A fire-haired lass name of Lydia
Was approached by an ess of ophidia
So great was its fear
it did quick disappear
And she shouted "I'm glad to be rid o' ya"
-Harry Albert

Today was Mozart's birthday, as well as mine. But Mozart is dead, and I had a ball--literally. Pictures of my masquerade to follow!

Thank God for Instant Messenger. I mean it! I've talked to friends from all over the country and even Perth, Australia today--and I didn't even have to pick up the phone. Ok, I'll admit to hogging the phone line (we have dial-up; can you say 'stone age'?) but my excuse is this: Imagine the long-distance bill if I had called say, Sarah in Iowa! Not to mention chatting with 5 people at a time! I also got to send flashcards to a quizzing girlfriend in Wisconsin, no postage necessary. So if you can't reach my house, it's probably my fault. So if you want to get a hold of me or my family, just add me to your contacts.

Oh! Janine from NZ says 'hey.' Wonder how much *that* call would have been.

Your Color is Orange

You're a bold, confident orange. A warm, powerful color that indicates a strong, welcoming personality, orange is the mark of people who are social and extroverted by nature. Vibrant, with an upbeat attitude, you have a bright, inviting demeanor. Energetic and fun-loving, you're a real friend-magnet. Your easy charm and unassuming manner make you the sort of person people want to meet and get to know better. Well-rounded and fun to be around, you enjoy helping others, so it's no surprise that orange also symbolizes attraction. Orange is an extraordinary color — for an extraordinary person.

Hmm, maybe it's the hair. What's your true color?

Why didn't anybody tell me about his sooner? T0night a couple girlfriends and I went to the free dancing lessons/practice party at the Majestic. (Every Thursday night--come join us!) It was so much fun! I learned some basics for west coast swing, salsa, and rumba. I plan to go back again soon, and hopefully bring some friends. (All of whom will probably be girls, since it takes guts, and most of my guyfriends are in the midst of their teenage identity crisis. I'm over mine. I've realized that the key not to take things too seriously. Heck, I don't even take myself seriously enough most of the time.)

Next Friday's my masquerade! Everyone is coming in a costume and mask, which will be fun, though I'm not sure about games yet. Something to Google. And yes, I'll have a dance instructor there. (Chill, it's a girls only party--that way I didn't have to invite a bunch of bums just to make sure the few gentlemen I know are comfortable--see previous unrelated rant in parenthesis.) We're actually doing Jane Austen-era dancing, which will be a little easier--we hope--and more suited to the theme.

Look who's TEETHING!
This kid is huge! 95+ percentile and no steroids needed. He’s only 4 months old. The doctor told my mother yesterday, “Jean, this kid is as big a 9-month old!” Keep growing, Pete, you’ll be beating Jake up in no time.

I love it. Laura and Kathleen, ages 7 and 5, are writing notes to my mom and then transliterating them into koine Greek, and then they bring them to her and she corrects them. That’s not normal.

Its so quiet. I can hear myself think! All I can hear is my typing and the dishwasher running. It's a little hard to believe that we just had over 15 really loud 6th graders over for Rachel's birthday party.
Yes, Rachel is 11 now! And although the house is empty, the party isn't over yet. They've all gone off in 3 separate vans to the swimming pool, and then a choice few are coming back to spend the night.
While they were here they all made personal pizzas. What a project! We used at least 15 lbs of flour, 3 huge bags cheese, three bags of Canadian bacon, tons of pepperoni, 1/3 gal olives, 4 gallons of lemonade. . . you get the idea. You've gotta love Cash'n'Carry, the restaurant supply store in town. From there we got personal pizza pans and, get this, pizza boxes. How come I've never noticed those things when we've gone grocery shopping there? Well, I just did a 15 minute clean-up, and now I plan to go enjoy the silence and review--quiz meet on Saturday (!).

Do you knit? I love to, have been doing it for years. I like the cheap accessories, and having something to do with my hands while I read, but I think my favorite part is the funny looks I get while I'm doing it. I was some thing a while ago, and the guy sitting in front of my kept looking back at me and staring. I was like, "Um, its just knitting, we've been doing it for thousands of years now." Don't worry, I didn't actually say it. This is what I'm currently working on, isn't it cute?

How did we find things before Google? I haven't had to pay for a pattern ever; there are so many nice free ones out there.
This particular pattern I got from this site, which covers just about everything.

Three. It’s a Magic Number

Three Names You Go By
1. Lyd
2. Squidlers
3. Tiger

Three Parts of Your Heritage
1 .Dutch
2. German
3. Hungarian

Three Things That Scare You
1. Myself
2. Basketball
3. Public Transportation


Three Everyday Essentials
1. Lots of water
2. My bible
3. E-mails

Three Things You Are Wearing Right Now
1. Earrings from Sterling Silver
2. headphones
3. Necklace stolen from little sister

Three of Your Favorite Bands or Musical Artists (as of now)
1. Switchfoot
2. Reliant K
3. O O E

Three Things You Want in a Relationship
1. Has to be smarter than me
2.Has to be driven
3.Hast to be cute. . . I have yet to find him ;-)

Three Truths
1.I don't like my jawbones
2.I slack off till the last minute
3.I don't like to sing

Three things that appeal to you in the opposite sex
1. Big. Hair. The less of the actual guy you can see, the better.
2. Wit
3. Height

Three Things You Want Really Badly
1. To be good at music and art and school and to actually find a 'sport'
2. To wake up on time every day for a whole week
3. To travel the world possibly with World Vision

Three Places You Want to go on Vacation
1. Denver
2. Amsterdam
3. Washington D. C.

Three Things You Want to Do Before You Die
1. Graduate with honors
2. Work hard, love life
3. To have made many friends, to love and be loved

Happy New Year!
How are all of your resolutions going? I'm doing pretty well on mine.
I'm reading through Genesis again, and I've gone 3 whole days without sinning.