All posts by NerdMom

TV

Lost, You Better Not Make Me Mad

Leave a comment

After years of hearing how great it is, NerdDad and I just recently started watching Lost. What can I say, we are early adopters;). We started in the beginning on Hulu (gotta love Hulu). So far we are a few episodes into the 2nd season. We are very aware of the fact that the current season being shown is the last season. Frankly, I love it when a show knows it is the final season because then it gets a chance to answer the many questions that have been left sticking up through the series.

So the fact the series is ending is one of the reasons I was willing to wade into the Lost maze. Then I see a post from I09 that NerdDad shared with me….. I am afraid that when this series ends I will not be happy. Damon Lindelof off sites Star Wars and midichlorians as the example that some things just don’t need to be known. Now I agree with I09 that the problem with the midichlorians is whole other issue. But the Force was explained before them.
But my real problem is that I am now really nervous. I don’t want to watch all these hours of Lost to only have more questions. I already have a list of questions and I am only in the 2nd season! I will be mighty testy if I don’t get my answers!
So all you Losties out there. If all your questions that you have (being in the final season) aren’t answered will you feel like you wasted all this time?

house management, WFMW

WFMW: Taming the Treasures

Leave a comment

Life creates little treasures. You know what I mean: that lost tooth, the Valentine’s Day picture, the ticket stub from that memorable concert. But I am not a big scrapbooker. So that means that things go into the boxes. But the problem with the boxes is that you end up with piles all over the house that at some point will get put into the boxes. But you need to find a place to put them, make sure that they don’t get mixed in with the other kids (I have 4 kids and all their pictures drawn at 2 look the same;), and so on. So my tip of the day is to use a filing cabinet.

If you are like me, you have a file cabinet. But your family filing probably only takes a drawer or 2. So what I do is take one of those hanging folders for each person in the family. Then you can put in sub-folders if you want. For instance I have a section in NerdPie’s folder that is just for notes and cards from her friends. Then put all of that person’s memories in it. I have teeth in a ziploc bag, cards, photo magnets from VBS, etc. Then when ever you want to do something with it all (scrapbook or just put them into a box) you know where it is and whose it is!
It is the simple things that make life easier;).

tech, WFMW

Valentine’s Surprise!

1 Comment


I am pretty sure that my Valentine’s Day looks different that many women’s and that is fine with me! NerdDad and I tend to exchange rather, well, nerdy gifts. So I was stoked when NerdDad got me a new Microsoft Wireless Mouse and yes he got me the blue! (I also got a new memory card for my camera;) I will admit, I was a little concerned that an inexpensive mouse just wouldn’t cut it. Since I was using a corded mouse at home and the touch pad out, I was willing to give it a go. I was pleasantly surprised! It connects quickly and maneuvers well. I also really like that when you aren’t using the mouse you just snap the adapter back onto it. Then you can’t loose the adapter and the battery shuts off at that point. And for under $18 you can’t go wrong!

(No, I didn’t get anything for posting this. I just wanted to share and let me hubby know how much I liked it!)

Food

Holiday Discovery!

2 Comments

Don’t these chocolate hamantaschen look great? Chocolate dough with peanut butter chips as the filling. They were a big hit! I found the recipe over at Aish.com. It served as a great lesson. Sometimes you can find great holiday recipes somewhere other than recipe sites. Look around on religious websites. Sometimes they have great twists on the classic dishes!

education, politics

Let’s Protest the Protesters!

Leave a comment

Yes, I know that the California education budget keeps getting cut. Do I think it is great? No, not really. I do think it should lead to a restructuring of the whole system but that is another post;). But the Teachers’ Unions are mad. They are organizing protests for this Thursday in Fresno and in Porterville.

“We’re trying to get all the associations and all the schools to stand up for education and let the Governor know that taking money away from education is not the right thing to do,” Porterville Educators Association President Stan Ennis said.

Well, I want to communicate somethings to the Unions. If we simply let go teachers who couldn’t actually teach the kids instead of fighting costly battles to get them out we might make up some of the budget loss. That could save about a half a million dollars and that is for each bad teacher they have tried to get out. And that is just the cost for the ones that school districts have tried to get rid of. Many districts have found that the unions make it so costly and expensive, that it is cheaper to just hold on to the bad teachers. Some are left in the class room and some are relegated to other positions with in the districts.

So maybe we should go protest the unions as being the biggest problem in our educational budget fiasco. We know where they will be on Thursday!
(I know lots of good teachers, I am talking about the unions so don’t yell at me about good teachers.)

headlines, politics

Governor MoonBeam, Again?

Leave a comment

It appears that Jerry Brown is going to announce his candidacy for California Governor tomorrow. It doesn’t surprise me one bit that the announcement will be online. But, unfortunately, I think he has a really good chance of winning.

Now I don’t really remember Jerry Brown being governor in the late 70’s and early 80’s but I do remember the crazy stories. Him sleeping on the floor of the governor’s mansion, chilling with Linda Ronstadt, being an over all hippy, etc. But this isn’t the same Jerry Brown.

This Jerry Brown seems to realize that being a party Democrat won’t get him anything but screwed (because they did, many times) so he seems to have picked up his own sensibility. I saw it when he was mayor of Oakland and revamped the schools a bit with boot camps and such. He seems to have become much more fiscally aware and, dare I say, responsible? I can say that he has earned some of our respect.

Now all of this makes him quite dangerous. Can all he has done in the last 10-15 years combat the backlash of his previous governorship? I will probably never vote for him but I have to ask, is he a better option than another Wilson, Arnold and the like? At least this one wouldn’t be labelled a Republican. But I don’t think I can do it.

But do you think that Jerry Brown could really be our next governor?

(HT: Ken Malloy)

Food

Meal Plan Monday

1 Comment

I can’t believe that it is already March! Is it just me or is time flying by? Well, this weekend I am throwing a Baby Shower for my niece so I have less than 1 week to clean my house. I am going to need to keep it real simple! (Oh, it is an apps and dessert shower so look forward to yummy posts next week!)

Monday: Beef and Asparagus in White Cheddar shells
Tuesday: Enchiladas (out of the freezer)
Wednesday: Chicken, Asparagus and Pasta in a garlic butter sauce
Thursday: Possible Potluck with friends
Friday: Pasta Bake

Christianity, fun

A Little About Purim

Leave a comment

Purim is from sundown on February 27th until March 1st this year (it is based on the Jewish calendar). But what is Purim you wonder? I have often heard it referred to as Jewish Halloween but there is more to it than that. It is the celebration of Esther and God’s saving of the Jewish people! We are to remember this every year (Esther 9:28):

These days should be remembered and observed in every generation by every family, and in every province and in every city. And these days of Purim should never cease to be celebrated by the Jews, nor should the memory of them die out among their descendants.

It is a celebration. So in my house we might let the kids dress up, make noise makers and crowns. I will (probably) make Hamantaschen. The big feature is the telling of the Esther story. The children (and adults) boo whenever Haman is mentioned and cheer at the mention of Mordechai. We might also print off pictures and do some other fun stuff (go to my Frugal Homeschooler for activities and resources).

As Christians why do we celebrate Purim? Well, I could get into the whole Jesus celebrated Judaism and so we should also keep the holidays (with grace because we aren’t under the law). Or how when we excepted Christ we were grafted into the family of Abraham. But…. Here is a simpler reason. God was faithful in saving the Jews and because of that we have Messiah. So we need to celebrate God’s faithfulness to us by saving the Jews from Haman’s hand.
There are lots of lessons in the book Esther (like if Saul would have been obedient…) but that is for a different day. Let us start by rejoicing in God’s faithfulness! And the fact He uses a willing and obedient heart to do great things, like save a people.