Shirking

Tagged... I, unlike Kym, will always do these quizzes to avoid reality whenever possible... If you want to participate by replying, only use word word answers... 1. Where is your cell phone? desk 2. Where is your significant other? Lunch 3. Your hair color? Brown 4. Your mother? Unique 5. Your father? Hunting 6. Your favorite thing? Peace 7. Your dream last night? Anxiety 8. Your goal? Destination 9. The room you're in? Office 10. Your hobby? Ha! 11. Your fear? failure 12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? stable 13. Where were you last night? Home 14. What you're not? untrue 15. One of your wish-list items? house 16. Where you grew up? Ashland City 17. The last thing you did? typed 18. What are you wearing? jeans 19. Your TV? Off 20. Your pet? Amos 21. Your computer? busy 22. Your mood? melancholy 23. Missing someone? Gwen 24. Your car? Kia 25. Something you're not wearing? Make up 26. Favorite store? Goodwill 27. Your summer? Busy 28. Love someone? Yes 29. Your favorite color? Purple 30. When is the last time you laughed? Today 31. Last time you cried? Today

Angels Will Attend

Kym mentioned me on her blog, hoping to inspire me to get back in the swing of things. So here I am. Let me give you a brief run down of the last 10 weeks or so:

- had a final in Intellectual Property Law

- had a final in Advanced Property (was actually a project where we had to create a mixed use development and generate fake papers that you would sign / file if it were real)

- had Negotiable Instruments final (in case you were wondering, a negotiable instrument is a check or a promissory note)

- briefed a case in Conflicts (but of course I was late to class due to a wreck on the Interstate and the instructor was half way through briefing my case - this is the guy who said on the first day of class, "I'm not afraid to fail a fourth year student")

- completed a mock trial in Moot Court - meaning I and my team mates had to act as if we were actual attorneys and file all of this paperwork with the fake judge and then we had to go to fake depositions and prepare fake opening arguments and dress up to go to the fake court. Let's not forget that my big moment before the fake court was to argue why a particular statute shouldn't be allowed to be used by the other side. So I ask the fake judge to remove the fake jury from the fake courtroom so that I can argue a fake point of law. The fake judge sighs with exasperation (not fake) and removes the jury. "Your honor, according to Tennessee Rule of Evidence 202 a municipal ordinance cannot be entered into evidence without Judicial Notice. In order for the court to even entertain judicial notice either the parties stipulate to its use or a metro official must be brought in to testify." At this point, I am beginning to hit my stride. My adrenaline is under control, but I notice that my team mates are whispering and gesturing to me. "Your honor, may I have a moment to confer with my (fake) co-counsel?" Then they tell me they stipulated to the use of the ordinance about 10 minutes before the trial, yet neglected to tell me, even knowing that I was planning to oppose its use. Nice.

- had a husband lose his job with no current prospects - construction is at a stand still. He has had former supervisors calling him to see if he had any work or knew of anyone with work. He has been getting odd jobs from family which has kept us going.

- had my car repo'ed, but luckily I was able to scrape up enough money to get it back within a couple of days (thanks to my anonymous donor).

- had my hot water heater break and leak all over - we were able to do a cheap fix for now without replacing the whole thing.

- found out my child was sent to in school suspension for a second "bad language incident"

- received a call from my mother that Marina had fleas, only to discover when I picked her up that, no, it was lice. We got to "treat" her hair and pick each and every lice egg from her head. She cried and cried. We started the process at 8:00pm and didn't finish until 2:30 in the morning. We washed every article of clothing in our house. For two weeks, we dried the clothes that we were going to wear each day for 30 minutes before putting them on. We had daily head checks for two weeks where we went through each and every strand of hair picking out any remaining eggs. We argued about whether or not to cut her hair (because the best way to solve any crisis is to turn on each other...)

- had to call the state troopers of Alaska to have them drive to the last known location of my sister b/c she stopped calling and e-mailing for about 3 weeks.

- and to top it all off, found out last week that I am pregnant and that the child will likely be born the same week as the bar exam.

So, I've been a little distracted... a little bitter... a little grouchy...

But now to the upbeat, silver lining, right?

- I didn't fail any of the exams.

- I earned back most of the points I lost for being late by stepping right in when I walked into class instead of hiding out and acting like it wasn't me who was supposed to be briefing.

- I argued a point later in my fake trial that the other side had not anticipated. I still was overruled, but after the trial, the lead guy on the other team (who took a year off to work with the DA under a limited law license from the state) said, "I saw what was coming, but couldn't think of a way to object before you got my (fake) client to say what he said. Good job!"

- My husband is starting a GED class and then plans to head to Nashville Tech this fall b/c obviously, this carpentry gig isn't too sweet and I actually have family members that have enough money to offer jobs to him to keep us going.

- I got my car back and lived to drive another day.

- I didn't have to go buy a brand new hot water heater or start taking cold baths - the cheap fix is holding for now.

- I guess the upside to the bad language incident is that at least my son can speak. He did discover, though, that he kind of likes ISS - "it's really quiet and you can get your work done quick." Also this gave us an opportunity to speak to the Vice Principal during which conversation he realized that Robert is almost 2 years younger than everyone else and that his proficiency is absurd, so he said he'll try to keep up with him better (which is what I said that I expected when we placed him at Cheatham Middle and we were assured that of course he would be well looked after...).

- ok, upside to lice, searching... searching... searching... I'll have to get back to you on that.

- I found out that my sister was, in fact, not in a ditch somewhere. She has been calling and e-mailing a lot more frequently lately. And she now knows in her heart that if I need to, I'll call the troopers like that!

- my brother, the doctor / preacher / missionary, put the baby issue in perspective. He politely listened to me complain about not liking change, not liking things to upset my personal plan. He listened to me worry about the timing of the birth and the bar exam, about where I would be able to physically put this child when I bring it home from the hospital. Then he just said, "God has a plan for this child or it wouldn't be here now."

Well, what do you say to that? Nothing.

Count your many blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings, see what God hath done. Count your many blessings, angels will attend, hope and comfort give you to your journey's end.

Stupid Blog

I can't figure out why my formatting is so crappy on my last post. It makes me look like a crazy, ranting right winger who can't use the return button. Wait, why are you laughing??

Why I am a Republican and Why I Love Sarah Palin

Why I am a Republican: When I was in high school and during the first couple of years of college, I thought I was a Democrat. I wanted to house the homeless, fix the environment, feed the children, give jobs to the poor, etc. I saw my dad lose job after job in the 80s. I saw him hitch hike to Nashville to look for work, only to come home with no prospects. He applied everywhere he could. There was no pride. He was told he was over qualified for Burger King, under qualified for others. There simply was no work. I thought that all of the problems were the fault of the Republicans, or at least that they didn't care. I thought they were only there to protect the rich man. They didn't care about the poor man. And furthermore, they didn't care about the environment, a big one to me. When I went to MTSU I saw these people there that associated themselves with the Democratic party. These were some of the most elitist minded people I had ever met. They looked at my neighbors like they were ignorant hill folks that didn't know better. They called me and my friends close minded when they wouldn't even listen to what we had to say. In a simple side by side comparison, I realized that generally the nicest people I knew were Republicans. Then Robert was born. This little tiny baby was totally dependent on me. It was and is my responsibility to take care of him, not the government. I needed all of the money that I worked to earn. I didn't want to give it to the government for them to hand out to just anybody. I had a larger responsibility, Robert. On that same note, I felt and feel that I know my child and family best. My husband and I should be the one making the primary decisions for them. If my choices aren't to the detriment of others, I should be able to make them. If I want to homeschool, how dare someone tell me no? I know that after my family, providing for those less fortunate is my responsibility too. I just believe that I can give my money to organizations that are responsible in their management. Giving it to the government for them to decide how to spend it just adds a layer of overhead that only serves to eat up my dollar. And it turns out, I am more likely to give away my dollar than my liberal counterpart. Here's a portion of an article in The Chronicle of Philanthropy, dated November 23, 2006, titled Charity's Political Divide:

In Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism (Basic Books), Arthur C. Brooks finds that religious conservatives are far more charitable than secular liberals, and that those who support the idea that government should redistribute income are among the least likely to dig into their own wallets to help others.

Lastly, I am all about the federal government being as small as it can be. The majority of the power needs to be in the hands of the state because the state is in a better position to be more responsive to the concerns of its citizens (that's my Constitutional Law class coming out). By that I mean, that I can actually call Phillip Johnson or Rosalind Kurita and tell them how I feel about pending legislation. If I am unhappy with their performance, I believe that I could actually make a difference in whether they get re-elected.

So that's why I am Republican. Now why I love Sarah Palin...

Why is it that no one has asked Barak Obama how is he going to lead the country with two young daughters?

I cannot believe that my mom, my grandma, and the other women from the past put up with all of the crap that they did (being sexually harassed in factories, being denied the right to own property, being denied the right to vote, access to birth control, equal pay, education, and really just basic common courtesy) so that today, when we are supposed to be so "enlightened," the only one being asked those sorts of questions is the woman! And the most infuriating part is that the questions are coming from the very ones that are supposed to be the champions of women.

Here's a small article from a Fox News Commentator...

According to many in the media, we truly have discovered someone worse than Hitler — and it's Sarah Palin. Head to any left-wing blog or even CNN for that matter and you'll find the zaniest of conspiracies -- froth that even a dude with rabies would find unseemly.

So how can one person create so much bile among folks who claim to be the most tolerant in the universe? I mean, liberals are the good people: They're open-minded, caring and of course, fair.

But somehow, a Republican lady in her 40s is exempt from this treatment. Perhaps, she truly is the devil in a dress, a ghoul that eats children and pollutes the planet and possibly beats Barack Obama, the patron saint of every customer buying wheat germ in bulk at GNC.

But I know the real reason why every single elitist media type is terrified of her. They've never met her. And by "her," I don't mean Sarah Palin. I mean "her", an actual normal woman with a bunch of kids, an average husband and no desire to watch "The L Word."

She's scary to these folks the way Wal-Mart is scary to them: Both are alien to someone who blogs about their chakras. They won't go there, because they've never been there.

To them, hating Sarah Palin is a symptom of larger bigotry against the rest of us, the normal. If they saw her at a party, they would wonder how she got in. She's the anti-Obama, the anti-New York Times, the anti-everything that Tim Robbins loves, which is why I love her — and you should too.

And if you disagree with me, then you sir are worse than Hitler.

Greg Gutfeld hosts "Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld" weekdays at 3 a.m. ET. Send your comments to: redeye@foxnews.com

Here's a link to a longer article that's worth at least skimming over so you can see how the people on the left are treating Palin:

http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/09/11/jpinkerton_0912/

The most offensive is the SC Democratic Party Chair who said Palin's primary qualification is "not having had an abortion." Nice. Isn't this exactly what the feminists fought against - being judged on your ovaries instead of your intellect?

Aaaarrrggghhhh.

I could go on and on. The Republicans choose an obviously funny, smart woman, and it is reduced to whether she can be a mother and a professional at the same time. If the left had put a woman on the ticket, she would be lifted up as speaking for the women of America. But I can bet you a dollar she wouldn't be speaking for me.

And let's not forget, there's a pretty decent guy on the ticket too. War hero, supporter of ethics in Congress, etc.

So - register to vote, make sure you are current in your district. It must be done at least 30 days before the election. For TN, go to this website:

http://www.tennessee.gov/sos/election/forms/ss-3010.pdf

Well, that's my two cents...

The Wind Didn't Blow Very Hard

Last Friday I said something like, "Over Labor Day weekend, we'll go wherever the wind blows." Well, I slept more this weekend than I have in the past month. I looked at my personal allergy forecast from pollen.com this morning and I saw why I slept all weekend. I have had a headache for about 4 days straight. Ragweed and grass is at 11.5 on a 12 point scale. I am a wreck. Needless to say, I have no pictures to add today. I will say that I think that Rob and I came up with a firm plan for housing. Let me give you a little background, for those of you who don't know our constant dilemma. Eight years ago we moved into a trailer that my dad had on his property. He took out a $20,000 loan that was used to get the trailer set up and legal (spetic tank, electric, impact and building permit fees to the county, survey, new carpet, new bath tub, etc). We paid that off over 5 years. Since then we have lived rent free (we do, though, pay property taxes - about $200 / year). As great as rent free sounds, bear in mind that we have no foundation which leads to multiple evacuations during tornado season, and 4 people are crammed into 950 square feet. So our choices have always been: 1) stay and build a house at my dad's 2) move somewhere else into a pre-exisiting house 3) move somewhere else and build. If we choose 2 or 3, we leave behind the $20,000 that we put into the lot and we leave behind any value that we might get from the property on a loan application. But if we choose 1, we have emotional issues (as in, is this really ours, are we living under my father's shadow) and the property isn't really big enough for what we want to do. We still have to live next door to my dad, so if we want to do anything other than just build a house there, we will have to take into account his perspective. We want goats, horses, and chickens. I don't think that would exactly thrill my dad... But when I was talking to him about our farming plans and how that wouldn't work on the hill, he said that there is some property that is behind us that is owned by a guy that told my dad he is in Mississippi now and never plans to come back to TN. If we could buy that 8 acres, we could have our livestock there. Long story short, unless something changes, we are going to try to buy that land and build on our existing site. Just this minute I found a web site with our house plan on it! We love this house!! http://www.theplancollection.com/house-plans/home-plan-5080 We are going to take the washer and dryer out of the Master Bedroom and put it in the dining room -- I saw this cool thing in the Martha Stewart magazine that looks like a buffet type cabinet, but when you open the cabinet doors there is a dryer and front loan washer in it. If you don't love it, don't tell me. I love it and have worn out the magazine where we first saw it. When you throw the magazine down on the table, it just opens to the page of this plan because I have looked at it so much -- page 84. I'm in love with it. Now I just have to manage not to kill my husband before I can get it built... He has been on my ever lasting nerve lately, but that is another story for another day...

Shannon Roberts' Unruly Kid

Though it is a little hard to tell from this picture, Robert had a black eye for a few days thanks to Shannon Roberts' Unruly Kid. Ok, Robert was as much to blame as Austin, but still... After Bible Bowl Camp, there was some unsanctioned football in the church yard and then a head on collision which resulted in a black eye. I guess it beats the broken church window from last year's Bible Bowl Camp...

Now I am done for the week. We have a baseball scrimmage tonight, Mock Bible Bowl in the morning, and then who know where the wind will blow us for the Labor Day weekend - Rock Island maybe???

What a Waste

Last weekend we wanted to get out of the house and go do something that wouldn't break the bank or take all day -- batting cages!!

And, of course, Rob had to get in on the action...

Here's a picture of the kids on the rocks of the miniature golf course.

And Marina by herself...

We did spend a few bucks in the arcade b/c Marina begged and pleaded for vampire teeth which you need tickets to buy. I told her we could get several of them at WalMart for $0.97. "No! We HAVE to get them HERE!"

I didn't edit out the red eye b/c I think it adds to the overall effect...

Now to the "What a Waste" part - This go cart / mini golf / arcade is in Bellevue right at the Interstate. It once was a big deal. The mini golf place has a big giraffe that you can see from the Interstate. There is a big elephant, rocks, fountains, etc. But the "lakes" aren't filled with water, just this greenish line where the water used to be. The fountains are barely flowing. The astro turf is worn and taped down with duct tape. The pavilion is over grown with Virginia Creeper. The batting cages and go cart areas are fine b/c they are just concrete. The arcade is run down and it kind of smells in there. The bathrooms have broken faucets and broken paper towel holders. There is a duct tape theme here b/c there is duct tape being used to repair the rips in the carpet. Except for the skee ball (isn't that what you call the game where you roll the balls up the ramp?) and the air hockey table, everything else is worn out and out dated. But there is a sign that encourages you to have your birthday party there...

Every time I see something like that I want to find a way to buy it and make it what it could be. I don't even follow through with the fantasy and then sell it for big money. I just know that I could do it better, that guy could do it better.

When I see little store fronts that would be just perfect as a bakery or a gas station that could be a really neat store (Coakley's for example), I start planning about how I would do the build out, what the logo would look like, etc. -- even though that is nowhere in my long term goals for my family. If I ever get any money, I could be dangerous...

ps. Kym, I am still planning on opening a boutique in PV for you and Shannon to run, so that you, my mom, and I can have a place to show case our Martha Stewart sides... And we need to sell specialty desserts (for Delaney)...

The Wild Kingdom

What follows are 9 photos of spiders - and not very good photos at that b/c I was so creeped out that I was in a hurry. These are 9 different spiders, but all of the same species. They are those garden spiders that make huge orb webs with the white stuff in the middle.

This first one is hanging in front of our window.

This is a little tiny baby one.

This one was bouncing on her web and when I stopped to watch and take a picture, she ran down the web and took off. I don't know what the deal was...

Oh, man, am I creeped out just looking at them. I looked them up online and everything says that it is no big deal to have a congregation of them. It is because we didn't weed eat next to the house the last time we mowed. Also our garden hose slowly leaks, but enough that there are probably more insects there than anywhere else. But still... I told Rob not to knock down the webs b/c at least I know where these dudes are when they are on their webs. And I am trying to keep an open mind... Anyway, they'll be dead soon enough. By the way, here is your garden spider trivia for the day. These are females. The males cruise around looking for female webs and tap on the web letting the female know they are coming up so that the female doesn't just instinctively charge them and kill them. Then they come up, do their business, and stumble off the web and die. When they are looking for a girl's crib, they don't eat or drink. So after the deed is done, they die. Crazy...

Pageants and Being a Bad Mother

Here is a photo of the top three in the Fair pageant. Are they cute or what?? When we got home that night, Marina said, "I need to put this dress away. It is very important to me." She has carried her trophy (1st place) around with her from room to room since Monday. Her game ball from the game where she hit a double is who knows where, but her trophy - that's another story. I guess she has found what makes her happy... I am too incompetent to figure out how to put the video on here, so these pictures will have to do. If I figure out the video portion, I'll add it later. But it's not very good anyway. This is a picture of Marina and her friend Lilly. The only two ladies brave enough to wear color...

Man, I am on a roll... Here are some pictures from Marina's other endeavor - dance.

By the way, I do have another child. Robert is my 10 year old son.

Let me tell you a little story about why I am somewhat of a bad mom. Robert had been invited to join a tournament baseball team. That is a big deal to people in Ashland City baseball. You only get on a tournament team if you are good. And Ashland City had never had a tournament team come out of its park. So we thought this was pretty cool. Let me tell you the reality of tournament ball. It is hot, expensive, cut throat, and basically no fun. A baseball mom that I go to church with said we just got on the wrong team, but I don't know...

So, we had invested this time and money in this venture to have my child and another child sit the bench for most of the season. I know that I am biased, but I am telling you the truth when I say that as far as skill, Robert and Peyton are just as good as any other player on the team. None of them had ever played tournament ball, so it was new to everyone. I have mulled this over and over - why did Robert and Peyton (and the two West Cheatham players) sit the bench more than any of the others - when other players with no more talent, but much worse attitudes, get to play the infield and stay on the field for all of every game? By the way, these were not close games, we were losing each by 20 runs or more.

I have concluded that Robert and Peyton were the quietest players on the team. They don't back talk, don't throw fits when they are in the dug outs, etc. Also, we as parents, didn't call the coach or loud talk the coach for them being in the dug out. Also, Robert is 2 grades ahead of the other players on the team. He's just different. So I think it was just easier to bench Robert and Peyton. Needless to say, we are done with travel ball...

But below is one of the few pictures that I managed to capture. During this game two players were out with injuries, so Robert finally got to play the infield. And I had the camera. Well, he proceeded to play in the dirt, kick rocks, not move for the ball. I know that at this point we were so over the whole thing that he probably had no drive to do better. But I thought, I can't believe that he is acting like this. I took pictures of him being a naughty baseball player so he can see what he looks like when he isn't paying attention. Then my battery died.

Here's the punch line, during the next inning (no camera) he caught a ball, tagged a runner, and threw to first for a triple play! When he received the tournament ball, his coach said, "That was something that you'll probably not see again - an essentially unassisted triple play."

So hopefully this web archive of sorts will encourage me to take more pictures of both of them, no matter how they are acting!

Getting started, Kym McDonald, and Marina

Why, I asked, would I want to add "blogging" to my list of things to do in a day? Well, Kym McDonald is one of my BFFs (see how cool I am - I've got this text / blog lingo down) and she said, "I never know where you are or what you are doing. You need a blog." A blog? I scoffed at the idea. I am far too busy and blogging is so cliche. I prefer human interaction. Hmmpf. So yesterday my daughter was in a pageant and I had to explain / justify this to about 15 different people either in e-mail or over the phone. Then I knew I would have the responsibility of dowloading the pictures and e-mailing them out to everyone. This little thought creeped into my head, "if I had a blog, like Kym, I could just tell people to look there..." So here I am, thanks to Kym. And if I were to be honest, this will probably provide me more human interaction with friends and family than I am getting now. A quick, "yeah, uh huh" as I drive from one appointment to another isn't really much interaction... I'll probably be less of a mystery to everyone now. That is, assuming you have nothing better to do than check in with the Sherberts... Anyway, this won't be as hip as Kym's blog, but it'll get us started. As for the pageant, here is a copy of the pageant portions of the e-mail that I sent to Kym. As soon as I learn how to add pictures to this, you can see for yourself how precious the girl is... "You may know that Marina decided this year that baseball was NOT for her. She told me she just wants to sing and dance on TV. So she started dance class. Then one night after baseball for Robert we came home and turned on the TV. The last 5 or 10 women in the Miss Universe pageant were on. Marina kept saying how beautiful they were. Then her Barbies started having pageants. Then she said she wanted to be in a pageant. Rob and I looked at each other b/c this was about 2 weeks before the fair, and the words started forming and before we could stop them, we told Marina that there was a pageant coming up at the fair. So we signed her up ($20), we bought her a dress ($30), we bought her shoes ($7), and she won first place (priceless). The sign up form said church dress, child will not be judged on clothing. So we got her a fairly simple, but kind of dressy sundress and brown sandals. She wore her hair straight and normal. Every other child had satin and lace and curls and glitter, etc. She also was one of only 2 girls that didn't wear white or yellow. But they were all so cute, I kept telling Marina, "You never know who will win. There are a lot of cute girls here." She kept saying, "I hope I make it to the next round." Too much American Idol, Nashville Star, etc. in our house... But the end result was that she had the best time. She said, "I'm so excited!" about a hundred times. And then when she won, she said, "I'm thrilled!" Dr. Phil said on a show that one of my jobs as a parent is to be a talent scout. I need to expose my children to lots of different things and find what they love and what they are good at. So if Robert takes me to a million baseball games, I guess I have to follow Marina to just as many dance classes and pageants. And I can console myself by saying that she enjoys it and whether or not it is my thing, it is her thing for now." There's our beginning on the world wide web. Hang in there with me as I figure this all out...