The PBA Tour!

Jenna started her career as a professional bowler yesterday. Nicholas had his 5th birthday party at a bowling alley and Jenna and Sarah were burning up the lanes (if that's a good thing)! Check out this video of Jenna (PBA here she comes) and Sarah (sort of). As you can see it takes about 20 minutes for the ball to inch its way across the lane. They had a blast and in a few years I hope we can go bowling more often.

It brings back memories of bowling with my Dad who has a bowling average above 200 (his AVERAGE is above 200). He is an awesome bowler - my high game is 216 so obviously I didn't inherit his bowling genes. He will have to teach the girls how to bowl properly.

I snapped a picture of Sarah with the cupcake from the party too. Red frosting...yum.

On a different topic, at times I have students who ruffle my feathers a little. In my math class I have a certain student who is constantly telling me I'm wrong. For example, he was working on a solution to a quadratic equation and insisted that there was no solution. Over and over he insisted. So I came over to see what he was working on (he yells across the room when I'm helping other students). The problem was this = 30r^2-25r-5. I glanced at his equation and saw that there are solutions (-1/6 and 1). Don't even need the quadratic formula for that one. Anyway, he proceeded to tell me that I was completely wrong and this equation was unsolvable. Huh?

Next he told me that he knew a lot about computers - that he could show me so many tricks that would help me out. Okay....I have a PhD in computer science and engineering but am not arrogant enough to assume that others (especially teachers!) would have less computer knowledge than me. And the more you learn the less you realize you actually know. So he had a great "trick" for me. He said that when you switch between applications you could also use "alt-tab". WOW! Now that's a super neat trick that I've been using for the past maybe....20 years?

Of course when I realized that I started programming when I was 10 meaning that I've been working on computers for 24 years I felt old.

Summer is slipping by. That doesn't mean that we don't get the sprinkler out just about every day so Jenna can run through it. She loves it! Well off to rub the Love Handler on my belly!

56 points on Quiddler today because I couldn't make anything with the Q. At least I got clotty which was an awesome word!

Love handles!

Since canceling our Lifetime memberships I have not picked up any other exercising and have thus put on some weight. I need to exercise to keep my weight down as I love sweets so I knew this would happen. Instead of giving up sweets, dieting, or finding a new exercise system, I've decided to use this product called the "Love Handler".

Erik bought me two bottles of "Fabulous Foaming Face Wash" from Bliss as a gift a few months back. With those two bottles came a free bottle of the Love Handler. So I decided to measure my waist and use the love handler every day for 6 weeks (recommended usage) to see if it takes off any inches. I'll keep you updated as to the progress - yes it is in a spreadsheet! I had thought about taking a picture of my belly to see any visual difference from the cream and then realized I almost posted a picture of my belly on the blog.

On a much cuter note. The girls love to talk on the phone or pretend they are talking on the phone. Sarah holds the phone up to her ear and babbles. Jenna pretends she is actually talking too. Erik snapped a picture of the three of us chatting.

66 points today on Quiddler - a rather dismal score!

Cooper's Rock and Science Fiction

Last weekend we went to visit Erik's parents in West Virginia. Erik's grandmother was visiting and I always enjoy talking with her. She is so lively and fun - it's hard to believe she is a Great Grandmother. We went to Cooper's Rock and had a picnic in the woods. The Rock was actually many rocks that overlooked a huge valley covered in beautiful trees with a river flowing at the bottom. Overall we had a fabulous time!

On Sunday morning while brushing Jenna's hair I noticed a tick. This was very odd since Sarah had a tick on July 19. I'm not sure why our kids have both had ticks recently - and not from camping. Those ticks are so nasty. Although Jenna seemed more worried that I was worried than about the tick.


I picked up a new book at the library called The Coming by Joseph Haldeman. I read Forever War and Forever Peace by Joseph Haldeman a few years ago and liked them quite a bit. In fact, a few years ago I decided to read all of the books that had jointly won both the Hugo and Nebula novel awards (awards for Science Fiction and Fantasy writing).

Here is the list of joint winners. The ones that I have read are highlighted. I do plan on reading them all someday but actually the library doesn't have all of them. So I'll have to find some other way to get these books. Probably robbery. That's what I'll have to resort to.

1. Dune by Frank Herbert
2. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin
3. Ringworld by Larry Niven
4. The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov
5. Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
6. The Dispossessed by Ursula K. LeGuin
7. The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
8. Gateway by Frederick Pohl
9. Dreamsnake by Vonda McIntyre
10. The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke
11. Startide Rising by David Brin
12. Neuromancer by William Gibson
13. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
14. Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
15. Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
16. Forever Peace by Joseph Haldeman
17. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
18. Paladin of Souls by Louis McMaster Bujold
19. The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon

Many of these books (Dune and Ender's Game) are among my top 10 favorite books ever. While Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead are in the list, Xenophobia is not and I also really liked that book. I have not read American Gods by Neil Gaiman but did read Stardust and liked it quite a bit. So I think pretty soon I'll pick up on this list again and work my way through it.

81 on quiddler today. Quiddler would not let me use the words: hiney, zine, or hoth. This is a travesty!

Fasting

After reading the Lord' prayer on Sunday I skimmed through the section on fasting. I looked up "fasting" in the Bible and saw 24 references to fasting. So what is fasting? Fasting is abstaining from something (often it is food) for a period of time. Moses fasted 40 days, Jesus fasted 40 days. Numerous others throughout history have fasted at certain times. People from Old Testament times and New Testament times fasted. One verse that is worthy of note is "They said to him, "John's disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking." Jesus answered, "Can you make the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast." ~Luke 5:33-34.


This sounds like we should be fasting often since Jesus was taken from us. But how many Christians fast? I know a handful of Christians who fast. Why don't we fast in 21st century America?

Is fasting as important as reading the Bible and prayer? If so, why aren't more people fasting regularly? Catholics are one of the few Christian denominations that encourage fasting during lent. What about the rest of the evangelical denominations? Too many people have called me a closet Catholic that I've given myself the label of Evangelical Catholic :). So why don't more Christians fast?

People don't want to deny themselves anything. If we look at our culture of overindulgence, we notice the desire to fulfill every need and want immediately. Jesus says "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." ~Mattnew 16:24.

Christians are only required to believe for salvation. Jesus says "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." ~John 3:16. If we are only required to believe, then why fast? Why deny ourselves something we enjoy?

People don't want to appear prideful in their relationship with God. Jesus says "When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." ~Matthew 6:16-18. Some may misconstrue this verse to mean that fasting is prideful, but it is the heart God is looking at.

In my experience, I have found fasting to be a delight. I fast when I'm struggling with a specific sin, have a difficult decision to make and am seeking God's guidance, to humble myself before the Lord, or for a cause. I undertook two three day fasts last year and fasted once a week during the 40 days of prayer for the end of abortion. Since becoming a Christian, I have viewed fasting as a vital part of my walk with God. Fasting for me is a joyful experience as it reminds me that Jesus is the bread of life and all the food I need!

47 points on quiddler today. Too many u's!!

Our Cincinnati Adventure!

After my awesome dissertation defense, we went to Cincinnati for a wonderful camping trip. We visited Julie and Randy who we haven't seen in 3 years! In planning the trip, we came up with a huge list of things we could do in Cincinnati: zoo, aquarium, red's game, children's museum, etc, etc.... But we decided to go to a grocery store. It's not just any grocery store. We went to Jungle Jim's. This is a fabulous grocery store!

Jungle Jim's has cheese from all over the world. We sampled and bought lots of cheese. They have hard to find items and candy bars from England we haven't seen for 5 years. We did miss my favorite candy bar: starbar. It was in England and so wonderful but Jungle Jim's didn't have it. We got a dragon fruit (pictured). It's a cross between a kiwi and a pear - pretty yummy.

Besides grocery shopping, Julie and Randy made a great meal for us: steak, corn on the cob, coleslaw, homemade mac and cheese, pineapple gooey cake, chocolate trifle, cantalope, veggies and dip - yummy!

Jenna and Nicholas had a great time jumping in their bouncy house and riding on their riding gator. Nicholas was adept at driving, but Jenna needs some driver's ed. Here's a video of them jumping in the jumpy house. Randy tried to force me in the jumpy house but I got in after which I was pelted with lots of soccer balls.

Jenna kept reminding me that she knows another Nicholas. Yes - Jenna it is possible for two people to have the same name!

Nicholas and Nathaniel also had the coolest toys. How can I get my girls to play with dinosaurs???

79 on quiddler today