Welcome ...

I would like to welcome 2 fabulous people to my blog!
My mom-Hi mom! I love you, and I wish I got to see you more. I'm glad that you read my blog.
David Mayeux-I'd like to thank g-mail for adding aim to their chat. If they hadn't, I never would have seen your name there, from my old aim account, and we, perhaps, would have forgotten the other ever existed. That would have been sad.

Mom-you can make comments using your gmail account. All you have to do is click on "comments" and follow the directions. You don't have to have a blog anymore to comment.

That's all. If blogging is scarce during christmas, I'm sorry. You know, busy and all.

Christmas!!!

All the kids are home, and the halls are quiet. My room is blissfully still and peaceful. I have a lot of work to do, but right this second, I am reveling in the solitude. It is nice.

Karaoke

My karaoke system...




Pretty, huh? I wish it would get here!

Ramblings

I've been hesitant to blog, because all I want to talk about is my job, and I don't want to say nasty things about it on the internet. So, let's say this: January 18, and it will be over with. I'll be at a new school, and all will be well. And this week is cool...I just have to finish tomorrow. I have to work Friday, but there aren't kids, and I'll be hiding in my room packing, so there won't be stress there.

Today is Jon and my 6 month anniversary. It's been a really disgustingly good 6 months. I'm very blessed, and I know it, which is good. It's crazy to think that we've been married 6 months...it feels like longer, but in a good way. My life is so much better now, and it flows very well. We are so well suited for each other, and things generally work pretty seamlessly. And, we've been married longer than we dated, and things are better than ever. I know people thought I was crazy...but so far, so good.

I keep getting cute little presents from the kids:
Bath and Body gift certificate
Christmas tea with an infuser
Malt Balls
LOTS of candy
Cookies
Cute Christmas decorations
Chocolate covered pretzels.

Cute stuff. I still have to buy presents...6 more, I think.
I have to get 2 presents for my stepbrothers I never see...something not too expensive, but enjoyable. Any ideas?

Karaoke

So the karaoke thing has been rolling around in my head for a while now. First, it should be said that I really really love to sing karaoke. But more than that, I really love entertaining a crowd. This is evidenced by how much fun I have doing trivia night, when I don't even like trivia. I love karaoke, so I figure hosting a karaoke night would be a really fun and right down my alley kind of thing. I started looking at a business plan, and I think that it could be a very viable job oppurtunity for me. By having a karaoke system, I also have a P. A. system. I can give the power and sound to bands, karaoke, school plays, whatever. I also have a good sound system for myself. I could run karaoke nights, rent the system alone, or with me as an mc. Also, the system works with a nifty recorder and I could make CDs of karaoke nights, and videos for youtube possibly...I think people might would get into that. It's very exciting. So, my incredibly resonably priced system is on its way, and I am going to have karaoke on SATURDAY nights at McGuires. I think this is a very good first step. The new year will be so fun.

Know what would be AWESOME?

Spending my days working here, at Catawba Science Center and spending some of my nights running karaoke. Because I'm thinking more awesome than awesome. I'm thinking it would be one big ball of awesomeness. What would you do at Catawba Science Center, you say? Well, be an educator, perhaps. They have lots of ex-teachers and a sweeter deal. I spent some of this evening talking to a person who works there, and loves it. I think it would fit my talent set quite nicely.

One of the advantages of the Science Center would be that I would still be working directly with kids, which I love. But it would be so much better in so many ways. And, they have a planetarium, and an aquarium, both new. Right next to the library and art museum and art council. 2 blocks away from the house I'd like to end up in, saving of course us moving to Saba.

A great success

I'm very proud of my play. It was precious, and went off without a hitch.

Christmas Play

So tomorrow is my Christmas play with my kids at school. I'm a little stressed out. This isn't the fun part.

My mom has pluracy...she's stuck lying down all the time. I feel double bad for her because Friday was her birthday, and my step dad had planned a huge surprise party for her. He ended up moving it to Saturday, because she felt better some, but I couldn't come and other people couldn't go then either...such a shame. It would have been so wonderful to be surprised on her birthday. Oh well.

Trivia tonight.

Do you guys like karaoke?

More on the same

Click here to read Christianity Today's take on this. I agree with this point:

Then again: "If the first film was a film in isolation, I would say it's no big deal," says Tony Watkins, managing editor of the U.K.-based website www.culturewatch.org and author of Dark Matter (Damaris/IVP), a book that analyzes the trilogy from a Christian framework.

The first book is pretty mild, as I said. The real athiest stuff comes in the second and third book. That's when they "Kill God", only it isn't really God. But that doesn't happen in the movie. The movie is based on the first book only, and it seems like people are making a big deal out of it to me. In the article, Nicole Kidman says that if it were anti-Catholic, she wouldn't be in it, because she was raised Catholic.

My favorite comment:

"To clarify, Pullman has regularly stated that he believes in a theory known as 'The Democracy of Reading' meaning that he presents the story the way he intended and readers are free to draw their own conclusions from it, regardless of whether or not they are the ideas he himself believes in. As a fantasy writer, it is a fact that personal beliefs will infiltrate the story because without them, it would make the plot meaningless. I must say, the universal morals presented in these books are something I hope every parent would want their children to learn: kindness, patience, love, optimism, etc.. This is the real "agenda" behind the series, to take the lessons we learn through childhood and use them as we grow to make the world a better place for all. That is what The Republic of Heaven is, making this life matter and be just as important as whatever may come after... It has nothing to to with whether or not God is alive or dead. I believe that these stories apply to any religious camp. "

The Golden Compass Controversy

So, I LOVED the book The Golden Compass. But, there is a big ol' stink about it. Lots of people are saying that the author is an athiest and his intent is to spread his athiest ideas to kids. I heard this when I was half way through the book and I thought it was absurd. After I read the whole book, I kind of get it. I hear that the third book is the worse. Honestly, if you're a Christian parent raising your kids that way, I'm not sure I'd let them read it. However, it isn't written for young kids, and the movie is rated PG-13. My whole thought on this is simple: It's a fiction book and should be read as that. I'm an open minded person who feels that other people should be allowed to be openminded as well. Everyone on earth is entitled to their own opinions. If a person is a writer, then they're entitled to write about whatever the heck they want to. On the other side, if people want to raise a stink, then I guess that's their right as well. As an adult who loves fantasy/history books I'll probably read the next one, and I'll probably go see the movie. But would I let my kid read it? Probably not so much a 4th grader, but 8th grade and up, sure! As soon as a kid is old enough to understand the difference in fiction and fact, I'd think they're good to go. I've never been one to think that the world should be censored. If you're a parent, maybe you should talk to your kids about what they read instead of just freaking out and spreading chain mail to entire offices.

The movie is a weird choice to me. I mean, there are spectacular fight scenes in in the book and I'm sure it will be beautiful, but it does seem odd to market to children a book like this in a predominately Christian society. I don't think it will do well. I do think it will be good.

Click here to read some of the hoo haa.

Good Book

I haven't blogged because I'm way too into the book I'm reading. It is fabulous, and everyone should read it before Friday, then go see the movie. I'll be done soon, and then I'll be back.

"Golden Compass takes place in an alternate reality Britain and Europe, where the time period appears to be late Charles Dickens and early Jules Verne. In a 19th century that features dirigibles, other exotic means of transport and mystical creatures, everyone is governed by an Orwellian overlord known as the Magisterium. "