I'm a geek wife

How would I say that in 133t? Anyway.

A few days ago, I asked my dearest husband if he had anything in mind to buy me for Valentine's Day. He, of course being the INTP that he is, had not. In fact, I'm pretty sure he didn't realize Valentine's Day was approaching until I said anything. :D I was actually glad he didn't already have something picked out, because I had a clever idea that was going to be on the expensive side, which I would have a hard time justifying if he had already spent (or planned to spend) the amount I deserve he usually spends. I was going to keep it a surprise, but I'm really, REALLY bad at that kind of thing, because I just love giving presents. So I spilled the beans, Justin agreed that it would be a neat purchase, and he surprised ME by getting one today. *swoon*



Yay me! It's actually this tv here. Now, for anyone reading this who knows us, which is nobody (LOL), this might seem like a rather strange purchase, because we don't watch tv. Well, we don't because we can't (by choice)--we have no television reception, no cable, no dish. We do have a roof antenna but it's no longer connected to anything. :) No, the reason I wanted a tv for our bedroom is because in the evenings, after the kids have gone to bed, when the house is dark and quiet, Justin and I like to snuggle together and do this. Or sometimes this. And when we're feeling really wild, this.

What did you think I was going to say? You did read the title of this blog, didn't you? :D *innocent expression* Anyway, there's nothing better than being in my cozy bed, cuddled up with the love of my life, and hacking and slashing my way to glory. Plus, the PS2 plays DVDs as well, so we can get caught up on our stack of Netflix movies, which currently has romantic titles like this one or that one. I told you I was a geek wife, now do you believe me? :D

Some Things I Love

Weird Al and YouTube, for letting me watch things like this:

Amazing History Site

Today I was searching for a particular quote that I thought came from Martin Luther King, Jr. and I found the American Rhetoric web site.  This site has a large number of speeches with the transcripts and, where available, the recordings of those speeches.  I had never heard, for example, FDR's Pearl Harbor Address which contains the famous, "A day which will live in infamy" quote.  It was stirring to hear it and the recording was very good.  In fact, I noticed that the Top 100 Speeches of the 20th Century list at the site contains a lot of speeches that I'd heard of but never actually heard.  And when the site doesn't have audio it will often have either the text of the speech or a link to a site that has text of the speech.

And you thought I couldn't do it...

Picture me doing the "stir the pot" dance in triumph.....okay, maybe on second thought you shouldn't. :D

Anyway, I finished my book! Aren't you impressed? Darwin on Trial was pretty good, quite scholarly so I kinda had to put on my oh-yeah-I-used-to-go-to-college hat to read it, but I managed. The book was basically a criticism of the logical errors that many Darwinists make--using too broad a definition of the term "evolution," for example, and also not realizing that much of their allegiance to evolution is faith based, just not faith in a Creator. Very good, interesting, helped reinforce what I believed regarding evolution while also serving to clarify some things.

Yeah, so it's not much of a book review. But I did read it, I promise. :) Not sure what I am planning to read next. Justin thinks I should try Confessions by St. Augustine but I'm not sure I'm up for it. In any case, I finished Darwin on Trial early enough in the month that I have a little time to figure out what February's book should be.

I've got a stamp *neener neener*

So, guess where I was when I wasn't blogging? I went to Finland! Yes, me, who doesn't like to travel and once swore that it was her life's goal to never own or need a passport. :D

Justin had to go there on travel, and I, on a crazy whim, decided that I would go with him. Because, you know, people who love hot weather like myself will always love to go to Finland in January. *roll eyes* But surprisingly, it was not that cold. It only snowed the first couple days we were there (and not all day) and there was no accumulation, it all melted. I saw a few large piles of snow on various sidewalks but I'm guessing that was leftovers from snow being plowed earlier in the season. The temperature on Thursday actually got up to 4C (about 39F for us crazy Americans) but it was windy and so it felt colder than any of the other days.

We spent the first part of our trip in Tampere (pronouned "Tahm-purr-ay") because that's where Justin had his meetings. While he was busy I decided to walk around Tampere a bit--I was originally going to travel around more by bus but decided against it as I couldn't make head nor tail out of the bus schedule. This was the view that greeted me as I exited the train station both days (our hotel was right near the station, but the better shopping was on this side of the tracks, hee hee). Well, except that the sky was completely gray, the trees had no leaves, and all the people were wearing black. Seriously, pretty much everyone dresses in neutrals there. I saw a few colorful scarves and hats but mostly it was black and gray and brown. I had fun just kind of immersing myself in the whole Finnish experience--the stores I went to in Tampere were mostly ordinary sorts of stores, but it was neat to have foreigners all around me. I mean, it's not like I was the foreigner or anything. The first day I ate lunch at Hesburger and the second day I ate at McDonald's. The McDonald's nuggets tasted like they used to a long time ago (and I don't mean old, I think it's from before they were "all white meat" or something like that)--much better. Same with the Coke, because outside the US you can get Coke made with real sugar instead of corn syrup. I'm no foodie, but now US Coke tastes like crud to me. :(

On Wednesday we went back to Helsinki (forgot to mention that Helsinki is where our plane landed, and where we spent the first night). Didn't do too much that day, as we had spent the morning on the train getting there, but we did go to the Jumbo mall near our hotel. That mall is about 1/2 sporting goods stores, LOL. On Thursday we did the tourist deal in Helsinki--of course we saw very little of the city, but what can you do in a day when it's freezing and you're on foot? We went to the Uspenski Cathedral and then walked to the Helsinki Cathedral. They were both very beautiful. We ate lunch at Cafe Engel which is right across the Senate Square from the Helsinki Cathedral, and was very tasty. It was also by far the loudest restaurant I had been in while in Finland, and when I say "loud" I mean that people were actually talking!

It was pretty neat. I am, of course, exhausted now, and not really wanting to do any major traveling any time again soon, but I'm glad I did it, because now I know I can. *cue triumphant music*

The Black Fly Song

I have never seen a black fly but I love this song.

Non-resolution

I don't really like New Year's resolutions. I'm of the mindset that if you think something is a good idea, and that you should start doing it, then there's no time like the present. But the new year is a convenient time to start things, so I got sucked in like everyone else.

Last year I followed a program that had me reading the New Testament and Psalms in one year. I did pretty well with that, though at the end of the year I got kind of bogged down and I still haven't finished Revelation, nor have I read Psalm 119. *blush* But I think I can finish that up in enough time to start my new reading project, which is to read at least one religious-ish study type book each month. But first, a detour.

I was a very early and voracious reader--taught myself to read at age 3 and used to read in pretty much every spare moment. Then I became an adult, had a couple of kids, got captivated by the internet, and I realized that it's been a long time since I actually read a book. I mean, I read all the time--newspapers, magazines, Bible reading, and of course internet content. But actual books? Eek, I can't remember the last one I read to completion. I felt especially ashamed after reading this post the other day, 73 books! I don't know that I've read that many books in a year since I was in elementary school. So, I was thoroughly embarrassed, and thought I ought to get back on the ball, and 12 books in one year isn't particularly overwhelming.

So back to my 2008 reading schedule. Once I finish up Revelation from last year's program *ahem* I plan to read Darwin on Trial. I found it referenced in The Case for a Creator, which is a book I, uh, started reading a few weeks ago but never finished, and I gave it away, which is probably a terrible faux pas but anyway, it's done now. :) I think I should be able to manage to get this done in the remaining 3.5 weeks of January, and if you're nice to me I might even post a review when I'm finished. ;)

Yeah!

Hey, this blog sure does look a lot better now.  It is a good thing Elena is taking care of the looks because my sense of art is just zero.

Unforgettable...

We couldn't let this blog be neglected forever, so with a new year, we have decided to resurrect it. Justin and I have both been blogging at MySpace for a while but I thought it was time we went back to a more traditional blogging format. And what I say goes, you know. :D

So, here we are. We are keeping our old title, because this blog is definitely going to be eclectic. You'll see silly posts, serious posts, videos, pictures, Bible commentary, product reviews, and who knows what else. Maybe even a guest blogger. No holds barred, man.