Capital City

I am in Lincoln for the first time since early December. Mrs. Carr's house is sooooo dry, I feel as though I've been dried to a crisp. My eyes are dry, my skin, my lips, everything. I am doing computer work and dictation for Mrs. Carr so far, though she says she wants me to clean out her china closet. And I've been listening. Mrs. Carr enjoys talking, and she is very sure of her opinions. Guess who she is voting for? Ron Paul. I don't say much on that point, because if we were both so forceful, I wouldn't long be employed, and we sure wouldn't get along very well! She feeds me very well, though, so I really am not suffering. Last night we went to Panara Breads, and I had cheecy broccoli soup with a really good chicken sandwich- YUM! Coming from a family of nine, going out to eat means we go to MacDonald's and each get a dollar sandwich, so I am getting spoiled here.
Well, I will be going home tomorrow evening. Pray it won't snow!

Make the bed, shake the bed, and to bed we go

We are having guests tomorrow- a family from our Church with five children. They are staying until Sunday morning, so we had to clean the upstairs as well as the main floor. It's good that they are staying overnight, because we only clean the upstairs when we have guests, pretty much. If there's one thing I dislike about having overnight guests, though, it's making up all the beds and then washing all the sheets.

If we are feeling well, we "older" family members will be going to a lecture in Omaha on Jamestown, and some of the myths that surround the early American settlers. We've heard the speaker before and liked him, so if I take good enough notes I may have something substantial to share with you. I haven't posted anything educational in so long, I will make that my goal for the weekend- post a good post.

Sugar and Vegetables

I made a three layer chocolate cake today, wtih chocolate pudding as the filling and frosting. Oh, I love to bake sweets. Tomorrow being Sunday, we might have brownies- the half-baked kind.
But on Monday, oh ho, doom comes on Monday. We are going on a sugar free diet. Vegetables and fruits only. No meat, even. I know it will be hard. But it's not even for a long time- fruits and vegetables are too expensive, especially during the winter time, for us to be herbivores for long. Americans love to eat all the time, and it's a habit that is hard to break, in this land of plenty. I do try to shop and bake frugally- my general rule for baked goods is the recipe can't have more than one stick of butter or three eggs. I have trouble thinking generously when having to take dishes to parties or get-togethers. I tend to think in a stingy way; but my pride balances this out because I want people to enjoy my food. Yes, I'm a sinner.

We are watching the political debates on TV right now; the Republican Presidential candidatesare speaking. I have already decided who I am going to vote for in the primaries(unless my parents counsel me to vote for a different person), and being tired of and disgusted with the non-stop media coverage of the primaries, I am not paying too much attention. So don't bother to ask me detailed questions about the debate.

I WILL post today

I have been trying to post for the past few days, but by the time I get my blogger-create-post page up, I have to run and go do something else and am not able to get more computer time.

Welcome to 2008, everyone.
Our New Year's Eve traditions are to eat summer sausage, cheese and crackers, and to drink punch(non-alcoholic, of course) while talking about our goals for the coming year. And we are always in bed long before midnight! I think we only use our punch bowl once a year, on New Year's Eve. We also go over last year's goals to see what we have accomplished. The main goal for 2008 is to pack up our house and move; that's a big job when you've been living in the same house for 15 years. We haven't listed our house yet, but we are starting to clean and pack nonetheless, because if we don't start now we won't be ready when the time comes. So far, we have cleaned out the pantry and the library. We easily have two thousand books or more, even after we got rid of several hundred.

Have I mentioned before that we are planning on moving this year? If not, surprise!

It's Cold

With the great privilege of having access to high speed internet here at work,
comes
great suffering because we don't run the heater so as to save gas money.

We've had a busy weekend! On Friday we three girls went to the Nutcracker ballet in Omaha. It was good; there were some new effects and costumes. Of course Jen is a better ballerina than any of those dancers! We also went to the Durham Western Heritage museum's Ethnic festival. Durham is always a fun place to go, and they have great Christmas festivals- beautiful decorations, good music, entertainment, and food. Jen got her picture taken with a man in a kilt.

Saturday morning we woke up to a thick coat of ice outside. We were fine with that until we lost our electricity. We were without power for more than twenty-four hours. It made for a long day! It's amazing the things you can't do without electricity. It was too dark to read much; I couldn't bake; there was no computer, no light, no music, no running water, etc. We got on eachother's nerves a little bit since we were all mostly in the same three rooms with little to do. All of us are so glad we have a wood stove for heat- we kept nice and warm, at least. The drive to Church was a bit tense, but we did get there alright, even though the roads weren't cleared yet. After Church we all went to listen to Handal's "Messiah" at the Holland Performing arts Center. It got a little long for the little boys, but we all enjoyed it. There's a lot wrong with America, but being able to listen to people singing the praise of God in a public place is wonderful to hear, and very reassuring.
Sunday was also my birthday. Eeek.
By the time we got home on Sunday, the power was back on. I spent Monday doing all the things I was supposed to do on Saturday, and today I'm at work, and book club and Legion Auxiliary meetings are today.

We sometimes have a Sunday afternoon treat of brownies- soft, gooey brownies, not completely baked. We love them. Jonny wanted to "help" me make them the last time we had them. You know that all the helper really wants to do is sample the dough before it gets into the oven. So after we had mixed up the black goo, we tasted it. While we were doing that, the fork we had used to stir it up with kept sinking deeper and deeper into the dough. Then Jonny said casually: "The fork is drowning." And then he burst out laughing at himself for saying such a silly thing. It was so cute how he said it. He is so cute!

There's not much news on this front; we had a great Thanksgiving, but NE lost the football game. Now we are all trying to avoid the seasonal sicknesses. Tonight is our political discussion group and I still haven't gotten around to researching Fred Thompson! Horrors.

My time away

Does anyone want to know what it was really like at Ft. Bragg?

I went to Ft. Bragg, NC to work as a nanny for a Army family with four young children. My job there only lasted two and a half months, from August until the end of October, when the father of the family returned home from Iraq. I didn't do the work for pay, but as a ministry. I got room and board and the experience of being a servant. Frankly, it was tough, and it was tough because the mother had totally different expectations as to what I would be like and what I would be doing, than I did. I was so lonely. On my last night there she told me details of how she had been dissatisfied with me, and in emails since she has told even more details. How depressing! She has such a totally bad opinion of me, and was so dissatisfied with my work, I think she felt like I did more harm than good in my time there.

So, it was hard- it was good in that it was a learning experience. It's still on-going, too. I never want to see her again! I never want to speak to her again! I never want to email her again! But I know that attitude is wrong, and I know I was at fault too, and I need to forgive her for how she has hurt me. That's where things stand right now.