Sunday, November 30, 2008

Today is the day

Advent begins today. November 30. 

Psalm 111-113, 146-147
Isaiah 1:1-9
2Peter 3:1-10
Matthew 25:1-13
Psalm 111

Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with all {my} heart, In the company of the upright and in the assembly.

Great are the works of the LORD; {They are} studied by all who delight in them.

Splendid and majestic is His work, And His righteousness endures forever.

He has made His wonders to be remembered; The LORD is gracious and compassionate.

He has given food to those who fear Him; He will remember His covenant forever.

He has made known to His people the power of His works, In giving them the heritage of the nations.

The works of His hands are truth and justice; All His precepts are sure.

They are upheld forever and ever; They are performed in truth and uprightness.

He has sent redemption to His people; He has ordained His covenant forever; Holy and awesome is His name.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do {His commandments;} His praise endures forever.


Most Excellent.


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For those of you who ponder these things, the distance from Escondido, CA to San Dimas, CA is 93 miles. Just down the street. Inland southern California is inland southern California, for the most part. If you are in need of more information, you can check up on the Bill and Ted Cult here.

Friday, November 28, 2008

At the mall, Black Friday



Found a few gifts, met a giant snowman dude, met friends for lunch and ice cream, and a wild trip to Old Navy. Never let your kids out of your sight in that place, even for a minute, or you could end up out of money. I nearly did, even after making them put most of it back. And were they choosing gifts for others? Um, no.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Charming

Young Adventurer had a piano recital this past weekend. The attire was formal, which pleased him greatly. New fancy clothes. Danjo the Magnificent went shopping and found him shirt, tie, and slacks in the appropriate size (why does he keep outgrowing his clothes?). The tie that came with the shirt was deemed not matching, so Danjo had purchased an additional tie, which was promptly rejected by YA as soon as it was seen, not due to any perceived defect, but due to his extreme love of the not matching one. Danjo disappointed. YA also decided he would not wear the sport coat, resulting in me not having it dry-cleaned, resulting in him wearing it smears and all after he changed his mind the night before. I should have known this would happen and had it cleaned anyway. 

During the pre-recital preparations, big sister venom commented again that his chosen tie didn't match. Any of you remember how venom dressed for formal (and otherwise) occasions at the age of seven?? I do. Matching was not her criterion for choosing outfits either. 

On the way to the recital, his biggest concern was what his teacher would be wearing. Would she wear the elegant and beautiful outfit he remembered from last year's recital? Upon arrival he spotted her and thought it probably was the same outfit and was as spectacular as he remembered. Yes, he did compliment her. Future wife, take note. The boy can be downright charming.

He waited patiently through the first 45 minutes in his seat with the other recitalees. His turn came. He stood, walked up, not quite tripping on the stairs. He spoke his lines flawlessly:
"Good Afternoon, my name is [Young Adventurer] and I shall play, 'My Dog Barks!' and 'Greatest Show on Earth.'"
He sat down. He adjusted the bench, needing draft horse strength to do so, and nearly falling to his knees. He sat again. He played-if not brilliantly, then enthusiastically and very nicely. He beamed. He bowed. He returned to his seat. He greatly enjoyed the running around and the cookies (unfortunately heavy on the chocolate) afterwards. 
How does one illuminate the background in a darkened auditorium enough to make the boy's entire head appear? Not with my camera, apparently.
No, I'm not moving the bench farther forward just for the photo shoot. Way too much effort, mom.
The evening before, during the uniform fitting, while wearing the Danjo-chosen tie and acting silly. 

Maybe I will get brave and try to make a little iMovie of the occasion. That would involve attaching the camcorder to the mac. Possible, but never before attempted...

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Advent Conspiracy



In general I really do not like Christian advertising. Advertising in general is designed to convince people to spend money on things they usually don't need by inflating the virtues of the product and downplaying any perceived deficiencies. In short, advertising is usually decieving and makes me immediately suspicious of it's claims. Christian advertising tends to make me immediately suspicious of the claims of the church. Seems like not such a good approach.

That said, I like this site and the video is well-done. Any takers?




Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Yesterday and today, actually

Young Adventurer was still upset this morning about his role in the election. When he found out that his candidate did not win, he was even more disenfranchised by the voting age restrictions. He was also worried about being chased on the playground by Obama supporters.

Well now, that was actually yesterday morning, and he survived the playground politics as far as I know.

Last night Venom received her award for being voted "Most Improved" on her school soccer team. It was well deserved.

Today is a new day. Thursday, not Wednesday.

Adventurer Two apparently had a question last night.  Instead of asking me, decided to find out for herself what happens when you put a can of 7Up in the freezer. She will be cleaning it up after school.

We planted our winter "garden". Dusty helped me with the watering, as she is apt to do. Then she chased Indie through the dirt in the side yard. Dog bath time can no longer be delayed, and Dusty gets to go first.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

(I Feel Fine)



I think I do want a mandolin for Christmas.

They wasted his time

Young Adventurer is devastated to learn that kids' votes don't count. Moved to tears, even. He wonders why they make kids vote at school if it doesn't count. "It's educational" doesn't cut it as an answer. He says kids can learn how to vote by going to the polls with their parents. What a thought.
Venom voted at school too. She liked it, even though she knew the truth. In fact, she is the one who innocently revealed the truth to Young Adventurer. 

Monday, November 3, 2008

Civic Duty

Did anyone else have to resist the urge to buy the Pork Knives or the McCain Fine Gold Jewelry? Or the Joe dolls? 
I finally went over my early ballot. I didn't mess it up this time. I think I have had to fill out a provisional ballot in the last two elections. First for mistakenly voting for a candidate I had never heard of instead of the one that dropped out of the race a few days later; the second time because I lost my early ballot. Every time I mess up my ballot it reminds me that it would be more convenient to have my correct address on my driver's license.
Someone emailed me a link to additional information about Arizona judges. Usually I vote yes on judges unless there seems to be a reason to vote no. This time I tried the opposite.
Some ballot propositions seem like they might be a good idea, but the wording is confusing. If I can't understand what is being accomplished, I vote no.
I wish there were other candidate choices. It's hard to vote for someone I don't like because the alternative seems worse. 
I hear Starbuck's is giving free coffee tomorrow if you vote. Go wait in one line, and then go wait in another line. 
Will there be lines at the polls? Last big election we drove by one polling place with a huge line in the evening. Our polling place, less than a mile away, had no line at all. 
I can't decide whether to watch election coverage because it is an "historic" election, or to log out of my Google homepage and charge my ipod this evening for an election news blackout lasting until Wednesday evening at least. I have a feeling that news coverage will be difficult to avoid.
Take heart everyone. The economy, the war in Iraq, and pretty much everything else should start getting better in a couple of days.