Day 18: Something new

I have become a coffee drinker. Not plain coffee, that's still awful. I need some chocolate or caramel or something to make it delicious. But, I've been drinking quite a bit of it recently!

This is my new cup. It's ceramic, with a black and white pattern and white silicon lid & holder. I found it at Old Navy, a store I rarely visit, for half what I've seen it elsewhere! It's pretty, too. I take it to work with me and refill it during the day.



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Day 17: Memories

Today's prompt is memories. I have so many great memories, but not photographs. I remember all the trips in my childhood, traveling all over the country, seeing all kinds of things. We would stop at "places of interest" and experienced so many things! I remember our wedding - most of it. It was a bit of a blur. I remember my high school prom - I loved my dress. I remember when Emma was born. She seemed so tiny! She was the first newborn I ever held. I remember my first date, and my first heartbreak. I remember the first time I saw my husband.

In college

Emma's first day of school

Emma and her Papa flying a kite in North Dakota

What could he do?

I wasn't going to write anything about the Penn State/Joe Paterno scandal. Really, what else is there to add? But someone asked me a question last week - what did the coach do that was so wrong? This person said that the coach couldn't contact the police, since it was not witnessed by him and therefore hearsay. Also, he reported it to someone higher up at the school.

After looking more into the details (because honestly, at the time of the discussion I didn't have a clue what was going on), here is my answer. It was not up to him to determine if the police could take his word or not. He had a responsibility and an obligation as both a representative of the univerity and as a human to try anyway, and let the police decide what to do. If not making the call himself, he should have encouraged the person who witnessed an incident to call the police, or went to the station with him as support. If this Sandusky guy was as important at the school as it seems, I'm sure the one who witnessed was terrified he'd lose his job if he said anything. It took courage to come forward at all, and to basically be brushed off by someone doing the bare minimum to cover his own backside was just wrong. Even with what he did do with the information - passing along to university officials - he should have followed up with them when nothing came of it. He should have been in their faces, questioning why they didn't report to the proper authorities, why Mr Sandusky still had a job. He should have taken a moment and thought about the victims (even "alleged" victims, if that makes you feel better) and thought to himself "What if this was my child? What would I want done about this?" and gone out of his way to make something happen.

Instead, he let it slide. He did just enough to take the heat off himself (or so he thought) and continued on as usual. Instead, Sandusky was allowed to interact with the children for eight years after his abuse of them was reported to Paterno (see a timeline of events here). Clearly, the beloved coach cared more about the game than the lives of the molested children.

So what did Joe Paterno do? He did nothing. And that is the problem.

Day 16: Animals

An easy one! Here are our animals - our three pets. We have Daisy, our old girl. She is 13 now, and getting hard of hearing. Tucker is 4  now, and still all legs. Charla is our surviving cat. We lost her twin sister last summer. Charla will be 15 in April, and is really showing her age lately. I fear we don't have much longer with her, either. All are loved, though, and all are loving animals.

Tucker

Daisy

Charla

Day 15: Technology

What an open topic! Technology is all around us in some ways. The fact that I am using the Internet, writing and posting photos from my phone is amazing in itself!

We use technology to do our jobs



To entertain us



And to connect with each other.



My job is in healthcare, and technology is used constantly to save lives and heal people.

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Day 14: Movement

This is a photo from my oldest daughter's week at summer camp. She had a great time, but came home exhausted. I can see why!

Day 13: Written words

Aren't words great? Reading, writing, all possible with words. And just the right words can convey feeling, emotion, vision, smells, & sounds.




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Fun with Pinterest

I freely admit I'm a Pinterest addict. I know I'm in good company, though. I'm finding lots of great ideas, there, though!

This was breakfast this morning:

Waffled cinnamon rolls

The recipe is here. It is very simple - put canned cinnamon rolls 4 at a time into a Belgian waffle maker, let cook for 3 minutes,and take out. I used the Grands cinnamon rolls, and it took just a little longer to cook. Less than 5 minutes, though. I warmed a pizza stone in the oven (kept it on 200) and put each batch in the oven to keep warm. I warmed the icing packs in hot water while the waffles cooked, also. When all were done, I brought them out of the oven and drizzled the icing on top. It was a big hit with the family.

Friday night, I stopped at a craft store to pick up one item, and came out with the materials to make a yarn wreath. To be honest, I didn't even read the directions until just now. It was that easy! I did use a straw wreath left in its plastic wrap because it was less than $4, as opposed to $8 for a styrofoam wreath form. I picked out an inexpensive yarn in a nice neutral color, and a sheer green ribbon. I already have the fabrics to make yoyos, and I added a wooden "c" painted with acrylic craft paint. I actually made the wreath very similar to the directions, except I tied my hanging loop before wrapping the wreath. I used straight pins to secure the ribbon around the wreath, and to hold on the yoyos. I made the bow, and pinned it on. The C was glued on.

The finished product!

Also this week, I made this pork chop recipe.

Double crunch honey garlic pork chops (not my photo)

I used thick cut pork chops, since that is what I had in the freezer. They didn't quite get cooked all the way through, so I'd recommend after frying and before dipping to put them in the oven for 15-20 minutes to cook all the way through (tip courtesy my mother, who is an amazing cook) if you use thicker cuts also. Thinner (mine were 1 inch thick) ones should be fine without that extra step. It was all pretty easy to make. The honey-garlic sauce was AMAZING. I could have eaten that all by itself. I made mashed potatoes and carrots with the meat, and the sauce was good on both of those, also.

Day 12: Hands

Today's prompt is simply "hands."



I love Sophie's tiny little hands.

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Day 11: Something old

I wasn't sure at first what to use here. I have lots of old things, both family belongings passed down, and things from my childhood or my husband's childhood. I decided to use something old that has even more meaning, and that will endure.




See the small, plain band under my wedding set? That was my grandmother's wedding ring. I never saw her without it, even though my grandfather died when I was seven. I wear it now, and some day (many many years from now...) I hope Emma will wear it.


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Day 10: Nature

These are from the area where I grew up. Beautiful, isn't it?

 And these two are where we now live.

Day 9: Inspiring people

My grandmother

My parents

Audrey Hepburn

The Doctor

Temperence Brennan

Preparations

I've been trying to come up with entertainment for the girls for an upcoming road trip. Most travel games/ideas are for kids close in age, and in the "kid" range of maybe 4 to ten or so, not "teenager" and "not quite 2" range. Our portable DVD player no longer works, and my phone only has so much battery life. I did get this tray for Sophie's car seat, and plan on packing some of her travel-friendly toys, along with a couple must-haves (like Bunny). For Emma, though, it's a little bit trickier.

I turned to my friend Bing yesterday. Also Pinterest. Then, I put my printer to work. I printed off several pages of games, word searches, travel bingo, and even something related to the city we're visiting. Then I put them all in page protectors, and into a three-ring binder. I also picked up a simple pencil pouch to go in binders to keep her pens, marker, colored pencils, or whatever handy. Since the activites are in page protetors, she can use a dry-erase marker for them and reuse her favorites. We also put plain notebook paper in the binder.

Another activity I found was decorating a mint tin and using it for a magnetic poetry set. I have a set already, but no tin to keep it in. I had been trying to find a magnetic surface for it, but other than a plain magnetic dry-erase board, I've been drawing a blank. Today, I found an empty rectangular cookie tin at a local store in the holiday section. It is the perfect size, the lid can be used as a tray for words or whatever, and it will hold other items also. Perfect! I had ordered a set of Crayola dry erase crayons for both girls to use on the trip (no caps! no fumes! no mess!), so I also picked up a small dry-erase board (with rhinestones!) to go inside her tin. I also ordered a book of Star Wars mad libs for her to do with her father. Shh, don't tell :)

Along with the episodes of Sesame Street I've downloaded to my phone, and the game apps, and of course the internet access my phone gives, hopefully both girls will be entertained on our trip.

I found activities here:
FamilyEducation.com (will have to enter an email address but free)
HomespunThreads.com
Yellow Pear Blog

Birth control and 20 babies

A friend shared this article on Facebook today. A law that will be decided today in Mississippi, designed to overturn Roe v Wade for that state, is also worded in a way that will outlaw all hormonal birth control. The pill, shots, both hormonal and non-hormonal IUDs, and any other form of birth control that prevents the fertilized egg from implanting. Do I really have to explain how backwards and just plain WRONG this is? For one thing, it makes me very glad to not live in Mississippi. Second, the wording legally defines "personhood" as the instance the sperm and egg combine, which isn't even medically detectable until after implantation, about a week later. I worry this will go in this direction eventually. It's not such a stretch, really. But even if that step is never made, can you imagine a world without access to birth control? Yes, there are condoms. But what about those with latex allergies? What about women who need hormonal birth control to regulate thier periods? Should they suffer needlessly to ease the minds of some ultra-conservatives? "Yes, you might be bleeding heavily or suffer from PMDD, but hey, at least you're not having abortions..." Idiots.

And then there was the Duggar "news." I just don't get the appeal of this family, for one thing. Also, enough is enough. Yes, they are financially stable and aren't living off the government, or any other arguement I've heard in their defense. Yes, they practice Quiverfull or whatever they call it. I think it's just getting a little ridiculous now, though. While I'm sure they started out basing their family solely on religion, I think the lure of fame and money has influenced their current family size. If they were only concerned with fulfilling whatever religious obligation they feel, the family wouldn't go on the Today show to announce the latest pregnancy. "Oh, things are getting tight with 19's medical bills. Let's have another one so we can have a new TV special and make more money." Because after the first dozen, what's another?

Maybe the Duggar family is what's inspiring the Mississippi law...

Day 8: Favorite color

Any questions?
(BTW all pictures courtese Bing image search. Unfortunately. Will accept donations of the coat, bag, and/or shoes though.)