The students turning in their quiz answers decided to do something representing Halloween.  So they went out and bought a candied apple, ate it and turned in the answer on the stick.  Silly kids.....

Today's quiz answers were submitted on..........(drum roll)..............

*
*
*
*
*
Napkins from Domino's Pizza!!!! 

And yes, 'C' is the correct answer. 

There was one other little surprise in this batch of quizzes.  I think someone tore a sheet of paper and then turned in the wrong half!

I wasn't sure what kind of a grade to give her. 

~~~in no particular order of importance.

*If you are married to a "stay at home" mom NEVER ask, upon returning from your day at the office,

"...so what did you do today, honey?"

She is liable to either:

A. feel like you don't value her contribution to the household, or

B. feel an uncontrollable urge to grab one of those many toys strewn across the living room carpet and "ram it where the sun don't shine". 

Either way, it's not likely to have a good outcome.  A much better question would be,

"How was your day, honey?"

* Tell your woman she is beautiful/pretty very often.  And mean it!  She needs to feel pretty on a daily basis or her self-esteem will suffer.  It is in your own best interest that she feel this way.  A woman who feels beautiful and desirable will be a LOT more receptive to loving advances than one who never hears it, or only hears it when you're "in the mood".

and last, but not least.....

* Never use the words "big" or "wide" when trying to compliment a woman's body.  And even though the phrase "child-bearing hips" may sound like a good thing, don't use it.

.......These words of wisdom are a gift to you, from me.  I have gleaned this priceless tidbits, worth more than their weight in gold, from my various conversations with various members of the female sector.  Use them as you will.

On the first day of class one of our professors made the following announcement to his class;

"Every day I will give a short 1 or 2 question quiz.  I don't care what you use to write your answers on"

I think he meant to say, "I don't care what kind of paper you write your answers on."

Everyday I get a chuckle when I enter his grades.  One day there were many quizzes submitted on paper towels.

Another day was receipts from various establishments around town.

Today was toilet paper squares.

I heard a rumor that some fall leaves were being pressed and prepared for next week.

The professor doesn't see these, he just gives them to us to enter.  I hated for him to miss out on the fun so I e-mailed him.

"For your information and enjoyment, today's quiz answers were turned in on receipts from Pizza Hut and various establishments around town."

He e-mailed me back.

"let me know if it gets too bad, and I'll make them use paper."

I answered, "On the contrary.  It's one of the highlights of my day!"

I can't wait to see what they come up with next.

I went out with my camera last night to photograph some curious cows in my neighbors field.  By the time I got back to their fence they had wandered away.  I surveyed the sky, as I always do, and noticed that just as the sun was setting, the moon was rising. 

So, same sky, same time, two very different views.

At work this week I've been visiting with our newest professor who had been teaching in the UAE (United Arab Emerates).  He told me about 2 places there that were so ostentatious that it was impossible to overstate how lavish they were.  One city was called Abu Dhabi and the other was Dubai.  They each have a 7 star hotel.  Dubai's hotel is so upscale that it costs you $60.00 just to walk in the door and look around.  There is a underwater restaurant in the hotel that you have to take a submarine to get there.  Make sure you take your life savings with you, too, because you can plan on spending about $1000 a person.  The  other city, Abu Dhabi, sounds like a fun place to visit.  The mall is so huge that they have an entire ski hill inside.  He said on their day off he would take his family and go to Abu Dhabi to shop.  One day, for fun he took them to the 7-star hotel there.  They went in the restaurant (not underwater) and ordered 1 piece of chocolate cake for $10.00, which he thought was a bargain.  The cake came complete with gold shavings on the top.  They all shared the piece and ate the gold.  Now that's luxury.

In my psych class this morning I received the good news and the bad news. 

Good- If you can make it to the age of 50 without experiencing a major psychotic episode, the chances that you will ever have one is significantly less.  Since I will be turning 50 in a month I'm thinking this is pretty good news!

Bad - After the age of 50 the chances that even a small fall will cause rapid mental deterioration is a lot greater. Since I have tripped on my own feet (hazard of having big feet) more often than I would care to admit, that is not very good to hear.

... do you see the dancer turning clockwise or anti-clockwise?

Click on this link to see how your brain works.  When I first saw it the dancer was moving counter-clockwise, but within a second it had changed directions.  What does this mean?  Maybe my brain is just really mixed up.  I tend to agree with the analysis about how I saw it the most, with my right brain function dominant. Except for maybe the risk taking and impetuousness. 

What about you?

RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses feeling
"big picture" oriented
imagination rules
symbols and images
present and future
philosophy & religion
can "get it" (i.e. meaning)
believes
appreciates
spatial perception
knows object function
fantasy based
presents possibilities
impetuous
risk taking

      Monday night moody sky.

I was told a story recently about my feisty sister. 

Quite a few years ago she went into Target to do some shopping. She had her son Steven, then 6 or 7, and her daughter who was about 16.  It was almost closing time and there were not many customers in the store. When she turned to leave she couldn't find Steven.  She calmly went up to the customer service desk and politely asked them to page her son.

"Oh, we don't do that anymore.  We find that it disturbs our customers."

With that rebuff, my sister simply turned around....

.......and yelled as loudly as she was able.

"STEVEN, COME HERE RIGHT NOW!!!!"

There was the immediate sound of little running feet as Steven  dashed from the electronic department to the front of the store to his waiting momma. 

My sister turned back to the customer service desk and said, very politely,

"You're right.  That was much faster."

and they walked out of the store. 

         A Voice Said, Look Me In the Stars

        And Tell Me Truly, Men of Earth

         If all the Soul and Body Scars

         Were Not Too Much To Pay for Birth

I'm not what you would call politically gung-ho.  I'm reasonably aware of issues, but not passionate about doing things one way or another.  I guess I've been a little passive because things didn't seem to hit too close to home.  After today I think I'm getting my dander up over one political hotbed of issues.

When we went to renew my Dad's medicaid coverage he was just barely over the allowable asset limit.  In order for him to requalify we had to cash out his life insurance policy and use that money to pay a huge chunk of money to his oncologist for 2 days of Chemo (they cut him off once they found out his coverage was gone) and the rest to a funeral home to pre-pay his burial costs.  It's very infuriating to see my parents have to do this when, for their entire lives they have paid into the system.  They have never once asked for any benefits until now.

My friend, who is a nurse at oncology confided in me that he is in the hardest group to cover; white male.  If he was an illegal immigrant there would be no problem.  He would have full coverage thanks to all the hard-working citizens who are paying into the system for their entire working lives. 

Something is wrong with this picture.

Church:

So many things have happened today.  I hardly know where to begin.  I guess the beginning is a pretty good place.

I stayed up very late last night watching episodes of "Lost" with my kids.  I knew I'd pay this morning, and I did.  I woke up with a splitting headache.

Church was at 9:00 and lasted until noon.  One hour of joint meeting, and then 2 hours with my little 3 year old class.  One hour of that is a group children's meeting of singing and activities and then we go into a classroom for our lesson.  At this age the lesson lasts about 5 minutes.  The rest of the time we spend coloring, playing with play-dough, or puppets, crafts, Etc.  Today I had 7 little girls.  They are cute, loving, and definitely "girly girls".  I found out that they would be adding another 5 princesses to the Halloween crowd.

When I got home I threw dinner into the crock pots and went to sleep.  I felt much better when I woke up.

We eat dinner every Sunday afternoon all together.  The married kids come home if they're close enough, and we enjoy each other's company and food.

I've missed having David and Emily come since they moved 100 miles away. 

After dinner  is when things got a little more exciting.

Moon Pie:

My Dad, a very religious man, has not been able to attend church for almost a year due to his poor immunity.  His last blood test showed a marked improvement.  So much so that the doctor told him he could go to church if he wanted.  He was thrilled!  He made his plans to get there on time and looking good, black suit, clean pressed shirt, and tie.  My sister, Catherine, who is visiting here from Anchorage, helped my Mom and Dad get out the door and to the church. They parked close, in the handicapped zone, and then Mom helped Dad out of the car and started up the sidewalk towards the door.  Catherine walked on ahead passing others who were also arriving. 

Suddenly she heard my Dad say, in a very matter-of-fact calm voice, "Um, I think we've got a problem."

She looked back and was horrified to see Dad standing there with his pants clear down at his ankles.  Then Mom saw what had happened and let out a loud, high pitched, "AAAAAAAAH", which, of course, drew the attention of all the other good church-going people.  Catherine hurried and stood in front of Dad to protect his modesty while Mom got behind him and yanked his britches back up into place.  When he was all properly attired again, my properly embarrassed mother said, "we can't go in there now."  Dad insisted he didn't come that far to turn around and go home.  So in they went.  After the meeting ended and they got back home, Catherine made a special dessert in honor of the event.  As the family showed up to visit we were regaled with the tale of the falling pants while munching gleefully on moon pie.

Coming Out of the Space Closet:

I was a bit curious about all the questions I was getting from David about my space.  I would make a terrible detective, though, because I just didn't connect the dots to see the whole picture.  Without my knowing it David made himself a space.  Congratulations, Son!  I'm so glad you did this.  AND I'm so glad you told me about it before any more time went by.  So, go take a look, and welcome David to the blogging community, and while you're there you might as well take a look at the most beautiful baby in the world.  (I can say that because I only have 1 grandchild.)

Chatting - Keeping in touch.

While sitting here at my computer console, typing out these events of my day, I received an instant message.

"Abby says:
Hi Mama
Linda says:
Hi Baba"

My daughter, who is sitting in the next room using her brother's laptop for homework, just wanted to reach out and touch her mama's heart.

"Linda says:
Are you having fun on a laptop
Abby says:
Yes.  It is quite exciting.  But I don't like the little box thing for the mouse.  I feel too constricted.  And I'm not coordinated enough to use it.
Linda says:
Yea, I don't like those either.  I liked the one Catherine had.
Abby says:
Me too.  Except hers looked weird.  I like the regular mouses.  They work just fine for me.
Abby says:
Mr. Burns is helping me with my homework.
Linda says:
Really?  Did he hear us talk about mouses?"

What a great thing to have such a good relationship with your child that they want to banter with you.  I hope we never lose that.

"Linda says:
Abby,  you are kind of a weird girl, Did you know that?  I wonder where you get that (genetically) from.
Abby says:
Well, judging from the visit to grandma's house, I would definately have to say dad!"

I know Abby, so I can hear the sarcasm in the words.

"Linda says:
Get ready for this.
You have just sent a nudge.
Linda says:
Wasn't that fun?
Abby says:
That was exciting!
Abby says:
I've never had that happen to me before!  This makes doing homework so much fun!
Linda says:
Are you actually getting any homework done?"

I have this kind of a relationship with all my kids.  Very comfortable, very open.  They are my best friends.

"Linda says:
What, are you using, like, 2% of your brain power on homework, and 98% on Iming, Mr. Burns, eating, picking your nose, scratching your back,..............
Abby says:
Hey, eating and picking my nose is all one process!"

At this point I head into the other room, where Abby is, and say, "Abby, the kitchen is right there, if you're hungry."  Which brings immediate laughs and giggles. 

Then I play a game of ping pong with Andy, which I lose 29-31. 

I really love my family.  I am so blessed. 

I didn't have a camera for a while and missed it so much.  Kind of like not having one of your children around, or your favorite pet.

And so a dear, dear friend of mine lent me one of hers.  I am so grateful, Joisey.  So grateful.

I just wanted to spend a little time getting to know my new loaner friend, so I took it out tonight and had a great time.

I just loved watching these precious children.

And to quote that greatest clown of all time, Red Skelton,

       "Good night, and God bless!"

Today I was catching up on some posts from my good friend The Great Pretender. I read her humorous posting about things that went on at the elementary school where she teaches.  It brought to my mind an incident that happened last year at the school where my husband teaches. 

Mike teaches 7th grade in a school of 5th, 6th, and 7th graders.  Mostly the grades are kept separated.  They eat at separate times, have class down separate halls and don't mingle a lot.

One day, a young little 5th grade boy got a hall pass so that he could take care of some urgent personal business in the rest room.  As he was reposed in his stall, doing his thing, he could hear someone enter the stall next to him.  Suddenly a little yellow stream of urine arched over the stall wall and hit him squarely on the head.  He was horrified, "grossed out", and embarrassed.  His mother was called and he was properly cleaned up. 

The school authorities were very anxious to "find the culprit".  It was decided that only a 7th grade boy would have enough "push power" to get the job done.  They were all called into an assembly where the details of this horrific crime were laid out.  The expectation of a confession was not realized.

The men teachers had their own little pow-wow to discuss the events and how best to find "the dirty dog who did the deed".  One teacher suggested that they simply take out all the boys to soccer field, line them up in a straight row and see who could pee the farthest. 

The pee-er was never identified.  Too many government rules about "right to privacy", or some such nonsense.

I'm glad I work at the university level.

Right after I took this morning's photos I was chatting with Joisey and our power flickered a few times.  I thought for sure that heavy wet snow had downed a tree right on a power line.  Turns out I was right.  There was a tree down at one of our city parks, and it knocked out the power.  Abby, Joni, and I got in the car and took a little trip around town.  Abby took these photos of the tree damage we saw.  It made me kind of sad.  I hope those trees don't look too awful after the cleanup.

On the bright side here is the forecast for the next couple of days.  Yes!  by Tuesday we'll be back in the mid'60's.  Don't ya love Idaho!

Tonight
Oct 6

Snow Shower  30°   60% chance of precip. 

Sun
Oct 7

Partly Cloudy  51°/32°   10% chance of precip.

Mon
Oct 8

Sunny    59°/33°      20% chance  of precip. 

Tue
Oct 9

Sunny    66°/35°       10% chance of precip.

I went to bed to a rain storm and woke up to this!

It would be so easy to focus on the bad things of the month if I didn't do my drawing journal.  Here is my September entry.  There were many ups and downs in my life during Sept.  But, I guess it's like that most months, isn't it?

~ That our family spent the day together in Yellowstone Park.

~ That my Dad recovered from his acute illness. My Dad was so ill.  There were 2 other patients who were not as sick as he was, and they both died. He spent 19 days in the ICU, had to have a trach and a feeding tube put in, but his strong Norwegian genes pulled him through. 

~ That we can have a little longer with him.

~That I was able to plant my new perennials that came in the mail.  I forgot I ordered them, but when they came I was able to carve out time to prepare and plant them.  I love working in the dirt.

~That I was able to take a class.  It's fascinating.  I'm learning a lot.  I don't even mind too much that I have to be there by 8 am twice a week.

~That Joni and Lisa are both my daughters.  Their birthdays are 6 days apart every Sept.  They are my friends and confidantes.  It's so nice to have daughters.

~That my Canadian photography buddy and friend, Lisa, was not hurt in her accident.  I can't believe how close she came.  Angels were watching over her.

~That I can play online Scrabble.  Joisey got me started (thanks girlfriend) and now I also play with my son David.  It's a great way to stay connected.  Now that we're in a 3-way game Joisey is getting to know David a little better. (and no, Joisey, he doesn't really think you're an ax murderer.)

~ That I finally bit the bullet, conquered my fear and actually called Joisey to talk.  She's such a good friend.  I'm glad she stopped just observing and started communicating.  We probably won't talk much because we both hate the phone, but at least now I know what she sounds like, a Yankee sweetheart.

~ That its FALL!!!!  I Love Fall!  I love the colors of Fall, the temperature of Fall, the holidays of Fall.  I really love Fall!