Done With Grading

Well, I'm done with grading for this semester. It actually went really well--I had them turn in their final papers a week earlier than usual, so I had time to grade them and hand them back. There are a lot of changes I want to make to the syllabus for next semester, but for now--time to relax (clean the house, get Christmas presents ready, help the kids with school Christmas stuff, go to a birthday party (mila), plan a birthday party (Tallis), attend a CPR workshop, visit teach, do all the Christmas cards, sigh sigh).

Stay Out of the Doghouse

A timely reminder to all of us at this holiday season. (If this link doesn't work, copy and paste it into your browser. You'll be glad you did.)

http://bewareofthedoghouse.com/video.aspx

Family Culture

Kevin Galbraith gave a talk about strengthening the family in Sacrament Meeting on Sunday, and he quoted a talk that was given in general conference a while ago. I will try to find the particulars of the talk (so I can verify this properly) but I wanted to ask your opinions on one of the comments he made. He said that research had indicated that one of the most important things that parents could do for their children, in order to raise their children to be faithful Latter-day Saints (in addition to prayer and scripture study) is to develop a "Family Culture" that is strong enough that it provides stability even in the turbulent teenage years. Specifically, the more people involved (cousins, grandparents, etc) the better. My question is this: In addition to what we are already doing, what more can we do to encourage participation in a family culture? Should we be doing more as a "Brown" family to facilitate cousins getting together or interacting? I think Cousins' Chronicles is excellent, but perhaps we could expand somehow on it. Maybe some of you have ideas that your in-law families do, or perhaps ideas that we could implement in our own homes. But I am concerned enough by the horrible state of the world that I would welcome any ideas or suggestions you have.

Working Out is working out (at least for now).

Well, I have started going back to the gym. I have felt better physically than any time since my stroke, and I really miss the energy and workout "high" I get when I regularly exercise. I am just taking it slowly on the elliptical--I have to be careful or my heart rate just shoots up. I'm not sure why. But so far (after two days, anyway) I am feeling pretty good. Sisters, what do you do to work out?

Spud Harvest is Upon Us

At least it is halfway over, though. And it's not that I dislike Spud Harvest, it is just that the college doesn't conveniently also take a break. So I'm still dashing off to teach MWF while the kids are left to their own nefarious devices. Just kidding. Usually Omi requires their help with something . . . or I get a babysitter. And it has been fun to do some harvesting of our own. Omi and I have made quarts and quarts of applesauce and tomato sacue; the kids have sliced cucumbers for pickles; the onions have all been pulled up and nylonified; and just today Omi made lots and lots of pumpin for pies. Delicious!

Devan has been outside all day today working on the fence. It looks great, and it will be so nice to have an enclosed place for kids and dog to play. Opa has been diligently working on the goat building. Next spring the men will pull up the patio, which will then be embiggened and relaid; the shop will be planned and built; and the greenhouse will be fully operational. We expect many great things, don't we. But bit by bit some things are coming together.

Back to Work

Well, I'm back at work teaching 2 new classes at BYU-I for the fall semester. There is no more "English 111," in all of its former glory and splendor . . . all 1st year students now take FDENG 101, or Foundations of English. We are all using the same texts, too, which caused some consternation among some of the long-time teachers; I don't really care about the change (from a syllabus point ot view), and I do think it is a good idea that we're able to provide approximately the same things for a class that every single student has to take. It is challenging trying to get used to one of the tyextbooks, which is online.

In other news, Mila and Tal are enjoying school . . . we have been adopted by a stray dog . . . Comely is preggers with twins . . . Rupert has returned to his home in Shelley (in proud consciousness of duty done) . . . and Omi and I bottled a million quarts of applesauce the other day.

My Babes go Back to School

Well, today was the first day of school for my little babes. Mila started 4th grade at Kershaw Intermediate and Tallis is in Miss Joy's 1st grade class. (Maybe it's Miss Jill? I can never keep them straight.) I rode my bike over with Tal to introduce him and get him settled . . . Devan took Mila and then met me at Central. Moms and kids were everywhere. I love the first day of school.

I remember the first day of second grade right after we moved to Idaho. I wore blue and white polkadot polyester pants--bellbottoms, of course--and a Hollie Hobbie shirt. I dropped my schoolbox, which was dark blue with a space scene on it, and marbles and erasers went everywhere. Mrs. Bills was my teacher. I was late, and they had to move a new desk in for me. I was very solemn.

What are your memories of starting school?

A Fun Day With Tallis

Yesterday was a great day with my good boy. First he crawled into my bed and snuggled up. Even though he really needed a bath, I loved to squeeze him and see all of the grime on his fingers and toes. Then he read a story about shadows to me from an old school reading textbook. There were a few projects listed, like learning about the role of the sun and clouds (we used a flashlight and a small stuffed Snuffalupagus to demonstrate), making shadow figures, and setting up an object outside to use as a "shadow clock."

Later in the morning he did his piano practice. He is thrilled to have learned "Peter Peter" on the black keys. He will play it for anyone. He plays it non-stop.

In the afternoon he came into my room from playing. I asked him if he would "gopher" for me. He said, "Yes, Mom!" and spent about a half-an-hour running little errands for me. When he was not busy he played quietly with a spatial reasoning block set Devan had found for him at D.I. I tried the block set . . . I couldn't do it. Tallis loves it and has figured out many of the cards. He is amazing.

I love my boy. He is cute and grimy and loud and joyful.

Yummy Recipe (I'm guessing)

I just saw a recipe for this, and although I don't have any watermelon right now, I thought it sounded great.

Watermelon Mint Ice Cubes

1 1/2 cups watermelon, seeded and diced
1/2 c. water
1 TBSP honey
1 TBSP fresh lemon juice
1 TBSP sugar
24 small mint leaves

1. Combine watermelon, water, honey, lemon juice, and sugar in a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Place mint leaves in ice cube trays (though in the picture I saw in the magazine, the mint was chopped up) . Pour watermelon mixture into trays. Freeze.

Use these ice cubes with lemonade, sprite, or whatever. I wonder if this would also taste good with lemon thyme or something like that; perhaps you could make something similar with raspberries or another kind of soft fruit or melon.

Fun Vacation!

Hi, everyone! It is so nice to be home again. We had a wonderful time on our vacation. Here at home we got everything ready to go, then picked up Ruth (Devan's mom) and two of Devan's sister, Janae's, girls, Jeanette and Kim. (Whew! That was a lot of commas!) Our flight was in the afternoon to San Diego, but the plane was totally overbooked, so we traded our seats for $400 vouchers ($400 each! $2,800 total!) and went to Lagoon instead. We also got meal vouchers and went to a really nice restaurant. When the second flight left at 6 that evening, we got our seats and arrived in S.D. at about 9, then got our van and found the resort. We also got a GPS system, and though there were some rough moments with it, I LOVED IT. Of course, there is no need for a GPS in Idaho, but it was a life saver in California.

The resort we stayed in was really pretty nice. It was one of those schemes where you have to listen to a spiel and they want you to buy "time" in their resorts. It sounded like fun, but really isn't our thing. Also when it became clear that we weren't interested, the guy who was trying to sell to us became rude and obnoxious. So I was really unimpressed.

Anyway, we spent the first day enjoying the water. The kids went swimming at the resort that morning, and then we took off for Sea World. We saw killer whales, dolphins, and sea lion shows, and there were tons of aquariums and exhibits we enjoyed. Everyone went on a great water ride (except me) and ate junk food. Beanie and Tallis both bought whale tail necklaces.

The next day we went to the San Diego Zoo. It is huge! we really only made a dent in it. The neatest part to me were the aviaries, which were on a "nature" path that wound round and round in trees and up the side of a hill. It was also very educational--we learned a lot about conservationism and what the zoo does as far as research and rehabilitation goes. That afternoon we went to the science museum and watched a 3-D dome movie about prehistoric monsters. The kids played with the interactive exhibits for a couple of hours, and then we headed back to the beach until it was dark--it was so fun to see the kids enjoying the waves and digging in the sand.

The next day was Sunday, and so we went back to the beach really early to get sandy again, and then we went to sacrament meeting in a singles ward near our hotel. Afterwards we went to the Mormon Battalion Memorial, which was closed, unfortunately, so we spent a few hours wandering old town San Diego and eating fudge. The kids each bought a t-shirt to remember the trip by, and then we made it back to the airport and caught our flight. All in all, a very fun and successful trip! I'll try to figure out how to post pictures soon, so you can all see some of our memories. Before we left I bought Tallis a little "bean" camera that hooks to backpacks, beltloops, etc. He had a fun time taking lots of really nice pix!

Tons of Work

Well, the semester is over and I'm left with a huge stack of papers for grading . . . by Wednesday at noon. (Actually I have to be done long before that, because we leave on vacation Wednesday morning . . . ) I also feel the need to clean the house. So wish me luck!

Tallis and Milena are wonderful . . . so is Emerson.

Well, I love my babes. Today I was kidding around with Tallis and asked him what on earth his bellybutton was. He answered, "Aw mom, you know that's where my extension cord was!"

My sweet Mila just rescued a baby bird from the cat. She has the tenderest heart . . . I wish I could assure her that the bird--which we left under a bush, after removing the cat and dog--would survive.

At work today I spoke with my boss, who is the adjunct adviser. I wanted to discuss with him some ideas I had for the adjuncts this next semester. (I am the adjunct representative to the English council, a post which covers me with gloire enorme and not much else. I hope I spelled that right.) Anyway, it seems that all my ideas are unlikely to be accepted by those who like the status quo--the downtrodden adjuncts should remain so. Jack's final words were, "It's always been done that way." I replied, "Foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds!" and swept out of the office. I wonder if he's seen "What's Up, Doc."

So I'm not very good at this . . .

Well, I began this blog with the best intentions. But then life got in the way. (Also, I forgot my password.) We had a fun 4h of July break. First, Beebs and her fam came by, and we did lots of great stuff. Her boys are so cute and funny! We all watched "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything," went to the 4th of July parade, had a picnic in the park, rode on the carousel (I still have a punch card from 1986 for free rides), went canoing with Beebs' friend Cal, jumped on the trampoline, and played "Apples to Apples." Yippee!

We had barely gotten the bedding washed when Mike and Michele (Barker) called and wondered if they (and their five boys) could come for a few days. Of course! We had a nice visit, and then M&M took the 4 oldest boys and Mila and Tal rafting (exactly where we'd been canoing) while I stayed home with their youngest, Kaden. We had fun. Grandma and Grandpa Barker came up and we had a picnic and then the boys (and Unky Mike) slept out on the trampoline.

Well, I only have 10 days left in the semester! I am really looking forward to this break.

Welcome!

Welcome to blogodarnost! I've been so impressed with my sisters' blogs that I thought I'd start one of my own. Of course, I love the "blog" pun, too.

Milena is having a wonderful time visiting her Chicago cousins. I get word today that on her way through Utah with Unky Scott she'll get to stay with Tia Beebs! How much fun can a 9-year-old stand?

Although I miss Milena, I've been having a lot of fun with Tallis these past few days--he has needed some one-on-one mommy time, and I've needed Tallis time! We have an appointment on Thursday to get his cast checked at the orthopedic doctor's. He is completely recovered, but needs to wear the cast for two months. So he's back to his usual active self, but now with a heavy blunt instrument permanently attached to his body. Fair warning!