From the Files of the Lost & Found

My 13 yr old has to wear a retainer at night.

So that that year and a half he spent in braces isn't negated.

However, he seems to take it out in his sleep and toss it.

And then the next morning, can't find it.

So, tonight, as I spent about 30 minutes searching for the retainer, 

I found some interesting items under his bed, in his closet, on his desk...

Missing library books.

many, many pairs of underwear.

his little brother's shoes.

random socks.

and...

his lunch, still in the bag and uneaten, from last Friday!!!

And then,

The kicker...

His retainer wasn't lost!!

It was in the place is was supposed to be, in the bathroom.

That child is going to drive me nuts.

Scientists with a sense of Humor

Sir Isaac Newton's legacy is heading into Space.

A four-inch sliver of bark from Sir Isaac's famous Apple Tree is headed into Space on the Space Shuttle Atlantis to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the Royal Society in London.

The astronaut who is carrying it, Piers Sellers, said,

"We're delighted to take this piece of Sir Isaac Newton's apple tree to orbit. While it's up there, it will be experiencing no gravity, so if it had an apple on it, the apple wouldn't fall," Sellers said of the mission. "I'm pretty sure that Sir Isaac would have loved to see this, assuming he wasn't spacesick, as it would have proved his first law of motion to be correct." 

The Atlantis is on its way to the International Space Station where “I’ll take it up into orbit and let it float around a bit, which will confuse Isaac, and bring it back and give it to the society,” he said.

Irony, right?

At least scientists have a sense of humor!

(This is the real Apple Tree at Sir Isaac Newton's homestead in England!)

A Texas Children's Tale

Around 9pm tonight, after watching my favorite show in the world, LOST,

my 13-year-old son informed me he had an English project due.

I won't repeat the torrent of words I blasted at him...

and, I even found out that this project was actually due YESTERDAY, 

but the student he was supposed to work with flaked out.

Putting aside aside his poor planning, he's a good student, 

but I am now making him finish the project.

Tonight.

As long as it takes.

They had to come up with a 15-page chldren's story on their own; write and illustrate it.

The story they came up with together, he and his partner, was some strange tale 

about a squirrel named Barry and smoking.

I know what you're thinking.

A children's story about smoking?!!

But at least the moral of the tale was to NOT smoke.

Anyway, now that Donny is doing this project on his own, he has ditched that story line 

and, with my help, come up with a new tale.

Meet the characters:

Archie the Armadillo

and

Larry the Longhorn.

He's actively working on the story right now,

but the snobby Longhorn who looks down on the armadillo

is going to learn an important lesson

about not judging others by their looks.

And a little feisty armadillo named Archie is going to help him out of a jam.

I let you know how the finished product turns out!!

(and let's hope we're both not up all night!!)

Where's MacGyver when you need him?

More than 200,000 gallons of crude oil a day are spewing unchecked from that deepwater well in the Gulf after an oil rig exploded

It's a HUGE catastrophe.

And we can't seem to stop it.

It's like being stuck on train tracks with a train barreling toward you at top speed and you can't get out of the way...

Where's MacGyver when you need him?

He'd have that oil leak stopped within 24 hours with a safety pin, duct tape and a smile. 

Silent Contemplation

As the seasons change...and we slip slowly from spring into summer...my desires change as well.

My focus readjusts, my soul feels a yearning for change and growth.

We're all striving towards something, right?

If you could make one wish right now, for something to come true, what would it be?

What are you striving for right now?

My one wish...hmmm....for myself, it would be that I wish I could find the strength and determination to be what I want to be.

I have different wishes for my children and for the entire population and for Earth...

Life is more complicated than a single wish, I think.

Watering Hole

I had to drive down this one country road and find my friends the cows again recently.

I think I need to see animals ever so often, because I grew up on a farm seeing them daily.

and I miss that kind of contact.

Hi, guys!!

I think they remember me!!

Or they're just friendly.

Or maybe it's because I'm just standing near their water and they're thirsty.

Oh, a mama and her baby!!  They want to come see me.

They sense I'm a mother...and a lover of animals...

...or they're thirsty too.