Freeze-Out!

Last night we had a small-itty-bitty ice storm. Why is this notable? My poor youngest son is on a scout camp appropriately called "The Freeze-out!" I'm at home, snug and warm and he is in the mountains freezing his tush! Poor kid! It'll toughen him up, do you think?

On another note, Lincoln and I went to a movie last night. Blind Side. I think it is the best movie I've seen in a long time. I cried from the beginning to the end, very touching . . . and makes you reevaluate what being a "Christian" is all about. SEE IT, if you feel so inclined, I don't think you'll regret it.

Out of our element

Last night Lincoln asked me if I would go with him to a funeral viewing/service for a co-worker's son who had passed away over the Christmas break. I know he was gritting his teeth when he asked because I've turned him down for just such occasions before. I decided to go. What an interesting experience!

The first things that met us at the funeral parlor doors were: a cloud of cigarette smoke, and a set of really nice looking Harley Davidson Motorcycles. Open the doors, and what greeted us was what looked like a Harley Davidson Motorcycle convention. Harley clothing, long beards, long hair, (one guy had hair down to his behind!), tattoos, piercings, jeans, leathers, and Harley t-shirts. Lincoln had chosen to wear his full military uniform, and I thankfully, at the last minute chose not to wear a dress, but had on a very prim and trim pantsuit! Talk about sticking out like a sore thumb!

They were passing out strips of orange material, that most everyone had attached to themselves in one way or another. I finally got up enough courage to ask what they were for . . . . apparently a motorcycle club tradition . . . . it was a favorite t-shirt of the deceased, torn up in strips to wear in his honor. We were made to feel welcome by Lincoln's co-worker and I must say that even though the garb might be different from a funeral for one of our loved-ones, the feelings were the same . . . . a sense of loss, and a sense of love and reunion for all those involved. In the end, there wasn't much of a difference between us after all!

Our Christmas

Christmas, in our family, starts on Christmas Eve. We all get together to eat and to open up our Christmas jammies. Here the kids are measuring McKay's growth over the year. I think he is finally beginning to make some progress!
The eating . . .

more eating . . . .
The cousins are always sooooo excited to unwrap their jammies. They got them all lined up according to age. The youngest goes first.
Here they are in showing off their gifts!
Lincoln won't be serious for a picture so I thought I'd get back at him and post one of his silly faces. In pictures that McKay and I looked good in, he was making a face and vice-a-versa. . . .
Mom and Dad.
The Bainters, also having a hard time getting a picture with no funny faces!!
Christmas morning, which was sooooo weird with only one child at home. McKay chose to break with tradition and have all of his "Santa" gifts wrapped this year.
Santa scored! Santa was nervous that McKay would be happy with his gifts because they took up such a small space in his bag.
And WHEW! Christmas is OVER!!!!!! we made it through another year!

Merry Christmas!!!

Snowed in!

Today is Sunday and there is no church because of the snow. We just were participants in the greatest snowfall in December in Maryland since the 1920's!! I was laying on the couch in our front room and loved what I was seeing. An indoor/outdoor wonderland.
We received anywhere from 12" to 18" I'd say! WOW!

Snow plows still have not come and the storm started Friday night. Our neighborhood has to hire a private snow-plow to come through and plow. The few of them that do hire out are probably super-duper busy! So we really are snowed in, unless Lincoln and a few neighbors decide to go out and shovel the street. I've been in my pajamas for a day and a half now . . . . and deciding whether or not to get dressed today . . . . .
Lincoln had already cleared off the sidewalks and car . . . . it doesn't look like he even touched the car . . . but it was clear yesterday afternoon. Fun times!

(two posts today . . . . . see below)

A New Life

McKay recently received his scouting rank of "Life"!! And he hasn't even turned 14 yet. This is a record in our household. The next rank is Eagle and he is well on his way to that. We need to get him finished before his next interest becomes "girls" and "driving"!!! Way to go McKay!
Here is McKay with his scoutmaster, in which we owe his rank to, and one of his good friends, Lawry.
Pinning his mom, (me) with the mother's badge.
A good looking bunch of boys! There has been a push to get all the boys to where a full uniform. It's hard to do when these boys are growing so fastly! Their scoutmaster is a blur in this picture . . . . it represents to me all that he is doing for these boys! He's a great scoutmaster!Congrats! McKay!

tHe NuTcRaCkEr

Trudy called me and gave me the opportunity to go with her to The Nutcracker. I jumped at the chance. One thing I love about living in this area is that high quality productions are close at hand and if you want to, you can partake in them.
We went to the matinee, in the afternoon, and so we started our trip off early in the day. We took the metro down to the Federal Triangle stop in DC. I love this metro stop. You come up out of the ground to some grand old buildings. We saw a sign on the Ronald Reagan building that said they had a food court, so we went in to have lunch. We found Sushi!!!! Yummmm!

My Sis!
The Warner Theatre is absolutely GORGEOUS! This is just the entry way. We stepped into a world that two country girls had never seen before . . . . mothers with small little prim and proper daughters, grandmothers surrounded with grandchildren, sisters with sisters, friends with friends. A sea of red clothing (neither of us had on red!) a regular Christmas festival! We were wishing we had Trudy's daughters with us! (maybe next year????)
Since we couldn't take pictures during the ballet, here are some pics of the Theatre.
Waiting for the ballet . . . . . .
The chandelier . . . . .
The opening scenery. The scenery was beautiful. It was amazing how they changed scenery without any stop in flow at all. This was truly a magical, AMAZING production! The time went by so quickly, I couldn't believe it.
Goofing around . . . . .
This is truly a ballet of fantasy, with dancing mice (so cute!), nutcrackers, rat kings, soldiers, bunnies, red coat rats, snow queens, snow flakes, snow angels, sugar plum fairies, butterflies, mushrooms, bees, frogs, spanish dancers, chinese dancers, fishermen, clowns, cherry blossums, hot air balloons, merry-go-rounds and more . . . . . . Even though this is a German story, it had been set in Washington DC and if you were observant (as Trudy pointed out) you could see distinctly DC-like paintings and scenery! I thought I knew the music, but didn't hear anything familiar until the second act!
THANK YOU TRUDE!!!!!

Christmas Card dilemma

I love Christmas cards. I love to make them. I love to get them. I usually send them to people I don't get to connect with on a daily or weekly basis. Extended family and the like. (If you've moved and haven't sent me your address, (LORA!) then you haven't received yours yet!) This year I put a lot of effort into my cards. They are very simple, they were very time consuming! I loved every second of putting them together. BUT . . . . every year I go through this dilemma . . . . .

This year I've only received two cards up to today. I'm convinced that every year (even though I send them every year) people wait until the receive mine to send me one back. Maybe I'll try an experiment next year (not a chance!) and see what happens if I send nothing. Will I be put on everyone's naughty list and not get anything????? Usually I get enough cards to make a garland-like chain around 2 doorways . . . . . my two cards aren't going very far this year :) Maybe it's the recession. . . . cards are too expensive . . . . postage even more expensive . . . . it's the one stress you've decided to cut out of your life this year . . . . . . don't worry, be happy!

A post like this could bite a person in the hinder-most-quarters. I know there is someone out there saying "I didn't get a card from her!" Can't send them to everyone . . . . . sorry! send me your address. . . . . . I'll add you to my list, but only if you add me to yours!

Remember when?

Saturday mornings used to be the best day of the week for me and my siblings. Saturday cartoons were what I looked forward to all week. I went to bed early on Friday so that I could get up super early for the cartoons that would be on on Saturday! Kids don't know what they are missing. They have cartoons all day, everyday . . . so I guess they aren't really missing anything . . . . just the anticipation of Saturday morning!

WELL!!!!! Do you remember school house rock? The other day McKay was having trouble with conjunctions, and what do you think popped into my head? Conjunction, Junction, what's your function! I learned so much from these little videos. They really are genius aren't they? I think I'll be using more of these in the future.

A DC experience

I am thinking about going to this . . . . . anyone interested in going also?

It is December 15, at 1:00 in the afternoon on Capitol Hill and it is to protest the upcoming passage of the Healthcare bill.

For more info click here.

In search of my dream

For the past year or two I've had my eye out for a used baby grand piano. Last week, I was super excited to find one on e-bay that was within driving distance. You know how anticipation can be greater than the real thing? Well, I anticipated, and anticipated the playing of this piano. I imagined in my mind it having a beautiful tone, the seller not knowing what a gem she had on her hands, and then talking her down to an astronomically low price.

I made an appointment for Sunday afternoon. I even told a couple of my piano students about my excitement because I just couldn't hold it in. Sunday arrived and I took a drive over the Wilson Bridge to go see my new baby! I walked into the room and there sat an absolutely beautiful baby grand piano. BEAUTIFUL! I'm sure I had great eagerness in my eyes! I'm sure I had a little hunger in my eyes also! The lady told me how she was a self-taught pianist, how she searched and searched for the perfect piano, but just needed the room for an office so she could work at home, she added the she had become "disenchanted" with piano playing recently. After telling me the piano had been recently tuned she left me to play to my heart's content. After 15 seconds, no, maybe 10 seconds . . . . . well . . . . .maybe 5 seconds, I could tell why she was "disenchanted" with playing the piano! With that hunk-of-junk I'd be disenchanted also! I couldn't decide whether to spend a decent amount of time pretending to be interested in the piano or just call her back to the room and get out of there! I decided to cut my losses and run. I don't know who was more disappointed . . . . . her or me! That piano will make someone, someday, a great piece of furniture!

Official Declaration

Today I declare that I am officially throwing myself out of the Christmas "frumps" club. To start, I've changed my blog skin . . . . . I was protesting Christmas by not changing it. I WILL go shopping and make my first gift purchase of the season. This week I will get my Christmas decorations out of their boxes and set up. This week I will start planning to help my family have the Christmas spirit. I will start playing Christmas music in the house. I will send out my Christmas cards (YIKES!!!! I can't believe I haven't sent them already!!!) And to top it all off (thanks to my sister!) I'll go and see "The Nutracker" for the very first time at the end of the week. A small dream come true. I'M SO EXCITED!!!! Thoughts of a little sister-time has finally got me up and going! yahoo!

All Aboard!

Next stop is Christmas. In my opinion this is a holiday that I would love to take a sleeping pill and wake up when it is all over. I like Christmas, I just don't like the stress . . . . and the expectations . . . . and the commercialism . . . . . . . and Santa . . . . . and spending money . . . . . . and the decorations . . . . . and the shopping . . . . . and . . . . and . . . . Last year I didn't get my decorations up until the 12th of December. Lincoln took it upon himself to get everything up the weekend of Thanksgiving. Well . . . . at least the stuff he could do. He put the lights on the house, put up the Christmas tree and dragged me and McKay to decorate it. He pulled out the boxes of household decorations and the nativity scenes for me to put up. They are still in their boxes, waiting!

About the only thing I DO like is Christmas cards. I've been working on mine for months. I'm not quite finished with them . . . . . but I'll leave THAT for another post! (for you out-of-towners, (out of my town) of whom I don't have an address . . . . figure a way to get it to me . . . . . and I'll add you to my list!)

Thanksgiving Fun

This Thanksgiving, for me, was one of the best ever (and the worst ever). How come the best and the worst have to come in pairs so often? Could it have something to do with if you had no pain you wouldn't know what joy is? The only bad part was not having my 4 family members with us (Justin, Chancy, Halley and Ryan). The rest was pure joy. I can't remember a day when I've laughed so hard or had so much fun in a long time. Here's what our day included:

The men carving the turkey . . . . this is a tradition for us . . .

Family around the table . . . .
The food! Wow, we are good cooks!


Painting and glittering of toe-nails!

My poor mom is going to have a hard time getting rid of the glitter in her house!


The finished product . . . . .
Decorating "ginger" bread houses . . . . .

Our "ginger" village complete with dads rendition of a geodesic dome house!

Game playing in which we laughed until it hurt!


And last, but not least our long-time standing tradition of singing Christmas carols around the piano. We didn't even start singing until 10 p.m. Where did all the time go?????

It felt really weird to have only one of our children with us. Hopefully in years to come we will be able to get together again . . . . . only time will tell!

Lucky me!

Last Saturday I had my Fall piano recital. This recital was a lot smaller than most of my recitals have been and so I decided to take a little time before each student performed and share with the audience something unique about them. The whole process made me so thankful that I have a part in each one of their lives. Even though I do this for extra income, I feel it is a contribution to society to help build the lives of young people (and even the adults I teach!) I feel honored to be their teacher and that I get to spend quality time with each of them each week.

Being a piano teacher is the best of all worlds. I get to choose my own hours, work at home, do something I love, and enrich others lives. I can be having a down day, and after piano lessons I have a smile back on my face. LOVE IT!

On Thanksgiving

Yesterday I took a nap in the middle of the day. I set my alarm so that I would only sleep 30 minutes. Our alarm wakes us up to music not a buzzer. As I was waking up, the announcer said "happy genocide week." WHAT???!!! I had never heard this phrase, and it bothered me for several hours. It is still bothering me. Do people really look at Thanksgiving as the day as the day we celebrate the near annihilation of the American Indians? How sick is this. Okay, okay, I know there is probably an element of truth to this, BUT, why do people try to ruin every holiday that comes along. I've seen more of this since living in this area. I HAVE spent the last 10 years in this area so maybe more of this is going on everywhere than I know of.

Halloween has become "satan's birthday." Christmas break has become the "holiday" break . . . . and you know all that comes along with that one. Easter isn't really Easter, because the calendar is wrong, and now Thanksgiving is a celebration of genocide??

So here is my plea . . . . let Thanksgiving be just what it is meant to be, a day of Thanksgiving! (I'm sure there are a good many of our Native American friends doing JUST that!)

(Note: spellcheck wants me to capitalize satan! I refuse . . . . got to take a stand somewhere!)

Thankful for Humor

Have you ever seen one of these babies . . . . . ?It is a Body Mass Index chart. It is supposed to let you know if you are underweight, just right, at risk of being over weight or overweight.

I went to lunch with Lincoln the other day. In the area where his office is, there is a chart like this hanging on the wall. After looking at it, I found out that I am "at risk" of being overweight. Just next-door to being overweight . . . . . it took me by surprise . . . . . I don't like this chart! Have you ever seen one of those pictures where a skinny girl is standing in front of a mirror and all she sees is fat?
WELL! Maybe I'm a reverse of this image. I looked and looked but couldn't find an appropriate (aka, one that I'd post!) picture of an "at risk" overweight person standing on a scale thinking she is thin when really she is just the opposite!. . . . . . . I read the numbers on my scale and think Nah! Can't be! I need to throw that blasted thing away! . . . . . along with the chart!

Humor aside . . .. . I think this chart would be great for 20-year olds . . . . but they should have one for 30's, 40's and 50's and beyond . . . . . doesn't body maturity count for anything????? It should!

An Easy Thank You

On this the Sabbath day . . . . . I'm taking the easy way out and letting OTHER people say what they are thankful for . . . . . (and thanks Debby for the link!)

A LaZy Thanks

Sometimes it pays to be slothful. Last night when Lincoln came home from work, I had just gotten up from a two-hour nap. Not a surprise! because I hadn't gotten to bed until 3 a.m. that morning. Usually when Lincoln gets home I have dinner pretty much on the table because I have to plan WAY ahead, because of my piano lessons, to get everything in the oven or crock pot early. It is weird that on Friday, my piano-lesson-free days, I usually don't have anything ready when Lincoln gets home . . . . . and I have plenty of time to do it!

How does it pay to be slothful? When Lincoln didn't smell any dinner in the works, he said, "let's go out to eat tonight." Music to my ears! Woo Hoo! I am thankful for slothfulness!

A CrAzY Thanks

Okay, why is this underlining everything? I can't get rid of it so here goes!

I would have never thought of doing this: The midnight showing of "New Moon"!

This is our book club. Since the opening night of New Moon was on the same night as book club, Stephanie (thank you Stephanie!) had the idea to go to dinner to "discuss" our book and to go to the movie. We didn't "discuss"(!!!!) our book very much, and had to yell over the live band at the restaurant . . . . . . I have to say it was a wonderful time with amazing ladies. I didn't actually eat dinner . . . . . I had a big . . . .fat . . . . warm . . . . moist . . . . fudgy . . . . brownie with ice cream on the side . . . . yummmmmmmmmmm.

Here we are waiting in line for the movie. I didn't get into bed until just before 3 a.m. this morning. I can't believe I'm up already. McKay was up and busy doing school work when I got up (he started an hour early today) you've got to be kidding me!

Seeing the movie with a theater full of teenagers is quite an experience. It made me laugh in all the wrong places, because they were laughing in all the wrong places. (or was I just not getting it? probably!!!). What a fun night . . . . . and Native American men ROCK! Go Jacob!