merrywandering

Somehow in the move to Houston, I've managed to lose my list of Christmas addresses on my computer. I don't know how I did that.

So now's your chance. If you would like a Christmas card from me, please send me your address. Either on LJ or my yahoo email, merrywandering. Feel free to add yourself to my list and get all the news from Casa Wilbur - Houston Edition.

I may be finally phasing out checks. A couple of months ago as I went to pay my bills, I discovered I was down to one check. I thought I had another book somewhere, but turns out not. So I used that opportunity to finally pay all my bills online. I did have to use my last check to pay for my car registration, but now we'll see how long I can go without a check. I figure I could always get my dad to write a check, and I'd just pay him cash.

I know, most of you probably haven't used paper checks in years. Still, it feels weird.

In other news, as much as I love my Kindle, I've found that it's not really good for textbooks. Anything that I have to highlight or review or take notes in. Yes, it contains those features, but it's not as convenient as just rifling through the pages and quickly scanning where the yellow marker is. So unless the price differences is huge, I'll probably get my textbooks the old fasioned way.

On Monday I have a major project due for Historiography. We have to do bibliography cards on 20 historians and their (up to) five most important works. THe prof says the purpose of it is to teach us to pick up a book and within 30 minutes be able to understand what it's about. I imagine a number of my classmates are completeing this project via Wikipedia, but insofar as I can, I've been tracking down the books. I actually enjoy doing it - though mostly I read the introductions to get the summary of the book. I only sometimes scan the book itself. Historians we're doing include Thucydides, Tacitus, Bede, Machiavelli, Thomas Carlyle, Edward Gibbon, Max Weber, Oswald Spengler, Oscar Handlin, John Hope Franklin, George W. Williams, Jacob Burkhardt, Frederick Jackson Turner, James McPherson, Richard Hofstadter, Francis Braudel -- umm, and others. Basically, either I've already read them, or I've never heard of them.

And in yet other news, Sam came home this week with some cards in his backback and the words "Sam is writing." He's writing! Granted, copying letters - but his letters were far more clear than they've ever been before. My big boy! Starting to read and write!

Sorry. I suck at Live Journal.

Yesterday I had my first grad school exam. Essay test. Two hours. I used one hour and fifty-five minutes of it. I'm sure I did fine on it. In fact, I'm starting to think that I'm rather smart, despite having been out of school for over fifteen years. (I told Sam that I'm in the 20th grade.) After all, unlike many of my fellow students, I have actually read Herodotus, Suetonius and Josephus; Augustine, Eusebius and Bede; Machiavelli, Descartes, and Gibbon. Granted, I can't remember very much detail, but i have actually read them.

The semester is totally kicking my butt, but I'm just managing to keep up both with my teaching and with my studies. The good news is that my foster/adopt class is now over. Hooray! Still have various bits and bobs to get together. Today the padawan and I got TB tests done. As usual, I couldn't bear to look at the needle, but Sam watched it. He was a little freaked out when the needle first went in, but then was fine. It doesn't hurt like those durn vaxes do.

I think now it's likely that we won't get licensed until November, what with bureaucracy being what it is. But once it happens, I plan on hounding CPS until we get a new padawan. I said I'm willing to take a child up to three years old, but since I only want one, it is most likely to be an infant. The reason is that older children are more likely to have siblings, and they hate to break up sibling groups unless they have to. But infants come into the system all the time. Sam still thinks he's going to get five sisters, but if we get a boy, he's got a name already picked out: Justin Bieber. *facepalm* (I haven't told him yet that Willow Smith has a new video out.)

Incidentally, Sam has entered another phase that seems to be typical developmentally: he has suddenly started saying that when he grows up, he's going to marry me. So while he has many, many girlfriends, I'm the one he's going to marry.

In other Sam news, Grandma finally caved and started letting him play games on her iPhone. Now he has figured out how to download free games all by himself. Fortunately the ones that cost money require my mother's password. He has become absolutely killer at Angry Birds - a game that my mother and I both suck at. Typical, no? I think I'm going to have to start placing time limits on his use of the iPhone, though. he wants to play it all the time.

So that's the news from Lake Woebegone. I wish I could promise it wouldn't be so long before the next update, but...you know how that goes.

Took the padawan to his first day of school* (pre-k) this morning. Aunt Julie came as moral support, but in the end I didn't need it. After all, he's been to two daycares before. Plus, as we left him, he was sitting there with his little smirk, where he's excited about something but trying to play like he's too cool to care. Good lord, where does he get this stuff from? His teacher asked me if he was shy. I said, "No, he's faking it."

Actually, I think he'll really like his school, because his last daycare was really a glorified babysitting service. This one will actually be structured and they'll be learning things. He's old enough now that he realizes some other kids his age or even younger can write their letters, and he gets jealous. I've offered to work with him on that, but he has refused. They sure didn't get much reinforcement on that in his old daycare, but I think he'll jump at the chance to learn at school.

Meanwhile, I've spent my first child-free morning cleaning the house. What an improvement! And tonight I start my school. My prof managed to wrangle an assistantship for me that will pay for my tuition. I worship him! And I get to meet him tonight. "Historiography," whatever that is. But you know what our textbooks are? "The City of God" by St. Augustine, and Herodotus' "Histories." I didnt' even have to buy the second one! I already have it, though I've only read half of it. I don't have "City of God" but I've read "The Confessions" three times, and I'm excited to read "City of God." Not sure why these are our texts, but we'll find out tonight, eh?


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*This school is actually the same school Aunt Julie and I attended when we were kids, so it was very nostalgic to us. Except that they spent the past year demolishing the old building and constructing a completely new one, so nothing was familiar but the name and the location. Still, we were very excited.

I made non-fried refried beans today. (And how is THAT for an oxymoron?) They came out really, REALLY good. The problem is, there's so much of it! I really should know by now to make only half the beans. Heck, I can't even use up a store-bought can of refried beans before they go bad. This? Is like a dozen cans. At least.

Oh, but they really are good. I've never cared for refried beans. Bland and tasteless smoodge, if you ask me. But then years ago I had some at a restaurant that were clearly made from scratch, and they were scrumptious. Who knew? Kinda like hummus, back in the day before you could buy it in grocery stores with fancy ingredients like sun-dried tomatoes. Back when you could only get it at Middle Eastern restaurants, and it was rather bland. But then I made it at home one day, put in three times the amount of garlic called for in the recipe, and HOY BOY! PITA HEAVEN!

So now I've got way more refried beans than anyone should ever need. I guess we'll have to eat bean and cheese tacos for breakfast every morning for the rest of the year.

Hmmmm.

Actually, that doesn't sound too bad....

(Now, the real miracle would be to find a recipe that could convert me to Spanish rice. I frikkin HATE Spanish rice! My hatred goes far beyond the taste. It's on principle - except I'm not even sure what the principle is. Maybe the fact that plain white rice is so delicious in itself, why would anyone descrate that by making it into Spanish rice? What's IN Spanish rice anyway? Tomatoes, I guess. I don't really know why I hate it so passionately. My son loves it, though. But then he loves rice in any form. Bless him.)

Our church is doing Vacation Bible School this week, and it seems the padawan has another crush. She came late today, when the kids were all practicing a dance they're going to do for tomorrow's program. He lit up like a firecracker when she appeared.

I know I shouldn't project, but what else can you call it? Seriously, he was adorable.

I might also mention that we now have to sit in the front pew at church because he also has a crush on the choir director. We used to sit close to the back, where the other kids were, but he got upset because whenever the choir sings, many folks stand up, and he can't see the action. So now he insists we sit in the front pew. It is true that he loves to watch the choir and the band, but also -- he's got a crush on the choir director.

Preschool crushes are SO CUTE!!!!

I weighed myself this morning. I've lost 15 pounds since January! That's one-third of the way toward my target! Go me!

Sis and I went today to Planet Fitness and met with the personal trainer. We worked our asses off today - literally. I feel so strong and kick-ass. Woo-hoo!

Well, I got signed up again at Couchsurfing. We hosted so many wonderful folks in San Antonio, but it took about nine months before I got my first surfer. I was afraid that what with the transfer to Houston, it would take that long for us to show up on surfers' raders, and we only have the spare parents' room for a limited amount of time. But no! I've already got inquiries for three possible groups of surfers, including a French dude motorcyling through the Americas who would come this weekend! I also got an inquiry for a get together from a woman here in Houston who is also a minister.

So I'm excited. I so much loved hosting surfers, and will enjoy it again. Also, I'm hoping the padawan and I will get to do some surfing of our own this summer as we head to Colorado and hopefully to Seattle. Make new friends! Save money! Yay!

As it turns out, my anxiety about Sam was unfounded, at least for the first evening. He was as solid gold as they come today: happy, affectionate, and very caring. We had to pick up some stuff at the grocery store and I got him some lunchables as a treat, and he insisted quite adamantly in sharing it with me. We had dinner together, played frikkin race cars together, and rode our bikes. He still gave me grief over bedtime, but otherwise he was an absolute pleasure to be with this evening. May it continue!

In other news, the dishwasher isn't working. Botheration.

The folks left for Colorado this morning and will be gone all summer long, which means the padawan and I will be on our own again. I'm half afraid I've forgotten how to be a single parent. On the plus side, over the weekend I reconnected with a minsterial colleague who is also a single parent. His son is almost the exact same age as Sam to the day, and they live only a few miles from our house. We instantly exchanged phone numbers for future playdates.

Speaking of Curves - the day after I rode my bike there, I received an email that they were closing. Turns out they haven't paid their rent in over six months, so the landlord locked them out. Anyway, we used this as an opportunity/excuse to join Planet Fitness instead, and my sister joined as well. She and I went for our first workout today. They have a Curves-style circuit training thing, though it's a bit different. But I'm glad to be going to PF. Not only more diverse equipment - and unlimited use of a personal trainer - but it's only $10 a month! And I can still ride my bike there, though it's only about three miles round trip instead of ten.

Last night there was a nasty wind and lightning storm. We lost power for about ten hours. I haven't been without power that long in ages. It was very hot, and the poor padawan had a rough time. You know, his asthma acts up at night and often he needs a breathing treatment, but we couldn't do it last night, because no electricity. He woke up around 11 coughing, but it wasn't too bad. If it had gotten worse, I was thinking of driving to a McDonald's or something to find a functioning plug. He did manage to fall asleep though.

In other news, started my summer semester of World Religions today. Cool class, including a Mormon and a Sikh. Will be very interesting!