Randon Kid Conversations

I have always loved being a teacher. Teaching is in my blood. Being a TEACHER is not only what I do, it is who I am.

I love random kid conversations. So far, I have had two really funny random kid conversations:

In English class with my Fantastic Four Freshmen, we were discussing grammar, when to use a colon and a comma when writing a letter. When writing a formal letter, one should use a colon after the greeting. After I shared this with students, I gave this example: (note the colon...)

"Students, use a colon after you use such greetings as 'Dear Sir or Madame:' or 'To Whom It May Concern. '"

*Larry pipes up and says, "or 'You People:'"

I laughed so hard I almost fell out of my chair!!

then after lunch...

*Liberty was discussing using air freshener after one goes "poo" in the restroom. She said that if it is an apple scent, it smells like "someone just pooped an apple." I laughed soooo hard. I have often thought that many air fresheners do not truly cover up the poo smell. Then I said, some air fresheners smell like some one just pooped a tropical breeze... and of course there was another round of laughter, as we each began to come up with the next funniest poop smell.

Ahhh, yes.. I love teaching.

~~~~~~~~~

*I have changed students' names to protect the guilty... er innocent, that is.. ha.

My Cinna-Bun.

Last Saturday Brandon and I decided to get out for an Indiana countryside drive. We started out headed to Nappanee which is about 25 minutes from here, north by northwest. When we got there, nothing was going on; we drove through the town in two minutes, then decided that we'd rather head over to Shipshewana, which was in the exact opposite direction and about an hour away. But, what the hay! We were out mainly to just be out. The sun was shining, the breeze was cool, and the Amish were out in droves! Brandon drove, I rode shot-gun, and we chatted, enjoying the view. Black Amish buggies clip-clopped along the side of the road, baring their safety orange triangle. The "shoulder" of the road is used as a buggy lane, which we called the "poo" lane. Much horse poo covered both shoulders, signifying much buggy activity. We laughed about the poo lane, and taking Poo Avenue into town. A couple times we saw two young Amish girls in a small rig pulled by a loyal pony. They were so cute as they reigned the pony into the poo lane; the pony trotting along, doing its duty proudly. (Not realizing he is an Amish pony and that trotting proudly is a sin.) The countryside was beautiful. Farm after farm. The Amish homes are easily reccognizable. They do not have electrical wires running to the house, and they have paddocks with big, Belgin work horses; several paddocks had foals.

In Shipshewana there is a store called E & S Sales, a bulk food store that has wonderfully delicious spices, flours, cheeses, butter, bacon, baking supplies, etc. So we decided to stop by there and pick up a few items, since we were in the neighborhood. We arrived at 4:30, they closed at 4:00! Bummer. There is a well-known restaurant, hotel, and shopping plaza know as Das Dutchman Essenhaus or "Essen-house", as we "English" call it. ("English" is what the Amish call the non-Amish.) The food there is wonderful!! and is reasonably priced, but the parking lot was full. So, instead of wading through the crowd, we decided to patron a small restaruant called The 5 & 20. (I could not find a weblink for this one...) Brandon wanted pie, good Amish pie. I am not much of a pie eater. I prefer cake, but as I skimmed over the menu I saw they had cinnamon rolls. I was thinking Pilsbury size, you know, the ones that come out of the can, you unroll, slap on the baking sheet and bake. But, oh no! Not in Amishland. To my surprise and delight, the server, a modern "English" woman with long, curly auburn hair and bright green eyes, set the colassal, awe-inspiring cinnamon roll in front of me. The aroma of its buttery goodness intoxicated my senses. Immediately I was enveloped in its yeasty spell. It was served on a small plate, making the treat look even larger! Right then and there I made a decision: Yes, I WILL eat all of this. I enjoyed every sweet, yeasty-cinnamon-butter-filled bite. I made soft "yummmm" humming sounds as I chewed and washed it down with the perfect cup of coffee. A couple of the Amish servers looked at me oddly, then seemed relieved to know I was a married woman.

Our day out was well worth the drive.

Beware. Pictures of the cinnamon roll are included in this post. Be fore-warned that these picutres will cause you to drool.



(Yes, I find it ironic that I was able to find internet weblinks to Amish stores and restaurants...)

Decisions, decisions

Sometimes I don't like being a grown-up. Making those hard decision is just no fun. But, we have sorted our priorities, and we "Boot-Strap" Wilhites have pulled ourselves up by our proverbial boot-straps and are marching forward!

Those hard decisions include:

1. Continuing to live with Grandma & Grandpa until spring or even next summer. Rents are sky high, and at present, buying a house is out of the equation. Living here is quite comfortable. We mostly hang out in the basement, entertained by a large big screen TV with losts of comfy couch space. Oh, and did I mention Grandma fixes dinner every night! Mareth-Dale & Tilly are quite comfy and occasionally they grace Grandpa with sitting in his lap, which we believe he secretly likes.

2. Brandon is planning to get another job, in addition to teaching. We love teaching at the school, but it does NOT pay nearly enough to live off of. For now, trading has been put on the warm back-burner. As many of you have seen in the news, the economy and markets are NUTS. We were hit pretty hard, but are faring much better than some. I am proud of Brandon's gallant efforts to keep our boat afloat!

Those are the main two decisions. I have not updated in awhile, due to the fact that we have been battling these decisions in full battle armor, including flaming arrows, swords and shields. We have a few wounds healing and some battle scars, but we are, of course, rising VICTORIOUS!!

For now, I am out of metaphors... so, I'll close this entry. More soon.

My Space.

My last post was about contentment. And, yes... I have felt contentment. It's my husband who is ready for his own space... and I agree. I do miss my space. And, I miss my stuff. Most of all I miss my bed. Our king-size, pillow-top bed. Ahhh. Just thinking about it makes me feel sleepy and cozy. I miss my dishes. Funny, huh? But, I do. One might think that a plate is a plate, but I would beg to differ. Grandma has Fiesta ware, multi-colored dishes... each dish and bowl a different color. I miss my Blue Willow, and Mosaic Fruit. I prefer my reds, blues and yellows... I miss my clothes. Yesterday afternoon was sunny with a cool breeze. This morning it was 54 degrees. Fall is in the air, and that coolness reminds me that all my "warm" clothes are down South. Hopefully our things will make it this way very soon. Most of all though, I miss having my own kitchen, and making "our" food. There are certain meals I fix that we have missed: artichoke feta penne, boneless hot wings, tomatoes lightly stuffed with blue cheese and fresh basil, quesadillas, etc.... I miss cooking. Grandma cooks dinner every night. Grandpa is on a strict schedule due to medications and diabetes, so he fixes himself breakfast and lunch, then she cooks dinner. I was trying to fix us separate stuff, trying to eat healthier, but it was too much work and trying to cook around each other did not work for Grandma 'n me. So, I bowed out.

We are ready for our very own space. We are still praying and believing God for the Chestnut House, but only God Himself knows how soon that will come. Until then I have decided to actively pursue apartment hunting after the Labor Day holiday.

OH! I got a brand-spankin' new lap top of my very own!! It's mine, my own, my precious.... Since I have my own lap top, I will now be able to blog more often! Whoo hooo! I got a Compaq Presario at Staples; it was under $500! It does every thing I need it to do.... wireless 'net access, movies, music, drive for photo card reader... 2 GB of memory... Good stuff! I am really excited! I can even start one of those books that is floating around in my head!

Contentment.

For some of you, this might be a "boring" post (Erik! ha!), but for others, my faithful fans (yes, that makes me giggle) you can continue to keep up with us and what is going on here in our universe.

This week has been a unique week for me. (Unique week, say that five times really fast...) I have felt contentment, calmness, happiness... peace. And, yes.. I have felt that in the midst of living with Grandma & Grandpa! I have felt that in the midst of not cooking in my own kitchen... I have felt contentment despite the fact that most all of my worldly possessions are in Kentucky and I am living in Indiana!! I have felt contentment despite the fact that at times my flesh cries out for complete quiet and privacy. I feel peace and a calmness in my spirit, like I am in a small john-boat in the middle of a large body of water. My boat is not rocking, but resting quietly on the water, yet when I look out, I can see dark clouds, rain and harsh winds. Peace.

I'm not sure how long we will continue to live her with g'ma & g'pa. But, I have resigned myself.. accepted the fact.... feel peace about living here as long as we need to. I really do believe that g'ma & g'pa enjoy having us here. I've tried to "earn my keep" as I tell Grandma. I help keep things clean, iron Grandma's clothes, vacuum, do dishes... When Grandma askes me what I'm doing, I always reply, "I'm earnin' my keep." She says, "You don't have to do that." And I reply, "Yeah, I know. If I HAD to, I probably wouldn't." So far, things really are good...

As far as house hunting goes, or house purchasing.... Well, this week I mailed a letter. It was a letter I felt I had to write and mail, from Brandon and me both. I am hoping it will "stir the pot" as far as finding a co-signer. I will not post details about this letter, or who it was to, etc., due to privacy and propriety, but... If something happens/we buy our house because if it... I'll let you know. Again, not the who's or what's, but that it would be a HUUUGE God-thing if it really did set things into motion. Ok, I know that was all vague, but again, we are praying for a believing God for miracles!!

OH! I got my very own lap top!! I am very excited! And, because I now have access to my very own lap top and I do not have to wait for the weekends or other times to "steal away" at the desk top or Brandon's lap top.... I hope to post more, write more humor columns and post more pictures! So, we'll see how this goes! So far, so good!!

To SEE a Who..

Living here with Grandma and Grandpa keeps us laughing. The following is a true account with minimal embellishments:

One morning I sat on the porch enjoying my cup of Grandma's strong coffee, making a mental note about how I don't like coffee grounds in my coffee, and enjoying a cool summer breeze. The living room window was open, and I heard the following exchange:

G'ma (obviously had her purse over her shoulder): I'm taking the [grand] kids to the movie.

G'pa: Where are you going?

G'ma: I'm taking the little guys to see "Horton *SEES a Who!"

G'pa: WHAT?

G'ma: I'M TAKING THE LITTLE GUYS TO SEE "HORTON SEES A WHO"!!

G'pa: Going to the movie, huh? What are you going to see?

G'ma: HORTON SEES A WHO!!!!!

I could then hear her stomp off mumbling insults under her breath like Kreacher, the disgruntled house elf from Harry Potter.

G'pa: What'd I say?

They could give Abbott and Costello a run for their money.

By the end of this exchange, I was shaking so hard from stifling my giggle fit that I had to set my coffee mug down and cover my mouth with both hands. I heard Grandma coming outside. I collected myself as best I could. She came outside on the porch, purse over her shoulder, just as I predicted. I said with a straight face,

"Where are you going?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* Yes, she said SEES, not HEARS. My 5 year old nephew said how could you SEE a Who. That's the point of the movie. Whos cannot be seen. And, if you were wondering why she is going to the movie in the morning... during the summer our local movie theater shows free second run movies once a week for kids.

Pure update.

I can't believe it's been about 3 weeks since my last blog update/post. It has been a really really really crazy few weeks, and when it has come to trying to type/write down my thoughts and goings-on, I have not been able to focus long enough to articulate.

Much has happened. I plan to make this as precise as I can.

July 28 we went to the town council meeting about getting the variance for the 1500 Chestnut Street house in Winona Lake. We needed to get the variance to turn the single family home into a multi-family home so we can rent out the two bedroom apartment in the basement, thus helping with the mortgage, renovations, etc. We were told by EVERYONE that we would NOT get the variance. Many people have tried. All have failed. However, we have favor with God and man. WE GOT THE VARIANCE! We were elated!! We felt victory!! We celebrated with hamburgers from DQ!

Then...

We got home late. Brandon checked his email. Our investor bought a different property, so we are left without any financing. Again, we cannot get a mortgage at this time b/c Brandon has only been working for himself for a year and a half, so our debt to income ratio is too high, thus... no mortgage. Now we felt defeated, of sorts. We have this variance in our hip pocket, yet cannot do anything about purchasing this home!

Now...

We seek a co-signer. A business partner. Our name has to be on the deed, due to the stipulations of the variance. We seek a business partner to co-sign with us, then... down the road when the equity has built up, we will split the equity with the co-signer/business partner 50-50. No cash is required from the co-signer. To me, it's a no-brainer. It is a business deal, and we believe we will find a business partner...

Yet..

Until then, we wait.

So, the house hunting is at stalemate at this time. However, I still believe the Chestnut St. house is ours... it's just a matter of time.

Also, the weather has been really cool this week and reminds us that our fall/winter clothes are in storage in KY. Not sure what to do about that just yet. But, Goodwill comes to mind.

School starts on Friday, August 15th. That is just weird. Starting on a Friday. Has anyone ever STARTED anything on a Friday? Brandon will be teaching at MCA full time; I'll be part time on Mondays only, until we get more students. Meanwhile, I am looking for part time work.

All is well living with the grandparents. They keep us laughing. Tilly and Mareth-Dale have settled in and seem to be enjoying themselves. Tilly still avoids Grandpa. His booming voice saying, "What are you doing, cat?" Tilly looks at him wild-eyed, like he is a monster... then she scurries away to hide under the bed or under the stairs.

Thanks to all who pray for us! We love all y'all and appreciate your thoughts, prayers, and friendship!

I am hoping and planning to write more articles like "The Miracle Suit." Many of you said you really enjoyed the humor and a good giggle, which encourages me find the humor in all of this! ha!