Life as I know it

Today was our 15th anniversary. Last night we celebrated by going to dinner at "our favorite place" and Mardi Gras-ing till about 10pm (it was a school night). He looked good in his beads! We talked and talked--Cyler's a talker when I get him alone. I had a great green dress on under this jacket. Too bad the photo doesn't show it. I have been putting my hair in ponytails a lot lately--I'm sure there is some kind of psychological explanation for that.

Ellery feeding ducks, unafraid even after they bite her. I love the little bit of torso showing-I wanna kiss it!

My dog Bodhi fell asleep with his head in Soren's backpack. Hahahah!

My girlfriends. They are both smart, love treats, and are cranky when they don't get their way.

So this is life as I know it. Today is Ash Wednesday and I am publicly announcing that I am giving up cussing-of-which-a-sailor-would-be-proud for the 40 days of Lent. Wish me luck.

Can you tell I'm sick?

I have a cold. Hence, three posts in one day. Here are some of my favorite autobio pics:




Derek and I, 1972. I loved that Santa.

Cyler (in yellow) probably around 7 years old. I love that he's eating tatertots AND busting out of his shirt. Brothers Creighton, Connor and Cormick.Me and some college buddies 1990-91. A few months before I met Cyler.

The three of us, like in 1992.

This is when I snuck into the MTC to tell Nicole I was engaged. More later.

FairyTale Ball

Sleeping Beauties.

The waltz.

Soren doing the Chicken Dance! The first time I did this dance, I was in Switzerland. Here's Soren at his FairyTale Ball in 2004 (he was Puss-in-Boots):

Connor on the left was Ellery's dance partner. They did cute things like a two-hand dance, waltz and a row dance.

Boogie on down!!

Ellery giving some rap signals to her homies.

Retrenchment

I have heard of Brigham Young asking the young women to forego fancy clothing during the time my religion practiced Christian based communism. When I was young I thought it was to make sure the girls didn't get prideful or overly concerned about their appearance. Now, from an economic standpoint I see it as a way the governing body asked its members to keep costs down and reduce impulses of competition, emphasis on the individual and to encourage members to be happy with less. From one viewpoint, this kind of regulation is dangerous because of the potential for abuse of power. To be able to control what a person eats, wears, does for a living, who a person marries does not fit in with the plan of happiness in my opinion. However, encouraging one to retrench at times like this--to not spend where spending is not necessary is very very good advice--something I need to voluntarily follow. So instead of ordering pizza on Fri. nights, I have followed my friend Becky's advice to make my own. Retrenchment in this manner did not cause me to have to settle for less, though. The pizza I have been making tastes SO much better, is a creative outlet for me and is fun! Plus, ironically, it has heightened my sense of individuality--who else made left-over-roast pork-in sweet/sour salsa-with cheddar and portabello mushrooms-and red onions pizza last week? The pic above is tukey pepperoni and FRESH mozarrella. Retrenchment can be a blast! Soren was just talking to me about an unrelated topic. He saw the pic of the pepperoni pizza above and stopped mid-sentence. "Can you make that again???"

Greek Sandal

Shoes are essential (every girl knows that). But a Greek hunting for his family's food knows it too. Soren made his own sandal by making a template, cutting it out, sewing up the heel, cutting out lacing holes etc. It looks a lot like Ellery's Irish dance ghillies but we're calling it a gladiator sandal to butch it up for Soren.

Ha, organized?

I post these rather dull pictures so that you can compare with http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeschooling/2009/01/how-i-saved-my-sanity-and-sunday-evenings/

The woman homeschools her 4 children, owns a working cattle ranch with her husband, cooks, does photography and has time to maintain a cool website AND organize her homeschool stuff so neatly. WOW and I AM IN AWE and WHAT THE HECK DO I DO ALL DAY.

Are You Smarter Than a 6th Grader?

Take the test to see if you are. Now I know what the medieval cobbler felt when his apprentice made his first shoe. I look at this test and know it has college material in it--and I know that my son knows this stuff. I also know it's not really synthesizing knowledge--but the regurgitated kind of knowledge does have some value. So I guess what I'm saying is that you need to barf first before you mix it with some other barf to create a new kind of barf.

History Quiz #4 Name___________________
Date____________________
Persia

Fill in the blanks with the correct word from the list:


Cyrus
Satrapy
Arts and literature
“Rule of Law”
Monotheistic
Zoroaster

______________ united the Medes and the Persians and let the Tribes of Israel go free.

Persians were mainly ____________________ because they believed in one god, AhuraMazda, “Wise Lord.”

Persian kings were extremely careful to make and change laws because they had to follow the same laws also. This is an early example of the term, ____________________.

In 600BC _________________ taught that humans were involved in warfare between good and evil and that there would be a final judgement.

Persians were great at war but relied on their conquered territories for their ______________________.

A __________________ is a province or region of the Persian Empire.


Mark all the following that are TRUE about the Persian Empire.
It included many races and religions
Kings had inspectors
Darius did not crucify many people
It encouraged trade
It minted its own money
Everyone had the same amount of wealth and status
It only had one capital



Eastern Religions (Circle all that apply)

Hindus believed in:
Reincarnation b. Many gods/goddesses c. “Just as he behaves, so he becomes.”

Buddha means:
The Saviour of the world b. The Great King c. The enlightened one.

Buddha taught that:
a. All humans were brothers b. people must deny personal appetites and help others c. All humans should only eat one bean per day d. One can reach Nirvana no matter what caste he/she is born into.

Greeks

The ___________________ help the Greeks fight off the Persians so that they were not ruled by a foreign government.

_______________ helped spread Greek culture, customs, and ideas.


The Greek civil war was called the _________________________________.

Short Answer (Use your composition notebook)

What is a hoplite?
What is a phalanx?
What are the differences between a government by king, a dictator, and a council?


Draw and write the Pythagorean Theorem.


Define in your own words:

Hubris-


Ambrosia-


Stele-


Time-

Match the correct term to its definition.

-Ionia -A religious ceremony so that humans could
Show the gods their health, beauty and honor.
-Doric
-A Greek amphitheatre might have this kind of column around the circumference of the seats.
-Olympics
-The idea that one must train the body, mind and spirit.
-Greek education

-Hippocratic Oath -The area that was also known as the Kingdom of Lydia and now Turkey.

-The promise doctors take today to always try to prolong life, not destroy it.

-Socratic Method -A way of teaching by answering a question
with another question.



Essay Question: (Use your composition notebook)
Please write a short autobiographical sketch of Alexander the Great. Include at least 5 pieces of information about him, his background, accomplishments and how he changed through his life.