Busy, exhausted, and... bored?!

I don't know. Nora Seems to have plenty to write about. I've got tons going on and can't think of what to say. My car hasn't broken down in ages. When it did, it wasn't nearly as dramatic as overheating. It just quit. At a stoplight. On a six-lane road. Coming home from church. And people kept coming up behind me and honking as if I wanted to sit there through the green light. So I really have no road adventures to relate.

As for mysteries, I always wanted to be the Hardy Boys. Unfortunately, my mysteries range from "Where did I put that printout I had just five minutes ago?" to "Why is my computer screen flashing at me?" I do know a good detective song from one of my students' books. I don't want to get in trouble with the copyright so I'll just quote part and I'll list the author (well, since the song doesn't list a writer, I'll assume the author of the book wrote it).

by Nancy and Randall Faber

Our Detective Agency

"...Missing hat? Missing cat? Missing door mat?
We can even locate that!
Missing homework just before it's due?
We can solve your case with any clue!..."

Solve a case with any clue? What if the clue belongs to another case? I'd like to read a story where that happened...

Right now, though, I'm going to go eat supper and go to bed. I have a flute lesson in the morning. I haven't practiced so at least I should try to show up rested.

[For anyone who hasn't figured out yet: when I don't know what to write, I just respond to Nora's blog. (See link above--or below.)]

The word is...

Last weekend my mom, my sisters, and I attended a women's retreat at NGYC. It rained the entire time which wasn't really a problem since the new chapel is finished. We had plenty of indoor space. A good thing, too, as over 100 women attended!

Mostly we went to see friends. We meet up there every year with a mother and daughter (and friends) from Illinois. That's fun although trivia battles are not conducive to getting to bed on time. =) We also get to see a lot of other people from around the state.

The theme this year was "Taming the Tongue"--as in, not gossiping. That said, I suppose I can't tell about anything else that happened...

Just kidding. It was a pretty quiet weekend but still tiring. So I came home and did nothing all day Monday except try to beat a really stupid computer game. Why? I'm not sure. I vowed I wouldn't touch it again until next weekend. Well, vow might be too a strong word. Especially since I broke it both nights since. If I could just win, I'd leave it alone. hehehe

Maybe someday I'll grow up...

Guess what! I've already started looking at Christmas music. Seems crazy, but when you have to choose books for your students, order the books, and have time for them to prepare the music before Christmas, you have to start early. I do love fall and winter and all the holidays and cold weather. I think I should move to Alaska. But I'd miss my friends here. I need a jet liner.

Now how is that for an uninspired blog about an uninspired week. I'll try to do better next time. =)

We will not forget.

My friends

Visit these blogs for a good laugh and edifying reading:

Georges (I love you, bro),chucrutzen.blogspot.com
his fiancee Mariana,www.maribanana.blogspot.com/ (in Portuguese) www.estreladosul.blogger.com.br/
and brother Paul.paulbert.blogspot.com/

My version of the story

Nora started her blog (littlenloud.blogspot.com) with her experience on our camping trip, but she missed a couple details. First of all, since she got a giant goose-egg on her head compliments of her shortcut back to our site, she and I were both concerned that she might have a concussion. She, of course, would not admit this to me and decided to just pray that if she needed to be wakened during the night, God would do it. I just prayed that she'd be all right. So what happens? First, my air mattress immediately deflates and I find myself on a lumpy vinyl mat all night. Therefore, I am certain to not sleep through anything. (Sleeping before and after is questionable as well.) Then the racoon decided to mess with our stuff. I tried to scare it away from the tent, but it just stared back at me like, "When are you going to put that flashlight away so I can go back to what I was doing?" So I had to get up and chase him away and make sure our food was safe. That, of course woke up everyone in the tent. One for Nora.

Then some of us needed to go down to the bathrooms. That woke her up again. I remember thanking God at some point because Nora was coherent so I figured I didn't have to worry about her. The racoon returned later. This time I decided it wasn't worth getting up. Finally, Beth (who was not coherent) sat up and shouted "Watch out!" She then went back to sleep. But Nora woke up. I think maybe I should have just set my alarm to go off every hour. Then all I'd have to do is roll over, shake Nora, and ask "What's your name? Do you know where you are?" Then go back to sleep. Next time, Nora, I'm thinking twice before praying for your safety. =)

Despite the bees, I'm really quite proud of us. We had the best food in the campground, I think. We did all our cooking over the fire. (Thank you, Nora and Beth, for making firewood runs.) Egg McMuffins, tuna melts, pancakes, and Nora's awesome corn chowder! We escaped with only 4 stings and no forest fires.

All in all, it was a good weekend. Our tent didn't fall down. Nora's parents' tent didn't fall down after the pole broke and her dad fixed it with duct tape. We only almost froze the first night. No one drowned swimming across the lake. (We had a canoe with extra life jackets along just in case.) And Nora is still speaking to the rest of us after we gave out on her and went home Saturday night.

God-sighting for the weekend: Two-and-a-half-hour corn chowder that made for great bonding time.