I made some changes to the layout here tonight for a few different reasons:
1. I was bored.
2. I felt like we'd outgrown the old layout and that it no longer fit our needs for the use of this space.
3. I had already done the evenings dishes.
The format as it stands now will be fairly static for the foreseeable future. The color scheme is similar to what we've had here in the past, but the higher contrast present in the main text window should be a little easier on the eyes. I've also limited the number of posts present on the main page to three instead of the twenty posts that were listed here in the past. This should help with load times when there are image- or video-heavy posts.
In other news:
"kul-anaya fikr minh ka
abadan ahatmam enna ajab
hayya’alal falal qad qamadis alah
Haqq: la illaha il Allah"
Stay Gold!
MMK
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
1:39 AM
Hello everyone.
"If there was no way into God, I would never have laid in this grave of a body for so long." (look it up)
It's late (early) and this is what I'm doing with my time. Sarah is sleeping because she has to work at Target tomorrow. I am not sleeping because I can't stop watching the House Hunters marathon on HGTV. One of us clearly has their priorities straight.
The students all left yesterday for their four day Thanksgiving break and the building is wonderfully silent tonight. I'm never quite comfortable or settled during the first couple of days after my residents are gone. Living in a residence hall feels kind of lonely when you have 120 neighbors move out, you know? I'm sort of required to be always on the ready during the year when students are in the building, too, so their absence is unsettling in that it puts me in a place where I have absolutely no need to be thinking about what is happening elsewhere in the hall. Shifting my thought processes in this way will take a few days, but it will happen eventually. And by the time Sunday afternoon rolls around and the students start returning from their breaks, I'll just be getting adjusted to the fact that they were gone at all. And then I'll just be more disappointed than usual that Monday morning means working again. So it goes.
Today was Thanksgiving day and we took it fairly easy. Sarah cleaned the house. A lot. I helped out a little bit, but mostly tried to stay out of the way. She gets into this mode of operation where she becomes singly focused on organizing, wiping down, and cleaning virtually everything in sight. We have a small apartment, luckily, so these fits of cleanliness generally only last a few hours. My inability to understand her need to "just get it done" in order to "feel relaxed" can be like a match into the powder keg of those hours, though, so I've learned to smile and try my best not to say "let's just do that later." But the apartment looks wicked nice tonight after she worked all day, so I suppose I can't complain too much. You've gotta go for the ride if you want to get to the endpoint, right?
We had our Thanksgiving dinner with some Hall Director friends who also stayed on campus this weekend. Afterward, Sarah put up the Christmas tree while I watched football. The extent of my help with the tree was untangling ornaments and pointing from the couch where I thought some should go. I like having the tree up and shining, I just generally don't enjoy actually being a part of the setting-up process.
There are currently four presents beneath the tree. We haven't yet figured out where to hang our stockings. Mine is blue and is adorned with snowflakes.
I am going to sleep on the couch tonight because I do that sometimes but I haven't done it in awhile. It'll give Sarah a chance to have the whole bed to herself and me the opportunity to wake up tomorrow morning thinking "man, I really should have slept in the bed last night."
Back on the topic of hall directing for a moment -- I really like the three RAs I supervise this year. They're awesome people who compliment each other very well. They're engaged in each others lives and the lives of their residents, and they actually care about spending time with the people who live in this community. I'm sure it doesn't really matter to most of you, but I thought I'd put it out there anyway. A lot of RAs say that they're "people" people when they're saying why they want the job, but get really wrapped up in their own junk once they actually get into the job. My RAs this year haven't been that way at all. I just think it's a really nice and refreshing thing to see them being true to themselves in that way.
Oh man! How have I written this much tonight and not yet mentioned Norah?!
Did you know that velcro is, like, the most humorous thing in the world? It's true. I was changing Norah's cloth diaper the other night whence I captured this velcro-driven chuckle-fest:
I really want to go eat leftover Pumpkin Pie Cake out of the 'fridge, but I won't because I probably shouldn't.
Alright. Bedtime. AKA Couchtime.
Hope you all had a good holiday! Boycott Black Friday today. That whole affair is a ridiculous, greedy, empty mess.
Stay Gold!
MMK
"If there was no way into God, I would never have laid in this grave of a body for so long." (look it up)
It's late (early) and this is what I'm doing with my time. Sarah is sleeping because she has to work at Target tomorrow. I am not sleeping because I can't stop watching the House Hunters marathon on HGTV. One of us clearly has their priorities straight.
The students all left yesterday for their four day Thanksgiving break and the building is wonderfully silent tonight. I'm never quite comfortable or settled during the first couple of days after my residents are gone. Living in a residence hall feels kind of lonely when you have 120 neighbors move out, you know? I'm sort of required to be always on the ready during the year when students are in the building, too, so their absence is unsettling in that it puts me in a place where I have absolutely no need to be thinking about what is happening elsewhere in the hall. Shifting my thought processes in this way will take a few days, but it will happen eventually. And by the time Sunday afternoon rolls around and the students start returning from their breaks, I'll just be getting adjusted to the fact that they were gone at all. And then I'll just be more disappointed than usual that Monday morning means working again. So it goes.
Today was Thanksgiving day and we took it fairly easy. Sarah cleaned the house. A lot. I helped out a little bit, but mostly tried to stay out of the way. She gets into this mode of operation where she becomes singly focused on organizing, wiping down, and cleaning virtually everything in sight. We have a small apartment, luckily, so these fits of cleanliness generally only last a few hours. My inability to understand her need to "just get it done" in order to "feel relaxed" can be like a match into the powder keg of those hours, though, so I've learned to smile and try my best not to say "let's just do that later." But the apartment looks wicked nice tonight after she worked all day, so I suppose I can't complain too much. You've gotta go for the ride if you want to get to the endpoint, right?
We had our Thanksgiving dinner with some Hall Director friends who also stayed on campus this weekend. Afterward, Sarah put up the Christmas tree while I watched football. The extent of my help with the tree was untangling ornaments and pointing from the couch where I thought some should go. I like having the tree up and shining, I just generally don't enjoy actually being a part of the setting-up process.
There are currently four presents beneath the tree. We haven't yet figured out where to hang our stockings. Mine is blue and is adorned with snowflakes.
I am going to sleep on the couch tonight because I do that sometimes but I haven't done it in awhile. It'll give Sarah a chance to have the whole bed to herself and me the opportunity to wake up tomorrow morning thinking "man, I really should have slept in the bed last night."
Back on the topic of hall directing for a moment -- I really like the three RAs I supervise this year. They're awesome people who compliment each other very well. They're engaged in each others lives and the lives of their residents, and they actually care about spending time with the people who live in this community. I'm sure it doesn't really matter to most of you, but I thought I'd put it out there anyway. A lot of RAs say that they're "people" people when they're saying why they want the job, but get really wrapped up in their own junk once they actually get into the job. My RAs this year haven't been that way at all. I just think it's a really nice and refreshing thing to see them being true to themselves in that way.
Oh man! How have I written this much tonight and not yet mentioned Norah?!
Did you know that velcro is, like, the most humorous thing in the world? It's true. I was changing Norah's cloth diaper the other night whence I captured this velcro-driven chuckle-fest:
I really want to go eat leftover Pumpkin Pie Cake out of the 'fridge, but I won't because I probably shouldn't.
Alright. Bedtime. AKA Couchtime.
Hope you all had a good holiday! Boycott Black Friday today. That whole affair is a ridiculous, greedy, empty mess.
Stay Gold!
MMK
Monday, November 23, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
I forgot one...
When I posted the new pictures earlier, I forgot to include this one:
I love my girls.
Stay Gold!
MMK
I love my girls.
Stay Gold!
MMK
Family Photos
Fall = Family picture time as Christmas card season is fast approaching. Here's some of the pictures our friend Beth took a few days ago of the three of us. I'll refrain from posting the pictures that we're going to put on our cards, though... You'll just have to wait for those to come in a couple of weeks.
Annnnnnd barfy...
Also, speaking of Christmas cards, our friend Elizabeth pointed us towards a website offering 50 free cards if you order them before November 30th. I'm talking free as in no purchase cost or shipping and handling or anything else. We just placed our order today and will be receiving it in 5-7 days. Elizabeth and her partner already ordered their cards and have already received them. Go to seehere.com, and choose from their designs (or design your own card - everything can be customized). Just make sure to use coupon code freebies4mom-1109 when you're checking out. I don't think the cards come with envelopes, but I'd rather buy $5 worth of 4x8" envelopes than spend $30 on Christmas cards, wouldn't you?
Norah's being a brat today. She's making noise. All the time. For no reason. I suppose it's good, because she's learning to talk and exercising her vocal chords and all of that, but it's super annoying at the same time. I guess that's parenthood, eh?
Stay Gold!
MMK
Annnnnnd barfy...
Also, speaking of Christmas cards, our friend Elizabeth pointed us towards a website offering 50 free cards if you order them before November 30th. I'm talking free as in no purchase cost or shipping and handling or anything else. We just placed our order today and will be receiving it in 5-7 days. Elizabeth and her partner already ordered their cards and have already received them. Go to seehere.com, and choose from their designs (or design your own card - everything can be customized). Just make sure to use coupon code freebies4mom-1109 when you're checking out. I don't think the cards come with envelopes, but I'd rather buy $5 worth of 4x8" envelopes than spend $30 on Christmas cards, wouldn't you?
Norah's being a brat today. She's making noise. All the time. For no reason. I suppose it's good, because she's learning to talk and exercising her vocal chords and all of that, but it's super annoying at the same time. I guess that's parenthood, eh?
Stay Gold!
MMK
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Details Please
Friends and family need to write more blogs. Just sayin'. :o)
I'll write more later...
I'll write more later...
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Raspberries
She keeps learning new tricks, like, everyday.
Also, Norah is the cutest just before she takes a bath.
Stay Gold!
MMK
Also, Norah is the cutest just before she takes a bath.
Stay Gold!
MMK
Saturday, November 7, 2009
All I have is yours...
The title is from a worship song. The song (and the musician) tend to be a little bit on the cheesy side for me, but for whatever reason....it popped into my mind today. I guess I could add my own comment to Marshall's blog, but I won't. Not because my views differ, not because I'm afraid of what the responses will be, mostly... I don't feel the need. Instead, I'll pray...and continue to put my hope in trust in God, and live a life of love.
Not much of worth to write about today. However, NORAH TURNED 6 MONTHS YESTERDAY! WOOT! Which also means, I have officially made it 6 months breastfeeding (well, 1 1/2 months actually breastfeeding and 5 months exclusively pumping). I can't believe it! I'm pretty proud of myself. Pumping has taken a lot of time and effort, but I am so thankful to be able to give that to Norah. However, I hope to be completely done by Christmas as Norah has started on solids and formula.
Some pictures for all of you to enjoy:
This is Hayden giving Norah a hug. And yes, Hayden hugs should really be called tackles!
Hooray for Fridays.
Six months! Norah can sit up unsupported for quite a while, she is talking non-stop with lots of "da-da-da" sounds, and clearly is as adorable as ever.
Norah's giggles warm my heart.
Norah and Poppy right before a birthday bath! :o)
Love to you all.
SLK
Not much of worth to write about today. However, NORAH TURNED 6 MONTHS YESTERDAY! WOOT! Which also means, I have officially made it 6 months breastfeeding (well, 1 1/2 months actually breastfeeding and 5 months exclusively pumping). I can't believe it! I'm pretty proud of myself. Pumping has taken a lot of time and effort, but I am so thankful to be able to give that to Norah. However, I hope to be completely done by Christmas as Norah has started on solids and formula.
Some pictures for all of you to enjoy:
This is Hayden giving Norah a hug. And yes, Hayden hugs should really be called tackles!
Hooray for Fridays.
Six months! Norah can sit up unsupported for quite a while, she is talking non-stop with lots of "da-da-da" sounds, and clearly is as adorable as ever.
Norah's giggles warm my heart.
Norah and Poppy right before a birthday bath! :o)
Love to you all.
SLK
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Disappointment
This is about gay marriage. Some of you may be offended. Feel free to stop reading if you wish.
I'm pretty f'ing upset that the state of Maine recently voted on whether or not to include gay and lesbian couples equal rights under the institution of marriage. It's absolutely ludicrous to me that we, as a society, think it's okay to vote on this sort of thing. Like it's ours to permit or deny in the first place.
While others will say that this vote was a perfect example of democracy in action, I will argue that the result of this vote highlights one of the key problems with the democratic system. We feel justified in denying the basic rights of marriage to gay and lesbian couples simply because a very, very slim majority of the people said so. And we ignore the fact that 48% of the people who voted in this election voted to expand the definition of marriage to include both heterosexual and homosexual couples. But that's how democracy works, doesn't it? And it's the best system we have, so what else are we going to do? "Why don't you move to a communist country if you don't like it. People fought and died for your right to vote."
Give me a break. People fought and died for our freedoms as a whole, not just right to vote. Our veterans fought and died for the right of our people to have the freedom to simply be who and what they are. The freedom to not only say what we feel like saying, or to own a shit-ton of handguns, but also for our rights to love and marry the people who make us feel most like ourselves. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Personal fulfillment. The feeling of being complete with ourselves and with another, regardless of what that person has between their legs.
Marriage is "defined" as one man and one woman, huh? That's what you're going to go with? And you're comfortable denying basic human rights to what essentially amounts to roughly 40 million Americans because of that sort of semantic debate?
As much as I pray and try to search for understanding and clarity on this issue, I've never heard God telling me that I should get caught up in the semantics of anything when the question of Love is on the line.
I hear a lot of Christians saying that "those people" can have their civil unions, but that we shouldn't dare try to call what they have "marriage." That we should give them their rights, but still make sure that everyone knows that what they have is different than what we have. That we should continue to push gay and lesbian people away from our society and keep them separate.
Stop focusing on yourselves and trying to make yourselves feel better about the fact that you're actively creating a second class within our society. Stop focusing on what's going into which hole (or not, for that matter) when two people lay down together at night. Stop arguing over a word. Stop thinking that you have any right to involve yourself legislatively in marriage (whether gay or straight) at all.
I hope that Norah looks back at this time period twenty five years from now with anger and disgust at the ignorance we're displaying. I hope she falls in love with whoever she wants and is able to commit herself to that person in every way that I've been able to commit myself to Sarah. I hope that she's allowed to have the type of freedom which we say we value for all people.
These lyrics have never been more salient to me than they are right now:
Shai Hulud - "Beyond Man"
Human is a degrading word.
As human, I renounce myself.
I yield to no man.
There will be no peace...
Not on Earth,
Not amongst men.
Indulge. Be content. Soften yourselves.
I look beyond weakness and fashion.
Confide not in flesh.
If I can't change the world,
I'll disregard it and look beyond.
Pray to calm my heart.
Pray for the fools.
I will be at peace.
I am not a man.
And your actions will speak alone.
Ugh. F all this.
MMK
I'm pretty f'ing upset that the state of Maine recently voted on whether or not to include gay and lesbian couples equal rights under the institution of marriage. It's absolutely ludicrous to me that we, as a society, think it's okay to vote on this sort of thing. Like it's ours to permit or deny in the first place.
While others will say that this vote was a perfect example of democracy in action, I will argue that the result of this vote highlights one of the key problems with the democratic system. We feel justified in denying the basic rights of marriage to gay and lesbian couples simply because a very, very slim majority of the people said so. And we ignore the fact that 48% of the people who voted in this election voted to expand the definition of marriage to include both heterosexual and homosexual couples. But that's how democracy works, doesn't it? And it's the best system we have, so what else are we going to do? "Why don't you move to a communist country if you don't like it. People fought and died for your right to vote."
Give me a break. People fought and died for our freedoms as a whole, not just right to vote. Our veterans fought and died for the right of our people to have the freedom to simply be who and what they are. The freedom to not only say what we feel like saying, or to own a shit-ton of handguns, but also for our rights to love and marry the people who make us feel most like ourselves. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Personal fulfillment. The feeling of being complete with ourselves and with another, regardless of what that person has between their legs.
Marriage is "defined" as one man and one woman, huh? That's what you're going to go with? And you're comfortable denying basic human rights to what essentially amounts to roughly 40 million Americans because of that sort of semantic debate?
As much as I pray and try to search for understanding and clarity on this issue, I've never heard God telling me that I should get caught up in the semantics of anything when the question of Love is on the line.
I hear a lot of Christians saying that "those people" can have their civil unions, but that we shouldn't dare try to call what they have "marriage." That we should give them their rights, but still make sure that everyone knows that what they have is different than what we have. That we should continue to push gay and lesbian people away from our society and keep them separate.
Stop focusing on yourselves and trying to make yourselves feel better about the fact that you're actively creating a second class within our society. Stop focusing on what's going into which hole (or not, for that matter) when two people lay down together at night. Stop arguing over a word. Stop thinking that you have any right to involve yourself legislatively in marriage (whether gay or straight) at all.
I hope that Norah looks back at this time period twenty five years from now with anger and disgust at the ignorance we're displaying. I hope she falls in love with whoever she wants and is able to commit herself to that person in every way that I've been able to commit myself to Sarah. I hope that she's allowed to have the type of freedom which we say we value for all people.
These lyrics have never been more salient to me than they are right now:
Shai Hulud - "Beyond Man"
Human is a degrading word.
As human, I renounce myself.
I yield to no man.
There will be no peace...
Not on Earth,
Not amongst men.
Indulge. Be content. Soften yourselves.
I look beyond weakness and fashion.
Confide not in flesh.
If I can't change the world,
I'll disregard it and look beyond.
Pray to calm my heart.
Pray for the fools.
I will be at peace.
I am not a man.
And your actions will speak alone.
Ugh. F all this.
MMK
Monday, November 2, 2009
Pizza Pasta!
So...this recipe is in high demand; it's nothing fancy but MK and I found it to be super delicious.
Slow-Cooker Pizza
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs of ground beef (we substituted ground turkey...you could also substitute Italian sausage)
1 medium onion, chopped (we aren't huge onion fans, so I used half of a medium onion)
1 green pepper, chopped (we also aren't keen on green peppers, I omitted this ingredient)
half a box of rigatoni, cooked
7 oz jar of sliced mushrooms, drained
3 oz sliced pepperoni (we used turkey pepperoni)
16 oz jar of pizza sauce
10 oz of mozzarella cheese, shredded
10 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
(we also added a bit of grated parmesan cheese and Pensy's Pizza Seasoning)
Directions:
1. Brown ground beef (or other meat) and onions in saucepan. Drain.
2. Layer half of each of the following in the order given in slow cooker: ground beef/onions, green pepper (if you choose), noodles, mushrooms, pepperoni, pizza sauce, cheddar cheese, and mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers. (we added the extra cheese and seasoning to the top layer.)
3. Cover. Cook on Low 3 - 4 hours making sure to keep rigatoni covered with sauce so the noodles don't become dry and crunchy.
YUM! Enjoy. Let me know what you think.
Slow-Cooker Pizza
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs of ground beef (we substituted ground turkey...you could also substitute Italian sausage)
1 medium onion, chopped (we aren't huge onion fans, so I used half of a medium onion)
1 green pepper, chopped (we also aren't keen on green peppers, I omitted this ingredient)
half a box of rigatoni, cooked
7 oz jar of sliced mushrooms, drained
3 oz sliced pepperoni (we used turkey pepperoni)
16 oz jar of pizza sauce
10 oz of mozzarella cheese, shredded
10 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
(we also added a bit of grated parmesan cheese and Pensy's Pizza Seasoning)
Directions:
1. Brown ground beef (or other meat) and onions in saucepan. Drain.
2. Layer half of each of the following in the order given in slow cooker: ground beef/onions, green pepper (if you choose), noodles, mushrooms, pepperoni, pizza sauce, cheddar cheese, and mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers. (we added the extra cheese and seasoning to the top layer.)
3. Cover. Cook on Low 3 - 4 hours making sure to keep rigatoni covered with sauce so the noodles don't become dry and crunchy.
YUM! Enjoy. Let me know what you think.
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