Tolkien Obsession

O.k. I'll admit it. I've developed a small J.R.R.Tolkien obsession. I had never read the The Lord of the Rings Trilogy or watched the movies until the fall of last year. I had to watch the movies with the subtitles the first time just to understand what was being said. Since then, I've watched the screen version of the movies twice and the extended version once. I've read The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King and am halfway through both The Silmarillion and The Unfinished Tales.

It seems that I've passed my addiction on to one of my children. Mason has read The Hobbit and is almost finished with The Fellowship of the Ring. He reads a little each night and becomes more and more enthralled with the world of Middle Earth.


I would encourage anyone who likes fantasy and has never read Tolkien to give it a try.

My New Necklace

I have a new necklace. It is a pink yarn "chain" with a key on the end. The key belongs to the new locking doorknob we put on our pantry door. The pantry holds all the "good" snacks. You know, chips, crackers, soft drinks, etc.... I've had a hard time enforcing many of our food rules, rules such as; one soft drink a day, only one snack between meals, eat at the table, and so on. I was constantly having to yell "Close the pantry door" from another room and my kids were constantly eating. I don't know how they got so food obsessed but it is time for the obsession to stop. Now I unlock the door only at snack and meal times. The change since the lock has been on is amazing. Just knowing that the door is locked seems to have helped the boys focus on things other than "let's see what is good to eat in the pantry."

Fat Tuesday

Yikes! It's Fat Tuesday already. I still haven't decided what to give up for Lent. It has been a tradition in our family, as it is in many families, to sacrifice something during Lent in remberance of the sacrifice Jesus made for us. The boys have decided to give up T.V. and Laine will give up snacks. I still don't know what to give up. It needs to be something that will cause me a good bit of discomfort. I'm thinking maybe I'll give up one of my favorite things, sleep. I'll get up an hour earlier each day. (Mason, who is reading over my shoulder and laughing, just told me that this would be impossible for me........no encouragement there.) That settles it, sleep it is. BTW, Chill still hasn't decided what he is giving up. Anyone else out there sacrificing something for Lent?

Happy Anniversary to the Man of My Dreams

11 years ago today I married the man of my dreams. I kid around alot, but you're the best husband any woman could want. Happy Anniversary Pappy B. I love you.