Fun Monday - Front Porch Lookin' In

Our hostess this week, Julie over at Another Chance Ranch, apparently overheard me lamenting that I needed to clean my house and put away the Christmas decorations, because here's her assignment:

Instead of standing in your front door and taking a photo of what you see outside, let's turn around and take one of the inside. Maybe that will prompt some of us to pick up a tad (you know who you are). :)

So last night I diligently put away the boxes of Christmas decorations.  I even straightened up a bit.  Then today hit.  I thought of doing a quick deep cleaning, or taking the photo from a different door - but that just didn't seem right.  I figure anyone who is reading this wants to know what our life is really like, not see some great photo like you can get from buying a magazine of lovely houses that no one really lives in.  So here is the view, in all of its dirty glory.

Yes, I know the photo is a bit tilted, but sometimes so am I. If I'm not going to clean, then getting a straight photo probably isn't going to happen either.  Let me describe a bit of what you see when walking in.  

First, I don't have a garage, so this is our main entry to the house as well as our family room.  We use it to house our impressive collection of winter footwear, including the three pairs of ice skates (one still in the box) by the slider.  It also houses our collection of winter outwear.  You can see Diva's winter gear lying on the floor drying out after some tumbling in our latest 8 inches of snow -- and looking out the slider you can see some of that snow.  Lot's of it, actually.  A careful viewer can even glimpse the treehouse that came with our house.  

Next, notice the folded up treadmill.  I insisted we put the treadmill in this room so I might use it occasionally.  I knew if we put it in the basement I'd never step foot on it.  Need I tell you how well that strategy is working?

Then there's the Dell box.  Since Kilowatt is so handy, we periodically receive such parcels from friends and family with the message  - 'can you fix this?'

Finally, the boxes on the surround sound speaker that look like shoe boxes - those are train boxes.  Kilowatt picked out his birthday present yesterday.  And the surround sound doesn't go with the teeny tiny TV  you can see in the photo - there's more to this room than you can see from this photo. 

Finally, because I'm in rule breaking mood this week - here's a photo looking out. 

This photo is of Kilowatt using another one of those tools you just don't hear much about down south - the roof rake. Yes, when the snow gets too high on your roof, you have to clear it off just like your driveway and sidewalk, or risk something called ice dams.  

And the brown thing you see in the left - that's a snow shed.  If you want your bushes to look good in the summer, you've got to cover them in the winter to keep the snow from weighing them down.  Then you put fencing around them to keep the deer from snacking.  Hungry deer don't care that my front door is mere feet from their target.  

Well, I'm off to see what you see looking in at your house.  I hope someone else has a house as 'lived in' as mine!  

Fun Monday - What's on My Mind in 2009

Faye at Summit Musings is our hostess for the first Fun Monday of 2009. She has thrown the following thought provoking question at us:

"What's on your mind as we close out 2008 and begin 2009? Large and small. What are often your first thoughts the minute you wake up? When you're alone and unguarded? Working? Stuck in traffic? Playing with the children? Walking the dogs? When you can't sleep?"

This was a lot harder than I anticipated.  There are so many things that are always on my mind -- my family, parenting skills (and lack thereof), my dismal time management skills, passing my classes, making sure my students learn something, getting into better shape physically, and on and on.  But I decided to think a bit 'bigger' for this assignment, and here's what I came up with:

1.  Is courtesy contagious?  I'm going to try to be a bit more courteous to everyone I come into contact with, in the hopes that some of it rubs off.  Because basic courtesy seems to be a lost art.  From rude comments on message boards and online articles, to rude drivers, to rude parents, and even rude fellow customers in stores and restaurants -- maybe if someone shows them an alternate way to behave, some will follow....  Not all, but maybe a few.....  Maybe just one...  and they can show another one....  

2.  Do we have the right leadership?  Yes, but sometimes we need to look a little harder for our leaders instead of assuming they are just the elected officials we send to DC.  There are people who have vision, ability, and resources who are even now doing something that can provide long term solutions.  One of them is right here in NH - Dean Kamen - inventor of the Segway (among other things) and founder of the FIRST Robotics competition for high school students.  From today's NH Union Leader comes coverage of the 2009 FIRST kickoff, and his speech, which includes these quotes:

"You can't confuse the real invention of wealth with this superficial movement of money, this shell game that's been played by bankers and the Wall Street crowd," he said after his speech. "It's time to get back to basics and invest in serious projects that will create serious wealth."

"Why do we do FIRST? Because the world's a mess," Kamen said. "Read the news, look around you. ... Two-thirds of the people alive today, or 4 billion people, are living on less than $2 a day, and half of those are living on $1. You're the richest people in the world by far, and the world's a mess, and somebody's got to fix it."

He believes in our future, and he's doing something about it.  I too want to be part of the solution to the crises that seem to surround us from every angle.  I'm not a multimillionaire or a famous inventor, but even if I just do small things like volunteering and being a bit more friendly and courteous to those around me, maybe I'll influence someone.  Just one person... and they can influence one person... And so it goes.....  

Happy 2009 to all my Fun Monday friends!

Fun Monday - Veteran's Day

I'm really late joining Fun Monday this week, but I think the topic is so worthy that I had to contribute.  Our host this week is Janis.  Her very timely assignment:

Since Next Tuesday is Veterans Day, I thought it would be nice to salute our Veterans and show our appreciation. Photo requirement of something patriotic.

My stepfather passed away two years ago.  He was a WWII veteran, an Army Laboratory Technician.     

Occasionally, when I was young, he would talk about the war.  I don't remember the specific stories, just the overall lesson that being in a war was a very tough way of life.  I know the war made an indelible impression on his life.   Maybe if I had listened closer to those stories, I would have understood him better.  

Veteran's Day is a tribute to him and all the others who have served our country.  Let us never forget the sacrifices made by so many, and do what we can to honor those.  Even those lucky enough to come home bring memories of the horrors of war with them that we can scarcely imagine.  Let us pause in our daily routines to say a special prayer of thanks for their sacrifice, and to remember those who are no longer with us.  

Fun Monday - Wordly Wise

The ladies over at Mothers of Brothers, or MoB (I love that acronym) have challenged us to "use our words" this week.  Their instructions:

Words are our building blocks, our stepping stones, and, for many of us, our salvation. We string them together so quickly at times, we often lose sight of how precious they are. So tell us about your favorite word… or if you can’t pick just one, tell us about a few. Are there certain words that feel good the way they roll of your tongue? Do some words make you feel smart? Or silly? Or happy? Which words do you find yourself selecting to put in your posts? Since this response could be a short one, feel free to poll your family and friends and include some of their favorite words as well. If you think a definition is required, please share one. Please keep the words rated G for all audiences. Any language is acceptable, but please provide a translation. And stick to real words as opposed to ones made up along the way. We then challenge everyone to visit the posts on Monday and try to use other bloggers’ favorite words in your blog next week. We can’t wait to expand our vocabulary!

Hypermiling - I predict this will be THE word for 2008.  The hyperlink will take you to a site all about it if you haven't already heard this term.  Since I drive an FSP (fuel sucking pig) I've been trying to follow as many of the tips as possible.  Boy do people hate to drive behind me now:)  

Imagine - I just hear this word and my mind starts off on wild explorations.  It's my happy word.

Interjection - If like me you grew up with SchoolHouse Rock, I probably don't need to say anything more about this one!  I start singing every time I hear it. 

Sesquipedalian - given to using long words; a word of many syllables.  

I use this one on my students when they start trying to BS (pardon my acronymic swear - is acronymic a word?) their way through my class with big words.  Unfortunately (for them) they typically use those big words totally out of context.  

Fun Monday - Careers

I've been out of town (and then trying to catch up from being out of town) the last couple weeks, and have missed playing along on Fun Monday. I'm finally caught up beyond caring about being behind, I just wanna have some fun.

This weeks hostess is Dungareesablaze at the Irish Coffee House and here's a great topic for those of us who like to use our blog as a way of remembering things...

Careers- Then and Now

THEN: As a child day dreaming of what your future would hold for you, what did you want to be when you grew up? Did you ever pursue or achieve it?

NOW: If you could be trained and placed in any career beginning tomorrow, what would it be?

WAY BACK THEN:

My destiny was clear in my mind from second grade onward - I was going to be a veterinarian. That is, until my senior year in high school, when I met my first love. I just couldn't bear to be separated from him by going away to college. Unfortunately, he didn't tell me not to give up on my dreams, that he would wait for me, we would make it work; the way I now understand that true love does. So I changed my dreams for him. The relationship didn't last, but by the time it was over I was too far into my degree (and student loans) to change majors.

I majored in accounting, because I was good at math. Not exactly the best way to choose a career. I ended up with an internship at a really big company my senior year of college, and this led to my relocating from KY to NH.

THEN, NOT QUITE SO FAR BACK:

A few years later I was still in NH, independent and financially successful, but not really happy in my career (or other areas, but that's a story for another day.) Someone said to me - "why don't you do something else if you are so unhappy?" I decided to look into vet school. I visited the nearest vet school, and they told me the first thing I needed to do was arrange to work with a local vet. I went to the nearest vet's office, and he scheduled me to work with him weekends for a month.

Among those who have influenced me, I have to rank him among the most positive of influences. He took the time to make me really think about what I wanted to do, and to understand what would be required to make this career change. He let me fully observe the activities at his veterinary hospital and realize what really is involved in veterinary medicine. And he told me "You don't do this because you love animals. If you love animals, there are plenty of other ways to be around them and help them. You do this because you love the science of veterinary medicine."

In the end, I understood that I would have to go to school for 4-6 years, incur massive student debt, and when I graduated I would make less than I was making in my current job. And being a vet didn't look quite as glamorous as it did when I had no experience in the field beyond taking my own animals to the vet. I realized that my dream was more of a fantasy - an idea I had created based on a love of animals without adequate consideration of what the career involved. Instead of changing careers, I looked for a new job. Preferably one with lots of opportunities for travel, which was the one part of my current job that I actually liked.

I found a great job, got a huge pay increase, traveled extensively, and while on the road, met Kilowatt.

NOW:

I'm happily married to Kilowatt, with a wonderful daughter who teaches me something new every day.

I explored a few other career options along the way. I considered teaching high school math (shudder), I've been (and still am) a travel consultant, and I've taught computer and accounting classes.

This fall, I'm starting a PhD program in accounting, so I can teach and do research in my favorite areas of accounting: forensic accounting and accounting systems. So I think this answers the 2nd question.

And while I reflect back over how I got to where I am today, I am reminded of the Garth Brooks song Unanswered Prayers: "I guess the Lord knows what he's doin' after all"

Fun Monday: Clothes you can't part with

Our hostess for this weeks Fun Monday is HulaGirl and she has come up with a fun and creative challenge. Her instructions:

After much thought and consideration I’ve come up with the following topic….clothing…specifically clothing you can’t get rid of. We all have at least one or two items of clothing that we can’t part with, even if we can’t or don’t wear them. I want to know about yours. Show us if you have pictures or describe it in detail. Model it for us if you dare. Nothing naughty please-we don’t want to see your backside (or your front side) in that thong you foolishly bought in Cancun on vacation. Is it your old FFA jacket from high school (which my husband has)? A Grateful Dead concert t-shirt from 1978? A shirt from an old lover or that size *&! pair of jeans you hope you get into again one day? Or maybe the really large pair of jeans you wore before you lost 100 pounds or your grandma’s vintage wedding dress. Dig around in your closets and find something you want to share with us Monday.

I have an entire box full of items, so the tough part was deciding which ones to showcase.
I decided to start with a favorite of mine:

I wore this suit when I was much, much younger and thinner. I looked really hot in it, even if I do say so myself. I doubt that I will ever fit into it again (some things have grown and shifted over the years.) But I just can't bring myself to get rid of it!

I have a whole collection of t-shirts that bring back lots of memories of concerts and events of old. Like this one:
This is from my one and only visit to the Kentucky Derby. I have the matching Derby glass too. Did I pick the winner? No. Spend A Buck beat out my long shot favorite by, well, a long shot.

Then there is this one, a souvenir of my first ever rock concert date:
In case you don't remember, the band is REO Speedwagon. I saw them a couple of years ago here in NH - like me, they have aged a bit. They still make great music though!

And finally,Hulagirl, this is for your hubby:


I actually have two of them, the other is a white one from the year I was selected as Chapter Sweetheart. But the white is now more of a beige -- it hasn't weathered time quite as well as this one has.

The other items in my box include lots more concert t-shirts: Air Supply, Oak Ridge Boys, Brooks and Dunn (signed). Also some Sigma Phi Epsilon Lil Sis items as a reminder of my college days, and my old horse show clothing, which like the suit I will never fit into again.

I can hardly wait to see what everyone else has offered up!

Fun Monday - Walls

This weeks host is Jan, and she's come up with quite a challenge. Her instructions:

The subject is walls. We all have walls of some sort. What I want to hear about and see, if you're going to show off your amazing photo skills, is what is on your walls, what color are your walls, what is special about them, what is your favorite or least favorite, is it inside or outside. You get the idea, let's show and tell about walls.

When I first considered this challenge, I thought 'uh-oh, this is going to be tough.' But as soon as I began walking through my house, camera in hand, it became easier.

First, I like to showcase some of my favorite things on my walls:

I love pictures of beach chairs, beckoning me to come and sit:

What I didn't realize until I walked around, camera in hand, looking at my walls, is how much into wallpaper borders I am:

This isn't all of them - just my favorites. From left to right:
Master bedroom, Diva's room (but did I have to tell you that?) and dining room...


So: Does anybody recognize the color scheme in Diva's room?
Hint: Disney channel....

Fun Monday - I Made It Myself

Sorry to be so late posting, I've been battling much of the day to get these photos to upload.  

Karisma came up with this fabulous idea for Fun Monday.  Her instructions:

I MADE IT MYSELF!

I think the title pretty much says it all, but for those of you who may still be wondering, I would like to see or hear about things you have made with your own two hands (or feet, Im not fussy!) We all have different talents and abilities, maybe you like to sew or knit, chisel or sculpt, draw or paint? Whatever your talent is, please share it with us this week.

Da Rules.....

Well there are not any really! But you know, we all know that you made your kids so lets NOT choose them this time. (After all you did not make them with your hands or feet did you?)

I didn't realize how difficult this would be for me.  You see, I have a house full of half-completed projects.  My first challenge was finding something completed.  My second challenge - I'm not really the creative type.  I still recall my elementary school art teacher telling me "you just can't draw" in second grade.  So I am very sensitive about showing my creations to anyone.  My third challenge - I'm a perfectionist.  So I can find something wrong with everything I've ever created.  Again, this makes me a bit shy about sharing my creations.  

As I walked around the house looking for something exciting I created, I pulled out the cross-stitch I started making for Kilowatt the year we met.  It isn't even half-completed, so that went back in the bag.  

Next I found this:

I was in an art class where we were given the vase, and told to carve a picture on it, and paint it.  I had never done anything with ceramics, and have never done anything since then.  The art instructor kept telling me I was taking too long - it didn't have to be perfect.  I eventually completed it and I'm pretty happy with the result.

I do scrapbook, but I couldn't find too many pages that I really felt comfortable sharing.  Mainly because they had people on them who might not like seeing their picture online. I finally settled on this one as a sample.  

Finally, I have to cheat a little bit.  Kilowatt is the talented one in this family, and happily Diva shows signs of having inherited his artist talent.  Here is one of his masterpieces - an advent calendar he made for me after I complained that I couldn't find anything American made in any store, and didn't really like the ones I found anyway.  Isn't is lovely?  He used different kinds of woods to make the doors, that's why they aren't all the same color.  

Fun Monday - Vacations

This weeks Fun Monday Hostess is Alison.  Here's the assignment she's prepared for us.  I'm really looking forward to all the great photos and stories this one should generate!

Vacations...this is the time of year when most of us go on vacations. Show us and/or tell us about your favorite vacation - where you went, what you did, etc. Pictures would be great. Let's all take a trip around a the world via our FM friends!!

I love vacations.  It's really hard to choose one as a favorite.  So I decided to go with my most recent favorite.

In July 2007, we headed North to Alaska to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary.  Kilowatt and I were married in Alaska, at the Alyeska Resort.   Ironically, we didn't visit the resort in 2007 because it was raining so hard the day we were in that area.  Alaska is hard to describe with just words, so I'll let some of my hundreds of photos do the talking.

We started out in this lower 48 city - do you recognize it?

Yes, there is a mountain in the distance.  The city is Seattle, and the photo was taken from here.

Next, we took the Amtrak Cascades to this wonderful city:

After we departed from Vancouver, we sailed North up the Inside Passage.  We stopped first at Ketchikan, where it was raining.  I've give up on ever seeing Ketchikan in the sun.  Next stop Juneau, where it was quite lovely.  We took a photography tour - of course, if  you are in Alaska, what do you photograph?  These:

And these:

And then some of these:

Next stop, my favorite port, Skagway.  We took the White Pass and Yukon railroad over some white-knuckle territory:

Once we reached our final port, we headed inland.  We only saw these at the Alaskan Wildlife refuge, although that may not be a bad thing.  Don't think I'd want to be this close to one in the wild:

We went hiking at an abandoned mine:

Participated in this:

Enjoyed a ride behind Iditarod competitor Vern Halter's dogs:

Finally, on our last day, look who peaked out to say hi.  We took a ride on a Mahay's Jetboat (a tiny one shows in the photo.) I should note here that our last visit McKinley never graced us with a view, so this was an extra special treat.

Sigh... everytime I look at these I want to go back and do it all again!