It's been awhile

Wow, February was my last post. Sigh! There have quite a few things to blog about and I blog in my head but having the time to put the thoughts here seems to escape me.

I haven't tried any new recipes lately but I have read a number of books. When I look at the book list on this blog I have been through several more piles of books since.

Things are getting ready to be more hectic as we ramp up for school. I have just gone to one homeschool conference and my sil is going to one next weekend. I had hoped to go with her but things didn't work out on my end so I am sending her with my last list of needs. Then it is getting busy with laying out the work and cleaning up from last year. A very daunting task to say the least.

I am off to St Louis, MO next Sunday for several days on a work-related trip. I hope it is a good trip and conference.

I have some posts in mind coming up so stay tuned...

We are the Wilderness Family!

Skunks! We can add skunks to our list of critters and bugs we have encountered living here. Tuesday morning I woke to the smell of pole cat. I figured there was some ruckus outside between a cat and a skunk and skunk won.

When I came downstairs my husband had been up early watching the Australian Open and told me about our new friend. He could hear something whining or crying under floor under the washer and dryer in the utility room. He could also hear it in the family room which is beside the family room. Then it stunk to high heaven! After awhile he saw the skunk meandering around the back patio and then lumbered up the back yard. The house smelled most of the day but it dissipated and we thought it was a fluke event.

Sunday morning about 1:30am, I heard something in the wall between the utility room and family room. It sounded like something walking up the one side of the wall, turning around and walking back. Now there is a little trap door between the family room and the utility room. This door allows you to get to the plumbing behind the utility room. I was terrified this critter was going to greet me in the family room and it smelled worse this morning than on Tuesday. I thought I was going to be sick. I scrambled around shut everything down and skittered upstairs to bed. I shut the door tight to the family room just in case my worst fears of a visitor in the family room appeared, it would go no further. It is almost 24 hours and the house still has that lovely pole cat smell!

We think that the skunk and whoever else got into the crawl space under our house. So tomorrow a pest control guy is coming to set traps outside the crawl space and see what they catch. I hope I didn't smell at church and I won't smell tomorrow at work!

Night Beauty

I stepped outside to take some recycling to the recycling bin and what a gorgeous night! It is one of those nights where it is crisp and quite cool. The extra clear sky where the almost full moon illuminates the sky like the brightest street light. Stars stand out against the darkness like twinkling diamonds. I look up and behold this beauty through the stark barren trees of winter that add to the scape. It is a night where you could sit and stare, be mesmerized and lose yourself the world that surrounds you.

The most profound wonder of this is even with the best camera, you can't capture the beauty. Our eyes are the one of God's miracles that the most high-tech and elaborate piece of equipment still cannot match. What we perceive with our eyes captures the realness of God's creation better than any photo or computer-generated image.

Happy New Year

2008 ended on a good note and I am hopeful 2009 will be better. The last news at work on 12/31/2008 was a plane ticket, hotel reservation and conference pass to the biggest yearly event in my profession. It was very uncertain if my admin and I would make it to the conference this year because of severe cut-backs and extremely tight budgets. However, our IT Director really felt it was a necessity for us to be there and I really appreciate that. So I am eagerly planning the sessions I will attend and what kinds of things I can load up on to better myself and keep myself valuable and employed.

2008 was better than 2007 although it really started out rough for me. About two-thirds or half way through the year things started improving. I can finally say I am getting back to the old happy me. There is still a long way to go and heal but every day is better. Although many around me are seeing bleak, uncertain and depressing times, I am seeing bright, certain and encouraging times. The last 3 or 4 years have been excruciatingly painful for me and things are looking up now - so you see where I am opposite of most around me?

I hope your 2009 is better than ever! :-)

Back in the blog again...

Here we are back on blog - as a fellow blogger says, "I'm always blogging in my head even if it isn't on my blog." I always have great things to say but by the time I have time to get it here, I forgot. Shoot!

Well, I have a list now and I have been busy! :-)

Gettin' Ready for School

This weekend was Sales Tax Holiday in our state. Although we homeschool and don't need all of the supplies and things the other school kids need, I thought I would take advantage of the savings. Maybe I should have reconsidered because it was an absolute madhouse in the stores! Gee whiz, you would have thought it was the day after Thanksgiving shopping!

I waited until late this evening to get the few school supplies I needed figuring things might have died down....nope! The school supply aisles were jam-packed with moms and kids. Yesterday I ventured into the malls and other stores to find a few clothing items the kids needed. Whew! Children's Place is a tight store with no one and no strollers in there...but claustrophobic with all the people and strollers. Boy, I was glad I left the boys and stroller at home!

And is it me or can you only find dress pants and dress shoes for boys at Christmas and Easter?! I have been convinced over the last 5+ years shopping for boys that they get the shaft sometimes for clothing. You have 10 racks of girls clothes to their measly little one or two racks. It is terribly frustrating. I know boys aren't as into clothing but a little selection and size variation would be nice.

Well, I think I am done shopping for now...and I am wondering where the weekend went.

Few months since blogging

I haven't blogged for awhile because of getting snowed under at work. Then I got spooked when I popped up in Google from my professional blog. I value my privacy and my family's privacy immensely. So when I popped up in a Lotus site blogging, I back-burnered my blogging for a little bit to reconsider.

I've reconsidered and decided I have too much to say or share with not too many people to share with locally. So I must rely on my past acquaintances and new online acquaintances to flourish. I've connected with so many folks via Facebook that I must blog on....At least blogging can be a little more private than Facebook.

Keeping in Touch

It is interesting to me when one person you know notices you out in the Internet social abyss it lights a ring of sparks.

Out of curiosity a while back I signed up for Facebook and I only hooked up with two people. In the last week I've been noticed by five or more other friends and acquaintances. Then I write a couple of blogs. Send a number of emails. Upload images, upload videos, etc. All I have to do is join MySpace...don't know about that one yet. Then no telling how many friends I would hook up with if I filled out all of the information they want.

So much for privacy! I want to stay in touch with family, friends and acquaintances but usually have to sacrifice much of my privacy to accomplish that. So where is the happy medium of staying in touch but protecting oneself and their family from those you don't want prying into your world?

Happy Birthday, AC!

Tomorrow is the big #2 birthday for our little AC! He is definitely not a baby anymore. Sniff! Sniff! He's the last one in diapers - YEAH! He is such a happy boy absolutely full of energy and life. However, he is showing his upcoming age. He gets upset, frustrated or cries for unknown reasons and has fits at the drop of a hat. I know he is frustrated because he tries to communicate and then just gets mad. So between difficulty in communicating and understanding all of his little emotions the 2's are definitely settling in. ARGH! But despite all that he is still the most joyful happy little guy...he loves to horse around, giggle, wrestle, and play and usually always with a big grin on his face and twinkle in his eye. What is interesting is he was the most unhappy grumpy baby when he was born. He was such a difficult baby virtually impossible to keep happy. Then we visited a Cranio-Sacral Therapist a couple of times and he was a new child. Thank goodness!

Anyway, Happy Birthday! Mommy loves you so much!

Splitting Off

I am splitting off another blog from this one. I am splitting off my professional blog elsewhere. I want to blog about stuff professionally but also personally. My professional interests I don't want to get mixed in and overlooked by my peers. I also don't want friends and family to yawn over my blog because of wading through Lotus Notes and programming. If you are interested in Lotus Notes and programming - then go here: domnotesgu.blogspot.com and also www.planetlotus.org

Super Bowl musings

First let me say that I am not a sports buff or even much of a fan. The extent of my sports watching is being in the same room with ESPN Sportscenter. The only parts I really get into are the personal pieces with family and backgrounds of the players. Then I connect to a team regardless of stats. Let's face it, I am all about emotion and picking who has the nicer outfit.

So, I was really pulling for the NY Giants and Eli Manning. (Although I liked the Pats outfits better. ) Last year I was cheering for his big brother Peyton of the Indy Colts. There just such nice, clean cut guys, you just can't help but cheer for them. Then there was all the bad press surrounding the Pats. Although it would have been nice to see them go undefeated to the end. Since I am not totally football-savvy but not a football dunce either, I was into the last couple of minutes like all the other fans. Eli and his team made a several nice moves that saved the Giants and broke the Pats. Way to go!

As for the musicians this year:

• It was great and touching to see Jordin Sparks singing the National Anthem...hometown with dad's team. She did a nice job! Nice set of pipes!
• Then a nice not-so-showy half-time show with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. I recognized the tunes and it was easy to watch. But the whole time he is singing with his band, I am thinking, this guy or anyone on the stage with them isn't much younger than my dad and look at these young people going crazy rockin' with him?
  

Finally after the National Anthem, were those Luke AFB F-16's? Sigh. Gee, I wish I knew an F-16 pilot!

Welcome to Lady Sterling's House!

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Here you will get a little of everything...funny kids stories, a recipe, a book review, CD or music review, movie review, the day to day drama at Lady Sterling's, and other musings. I will try and keep it updated as things go by fast at Lady Sterling's House.

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