Melissa's Idea Garden

I recently read and reviewed Never Look Back by Kathy Herman.

Because I wanted to see what happened to this family and these characters, I ordered the follow-up book, The Grand Scheme. Kathy has an amazing way of writing an inspirational book that isn't preachy yet gives the reader wonderful examples about how to live the life of a Christ follower. She addresses tough issues in this book - envy and anger being the two top ones. And as if it wasn't enough for her to write a story that will inspire you in your Christian walk, she writes a story that includes mystery, suspense and real world issues. And she creates characters that you really care about and will have emotional responses to.

I recommend you checking out Kathy Herman's Phantom Hollow Series. I believe you will really enjoy it. And, if you find yourself liking her style of writing, don't stop there, Kathy has written several other books...in fact, I am eyeing the Seaport series to enjoy next!

Happy reading!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tonight, I was surfing through the 5 million channels and actually found a couple of movies that looked interesting. I chose The Invisible because it was listed as a suspense movie and it looked like it was a supernatural story. Reminiscent of Sixth Sense, Dragonfly, and Ghost, this story is about the thin line between life and death and our ability to walk it. This is a story about redemption, love, and understanding. I really enjoyed it and I recommend it to anyone who likes the movies I mentioned.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Watch this video from National Geographic. It shows a senisble idea that is being considered to help cut back on food costs. How do you feel about the proposal? Personally, I am all for it!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:54 PM | Permalink

WOW! This toilet exudes pleasant scents, provides cover up sounds, checks your blood pressure, tests your urine and more! Check it out with this video from National Geographic

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:43 PM | Permalink

I heard about this the other day. Check out the video on National Geographic. I suffer a bit from motion sickness when I am a passenger in a car...I can't imagine what it would be like to be in this building!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:36 PM | Permalink

Well, I took Kayley and Katrina to Kayley's house about 7 pm last night. Katrina wasn't thrilled about going. She was having a missing mom moment, but I told her she really needed to go because I had a long day ahead on Thursday and that she wouldn't want to be tagging along with me. She called about nine o'clock and said her ankle hurt and that Kayley wanted Katrina to give away one of her Care Bears to her sisters baby and Katrina didn't want to do that. After I talked to her a few moments, she said goodnight and went about her business. Between 7 and 9:30, I did dishes, made a list of things I needed to do, got the trash and recycling together, answered emails and watched a little television. I went to bed about (9:30 and read a book until about 11.

Today I was up at 6. I took Katrina's goggles to her at Kayley's house before driving to Bedford for my knee MRI. I was quickly checked in and after filling out questions about metal in my body and past surgeries, I was ushered back to the MRI trailer. I thought I would have to put on a hospital robe, but I guess because it was my knee, I got to lay down in my street clothes. My knee was placed on a padded thing. I was given headphones that were tuned to the radio station of my choice and was told it would take 25 minutes for the MRI to be complete. During that time I was not to move. I was also given a little bulb thing that I could squeeze if I needed to be brought out of the 'tunnel'. I didn't have to go all the way in, which I was grateful for. I can see how it would be very hard for a claustrophobic person. I listened to the songs and tried to ingore the itch under my nose and the fact that I felt like I was going to sneeze and the fact that my right arm was falling asleep on me.

When I was done, they pulled me out and let me go. I headed to the local library. I had heard they had redone the library and put in a coffee shop. I was thinking Starbucks...silly me. There was a canister of tea, a canister of coffee and then some things to choose from like: biscotti, trail mix, cheese danishes. You paid the librarian, she then gave me tokens to put in the token jar (not sure why they do it that way). When I got to the library, I had to wait for about 25 minutes because it was only 8:35 and the library didn't open until 9. They have a lovely garden and I enjoyed sitting in it and playing solitaire on my DS lite.

I worked on My What Color is Your Parachute Book for awhile. Some interesting things are coming out. Working in an attorney's office, working for an employment agency, working on a newspaper or for a book publisher, working in a museum...these are some of the top things that came out of my work today. About 10:30, I packed up and headed to the Nissan place in Lynchburg for an oil change and tire rotation. That took about 40 minutes. While there I played some more solitaire.

Then I heade to Givens, a local bookstore that serves sandwiches, pastries and coffee. I got a venti chai, a yummy portabello mushroom sandwich with onions and tomato and lettuce on french bread, some tortilla chips with spicy bean dip and a to die for almond cookie. I read, ate my lunch and waited for my mom. She had a 12:00 Dentist appointment and didn't think she would be able to eat when she was done, but wanted to come meet me. She got there a little after 1 and we visited until a little after 2. I had a Mexican Spiced Mocha...that was tasty too. And I have had more caffeine today than I would normally have in a week. After our visit, I headed to Forest for my Dr. Appointment.

His words after talking with the MRI reader were 'basically, you have arthritis and your knee is full of junk...' Basically, the bones that come together in my knee are rubbing together and slightly out of joint. There is 'junk' (torn cartilage, bone dust or chips, that sort of thing). I have an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon in August. It will probably involve suctioning out the junk and then there are a couple of therapy options from there. My doctor told me I would probably need knee replacement surgery due to the arthritis, but they usually don't do that on someone so young. I am thinking...hey, I want a working knee while I am still young enough to enjoy it!

I stopped by CVS and picked up a couple of prescriptions, then I headed to get Katrina and Kayley for another night of fun.

Not the worst or best way to spend 21 hours alone, but it was productive:)

Posted by Melissa Markham at 6:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

My most recent Netflix movie was The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn. In fact, it is finishing up while I am typing this...

The description from the Netflix envelope:

"Small-town farmer Noah Dearborn (Sidney Poitier) lives an uncomplicated existence till shady developer Christian Nelson (George Newbern) tries to usurp his family's land. Nelson will do anything to take Noah's property, including hiring a shrink (Mary-Louise Parker) to have him declared insane. What Nelson doesn't anticipate is Noah forming an unbreakable bond with the doctor that proves stronger than anything the land baron can dish out."

This is a story of how we think our modern way of life is best and how our 'meaningful helpfulness' can be very misguided. It is also a story of the corporation versus the 'little guy' and the 'little guy wins'. Sidney Poitier still does excellent work! If you want a movie that will warm your heart, I recommend this one.

This movie is PG and it is excellent. I give it 5 stars!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Katrina and Kayley are busy enjoying their girlfriend time this week. Yesterday we went to the community pool in Lynchburg. They spent three hours having loads of fun. Then we played at the playground in the park for awhile before spending a couple of hours at McDonald's playground. Since pictures are worth a thousand words... I'll show you how much fun they were having (yep, I'm still loving my camera).

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I read this article in the July 2008 edition of Good Housekeeping.

"Studies have shown that when towns ban smoking in public places, the number of heart attacks drops significantly. Now research from Indiana University pinpoints that it's nonsmokers who benefit first. In the 22 months after Indiana's Monroe County outlawed smoking in restaurants, workplaces, and stores, hospital admissions for heart attacks fell a whopping 70 percent - but only among nonsmokers. Admissions stayed the same for smokers. A halt on lighting up in public helps nonsmokers most quickly, says lead researcher Dong-Chul Seo, Ph.D., because "whithin 30 minutes of exposure to secondhand smoke, blood becomes stickier and more prone to clotting. Plus the level of carbon monoxide rises, so heart cells get less oxygen." But Seo expects that smokers would see a payoff "as they cut quit or cut down." If you're a smoker who would like to kick the habit, look for a program with in-depth counseling. That, plus a supply of nicotine-replacement patches, gum, or lozenges, almost doubled smokers' quit rates versus only brief counseling with the nicotine replacements, reports a study from Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research."

I knew that second-hand smoke was bad, but I was really amazed to see these kind of figures!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:40 AM | Permalink

I won this book a couple of months ago and now that summer is here, I am getting caught up on some of my reading. I have two shelves of books that I need to read... but I digress.

I have a hard time giving book reviews. I don't want to give away all of the story. I prefer to just tell you what I thought of the book. Here's what the dust jacket cover says:

"Lizzy Mitchell was raised fromt he age of two by her uncle, a Catholic priest. She has never understood why she was taken from him and sent away to boarding school at age nine, and she believes the reasons were later buried along with her uncle. Now thirty years old and trying to save a failing marriage, Lizzy nearly dies in a traffic accident. In the haze of recovery in the hospital she hears the voice of her beloved uncle, Father Mike, and sets out to find the truth about him and about her past.

Her search and what she discovers completely shatters her understanding of herself, her closest friends and the ties that bind.

This thoroughly engrossing novel about belief and deception, love and acceptance will defy your expectations and reward you with its revelations."

I found the characters in this story interesting and believable. I found Ms. Wood's writing style a bit confusing as she changes POV a lot without warning and I often had to do a 'double take' to figure out who was speaking and what time period they were in (the story goes back and forth in time). The story definitely has a couple of twists that I wasn't anticipating. And the story definitely is a good exploration of how we can railroad people into a box and how we can miss the bigger and real story while doing so.

I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:29 AM | Permalink

I just realized I haven't blogged in two days! What the heck is up with that???? Where has the time gone? Well, mostly I have been enjoying being at home.

Sunday, we went to church and it was lovely seeing all of our friends that we hadn't seen for a month. It was a special service as we ordained two deacons. There was a meal afterward and we were torn between staying for it and heading home to do some things before going to Roanoke to see Bruce. We ended up coming home.

We drove to Roanoke to see Bruce and Ryan's new place. It is a very nice townhouse with more space than their last apartment. There is a nice little patio, the neighborhood is quiet, and being the computer guys that they are, they both have their computer desks set up so they can work and watch TV at the same time.

Bruce and Ryan had just adopted two kittens, they are real cuties. Rhonda and Abe were adopted from St. Francis of Assisi. They are full of fun. Here are some pictures:

Bruce was showing Jack something on the computer:

Katrina with Rhonda:

Abe was shy, but I finally got a photo:

After we visited a bit, we went to Logan's Roadhouse for Bruce's birthday dinner. Daniel was supposed to come, but work kept him home. We enjoyed a lovely meal before heading back home to Huddleston. Bruce turned 22 yesterday.

Yesterday we spent the morning getting Jack packed up and ready to head to Go Tell Camp. We met the others at church and they were off. I am sure they will have a lovely week and while Jack was a little worried about being homesick, he is there with his best friend and I think he will have a great time. He did call me late last night and told me he was having a good time. Troy, one of the two chaperones, was letting him and the other kids use his phone to call home.

After dropping Jack off, I picked up Katrina's friend Kayley. She and Katrina will be spending most of the week together (if they don't get on one another's nerves!). We came back to the house and I puttered while Daniel packed to head back to Bloomington. We drove him to the airport, then I took the girls to get an ice cream cone at an ice cream stand. It is called Mr. Goodie's, I think. Anyway, it is a stand in a parking lot and they have great prices. I got the girls medium cones and they were huge! I bet there was 6 inches of ice cream on there! Made for a yummy supper! We stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few items I would need for this week, then came home.

Again, I puttered around a bit while waiting for Ashley and Theresy (next door neighbors) to arrive. We were going to watch The Haunting together. they showed up with cheesecake (my favorite) and we watched The Haunting and then we watched The Reaping. It was 12:30 when our scary movie night was done. It was loads of fun! The girls fell asleep watching Scooby Doo shows.

Today we are heading to Miller Park Pool in Lynchburg (ironically, there is also a Miller Park in Bloomington).

So now I guess I know where my time goes;) And you do too...

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

A couple of months ago, I signed up saying I would love to try the new Swiffer Duster and in return I would be happy to do a review of it on my blog.

Wouldn't you know that my Swiffer package arrived two days before we left for Illinois and literally a day after I had finished cleaning the house so it would be clean when I returned home....

So, I had to wait and I could only hope that the Swiffer people who had sent me this starter kit wouldn't be too peeved with me.

So here I am...a month later and you would not believe how much dust can accumulate in a house that is unoccupied in one months time...

Today, I got out my little Swiffer kit. It was very easy to put together. I enjoyed fluffing out my little duster and then I went to work. It is easy peasy!

I have often looked at dusters at the store and wondered how they would do, you the fluffy kinds that French Maids used...but it always seemed to me that all they did was move the dust around...and how did you get the dust of off them? Anyway...I have steered clear of them. Instead, I use a rag and spray and wash the rag. But this has its problems. I can't reach all the spots I need to. It is hard to dust computers this way. And I have to be careful where I spray because the dust spray makes the wooden floor very slippery.

Anyway, I am a convert. I dusted my house with my Swiffer duster. It took less time, collected all of the dust and I could reach those hard to reach pieces and it easily cleared off my computer.

So, go ahead, try it out and see what you think!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The Songcatcher was a movie that I picked to watch from Netflix. I picked it based on the Netflix description.

"During a visit to her sister in Appalachia, gifted musicologist Dr. Lily Penleric (Janet McTeer) stumbles upon a musical treasure trove -- dozens of Scots-Irish ballads that have been preserved for generations by the local populace and are unknown to the outside world. Intent on collecting the beautiful songs, Dr. Penleric comes to admire the locals, who live a tough, hardscrabble existence without complaint. "

I have an interest in stories about Appalachia and I have a friend who has written a book about a song-catcher, who did pretty much what Dr. Penleric was doing. But I was not impressed with this movie that seemed to be trying to use a real life situation to slide in their own political agenda.

The main story was indeed about a song-catcher who was collecting these beautiful and centuries old ballads. But instead of focusing the story on how these songs had been passed down through generations and instead of focusing on how the songs were such a part of life for these mountain people, other story lines were introduced to muddy the waters. True, Dr. Penleric does at one time mention that she has never been anywhere where music was such a part of life, this theme isn't really explored...though for the observant, you can't help but notice how during times of sadness and happiness, the people erupt into song.

But add into that the fact that Dr. Penleric is a very intelligent woman bucking the male establishment and being passed over for promotion in favor of men. She is also having an affair with a married male professor. She however becomes righteously indignant when she finds out that her sister, whose school she is visiting in the Appalachians, is having a lesbian affair. Neither of these stories really did much for the movie as a whole and detracted from what to me was the real story...the story of the songs.

I give this movie a 3 stars (and I will say, I loved Aidan Quinn...), but overall, I wish that the writer/directors hadn't felt the need to muddy the waters with the stories that really did little for the movie as a whole.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Well, you may have noticed I didn't blog yesterday...I planned on it, but we got a wild hair and we drove until we got home. We were up in Bloomington at 5 a.m. (6 a.m. Virginia time), we left by 6 a.m. We drove for about 2 1/2 hours, then stopped for breakfast in Indiana. Then we drove for another 3 hours and stopped for lunch in Kentucky. Kentucky is a lovely state and I would love to go back and do some sight seeing there.

We drove for three more hours and stopped for a snack and gasoline...I think we were in West Virginia then. We reached the last mountain we had to cross, only to have to turn back because of a tractor trailer accident on the mountain road. That added about another hour to our trip because of the detour we had to make. So we arrived home at 9 p.m. We were soooo happy...and soooo tired. The cats were a little aloof at first. We let them stay inside last night. They kept waking me up last night wanting me to pet them....

Today we got some groceries and looked at some furniture (we need to replace our two sofas). Now Jack and Katrina have their best buds over. Katrina and Kayley are going to sleep in a tent outside tonight. And my neighbors are visiting and we are watching Rose Red.

The weather is cool and lovely...it's good to be home:)

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I blogged here at HSB for about a year, but then due to technical issues and a desire to have a blog that was linked to my name  (I may use it for some business ideas I am thinking of) I started a blog up elsewhere. You can come visit me at Melissa's Idea Garden . I don't have the time to move my many posts from this blog to my new blog and there are a lot of great posts here. I still get comments and visitors to my HSB blog and I have a lot of HSB friends. So, I try to post here periodically.

Be sure to visit my new blog. I still share interesting animal, archaeology, and astronomy stories as well as posts about my family, homeschooling, and our travel adventures. I also share book reviews and movie reviews.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 2:20 PM | Permalink

Yesterday was Father's Day. I had asked Daniel if there was anything in particular we could get him this year, but since we have been purchasing several items lately that we have been wanting, he said that we need not get him anything. He said for Father's Day he was going to sleep in, get up and go exercise, then come home and read a book. I thought that sounded like a great idea.

But...the best laid plans of mice and men...Daniel did sleep in and he did go and exercise. He ended up doing some other things besides reading a book. Then he wanted to go out to a local Italian restaurant he had been told about for 'lupper' around 3:30. We found Avanti's and had just finished figuring out what we were going to eat when the electricity went out! Needless to say, you can't cook a lot of food without electricity. We waited for about 20 minutes, but since Daniel wanted to eat relatively early so he could go to bed at an early hour, we had to go. Our waiter suggested we try Alexander's Steakhouse.

We typed the name into the GPS and away we went. Boy were we in for a surprise! In Alexander's Steakhouse the diner gets to choose their steak from a refrigerator and grill it to perfection. There are two grills set up in the restaurant and people were gathered around grilling steak and Texas toast. There were seasonings you could use and you chose the piece of steak you wanted. It was very cool! Daniel was thinking it would be a great experience for one of his coaches meetings.

Daniel received a text message from Charles in Roanoke. Jack and Katrina got him cards. His mother sent him a Father's Day card. And he was told Happy Father's Day by Katrina's best friend, Kaylie and by our neighbors in Virginia who are busy watching our house. Bruce, the oldest, forgot to call yesterday, but did call today. And he has a good reason for his forgetfulness...he gets it honest from his Dad:)

Today, the kids and I spent doing laundry and packing up. We head back towards Virginia tomorrow. We were trying to pack up extras that we have picked up this time (souvenirs), plus we had to pack clothes, but some stuff we can leave here so it won't be as crowded in the Xterra going back. Katrina and Jack are looking forward to seeing friends and pets. Jack is going to camp the week of the 23rd, so we have to get home and get situated, then get ready for him to go to camp for five days. Katrina wants to have several friends sleep over one night...not sure that's going to work out for her. Daniel will be coming home this weekend. He is looking forward to being home too. While home, I have some matters to tend to, like replacing Living Room furniture and getting an MRI done of my knee. Never a dull moment! I am so looking forward to not having people stomp on the ceiling when I return home... (I say this as the elephants are romping about now while I type).

We went to the Goodwill today because I wanted to buy Jack another pair of swim trunks and he needed some new pants and I needed some pants. Plus, I have been dying to see how the Goodwill here in Bloomington is set up. It was one of the nicest I have ever been in! The men's pants were marked with tags with the waist and length on them! That was awesome! All of the clothing was sorted by size! BY SIZE!!!! That cut way down on the search time. The shoes were displayed nicely on a huge shoe rack on the wall. There were five dressing rooms for trying on clothes. The prices on knick knacks and whatnots was very reasonable. And get this, the price for slacks was cheaper here than at home. Though jeans were a bit more expensive here than at home. The really cool thing was they had stuff one sale! Yep, you heard me, there was stuff on sale! All things with a red tag were 50% off and the men's shorts were 20% off. That was sooooo cool!

I wish this Goodwill manager would move to Lynchburg, VA!

Well, we are going to try and hit the sack early tonight. Who knows, maybe we will drive home in one day....just depends on how traffic is and if I am feeling too tired or not and how my knee is holding up. The GPS is sending us home a different way than we came, so we will be going into Kentucky this time. Should be cool. I have never been in Kentucky before!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I just found out about a brand new blog called Stone and Bone. It looks like it will be great to follow if you are an archaeology fan like I am! Check it out!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Great Debaters saved the day for us movie wise.

This movie is based on a true story of a man, Melvin Tolson played by Denzel Washington, who had a vision for a better tomorrow and who worked towards that vision one step at a time in the ways that were available to him. He creates an amazing Debate Team and that Team goes on to challenge the Harvard Debate Team in 1935.

The movie provides viewers with a look at the way things were in the 1930s and the obstacles that African Americans had to overcome.

This film is full of top notch performances. It is a moving story and one that will pluck at your heart strings.

We give this movie a two thumbs up.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yes, I know Surf's Up came out awhile ago. I refused to even take my kids to the dollar movie to see it. But, hubby, wanting to get something for the kids, picked it up this weekend. And Katrina wanted us all to watch it together, so I agreed.

We put the movie in. Within five minutes, Jack had left saying he really didn't want to watch it. About 20 minutes later, Daniel left to go read a book in another room, only to start snoring loudly shortly after. About the same time as the sounds of sleeping issued forth from the next room, Katrina announced that this movie wasn't what she thought it would be. But we watched it anyway...the blundering through watching a movie of people making a movie. The trite, trite, trite story line. At the end, we quietly put the DVD back into the box and sadly walked away.

If you saw Surf's Up and liked it...good for you! It does take all kinds of people to make the world go around. If you saw it and felt you got ripped off, then you and I are on the same page. If you haven't seen it, but are thinking about it, please don't! Watch March of the Penguins instead! And you can play Save the Egg at Nationa Geographic too! I managed to get to level 13 before my egg died.... I don't think I would make a good penguin Dad.

We gave Surf's Up 4 thumbs down....

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:24 AM | Permalink

Daniel and I have been eagerly anticipating the release of The Happening. We loved Sixth Sense and Signs. I was disappointed with Lady in the Water and with The Village. The Village reminded me of a Scooby Doo show for grown-ups (though I did think that the actors did a great job and I love Joaquin Phoenix). Lady in the Water was an interesting idea and I felt better about it overall than The Village, but these movies did not draw me in like Signs and Sixth Sense.

Daniel and I had seen the trailers for The Happening and we knew we wanted to see it, hoping that this time would return us to the genius of those earlier flicks. Beware, there are spoilers here...mainly because all the reviews I am reading tell the whole story...such as it is. And partially because I want you to not waste your money. Go see Kung Fu Panda instead. The kids said it was great!

I am sorry to say that M. Night Shyamalan may have been a two hit wonder. This story, much like the stories of Mothra and Godzilla, is a direct reflection of what is most on our minds these days - the destruction of our planet and the life on it. It is not uncommon throughout history that we go through decades of horror movie types. They allow us to face the worst case scenarios and breath a sigh of relief when the end comes and we know we are safe (and sometimes maybe a little wiser).

I did sigh with relief at the end of this movie...relief that the movie was over with. The characters were not that great, maybe different actors could have pulled it off better. Mark Wahlberg did okay, but Zooey Deschanel was the wrong gal to play the lead female. She was just too spacy and unbelievable. The main story line was plausible, the internal storylines not so much. And while it would have been impossible to follow this story the way it was written without the R rating and the disgusting methods of suicide, they detracted from the movie to me. The idea that plants are intelligent as they are portrayed in this movie, that they evolve and adapt so quickly is a new one, but for me it doesn't seem that believable.

Daniel tells me that what M. Night Shyamalan was trying to convey was his fear when he was a child of people dying around him. I would never have gotten that from the movie had Daneil not told me that. Perhaps the concept is too hard to translate into a movie for adults who see these things in a different way. Or perhaps, it would have been better told from the view of a child or through the eyes of a person (kind of like Blair Witch, not that I liked that either). But put us behind the camera seeing all of this going on without a clue as to why. Even then, I am not sure it could be pulled off.

I give this movie one star. Personally, if M. Night Shyamalan can find someone to finance another one of his movies, I will have to be hearing rave reviews before I empty my wallet again....

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

You may have noticed that I didn't blog yesterday.....Well, I want to assure you there is a perfectly good reason for that.

Yesterday, I arose early. I had a lot of paperwork to do as two weeks worth of mail had arrived on Friday from Virginia. There were bills to pay, check books to balance (business and personal) and things to review. After I completed that, I spent time catching up on my blog visiting. Then it was time to head to the movies.

Jack and Katrina went to see Kung Fu Panda, while Daniel and I went to see The Happening...more on that later.

After the movies, we came home and watched Surfs Up. It was one Katrina had been wanting to see and I had been dragging my feet on because it didn't very good...I should have dug my feet in, but I will talk more about that later too.

Then Daniel and I watched The Great Debaters...saved the day, actually! But again, movie reviews are for another post.

After the movie, I got my computer ready to write all of those movie reviews and to finish my bloggy visiting.

Katrina comes out from the bathroom and informs me that one of her earring backs is stuck to her ear. You may or may not know that for her 8th birthday, just a little over 2 months ago, Katrina got her ears pierced. It was a big moment for her and she was very excited. For the last two months she has done very well with taking care of her ears and earrings. In spite of that, she has had problems. When the 6 weeks were up and she got to change out her earrings, it seemed like she constantly had problems with her left ear. It was sore (not infected though), tender and she had a hard time getting the earring in. I was also suprised when the studs came out that the posts on them weren't any bigger than other earrings... I couldn't believe it! Is this the way they do it now? Her holes were barely big enough.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Whew, that was a long title. Today, I was visiting the Drudge Report. If you have never visited this website, it is a neat place to go to get a variety of headlines from around the world. Anyway, today, Matt Drudge was running these two articles:

Scientists From Around the Globe Join ABC News in a Forum on Surviving the Century

Global Warming and the Price of a Gallon of Gas

The first article is about an upcoming ABC 2 hour special designed to show us what the doomsayers are showing our next 100 years are going to be like.

The second article is a scathing attack on the global warming hysteria and the fact that there are way more scientists saying it is bull, than there are that is saying it is the gospel truth. According to the second article, we are causing a lot of our own problems by jumping onto the global warming band wagon.

Now, I have written before that I am skeptical about Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth. I am skeptical for a lot of reasons.

1. Just because we like the current temperature of the planet, does not mean that it is the accurate temperature of the planet. The planet has been a lot of temperatures through the millenia. some have been hospital to mankind, some have not. As mankind, we don't get determine the temperature of the planet, we have to go with the flow.

2. There is evidence that Mars has also grown warmer in the last decade or so...and this is believed to be related to solar flares. Since mankind isn't messing up the planet Mars, perhaps, just maybe...the global warming we are having here is also related to the solar flares...it is something to think about anyway.

3. Humans always want to be prepared for the worst. Doomsday has been around the corner since before the times of Christ. Whether it be the approach of a new century, prophesies, or flakes, we have a fascination with end times. Who knows why we are fascinated with thoughts of our demise. Maybe it is for the same reason we watch horror movies...we like the catharsis that comes when it is all over and we are still okay. But despite these doomsday predictions, we are all still alive and well. We even survived the global cooling scare of 30 years ago...

Please don't get me wrong. I am all for taking care of the planet we have. I think we should stop being so wasteful. That we should recycle, use less energy, try to cut back on pollution any way that we can. I think this can be done in small steps by individuals and big steps by companies. But I don't believe global warming is fact. I believe it is hysteria and I believe that if the voice of reason doesn't start asserting ourselves, we are going to do more damage to our economy and our world than we can dream possible. Already people are suffering around the globe due to food shortages, rising fuel costs, rising costs of all merchandise.... There are riots in third world countries.

We need to get a grip. We need to supply the voice of reason. We need to not just assume that the media, the Hollywood types, the politicians are telling the truth. We need to think for ourselves, we need to use our brains and examine the evidence and make our own decisions. Then we need to tell others what we think.

Bloggers have the unique ability to reach out and touch others. We can start a movement to stop the craziness...one voice at a time. Won't you join me?

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yesterday I received a comment on my post Today I Get to Meet Two Bloggy Friends regarding an upcoming Writer's Conference in Texas.

I went and checked out the website of the Writer's League of Texas. The conference is taking place in Austin June 20-22. I think one of the reasons I didn't get further with my writing was because I didn't network enough and attend conferences, but it just wasn't the right time in my life to do that. If you are in the area, check out the conference.

If you are from another state, see if there is something similar near you! I googled VA and there is The Virginia Writers Club. I will definitely be checking them out if I return to writing.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 5:15 AM | Permalink

As I told you this morning, we headed north to visit two bloggers that I have known for a couple of years....but only via reading their blog posts, their comments on my posts and a few emails sent back and forth. We had a lovely visit with Momanna98 and Abiga.

It was like meeting old friends and getting to know new ones all at the same time. One of the things that was really neat is the fact that we read some of the same blogs! We enjoyed several hours of conversation, a yummy lunch, and watching the children play before we headed back down the road. But don't take my word for it, check out these pictures!

Poor toddler B. He wanted so bad to splash with the big guys, but the deep water and commotion was a bit much for him. So he watched from afar!

But, Abiga came to Toddler B.'s rescue and made him a pool of his very own. He had so much fun jumping and splashing in it!

Momanna98 held a happy and full Little L so I could get a picture of them both.

I was tickled to get to hold her too and when I took a picture of her with her mom, I asked her to smile and she complied.

Abiga helped hold Little L while Momanna98 was busy making ice cream for us all. She even had spumoni for me! Is that sweet or what???? Someone is actually reading what I am writing on my blog! Amazing!

Another highlight of my day was playing with Buttercup. She loves to play fetch!

We had a lovely day. It was so nice meeting these two friendly and hospitable ladies and watching our children play together. Who knows, perhaps we will get to do it again sometime!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

When we were at the St. Louis Six Flags theme park, we rode on several rides. One that looked really cool from our vantage point on the ferris wheel was a red rollercoaster with single cars (instead of the normal train). each car would spin 360 degrees around while going up and down and around curves.

When we got to it, Jack declined. Basically, I am a chicken about these things and haven't ridden a rollercoaster in close to 20 years, but I figured I would go outside of my comfort zone to encourage the kids. It didn't help with Jack, but Katrina was intrigued (and she has enjoyed small roller coasters in the past.)

As we waited in line, she just wasn't sure until we realized that we could get a DVD of us riding the ride and what we were saying (screaming). That was just too fun for her to pass up. So, here it is, a plug for a fun ride and a chance to see our daughter pushing the envelope of her comfort zone. (And this is the first thing I have ever put on You Tube!)

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I won this book in a contest over at Laura Williams' Musings a couple of months ago. Now that it is summer and I am catching up on my reading, I got a chance to read it.

This book is the second in a series. I wish I had read the first, though the book certainly can stand on its own. For the most part I liked this book. Though I wasn't very far into the book when I had figured out who was the bad guy. And during another prominent scene, when someone suddenly 'turns cold', I figured out what was going on there too, immediately. I don't like that. I prefer to have a story a little more challenging to read in that way.

However, having said that, I over all liked the book. The characters were believable and interesting. The book was engrossing, I read most of it in a few hours. And the book portrayed some very real problems that Christians face.

Such as we say we accept God's forgiveness, but we don't forgive ourselves.

We don't feel like we are good enough to be loved by God.

We feel like God is punishing us for past mistakes.

We forget to forgive others as we have been forgiven.

We take appearances and past records at face value and judge accordingly.

For all of those reasons, I recommend this book as a good read. I will be looking for more books by Kathy Herman.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:12 AM | Permalink

Today I was reading an article in Good Housekeeping about a mom whose son was constantly encouraging her to decrease their families carbon footprint. This mom drives a VW bug and keeps her house at a chilly 62 degrees in the winter time. She recycles. She turns off lights when she leaves the room. But when she went to the carbon calculator it informed her that she was using 12 tons more carbon a year than the average family in the United States.

I wanted to get my own number. I have to say, I was surprised. As you know I was gifted with a SUV this year, not exactly friendly to the environment, but it was a most wonderful gift. My number showed that we are only 6 tons over the national average.

Now, my gripe with this little calculator is this....

One, it doesn't ask enough questions. There are no questions regarding my habits of recycling for instance. And recycling comes in various forms. We often buy used clothing and send our no longer worn clothing to Goodwill. We recycle books and furniture by passing them on or donating them.

It also doesn't ask for your complete vehicle information. That would undoubtedly make mine go up as we own four vehicles. But three of them are rarely used. My husband has a Mercury Cougar that he drives to the airport and home. If he is working locally, he will drive it to work. He owns a restored 1983 Jeep Scrambler that he probably put less than 1000 miles on last year. We also own a 1989 Suburban that we put less than 2000 miles on last year. The Suburban is there for hauling and if we have extra family members with us. We did drive it on vacation last year as it had more room to spread out in. But still, the calculator should ask about all the vehicles.

My second problem is the fact that they ask the wrong questions. They ask how much your average monthly bill is for electric, oil, etc. A better question would be how many kilowatts do I use a month or how many gallons of oil, etc. Price varies across the country for electricity and in Virginia, I am paying the highest amount possible. We get our electricity from a co-operative. They purchase it from an electric company (and they purchase from the higher of two possible companies in our area). The bill for my home is 280.00 a month. The bill for our office (which has one computer and two printers running in it and a refrigerator and heat pump (and that is pretty much it except for some lights), runs us almost 200.00 a month. We aren't using that much electricity up there, it's just our electric company is a known gouger...

So, the calculator is really useless for figuring out our carbon footprints.

Here is a better calculator. It asks about all of my vehicles and my actual KWH use if I want to go the exact route. I don't have that here in IL, but will be checking it when I return home.

And here is the best calculator I have found so far at Conservation International. Well, when I got started on the quiz, it looked the best. It does ask the right quesitons as to what I do to help my planet, but it doesn't ask direct questions about my energy useage.

I will keep looking. If you have found a calculator that does both, please share in a comment!

Okay, I found another one: Carbon Footprint Calculator. I haven't done it yet, but it looks like it has some questions for recycling and some for use.

The bottom line is to think when you are taking these quizzes. Don't just take one and assume it gives you all the information. Think about the questions the quiz is asking and determine if it is thorough. I want to reduce my carbon footprint, and I want my information to be accurate so I can do this correctly. My footprint may be bigger or smaller than the one I found through the link Good Housekeeping provided. I want to know as close as possible to what the truth is so I can make appropriate changes. Don't you?

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:38 AM | Permalink

I have made a lot of friends over the Internet over the years. I have four very good friends that I met when we created an online writing critique group back in 1999. All of us haver become published authors. And I have met one of these lovely ladies in person. One of us, who lives in England, has met the one who lives in Australia and the gal who lives in Texas. The live meetings are very special.

Well, today, I get to meet not one, but two ladies whose blogs I have been reading for a couple of years now and they (for some strange reason) have been reading mine. I am going to meet Momanna98 from Homeschooling In Illinois and her mom Abiga, from Blessings from Abiga.

I am really looking forward to meeting them face to face!

Expect pictures and details later:)

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

As I said in my post yesterday, we wrapped up our St. Louis trip with time at Six Flags St. Louis. I took my camera in, but I only took two pictures. However, there were some interesting things to see there. Check it out....

Yesterday we didn't do much except watch movies in the hotel room and recouperate from our previous two days of adventures. We did try to go swimming at the hotel pool, but unfortunately it was closed. That did not go over well. We did watch three good movies on the Pay Per View Channel though. The Golden Compass, Spiderwick Chronicles and The WaterHorse. Jack liked The Golden Compass best. Katrina and I liked Spiderwick Chronicles the best.

Today we packed up, checked out and spent a few hours at Six Flags St. Louis. It is not a very large park and seems to be heavy on the rollercoaster and dare devil type rides.

We walked around looking for a ride to enjoy.

First we rode the Ferris Wheel, a nice easy ride (though for a son that doesn't like heights, even the Ferris Wheel has its problems). From there we spotted a couple of other interesting looking rides.

The second one we tried was Thunder River. Daniel had his cell phone. I had mine and my camera in a bag. The signs warned that we may get soaked. Daniel was saying...oh, it won't be that bad....

HA! I was completely drenched and wearing blue jeans that were too big for me (and I forgot my belt in Virginia.) The rest of the day I had to keep hitching up my sodden pants. But the ride was a lot of fun. And probably my favorite.

Next Daniel, Katrina, and I rode something called Tony Hawks Big Spin. It was a spinning roller coaster ride. We purchased the DVD, mainly because Katrina wasn't sure she wanted to ride and Daniel told her we would buy the DVD they took during the ride for her if she went. Jack was sure he didn't want to go. I hope in the next couple of days to get that video onto YouTube and share with you.

Then we rode the Carousel. I was disappointed in the Carousel. It hadn't been taken care of or refurbished in a long time. The paint was peeling, the horses were missing their glass eyes and ears, and other pieces of their bodies or saddles. I really hope they remedy that soon.

After the Carousel, we drove around in the go-karts. That was fun. I started out first and ended up next to last (but I liked being in the end, I could drive in the middle of the road and not worry about other drivers!

We watched a cool ride called The Dragon's Wing. This is a drop ride that involves body harnesses, swinging and heights. It looked cool, but Daniel was the only one who wanted to try it and time was running out.

We then headed to Hurricane Harbor - the water park. The kids enjoyed it most of all. There was a tidal pool, a kiddie fun pool with slides and a dumping bucket and several water slides. We left the park around 3 to head back to Bloomington.

We used a GPS for the trip and I just have to say that is such an awesome aide to drivers when you are in strange locations. I am looking forward to using it for the trip back home to Virginia next week.

So, here is the link my St. Louis Zoo Pictures I had set up a really nice slide show in Power Point, but it is huge and I couldn't figure out how to get it to people, so I sent the images to flicker and you can enjoy them there.

Let me know what you think. I have a couple of favorites: The Komodo Dragon, Yoda Frog, Sad Orangutan and Is the Coast Clear?

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:33 PM | Permalink

Yesterday we had tickets to take a ride on the Gray Line. We got up, had breakfast and were ready at the busstop where the people at the front desk told us to go by 9:50. We waited and waited and waited. Daniel happened to look up to the front door and there the bus was...turns out that we were suppposed to wait inside the lobby. Oh well, at last we were on our way.

Ann was our driver for the day and she was very knowledgeable, fun and eager to suggest places that were child friendly for us. The first part of the tour was a drive through the downtown historical area along with running commentary on what was what. One of the things I thought most interesting was a water fountain that depicted a woman (the Missouri) and a man (the Missisippi).

And our driver took us to a neat picture spot. So here we are at the beginning of the day looking rather fresh and peppy:

Ann also pointed on the flooding along the Mississippi as you can see in the photo below of the statue of Meriwether Lewis.

It is as if he is raising his hat to let us know he is still there and to please help him!

Then we went on a tour of the Anheuser Bush Headquarters. The complex covers 70 city blocks. The tour we took was about an hour. We saw some Clydesdales, how they make the beer, and learned that there are a lot of beer drinkers in the world! The AB Headquarters pay 1,000,000 a day in taxes!!!! WOW!!!

While on the brewery tour, we were delighted to see a bunny! Katrina wanted to take him home with her.

Later, Katrina was stretched out, trying to make the most of the breeze as the temperatures soared to the 90s and the humidity went up right along with it.

Here is a picture of the AB Clock tower. Ain't it purty????

Here is the Bud Light (number one seller) whizzing by...

After the brewery tour, we rode to Forest Park where we were let out at the Missouri History Museum so we could have lunch at the Merrimac Restaurant and wander about the museum. Lunch was very nice and we enjoyed the exhibit about Lindbergh.

Our last stop on the tour was The Cathedral Basicila of Saint Louis. I cannot begin to tell you how beautiful this Cathedral is. We tried to get photos, but lacked the proper equipment. If you click on the link, you will have an idea of the beauty, but it is truly a place that has to be seen in person to really get the full impact of it. I did get one okay picture of the Pentecost.

That was the last stop on our tour. Ann was kind enough to let us off just a couple of blocks away from the Arch instead of at our hotel. Going to the St. Louis Arch is a bit of a task. Once you arrive, you have to go through security to get inside, then you have to get in line to get your tickets, then you have to get in line for the tram...We watched a movie about Lewis and Clark...truly amazing individuals, along with every man and woman that was part of their expedition. Then we took the tram...which is when you get in this little pod that looks like something out of 2001 and go 630 up in about 4 minutes. You get out, wander around the observation deck and take pictures, then you head back down. It was hot up there and we were tired. We didn't stay too long, but here are some pictures from the top of the arch and from the Westward Expansion museum.

After we were done at the Arch, we walked towards home. We stopped for dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory. Not only was the service excellent, the atmosphere charming, and the food terrific, they had Spumoni ice cream. I love spumoni ice cream, but it is not easy to find in our neck of the woods. I haven't had any in probably 20 years....

We came back, exhausted and happy. We weren't awake long.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Here is the first photo I took with my new camera!

Aren't those cute, cute, cute freckles!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

When I left you yesterday, faithful reader, I was on my way out the door to run some errands.

First stop was the Krispy Kream Donut Shoppe I had been eyeing since our arrival...you know the ones...they have the little sign that when it is lit up means hot donuts being made inside? Well, it was everything my tastebuds had dreamed it would be. Those were some of the best tasting donuts I have ever had. Then we went to the Casual Male to pick up some shorts and a swimsuit for Daniel. But the store was closed and I couldn't see a time card for when they would open.

So we went next door to the Dollar Tree. Father's Day is coming up and that is the best place to buy cards (.50 each). So we bought Father's Day cards and birthday cards for three upcoming birthdays. We wandered around a bit, figuring the Casual Male would be open by 10:00. When we got there, I pulled on the door while also finally seeing the sign which said 11 was the opening time. At the same time the door came open. The shopkeeper invited us to come on in. Boy, was I glad because I had a lot to do. So we made our purchases and then headed towards the library to return books...but first we made a pitstop.

I did something that I rarely ever do, I made a big impulse buy. I think I have mentioned that I have been wanting a new camera for my birthday. Well, my birthday is coming up the end of July (me and Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling will all be having a party together). And I kept thinking about how many need photo possiblities would be coming up between now and then, so I decided to get my birthday present early.

We swung into Best Buy and I picked out a lovely Panasonic Luminix (that I am in love with), a case for it and some memory. The camera was 1/3 off because it was the display model! Katrina pointed out the video camera next to it (which was also 1/3 off). We haven't had a video camera (DVD) in years and I have missed it. So I did something else I never do, I bought something big without consulting Daniel. Usually he is in charge of the photographic equipment, but the price was excellent and I have missed being able to record things like recitals.

Then we headed to the library, dropped off the books and returned to the apartment to pack. After we packed, we watched Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. I had held off letting the kids watch this particular one, but Daniel and I talked about it and we thought it would be okay.

While we watched the movie, I balanced the business checking account and paid business bills, then it was time for Daniel to arrive.

We packed the Xterra, plugged up the GPS and away we went. We had a nice drive (it is soooo flat here and the corn hasn't started growing yet) and we reached the Hotel Lumiere about 6.

We unpacked, ate and spent the rest of the evening reading my manuals for my new photographic equipment.

This morning, I was awake at 5:15 (after being up until 11:30. And this was not because I was particularly wide awake, but because the temperature in the room was too warm and the room was humid and I couldn't sleep worth a darn. So I got up and did some things I wanted to do...I worked on my Parachute book a bit, narrowing down my transferrable skills. I played some Skipbo on my DS, and I read a little. Then the kids got up. We went to the Bistro for the breakfast buffet. Let me just say, it was very yummy!

After breakfast, I called a cab. I am not real keen on driving in small cities, much less one this large and Daniel wasn't going to the zoo with the kids and I. It was more expensive, but I had peace of mind, so there you go.

We got to the St. Louis zoo around 10:00. The zoo is a lovely place and it is free unless you wish to do some of the 'extras' like ride the train, see the 3-D movie, watch the Sea Lion show. Of course, we wanted to do several of these events, so we got our Safari passes (great deal) and away we went. We saw some beautiful wildlife, rode one of those cool motion rides where it was like we were a log being transported down waterfalls and such (while our chairs moved all over the place). We loved the Sea Lion Show. The whole while we kept watching the sky. We knew they were calling for thunderstorms in the afternoon and we wanted to get as much done as we could.

We headed to the train station to hop the train from one side of the zoo to the other so we could see the area with elephants and hippos, insectarium and a discovery center. We reached the train depot which was basically a roof, an office for the station master and metal fencing for the line to twist around as we waited. We arrived as one train was leaving, but one was supposed to be coming every ten minutes. A few minutes later a second train came along and a large group filled up the seats on that while rain was pouring down and lightning streaking across the sky.

I was looking at this lightning and at the metal train and wondering how much longer it would be running. Well, it wasn't long. A few moments later, we were told the trains had been stopped and we were going to have to wait for the storm to end before they started again. The rain was coming in buckets. The lightning was close and the thunder made us jump because it was so loud. The adults were busy trying to keep the children back from the metal railing. The station master was trying hard to keep us up to date. Then the tornado siren went off....

You can imagine our dismay. The train depot was at a spot between two tunnel entrances (spots where the train went into a tunnel). These entrances were about 50 feet away. We adults had decided we would take refuge in the tunnels if we saw sign of the tornado that the sirens were warning us of. We were trying to calm a young 2 year old who was in tears because of the storm raging around us.

Then the station master told us that the tornado danger had passed and we noticed the storm sounds were lessening. Maybe 5 minutes later, a zookeeper came and told us we were being taken to the arena (where the Sea Lion show was held). This was due to another tornado warning. I am thinking it was a belated response to the first, but who knows. So we ran through buckets of rain water (not a day for wearing a white t-shirt...yep, I was). After 15 minutes or so in the arena, we were told it was safe, but another storm was coming and we should head to the exits. We needed to reach the North Entrance (which was a good way away....like on the opposite side from where we were!). But we made it and praise God, my knee did not give out along the way.

Once we were back in the big center, we dried off a little. We shopped for souvenirs, and we watched a 3-D movie about the Planet Earth. Then we headed home. I cannot tell you how tired I was. This evening has been busy with dinner (we ordered delivery because it was cheaper than eating here at the hotel this evening). Then I started working on the 147 pictures I took today!

Yep, you heard me 147 pictures! And 30 minutes of video!

Don't worry, I am not going to show you all 147 pictures. I deleted many for being too blurry or just not good. Then I went through and sharpened the colors and cropped the rest. I am going to share one of my favorites with you now and then some more of the best tomorrow. I have been up now for 20 hours and 7 of that was spent walking, standing, running and being afraid for our lives...so I am pooped! But I couldn't go to bed without letting you all know we are here, alive, well and having fun.

Here's the picture:

BTW, I love my camera!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I received this photo in an email. It was so good, I had to pass it on:)

Posted by Melissa Markham at 2:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Last night two tornados touched down in McLean County with minimal damage. A number of funnel clouds were seen, but that is not why we are packing up today!

We are heading to St. Louis for five days. We leave this afternoon when Daniel gets off work. We are very excited about it. The Zoo, the arch, a city tour and Six Flags are all on our list of things to do. Expect blog posts and pictures:)

Yesterday at about 2, the mother of a friend of Katrina's called and invited us to meet them at O'Neill Park pool. We had tried to get to this park a couple of times, but construction had made it just about impossible. We kept running into dead ends. She gave me directions and we found the pool easily.

There were two slides, two diving boards and the kids liked it okay, but I think they prefer the Holiday park pool better. After Katrina's friend left, we packed up and headed to Holiday Park and ran into a couple of Jack's friends and another one of Katrina's friends there. I also got to talking to a ocuple of different people. I made three new friends yesterday and all were kind, helpful and more than happy to give me advice about things to do.

I did have an experience at the pool that was more than a bit odd. When I was walking around the pool to tell Katrina it was time to go, a Miley Cyrus song was on the speakers. I watched briefly (and I do mean briefly...like two seconds as I walked by) a teenager dancing to the song and making fun. I smiled and continued toward Katrina.

When we were all leaving, he and a couple of friends were in the parking lot leaving too. He asked me if I had seen him dancing. At first I said no because I didn't connect the two together. Then I said...oh yeah, the Miley song. He replied with asking if I had seen him dance some other song and I said no. Got in the truck, turned to look out of my window and he was dancing in the parking lot. Then he turned around and I swear I thought he was going to moon me. Instead he slapped his behind and asked what I thought of his booty. I told him I thought he was an ill behaved and mannered child. GEEZ!!!! Daniel said they must have thought I was staring at him the first time when I saw him dancing... Not sure I want to go back to that pool anytime soon...

Johnny was unable to have his surgery yesterday as his blood was too thin. They have taken him off of his blood thinning medication and they hope to try today. Thank you for your thoughts, comments and prayers.

Well, off to run a couple of errands and pack.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Yesterday was a busy weather day here and at our home back in Virginia. We woke up to tornado watches and grey skies. I watched the radar which was showing a line of severe weather headed our way. I took some precautions...I showered, dressed and we each put on our shoes in case we had to head to the shelter. I kept watching the line of storms as they headed towards us. As they hit Bloomington, the reds began to fade into yellows and while we had some rain and thunder, it wasn't bad at all. I felt a little silly about being prepared, but I figure, better to feel a little silly and have nothing happen, than the opposite.

Since the weather was not cooperating for swimming, we decided to go see Prince Caspian. I just want to say the movie was well done and we all really enjoyed it! I wonder which movie they will do next.

We ran by Walmart and bought a few items we needed, then headed home and piddled a bit. My mother-in-law called to up date us on my father-in-law's condition. He was hospitalized with chest pains yesterday. Johnny is 88 years old and has been fighting clogged arteries and heart problems for over a decade. It turns out he had a mild heart attack and his arteries are very clogged up. They are going to try catheterization and stint placement today, but if they can't get stints in, then we aren't sure where they will go from there. they don't want to do open heart surgery on him again because of his age and weak condition.

Talked with Bruce to let him know about Johnny and he said they were having their own bad weather (which had been here earlier in the day). What he didn't realize at the time was how bad the weather was there.

We turned in around 10:30, only to awaken at 1:15 when the radio weather started announcing Severe Thunderstorm and flash flooding warnings. Sure enough, shortly thereafter, the sky lit up with lightning and the thunder was massive. I got up to look at the radar and noticed an email from a friend back home.

There were reports of a tornado touch down in Roanoke and of severe damage from winds there. She went on to say that the storm was moving quickly, descended on Bedford, then took a turn towards my house. In her email, she told me that the weather guys zoomed in on where the storm was, and she googled my house and she said it looked like the storm was right in my living room. So now we are waiting to call a neighbor (didn't want to call too early, he is retired and might be sleeping) to ask if he will check out the house and office and see if there is any wind damage.

Now wouldn't that be ironic.....

That's all for now, folks!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Stonehenge is magnificent in appearance and steeped in mystery. But maybe, just maybe, an answer has been found. The blocks, may be tombstones, memorials to the dead.

According to National Geographic:

Newly dated human remains unearthed at the megalithic circle in southern England reveal Stonehenge was a place of burial from its earliest beginnings some 5,000 years ago, said Mike Parker Pearson, who leads the Stonehenge Riverside Project.

And if you watch this video, you will learn about other amazing discoveries at Stonehenge.

Isn't it amazing what can be found when digging in the ground?

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This is a photo taken by an obsevatory of the Supernova Remnant, Cassiopeia A. Isn't it gorgeous? And study has given scientists the ability to figure out the cause for the Supernova. Very cool.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:16 AM | Permalink

Check out this Javan Rhino mom as she decides that the camera taking a picture of her and her baby might not be safe! The Javan Rhino is on the critically endangered species list.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:06 AM | Permalink

A patch of prehistoric hair suggests that the first Eskimos in the New World did not descend from Native Americans as previously thought but came directly from Asia.

Previously, there were two main theories to explain the ancestry of the first Eskimos in Alaska, Canada, and Greenland, Gilbert said.

The new research, which appears tomorrow in the journal Science, suggests that the original Paleo-Eskimos of the New World were replaced by later colonizers, who spread eastward from Siberia.

You just never know what question someone's hair may hold the answer to!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:53 AM | Permalink

Check out this artist's rendering of a prehistoric bird that is believed to forage on the ground like many modern day birds. While the bird is thought to have stood 16 feet tall (which is scary enough - I mean I don't want to meet a 16 foot tall carnivorous bird, do you?), the artist may have been a bit overzealous...see the hills behind the birds? Anyway, it's interesting stuff!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:46 AM | Permalink

This is so very cool! Check out the video and story of the remains of the world's oldest known mother which have been unearthed in the Australian outback. I am not sure how they can tell all of that from the bit of bone they have, but they say the specimen is in 3-D and gives them lots of information.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:44 PM | Permalink

Read about what how hard it is to receive the Medal of Honor and read about the courage of a man who believed in what he was doing. And wonder how many similar stories go untold.

No Greater Honor

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:23 AM | Permalink

My friend Jen had this fun meme on her blog, so I decided to join in. Jen lives in New Zealand and has been a great source of encouragement to me. If you get a chance, go by and visit her blog My 3 boys and I

Last Movie you Saw in a Theater:
Indiana Jones IV

What Book or Books Are You Reading?
Just finished Herlock Sholmes (very funny). Have started Never Look Back by Kathy Herman and I am doing the work in What Color Is Your Parchute by Richard Nelson Bolles.

Favorite Board Game:
I don't have a favorite, we like to play Monopoly, Life, Clue, Parcheesi, Sorry, Chess and we love card games

Favorite Smells:
Lilac, baking cookies or pies, fresh mown hay

Favorite Sound:
My daughter singing, my children playing the piano, a babbly brook, the sound of the ocean, twittering birds

Worst Feeling In The World:
Not being able to comfort my children, being on the outs with my husband, not being able to figure out what to do when a child is sick

Favorite Fast Food Place:
Long John Silver's

Finish This Statement.“If I Had A Lot Of Money I’d…”
Pay off debts, buy a new house, pay off the debts of family members, set up trust funds for my children and my nephews. Get a home at the beach and a home in the Rocky Mountains.

Do You Sleep With a Stuffed Animal?
no.

Storms-Cool Or Scary:
Very cool! And the scary part is cool too!

Favorite drink:
water, diet cherry 7-up, Venti Dark Mocha, extra pump, extra shot

Finish This Statement, “If I Had The Time I Would …..”
Exercise regularly

If You Could Dye Your Hair Any Color, What Would Be Your Choice?
Golden Brown

Future Child’s Name:
I'm not having any more children.

Do You Drive Fast? a bit faster than I should. Usually 5 mph over speed limit

One Nice Thing About The Person Who Sent This To You:
Jen is a good friend who is good at listening and gives good advice. She is also a faithful commenter on my blog!

What’s Under Your Bed?
Dust dragons and boxes that have stuff stored in them

Would You Like To Be Born As Yourself Again?
I will be born as myself again in the Kingdom of God

Morning Person Or Night Owl?
I grew up as a morning person, but I can also go late into the night. When the sun is up, I am often awake unless I am really really tired.

Over Easy Or Sunny Side Up?
Either

Favorite Place To Relax:
On the deck when the weather is nice. In a warm, snuggly bed when it isn't.

Favorite Pie:
Anything chocolate!

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor:
Ben and Jerry's - Chunky Monkey, Everything But the Kitchen Sink, and Oatmeal Cookie

Tagging those that would like to do this meme

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

If you sit on our patio at the apartment, you will find the air is filled with the sounds of happy birds. You will look at the chain link fence about 15 feet away that is periodically dotted with bird feeders that the apartment dwellers have put out. Then you can look through the fence to a lush undergrowth that surrounds Angler's Lake.

This is a protected wildlife area. There are signs around it stating you are not to bother the vegetation. And the birds are very happy here. Water. Plenty of cover for their nests and humans willing to throw some extra food their way.

Yesterday, Katrina and I decided to take a walk around the lake and see what we could see. Why don't you come along with us...

While on our walk, we found a path leading to another lake, but we were running out of time, so we will be checking it out soon.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

In the first underwater survey of the Nile, archaeologists are locating treasures that before they had only assumed they would be able to locate. It has long been suspected that that due to shifts in the Nile's course over the centuries and due to shipping accidents up and down the Nile that artifacts were just waiting to be discovered.

Below is a picture of a one ton rock found and retrieved from the entryway that once led to the temple of the ram-headed fertility god Khnum, experts say. This stone has inscriptions that could date from the 22nd dynasty (945-712 B.C.) to 26th dynasty (664-525 B.C.).

Who knows what other treasures lie beneath the surface of the Nile...waiting to be discovered.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:20 AM | Permalink

Cambodia has been a war ravaged country, but now that peace has taken firm hold, the country is reaping benefits other than those of no longer being at war. The wildlife is returning.

Once dubbed the "Serengeti of Asia," almost all of Mondulkiri's wildlife was wiped out by poachers during decades of conflict, which began with the war in neighboring Vietnam.

Now, people who used to be poachers and estimate they killed thousands of animals are protecting them. But the task is not an easy one due to a rise in tourism in Cambodia, a resurgence of poaching activities, and the growing population of people (which need money and food to live).

The Cambodian goverment is working to create an environment that will protect the endangered wildlife and provide much needed income to the country.

Well done!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:51 AM | Permalink

We watched four movies yesterday. It was a 50/50 weekend. Half of them were really good and half were not.

First with the not so good (I always like to get the bad out of the way first).

I picked up a movie titled Thicker Than Water for 5.00 at Wal-mart. Now the reason I chose that movie was because Lindsey Wagner (Bionic Woman) and Melissa Gilbert (Laura on Little House on the Prairie) were in it. I have always admired both of these actresses. And when I was a child and the only Melissa I knew, Melissa Gilbert and Melissa Sue Anderson were my favorites...but I digress. This movie had a poorly written story. It went all over the place, was predictable and not all that captivating. All the good actors and actresses in the world could have made this a good movie. But it was at least tolerable to watch.

Knock Knock...a slasher movie picked up by Daniel, was horrible. Not only were the slasher scenes horrific (me with eyes closed or averted), the story was a dumb rip off of Nightmare on Elm Street. The characters were cardboard cut-outs who couldn't have delivered a compelling line if a gun had been held to their head. I wanted to take the disk out and break it up into little bitty pieces and send it back to the producer of this horrible movie, but Daniel said we had to keep it as a reminder of what makes a bad movie bad.

Now onto the much better movies....

Savages - this movie is excellent. It is a movie of a brother and sister trying to find their own way in the world and suddenly having to take care of an aging father with dementia. The brother is practical, the sister more soft-hearted. The conflicts presented in the movie are very real and very understandable. The story was well done and the actors did an excellent job.

The Woodsman - this is an older movie with Kevin Bacon. I picked it up at a sale at Game Stop (buy 2 DVDs and get 3 free). The movie had a 2 thumbs up rating, but I wasn't sure as it dealt with an issue that I wasn't sure I wanted to see a movie about...a pedophile. I have to say that this movie was done very, very well. It showed the side of things from Kevin Bacon's character, Walter, and how he tried to fight his internal compulsions. The acting was superb, the archs believable and the story was told with dignity and without tyring to explain away the main characters faults. I really liked it.

Daniel and I give both of these movies two thumbs up and 5 stars.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 1:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Check out this beautiful new Red Spot on Jupiter. Though it is tinier than the other red spots and it may have a short life, it is still very cool to look at!

Did you realize that the giant red spot is as wide as the Earth! Jupiter is hugamongus!!!!!! Scientists are waiting to see if the 'tiny' spot will be repelled by the big red spot or absorbed...

Posted by Melissa Markham at 1:02 PM | Permalink