Scrabble for me too

Since everyone else was doing it..

Pholph's Scrabble Generator My Scrabble© Score is: 22. What is your score? Get it here.

My scrabble score is really low! Erik's is 33. Jenna's score is 30. Sarah's name is 26 and Matthew's is 43. So I have the lowest score in our family. We need to have a third child with a really short name. Sounds like a great idea!!

For our 10th anniversary I got Erik an Erik the Red Viking Sword. Here is a picture of him. He really likes it and even woke me up from my nap by putting the sword to my throat (very nice way to wake up!).

I got 51 on Quiddler today - miserable!!

A Lifetime of Fitness

On Monday Erik and I finally decided to join a Health club. We joined Lifetime Fitness which is just down the road. It is outrageously priced but we've talked about ways to offset the cost and health is important. I went to water aerobics on Tuesday and Wednesday. I thought - it's in the water, it can't be that hard. Yea right. Now my arms can't move and I'm barely able to type this post.

Erik's parents have now moved to Morgantown. yea!! They are much closer to us now and we are excited to leave Jenna with them for a few days....I mean we are excited to visit them. We are planning a trip later in August.

Anyway, because I LOVE lists, I've made a list of my favorite worship songs (in order):
1. Before the Throne of God Above
2. Arms of Love
3. Your Beloved
4. I love you, Lord
5. Did you Feel the Mountains Tremble
6. Hold me Jesus
7. Indescribable
8. Be thou my vision
9. Hungry
10. God of Wonders
11. If we are the body
12. Lord, reign in me
13. Here I am to worship
14. Better is one day
15. Awesome God
16. Blessed be your name
17. What if His people prayed
18. We will dance
19. Shout to the Lord
20. Sometimes by step

Today I got only 50 points on Quiddler but I couldn't make a word out of the Q. I did get a 6 letter word - loader. yea!

hot hot hot

It has been very hot lately! So hot we all are afraid we will melt. I pulled out the sprinkler to see what Jenna would think of it. She walked up to it and put her fingers in it, then decided that she didn't want the water to be on her head. You can see the before and after pictures here :).

I'm not sure when I should teach Jenna not to play with her food. Every day the spoon from her cereal becomes Cinderella and starts dancing with her sippy cup (the prince). She wants me to fashion dresses out of napkins for the spoon - just so it can look spiffy for the ball. While this is incredibly cute, I'm thinking it's not good manners and maybe I should be teaching manners, right? Here's a picture of Jenna with half a banana in her milk. The banana was taking swimming lessons. Obviously!!!

On that note, Jenna has been taking swimming lessons every Monday. She absolutely loves them and when I mention swimming lessons she is very cooperative (lets me change her diaper and remove bananas from her milk without protest). We have 3 more weeks of swimming lessons and I expect her to be a champion swimmer by the end.

I gave a test tonight in class and since giving a test is a little boring. I decided to come up with a list of my favorite nuts. Nuts are so yummy and full of vitamins and minerals. I feel like I should eat them all the time. here is my ordered list:

1. Cashews
2. Pecans
3. Pistachios
4. Peanuts
5. Hazelnuts
6. Almonds
7. Walnuts
8. Macadamia nuts
9. Pine nuts
10. Brazil nuts

If I've forgotten any nuts let me know. I can rank them. Although if I've forgotten them they probably won't be very high.

Later I should rank the Harry Potter books. #7 is my favorite!!!

Today I got 79 points on Quiddler today. Rather rotten!

Twinkle Star

Jenna has become quite the entertainer. She can sing many songs such as:

• Twinkle Twinkle, Little star


• Itsy Bitsy Spider


• Two little bluebirds


• Two little dickybirds


• ABC's (sort of)


• I'm a little teapot


• Row Row Row your boat


• Happy Birthday to you


• The wheels on the bus

Here is a video of her singing Twinkle Star. Very cute!

I've also finally decided to post a picture from our Daytona trip. This is Jenna all decked out in her Arial bathing suit complete with sunglasses and hat. She is adorable.

I've also included a picture of Erik and I at NASA when we toured the Kennedy Space Center. It was so awesome it made me want to be an astronaut. I even teared up during the video of the first moon walk. How inspiring! It's always been my dream to go to Mars and help terraform it. Maybe I should stop reading sci-fi....

In goofier news, I've added a picture of the premarital couple we have been working with. Erik and I are marriage mentors at our church and we have been meeting with Ben and Anne to prepare them for marriage and pass on some of our wisdom (however limited that may be). They remind us of ourselves not too long ago. 22, in school, and getting married in September. How cool!

Today I got 68 points on Quiddler and got to make the word nth. Now that's a cool word. Only 6 more days until Harry Potter 7. I can't wait!!!

Weird and Wicked

My birthday (Thursday the 5th) was absolutely wonderful. I went to see Wicked with my Mom and had excellent seats. Wicked is an awesome musical and I absolutely loved it. In fact, I've listed the plays I've seen in order of my favorites. Now I haven't seen many obviously and I might have forgotten some, but here is my list:

1. Wicked
2. Phantom of the Opera
3. The Scarlet Pimpernel
4. Anything Goes
5. Miss Saigon
7. On Friday the 6th, Erik, Missy, Amanda, and I went to see Weird Al Yankovic in concert. All I can say is WOW!! That was one of the best concerts I've seen. I haven't made a list yet, but it will definitely be at the top. I was laughing the whole time. He is a genius. In fact, I spent all day today reading about him. He was valedictorian of his high school class and graduated 2 years early. He really is a genius!! My newest favorite song of his is White and Nerdy It is hilarious!!
8. I can't wait to see him again :).
10. 52 points on Quiddler today!
    

Daytona!

Daytona Beach has been an awesome adventure! We are coming back tomorrow and I'll be sad to leave this beautiful place. We are all burnt except Jenna who is nicely tanned (how did that happen??). We lazily wake up every morning at 6am (Jenna wakes us up early) then go to the beach all morning. We've made sand castles and ridden the waves. Jenna was even brave enough to go out in the water with dada holding her! Then we come back, eat lunch, take a nap, and go out to the pool. Jenna has named them "big water" and "little water". I'll post pictures when we get back.

The condo we are staying at is incredible! There are 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, a pool table, and a full kitchen with granite countertops. You can walk right out to the beach too. Erik and I have taken romantic walks along the beach at night too. And at night Erik has played Lord of the Rings online while I read books. Yea! We've only gone out for ice cream once (which seems like some sort of travesty) but we plan on going out tonight.

On Wednesday we went to the NASA Kennedy Space Center and got a tour of the different plants they have as well as learned a lot about the space shuttle program. It was an excellent tour - well worth the cost. It made me want to be an astronaut!!

I'll post more when we come home tomorrow if I can dig myself out of my huge list of emails :)

Fun with the fam

The whole Cooper clan visited our house last week and we had lots of good times. Prior to the visit, we had a play date with all of Jenna's little friends. They played in our very stylish blowup pool all morning long (at least until I fed them some mac and cheese).

Mom, Dad, David, Joel and Megan all came to visit us this past week. We had excellent fun, played lots of games and even got to see Joel's new Reclamation game. He seems like a pro game designer!

The brothers (this is how Erik refers to them) also had good uncle time with Jenna. I snapped a picture of Joel reading to Jenna. He seemed really into the book :). Of course we went to Graeters twice in the week they were here. That was a treat :). One can never have too much ice cream.

Fortunately we played Railroad Tycoon twice and I was victorious both times. Unfortunately, I was often sick and just had to lay on the couch. That's what I did today - ALL DAY until I realized I had a craving for grilled cheese and pickles.
I've posted a picture of my grilled cheese, lettuce, pickles, and mayonnaise sandwich. Yum.... It was truly heaven.



In other news:

1. On the 23rd (Saturday) we leave for Daytona Beach for a week. I can't wait!!
2. I am praying that I feel better by then :). Or maybe I'll need a stash of grilled cheese and pickle sandwiches
3. Tomorrow the sisters and I will be getting pedicures. I can't wait!! I will actually have pretty feet :).
4. I got 81 today on Quiddler but it wouldn't let me use the word "mez". In MMO's that word is a common word!
5. Bug has learned she can leave her room at will. We have to help her understand that mommy and daddy need time alone too!
6. I'm trying to compile a list of books to take with me on our trip. Can't decide!!

Corny Missy

Jenna and I went to visit Missy for lunch at her work in Cleveland. Missy's company is so cool. They have a slide to go from the second floor to the first floor. Jenna and I slid down the slide even though she was a little scared at first (as you can see).







Now that it's summer time - it's the season for grilling! We have been grilling out a lot, and Erik even stained the deck so now we have a nice pretty deck to relax on. Jenna loves corn on the cob (who doesn't?) and eating outside. It's always great fun.

In other news:

1. Our family is coming to visit later this week. I guess I should plan some fun activities for us to do. Napping?
2. We have been attending a new church for the past few weeks. It is called Sawmill Covenant. The people are friendly and they always have snacks after church (a major plus!). Why have we been attending a new church? While we love the Vineyard but it is too big. Jenna might get lost in the shuffle. Plus at a smaller church we may be able to make more of an impact.
3. Tomorrow I'm having an ultrasound - I can't wait to see BNT!
4. I earned a miserable 10 points on Quiddler today. Losing so many letters at the end was not good for me! Why isn't roi a word? I know it means return on investment!
5. I'm reading the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind - great fun!

Mothering

Some houses try to hide that fact
That children shelter there.
Ours boasts of it quite openly--
The signs are everywhere.
For smears are on the windows,
Little smudges on the doors.
I should apologize, I guess,
For toys strewn on the floor.
But I sat down with the children
And we played and laughed and read.
And if the bathtub doesn't shine
There eyes will shine instead.
For when, at times, I'm forced to choose
The one job or the other,
I want to have a lovely house,
But first I'll be a mother.
--Author Unknown

That about sums it up for me!

My friend Jen had her baby today at 3:25am. They named him Emmerich. I haven't heard that name so I looked it up. It is a Pennsylvania dutch name that means hard worker (She is Amish at heart...quilting bees here I come!).

Today I got 78 points in Quiddler and found out that gi isn't a word. I thought it was a karate uniform?

Beds and Cats

Tonight was Jenna's first night in her big girl bed. Currently it is about 10pm and she is still not asleep, rather talking in her bed, but it is a start. She asked to sleep in her big girl bed tonight so we obliged. We were going to transition her anyway in a few weeks. Our bedtime routine consists of brushing her teeth, reading a story and saying prayers. Here is a picture of Jenna and Dada reading a story and brushing teeth on her big girl bed. Then we put her to sleep in the bed for the first time. how exciting.

Her room is a bright purple color with yellow flowers stenciled around the top. We (I) wanted a flower/butterfly themed room as you can see. We got an old hand-me-down dresser from Missy and Erik painted it white and put cute butterfly knobs on it. So adorable!!

This post is titled Beds and Cats because all week this black cat has come by torturing poor Scruffles. You can see the video here. They have been screaming at each other through the window for days now! Erik has been chasing him away but I think it is pretty funny. It's wearing poor Scruff out though.
In other news:

1. I have morning sickness in the afternoon - Yea! As long as I'm sick I know the baby is doing okay.
2. I started reading the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. Pretty good so far!
3. I just finished Stardust by Neil Gaiman. Apparently it will be made into a movie. I think it will be pretty good. I liked the story.
4. I got 67 today in Quiddler. Apparently "goo" is a legal word.
5. I'll be trying to make Korean food on Thursday. I'll be making a Korean cucumber salad and Korean chicken bowls. The marinade for the chicken sounds pretty good and I'll be making jasmine rice to go with it. Hopefully it will be good.
6. Today we voted and Jenna got a cute sticker that said "I voted". Then to celbrate voting we went to Los margaritas - a yummy Mexican restaurant. Jenna actually ate a chicken enchilada and rice!
   

A message

Jenna has a message here - New Year's Day :)

"She had a pretty gift for quotation, which is a servicable substitute for wit" W. Somerset Maugham

Quotes I love them!!
One English teacher (long, long ago) said using quotes at the beginning of a paper is a way to capture your audience. I took that to heart and start every paper with a quote. Now I just need to find one for my dissertation...

I love quotes!
Quotes can be perfect at different times too. I love this one for inspiration:
"I have learned to hold all things loosely, so God will not have to pry them out of my hands" ~Corrie Ten Boom
for knowledge:
"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you will go".
~Dr. Seuss
And for fun:
"It's a moo point. You know, like a cow's opinion. It doesn't matter".
~Joey Tribbiani (Friends)

All my vast readership :) what are your favorite quotes. I've started a quote book and want to fill it up. Give me some quotes!!

68 points on Quiddler. I got to make wist though!

Candy

Since we went to Rome during lent I was unable to sample their delicous candy fare. So Erik and I waited until today to taste the array of candies we got from Rome.
I've posted pictures of the candy that I got from Rome. Most of the candy had a hazelnut/chocolate combination. The kinder bueno white, kinder bueno ricco di latte, and duplo were filled with hazelnut cream. Mars delight was filled with flakes, tronky had a crunchy outside and was filled with hazelnuts in a chocolate cream. Kinder maxi was filled with white chocolate. Magnum infinity was filled with chocolate and hazelnuts, Cuneesi Rum (small round candy) was filled with dark chocolate and rum. Finally kinder sorpresa was egg shaped and contained a toy inside (see picture).

Erik and I rated the candy as follows. Gina's rating:

1. Magnum infinity
2. Duplo
3. Mars delight
4. Kinder Ricco
5. Kinder white
6. Tronky
7. Cuneesi
8. Kinder surprise
9. Kinder maxi

Erik rated them:

1. Cuneesi
2. Magnum infinity
3. Mars delight
4. Duplo
5. Kinder Ricco
6. Tronky
7. Kinder white
8. Kinder surprise
9. Kinder maxi

So now you know what candy to buy if you ever go to Rome. It seems that hazelnuts to the Italians is like peanut butter to Americans.

We were celebrating by eating the candy since I was accepted to the FIE conference in Milwaukee, WI on Oct. 10-13. Yipee!!! I'm so happy :). We also celebrated by going out to Red Lobster tonight -yum!

Since I can't post without some pictures or videos of Jenna, here's a video of her making soup for Dada.

I also have to post my Quiddler score: 79 points. I did make the word "earing". Which I am surprised I was allowed to make. I thought the word was "earring". Oh well :)

Food Porn: chocolate

Not that I really need anymore (see previous post). But I created two chocolate pies - one for Easter and one for some friends from Toledo. both had a chocolate cookie crust. In the first (the single pie slice) I put cream cheese, heavy cream, vanilla, semi-sweet chocolate and cut up reeces cups. It had a slightly bitter/sour taste but was very rich. In the second pie, I mixed heavy cream, powdered sugar, vanilla, and semi-sweet chocolate, then added some shaved bittersweet chocolate. The filling on this pie was much better. Light and mousse-like.

All this chocolate is making me hungry...

In other news:

1. I have started reading the short story: "The Call of Cthulhu" by H.P.Lovecraft. It is a classic horror story referenced constantly in the fantasy world so I have to read it!
2. I got 83 on Quiddler today and used all my letters - yea!
3. Monday I find out if I have been accepted to the Frontiers in Education conference (fingers crossed!)
4. I've used an exclamation point in each of these list items!!!!

A tisket a tasket

Happy Easter! A time to celebrate that Jesus has risen by eating candy and chocolate bunnies (what does God think about this??).
Here we celebrate Jesus who has risen from the dead:
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you." ~Matthew 28:1-7

This is the key of our faith - Jesus has risen!!

In celebration of Easter, Erik bought me numerous amounts of chocolate which you can see from the picture of my Easter basket. Here is the candy he bought me:

1. Cadbury Eggs
2. Reeses peanut butter eggs
3. Reeses pieces eggs
4. mini Cadbury eggs
5. Butterfinger Eggs
6. Peanut butter M&Ms
7. mini Reeses peanut butter eggs
8. Wonka golden creme egg

I like chocolate & peanut butter and cadbury eggs. (obviously!).
For Easter we went to my parent's house and Jenna searched for her basket. She had candy, a princess backpack, a bubble wand, and a stuffed chicken in her basket. All day today she has been using the princess lipstick. Her stuffed animals have gooey pink stuff all over their mouths.

We also went swimming. Here is a picture of Jenna and I playing in the water. She loves the water!! I do too. At one time I was swimming twice a week and was able to swim a mile (72 laps). Now I can swim about 7 laps before I feel tired. Jenna pretended she was a fish and a motor boat. Mom, Missy, Jenna and I all went swimming and had a fantastic time!

I finally finished the Belgariad. What an awesome book! I was so happy with the way that it ended. I love books with happy endings! It's obvious that he opened the door for the next series but I'm not sure I want to start on that. I've heard mixed reviews and I'm not sure I want to read a rehashing of the Belgariad.

I've reserved Stardust by Neil Gaiman as there is a movie based on that book coming out this summer. It sounds good so I'll see. That might be my next read.

I got 75 points today on Quiddler. They let me play za but not yeo. I don't understand it. I've head of yeomen. Isn't that a word? So shouldn't a yeo be part of a yeoman??

Short?

I received this post card from my brother-in-law. If you can't see it (the picture didn't come out that good), there is a man riding a horse in the snow and the caption reads "The Trouble with a Short Horse", implying that I am short. The problem with said post card is that I am NOT short! I'm not even vertically challenged. So I'm not sure why I received such a post card. It was a nice thought though :) :).

We had a playgroup at our house with 4 little girls today. Jenna, Rachel, Grace, and Hailey. Grace was born 1/13/05 so is only a week older than Jenna. You can see the two of them crammed in the car together. We also bought a wagon for Jenna which was a big hit with all the little ones. Jenna, Grace, and Rachel are crammed in the wagon here. Hailey didn't want to get in, and Jenna looks pretty comfortable on her side anyway.

Easter is almost here and with it is coming some pretty cold weather. Today it is 34 degrees and it is supposed to snow on Saturday - bummer. One good thing is that we have Good Friday off so I won't be teaching. Although I'm not sure what else I'll do. Prayer and fasting - and no wild parties :).

I tried to make the word "lego" today in Quiddler and I wasn't allowed to have it. However, xu is a word. Does that make any sense? Who knows what xu is as opposed to lego? Even Jenna knows what lego is! Got 54 in Quiddler (not a good showing since some people got 113!).

Happy Easter!

Easter Eggs and Go Bucks

The weather has been beautiful and it is a perfect time for Easter Egg hunts! We had an Easter party at our house with Jenna, Nicholas, Kael, Mclaine (not pictured - she's only 6mos old), Avery and Emma. They had a great time searching for eggs filled with hershey kisses all around our house. On Sunday, April Fools Day, we had a neighborhood Egg hunt. The Easter bunny showed up too. She kept saying "Eeter bunny hides eggs". So cute!! I didn't play any practical jokes on Erik. Instead I read this list of the top April Fools Jokes of all time. There are some pretty funny ones. My favorite is the taco liberty bell :).

Currently we are watching the Buckeyes playing Florida for the NCAA basketball championship. They are now losing but I know the Buckeyes, we can come back. I can't believe we played Florida for both football and basketball. I want us to win one of them at least :).

In other news:

1. I am almost finished with the Belgariad. I'm in book 5 of 5 and this series is Awesome! Someday I'll reorder my booklist and it will be high.
2. April 16! That is the day I find out if I am accepted to the Frontiers in Education conference with my paper on the Bioinformatics curriculum I wrote. The conference will be held in Wisconsin. Cheese....yum.
   
3. Less than a week and I'll get to eat candy again. That was a good thing to give up for lent. Tough, but good.
   
4. I'm working hard on my ASP.NET course next session. I've taught the course using ASP but moving to ASP.NET is a big change. Just one small . and a NET :).
5. I got 12 points today on Quiddler but that was partly because there were only 3 vowels!
   

The reason for Easter:
"then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" ~ Acts 4:10, 12

Ecersize

I've been part of this cardio challenge for the past 12 weeks in which we work out for 30 minutes three times a week, put $20 in at the beginning and whoever is still in the challenge at the end splits the money of those who didn't make it. Erik and I are still in it but it has been difficult some weeks to find the time to exercise. In fact, Jenna has "ecersized" with me. Check out this video of the two of us doing situps. She even seems to like exercising with mommy :).

Next Wednesday I'll be hiding Easter Eggs all around the house for Jenna to find. She is excited and keeps saying "Easter bunny hides eggs. Fun time". Erik and I are going to hide baskets for each other and also hide hers. I hope she can find it?

We probably won't be doing iron chef again until after Easter. I'm sad but we will be doing fun things on the weekends (like going to church on Sunday morning!).

I had to upload this picture too. She looks adorable with the pigtails!

Got 54 in Quiddler today but I made all 5 letter words - that is awesome and I only lost one letter at the end - the J.

Pie Day

I meant to post a new blog on pie day but I ended up eating pie all day :). March 14 or 3.14! As you can see, Jenna and Mommy had a good time making a french silk pie. Now most french silk pies contain raw eggs, but we used pasturized egg beaters rather than the raw eggs. The effect was a delicious, smooth chocolate pie!

Currently I'm reading a new series by David Eddings called the Belgariad. Now that I've finished Stephen King's Dark Tower series, my need for fantasy has not been quenched. This series is excellent and much like Wheel of Time (another of my favorites). The good thing about this series is that it is 1/4 as long so I've burned through 3 1/2 books in about a week. I'm sure glad I didn't give up reading for pleasure for lent!

Giving up candy was easy at the beginning. Now the candy is calling me, tempting me. We have tons of candy in the house from Valentine's day and because I give candy to my students. However I have been very good and not touched any candy. It will make my Easter basket all the more delightful! Lent, while being a time of sacrifice is also a time of prayerful consideration. As I think about how I fill my days, I notice that much of my time is not on God's agenda. So I was trying to think of something I could do, with Jenna, to serve God. I thought (if I knew how to sew!) about making blankets for the needy in our community or for cooking meals for the needy and for new moms. I'm still mulling this idea over. Rather than reading "One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish" all day to Jenna, I should probably be doing something useful with my time. It is also a good thing to model to my little one.

I've started working in the nursery at church too. Every Saturday I work in the 20-24month room. Jenna has moved up to the big girl room where they do crafts and Bible stories. I just play with the kids in my room. It has been a fun experience!

Got 88 today on Quiddler. You know you read too much Dr. Seuss when you try to use Dr. Seuss words in Quiddler!! I tried to use gox. Not a word!

La Dolce Vita!

Rome was fantastic. The food was be best I've ever had. Of course, I love Italian food. We also ate Gelato almost every day and once twice a day. We went to the best gelato place in rome Gelateria della palma - amazing. I've listed my favorite sites in Rome:

1. St. Peter's Basilica
2. Sistine Chapel
3. Borghese Gallery
4. Colosseum
5. Pantheon
6. Catacombs
7. Trevi Fountain
8. Forum
9. Palatine Hill
10. Vatican Museum
11. Appian Way
12. Museum of Rome
13. Piazza Navona
14. Campo de Fiori
15. Spanish steps

These were some of the sites we saw while there. Check out our pictures here. Of course, everyone's favorite picture is the pose that the gladiator put us in. Now that is crazy.
We had an amazing time in Rome and recommend it - although the bus system was pretty confusing. We made up for it by eating plenty of gelato.

Today I had an awful Quiddler score. Apparently OK is not a word?? I use OK all the time! I definitely think it should be a word. So I got a 39 out of a max of 67. That's a pretty bad score!