Month: August 2010

Day-By-Day

Day-By-Day

Karen


(photo credit)

The small, insignificant, day-by-day things that happen in my life.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Took the boys to Hooters for Hair today (or better known as Too Hotties). I asked them on the way if they felt comfortable going to a salon where the girls were scantily clad (read spaghetti strap tight tanks and mini skirts). Dude said, “Not really. But they do a good job.” And I couldn’t dispute him. They DO do a good job, and I pay for it. But I guess you get what you pay for, right? They did a really good job on Dude, but I think they may have taken a bit too much off Jazz. He wasn’t too terribly thrilled about his cut, but he would have gotten it all cut off in a few weeks anyway when they issued his band uniform to him.

Personally, I feel like a dweeb sitting there waiting for them – for several reasons, actually. One, I’m like the oldest (and most wrinkled) woman in there. Two, I’m surrounded by hot young bodies and my saggy body simply doesn’t belong. Three, I’m starting to become a little uncomfortable walking my boys in, waiting for them and then paying. I notice that a lot of young men (the same ages as my boys), come in on their own – their moms wait out in the cars for them. Oh well.

Dude has developed a new phobia – hair in his food. Granted, I’m not crazy about finding hair in my food either, but I can pick it out and toss it without tossing anything else (namely, my cookies). Dude, on the other hand, gets really bent out of shape and so grossed out, he can’t even finish his meal. Or, he’ll cut a huge chunk out of it, the chunk that had the hair and POSSIBLY finish the rest. I mean that’s fine, like I said, I’m not crazy about finding hairs either, but his reaction amuses me. Which it probably shouldn’t, because it’s not fun finding a hair in your food and … oh, never mind. I have a weird sense of humor.

Kevin’s band buddy came over last night. He plays the keyboard and they worked on some songs together. I’m so glad he is playing with people – he’s truly enjoying them and playing. His band has another gig this Saturday night, I most likely won’t go, but we’ll see.

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Thursday, August 19, 2010

There’s really nothing to write about. We stayed home all day … in fact, did we even leave the house?

I’m thinking no.

Jazz’s friend called – he wanted him to come over and play airsoft games with him. (Just for the record, I’m not crazy about airsoft guns – it’s like being pelted with a BB and those suckers HURT, there’s NOTHING soft about them, at ALL. Not to mention, I’m afraid he’ll put an eye out. Does that sound familiar? [Pst – Christmas Story]).

However, even though Jazz had been, um, jazzed about going over to his buddy’s house a few days earlier, when it actually came time to GO over there, he wasn’t interested.

I used to think this was sort of weird, but then I thought back to my own adolescence and I did the same thing. Friends would call and I just couldn’t summon up the energy to stop what I was doing and give them the time of day. I’ve always been perfectly happy entertaining myself and apparently, the boys feel the same way.

I said something to Kevin about how our boys don’t seem too interested in hanging with friends and he just smiled – he used to be the same way! So, since both Kevin and I were quite anti-social, I shouldn’t be surprised that our boys are the same, right?

What can I say? We like our own company. That sounds sort of pathetic, doesn’t it.

Friday, August 20, 2010

It was a pretty quiet day today. Kevin and I went on our weekly grocery shopping outing – we try and limit the number of times we go grocery shopping to ONE time a week. I can’t stand shopping to begin with, I’m not about to drag it out all week. I make a weekly menu, then write down the ingredients that I will need to make my weekly menu and we head out. Even though it’s sort of a pain to sit down and plan dinners for a week, I’m always glad that I did it because the boys have a menu they can look at (thereby not having to come to me twice a day, every day, “Hey mom, what’s for dinner tonight”) and I don’t have to stress when the clock hits five wondering what in the world I’m going to feed my family.

We go. We get it done. And I don’t have to think about it for the rest of the week. I do make special trips to a smaller meat market to buy fresher ingredients, but for the most part, I get all of my grocery shopping done in one day. I can’t understand women who make daily trips to the store … I mean, why??

Kevin did not take his cane with him this time. Though we’re still parking in handicap spaces (which still feels weird – our placard is only good through the first part of December), it sort of feels like we’re cheating a little bit because Kevin just doesn’t APPEAR to be that handicapped. Even though he’s doing a lot better and getting around a lot better, his stamina is still not quite where it needs to be, so parking close really does help him.

I suggested Kevin not take his cane with him this time (actually, Kevin forgets it most of the time and I’m the one telling him to grab it) because he pushes the cart and that acts as a makeshift walker, so he doesn’t really need it when we go shopping. He likes to go shopping with me – it gets him out of the house and moving – I like having him with me, but we always spend more money when he’s with me. I like to buy what’s on my list, Kevin likes to … buy. 🙂

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Saturday, August 21, 2010

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Audio version:

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I love Oh life because they send you an email at 8:00 p.m. every night asking you how your day went. You reply to the email and it automatically posts to your Oh Life account.

I recorded the audio version through Audio Boo. You only have five minutes to record something – GO.

These entries are raw, immediate and from the heart. You can expect to see these updates every Wednesday and Sunday (or thereabouts)

Thanks for reading.

Abundant Life

Teaching: The Death Penalty is Man’s Responsibility to Enforce

Karen

Every Sunday I provide videos and valuable links to the Truth or Tradition teachings. We’ve been following the Truth or Tradition teachings for many years now and they have truly blessed our family. We have found peace and happiness through our beliefs and we walk confidently for God. My hope, by passing on this information to you, is that what you find here, or on the Truth or Tradition website, will guide you to a better, more blessed and abundant life.

If you would like to read my views on religion and how we got started with the ministry, you can read this.

Let’s get started:

(Watch Part One, Two here)

Vodpod videos no longer available.


(RSS readers – please click over for the video).

The death penalty is clearly commanded by God, and it is the responsibility of mankind to carry it out. It is in all five books of Moses, and the first time it is mentioned is most significant.

Genesis 9:6
Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.

This first verse commanding the death penalty is important because it tells us exactly what God expects. He gives people the responsibility to maintain a safe society by executing people who murder others. Both Scripture and history make it clear that, with a few exceptions, God Himself will not kill evildoers in society. There have been a few exceptions, such as the Flood and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, but there were foreshadowings of God’s future destruction of all evil people at the Final Judgment, and of course there is the Final Judgment itself. However, this Judgment is future. The Flood and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah were exceptions, necessitated by God’s plan to preserve the lineage from which the Redeemer would come. The rule, plainly spelled out in Scripture, is that if a man sheds the blood of another man, it is by other men that justice must by meted out.

Some people are against the death penalty, saying that mankind is the creation of God, and therefore a man does not have the right to take the life of another man. While that may sound good at first, it is contrary to Scripture. A man does have the right, and even the responsibility, to execute murderers. God gave us that right and responsibility, and He will not “take it back” just because it is distasteful to us. God gave man the wisdom and ability to take care of his own society and its problems. People today are busy and overburdened, yet God is not running around among us mowing lawns, fixing broken appliances in the home, driving the kids around from place to place, and people do not expect Him to. We know that God will not go grocery shopping for us, so we do it ourselves. We do realize, of course, that sometimes when we are having a problem, God will send a person to help. When it comes to the protection of society, those whom God sends are those who live in that society. God is specific. He said that if a man sheds the blood of another man, then it is the job of men to bring justice and avenge that bloodshed so that society will remain safe.

The article above was taken from The Death Penalty: Godly or Ungodly?

Did this article bless you? Please consider donating to the Truth or Tradition ministry.

If you have any questions, or would like to learn more about God’s wonderful message, please visit the Truth or Tradition website. You can also keep track of the ministry through their Facebook page, their YouTube Channel, or follow them on Twitter.

Thanks for reading.

(Comments have been turned off. The information is here to inform and bless you. God granted you the gift of free will – take it or leave it).

More from Write From Karen

Saturday Stuff

What I did over my Summer Vacation.

Karen

Write exactly 100 words, first person, fact or fiction…What I did over my Summer Vacation.

*****

“So hello! Are you ladies ready to start another school year?”

The five women sitting around me softly cooed their responses.

“Before we get started,” the PTA president cut in, “tell me what you guys did over the summer!”

I found her fake enthusiasm nauseating.

I listened as each described their perfect summers and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

“So Karen, what did you do?”

The women each turned to me. I could tell they didn’t really care to hear my answer.

“I helped my husband walk again after his motorcycle accident.”

I savored their shocked expressions.

*****

This is a themed writing meme hosted by Jenny Matlock. The goal is to write something that does not exceed 100 words (not including said prompt). The prompt appears in bold.

Reflections

Reflections: Remember Most As a Kid

Karen

Hi Mom,

I’m giving this book to you so that you’ll return it to me. You’re so very special and this is my chance to learn a little more about who you WERE once upon a time and who you ARE right now.

It’s funny how all who touch us affect our lives in unique ways. Especially parents.

Please take some time and reflect on the questions inside and write as much or as little as you want.

I look forward to getting this back soon. And please know that I will cherish it, not because of what you write, but simply because you wrote.

Thanks.

This is the introduction inside the Between You and Me Mom book. I love these question-type books because so often we’re so focused on the future that we place the past on a shelf to gather dust and/or be forgotten. I think it’s important to document our lives, not only the special times, but all times because life is too important, and too short, to forget. Answering questions from the Mom book, and the Honey book, are my way of remembering my past and passing those special times on to my sons and you, dear blog reader. Remembering the past helps us understand the people we’ve become.

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What do you remember most about being a kid?

Going to the county fair and spending HOURS riding rides and looking at the exhibits. Always having something to do in the summer – mom scheduled days we would go swimming, to the movies, do crafts, hanging out with my cousins, going to the zoo. I painted a lot of paint-by-numbers. I read constantly. I loved to read Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mysteries. Playing with Barbie dolls. I used to create soap opera worlds with all of my dolls; and this was before I even knew what soap operas were.

I entered a lot of my own crafts into the county fair. I won quite a few ribbons but that wasn’t the reason I participated in the fair. I worked on crafts and entered them into the fair mainly to please my mom. My mother’s main hobby / interest was (is) crafts and participating in crafts and entering the fair was something I had in common with my mom. Though I would be lying if I told you I always enjoyed working on crafts – it wasn’t my main passion – I entered mainly to please my mother.

I rode my bike a lot growing up. I felt so free and in control when I rode. It cleared my head and relaxed me. I remember having a huge crush on a guy that lived up the street from me. I desperately tried getting his attention (even befriending his little sister, who was younger than me and very annoying) and trying to appear sexy as I rode my bike by his house.

I remember living in a mobile home for the first seven years of my life. I even remember the layout of the mobile home and this one particular patchwork rocking chair I used to rock in all the time. I even taught my sister to read in that chair. I remember standing on our sofa in the mobile home and intently studying my mouth in an attempt to teach myself not to lisp. I also remember spending quite a number of hours in front of that same mirror and jiggling teeth loose. I always sort of liked having loose teeth because I liked the way it made my mouth go numb after loosening them.

I remember learning to ride a bike down our street when we lived in the mobile home. I remember my sister and I riding our bikes up and down the street, me shaky and yet confident, my sister still riding with training wheels.

I remember picking up walnuts from our backyard every season. Mom would then drive us out to the walnut husking place and we would get money in exchange for the slimy, wet bags full of walnuts we picked. Though I wasn’t crazy about staining my hands or the smell, I remember feeling very proud of myself whenever I received any money from the task. That was my first taste of earning money and I LIKED it.

I remember going camping in a tent quite a few times and hating it. Mainly because of the bugs and the fact that I had to use the bathroom over a log. I also remember going camping in grandpa and grandma’s trailer, or maybe we hadn’t gone camping in it but we were riding home in it and I had to go to the bathroom so bad I was in pain. I’ve always had this bathroom fetish (fear?) and any time we went anywhere, I refused to use it. I remember these public restrooms, out in the boonies, that were nothing but holes in the ground. They freaked me out as I always envisioned myself falling through the hole and I REFUSED to use them. (In fact, I still have problems using bathrooms whenever we travel. Bet you wanted to know that, eh? lol)

I remember washing the front of our house in the summers. I remember laying / swinging on the porch swing for hours just daydreaming. I remember kissing the cute boy who lived right next door to us one summer. I was a few years older than him and though that bothered me, I felt very feminine and sexy hanging out with him. I remember having the BEST birthday cakes. Mom took cake-decorating classes and always made the neatest cakes for all of us kids growing up. I remember one in particular, a Barbie doll cake. You know the kind – a Barbie doll is inserted into a mound of cake that is later decorated to look like her skirt. I remember having birthday parties at our house and all the family would come over and give me gifts.

I remember our station wagon and the time we were in a wreck. I believe we were hit as we were crossing an intersection.

I remember visiting my dad at the electronics store where he worked and seeing tons of equipment lying about, their guts haphazardly displayed and waiting to be fixed. I remember my mother working as a telephone operator at night to bring in extra money.

I remember visiting HUNDREDS of yard sales and coming home with bargains. I remember wearing a pair of white overalls all the time. Mom had stitched my name on the pocket in some navy blue thread and in some loopy stitch so that it felt fuzzy to the touch. I remember skirts, pants and shirts that mom sewed for me to wear to school. And how embarrassed I was to wear all of that stuff starting about sixth grade.

I remember Mrs. Bacon (Kdg teacher), Mrs. Smith (2nd grade teacher?), Mrs. Hill (4th grade teacher), Mrs. Wilson (5th grade teacher) and Ms. Roberts (sixth grade teacher). I remember starting kindergarten and feeling both scared and excited. I also remember leaving elementary school in sixth grade feeling scared and excited about starting junior high.

I went to Doling Elementary School, Reed Junior High and Hillcrest High School. Doling school has been converted to some building for the school system – it’s no longer a school – Reed Junior High and Hillcrest High are still there. I think our mascot was: Doling Dolphins, Reed Beavers (which I HATED because I thought that sounded sexually suggestive and just plain stupid) and Hillcrest Hornets (which I thought was dorky at first. But then we started winning games and I realized that hornets are actually very mean when provoked and thought it was cool).

But what do I remember the MOST about being a kid? Being happy and well adjusted.

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Your turn blog readers – What do you remember most about being a kid?

Feel free to answer the question here or on your own blog, but leave a link in my comment section so I can visit!

Life

My Favorite Time of Year Has Arrived

Karen

Guess what season is starting up again?

No. I’m not talking about football.

I’m talking about something A LOT more entertaining – at least to me.

It involves Flutes, Trumpets, Drums …

… and SAXOPHONES …

… and pretty girls tossing brightly colored flags …

… OF COURSE! It’s marching band season.

And our school is going to KICK ASS in competition this year.

(I hope).

Day-By-Day

Day-By-Day

Karen


(photo credit)

The small, insignificant, day-by-day things that happen in my life.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

We went and looked at more sofas today – they’re all starting to look alike. And we’re discovering that it’s much easier to buy a dark one; there’s simply more selection. We finally gave up on the search – the color will really depend on what sort of hardwood floor we decide on.

Which means, we need to pick a hardwood floor out. And that’s what we did. Well, we didn’t pick it out, but we began the “official” search. We went to a hardwood liquidator and though I saw a few I liked, nothing really “spoke” to me. We then went to Home Depot and we grabbed about five sample pieces to take home with us. Our biggest issue is: we want contrast. We have an oak dining room table and an oak entertainment center (our living room and dining room are, in essence, one big room) and we don’t want to pick a floor that too closely matches those pieces.

Then it would be like, “where’s the furniture??”

I picked out three that I liked, Kevin picked out two darker pieces. I wasn’t crazy about his pieces. We brought the samples home, placed them on the dining room table and all three pieces I picked out? Match almost perfectly. Kevin’s pieces? Look much better.

Grr. I hate it when he’s right. lol

So. It looks like we’ll be going a bit darker on the floors than I thought. We’ve only just begun to look. We need to check some pictures out to get a better idea of what we want.

The boys talked me and Kevin into signing up for Steam accounts. That’s just a site you can go to and download games onto your computer. We all downloaded Quake (we all played that game eons ago and had SO MUCH fun with it. We would all be in our own rooms, on our own computers and yell tips and tactics to each other – we were all on the same team). When Dude noticed that the game was on sale through Steam, he encourage all of us to load the program onto our computers again and that’s what we did. Then we all got onto the same server and as a team, ganged up on the monsters. There’s a chat feature in the game and we had a lot of fun giving each other a hard time.

Example: Me: “Rats! I missed my ride!” (Referring to an elevator my character needed to get on to get to the next level). Dude: “Your ride just squished me.” (His character was standing too close to the elevator and it squashed him. I guess you had to be there).

We laughed. We yelled. We got killed and we had a great time together. I would love to find more cooperative games like that because truly, it’s so fun doing something all together like that.

A family who kills monsters together, stays together. That’s my motto.

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Monday, August 16, 2010

Dude and I went up to the school to pick up his schedule today. I was asking someone where to buy a parking permit when I turned around and Dude was looking at his schedule with a puzzled look on his face. When I asked him what was wrong, he said that he was only scheduled for two classes.

*sigh*

I wasn’t surprised. I had been emailing his counselor off and on at the end of last school year because the classes he wanted to take weren’t available. Apparently, there are some classes they only offer certain number of times and then they can only hold so many students.

Which I think is both annoying and sad. Annoying because I think seniors should get first dibs on classes. After all, many students are building their scholastic portfolio and it can often times be important when applying to colleges. Sad because the school district can’t afford to hire teachers to teach more of the classes the kids want to take.

It’s a double-edged sword.

So, we made a trip to the counselor’s office. Only, she was busy, so I told the secretary we would return after we bought a parking permit. Dude had to fill out some registration information, show his schedule, his license and then pay $35 dollars (!!) in order to get the decal. Kind of a pain, but at least now he can drive to school, which is a very real possibility as I hope to get a (part-time?) job very soon.

We went back to the counselor’s office. The place was even MORE packed. Apparently, the school went to a new system this year and there were quite a few “glitches”. Dude didn’t want to wait, but I knew if we didn’t take care of it right then the first day of school would roll around and he wouldn’t have a clue where to go.

So we waited around.

We were on the verge of giving up and leaving, when the people in her office finally left. I peeked my head in her office, told her my name and reminded her that we had emailed about his schedule a few months back and she saw us. She was very nice, if not a bit harried, and I felt sorry for her. This must be hell for her to try and get 300 students situated.

Unfortunately, Dude only had about three classes to choose from – they were the only ones available for the time slots that he had open. One was an art class, and he’s already had so much art, he really didn’t want to go down that road again, so he ended up picking Business Law, and a Science/Research class on Meteorology. The counselor told him they were harder classes, which Dude wasn’t thrilled to hear, but I personally think he’s up for it. He’s a smart kid, if not a bit lazy, and I think a little challenge will be good for him.

He just needs to get in the mindset that this first quarter is going to be a WEE bit busier than he thought.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Took Jazz to band camp an hour early today. There are a few freshmen who need a little extra help with the marching drills and the co-sectional leader wasn’t pulling her weight, so the sectional leader asked Jazz to come in and essentially do her job for her. I had to get Jazz up at 5:45 a.m. in order for him to get dressed, eat some breakfast and still leave in time to go by Krispy Kreme doughnuts – he wanted to give his fellow saxophone players a little treat.

I’m really quite impressed with how seriously he takes his responsibilities in band – he simply lives for this stuff.

I spent the morning alternating between getting some work done and trying to stay on top of the sinus headache that took me by surprise around lunch time. I drank my cup of coffee at 1:00, and the headache miraculously disappeared. Remember, I’m down to ONE cup of coffee per day now, at mid-day, and I don’t drink any other form of caffeine the rest of the day. If my body can’t handle one cup of coffee, TOUGH. I like my coffee, I’m not giving it up.

Since this was the last day of band camp, Jazz got out at noon. This was also the day he needed to pick up his schedule … he was only scheduled for three classes. (He needs four classes).

*SIGH*

What is up with not getting these schedules right?? So, I emailed the counselor, told her that Jazz was missing his first period class and what now? She emailed back and said the only class they had available for that time period was a forensics, CSI-type of class and the kids loved it. Would he like to take that?

Well really, what choice did he have? Oh right, NONE. So yeah, he would like to take that class. Luckily, he does seem interested in the subject matter so hopefully, it will all be good. But I have a feeling, because it’s worded the same as Dude’s Meteorology class (Science Research and Design) that it’s going to be time consuming, as in, a big-project-that-Kevin-and-I-will-likely-have-to-help-with time consuming. So, both boys have two science classes EACH this 1st quarter.

*SIGH*

Jazz passed out when we got home. This past week has been really hard on him and he was dead tired. He slept for an hour and a half.

The band had its parent preview tonight. That’s when the parents get to see what the kids have been working on all week. I took quite a few pictures using my new zoom lens – it was the first time I’ve used it – and I’m really hoping they turned out okay.

The show was awesome. The kids only marched the first two sets, they’re still working on the last two sets, but we are liking what we see so far! The director said it was amazing how much progress they have made, it was pretty rare for them to be this far along in the program this early in the season. It’s also really neat to see where the kids start and then watch them again later to see the new and interesting things they add later.

The weather was great. A bit overcast, but there was a cool breeze so it was quite pleasant.

As we were leaving, I ordered a band jacket for Jazz. I sort of wish they had band jackets for parents.

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I love Oh life because they send you an email at 8:00 p.m. every night asking you how your day went. You reply to the email and it automatically posts to your Oh Life account.

These entries are raw, immediate and from the heart. You can expect to see these updates every Wednesday and Sunday (or thereabouts)

Thanks for reading.