Book Club Assignment #1

My son informed me (last night, mind you), that the first 3 chapters of Silas Marner were to be read by......today!?!

He has downloaded it on his ipod and at 10pm last night said he was "going to bed" to listen to the first 3 chapters.....yeah right! He would have been snoring before the narrator got to the end of the first page.

Instead I forced him to sit on my bed with me, while I read aloud; was that snoring I heard by the end of the first page?? I kept nudging (nice adjective for kicking) him inquiring of his state of consciousness. Yes, yes, I'm listening he insisted. By the time I rounded out the second chapter, I'm not sure he even knew his own name let alone who Silas Marner was. I relented and sent him to bed with a stern look and his overwhelming affirmation that he would indeed get up early and "read" (listen) to the 3rd chapter.

As he was bounding out the door this morning for school, I don't recall getting a serious response as to whether or not he had actually finished the 3rd chapter.

I on the other hand, am at least enjoying this little book. It's a tad wordy (and some of the words I'm probably butchering; but heck my kid doesn't know the difference...lol) although it is understandable. I've recognized the title over the years but I had no idea what the book was about (except for greed). I'm sure when this little project is over, I'll have a better appreciation for this piece of literature than shall my son and at least one of us will have enjoyed the "reading".

Part of the assignment involves answering questions....I'll post those either later today or tomorrow.

More to come,

The Narrator

It's A Hard Knox Life

Yes, as you can tell I am a very proud Army Mom; hoorah!! My second oldest son Drew, enlisted in the Army and left for basic training on October 7, 2008. He is stationed at Fort Knox, in Kentucky. He is training hard and soon will be learning everything he ever wanted to know, or was afraid to ask, about the M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank.

First, he has the pleasure of enjoying 8 weeks of "BCT"; Basic Combat Training. He refers to himself as a 19K but I have no idea what that means. I'm gleaning much information from his letters (his brother and I run to the mailbox every day to check for letters and fight over who gets to read it aloud) and the website I linked to above. Believe it or not, he actually gets to come home for Christmas. His basic training is over December 12 and his father, his younger brother and I are driving to Kentucky to pick him up. He will get to be home for over two weeks. He doesn't have to report back to the base until January 3, 2009. Unfortuately, I will have to share him with his fiancee. I wouldn't mind the sharing part so much except that she lives in another state; over 6 hours away.

My son, surprisingly is a great letter writer; if you overlook the misspelled words and misuse of grammar; lol. He is very descriptive; giving day by day accounts of what's going on there. He's written most of these missives on Army stationary; very cool. He tells that all the guys talk about are the 3 "F's"; Food, Family and Fun. They swap stories of their favorite meals and count down the days until they get to see everyone again. He longs for a day to lay on the couch and watch a movie all the while eating nothing but junk food; that sounds like "heaven" he writes.




I was proud to hear that Drew took 4th place out of 140 men in the Pugil Stick competion. I wish I could have been there; although as a mom, perhaps I wouldn't have enjoyed watching someone beat upon my son.








Last Sunday we received an extra special phone call; my cell phone rang and I recognized the area code for Kentucky. Drew had attempted to call on two different occasions but wasn't able to reach us. We were so excited to hear his voice; even though he only had exactly 5 minutes to talk; we throughly enjoyed every last second. He had written that he had been sick for some time. Of course I've been worrying but praying helps greatly. He still sounded sick to me but he assured me he was feeling better; he said that the gas chamber experience a few days prior had cleaned out his sinuses; awww gross. (click the link if you dare)


We said lots of "I love you's", "We're so proud of you", "Keep up the good work", and "We're praying for you daily". The call was over before we knew it and I was left crying. As a mom, it's very difficult to know that one of your children is going thru a rough spot (even though I know he'll be a better person in the end) and not want to somehow "fix" it for them. He and I will both mature as a result of his enlistment.

Well....I must be about my day. It's quite cold today (only 20's I think) but at least the sun is brightly shining.

Until next time,

Military Mom

Family Book Club...want to join?

My youngest son (and child) is a junior in high school. One of the classes he currently has is British Literature. His next "project" is to read the classic "Silas Marner". I was telling my sister of his latest assignment and told her that I thought I would read it along with him. I don't recall having had to read this book while I was in school, although it's been awhile (no I did not attend school with dinosaurs) but I think I would have remembered. My sister also said she had never read it either and would like to read it along with us. A few days later my sister-in-law was over and noticed the book laying around (the reading assignment has not begun) and we told her of our plan to loosely form a "book club" - Definition according to Wikipedia: Book Discussion Club is a group of people who meet to discuss a book or books that they have read.

So far we now have 4 of us who are planning on reading together. It's not a long "read"; according to my sis-in-law she could read it in one night, but my son claims it's going to be a 3 month project (this may be how long he hopes to drag it out for-he's not a big fan of reading, unless of course it involves texting; but that's not even real words...don't get me started). His teacher is going to assign the amount to be read and then questions...ooohhh I love to answer questions... {hand shooting into the air bobbing wildly....oo, oo, me, me, pick me....) The competition alone to get the "right" answers is enough to get me involved...I know I'm a tad too competitive (especially familial competition) but I can't help it...I'm wired that way.

So, do we have any other takers? Anyone else want to get in on the book club? Let me know and we'll add you to the group. I'll post the reading schedule soon!

Ready to read,

Glenda

A.K.A - eBay2Tr

Sick & Tired of being Sick & Tired!!

No one likes to be sick and I'm no different. I've been "out of commission" for the last 5-6 days. It's amazing though; as a mom and a self-employed business owner, sick or not....life must still go on.

Although I've not been out of pj's and robe for the last 3 days I am still "working". I usually work at my desk but I've been at work from the living room recliner with my laptop. One nice benefit of working in the living room is being able to "multi-task"; laptopping & tv watching...woo hoo...

So, you may wonder.....hmmm what are you finding so entertaining on the boob-tube? Well, I'm glad you asked. Below is a list of my favorite tv. programs:

• The Dog Whisperer


• Jon & Kate Plus 8


• Little People Big World


• Law & Order


• House


• Cops

Quite an ecclectic collection, I know.

Well, dinner's in the oven, I've no more computer work to attend to so I think that I shall attempt to "spiffy" up so that my husband doesn't have to come home one more day to my alter-ego "Hagaleena".

I'm off for the transformation; wish me luck....lol

Until next time,

Glenda

eBay2Tr

A lot going on

I know, I know...good grief it's been forever since my last, first and only other post. I promise, I will take this posting business more seriously.

Now that other family members are putting me to shame in the blogging world, I'll have to try to live up to their standards..lol.

Lets see....what has happened since.. July? A lot believe it or not!!

We have had to cut down on the amount of people in the "food-chain" of employees. We are now down to just a skeleton crew. Michigan's economy is a tad "stalled" right now, but at least we are keeping the lights on....wait, the room just went dark; jk.

Our only daughter left for college in August. She is attending a college within our lovely state of Michigan and only 2 1/2 hours away; just far enough away for her independence and close enough to come home occasionally (did you read that Caitlin; save your parents gas money and don't race home on every whim). She is struggling with "unemployment". She vowed to work only at "fun" places and yet no "fun" place has hired her, so she (after much nagging from mom to "get a job") finally gave in and applied {shock, horror} at McDonalds. With fingers crossed I hope they call her soon.

A big change took place on October 7th. Our middle son Andrew enlisted in the Army-hoo rah. Oh wait, is that a term dedicated to only Marines...what do I know.

Drew, is in basic training now and it's funny how his letters have changed. The first few were sent from "processing"; not really boot-camp yet. He regaled us with stories of 4 day weekends and getting pizza for the whole group; 550 soldiers. He often wrote how much "fun" he was having!! Well....since arriving at BCT (basic combat training), the "real deal" as he put it, the letters are shorter, less frequent and say things like....

• I've got to go...I'm getting yelled at AGAIN
• Please pray for me EVERY DAY!
• I miss everyone soooo much

He still admits that this was a good decision and that it's "ok" but that it is not the "fun and exciting" time he envisioned it to be before he left.

We are so proud of our son; defending our freedom and maturing into a man...I will definitely have the Army to thank if he comes home and actually picks up after himself...that in itself will be worth it all for me anyway...lol.

Last but not least, we are nearly empty-nesters...only one child left at home. Our youngest Jordon is a junior in high school. He misses his siblings greatly as he was close to both Caitlin and Drew and in only two short months "lost" them both. He realizes that they are not gone for good and he talks/IM's/Texts daily with his sister but it's just not the same here at home. It's very quiet. I'll talk more next time about the impromptu decision I reluctantly made to ease his loneliness.

Well, I have many emails to attend to regarding my new found wealth from Nigeria so I must be going for now.

Until next time,

Glenda
eBay2Tr