I posted this on Facebook today. It is a thing going around that I thought you might enjoy too:
25 Random things about me
1) I love having daughters. I learn something from them every day.
2) I met my husband when I was in high school and he was in college at Georgia Tech. We met skydiving.
3) I excel at repetitive tasks. I have a drive to make things more efficient.
4) My favorite food is chocolate - especially those yummy Lindor balls. Beyond that, I'll eat anything, that does not involve killing an animal, and probably like it.
5) I am an adventurous cook. I love finding recipes from other cultures on Allrecipes.com
6) I love to watch travel shows. And travel. Planning is truly half the fun for me. Paradoxically, I just love to stay home and be lazy on the weekends.
7) I don't like the cold. I sleep under 2 down comforters, a quilt, and 2 blankets.
8) I used to gross out my friends when I was little by sucking in my stomach because they could see my ribs so clearly.
9) I took Kung Fu for 3 years. I can't actually remember what level I was at when I stopped. Somewhere below a black belt.
10) I'm good at analyzing data and sifting facts. Things like surveys and polls. I would love to work for the Gallup organization.
11) I'm very proud that I've been a vegetarian for 18 years, through 2 pregnancies, and breastfeeding.
12) I am frugal. I recycle. I care deeply about the environment and feel that humans should tread lightly.
13) I feel trapped and panicky when I'm on a bus, on a tour with strangers, in a car when I'm not driving, or in my own car if I'm in a traffic jam.
14) I took piano lessons for many many years but really am only good at playing by ear and memorizing. I was never able to sight read.
15) I have fun staying on top of the latest computer and technology fads.
16) I have NO fashion sense (but you probably knew that, didn't you). Anything you see me wearing that looks nice probably was given to me by my sister (Thanks Lynne!).
17) My favorite color is red. It used to be pink but pink just seemed too uncommitted.
18) I love being a Girl Scout. I never volunteered for anything until I became a GS Leader.
19) I enjoy painting - not artistic painting but "painting the walls" kind of painting. I get into a meditative state and am transported. Also, see #3.
20) I love to read. In a well-written book, I never see the words but see the story that the author is telling. I love fantasy, sci fi, adventure stories. I even like non-fiction some.
21) I read the Lord of the Rings 9 times in High School and college.
22) I love the Internet. I am continually wondering about things and the Internet gives me instant gratification in finding the answers to all of my questions. I love information.
23) I am an archivist. I keep writings, pictures, and mementos. I scan things in. I catalog them. I get great satisfaction from preserving things for future generations. I feel like I don't really own but am the steward for my family antiques. I have a family couch that is 175 years old.
24) Before I had children, I loved to research my genealogy. I like to imagine my ancestors in their times and what their lives were like. Since a lot of traits are genetic, I look for similarities in my own personality.
25) I love speed. I like roller coasters and driving fast. However, I don't skydive and I don't snowboard anymore.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Finding relatives in Facebook
I've been searching around in Facebook for long lost friends, coworkers, and relatives. It is a little hard when they have a common name. For those of you who don't have Facebook accounts, it is a social networking site. It is more to keep in touch with people you already know rather than to find new friends (although you can do that too).
You invite people to be your "friend" and if they agree, you can visit their page, see what they're up to, photos, and send them little "gifts" like pictures of chocolate candy (much less fattening than the real thing). Every time you go on, you can quickly update your "status" which your friends can see. It is just one quick sentence and gives you a window into what they are all doing.
I've really enjoyed seeing what all my friends are doing every day. At first I invited everyone I found, who I knew even remotely, to be my friend. Now I'm a little more selective. I'm not so sure that the people who work for me want me to see what they're doing on their days off, for example. I have learned a lot about the friends that I see regularly and am keeping up with those I rarely see too.
I found some friends from High School! Remember Mary Sue?
This week, I found the daughter of one of my cousins! I've never met her in person. Her dad doesn't have a Facebook account and she doesn't know that any of our other relatives have accounts, but wouldn't it be fun to have mini family reunions this way? I remember my cousin as a hippie with long blond hair. I wonder what he's like now?
You invite people to be your "friend" and if they agree, you can visit their page, see what they're up to, photos, and send them little "gifts" like pictures of chocolate candy (much less fattening than the real thing). Every time you go on, you can quickly update your "status" which your friends can see. It is just one quick sentence and gives you a window into what they are all doing.
I've really enjoyed seeing what all my friends are doing every day. At first I invited everyone I found, who I knew even remotely, to be my friend. Now I'm a little more selective. I'm not so sure that the people who work for me want me to see what they're doing on their days off, for example. I have learned a lot about the friends that I see regularly and am keeping up with those I rarely see too.
I found some friends from High School! Remember Mary Sue?
This week, I found the daughter of one of my cousins! I've never met her in person. Her dad doesn't have a Facebook account and she doesn't know that any of our other relatives have accounts, but wouldn't it be fun to have mini family reunions this way? I remember my cousin as a hippie with long blond hair. I wonder what he's like now?
Monday, January 19, 2009
Arms like jello
We spent the weekend working on the rental house. I had thought I'd be able to go in and just focus on painting all weekend but there were too many obstacles to get that done very well. There are 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, living room, and kitchen that all need painting. The ceilings need to be repaired and painted in the living room and one bedroom. The wallpaper border needed to be removed from a second bedroom. The third bedroom has a different color paint which we need to either paint over or buy new green paint for.
First of all, I want to make a special request. "JUST SAY NO" to wallpaper! Just don't do it. It may be tempting but just don't. I removed the wallpaper border in the bedroom yesterday and it was again a miserable experience. Previously, in Talia's bedroom at our house, I'd used DIF which is a gel that you spray onto the paper. I thought maybe a steamer would work better. It's not really any better.
It just takes a long time and you have to be patient - holding a heavy steam applicator over your head against the wall. It takes about 2 minutes per foot of border, holding the steam on. Then you pull away the paper slowly. It usually sticks still a a bit so you encourage it with a putty knife. It also was pulling some of the paint from under it off here and there so I ended up with some areas that need sanding no matter how hard I tried. For that bedroom, it took me about 4 hours. My arms are like jello.
With Talia's help, we did manage to get the walls painted in the other bedroom. Bruce ripped out a whole section of bowed water-damaged ceiling and replaced it (with Tacie's and my help).
Mom's still packing up boxes of books from the basement.
One note about my favorite current internet application - Google Documents. Google docs are stored on the internet for free. I keep password protected personal documents there that Bruce and I can access from any computer. We've been making a list of things that need attention at the rental house and tools and supplies we need. When we went to Home Depot, we had Tacie call up the document on her iPhone so we could access the list and mark off what we were buying. Very cool.
We still have a lot to do on this house. We're hoping to get it done by the end of the month.
First of all, I want to make a special request. "JUST SAY NO" to wallpaper! Just don't do it. It may be tempting but just don't. I removed the wallpaper border in the bedroom yesterday and it was again a miserable experience. Previously, in Talia's bedroom at our house, I'd used DIF which is a gel that you spray onto the paper. I thought maybe a steamer would work better. It's not really any better.
It just takes a long time and you have to be patient - holding a heavy steam applicator over your head against the wall. It takes about 2 minutes per foot of border, holding the steam on. Then you pull away the paper slowly. It usually sticks still a a bit so you encourage it with a putty knife. It also was pulling some of the paint from under it off here and there so I ended up with some areas that need sanding no matter how hard I tried. For that bedroom, it took me about 4 hours. My arms are like jello.
With Talia's help, we did manage to get the walls painted in the other bedroom. Bruce ripped out a whole section of bowed water-damaged ceiling and replaced it (with Tacie's and my help).
Mom's still packing up boxes of books from the basement.
One note about my favorite current internet application - Google Documents. Google docs are stored on the internet for free. I keep password protected personal documents there that Bruce and I can access from any computer. We've been making a list of things that need attention at the rental house and tools and supplies we need. When we went to Home Depot, we had Tacie call up the document on her iPhone so we could access the list and mark off what we were buying. Very cool.
We still have a lot to do on this house. We're hoping to get it done by the end of the month.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Brrrrr
I thought I was cold today because it is 25 degrees in the middle of the afternoon. Then I looked up Montreal in weather.com. It is -6 F!!!! Ouch! In Madison, it is a little better, 0 F! Sounds like a good day for snuggling. Stay warm!
We're going to spend the weekend working on the rental house. The girls and I will be painting, painting, painting. We'll also have to get all the rest of mom's last things (books) out of there. Bruce is going to repair some sheetrock, fix some molding, and take care of a few plumbing projects. We spoke with a property manager this week and she's very positive about the house. We just need to get it looking "pristine".
We're going to spend the weekend working on the rental house. The girls and I will be painting, painting, painting. We'll also have to get all the rest of mom's last things (books) out of there. Bruce is going to repair some sheetrock, fix some molding, and take care of a few plumbing projects. We spoke with a property manager this week and she's very positive about the house. We just need to get it looking "pristine".
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Christmas Greetings and what happened to 2008?
Christmas Greetings from all the Crawfords
Most of you would be appalled at the current state of my house. In fact, I was afraid we wouldn't have time for Christmas this year.
When you walk into my house, you are greeted not by Christmas decorations but piles of books on the floor in the dining room. The dining table is covered with 2 dollhouses, paint, brushes, copper wire, switches, and various other miniature things. One of the chairs in the den is piled high with jackets and scarves that won't fit in the coat closet. There are DVDs strewn around the TV stand including several unwatched Netflix videos that we've had for over a month. In front of the bookcase is all the board games piled up that won't fit on the shelves. My computer and papers I'm working on are on one end-table. The pillows from the couch end up where people want them for comfort, not where they look best.
The kitchen, the hub of this family is not any better. The table where we eat/read is strewn with newspapers and other reading material as well as quill pens and ink from the girls' calligraphy yesterday. The back table in there is piled with partially finished projects that were started on the kitchen table and moved there when another project was started. Right now the sink is clean and the counter where we prepare food is mostly cleared! However, the island in the middle is piled with mail and school paperwork. There is no space left on the desk in the kitchen. I made an attempt to clean it off before Thanksgiving but only managed in finding homes for all the papers. All the other little important things are still covering it (keys, pencils, calculators, coins, small toys, a bowl of coupons and gift cards, and the telephone).
The front stairs are clear but the back stairs are a hazard with some toys that need to be taken up to the playroom. Too bad you can hardly walk through that playroom right now. We cleaned it out before Talia's birthday in June and everything not given away had a place. Sadly, that didn't last. The vacuum cleaner was left out after the girls cleaned the hamster cage recently. There are a couple of baskets with clean laundry that no one has put away. Of course, there is still laundry in the dryer waiting to be folded.
Talia's room has every available surface piled with precious things. Her dresser, end-table, bookcase, and chest of drawers are piled in some places over 8 inches high with things too important to be put in the playroom. All the stuffed animals are piled in a corner at the foot of her bed. The good news is that all her clean clothes are organized and in her drawers; the bad news is that she has grown out of those size 9 clothes.
If you can walk through Tacie's room without hurting yourself or something, you're lucky. Her earrings are on a holder propped up behind her door which falls over and dumps the earrings if you open the door too wide. She's a teenager. 'nuf said.
In the upstairs hallway are clothes that are too small for Tacie that we'll save for Talia. At the other end are clothes that are too small for Talia for us to give away.
In my room, usually the cleanest room of the house, I have a pile of sweaters and shirts that were given to me that I need to try on and sort through. When I walked into my bathroom last night I found it covered with Talia's clothes - wall to wall. But my bed is made!
The basement is no better.
So what HAS been going on here? It's my favorite saying that my father used to say: "You always do something instead of something else". My sister has just moved to Montreal (Mark has a job with Air Canada). My mother has moved to Lynne's house. They were both cleaning out things. Books ended up on my dining room floor; clothes ended up in my bedroom.
We enjoyed a few travel adventures. Last February we took Tacie's Girl Scout troop to Disney World. That was Great! It is different going with friends than with family. Talia and Bruce visited Grandma in Texas that week. For Spring break, we took a Disney cruise with some of the Crawfords: Brent's family and Grandma. Some of those Girl Scout friends also were on that cruise.
The girls had fun at Girl Scout camp in June. Tacie was a Program Aide this year. She also went to Wrangler In Training camp so she could help teach horseback riding to younger girls in the future. She also got to spend a week in Wisconsin with her Grandpa and got to fly a RC airplane.
Unfortunately, at the end of the summer, she fell off a horse during a lesson and broke her arm. It was a pretty severe break, both bones in the left forearm were snapped in 2 (and she's left handed). The dollhouses that we started to wire in the summer have sat undisturbed ever since.
Tacie has slowed down a lot because of her broken arm. No piano lessons or horseback riding. The Magnet program at school has continued to be challenging. She has done a couple of good service projects for the holidays. She and I helped distribute toys and food to needy children most of last Saturday. The previous Saturday, she helped a child go shopping with money donated to the high school in their "Shop with a Mustang" program.
Talia has been the busy one this fall. She's in Chorus, Recorder Ensemble, Art Club, and News Team (which does the school morning announcements on closed circuit TV). This is her last year of elementary school. Her Junior Girl Scout troop is working on their Bronze Award and planning a trip to Savannah in 2009.
Both Girl Scout troops have continued to keep me busy. I organized the teacher luncheon at the high school again. At work, we've adopted a new development process called "scrum". I never thought I'd want to be something called a "scrummaster". I think they call it that so no one thinks they're too important.
Bruce attended a sailing master class this fall, and he earned his captain's license. He took 5 days of classes on land then 5 more on a sailboat in the Gulf of Mexico. We're trying to plan a sailing trip over spring break. Motorola continues to be a good place to work.
Other travels included a visit to Pensecola Beach over the 4th of July. During the summer, we spent a week in Kentucky, visiting the caves (our favorite was Diamond), Lincoln's homes, a distillery, and Shaker village. Over Thanksgiving, we went to Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. We had the best time in Williamsburg. We visited all of the colonial (1776) shops and saw all the demonstrations. We also went to Jamestown (1607) and Yorktown (1887) for their special Feast and Foods celebration, demonstrating how food was prepared by native Americans, and during the Revolutionary period. One of the best souvenirs we got was brass seals and sealing wax.
Christmas found us in Wichita Falls Texas, visiting with Bruce's mom, his brothers, and extended family. We enjoyed seeing them as it's been 3 years since we'd been out there. The long drive home reminded us why we don't visit too often. Next time we're flying.
Tacie had the pins removed from her arm on December 31. It basically took all day long in the hospital but we got to go home that evening rather than have to spend the night. Tacie's arm will get much more mobility now that the pin isn't poking out her elbow. It'd been causing quite a bit of pain.
We celebrated Christmas with the McDonalds on New Years Day! Lynne and Marshall are visiting but will return to Montreal on the 7th. We are happy to be home, and happy to share good times with those we love. Best Wishes to all of you.
Karen
Most of you would be appalled at the current state of my house. In fact, I was afraid we wouldn't have time for Christmas this year.
When you walk into my house, you are greeted not by Christmas decorations but piles of books on the floor in the dining room. The dining table is covered with 2 dollhouses, paint, brushes, copper wire, switches, and various other miniature things. One of the chairs in the den is piled high with jackets and scarves that won't fit in the coat closet. There are DVDs strewn around the TV stand including several unwatched Netflix videos that we've had for over a month. In front of the bookcase is all the board games piled up that won't fit on the shelves. My computer and papers I'm working on are on one end-table. The pillows from the couch end up where people want them for comfort, not where they look best.
The kitchen, the hub of this family is not any better. The table where we eat/read is strewn with newspapers and other reading material as well as quill pens and ink from the girls' calligraphy yesterday. The back table in there is piled with partially finished projects that were started on the kitchen table and moved there when another project was started. Right now the sink is clean and the counter where we prepare food is mostly cleared! However, the island in the middle is piled with mail and school paperwork. There is no space left on the desk in the kitchen. I made an attempt to clean it off before Thanksgiving but only managed in finding homes for all the papers. All the other little important things are still covering it (keys, pencils, calculators, coins, small toys, a bowl of coupons and gift cards, and the telephone).
The front stairs are clear but the back stairs are a hazard with some toys that need to be taken up to the playroom. Too bad you can hardly walk through that playroom right now. We cleaned it out before Talia's birthday in June and everything not given away had a place. Sadly, that didn't last. The vacuum cleaner was left out after the girls cleaned the hamster cage recently. There are a couple of baskets with clean laundry that no one has put away. Of course, there is still laundry in the dryer waiting to be folded.
Talia's room has every available surface piled with precious things. Her dresser, end-table, bookcase, and chest of drawers are piled in some places over 8 inches high with things too important to be put in the playroom. All the stuffed animals are piled in a corner at the foot of her bed. The good news is that all her clean clothes are organized and in her drawers; the bad news is that she has grown out of those size 9 clothes.
If you can walk through Tacie's room without hurting yourself or something, you're lucky. Her earrings are on a holder propped up behind her door which falls over and dumps the earrings if you open the door too wide. She's a teenager. 'nuf said.
In the upstairs hallway are clothes that are too small for Tacie that we'll save for Talia. At the other end are clothes that are too small for Talia for us to give away.
In my room, usually the cleanest room of the house, I have a pile of sweaters and shirts that were given to me that I need to try on and sort through. When I walked into my bathroom last night I found it covered with Talia's clothes - wall to wall. But my bed is made!
The basement is no better.
So what HAS been going on here? It's my favorite saying that my father used to say: "You always do something instead of something else". My sister has just moved to Montreal (Mark has a job with Air Canada). My mother has moved to Lynne's house. They were both cleaning out things. Books ended up on my dining room floor; clothes ended up in my bedroom.
We enjoyed a few travel adventures. Last February we took Tacie's Girl Scout troop to Disney World. That was Great! It is different going with friends than with family. Talia and Bruce visited Grandma in Texas that week. For Spring break, we took a Disney cruise with some of the Crawfords: Brent's family and Grandma. Some of those Girl Scout friends also were on that cruise.
The girls had fun at Girl Scout camp in June. Tacie was a Program Aide this year. She also went to Wrangler In Training camp so she could help teach horseback riding to younger girls in the future. She also got to spend a week in Wisconsin with her Grandpa and got to fly a RC airplane.
Unfortunately, at the end of the summer, she fell off a horse during a lesson and broke her arm. It was a pretty severe break, both bones in the left forearm were snapped in 2 (and she's left handed). The dollhouses that we started to wire in the summer have sat undisturbed ever since.
Tacie has slowed down a lot because of her broken arm. No piano lessons or horseback riding. The Magnet program at school has continued to be challenging. She has done a couple of good service projects for the holidays. She and I helped distribute toys and food to needy children most of last Saturday. The previous Saturday, she helped a child go shopping with money donated to the high school in their "Shop with a Mustang" program.
Talia has been the busy one this fall. She's in Chorus, Recorder Ensemble, Art Club, and News Team (which does the school morning announcements on closed circuit TV). This is her last year of elementary school. Her Junior Girl Scout troop is working on their Bronze Award and planning a trip to Savannah in 2009.
Both Girl Scout troops have continued to keep me busy. I organized the teacher luncheon at the high school again. At work, we've adopted a new development process called "scrum". I never thought I'd want to be something called a "scrummaster". I think they call it that so no one thinks they're too important.
Bruce attended a sailing master class this fall, and he earned his captain's license. He took 5 days of classes on land then 5 more on a sailboat in the Gulf of Mexico. We're trying to plan a sailing trip over spring break. Motorola continues to be a good place to work.
Other travels included a visit to Pensecola Beach over the 4th of July. During the summer, we spent a week in Kentucky, visiting the caves (our favorite was Diamond), Lincoln's homes, a distillery, and Shaker village. Over Thanksgiving, we went to Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. We had the best time in Williamsburg. We visited all of the colonial (1776) shops and saw all the demonstrations. We also went to Jamestown (1607) and Yorktown (1887) for their special Feast and Foods celebration, demonstrating how food was prepared by native Americans, and during the Revolutionary period. One of the best souvenirs we got was brass seals and sealing wax.
Christmas found us in Wichita Falls Texas, visiting with Bruce's mom, his brothers, and extended family. We enjoyed seeing them as it's been 3 years since we'd been out there. The long drive home reminded us why we don't visit too often. Next time we're flying.
Tacie had the pins removed from her arm on December 31. It basically took all day long in the hospital but we got to go home that evening rather than have to spend the night. Tacie's arm will get much more mobility now that the pin isn't poking out her elbow. It'd been causing quite a bit of pain.
We celebrated Christmas with the McDonalds on New Years Day! Lynne and Marshall are visiting but will return to Montreal on the 7th. We are happy to be home, and happy to share good times with those we love. Best Wishes to all of you.
Karen