Room Progress

Well, the baby's room is slowly progressing. It's funny how much I've had to do in other rooms though, as I get it ready! This weekend was all about moving all the baby things out of Daniel's room. I got closet organization systems for both Daniel's and his brother's room. This morning, I cleared out Daniel's closet to prepare to install it, only to discover that it desperately needed to be painted before I could do anything else. It was a dirt/mud/gray paint, with white where the old shelf supports were. There were also tons of test drill holes. So this morning was all about painting. Then after his nap, Daniel and Doug went outside for the afternoon/evening, while I installed the new hardware, and loaded up his toys and clothes. My arms ache, but it's done and I love it! I'll tackle the baby's room another weekend...

The Hubble Deep Field Video

This is a fascinating video that helps put the actual size of our universe into perspective.

Daddy's Helper

(I apologize for the white on the tall pictures. I don't know what's up with Blogger, it's never done that before to my pics.)

White Glop

This is the result of our spring snowstorm. Heavy, wet, gloppy. We lost our power for a few hours this morning as a result. Daniel was in the backseat, telling me to duck, the tree branches were so low. The last picture is of a power line, and how encased it was.

My Little Easter Cheeseball

Tax Day

In honor of it being April 15th.

Babble

Thanks to herinfernallady for this great poster! She told us you can make your own poster at this site: Motivator, create your own custom poster.

The Pastor's Business Card

A new pastor was visiting in the homes of his parishioners. At one house it seemed obvious that someone was at home, but no answer came to his repeated knocks at the door. Therefore, he took out a business card and wrote "Revelation 3:20" on the back of it and stuck it in the door. When the offering was processed the following Sunday, he found that his card had been returned. Added to it was this cryptic message, "Genesis 3:10." Reaching for his Bible to check out the citation, he broke up in gales of laughter. Revelation 3:20 begins "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." Genesis 3:10 reads, "I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid for I was naked."

Stroke Identification

This came from an email my dad sent me. Good stuff to know.

STROKE IDENTIFICATION:
A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within three hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke . . . totally. He said the trick was having a stroke recognized, diagnosed and then getting the patient medically cared for within three hours, which is tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE:
Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions: (Note, they start with the first three letters of "STRoke.")

S *Ask the individual to SMILE .
T *Ask the person to TALK , to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE. (Coherently) (i.e. . . It is sunny out today)
R *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS .

NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to 'stick' out their tongue. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other, that is also an indication of a stroke.

If he or she has trouble with any one of these tasks, call 911 /ambulance immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

Artemis Fowl, by Eoin Colfer

I've seen these books in the stores for a while, but had actually steered clear of them because I thought they were just a Harry Potter knock off. The other day, I was in the kid section with Daniel while he was playing with the train table, and they caught my eye again. As they had the first 3 books in the series for $9.98, I decided to give them a try. Who am I to pass up a bargain?

Well, let me just say, it is not a Harry Potter knock off! Yes, it deals with sprites, dwarves, leprechauns, and other fantasy figures, but there the resemblance ends. The leprechauns are actually LEPrecons (Lower Elements Police Recon officers), the fairies use nuclear powered battery pack wings, and the lead character, while a young boy, is a brilliant criminal mastermind. The book is a light quick read, but is very engaging. I highly recommend it to either a fantasy fan, or a young adult/children's literature fan. Enjoy!

Natural Easter Egg Dyes

These eggs are created by pressing a leaf or flower onto them with a stocking and boiling them with onion skins. Very beautiful!

Onion Eggs

(Go to the link to see the beautiful pictures.)

She adds some more comments on technique here. Also scroll to comment # 29 for yet another variation. Finally, look here for other colors made using natural dyes.

April Fool's Day

I found an interesting article at Wikipedia about the current April 1st, 2007 hoaxes in all forms of media. Enjoy!