Support Your Local Terrorist

It is oh so true that in this present day the victims of crimes are, more often than not, the least thought of. Being a fan (as odd as that word sounds in description) of crime and justice for many years, I've seen this to be true again and again. On my rather limited list of daily online stops is CourtTv.com. Of course, I couldn't care less about their so-called "actuality" (versus reality; catchy isn't it?) line-up of shows. But if you go to the news section, it can be quite enlightening, not to mention you'll find the likes of Nancy Grace hanging around there (go Nancy!!).

So, why should it surprise us that the whole terrorists being tortured issue is making waves? Okay, besides the fact that it's all (possibly) part of a highly political agenda, ect. I'm not saying I support torture (which by the way has a myriad of interpretations), but they'll have to wait in line for my pity. It's still with the men, women, and children (some unborn at the time) who are survivors of the victims (as in real, honest-to-goodness victims; just in case anyone from the UCLA should haphazardly stumble across this post) of the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

Methinks if you do not want to risk being captured and "tortured", it might be wise to not be associated with a terrorist group in the first place... even if the country you're plotting against is the good ol' U.S. of A. whose people are so foolish as to believe in freedom and democracy. But then, no one has claimed that these terrorists are particularly smart.. hmmm.

And as far as sharing our methods of interrogations and so forth, that sounds like a brilliant move to me. After all, had we so informed our enemies during World War II of such methods, we might have lost the war... oh, I guess that means it's NOT such a brilliant move. It would appear that the terrorists are not the only ones that are a few brain cells short...

Honestly, I really am a mild-mannered housewife/homeschooling mom, but some things just get my Irish ire (which I think means temper) simmering, and I just have to let some of that pent-up frustration out. Enough with the accusations and threatenings of retaliations by those in the political arena, and our "neutral" media outlets.

You really would think there would be enough other matters of importance in our country to focus on right now.

Enough said.

State Testing Results

WARNING: Just a tad bit of motherly bragging ahead:)

Well, our testing day has come and gone, along with my three hours of window shopping,lol. I had ordered a few items through Walmart.com(site-to-store), and I received the notification email that they had arrived the day before testing; talk about perfect timing. So I spent most of my time at Walmart. I picked up a couple of dresses that were on clearance for the Princess, although all she cared about was the sparkly purple shoes she got (thankfully also on clearance). But this post isn't supposed to be about me and my shopping...

My boys did well on their testing. In fact, they far exceeded the level they needed to reach. I admit I'm not sure whether I should take credit for this myself, as it's more likely due to the fact that they inherited their father's smart genes. Still, I'm overall quite happy with the result. And it is so nice to have it done with for the year, though the Professor does have to still do his Science testing. But the Math and Language Arts are behind us at least. I try not to do the when-is-she-going-to-stop-bragging-about-her-kids thing for the most part, but I just had to share the good news (not to mention my relief). Bragging ended.

I plan to catch up on all the latest posts of my blogging friends in between our lessons today. We are presently down to one computer, not because of a malfunction, but because I've been moving some things around. Which means our big desk is now in the school room, and I have to set up my computer in my bedroom all over again. That should be fun;)

Enjoy your Monday~

Odds and Ends Update

I truly want to post something "meatier" than this, but I just haven't been able to manage it lately. It seems as if my free time for posting has fallen to late in the evening (when I really should be in bed, truth be told), and my brain just doesn't compute well then, so I guess I'll have to settle for an update of sorts.

Tomorrow the boys will be doing their state testing, and it is none too soon for me. It was actually scheduled for next week, but I talked them into moving it up a week. Since they usually put more energy into trying to get families to actually do it in the first place (technically they don't always enforce testing with homeschoolers) they were more than happy to oblige. While the boys are testing in Language Arts, Math, and Science, the Princess and I will have three hours to ourselves...did I mention the testing site is located in a shopping complex? Not to mention across the street from a Mall. So I shall be forced to window shop the entire time,lol.

Our church is having a Teen revival this week, so I took the Professor to last night's service. He won't actually be part of the youth group until next year, so this was a little prequel to that... Okay, so I admit I wanted to hear this particular preacher myself:) It's exciting to see our youth getting excited, and I've been praying that God will work in their hearts in a great way this week. During the invitation I was able to help with the witnessing, and it was just a huge blessing to my heart to be able to talk to teens who are searching for God. Afterwards, the Professor and I went out for ice cream and conversation. He enjoys deep conversations on a multitude of subjects (some a little over my head,lol) and I have to admit I hope that doesn't change. I'm looking forward to seeing what the next few years hold for him, but also glad I have one year of reprieve before he's actually an honest-to-goodness teenager.

I'm planning to pick up seeds and supplies tomorrow to get things started for this year's garden. We won't be able to plant until the end of May/beginning of June, but this will have our plants ready to go in the ground then. The Professor is going to be in charge of upkeeping the garden this year (all that fun weeding), and he's quite excited about it. Now to figure out what to plant and the logistics of the whole thing... I'll keep you posted:)

Have a wonderful day~

Back by popular demand...

No, I have not given up blogging. I could give an excuse, but I suppose it would be just that... an excuse;) I have started a few posts, but none that made it into publication. I guess I just haven't had much that I desperately needed to say. But on to other things...

Happy Birthday to my blogging friend Nikki! I'm not exactly late, because I did sing to her on Monday (so to speak) , but I'm sure she wouldn't mind extra birthday wishes:)

And Congratulations to Angela and Dustin on finding out whether they need to decorate in pink or blue... of course I'm not going to spoil her surprise, so you'll have to stop by yourself to find out, lol.

Please stop by Jeanette's blog to vote for her very cool birthday cake picture frame... I'm hoping it's not too late to pass this one along. Jeanette is the mom of 3 kids (4 yrs and under) who attends my (or our:) church. She started an Etsy shop a few months ago, and this will win her some free advertisement; so please vote!

And last, but not least, my sweet friend Marva has given me an award. Marva is definitely one of the nicest people I've met in the blogging world. I enjoy so much reading about her farm life, her adorable twin boys, and everything in-between (which is a lot for this busy lady). Thank you Marva for calling me (as an extension of my blog) fabulous! :) I'm so glad to call you friend.


Well, I think that about wraps this edition up. Have a wonderful weekend~

Only because I said I would

Just in case anyone (other than Mrs.Darling) remembered that I promised (somewhat) to give an update on my newly started (once again) diet, here are my results: I was down 4.4 lbs from last week.

Now before you get too impressed, or leave me comments on the negative aspects of losing weight too quickly, I shall be discreet and simply say that it also happened to overlap the time that I usually gain a few (temporary) pounds each month. Trying to be discreet here... if you need me to spell it out for you, leave a comment, lol.

So I'm cutting my losses (haha) and only counting the 1.4 as my weight loss. I can be happy with that:) My goal is 1 lb a week. That seems to be a good pace for my present weight.

I have to say that I am feeling so much better this time around. I'm a stickler for the fruits and veggies when I diet, and as a result I always end up feeling better. But the truth is, I've always loved vegetables and fruits; so what's the difference? Less carbs and sugar... those foods that make me feel like a slug.

I am not however counting calories this time around. I'm just making good choices, limiting certain foods, and drinking lots of water. I'm also doing my Wii workout, and getting in some bike rides while the nice weather sticks around.

Well, that about wraps it up. Not the most exciting post ever, but then I never said it would be...;)

What we did on our Spring Break

Cleaning, rearranging, decluttering... there, I got the bulk of what I did out of the way, lol. The kids played with the neighbor kids and our 2 dogs, competed at board games, and worked on a few assorted school projects of the fun sort. The Professor did quite a few lessons; I don't think he understands the meaning of spring break;) And then we took our last day off and went to a giant jungle gym with the cousins. They had a blast, and I got to visit with my sis-in-law for a few hours.

I also listed about 5 things on Ebay and Craigslist, and made about $200... not shabby considering it actually helped me to get rid of a little clutter. Speaking of which...

How much would you pay for this load of legos? I've collected these for years when my boys were little. I finally decided it was time for them to go (they've graduated to small legos now) and so I listed them on Craigslist for $50... then I checked Ebay and found out that I could get more. Long story short, they sold for $104. ( plus $35 for shipping). Need I say that I was one happy lady?

The Princess and I also did a bit of scrapbooking. I picked up this kit at Ross (a local discount store) for $5.99 and I couldn't believe how much stuff it had in it. I helped her along a bit, but then she wanted to try her own hand at it (little Miss Independence). So here's the page she did by herself. Notice that she gave me a tiara? lol She still thinks her mommy's a queen.


Today is a beautiful day. The sun is shining, a slight breeze is drifting in the window, and it definitely feels like Spring is in the air. The rose bush in our back yard is in full bloom. Tomorrow is supposed to reach 70 degrees! I'm hoping to have a picnic and enjoy the weather while it lasts.

I wish each of you a wonderful weekend~