Currently Reading Eldest (Inheritance, Book 2) By Christopher Paolini see related

There is a thunderstorm moving in and I probably shouldn't be on the computer.

We've been busy for the past two weeks fixing up some rental property that we own.  The previous tenants left us high and dry, disappearing without any notice, owing us back rent, and leaving our property in a shambles.  We've had to fix holes in the floor, walls, cabinet doors, and windows, not to mention sooty black stains on the ceilings, walls and carpet.  It's been a blast cleaning it up.  (That is some serious sarcasm if you can't tell.)  But now it is just about done and set to receive new occupants on Wednesday.  I'm feeling pretty good about getting rent on time with this one.  **fingers crossed**

We've had some major ghosty activity in the house in recent weeks as well.  Daniel saw it standing next to our bed when he came in for comfort after a nightmare.  The poor child was totally freaked and literally tried to climb onto my head.  The several days later, I saw in the bathroom mirror as it passed behind me.  Totally weird.  I'd say it is a child around 10ish with dark hair.  Today after arriving home from working on the rental, we heard it call "Mommy" from upstairs.  Myself, my husband, and Daniel were standing at the foot of the stairs and we all heard it very clearly.  I even answered, thinking it was Hannah who had entered the house before us.  But a minute later she came out of the downstairs bathroom, saying she hadn't called for me, and Silas was on the back porch.  It's never too spooky, except to Daniel who is totally weirded out by it's presence.  I'd actually like to find out who it is, but can't seem to persuade Keith to search through the town death records for me.  I might just have to hit the library myself and sort through old newspapers or something.  I want to know the child's name.

Lots and lots of rain today as Alberto moved through.  The wind actually blew a very large, yet very hollow, oak tree over across the street.  It doesn't look like too much damage was done, but that is one humongous tree!

I have an unschooling success story.  Daniel (10) has decided to make a "movie" about World War II.  This has led to two trips to the library for research, causing him to actually READ!  As well as a trip to the local veterans museum and watching the old movie A Bridge Too Far.  Now he's written a story.  Yes, actually WRITTEN a story which he is now typing on the computer.  That means we've had spelling lessons, as well as lessons on the ins and outs of punctuation and capitalization and a beginner course on word processing.  Next he's planning to work on a story board.  All of this was his own inspiration and he is totally excited about it.  We've covered history, reading, spelling, writting, art, and who knows what else in this endeavor.  It's so exciting to see my son, who is generally uninspired by anything blatantly learning related preoccupied with something so productive.  I think I am as excited as he is!  Yay! 

I spent the better part of this morning trying to sleep off a nasty stomach virus that my 2 year-old so generously shared with me.  Fun.  There was no actual vomiting involved, but no less than a dozen trips to the toilet.  It was a great cap to a wonderful couple of days.

My husband had a leadership retreat at the beach for 3 days, a sort of working vacation, meaning he got to work and the children and I got to vacation.  We were housed in a gorgeous ocean front suite with plenty of room.  The best part....two televisions.  We actually got to watch stimulating television like the History Channel while the children got to vegg out on mind-numbing kids programming in another room.  It was great!

So Sunday night after shuffling the children off to sleep in the bedroom, hubby and I sipped some wine and had a much needed romatic encounter in the sitting room.  Unfortuantely, we were distubed by a crying toddler who had vomited all over herself and the bed she was sharing with her sister.  I spent the rest of the night hanging her puking head over the side of the bed so as not to be vomit-splattered myself.  This went on and off for the entire next two days.  By the time our stay was over, she was feeling pretty much fine.  The little booger head.

On the way home, my dear husband was adding up our expenses and the reimbursements he was going to get from a very generous government grant which funded the trip, and commenting on how we were going to actually come out of this trip ahead.  Ahhhhhh.  Never tempt the fates.  More than two hours from home, in the middle of nowhere in torrential rain, the temperature on our van redlines.  A few minutes later we are stalled on the side of the highway in a thick cloud of steam. 

To make a long story somewhat shorter, the highway patrol was called to assist us and a wrecker was summoned.  However, the wrecking service was not expecting a family of 6 and transportation presented a bit of a problem.  We ended up in a dump of a motel in B.F.E., NC that totally overcharged us because, hey, we had no choice but to stay there overnight.  Our van was finally fixed the following day but to the tune of $119.  So much for coming out in the black.

And the whipped cream on top of this sundae is that today, hubby goes to fetch the rent check from our tenants only to find the trailer abandoned.  And the owed us back rent!  Now we have to somehow figure out how to pull that mortgage payment out of rear ends!

Sigh.

Currently Listening Fly By Dixie Chicks see related

Anyone who knows me well can tell you I am a non-conformist (must be my Aquarius moon).  I tend to hang out on the fringe when it comes to most things, especially religion, child-rearing, and politics.  But the truth is that most of my friends tend to dwell in the fringe, too.  Does this mean I'm not really an individual?  If we hang out with others of like mind, does that somehow make us less unique?  Are we really just trying to fit in with the crowd?  Are we all that hungry for acceptance?

I don't think so.  I think it's just that we can't and don't live in little bubbles floating around in space and never touching each other.  If you are not influenced by other people, then you aren't growing, you aren't keeping an open mind.  While my friends may all seem fringy, we've all been influenced by one another.  We weren't the same when we met, but they have some really great ideas and I've been influenced.  But not because I'm trying to fit into the crowd, just because it makes sense.  I think I've done the same.  Over time we've become incredibly similar in a lot of areas of thinking.

Just because someone hangs out with people who might seem the same doesn't mean they are compromising to fit in with the crowd.  It just means that we are sharing thoughts and ideas and touching each other's lives.  And it doesn't mean we will always agree just to fit in with those with  whom we aquaint.  Afterall, I'm still not a vegetarian in spite of my many vegetarian friends.

Keith and I had had a "date night" last Friday.  We ate Chinese and went to see The DaVinci Code.  It was a much-needed break from the children who spent some time with their neighbor friends.  The movie was OK.  I think it was a pretty good rendition of the book, but NOT a spectacular movie, by any means.  Some parts were incredibly cheesy, but so were some parts of the book.  Still, it will be a blockbuster because of all of the controversy surrounding it.  At least I can say I've seen it for myself rather than making a judgement based on what someone else tells me about the movie.

I read in an article that 1 in 5 adults have read the book.  That is an incredible number.  This book will have long-reaching effects on popular thought.  Anything that makes a person stop and think that what they have taken for fact for so long may not be true, that makes a person think and examine what they believe spiritually is a good thing.  So often we allow ourselves to programmed like little robots, told what to think and how to act.  Anything that disrupts the status quo is great in my book.