I'm NOT an intellectual but DOGGONE IT I'm gonna finish the Book!

About 18 years ago I was at a conference (I think it was Congress '89 in Boston) and one of the speakers at a seminar mentioned a book called The Closing Of the American Mind by Allan Bloom. I thought
"sometime I want to read that book!" A few weeks ago on our way home from Virginia I bought it cheap at a yard sale and I was so excited that finally I was going to read it! Well I'm more than halfway through the book and I'm still hoping for a page, maybe even a paragraph that I CAN UNDERSTAND! Mr. Bloom has written the book assuming a person knows all about Socrates, Plato and all the other philosophers from long ago. And he uses BIG words and some words I can't even pronounce!!! But I will finish the book! BECAUSE I'M NOT A QUITTER! (is that with two t's or one?)...There's something in me that won't let me just put the book on the shelf and forget about it...I HAVE to finish it! Mmmm...maybe in my subconscious I'm hoping someone will ask me if I've ever read the book and I'll be able to say YES and THEN THEY'LL THINK I'M SO SMART and intellectual.....oh but then I'll have to cut the conversation short when they start using big words and ask me to expound on Socrates or one of his pals....Well I'm still gonna finish the book..the next chapter is called "The Sixties"..maybe I'll understand something there.
I must confess there was a recent book I DIDN'T finish! I was reading a book called Gettysburg and was halfway through when it was brought to my attention that the book was written AS IF the South won the Civil War! I thought something was funny when it seemed the battle of Gettysburg only took up half the book...Well I do like historical novels (i.e. books by Brock and Bodie Thoene)...but I don't like books that re-write history! Shame on you Newt Gingrich! So I felt I was completely within my rights in my mind to NOT finish that book and promptly return it to the library.

Special Ingredients

Earlier today I went to the health food store to pick up an item or two. I also noticed a flyer they had concerning vaccines and what's really contained in them. FYI, here's the ones they listed...ammonium sulfate (suspected gastrointestinal, liver, nerve and respiratory system poison; beta-propiolactone (known to cause cancer); latex rubber (can cause life-threatening allergic reaction AND NOTE when babies are hours or days old it is impossible to know if they have an allergy); MSG (a neurotoxin); aluminum; formaldehyde; micro-organisms (live and killed viri and bacteria or their toxins); polysorbate 80 (known to cause cancer in animals); mercury; neomycin sulfate (antibiotic that interferes with Vitamin B6); human and animal cells from aborted fetal tissue...etc. etc...there's a few more, but that's probably enough to list....YIKES!
Another FYI listed: by 6 months a baby can receive up to 45 injected vaccines; by 18 months 64 injected vaccines; by 4-6 years 74 injected vaccines...and these numbers are CONSERVATIVE! AND there are over 200 additional vaccines in development! Yikes AGAIN....I gotta go hug a baby!!!!

High Heels in the Bathtub

It's amazing what can happen in the short time I take to slap on a little makeup and try to look decent enough to be seen in public to do a little food shopping. When I was done, I found Blane's sock drawer invaded, a high heel shoe in the bathtub, Isaac running around with my spare toothbrush, and MY hairbrush missing that I THOUGHT I had put in my bag to take with me! Oh, and the matching high heel shoe in the backyard that Isaac was holding when I brought him outside to put him in the swing so I could hang up some wash...I'm contemplating just letting the shoe rot in the backyard and not losing any sleep over it....They're considered my "cruel shoes" that I only wear when absolutely necessary. It doesn't always pay to buy cheap shoes! Maybe the other high heel can be left in the bathtub as a bath toy??

Drugs, drugs, drugs!

Did that title catch your eye? Well I'm beyond tired of seeing so many drug commercials on TV! If I "asked my doctor" (like the commercials suggest) about EVERY drug I hear about, I'd be charged for two appts instead of one because I'd take up so much time listing them all! Just a thought, but I'm wondering if the Pharmaceutical companies are feeling the competition with the more natural, alternative methods coming out so they're trying to crank out more drugs and get MORE customers...and with drugs, comes side effects, so then sometimes people have to get yet another drug to offset that and so on! AAHHHHHH!!!!!
Yes, some drugs are necessary but not to the degree that they're pushed these days and shouldn't be advertised as replacements for making healthy lifestyle changes. If I can, one of these days, I'm going to keep the tv on all day and try to list from one channel ALL the times a drug or drugs are advertised...

Post Second Haircut...

My sister-in-law Wendy Harlacher cut Isaac's hair...yeah!!

Pre-Second Haircut

Smoke On The Mountain Homecoming

Blane surprised me by taking me to Allenberry Playhouse to see "Smoke On The Mountain Homecoming." I was so excited! Three years ago we saw "Smoke On The Mountain" and I thought it was the best, most enjoyable musical comedy I'd ever seen. We both agreed last night's performance still came in second to the first, but we enjoyed it SO Much! It's full of hilarity and mixed with Blue Grass Gospel music and tidbits of heartwarming stories. The setting is Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church, a small rural church in 1945 "where the doors of Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church swing on hinges of welcome!" It involves a singing family, except for one daughter who doesn't sing but "signs" the words, which is hysterical because she obviously comes up with her own signs at times and exaggerates them. I would HIGHLY recommend seeing both "Smoke On The Mountain" and "Smoke On The Mountain Homecoming" if it's ever in your area! It will give you an "All Is Right With The World" kind of feeling for the evening and you will feel so refreshed. I'd see it again and again!
Blane drives by the Playhouse on his way to work and back and saw what was playing. What a wonderful anniversary present from him! He wanted to first take me to J.C.'s Country Cafe right near the playhouse and walk around the beautiful pond in Boiling Springs...but the cafe was closed so we ended up at a Red Robin eating burgers...which was fine too! Maybe another day we can take a walk around the pond and feed the ducks.
We picked up Isaac at my sister's a little after 10pm. Wendy and all the kids with Isaac on her lap were sitting together on the couch looking at a book. What a sweet picture that was! I didn't get a picture, but just try to picture it in your mind and say "ahhhhh how sweet!" 'cause it really was.
Well our doors here at Oak Lane aren't much to look at, but they do "swing on hinges of welcome" if you're ever in the area. :)

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Today is our 4th Anniversary! Blane gave me a sweet card and a little bag of Dove chocolate covered almonds before he left for work...the bag says 3.5 servings. They're gone! They were gone within the hour! So much for self-control. I'll drop Isaac off around 5pm at my sister's house and meet Blane at my parent's...not sure what Blane has planned and I do like surprises! ...more later...

Marshmallow Arms

When we were younger, we used to call my grandmother's arms "marshmallow arms"...the tricep area, because it was so soft and jiggly and we loved to feel it. Well, I made a shocking discovery about 2 weeks ago that I was getting marshmallow arms....not as big or as much as my grandmother but still it's there. I noticed it jiggling when I was waving to someone. I also discovered that if I tense my arm now while waving, it's not as jiggly, but something must be done! Today I started exercising the tricep area by doing "backward pushups" on a chair by pushing up with my arms to straighten them. Of course Isaac wanted to try to and he even tried counting like I did. He also pushed me away from the chair so he could try. What a crack up! So far my bicep area is fine, as long as I keep lifting Isaac on occasion and he keeps gaining weight. Of course he might start complaining when he gets older, "Mom, PLEASE! Put Me DOWN! I'm 15, I can walk by myself now!"

Two weeks ago we were in Virginia. Here we're at Thomas Jefferson's home (Monticello) which offers tours of the home, grounds, etc. In this picture Isaac is thinking "Forget the tours people, let's just run, run, RUN!!"

My main men!

So how IS that yogurt today?

Just reminiscing....isn't he sweet?....He still is, just moves around a lot more now... then he was about 2 months..now he's 18 months...

Today was my sister's birthday (Happy Birthday Wendy!) and the annual Gross Reunion (Blane's mom's side of the family). It seemed like a smaller crowd this year but one of his aunts told me about 99 people were signed up. I tried to video-tape a little bit for Blane's mom who is still recovering from cancer treatment and stem cell transplant in the hospital. I wasn't too good at it though and hope it doesn't give her a headache to look at it...it's very shaky...We actually won some choc. chip peanut butter brownies in the cake walk!!!! Yeah!! I was so excited I should have been on the Price is Right jumping up and down!! Ha ha...Not that I NEED to eat brownies..it's just fun to win...A lady walks around and stops in front of someone when the music stops and declares the winner. I considered just grabbing her ankles so she wouldn't move...but instead tried to stall her by asking the time, hoping the music would stop....well we won anyway...

Living The Dream

I jokingly see myself as a "late bloomer"...My sister is 6-1/2 years younger than me but in some ways I'm 10 years behind her. I got married 10 years after she did, and had a baby about 10 years after she had her first (although I don't think at this point I'm considering having 5 children). So finally I'm "living the dream"....being a wife and mother and able to stay at home and take care of Isaac. I can't help at times getting stuck in the "if onlys"....if only I met Blane 20 years ago so we could have a house ful of kids, if only I was younger 'cause it's inevitable that as time goes by I will on a more regular basis be mistaken for Isaac's grandmother and not his mother (it's happened once already)...but it's starting to be a losing battle trying to look younger than I am now...if only I didn't have to share the house with constant crumbs and dust bunnies claiming squatter's rights!! Another losing battle! Oh well....to combat that all I need to do is walk into my sleeping boy's room and spend some time watching him sleep and be thankful for the millionth time today for our little gift God gave us, our little rascally angel. Some day there won't be crumbs and dust and clutter and I'll miss it ...so I'll treasure today as I pick up dominoes in the kitchen, Elmo in the office, and pieces of clothing on every piece of furniture.....time to switch the laundry....yeah livin' the dream....

Isaac likes to wear hats...especially big ones that are easy for him to put on...I can't find his hat...

A Recently Read book

The other day I recently finished a book called Vaccination, Social Violence, and Criminality:The Medical Assault on the American Brain by Harris L. Coulter. Very eye-opening. It makes a strong case for the possibility that childhood vaccinations could very well contribute to the rise in crime and violence in society today. It talks a lot about the side effect of encephalitis in vaccinations that can cause a variety of neurological problems - from the minor to the major- ADHD, seizures, autism,...on and on...and personality changes...the book is written as a hypothesis, but makes one think, given the statistics provided and personal accounts from parents and doctors. Personally, Blane and I decided not to go any further with vaccinations after Isaac turned 6 months and we wish we had stopped sooner or not had them at all...that is our personal feeling. We are so thankful that Isaac did not seem to suffer any side effects from the ones he did receive and so far he has been a very healthy little boy. I'm still reading up more on the vaccination issue and eventually would like to do some reading by Dr. Sherri Tenpenny who has written books and I believe has a DVD out. We also watched a 2 hr DVD by Mary Tocco...very informative. She is not a dr. but has been an independent researcher into the vaccination programs for over 27 years. Oh the things you don't think about until you're parents! I still want to read up more on this issue...there is no "magic" time to get your child vaccinated...so I continue to "research".....I realized the 2-4-6mth..and so on appts. for child vaccinations is merely set more for the dr's convenience...so if you're wondering what to do and have questions...you should not feel pressured to vaccinate..just go with your heart and take the time to decide, in the meantime, your child's immune system is working on its own building up naturally! :)

I'm not sure how often I'll be able to "blog" but I will give it a try...right now Isaac is sitting in his high chair eating apple sauce..so it's safe to hop on for a bit...then definitely time for a bath for him...because I'm sure the applesauce will join the other foods already part of his hair...
I didn't get much done today and in fact the house looks even worse...but I had unexpected guests and that's all right! John and Nancy Chase in the area from Colorado. I think they stayed from about 1:30 to 4pm...they called about 20 min. before arriving, which gave me enough time to throw my contacts in my eyes, throw on a little makeup and brush my hair and sort of straighten up at least the living room...we had a nice visit.
Nancy is now cancer free after so many years of battling cancer that kept coming back...she attributes it to the use of a Rife Machine that deals with frequencies in our body, and she has been able to help other people with various illnesses and is now a wellness consultant. Wow! Just look up www.rifemiracle.com for info. It very well may be worth purchasing some day!
I guess that's it for now....