Review, High & Dry

I need something mindless to do.

I've been reading a fairly good book, Geisha, A Life, by Mineko Iwasaki. It blows the previous book out of the water. That one was Superior Women by Alice Adams.

Don't get me wrong, the book was okay. I just was not in the mindset to read something of that nature. To me, it was rather pointless and didn't end on any final note. I had no... Ahh, that was a good ending moment. In fact, when I finished the epilogue, I remember my first words about it... "What kind of crap ending was that???"

No one finds happiness. No one is settled. No one hugely changes. The characters are, in my opinion, static. Many remain the same in personality as when they begin. They paint a horrific picture of marriage and strongly favor casual and meaningless sex, endorse petty and shallow relationships.

The book could say a lot if I were in the mood. It could be a painting of what not to do with your life. But I was not in the mood for that.

I wanted a happy ending where all learned how to live as civilized, respectable people who grew into themselves and found their happiness in forms that did not destroy those around them. Where a fifty-year-old woman doesn't deal with the death of a close friend by spontaneously flying to Hawaii and engaging in a drug-filled sex-fest. Because honestly... I mean, c'mon!!!

Is that too much to ask???





It was a rather rough night. The kids were at their misbehaving best. I had no babysitter during my last lesson. The coffee maker broke. I didn't get enough sleep last night, I really needed that coffee. And I have a coffee date in the morning. I really need that coffee tomorrow, too. And I'm retaining water, so my rings itch. And I broke a toenail. And the dogs stink because they rolled in something muddy, and I haven't had time to give them a bath. And my mop broke. And the kids broke my husband's new umbrella. Complain, complain, complain. Tomorrow is another day.








Most of all, I just feel alone. I don't have as much time to spend with my friends. I am a social person, I thrive when I'm surrounded by the people I adore. My schedule (teaching four nights a week) doesn't allow for much social time. And I miss it. I can't wait for the summer. Even the lack of income every month from teaching will not dampen the joy I will have with the free time I'll be able to spend with friends.

And in the fall I'm going to be smarter and schedule all lessons on one or two days. Because I love teaching. I can't give it up, even if I didn't need the money. But it would be easier to dedicate a day or two to it and leave the rest for other things. I guess you learn best by making mistakes, right? I just have to keep telling myself... you live and you learn.

At the risk of becoming political...

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/gerard_baker/article3412540.ece

The story of stuff

Stolen from Jeremey. Extremely important to watch. Makes me want to scream.

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Coffee

I have read this several times, and I love the analogy.

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired. During their visit, the conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in their work and lives. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups -- porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain-looking, some expensive, some exquisite --telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the alumni had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said,"Notice that all the nice-looking, expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases,it is just more expensive, and, in some cases, even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciouslywent for the best cups, and then you began eyeing each other's cups.

"Now consider this: Life is the coffee; your job, money, and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life. The type of cup one has does not define, nor change, the quality of life a person lives. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us."

God makes the coffee, man chooses the cups. The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything. Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

Enjoy your coffee!

News Flash!

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/23015839/?GT1=10856

Women find guys who help out with the housework sexy!!!








Well..... duuuhhhhh.

I'm posting the pictures last 'cause I know you won't read it if I post them first. Haha.

I actually experienced a Christmasy day the other day, sad to say it was in February. It had all the things that make me feel like it... snap to the air, smell of woodsmoke, etc. I've blogged about it before so I won't go into it.

Went to Dallas this past weekend, going again this weekend. Last weekend was the Ignite conference. It was incredible, and I got to see Dick Hoyt (linked to his website). So cool. The promotions for the associates and customers for the rest of the month are incredible! Can't wait to start saving people money and making money to do it!

Anyway, that aside, B and I cleaned up the house last night, and B scrubbed the recliner. Doesn't look like a snot monster attacked it now, at least. That's a great thing.

It shouldn't be a quiet week for lessons, but 3 of my students have tennis tryouts the day of their lesson. The week of UIL. The timing couldn't be worse. There needs to seriously be some communication between departments, here. They're making my life miserable.

On a positive note, the worship pastor of our church said he's getting me the nice keyboard from across the street for my recital. Because he's cool like that. So at least my accompanists won't be too mad they're not on a baby grand (you know accompanists...).

Valentine's Day was fabuloso. Poor B, he tried so hard to surprise me. Since I was going out of town on Friday, we celebrated on Wednesday. He hired a babysitter to watch the kids at 8:00 (when my lessons end). He had wanted to take me for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, but I had already fixed enchiladas (not my fault, I had no clue, and if I'd known I definitely wouldn't have fixed dinner for us). He then decided he'd just do dessert and coffee... poor guy turns his back and I'd made a pot of coffee and was having a slice of cake. He just can't catch a break! So we went out and got coffee anyway and wandered child-free around bookstores. We ended up getting a few new books, I got one that's written by a geisha and looks promising.

Kudos to my husband!

So here's the pictures, now that I've bored you to death.


The kids signing a card to Daddy. Izzy actually wrote "I luv you dad, Izzy." And please pardon my mess, I didn't realize how bad it looked until I saw the photo enlarged. Yikes.


My roses!!! Aren't they pretty? :) :) :)

Behind the Times

So why is it that I'm deprived of news? I don't have time to watch TV, we don't get the newspaper (we would if it weren't so blatantly liberal and made me angry every time I read it).

Because I feel left out when I'm just now reading this: <<--click link for article.

In January, a few months after Lee opened the Beijing office [of Google], the company announced it would be introducing a new version of its search engine for the Chinese market. To obey China's censorship laws, Google's representatives explained, the company had agreed to purge its search results of any Web sites disapproved of by the Chinese government, including Web sites promoting Falun Gong, a government-banned spiritual movement; sites promoting free speech in China; or any mention of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. If you search for "Tibet" or "Falun Gong" most anywhere in the world on google.com, you'll find thousands of blog entries, news items and chat rooms on Chinese repression. Do the same search inside China on google.cn, and most, if not all, of these links will be gone. Google will have erased them completely.

This article was in April 2006. I feel so left out! And so incredibly stupified. I'm almost too taken aback to be angry. Almost.

On another note, I have discovered that parents need less sleep than children because it's a survival technique. After the kids go to bed I finally have time to do the dishes/laundry and straighten, something that I can't accomplish (although Lord knows I spend hours during the day trying) while they are awake. Then I get a few hours' sleep and do it all over again. If it were not for that buffer period where they're asleep and I'm still awake and able to work, my house would probably be caving in from neglect.

And, actually, I'm thinking of banning myself from the computer while they're awake (excluding, of course, about 10 minutes in the morning to balance the checkbook and make sure there aren't any problems). I think this would allow me to get everything done and still have time to play with the kids, do homeschool on a regular basis, etc.

So wish me luck, this is no small task I've undertaken!

Brain Surgery

I received this e-mail, watched the video, and was floored. I'm now more than ever against de-privatizing health care. Any of my Canadian readers care to comment?

A very informative commentary! Please watch!

A Short Course On Brain Surgery Worth Watching... Could be our future? A short but poignant independent film on government sponsored health care systems.

Everyone who plans to vote for our new President in 2008 NEEDS to see this. Regardless of the person for whom they would vote. Please forward this to everyone you can think of as soon as you can. http://www.freemarketcure.com/brainsurgery.php

It's been a busy day. One where I'm happy to be home and take a deep breath.

I started the morning out with Pilates, came home for lunch, and then watched a friend's children while she went to a doctor's appointment. I ended up taking her oldest son home with me to give her a break for a few hours. Of course, my kids doted on him. He's younger than either of them, so both of my kids' maternal streaks came out as they were entertaining him. Incredibly cute to watch.

I then went to home group, where I reconnected with my friend to return her child to her. It's the first time I've been to a home group in a few years, and I loved being back. Lots of loving people and a great time together. I came home way too late, both of the kids passed out in the van.

Tomorrow will be a busy day as well, getting the Jeep cleaned out and ready to donate. Updating the tags on the Corolla. Mailing my tax forms so we can get our return process started. Running to the store for four or five essentials. And most likely another girls' night with Monica to finish what we couldn't when I was there last. Note to self: see what kind of wine I can bring this time, but make sure we do the eyebrow shaping before we crack open the bottle...

And Sunday will be the first time in over a year I'll have attended church services with my husband. They've switched the service times, and we'll be able to attend service together since he'll only be working one service in the children's ministry. I absolutely can't wait, I've missed it so much. Church is a different experience when your spouse can attend with you.

Cuteness of the day: Izzy is blossoming into such a cute little kid. She's trying to spell words now, and since she's learning her letters phonetically, she took a crack at some of her friends' names with "Awwww" results registering a 6.7 on the Adorable Scale. Gideon was spelled "Giydin", Shayla was spelled "Shaila" (hey, that's pretty darn close, you know). And when singing All-Star the opening line in our family is now "Somebody once told me the world is macaroni."

Awwww...

I have proclaimed February to be Siler Savings Month, since March will be pretty harsh on us with the first car payment and escalated insurance (which will drop to a reasonable level in April when our policy renews). God willing, we will be able to pull it off with little to no damage to our savings.

And in the midst of all this I have to find the money, time, and everything else to plan a trip to Arizona. Because I need it for my sanity, and Steph needs it for hers.

Lots going on. But I'm okay with that. I can prioritize better when I'm busy.