Lynnie's Ramblings and Photos

Now it's been four months...

2009-04-29T11:23:00.004-04:00

I can't really call myself a blogger unless I actually BLOG, can I?

My excuse is that my job is busy; it's graduation season. I'm about to send off the Commencement Book to be printed, which will be a relief. It's a huge undertaking, and I'm always totally paranoid that I'm going to leave someone's name off and that it will cause a major brouhaha. I don't like brouhahas. They're just so stressful.

To add to the work stress, the other assistant registrar has been out of work for almost a month now. She's been very sick and ended up being hospitalized twice and having an emergency surgery. She's doing well, which is comforting (I like her a LOT), but since she's so very good at her job, her absence is quite noticeable. There are things that she does that I have NO IDEA how to do. Picking up her slack has been quite the challenge. She's also a delightful lady with a wicked sense of humor, and I miss her.

I took a sleep study in March, and was diagnosed with sleep apnea (no surprise... it kind of runs in the family). The test was like torture. How are you supposed to sleep with an EKG, EEG and a computer monitoring your breathing hooked up to you? I had to ask for assistance to MOVE. VERY not fun. I felt like I was awake all night, but evidently I was able to sleep. I went back last week to have a followup study done in order to calibrate the CPAP device. The CPAP thing is interesting. It's like sleeping in a wind tunnel. Surprisingly, while my movement was still restricted and I still had to have the EKG and EEG hooked up in addition to the CPAP, I slept fairly well. I'm not looking forward to sleeping with that contraption, but I am looking forward to sleeping better, and it seems I can't have one without the other. Now I just have to wait for the script.

I fervently wish I had some photos to share, but I have misplaced my battery charger for my camera, so I don't have a whole lot of photos in a format I can upload. I have a few photos on my phone, so I will try to upload them. That will involve learning HOW to upload to Blogger from my phone, though. :)

Wow. Seriously? 3+ months?

2009-01-27T15:36:00.005-05:00

I have been negligent. I was feeling negligent when I got an email, asking me where I was, blogwise speaking. I blame Facebook. It has made me a lazy blogger. I get and give most of my updates via Facebook, so the blog was a little "out of sight, out of mind". Sorry for those of you who are non-facebookers!

Well, things are going well with me, with the exception of some pretty expensive/extensive dental work that's coming up. Work is good. Friends are good. Church is good. I saw Laurel, Chris, and Jeanette at Christmas. Dad wasn't feeling well, so we missed him.

Here are some pics:

Chris hanging out with Erik at the Piedigrossi's house:
Gina, talking on Christmas morning:
Some of the kids and Chris around the Christmas tree (that's Adam, Erik and Heather, then Chris (L-R)):
My lovely sister Laurel:

And some of the group shots of all the kids:

FIRST TRY:

SECOND TRY:

THIRD TRY:

FOURTH TRY:

Yeah, they weren't having any of it! hahaha

... and THIS is why ...

2008-10-20T12:16:00.008-04:00

Evidently my last post hurt some feelings and caused some folks in my life to get upset. This is why I don't normally blog about politics. I was concerned that my last post would ruffle feathers, and it did. That was TOTALLY not intentional.

My Dad's a staunch Republican.

My Uncle's a strong Democrat (I'm truly VERY sorry if calling you a liberal was a faux pas -- evidently I don't know what's the difference between a Liberal and a Democrat -- yet ANOTHER reason I should just stay off this topic).

I love both of these men dearly.

Even so, I truly feel that when it comes to government, IN MY OPNION, "less is more". I'm not one of those "drop off the grid and move to Montana and build my own compound" libertarians, but I really do think that the Libertarian philosophy meshes better with my current point of view.

Heck, at this point, if I was still a Republican, what good would it do? When was the last time NY went for a Republican president? I think we're pretty darn blue around these parts. I know it's not PC to say "my vote doesn't count", but in New York State, when it comes to national elections, it really doesn't. The state will go overwhelmingly Democrat whether you like it or not.

So that's it. Probably my last political post. I won't make any guarantees, but I don't think I want to ruffle any more feathers.

(I never thought changing political parties would make so many people so upset. I guess I was naive.)

In closing, I will remind everyone who was so upset at my last post of a quote that is thought to summarize Voltaire's point of view: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." (Specifically, it was written by Evelyn Beatrice Hall (pseud. S. G. Tallentyre) in the biography "The Friends of Voltaire" in 1906.) I just hope the people in my life can find it in their hearts to give me this latitude. I am, after all, a work in progress.

Coming out of the (POLITICAL) closet...

2008-10-06T09:05:00.002-04:00

Well, I was raised in a Conservative Republican Home. My dear uncle (I really do love him dearly) is a raging (raving?) Liberal. I actually really like hearing both sides of the debates and issues. I don't only want to hear things from people who agree with me. It gets boring.

Although I've been a registered Republican for 20 years, I've come to believe that NO single political party really "fits" my beliefs. I have been feeling a bit of "drift" away from the Republican party line for quite some time now, and didn't feel comfortable still officially carrying that label. And I have always known I'm not a Democrat.

I did some research. I did some soul-searching.

And I came to the conclusion that I'm a rare breed: a pro-life Libertarian. And yes, I think you can be both pro-life AND a Libertarian.

You see, I believe that abortion is wrong. I really do believe it is murder. HOWEVER, I don't believe I have the RIGHT to press that belief onto someone else. This issue was the LAST thing tying me to the Republican party, and a few months ago, I realized that my belief that you can have a moral belief without trying to legislate and impose that morality on others is exactly what makes me a Libertarian (in my opinion).

And I don't believe that repealing Roe v. Wade is the way to reduce the number of abortions performed in this country. Personally, I believe that the BEST way to reduce the number of abortions in this country is education (including pregnancy PREVENTION first and foremost). And I REALLY think that everyone involved -- both "pro-life" and "pro-choice" -- would agree that everyone would be better off if we could reduce the number of abortions (no one LIKES abortion!).

I think that before someone has an abortion, they should have a sonogram (preferably one of those newfangled 3-D sonograms) so they KNOW what they will be aborting. A woman should know exactly how developed her baby is (what organs have formed, what functions and processes have already started in its tiny body, etc) so that she can make an informed choice. I believe that funding for places like Planned Parenthood should not exceed the funding for places like CareNet (http://www.care-net.org/). In fact, I think everyone would be well-served if these two groups could find a way to work together.

The funny thing is, I remember when I was a kid, my friends' dad was a Libertarian and we thought he was NUTS (politically). What irony.

I am APPALLED.

2008-08-21T09:39:00.004-04:00

When I'm going to eat fast food, I frequently opt for Burger King, because I know it's flame broiled, and that makes me think it's a teeny tiny bit better than fried burgers.

Well, I have been disabused of that notion. I went to the BK web site and looked up two of my favorite sandwiches, the Whopper Jr. and the Big Fish.

Well, The Whopper Jr’s 370 calories! If you skip the mayo, it’s 290 calories. And that’s before you add fries or a drink!!! And I NEVER skip the mayo.

The Big Fish is 650 calories!!! That’s half a day’s calories in ONE sandwich! Ack! I’m ruined!

That’s AWFUL.

Rant over. Back to your life.

PARASOLS!

2008-07-14T11:58:00.005-04:00

Well, my cousin Seth is getting married soon, and Laurel and I weren't able to make it to Amanda's shower. Aunt Lucille sent me parasols (the favors) so we could take some photos with them. Here they are:

Deep Thoughts...

2008-07-03T09:29:00.004-04:00

OK. Sometimes weird things occur to me. They're quite random.

Today, when I was getting ready for work, I was thinking of words that end in "-ender". Think about it... there are quite a few words in the English language that end in "-ender".

A
B - bender
C
D - dender? not so much.
E
F - fender
G - gender
H
I
J
K - not in English, but in Danish kender means "connoisseur"
L - lender
M - mender
N
O
P - pender? one who pends? (not really a word in English, but it sounds like one)
Q
R - render
S - sender
T - tender
U - Upender (thanks, Auntie Lu!)
V - vendor (I know, it's not spelled right, but it sounds the same)
W - wender? one who wends? (not really a word in English, but it sounds like one); Weekender! (thanks, Auntie Lu!)
X Y Z

Oh, and two for the price of one: fender-bender! (thanks, Auntie Lu!)
I know... I know... I'm a dork. (haha)

Gardening with Cory and Camryn

2008-07-02T15:51:00.005-04:00

OK. So Laurel was the one who was really gardening. I don't garden. I avoid it like the plague. (I hate all the weeding!) But, I helped with the girls while she did all the shoveling. Hey -- don't judge me. It's HER house. (tee hee!)

Camryn was playing camera-shy, and Cory was in a good mood (and trying to "make fire"; I guess she learned about flint recently). It made for an interesting afternoon.

And then came the bubbles. We love bubbles. The second pic of Cam blowing bubbles is kind of fuzzy, but it's the only one that I was able to catch her making decent bubblage.

It's the littlest things, sometimes.

2008-06-02T17:05:00.002-04:00

Sometimes, the littlest things make me happy.

And sometimes, I don't even realize HOW happy they'll make me until after the fact.

I knew I wanted to pick up a new shower curtain liner. But I kept forgetting. Well, last week I remembered. And I was right. Every time I get in the shower, I smile because I have that nice, new, shiny shower curtain (no, it's not really shiny).

It's SUCH a great spring cleaning item -- takes almost no time at all, and it's almost not worth the time and effort of trying to get the old one clean again! I recommend it highly! :)

Religion.

2008-05-08T08:52:00.002-04:00

Well, now that I've blogged about politics, why not religion? :)

Well, we had a bible study last night, and part of the class we discussed the word "religion". We read different dictionary definitions, and those all seemed... inadequate. Then, Bret quoted this statement: "Religion is practical piety, rightly directed"
I really like that one. I'm not sure where he found it, but I think it's a good start.

The first chapter of James has one of the most useful discussions about "religion" I've ever found.

19My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen,
slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. 21Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.
26If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. 27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

I've bolded the bits that I think are most salient.

Be quick to listen.
Be slow to speak.
Be slow to anger.
Get rid of the moral filth that's crept into your life.
Accept the Word.
Don't just accept the Word as a concept, DO it.
Control your tongue.
Take care of others - espeically those who are less fortunate and the helpless.
Keep yourself pure. Be careful about those slippery slopes.

That's a tall order, but it's do-able. Almost all of these involve self-control when you think about it.

Well, I'm no scholar. I don't think I have any answers past this point.

Politics...

2008-05-06T11:19:00.003-04:00

OK. I don't usually blog about politics.

However, there's one issue that's really getting to me lately. That's Hillary's backing of the "vacation from the federal gas tax". Um... can anyone say PANDERING? Seriously.

The federal gas tax is $0.18. Yes, that's right. Eighteen cents.

Lifting that tax wouldn't do much for anyone's budget. If you have a 12-gallon gas tank and fill your car twice a week, it amounts to less than $5.00 per week. That's really NOT a significant amount, and if you fill your 12-gallon tank once a week, it's around $2.16.

Since I'm a once-a-week tank filler, Hillary's grand scheme MIGHT allow me to go to the movies once a month. Really, now, we're talking about $9 per month.

Finally, who ever said that the gas companies would pass the savings on to the consumer? They are in business to make money. I would be shocked if they actually passed those savings on to us.

And, when it goes back on in the Fall, it's going to HURT for prices to go up $0.18 all at once.

Just my opinion...

Some new pics at the Carousel

2008-05-02T15:23:00.002-04:00

It's April 2nd.

2008-04-02T11:57:00.006-04:00

April 2nd. It's my mother's birthday. She should have been 65 today.

Instead, she's been gone for almost 15 years.

It's a rough day.

More snow.

2008-03-28T18:59:00.004-04:00

This is my second Spring in Central New York.

I'm still not used to snow in April. (I know it's still March, but you get the point.)

This was a pic I took while driving to work this morning. Don't worry. I was stopped at a traffic light.

Easterish 2008

2008-03-26T11:02:00.005-04:00

Well, I saw Chris, Gina, and the kids the Saturday before Easter (March 22). Here are some photos of the day:

Matthew dyeing an egg:

Erik, Heather, Adam, and Elizabeth's elbow:

Gina, Matthew, Erik, Heather, Adam, and Elizabeth:

Elizabeth:

Erik:

Adam:

Gina & Heather:

Heather, Adam, Erik (trying to look scary), and Elizabeth... all squishing in:

Adam, Heather, Elizabeth, and Erik on Erik's new bunk bed:

Aunt Laurel sent TWISTER! They had a BLAST!

Oh Good GRAVY!

2008-03-13T11:23:00.001-04:00

Did you see my post about the statue with the snow on it a couple of posts ago?

Well, someone STOLE HIM from campus!

There was another statue on campus, and they stole that one, too!

What is going ON around here???

Snowfall Totals

2008-03-13T11:12:00.003-04:00

Well, I just found a list of snowfall totals in our region online.

SNOWFALL TOTALS
Redfield 370.0" as of March 10
West Leyden 178.6" as of February 28
Point Rock 177.5" as of March 12
Westernville 147.4" as of March 11
Syracuse 107.1" as of March 10
Salisbury 105.7" as of February 28
Dolgeville 100.4" as of February 28
Utica (Official) 90.8" as of March 10
Whitesboro 90.5" as of March 10
Port Leyden 88.5" as of February 6
New Hartford 86.3" as of March 10
Steuben 83.9" as of January 22
Sherburne 76.5" as of February 28

So, my town has had over 90 inches of snow so far. That's more than 7 FEET of snow. And last year, we had snow through mid-April. We could still break the 100-inch mark! (I hope not!!!!)

Oh, and have I mentioned how HAPPY I am that I don't live in Redfield???

Yay!!! Diet Sprite!

2008-03-07T14:18:00.002-05:00

The lunch cart that's down the hall from my office has a somewhat limited selection. It's just a lunch cart, after all.

Well, if you don't want to drink regular soda, it's even worse. The ONLY choices were diet Coke and a diet tea drink that was over $2 a bottle. Or water. I don't buy water by the bottle; I buy it in bulk at the supermarket.

I've been asking them for months to get some other type of diet soda in the cooler. I mean, even in the soda machines, all they ever have is diet Coke. There's ONE machine on campus that sometimes has diet Dr Pepper, but at least one time, I went to get diet Dr Pepper and got full-sugar VAULT. Blech!

So, I went down the hall to get something for lunch today, and they had DIET SPRITE in the cooler! WOOOOO HOOOOOOO!

I am a happy woman! (And evidently easy to please! ha!)

Kid Logic.

2008-03-03T11:59:00.002-05:00

If you know me, you know I love language, and I love words.

Well, Cory came out with a new one. She was trying to say "last night", but it came out as "yesternight". I love this! When I asked her to repeat it, she said, "Aunt Lynn... you know... yesternight. Like yestermorning and yesterday".

Gotta love that kid and her 5-year-old logic!

HA! I know this guy!

2008-02-29T13:02:00.004-05:00

OK. Here's another YouTube video. HOWEVER, in this one, I actually know the guy who's playing the sheriff! (I have no idea who the guy being arrested is!)

His name is Craig, and he used to go to my church before he moved to Arizona. Looks like he's enjoying himself, doesn't it?

Happy Leap Day!

2008-02-29T11:55:00.005-05:00

Well... here we are. Another Leap Day.

Yesterday, I was watching the CBS morning news, and they had a couple on air who were full-term with their first baby. The wife was born on Leap Day, and she was going in on Leap Day to have the baby induced.

Interesting. I always thought it would be cool to be born on Leap Day. Now I'm not so sure. When I was a kid, I already complained about sharing my birthday with my sister... I can't imagine how much I would have complained about sharing it every four years! (ha!)

I read that the Greeks consider getting married in a Leap Year to be bad luck. Go figure. (http://news.wedding.auz.com/rumors/greek-leap-year/) I wonder if that's true? Anyone know? Anyone care?

Did you know (random Leap Year factoid) that Leap Years are not held exactly every four years? A year is NOT really 365.25 days long. It's actually about 11 minutes and 14 seconds short of being "exactly" 365.25 days long. So... to make up for it, they skip it three times every 400 years. I just KNOW you're dying to know HOW they do this. Well, a century year can only be a Leap Year IF it's evenly divisible by 400. So... 1700, 1800, and 1900 were not Leap Years, but 1600, 2000, and 2400 are (or was/will be) Leap Years.

The easy way to remember it is:
if a "regular" year is evenly divisible by 4 (evenly), it's a Leap Year.
if a "century" year is evenly divisible by 400, it is a Leap Year.

So... at this rate, the calendar year and the solar year are only "off" by 30 seconds. At this rate, it will take about 3,300 years until the calendar year and the solar year are "off" by a day.

Fascinating stuff, right?

Snow on a Statue

2008-02-28T17:30:00.003-05:00

The school put up a temporary statue that I can see from my office. In the most recent snow storm, he collected an interesting amount of snow. It looks kind of like a snow afro.

Mor Mor's Needlework

2008-02-26T12:26:00.008-05:00

My maternal grandmother made an absolutely gorgeous needlework wall hanging back in 1938. It is amazing. (Mor Mor in Swedish means "mother's mother"... "grandmother") After she passed away, my mother hung the piece in our family home.

After my mother passed away, the piece got put away... it was very hard to look at. At the time, it felt more bitter than sweet.

Very unfortunately, while it was in storage, there was damage made. Some of the damage may have been from insects (although that doesn't make much sense to me. It was indoors, and nothing else had insect damage), and some of the damage may have been due to improper framing. (The person who framed it placed the glass directly on the fabric, and didn't use all archival-quality materials.)

So, in the end, there was damage done to the far right side of the piece.

I *WISH* I had taken a before photo. I'm kicking myself that I neglected to do that! But... here are some "after" shots. There are close-ups of each side, so you can see the damage and how the restoration compares to the unaffected side, and a photo of the entire piece.

I'm sure once I get it reframed, you won't even notice the restorations! I'm THRILLED with the work that was done!

You can click on this image if you want to see a it enlarged.

My New Desktop Sorter!

2008-02-13T08:51:00.005-05:00

Well, we were reorganizing our office at work to make room for a temp who will be here for about eight weeks. One of the things we "got rid of" was a gnarly old metal desktop sorter thingie. It was scratched, rusty, and, well, gnarly. I kind of loved it as is, but I saw some potential in it to be pretty, too.

So, here it is... in UC colors (blue and ORANGE). There's some pink on it, too, but it's mostly blue & orange.

My goal is to get people to use the orange section as an inbox... hence the big huge honking "IN" with arrows.

Products used:
Bazzill cardstock
Chatterbox paper
Tim Holtz/Distress ink - black soot
Heidi Swapp ghost frame
Basic Grey chipboard letters
Chipboard arrows... ????
Ranger spray ink (on chipboard)
Glossy Accents (on chipboard)
Matte Accents
Rhonna Farrer flourish stamps
Staples
Grosgrain Ribbon
Elmer's spray adhesive

I used Matte Accents and glue dots to adhere the chipboard letters. The spray ink kind of warped them, so I had to also clamp them down while the glue dots "dried".

Another COOOOL YouTube video!

2008-01-30T09:05:00.000-05:00

I saw this video on the morning news, and decided I just HAD to post it to my blog! The news folks said specifically that the dolphins just did this naturally; no one taught them to do it. Enjoy!

Find Your Candidate!

2008-01-22T11:55:00.000-05:00

Are you still undecided? There's a pretty cool Q-and-A that can help you decipher which candidates are closer to your personal beliefs.

My Word for 2008

2008-01-14T14:02:00.000-05:00

OK. There's a "thing" that some scrapbookers do at the start of a year. They choose a word that is supposed to be their "theme word" for the year.

I didn't do it last year; I thought it was hokey.

This year, I actually have a word in mind.

REBUILD.

In sports, they have "rebuilding years". Usually for a college team, it's when your star players have graduated and you have to start from scratch again.

Well, that's kind of where I am.

When I moved to my new area, it took me several months to find a job. I tried to start my job search before I arrived here, but no one really wanted to talk to me until I arrived. And once I arrived, I couldn't find an opening -- not even at WalMart! I finally found a good job, and I really like it, but being out of work for so long was rough financially. I'm digging out, but I will be OK.

I am also rebuilding relationships -- I have a new church that I'm getting acquainted with (and really enjoying), and I am making friends. I'm getting to know my coworkers. I'm getting to know my colleagues in other offices, and have already participated in a search committee to hire a new staff member in my office.

This whole year is a fresh start for all that and more. I'm really excited to see how it all shapes up!

Cool Quote

2008-01-14T13:54:00.000-05:00

I found this quote on Ali Edwards' blog. I thought it was really cool:

To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury; and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable; and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasion, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony.

William Henry Channing

AWESOME Pool & Domino Video

2007-10-25T11:59:00.001-04:00

This was just too awesome to NOT share!

Isn't it cool?

Some Thoughts About God and American Culture

2007-10-25T11:28:00.000-04:00

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary. I think it's pretty insightful.

(Ben Stein):

Herewith at this happy time of year, a few confessions from my beating heart:
I have no freaking clue who Nick and Jessica are. I see them on the cover of People and Us constantly when I am buying my dog biscuits and kitty litter. I often ask the checkers at the grocery stores. They never know who Nick and Jessica are either. Who are they? Will it change my life if I know who they are and why they have broken up? Why are they so important? I don't know who Lindsay Lohan is, either, and I do not care at all about Tom Cruise's wife.
Am I going to be called before a Senate committee and asked if I am a subversive? Maybe, but I just have no clue who Nick and Jessica are. Is this what it means to be no longer young? It's not so bad.
Next confession: I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees. It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.
I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.
Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him?
I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to.

Billy Graham's daughter Anne was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her"How could God let something like this happen?" (regarding Katrina) Anne gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we'vebeen telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?"In light of recent events...terrorist attacks, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK. Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves. Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW." Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says .

My Best Regards.

Camryn's First Fireworks show

2007-10-04T16:26:00.001-04:00

Camryn saw her first fireworks in the end of July. This photo was her FIRST glimpse of fireworks... BEFORE she heard the "bang".

Once she heard the noise, she wasn't so sure she liked them as much, but she went to another show in the end of September, and did a bit better. She still held on to Laurel like her life depended on it, but she was smiling and saying "ooooooh!".

They were ready for their closeups... and I obliged.

2007-09-10T15:42:00.000-04:00

MATTHEW

(yes, I know... not my best work, but he was laying down at the time.)

ADAM

ERIK

HEATHER

ELIZABETH

CORRINE

CAMRYN

ALL the kiddos

2007-09-10T15:19:00.000-04:00

When I was a kid, we would go to visit my aunt, uncle, and cousins in Rhode Island. We have multiple photos of all five of us, and I LOVE THOSE PHOTOS. They're some of my favorite childhood photos.

So now, some of my favorite photos are of all my nieces and nephews together, on the couch. Here's the latest, from about 2 or 3 weeks ago:

Donna's Blog Challenge!

2007-08-10T15:33:00.000-04:00

Name 5 favorite television shows:
That 70s Show
M*A*S*H
NCIS (all of 'em, but I like the original best, then NY, then Miami)
Grey's Anatomy
House

Name 4 favorite memories:
The day Laurel surprised me with a trip to Europe
The days my nieces and nephews were born (all of 'em!)
Watching Enoch being born
The day I got the call for my current job (after being unemployed for six months)

Name 3 things you want to do before you die:
See every state
Buy my own home
Get married

Give 2 names that you would use NOW if you were going to have a new addition to the family:
Um... not likely, but Chloë is a strong option. I've never thought of boys' names. (odd... I don't think I ever realized that before.)

Name the one thing that you're working on now to improve your life:
I am striving to be more positive.

Some Random Summer 07 pics

2007-08-07T12:23:00.001-04:00

Some pics from the park and around the house...

Here are all the cousins on the Decker side:

Camryn, Cory, Matthew, Heather, Elizabeth, Eric, and Adam. This was taken at Matthew's birthday party in July 2007.

How much have I changed in 10 years?

2007-07-13T10:59:00.000-04:00

You've Changed 36% in 10 Years

Ah, the past! You may not remember it well - because you're still living in it.
While you've changed some, you may want to update your wardrobe, music collection and circle of friends.

How Much Have You Changed in 10 Years?

Ack! Cynthia tagged me!

2007-07-06T09:32:00.000-04:00

Instructions: These are the rules…. each player starts with 7 random facts about themselves on their Blog. People who are tagged need to blog 7 facts about themselves and post the rules as well. At the end of their blog list 7 people you are tagging. Let them know that they are tagged by leaving them a comment.

Hmmm. Seven things.

1. I used to have VERY short hair (slightly longer and permed on the top, but almost buzzed on the sides). And I used blue gel on the short part. Hey, it was the 80s!

2. I've never really had a garden. One year, I grew zinnias. That was it.

3. I LOVE LOVE LOVE coffee but almost never drink it.

4. I have double piercings in each ear, but rarely wear any earrings any more.

5. I have a mole between my fingers on my right hand, and I absolutely hate it.

6. I have a new guilty pleasure: watching "Mind of Mencia" on Comedy Central. I blame Amy and Steve.

7. The only reason I have long hair is because I don't know what else to do with it. My hair is very very straight, and it refuses to "do" anything.

I am tagging: Parkie, Hoopy, Tigger, Melissa, Steve, Missy, and Amy G!

My new pic

2007-05-21T15:25:00.001-04:00

OK. this is the first photo a 4-year old has taken of me that I've liked. Enoch took this pic of me, and while it may be a teeny bit blurry (because he was so close to me), I actually like how it came out. Try not to focus too much on the wrinkles and such. ;)

Is it my imagination, or does the angle of the shot make my nose look enormous? (or at least bigger than it is?)

It's OVER!

2007-05-14T09:56:00.000-04:00

Well, graduation is over!

I personally think it went off without a hitch. We shall see if everyone else has the same opinion.

The only things that went awry were that the grads brought beach balls (which is very NORMAL). However, someone brought an ENORMOUS beach ball that was big enough that ten people could all touch it at the same time. When they took it away, the grads BOOED, right during the keynote speaker's address. The poor speaker thought she had done something wrong!

Now I just have to get them all certified, and send in the diploma order. ACK! (I'm nervous about this, too!)

The Professional Pouter!

2007-05-10T16:19:00.000-04:00

How cute is she... really? Of course, she has been trained by the best of the best (Cory).

Registration wasn't so bad, but COMMENCEMENT...

2007-05-10T09:59:00.000-04:00

Well, registration week wasn't too bad. It was busy, but not too super-busy. Next semester, they're talking about instituting college-wide online registration. So, we'd only have to deal with students who had problems registering.

Sounds better and better!

Now, Commencement is this weekend. That is a hugely stress-inducing thing for people around here. I'm concerned that I'll do something wrong and people will go ballistic on me. I don't think I will, but the paranoia is setting in.

Wish me luck! (That I won't have to throttle anyone before Sunday!)

Registration

2007-04-10T13:28:00.000-04:00

OK. Today's the first day of registration for the Fall 2007 semester. Seeing as how I'm an Assistant Registrar, this is kind of our "thing". Registration so far hasn't been too bad. A couple of students were blocked from their classes due to lack of prerequisites, but so far it hasn't been too bad.

I'm not looking forward to Thursday or Friday. They're saying that by that time in the week, we won't even be able to go to the bathroom. Um... I WILL be going to the bathroom. Just try and stop me!

Over all, it's still going well. I'm still liking it... still liking the coworkers... so far, so good. Let's hope I'm not jinxing myself.

The New Job!

2007-03-15T12:35:00.000-04:00

Well, my new job is going well. So far, so good!

But, it IS spring recess. Who knows what will happen next week? Ack! I think I'll stop thinking about it!

The job is Assistant Registrar for Degree Audit. I'm still getting acclimated and learning the computer systems.

Up next is finding my own place. I have a couple of appointments set for tonight. I really want a place that has at least some of the utilities included! It gets so cold here, I don't want to pay for heat!

The Johnsons in Cambridge

2007-02-08T21:04:00.000-05:00

Left to Right: Liz, Aunt Lucille, Uncle Al, Craig, and Seth. Jasper's in the carriage, but you can barely see him. We went to Legal Seafood for lunch... YUMMY! It was a great day!

Jasper!

2007-02-08T21:01:00.000-05:00

Well, I went to Rhode Island last week to visit Uncle Al and Aunt Lucille. It was a WONDERFUL trip, and we went to Cambridge on Saturday to see Craig, Liz, Jasper, and Seth. So, here's Jasper:

He's gorgeous! And what a good baby! Craig and Liz are definitely blessed!

January pics of the Benjamins

2007-02-08T20:14:00.000-05:00

Cory & Camryn at the dinner table

Cory on the dome in the playground on Jan 1, 2007.

It was SO warm out, we went out to play to work out some of their cabin fever!

Camryn has started climbing in her tub of toys.
At first, she couldn't get out under her own power, but now she can!
It took about a month of her getting stuck before she figured it out.

Some pics of January 2007

2007-02-08T19:57:00.000-05:00

Well, the Decker kids were in rare form when I visited in January.

Here's Erik. He kept running around to see the photo display on the camera's screen as soon as the red-eye reduction light flashed on, and I kept getting partial shots of his face. Oops!

Elizabeth did NOT want to give me a good pose. This was the best image I could get.

Heather

Adam was grabbing his tongue. He thought it was funny and wouldn't stop. So, here he is:

Christmas 2006

2007-01-01T18:53:00.000-05:00

Well, here it is. Cory's fourth and Camryn's second Christmas. Cory made a gingerbread house out of graham crackers at pre-K. Camryn got into opening the presents a little bit, but once she started exploring one gift, she didn't want to let it go. Cory, on the other hand, had NO such problems. ;) Pop-pop and Grandmom Decker came up late on the 24th so they could be here for gift-opening on Christmas morning.

Oh, yeah... and Camryn was petrified of Santa. I am assuming she'll get over that in the future.

Here's Camy with Grandmom Decker:

And Cory watching TV with Pop-pop in the recliner:

I think this is my favorite picture of Camryn from the whole Christmas season. I think you'll see why:

Birthdays, 2006

2007-01-01T18:45:00.000-05:00

Camryn had her first tastes of birthday cake in December 2006. Mommy and Aunt Lynnie had their birthday on 12/15, and Camryn's first birthday was on 12/21. She REALLY enjoyed the cake... and she sniffed each bite before she ate it.

Bathtime is FUN!

2007-01-01T18:40:00.000-05:00

Well, Cory decided to "do" Camryn's hair in the bathtub one night. It was HYSTERICAL! Mommy tried to do Cory's hair, but I personally think she might have too much hair to do this to it!

Cory got her ears pierced!

2007-01-01T18:26:00.000-05:00

Well, Cory started off all excited, but when the women popped the holes in her ears, she screamed loud enough to pierce OUR ears! She had asked several times before to get her ears pierced, but changed her mind at the last minute every time. This time, she went through with it.

The ladies at the ear-piercing place were smart... they took TWO people to pierce at exactly the same time, so there was no piercing the second ear on an already-traumatized little girl. :)

BEFORE:
She looks so... eager and excited, doesn't she? All ready?

AFTER:
She cried so hard, I cried! (But can you see the teeny little bit of bling? No more boring gold dots, unless that's what you want!)

Ahhhh, but the magical power of ice cream (and running into her friend, Griffin) helped stem the crying. (Thanks, Griffin!!!)

Thanksgiving 2006 and Thereabouts

2007-01-01T18:15:00.000-05:00

Well, Thanksgiving 2006 was our one and only Thanksgiving in upstate NY. Around this time, Camryn also rode the merry-go-round at the Carousel Center Mall for the first time. She wasn't too sure about it, and held on to Aunt Lynnie for dear life most of the time. The ride ended JUST in time... if it had lasted any longer, I think she might have started crying.

We had Thanksgiving dinner pretty late. So, we all went to the park to kill some time. It was a little chilly, but not too bad. The girls had a BALL on the swings!

We also had a bit of an unconventional menu. We had... praline-stuffed sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, veggies, and CRAB. Since it was "just us", we figured crab would be a nice departure from the ordinary. I think it was a great idea. (Good thinking, Laurel!)

Halloween 2006

2007-01-01T17:48:00.000-05:00

Well, I have just been an AWFUL blogger... I haven't uploaded anything in such a long time! I'm going to have to get you all updated, then.

Halloween 2006 was a lot of fun. I hadn't been trick-or-treating for a LONG time. Cory went as Tinkerbell, and Camryn was a bunny rabbit. And Cory ended up with a pretty good haul! Laurel and Brian each carved their own pumpkin. I think they did a great job!

Well, when in Rome...

2006-11-10T00:50:00.000-05:00

I have been upstate for almost two months now. I am still looking for a job (it's kind of frustrating so far), but am hopeful that I will find something soon.

Either way, I am taking the GRE on Saturday 11/11. It will either help me or hurt me on my college applications. I'm hoping I'll do okay... I have to remember lots of geometry and algebra I haven't thought about in an awful long time!

I wanted to put in some semi-recent pics of Cory and Camryn. These are from the Pumpkin Festival here. It snowed later in the day! (ack!) The snow only lasted a few minutes, but it was there. It has snowed a couple of times since then. I guess I need to buck up and accept it!

Well, it's quite late here now, and I'm thinking I need to get to bed! Catch you all later!

Well, it's almost done!

2006-09-11T17:41:00.000-04:00

I moved almost all my things (except some clothes and last-minute items) upstate over Labor Day weekend, and am now staying in a faculty member's empty one-bedroom apartment while I finish out my job here at Stony Brook. My last day is September 15th. After work, I'll be driving up to Dad's house, and then going to Chris' house on Saturday for the kids' birthday party.

Then it will be done! All I'll have to do after that is drop my Lawng Island accent. *Ü* Hmmmm... after 19 years on the Island, I wonder how long that will take?

Republishing blog...

2006-07-31T13:32:00.000-04:00

Well, I wanted to just add a link to my list of links over there →
But... it wouldn't show up until I republished my blog. I'm not sure HOW to republish my blog without doing a post, so here's the post so I can republish my blog.

Someday, I'll get the hang of this whole thing. :)

Some pics from the Benjamins - July 2006

2006-07-29T13:15:00.000-04:00

We took a day trip up to Old Forge (in the Adirondacks). Isn't it gorgeous?

Laurel with Camryn on the boat.

The boat's owner lets all the kids take a turn piloting the boat when they get into the Second Lake, because it's much more private (fewer boats). So, Cory got a chance to pilot the boat! (There's Daddy behind her.)

Cory drying off at the pool. What a cutie!

I think having a pool at the house is one of her priorities now. :) She loves the water!!

Camryn... about six months old. How cute is she? She loves sticking her tongue out! :)

The Decker Five!

2006-07-29T13:12:00.000-04:00

From Left to Right, this is: Elizabeth, Heather, Matthew, Adam, and Erik. This was early in July. The quads are three (will be four in September), and Matthew just turned eight. This pic was taken after playing in the sprinkler and taking a bath. I got ALMOST all of them looking at the camera and smiling at the same time. :)

More July 4th pics (well, eventually there will be more...)

2006-07-12T23:54:00.000-04:00

OK. I have a bunch of other pics to upload, but it's almost midnight, and the software's acting buggy, so it's going to have to wait another day or so. Sorry!

Fourth of July Trip 2006 - Decker Portion

2006-07-12T23:20:00.000-04:00

Well, I started the week at Chris' house, then went to Laurel's. Somehow, I missed pretty much all fireworks shows. I kind of missed the fireworks, and was hoping to get to see them. I saw the tail end of the show in Rome, NY, but it was from about two miles away. Not quite the best seats in the house.

When I got to Chris and Gina's, I saw (left to right) Elizabeth, Adam, Heather, and Erik watching some tv. It's not the norm to see all four of them sitting still. They are SUCH busy kids. I just loved seeing this moment of peace. Drinking their morning juice. :)

It was, after all, Matthew's birthday on July 6th, so I was able to be there for his birthday party. It was SO nice! Lots of family around, an enormous cake (with PILES of icing), and a happy birthday boy who happened to eat NONE of the cake that he had specifically requested.
Ah... the joys of being eight.

Now, Chris and Gina's goal was to put in the flag pole quickly. Heck, with an aunt and grandparents around to help, it should be totally doable! Well, they didn't count for their own kids' deep-seated interest in what Mom and Dad are doing.

I think they did a GREAT job! It looks fabulous.

Grandma and Grandpa Decker... playing with Adam.

Locks of Love!

2006-05-10T19:19:00.000-04:00

I decided to cut off a hunk of hair and donate it to Locks of Love. They're a wonderful organization who make wigs for kids with alopecia areata and other diseases that cause them to lose their hair with no cost at all to the kids.

Wow. It's AMAZING what five years of procrastination and lack of decisionmaking can do. My hair had grown WAY past my waist, and it really was time to cut it. But I really love having longer hair, so I decided to just cut about 12-14 inches. Here's the before picture. I took it really quickly before I left work today:

And... here are the "after" shots:

Me with my disconnected ponytail at the beauty salon. :)

My self-portraits in the bathroom mirror:

OK, so it's not earth-shatteringly different, but it's not bad, is it? :) I know it'll be easier to put in a french twist or a bun! And my head feels like about 10 pounds of drag has been removed. (hee hee!)

I'm just going to have to get accustomed to the shorter length -- my mannerisms still go with the super-ultra-long hair. It's not as hard to push it off my shoulders any more. And it's SO much healthier!

The storefront

2006-04-18T22:27:00.001-04:00

It's not much to look at, but the bikes are awesome!

The logo, close up!

2006-04-18T22:27:00.000-04:00

OCC on an orange bike. :-) Seemed... right, somehow.

Military Bike

2006-04-18T22:25:00.001-04:00

Cory and the Christmas Bike

2006-04-18T22:25:00.000-04:00

Well, Cory looks thrilled, doesn't she? She couldn't get out of there fast enough.

Laurel and Camryn with the bikes

2006-04-18T22:24:00.000-04:00

The Christmas Bike

2006-04-18T22:23:00.001-04:00

it was too long of a bike to fit in one photo, but you get the idea.

The Yankees Bike

2006-04-18T22:23:00.000-04:00

The Livestrong Bike

2006-04-18T22:22:00.001-04:00

This bike was built for Lance Armstrong. I think it looks like a yellow jacket wasp!

How cool is this bike?

2006-04-18T22:22:00.000-04:00

OCC!

2006-04-18T22:21:00.000-04:00

Orange County Choppers' showroom is a few miles away from Laurel's house in Walden. We made sure to visit them!

Gotta love Midtown!

2006-04-18T22:20:00.000-04:00

On our way back to Madison Square Garden, you look left and boom! Empire State Building! Isn't it beautiful?

Rachael in Forrest Gump's Shoes

2006-04-18T22:19:00.000-04:00

They had some fun with these shoes. :-)

Dad & Jeanette at Bubba Gump's

2006-04-18T22:18:00.001-04:00

Dad and Jeanette on the bench at Bubba Gump's. Don't you love that they display the suitcase and box of chocolates? :-)

Inside Bubba Gump's

2006-04-18T22:18:00.000-04:00

Cory is wearing Forrest Gump's sneakers. :-)

The Fashion District

2006-04-18T22:17:00.000-04:00

I have always loved this icon announcing your entry into the Fashion district. An enormous needle and button. How perfect! And it's about halfway between Madison Square Garden and Times Square.

We also visited the World Trade Center Site.

2006-04-18T22:15:00.000-04:00

This is a remnant of the building that has been left in place. I believe they constructed the base specially for the cross. The whole site is pretty much empty now, and ready for something to happen.

Camryn Lynn

2006-04-18T22:13:00.000-04:00

Camryn could not care less about the Easter Egg Hunt, but she is really developing her own little personality. She is REALLY fun, and LOVES to giggle!

Eggs!

2006-04-18T22:12:00.000-04:00

Cory found them all! Great job!

I just like this shot.

2006-04-18T22:11:00.000-04:00

I really like how this shot came out. She's an adorable girl, isn't she?

Kinda like shooting fish in a barrel...

2006-04-18T22:10:00.000-04:00

The Easter Bunny must have been in a hurry! These eggs were kind of close together, and REALLY easy to find!

The Easter Egg Hunt!

2006-04-18T22:09:00.000-04:00

Cory did a great job of finding the eggs! And she had a lot of fun opening all those eggs. (The Easter Bunny left the plastic eggs and put coins inside.)

Camryn's getting so big!

2006-04-18T22:07:00.000-04:00

How cute is this little girl!!! :-) She's too adorable! And she was SUCH a trooper! She hardly cried at all, all day long!

Cory was Popping!

2006-04-18T22:06:00.000-04:00

Cory loved peeking over the seats on the train. She had to be reminded to use her "inside voice". (BAD Pop-Pop! You're not supposed to egg her on!)

Training Rachael

2006-04-18T22:05:00.000-04:00

I think Rachael got used to all the trains. What do you think? :-)

On the train again...

2006-04-18T22:03:00.000-04:00

Left to Right, this is Laurel (with Camryn), Cory, Jeanette, and Dad. This was on the New Jersey Transit train out of Penn Station. It was a good day, but it was a loooong day.

The Motorcycles in the Dome

2006-04-18T22:01:00.000-04:00

They had up to seven motorcycles in that dome at once. Again, I have some really cool video, but the limitations of the blog...

Elephants!

2006-04-18T21:58:00.000-04:00

The elephants were AWESOME! I got a video clip of one of them doing a "Soul Train Line". Unfortunately, I don't think I can upload video to this blog.

Camryn & Aunt Lynnie

2006-04-18T21:57:00.000-04:00

Is it me, or does Camryn look like she's actually watching the circus?

Laurel's gonna KILL me!

2006-04-18T21:55:00.000-04:00

She's gonna kill me!!! (help! help!)

I'm ready for my closeup...

2006-04-18T21:52:00.000-04:00

This is our friend Thea's daughter Rachael. Isn't she sooo cute with her clown nose and circus hat? I can't believe she's already eleven years old!

Cory Watching the Horses

2006-04-18T21:50:00.000-04:00

Cory was entralled and enraptured by the horses. She was SOOO cute!

The Dragon!

2006-04-18T21:48:00.000-04:00

This sucker had Cory pretty well freaked out! She was afraid he was going to make another appearance. He didn't, and she eventually relaxed again.

OK, this one's probably better

2006-04-18T21:46:00.000-04:00

OK, this photo is probably better, but I had to do some photo editing on it, since it was SO dark! The end result is a little strange, but it's a horse!

Horses!

2006-04-18T21:45:00.000-04:00

I tried time and time again to get a decent shot of the horses for Cory. NONE of them came out good. The lighting was conspiring against me! This is (I think) one of the best "horse" shots I got.

Another Juggler

2006-04-18T21:43:00.000-04:00

I have pretty much always wished I could juggle this well! I can't!

Juggler at the Pre-Show

2006-04-18T21:42:00.000-04:00

Here's one of the jugglers. We arrived to the pre-show about 15 minutes late, but it was so cool to be able to stand next to these guys when they were doing their thing!

We went to the Circus!

2006-04-18T21:34:00.000-04:00

We saw the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Madison Square Garden on April 15. It was great! I was quite surprised at the PRICES!

Bag of cotton candy: $12
Box of Popcorn: $7
Small bag of Cracker Jacks: $5
Big Gulp-sized soda with animal head lid: $9
Twirly-light toy: $20
Snow cone: $8

Needless to say, we didn't buy any of the snacks! Thankfully, we had just eaten lunch immediately prior to the show! (Yum, Bubba Gump!)

Is she... smiling?

2006-02-13T22:47:00.000-05:00

Do my eyes deceive me, or does it look like she's smiling? She's smiling more and more, and it's not always associated with gas, so it seems that she's learning about smiling. :-)

Daddy with Camryn

2006-02-13T22:45:00.000-05:00

Daddy hanging out with baby Camryn on Saturday.