Monday, January 05, 2009
“Sometimes Corinna wonders why they
got married if they don’t like each other so much that all they do
is yell at each other. If her father tells her mother that she’s
fat and ugly, and her mother says that he’s nasty and selfish, then
why did they get married? She thought that love was forever. Did
her parents not love each other? Then why did they get married.
Maybe her parents pretended that they loved each other. Maybe they
pretend that they love her and Amanda. Maybe her parents really are
like what they say to each other? Is her mother useless..?”
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Sunday, December 21, 2008
She was unhappy then; she's unhappy
now. Bianca wants to be, in her words, sitting under a tree with a
book but has found herself instead in this communal situation where
everyone is in everyone else's pockets. She doesn't want to play
bingo or cards. She's tired of the social activities designed to
keep the residents busy. She wants to be independent -- cook for
herself, be on her own timetable -- but her circumstances don't
allow that...
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Friday, December 19, 2008
Lying in bed last night, eyes wide as
saucers, I gave up on sleep and went to the kitchen for a cup of
tea. Flipping through the cable channels (yes, my life is dominated
by media) I came across "The Duggars: 17 Kids and Counting" on TLC.
I am strangely fascinated by this family...
Update: "The
ultimate Christmas gift from God," said Jim Bob. Well, it's "18
Kids and Counting" now...
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Thursday, December 18, 2008

These were the words used in a search
query by someone (likely a high school freshman) who found
StoryRhyme.com. To the seeker: I'm going to go out on a limb here
and guess that you didn't read the story, did you? Because if you
did, you'd know that O. Henry's use of irony is not exactly subtle.
In fact, if at first you didn't know what irony meant, you would
after reading "The Gift of the Magi..."
Update: Jim And Della's Gifts;
Irony... Okay, since it's the season of giving and since I
don't want to feel like I've got spiders in my soul like The
Grinch, I'm directing this post to the many of you who are seeking
the answer to the question: What is ironic about the
gifts Jim and Della gave to each other. Also, what were they really
giving...
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Tuesday, December 02, 2008
So do we always want to hear the
truth? I don't think so. When we ask our partner how we look, don't
we really want them to tell us, "You look fabulous"? When we ask
for the opinions of others, aren't we looking for validation? How
do we live in community together if we don't shade the truth a
little for those we love? Do we really tell the host or hostess
that dinner was awful..?
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Wednesday, November 12, 2008
I think I'm getting to be an old hand
at this dyeing stuff. Well, I have done it twice now. Go to the
drugstore with the top of the old box (very clever). Husband
suggests I go lighter this time (to replicate Michael's results).
Sound advice; right (from a guy who goes to SuperCuts)..?
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Tuesday, November 04, 2008
"To live content with small means;
to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than
fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to
study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to
the stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear
on cheerfully, do all bravely, awaiting occasions, worry never; in
a word to, like the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up
through the common..." Read More...
Tuesday, October 21, 2008

At the age of 2, Grandma moved with her parents and brother from
Kansas to the Arizona desert to homestead. Her mother (my Great
Grandmother) taught school in the one-room school house and owned
and ran the general store. Life was hard in the small ranch town.
It was remote and often lonely...
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Thursday, October 02, 2008
If given the choice, I'd rather take a
nap than have to learn something new...
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Saturday, September 20, 2008
Intuitively I know that change can be
a good thing, but for me, change often falls into the category of
it's good for you, like eating your vegetables or cutting donuts
out of your diet. Not always the most fun; sometimes a challenge.
Fifteen years of doing one thing one way are now at an end...
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Friday, August 22, 2008
.
Gravity has not been kind. I examine my face, looking for the right
angle of attack for makeup application...
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Monday, August 18, 2008
I feel like such a heel. His friends
will all be starting school (right at the end of our street) next
week, without him. Today he's blazing a new trail on his own...
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Sunday, August 03, 2008
First Husband, then Charlie, then me.
And I've had it the worst...
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Thursday, June 12, 2008

A while back, my mother-in-law gave Charlie a dry erase board
(complete with AARP logo) -- magnetic -- so, of course, it ended up
on the fridge, which is almost covered, but there are still a few
inches of white space left. Very few. My favorite piece of fridge
art right now is Charlie's picture of a monster Hello Kitty drawn
in the style of King Kong or Godzilla, towering over destroyed
skyscrapers and swatting at airplanes, using his (her?) heat ray
eyes to destroy a passing helicopter. The tanks have no effect on
him...
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Wednesday, May 21, 2008
When Husband and I were prepping for
Charlie to start school, we didn't think the school itself mattered
as much as the parent-child involvement. While the aforementioned
is certainly key, the other night, I felt a twinge of regret as I
watched my sister-in-law doing some last-minute sewing. She was
making a tiger for her classroom production...
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Saturday, May 10, 2008
Before we had our son, Husband and I
would think nothing of a spontaneous trip into the city for a
midnight dinner at our favorite 24-hour dive. We were night owls;
expert sleepers...
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Saturday, March 01, 2008
We have children. We love them; we teach them; we enjoy them. But
only for a few years...
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Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Okay, I'm really questioning my hair
judgment at this point. Refer back to
first post (mousy hair).
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Friday, February 15, 2008
Have just finished painting our master
bedroom and am happy at last. Major undertaking (for me at
least)...
Got a bad haircut today. I miss Michael. He cut my hair for years.
He moved to the desert a few months ago. Against my better
judgement, out of desperation, I went to one of those chain
salons...
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Thursday, February 14, 2008
Just finished reading a long, very
boring article on the religious symbology in the "Lord of the
Rings" movies (and books) in an online literary journal. I think I
can sum it up much more simply...
Now, I know I said before that this wouldn't be a political blog,
but I just had a thought to share. I think that Ann Coulter and
Rush Limbaugh should get married and go on a very long honeymoon...
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Sunday, February 10, 2008
To use a pen name or not? What do you
all think out there? As those of you who know me know already, I'm
using a pen name for my stories, which has been a bit of an
internal struggle for me.
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