Words Mean Things

From the Mom Files: vintage July, 2008.  A look back, at a topic that's always fresh in our parenting journey.  Check out little two-year-old William! Goodness, how time has flown!  But, this post is still so much of what I still think about when raising our children. And -- now -- in watching our little grandbaby grow and learn, too.


Our two-year-old was rudely stopped mid-cavort across the dining room floor the other day because he'd stepped on a dreaded goat head. No matter how hard we try to keep the floors swept here, no matter how hard we try to enforce the "shoes-off-at-the-door" policy, we just can't keep the dang things out of the house. And, oh, man, do they hurt to step on!

So, our little guy, having unfortunately stumbled onto one, let out a Yowl, of course, followed by this pieced together junior tirade of frustration: "Goathead foot hurt! Again! Again! Again!" (Which is the translation of what really sounded more like: "Goheed foot hoot! 'Geen! 'Geen! 'Geen!")

I couldn't help but smile as I scooped him up to pluck out the sticker and kiss his dirty little foot. What tickled me, though, was not an inappropriately wicked sense of humor (Really!), but the fact that William had understood and used the concept of "again" so perfectly. Isn't it amazing?

I love it! I love watching the world come together for the children, and I love listening to them learn to communicate about it. The good and the not-so-good. And even dumb old goatheads. Little ones learn language so easily, with so much serendipity, really, it's nothing short of miraculous. Just two and a half short years ago, this little boy could not hold his head up by himself. And now he understands and can communicate abstract concepts! It's amazing!

And, scary, too, in a way. Little ones listen to us more closely than we realize sometimes. Not just the simple meanings of words impress themselves on those little ears, but nouances and subtleties that we adults take for granted ~ until we hear them out of the mouths of our babes.

"Tomorrow is always a long time," my four year old has told me, understanding the full meaning of that concept more clearly, I think, than we adults do in our hurry. How easily I say to him, "I don't have time now; let's do it tomorrow. Or later." He knows I'm missing the boat I think. Gabey understands that tomorrow really is a long way off. How important it is to make now as important to me as it is to my little four-year-old ~ and as important as it is to Our Heavenly Father, who judges me on every single now.

Have you noticed how differences between Like, Love, and Hate become part of the children's lexicons very early on, in their hearts and on their tongues? William "yikes" cookies, but he "yuvs" Mommy and Daddy, and, incidentally, anybody who gives him a cookie... If we pay attention, we can't help but hear the constant learning process going on, and it can be sobering to realize how we parents communicate our values in our daily actions and communication.

In saying the rosary, the little ones learn early that Mary and Jesus are people we love very much. Why on earth would we spend so much time saying their names over and over again if we didn't? If we speak words of Faith ~ our prayers, the names of the saints, references to the Mass ~ with a smile on our lips, the smallest child understands that these are beloved things. If we say, "We get to go to Jesus' House this morning!" instead of "Hurry up! We have to go to church!" children get the meaning very clearly.

Likewise, in family life, the long term relationship amongst siblings can be determined early by how Mama and Daddy speak of brothers and sisters to one another. If we repeat over and over again, starting in infancy, "Your brother/sister loves you so much. Isn't God good to have given you to each other?" we set up an expectation and responsibility in each child that can only lead to good. Along the same lines, if we praise a child's good behaviour by saying, "Look what a wonderful example that was for your little brother/sister?" or "Look at the baby! I bet she learned to say 'please' by listening to you, didn't she?" we begin a habit of good associations that can help bridge the years of petty squabbles every family's bound to have.

Of course, conversely, if we slip into the habit of comparisons, or criticisms, they learn to be negative and jealous. Children learn charity, or the lack of it, with the same eyes and ears.

I was drawn up short one day, when one of our children said she didn't ever want to go to Mexico because there were so many illegal aliens there. I have to admit, that at first I laughed about that. It really was a pretty funny line... But then I felt terrible that through our conversation, we had unwittingly given her the impression that she was not supposed to like Mexico ~ that Mommy and Daddy had a grudge against Mexico, and that whatever illegal aliens might be, they were something to dislike. And while I have grave misgiving about some of the immigration policies in our country, I truly mean no grudge against the Mexican people. Some of my favorite people are Mexican and I admire the special love Mexico has traditionally held for the Faith. Nevertheless, I had inadvertently started my daughter down a path to bigotry against these people. My unguarded tongue and lack of complete explanation had misguided her.

It's easy to make the same mistake when discussing individuals. Gossip is such a natural and easy trap to get caught in, almost everyone is guilty of it sometimes. We often don't even realize we're doing it. Like most extended families, ours struggles with fallen-away family members, and some who have a difficult time fighting off the temptations of the world. And we do talk about it, oftentimes without the care we should. The children need to understand that following the examples of these loved ones is worse than riding a unicycle on the edge of a cliff. But, there's also a fine line between passing on a warning and passing along scandal.

One of the best ways we've found to try and prevent crossing that line is to talk about bad examples with the children, not in front of them. It's always best to avoid letting them overhear us talking about other souls in trouble; we must be conscious to carefully and briefly explain a bad situation and make a lesson of it. And, then, most importantly, we have to spend more time remembering these people in our family prayers, than we do in talking about them. We teach our children this guideline for talking about others: If it truly does not help you or the people involved to discuss a problem, dont' discuss it. And satisfying curiosity doesn't help anyone.

If you're a chatterbox like I am, this can be a serious challenge! But, the children hear everything. More than we think they do! More than we might like them to! And it all gets filed away in those little brains. We can't be vigilant enough! So many words, so many images bombard our children's senses, and with so many bad influences in the world, it's so very important to make sure that those receptors can filter out the junk and find what is good and true. Our examples, our every word, have to resonate in their hearts, from their earliest memories, with love and consistency. We have to consciously fill every moment, every single now, with words and actions that lift them ~ and us! ~ heavenward.

To some this may sound like obsession or fanaticism. (And I've heard it described that way...) But can something be bad ~ or overkill ~ when it's about love? We can't love God too much. We can't love our children too much with Him in the formula ~ when we love them through and for and because of Our Heavenly Father and His Goodness.

Is there a more important lesson for our children to learn than this? Do we consciously teach it to them? Or can they pick it up instinctively? They could stumble across it, I guess, but why take that chance? It's our job to teach our children about Divine Love through our love ~ in all our actions and in all our words. We have to start telling them in the cradle. And then we have to keep on telling them.

Again and again and again.

PS: Don't worry. I didn't stop to take that first pic up there of poor little Yuyum crying after he hurt his wee tootsie. I may giggle sometimes, but I would never stop to stop a picture... &:o) It was actually taken later on when he was play-whining. Just thought enquiring minds might want to know... &:o)

August 28th, The Feast of St. Augustine

Advice from St. Augustine of Hippo (340-430 AD)

Therefore once for all this short command is given to you:

"Love and do what you will."

If you keep silent, keep silent by love;

if you speak, speak by love;

if you correct, correct by love;

if you pardon, pardon by love;

let love be rooted in you,

and from the root nothing but good can grow.

 Charlotte at Waltzing Matilda, from whence many good things come ~  has a nice  coloring page for the feast of St. Augustine!

The Only Time I've Ever...

...Been Kinda Glad To Have a Summer Cold

Because it's a lovin's cold I caught from Grandbaby, Gavin.

Love, love, love this little guy (the one with the runny nose)!

And I'm glad to have his cold, if he's done with it now.

The Immaculate Heart of Mary!

As the vine I have brought forth a pleasant odour, 

and my flowers are the fruit of honour and riches. 

 I am the mother of fair love, 

and of fear, 

and of knowledge,

 and of holy hope.

In me is all grace of the way and of the truth,

in me is all hope of life and of virtue. 

Come over to me, all ye that desire me, and be filled with my fruits;

for my spirit is sweet above honey,

and my ineritance above honey and thehoney-comb. 

My memory is unto everlasting generations.

  They that eat me, shall yet hunger; and they that drink me, shall yet thirst. 

He that hearkeneth to me shall not be confounded,

and they that work by me shall not sin. 

They that explain me shall have life everlasting.

~Ecclesiasticus 25: 23-31

In the midst of the second world war Pope Pius XII put the whole world under the special protection of our Saviour's Mother by consecrating it to her Immaculate Heart, and in 1944 he decreed that in future the whole Church should celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary on August 22, octave day of the Assumption.  This is not a new devotion.  In the 17th century, St. john Eudes preached it together with that of the Sacred Heart; in the 19th  century, Pius VII and Pius IX allowed several churches to celebrate a feast of the Pure Heart of Mary, fixed first on the Sunday in the octave of the Assumption, and later on the Saturday following the feast of the Sacred Heart.

Pius XII instituted today's feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the whole Church, so as to obtain by her intercession "peace among nations, freedom for the Church, the conversion of sinners, te love of purity and the practice of virtue."  (Decree of May 4, 1944)

~ from the St. Andrew Daily Missal by Dom Gaspar Lefebvre, O.S.B., imprimatur 1953


Almighty and everlasting God, who in the heart of the blessed Virgin Mary didst prepare a dwelling worthy of the Holy Ghost; grant in Thy mercy, that we who with devout minds celebrate the festival of that immaculate heart, may be able to live according to Thine own heart.  Through Our Lord...  in the unity of the same Holy Ghost.  Amen.

~ from the Collect from the Mass of the day

Click to copy and print for a coloring page.

Escaped Mom Diaries: Day Nine

What we were subject to last night, from some outdoor "musical" venue, twelve stories down.



Except there were no French horns (or whatever those are) playing any semblance of melody,
and the bass was so deep and so loud that it vibrated the windows (twelve stories up, mind you),
pounded on our rib cages, pulsed a pattern into our brains...
Until somewhere around 3 a.m.

And, look.  There's the Space Needle.
We are truly in Mordor.
Looking forward to getting back to the Shire.

Escaped Mom Diaries: Day Eight

Outlined

Actually... here on my blog first, then copied to FB...

A. So, spent the weekend in California, as previously noted
     1. visiting with Paul and Nicole and sweet baby, Gavin
     2. also had the pleasure of spending time with Dan's parents, Dan Sr. and Sharon.

B.  Drove back to Vegas Sunday night
      1. through the midst of a terrific lightning spectacle

C. Dan and I got a room until Thursday
     1. on the twelfth floor and the north side of the hotel
         a) where, instead of a view of the dusty hills over a parking lot, we can see the iconic Vegas skyline --          b) right over the street they block off on weekends for block parties
         c) Last night it was some kind of Mardi Gras jazz that drifted up and knocked on our window all hours of the night

D.  Tonight Dan has to work all night to finish a "priority one" issue at the city, so I'm on my own
      1.  currently watching an NCIS marathon
            a) while working on a writing project
            b) and intermittently zooming in on either Pintrest, Facebook, or various text messages
      2. answering lots of missives
          a) from Dominic
          b) and Dan
          c) also from my sister, Nina
          d) because my sisters and I (but mostly my sisters because they live nearby) are helping my mother work out finding an Altzheimer Care Facility for my Dad
          e) it is impossible to categorize how this makes us all feel

 E. Had some dinner
     1. rotisserie chicken, some slices of an heirloom tomato I got from Dan's Mom (YUM!), and cracked pepper potato chips
     2. heard the children had grilled steak, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie for lunch
         a)  I'm missing the food and the fun
         b) but totally rocking the computer-television-introvert thing

   F.  Big plans
        1)  look up proper outlining method
        2)  paint tonails
        3)  switch to my Castle DVDs after the NCIS marathon is over
        4)  pray for my Mom and Dad
        5) and go to bed early
        6) walk across to a coffee shop for breakfast in the morning after Dan leaves
        7) get serious about organizing school plans for a September 2nd FDOS (First Day Of School) at our house
        8) and more of all the same pastimes on Wednesday
            i. busy, busy, busy!
        9) until Thursday when Dan and I pack up and head home together
            i. after which time things will get really busy, busy, busy...

Daytime view of  "the Strip." Overcast here this afternoon.

Nighttime view, taken last night.

Escaped Mom Diaries: Some Gavin Updates on Day Six

Gavin's new baby, "Sam," -- big brother practice for his
new little sibling in March. He is sooo sweet with his "baby."
He'll be a great big brother!

My Friday night date.  Best kind of arm candy.

Went shopping at a very nice mall Saturday, where Nicole got to go try on
maternity clothess while Paul and I kept Gavin out of her hair (and dressing room).
See how smart these folks are to put a kiddie play area outside the potty?

Scary almost how it seems Dan and I were just swing Paul between us just like this... 

*All taken with my smart-phone, so not the best quality, but with a face like that. well, ya know. 

Escaped Mom Diaries: Day Six

What real men bring in from the car.

Escaped Mom Diaries: Day Three

About Las Vegas...

* After a couple of days, you kinda get used to the constant scream of sirens in the background.  Kinda.

* Summer temperatures in Las Vegas hover around 100 degrees during the day and cool down to the eighties at sunset; this is why the people are up all night and sleep all day.  It's not really that everyone here is a vampire.

* The vendors who wander the crowded streets at night hawking bottled waters to dehydrated tourists turn a tidy profit, easily getting $2 - $3 a bottle.

*  There is an unexpectedly large number of Oriental tourists here.

* A bevy of smiling foot massage ladies on the Strip also make big money soothing the tootsies of tourists who didn't realize they were going to do so much walking on the inappropriate footwear they brought with them.

* The casinos are open 24/7.  They are never empty.

* The inexpensive decent-food  buffets that the casinos used to use to lure in unsuspecting gamblers is, unfortunately, just a fond memory now.

* The "high roller" casinos on the Strip cater largely to a diminishing demographic of middle to upper income gamblers with discretionary funds to waste.  That said, the floors are generally crowded with gamblers, though most of the folks you see strolling through Caesar's Palace, for instance, seem to be sight-seers. A significant number of these bring a modest sum to the casinos that they know they can lose without hurting their bank accounts.  Though they almost never do win big, they get a charge out of the bells and whistles and lights of the city, anyway, so they don't really care.  A smaller but tragic portion of the casino population is addicted to gambling -- or just unreasonably desperate to turn the bad economic fortunes many of us are experiencing into sudden wealth -- and lose the precious funds they came with. A lot of people come to Vegas on vacation, just to have a good time -- sometimes even wholesomely so, but many lives are ruined here, too.

* You will find no windows in casinos; a gambler will gamble longer if s/he's unaware of time
passing -- day turning to night, night turning to day...

* They "pipe in" or spray some kind of strong, perfumey air freshener into the casinos -- and even into the parking garages, undoubtedly to cover up other stale smells resulting from the unwashed humanity sitting at slot machines and blackjack tables, night and day, day and night -- and no windows to open.

* Over the smell of the perfumey air freshener is the constant  smell of smoke. Everywhere you go. There are no smoke-free casinos in Las Vegas.  And it seems that smoking seems to go with gambling.  And drinking.

* The downtown casinos cater to a more modest gambler than those on the Strip.  "Modest" meaning the poor, the elderly, the infirm -- the locals who sweep the floors in the big rich casinos, the tourists who used their last tank of gas to get here, overweight, smoking, middle-aged women in pajama pants and dirty over-sized tee shirts.  It's a motley crowd in the North Las Vegas casinos, but their incentives for gambling are pretty much the same as the high rollers, only perhaps more everything:  more desperate, more devil-may-care, more catatonic.  And they don't dress nearly as well as the high rollers at the Bellagio.

* The chairs at the slot machines are the most comfortable chairs known to man.  For obvious reasons.

* Vegas is not only about gambling, though.  At the tiny little tourist center on the Strip (just down from the Ross and the Walgreens), you can get deeply discounted and even free tickets to some of the many shows in town.  

* There are upward of fifty different shows scheduled in the city in any given month, ranging from magic shows featuring the likes of David Copperfield and Penn and Teller, to musical spectacles such as the

Flaming Lips  and Celine Dion, as well as comedians like Whoopie Goldberg, Jerry Seinfield, and Carrot Top.  Some of these are short run concerts, others run semi-permanently. Year round, you can catch Cirque du Soleil, and Blue Man Group, along with a host of other magic and comedy shows. Ticket prices range from $54 to see Penn and Teller (in the nosebleed section) to  $90 for Blue Man Group ( the cheap seats) to $108 to see Donny and Marie with binoculars, to $116 in the Mezzanine at LaReve, and $119 to squint down at Jerry Seinfield.  The best seats to see the Wizard of Oz, Broadway musical are $174, but some V.I.P. show tickets run as high as $250 a piece!  Can you imagine? (This is about how much it costs us to take the whole gang to a movie with popcorn and drinks, though.  Hmmm...)

* Between the skimpily-dressed girls in the every-present adds and the skimpily-dressed girls walking around everywhere, custody of the eyes is practically impossible here -- particularly in the gambling districts.  A guy would need black-out shades and a seeing-eye dog (or wife) to get through unscathed by the impurity all around him.

* The grounds surrounding the more opulent casinos especially are beautifully lush, and, though xeriscaping is obvious everywhere throughout the city and suburbs, it's amazing that this large city can survive in the desert like it does. There is a lot of landscaping, many signature palm trees, and tropical flower displays.   As a Coloradan, it makes me kinda mad (i.e., angry, irritated, aggravated) that our farmers struggle to raise crops because someone back in the day signed away oceans of water rights from our Colorado River to make this city possible.  A city that proudly advertises that its  GSP ("gross state product" -- and it is gross) is sin.

* The fountain show outside the Bellagio, however, is amazing, repeats every fifteen to thirty minutes -- and is free!  But good luck finding a spot by the railing where you can get a good view.

* Street performers ("Buskers") and "pay to pose" impersonators are everywhere too, especially after dark, and are a tremendous source of entertainment -- also for free!

The Mario Brothers -- homeless?

* But, the streets of Las Vegas are also home to an unusually large number of homeless folks.  I can only
surmise the reasons for this range from the simple fact that winters are mild here to the reality that  gambler's perception of the value of money may open tourists' wallets more easily to panhandlers.  Vegas is also a mecca to drug abusers, alcoholics, and runaways, a sad reality that slips in and out of the shadows behind the neon neon lights.

*  There are more than 600 churches in Las Vegas, most of which are not quickie wedding chapels.  They support a very large suburban population, as well as those souls in gambling-capital Las Vegas who are hopeless and searching.  But, when you think about it, it's no surprise Our Lord wants to be here...  Remember this episode of His life?

 10 And it came to pass as He was sitting at meat in the house, behold many publicans and sinners came, and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. 11 And the Pharisees seeing it, said to his disciples: Why doth your master eat with publicans and sinners? 12 But Jesus hearing it, said: They that are in health need not a physician, but they that are ill.~ Matthew 9: 10-12 

* The chapel where we'll assist at holy Mass for the Feast of the Assumption tomorrow is only a two-block walk from our hotel, on the edge of downtown Las Vegas. We know we'll find Jesus there.  And with Him, His Mother on her glorious feast day.  That trumps all the bad.  Including my own.

Escaped Mom Diaries: Day Three

A Quick Update:

As promised, girls:  the color choice for toenails right now is--- green,
with little white flower (those decals, remember?) and silver tips.
You likey?

Escaped Mom Diaries: Day Two

What I'm wearing:  ultra-comfy grey jersey long skirt; flowered brown and cream peasant style blouse cinched with wide brown leather belt; brown-bead Victorian chandelier earrings and matching choker necklace; long, cream-colored, crochet-trim sweater; white anklet socks; green tortoise-shell reading glasses on the top of my head.

Why I'm wearing this:  (considering I'm voluntarily and happily sequestered in our Vegas hotel room and haven't seen a souls since Dan left for work this morning):  I slept in until around 8:30 (am, of course) and woke up groggy, so thought that actually "dressing up" today might wake me up.  It didn't.  A Five-hour Energy after lunch, however, did wake me up.  (Lacking coffee this week, I'm cheating with coffee alternatives, yes.)

The sweater and socks are because this hotel room has two temperature settings: desert hot and arctic cold.  I go back and forth all day moving the a/c dial up and down, then taking off and putting on my sweater....

The reading glasses on top of my head, I pull down onto my nose to see my computer on my lap, then prop up on top when I want to see Nathan Fillion (see below) on the television across the room.  (Glasses up; glasses down; glasses up; glasses down -- all day....)


What I have accomplished today:

1)  Looked all over the country on Craigslist, in the hopes of finding good job opportunities for Dan anywhere other than Lost Vegas; then perused the housing prospects in Lost Vegas on Realtor.com and Craigslist in the chance that Dan doesn't find a job somewhere better.
Concluded: It's unacceptable for our family to live two states away from its Daddy for much longer.

2) Texted with my sister, Nina, about her dentist visit and how bee-a-utiful her choppers look.
Concluded:  nothing like a sister for just that kind of discussion.

Michelle/Shelly/Chicky

3)  Also texted with  charming daughter, Michelle, and shared her new blog on my sidebar --> over there, and on my FB page.
Concluded:  Michelley's blog is way better than mine, and she only just started!

4) Called my porch buddy, June, but she was standing in line at the post office, so I promised to call back later.
Concluded: Life goes on without me at home.  Which is a good thing!

5) Worked on a personal writing project, but got nowhere with it, other than correcting a few of my own grammatical and punctuation errors. Spent most of my allotted writing time, fooling around on Facebook (FB).
Concluded:  Life does not go on without me in my imaginary literary kingdom, but I can get a good idea of what's going on in everyone else's life by hanging around FB.

6) Watched Fox news for a little while.
Concluded: Knowing what's going on in the real world only makes me mad.  And Bill Hemmer is kinda cute, but Shepard Smith is still my favorite, each man's personal politics, etc, notwithstanding.
  
7) Watched three episodes of Castle after lunch.

Concluded: Nathan Fillion is super cute, but the literate and very funny character he plays on this show is awesome; watching him on tv is a huge improvement on the news.

(*Bonus Conclusion: Comparing appealing men on TV is a more entertaining pastime than actually paying any attention to what they're saying or doing... Except maybe in the case of Castle...  But, my husband thinks he's funny, too, so tolerates my swooning over him with equanimity.)

8)  Spent most of the day listening to "Mumford and Sons Radio" on Pandora.
Concluded:  The best background sound of all.

9) Made spiced cinnamon iced tea and munched on gluten free pretzels all afternoon.
Concluded:  I could pretty much live on spiced cinnamon iced tea and gluten free pretzels. (Sometimes I do.)

10) Lurked the twisted corridors, walled gardens, palatial showrooms, and crowded auditoriums of Pintrest off and on throughout the day, and found stuff like this:

Is this not the coolest room ever -- for boys or girls?  Or me!

And check out this refrigerator!  I think I'm in love.
 Talk about combining form and function!

Love the Pintrest wardrobe ideas.  Wish I had a million dollars and a
walk-in closet the size of my living room...  This outfit, I would prefer
a more substantial tee or blouse, but love the denim/Navy with mint.

How pretty is this? I can so see it on any one of my girls.

  Where grapes come from.

So cute. (Insert smiley here.)  Do you suppose it's photo-shopped?

Right, huh?

True! How many short blog posts have you ever seen here?

This recipe (found here) for chili cheese cornbread is
very similar to one of our family all-time favorites!

End of the day now and the end of this diary post...  Dan is back from work, and is making fun of me because I keep saying I'm "almost done" on the computer.  And, now I can say I really am-- almost done...

And now, DONE.

Except for this:  All other Pintrest photos shown can be found here, at my pinning boards, complete with the links to more information and sources...

Escaped Mom Diaries: Day One

To Whom it May Concern:
(I guess if that's anybody, it's you, kids!)

Arrived in Vegas around 10 pm last night after traveling nine hours. As you might guess, Daddy and I were pooped.  Didn't even unpack; just got into our jammies, said our prayers and went straight to sleep. Hardly even told each other goodnight!

Woke up at 5:30 A.M. for some ridiculously annoying reason.  But didn't get up until Daddy got up to shower and get ready for work.  He was on his way by 7:30, and though I would have loved to go back to sleep, it was too late;  I was wide awake, doggonit.  So, what to do?:

What to do, what to do...
 Well, it's still quite early, so I'm thinking: What the hey!  No reason to get dressed! So I stayed in my jammies.  But, I did get up and make the bed.  (Yeah, yeah, I know. But old habits die hard.)  Then I unpacked our suitcases and put our clothes in the dresser (which looked like it had never actually been used), tidied things up, and made a cup of tea (since I'm swearing off coffee for the week).  I put the "Do Not Disturb" sign in the lock on the outside of the hotel door (because we didn't need towels, and, well... I'd already made the beds), and snuggled back in the freshly fluffed pillows to try and get my computer hooked up, but it wouldn't sign on to the server.  (ARGH!)  So, what to do, what to do...?

First I texted Daddy to see if he could walk me through getting on the internet.  (Of course.) Then I took out my Kindle to see if there was anything on there I wanted to read.  There wasn't, and my eyes were too tired, anyway, from being up since 5:30 in the stinking vacation morning.  So, I turned on the news. What's there to say about that, except: Uck.  So I channel-surfed for a while... and let me tell you what I found: we are not missing anything by not having a TV feed, kids.  We really aren't.  But what I finally ended up watching was absolutely fascinating, in a slowing-down-to-look-at-a train wreck kind of way.


1) Amish Mafia (a "reality" show)

  Like, really?  Did you know there was such a thing?  Doesn't "oxymoron" come to mind when you say those two words together?  After watching an episode, I came to the conclusion that: a) the whole thing is made up; or, perhaps more likely: b) evil is everywhere; the Amish aren't any less affected by fallen human nature and the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil than any of us.  But, still... one wonders why terribly evil people would want to continue to call themselves Amish.  Or for that matter, Catholic.  But they do sometimes, don't they?

2) Some crazy Moonshiner show (another "reality" show)

     The main question I have about this show is how it comes that these folks are running from the law through most of the two episodes I watched, and if they're not actually running, they're talking (in deep southern drawls) about evading the law, or constructing elaborate structures for their stills to hide them from the law...  And yet, they're boldly showing their faces (most of them) on international television.  What the heck?  But that isn't the only question I have.  Seriously... With all the time, thought, and ingenuity that these people put into making illegal  ("rotgut") whiskey, I just know they could make a dent in some kind of legitimate, legal, more wholesome kind of business for themselves -- and not have to worry about the law.  But, then they wouldn't rate a successful television series either, would they?

3)  Hotel Impossible (There's nothing more interesting to folks watching TV during the day than watching someone else's reality, it would appear...)

      I actually really liked this show!  The host (Anthony Somebody-or-other) turns out to be very

likable, and shows good common sense about finding solutions for hotels that have gone downhill. He's an expert, it seems, in business dynamics and is also unusually intuitive about interpersonal communications and leadership problem solving.  But mostly, it's the reveals I love! The renovated lobbies, room, etc., are very nicely done.  This television show is unexpectedly entertaining -- and, wow!  What a useful service this man provides!  After watching two or three episodes, I feel empowered to toodle around this hotel with a clipboard and start making some suggestions for the management...

But, don't worry.  I might make the lists, but I won't actually show them to the management...



It's midmorning-ish now, not quite lunch time... and, as you can see...  With some good coaching from your genius father, I got my computer up and running online.  I'm no longer in my jammies.  Just couldn't do it.  (You're not surprised, are you?)  I'm wearing total comfy clothes, though: denim capris, and that big, loose "Everyone Loves an Irish Girl" tee shirt I got at the thrift store the other day when I went with Miss June.  And I couldn't not put on make up, etc.  You never know if a maid's gonna knock on the door.  And one wouldn't want to look like a lazy slug, lying around a hotel room all day, drinking tea, and watching tv, and playing on one's computer, would one?  Besides, I know Daddy's coming back to the hotel for lunch, and he will so make fun of me if I'm still in jammies, right?

But, yeah... :0)

After Lunch Now...  On his way home for lunch, Daddy made a quick stop at the grocery store, and coming back to our room, he found me fully dressed, and trying to look like I was being constructive, pinning away on Pintrest. (How's that for being constructive?)  Here's what we have in the fridge (and the shelf under it) for the next three days now that Dad went shopping:  a rotisserie chicken, a bag of mixed crudités (broccoli, carrots, snappeas), a jar of Marie's Ranch Dressing, a bag of apples, a bag of lemons.  This all, plus a box of Irish tea, a box of Good Earth Sweet n Spicy tea, three bags of Beanito-type chips, a can of salmon, and a can of Spam  (which we're holding in case of a Zombie Apocalypse, actually) -- and we'll be eating just fine 'til payday.

I'm such a cheap date!

But, oh baby, on payday!  After living-on-less-than-ten-dollars-a-day (both of us!) for four days I'll be making overtures for a meal out on payday, make no mistake!

 Though, actually, I cannot tell a lie;  Daddy promised a stop at a Cracker Barrel when we head to California on Thursday, so it's in the bag already.  And a plan to check out the beach before we hook up with Grandma and Grandpa and everybody...  More on that later.

Now, it's after five o'clock....  I'm waiting for Dad to show up, watching Castle, and getting ready to paint my toenails.  What color, I do not know.  (You girls may have noticed I stole several bottles of varying shades from your stores in the green bathroom, so I have a rainbow to choose from).  I'll take a picture of what color I decide on later.  It may be the biggest decision I make all day.

PS ~ I'm thinking of home right now.   I miss your silly faces, kiddos, and all that goes with them: William and Gabe trying not to collide on their bikes out in the driveway; Theresa's piano soundtrack; Dominic's latest video project machinations; Cathy's new-and-stunning-outfit-every-day-of-the-week habit;  Anna and the kitties; Miss June, my porch buddy; the aroma of Brian's cooking drifting out from the kitchen.  And I hate Lost Vegas, as always, but we have a nice room (especially for $30 a night!), and it's great hanging around here, choosing toenail colors, critiquing stupid television shows, and pinning with no laundry waiting for me to fold.  Plus Dad and I have very firm plans for behaving like a couple of teenagers (in a good way, really!) while we're here.  Which I'm looking forward to!  I'm so grateful to you, Dominic, for taking on the big job of running the whole shebang for a few days.  And to Miss June for taking notes on who needs "talkings to" when I call.  And to the rest of you for being extra special good! 

PPS ~  This is the view that Las Vegas uses to market the city:

And, this is the view out  my window (and 3/4 of all hotel room windows in Vegas) during the day:

Lovely, huh?