Home Education Magazine
Home Education Magazine printed one of my articles in their July issue. As a special bonus prize, they picked my article to showcase their magazine on the web. I'm very happy about this. :)
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July 25, 2005
Krispy Kremes
For desert tonight, I had a glass of wine and a New York Cheesecake Krispy Kreme doughnut.
It was covered in white frosting, brown sugar crumbles, and filled with creamy custard. Amazingly, the doughnut went quite well with my typical glass of Merlot. It left a greasy after taste, that seemed to send signals directly to fat stores—Here we are! Get ready to pack on the insulation!
After I ate about ¾ of the doughnut, I said to myself, “I really should stop here and throw this away.” I looked at it for a few seconds, thought about the creamy center and sugary crumbles, and I couldn’t resist. I finished it.
I can’t say I regret eating it, but I suddenly feel compelled to set my alarm for 6am morning run. Although, I seriously doubt that tomorrow morning, as my stomach digests this mass of heart clogging material, I’ll be willing to get out of bed to even shower, let alone don workout clothes and pound my feet on the pavement.
It was covered in white frosting, brown sugar crumbles, and filled with creamy custard. Amazingly, the doughnut went quite well with my typical glass of Merlot. It left a greasy after taste, that seemed to send signals directly to fat stores—Here we are! Get ready to pack on the insulation!
After I ate about ¾ of the doughnut, I said to myself, “I really should stop here and throw this away.” I looked at it for a few seconds, thought about the creamy center and sugary crumbles, and I couldn’t resist. I finished it.
I can’t say I regret eating it, but I suddenly feel compelled to set my alarm for 6am morning run. Although, I seriously doubt that tomorrow morning, as my stomach digests this mass of heart clogging material, I’ll be willing to get out of bed to even shower, let alone don workout clothes and pound my feet on the pavement.
July 21, 2005
Back to EQ
Yoshi has started playing EQ again. EQ: The game that had soaked up so much of his attention for 5 years during our marriage; The game that I refused to play for several of those years until he finally convinced me to "try" where I subsequently became as addicted (if not moreso) than he was; The game that we abandoned when World of Warcraft was released.
First, his motorcycle—now, back to EQ and the "old days". Is my husband going through a mid-life crisis? Is he trying to recapture the feeling of exhiliration after the end of an epic battle? Is he searching for his youth hidden within? Where will this all lead?
I don't know the answers to all of this. But it sure is a hoot to watch it all play out. I'll never go back to EQ, and I'll never ride his motorcycle. (Never say never right?) I will, however, enjoy watching from afar, and give him a little space to express his almost-35 desires to live a full life.
Yesterday was our anniversary. It was the best one yet. Nine years and it is only getting better. Fun, peaceful, interesting, insightful and sometimes just plain kooky. I love it. I'm looking forward to the next however many years we have before us.
July 18, 2005
Cameron's Party
Cam's party was a lot of fun! For the superhero theme, we made capes:
Here's what our superheros looked like after they were done:
Then we made ice cream sundaes. We put Cameron's candle in his sundae, and sang Happy Birthday to him.
His favorite gift was the K'nex roller coaster. He started working on it as soon as all his presents were open:
Tonight, (the day after the party), Yoshi helped him work on some finishing touches , after Cameron had worked on it all day. It's not quite done. It has an hour or so more work left on it.
July 16, 2005
Cam's Birthday Preparations
Big gatherings at the house are wonderful: It gives us a proper excuse to organize and clean.
Yoshi has spent the better part of this week cleaning the back yard, including the outside toys (that is, when he wasn't riding his new motorcycle). I've been grinding away at the playroom, as well as trying to keep up with the toys left behind by the tornado of children. Now that the house is so tidy, it makes me almost motivated to keep the house like this all the time - almost.
Cameron turned 7 Thursday. We took him to Chuck E. Cheese at his request. I wasn't really looking forward to it. But you know, Thursday nights at Chuck E. Cheese aren't so bad. There were the noises of video games and Chuck E. doing his vain attempts to entertain the children by dancing and singing. But the drone of a million children wasn't there. There were no lines for the ticket dispensers, and no line at the prize counter.
Lastly, here's a pic of the kids, taking a break from running around the house with their hats on (and screaming of course.)
Yoshi has spent the better part of this week cleaning the back yard, including the outside toys (that is, when he wasn't riding his new motorcycle). I've been grinding away at the playroom, as well as trying to keep up with the toys left behind by the tornado of children. Now that the house is so tidy, it makes me almost motivated to keep the house like this all the time - almost.
Cameron turned 7 Thursday. We took him to Chuck E. Cheese at his request. I wasn't really looking forward to it. But you know, Thursday nights at Chuck E. Cheese aren't so bad. There were the noises of video games and Chuck E. doing his vain attempts to entertain the children by dancing and singing. But the drone of a million children wasn't there. There were no lines for the ticket dispensers, and no line at the prize counter.
Lastly, here's a pic of the kids, taking a break from running around the house with their hats on (and screaming of course.)
July 10, 2005
Motorbike, Motorbike, Go So Fast
Yoshi bought a Harley. It’s a metallic blue with shiny silver piping. The engine revs loud enough to shake the house. He took a half day off Friday to go to the dealer and buy it before he even had his provisional license.
Apparently, Yoshi’s been thinking about buying a motorcycle for some time. He had kept it a very close secret. I didn’t know. Even his close friends and colleagues didn’t know. Seemingly out of nowhere, he sprung it on me that he wanted to buy a bike.
He knew that I wasn’t going to like the idea very much, so he prefaced with an introduction about finances, by talking about our mortgage refinance and house repairs. After ensuring my confidence that we have stable finances, he brought up the purchase of my long awaited laptop. I’ve been wanting a laptop for over a year, awaiting a time when we could both afford it and it made sense to buy it. Yoshi assured me that both criteria had been met, and it was time to buy my laptop. I was thinking, “Oh, he must mean Christmas or next year sometime.” Each time I had brought it up previously, the idea was met with great hesitancy. Not this time. He wanted to buy it before August.
I was still in blissful shock about my upcoming new computer that I was not expecting to hear the real reason we were having this conversation – the bike. I was practically hopping in my seat when he said, “We need to sell the Saturn. To replace it, I’d like to by a motorcycle.” Yoshi played his cards right. I was in such a good mood, he could have told me he was being relocated to Siberia, and I would have probably still been giddy. Before I had a chance to think too hard about what he was saying, he laid out his plan. He had been researching the different bikes and how to go about buying one. He also discovered a training course in Glendale where they guarantee by the end of the training, all of their students are confident riders. He wanted to take the course and learn how to ride, and then he would start shopping around for a bike.
My main concern was his safety, of course. He had never driven a bike before, and I already felt a little nervous while in the passenger seat of the car while he drives. The idea of a training course was the only way I’d even consider letting him drive away on a bike. In addition, the plan was to take several months before implementation of said bike-riding. I was comfortable with that. It would give me time to get used to the idea.
That conversation was ten days ago. Four days ago, Yoshi told me that he just happened to drop by the Harley shop to take a look at their bikes. While he was there, they told him that the bikes were at their lowest price ever, in addition to several other very attractive offers. They also had the exact bike that he wanted available in their showroom. Three days ago, he arranged with his brother to help him pick up the bike. Two days ago, he bought it, and went to the DMV to get his provisional license. Yesterday, he picked up the bike. Today, he rode it around town for an hour, and came home, miraculously in one piece.
How did the two-three month plan turn into a week plan? How did I get suckered into this? What will change now that we have a bike in our family?
We’re setting up our living will this week, and Yoshi’s still taking the training course in August. Well, that’s the plan anyway.
Apparently, Yoshi’s been thinking about buying a motorcycle for some time. He had kept it a very close secret. I didn’t know. Even his close friends and colleagues didn’t know. Seemingly out of nowhere, he sprung it on me that he wanted to buy a bike.
He knew that I wasn’t going to like the idea very much, so he prefaced with an introduction about finances, by talking about our mortgage refinance and house repairs. After ensuring my confidence that we have stable finances, he brought up the purchase of my long awaited laptop. I’ve been wanting a laptop for over a year, awaiting a time when we could both afford it and it made sense to buy it. Yoshi assured me that both criteria had been met, and it was time to buy my laptop. I was thinking, “Oh, he must mean Christmas or next year sometime.” Each time I had brought it up previously, the idea was met with great hesitancy. Not this time. He wanted to buy it before August.
I was still in blissful shock about my upcoming new computer that I was not expecting to hear the real reason we were having this conversation – the bike. I was practically hopping in my seat when he said, “We need to sell the Saturn. To replace it, I’d like to by a motorcycle.” Yoshi played his cards right. I was in such a good mood, he could have told me he was being relocated to Siberia, and I would have probably still been giddy. Before I had a chance to think too hard about what he was saying, he laid out his plan. He had been researching the different bikes and how to go about buying one. He also discovered a training course in Glendale where they guarantee by the end of the training, all of their students are confident riders. He wanted to take the course and learn how to ride, and then he would start shopping around for a bike.
My main concern was his safety, of course. He had never driven a bike before, and I already felt a little nervous while in the passenger seat of the car while he drives. The idea of a training course was the only way I’d even consider letting him drive away on a bike. In addition, the plan was to take several months before implementation of said bike-riding. I was comfortable with that. It would give me time to get used to the idea.
That conversation was ten days ago. Four days ago, Yoshi told me that he just happened to drop by the Harley shop to take a look at their bikes. While he was there, they told him that the bikes were at their lowest price ever, in addition to several other very attractive offers. They also had the exact bike that he wanted available in their showroom. Three days ago, he arranged with his brother to help him pick up the bike. Two days ago, he bought it, and went to the DMV to get his provisional license. Yesterday, he picked up the bike. Today, he rode it around town for an hour, and came home, miraculously in one piece.
How did the two-three month plan turn into a week plan? How did I get suckered into this? What will change now that we have a bike in our family?
We’re setting up our living will this week, and Yoshi’s still taking the training course in August. Well, that’s the plan anyway.