scsours's Xanga

Shameless Commerce Division

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:24:08 GMT

Just a note to the grandparents, siblings, and other assorted gift-givers: our wishlists at Amazon and The Loopy Ewe are updated and ready for shopping.

And if you click through on any of those links on the right, we get a referral bonus.

Just sayin's all.

Don't Hate Me Because I'm Adorable.

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:06:30 GMT

It's the only thing keeps me alive.

A Holy Advent

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:15:37 GMT

I can't help it.

After ten minutes in the Wal Mart, I need to cleanse the icky, materialistic, sappy-clappy-happy "christmas" nonsense out of my soul.

Will you all sing a good Advent hymn with me? Here goes:

Let all mortal flesh keep silence,
And with fear and trembling stand;
Ponder nothing earthly minded,
For with blessing in His hand,
Christ our God to earth descendeth,
Our full homage to demand.

King of kings, yet born of Mary,
As of old on earth He stood,
Lord of lords, in human vesture,
In the body and the blood;
He will give to all the faithful
His own self for heavenly food.

Rank on rank the host of heaven
Spreads its vanguard on the way,
As the Light of light descendeth
From the realms of endless day,
That the powers of hell may vanish
As the darkness clears away.

At His feet the six winged seraph,
Cherubim with sleepless eye,
Veil their faces to the presence,
As with ceaseless voice they cry:
Alleluia, Alleluia
Alleluia, Lord Most High!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:57:43 GMT

Love my family!!

ETA: Had to tell a funny on Theo. See the picture with all three [our last name] men together?

Well.

I told Isaac to go stand between Daddy and Theo so that I could take that pic. Isaac cheerfully complied, running behind Theo and chirping, "Hey, little brudder!"

Theo snarled, "Go 'way, Isaac! Don' you touch me!"

I gave him my patented You Must Be Joking look.

He plastered on a big grin, grabbed Isaac around the neck, and said, "Love bruvver Isaac!"

And that's how I got that picture.

Home again . . .

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:23:43 GMT

My bed.

My pillows.

My shower.

My finicky thermostat.

My loud-running washer and dryer.

My stack of papers, waiting to be graded.

My coffeepot.

Home. Finally. Yay.

Nawlins Bound

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:46:50 GMT

Amidst a flurry of final preparations for the conference side of my upcoming visit to New Orleans (for the annual Society of Biblical Literature meeting), I suddenly realized that I was going to be in New Orleans, the city. Not just the New Orleans the conference site.

So, what should I do? Where should I go? What should I eat?

Where should I go to eat?

I'm arriving on Saturday and presenting on Tuesday. So, I'll need at least one day to write my paper (kidding, Mom!), but I want to take some time to see The Big Easy. (I especially want to find one of those fabled drive-through daquiri places. Not that I'll have a car.)

Any suggestions on where to worship Sunday morning?

And . . . well, the eating part is especially important, savvy?

Gratuitous Theo Video

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:44:16 GMT

Dontcha just want to eat him up with a spoon?

Finished Object Friday!

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:36:25 GMT

I finally finished seaming the lace shawl I showed you before.

I'm happy to report that I did not go blind--at least not immediately. (I can't say that my eyes are entirely recovered from the experience.)

There it is.

And here, too! It's a little squatter than many stoles, which tend to be a longer, skinnier rectangle. But I like a shawl that covers my back a little better, so I decided to sacrifice a little armspan for a warm lower back.

There's the whole thing.

And a closeup.

Isn't that nice?

So, to recap: lace shawl (my own design, using a traditional shetland lace motif), in Wollmeise Sockenwolle, colors Vergissmeinnicht and Blaue Tint (forget-me-not and blue ink).

Crafty as serpents, innocent as serpents.

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:14:05 GMT

I've instituted a bit of a crack-down on certain behaviors that have gotten out of control.

One of them is Theo's habit of opening up DVD cases and playing with the DVD inside. I'm just as happy for him to destroy Thomas and the Cranky Bugs as not, but I don't want him ruining library DVDs, right? So, now, he gets a time out whenever he does it.

"Oh, how cruel! He just doesn't understand. He's too young to control his impulses yet."

Uh-huh. Too young. Doesn't understand. Yup. Sure thing.

Yesterday afternoon, he came into the study while I was writing. He went rooting through the closet and came up with a Thomas video. "Remember you're not allowed to open it," I said. "Just look at the pictures on the outside."

"Okay, Mommy!"

He played around with it some, looking at the pictures, turning it around, banging on it, whatever. I watched through the corner of my eye.

Then he looked at me--directly at me--and put his little fingers on the edge to open it. He waited until I looked at him. (Because he didn't understand that he was about to do something wrong, right? Because he was just doing it accidentally, right? Because he can't stop himself, right?)

I, of course, gave him my patented You Must Be Joking Me look.

He moved his fingers away from the Danger Zone.

He played around with it some more, looking at the pictures, turning it around, banging on it. I watched through the corner of my eye.

Then he stood up and left the room. He was out in the hallway for about four seconds. He came back and said, "Mommy, I just going to close your door." He closed the study door.

What do you think he was doing when I went out into the hallway?

Rule of thumb: if they understand enough to try to deceive you, they understand enough to stop doing it.

We love presents.

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:32:35 GMT

Grandparents never come without gifts. That's just part of being a grandparent, I hear.

"Whassat, Grammommy?? Whassat?"

"Bruvver Isaac hep open it. It not his. It not for him. He just hep open it."

"Thank you for the balls for me! I yike dat!"