The House Gun

My latest read is The House Gun by Nadine Gordimer. This is an amazingly well written book about a very unpleasant topic. An upper middle class white couple, in a former colonial African country, are horrified to find out their adult son has not only been arrested for murder, but he has plead guilty. This book travels through the disbelief, the horror, the thoughts and the actions of the parents as they try to understand, place blame and finally accept what they think they know about their son. The book also deals with subtle racism and homophobia in a newly freed and "liberal" country. This is not a feel-good book. There is no happy ending. But it is a thought provoking book. How would you act if your child committed a murder? Do you still love them? Whose fault is it: yours, your spouses, societies? Does life go on "normally" afterwards? I really don't know if I would recommend this book or not. It is amazingly well written and it does make you think about yourself and your beliefs. So maybe I would recommend it, with the warning that you're probably not going to feel great about it afterwards.

On that note, we leave for Minnesota tomorrow, so have a great week/weekend.

I got her phone number!

I haven't had the best luck meeting and making friends here in Virginia. The most famous of those I have befriended is probably crazy Dee, whom I am no longer in touch with. Since I was subbing for the same class everyday, I was able to meet people and get to know them a little better than "good morning". There was one woman in particular that I really liked and we seemed to have much in common. But I get nervous around people I actually like and thought I had blown my chances at making a friend. On Thursday, while chatting with her, and trying to impress upon her that I would make a GREAT friend, I got stuck on the topic of child molestation. For 10 minutes. CHILD MOLESTATION. FOR 10 MINUTES. And she has children. What the hell is wrong with me? I figured I had blown it. But, on Friday, she asked for my phone number and gave me hers. I'm trying not to get too excited (think crazy Dee), but I think this could be good.

I think Wednesday was the worse of my illness. Thursday I felt much better and the weather was great. I went bird watching. I hadn't been in so long that just seeing a bird made me excited. Then, much to my delight, I identified four new birds. FOUR!!! It was very exciting. Two of them were large (the royal tern and the belted kingfisher) and two were tiny (the carolina wren and the ruby crowned kinglet). The kingfisher is a large blue bird. Even bigger than a Blue Jay, but with a white "necklace". He was beautiful. The ruby-crowned kinglet is only four inches small. Very cute, very tiny. I was very excited about all of this. Yesterday, Wes and I went to the botanical gardens and I didn't see any new birds, but he got to see the kingfisher and a wood-duck (and I saw a male wood-duck, which I hadn't seen before). We also got incredibly close to a Great Blue Heron. The weather was amazing and it was just really nice being outside with my husband.

However, today I woke up with the worst headache I've had since last November. I'm not sure what brought that on. I'm feeling a bit better now, but I think I'm just going to take it easy the rest of the day.

Was ist das?

I love my German class. Not only have I learned more German in two weeks than I did in a year of taking classes (ok, that might be a slight exaggeration), but I love my kids. I only have 10 kids, but they are great. It makes me want my own class. But only one or two classes, not something full time (I'm lazy). And now I know I could teach middle school. Or at least 8th grade. The kids are so good and eager to learn and please the teacher. It's so nice to hear a student tell you they used your study trick and now they feel ready for the quiz. Or to hear the one very, very quiet girl speak up to tell you she studied for an hour. And it's the best feeling when they all ace their quizzes, AND tell you they're going to miss you next week. I'm going to miss them too.

But. . . I'm sick as a dog. My tonsils are so swollen I look like I have a double chin. My lymph nodes hurt so much I had to find a new position to sleep in. My throat feels like someone peeled all the skin off of it, rubbed it with sandpaper, and then set it on fire. Thankfully, I'm only teaching one class a day. I can make it through that. But by the end of class, I have no voice, I drag myself home and crawl back into bed. I have to get better soon. Mostly because it's been so long since I went birding that I've been dreaming about it for four nights straight. And the birds in my dreams are weird. I once dreamt of a robin that had nipples, like a cat. Anyway, I also have to get better soon because Wes and I are going to Minnesota next week. He's never met my Grandma, or any of my family that lives there. And my cousin just had a baby, so I can't wait to see her (and the baby). I'm excited about the trip, but I have got to shake this bug.

My peppers taste better than any pepper I've ever had. They are so sweet (the bell peppers, not the jalapenos). Really, really sweet. And red and green ones grow on the same plant, which makes me wonder why the grocery store charges $3.00 a pound more for red ones. Mine are only half the size of the grocery store ones, but they taste waaaaaay better. I love them.

Ok, gotta get some more hot tea.

Round and round

My sub job isn't as great as I would like. It's only two hours a day. But still, it's two hours a day and the nice office lady is trying to find me more work. And if I'm willing to work for only two hours a day, I'll get on her good side and then maybe she'll call me more often with more work. Yesterday I helped pass out school schedules (some poor child had the last name of Fagg), and then she let me leave. But I will start working again tomorrow. I will be teaching German, so it's appropriate that I'm not feeling well and have a bunch of stuff draining on the back of my throat. That stuff will make it much easier to pronounce German words easier!

Back to Tolstoy. I think Tolstoy was trying to come up with his meaning of life. As he got older, he split from the Russian Orthodox Church (the state sanctioned religion) in order to find a more personal religious experience. He wrote about this, although I haven't read any of his Christian writings. He was a complex man, one who wanted to treat his peasants right and use his fortune for good, but he was also a man, and fought to overcome his vices (most notably, those peasant girls). He had the time to realize there had to be more to life than just sustenance, and he was intelligent enough to think through the big questions. I think that's what War and Peace was all about. I guess it was his blog.

Wes's bachelor's degree is in computer technology/programming, or something like that. The navy will actually give Wes 2 years off from work to send him to school for his Master's degree. That one will be in computer engineering, but he won't start that for another year. Right now, he is using the GI bill to get a different Master's degree (like myself, Wes loves to learn for the sake of knowledge). He is interested in finance and stocks and bonds and all that other stuff. But, I don't think he knows quite enough for me to just hand over our (small) excess money and say, "go make us millions!" So he found a program that is Financial management and Information systems. The finance stuff will all be new for him (at a university level, he has actually read a TON of books about it) and my dad is a CFO, so he can always call my dad if he needs help. The information systems will be review. My husband spent this weekend writing his own excel program to chart our profits (with our non-existent money) and took apart the two computers he had previously built to fix them. My husband is very intelligent, and in these areas, he runs circles around me. Actually, I think he may be smarter than me, but I would never tell him that. But I am proud of him.

Well, I guess that's about it for now. I think I'm going to take a nap, and hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow.

School starts tomorrow

As a substitute teacher, I really wasn't expecting to get any work the first couple of weeks of September. I wanted to work, but figured everything would be covered. Oh, how wrong I was. I just got a call for a two week job, teaching German at a middle school. Middle schools didn't offer foreign languages when I was that age. Anyway, I'm nervous because it's a middle school. I'm not that nervous about the German. I took German. I went to Germany. How bad could that be? But I am happy that I have a job. I love working.

Today, Wes and I just took it easy. He starts graduate school tomorrow and I'll be starting work. So we've spent the weekend organizing and stuff. Today we grilled hamburgers and I cut up a jalapeno from my garden and put it on the burger. It was spicy goodness! And I used one of the bell peppers from my garden in the pasta salad. I like having a garden! Now I'm just stressing out over what to wear tomorrow. I'm sure I'll figure it out.

Hope everyone had a great weekend.

War and Peace

Grab a cup of coffee and pull up a chair. This review is going to be long, but not as long as the approximately 1,600 page book.

One of my professors from UW often said that Leo Tolstoy wrote War and Peace to explain the Decembrist Revolution of 1825 (not the band, but the event the band named itself for). Therefore, before I begin to discuss the book, I'm going to start with a history lesson (Yay!). All historical information and any further information you would like can be found in A History of Russia by Nicholas V. Riasanovsky (a classic).

Unlike many history lessons, this one will go backwards, for reasons that will be evident later. In December 1825 Tsar Alexander I died, leaving no legitimate heirs. It appeared to most of Russia (meaning those who were educated) that his younger brother, Constantine, would be declared Tsar. However, he had previously married a Polish aristocrat and renounced his rights to the throne. This was not widely known. It also meant that the youngest brother, Nicholas I, was declared Tsar in his place. When the new Tsar presented himself to the military, in order for them to swear allegiance to him, several officers began a riot, claiming that Nicholas had usurped the throne from his brother. At this time, officers in the military consisted of the aristocracy, well educated young men, many of whom had been to Western Europe. It was rumored that these young men convinced the regular soldiers to chant "For Constantine and a constitution." However, the simple soldiers reportedly thought that constitution was Constantine's wife. Needless to say, a few officers and confused soldiers a revolution does not make. Most of the elite society believed that the officers would receive lenient sentences. First, it was the beginning of his reign, and heavy punishment would show the new Tsar to lack mercy. Second, and most importantly, these young men were aristocrats and nobles, who were well educated, and whose families had supported the autocracy for centuries. Regardless, Nicholas I gave them heavy sentences and the story of the Decembrists and their wives riding through Russia on their way to Siberia inspired others who opposed the Tsar.

According to my professor, it was this event that Tolstoy was trying to explain. How could the best and brightest, those who personally benefitted from the autocracy, decide they wanted a constitution? The simple answer, according to my professor: the Napoleanic wars. Under the previous Tsar, Alexander I, Russia had first fought against Napolean (along with the rest of Europe), made peace with him, and then fought him again, when he actually invaded Russia in 1812. This is the story told in War and Peace. I looked for and expected to find, the story of how the Napoleonic wars created the Decembrists. However, I should add right here, I did not find it. Or rather, I kind of sorta found it in two pages at the very end of the book. Now, my professor is much more intelligent than me, but I do consider myself quite intelligent also. Therefore, if I was looking for this, and didn't find it, how are all the people not looking for it going to find it. I must conclude that if Tolstoy did indeed write War and Peace to explain the Decembrists, he failed.

War and Peace is considered, by many, to be the best novel ever written. In Russia, people argue over who is the best writer, Tolstoy or Dostoevsky. Now, I prefer Dostoevsky, but since Tolstoy is considered one of the greatest writers ever, I expected War and Peace to be a great story, highly readable, and that I would gain insight about the Napoleanic wars, Russian politics, Russian society and human nature. I did not. The book is divided into three volumes, of approximately 550 pages each. I felt that the first half of the book could adaquitely be summed up by reading Alexander Pushkins's Eugene Onegin, a much shorter story. The first half of War and Peace described the aristocratic scene, the love affairs, the intrigues, the nobility going broke and trying to broker advantageous marriages for their sons and daughters, the balls, the duels, the boredom, and only a small mix of politics. Although several of the characters are very well written, and you have to commend him for writing a story 1,600 pages long, it could have been much, much shorter.

Tolstoy actually praises himself for his description of the war, in the notes from the author. However, I felt his descriptions of the chaos, confusion, and futility of war could just as easily be gained by reading Red Badge of Courage or All Quiet on the Western Front. And again, both these books are much, much shorter than War and Peace.

However, I do not think the story, which is often fascinating, but quite longer than it needed to be, was not the reason Tolstoy wrote War and Peace. Throughout the book and in the Second Epilogue, Tolstoy delves into his philosophy of history. I believe this was his purpose in writing War and Peace. As these are by far the most boring part of the book, he probably felt he had to add a story to keep readers interested. In these sections, Tolstoy discusses history, the progress of history and so on. He argues about Great Man history (otherwise known as Dead White Man history). He argues about genius versus chance. He appropriates Hegel without naming him. He argues about whether or not God plays a role in history, whether we really have free will and whether history could progress without Napoleon and Alexander I. He discusses how history is written (political, cultural, by the victor). He was trying to figure out why men kill each other. Overall, he was trying to find the meaning of life, of history, of the world. This is his conclusion, "The activity of these people interested me only as an illustration of the law of predetermination which in my opinion guides history, and of that psychological law which compels a man who commits actions under the greatest compulsion, to supply in his imagination a whole series of retrospective reflections to prove his freedom to himself." This is not a bad lesson, only I didn't need to read 1,600 pages to get there. I already have my own theory of history.

Overall, I found War and Peace very disappointing. It is supposed to be the greatest book every written, by the greatest author ever born. Either I am too stupid to appreciate it, or too many people credit it with this title based on its length only. The story was good, but it was not worth the time of 1,600 pages. Perhaps I will pick it up in 30 years or so and will finally be illuminated, but for now, I remain firmly in Dostoevsky's corner and believe that the Napoleonic wars were the cause of the Decembrists, not because Tolstoy told me so, but because a very wise professor did.

This is good

Sorry I haven't written in a while. I travelled to Charlotte, NC to visit my friend Tiffany! She recently moved to NC from Wisconsin, where her advisor (not the same one as mine) crapped on her too. Something about Wisconsin advisers. The saddest part, I think Tiffany is waaaaay smarter than me, so I totally don't understand what happened. But the good news is that she moved pretty close to me. We hadn't seen each other since I moved, so it was wonderful seeing her again. We ate a lot of food, laughed a whole lot and talked about everything. I think everyone I know and love should move within 6 hours of me. That would make my life much happier. I can't wait to see Tiffany more often though.

On my way home, I picked up the kids. Wes had managed to score free tickets to Water Country USA because he's in the military. Now before you get all upset that us military people get everything, I would like to point out that Wes and I have been married for 18 months. Of that 18 months, we have lived together for eight months. Three of those months I lived in Madison while he lived here, but the rest is all because of the Navy. So, I think we deserve some free stuff to have fun. The kids had a great time and didn't burn. We had a great time and got a little pink, but no burns. Since I had spent the entire day before in the car, and then all day at the water park, I was just a little bit tired yesterday. And today.
We had a great weekend, but we found out some information that doesn't exactly make us happy. First, Wes's x told Victor he could get his ear pierced for his birthday. She did not consult Wes. Wes doesn't have a problem with boys getting their ear's pierced, he just thinks that Victor is too young. And he's very angry that she didn't consult him first. Secondly, the kids told me that due to some money emergencies (the cat, Victor's teeth, etc.) that their mom had to "borrow" all their birthday and Christmas money. This really upset Wes. On the one hand, the x left him for the "multi-millionaire" that she is now married to. And she has never worked, although we think she may work part time right now. On the other hand, these are his kids and he wants to make sure they are being properly taken care of. I think he may suggest to his x, when he discusses the ear piercing, that if they don't have the money to take care of the kids, even with the huge amount we pay every month, that perhaps the kids would be better off living with us. I hate the entire situation because it upsets him so much.
This is my first official harvest from my plants. We did pick one jalapeno last weekend for nachos, but this is the first time I picked more than one. And the plants are still covered. We're going to be eating peppers forever. That's ok though. It was fun, they taste better than the stores and our beautiful "back yard" of concrete was covered with something pretty.

Well, there is no food in the house, I have no clean clothes, I need to pay a few bills, and I really need to e-mail/call about 10 people. I hope everyone had a great weekend and I'm happy to say that I will be reviewing War and Peace before the end of the week.

Strangeness

Lately, I've feeling strangely. It is a feeling I'm not familiar with and it took me a while to figure out what it was. I think it is called, "normal". Usually my feelings run the gambit from depressed to not depressed, with an occasional, "oh, I think this may be happiness." I've always had a list of things I wanted to do, volunteer, make friends, learn new things, but never did. I blamed it on depression. Now, I look at that list and go, "why haven't I done this stuff? Let's get started!" I've discovered that "nice" is the best word in the world. It may make one think things are generic, or boring, but in reality (ok, my reality), it means stability. Emotionally, physically, spiritually, realistically. Something I've never had. But now, my life is nice. The afghan I'm crocheting is nice. My healthy jalapeno and pepper plants are nice. Reading War and Peace for fun is nice. My husband is nice. His kids are nice. Figuring out what I want to do with my life, without feeling pressure is nice. And nice is the nicest word of all.

Did I get that right?

I've been messing with my page, trying to make it look all cool and everything, and I accidentally erased all my links. I was able to find most of the them, but not all them. If your link disappeared, it's not because I don't love you anymore, it's because I'm a highly intelligent person. I've been frantic trying to figure out how to get them back, then today, I realized (duh), just read my comments and get the links from there. Boy, I am brazilliant!

In other news, we had the kids this weekend and it was possibly the best weekend we've ever had with the kids (minus the sunburn). We went to the beach and had a great time. We played games, we played with toys, we went to church. We just had a great time. Although, the kids apparently think we play with their toys when they're not here. They asked, incredulously, what we did when they weren't there if we didn't play with their toys. Hmmmm. . . .I wonder!

Speaking of what we do when the kids aren't here, do you know how hard it is for two very tired, very sunburned people, one who has bruised his leg and pulled his groin trying to keep his daughter from being washed away by the ocean, have sex? Very difficult. But still worth it.

Guess where we went this weekend!

This is your leg.

This is your leg on sun.

Any questions?

When it rains, it hails

My husband had to work Sunday (GO NAVY!) but he called me that evening. He mentioned that the weather had called for a level 1 thunderstorm with hail and wondered if we had gotten any.

Me: oh yes, I got some.
Him: what do you mean? The house?
Me: no, me personally.
Him: What?
Me: Well, I've been stuck in the house because of the weather and lack of car, so when I noticed that it was overcast this afternoon, I decided to go to the park to bird-watch.
Him: Yeah. . .
Me: I thought it was moving the other direction, and when I got to the park, it was still sunny.
Him: Ok. . . .
Me: I had walked half way around the pond (a rather large pond) when it started to get really windy, began to thunder and lightening and started to rain. But it wasn't raining hard, so I figured it would moved pretty quickly through.
Him: Um hm. . . .
Me: Then it started raining really, really hard, and I was about 10 to 15 minutes away from the car, with no umbrella, so I took refuge in a group of trees and bushes. It helped with the wind and the rain.
Him: Ok. . .
Me: But it just kept raining and raining and I finally realized I couldn't possibly get any wetter, so I might as well head for the car. Besides, it started to slow down.
Him: Well, that's good!
Me: But it didn't. It got worse. It got really, really windy. I almost lost my balance more than once. And the wind was coming across the pond, driving that water into me and the rain was coming down sideways. It felt like I was being hit by thousands of needles.
Him: At least it wasn't hailing.
Me: I thought that too. And then it began hailing. (When I told this story to my mom, she broke in here with, "was your car ok?" My car is 10 years old, has 100,000 miles on it and I bought it with hail damage. Thanks for being concerned about me.) It was only pea-size, but I was still about 10 minutes from the car. Especially since I was trying to walk sideways so I didn't get hit in the face with hail. Hail hurts. It actually broke my skin in a couple of places. But I finally made it to the car and came home and took a hot shower.
Him: Didn't you think to check the weather channel before you left?

So I'm sure my family is wondering why I'm such an idiot. I hate hail.

Butterflies

I was just lying in bed, trying to sleep, but too excited to do so. I keep running through the list of things in my head. Is the house clean enough? What outfit should I wear? What shoes should I wear? What should I make for dinner tomorrow night? Did I forget anything? I have painted my toenails AND my fingernails (I haven't painted them in years). I will shave tomorrow morning and remember to pick up ice-cream at the store. I can't wait to see my husband. I want to show him my new afghan, my plants, how far I've read in my book, my new computer game, the wedding pictures. Like a little kid I want to show off the good things I've done and hear how wonderful and good they are. And they will be. He won't find fault with anything. He will praise everything I show him. The house could be a mess, but it would be clean enough for him. I could serve up a frozen meal, and that would be fine. I could show up in a potato sack, and he would still think I was beautiful. All he wants, all he needs, is for me to be there, waiting for him. He needs to see my excitement in my eyes as the smile spreads across my face when I see him. He needs me to run into his arms and laugh and cry and hold him and tell him how much I missed him, how much I love him, how I never want him to leave again. He needs me to constantly touch him all night, to make sure it really is him. He just needs me. And because of that, I want to give him all the rest. I want to be the most intelligent, patient, gentle, beautiful, talented, creative, wonderful, loving wife in the world. Because I think he is the most intelligent, patient, gentle, beautiful, talented, creative, wonderful, loving husband in world. Because he truly loves me, for me. Something I never thought possible. I can't wait for tomorrow.

Money is over-rated

My car failed the Virginia state inspection. My tint is getting old and bubbly and you can't see out of the back window. Or the passenger side window. Oh, and apparently I broke the front left CV axle boot too (I think just this week: it started making really weird noises). I took it to the Nissan dealership to fix all this crap and then mentioned that the car has 100,000 miles on it and I need it to last a couple more years. And I haven't taken it for a check-up (tune-up?) in, oh, about three or four years. Originally it was going to cost me $400. Now, now it's going to cost me $2,000. Well, if that's all. I have that laying around in change. Something about a timing belt leak and all my fluids need to be changed and a whole bunch of over stuff I glossed over for. But I guess it's still better than a monthly car payment. Thank God school starts soon, we need the money.

I think I might get one squash out of my container garden. That makes it the world's most expensive squash when you consider the containers, soil, mulch and water. It better taste good. My one lonely jalapeno plant is covered in jalapenos, which is very exciting, until I realized we don't really eat jalapenos. Four of my bell pepper plants look like they will produce as well. And then I realized, neither I nor my husband really like bell peppers. Hopefully they won't taste anything like the store bought ones, because really, who wants to grow anything that tastes like that. My veggies will be delicious. And, apparently, very expensive.

A day late

Camille, I hope you had a great first day at work! And remember, nothing is set in stone and if it doesn't work for you guys, there's something else out there.

Tiffany, I can't wait until you're on this side of the country.

And my husband comes home on Friday!!!!!

Scratch that itch

Yesterday I went to First Landing State Park. I had never been there before and I was hoping that it would increase the type and number of birds I have observed. I started in the Bald Cypress swamps. They are so surreal yet beautiful. It's almost like another planet. The Green Herons love them. They blend right into the scenery, so you have to look really hard to find them. I heard woodpeckers several times, but never saw any. I also heard several new songs, but too many trees kept me from seeing them. I startled several lizards, some of which startled me in turn. One of them had to have been at least 8 inches long. And I saw one climbing up a tree. That was pretty cool. But no new birds. I did, however, find frogs. Lots and lots of frogs. This made me feel better because the Botanical Garden does not have any frogs. I mean, I'm sure they have frogs, I've just never seen any. The swamp and all the frogs reminded me of the Muppet Movie, the greatest movie ever. I dare you to think of the movie without humming one of the songs or smiling about the Steve Martin scene. . . . Some day you'll find it. The rainbow connection. The lovers, the dreamers and me. . . . Sorry about that, where was I. Oh yes, not finding any new birds. My feet were starting to hurt, not bad, but enough that I wanted to sit down for a while. I also wanted to go on to find a new bird, but knew I would be even more disappointed if I went on and still couldn't find a new one. The bugs had discovered me as well, and apparently, I taste good. I have a line of huge bug bites on my neck. Anyway, I decided to leave and go back later, with my husband. Driving out of the park, an osprey flew over my car, gripping a rather large fish in its claws. HOW DAMN COOL!!! That made the day worth it.

Trying to make nothing interesting

I'm back home. On the plane ride back I sat next to a nice retired couple who were on their way to Russia. He was retired military, she was a retired teacher. We talked the entire trip. It made me realize that even though I'm not where I thought I would be, I'm where I should be.

Upon entering my home, I realized that one of my (five) smoke detectors had a low battery. I figured this out because it was chirping every three minutes. I called to put in a work order, but it was 4:30pm and they said they couldn't get it done that day (Thursday). I managed to remove it from the ceiling and hide it in one of the other rooms (it was outside my bedroom door). However, it is now the end of Tuesday and no one has come to fix it yet. I'm thinking I'm going to take it to the leasing office and tell them they can keep it until it's fixed.

Other than that, not much. I got groceries, cleaned (a little bit), watered my plants (they're all still alive), started a new afghan and started reading War and Peace. Tomorrow I'm going to visit a new state park (the state park isn't new, but it's new to me). My husband will be home in about 10 days. I can't wait!

My sister is a Mrs.

My sister got married last Saturday. It was perfect and beautiful. Everything went well. Here's a few pictures, because to be honest, the day was kind of a blur.

This is my brother, my sister and me. The wedding colors were black and hot pink (hence the tie). My brother usually has this thing growing on his face that looks like a goat chin (not a goatee, a goat). He shaved it for my sister. Unfortunately I didn't get a good picture of Elise with her new husband.

This is me with my parents. Doesn't my mom look beautiful. Just about everyone fought back tears at the wedding. Justin's dad was the best man and at one point we were both tearing up, but then he caught my eye and winked at me. After that both of us felt fine.
I got to spend time with the most handsome boy at the wedding. But he's a little shy.
There's the little Phoenix. He was so good and so cute. He handed out Hershey kisses to all the pretty girls in the room, and then he handed them out to everyone. He found out that my mom hadn't gotten a piece of cake yet (the cake was pink with black polka-dots), so he got her a piece. "Nana, you stay right there until I get back. I'll get you cake. Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back." He's so cute! He danced all night too! We also had a photo booth, like the ones in the mall. It was a hit but Phoenix really loved it. He was just walk right in, no matter who was in there, but he was too short to show up if he wasn't picked up, so people let him in. Then he gave them instructions. "Ok, there's going to be four pictures." It was a wonderful day and weekend. My sister and Justin looked so happy and in love. Now I just need a week of sleep!

Why I eloped

or why weddings are bad. My sister is a wreck. She is a hormonal, tired, stressed bitch from hell. And that's putting it nicely. My mom is wreck. That's because, according to my sister, she can't do anything right. Anything. Nothing, zip, nada, nechevo. My poor mother. All she's doing is trying to make everything perfect for my sister. The problem: when there is a problem, my sister's definition of resolution is that everyone agrees with her. One day my sister hates her soon to be in-laws. If we just listen and nod, but not agree with her, then we are horrible, horrible people. If we join in the bashing, then we are causing drama. Except that the next day she loves them and if we can't anticipate that, we are trouble-makers. I just want to bitch slap her. And, she thinks that my mom and I are thick as thieves and she can't join in the club. And, of course, that means we are ganging up on her. I don't think I've ever bitten my tongue so much in my entire life. It is her wedding and I do want her to be happy. But geez, do you really want to piss off everyone else in the process? I just can't wait until it's over. Hopefully then everything else will be back to normal.

Ready to go

I'm all packed and ready to go. My toenails are drying as I type. I've watered all my plants, inside and out. Although, I don't think I will be getting any squash this year. I was hoping that because I wasn't outside much, I was just missing the bee rush. However, all my squash get to 2 to 3 inches big and then wither. Oh well, better luck next year. My heavy suitcase sits by the front door. I think I have everything, and if not, I know I can get it there. I'm throwing my sister a lingerie party tomorrow and thankfully, Frederick's of Hollywood was having a sale yesterday. Things are going well. I plan on seeing my best friend in the whole wide world, Camille, and I'm even going to have dinner with my old friend Andrea. She called me on the 4th and we had a great talk. Hopefully we remain friends. It will be great to see all my family again too. Tons of people will be there, including family I haven't seen in about 6 years. I think this will be a great trip.

And of course, I can't leave without a few bird pictures. This is a Great Egret in a tree.


This little guy is a juvenile Green Heron. He let me get real close, but then put up his little crest when I got too close. I love it, because it looks like a cute little mohawk.

I don't remember if I mentioned this, but I also received a diploma from UW for a Master's degree. That makes my second MA in the same field, but at least now I feel like I got something from UW (besides some of the best friends a girl could have).

Hope everyone is doing well. I need to eat something before the cab gets here.

Read it now!

Awhile back I read Alexandra Fuller's Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight. This autobiographical work tells of her childhood in Africa as part of the white ruling class (although not wealthy). It goes on to describe the horror of independence for all parties involved and the strange re-identification that every African must make after independence. Fuller is an excellent writer and I look forward to reading her other books as well. And, I am excited to write, I have found her fictional counterpart. I have just finished reading Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible. This book easily compares to Fuller's. Kingsolver focuses on a missionary family with four daughters, which moves to the Congo the year before independence is declared. The book is written from the perspective of the mother and the four daughters, in a diary form. Kingsolver obviously did her homework and the lives, traditions, religion, and socio-econonic structure of the Africans is crystal clear. Her characters are well-defined and so beautifully written about that you can picture them, as if you've met them before. This is one of the rare books that you don't want to get to the end, because you don't want the book to end. You want to keep reading and reading. Unfortunately, the book does end. But it does so on a wonderful note. This is the first of Kingsolver's books I've ever read. It will not be the last.