I learned something new

It's fun, learning new things.  A few days ago I attempted to do something that I learned about at a conference in August.  I wanted to give my students MORE.  They were complaining that I didn't fully explain something that was a large part of the last exam so I wanted to explain it again, but I couldn't really take class time to do it.

So I tried Jing.

Jing is so cool.  It is free.  You download it and then it can capture up to a 5 minute video on the screen.  On the screen you can do anything.  You can open a website, you can draw pictures, whatever.  And you can narrate.  I don't even need any extra equipment, it just picks up audio from the microphone that is SOMEWHERE in or on my laptop (I don't have a clue where).  Then you can transfer the narrated video to a website, give someone the website address and BAM! The students have a mini-lecture of the stuff they didn't understand in class. 

Totally awesome. 

I don't know if it will help their grades, but I am doing my part and learning too.  I might have fun with this for personal use also.  Ooooh, the possibilities :-)

Once again, my camera is broke

This is what I get for buying a cheap camera.  But then again, if my camera was broke and I had bought an expensive camera, I would be sad and out some money.  So I come again to the decision of what to do about a camera.  I am starting to go insane not being able to take pictures of my constantly changing children.  But we are about due for a phone upgrade and some of the phones have 8gig cameras.  Pretty nice.  And we don't have a lot of money for a NICE camera (like the ones I like that Kacie and Jawan and Jodi and Melissa have).  It would be great to just HAVE one even if it is only a $75 one from Walmart.   So I don't know if I should miss out on more moments while I wait to save money to buy a nice camera and in January get a phone with a decent camera in it (not that I am getting the phone for the camera but the phone I want happens to come with the decent camera) or do I ask for an early Christmas gift so that I can capture my young ones precious moments?  Decisions, decisions.

Blog? What blog?

I like to blog and I like to read other people's blogs but I just haven't gotten to do a whole lot of either lately.  Second year into my job and my advisee numbers have gone from 19 to 45...and counting.  I just got another student today who came to my office and asked if I would be his advisor when he switched from Ag Business to Animal Science.

Then the Dean of the College came in, shut the door, and talked to me about dairy goats and the future of a research center in Platteville.  I get to be a faculty champion...whatever that is.

I am trying to convince some people to raise funds for a dairy products lab.  That might include me becoming a licensed cheesemaker!  Cool :-)

I had to put together information to convince the faculty to keep me around another year.  I was ranked above normal in all categories and have passed the first round of "should we keep her".  I am not worried :-)

I have put together a grant to get a cowbrush installed at our dairy facility.  When we get it, I'll post pictures and video so you know what I am talking about :-)

I presented a talk about year round lactation at a goat conference held on campus and the next day went to support the club I advise, Pioneer Dairy Club, with their annual cow sale.  It was fun, but hectic.

This weekend I get to go spend some time with my sisters and my mom in our new annual tradition.  Get to see Hairspray and eat some really good food and go shopping!  Woo hoo!

Ankica had a rough week two weeks ago when she had a slew of doctor's appointment, general anesthesia and an MRI to tell us that she is fine neurologically and just needs some physical therapy to get her leg muscles stretched out well.  A blessing for sure.

My girls are wonderful and sweet and I cherish every day with them.  Julia was here for a week in September and is coming in less than two weeks for an extended weekend.  Then we get her at Christmas.  She is doing so well in school!  Yay!

So, I'm busy, but rather in love with my life currently.  I am still here...still reading about your life...still wanting to tell you about mine :-)  I'll try to do better, but no promises!

My love...rockin' it!

Beautiful sunsets...

Flashback Friday

Today we aren't going very far back...just the beginning of the summer.  I finally found the camera cord and was downloading pictures.  I found this one and realized I couldn't tell at first: Is this Ankica or Lillian?  What do you think?

Flashback Friday (a little late)

We were celebrating my Aunt Becky's 50th birthday, which was a blast!  We went swimming in the lake and Lillian got brave enough to start jumping into the water.  We swam across the lake like old times and it was just really nice to hang out with my aunts and uncles again while having my sisters and their families and my family there.   The reason I wanted to move back to Wisconsin...for my girls to have a chance to make the kind of memories that I treasure.

Many moons ago...my dad me, my Aunt Becky, my sister Jodi, my cousin Amy, and my Uncle Glen watching someone jumping in...not sure who :-)  One of the many summers that the whole family took a week long vacation together.  I think this was Kusel Lake in Wisconsin. 

Nowadays my immediate family (parents and sisters) is big enough to do the annual vacation so it is nice to spend time like we did this weekend with the rest of my Mom's family.  As soon as I find my camera cord, I will upload pictures and video...I hope!

Craziness

Four girls in our house = craziness.  We have my nieces visiting for a few days and, amazingly, even after spending a week with each other on vacation, the cousins are all getting along and playing happily.  I have never been so grateful for a toy room in my life!  They are sad that Julia can't be joining them but I know that the level of competition and jealousy is down because she is not here (everyone vies for Katy's attention :-) )

Now if I could just find the motivation to accomplish the things I need to do before Friday, I will be a happy camper.

Flashback Friday

My little sister, Heidi, at her 6th birthday party.

I stuck up for this kid to the point where I rode in the front of the bus with her during her entire year of kindergarten because I did not want her to get picked on like I did when I was little.  I will defend her to the death if I have to...I would for any of my sisters.   Isn't she a bug?  She still is...even though she will be 30 in less than a year!  Where does the time go? 

My paternal grandpa is in the background...birthdays were always a big deal in our family because I had the immense fortune of growing up within 20 miles of both sides of my family. 

Flashback Fridays

My grandma and my Oma (great-grandmother) Mother's Day in the early 90's.  Two very important women in my life and when I was going through scanning pictures for my mom, I just found myself reminiscing about all of the Sundays when we would go and get donuts after church and then visit with everyone at the nursing home.  I don't think Oma was really involved in all of the conversations much, especially at the end (she lived to be over 100) but I believe she knew we were all there because of her and she was comforted by that.

Just think.  Ankica and Lillian would not be here if not for my Oma....or other ancestors for that matter, but I remember this one well :-)  Strong female genes on my mom's side of the family...both great-grandmothers lived to 100+ and my other great-grandmother lived in her own house until she died.   I hope I can leave a legacy like they did for me and my sisters. 

Thank you, Oma, for your faith and your strength.  I need to find out more about her and get it written down...I want my girls to know about her and what a great woman of God she was.

Enjoy your weekend!

Flashback Fridays

My sister, Heidi, is in the background watching me get my clown make-up on.  I don't really remember how we got into the clown gig, but we dressed up for a parade one year.  I know that my grandfather loved to dress up and act the clown so I suspect it had something to do with him :-)  This was the summer of 1989.  The shorts were homemade and NOT part of the clown outfit :-)  Oh yeah...stylin'!

The start of Flashback Fridays...on Sunday

I am scanning pictures for my mom and thinking that maybe a Flashback Friday might be fun for the blog.  I still want to start my What is it Wednesdays back up but I haven't found anything good yet.  I am working on that.

November 1986...I was student of the month in middle school and much to my dismay (at the time), my cousin Amy earned the honor the same month.

In an effort to blog more...

Once upon a time, way back when we lived in Columbus, we stopped at Barnes & Noble and we looked at the journal section....we LOVE the journal section.  Here I found a journal that encouraged mom's to write down their legacy to their children.  What happened at this time? What did you feel about this?  I liked the idea but I didn't like the journal so I bought that journal for the ideas and another journal that was blank to write in.

I haven't started the process.  I want to, I just haven't started yet.

So I thought maybe I would type it out on the blog first and then write it later...something about having a hand-written journal to read appeals to me and maybe the girls will find it interesting some day.  Turns out Julia has a journal to read when she gets older...something Loran kept when he was overseas for her.  I think that is totally cool...weird for me in a way...but cool for Julia.

Maybe I'll start the process soon...or maybe I should figure out how to more effectively teach my Intro to Dairy Science class.  July is going by so fast already!  You'll be the first to know what my decision is.  I might share with you either way :-)  I know I have friends who always like to hear about cows :-)

I love to leave the light on in the kitchen

I have a memory of my grandmother leaving the light on in the kitchen.  Sometimes it was the stove light after supper and sometimes it was the light by the water dispenser in the fridge when we went to bed.  But there was always a light on in the kitchen so we could see our way around. 

Tonight, because of the humidity I suppose, two banks of lights didn't work but I wanted to finish the dishes after the girls went to bed so I turned on the rarely used light above the sink.  Mostly it is rarely used because the light switch is in an inconvenient spot, but as soon as I turned it on, I was reminded of my grandmother.  She passed away when I was a senior in high school.  I remember how I felt that day.  We knew it was coming but I was devastated.   She was the first grandparent I lost and it was just a roller coaster of emotions at that time in my life.

So I think I will leave little lights on in the kitchen more often...it reminds me of times in my life that were simpler and very special.  These memories are why I needed to come back home to Wisconsin...so my girls could have sleepovers at Grandpa and Grandma's house and have memories lodged so deep into their beings that simple things become profound and wonderful. 

No pictures? Sorry, just my thoughts

I came to the realization today that I don't blog if I don't have pictures or videos...and yet I read people's blogs all the time that don't have pictures or videos all the time, just because I like to read what they write. So why don't I write just to write? I suppose because I don't find myself as fascinating as those people whose words I admire or I don't think I am as interesting as my kids (who are adorable enough to cause a stranger to tell me that if my husband and I make kids like these we should consider making more...I'm with him on that).

So last night it rained. We were watching Avatar because I wanted to see it. I wanted to see the graphics that people raved about and I generally don't care what political agenda there may or may not be in a movie. I liked the movie overall...I just pretended that I had never heard anything about the supposed agenda. We watched the movie upstairs on the smaller screen so that we could be with the girls who fell asleep not long after supper, both of whom admitted to me that they were tired and asked if they could please lay down on the couch (which is SO much better than falling asleep at the table :-) ) As we watched the movie, it rained hard. It rattled the big windows upstairs but I was glad because I really don't like watering my flowers or my garden...I really prefer God to do that for me.

As we were getting ready for bed, I let the dogs out and as they moved out into the darkness to do their thing, I heard the rain hitting the corn...it was a great sound. As I sit here I can see the corn out in the back and it is beautiful blowing in the breeze. A few weeks ago, Loran complained about the farm-type smells one evening and found myself a little miffed because there is a part of me that LIKES that smell because of what it means. It means farming, which I love, it is part of my family's past, which I treasure, it means that we are in Wisconsin again, which continues to make me happy on a daily basis. It reminds me of the good things in life. I can't wait until we can have our "farm" that will have mostly a few horses, but maybe a few other critters as the girls start to see the benefit of farming. It might be fun to bale our own hay or have an alternating field of corn and soybeans.

How we spent the weekend

Friday: Worked on cleaning the house and enjoyed a great meal and watched the first two Twilight movies in preparation...

Saturday: Loran does guitar lessons in the morning and I clean...his last guitar lesson was at home so the girl could babysit while we went to watch Eclipse. Loran and I really enjoyed it...better than the first two for sure! Then we just hung out at home...it was nice!

Sunday: A few weeks ago, Loran was mowing the lawn and hit something. It killed the mower. We didn't pay much for it in the first place so fixing it seemed to be a bit out of the question. So after getting up awfully early to get to church for him to practice for the worship team, we went to Lowe's to look at new mowers. The awesome saleswoman told us about a deal...a mower that needed to be repaired that was a top of the line John Deere push-mower that we could get for a little over half the price and it was still covered by the warranties! We snapped up the deal and when we got home we started mowing lawn. Loran did the front lawn and the neighbor's lawn and I did the backyard...WE LOVE MO, the new mower! I made beans, cucumbers and potato salad and homemade ice cream cake and grilled hamburgers from the town's meat market.

It rained but when it stopped we figured we'd head into Platteville for the fireworks. Because there was another storm moving in, they lit off the fireworks before it was even really dark. We sort of saw two as we were driving in and missed the rest. Luckily I had sparklers at home so we were outside when we noticed that somewhere in Belmont there were about 10 fireworks being lit off. So we saw some :-) I keep reminding Ankica that Homecoming will have lots in October. She remains unconvinced.

Monday: We had a lazy morning...we read a little and started to clean and organize. There were still boxes to unpack! I organized my pantry closet and parts of the kitchen finally. Loran took off two baseboard heaters so that we could put our free bookshelves up and unpack our books. After that, I unpacked the books and he cut out pieces for a shelf he is making for the girls. Then we relaxed and enjoyed our "completed" living room and read. As much as I missed spending time with my family, it was a busy, productive, and wonderful weekend at home.

View as we walk up the stairs from our room...because the shelves match the white walls it make it look like a second floor of a library or old bookstore...just what we want!

This is a hutch/cabinet thing that we got from the landlords when they moved out and down-sized. It has books in it right now but I hope to have dishes to put in it someday :-)

Our living room with the couch and sofa that we trading our lawn-mowing services for...super comfortable and "pre-catted" (some scratches but perfect for our house).

The bookshelves with most of our books. Most of them are science fiction. Three and half of the shelves are written or co-written by Anne McCaffrey. Loran has John Ringo and Orson Scott Card. I also have Elizabeth Moon and Mercedes Lackey. We also have a shelf of "required reading" classics (literature and poetry) and some science books and the rest are political and history books. Our Bible commentaries and other books on religion are in the hutch at the top of the stairs. I love our library :-)

Our piano that we got in trade for our digital piano because we had room and they were moving to a smaller house. I feel a little bad because she was a piano performance major but I have already taught Ankica to find the "C"'s on the piano and I am planning on taking lessons again once school starts up again. For now it holds our family pictures quite nicely :-)

One year here...where has the time gone?

We are now entering our second year in our house in Wisconsin. We are quickly moving into the "we've lived longer in this house that we don't yet own than in the one we DO own" phase of our lives (sort of like when people realize that they have spent more of their lives together than they have apart...)

Anyway, I dug up the pictures from our deck as the seasons have changed over this year in THIS house and some of the pictures over a few seasons at the OTHER house. Quite a difference, don't you think? The funny thing about the first pictures is that I never set out to take a picture of each season...it was just so nice to HAVE seasons again that we found ourselves taking pictures of the beauty of change.

June 2009...first days here...

Bad storms rolling through in July 2009

October 2009
Christmas Day 2009
March 2010
June 2010
June 26th, 2010...a year later...corn this year, soybeans last year :-)

April 2008...our first house, in Georgia

May 2008, in the pool already!

Still in the pool in June
and July of courseToo hot for outside in August but September we ate outside a lot...and the pool suffered :-(
Middle of October...beautiful weather...notice the lack of jackets on my children...

Beginning of December...very green...definitely not white...

This picture was taken at the beginning of January! Not in Wisconsin :-)

So the one time it snowed in Georgia while I lived there, I wasn't even present for it! But I didn't get photo evidence for future proof :-) That was at the end of Feb/beginning of March.

Beginning of April...i don't even remember what he needed to do that got him so messy :-)

The girls were playing inside but you can see how beautiful it was outside in May of 2009...

Beginning of June 2009, right before we moved...probably the last time Loran mowed the yard...we mow every week here...there we probably mowed once every two or three weeks :-)

Slow going with a lot to do

I always have tremendous plans for the summer. I will eat better, move more. I will read a book, do a puzzle, read to the girls more, go to the library (which we did pretty well in Columbus), walk the dogs, plant a garden, organize the house in preparation for busier time.

I am so behind in so many areas and it just makes me want to do less. I should be getting more done because Julia is here to play with the girls but I am so overwhelmed by the myriad of small tasks to do that I just don't do any of them.

I don't let myself get discouraged like I used to with all of the amazing things that all of my amazing friends are able to accomplish. I try to remind myself that we are all human and I am sure I do good things too :-) But I still think about people I know who would do any of the things on my list better...and then I drag my feet.

I need a routine, even for the summer but routines have never been easy for me to stick with. So far this week I have walked two mornings in a row, so that is good. I have managed to keep my flowers alive by watering them every day when it isn't raining. Also good. I have to remember that today is only the 8th of June and some kids are just getting out of school! I have lots of summer left and if I complete one task at a time, I will complete them all. Now for the tough choice...which one to start with?

Orion, the mighty hunter...EWWWW!

I had the windows and doors open, hoping there would be a nice breeze. As I am feeding the girls their breakfast, there is a LOUD commotion outside the porch door...and Orion, the mighty hunter, brings in a VERY LIVE BIRD!!!
He ran downstairs with it and I spent the next 30 minutes trying to keep him from finishing it off and trying to get it out of the house. Mission accomplished but it has a broken leg. The windows and doors are now closed and the A/C is on. Last year: mice and a frog. This year: a bird and...who knows? Well, I really don't want to know because EVERY time has been when Loran has been gone except the first mouse carcass he placed on the kitchen floor while we were eating last summer.

Orion was proud of himself. I am questioning having an indoor/outdoor cat during the spring/summer months.

To Do List

Put the girls down for a nap...it's already 2:30pm...and you know, I just don't feel like it today. Maybe we'll just try an earlier bedtime. Or maybe I'll get lucky and Lillian will climb in my lap in another hour and we can watch cartoons and I can snuggle with her. Yeah, I would like that. I am enjoying this summers off thing. For today.

Finish the garden. It's a big pile of dirt and it looks like rain. In fact, the forecast is calling for rain tonight and tomorrow. So I could finish moving the dirt, but then I wouldn't be able to plant anyway because I think I would run out of time. My flowers in the front need the rain so I am really hoping for rain. Besides, I promised Julia that I would let her help me plant. I bought a blueberry bush and a raspberry bush. Plus I have strawberries that will hopefully come out of a hanging basket. And we have apple trees. We will have more fruit in our diet I hope!

Finish the laundry. As it is with most people, it is clean, just not folded. It is on my bed. If I don't finish it, it will migrate to the floor. Maybe while the girls are playing in the toy room.

Hem and iron the curtains that are the door for Julia's closet. I've been meaning to do that for a long time. Maybe it will start raining soon and then I won't have an excuse to go enjoy the nice day and I'll get a few little things done like those curtains :-)

Make supper. Working has made me SO lazy in the kitchen. I used to love to plan and shop and cook, and now I just love to cook so there is no plan and there isn't much food because I don't shop as well as I used to. So when Loran asks what the plan is, I hesitate. He jumps right in with pizza or something we shouldn't have and I agree. Which is why the weight isn't coming off :-)

Write an article for AC. I have to write 12 a month and I am trying not to put it off, especially because we are going to be in Virginia at the end of the month. I like to write, even though I am nowhere near the writer that I wish I could be. I just work better under extreme pressure :-)

Put my elephant puzzle together. Because I bought it and I love puzzles. And I want to do something fun!

Watch one of our Netflix movies. We have had the Curious Case of Benjamin Button since March 1st! And Australia since April 15th! We have watched a few streaming movies with Netflix on the Wii but still...when we put the girls to bed around 9pm and each of those movies is almost 3 hours long, it is hard to want to stay up that late!

Scan pictures for Mom. She gave me three boxes. And I really am looking forward to scanning them. But I just need to start. And I am afraid to start because I know I will get sucked into the memories.

Organize my recipes. Just needs to get done so that I can get better at the planning thing.

Polish up my Intro to Dairy Science class. Somehow I thought I would get that done before Julia gets here. Now I am thinking it might wait until after she goes back in August :-)

Put together an Equine Management class for January. I am actually looking forward to this possibility. I did get my undergrad in Equine Science after all. It would be fun to use that knowledge. We'll see what the other profs have to say before I put forth too much effort.

Tip of the iceburg, as usual. I have crafts projects and photo albums that want my attention, too.

But I got the toy room clean so that the girls can mess it up again. Hey, it keeps them busy!

Awesome kids

Lots of girls :-) The #2 sista in my family has four kids: two step-daughters, one son (the only boy) and a daughter. #3 sista has two girls and, well, you know my kids :-)

This was the first Easter ever that all of the grandkids were at mom and dad's so there was an Easter egg hunt. While the men were out hiding eggs, the kids were instructed to wait on the stairs.

After Lillian found all of hers, I kept putting some on the ground for her to "re-find".


Ankica always has a good time hanging out with the older girls, especially Julia. And Julia...well, I can't say that this isn't normal look for her :-)

They pushed THAT button

I want to ask for a re-do of April. I was on a role with Weight Watchers. Until Easter and Julia's visit.

I was caught up with everything at work. Until Julia was with me for a week at work (and no, I am not blaming Julia...I let it happen and wanted to be an ear for her).

I had all of my housework in order. Until the weather started to get nice and I decided to try some raised bed flower gardens in the front yard.

I am behind and I am stressed out.

Yesterday my students embarassed me by not leaving any ice cream for the faculty. I thought they would have fun and make batches and batches of ice cream. They made three...one for each mega-group and then ate it all and left. Aargh...

This morning I went into class after another professor had given them their evaluation forms to fill out.

Why did they pick THIS morning to be so STUPID!

There were four in the back talking and taking pictures. There were others talking in not so quiet voices near the front of the room.

I have been a VERY tolerant teacher...and this morning I gave up. I was in mid-sentence and just told them I was done. I would put the rest of the slides on-line and they could read them for themselves because I was NOT going to try to talk over them anymore.

I almost let myself cry I was so upset.

Oh well...at least it won't change their evaluation of me...

The mantra of the morning

We are Arial, we are Arial.

I heard them fighting over which one of their cute little McDonald's mermaids would be Arial. They somehow came to an agreement...they would BOTH be Arial. It's amazing when they can decide on something like that and continue to play in harmony. They are only 2 and 3 for goodness sake!

Of course, it only lasted until Lillian bit Ankica because she wanted to watch Fairytopia instead of playing Arial.

Ankica comes running to me with Lillian on her heels, yelling "I won't do it anymore, I won't bite you anymore, Ahkeesha" (Sometimes Lillian likes to say Ankica's name in a baby voice and that is what it sounds like.

So Ankica said, "Okay" and they went about being Arial again.

Unusual hair up day

I was brushing Ankica's hair before school a week or so ago and she decided she wanted it up in a ponytail. On the way out the door Lillian saw it and wanted one too. Initially she was upset that it didn't look like Ankica's but Squibby is such a good big sister that she had Lillian convinced in no time that Lilly's up-do was better than a ponytail.

The hair lasted almost the whole day!

Like I need another thing to occupy me :-)

But it will be fun...Facebook, finally.

Once the newness has worn off it won't be so fascinating to browse through pictures of friends of friends to see people I knew from high school and college (the many I have been to).

Just like my Wii. Oh, but wait. I can check my Facebook ON my Wii. And my Blackberry smartphone.

Oh my...maybe I should Twitter about it? :-) Nah.

The Judge's Decision

She was not in contempt...technically speaking. It's hard when you are so personally involved in the case and know that she practically lies for a living, to hear that the judge believes her. Technically.

We won't get justice this time. We won't get our money back.

But hopefully we won't have to pay any more to get another modification. This time it will give halfway between HERE and THERE. No one wants to drive that far so we will probably end up getting a more fair deal for the future.

I just have to learn to let go of the past.

You know what though? Julia called me last Friday. After a week away from being able to talk my ear off at work, she missed talking to me and she called me just to chat. Not Loran. ME. How cool is that?

THAT is what we hold on to when the judge can't do what we want him to. When the lies get to be so regular that we want to scream. How can she get away with it?! Well, she's not. Fewer and fewer people believe her lies. Including her daughter. She's learning. Sometimes the hard way.

I'll let you know more when there is more. But for now...at least that part is over.

Is the end near?

Did you know that there is verbage in the Health Care garbage that passed recently that mentions requiring a microchip? Mark of the Beast?

There was a fireball that flew over the Midwest on Wednesday. Odd.

There are earthquakes in China. Not unusual until you start putting pieces together.

There was an earthquake in the Utah/Idaho/Wyoming area. Not unusual, per se, but a big one for the area.

The is a volcano erupting in Iceland that has planes down throughout Europe and the ash could cause problems for MONTHS.

Obama disappeared for a time during the week, stating that he was going to a soccer game that didn't exist. For those who believe he is the anti-christ, maybe he headed to the underworld to meet with his minions. Maybe his time is approaching.

Is the end nearing? It isn't even 2012 yet (:-) ) but there is talk...more talk than usual.

I know where I am going when the end finally arrives, if it is in my lifetime. I am not afraid, only a little sad sometimes to think that there are things I won't get to see...maybe my girls grow up, or get married, or have kids of their own. But that little sadness is heavily outweighed by the sheer JOY that comes with knowing that HEAVEN awaits me...and my husband and girls and my family.

Do you think this is all just coincidence or is there something bigger at work here? Are you excited? Are you scared?

"He's got the WHOLE world in His hands, He's got the WHOLE world in His hands...."

Well that was cool...I saw a meteor!

And here I thought it was just lightning!



http://www.kimt.com/content/localnews/story/Meteor-Lights-Up-The-Night/ZQBcR5a9c0-W5EdOmqITng.cspx

Home, home, home, home, home

There are things that still bring me to tears with the realization that I am HOME. Sometimes just driving up to my folks' house. This Easter weekend it was "The Promise". I haven't seen it in probably 5 years but I got to take Loran and Julia to see it this year. I cried because it is a moving and dramatic musical about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. But also because I was home.

It was fantastic to make a single dessert and still get to share in the BOUNTY that is the food at the holidays with my family. It was so awesome for my girls to run around with their first, second, and first cousin-once removed cousins. There was an Easter egg hunt on Saturday morning at my parents' house that included ALL of the grandkids for the first time ever (including the step-grandkids). Julia flipped over being able to hang with Katy and Sophie AND Shayla and Felicia. The time we spend together is so LOUD and crazy and so MISSED by me. I am happy to share these experiences and my family with Loran and the girls. It is what he signed on for when he decided to keep me around and when he decided that we could move to Wisconsin. And I know he loves it too. As does Julia and Ankica. Not so sure about Lillian yet :-)

Pictures sometime when I can catch my breath.

Pre-K, 4K, First Step, K4...does it matter?

Should I concern myself with the fact that I can't enroll Ankica in an "at school, ride the bus two days a week" kind of preschool? Will she be behind?

I found myself at the parents meeting tonight wanting Ankica to go to the pre-K school in Platteville. It sounded fun and it sounded like they did neat things with phonics and math (even if they did have to sleep on rugs and not cots). At the same time I was only minorly disappointed when the open enrollment date was mentioned...January 31st. It already passed and I didn't know I need to know it until about two days ago and even then it didn't register that it was too late for Ankica to enroll for this September.

Ah well. I think another year at the Children's Center with her sister nearby will be good. And if I decide to enroll Lillian next year (she will make the 4K deadline by 2 days), then they will both be attempting the bus thing together and it might make the whole traumatic experience a little easier on their mommy. Might...key word there.

And this from someone that wasn't going to work until it was time to put them in kindergarten. But when I hear Lillian singing the days of the week song and counting to 13 and Ankica spelling Julia's name on a regular basis, well...I don't think I would have thought to teach them those things so early. I know homeschooled kids tend to do WAY better than public schooled kids, but I also know some of the reasons behind it, and I hope I can be more involved in my kids' public school education so that they can reach some of the heights that I aspire them too :-)

(I can't help it...violin, cello, guitar, drums, piano, Spanish, French, Latin...sign language...knitting, crocheting, baking, cross-stitch...volleyball, basketball, karate...riding, swimming, hunting...Academic Quadrathlon, Olympic Pentathlon...you know...the USUAL kid stuff :-) )

When a heifer goes down...

There's something new every day. Yesterday I had a student come to me in tears because she just got a call from her dad back home that her heifer went down. Her prize show heifer. And she had to leave and wanted to take the exam later. Huh. Sure. Just let me know when you get back. And good luck with that.

I mean, I have extended an exam for someone who had knee surgery and another student who just didn't show up and told me there was an emergency half-way through Spring Break. I let them talk me into a Word Bank and using a note card. All that accomplished was a severe lack of studying and the worst grades on an exam yet. But they can't blame it on me :-) I even let students yesterday talk me into giving them two extra days to study and I am taking time out of my rather busy schedule to babysit them while they are taking the exam on Wednesday afternoon instead of Monday afternoon. And I guarantee you they will do worse than the students who took it yesterday.

I am a very accommodating professor. I could probably win an award for being so accommodating. It would say "Professor Push Over" :-) Not really...but I understand that life happens. I figure that if I can work around the stuff in their lives, then they will work around the stuff in mine. Like skipping a lecture yesterday because I just couldn't talk.

(For those of you wondering what a heifer is, it is a young female cow, specifically one that is probably bred at this point and will give birth at the end of the summer and start milking...a dairy cow if you will. She is important because a good show heifer and her progeny can bring anywhere from $3,000 to upwards of $50,000 and beyond...now you know why she was crying...not to mention that these kids have their lives and sometimes their educations invested in these animals...they are not just pets...they are hard-working members of the family in many cases...but that will be another post someday...)

Go ahead and add some fat!

Did you know that adding some form of fat to your leafy green and vegetably good salad is good for you?

I am trying to be better about how I eat now that I am attempting this Weight Watchers thing again and I am also doing it for my family (especially the girls).

Doing some research today, I found some information that I should have known but just never made the connection:

Adding some fat (even a small amount of creamy white salad dressing) is good for a salad because it enables you to better absorb the fat-soluble vitamins (Vitamins A, D, E, and K) in the vegetables!

How is it that I can teach the nutrition section of my Introduction to Animal Science course or talk about what happens when we put milk through a separator in my Dairy Products course and never put the knowledge of fat and the fat-soluble vitamin to practical use in my own diet? :-)

(Eating healthy is so much easier at work than at home! One serving of cheese is all I bring and that is all I can have...but at home...watch out! Spring Break did NOTHING for my diet...I mean, "my better way of eating and exercising" :-) )

Confessions from America's Dairyland

We had lunch on the porch today and it was beautiful outside. As we sat there Ankica asked "What's that smell?"

I told her it was the cows :-)

Truth be told, I like that smell. I don't LOVE that smell but it means so many things to me. It is my history, my heritage, and my future (at least as far as my career is concerned). It is where we live and it puts food on our plates from many ways of thinking.

I'm happy to be home, even when the air smells more like cows and less like flowers :-)

Odds & Ends

Lillian loves Arial. Little Mermaid is one of her favorite movies but she watches other Princess movies with Ankica. She changes clothes about five times a day but is finally keeping clothes on. She loves dress up shoes and can run in heels that are too big for her. She is learning her colors, shakes her head faster than seems possible when she bites into a popsicle and is too cute for words some days.

Ankica is now talking about what happens when the wicked witch captures her. She has a wonderful imagination, a photographic memory for movie lines like her daddy, and is apparently watching too many princess movies. She is officially potty-trained as she now sleeps through the night (knock on wood) with no accidents. She can dress herself most days. She can write her name and Julia's name although she has regressed into the usual backward J that seems to plague many kids. She is getting into Barbies and it is a real insight into what she is learning when I hear the Barbies talk to each other.

The girls love to sword fight with Loran, chase the dogs, color with markers, and take turns praying at meal times. They play well together, especially when they are pretending to clean something. Last night it was sweeping the deck before we sat outside and enjoyed some warmer weather and the yard free of snow.

I bought the girls a wagon so that we could walk to the park. The double stroller still works but just isn't right for them anymore. Yesterday we took a walk and I tied the dogs to the handle. It worked good going up the hill but after that they pulled so hard I thought the girls would fall out of the wagon!

I have off this week for Spring Break but it hasn't been much of a break yet. There is grading to catch up on and articles to write. I am doing weight watchers again (first 5% gone) and I am amazed at the foods that I have been willing to try this time around. As long as I don't get sick I should do fine. That is what tripped me up the last two times I started to lose weight. Well, that and Lillian. I am also trying REALLY hard to make time for walking on the treadmill every day. If I can do other activity besides the treadmill that is just bonus. I really want to work on my elephant latch-hook that I have had since Oklahoma and worked on after Ankica was born for a little while. Of course, I have a zillion projects that just want doing. Lots of good intentions but a constant realignment of priorities and suddenly those projects just aren't important any longer.

I am hoping to have a nice vegetable garden this year. My office neighbor is an ornamental horticulturist and I am hoping to have her over to give me some pointers. We shall see :-)

We are shopping for a grill and a new patio table. I don't miss being able to grill and eat outside for Easter but I do miss the greater opportunity to grill and eat outdoors in general. Of course, there were plenty of days that we grilled and then came inside because it was too hot :-) That won't happen much here, I don't think.

The only TV show we manage to watch is Lost and that isn't until after it actually airs. I want to watch the Big Bang Theory because the clips Jawan posts look hilarious. Our pastor recommends Fringe but we just don't have the time. I even missed most of this season of Heroes which just isn't like me! Let's not even talk about NCAA basketball. That used to be one of the ONLY things I did during the winter/early spring. Now all I know is that Wisconsin was ranked in the top 25 a few weeks ago.

I think about where another baby would fit into this chaos and wonder if the smart thing to do would be to make sure we don't have another. But then again, I don't feel like we are complete as a family yet. We are leaving that to chance (and God) for now.

The house is rented but the rent money hasn't exactly been flowing in yet. There are some issues.

We are still paying for 100% of Julia's travel expenses but have set things in motion that will very likely change that. I fear it could get ugly.

Loran's dad has been in the hospital for the past couple of days. A problem with his ability to process potassium. He seems to be doing well, but he is almost 78 and diabetic. Any time in the hospital is worrisome. We have planned a trip to Virginia at the end of May but I know it is hard on Loran to not be there for his parents and we wonder about the inevitable "when"...

The girls are down for a nap (one of the best things to come from the move...they both nap very well now!) and I am off in search of my shoes for the treadmill.

Ankica's tendency

Ankica has a tendency to become friends with girls who have mean streaks. There's B*** at school. There's M**** at church. And there's Lillian at home. (Oh yes, she's a meanie sometimes!)

I don't know if Ankica will be a lot like me but she seems to have some more sensitive leanings like me. So I worry that she will get her feelings hurt by other kids. I am always hoping that she will avoid the girls (and boys) that say mean things for no reason. She always seems to find them. And in church on Sunday, I went to pick her up and she was sitting across from M**** because they wouldn't get along. Ankica didn't cry when the other child was mean. She just wouldn't say she was sorry when asked to.

Turns out she has some of me AND some of her daddy. And the words "hurt feelings" don't really apply to her daddy. So while Lillian might have too much of Loran in her...Ankica might have the best of both worlds.

If she could just pick better friends!

Blog hopping like I tend to do at 3pm on a Tuesday

And this is something I found:

It is a waste of time and energy to worry about what others are thinking about you. because... You can never know exactly what another person is thinking...AND, the wost part is...they are usually not thinking about you at all. They are too busy worrying about what others are thinking about them. So, the truth is, all those terrible thoughts you thought they might be thinking about you, are your own thoughts about yourself. Better spend your energy worrying about that...or, you just might convince somebody to think what you were afraid they might be thinking after all. ~Portia Nelson

I worry about what people think of me. Not as much as I used to, but still I do. And my competitive nature is rearing its ugly head at work. I took this job because of the freedom (yes, freedom). I don't HAVE to do research but if the chance arises I could. I don't HAVE to be involved in every club and committee that comes my way, but if I like the ladder it might take me up, I will get involved. I want my RST file to look AMAZING but I took this job because I knew darn well that they won't fire me if I don't have a perfect file. I don't have to keep up with the guys who have their wives to take care of the house and the kids or the ladies that don't have kids or the people who have been here forever. I just have to be me, do my best with what time I have, and concentrate on making my works hours count more so that my home hours count more.

And another thing I realized? I was a lazy SAHM. The girls didn't eat as well as they should have and they watched too much T.V. They didn't exercise enough. They eat better now and exercise more. Side benefit is that they are picking up some cool skills. My babies might just be better off in certain ways by being at the UWPCC.

I still miss it though.

Did I mention next week is Spring Break?! And those students of mine think they are excited?!

How do I know that teaching is right for me?

When I can't seem to get myself motivated to put my lecture together and I have a massive headache and I want so badly just to cancel class.

Then I get to class, have students chat with me about fun things in their lives, I teach the lecture, and I walk out the door feeling better. No more headache and I am glad I didn't cancel class.

I thoroughly enjoy teaching that class.

Did you know that over 7.2 liters of blood goes through a cow's udder every minute? :-)

Power Tooth Brushes

I've never used one, but suddenly I have become an expert :-)

Over the course of time, the more I have written for Associated Content, the more Assignments are put on my board to claim. In the recent past, Oral-B has liked my work and I have written a number of pieces for AC and for private Oral-B use concerning power toothbrushes. With each article I write I learn something more. I just accepted two more articles. They only have to be about 300 words and I get a two digit payment for them. I like my side job :-)

Anyone have strong feelings one way or the other about manual versus power for their teeth?

Something new...

A few days ago, I saw something different than usual. I am used to seeing the Amish buggies by now, even though the girls still get excited about seeing the horses. When I was driving past the Amish farm on the way home, I saw the farmer spreading manure. Not usual this time of year, and he was using a piece of machinery that we often see. The difference?

It was being pulled by four mules instead of a tractor :-)

Keep reminding me...

I read a few blogs...not many because I don't have a lot of time...but the ones that I do read, well, most of you read mine too :-) And thank you!

Thank you for letting me read about being a mommy of two with a third on the way...and the blessing of staying home with them. It helps me live vicariously in a situation I sometimes wish I was in.

Thank you for letting me read about the adventure of becoming a new mom (HINT: blog more about it!) because I like to remember what that felt like.

Thank you for putting your thoughts in your blog because even though we talk every day, sometimes I get new insight into who you really are and who I am growing old with.

Thank you for letting me read your words that you know I love...I can't wait until your kids are a little older and you start writing more...because I think you are amazing with words. I've told you so before :-)

Thank you for reminding me how to enjoy the quiet time, for reading all of the good "gospel blogs" and linking to the best stuff so that I can share it with you but not take away from my treasured time with my family too much.

Thank you for sharing your amazing photography...the new pictures to music posts are so cool! I like seeing the world through the eyes of your camera.

Thank you for sharing the struggles and joys of homeschooling. I like to live vicariously because I wonder if I would have done it, even it I hadn't gone back to university life.

To those who don't read my blog but I read theirs...thank you for being a mommy who loves so intensely and misses those lost so much. Thank you for sharing your family because so many of them have been like family to me my whole life.

Thank you for sharing your struggles with us all on the web and even on T.V. I hurt for you that you are going through so much but you are so loved, by your family and the rest of us.

Thank you all...you make my life richer and fuller...and I should start returning the favor, in case you get anything out of what my life looks like :-)

Five Years!

Happy Anniversary to my honey! I can't believe it has been five years already!

I love you and I am so glad you finally decided to email me back :-)

If this comes to my school...I'm leaving

Things get weird enough around here sometimes but if THIS ever comes to UWP, I'm just flat leaving.

Nuff said.

A great big CONGRATS!!

Just wanted to say "CONGRATULATIONS" again to my wonderful and awesome friends who got GREAT news!

I won't say who and I won't say what but you know who you are and what it is!!

As Loran would say, "You guys ROCK!" and you so deserve this :-)

Love ya!

Ankica's autograph

I will post more about this later but I wanted to show my loyal fans that Ankica can write her name. It's fairly legible, too, if you know what you are looking for :-)

Dairy Products

I feel like all I think about these days is Dairy Products. Not for eating so much as for making or talking about or "dissecting". I have to teach Dairy Products Analysis and Processing and I have never even HAD a dairy products course before, let alone taught one.

So I am assigning cheeses to my students and figuring out what cheese factories to tour (there are three in a 10 mile radius alone here...don't even get me started on the 30 mile radius). This afternoon we are going in to the lab so I can do the next lab before I have to teach it to the students. We will be attempting to get the pasteurizer set up and separate cream from milk. I don't have raw milk right now so I will have to use whole from the store...similar but not the same.

And we talk about milk chemistry and I have to try to remember what things I taught to my Biology of Lactation class and which things I talk to Dairy Products and half of the class is in both of my classes and the classes run from 12-1 and then 2-3 MW so they get plenty sick of hearing me talk.

So, what's your favorite cheese? I love BRICK myself. Can't stand brie or feta or blue...ICK!

I received a grant!

Woo hoo!

It isn't much but it was competitive across the UW System and it will give me a little extra pay for the summer for making some much needed changes to my Introduction to Dairy Science course. I am looking forward to incorporating the proposed changes but now it means I really have to do them :-) I can't just think about it for another semester...

Ah well, the students will be better for it and it may lead to bigger and better things.

The house might just be rented!

Supposedly the guy stopped by Assurance Realty yesterday to sign the paperwork. If so, we will have a weight off of our shoulders for a while with a few extra dollars coming in every month.

The Julia situation

It needs prayer. Loran has a conference with her teacher today over the phone.

I shouldn't get into the details in an open blog, but every day we get closer to getting a lawyer.

One more step...sheesh

Oops...my file has one more hoop to jump through before I get to say for sure that I get to stay. I am not worried.

Today I made a few students laugh. When the class has 51 students...I will take a few laughs.

I had a headache going to class...it went away while I was teaching.

They are really sweet kids overall.

On Tuesday, Ankica woke up with puke on her pillow and her quilt. The bug that hit me on Sunday. So we took Lillian to the CC and I brought Ankica with me. She seemed okay until we were walking down the hall to the only class I had that day. Then she puked on the floor. Luckily no one was coming so we cleaned up quick and moved toward class. We just couldn't do it. So I went into the classroom and told the 50 students waiting there that my daughter was sick and we would postpone the lecture materials until Thursday. No one cried :-) Many did say they hoped she would feel better soon. And then as they were leaving the classroom they saw her and many stopped and directly told her they hoped she would feel better and that she was cute (makes a mommy's heart happy :-) ). She asked who they were and I told her. She said "they are nice".

Yeah, sweetie, they really are.

The decision has been made

The powers-that-be decided to keep me on for another year :-) I had good student evaluations for the first semester of teaching and I was commended for my level of involvement and encouraged to continue to work on improving my teaching.

They also liked my syllabi which made me happy. I decided to try something entirely different for my syllabi and I like creating it and looking at it better than the normal/usual kind.

After I found out about a year ago that I would be interviewing for the position, I emailed a former UWP student at the suggestion of my former advisor, Geoff. Geoff is in Florida and he has a Master's student, Jake, who went here to UWP and did an undergraduate research project with Dr. Mee, the head of the search committee (currently my mentor). I may have told some of this story already. Anyway, I asked Jake what he thought were some of the things that I should do or be aware of with regard to the interview. One of the things he said was to have a syllabus prepared for the interview. I was like "really?" and he said that the last person hired made an impression because of that. I seriously never would have considered it.

So thanks to Jake I came up with a syllabus for a course that they don't have here but that could be a really useful course. I was searching for syllabus ideas on the web when I came across an English professor that used a newsletter style. Bingo! Something completely different. When I was in the interview and they asked "If you could create your own course here, what would you do?" I whipped out my five color copies of my syllabus newsletter and they were floored, not only by the content but by the syllabus itself.

That style is apparently still winning me points. Ah, it's the little things :-)

So, one more year to corrupt young minds other than my children. The power!

I'm actually glad to be back

As the days approached where I would have to really go back to work (not just the occasional "drop the girls off at school for a few hours so I could get some work done" kind of work), I was really dreading it. I completely did not feel like I was ready.

I love being home with my girls. I am blessed that I got to spend every day with them from birth to basically two or more. And I am blessed with an awesome job that doesn't bother me much from December 19 to January 18. When I started work in August, it was exciting. It was new and something that I had prayed long and hard about. As the second semester approached I just wasn't sure that I could handle going back.

But I had to, if for no other reason than that house we fell in love with almost two years ago still belongs to us and it is not the house we are currently living in.

And now that I am here, I am actually glad to be back. I like my job. I like the students and the atmosphere. I like having an office and having people think (foolishly at times) that I know the answer to things :-)

So I am back for at least another semester. Last week Monday I had to turn in a file that helps the important people decide if they want to keep me for next year. I am not worried but it will be nice to know for sure if summer vacation will last past September 1.

I am preparing for another round of Introduction to Animal Science. I will be seeing one student again from last semester. I hope he tries harder this time.

Biology of Lactation will be interesting because it, more than anything else I have taught, is right up my alley.

Dairy Products Analysis and Processing will be challenging because I know VERY LITTLE of the information I will be teaching so I will be learning it right before I teach it. Especially the processing part. Thank goodness for three very local cheese plants that have agreed to do tours this semester :-)

So now I am off to prepare for next week's lecture because (GASP!) I have this week's lectures done already!


(Now if I could just come up with two more articles to write for AC in the Arts & Entertainment category, I'll be golden :-) )

SNOW cones

Ankica being a human sled

After the girls came in from playing in the snow, Lillian ate some off the floor.

Ew.

So I got some fresh snow and put it in a bowl and gave her a spoon. Which gave me an idea.



After lunch, we collected snow and made snowcones from REAL snow with snow cone syrup that we bought the first summer we had a pool in Georgia.



It was a big hit with the girls and so much fun. A new tradition has been born :-)

Cousins and snow