I am aware that most of my posts have to do with showers. Perhaps this is because showering is one of those beautiful remnants of the past, back when I had "me" time, and nobody bothered me, and how they tend to play out now in comparison to those days is traumatic at best.
As I near the end of my pregnancy (less than two months left!), I increasingly need and crave relaxation, but where would one find such things? I was taking a shower, hurrying as usual, and right as I had a head full of shampoo, Selah jerked the door open, and shouted, "I need you to wipe my bottom!" Closing my eyes, I decided I could hope that all had gone well on the potty (just outside) for the moment, at least while I was taking a shower, and just clean up if need be later. Shampoo dripping into my eyes, throwing water all over the bathroom, I performed the requested/demanded duty, and then leaned back in to rinse.
I didn't realize that Selah left the door open when she left--until the smoke detector right outside the bathroom went off, as it always does when steam leaves the bathroom. I squeezed my eyes shut again, trying to ignore its shrill shrieks, as I was unable to reach the door knob to shut the door. Of course Selah was frightened by the noise, too, so started running around the house screaming, "Aaaa! Aaaaa!" The volume of her screams competed with that of the smoke detector's, and I finally gave up my quest for a complete, full bathing experience and got out to make everyone shut up.
I wasn't even mad; all you can do is laugh.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
We're selling our adorable home!
I am writing to enlist your help. We are planning to sell our lovely little house, and we are blessed enough to be working with a broker who wants to help us. If we find someone to sell it to ourselves, it would save us a lot of money, and if our buyer wants to work with our same broker or just deal with us, we would be able to pass some of the savings on to them as well. Not to mention I am very attached to our house, and I'd love to send it off into good hands! We will be putting it on the market for 322,000, but we could share the savings if we end up selling it ourselves, so that would go down a bit.
So here are some specs: It's a single story, but the basement is fully finished, giving it a third bedroom, a second bathroom, and another living room/den. The special thing about the house is it would serve someone well who wanted three bedrooms/two baths, but it also can be used the way we have been using it for the past three plus years--you can rent out the basement as a separate apartment, with its own laundry room, kitchen, and entrance. It also could be helpful for someone who wants a relative or someone to live with them, but have relative independence. Most appliances can be included.
The (newly painted) house is located in an amazing neighborhood, at 48th and Fremont, right off the Beaumont Village business district. You can walk to groceries, restaurants, coffee shops, pubs, and cute little shops; a bus to downtown stops right at our corner, two houses down, and we are up the hill from the MAX in the Hollywood District. The Hollywood Library, the post office, a couple of banks, a pharmacy, and some medical offices are also within walking distance, down the hill, and they are opening a Whole Foods there as well. I often walk to Safeway or Trader Joe's for a little bit further of a walk.
It's also in a great school district: Alameda Elementary, Beaumont Middle, and Grant High schools. We love our neighbors, who are a mixture of young families, older folks, and a random assortment of others, all of whom have been very friendly and supportive. The neighborhood is very safe, and there are people out taking walks at all hours, alone, with their families or dogs, etc. The main living space has nice hardwood floors, and there is a fireplace in the living room. Its social/living spaces are large enough that we were able to host a home group in it for several years with no problem. There is a dining room, living room, kitchen, two bedrooms, a bathroom and a mudroom on the ground floor, and the basement has the aforementioned rooms. The house is a total of about 1500 square feet.
Anyway, we'd be thrilled if you yourselves were interested, or if you passed on this information to someone else who might be!
Best,
Laura, Jeremy, and Selah
So here are some specs: It's a single story, but the basement is fully finished, giving it a third bedroom, a second bathroom, and another living room/den. The special thing about the house is it would serve someone well who wanted three bedrooms/two baths, but it also can be used the way we have been using it for the past three plus years--you can rent out the basement as a separate apartment, with its own laundry room, kitchen, and entrance. It also could be helpful for someone who wants a relative or someone to live with them, but have relative independence. Most appliances can be included.
The (newly painted) house is located in an amazing neighborhood, at 48th and Fremont, right off the Beaumont Village business district. You can walk to groceries, restaurants, coffee shops, pubs, and cute little shops; a bus to downtown stops right at our corner, two houses down, and we are up the hill from the MAX in the Hollywood District. The Hollywood Library, the post office, a couple of banks, a pharmacy, and some medical offices are also within walking distance, down the hill, and they are opening a Whole Foods there as well. I often walk to Safeway or Trader Joe's for a little bit further of a walk.
It's also in a great school district: Alameda Elementary, Beaumont Middle, and Grant High schools. We love our neighbors, who are a mixture of young families, older folks, and a random assortment of others, all of whom have been very friendly and supportive. The neighborhood is very safe, and there are people out taking walks at all hours, alone, with their families or dogs, etc. The main living space has nice hardwood floors, and there is a fireplace in the living room. Its social/living spaces are large enough that we were able to host a home group in it for several years with no problem. There is a dining room, living room, kitchen, two bedrooms, a bathroom and a mudroom on the ground floor, and the basement has the aforementioned rooms. The house is a total of about 1500 square feet.
Anyway, we'd be thrilled if you yourselves were interested, or if you passed on this information to someone else who might be!
Best,
Laura, Jeremy, and Selah
Friday, March 13, 2009
Bad Parenting Moments Come Back to Haunt
I am having a hard time not taking out my pregnancy fatigue on Selah, who of course would not understand. Yesterday was a horrendously long day, with Jeremy gone before Selah woke up at 7, and not returning until after she had gone to bed, and our 13.5 hour day in the interim included the gym, the DMV, meeting friends at a restaurant...in short, it was tiring!
I was getting out of the shower toward the end of this day, hurrying to get ready to go back out for the restaurant, and Selah ran into the kitchen, waving a pair of small, sharp, orange-handled scissors. (She owns a pair of small, blunt, orange-handled scissors). Horrified, I snapped, "Hey! Those aren't yours! Those are sharp!" yada yada.
Disappointed, as she clearly thought they were her scissors, Selah argued, and threw a fit when I put them back (I was still not wearing any clothes, and cold and mad). Letting the moment get the better of me, I pulled out her scissors, and said, "Look! These are yours! They are not sharp." I hucked them onto the floor and...they broke.
Understandably, Selah really melted down then, since she had wanted to play with her (cherished) scissors, and then I broke them. I stormed back to the bathroom to dress and dry my hair, and when she came in, I apologized for breaking the scissors, and said I shoudn't have thrown them. She forgave me.
However, when I came back into the living room, there she was, reenacting the whole sordid scene with her toys. One, the oppressed toy, was crying out in grief, "Those were brand new! And you broke them!"
I should probably start saving up for a therapist now. But meanwhile, I might need one, since pretty much my every fault or error is remembered and imitated for my enjoyment. Sigh.
I was getting out of the shower toward the end of this day, hurrying to get ready to go back out for the restaurant, and Selah ran into the kitchen, waving a pair of small, sharp, orange-handled scissors. (She owns a pair of small, blunt, orange-handled scissors). Horrified, I snapped, "Hey! Those aren't yours! Those are sharp!" yada yada.
Disappointed, as she clearly thought they were her scissors, Selah argued, and threw a fit when I put them back (I was still not wearing any clothes, and cold and mad). Letting the moment get the better of me, I pulled out her scissors, and said, "Look! These are yours! They are not sharp." I hucked them onto the floor and...they broke.
Understandably, Selah really melted down then, since she had wanted to play with her (cherished) scissors, and then I broke them. I stormed back to the bathroom to dress and dry my hair, and when she came in, I apologized for breaking the scissors, and said I shoudn't have thrown them. She forgave me.
However, when I came back into the living room, there she was, reenacting the whole sordid scene with her toys. One, the oppressed toy, was crying out in grief, "Those were brand new! And you broke them!"
I should probably start saving up for a therapist now. But meanwhile, I might need one, since pretty much my every fault or error is remembered and imitated for my enjoyment. Sigh.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Article in the Oregonian
Ever since I lost my cat Emily to cancer, caused by inappropriate vaccination procedures, I have hoped other people might find out what I didn't know, and be spared the same sorrow. I wrote an article for the Oregonian on the topic that was published this week:
http://www.oregonlive.com/living/index.ssf/2009/01/lowcost_vaccination_clinics_ca.html
http://www.oregonlive.com/living/index.ssf/2009/01/lowcost_vaccination_clinics_ca.html
Monday, June 30, 2008
Hilarious
I had already heard of the blog "Stuff White People Like," but hadn't visited it until I read a fellow blogger's article on EcoMetro. Her reference included things like "farmers markets," "organic food," and "Priuses." I just visited the blog myself, and here are some choice paragraphs, which I have ripped off for your enjoyment in a most unethical manner:
Being a truly advanced white person means being able to speak with authority about pretty much any field of conversation- especially politics. In order for white people to streamline the process of knowing everything, all human beings can be neatly filed into one of two categories: People I Agree With, and People Who are Just Like Adolf Hitler.
...
It’s also critical that you avoid the fatal mistake of getting creative and comparing people you don’t like to other evil dictators, such as Joseph Stalin or Fidel Castro. With few exceptions, white people are actually fond of almost any dictator not named Hitler, and your remark that “this is just like something Mao Zedong would do” will be met with blank stares and possible social alienation. This is because, with the exception of Hitler, oppressive dictators share a passion for many of the things white people love- such as universal health care, conspiracy theories, caring about poor people while being filthy rich, and cool hats. Stick to the script and compare things you don’t like to Hitler, and Hitler alone.
Being a truly advanced white person means being able to speak with authority about pretty much any field of conversation- especially politics. In order for white people to streamline the process of knowing everything, all human beings can be neatly filed into one of two categories: People I Agree With, and People Who are Just Like Adolf Hitler.
...
It’s also critical that you avoid the fatal mistake of getting creative and comparing people you don’t like to other evil dictators, such as Joseph Stalin or Fidel Castro. With few exceptions, white people are actually fond of almost any dictator not named Hitler, and your remark that “this is just like something Mao Zedong would do” will be met with blank stares and possible social alienation. This is because, with the exception of Hitler, oppressive dictators share a passion for many of the things white people love- such as universal health care, conspiracy theories, caring about poor people while being filthy rich, and cool hats. Stick to the script and compare things you don’t like to Hitler, and Hitler alone.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Things I don't believe in
I have recently gotten several e-mails from the same person, and have over the years received many with the same disturbing messages.
Here is one thing that stumps me: since when do loving Jesus and the military have anything in common? I don't understand. No matter what your views on the military in general, how can you make a case for it being somehow religious? Nowhere in the Bible, and especially not in the New Testament, can you find some sort of implication that Christ's followers should be especially supportive of their local government's military or war in general. Now don't get me wrong: I am not like the Vietnam-era protesters who held the poor veterans responsible for the war. Those enlisted in the military are not responsible for today's war; they have no control over it, and I respect them for wanting to protect us. However, America is not God, and the military is not his warriors. The United States to the Christian is like Rome was to the Jews in Jesus's time, or like Babylon was to the Israelites of old. We are meant to live here, to love people and do God's work, but not to give our hearts or allegiance to the geographic or political terrain. We are meant to follow the laws and pay our taxes as long as that does not interfere with following the much more important laws of God.
Here's another thing: how can someone I see as loving, as being a "good person" completely demonize an entire group of people based on their religion? I have received e-mails comparing Muslims to the Nazis, and I end up feeling the senders are much more akin to that particular evil. Are there Muslim religious extremists, willing to kill themselves just to kill off other human beings for the sake of their religion? Yes. Is this true of Christianity as well? Yes (forgive us, Lord)! I wish it were not so, but there have been crazies throughout the ages of every race and religion who were willing to kill for what they believed in. That does not mean that your average-Joe Muslim in his place of worship is a Nazi. If you are going to be a bigot, you need to examine yourself and your heart. Obviously I do not think Islam is the "right" path; I follow Jesus with all my heart. I also don't think certain groups of people are envoys of Satan as much as that he tries to work in all of us. I am just as capable of intensely evil action as any terrorist may be, and if I fear that within me, I just may try to judge others and make it seem that there are specific groups of people who are evil--thus making me innocent if I am not one of them.
Anyway, forgive the rant, but my religious beliefs lead me to be a pacifist who loves all people equally. It seems to me that Jesus was just that, and if I aspire to be like him, I must follow his example. I may not be "patriotic"--should I want to be? I may be judged. I don't particularly care.
Here is one thing that stumps me: since when do loving Jesus and the military have anything in common? I don't understand. No matter what your views on the military in general, how can you make a case for it being somehow religious? Nowhere in the Bible, and especially not in the New Testament, can you find some sort of implication that Christ's followers should be especially supportive of their local government's military or war in general. Now don't get me wrong: I am not like the Vietnam-era protesters who held the poor veterans responsible for the war. Those enlisted in the military are not responsible for today's war; they have no control over it, and I respect them for wanting to protect us. However, America is not God, and the military is not his warriors. The United States to the Christian is like Rome was to the Jews in Jesus's time, or like Babylon was to the Israelites of old. We are meant to live here, to love people and do God's work, but not to give our hearts or allegiance to the geographic or political terrain. We are meant to follow the laws and pay our taxes as long as that does not interfere with following the much more important laws of God.
Here's another thing: how can someone I see as loving, as being a "good person" completely demonize an entire group of people based on their religion? I have received e-mails comparing Muslims to the Nazis, and I end up feeling the senders are much more akin to that particular evil. Are there Muslim religious extremists, willing to kill themselves just to kill off other human beings for the sake of their religion? Yes. Is this true of Christianity as well? Yes (forgive us, Lord)! I wish it were not so, but there have been crazies throughout the ages of every race and religion who were willing to kill for what they believed in. That does not mean that your average-Joe Muslim in his place of worship is a Nazi. If you are going to be a bigot, you need to examine yourself and your heart. Obviously I do not think Islam is the "right" path; I follow Jesus with all my heart. I also don't think certain groups of people are envoys of Satan as much as that he tries to work in all of us. I am just as capable of intensely evil action as any terrorist may be, and if I fear that within me, I just may try to judge others and make it seem that there are specific groups of people who are evil--thus making me innocent if I am not one of them.
Anyway, forgive the rant, but my religious beliefs lead me to be a pacifist who loves all people equally. It seems to me that Jesus was just that, and if I aspire to be like him, I must follow his example. I may not be "patriotic"--should I want to be? I may be judged. I don't particularly care.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Discouraging
Something about job-hunting has the ability to make me feel like a total loser. I think it is set up that way, to break you so you will finally accept whatever Baskin Robbins job comes along and be grateful...
A year ago, the company I worked as editor for started having a difficult time; last October I was finally officially laid off. That was hard to process, because I had thought it was the beginning of a really enjoyable career, and then it ended after just a year.
I started freelancing, which scared the crud out of me because it required being okay with instability, okay with not having all of the control all of the time. I began to think that God wanted me in that spot, however, because things started falling into place: I kept getting encouragement, work, and affirmations such as Vinnie wanting me to work as a subcontracting editor for Declaration Editing.
However, working at home is not exactly chicken soup for the soul. I am so lonely! I don't feel like I can have people come over or talk on the phone (not that I EVER really wanted to talk on the phone anyway), because I can't exactly bill clients for time I have spent socializing. So I spend all day all by myself, feeling bored. It is a little better when I get out and have work dates with fellow freelancers or friends, but it really doesn't solve the problem--I crave regular interaction, a routine.
I have finally thought, okay, it's time to get an outside-the-home job. Especially since I have also kind of had it with the financial instability. I have been blessed with a few good months, but I am starting to see some gaping gaps in my pipeline--in fact, I don't quite know what I will do tomorrow! Or next week! To add to the financial pressure, our tenant has announced that he is moving out. In an ideal world, we wouldn't have to rent out the basement again--our toddler-equipped family could use the space and the relaxation of not worrying about Selah making lots of noise, etc.
It turns out that jobs are even more few and far-between than I thought! I don't feel that picky; while I want a publishing job again, those are pretty scarce, and I would be more than happy doing slightly less interesting work in a more exhilarating atmosphere (read: any atmosphere). I have already had high hopes for a couple and then not gotten them, which is discouraging. I have my masters, 3 years of editing and writing experience, and yet I feel like I am trying to get an engineer's job with a junior-high diploma or something. Now that I actually have a field, I don't feel I should just cop out and get a really stupid job like I would have five years ago, last time I was in complete misery over a job-hunt.
I don't know if this is supposed to be some kind of sign, or if it's just that life is not easy. It doesn't help that Selah's been nastier than anything (I think she's sick), and that this blasted rain will not stop! It makes me kind of want to be a kid again, looking forward to summer vacation and Mom's reassurances that everything would be fine...
A year ago, the company I worked as editor for started having a difficult time; last October I was finally officially laid off. That was hard to process, because I had thought it was the beginning of a really enjoyable career, and then it ended after just a year.
I started freelancing, which scared the crud out of me because it required being okay with instability, okay with not having all of the control all of the time. I began to think that God wanted me in that spot, however, because things started falling into place: I kept getting encouragement, work, and affirmations such as Vinnie wanting me to work as a subcontracting editor for Declaration Editing.
However, working at home is not exactly chicken soup for the soul. I am so lonely! I don't feel like I can have people come over or talk on the phone (not that I EVER really wanted to talk on the phone anyway), because I can't exactly bill clients for time I have spent socializing. So I spend all day all by myself, feeling bored. It is a little better when I get out and have work dates with fellow freelancers or friends, but it really doesn't solve the problem--I crave regular interaction, a routine.
I have finally thought, okay, it's time to get an outside-the-home job. Especially since I have also kind of had it with the financial instability. I have been blessed with a few good months, but I am starting to see some gaping gaps in my pipeline--in fact, I don't quite know what I will do tomorrow! Or next week! To add to the financial pressure, our tenant has announced that he is moving out. In an ideal world, we wouldn't have to rent out the basement again--our toddler-equipped family could use the space and the relaxation of not worrying about Selah making lots of noise, etc.
It turns out that jobs are even more few and far-between than I thought! I don't feel that picky; while I want a publishing job again, those are pretty scarce, and I would be more than happy doing slightly less interesting work in a more exhilarating atmosphere (read: any atmosphere). I have already had high hopes for a couple and then not gotten them, which is discouraging. I have my masters, 3 years of editing and writing experience, and yet I feel like I am trying to get an engineer's job with a junior-high diploma or something. Now that I actually have a field, I don't feel I should just cop out and get a really stupid job like I would have five years ago, last time I was in complete misery over a job-hunt.
I don't know if this is supposed to be some kind of sign, or if it's just that life is not easy. It doesn't help that Selah's been nastier than anything (I think she's sick), and that this blasted rain will not stop! It makes me kind of want to be a kid again, looking forward to summer vacation and Mom's reassurances that everything would be fine...
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