After the recent maintenance here at HSB, I was one of the many that was unable to access their blogs. As you can see, that issue has been resolved. We’re still busy unpacking. Most of the boxes have been emptied, just a lot of stuff needs to be put away. In fact, I really need to get back to work. Just wanted to let you know that I have not abandoned my blog!
Fall is in the air and I have a new look for my blog. If you’re reading this through a feed or through your "friends" page, stop by my actual blog to check it out.
September 11 is coming up again and this year will be the 5th anniversary of those events that should never have happened. If you would like to mark this painful date with a tribute on your blog to one of the victims, please click the link on my sidebar. As of today, there are not enough people signed up for every victim to be honored. You don’t have to be a great writer or to have known the person you are assigned. A simple Google search will give you enough information to write a short paragraph. That’s really all that’s needed. We’re just trying to remember that these were real people, with ordinary lives, just like you and me, who got caught in extra ordinary circumstances.
While there is information readily available about the heroes and victims of that day, not as much is known about the people and animals who worked tirelessly in the search and recovery efforts. I can’t even imagine such a job! The mother of one of my lifelong friends is one of those people. She and Lucy the Wonder Dog worked several recovery missions, including the World Trade Center. Lucy the Wonder Dog had to be put down recently. Please go read the great tribute to Lucy and the great work she did over her lifetime. I’m not so much a dog person, but Lucy is a Hero in my book! Well done, Lucy.
I don’t think that I mentioned here that I won a prize for my poem about Rebecca. I had entered into the writing contest at Joy In the Morning. Well, look what arrived in the mail over the weekend.
Loni made me this beautiful bracelet as my prize! I had a little trouble choosing what I wanted the bracelet to look like. Rebecca is still a very important part of our lives. We talk about her every day and feel her presence very much. So I didn’t want a memory bracelet that was only about her. Instead, I chose to put her birthstone with the birthstones of all our children, with a heart in the center. I didn’t see it before it arrived in the mail and I am so happy with how it turned out. Loni makes really nice bracelets, and not just for grieving mothers. Christmas is coming and I’m thinking these would make nice gifts. Check out Loni’s website: Memory Bracelets and tell her I sent you!
The Carnival of Family Life #12 has been posted for your reading pleasure! Check out all the fun entries here:
There were lots of entries this week, so you’ll have fun going blog hopping. Make sure you read the whole list of entries and find the surprise about ME!
How are you enjoying your summer? Ours is heating up! Today is supposed to be the hottest day in DC in 4 years. Why is that? Global warming? Lot’s of hot air spewing from the politicians? Nope. It’s me. I live in DC and I hate summer. Anything over 75 degrees and I head for the air conditioned goodness of my home. Today is supposed to be 100 degrees, with the heat index around 105. Clearly, me being here is causing it. I always bring the worst heat to whatever region I’m living in. Don’t all start thanking me at once.
The good news is, summer will be over soon enough. In about 6 weeks, the weather will be cooling down and it will be downright pleasant. I remember the last time we lived inside the Beltway. After a hot and sticky summer, September finally rolled around, bringing lower temperatures and cooling breezes. We had a block party on the last Saturday of summer, what I will remember as the last weekend of innocence. We gathered together, fired up the grills, dug into the great potluck dishes and celebrated Labor Day Weekend 2001. Three days later everything changed. September 11, 2001. I’m sure you remember where you were and what you were doing when you heard about the first plane. My husband was the one who told me about the Pentagon, before the news had even picked it up. One of his co-workers had seen the plane go in.
On September 11, 2006 the blogging world will pay tribute to the victims of the terrorist attacks. 2,996 bloggers will write a tribute on their blog to honor a single victim. 2,996 bloggers, 2,996 victims.
If you would like to partcipate, just go here to sign up (or click the above graphic). Once you have been assigned a name, the site has links to look up biographical information to help you write your tribute. A simple Google search will help, too.
I’m a Blogging Chick!
Loni at Joy in the Morning is hosting another "Where I’m From" writing contest. This time, it’s for kids. I entered my poem in her last contest. I didn’t win, but it was fun to read the other entries. It’s a very simple contest, you can read about the details here. Your child writes a poem using the fill-in-the-blank template based on the original "Where I’m From" poem. The entries must be posted to your blog (or your child’s, if they have one) by Wednesday, July 19th. If you or your child does not have a blog, she has set up a special blog for posting contest entries. If your child enters, make sure you tell her I sent you!
P.S. She is also accepting entries written by parents who have lost a child. You can write the poem as if the child had written it. I’m working on one for Rebecca. I’ll be sure to post it here.
So what is a blog carnival? It is a collection of blog posts that all have some kind of theme – in this case, Family Life. One person gathers the entries and makes a list of the authors and their posts, then posts the list to their own blog. You can read the list of entries and click the link to go read whichever posts interests you. Look for an entry by yours truly!
If you would like to participate in the next Carnival of Family Life, follow the link here. The information about the Carnival, plus the submission guidelines are located in the sidebar on the left.
I got tagged by Amy!
1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, and find line 4.
“also The Magician’s Nephew: the uses and misuse of nature and peo..” from Companion to Narnia
2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What can you touch?
nothing
3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?
Trading Spaces
4. Without looking, guess what time it is.
8:45pm
5. Now look at the clock. What is the actual time?
8:48pm
6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
The tv.
7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
After dinner, taking out the trash.
8. Before you started this survey, what did you look at?
my email
9. What are you wearing?
my pajamas!
10. Did you dream last night?
I’m not sure.
11. When did you last laugh?
During dinner. Boo was making Bip laugh.
12. What is on the walls of the room you are in?
Pictures of the children and a sign I painted that says “God Bless America”
13. Seen anything weird lately?
hmm. No
14. What do you think of this quiz?
silly
15. What is the last film or video you saw?
“Green Card”
16. If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy?
A house, start a non-profit organization and adopt a baby from abroad. And a little chocolate.
17. Tell me something about you that I don’t know.
There’s a picture of me on an album cover.
18. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
Wow, where to start…maybe change the laws to better protect the rights of our service members and their families to receive medical malpractice compensation.
19. Do you like to dance?
Not in public.
20. Comment to George Bush:
Hang in there!
21. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
Well, I call my first girl Pumpkin Girl
22. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?
We call him Boo.
23. Would you ever consider living abroad?
In Asia – never again. In Europe- in a heartbeat!
24. What do you want God to say to you when you reach the pearly gate?
“Well done. And here’s Rebecca.â€
25. 4 people who must also do this quiz on THEIR blog:
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