http://www.pleonast.com/user/wordwielder recent pleonast.com entries by user wordwielder en-us http://www.pleonast.com/user/wordwielder?l=5&entryID=589232 But first an update. Much travelling, (the beach, then my Dad's), wedding fun, and generally being busy. I think that covers it. :) I talked in my last entry about how I got drawn into facebook. And I like it. It's easier than pleonast because info about your friends comes to you--you don't have to go down the list clicking on your friends to find out about them. Also, there's not a big time commitment in terms of sitting down to write posts and embed pictures. I can even kinda keep up with it from my phone. But there are still things I like much better about pleo. Mostly, it's the depth of info. I feel like I get a much better idea about what's going on in my friends lives when I read a few paragraphs from them than I do when I see their status updates. I'll keep doing both. And I encourage those of you who haven't taken the Facebook plunge to do so! And I'VE BEEN TAGGED! I know there have been various rounds of tagging floating around pleonast, probably from the begin... 2008-10-19 http://www.pleonast.com/user/wordwielder?l=5&entryID=561194 They say when you have writers' block (never mind who "they" are) to write "I don't know what to say" or "I have nothing to say" over and over until your brain gets so bored it starts giving you ideas. When it comes to my blog, I have the opposite problem--I have tons of things to tell you about, funny things my kids have said and done, heartbreakingly profound observations on life (ok, well maybe not heartbreakingly), and very little time to convey them to you. I'm going to take some steps. We'll have to see how they work. First, I think I'm going to drop all of my group memberships, at least for now. (Is there a way to leave a group that you've been made op for?) I'm going to aim for one post a week--Saturday or Sunday afternoon. And I'll try to keep up with everyone else in the between times. Elliot's birthday was yesterday--I'll try to post about that before next weekend. So already I'm breaking my self-imposed guidelines...isn't that always h... 2008-08-10 http://www.pleonast.com/user/wordwielder?l=5&entryID=521338 I went to see it last night. She generously volunteered to watch the boys for me so that I could go. Rusty is out of town, so I went by myself. Now, let me first say that I have never been to a movie by myself. I was kind of curious how I would feel, sitting in a movie theater with other people around, but being all alone. I needn't have worried. I was the only person in the theater. This isn't that remarkable, if you consider that it's not expected to be a blockbuster, and that it was a 5:30 showing on a Thursday evening. But it still cracked me up. A couple of guys came in about 20 minutes into the movie, but they left after about 30 minutes. About the movie: I really found it affirming. I can see why some critics are calling it "heavy-handed." It's got lots of black and white clips thrown in among the interviews--people getting slapped around, etc.--for emphasis that I think isn't needed. The words and people speak for themselves. I am pretty sure th... 2008-04-25 http://www.pleonast.com/user/wordwielder?l=5&entryID=513966 The clothes come off. I really was thinking about writing a very long and detailed treatise on modesty/chaste dress (and I might do it one of these days), but for now I'll keep it brief: 1. Neck-to-Knees coverage--just think about it. It's an easy guideline to remember, and I personally have found my conscience a lot easier to live with since I've adopted it. I could offer many other arguments in favor of it, but I'll save them for now. 2. Covering the body doesn't mean being ashamed of my body, it means that I honor it as being valuable. 3. Sometimes I think it helps to forget about the word "modesty" for a moment--because of all the baggage that it carries for some people--and just think about being chaste in our dress as well as our behavior. That's all I'm going to say about that. My good modesty-related news is that I've found myself some cute knee pants--clam diggers? I don't know what to call them! They hit me just below the knee when I'm standing, and j... 2008-04-07 http://www.pleonast.com/user/wordwielder?l=5&entryID=512135 forsythia dogwood azalea phlox daffodil, Bradford pear, Japanese magnolia (past peak) children wisteria cherry grownups blueberry red (Italian) clover (dandelion, thistle, allergies) ideas This is not an exhaustive list. Feel free to add your own. ************************* Happy Thoughts: ~see above ~getting packages of homeschooling books ~brain games and logic puzzles ~the well-timed use of paper plates 2008-04-02 http://www.pleonast.com/user/wordwielder?l=5&entryID=511038 Down for maintenance. 2008-03-31 http://www.pleonast.com/user/wordwielder?l=5&entryID=510133 I'm officially throwing my hat into the ring as the newest presidential candidate. I'll be running on an independent ticket, and my platform will be: Fast Food Reform! Why fast food reform, you ask? It has been my experience lately that around 80% of food orders fulfilled through drive-through windows are incorrect. What's more, these errors seem to occur across the board, at all fast food restaurants except Chik-fil-A. (Under my proposed program, any restaurant that can demonstrate drive-through-order accuracy of 95% will be exempt from government interference.) Because these dining disasters are not limited to one chain, I believe the only way to improve the situation is by GOVERNMENT REGULATION. Think of the mother who gets her McDonald's sack home only to find out that the happy meal toy they've given her son is a Disney Princess Bracelet! What about the wife with a husband who detests raw tomatoes, and finds that Taco Bell consistently puts them on their crunch wraps ev... 2008-03-28 http://www.pleonast.com/user/wordwielder?l=5&entryID=497326 I've been baking a lot more lately. I'm on a mission to find a workable, delicious recipe for dinner rolls. So far, my rolls look beautiful--all golden brown, light, and tender. And they are completely tasteless. *sigh* But I do have a good biscuit recipe. And since she asked me, I'll share it. It actually isn't my recipe. I didn't even find it for myself. My dear friend Mary Ann, who is on pleonast but whose pleoname I don't know yet for linking purposes, shared it with me. The recipe originates with Paula Deen. Which should tell you that it is Gooo-ood. So here goes: Preheat oven to 450. Mix 2 cups self-rising flour 1 tablespoon sugar 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream until just blended. (Don't over mix or your biscuits will be like hockey pucks!) Gently roll or pat out on a lightly floured surface, cut, and bake on a greased cookie sheet for 11 minutes. If you go look up Paula's recipe on the Food network, you'll see that she calls for a 500 degree oven and 10 minute... 2008-02-26 http://www.pleonast.com/user/wordwielder?l=5&entryID=495158 Go here and see the sweet pics of my newest niece. ***************** Happy Thoughts: ~knowing I should throw something away and then doing it ~"Shop Victoriously"--possibly best slogan of the decade. ~Eating from the freezer and pantry--and being stocked-up enough to do it. ~minky chenille 2008-02-20 http://www.pleonast.com/user/wordwielder?l=5&entryID=493032 When I left this morning to take Silas to school, the trash can was still out at the curb. (The trash ran Wednesday, so it's been sitting out since then.) I made a mental note to pull it back up to the house when I got home. When I got home, I pulled into the garage. Instead of closing the garage door and going in from inside the garage (which I've been trying to do lately), I left the garage door open so I could go out that way and fetch the trash can. Only someone had already done it for me. It was sitting very nicely next to the house, right in its usual spot. So in the time it took me to drop Silas off at school, swing by Chick-fil-A for a much needed Cherry Coke, and get home, someone moved my trash can for me. Trash Can Fairy, if you're reading this, thank you. That was really sweet. ******************* Happy Thoughts: ~those super-friendly people who work Chick-fil-A's drive through. ~stuff to sew ~abundance: a full-ish tank of gas ~librivox free audio books 2008-02-15