To get on a soapbox, I have some things I just have to say! I normally try to stick to things of my life and family on here, and I guess now that I think about it, this is indeed about my life and especially my family!
Sixty-six percent of my family (that's 2 out of the 3 of us) are HUGE sports fans. Especially around football season, but that's a whole other blog. Anyway, because of the love of sports we subscribe to ESPN magazine. It's the only one we get and it gets read cover to cover. Except for the recent "Body Issue" which we received last month.
Luckily, I checked the mail and was shocked by the cover (which led me to stray from my normal routine of handing the magazine over to Joshua as soon as I walked in the door.) I sat down at the table, thinking I could rip out the pages I felt inappropriate and then he could read the articles. I soon learned that this was an impossible task. Every other page had nude athletes on it. I quickly flipped through it, and trashed it. Lowell and I explained to Joshua why there would be no reading of the ESPN mag that day and he was totally disgusted and fine with it being in the trash. I was irritated, but honestly didn't think a whole lot about it until the next issue arrived.
It looked innocent enough and the guys weren't home so I sat down to flip through and see if there was anything interesting. And there it was, three pages in - the letters to the editor. There were about seven if I remember correctly and five of them were complaining about the pictures in the "Body Issue." From comments such as "I had to censor the magazine for my husband," to "we have small children in the house and this is not what I want to be laying around" to "the magazine is supposed to be about sports, not nude pictures." The responses from the editor went something like this: "The magazine is not intended for small children," "Censorship is a huge issue in the United States today," and "The body of the athlete is about sports." They followed up with a statement about the "art form" of the body and how the body of the athlete in particular is art in it's "purest form." Now, even though the majority of the people who wrote in were upset about the content of the issue, the whole sidebar was full of pictures from the last issue. (You know how they connect the letter to a picture so that the reader will remember what the letter is referring to? But I KNOW that none of these people wrote in to complain in the hopes that they would show the pictures AGAIN!)
I quickly ripped that page out and didn't see anything else inappropriate for the eyes in my home. But it just hasn't gone away. I am still mad about it.
I've been to museums all over the world and have seen lots of famous artwork. I've seen lots of nude artwork. And it's most cases, it's beautiful, though sometimes a tad odd. But I tell ya' what. I have NEVER been in a museum and seen a portrait of four nude female golfers stretched out on a golf cart. And there's a reason for that. It's NOT art, it IS pornography!
I am thankful that pornography has never been an issue in my home. But I have friends who understand all too well that it is an addiction that can absolutely destroy marriages and families. And I am so saddened that even in a time when we can put internet filters on our computers, and parental locks on our televisions, that we still can't safely open our mailboxes without worrying about what we are bringing into our homes.
Getting off the soapbox for now, but don't worry, I'm keeping it close in case I need to jump back up!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Saturday, October 31, 2009
When Death Came Knocking
Pretty sure I haven't mentioned this, but a couple of weeks ago, our upstairs neighbor got really upset with the weekend staff. We have a locked cover over our thermostat and he wanted the key to it(not because he wanted to change the temperature, but just because he had the "right to have the key") and staff wouldn't let him have it. So he gets really upset and we go over to try and calm him down, but since we are backing up our staff, he doesn't want us around. We come back to our side of the house and turn on our monitor so we can watch and make sure things don't get out of hand. We soon noticed that he has this huge stick (turns out to be a wooden closet rod) and is swinging it around. So, we head on back over. He hits the countertops several times and threatens to hit the weekend guy and to knock the cover off the thermostat. He doesn't (he waits until the next day when he is mad at us about something unrelated and knocked it off with his hand, but alas, that's another story).
Anyway, the next day we are trying to reason with him and he apologizes and we convince him to hand over the rod (since he clearly isn't using it to hang his clothes). He swears it is a part of his Halloween costume and doesn't want to give it up. After several questions about what kind of costume requires a closet rod, he makes up some story about dressing up as death and needing it. But he finally hands it over, with the stipulation that he gets it back Halloween night. We don't really agree to this, but he left thinking that was the deal.
So nothing is said any more about Halloween. He was gone all day to a local video game parlor (is it still called that?) and we don't think he will even be home. However, I stepped next door for a brief moment tonight and saw "death" standing there in his black hood and cape. I quickly exited back to my side. It wasn't too long before he began knocking. We knew he wanted the rod, so we decided that if we just pretended not to be home, he would get the clue and go away.
Boy were we ever wrong. He knocked, and knocked, and knocked. Then he walked around to our front door, and knocked and knocked, and rang the doorbell, and knocked some more. Lest you think I exaggerate, we began to time this. Around one hour later, the knocking stopped. I thought, "whew, he realized we are not here." Again I was wrong. He had borrowed another neighbor's phone to try to call us. When we didn't answer, the knocking began again. Then we hear him yelling, "Yoo hoo, yoo hoo, anyone home?" over and over again. This literally went on for an hour and a half. Crazy huh? But we just went on with our evening as usual.
Just a minute ago, I was checking my Facebook status updates and noticed a friend commenting that they hadn't had a single trick or treater tonight. I was telling Lowell that maybe trick or treating is dying down, because we hadn't had a single one either. And then the realization slapped us in the face, that maybe, just maybe, we didn't have any little ghosts or goblins because there was a six foot man dressed as death banging on our door and yelling "Yoo Hoo" at the top of his lungs.
Think THAT might deter a parent from letting their little ones come up our walk??? We have lots of candy if anybody needs some...
Anyway, the next day we are trying to reason with him and he apologizes and we convince him to hand over the rod (since he clearly isn't using it to hang his clothes). He swears it is a part of his Halloween costume and doesn't want to give it up. After several questions about what kind of costume requires a closet rod, he makes up some story about dressing up as death and needing it. But he finally hands it over, with the stipulation that he gets it back Halloween night. We don't really agree to this, but he left thinking that was the deal.
So nothing is said any more about Halloween. He was gone all day to a local video game parlor (is it still called that?) and we don't think he will even be home. However, I stepped next door for a brief moment tonight and saw "death" standing there in his black hood and cape. I quickly exited back to my side. It wasn't too long before he began knocking. We knew he wanted the rod, so we decided that if we just pretended not to be home, he would get the clue and go away.
Boy were we ever wrong. He knocked, and knocked, and knocked. Then he walked around to our front door, and knocked and knocked, and rang the doorbell, and knocked some more. Lest you think I exaggerate, we began to time this. Around one hour later, the knocking stopped. I thought, "whew, he realized we are not here." Again I was wrong. He had borrowed another neighbor's phone to try to call us. When we didn't answer, the knocking began again. Then we hear him yelling, "Yoo hoo, yoo hoo, anyone home?" over and over again. This literally went on for an hour and a half. Crazy huh? But we just went on with our evening as usual.
Just a minute ago, I was checking my Facebook status updates and noticed a friend commenting that they hadn't had a single trick or treater tonight. I was telling Lowell that maybe trick or treating is dying down, because we hadn't had a single one either. And then the realization slapped us in the face, that maybe, just maybe, we didn't have any little ghosts or goblins because there was a six foot man dressed as death banging on our door and yelling "Yoo Hoo" at the top of his lungs.
Think THAT might deter a parent from letting their little ones come up our walk??? We have lots of candy if anybody needs some...
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Our Secret's Out
We were to have an inspection today, so we've spent the last couple of days cleaning house. As you may remember from previous posts, the gentleman who lives upstairs next door is not the cleanest, neatest person we've ever met. We usually just let him be since he has the upstairs to himself. Occasionally Lowell will go clean the hall area and bathroom, since technically, he isn't paying rent for those areas. We rarely, if ever, enter his room. Whatever you are imagining, I promise it's worse. It's truly that bad.
So on Tuesday of this week, we told him that he needed to get it semi-clean for the inspection. And by this we simply meant no dirty dishes and no trash in the room. We explained that if it wasn't clean by the time he went to work on Wednesday, that we would go in his room and take care of those two tasks.
After filling the dishwasher with dirty dishes (GROSS, huh?) and two bags of trash, we were done. When he came home, he noticed it had been cleaned but he thanked us and surprisingly didn't get upset that we had been in his room.
However, he comes downstairs tonight and claims some items are missing from his room. We asked what and he replies, "Some CDs and DVDs." He says he is certain that he had them last week and noticed tonight that they are gone. He states he is not blaming us, BUT, we were the last ones in his room. So we ask for specifics on what he thinks is missing. He says, "some personal DVDs" (I was scared to ask for more there) and "some of my Eminem CDs."
Oh yeah, of course, those. Guess we can't hide it any longer. Lowell and I are closet Eminem fans and now the secret is out.
One would think he'd have figured out that we really weren't the culprits when we initially misunderstood and thought he was accusing us of taking his M&Ms!
So on Tuesday of this week, we told him that he needed to get it semi-clean for the inspection. And by this we simply meant no dirty dishes and no trash in the room. We explained that if it wasn't clean by the time he went to work on Wednesday, that we would go in his room and take care of those two tasks.
After filling the dishwasher with dirty dishes (GROSS, huh?) and two bags of trash, we were done. When he came home, he noticed it had been cleaned but he thanked us and surprisingly didn't get upset that we had been in his room.
However, he comes downstairs tonight and claims some items are missing from his room. We asked what and he replies, "Some CDs and DVDs." He says he is certain that he had them last week and noticed tonight that they are gone. He states he is not blaming us, BUT, we were the last ones in his room. So we ask for specifics on what he thinks is missing. He says, "some personal DVDs" (I was scared to ask for more there) and "some of my Eminem CDs."
Oh yeah, of course, those. Guess we can't hide it any longer. Lowell and I are closet Eminem fans and now the secret is out.
One would think he'd have figured out that we really weren't the culprits when we initially misunderstood and thought he was accusing us of taking his M&Ms!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
This is just a Bunch of Bull
I grew up in Little Rock and never was a big animal aficionado. We had dogs, but that was all, and even then I never really liked them. I mean, they were okay, but they barked, and sometimes they bit! (Technically ours never bit me, but others did, so I've never really trusted any dog.)
Lowell is the same. Just not an animal person. Perfect right? But this is where God's sense of humor comes into play. Of course, Joshua LOVES, LOVES, LOVES animals. Always has. When he was a toddler, he would go right up to any animal and snuggle up. When the Little Rock Zoo opened the petting zoo (which I think has since closed), he was the first person in the gate. Very literally. We have a picture of him from a Little Rock newspaper being the first zoo patron in the petting zoo.
We tried to have a dog. It was not a success and even Joshua recognized that. So we're all good and animal free. And then we moved to Kansas.
Joshua has found a new love. We thought volunteer work would be good for him so once a week, he is going out to a farm and mucking stalls. He thinks it's as fun as Disney World. And he is good at it. I've watched him a couple of times and it kind of freaks me out, but he is just as calm and laid back as ever. Not that horses in general freak me out, but he is just hanging in the stall with them, changing out their water and cleaning and they are chewing on his hair - which does look a lot like hay, so it's no fault of their own that they make this mistake. But, yeah, chewing on his hair. And he is totally okay with a big 'ole horse biting his hair, and clothes too (we have a certain jacket that he has to wear now in order to be sure ALL of his clothes don't have horse bitten holes in them).
Last week, the lady who runs the farm said, "we need to get you up on a horse sometime soon." He was SOOO excited and planning when we could get out there for him to learn to ride. That was exactly one week ago. In one week, we've gone from so excited to learn how to ride a horse to wanting to be a bull rider. Yep, you read that ride. Riding BULLS. (I must interject here, mainly for his Mimi, that he has heard nothing but emphatic "NO"s on this one, so no need to worry just yet!) He has talked to the farm hand, who rides bulls, and he is learning all about how to hang on, how to maintain just the right posture, and how you should lean your body when the bull leans forward, "'cause if he turns just right, that horn'll get 'ya!" (And yes, as a mom, I do want to throw up when he says those things.)
So today when he was at the farm, the farm hand gave him tickets to the rodeo. He and Lowell spent all evening in Kansas City at said rodeo, watching horse riding and sheep riding (by little 4-year-olds)and of course, the big daddy of the rodeo, the bull riding. And he just walked in the door, more hyped up than ever about getting on a bull. "'Cause it's not just hanging on, you have to learn how to calm the bull too, so you can stay on longer." What a crazy oxymoron, "calm bull". I'm not falling for that, no way.
Definitely thinking we need to learn to ride a horse first. Or maybe even a sheep.
Lowell is the same. Just not an animal person. Perfect right? But this is where God's sense of humor comes into play. Of course, Joshua LOVES, LOVES, LOVES animals. Always has. When he was a toddler, he would go right up to any animal and snuggle up. When the Little Rock Zoo opened the petting zoo (which I think has since closed), he was the first person in the gate. Very literally. We have a picture of him from a Little Rock newspaper being the first zoo patron in the petting zoo.
We tried to have a dog. It was not a success and even Joshua recognized that. So we're all good and animal free. And then we moved to Kansas.
Joshua has found a new love. We thought volunteer work would be good for him so once a week, he is going out to a farm and mucking stalls. He thinks it's as fun as Disney World. And he is good at it. I've watched him a couple of times and it kind of freaks me out, but he is just as calm and laid back as ever. Not that horses in general freak me out, but he is just hanging in the stall with them, changing out their water and cleaning and they are chewing on his hair - which does look a lot like hay, so it's no fault of their own that they make this mistake. But, yeah, chewing on his hair. And he is totally okay with a big 'ole horse biting his hair, and clothes too (we have a certain jacket that he has to wear now in order to be sure ALL of his clothes don't have horse bitten holes in them).
Last week, the lady who runs the farm said, "we need to get you up on a horse sometime soon." He was SOOO excited and planning when we could get out there for him to learn to ride. That was exactly one week ago. In one week, we've gone from so excited to learn how to ride a horse to wanting to be a bull rider. Yep, you read that ride. Riding BULLS. (I must interject here, mainly for his Mimi, that he has heard nothing but emphatic "NO"s on this one, so no need to worry just yet!) He has talked to the farm hand, who rides bulls, and he is learning all about how to hang on, how to maintain just the right posture, and how you should lean your body when the bull leans forward, "'cause if he turns just right, that horn'll get 'ya!" (And yes, as a mom, I do want to throw up when he says those things.)
So today when he was at the farm, the farm hand gave him tickets to the rodeo. He and Lowell spent all evening in Kansas City at said rodeo, watching horse riding and sheep riding (by little 4-year-olds)and of course, the big daddy of the rodeo, the bull riding. And he just walked in the door, more hyped up than ever about getting on a bull. "'Cause it's not just hanging on, you have to learn how to calm the bull too, so you can stay on longer." What a crazy oxymoron, "calm bull". I'm not falling for that, no way.
Definitely thinking we need to learn to ride a horse first. Or maybe even a sheep.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Oh Happy Day!
This was Joshua this morning:
And here he is this afternoon. Sorry for the poor picture quality, but can you tell what's missing?!?!?! We are SOOOO excited. He is eating a handful of caramels, taffy, and chewing gum as we speak. And the teeth are BEAUTIFUL!!
And here he is this afternoon. Sorry for the poor picture quality, but can you tell what's missing?!?!?! We are SOOOO excited. He is eating a handful of caramels, taffy, and chewing gum as we speak. And the teeth are BEAUTIFUL!!
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Today was one heckofa day! We started out bright and early for a 7 AM swim-a-thon. This is where Joshua gets sponsors who will sponsor him so much per lap. And then he swims and collects the money for his swim team. Because our life is so insane and we can't seem to get things together, plus because we really don't know anybody around here to ask for money for fundraising, he went and swam with no pledges. That's right. None. So, yes, this is our shameless plea to the grandparents who I know are reading the blog. He swam 200 laps. Feel free to send a check made out to the Lawrence Aquahawks for whatever amount you feel is appropriate. (And really isn't this a more fair way to do it? Better than making you commit BEFORE he swims and you don't know what you are committing to right??)
As soon as we got home from that the phone was ringing. Joshua volunteers once a week out at a farm that our company started that provides horseback riding lessons to the people with disabilities. (They call it a farm, but it's this HUGE indoor arena, and it's really cool.) Joshua does a great job with the farm chores and loves the horses. They're really big and kind of freak me out, but he thinks it's great and the lady who runs the place loves the kid. So anyway, the lady is calling asking if Joshua will come be in the Maple Leaf Festival Parade, with the horses and the farm volunteers. She REALLY wants him to come, so he gets ready and he and Lowell head out to Baldwin City, home of about 3,000 people and the Maple Leaf Festival.
Lowell drops Joshua off at the parade gathering and goes to find a place to park. He calls me no fewer than five times telling me that there is no place in town to park and that at every parking lot he sees, people are charging $5 to park. Of course he only has $3 cash. Maybe he thought I could wire him the extra $2. I guess today is a huge economy booster for the residents of Baldwin City because of all the tourists coming to town for the big festival. (Note the sarcasm here.) He has to park about a mile out of town and then can't remember where the car is when it's all said and done. And of course, he calls me. Like I know where it is???
Anyway, immediately after that was over and the car was found, we had to go to a company picnic out at the farm. And this is a company picnic like no other. I mean, every office party has its share of diversity. But just imagine this: this picnic was for every employee, their families, and all of the persons served. So there was no shortage of head-banging, screaming, hand clapping, back patting, and jumping around like Tigger. And then there were also the people with disabilities. :) To say it was crazy might be putting it lightly.
Then we raced home to get Joshua a shower and get his bag packed for a sleepover. His friends were supposed to be picking him up at the same time we got home. And we were having one of those "front-porch days" at the house. You know the kind where someone knocks on the door and you meet them on the front porch rather than inviting them inside because you are afraid for someone to actually find out that you fold your laundry in the living room and don't put it up right away, etc. So that meant we were rushing full steam ahead to get it all done so Joshua could be waiting in the driveway when they got here. And he was.
So tonight it's relatively quiet in the house. I should have used this time to be productive and then get in bed at a reasonable time, but instead have enjoyed an evening of laziness. And it's been really nice!
As soon as we got home from that the phone was ringing. Joshua volunteers once a week out at a farm that our company started that provides horseback riding lessons to the people with disabilities. (They call it a farm, but it's this HUGE indoor arena, and it's really cool.) Joshua does a great job with the farm chores and loves the horses. They're really big and kind of freak me out, but he thinks it's great and the lady who runs the place loves the kid. So anyway, the lady is calling asking if Joshua will come be in the Maple Leaf Festival Parade, with the horses and the farm volunteers. She REALLY wants him to come, so he gets ready and he and Lowell head out to Baldwin City, home of about 3,000 people and the Maple Leaf Festival.
Lowell drops Joshua off at the parade gathering and goes to find a place to park. He calls me no fewer than five times telling me that there is no place in town to park and that at every parking lot he sees, people are charging $5 to park. Of course he only has $3 cash. Maybe he thought I could wire him the extra $2. I guess today is a huge economy booster for the residents of Baldwin City because of all the tourists coming to town for the big festival. (Note the sarcasm here.) He has to park about a mile out of town and then can't remember where the car is when it's all said and done. And of course, he calls me. Like I know where it is???
Anyway, immediately after that was over and the car was found, we had to go to a company picnic out at the farm. And this is a company picnic like no other. I mean, every office party has its share of diversity. But just imagine this: this picnic was for every employee, their families, and all of the persons served. So there was no shortage of head-banging, screaming, hand clapping, back patting, and jumping around like Tigger. And then there were also the people with disabilities. :) To say it was crazy might be putting it lightly.
Then we raced home to get Joshua a shower and get his bag packed for a sleepover. His friends were supposed to be picking him up at the same time we got home. And we were having one of those "front-porch days" at the house. You know the kind where someone knocks on the door and you meet them on the front porch rather than inviting them inside because you are afraid for someone to actually find out that you fold your laundry in the living room and don't put it up right away, etc. So that meant we were rushing full steam ahead to get it all done so Joshua could be waiting in the driveway when they got here. And he was.
So tonight it's relatively quiet in the house. I should have used this time to be productive and then get in bed at a reasonable time, but instead have enjoyed an evening of laziness. And it's been really nice!
For all my Reader Friends
I found a website the other day where you can become a Book Review Blogger for Thomas Nelson Publishers. (This is a Christian Publishing Company and they have tons of good books.) The way it works is like this: you sign up to be a book reviewer and choose your book. (There are usually about 10 different books from which to choose, of different genres. If you don't see something you like, wait a few days, it changes.) About 4-5 days later, you get the book in the mail. FREE!!! All you have to do is read it, write a 200 word or so review and publish your review on your blog and on a consumer website such as amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com or christianbook.com. Once you publish your reviews, you get to choose a new book. FREE!!! So as not to clog up my family/group home blogs with book reviews, I started a new blog www.heathersbookreviews.blogspot.com to post my reviews. I've done two so far. It's legit and you get FREE books.
Now, that being said, I know that I have some friends out there who are thinking "Oh my goodness Heather, the LAST thing you need is more books!!!" But fear not, I took a couple boxes of books to Half-Price books last week and sold them. (I know I need to get rid of more, but Heidi, I just can't!! But we are TRYING, so give us a break, okay??)
Anyway, if anybody is interested, the website is http://brb.thomasnelson.com. Give it a shot.
Now, that being said, I know that I have some friends out there who are thinking "Oh my goodness Heather, the LAST thing you need is more books!!!" But fear not, I took a couple boxes of books to Half-Price books last week and sold them. (I know I need to get rid of more, but Heidi, I just can't!! But we are TRYING, so give us a break, okay??)
Anyway, if anybody is interested, the website is http://brb.thomasnelson.com. Give it a shot.
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