Isn't that how Ian sometimes refers to his & Margery's home on air? I think that they must live someplace in my house everytime I hear him say it. We are so cluttered, cramped and messy here that everytime a room becomes cleared out (for a project, a party here, whatever) you would think that we added on a new addition or bought a new apartment due to the way my 3 littles gravitate towards it. They will run in circles in the "large" room, now void of video game paraphernalia, dishes, books, papers and socks.
We (I use the term loosely considering how much help I've been!) are at the tail end of putting a floor into the family room & hallway in the lower level. Very cool, slippery, and there is absolutely NOTHING in the room right now.
SO, all of the furniture cushions have taken over the living room floor upstairs (you seriously can't walk in it) along with piles of all the books that had been fitting into the 2 large bookshelves from downstairs. They think it's the greatest fortroom EVAH!
Right now, the three of them are playing an elaborate game they just made up with lego cars that they built, a rubber ball (I think) and their stocking feet on the new, almost completely installed wood floor. The rules sound similar to hockey and I keep hearing the youngest say, "OK, game over!" when he gets ahead in scoring.
They will be very sad tomorrow when their dad finishes putting the floor tomorrow and we bring the furniture back in!
Just catching up after being out of commission for a few days (YUK) and ran across the blogs about the Pope coming to town (so to speak). Very interesting. I was raised in a STRONG Polish Catholic family, so when Pope John Paul II was cannonized (is that the correct phrase?), it was a BIG DEAL. I mean, here is the leader of the Catholic church and he's this guy that grew up in a town in Poland and lived there through WWII, just like a lot of my relatives! Cool.
Popemobile was brought in when somebody tried to assasinate Pope John Paul II, from what I recall. So, even though to many people this is just a man that is wrongly worshipped as a God by some, his position is so powerful that it can drive men to try to kill him - as they would a political figure.
I guess the question of understanding the Pope, for me personally, parallels Martin Luther and the Lutheran church. Since marrying my Lutheran raised husband, we have both sampled from different Christian faiths to try and find something that matches us, our family and our beliefs. While checking out different Lutheran churches, I found myself alone with the kids listening to an entire sermon worth of Martin Luther. Now, being raised Catholic, my first ignorant thought was "Why are they talking about Martin Luther King JR?! All I see is white folk here!" OH, then it hit me. I am sitting in church listening them talk about some MAN! Not God. Not Jesus. OK, I realize his importance to the Lutheran church (hence the name), but that is not what I would choose to ponder, discuss and worship on for my Sunday in church.
So, maybe I just don't understand his importance because this is not the faith I was raised with. Being Catholic for so long, I have no recollection of sitting in church listening to the priest talk about the pope the whole time. Jesus, yes, the pope, no.
Religion and politics will always be close cousins. That is why religious leaders meet with the President and other country leaders. Because sometimes, religious leaders, regardless of their denomination, have more influence over people than those political leaaders of their countries.
I think that I got home from a track meet (not mine) around 3:30 or 4pm today and I have not stopped eating since! I absolutely LOVE food! Yum.
1st problem, a hungery 9 year old boy went to Cub with me after track. We got 2 bags of Doritos (buy1 get 1 free) and I ate very many of both kinds while I started cooking! (we don't get chips a lot, so this is too much of a treat!)
THEN, I made chile soup (double yum). It is not as spicy as my first attempt, but still delicious - need to eat some cheese while I'm making that, oh & why not some additional Doritos?!
The pizza crust needed to rise (yes, I'm making pizza & chile - 'cause food iz good) - so I help the boys make some chocolate fudge brownies. I eat a bowl of chile with crackers, sour cream and shredded cheese while helping them measure correctly & run the mixer. Hmm, I should lick one of the bowls fer sure! And how 'bout some milk now.
Ready to make the pizza - better eat some more cheese and some pepperoni. OH, and my younger daughter hasn't eaten all day (am I starving the children while I gorge myself?!) so her tummy hurts and she wants Ramen. Which I eat because she doesn't finish 1/2 of it!
Brownies are out of the oven, pizzas are done. Maybe this doesn't look as good to you as it does to me:
So, had a piece of that 'zza, then a brownie with Redi Whip ALL OVER the top of it!
Now, I think I need to have a glass of water and stop. I tend to give myself a tummy ache when I do this! But, I really just would love to eat, & eat, & eat and never get full or sick. I LOVE food!
I honestly have not been paying close attention to China's hosting of the 2008 Olympics. This morning, I heard a blurb about China relocating approximately 10,000 people to build the site for hosting the games. WOW. That sounds wrong. I did find this article in the Washington Post about this issue. Then an online article through a site called chinaview.wordpress.com.
Hard to say where the truth lies in the statements made on both sides. On one hand, sounds reminiscent of what happens in MN with eminent domain, but on a MUCH larger scale. On the other hand, don't all countries build up for the Olympics when they host? Also, what is considered voluntary relocation in China, and what/whom has been fairly compensated?
Were you already aware of this? Does it bother you at all? Will you be watching the Olympics in China? I am not sure that I will be watching, but I don't know that I would have watched before learning more about China acting as host country anyway. So, will any protest really matter? Or has the Olympics run its course in popularity and does it need to review how it is run and be revamped for this global world?
OH, how I wanted a snow day today! Jen voiced it perfectly: ". . . a real snow day, the kind where you really can't get anywhere, I don't
want the kind where its just horrible to travel, I want the kind where
the powers that be shut stuff down so I don't have to attempt to get
there and can truly relax." But, I didn't get my wish.
Instead, at around 3:30AM I woke up to a 7 year old girl hovering over my face, crying & saying, "I feel like I'm gonna throw up!" And there she hovered - right over my face. "Why don't you go in the bathroom, just in case?"
Been up ever since. Poor kid. She gets a day at home, but she's not happy about it. And why do they sometimes just hover over you threatening to barf on you & your bed?! I mean, I understand the freakiness of feeling that way. I do understand wanting Mom or Dad right nearby. But, seriously, how 'bout we keep this stuff off me and right where it belongs - in a bucket or toilet. Thanks!
Now, I need to figure out how I'm going to pick up the teen's dress (off grounding today, allowed to go to the dance tonight) AND keep and eye on my baby AND get the preschooler to school (1/2 hour commute - don't think I want his sister in the van with us. . . have you ever dealt with the stomach problem in the back of a van you are driving. Not something I would recommend!). The dress, of course, is only at Hot Topic at MOA. Hmmm. Husband working a 16 and then on call all night.
The hockey party slated for tonight with the 3 littles may be more subdued and less food-filled than I thought. *sigh* Poor baby. I hope she feels better before lunch.
