this does make me a little nervous).

I wish I had pictures to make this post a little bit more engaging but we're camera-less. It was sent thru the washer in Walt's pants pocket. We hoped it would dry out and revive but alas... It was not to be. I want to show you the tile we've chosen for our kitchen backsplash and the kitchen counters now that they're in place and the new chair for the living room and the craftroom that's soon to be... but they will have to wait... until I find, borrow, or purchase a new camera. Until then you'll just have to be patient... and wait.

today

Done!  Test 3 of 3 is complete and 2 out of 3 went fantastically well (can't complain too hard about that, now can I?).  I walked out of Statistics today feeling so free.  Now I feel like I'm on Spring Break (for those of you who don't know... I had SB from my morning classes two weeks ago, one week of both sets of classes- and all tests- and then this week I have SB from my evening classes).  So next weekend (the tail end of break... only missing one, maybe two, classes) Walt & I are heading off somewhere exotic for vacation.  We're not sure where yet.  Maybe Florida, maybe the Gulf Coast, maybe a cruise to the Bahamas... just depends on the amazingness of the deals and our timely decisions (yeah, we're not so good at that last one.  but we'll get there).  Yay!  Spring Break!!

The weather here has been BEAUTIFUL.  It feels like a warm spring at last (at last... hehe).  After my math test Wednesday, however, I wasn't quite appreciating it.  I'd just bombed it (or,  I think...)  and decided to buy some new jeans before heading home (not really to make myself feel better but really to prevent problems in the near future).  I drove to the mall and talked on the phone in the parking lot for awhile.  Finally , I got out and marched right in to JCPenny.  I was on a mission.  I had a purpose.  This was going to be quick.  I would not spend the majority of my day at the mall.  I paused momentarily to glance at the store map as I entered and then zoomed off.  Not three steps in I heard an abrupt (almost challenging), 'Can I help you?' Still in super efficient mode, I swung back around just as abruptly.  I think it caught her off guard.  'Oh... uh...'  I don't know what else came out of her mouth and  I'm not sure what I was thinking because I turned back around and hurried on my way towards the rest of the mall.  It was very slowly that I actually started to take in my surroundings: It was awfully empty and quiet (no music only a few people in sight).  As I walked down the center of the store I realized that to my right the lights were on but to my left it was still pretty dark.  Uh oh.  I started to realize that JCPenny's hadn't opened yet.  I kept going and kept looking purposeful (no one questions someone with purpose).  That's when I saw it: a glass wall between me and the rest of the mall.  Definitely confirmed.  All doors were closed and locked and suddenly I had to turn around and look purposeful the entire way back out of the store towards the parking lot.  When I got back to my entrance it was slightly harder to be nonchalant.  Apparently I walked in through the only unlocked door on my first try.  Heading out, it took four tries to get it right (much to the confusion of an entering employee).  But I made it out without even a reprimand, walked around the outside to a different entrance and then hung out in the food court with the old people (eating breakfast after their morning walks) and the mall cops gliding past on the segues.  I thought it was pretty amusing. 

Anyway, I found pants.  

It was pretty quick.  And, the majority of my day was not spent at the mall.  All in all, a success.

Now it's spring break (kinda) and it feels good.  My kitchen is half clean (that half is really really nice).  The other half is waiting for a clean dishwasher so that new dishes can be loaded in and it too will be spotless (yay!).  I have ingredients for wonderful salads and scrumptious dinners and an odd desire to knit again (since when has knitting been a spring thing?).

This pin cushion really wet my appetite, I think.

And then I remembered all the cute patterns in the free issue of Interweave Crochet I've yet to try out.  The latter are a little bit too wintery for me right now but that just makes me anxious for the next issue to arrive.  :)  I can't wait.

So today I'm celebrating spring (is today the equinox?), taking a long walk with the dogs, cleaning the kitchen, cooking up a storm, cleaning up again (yay, i have a clean kitchen!), going out to see Slumdog Millionaire, and maybe taking up my knitting or reading a book... because today I'm on vacation. :D

    

A&P

I've been studying Anatomy & Physiology (A&P) and writing up flashcards like mad. (with my final only two weeks away- what else is there to do?) Fairly often I find myself distracted watching myself write or thinking about breathing or any number of mostly unconscious actions my body usually keeps up with. It's while I'm writing about how my brain sends signals to my muscles to contract that I think, 'wow, my brain just did that.' Then I find myself trying to make unconscious actions conscious... and my body gets very confused. Am I thinking 'move!' or am I sending the signal 'move!'? Today I was writing a flashcard about saddle joints and got distracted by my thumb holding the pen. 'Look, a saddle joint... doing it's thing... holding my pen.' (oh my)

Does anyone else get distracted like this? Or am I the only insane one?

This semester I've started a bad habit... caffeine each and every morning. MWF I have to leave my house at 6:30 so it's become kind of a necessity. Today, however, I forgot it. I remembered the entire way in the car. I planned to stop at Starbucks and get a hot Apple Chai Infusion. I decided it didn't matter if I had to be a few minutes late. I was determined. Well, I forgot. Apparently I was too tired to remember to drive one block past my normal turn off and get something to wake myself up. So sad. Class is so much more interesting when I'm awake for it.

There was one moment towards the end that made me chuckle, however. My soft-spoken little Indian professor told us he was "fixing to" get something ready for the test. It was just fun to hear such a southern phrase come out of his mouth. Very cute. :)

The first time I heard fixin' was in Greek class. My professor had just moved from Texas to Ohio and when he told us that _blank_ word meant fixin' (it's horrible but I don't remember anymore) we all just stared at him, faces completely void. It took us a moment to translate "fixin' to" into "going to." This is the same professor who allowed us to write y'all for the second person plural (tho' I'm pretty sure we started that, not him).

Anyway, I should go back to studying... Test tomorrow. Spring break is ALMOST here!