So I Was Just Thinking

I hear that phrase in my house all the time passed from one child to the other and occasionally out of my own mouth. Tonight I am saying it to myself. Karma's a ..... a chameleon. What? What did you think I was going to say. I took James to his soccer game this evening and he was running around the field waiting for the game to start. The coach (I use that term loosely) finally wrangled up the kiddos at their bench and made them hold their hands in front of themselves until the ref said it was time to start. While most of the children were waiting patiently, the coach turned her head; at which time, I see this little boy pulling his arms in a circle over the heads of each of his teammates. (They are 4 and 5 & James stands head and shoulders above them all.) I think at this point I should mention that after having to babysit the bench warmers the first game and wrangle unruly children, I decided that it wasn't my place to mind other people's children and I would sit in m...

Many of you have been party to or at least heard about my problem with touching anything dirty. This includes raw meat. There had better be plenty of hot water and paper towels around. Don't get me wrong. I am no vegan. I like to eat meat, but don't ask me to touch it without being a very close personal friend. I usually find some way to get it into the pot without laying a finger on it, so when my mother found Members Mark canned white meat chicken at Sam's Club, I soon became a very big fan. I have tried many brands of can chicken in an attempt to make chicken soup and salads without having to see raw chicken first. Unfortunately, they usually don't look much like chicken when you open it. The taste of most canned chicken products is usually over salted. I didn't really realize this until I had to use my last can of some other brand of chicken while waiting for another delivery of Members Mark. Let's just say, the former brand left much to be desired. My favo...

My friend MJ was reminiscing about typewriters and word processors. While I was typing a response I figured it was long enough for my own post.... I learned to type on a manual and an IBM Selectric II. We had to take turns using the electric typewriters then since there were only two or three in the room. I remember finding it so hard to push down those manual keys. My chair was in a corner and I was surrounded by three football players who loved to torture me, the class geek. The Vietnamese typing teacher would shout, "MEEESTOR STEEEEVE TAAAHMIS, WOULD JU PLEEASE CALM DOWN!) Maybe that's why I am such a fast typist now (so I could get my work done quickly and get out of there.) My elementary students think it amazing. "Mrs. Victory, how do you type without looking at the keys?" LOL. If they only knew. Note: I still remember those boys and run into them occasionally around town. All three graduated to become police officers. I actually dated one. Imagine that. In col...

This past weekend while I was relaxing in Salado with my bloggy friends, I pulled out the paper and glue and said we should all make trading cards to take from the weekend as a memento. Earlier in the day I was listening to Wendy say how inspiring the village was since it is packed with products made by so many creative people. SO I decided that we needed to get our creative juices flowing and you would have thought I said it was time for a root canal. NOT REALLY Actually, one or both of them might have rather had a root canal, but I persevered and continued pulling out the paper and goodies and sample ATC cards that I had received over the past two years. In the end they both made some really cute cards and replicated them to trade with me and each other. They even made extras for the two ladies who were unable to be with us that night. (Oops Roban, Julie, I let a little secret slip.) When we were done, I began talking to them about an online workshop I participated in earlier this y...

The statues and buildings throughout Norway kept me snapping away. Thank goodness for digital cameras. Imagine if I had taken 500+ photos on traditional Kodak film? (Don't worry, I am not sharing all 500+ pics.) Imagine if I had to process those photos before I got to see them? I still have rolls of film from I don't know when sitting in a bowl, plus a disposable camera. I would never be able to regale you with all the photos that are about to follow. Sorry it's blurry. This is the Rica Holberg hotel where we stayed at. Just super. It's not far from Slottet (Royal Place) where this monument of King Karl Johan who ruled Sweden and Norway from 1818 to 1844 when he died. The Royal Palace Queen Maud - the wife of Karl Johan Detail on a gazebo in the Royal Garden Fountain in the back of the National Theater ( Nationaltheatret ) We took a bus ride from Oslo to Haugesund where my friend picked us up. This was one of the bus stops along the way. Our main vacation took place in ...

I know my next post was to be about the architecture and such we saw while we were in Norway, but I just spent the weekend in an amazing place and just had to share it with you all. Many years ago, okay actually three, I joined a site called Scrapblog. I began exploring the site and ran across a scrapblog called Quiet Ballet . I left a comment and began looking at who also left comments. Through a series of clicks, I ended up at some other ladies' scrapblogs. Little did I know that these women would become important friends in my life. I then began blogging and following these same friends' blogs and came across another blogger. The five of us decided to do a series of joint blogs based on our chosen words for the year. This activity sealed our friendship and made us all want to get together. (Note - One of us, Roban , was unable to make it.) It was decided that Texas was the place to go, but where to stay became the question. I took it upon myself to make arrangements for acc...

When we landed in Oslo, it was morning, but we had been flying since two days earlier. Fortunately the hotel let us check in early. After a nap, we ventured out into the city to see what it had to offer. When we got to the Royal Palace, we came across a beautiful garden complete with duck ponds and tall trees. We chased ducks and birds. No real deer, but the little statue caught my eye. This droopy tree made me smile. I wondered what kind of bird made this house a home. The next day we rode a bus across the country to the west coast where we were spending most of our time. The setting was ideal and we walked around a lot. Before dinner one evening, we walked down to the beach at Sandhåland. It was interesting to be walking on a beach I had read about in travel guides. On the way down to the beach we met these beautiful Norwegian fjord horses. Everyone had to stop and feed them the clover growing along the fence line. These daisies were spied growing in the sand along the rocks. Speaki...