Grace in Small Things: 39/365

1. Fish tacos (homemade, no less)
2. Washed down with Pacifico
3. Watermelon...sweet, juicy, cold, delicious!
4. Cooler temps
5. Camping at the beach in less than a week! Yeah!

Fabulous Talent!

Taylor's friend, Matthew (and part of the psuedo-family he lived with in SClarita during his senior year in high school, after I left him high and dry to take a job in Nor Cal), recently completed this short film that was highlighted on vimeo, after winning numerous awards! Matthew is a film major, and this is his first (of many to come, I'm sure) production. It was written, edited, produced and scored by none other than our very talented Matt. Enjoy!

Maestro from Matthew Fredrick on Vimeo.

Full House beats a Pair

As I was playing Texas Hold 'Em last night with Little Johnny Card Shark, Taylor, Flannery, and Ryan, a theme became apparent. I was clearly cleaning their clocks by frequently drawing a full house (three of a kind and a pair). As I sat smitten with my ever-growing, colorful stacks of poker chips, it occurred to me that this impromptu gin and tonic, card playing group was just that...a full house. Flannery and Ryan have been visiting since Tuesday, and Taylor has been here since Wednesday (his girlfriend, Racquel, is in So Cal, visiting her family).

It's been so fun having them all here! Endless loads of laundry (why would you visit your mom and arrive without every single dirty towel, sheet, and stitch of clothing?), food shopping, cooking, trips to Bev Mo! , more food shopping, late night and early morning chats, witty banter interjected by all (even during serious conversations about jobs, school, relocating, money, parenthood, adoption, choosing to not be a parent, politics, immigration, the economy), and just hanging out. We miss Meggie, terribly, but have had great fun thinking of names for the baby (serious and silly...so silly, in fact, I can't even put them in print).

It's been so very fun. I will miss them when they leave. I forgot how much pleasure I get out of seeing everyone around the table, enjoying a meal, waiting to see how long it will take for Flannery to get the giggles (I mean really get the giggles), and how long it will take before Taylor rears back in his chair, and waits for me to say the "mom" thing about cracking his head open if he loses his balance and falls backward, or ruining the chair by doing the whole "rearing back" thing that he loves to do and secretly, I think, loves to do just so he can see and hear me get steamed.

Yep. Full House beats a Pair, hands down.

Leaping before Looking

Oops. Here I go again. I may be just a wee bit in over my head. Maybe not. We'll see. While signing up my school for Bookshare, (I am on this committee at school with a very official sounding name, "Textbook Adoption Policy Committee") I had this thought. Maybe I should volunteer to be a reader, or a proofreader, or maybe even a scanner! Yes, I thought, I can do this! I can proof and read, or scan and proof, or scan and read, or...well, you get the idea. By signing up my school, I can help students with print disabilities get their books in an alternate format, since there is such a backlog in our department. By volunteering, I can give back to this organization. Sounds simple, right?

Except for the part where it's not. I read the instructions on how to actually do the volunteering, you know, the scanning, the proofreading, the reading, the checking, the checking again, and OMG, I think I am definitely in over my head. So technical! So detailed! It's a good thing I LOVE to read. A lot. A whole lot. A ton. Almost more than breathing. Almost. At least I get to choose whether to scan or proof, and I also get to choose which books to scan or proof.

I'll keep you posted when I can tear myself away from the instructions. That's as far as I've gotten. Oh, and by the way, you don't get the instructions until AFTER you've signed up as a volunteer. Naturally. Should be fabulous.

Grace in Small Things: 38/365

1. Shrimp on the barbie (literally)
2. News is good about my friend's eyes
3. The gorgeous weather (not too hot, not too cold, not too windy)
4. Last minute ad lib opportunity to present at conference (until the real presenter arrived, after sitting on Hwy 17 for 3 hours!)
5. Reading Annals of Dyslexia until my eyes crossed

Grace in Small Things: 37/365

1. Maeg's ability to see the humor in all things related to pregnancy, despite throwing up every single day for 15 weeks
2. Despite contracting dengue (pronounced deng-gay) fever, she and the baby are apparently healthy
3. Flannery and Ryan's visit next week to Nor Cal
4. Another day of learning at the Online Teaching Conference today in beautiful Aptos
5. A luxurious shower after camping at the beach (cold and windy) for 4 days earlier this week (photo above taken at Sunset Beach)

The Land of Love

It's official. My oldest daughter, Maeg, is pregnant! She's married to the man of her dreams, and seems deliriously happy. She's also very excited about becoming a parent, but did not expect to become pregnant so quickly. Isn't that just how life works! An unexpected, but delightful surprise. She worked for a long time as a part time nanny when she was in college in Seattle and loves children!

So, the family expands. The baby is due in late November, early December. Congratulations, my dear daughter. Welcome to the land of love.

Helmet Hair

As I was riding my bike to the post office, I was feeling rather guilty about not wearing a helmet. I work with students with TBI, and I don't want to push my luck and assume I will never fall off my bike or be hit by a driver who doesn't even see me. So, the question of the day is, how does one avoid the whole "helmet hair" look? I went on Riding Pretty, but all that did was tell me about people who have helmet hair styles.

Fortunately, I have wavy/curly hair, and it's short, so one would think, no problem! Just fluff it up, toss it around, and, viola! Good to go!

Unfortunately, I am a head sweating fool (thanks, Mom...I think it's genetic), and those cute little waves and curls don't like the sweat; in addition, I also am blessed (thanks again, Mom) with very fine, incredibly thin hair (I am sure I will become the poster child for Rogaine for Post-Menopausal Women any day now...I am somewhat surprised they haven't called me yet), so the resulting look after I wear a helmet is circa 'drowned rat', rather than healthy, glowing, positively radiant, from a ride with a helmet on. What to do, what to do?

Grace in Small Things: 36/365

1. Camping at the beach, again! (different beach, still Nor Cal)
2. Weather is supposed to be slightly warmer!
3. I haven't had a wreck on my bike!
4. Changing my pay to 12 months instead of 10 months, so I am still paid while I play!
5. Volunteering at Bookshare

Day of Dragon Full Stop

Today, I learned, or rather, re-learned Dragon Naturally Speaking, a speech to text software program. My, how this program has changed! Now, not only does this program recognize accents when speaking English, it even distinguishes between American English and British English, spoken with an Indian accent, Spanish accent, Asian accent, and a couple more I can't remember right now. Which means, if you grew up in South Africa, for example, you most likely learned British English.

You must let the computer know which type of English you will be speaking, British or American, and then stick with it, because if you tell the computer you will be speaking British English and you say "period" the program types out p-e-r-i-o-d, rather than the dot at the end of a sentence, as we say in American English. You must say "full stop", which is how the British end their sentences. The program also recognizes Northern American accents (New England), southern accents (think dahlin and y'all), and is most comfortable with midwestern English (rather flat).

Apparently, this program would not react surprisingly if you used the expression "dead slow", which is what I read when I was driving in London and entered a parking garage.

This program, however, does not appreciate giggling. I got the giggles when I was dictating this afternoon, because we were practicing dictating tongue twisters, and I thought they were hilarious. It didn't help that the fellow next to me also saw the humor in what we were dictating and started to laugh at the same time. Actually, what started the giggling in the first place was the simultaneous dictating he and I were completing. We apparently have about the same rate of speech (somewhat fast, but not hideously so), and we were attempting to bomb through the exercises quickly, as some of them seemed rather absurd. That was enough to get me giggling (you put me in a room for any long period of time and expect me to concentrate fully on the task at hand for hours on end, and I am bound to see some humor in what I am doing; hence the giggling. I admit it. I started it). I was keeping it under control, and then he started laughing, and that was it. I was a giggling idiot. It's really difficult to not giggle. I believe it's better just to get the damn giggles out and be done with it. Which is what I eventually did, and got back to business (full stop).

Tomorrow is the advanced workshop on Dragon. Let's hope I can giggle a lot on the way in, in the morning, to get it out of my system (full stop).

Happy Tiffins

While reading this month's bon appetit magazine, under "The Conscious Cook", I read about tiffin tins as a thrifty and green way to transport your lunch to work each day. Although I am a firm believer in bringing my lunch from home every day, I don't have nearly the snazzy ensemble pictured in the magazine. While I won't be rushing out to purchase a tiffin, as I am quite satisfied hauling my cottage cheese and fruit in an old tupperware container I've had for years, there is a video on youtube I thought you might enjoy. The music is the best part; quite a jazzy little number! At one point in the short video it almost looks like the video camera operator got a little dizzy watching the demonstrator tip the tiffin upside down over and over again to prove that it is "leakproof", which made me laugh and want to watch it again! The little shake comes at 0:48; watch for it. If you blink, you'll miss it! (Note: you can also buy tiffins at greenfeet.com)

The joys of Sunday

Grace in Small Things: 35/365

1. A leisurely Sunday bike ride through the bike trails of Mountain View and Palo Alto
2. Working up a powerful thirst that even water can't quench
3. Stopping at a neighborhood microbrewery to sample some of Mountain View's finest
4. Having absolutely NO schedule to adhere to
5. Tumbling into bed after midnight knowing I will sleep soundly