Attentively Attentive to all Things

I'm taking a trip down memory lane this evening.  As I sit in my living room (that has puked Disney princesses, mind you), I think back to Christmas last year, and the year before.  It's very true when they say having a baby will change your life, but even more so when you go from just the two of you on Christmas morning, to three of you. Caris' Third Christmas 2011 This was the first time Caris actually ripped open presents and became excited when she saw what her present was.  It's a little bittersweet; she's growing up so very fast!  This year, we had to get out of her way!  After a brief misunderstanding that Santa was not coming to take her princesses away, but rather, to bring her some more, everything was as it should be.  How she came up with the notion that Santa was coming to take them away, I have no idea.  There's no photo with Santa this year...mostly because whenever she came within 10 feet of him, she became terrified and burst into t...

Okay, so yeah...it's been a while since I've posted. I know that.  Don't hold it against me.  :) Caris has a new obsession.  That's right...it's Disney Princesses.  I just started Cinderella for the second time today, and since 9am, we've watched Beauty and the Beast , Sleeping Beauty , and Tangled .   I didn't realize how easy it was to memorize songs from these movies, but I guess after watching them over and over, it's bound to sink in at some point. While I watch Cinderella , the current favorite, for about the millionth time, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the last few months.  They've been hectic; full of happiness, sorrow, anger, anxiety, and mounds of stress. Last month, I watched as many of my fellow co-workers lost their jobs in a lay off at my firm.  Over time, we've gotten somewhat back to normal, but I will always miss those I worked with who no longer have jobs.  I will continue to worry for them in this horrible e...

Why am I blogging instead of working on homework?  Well, I'll tell you why... - It's almost 10:30, and I can't look at another page that was written by Henry James. - I've decided I don't like Henry James. - While I'm on this not liking kick, I'm not fond of Madame Bovary either. - I don't like my literature class. - I'd rather work on my Drama assignments, but I can't because I'm behind in the literature class. - I do not have enough hours in the day. - I really want to go to bed, but I feel guilty because I've not finished by assignment. And...that's it.  Back to the nonsensical language of Henry James trying to review a French novel.  He. Makes.No. Sense. Whatsoever.

Yesterday, myself, Dave and Caris walked in the JDRF walk in downtown Indianapolis.  Juvenile diabetes is an awful thing for a child to have to go through.  We walked for my friend Sara's little boy, Ryan, who was diagnosed at 2 years.  Thinking about Caris being diagnosed with something like this just makes me shudder.  Diabetes at any age is a horrible disease, of which insulin is not a cure.  More research needs done to discover a cure for this awful ailment.  I have an uncle with an insulin pump.  My grandfather had, and my mother has type II diabetes, and it's a daily struggle to keep blood sugar levels regulated, while living a normal life.  One my hidden fears is being diagnosed myself, since it seems to run in the family.  I was more than happy to hold a bake sale, and to walk for Ryan, and for the others kids who suffer from juvenile diabetes.  If you can, and care, please donate.  Ryan's Super Crew team page is  here ...

So I've been AWOL for a few months.  Oopsie!  My goal of posting at least once a month have fizzled away in a sea of literature homework and a toddler.  Life happens, so to speak.  So here's what I've been up to since my last post in July. Since July, we have decided to raise goats in 2012.  That decision was made about 10 seconds after I saw a Nigerian Dwarf goat.  Check them out here and you'll see why:  http://www.ndga.org/ I started back to school at the end of August.  Taking only 9 hours, I thought this semester would be much easier and I would have more free time to write, etc.  Oh, how wrong I was!  These 3 classes are kicking my butt in all sorts of ways.  If you follow me on Facebook, you've seen my check-ins at SMWC, and my utter joy at being on campus for stats class.  Not.  My literature class is HARD, and the drama class, while fun, is very challenging.  I'm learning lots, when I get over being overw...

If you follow my blog, and have the most recent Flickr photo stream pictures, you'll discover we went to our county fair today.  I entered three photos into the open class amateur category, and came home with a 3rd place.  Not bad for a first go!  We wandered aimlessly with my parents through the poultry barn, the goat barn, the sheep barn, the swine barn, and the cattle barn.  Caris pet a baby goat, a mule, and I think she got her little hands inside a sheep pen to touch their wool.  Of course, the fair can't go on unless it's literally 95 degrees in the shade, and we were sweltering.  Luckily, Caris is too young to understand that at 5pm, the carnival rides start.  The day will come, however, when our little farm girl decrees she wants to ride the rides.  Until then, we'll stick to animals and open class competitions. And besides, I hate carnies.  Very small hands.  Smell of cabbage.  ;)

I have a rant ahead, and before I get going, let me preface what I am about to rant about.  For about a year now, we've been making an effort to more environmentally friendly.  No, we're not as good at this as we'd like, but it's a slow process and we keep plugging away.  We have plans to do more, but require the time to put such practices into place.  We're getting there, however. One of the things I've been trying really hard to do is stop using plastic grocery sacks in favor of the fabric ones. I have nothing against anyone who uses them, of course.  They are handy to have around and last a long time.  However, when you get to where you have 2 cabinets full of them, then it's time to rethink the plastic grocery sack.  Yes, we can take them to recycled (another stage in our process), but why not use something reusable?  I have multiple fabric bags from many, many different places: CVS, Kroger, Walmart, the bookstore, one from my dear friend Kr...