THE HARDEST THING EVER

For those of you who still check this thing every once in awhile....

I am in the midst of my student teaching experience. Hence the total neglect of this blog. I got placed in a fourth grade class at the school I wanted to be at. I have a wonderful classroom teacher and a wonderful supervisor. However, I am still asking myself-
Why did I have to choose the hardest career ever? This is the most difficult challenge I have ever encountered. Every day I have to start over and tell myself "It's a new day." I have to remain calm. I have to remain positive. I am not naturally this way-I get riled up easily. I constantly tend toward being negative. Please pray for me during this time of daily challenge in my life.

InBev Take Note

We went to the Bellefontaine Cemetery last month. Cemeteries are the nicest parks in Saint Louis. Quiet. Green. Peaceful. No people. And great for taking pictures of really old tombs. Plus we found Adolphus Busch's family Masuoleum. I have no idea where this guy is in the Busch family tree, but whoever he was, when I peeked through the windows I am sure I heard him rolling over in there.

The Water is Rising; Sinners Repent!

Okay this post is about four weeks overdue- considering the river is down now and everything, but I don't care because I had a lot of overdue fines at the library (plus a lost book) which I completely paid off so I figure I can make up for my lateness on this blog too. P.S. I know it's nerdy but I am pretty excited when I log into my library account and it says "you have no current fines or fees." I had such a long rap sheet...

We had a fun date one night when we got some fast food for dinner and then took it to the river and ate it on the arch steps. Then we took a hundred pictures of the flooded Mississippi trying to get a good shot.

submerged road signs

contemplating the flood

The Water is Rising Part II

June- Introduction

Since it is nearing the end of the month and I have not updated at all I will try to give a recap of what the heck we have been up to (and maybe it will be a good excuse of of my blogslacking). Since I am lazy I'll just publish the month of June in a series of lists and/or synopses. I'll try to put it in a logical order. So just keep reading until you have gotten to something you've already read. Unless, that is, you are totally bored. If that is the case this blog is not for you because you won't find anything interesting on it. Anywhere. Enjoy.

End of May/June: More Company

We didn't know this would be the case but in the last couple months we have had the most company at our house we have ever had in all our three years living here. You already know all about my sibling's visit. Then at the end of May my grandparents Burkhart flew into Saint Louis. We picked them up and they stayed the night at our house. The next day we took them to the Cathedral Basilica to see and enjoy its beauty. Then we headed to Normal, Illinois so that they could see their granddaughter (my cousin) Jessica's graduation. We all stayed with her parents, my Aunt Lynda and Uncle Dan. If you are ever in Normal stay with them. Even if there are ten other people staying in their house you'll still get top-notch hospitality and some tasty eats. It was a relaxing weekend in which we ate a lot of food and did a lot of sitting around talking and/or doing nothing. It was also nice to see my grandparents and get to have them visit me in Saint Louis.

Then a couple weeks later I was stalking people on Facebook when I get an instant message from an old friend named Tim. Tim and his family are long-time friends with Jonathan and Jonathan's family. Since Jonathan dropped off the face of the earth when he married me he didn't stay much in contact with Tim or any other old friends. (Tim did run off to Scotland for a few years though so Jonathan has a partial excuse.) Anywho, turns out Tim and his younger brother Nate and Nate's two friends are doing every guy's dream- traveling all around the country in an old motor home with no jobs, no responsibilities, for as long as they want (they plan to return in the fall) and playing music in the streets to earn some cash. After a Boise send-off concert they hit Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Salt Lake, and Denver. Kansas City then St. Louis were next on their list. Tim, knowing we were in St. Louis, asked me if he could come see us on their way through. So long story short, the Great Northwest Secession (yes, they named their trip) spent some time with the Nelsons. We let them park their motor home in the back of the house. They came on a Thursday night and left Sunday morning.They pretty much entertained themselves. They walked from our house to the Arch, rode their bikes to the Zoo, and took late night bike rides around downtown. Friday night I made them dinner and then we hung out, talked, and watched Flight of the Concords. Saturday was my birthday (that will be separate post- shouldn't my birthday deserve a separate post after all?) but I had to work so Jonathan entertained them by taking them Frisbee golfing and then playing video games. It was fun to catch up with Tim and Nate and meet their friends- Ben and Sam. They claimed that they play music but I never did hear any from them. ( I did, however, get a free copy of Nate's CD) But I guess it's our own fault. They didn't need to wander around downtown playing music for food money because we fed them. I at least got a picture so I can prove they were in my house if they ever do get famous.
From Left to Right: Sam, Tim, Nate, Ben, pretending to be a "band"

If you would like to read Ben's perspective on their time here and more about The Great Northwest Secession you can click here.

June: Cooking, Music, and Books

As you know I am a picky eater. And fickle. That being said it is easy to understand why finding meals that I like is a chore. Once I do find meals I like I can get sick of them fast, so I am oftentimes looking for new recipes to try. It seems like this month has been one of those times. Just about every dinner Jonathan or I have made has been one we have never tried. Here is a partial list of the new recipes-
most of them came from my cookbooks or Taste of Home Magazines.

-stir fried scallops and pea pods
-chowmein chicken salad with turkey on biscuits
-volcano fold over pizzas
-chicken and penne dijon
-bacon cheeseburger buns
-hamburger macaroni and cheese
-mexican chicken manicotti
-ginger glazed pork chops
-chicken breasts in cilantro and parsley sauce
-stir fried basil chicken
-spicy sausage manicotti
-stromboli sandwiches
-ginger chicken

About 75 percent of those are keepers so I am happy about that. The next couple weeks I am going to try-

-creamy chicken enchiladas
-roast chicken with grape and blue cheese salad
-spicy nacho bake
-guilt-free mac n cheese
-sauteed chicken and peppers with coconut rice
-chicken salad in bib lettuce cups

I have also been on the hunt for some new music (I get tired of music fast too.) I found out I can check out 20 CDs from the library at a time! I had no idea because I figured it was the same as the 4 movie limit. I took advantage of that new information and went to town.
First the albums/bands I liked:
-Spoon- Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga and Gimme Fiction
-Bright Eyes- Cassadega
-Radiohead- In Rainbows
-Keane- Under the Iron Sea
-The Decemberists- The Crane Wife

I did not like:
-Neutral Milk Hotel
-Belle and Sebastian
-Nelly Furtado
-Jack Johnson

I haven't decided yet if I like:
-Death Cab- Narrow Stairs
-Arcade Fire- Funeral

I tried to get caught up on some reading and got a ginormous amount of books from the library. I have slowed down on the reading though. I'll have to get back on it.

I read:
-A Wrinkle in Time
-Clair de Lune
-A Single Shard
-Island of the Aunts
-Mirror Mask
-Flour Babies
-A Wind in the Door
-The Loud Silence of Francine Green

Currently I am trying to finish reading:
-Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

I still have these to read:
-Celandine
-Greenwitch
-A great and terrible beauty
-Book of a thousand days
-The love curse of the Rumbaughs
-The golden dream of Carlo Chuchio
-Over sea, under stone
-The MI strategy bank : 800+ multiple intelligence ideas for the elementary classroom
-The teenage liberation handbook : how to quit school and get a real life and education
-The well-managed classroom
-What Jamie saw
-Out of the dust

Were those the most exciting lists or what?!

June 14th: 23 Years

Yeah the actual day of my birthday wasn't the best. First I had to take the Praxis at 7 am- a high stress, seemingly no right or wrong answer, standardized test for teachers. I have to pass it to get my certification and to graduate as required by the State. I didn't study as much as I should have; I have heard too many people say they had to take it more than once. But when I took it it was easier then I expected so I am not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. After my test we stopped at the McBride's yard-sale and got some free dining table chairs (we only have two), which was a pretty good birthday present. Then we came home and I made some mini chocolate cupcakes to take to work. I wanted to have some fun on my birthday even if it had to be on the job, but I figured cupcakes would help.
I got a nice surprise though. Flowers delivered to me at work! Gerbera daisies in a short little green glass vase. (Why didn't I take a picture! Idiot!) I thought they were from a secret admirer or something. Turns out they were.... they were from my husband. Just kidding his admiration of me is definitely not a secret. Then I came home from work and went to bed. So yeah, not the best birthday day ever. But I am not too strict on celebrating birthdays on the actual day. Therefore Jonathan and I celebrated on Sunday by going out to lunch at Red Lobster for Shrimp Scampi, getting a new CD player for me at Best Buy (remember how I broke our old one in fits of rage?), and then eating some Breyer's Coffee ice cream. Plus I got some awesome presents.

From my darling mother in law:
-two cds (decemberists, and death cab)
-The Parent Trap on DVD
-some money to buy my favorite book, Jane Eyre
-there is one more on the way too!
Can you believe how she spoils me rotten?

From my darling parents:
-100 smackaroos

From my darling husband:
-56 kid's books (won on ebay)- all newberry honor or other award winning books and 90 percent which I have not read. (I have a collection going, you know)

Now I am going to have to use the birthday money to buy a bookcase.

From my darling friends Karen, Annika, and Lauren-
-a trip to Ted Drewes for a Fox Treat
-their lovely company in my home
-aren't they cute? Annika is on the left. Lauren on the right.



From my darling sister (who is dyslexic btw):
-unfortunately the package she sent was returned because she wrote my address number as 2337 instead of 2733.
-I LOVE YOU BROOKE!!!!!!
-I am sorry I just can't stop teasing you about this
I do believe in fairies, I do, I do!

Dear Readers,
I didn't mean to go over two weeks without blogging. Honest. I will be back soon. Check back for some exciting entertainment; hopefully tonight or tomorrow.
Thanks for your patience,
Sage

Evaluations

At the end of every semester college students are given forms to fill out to evaluate and rate the instructor and the course. If you ever had to do this you know it is a pain and you are so ready to be done with school that you just scribble something down figuring the instructor isn't going to read it anyway. Well you were wrong. Instructors do read the evaluations. And laugh at them. Then read them to their spouses. And they laugh some more. Jonathan got a significantly higher average score this semester so at least he is improving. Here are some notable things students actually wrote which I thought you'd enjoy.

This one was probably the nicest-

What is your overall rating of this instructor?
5 (on a scale of 1 to 5; 5 being excellent)

What is your overall rating of this course?
5

What was your overall opinion about the strength and weakness of the course?

I really enjoyed the class- I thought that the beginning in the Pre-Socratics made a lot of sense and helped to sort of ground the course. It helped to understand, at least to some degree, the relatively humble beginnings of Greek Philosophy and the heights to which it rose. I wish though we could have spent more time on Aristotle.

What was your overall opinion about the strength and weakness of the instructor?

I really appreciated Mr. Nelson's true desire to impart his knowledge of philosophy to us- his enthusiasm for the subject matter came across despite (or perhaps because of) his wry sense of humor. He was also willing to take questions/comments/arguments in the middle of a lecture and really encouraged participation by asking lots of pertinent questions.

Written comments are very important for improving a course. Please share any additional written comments here:

The time used to cover Plato was well spent- I really enjoyed the material. The breadth of information that had to be covered was staggering and Mr. Nelson did a great job covering it.

I would say this person was sucking up but you can't really suck up if you are anonymous.

This one would have made me cry if it was about me. It's also pretty funny-

What is your overall rating of this instructor?
1
What is your overall rating of this course?
1
What was your overall opinion about the strength and weakness of the course?

The course had great potential, but as we kept on going it kept getting more unorganized.

What was your overall opinion about the strength and weakness of the instructor?

- extremely boring
- shows no enthusiasm to teach
- paces back and forth and teaches nothing
- made me hate philosophy

Wow! Ouch. Could you get any meaner?

This comment sounds like Jonathan all right-

What was your overall opinion about the strength and weakness of the instructor?

Mr. Nelson is crazy. He lives in his own world, but he is very smart, and knows the material very well.

That cutting evaluation got us thinking. What if college professors got to evaluate their students in the same manner? It'd probably be something like-

What is your overall opinion of this students' performance in the course?

Between coming late to class, sleeping through the lecture, and constantly whining about the amount of coursework, this student was lucky to get a C-.

What is your overall opinion of the student?

Considering the complete lack of motivation, irresponsibility, and utter laziness portrayed by this student, how he ever got into college is beyond me.

Well that's the best I could come up with. I'll have to consult Jonathan's expertise on this one.

No this is not mine...

Remember how I heard the most wonderful news ever about my brother and sister coming to visit? Well, soon after that I got even better news than that, if you can believe it. You may call me AUNTIE Sage from now on....

The Long Version Part IV: My siblings came to visit and we had a marvelous time

They were supposed to arrive Tuesday night around midnight. I had the house all ready. The carpet was freshly vacuumed, the kitchen and bathroom were sparkling; now all I had to do was head to Wal-Mart to pick up some things and make some "Welcome to St. Louis" bags for my guests. Yep, I had thought of it all. Can you tell I was a little excited to finally have someone come and visit us? But then. Then I got the call. "Sage, don't come and get us tonight. Our connecting flight was delayed. We can't leave tonight or we'll be stuck in Salt Lake. We won't be there until 2:30 pm tomorrow." Oh the crushing blow! The disappointment! I had to wait
another whole day until they got here. How was I going to keep the house clean? What would keep me occupied until then? Now how would we be able to fit in the bazillion things I had planned for us to do? Yes I was horribly disappointed. I had waited and pined for this day, but now their arrival was delayed and I had to wait even longer. I didn't want to cry (I had already cried a lot that day; I won't go into details) so what did I do? I bit my lip and watched Pollyanna to cheer me up.
Well, Wednesday afternoon finally came (I watched Pollyanna again that morning) and after waiting and waiting for them to get off the plane (there was a big thunderstorm and they weren't allowed to get off the plane until it was all cleared up) they finally arrived. The rest of the day we spent laughing and catching up and hugging and crying. Just kidding. You didn't think we were that cheesy did you (not with a thirteen year old boy around anyhow)? I do know that I brushed my brother's hair into a crazy Afro on fire. Observe-



Thursday we went to the Arch and the old Courthouse. I took them into my work and
David said- "Who would ever want to buy any of this crap?"
and I said, "David I pour my life into this place!"
and he said "What? You're JUST a cashier?"
and I said "thanks David. That makes me feel special."


Waiting for the tram up to the arch (notice the haircut)


Two redheads in the tram car the baseball stadium as seen from the top of the arch

the Mississippi river from the top of the arch



Judge David at the old courthouse


Old Courthouse ceiling


Friday we went to the Zoo even though it was a cruddy day (oh yeah did I mention we had the worst weather ever while they were here? It rained 90 percent of the time.) I don't have any pictures because zoo pictures are boring. Actually, I already have pictures of just about every animal at the zoo so I didn't need to take any.

Friday afternoon we drove to Normal, Illinois to see our aunt and uncle and cousins. We stayed the night there and headed back the next morning. I took them out to my old work to eat dinner (and got horrible service; that's what happens when I leave) and then to one of the weirdest and wackiest places in the world, City Museum. Unfortunately I do not have any pictures but you can check out the website here. We had a good time crawling around on our hands and knees.

Sunday we went to church and came home and watched the Goonies. Then we cried and cried because David had to leave. Brooke and I took him to the airport. Then we comforted ourselves by drinking hot cocoa and coffee and then watching Pollyanna (are you getting sick of me talking about that movie yet?)

Monday we went back to the zoo because we hadn't gotten all the way through it the first time. Plus it's free so we can do that. We saw the birds and the monkeys and the reptiles. Brooke wanted to see the hyenas again because they were asleep the first time. They were still asleep.

Then we ate some delicious Vietnamese food at Pho Grand and walked around South Grand a bit to some of the shops. Then we topped the night off with St. Louis' own Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. I could have some more of that right about now please.

Tuesday we went to the Contemporary Art Museum and looked at obnoxiously large and oddly shaped cardboard boxes that were supposedly art. Then we went to the REAL art museum and saw some Egyptian mummy cases and some paintings by some SUPER famous artists. Are you totally impressed yet? We topped the night off with some really nasty Ethiopian food down on South Grand again. (It was solely Brooke and Jonathan's idea- If you live here do not go there; it's not worth it. That is, unless you like Teff i.e. thin, sour, dirt-colored pancake sponges). To get the taste out of our mouths we went to Crown Candy Kitchen and had some delicious Cake Batter ice cream.

Wednesday we enjoyed the beauty of the botanical garden and had an overpriced lunch on the patio while basking in the joy of a rare sunny day. Brooke was leaving that afternoon so she was determined to get me a present to say thank you to me for being a good hostess (i.e. making her sleep on the couch hide-a-bed and dragging her out of bed every morning to go trekking all over the city). She got me some awesome presents for me from the gift shop there. Someday soon I'll have to take a picture of them to show you.
Here are some flowers at the garden-


After that the grand finale of Brooke's St. Louis tour- the Miniature Museum! Something right up her alley. Dollhouses all decorated up with every tiny accessory and minute detail you can imagine. It was quite cool really.
Then we finally had to say goodbye. What I had been waiting for all spring had finally come to an end. We had a lot of fun though and I was ready to say goodbye (Brooke chews crackers in her sleep and is much too cheerful in the morning.)

Sorry about the lack of decent pictures. I hate taking pictures and Jonathan wasn't able to take any either because he was busy grading final exams for most of the time they were here.

The Long Version Part III: I watched Polyanna three times

I have not been slacking on blogging again, honest. I had all intentions of updating every day to get through this boring Long Version saga, but I broke our computer. The only way I am updating this now is the use of my school's computer lab. Hopefully our computer will be up and running soon.... or we are in trouble. This also will explain why I will not be posting any pictures today.
So on to Part III. I love Polyanna. If you have not watched that movie you better go watch it right now. If you are ever feeling sad all you need to do is pop in this flick and watch it a few times. Your heart will be warmed and your eyes will be brightened. I was getting anxious for my brother and sister to get her so to pass the time I watched Polyanna. then I found out that their flight was coming in late, so I watched it again to comfort myself. Then my sister came and I made her watch it with me once again (even though she has probably seen it as many times as I have). So that is the story of why I watched the movie Polyanna three times. Now I am feeling like I could go watch it again...

The Long Version Part II: I survived the end of the semester

I cut it pretty close the last week of class, I admit. I had three presentations due, two papers (albeit short ones), and two enormous projects (basically just really long papers), all due in one week. Wednesday of that week, I had two papers and a presentation due which I hadn't even started. I typed most of one of the papers before class. Then I went to class, taught a lesson to my classmates (this one I had prepared in advance) went down to the library and finished typing up the paper and accompanying PowerPoint presentation, then turned it in and gave the presentation all within in a matter of about 40 minutes. Then I went to Northwest Coffee, drank down an iced Americano and got started on my next essay. I somehow finished it up before class. The next day, Thursday, I spent writing a huge project that I hadn't started on even though it was due Friday. Unfortunately I had to go to work on Friday, so I would have to turn it in before I went to work. Well I worked all day and night, had to go to bed, woke up and worked on it some more and still hadn't gotten it done. It ended up that I had to call my boss and ask her if I could be a little late to work. So I hurried and finished it up, went to school, printed it off, turned it in, and got to work only 45 minutes late and worked an eight hour shift. Blech. It was not a fun day. Then the next week I had finals but they were not too bad and then I was free from the craziest and zaniest semester ever. Yay! So to hurry up and end this horribly boring story.... I got my grades last week and managed to pull of all A's- 4.0 for eighteen credits. Not bad if I say so myself. Really though, I couldn't have done it without God's grace or the help of my wonderful, patient, and encouraging husband. Check back tomorrow for the
Long Version Part III: I watched Polyanna three times in one week. (and want to watch it again)

The Long Version Part I: We did not get the green couch/We bought a new couch

Before I start this story let's get one thing straight: I don't say sofa. It's too snobby. That's all.

When we moved here almost three years ago... (oh my could it be three years already?) we left our couch behind for several reasons-
- more space in the moving trailer without it
- we weren't terribly attached to it
- it was plaid
- we got it for free anyway
- we passed it onto some newly married friends who needed a free couch just like we had a couple years earlier

Thus, when we arrived here in St. Louis, Misery, we had no couch. After spending just about all of our savings on the expenses of moving half-way across the country and Jonathan's first semester of graduate school (I am not sure when we will ever be so rich again that month before we moved and had that amount of cash in our savings.. ah those were the days... just kidding... being poor is fun!) we didn't have a whole lot of extra money to spend on things like a new couch (like brand-new from a store). So we looked around, scoured newspaper ads (this was before I knew about Craigslist, apparently) and somehow ended up in a scary part of town at some junky used furniture place called Kathy and Son's or something like that. They had an old-fashioned, the kind you would find in your great-grandmother's house, couch with wood legs and everything and it was a lovely greenish-goldish color with a pretty flower pattern. I probably have a picture of it somewhere but I am too lazy too look. Heck maybe there is a picture of it on this very blog- that's a challenge, readers!
Anyway, it wasn't it in the best of shape. The cushion covers were ripped on one side and it stunk like an antique store or St. Vincent's, but it was comfortable (Jonathan is extremely picky about furniture comfort) and it was 80 bucks. What could we do but take it home? (with the help of Kathy and Sons.)

Unfortunately, and not surprisingly, the couch didn't hold up long. The foam in the cushions was aged so badly it was that nasty dark orange color old foam becomes, and the rips in the cushion covers were getting bigger. And bigger. And bigger. We still didn't have the money for a new couch (or the time to look for one) So what did I do? I took an old bed comforter (that consequently itself was ripped on one side) and fashioned it into a cover for the couch. This was a good temporary fix. It looked decent and made the couch usable again. However as most couch covers have the tendency to do, it never wanted to stay in place, and me being the obsessive compulsive person I am, was constantly re-adjusting the thing to the point that I wouldn't even let Jonathan sit on it because he always mussed it up. So for a long, long, time I wished and longed for a couch I could just curl up on without messing it up and that was actually comfortable (the couch cushions were so worn out they were no longer comfortable). However, we still didn't have the time or money to get a new one so we just dealt with it.

Then it just so happened, my brother and sister were coming to town, and there was no way I was going to have a cruddy old couch around with company in the house. It was also looking especially cruddy lately because I had gotten fed up with the constant readjusting and took off the blanket and just taped up the big rips with many a layer of packaging tape. Nice. So I started looking on Craigslist (that's where I found the awesome green one, it just wasn't as great in person as it was in the photo); I looked especially for a couch with a hide-a-bed (no, not a
sofa sleeper; still too snobby) since that would come in handy with company coming (we don't have a guest bed or an air mattress), but to no avail. Not finding anything used, I tried the furniture outlet store Weekends Only, but I had no such luck, and it was just a couple days before my siblings would be here. On the way home from Weekends Only I saw Value City Furniture* and decided to stop and check it out. They had a much better selection and a few couches I liked so I dragged Jonathan back the next day. After sitting on just about every couch in the store we finally decided on a plain, brown (or is it grey?) suede (or is it faux?) hide-a-bed couch that looks like just about any other new couch. It doesn't look as cool as our old one did and it isn't the old fashioned style you find in your great-grandmother's house, but it's comfy and new and our second major furniture purchase, so we better just like it. Honestly though, I really do like it. I have already spent many an hour curled up on it watching movies and the telly, reading good books, or just spending time with Jonathan.
If you are are asleep you can wake up now. That's the end of Part I: We did not get the green couch/We bought a new couch (like brand-new from a store!) Check back soon for the next big snoozer- The Long Version Part II: I survived the end of the semester.
p.s. If you are wondering what happened to our old couch; don't ask. It's too sad.
*Those of you who know of Value City Furniture, please do not tell us that they are a rip-off or that they sell high-priced, low quality crap. We don't want to know. It's too late to take it back.

Update- the short version

Jonathan is threatening to cancel our internet service if I don't update this thing so I thought I better get back into blogging. To make up for my prolonged absence I have prepared a long, enthralling, and yet entertaining post to catch you up on all the gory details of my boring existence. First of all I'll give the shortened version for those of you are easily bored.

1. We did not get the ugly green couch.

2. I survived the end of the semester.

3. We bought a new couch (like brand-new from a store!)

4. I watched Polyanna three times in one week.

5. I chopped my hair off, much to my husband's dismay.

6. My siblings (or Kids as Jonathan called them) ventured to Saint Louis and we had an awesomely wonderful time.

7. Jonathan survived the end of his semester (and got off the computer finally so I could update this danged thing)

8. We are now enjoying a short break from work and school in which I've been spending my time reading on the new couch and cooking new meals.

I am slowly but surely working on the long version so check back soon! (hopefully later today)

Help- Opinion Wanted

Am I nuts?

I want this couch.

Look- it would match a chair we already have perfectly-

(it's behind that weird girl on the left)

EARTHQUAKE!!!!

I am not quite back into blogging yet but this was worthy enough to take a break from school and blog about. I stayed up until 230 am working on this big project that is due on Tuesday. I went to bed and eventually fell asleep, but not more than two hours later Jonathan and I jump out of bed from being startled awake by a loud noise and the house shaking. We were both confused and didn't know what happened so we looked out the window. I asked Jonathan "was that an earthquake?" but he just rolled over and went to sleep. My initial reaction was that it was an earthquake, but I didn't think that earthquakes made loud noise. So I sat there, heart racing from being woken up so suddenly, trying to figure out what just happened. I thought maybe a bomb went off somewhere or our upstairs neighbor was jumping up and down really hard. As soon as I woke up a few hours later, I asked Jonathan what it was and to check the Internet and see what happened. I told him I thought for sure it was an earthquake but he didn't believe me. He said he didn't even know that our whole house was shaking! Our Internet was down so I turned on the news- and there it was -5.2 earthquake in Illinois. (you can read more about it here)
"Hah! I told you so! I knew it was an earthquake!," I screamed at Jonathan.

Okay I know that most people figured it out right away (it doesn't take a genius to figure out that when your whole house is shaking, something is going down; to my credit though I was asleep) but I am just a small-town Idaho girl. We don't have tornadoes or floods or ginormous thunderstorms or earthquakes or any of the rest of the crazy stuff that goes on here in the Midwest.
So there you go. My first earthquake. Thankfully it didn't cause much damage or hurt anyone (so far as I know)
p.s. I was talking to my friends at school about it- they all thought it was Jesus coming back and were listening for the trumpet :)
p.s. I am sorry that I got your hopes up last post about Jonathan coming back as a guest writer. I don't know what happened to that guy. I may have to kick him off as punishment.

Don't Give up on Me Yet

I am still here. I am doing lots and lots of school work. I have two very big projects due and lots more due in April. The good news is-
1. I only have four weeks of school left!
2. My brother and sister got their tickets and they are coming to visit me in May!
3. Jonathan hinted towards returning as a guest writer to take my place, so stay tuned....

Although it may seem like I have given up on this poor sad little blog, I haven't really totally given up on it (yet). To be honest writing a blog post has been the absolute last thing I have felt like doing lately. Don't get me wrong though, I still like to read everybody else's wonderfully entertainable enjoyable blogs, because reading is a heck of a lot easier than trying to think of something coherent to write. But, I feel bad. It isn't very fair of me to read Alicia's, and Mandy's and Kelly's blog everyday when they never get to read anything new on mine. So this is my attempt to write something wonderful and entertaining and enjoyable. NOT. I am just going to write and not worry about making it entertaining. Okay NOT again. I might actually make it a little bit enjoyable or a tiny bit funny... but only because it might just happen on accident since I am naturally that kind of writer. Okay now I am just making myself laugh. I am moving on...
Instead of boring you with all the reasons why writing blogs has been the last thing on my mind I will tell you some things that I never told you because I forgot and I haven't been putting much of an effort into this thing.

First of all, when we got back from Christmas vacation I got a promotion at work. They offered me a summer-time supervisor position which of course I took. Basically, since summer time is the "on" busy season they need another supervisor so they have one just for Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. So I won't be a supervisor until then and I'll go back to my regular position once summer is over. However, I'll be working a lot more and I'll get a raise which means a lot more money! Yay! A lot more money to pay off all the bills we are accumulating Yay! I am a teeny bit nervous about the position since most of the summer-time workers are in high school and college and they have been working there 10 times longer than I have. It's always a bit awkward when you get promoted over someone who has been there longer than you have (and knows more than you do about the job). However, I have gone through it before, back when I worked at Nadoz. And it sucked. Because a particular employee there was not happy about it when I had been there three months and I got a supervisor position after she had been there almost two years. It was pretty much awful. Thankfully (for me, not for her) she eventually got fired and my life got a lot easier.
But this workplace is a heck of a lot more stable and reasonable and sane so I think my promotion will go considerably more smooth than at that crazy place I jused to work at.

Second of all, did you know I learned to crochet several months ago? Well here is the story. I have this wonderful afghan that my grandma and aunt Linda gave me when I was a kid. When I got married Jonathan grew fond of this afghan. So much so that he continually claimed that it was his afghan and that his grandmother made it for him. I would not let this stand though because it is the best blanket we have for keeping me warm at night during the winter time, so I refused to let Jonathan steal my afghan, even though he deeply longed for it to be his. Well, I started my new job and one of my co worker's is Betsy. Betsy crochets everyday at lunch. When I happened to take my lunch at the same time as she I noticed this and realized she was working on an afghan. The idea came to me that maybe, just maybe, I could learn to crochet and make Jonathan an afgahn for Christmas and it would be just about the best darn Christmas present ever. So I hounded Betsy to teach me to crochet too, (just kidding I didn't have to hound her, she was more than happy to show me), bought a crochet hook and some yarn and after a couple weeks finally got the hang of it. Remember how I wanted to make an entire afghan by Christmas (I started in November)? Ha ha in your dreams, Sage. It took me over a month to get it to be one foot wide. I was going to secretly crochet it for Jonathan so it would be a big surprise but it was too hard to find time to do it when he was not around (Really he is always home! He rarely leaves this house). So I just crocheted away and wouldn't tell him what I was making. At Christmas time I told him what his future Christmas present was. Of course it wasn't as good completely surprising him with a wonderful afghan made especially by his wife who he didn't even know could crochet, but it was the best I could do. Well now it's March 14, the weather is getting warm and pretty soon it will be 80 degrees with 1000% humidity, and guess what? I am still crocheting away on that darned afghan! By the time I get the thing done Jonathan will be wearing shorts and begging me to let him turn the air conditioner on. Seriously though, I am very close to being done and am pleased with my recent progress on it, I am just annoyed with my horrible timing. I will definitely put up a picture of it when it is finished so you can see my beautiful handiwork. Well... beautiful in Jonathan's eyes anyhow.

Third of all, second week of May right after I am through with school for the summer...
My brother and sister are coming to visit me!
And I am 78% positive this time!!!
Isn't that the best thing you've ever read on this sorry little blog! I really can't wait. I wish I could just sit around and day-dream about the fun and the wonderfully fantastic time we are going to have (if you remember right, I did that last summer when I wrote up an entire itinerary for us to do when I thought my sister was coming to visit) but unfortunately I have to go study for a test and do a million other things. And that is also why I must end this post for now. Have I written enough to redeem myself yet?

p.s. if you made it this far, congratulations!
p.s.s check out Alicia's post about a recent object lesson she experienced. it's a great post with a great message and a good reminder. (and some beautiful pictures). click here to read it. And you you better read it or I'll tell to sick her five hundred dogs on you (or maybe it's just three... I can't remember).

Another Snow Day

I know everyone says that the weather wherever they live is weird. But I tell you, St. Louis weather is weird! I guess weather is just weird in general. Sunday it got up to 78 degrees. A lovely, lovely day. Jonathan and I took the opportunity to get out and feel the sunshine and went to hike along the Meramec river in Castlewood state park.

Today (Tuesday) it looks like this from my front step outside-

This is the fourth (I think) snow day we have had in the past couple months. I like snow and all but this is starting to get a little old, especially when everything shuts down and I can't go anywhere and everything is cancelled. Wait a second, am I complaining about getting to stay home, drink coffee, and watch the snow come down? Never mind. Forget I said anything.

On another note, this was the second week in the row we got out of the house (and the city) if you can believe it. Last Sunday we went to see eagles over in Illinois along the Mississippi. Apparently they nest there in the spring or something. We saw tons of eagles but not up close because we didn't have any binoculars. We also saw pelicans. A lot of pelicans. I had no idea pelicans lived around the Mississippi. I thought pelicans only lived along the ocean. You learn something new every day. I liked watching the pelicans swim on the water. See for yourself-

That video took forever to load. I am off to drink that coffee...

And the Winner Is.......

Kelly!!!!!

claim your prize by e-mailing me your mailing address @

freshparsley@yahoo.com

Congratulations on winning the

100th Post/1 Year Blogiversary Celebration contest!!

and to the losers: sorry, you'll just have to try again next year

A Double Celebration

Happy 1- year Blogiversary/100th Post!!!!!!

To celebrate I am giving you all a recipe and a chance to win a fabulous prize.

Sometimes I think there is nothing better than a chocolate chip cookie fresh out of the oven with a big glass of cold milk. That's why I wanted to share my best ever chocolate chip cookie recipe with you. Because truly they are the best ever. I have tried many a recipe trying to find the perfect choc-chip cookie. Then I married Jonathan. He won't settle for anything less than a soft, chewy cookie, and that's all that was made in his family. It took awhile for him to convince me, but I finally caught on- his family's recipe is the only way to go. So here it is- go make these and your family and friends will be begging for more.

Nelson's Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies.

1/2 cup margarine (has to be margarine, not butter)

1/2 cup shortening (once again, no substitutes here people)

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

2 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

12 oz chocolate chips

I think you know the drill from here, but just to make sure- mix the dry ingredients together. blend the fats and sugars together in a separate bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture with the fat mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips. Scoop onto cookie sheets and bake at 375 degrees for 8-9 minutes or until they are light brown around the edges. (don't overbake or you'll be sorry!) Word to the wise: you can beat the heck out of the fats and sugars, but for pete's sake after that, take it easy! Don't over-mix after you add the eggs and flour mixture. Just mix it until everything has been blended in.

Don't worry about all my naggy little instructions, I think you will be pleased no matter what.

Now for the fabulous prize. The prize is this brand new cookie scoop-

The reason it is fabulous is because it makes your cookie making experience so much more enjoyable. First of all it allows you to get perfectly shaped, rounded cookies that are all the same size easily and effortlessly. Secondly, if you want fresh out of the oven chocolate chip cookies every day just bake however many cookies you can eat or want, and then simply use your handy scoop to scoop the rest of the cookie dough into a tupperware. Separate the layers of balls of dough with wax paper so they doesn't stick together. Stick the tupperware in the freezer, and viola- A couple nights from now when the craving hits just pull out a couple of dough balls, stick them on a cookie sheet, and by the time the oven heats up your dough will be ready to bake. Isn't that great?

Thirdly, the scoop is handy for getting other sticky things out easily. Like sourcream, refried beans, muffin/cupcake batter, peanut butter, the list goes on and on people!

So either go buy a cookie scoop- or.... try your hand at winning this one. Simply leave a comment on this post by 8 o'clock central Tuesday night. Then I'll put every commenter's name in a hat and draw the winner. Good Luck!

Sage Says...

1. Happy Valentine's Day

2. Don't forget to check back tomorrow for a bloggin' fun time!

I'm a scratcher, picker, puller, poker

I decided to blog because I drank so much coffee (six cups) that I'm too buzzed to do any more homework. The other alternative would be to sleep it off but I don't want to waste time and besides I haven't blogged in forever.
Some random thoughts-
I am compuslive. I can't let things be.
If I have a scab, I pick it.
If I have any sort of loose skin I pull it and pick at it until it comes off.
If I have a zit I pick it, squeeze it, or pop it until it is bloody.
If I have any type of sore in my mouth I poke it with my tongue so that it takes forever to heal.
The skin on my thumbs are constantly suffering attacks from my fingernails.
Mosquito bites are scratched until they scab over.
If I have dry skin on my scalp I scratch it until I am covered with dandruff.

Currently my compulsive picking/pulling/scratching behaviors are:
- a sore on my gums right in between two of my teeth which I can't stop poking with my tongue and my fingernails (it's driving me crazy)
- a scab on my right middle finger that I have had for three weeks because I have picked it off three times; even though I have been scratching at it I have resisted picking it all the way off again
- hanging skin on my left thumb that I am trying to leave be. My right thumb is in surprisingly good condition.

I don't know what it is about pain. The pain of any sore just makes me want to make it worse. It's weird, I know. Stress only makes it worse. I pick at my thumbs the most when I am nervous or uneasy or stressed or bored or irritated. Sometimes I just do it without thinking. So if you want to know how I am doing just look at the skin around my thumbnails. Normal thumbs mean I am pretty normal. Red, swollen and scabbed mean I'm not so good.
Just thought you all would like to know my disgustingly bad habits.

Why this is only the 4th post for all of January

I started school right after we got home from Christmas vacation. I am taking 8 classes which add up to 18 credits-
Science Methods
Social Studies Methods
Math Methods
Intro to Spanish
PE Methods
US History
Practicum
Testing and Measurement

I have been busy. I have missed sharing my life with all of you. We have no food. I need to go grocery shopping before it snows.
That is all.

American Gladiators

When Sage first told me that she had a blog and wanted me to look at it I got real worried and said, "Okay, honey, I guess I will but shouldn't you make an appointment and have your doctor look at it? I would have no idea what to look for. Where is it anyway?" Now that I figured out what a blog is she wants me to be a guest writer from time to time. I am not the kind of person that tries something again after failing the first time so this may be my first and last attempt. I guess I will share with the 6 billion people on this planet what has been on my mind for the last several weeks.

When my siblings and I were younger we watched American Gladiators, a television game show in which "ordinary Americans" compete against steroid abominations vaguely resembling humans - but lacking cognitive and communicative faculties - in grueling and violent events designed to test strength, stamina, and the will to survive. The show came on sometime after midnight on Thursday and since we had to be in bed by 8 on weeknights we would record it and watch it the next day. This show was great for my family because the six of us kids rarely did anything at all together but we all watched this show. Not only did we watch it, though, we also played it. Back then there were somewhere around 25 different events and some of them were pretty creative. For one event - called "Human Cannonball" - the contenders (the "normal Americans") would stand on the top of a thirty-foot tall pedestal towering over a small body of water. They would wear a helmet, some body armor and carry a shield. About 40 yards or so away, on an even higher pedestal, a Gladiator would start. He or she would swing on a rope towards the contender and try to knock the contender off the pedestal and into the water. If the Gladiator succeeded the contender would score no points; if the contender managed to stay on the pedestal, she would score ten points. That is a game that every kid wants to play and so we did. Dad had tied a few garden hoses to some of the higher tree branches in our elm out back and we would climb them and swing from them. He had also brought home a large wooden spool from work that must have been used for some sort of wire or hosing. We would use that for the contender's pedestal and a tall ladder for the Gladiator's. One of us kids would stand up on that spool holding an old couch cushion as a shield while another one of us would grab the hose and climb up to the top of the ladder that we set up twenty or so feet away, and then leap off of the ladder and plummet through the air towards the contender on the spool, trying to knock them off. Needless to say I was by far the best of us all at this game (even though I got hurt a lot I never cried or broke any bones, which is more than any of my siblings can say).
Not only did American Gladiators get us kids watching tv and playing together, it was also educational. If it weren't for American Gladiators I would have no idea how to program a VCR such that it records a show even when I am not in the room (I don't even have to be home--maybe sometime I will post instructions so you can do the same thing). I still put that skill to use every Thursday and it's a good thing I can do it because Sage cannot. The other invaluable tidbit I picked up from American Gladiators was the meaning of the term "cruisin' for a bruisin'". When I read a TVGuide article about the show and the caption underneath the picture of the gladiators used that phrase I went directly to my older brother to ask him what it meant. His answer was less than satisfactory so I asked my mom, whose answer was a little better but only because she didn't call me stupid. Then I had to ask Dad but I still could not quite get it. Actually, I am still thinking about it. Education is more about asking questions than answering them anyway, right?
The real point is that NBC recently brought back American Gladiators. Here is the link: http://www.nbc.com/American_Gladiators/
I was ecstatic when I first saw the preview for the glorious return of my favorite reality show of all time so I bought a new pack of VHS tapes and set the VCR to record Thursday at midnight. Much to my surprise, however, it's new time slot is in prime time! Every time I saw that preview come on for the next two weeks I jumped up and growled like a Gladiator, overwhelmed with excitement and emotion. But when I watched the premier I just could not get into it the way I used to. For one thing there are only 10 events now, and only one of those was a favorite from back when. That event is Gauntlet. If I can figure this blog thing out, you can watch a video right here.



You have to admit that that looks like fun. At least, that's what I kept telling Sage when she refused to play it with me in the hallway. Finally I convinced her. She was the contender and I was the Gladiator. I gave her 30 seconds to get from one end of the hall to other, with me doing absolutely everything in my power to keep her from making it. She never stood a chance. Even though she lost the event I decided I would let her become a Gladiator. Perhaps you all could help her choose a Gladiator name. Here are the names of the current female Gladiators: Venom, Crush, Siren, Stealth, Hellga, and Fury. I am thinking that either Tantrum or Banshee would fit Sage well but she is also open to your suggestions. By the way, the male Gladiator names are: Justice, Mayhem, Titan, Wolf, Toa, and Militia; mine is Professor Pain.

Tid-Bits

These are the kids I tutored this past semester at the Christmas tutoring party we had. I tried to take a picture of them together, but this is what happened-

So instead I had Alex take a picture of Zavier and me-

And Zavier take a picture of Alex and me-

See what happens when you let kids use the camera?
I really enjoyed working with these two. Zavier is a feisty little fellow but he always made me laugh. Alex is a sweet girl but she's got some feistiness in her as well. Unfortunately my school schedule won't allow me to tutor this semester. I am really bummed about that. I think it is such a wonderful and important ministry that I am hoping I can still be apart of it somehow.

Here are some more Christmas pictures, as promised. We really did a poor job this year. We hardly took any pictures, and the ones we have aren't that great. Quite pathetic really.

My dad trying to stop David from doing something crazy- a typical position for them, believe it or not-

Trying to beat my cousin Becca at Pick up Sticks

Taboo!!! We played this for a very long time.

Sister-in-law Jennie and me

My mother-in- law opening presents at one of the many Christmases we had.

A long standing tradition is Christmas Eve up in the mountains at Jonathan's grandparents' cabin. They had lots of snow and it was also snowing while we were there. It was so pretty that I made Jonathan go out and capture some of the beauty.

Granddad preparing the fire for the hotdogs. Yep that's right, no ham or turkey for Christmas dinner, it's hotdogs, potato salad, beans, and chips and dip at this cabin.

We left on New Year's Eve, but we still wanted to celebrate together, so we had a one-day early New Year's Eve party at my parent's house. It was a lot of fun- we had family come from all different sides- Nelsons, Burkharts, Wilsons, etc...

Partying heartily-

My sister graduated with a Master of Fine Arts while we were there. We went to her graduation and then out to eat. Her reward was this big mountain of ice cream. Of course I had to come get a bite.

Did I mention we love Christmas lights? We have some around each our living room windows, in our kitchen, in Jonathan's office, and a strand on each of the windows in our bedroom. Jonathan won't turn them off at night either so I wake up with sore eyes.

That's about all I can take right now folks, and I am sure you are thinking the same thing. So I will sign off for now.