What a week!

This past week has just flown by. I didn't do too well on the blog this past week, did I? I won't take much time tonight, because I caught a cold in NY City this week, and I don't want it to get worse, so I need to stay in bed under my wonderful electric blanket instead of typing at my computer under the drafty window.

The weather was looking pretty nasty this week, so Monday night after I picked up Stephanie from work, we drove to SVU and stayed with Cathy for the night. I needed to leave for my trip to Washington DC and New York City at 8am Tuesday and I didn't want the pending freezing weather to keep me from going.

We left at 8am and arrived in Washington DC around noon. We attended a presentation at the CATO Institute discussing eminent domain in connection with a book published by Professor Jeff Benedict called Little Pink House. It tells the story behind the Kelo vs New London Supreme Court Decision of 2005 allowing eminent domain to seize personal property for public benefit. Following a luncheon and book signing, we drove to New York City. We arrived at about 8pm, so plays were not an option. I ate dinner in Times Square at sbarros with Joe Bouchelle and his daughter Katherine. We went back to the hostel and made it an early night.

We got 3-4 inches of snow overnight and it rained all day Wednesday. That makes slush, and I didn't have proper footwear for shushing through the streets of New York City. My coat kept my body warm from my knees to my head (thanks to the hood), my cashmere scarf kept my neck warm, my ski gloves kept my hand warm, and my fleece earwarmers kept my forehead and ears warm, but I was wearing loafers and hose which meant my feet were cold and wet all day long. And to make matters worse, my umbrella had holes in it so, I didn't use it. LIFE LESSON LEARNED:Mom is right when she tells you to keep your feet warm and dry. My jacket took on about 5 pounds of water and I was wet through to the skin from the back of my neck to the middle of my back. I didn't dry out until after lunch when I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Then I took a cab to Columbia University School of Law to attend another presentation about eminent domain featuring Professor Benedict and Susette Kelo. Following the presentation, we left the City. We got back to Buena Vista at 3am. I found the Geo with frozen glass and no ice scraper. To add to my misery, the driver side door froze shut, so I had to crawl in through the back hatch in order to start the car and heat it up to melt the ice on the windshield so I could drive to Gayle's for the night. I slept like a rock - a cold rock. The next morning I had a tickle in my throat and my shoes were still wet. I could not wait to get home to my own bed.

While I was gone, the family had an adventure of its own. We have been without a working furnace since @ the 15th of January. Remember how I said I left late Monday night to avoid freezing on the roads - well it got pretty cold that night. Tuesday morning, the power went out at our home in Lynchburg - and stayed off until 9am on Thursday. No power in an all electric house is not fun during freezing weather. We lost most of our fish and had to BBQ in freezing weather to eat. All is now well except the furnace is still out, so only 1/2 the house gets heat.

Time to go and eat dinner. I don't want it to get cold.

An atypical Thursday for this semester

It was tough to get up this morning. Even after 2 phone calls, and the alarm going off three times, I still could not wake up and kept falling back into REM sleep. We left a tad late and then got behind a slow moving logger truck on the winding section past the bridge, so being on time to class went from possible to impossible. Then I got to my Business Law class just in time to have them go over the answers to the quiz they just finished taking (meaning I got a big zero on it).

I went to the library to organize my research for my contemporary issues presentation before my partner arrived. He had not done any research at all, so I showed him what I had. We divided up the remaining research - he will research arguments for and against the policy, and I will research the legal aspects of the issue. My partner doesn't even know anything about how various contraceptive devices and methods work. sigh!

Then I grabbed my bag of crocheting and went to Stephanie's class with professor Card. I enjoyed his lecture and found myself frequently nodding my head in agreement. His lecture was about truth in fiction and how fiction authors are able to make assertions in their stories that are non-refutable. Statements about what characters are thinking, and about customs and rules of their make-believe world cannot be argued to be false by the reader, because what the author says, goes.

Then I drove home and worked on menus for the next two weeks. I visited awhile with Richelle McDaniel, and then it was time for dinner. We had stroganoff. Then I took David to dispose of the recycling, and we picked up some groceries at Kroger and came home and made brownies for dessert. They are just coming out of the oven, so I have got to get me some warm brownies and ice cream. So it looks like my day that did not start off very well, will end on a high note.

Too tired to think

Today was quite cold and I really didn't want to get out of my nice toasty bed this morning. I was late to my Ancient Ethics class this morning, but managed to contribute to the discussion about how things like power, wealth, good looks have no value in themselves, but can be good or bad for people who use them depending on whether the person has wisdom or ignorance to guide them.

Next I went to Cathy's room to help Stephanie finish preparing for her presentation in Classics of Western Literature and to complete by Bibliography for my senior paper.It was not until I sat down in my Philosophy of Religion class that I remembered that we had a homework assignment. Lucky for me Professor Jones gives us a 5pm deadline. We discussed the deficiencies in the arguments against the existence of God and The problem of Evil for the Christian theists.

I went to the business office to put money on my card so I could have a hot lunch. I slammed some buffalo hot wings, grilled cheese sandwiches and chocolate milk. Then I went back to Cathy's room to study and give her quarters for laundry. After a brief Phi Alpha Theta meeting, I drove home. Then it was the "get the kids to their activities" hoe down with Steve and research for my project and paper in Contemporary Issues. I am learning a lot about metropolitan area contraception policies for middle schoolers.

Steve called as he was bringing the kids home asking for tuna casserole when they got home. Tile floors get really cold in the winter - just in case you didn't know. My toes have just now thawed out. Now off to bed with articles to read myself to sleep.I think there should be a special place in heaven for the person who thought up electric blankets.

Inauguration Day

I watched the Inauguration this afternoon at SVU. I think as ceremonies go, they did a good job.

I completely geeked-out on two occasions. The first was when the Supreme Court Justices came down the stairs to take their seats for the ceremony. I knew all of them by sight. I was great to see Justice O'Connor there. Justice Scalia made a bold choice of hat today - a bold choice for a bold guy.

The second occasion was when they announced the quartet that included Itzhak Perlman and Yo-Yo Ma. I love watching Yo-Yo Ma perform. He always has such a joyous expression on his face. All of the music I heard was fabulous.

I was a little disappointed to see so many in the crowd leave in the middle of the ceremony after the President's speech. I thought it was disrespectful and rude.

I wish I could have turned the sound down when the commentators were filling the air with gibberish, but I guess they need to justify their existence. They detracted from the occasion more than they enhanced it for me.

I noticed today(it is really the first inauguration I watched) that the President and Vice-President take different oaths. Only the President's oath is mentioned in the Constitution - the VP's is the traditional oath given to congressmen, senators and other government workers.

I was embarrassed for Chief Justice Roberts today. He had one very visible job to do today - administer the oath of office. He didn't write it down like the guy who administered the oath to VP Biden, "Why not?", I wonder. It was his first time, I think people would have cut him some slack. Instead he jumbled the words and did not complete the oath as written in the Constitution. Don't they rehearse these things? By rehearsing the oath the president-elect would not accidentally become president before his time. It is a small detail, I agree, but it caused a distraction all the same. It would be sad if all anyone remembered about today was that American's finally have a black president and the oath was botched.

Another Beginning

I am very good at starting journals. I have done it many times. What I am not so good at is "keeping" a journal going. If the only proof of my existence on this planet is the written records I leave behind, it will appear to future archaeologists that I took frequent arbitrary trips, leaving major portions of time unaccounted for.

This is our current state of affairs.
Steve is unemployed. He is taking a class at Central Virginia Community College about programming computers in Java. He is an extraction missionary in the Buena Vista Virginia Stake, which means that he views official records like census records and puts the information from them into a format which will enable them to be used for temple work. He is currently working with the 1920 Census in Illinois. He gave a talk yesterday morning about serving outside of the Church. He received three calls on Friday about possible jobs in Orlando & Chicago as well as a telecommuting job that will enable him to stay here in Virginia. The Chicago job is the only full-time position - the others are contract positions. This is good news, because there haven't been many computer jobs on the market for the past 8 months that he was qualified for.
I am in my final semester at SVU. I am taking classes in Ancient Ethics, Philosophy of Religion, Business Law and Contemporary Issues. I am also working on my senior paper addressing the difference between the legal definition and the moral definition of lying. I plan on graduating on May 2nd. I am teaching Gospel Doctrine in the Lynchburg 2nd Ward every odd month. I am also the Certification Specialist for Buena Vista Stake's Girls Camp, so I get to plan certification clinics that take place from February through July and classes and activities for camp in August. I am also unemployed at this moment, but hoping to obtain a part-time position in the Registrar's Office here at SVU. I will know sometime this week.
Stephanie is currently a full-time student at SVU. She is working toward her second Bachelor's degree. Her first was in Software Engineering and Computer Science from UTDallas. She is working on a degree in Business Management and Leadership at SVU. She is employed part-time with Hickory Farms and is the Young Adult Representative in the Lynchburg 2nd Ward. She teaches the Primary class for 8 year-olds. She is not dating anyone now, but is having fun at YSA activities. She spends most of her free time on the computer or watching movies.
Alicia is married to Adam Sosa and living in Gilmer Texas. She is working toward her Bachelor's degree in Accounting at UTTyler and hopes to graduate in May 2010. She has a job working in an insurance office. I am not sure what she is doing in church. She is happy and surrounded by people who love her.
Cathy is a junior at SVU. She is working toward her Bachelor's degree in Family and Childhood Development with a minor in Early Childhood Education. She hopes to graduate in May 2010 and continue her education pursuing a Master's in Education. She is a resident assistant in "The Loft" dorm and has a room all to herself. She has lots of friends and really enjoys herself. She also tutors math. She is not dating anyone now, but is spending her free time hanging out with her friends in the new Student Union.
Lora is a junior a the University of North Texas working toward a Bachelor's in Criminal Justice. She plans to go on to grad school and ultimately become a coroner or a forensic pathologist (I can't remember which). She is living on campus and applying to become a resident assistant. She got a B in Organic Chemistry last semester, and we are very proud of her! She is loving what she is studying and is enthusiastic about everything she does, as usual. She is not dating either, but is having frequent conversations with "this guy in my CJ class". That's all we get from her on the subject.
Pamela is a junior at ECGlass High School. She is the School Board Rep and active in the theater department. She is currently rehearsing for the February production of Beauty and the Beast where she will play the wardrobe. She is Laurel Class president and a ward missionary. She is very busy. She is starting to feel the stress from all her activities and the preparations she needs to make for college. Pam loves to dance - only a rehearsal will keep her from attending a church dance!
Wendy is a sophomore at ECGlass. She works with the Ygirls program in Lynchburg, and is an ambassador at Glass. She is taking pictures of wrestling matches hoping to earn herself a spot on the yearbook staff next year. She has been making some new friends this year, and inviting them to dances. She has a cat, Moonshine, and raises guppies.
David is in 7th grade at Dunbar Middle School in Lynchburg. He is in the show choir and in most theater productions. He is taking classes in German, and really likes it. He is a second class Boy Scout working toward his first class rank. He is also taking karate classes and keeping statistics for the basketball team. They let him run the clock recently, and he really liked that. David plans on helping to build a loft bed in his room later this year.