Tag Archives: parenting

Blogging Lessons I Have Learned


Good morning Everyone!

This post today will be my 108th post.  I have been blogging since February 22, and this is as good a time as any to take stock of what I have learned since then.

1)   It is wonderful to be able to write something someone else reads and have them say, “I like that!” 

2) I have written approximately 54,000 words in 108 posts which have included 516 images.  Each post has taken (on average, unless lots of pictures are involved) 45 minutes or less to write.  That is equivalent at least to a novella! 

3) I can sit down every day and write.  In fact, I enjoy doing it.

4) SEO does not involve a corporation’s management structure, bounce rate is not a basketball statistic and “keyword” and “password” are not equivalent terms.

5) The “site stats” page on WordPress is addictive.

6) So is getting Freshly Pressed.  It happened to me once, (Rules I Never Thought I’d Need) and I still harbor a faint hope with every post I make that another one will get Freshly Pressed some day…

7)  There are lots of extremely interesting people from all over the world who read this blog.  I have had the chance to get to know some of them.

8)  My family and friends read this blog almost every day –  devotion above and beyond the call of duty.  Some people who didn’t know me originally read this blog almost every day, too, which is really amazing!

9) My daughter is an exceptionally good sport to let me write about her.  The dogs don’t really care what I write about them.  Mandy is much better at finishing her food now that I write beside her while she eats.  (Dog Rules)

10) Toasted bagels with peanut butter and typing on a keyboard are a messy combination. 

11) Someone out there keeps searching “husky-basset hound mixes.”  Whoever you are, I would be really interested to know why.  I thought we had the only husky-basset hound mix in the world. 

Mandy, Our Husky-Basset Hound Mix

12) No matter how many cameras you have, (I’m at 3 right now), you still can manage to forget to bring one when you need it.

13) Even the most mundane things are funny, if you look at them the right way.  (Light Switches.) 

Hall Light Switch

14) I love to hear from you, and am very grateful to every reader who has taken the time to comment on a blog. 

15) Pens continue to disappear at an alarming rate at my house.  (Of Waves and Pens.)

16) Life is beautiful and it is fun to share!

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

Golf – for the rest of us!


Good morning everyone! 

Golf is a game whose aim is to hit a very small ball into an even smaller  hole, with weapons singularly ill-designed for the purpose. – Winston Churchill

It has been early spring since I played golf.  Of course, I use the term “play” quite loosely – a better description of my golf game involves the use of the terms “machete” and “hack” but you get the idea.  Mark is much better than I am, but due to a condition similar to Phil Mickelson’s psoriatic arthritis, some days he plays better than others.  Kayla’s golf game has yet to be defined; she currently has been told that she plays a specialized position known as “ball spotter and fetcher” which requires a person to run out and retrieve balls from a distance, but does allow a chance at a shot or two to the green from a short distance away, along with an occasional turn at driving the golf cart.   

The reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can’t see him laughing. ~Phyllis Diller

Even though we haven’t played golf, not even gone to the driving range, since about April, we do watch it quite frequently.  The pros make it look so easy!  The magnificent way they step up to a ball, take a swing and hit it continually amazes me, not to mention the fact that they can make that same ball travel an amazing distance in a straight line!  This year’s Master’s finish was one of the most exciting finishes to a pro tournament I can remember for a long time, and I think we all were excited to see Rory McIlroy, a young (to me) Irish kid who seems as nice as he possibly can be, win the U.S. Open.  The pros make me believe for one shining moment that I can hit the ball – until that deflating moment when I stand at the first tee of the first hole, carefully place my ball on the wooden peg, take my practice swing, then swing with everything I have – only to find that I completely missed the ball, yet again.

If your opponent is playing several shots in vain attempts to extricate himself from a bunker, do not stand near him and audibly count his strokes. It would be justifiable homicide if he wound up his pitiable exhibition by applying his niblick to your head. ~Harry Vardon

However, Mark, my husband, had a brilliant idea while we were at the beach, driving around and passing by golf courses on which I never will be good enough to play.  (Why do they insist on putting people’s houses on either side of the fairway?)  He calls it “Mark’s Golf Course for Regular Guys.”  Its motto is “Golf – for the Rest of Us!”  He has gone so far as to prepare the following prospectus:  

Mark’s Golf Course for Regular Guys:  The only water is in bottles and par is a theoretical ideal, not a hard and fast goal. In fact, score cards are generally frowned. The greens all slope toward the middle like a big drain and mulligans are in vogue. The quality of the golf may not be world-class, but there is plenty of barbecue and good friends. Prices are low, the scores are high and everyone has fun. For investment opportunities contact….

I intend to be one of the first customers! 

I know of a great tool that will take five strokes off  any game.  It’s called an eraser.  – Arnold Palmer

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

We Go To Visit Carter (And His Parents)


Good morning everyone!
 
Back in March, the three of us got to meet Mark and my’s grand-nephew for the first time.  Kayla (and the rest of us) were enthralled.

Kayla holding Carter

Last time, Carter came to visit us, so this time we went to Carter.  As an added bonus, we got to see his parents, too.  🙂  (Just kidding, Andy and Anne; we wanted to see you too.)  It is amazing how much he has grown!

Happy Baby!

I know, through my experiences with Kayla, that children grow fast; apparently babies grow even faster!  We took lots and lots and pictures; I have culled a few of the best for you (besides, the subscribers to this blog who are related to me and therefore whom I hear from more often than the rest of you would kill me if I didn’t put in a few.)

Here is a picture of Anne, Andy and Carter together:

There is another important member of the family, too.  Her name is Tallulah and she is just now turning 2.

Tallulah (aka Lula unless she is in trouble!)

She also adores Carter and is very sweet with him, in spite of the energy most dogs have at the age of 2. 

Oh, you're taking pictures!

Somehow I always manage to get at least one picture when Kayla doesn’t expect it!

Anne, Carter, Kayla and Sophie, the $14 giraffe

One of Carter’s favorite toys is a rubber giraffe, who has been named Sophie.  Friends brought her to Carter from France, which is why she is a $14 giraffe, I guess.  Anne and Andy’s biggest challenge is being sure Tallulah understands that the giraffe is Carter’s, not hers.  It seems they are doing a fine job with that, as I watched her all afternoon, and she left the giraffe alone the entire time.  There is no way we could get No-no and Bad Dog to do that!

Mommy makes me happy

Anne is an excellent mother, and Carter knows it!  She knows exactly how to hold him and what he wants when Mark, Kayla and I are just staring at him goggle eyed.  When he wanted to play, she pulled out a little floor play thing that lets him lie on his back on the floor, and Kayla decided to try to play with him on his level. 

Kayla and Carter on the floor (from directly above)

 This picture-taking opportunity was too much to miss, so I took a few more.  (I know you’re shocked!)

Kayla and Carter playing together

It was interesting to see Kayla relate to Carter on his level.

Simple Pleasures

After a while, Kayla decided she would draw a picture for Carter.  (Anne is not only excellent at keeping her own child happy and occupied, she has a sixth sense that helps her know how to keep other people’s 9 1/2 year olds happy and occupied too.)  Anne pulled out paper, washable, non-toxic markers and Kayla was off.  When she finished her picture, she gave it to Carter.

Carter looks at Kayla's Picture

He then decided to experience her art in another way.

Carter exploring Kayla's picture

Of course, I had to take my turn holding Carter.

I Hold Carter

And, finally, make no mistake about it:  Carter loves his Daddy as much as his mommy!

His Daddy makes him laugh,  

Daddy makes me laugh

Feel safe:

Safe in Daddy's Hands

And, just like Mommy, makes him feel loved:

Andy and Anne, thank you so much for your hospitality, and we can’t wait to do it all over again sometime soon!

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

East and West: Star-Crossed Lovers


Hi Everyone!

Most of us are aware of the phrase “star-crossed lovers,” where, as in Romeo and Juliet, a pair that are passionately in love with each other are prevented from being with each other due to obstacles that appear to be immovable.

Romeo and Juliet: The Balcony

 While the characters in the story probably wish we would write their endings differently, we love these kind of stories, which persist in Western literature from the story of Pyramus and Thisbe to West Side Story and more.  However, in the East, there is a legend that puts a new twist into the phrase “star-crossed lovers.” 

Last week, on July 7, Japan celebrated a festival called “Tanabata.”  Tanabata  occurs when Altaire and Vega “meet” in the mid-summer sky, but  celebrates an unending love. 

The legend that Tanabata is based upon has three main characters:  Tentei, the Sky King, Orihime, his daughter and the weaver of his cloaks, and Hikoboshi, the cow herder for the heavens. 

Orihime and Hikoboshi Meet

Orihime, the daughter of the Sky King, wove his clothing by the banks of the Heavenly River (the Milky Way).  Because the Sky King loved her weaving so much, Orihime worked hard and industriously every day.  However, because she worked so hard at her weaving, she had no time to meet anyone and so fall in love, which made her quite forlorn.  

Tentei, The Sky King

 
Taking pity on her, the Sky King arranged for her to meet Hikoboshi, the cow herder for heaven, who often would bring his herds to the Heavenly River to water them. 
 
Hikoboshi and Orihime fell deeply in love and became inseparable.  However, lost in their love for each other, their other works fell by the wayside – no more clothes were woven for Tentei, and the cows of heaven were allowed to roam wherever they chose. 
 
Angry, Tentei separated the two, and forbade them to see each other ever again.  (One gathers from the story that Orihime was permitted to remain on Tentei’s side of the Heavenly River, while Hikoboshi was sent, as it were, to the other side of the tracks.) 
 

Orihime and Hikoboshi separated by the Milky Way

However, this did not solve the Sky King’s problems, as Orihime become grief-stricken over the loss of her husband.  Her tears so moved the Sky King that he relented and gave permission for the two of them to meet, once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh month, if Orihime would work hard and finish her weaving first.    (You will notice that the Sky King was not nearly as concerned about the cows.) So, every year, when the stars Altair and Vega cross in the night sky, Orihime and Hikoboshi are meeting for their yearly night together.
 
For that one night at least, being a star-crossed lover is a good thing!
 

Orihime and Hikoboshi together

 Have a great rest of the day everyone!
 
Nancy

Shameless Self-Promotion


Hi Everyone!

I overslept this morning, and have been working all day, but now am waiting for a client who is late, so thought I would take a minute to 1) wish each of you a wonderful weekend, and 2) post the following links to my  prose pieces published on Yahoo Contributor and beg you to take a look at any of them you haven’t read yet.  I am at 776 total views, and need to make 100o to earn my first $1.50.  That is almost enough to buy a large soft drink at McDonalds!  Anyway, here they are:

1) Adventures of a Boston Tourist – A tale of wonderful misadventure among the narrow lanes of Boston

2)  The Model 3300 Robotic Clone Return – A short, funny science fiction story about a robotic experiment that went sadly wrong

3) Words That Let You Live – A discussion of several Bible verses and what they mean in my life

4) The First Fourth of July Fireworks As a Family  – The first Fourth of July we shared with our daughter

5) The War Begins  – A short story about a Belgian family on the eve of World War I

6) A Horse, Snakes and Scorpions – My recollections of the one trip I took to Girl Scout camp when I was a child. 

Please read them, and I think you will enjoy them!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Nancy

P.S. Look out Monday for my post on “Star-Crossed Lovers.”

In Honor of the Fourth: Kayla’s Turn


Good morning/afternoon everyone!

One of the things I have thought a lot about lately, as the Fourth approaches and as the news continues to stress differences between us, is how much we Americans have in common that no-one every acknowledges.  Chief among those commonalities is the hope that our children will experience a future far better than the present that we experience.  We may disagree on the method that it will take for us to get there, but I don’t know anyone who wakes up one day and says, “You know, I really hope that the world will be a much more terrible place for my child than it is for me right now.” 

So, in honor of that sentiment, today is Kayla’s turn to supply material (that she herself chose, as opposed to that which I reported) for this post.

Monday morning, as I was trying to get ready for work, she got hold of the camera and followed the dogs around for about 45 minutes taking pictures.  I promised her that I would use her pictures in my blog, so today is the day.  I did take the liberty of making up the captions for the pictures, though.

She got some good basic pictures of the dogs, including one with Mark and Mandy sharing a moment together:

Tyra Waiting on the Sofa

Look closely at Mandy’s tail in this one:

Mandy in the bathroom

 And here Mandy and Mark are sharing a moment together before either realizes Kayla and the camera are in the room:

Mandy and Mark in the Morning

Darwin was waiting his turn in the kitchen:

Darwin waits in the kitchen

She also got some fantastic pictures of Mandy in her favorite lookout spot, the sofa in the study area of the great room.  We call it her lair.  

Mandy in her favorite lookout spot

Sometimes Darwin wanders by:

Mandy and Darwin confer

When Mandy is in her lair, it can be easier to get close-ups of her:

Mandy's close-up

Tyra, as head dog, is allowed to claim the leather sofa as hers whenever she wants it.

Tyra holds court on the couch

Kayla also managed to catch Mandy, as Bad Dog, and Darwin, as No-no, in action.  I think I would have preferred her to save the items they were working on, but at least you now have proof that the two dogs, even though they can look so sweet in their pictures, do have alter-egos!

Bad Dog’s Criminal Caper:

In the legal field, we might consider this to be a smoking gun:

The Smoking Gun....

Denials are useless at this point:

But ultimately she remains unrepentant as she plans her next criminal caper with the victims – Kayla’s flip-flops – in plain view.

Sleeping I dreamed, Love, I dreamed, Love, of thee.

No-no’s plan of attack centered around an assumption that he would remain unmolested in the bedroom if every one was out in the other room getting breakfast.   He didn’t count on the People Puppy of the house roaming around with a camera.

No-no caught in the act!

However, he appeared to be oblivious to the meaning behind the words “plausible deniability.”

Who me?

And at first refused to go quietly:

Still, all’s well that ends well, so No-no is ready to go again as soon as the opportunity presents itself.

Have a great weekend and a great Fourth of July everyone!

Nancy

Captain Anderson’s, Panama City, Florida


Hi Everyone!

Now that I have your attention….

45 minutes to the east of the Sandestin Resort is one of our all-time favorite restaurants:  Captain Anderson’s.  It, like Lambert’s, is one of those restaurants that it is worth taking a drive to visit. 

Captain Anderson’s is a seafood restaurant and has been owned by the Patronis family for over 40 years.  They have a large dining room, divided into several smaller rooms.  The restaurant is right beside a marina, and there are fishing boats moored to the pier behind the big picture windows at the end of the restaurant.  At Captain Anderson’s, you will receive fresh, well-made sea food and excellent service.  We have never had a bad meal or a bad experience there.

Other people know about Captain Anderson’s also.  This means that if you go at peak hours on Friday and Saturday, you can expect a wait, and of course, the bigger the party, the longer the wait you will have.  However, we have found that the restaurant has a system that ferries parties in and out expeditiously, all without your ever feeling rushed during your meal.  In addition, we try to arrive somewhere between 4 and 5 in the afternoon, preferably on Monday through  Thursday.  Each time we do that, we are able to get a seat right away.  

For those who do have a wait, however, the waiting room has interesting artifacts scattered throughout to keep you entertained.  By a family vote of 2 to 1, and the camera’s vote of 1 -1, (I had a new camera I was trying to use and was having some difficulties) my picture-taking of the waiting room was limited, but here the pictures I was able to take. 

This gizmo is in the corner of a hallway.  I have no earthly idea what it does (Mark did, but I can’t remember what he said), but it certainly looks interesting!

Air tank?

These cannons are also worth a look:

In addition to lots of things to look at while you wait, Captain Anderson’s now has a newspaper-like menu, with a description of its history and Panama City’s history in it.  We picked one up, and Kayla kept reading it even when we reached our table.

It made the rounds between all three of us during the short wait for our food, which not only included the appetizer of fried cheese we ordered, and our entrees, but salad (or in Mark’s case, soup) and a basket full of fresh bread and various crackers. 

Diving Helmet

On the bar across from our table, there was a brass diving helmet, something you don’t see everyday!

We don’t get dessert every time we go out, but at Captain Anderson’s it is just too hard to say no.  (Although I would have made Kayla get something else had I known what she was going to use the hurricane glass for later!)  FN.

I got the wonderful brownie concoction you saw at the beginning of this post, Kayla went with a hurricane glass full of pudding, and Mark ate his favorite, Key Lime pie. 

As we were rolling ourselves out of the restaurant, Mark offered to take Kayla and my picture besides one of the two or three large, old-fashioned diving suits that decorate the restaurant. 

A close-upA better view of the diving suit

(Panama City is home to the Navy’s diving school, which is why many of the decorations at Captain Anderson’s have a diving motif). 

If you get the chance, Captain Anderson’s is a wonderful restaurant, family friendly and worth trying.  (Remember though that it is closed on Sundays.)

Oh, and they also have a gift shop along the side that is fun to wander through; we didn’t get there this trip, but we have on others.  At least one item in the gift shop is a cookbook with some of the Patronis’ family’s favorite recipes in it.  I bought it years ago.  I haven’t used it, but I bought it!

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

FN.  Just when I thought I could retire the list….

The Rest of the Story….


Hi Everyone!

Last week, when I picked Kayla up from art, her art teacher told me that she wished she could have written down half of the things Kayla said while she was teaching her because they were so funny.  I laughed and told her that now she knew why I had started a blog; the material I have available is just too good to waste. 

Two days later, as I was trying to coordinate day camp’s free swim time with my need to pick Kayla up early for the orthodontist, Kayla told me that at day camp, “The weather doesn’t stop them from doing anything.”  (There was a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon.)  I thought that was kind of funny, so I shared it with the day camp counselors who laughed and then said, “She’s so funny all the time anyhow.”  I told Mark about both of those comments and wondered whether I have a budding comedienne, a chatterbox, a genius, or a combination of all three on my hands. 

Then came our little escapade with the hurricane glass and her elbow.  (Just when I thought I could retire the list….).  While the story itself was too good to add anything else to it, there was an aftermath.  After I got the glass off, Kayla kind of sniffled and cried through the rest of her bath.  I went in to check on her and she said, woefully and through her sniffs, “I should try out for the part of Moaning Myrtle.”  (FN)  I asked why, and she said, “Because all I do is moan, moan, moan.”  I did the only thing a rational parent could do in that situation, which is answer, “Oh!” and start to walk out of the room before I cracked a smile. 

As I was leaving, she looked up at me and said forcefully, “Yes!”  I turned around and said, “What?”  She said, “Yes, you can tell Daddy I said that.”  I told her that I was planning on it and then she said (still sniffling), “That works out then.”  At that moment any effort on my part to keep a straight face was completely lost.  I high-tailed it out of her bathroom into our bedroom laughing.  Mark asked me why, I told him about it, and then he looked at me, grinned and asked, “And you wonder why people tell you she’s funny?” 

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

FN.  For those who don’t follow the Harry Potter books or movies, Moaning Myrtle is a girl ghost who floats around sighing and moaning most of the time.

Just when I thought I could retire the list….


Good morning everyone!

A few months ago, I wrote a post called “Rules I Never Thought I’d Need” listing some rules that I never expected to have to use as a parent.  I was hoping that soon I could retire the list permanently, but after Friday, we now have a new one to add.

Do not ram your elbow into the top of a plastic hurricane glass. 

Now let me explain.

As you know, last week we went to Destin.  While we were there, we drove over to Captain Anderson’s, a wonderful restaurant I will write about another day, for dinner.  For dessert, Kayla chose a pudding concoction that Captain Anderson’s serves in the plastic glass pictured above.  She got to keep the glass. 

Fast forward to Friday evening.  When she and I were driving home, she mentioned that she had a small (I looked at it, and I would categorize it as vanishingly small) scratch on her right elbow.  I didn’t think any more of it, but shipped her off to take a bath as usual.  About 10 minutes later, she started screaming in terror in the bathroom.  I came tearing into the bathroom to see what was wrong, only to find that my daughter had stuck her entire elbow into the hurricane glass to the point that the glass was stuck.  I started to laugh,  (for some reason, that didn’t seem to calm her down!) but managed to get her into the kitchen where I used the spray nozzle to change the temperature of the glass where I could break the suction and pull it off.  She has a perfectly round bruise about three inches across on her elbow but otherwise is recovering nicely.

When we got to the point we were capable of coherent conversation (ie., she had stopped screaming and I had stopped laughing) I asked her how it happened that her elbow and the glass came together, and she told me that she had slipped it over her elbow tightly so that her elbow wouldn’t sting due to the vanishingly small scratch she had pointed out early while she took her bath.   She only got scared when she couldn’t pull it off again.

For the record, her father thought it was funny, too.

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

Braces and Broken Eggs


Good morning Everyone!

We have made it to Friday, with an excellent chance of having Saturday tomorrow.  I know I am glad to get another week under my belt; what about you?

Kayla went back to the orthodontist yesterday.  The orthodontist decided that it was too early to put on the stronger, squared wire he had talked about putting in last time, so it looks like that will happen just before school starts.  She chose blue and green rubber bands this time. 

She told me as we walked out, in semi-tragic tones, that someone there told her she would have to wear her braces for another six months.  Since the original projection was that she would have them on for another nine months, that shouldn’t really have been a news flash for her.  When I reminded her of the fact that another six months would mean she was right on schedule, I got the flat “Oh” which is her way of admitting she made a mistake when she doesn’t want to admit she has made a mistake.  (I can’t imagine where she gets the trait of not wanting to admit she was wrrrr… wrrr…..  wrooonnn….!) 

  • Broken Eggs

When we were at Destin last week, we ate breakfast one day at one of our favorite restaurants, Another Broken Egg Cafe.  We have been friends with the Broken Egg Cafes for about ten years now, since the day when Mark and I  were searching for a spot to eat lunch at, and decided to stop at their original Destin restaurant (called Another Broken Egg Cafe.)  This restaurant is located in downtown Destin.  They serve breakfast and brunch only, and close at 2, but what they do serve is made exceptionally well.  It was the second restaurant in the chain, which originally opened in 1996 in Olde Mandeville, Louisiana.  Now, the restaurant has a total of 18 restaurants, each with an on-site owner, and plans to build several more.

Since our first visit ten years ago, there are at least two more Broken Egg Cafes in Destin, Florida, both called “Another Broken Egg Cafe.”  One is located in a building beside the Bayside Inn at Sandestin Resort, while the other is located at the Village of Baytowne Wharf at Sandestin Resort.  This trip, we ate at the Baytowne Wharf branch.  Because there was a bit of a wait,  Kayla wanted to use my camera, which I allowed only on the condition that she would let me take her picture first.  She wasn’t super thrilled with this arrangement, but she really wanted to use my camera, so finally she agreed. 

I really don't want this picture taken

After this first photo, she began to swing more into the picture posing mood, but then she got distracted.

What was that?

Finally we got a good picture:

Finally, a good shot!

Then I turned the camera over to Kayla.  I am only including one of her many pictures here, both for space and time reasons, and because she was extraordinarily gifted, and greatly enjoyed, taking pictures that showed Mark and I at less than our best!  Still, when she takes her time and thinks about her pictures, she can get some really good shots.  (This was not one of them, but I promised her I’d put at least one in!)

Kayla's picture of me

Soon after that, our number was called, and we sat down to a breakfast that gave us eggs, omelets, country potatoes and cheese grits (Kayla) to our hearts content! 

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy