My Big Green Tractor
We’ve had so much rain lately it’s been impossible to mow. But of course the rain made the grass grow and grow and grow so that at the first sign of sunny weather you have to mow just to keep the yard from needing a bush hog. Hubby did the trim and edging on Monday, and while he did the weed-eating last night Caden and I mowed on the tractor.
Caden loves tractors and has ever since he was big enough to look out the car windows. (We live in the country so lots of tractors out that way.)
How do you like my Style?
At the core of the indoctrination into the field of journalism is the journalist’s Bible, the AP Stylebook — full name Associated Press Stylebook. In this hallowed book are the rules — the rules for how to write numbers, states, names of people, names of companies, composition titles, weather terms, military terms … and on and on.
The Associated Press makes the rules, we just follow them, and boy do we follow them. A journalist will fight till the death to follow an AP Style rule. These are our conventions, the foundation of our being, the ground upon which we stand. Journalism students are brainwashed from Day 1 of Journalism 101 to follow AP Style at all costs.
Others (that is non-journalism majors) don’t get it. They still think rules were made to be broken, to which I respond, “Maybe your rules were made to be broken but AP Style rules were made to be strictly adhered to.”
The addiction to AP Style is bad – bad enough that the Stylebook I used in college is one of my prized possessions. Bad enough that one of the souvenirs from my recent anniversary trip to Washington D.C. is an AP Stylebook from the Newseum. And bad enough that I crave the new AP Stylebook iPhone app if for no other reason than the self-satisfaction of having it. I mean I would totally use it, both at work and for leisure reading and/or random trivia, but part of me wants it just to have it.
The app costs $28.99, which is an insane amount of money to pay for an iPhone app, but the cost will not necessarily prevent me from getting the app (eventually). @APStylebook on Twitter was giving away a free app this week and asked people to tweet why they should be the one to win. Some people took a serious approach with tweets about being poor college students and this app would help them at school, or being a starving journalist and this app would benefit them in their career, or how the print guide is too heavy to lug around on assignments, etc. I took a humorous approach.
@APStylebook I want the new AP Stylebook app to make co-workers @davidhitt and @MCapp22 jealous
@APStylebook I want the AP Stylebook app so I can have one hand in my pocket and the other one looking up a stylebook question
I wanna win the @APStylebook app because I’m a cool 20-something wearing a T-shirt at get-togethers and getaways in Orlando, Fla. (demonstrating my AP Style skilz)
I want the new @APStylebook app because I love one-upping my co-workers (and perfect strangers too)
I’m dying to have the @APStylebook so I can doublecheck newspapers’ style wherever I am. (you know we all do it!)
I even mixed in some 50 Cent lyrics in one of my dire pleas (er, tweets)
I love @APStylebook like a fat kid loves cake! #lyrics
No word yet on who won. I’m not betting on it being me but am pretty confident I’ll get the app one way or another.
The Magical World of Disney
Schools here are on Fall Break next week, and we’ll be taking our family vacation for the year to Disney World!! We actually went to Disney World last year too, right before Spring Break for a three-day weekend, but on this trip we’ll be vacationing for 8 days!
We’re flying down because we still don’t think the boys are able to handle a 10-12 hour car ride. (Or rather, we don’t want to have to handle a 10-12 hour car ride with them. They can’t even get along from here to Target!)
This kinda feels like an anniversary trip to me — the 25th anniversary of the first time I went to Disney World.
Minnie & Me, 1984
The story goes that there were a crowd of kids and families around Minnie Mouse, but I broke through and grabbed her in a big hug (the big hug you see here).
I was quite a cutie at age 4!
My sister would die if she knew I was posting old photos with her in it, but that’s what little sisters do right? Besides, my mom and I agreed that I look cute here.
It's A Small World
I look cute here too. ;)
This photo is actually from my second trip t0 Disney World — I was 9. I include it only because my mom and I had a big laugh while digging through the old family photos at what a cute picture this might have been if whoever took the photo had, say, centered it up with more of me and Mickey and less wall and ceiling. The photographer was probably my sister, because that’s what big sisters do, right?
Sycamore Pride
Earlier this year, as I was working on a feature article for work, I discovered that one of the feature subjects and I graduated from the same college. The Indiana State alumni magazine recently picked up and republished my article, with a neat mention about the source and I, and my job.
Rainmakers
It has rained at nearly every one of Finn’s baseball games, spring and fall. This fall has been the worst with several games cancelled after we sat through light rain only to eventually get drenched in a downpour!
Today was no different. The forecast called for 100% chance for rain this morning so we really didnt expect to play at all. At gametime it was overcast, but not raining. That lasted about half way through when it started a light rain, and out came our ponchos and umbrellas. The boys continued to play in the rain for about 15 minutes. It started getting heavier and colder, and the ump called the game just in time! The bottom dropped out about the time we got to the car.
We drove home through muddy waters and flash flooding.
And we lost, 7-4.
That’s All Folks
I keep a white board on the wall near my computer with the upcoming shuttle flights, dates and crew members, for easy reference when writing about them or when planning content (who’s going, when, etc.).
Today I added the names of the last planned shuttle crew. So what’s on my board is it (barring some Congressional or Presidential somethingorother).
Brownies gone bad
Not only can I not grow things, I also can not cook things.
This is what the Funfetti brownies were supposed to look like, and what they did look like on the second try.
This is what they looked like on the first try — a black, charred mess.
So what went wrong, you might ask? Eggs. I didn’t have eggs the first try and used some crazy idea for an egg substitute that obviously didn’t work. The look on the boys’ faces was priceless as I pulled that out of the oven. They were speechless and motionless, unsure how to respond. We cracked up at how they didn’ t know if this was good, bad, or something else altogether.
I redeemed myself the next day by buying eggs, and all were much happier with the second batch!
This Week in Pictures
One of the advantages of the iPhone is its camera, which gives me me the liberty to document all sorts of things that I otherwise wouldn’t if I didn’t have a camera with me everywhere I go.
Finn and my nephew Kaleb (center) see the same doctor in Nashville for two different problems so my sister and I try to coordinate and go together. It saves gas and mileage on two vehicles and make the long drive more enjoyable, for us and the kids. We can gab in the front seat while they play games, watch a movie, etc. in the backseat.
This time we also took Caden, which added an interesting dynamic to the whole thing. It turns out two is company, three is a crowd. Considering he is 3 years old, was very excited to get to go on a trip he’s usually left out of, and very excited to be with his big brother and his cousin and the fact that’s he’s naturally hyper, he did pretty good. And both Kaleb and Finn got good reports.
The three boys waiting for the doctor
I blogged about the rainbow already but this is just another picture, this one taken by me.
Driving to Nashville for the doctor’s visit we saw this Nissan Cube. Just a silly looking car.
Saturday we went to my mother-in-law’s for Hubby’s birthday. She fixed lunch, the kids played and the grown-ups watched the Tennessee game. Hubby’s sister is a third-grade teacher and brought over some papers to grade. She gave me some of their essays to grade and it was so much fun! It was like when I played school as a little girl.
Uncle Brian watching the game, the kids playing with new toys!
These were just some pretty flowers growing at my mother-in-law’s house.
