Perception

I received this in an email recently, something to think about...




Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.


4 minutes later:


The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.


6 minutes:


A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.


10 minutes:

A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.


45 minutes:


The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.


1 hour:


He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.


No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.


This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.

The questions raised:

*In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?

*Do we stop to appreciate it?

*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?


One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made.

How many other things are we missing?

Darn,

I forgot my camera for both Thanksgiving celebrations so you are just going to have to believe me when I tell you we were ridiculously blessed with food, family, and fun. I hope you were, too.

Never

ever make special K bars with special K chocolate cereal...because it is not good for the butt, but it is really good for everything else.

sIgH...the weekend

has arrived and dad is working which gives the house some time to settle. It has been a crazy week here.

I just cut Gavin's hair and it didn't go well. I grabbed the three to do the back and accidentally started with the top. Sheesh.

Last night I bit into a piece of crusty bread and busted my tooth in half.

I have bananas on the counter waiting to be in bread with some dark cocoa chips. Plans to make runza's are in the works but are exhausting me just thinking about it.

My brother sent me two lei's from Hawaii and they. smell. so. lovely. I want to go to Hawaii. right. now. please. someone. buy. me. a. ticket. pretty please?

I spent the bday in the big city renewing my drivers lc. (that is AN experience I tell ya), eating lunch with a super great friend, thrifting and hunting for bargains until I couldn't walk another step, coming home to some fun mail and a nice supper with my hubby which may have included two margaritas and some cake...

The kitchen remodel is coming along nicely. Dusty and dirty, but wonderful none-the-less. Down came the wall, down came the beam, up went the new beam (I think we almost maimed a b-i-l with that one) and now the sheetrock is back over the beam just waiting for finishing. Hopefully we can get new flooring and perhaps some cabinets before Nora graduates from high school.

C is for

Crockpot - potato and green bean casserole on the menu for tonight with some sausage

Cold - had to give in and turn the furnace on, brrrrrrrrr

Crazy kids - it's knowing they can't go outside that is fueling them I think

Cookies - they are almost gone :(

Carving pumpkins - after school today, what a mess

weekend so far

1 visit to the lake where :
one child got sick on the merry go round and one child got sick in the car on the ride home

2 visits to the pool so far :)

2.5 books read while children took long naps exhausted from the swimming

3 items brough to end of the year swim party for softball; brats, chinese cucumbers and zucchini double chocolate brownies

4 scared children in my bed after one very loud tonado siren roared last night

5 more items added to the meeting agenda for SpudFest

6 minutes to nap time when I will be doing

TONS of laundry ;) or reading the last half of my book...

Just so you know

Yoga rocks.

I slept like a baby last night.

Oncologist appointment this afternoon.

Prayers graciously accepted ;)

Happy Wednesday everyone.

Wordless Wednesday

It's Monday and it's raining...again.

My neighbor got across his yard two times this morning before the rain started. I noticed he was sorta rushing it. Poor guy, his lawn is starting to look like the set from Jurassic Park.

It's really coming down now and has been for almost an hour. I can see the water pooling on the roofs of the houses near mine.

The rain made an appearance at yesterdays ballgame. But, the Muckdogs pulled out a win against Lennox (CD, if you are out there - I am so sorry the Muckdog site is not up and running I will try and post the standings when I get them), thanks to a particularly handsome pitcher. I think they ended up winning by 12 or more. I don't really know, I was too busy picking up my babies from the ground. True story, I had baby Lou Lou wrapped up like a taco in her blanket (off topic: I KNOW it was near 80 degrees after church so I dressed everyone in tanks and shorts for the ballgame where it was raining and felt like it was 40 degrees). I was pushing my baby taco in the stroller on those pointy pink rocks and she popped right out of the stroller on to the ground. I felt certain that everyone who saw it was saying to themselves, "What kind of mother...?" and I was saying the same thing under my breath. But she lived, she has a tiny bruise on her forehead to constantly remind me of how dumb I was not to buckle her in.

In other news;

Addison has been cleaning up her messes. In fact she loves cleaning so much that anytime she sees a drop of water or something on the ground, she struts over to the drawer where my kitchen rags are and takes one out where she proceeds to put her foot on it and swish it around on the floor (they are little mirrors). It is a sight to see. I giggle every time she does it. One day this week she went through a whole drawer of rags...

You know what people say about coupons, that if you don't buy what you don't need they will save you money. Well, I had a coupon for Oscar Meyer cooked bacon and I used it. I didn't need it, but I used it. Now I am hooked on a product I don't need. It is wonderful. You pop a piece in the micro for a couple of seconds and viola, hot crispy bacon. Put one on eggs in a tortilla. Crumble one up in your chicken salad sandwich, use a couple on a BLT. SO convenient, so not messy and so not going to be cheap without a coupon. Sigh. I am trying to find things that precooked bacon cannot do like this, to argue myself out of purchasing it again.

This whole not having a camera thing is hard on me, but I am dealing, I am finding my words.

I miss my camera.

My camera died this week. I think it had something to do with an adorable 19 month old. But, I am not 100% positive. It was over 5 years old and I abused it a lot.

I would have posted a TON of pictures this week if I only had a camera. I missed so many wonderful photo and video opportunities I almost want to cry, these are just a few:

• 80+ children and 50+ volunteers singing and dancing and praising God at VBS
• Pastor playing Gideon at VBS, he pretended to snore so loudly I could hear him a mile away, his wife had a baby this week so he was only able to help the first half of the week, but he was AWESOME
• half of my garage full of items for the group rummage at my church
• my son helping me load the trailer full of garage sale stuff to drive across the street to the church...twice
• my son putting a HUGE box of books on his skate board (ingenious) to get it across the street for the rummage (think physics people, it was amazing!)
• Ad putting garage sale stickers all over her body
• the fellowship hall so full of treasures it could burst
• baked goods so yummy you could taste them through the photo
• the first garage sale-er at 630 am Friday morning (I didn't think we'd get one that early, but we did)
• the lemonade stand my kids sat at and made enough money to buy cameras from the church rummage
• Lou Lou up on all fours
• my buddies who helped run the rummage (you guys were great, it was so nice having adults to talk to face to face)
• Lee's tonsils that were so swollen last night they were touching her uvula

It was an awesome week, but I am glad it's the weekend. Today it's cold and rainy and my sister is coming. I can't wait to see her.

I sure hope I can keep these memories in my brain filing cabinet for awhile. I don't want to forget them any time soon.

Scratching the itch.

Hi, pretty Baby!

Last night I had heartburn. Heartburn makes me think of pregnancy.
A couple of nights ago Ad fell asleep in daddy's arms. He said, "I wonder how many more times this is gonna happen? Not too many more, I fear."
Pastor's wife is 37 weeks pregnant. She looks beautiful. She is all a glow.
Nora is getting up on all fours. She is so close to crawling, we can all taste it.
There is something amazing about babies. They are so miraculous. The pregnancy itself is something so wonderfully awesome. It's hard to put into words (and the excuse to wear elastic waistband pants is pretty cool, too).
Then there is the birth and those first 6 months of joyful learning and no sleep.
I think Ry and I are realizing this is the last of babies.
It is sort of a hard pill to swallow.

It's pretty quiet here tonight.

The kids decided to give us all nicknames the other night while we were eating supper.
Lee, Lil' G, Ad, and Lou Lou are what they came up with. I thought it was cute.

My house is quiet because;

Lee left for an overnight birthday camp out. She was EXCITED. I am nervous. Her first official friend sleepover. She really doesn't need me anymore. Sniff sniff.

Gordo and Lil' G went to the ballgame. They barely had enough bodies for a game. Hopefully Lil' G doesn't have to go in. I think we are in for rough season. I am praying that no one else gets hurt. I got a sneak peek at the new uniforms and they look 'cool'. No more polyester jerseys. That thick, rough, scratchy, material has been replaced by a cool thin mesh that all the guys will surely appreciate on those hot summer nights.

Ad and Lou Lou were really tired. They stayed up for a quick after work visit with Mema and then both fell fast asleep.

The quiet is really loud. I had to turn the television on for background noise.

What's a mom to do?

Guess I should plan for VBS, or finish my three started books or do laundry or clean or just blog about what I should be doing and not really do any of it...

Rainy days...

We had a bit of a crisis today when Gavin purchased a new refrigerator for his Webkinz and then accidentally placed the fridge in front of the bathroom door and locked his pet inside. Whew! Thank goodness Maleah knew how to use the map and remove items. Gavin was sure his pet was a goner.

I subbed today and volunteered to monitor the indoor recess which is held in the old gym. I don't think I will ever do that again unless I am forced to. Almost 50 kids let loose in a small room screaming and running everywhere. The noise was deafening. I had to ask a child to speak up three times before I realized he needed to use the restroom. It was the hopping and holding of the privates that finally convinced me, not his words. I couldn't hear a thing for hours.

I wore the wrong shoes again today. My feet are killing me. I think I may be allergic to exercises. Every time I actually get out and walk a bit, my feet hurt. Not the bottom, but the top of my feet. It feels like they are sprained or something. The pain is real. I feel dumb saying anything. I would blame it on the heels today, but I wore running shoes (ha, like I could ever really run) the other day on my walk and the next morning I had the same terrible pain in my feet. I don't have a clue what is causing it. Must be my old age and extra plumpness. My hip joints aren't what they used to be either. If I sit for an extended amount of time, man do I ache when I get up to move. I may as well get the walker out.

The rain today greened everything up. It sure was a pain to get to school this morning in the sheets of wet stuff but, man, is it beautiful out there now. My grass is so green it looks like someone colored it with a crayon. Nuts, and it was snowing just a few days ago.

When I can't get my hair up in a clip I know it's time to get it thinned. Most people get their hair cut every few months, I get mine thinned out. I called yesterday and she had a spot for me today. I feel lucky she could get me in so quickly. I may go out and buy myself a powerball ticket. So, after school got out early today for teacher in service I trucked my butt in to the salon. When I got home, Ryan asked my why I drove 60 miles for a haircut. I asked him why he drove 20 miles last night for a can of chew.

We had the same thing for supper tonight as we did last night (oh, the horror)I made enough meatloaf and cheesy potatoes to feed an army last night. AND, I used raw potatoes instead of frozen hasbrowns in the casserole. DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME. I cooked the casserole for an hour and a half and the potatoes still weren't done. So last night we nuked portions for our supper and I cooked the rest of the pan again tonight. Next time I will mostly cook the potatoes before assembling the dish. They were perfect tonight, though. So was the meatloaf. Leftovers rule.

That's enough rambling for tonight, I am getting a little too sassy. Besides Addison has one whole leg scribbled on with a pen.

Must get back to being a mommy.

Where oh where did my little week go?

Where oh where could it be?

Yesterday, Addison and I put markers in and out of a box for a half an hour. I thought for a minute or two how boring other people might think it was to sit on the floor and put markers in and out of a box. But, you should have seen her delight. I hardly ever let her play with markers (see this). She was so happy to be able to touch them and every time she took out one she would take the lid off and look at me and smile and put the lid back on. Then she got lazy and took the lid off and handed me the marker and then handed me the lid. She did this over and over and I think she was just gosh darn happy to have my full attention and a 12 pack of stuff that was normally 'off limits'.

That only took about 30 minutes out of it, but the week sure did zoom by. Ryan has had in service most of the week so he has been gone. The weather has been too hot to take the babies out or too cold or too windy. I tell ya, blink and it'll change.

I did get some fun garage sale-ing in. I got an umbrella for our patio table for $5, now we can eat supper without the sun glaring in our faces. I got some good clothing finds for the babies, nothing over a buck. Nora got some cool toys that I put in the wash. She is just starting to play with things. I found some cool kids books that I have been wanting to read, one by Katie Couric, "The Blue Ribbon Day" and another by Henry Winkler, "Holy Enchilada". I also found one inspired by The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren that looks pretty cool, it's called "Made for a purpose." The big kids got to spend a dollar of their own. A dollar still buys a lot, you know?

I bought some seeds, finally. I planted them in containers. I am having an herb garden this year. I hope it's successful. I know some of us are better at this planting thing than I am, but I am excited, none the less, and hoping for at least something to help me make yummy salsa and tomato sauces. I am buying tomato plants, unless I get some given to me (hint hint). I also started some green and hot peppers from seeds.

The kids and I planted flower seeds. Not sure if they will even come up. Last night when I was cleaning some of the outdoor toys and chairs, Addi decided to borrow the hose and water my pots. The dirt was swimming by the time I caught her. Oh well:)

The garden is tilled up and I would like to get the peas and carrots out this weekend. It sounds like rain tomorrow so I am not sure if it will get done.

The kids got to go to the circus. Their aunt and and cousins took them last night.
They had a blast. They brought home a ton of cheap plastic toys that will be in the trash by Sunday.

I got mad at my fat and packed up 4 trash bags of clothes the other day. I dropped them off at the thrift store. I just want to get back to my normal fat and not be extra fat, is that too much too ask? I tried to walk away the pounds yesterday and ended up getting 16 minutes in before Nora woke up screaming. Sigh. I need a nanny, a housekeeper and a personal trainer, for free.

Tomorrow is our 11 year anniversary. Seems like just yesterday I was trying on wedding dresses and picking out colors. It's been quite a ride, and we're picking up speed. Hopefully we'll be able to stop and spend some time together soon to celebrate. Maybe I can email him or send him an e-card?

I really need some chocolate, but I shouldn't. I'm dieting...sort of. I am trying not to eat all the chocolate in one day, at least.

reverse psychology

Addison plays in the basket of hats and mittens everyday. She takes them out, tries them on, carries them around the house. I am constantly finding a mitten in the weirdest of places (the potty chair).

So today I figured, why fight it? I took the basket down from the shelf and put it on the floor, smack dab in the middle of the room.

She never touched it. She walked circles around it. She avoided it at all costs. I wonder if I put my computer in the middle of the living room, would she stop turning it off while I am posting?

Yesterday was absolutely gorgeous. I took the baby out and we sat in the sun. The sun was so warm it warmed her skin and for a moment I wondered if her tiny head would be burned. It was wonderful. Addison was SO EXCITED!



Completely unrelated but confoundedly interesting;

There are two major hospitals in our area. The one my husband works for, Sanford, and a Catholic hospital, named Avera. On the local news last night Avera announced a system wide pay cut. Dh's little sister called and said her pay was reduced by 5%. Is it a statement? I only wonder because Dh is so busy at the hospital this time of year. He can work seven or eight 12 hour shifts in a row, with incentive pay for every night/weekend/extra shift he picks up. Normally there are around 10 therapists on and they have been working with at least a dozen. I just can't imagine that Avera isn't busy. I wonder what Sanford will do, if anything, to counteract?