Never peel a boiled egg again. Wow! Who knew???

Ok, so there's a ton of stuff going on in our household right now but most of it relates to finishing up our school year or our move to Singapore in which I'm sure most people are tired of hearing about.

So.... I thought this was blog worthy and it's not related to Singapore in the least - except that I guess I might utilize this knowledge there, with a Singaporean egg.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN2gYHJNT3Y

Songs and Friends

Two of my favorite things! Songs and friends. And two things of which I'm especially grateful for these days.

Jakeb and Anna are using this poem in their school work right now. I chose it because it's a beautiful poem and it applies to our lives right now.

The Arrow and the Song
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.

I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow the flight of song?

Long, long afterward, in an oak,
I found the arrow, still unbroke;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.

We'll miss you, Table!

This is our table. Well, this was our table. It's been a great table but it was time for us to part and now someone else has it.

We got this table at Dingo's Furniture store in Freeport, Texas about 17 years ago. After having been married for about 3 years and when Tori was about 1 year old, it was our first major furniture purchase. It left our house this past Saturday morning to become a great table for another family.

If I've counted correctly, it has been moved with us 7 times. Isn't that the number of completion or something?

We've shared many a meal as a family and with friends around this table. We've called many "Stunz family meetings" to this table. A lot of homework has been done at this table over the years. A lot of tears have been shed at this table as well as a lot of laughter. It has staged a host of super cute birthday cakes and party foods for after dance parties and holidays. Oh, and we've played a ton of games with friends and family around this table where mostly girls won. Ok, maybe we tied......

Among many other things, it has also served as a craft project table and even had Tori's baby footprints etched into it from a project we did when she was a baby where the chemicals from the paint leaked through the fabric. Those footprints have long since worn off and we are left with only memories.

It is time for a new table to help us bring in this new chapter in our lives. Once we move to Singapore, we're hoping to purchase a new and grand dining table with some authentic Asian inspiration that will be a cherished addition for our family for years to come.

But for now, we have a fold out table and a few card table chairs. What an accurate picture of our transitional life right now.

Good-bye table. Parting is such sweet sorrow. You will be missed! (and replaced) :)

If you don't want swine flu...

...refrain from doing this.

I've been silent about all of this craziness until now. I couldn't resist.

I am very sympathetic towards those who have been affected so don't get me wrong. I'm not poking fun of this serious issue. I just thought it would be good to share a sure fire way of not getting it just in case any of you were thinking of licking a pig.

I do what I can. You can thank me later.

And the winner is......

http://stunz.blogspot.com/2009/04/how-much-is-it.html

The total dollar amount for the change bucket was $87.87. This means that......

I WIN!!!!! I love winning!

I didn't cheat and they know it. This was a completely legitimate win. I posted the guesses before I even touched the coins to bag them. Anna went with me for the first bank run and Jakeb took the rest today.

Tommy was off by $65.40 and I was off by only $13.02.

So, after I take my $10 bucks, we have $77.87 leftover. Not sure what we'll do with it. Does the winner get to decide? I think so.

How Much Is It????

One of the things on our list of things to do before we move is to get rid of all of our coinage. We aren't going to put it in storage and it won't do us any good in Singapore so we might as well cash it in and go out to eat or something.

I took a change jar that I had in the kitchen and added my coin "collection" from my car to it and cashed it in the other day. It was a sandwich size ziploc full and ended up being almost $64! It did have alot of quarters in it, though. Tommy and I have bucket of coins that we've been collecting for almost our whole marriage. It's mostly only pennies and we don't put change in there every day so it's probably not much but we thought we'd have some family fun. We all put in our guess as to how much money we think it is and whoever gets the closest will win $10 of it and then we'll go out to dinner.

After taking out the Chinese and Canadian coins, a bullet of some sort, dry cleaners tags, pocket lint, strands of hair, 2 guitar picks, pecan hulls, a Mr. Gatti's game token!?!, and mood ring, yes a mood ring, and various other interesting pieces of junk, I'm going to take it in to the credit union over the next few days, a little at a time so I don't break their machine.

It's interesting how the guesses turned out. All of us but Tommy have changed our guesses a few times before this post. Tommy even had some people at work guessing. Tori spread all the coins out and they ended up in the shape of a rabbit. She googled the year of the rabbit and 1963 and 1951 came up, thus 63.51. She says rather competitively, "That, my friend, is Chinese, and it will win."

No one knew what anyone else guessed, until now.

Tommy - $153.27

Andrea - $74.85

Tori – $63.51

Jakeb – $61.37

Anna - $55.28

I'll post the results.

Confessions of a Rebellious Bed-Maker

Yep, that's my bed. And it's made.

I'm pretty OCD about alot of things in my home but making my bed is NOT one of them. I've never been a fan of bed making and I'm pretty sure I never will and my kids probably won't be either. They're not now, anyway. :)

I am happy to pull the covers up and tidy it up but it does not need to be completely made. This is weird for me because I very much like for things to be in their place and in order. Maybe this is my area of rebellion that keeps me sane. Nah.....

If you come to my house on any normal day, you will probably find it fairly tidy and clean but my bed will almost always be unmade. And I don't make the kids make theirs either. I think it makes them love me more. It may even balances out some of my other nazi-style housekeeping issues.

We've all been making our beds since the beginning of February when we put our house on the market in preparation for our pending move to Singapore in June. It's just been a necessary evil in my opinion. It really messes up naptime too. Who wants to make their bed twice in one day???? Good grief!

So, as of today, we've made our beds for approximately 67 days in a row. I think that's enough for a while. The house is under contract and the inspector comes today. Hopefully, we'll be done with bed-making soon.

I guess I could be a good mom and say that since we're in the habit now we should just continue to make our beds because it looks good and we feel better about ourselves and have a better day when things are in order. You know, like when you dress up or take a shower. Instead, I say this almost daily along with the kids, "When will this be over???????".

The countdown is on for the "We Don't Have To Make Our Beds Today" day and I think I will plan a celebration.

Random Family Update

Life is happening even though it may not appear as such out here in the world of blog. Here are some random things that are going on in the Stunz household.

Tommy bought a new desktop computer today. No, not a Mac. We're just not that wealthy! But it is fast, or at least it will be when Tommy gets home and unloads it and hooks it all up. What a pain to transfer stuff this is going to be. We've had this old Dell for about twice as long as a typical computer life span is supposed to be. It has like about a 30GB Hard Drive, 540MB Ram and our new one has 6GB RAM and 750GB Hard Drive. I think that's quite an improvement and although still lame by some peoples standards, we are out of the dark ages. We also get a printer with WIFI so we can print from our laptops somewhere else in the house. I think I'm most excited about that. It also has a 22" flat screen monitor. That's almost as big as our tv. Not really but it's big and small at the same time. Our current monitor takes up the whole top of the desk.

Jakeb finished Algebra 2 today!! He's on to Geometry now. We had hoped to finish A2 in one semester but it wasn't all that easy. We're hoping to finish Geometry by the end of the school year but it may take him into the summer a little to finish. Jakeb's brain works more like Tommy's and Tommy liked Geometry a lot more than Algebra so maybe Jakeb will find it easier. Overall, Jakeb is doing great in school. I appreciate them both being willing for us to all learn together.

Anna is doing super great in school. By my recent calculations, we're ahead in several of her subjects so we're slacking off a bit in those so as to not finish them in March and beefing up lessons in a couple of other subjects that we weren't so ahead on. We're also getting to do some cool science projects and stuff.

Jakeb and Anna both have now been officially accepted to International School Singapore. We were sweating that one out for a little bit because Jakeb was in but they didn't have a spot for Anna. Her going to a different school would have meant two different school calendars. That would have messed up vacation plans for sure. Anyway, our small group prayed, and I'm sure that's what did it because early that week we got the email saying that they had a spot for her and to send money quick before it got snatched up. So we did. Well, the company did. We can't afford a Mac, we sure can't afford this school. Jakeb is super excited because ISS High School requires students to have a Macbook. So we will be purchasing one of those from the school program when we get there. That way it will be loaded with the software that he'll need. That purchase is on us. Ouch!

Tori got another hole (she already has two from birth) in her nose on purpose and it has a cute little sparkly thing sticking out of it. She waited all of 5 days after her 18th birthday to go get it done. We are totally fine with it and it looks cute. She loves it! I think people are mostly shocked and it's fun to watch and hear about the reactions from all of those people that think we're stick in the mud, traditional people that must be crazy with anger and shame at the thought of our daughter doing that to her body. Now when she gets the bamboo stick through her lips, we might go a little whack.

I got a massage on Friday. It was okay for the $39 intro price but there's no way I'd pay $65 for one which is the regular price. Plus, it messed up my hair and makeup and I had a line on my forehead for about 30 minutes and Tommy and I were going on a date.

Our house is STILL for sale. I know, it's only been 3 weeks.... but I really hate making my bed and keeping the house clean. We showed it yesterday and I wasn't ready. Anna and I flew through the house and got it ready. I ended up putting a laundry basket full of dirty dishes in my trunk on the way out the door. It was pretty funny! One couple is very interested but they have to wait until May or June to close which works perfectly for us but we certainly aren't going to hold it for them without a solid contract and financing. Another buyer has it "on her list". She didn't like where the a/c unit is placed. That's crazy. Like we're going to move an a/c unit. I don't like it there either but I never once thought that it would be reasonable to move it somewhere else. It is where it is.

The move to Singapore is happening and every day I experience little "deaths". Little things that are depressing and make my heart hurt. But also every day, there are new "life" things happening as well. This is proving to be the challenge we expected but we have to focus on the adventure or it will most definitely pull us under.

Speaking of new life. there sure have been a lot of babies being born lately. And even more to come soon. Congratulations everyone! So exciting and so glad it's not me. :) I'll just borrow yours.

Oh, and...

Tori's truck dances when she shifts gears. We're not sure what is up with that but Tommy's working on trying to figure it out. It makes for a rather comical ride. If you need a good laugh, ask her to come take you somewhere.

Anna didn't know the name for one of the seas in Geography. She knew it started with an "M" and that it was a long name. I always tell her to never leave anything blank, to at least try. So, the Mediterranean Sea is now the Miscelleneous Sea. :) Miscelleneous is one of her spelling words this week and she spelled it correctly. Good girl!

Jakeb is going to turn into a pecan pie. He's found that he loves them and eats a piece every time he's at work.

We ate Persian food the other night on our date. We love that place! The owner is from Syria, her husband is Iranian, the chef and the waitress or Spanish. Did I say we love that place? :) The owner made her special ice cream for couples on Valentines Day and even though it was a day early, she gave us some for free for our dessert. It was interestingly good. It was a vanilla ice cream base with crushed pistachios and rose flavoring. Not something I'd ever crave but we were happy to have the experience. It kind of tasted like eating perfume but in an ok way. Weird.

Then we went to The Dessert Gallery on Post Oak for some real dessert. Oh my!!! It took me three days to eat my piece of cake and the kids even took a few bites.

This is probably the last blog post I'll type on this piece of junk, antiquated computer. Yipee!!!

Well, that's it for now. My brain is sufficiently purged for a day or two.

REALLY Funny Video

This is the funniest thing I've seen in a while. Enjoy!

Proper Etiquette

(she must be messing with her nose ring!)

I've been thinking alot lately about proper blog, facebook and email etiquette. For me, for my kids, and maybe for you. :) I was thinking of coming up with my own list of do's and don'ts but since I'm lacking a creativity and time these days I decided to google it and see what happened.

I found some good stuff out there and thought, "Why reinvent the wheel?"

This link on blog etiquette or blogtiquette as it is apparently called is awesome! I'm even adding it to my reader, I think it will be a fun one to keep track of.
http://tipjunkie.blogspot.com/2008/05/blog-etiquette-or-blogtiquette.html

Here is an article on facebook etiquette I found interesting.
http://quarterlifecafe.honadvblogs.com/2008/08/04/the-new-facebook-etiquette/

And here is a list of the top 26 email etiquette rules. I love #6! and #8. #11 is my absolute favorite though. I hate to be left wondering....
http://email.about.com/od/emailnetiquette/tp/core_netiquette.htm

So go read them. Make your kids read them. Send this to all those people who send you all that junk. :)

And, let me know what your favorite etiquette rule is. Maybe you've got one that's not out there. Maybe it's something I do (or did in this very post) that you'd love to call me out on. Now's your chance! Please share...

Update: Here's one more link I found. Maybe the only one you'll need. She's got TONS of etiquette links listed including Twitter and My Space and others. http://communityorganizer20.wordpress.com/2009/01/12/social-media-etiquette-roundup-understanding-cultural-norms/

Inspiring!

This is a couple of years old but it just crossed my path. I thought it was well worth sharing and immensely inspiring!

Enjoy.

Glass half full, half empty or sideways?

Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Life as we know it in the Stunz household is about to be turned upside down and sideways. I have choices to make daily on how I will respond to situations that arise. I have a choice as to how I let things affect me and how I respond to them. (Philippians 4:4-7) Sometimes I make the wrong choice but, to my credit, I have made some right ones along the way.

So there are a couple of ways I can choose to look at the glass. Full – optimistic to a fault. Half full – realistically optimistic and generally content. Half empty – pessimistic. Empty – totally unhappy with life and anything and anyone in it (these people are downers). I try to be a "half full" kind of gal but I have to consciously choose to be. Half empty or empty just can’t be an option or I’m going down and I’ll drag others down along with me.

OR… I could look at things as half full and sideways. Here’s a picture of a fraction problem that Anna did in math recently. I really like this perspective. She is our optimistic, sideways thinker!! I wish I could be more like her.

My liver is fat!

Well, I went for my year and a half checkup a couple of weeks ago. I went to get routine lab work done along with another ungodly test that I will leave to your imagination.

My iron is always low. I've given blood twice in my life, and neither time went so well. I couldn't even give blood for my own daughter's surgery a few years ago. I've been taking iron for all this time (give or take a few months when I got lazy).

My iron is in check now but she told me I had a fatty liver and my cholesterol is just over where it should be. They did some further tests to make sure it wasn't Hepititis or something and that all came out ok.

Turns out it's probably just the 30 stinkin' pounds I've gained over the last year and a half. Guess I got lazy with more than just my daily iron intake.

DANG!

Not only am I fat on the outside, I'm fat on the inside! That's just wrong!!

I hate New Year's Resolutions. They are only a set-up for failure for me. So I'm not doing that.

I just need daily discipline. I'd rather clean the kitchen than exercise.

I'm walk/jogging the Houston Half Marathon in a week and a half so I'm not totally unhealthy and lazy. I just weigh too much.

Why am I putting this on our family blog, you ask? Well, it's sort of an announcement to my kids that I'm really going to clean out all the junk food in our kitchen and we're going to start eating turkey and twigs again.

My liver needs to lose weight!

Why does food have to be so fun and discipline have to be so unfun???

Coraline

Tommy has been reading Neil Gaiman's book, Coraline, with Anna. The movie comes out in February and we will definitely be going.

Gaiman also wrote Stardust (one of our favorite movies) and some other really great stories. What an imagination this guy has.

On The Home Front

We've got a lot going on right now and it won't be slowing down any time soon so I probably won't be posting much this week. Sure as I say that, though, I'll be inspired and have 20 posts a day.

Anyway, here's what we've got going on:

*we are finishing up our bathroom remodel

*packing up Christmas and other stuff we won't be taking to Singapore to put in storage in an effort to declutter/stage the house

*doing other necessary house fix-up items

*putting the house on the market asap (tell all your friends!!)

*working on Tori's graduation video (HUGE project considering she lived her first 10 years or so before the digital photography age)

On that note, if I figure out how to put music behind the pictures on the video program I'm working with for Tori's grad video, I'll be posting a Thanksgiving and Christmas video this week just to catch up. I'm sure you're on the edge of your seat in anticipation.....

Have a good week and a Happy New Year if I don't make it back to blog world before then.

My kids eat doggie treats!

Anna is trying to start making doggie treats to sell to help Tori and Jakeb go to Kenya. She's going to try some vegetarian treats, some meaty treats and the ones she made yesterday are made with peanut butter, whole wheat flour and milk and a little baking powder. She rolled it out and cut them into little shapes with small cookie cutters that we bought. Some of them were shaped like dog bones but the others are Christmas trees, hearts, bells, and angels.

So she's making them and Jakeb walks by the table and takes a bite. He thought they were spice cookies. They're made with stuff that's edible but they taste kind of bland. He looked very puzzled and then we told him they were Anna's dog treats and he immediately went to the garbage can.

I made Anna eat one because she needed to know what they tasted like if she was going to sell them.

Then Tori just told me that when she came home from work last night at 10:15, she saw what she thought was a cookie and ate one. Those were the overdone ones that didn't make the cut and we just hadn't thrown them away yet. She thought it tasted disgusting but she swallowed. I'm laughing out loud when she tells me this and immediately the blog post was born. She then saw the recipe laying out for the doggie treats and the bag with the others in it labeled "pb" for peanut butter and put two and two together. She's a smart one.

Bella (our dog) liked them alot! So if you want some, call Anna. If you buy some, just keep them away from your kids or they may start barking.

Moral of this story: Don't eat stuff off the counter until you know what it is because it might be dog food!