Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Leap of Faith
I did it- I ordered tickets for Romeo and Juliet at The Globe. I was able to find some seats without an "obstructed view" at the mid-range ticket price so there's a little savings in case we can't go. Once I booked the tickets I noticed a link to The Swan, a restaurant apparently located on the theater grounds, so I'm going to make reservations for lunch there. It should be a lovely day with my daughter!
What To Do, What To Do?
Oh, this is awful! I don't know how to proceed with our vacation plans at this point. I am agonizing over things like buying tickets to a show. We want to see Romeo & Juliet at The Globe so I sent them an e-mail asking if they will give refunds if we can't make it due to travel restrictions. They said NO, and furthermore they anticipate the show will sell out so if we wait to buy tickets at the door we may not get to see it at all. The Eldest especially wants to see a show there, but it's almost $100.00 for tickets that we'll throw away if we can't travel.
A 23 month old Mexican toddler died in a hospital here in the U.S., the first death in our country. It's just so sad.
A 23 month old Mexican toddler died in a hospital here in the U.S., the first death in our country. It's just so sad.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Will We Be Able To Go???
Or will Swine Flu cancel the vacation I've dreamed of my entire life? Or will we get over there and not be able to do anything because all of the museums, theaters, etc. are shut down? Or will we get over there and have to come back if someone in our family catches it? Or will we get over there and have trouble getting home because of flight cancellations? Or will WE catch it? I'm on tenterhooks (I had to google that phrase) waiting to find out what's going to happen with all of this.
I'm also kicking myself mentally for not scheduling us to leave TODAY, which is one of the dates I looked at. Why? Why did I delay? We'd be on our way already and possibly get this in under the wire of whatever is going to happen with this flu. Who would have thought this would be an issue, anyway? It's April- flu season is supposed to be over already. :(
OK, OK, enough with the whining. I feel terrible for the people who have caught this already, especially for those who have died and their loved ones. I'm also worried for the people who are going to catch it in the future, and for the steps that may have to be taken to control it. We went out to eat yesterday at Sweet Tomatoes and I was looking around wondering how a pandemic would affect restaurants, and then how it would affect our already reeling economy as a whole. Our vacation doesn't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world, (plus I bought trip insurance) but if everyone else is canceling vacations too, that's going to have a huge economic impact. Even things like the local P.E. program for homeschoolers my kids go to- that's dependent on the parks being open and people being able to gather, and if that's taken away that's another business that will fail and people on the payroll who will lose their jobs. The implications of this are really scary.
I'm saying my prayers for sure!
I'm also kicking myself mentally for not scheduling us to leave TODAY, which is one of the dates I looked at. Why? Why did I delay? We'd be on our way already and possibly get this in under the wire of whatever is going to happen with this flu. Who would have thought this would be an issue, anyway? It's April- flu season is supposed to be over already. :(
OK, OK, enough with the whining. I feel terrible for the people who have caught this already, especially for those who have died and their loved ones. I'm also worried for the people who are going to catch it in the future, and for the steps that may have to be taken to control it. We went out to eat yesterday at Sweet Tomatoes and I was looking around wondering how a pandemic would affect restaurants, and then how it would affect our already reeling economy as a whole. Our vacation doesn't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world, (plus I bought trip insurance) but if everyone else is canceling vacations too, that's going to have a huge economic impact. Even things like the local P.E. program for homeschoolers my kids go to- that's dependent on the parks being open and people being able to gather, and if that's taken away that's another business that will fail and people on the payroll who will lose their jobs. The implications of this are really scary.
I'm saying my prayers for sure!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Habla Francais?
So I ordered Rosetta Stone French and it arrived a couple of days ago and I'm trying feverishly to absorb as much as I can in the very short number of days before we leave. This is a problem. I took a Spanish course at the local community college a billion years ago and learned that I don't have an aptitude for picking up languages easily. Now I'm trying to do the Rosetta Stone at the same time The Eldest and her Spanish tutor are throwing Spanish at me, and my brain hurts! I can't absorb all of these new words and keep the Spanish sorted out from the French!!! ACK!
I must say I like the Rosetta Stone so far, though. It was really expensive but I figure it's not just for me since I can use it for curriculum for all three of the kids. The price is just part of our homeschool tuition. ;) I like the approach they use- they don't do word for word translations, rather they show you pictures then say the French word or phrase that goes with it and build from there. They use several different variations for the way they show the pictures and have you match the vocabulary so it mixes things up nicely. It's a far cry from the $20.00 French CD I picked up at the bookstore. Why I bothered I don't know; I am NOT an auditory learner so I should have figured the CD wouldn't work.
I should be working on the Rosetta Stone now but I needed a break for a few minutes. I may not post much for a while as we are nearing the finish line for our travel preparations and things are crazy-hectic, but we'll be taking a lap top with us so we're hoping to update on the road. :)
PS: Melinda- I am so flattered by your recent post about moms! Thank you, and I'll give it more attention when things calm down. :)
I must say I like the Rosetta Stone so far, though. It was really expensive but I figure it's not just for me since I can use it for curriculum for all three of the kids. The price is just part of our homeschool tuition. ;) I like the approach they use- they don't do word for word translations, rather they show you pictures then say the French word or phrase that goes with it and build from there. They use several different variations for the way they show the pictures and have you match the vocabulary so it mixes things up nicely. It's a far cry from the $20.00 French CD I picked up at the bookstore. Why I bothered I don't know; I am NOT an auditory learner so I should have figured the CD wouldn't work.
I should be working on the Rosetta Stone now but I needed a break for a few minutes. I may not post much for a while as we are nearing the finish line for our travel preparations and things are crazy-hectic, but we'll be taking a lap top with us so we're hoping to update on the road. :)
PS: Melinda- I am so flattered by your recent post about moms! Thank you, and I'll give it more attention when things calm down. :)
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Earth Day
Happy Earth Day!
Do you celebrate the day or do you ignore it? I think Earth Day is a wonderful holiday and I'm making efforts to elevate it to the status of the 4th of July or at least Halloween around my house. Since holidays usually have special foods attached to them I've decided we will eat vegetarian for the day, to start with. (Well I try; The Youngest ate leftover chicken tenders earlier, but eating leftovers reduces waste so I guess that can fit the theme!) We also make Earth Day Resolutions, similar to New Year's Resolutions only green. A few years ago, before it really caught on, I made a resolution to use canvas bags at the grocery. I was the only one at the time- the store employees where I shop started calling me The Bag Lady. Now everyone does it; I started a fad! ;) (Yes, I know I didn't start it, but I jumped on the bandwagon a lot earlier than most.) I'm so glad it's hip now, no matter who got it started.
Last year, hmmm, I just remembered- my resolution was to take shorter showers. Major fail on that one, but it's hard. It's heat therapy for me and soothes the fibromyalgia. Guess I need to make two resolutions this year to make up for it! I'm not quite sure what I want to focus on for the upcoming year. I've been trying to eat local but it's challenging around here since this isn't an agricultural area. I buy organic whenever possible and I'm hoping to get some tomatoes from the bush I've planted in our little teeny herb garden. My weight loss has also helped the planet- who knew that could happen? I find I get cold easily now that I'm thinner so we're keeping the thermostat warmer. (I live in a hot climate so warmer for us uses less AC.) DH isn't always happy about that but when he's at work it's toasty in my house! We use fluorescent light bulbs in most of our light fixtures (except for the computer room where it makes the screens go buggy) but that was something DH handled.
OK, OK, I've got it; first resolution- I'm going to try to find more vegetarian meals that my family will enjoy. Oprah had the author of "The Omnivore's Dilemma" on her show today and he suggested eating vegetarian one day per week. Right now we're eating one meal per week (the Black Bean Cakes- I have to post that recipe now that I have permission!!) so I want to increase that over the upcoming year to at least a full day. He said his family has "Meatless Mondays" and that sounds like a really good idea to me.
Second resolution- prior to Earth Day 2010, get the new energy efficient windows we need for our house. We have the money set aside so now I have to do the leg work to find a contractor and actually have the work done. That's something that will really make a difference in our energy consumption since we have the WORST windows! The gaps are large enough that lizards get in on a regular basis- shudder. It's a one time thing that will make an ongoing difference so I think that's a great second resolution. (And I still need to try to take shorter showers; sigh.)
Do you celebrate the day or do you ignore it? I think Earth Day is a wonderful holiday and I'm making efforts to elevate it to the status of the 4th of July or at least Halloween around my house. Since holidays usually have special foods attached to them I've decided we will eat vegetarian for the day, to start with. (Well I try; The Youngest ate leftover chicken tenders earlier, but eating leftovers reduces waste so I guess that can fit the theme!) We also make Earth Day Resolutions, similar to New Year's Resolutions only green. A few years ago, before it really caught on, I made a resolution to use canvas bags at the grocery. I was the only one at the time- the store employees where I shop started calling me The Bag Lady. Now everyone does it; I started a fad! ;) (Yes, I know I didn't start it, but I jumped on the bandwagon a lot earlier than most.) I'm so glad it's hip now, no matter who got it started.
Last year, hmmm, I just remembered- my resolution was to take shorter showers. Major fail on that one, but it's hard. It's heat therapy for me and soothes the fibromyalgia. Guess I need to make two resolutions this year to make up for it! I'm not quite sure what I want to focus on for the upcoming year. I've been trying to eat local but it's challenging around here since this isn't an agricultural area. I buy organic whenever possible and I'm hoping to get some tomatoes from the bush I've planted in our little teeny herb garden. My weight loss has also helped the planet- who knew that could happen? I find I get cold easily now that I'm thinner so we're keeping the thermostat warmer. (I live in a hot climate so warmer for us uses less AC.) DH isn't always happy about that but when he's at work it's toasty in my house! We use fluorescent light bulbs in most of our light fixtures (except for the computer room where it makes the screens go buggy) but that was something DH handled.
OK, OK, I've got it; first resolution- I'm going to try to find more vegetarian meals that my family will enjoy. Oprah had the author of "The Omnivore's Dilemma" on her show today and he suggested eating vegetarian one day per week. Right now we're eating one meal per week (the Black Bean Cakes- I have to post that recipe now that I have permission!!) so I want to increase that over the upcoming year to at least a full day. He said his family has "Meatless Mondays" and that sounds like a really good idea to me.
Second resolution- prior to Earth Day 2010, get the new energy efficient windows we need for our house. We have the money set aside so now I have to do the leg work to find a contractor and actually have the work done. That's something that will really make a difference in our energy consumption since we have the WORST windows! The gaps are large enough that lizards get in on a regular basis- shudder. It's a one time thing that will make an ongoing difference so I think that's a great second resolution. (And I still need to try to take shorter showers; sigh.)
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
NASA Pics
As promised, some pictures from our recent NASA field trip, including a long shot of the rocket we slept under!
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Tired, Tired, Tired...
I got to sleep (sort of) under a Saturn V rocket last night! It was so cool. The Middle Child and her Girl Scout troop took a field trip to Kennedy Space Center that was totally amazing; if you ever have the opportunity to go, I highly recommend it.
But I'm too tired to come up with a more coherent post, and there are 2 other people using the internet at our house right now who will squawk if I start uploading pictures, so I'm going to bed. More will follow after I've had some slllleeeeepppp.
But I'm too tired to come up with a more coherent post, and there are 2 other people using the internet at our house right now who will squawk if I start uploading pictures, so I'm going to bed. More will follow after I've had some slllleeeeepppp.
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