Introducing Pillownaut

To our wonderful surprise, our blog was visited recently by Pillownaut! Some of you might have noticed that in the sidebar I have a link to her blog. Pillownaut is a lady from Texas who is currently taking part in a space flight study where she has, as I understand it, 4 months of bedrest. The program tries to mimic the effects micro-gravity has on the body for extended periods of time. Scientists hope to better understand what happens so they can develop effective treatments and exercise routines. I first learned about Pillownaurt from seeing her on the news!

Now before everyone says, "Oh that must be nice to just lie around in bed for four months," I encourage you to read her blog. From what I can tell, it is no walk in the park. In fact, the effects on the body can be downright painful as your muscles and bones begin the deteriorate from lack of use.

Thanks, Pillownaut, for the comments (especially the one on the costume...it's nice to meet another fellow Trekker). And, no, we don't live in Georgia. We live in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. It's not known for much, but the Midwest is a great place to live! We'll keep reading your blog, and we hope that you visit us again soon!

Time of Decisions

This seems to be the time for difficult decisions. To begin with, I have decided to take a break from martial arts. Tae Kwon Do had become a regular routine in my life for about the past year. I worked my way up to blue belt, and met some goals. I'm stronger, and for the moment I have a large pool of techniques I can practice on my own. Taking a break will allow my body to heal (I've been battling a rough case of plantar fasciitis for over a month now), and help to keep me from getting burned out. I've learned in life that when something extra-curricular stops being fun, it usually means you need a break from it. If it is meant to be, the desire will come back.  If not, the world is full of other exciting things to do. 

The second big decision we have to make relates to school for Cassidy. Although we had decided to homeschool (and we still may), we are taking a second look at the Christian school.  We learned that someone who goes to our church sends their daughter there.  It will require an even tighter budget if we go that direction, but we really want what is best for her.

How to decide.  That is the question.  Here is a good scripture I like to read when I don't know what to do.  Maybe it will help someone else.

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Proverbs 3: 5,6

The X-Files

Few television shows of the 90's held my interest better than the X-Files. Each week I would anxiously watch Mulder and Scully investigate UFO's, the paranormal, and the unexplained. It reminded me of being a child, and always wanting to see aliens. Alright, I was a strange child. Anyways, this afternoon Amy and I had a rare chance to get away from the kids and visit a movie theater, along with our wonderful next-door neighbors Ryan and Becky.

Although I think the other X-Files movie was better, this one did have some twists. I've heard a lot of people talk about how bad the movie was, but honestly, I was just so excited to see Mulder and Scully working together again, it didn't matter to me that there were no aliens (oops, I gave that away).

Well, if you go see it, stay until the very end of the credits to watch the "goodbye." I have a feeling it was telling us there will be no more X-Files. But, then again, you never know. I'd like to believe there will be, or should I say, "I Want To Believe." Thanks for reading!

Fun Outside with the Girls

Here a few pictures of the girls outside. Callie has recently has discovered the power Dora jeep. She loves it, but she doesn't know how to steer it. Ryan tied a rope on the jeep and he stands in the middle and makes the jeep go in a circle. Callie loves it. Here is a picture of her in the jeep.

Of course, Cassidy loves having her picture taken. She rode the tricycle around on the concrete and posed for a picture.

Chloe was just sitting on my lap during all this. She loves watching her sisters play. She sometimes just giggles as she watches them.

Pictures of the Girls

We enjoyed some time outside the other day before it was so hot. Cassidy swam in the big pool, Callie swam in the little pool, and Chloe just sat in her seat watching. I thought I would snap a few picture to share with you.

Getting a Deal!

As most of you know, my wife is really big into clipping coupons and saving money. In fact, she has a blog site devoted mainly to that--Amy's Life. I on, the other hand, just hate spending money. If it were up to me, we would probably just drink water, eat those noodles in packages, and survive on the basics (well, that's a little exaggerated).

But, with all the hits she has been getting on her website, and of course, getting interviewed by Channel 3, I thought to myself, "I have to try this coupon thing!." So, for the first time, I set off on my adventure to purchase something for less. Here is what I got:

Total Price: $5.21

I had two coupons for a dollar off 32oz Power Aid. It only costs a dollar at Kroger, so those were free. I also had two coupons for 1 dollar off half gallons of tea. And, it was also a dollar, so those were also free. I needed some apple juice and rolls. Unfortunately, there was no coupon for the juice, and I didn't tell Amy I was going to get the rolls--I should have, she had a coupon and I could have saved another 60 cents!

So, for my first trip, I don't think I did too bad. That said, I would not recommend the Peach Tea.

Quick Trip to Smyrna

Well, my vacation is quickly coming to an end. I have a meeting tomorrow at the high school, and I think our first day back is August 13th. So, I have roughly a month left. Yes, I know, to everyone else who gets like 2 weeks vacation a year, I don't get much sympathy. But just remember, my job is like double the time. Alright, enough whining.

I'm actually looking more forward to going back this year than most. I am supposed to have two classes that I really enjoy teaching. I think I am going to have another student teacher, and if all goes well I should get a good student assistant. So what else has been going on?

On Friday I made a quick trip to Smyrna, Tennessee. I took the picture above while coming back into Nashville. I had some better ones, but for some reason the camera won't load those. The interstate doesn't look that busy but it was! Thanks for reading!

Our New Swing

We sold our swing in the yard sale a few weeks ago. We have been looking for lawn furniture since then. We have looked at table and chair sets, lawn chairs and even a few swings. We could not find anything we liked at a price we liked.

Finally we found one at Lowe's that we liked and the price wasn't bad. We bought it. We were putting it together (well mostly Ryan was) and Ryan's dad stopped by our house. He offered to help put together the swing. It was so nice of him to do that. I know it would have taken us a lot longer if he would not have helped. Thank you Randy!

It is a very comfortable swing and our whole family can sit on it without anyone having to sit on the bar. I really like it.

The City of New Orleans

As some of you know, I grew up listening to country music.  Dad had it playing in the garage while he would work on the car, work outside, and of course riding in the pick-up truck.  Some of my fondest memories are linked to country songs.  Recently Amy came across a free sample CD, and on it was a song performed by country great Willy Nelson entitled "The City of New Orleans".  Written by Steve Goodman in 1970, the song recreates the experience of riding this train from Northern Illinois all the way to New Orleans, Louisiana.  

I've listed some of the verses to the song below, as well as a couple of pictures of the train as it appeared throughout history.  For the complete lyrics click HERE .  If you have never heard the song, you can watch it performed on Youtube HERE.

And the sons of pullman porters

       And the sons of engineers

       Ride their father's magic carpets made of steel.

       Mothers with their babes asleep,

       Are rockin' to the gentle beat

       And the rhythm of the rails is all they feel.

By the way, the train is still in service.  Amtrak bought the route back in the 70's, and they still make the trip.  If I can find someone to go, I would love to at least take a short ride.  Checking their site, it looks like I could ride The City of New Orleans from Effingham to Carbondale for about $30.00 which would include lunch.  Now that would be a small price to experience such a great part of American folk song history!

Tunguska Event

This week marks the 100 year anniversary of the Tunguska event. The mystery involves an explosion of sorts that happened in the early morning hours of a remote region in Siberia. The explosion was so intense, that it leveled trees for over 800 square miles, and was likely several times more powerful than a nuclear bomb. What makes it such a mystery is that no impact crater was formed.

So what could have caused such an event? Scientists have debated this for the last 100 years. Eye witness accounts from hundreds of miles away stated that a fireball was seen over the sky just before the blast. But a meteor impact would have left a huge crater. So what could it have been? The proposals have been everything from anti-matter, to a miniature black hole, to space aliens. But anti-matter would have left residual radiation evidence. A miniature black hole (if they exist) would have come through the other side of the earth causing a similar effect. And aliens, well, I suppose that will always remain a possibility.

But the best idea I have heard is that it was a piece of a comment. Comments are often made of ice and dust. If it were traveling fast enough, it would have vaporized before it hit the surface. The super-heated gas would have burst into the earth with amazing force, creating the explosion and fire, and never leaving a crater.

We may never know for sure the cause, but the Tunguska event will certainly remain one of the most strange and spectacular events in recent history.