Category Archives: Fun stuff

Laudable Linkage

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Just a few things to share from my reading this week:

Shall We Sing of Mary? Chris Anderson shares balanced, perceptive thoughts about this famous song.

Melted snowman cookies, HT to Lizzie. So cute!

Skip to My Lou‘s readers shared a plethora of handmade gifts.

If you’re thinking about someday attending a writer’s conference, some guidelines are here and tips about assembling a writer’s “one sheet” are here.

Senior Olympic Not-Quite-Synchronized Swimming:

Several years ago I posted “If I Were a Goose” — I think I had received it in an e-mail. Earlier this week I heard Paul Harvey reading a slightly different version of the story on th radio, so I looked it up and found it on Youtube as “The Man and the Birds.” Wonderful story, wonderfully told: enjoy!

On my agenda today: getting the Christmas cards out in the mail (after being delayed by the printer running out of four of its six ink cartridges right in the middle of printing out my Christmas letter yesterday!), wrapping presents, a trip to the grocery store, and hopefully starting on a sewing project…intended for Christmas. If I don’t finish it for Christmas, the recipient has a later December birthday, so I’ve got a little breathing room! Have a good weekend.

Laudable Linkage and Videos

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Just a few interesting posts rounded up this week:

Settling for a lump of coal this Christmas? Candy ponders different reasons why Christmas joy might be missing as well as sound advice for dealing with the different issues.

Why we love the church.

Catalog Living, HT to Amy. A fun site — they post pictures from catalogs and make up funny comments to go along with them.

How to tie a bow. Am I the only adult whose bows go wonky? This helped.

Super simple snowman treats.

Cheese puffs.

Jon Acuff posted this video in Why you don’t bring a camel to church and asked how people would caption it. Some of the comments there are really funny. (Thankfully no animals or people were hurt.)

Best Wheel of Fortune solve ever — with one letter:

 

Laudable Linkage and Videos

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A weekly compendium of commendable sites to see

A Blogger’s Prayer. I need to read this regularly.

Teacher Gift Ideas for that last day of school before Christmas break. Or — for anyone if adapted a little bit. Skip To My Lou always comes up with great ideas for these.

The advice in Riding Out the Writer’s Storm by Laura could apply to bloggers as well.

How a writer can write a letter of inquiry.

3-D star ornament with a link to the pattern.

How to use Glossy Accents.

And, HT to Lisa, National Geography’s Photography Contest 2010. Warning — there is a nude one near the bottom. But other than that, some of these are awesome. This one particularly:

I wish I could get this Ducks vs. the Wind video to embed here. It’s very short, cute, and a little sad as a mama duck and her ducklings get literally bowled over by the wind. It just embodied the way we feel sometimes when circumstances are too much for us. I love the way she picked herself up and carried on afterward, though her feathers were more than a little ruffled.

It’s hard to wake up sometimes:

We’ve had Dancing With the Stars — why not Dancing With the Dogs? (HT to Susanne). This one has a lot of talent!

Hope you have a good day! We were planning to get our Christmas tree today, but it is raining a little bit — hope it dries up enough to get one!

Laudable Linkage

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If you are at all crafty, whether you like to make things or enjoy looking at them, Amy Powers’ Inspired Ideas Christmas Online Magazine is a must see. It’s a feast for the eyes and imagination.

I saw this going around Facebook — it’s good for a smile:

1. Go to Google maps.
2. Go to “Get Directions.”
3. Type Japan as the start location.
4. Type China as the end location.
5. Go to direction#43.
6. Laugh

Also this video is cute — someone set it up so that people in a bathroom mirror saw anime characters mirroring their movements instead of their reflection. I don’t know if you’ll be able to see it if you are not on Facebook — they don’t seem to have this on You Tube.

Candy Coated Peanut Butter Cracker Sandwiches might be a fun thing to take to a Christmas party — or any get-together.

How to Make a Pilgrim Bonnet Out of Paper might come in handy later this month.

The Best Marriage Advice Ever (I am using his subtitle rather than the actual title): Funny and sweet post about the awkwardness when a couple’s marriage counselor, who also happened to be the bride’s father, came to the sexual part of the counseling sessions. “But the advice was well worth the awkward.”

This is inspiring, from Random Acts of Culture:

Hope you have a great Saturday! I have various little odd jobs to do but nothing major, at least not that I know of at this point!

“A” Random Dozen But Not “The” Random Dozen

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Linda at 2nd Cup of Coffee is discontinuing her weekly Random Dozen meme for now, maybe forever, possibly bringing it back some time as a monthly rather than weekly meme.

I was poking around my saved drafts yesterday looking for a post I thought I had started but never finished. I did find the post in question, but I also found, at the bottom of the “Recent Drafts” section of my blog dashboard, a “View All” button. I clicked it, and, voila, there were about 18 post drafts when I thought I only had about 5. I rummaged through them and found this meme that I had seen somewhere, partially answered, and left to sit there since last May.

So, being in the habit of feeling random and memey on Wednesdays, I decided to pull it out and finish it for today.

1. What time do you usually wake up in the morning? 5 a.m. weekdays, “whenever” on Saturdays, 5:30 on Sundays.

2. What do you do for the first hour of your day? Go to the bathroom, shower, get something to drink and take my Synthroid with, have some quiet time with my Bible, get Jesse’s breakfast and make his lunch, start getting ready to take him to school.

3. Where did or will you have lunch today? Home.

4. What did you or will you be eating lunch? My favorite lunch is leftovers — depending on what we have left over — or going out with family or friends. Today there is leftover creamed chicken and biscuits from last night plus a ham and chicken dish Jason invented on Monday. Don’t know yet which I’ll have.

5. What is your best high school memory? Graduation? 😀 I did enjoy the latter two years of high school but can’t think of a standout memory just now.

6. Tell us about your favorite pair of shoes. I have little black flats I wear every day.

7. What does a perfect Sunday afternoon include for you? Dinner with all the family, then a nap.

8. Was there one book that you read as a child that you still cherish? A Child’s Garden of Verses.

9. How would the people that know you personally describe you? I’m not sure. Probably quiet. My kids would say I’m a good cook. My Home Ec. teacher did not say so. But I think I’ve learned since then.

10. How would the people who only know you online describe you? I don’t know — how would you describe me?

11. How will you be treating yourself today? I usually treat myself to too many sweets or seconds.

12. What is your definition of being spiritual? Are you spiritual? This is one of the questions that had been left unanswered, and I was probably going to mull it over before answering and then just forgot all about the meme. To me the word “spiritual” connotes some kind of belief in a higher being outside ourselves, some kind of need to nurture soul and spirit, but is not necessarily Christian in its belief system. So by that definition I would say, yes, I do believe there is a “higher power” or Being and that I need to be rightly related to Him, but not in a vague, nebulous way. I do believe it matters what one believes in and I do not believe all spiritual paths lead to peace here or heaven hereafter. I believe in the God of the Bible, His Son and my Savior Jesus Christ, and I believe He communicates with us through His Word. On the other hand, “religious” has the connotation to many as being the system by which we work out what we believe, and in that sense I would say I am religious because we are supposed to work out our lofty ideals and bedrock doctrine into everyday life, but for some the emphasis is more on the works or the system rather than the belief. So while both words apply to some extent, neither one hits the nail exactly on the head. I usually just say I am a Christian, though some say “Christ-follower” these days.

If you’d like to do this same meme, feel free, and let me know if you do so I can come and see your answers, or feel free to answer in the comments if you’d like.

Laudable Linkage and Grandma’s Connected

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Just a few interesting things seen round the Web this week, then I have a fun poem I want to share with you.

Lisa shares 7 reasons why I still go to church. I have been thinking of writing a post about reasons to go to church, but this definitely hits the major ones.

Lisa also pointed me to this video of How (Not) to Invite Your Coworker to Church.

I have a sweater I love which is disintegrating in key places. I’ve been trying to figure out something to do to preserve and use it, and this purse made from a sweater might be just the thing.

This cupcake wrapper template to use with scrapbooking paper would be great theme parties or special occasions.

I’m not sure who the author of this poem is — I received it from the Good Clean Funnies List. I’m not a Grandma yet, and I hope to be a cookie-baking, book-reading Grandma, but I will definitely be a “connected” one, too! I’ve mused over at my mother-in-law’s assisted living place how those rooms might look when the connected generation gets into them.

Grandma’s Connected

In the not too distant past–
I remember very well–
Grandmas tended to their knitting
And their cookies were just swell.

They were always at the ready
When you needed some advice
And their sewing (I can tell you)
Was available–and nice.

Well Grandma’s not deserted you,
She dearly loves you still,
You just won’t find her cooking
But she’s right there at the till.

She thinks about you daily
You haven’t been forsook.
Your photos are quite handy
In her Pentium notebook.

She scans your artwork now, though,
And combines it with cool sounds
To make electronic greetings;
She prints pictures by the pounds.

She’s right there when you need her
You really aren’t alone.
She’s out now with her “puter” pals
But she took her new cell phone.

You can also leave a message
On her answering machine
Or page her at the fun meet
She’s been there since nine-fifteen.

Yes, the world’s a very different place,
There is no doubt of that,
So “E” her from her web page,
Or join her in a chat.

She’s joined the electronic age
And it really seems to suit her,
So don’t expect the same old gal,
’cause Grandma’s gone “Computer.”

Inner Peace

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A friend forwarded this to me:

If you can start the day without caffeine,

If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,

If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,

If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it,

If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,

If you can take criticism and blame without resentment ,

If you can conquer tension without medical help,

*

*

*

…Then You Are Probably The Family Dog!

And you thought I was going to get all spiritual.

________________________________________________________

The rest of us do need a bit more grace and help, don’t we? 🙂


Laudable Linkage and Video

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Just a few links this week to some worthwhile reads:

Growing As a Homemaker. This is great encouragement for young moms who feel overwhelmed.

Wondering Why God Makes Life Impossible Sometimes. Jon’s Stuff Christians Like is usually funny and/or satirical (not always the same thing), but sometimes he comes up with a serious one that touches the heart. When I read this I had just been somewhat down because of problems or issues several friends or extended family members were facing, and though this truth is not new to me, I still have to go over it from time to time and adjust my perspective.

You Need a Mother Very Badly. Some of you may be familiar with Gregg and Sono Harris, pioneers in speaking and writing about the home school movement. Sono recently passed away, and this poem is a tribute by one of her sons. Keep the tissues handy, especially if you’ve lost your own mom.

From the ever helpful Tipnut: 12 Simple Sore Throat Remedies and 12 Home Remedies For Nausea.

It’s hard to believe all these people took the time to do this, but it’s pretty neat, for at least the first 45 seconds or so.

A one man quintet. This man has been to my church — but he didn’t do this then! This is one of my favorite songs.

I saw this at Nannykim‘s. I am not familiar with Francis Chan, but I can identify with this tendency to handling fears.

Laudable Linkage and Which Famous Author Do You Write Like?

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Here are a few great posts seen ’round the web lately:

7 Things I Should Have Taught My Sons, HT to Lori. With a couple of them leaving the nest, I know I am going to think of such things, too.

Just Do Something, HT to Sharper Iron, on the subject of making a difference at church. Some ideas listed: “Give people the benefit of the doubt. Say ‘hi’ to the teen-ager no one notices. Welcome the old ladies with the blue hair and the young men with tattoos.”

The Secret to a Husband’s Love, Happy Marriage, HT to Lizzie.

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies. Mmmmmm…

I have seen this site mentioned in several places: I Write Like, where you insert text of something you’ve written and it supposedly analyzes what author your writing is similar to. So I tried a few of my old posts.

When I tried The Storm and the Rainbow I got:

I write like
William Shakespeare

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Umm — I think I’m a far cry from The Bard!

When I tried Cakes Are My Culinary Waterloo I got:

I write like
Chuck Palahniuk

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

…whom I had never heard of.

When I tried Encouragement For Mothers of Young Children, I got:

I write like
Oscar Wilde

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

So either I am a very versatile writer, or…the system needs tweaking. Probably the latter. 🙂 But it is fun to play with.

Laudable Linkage and a Cat-English Dictionary

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I’ve been having a hard time deciding whether to post interesting links or funny things on Saturday — so I am combining them. 🙂

Here are a few things that caught my eye this week:

Then, I was cleaning out some files on an old computer that we’re going to get rid of, and found this that my oldest son sent me ages ago. I am not a cat person, but I still think these are funny:

Cat-English Dictionary
(courtesy of SillyDude.com)

miaow = Feed me.

meeow = Pet me.

mrooww = I love you.

miioo-oo-oo = I am in love and must meet my betrothed outside beneath the hedge. Don’t wait up

mrow = I feel like making noise

rrrow-mawww = Please, the time has come to tidy the cat box.

rrrow-miawww = I have remedied the cat box untidiness by shoveling the contents as far out of the box as was practical.

miaowmiaow = Play with me.

miaowmioaw = Have you noticed the shortage of available cat toys in this room?

mioawmioaw = Since I can find nothing better to play with, I shall see what happens when I sharpen my claws on this handy piece of furniture.

raowwwww = I think I shall now spend time licking the most private parts of my anatomy

mrowwwww = I am now recalling, with sorrow, that some of my private parts did not return with me from that visit to the vet.

roww-maww-roww = I am so glad to see that you have returned home with both arms full of groceries. I will now rub myself against your legs and attempt to trip you as you walk towards the kitchen.

mmeww = I believe I have heard a burglar. If you would like to go and beat him senseless, I shall be happy to keep your spot in the bed warm.

gakk-ak-ak = My digestive passages seem to have formed a hairball. Wherever could this have come from? I shall leave it here upon the carpeting.

mow = Snuggling is a good idea.

moww = Shedding is pretty good, too.

mowww! = I was enjoying snuggling and shedding in the warm clean laundry until you removed me so unkindly.

miaow! miaow! = I have discovered that, although one may be able to wedge his body through the gap behind the stove and into that little drawer filled with pots and pans, the reverse path is slightly more difficult to navigate

mraakk! = Oh, small bird! Please come over here.

ssssroww! = I believe that I have found a woodchuck. I shall now act terribly brave

mmmmmmm = If I sit in the sunshine for another week or so, I think I shall be satisfied.