Let It Snow!

Today, we had our first snowstorm of the winter. While it was nice to watch from the sidelines, I certainly wouldn't want to have to travel in it. My dh decided to work from home today. He really would not have made it down the mountain. Instead, he would have either slid off the road in a ditch, or hit something when the van went out of control.

The downside was power in some areas was off most of the day. Fortunately for us, it was out only for an hour this morning.

What beautiful views of the snow

It Costs How Much????

I posted elsewhere today about my dd's playing on a Bosendorfer piano for her recital in two weeks. I had been told that these particular pianos cost $100,000 or more. Well, the one she will be playing on actually costs $150,000. Shocking, to say the least! Dd's attitude is she prefers her Wurlitzer to the Bosendorfer. I think if she knew how top of the line the instrument is she is playing on, she wouldn't make such a silly statement.

I'm having sticker shock, LOL!

This one is similar to the piano she will be performing on


The pedals are very smooth, compared to most pianos I've seen, although the mechanism can still make that "clunk" noise when released too quickly and with a sudden jerk.

Now if only Queen of Peace could afford such a piano...........

William Tell Overture For Moms

Even though I homeschool, and can't relate to the bus part, the rest is very funny!

Cats :(

Someone ought to remind me why we have two cats. One ignores everything that passes her way, the other kills anything and everything she can get her paws on. I don't know how it got there, but apparently a mouse (I believe, not sure) died inside the wall in the bathroom. There is a small hole in the wall, probably made some time ago by this mouse. It must have gotten stuck, and starved to death. The "killer" cat has been staring at this wall for weeks now.

Overnight, she must have gotten the creature out, and decided to share with her mom (me). It was about 1:30 this morning, when the little darling decided to drop her treasure on my chest while I was sleeping. My reaction was "oh, Monica, what do you have for mommy", at which point I jumped up screaming "ew, ew, ew, ew!!!". What does my husband d? NOTHING!!!! He doesn't even roll over, just keeps on snoring away without a care in the world. I, on the other hand, am completely grossed out by this dried up creature I had in my hands not more than a few minutes before (I had hurled it across the room, and had to go hunting for Monica's shared treasure). I don't know how many paper towels I grabbed, but I think it may have been half a roll, just to pick up this poor, pathetic dried-out animal. I even lost track of the number of times I washed my hands.

Maybe we should rename this 5 pound calico "Killer"


And to think I overreact to dead animals, yet allow bugs in my freezer *rolls eyes*

Wild Turkeys and Virtual Tour

Today, I went on some internet hunt of wild turkeys in NYC (no pun intended). My husband's boss had mentioned he knew people who were having problems with them where he lives (Staten Island). I thought there was no way wild turkeys would be living in the city. Boy, I was wrong! Doing a search, I found a website that had a picture of one in Manhattan:



Here in PA, we take the sighting of a wild animal for granted.

The picture of the turkey is from New York City Walk

Going through this site, it is literally a virtual tour of Manhattan. There are many different views to be seen, that wouldn't be in any tour guide. I remember some of these places while I lived there, and completely forgot about. There are a few images inappropriate for the kiddies, but overall I would say the photographs are excellent.

Here's one image I found rather disturbing:


The picture of the World Trade Center on the background with the bomb was unsettling, to say the least.

I wonder if there are any photo tours of other cities out there?

Met Another Famous Person

Last night and this morning, my daughter was the accompanist for a performance by Frank Runyeon. He has written several one-man plays, which he performs for churches across the country. Last night's was "Sermon on the Mount". Amanda played "Seek Ye The Kingdom of God". I hadn't heard that hymn in a long time, as it's never played in my parish (we did hear it when we were Lutheran).

Frank's show is a must-see! Today, he gave a talk to the kids at the confirmation retreat, about Hollywood, faith, and the real world. It made all of us look at television and movies in a way I hadn't thought about before.

He also spoke of his years as an actor, acting opposite Meg Ryan on "As the World Turns", about being typecast as either ethnic or a drug dealer (!!), about his family, how we as Catholics ought to live, etc. He was also talking about how he was literally starving himself to look thin for the camera. The man is 6'3" tall, and when he said he was down to 160 lbs while on the soaps, I was shocked.

Here's a picture of Amanda with Frank:


She played the piano, while two girls who are identical twins sang. They were congratulated by everyone on their outstanding performance. I think they performed wonderfully!

I Have A Real, Uh, A Real....

Life! Only kidding, LOL!!! Yesterday, I didn't have enough time to update my blog. Today, I had to take dd to her piano lesson at ESU. That proves that while dd has a real life, I have none. I just live vicariously through Amanda *VBG*

Hug A Friend, Get Detention

A girl in Illinois was given detention for hugging two friends, saying goodbye for the weekend. This "offense" took place on school property

Illinois Student Gets Detention For Hugging

Does anyone else think this is nuts? From the school's policy:

"Displays of affection should not occur on the school campus at any time. It is in poor taste, reflects poor judgment, and brings discredit to the school and to the persons involved."

So hugs reflect poor judgment and bring discredit to the school, yet I can almost guarantee bullying is fine. We live in a world that is truly backwards. Shame on this district, and the superintendent!

Bloggin' Mama

I took the quiz from Therese's blog, and here's what came up:


Take the Mom Blogger quiz!

I'm not surprised, considering I've been spending more time with my blog than before. If asked this over a month ago, my blog would have been my neglected stepchild!

Practice, Practice, Practice!!!!

I think I've been saying those words repeatedly over the past week or so. While the pieces of music Amanda must memorize are relatively short, they have these little nuances she must perfect.

Here's the musical, bug girl, practicing like crazy:


I pray she does well. The piano being used at the recital is different from ours at home and the one her professor uses for lessons in his studio. She's just gotten used to that one. Each one has a different feel, or so I've been told.

Introducing Our Newest Family Member

We decided to get a companion for our surviving guinea pig, Arwen. It didn't take long for her to display signs of depression after the death of Pippin.

Our newest member's name is Phloxxy, and she's 8 weeks old.

Her first picture:



I love my veggies!



Still a little piggie:


She's barely the size of Amanda's hand, although I think she will be a pretty big pig :) She's also the only piggie we've had who turned her nose up at carrots!

We're following the guinea pig recommendations, and quarantining (sp?) her for at least two weeks before full introduction are made. Arwen knows there's another pig in the house, just by smell and sound. She sniffs us over, after handling the little one.

Should I Be So Shocked?

As I was going through some old bookmarks, I found the following video on Steve Kellmeyer's blog



Watching this, I didn't know whether to laugh, cry or scream. I don't know where this school is located, but I can say for certain the teens in the video have similar ideas about Catholicism as teens in my local Catholic schools do. What was more stunning was when the priest in the video didn't know the answer to the question. Is this what is being taught in Catholic schools across the country? Has the curriculum been dumbed down to the point where we can no longer distinguish Catholic schools from public ones?

Should I be shocked? No, and neither should anyone else, unless they're fortunate enough to have their children attend solidly Catholic schools. They seem to be more and more rare these days.

Next time anyone asks why I homeschool, I'll point them to this video ;)

See My Slide Show!

It took me awhile, but I was able to create a nice slide show of Amanda. I'm not sure how it happened, but the original slide show had music that was impossible to remove, so I had to go back and recreate the slides all over again. Let's just say I was not happy listening to music and watching a small video on the lower left corner of the slides.

Maybe I should go back and make another one of all the bug pictures, with a version of "Flight of the Bumblebee" playing in the background, LOL!

The Changes She Has Gone Through

I've been looking at the changes my daughter has gone through over the years. Even looking at her Halloween costumes over the past three years amazes me.

This year's costume, as Miss Gothic



Last year, as a lady of the Middle Ages



The year before, as an Egyptian "queen"



All I can say is wow, what a difference from 2005 until now. I should keep a picture diary of her, until she graduates high school. By then her hair will probably be green streaked permanently *shock*