What Could Possibly Take That Long?

We were watching Mythbusters last night. At the beginning of the show there is a preview of all the myths that are going to be tested. Jeff paused and asked us what we thought the overall outcome would be of the myths presented and we proceeded to discuss the various scientific ramifications that could apply to each test. So, before we had even really begun the show, we spent about 20 minutes talking about what was to come.

Jumping back into the show, we began to watch the first test (creating a stun gun that shoots electrified water instead of the typical wires). Roughly every 5 minutes we had to stop and discuss more. Sometimes one of us would pose a question to the others. Other times we might just be indignant about how the Mythbusters were going about their testing.

Cut over to the other Mythbusters who were checking to see if a fire extinguisher could smother a fire when placed into a fire (causing the extinguisher to burst, spewing its contents). More discussion on the science of fire and the chemical process of creating a fire. We then continued to watch the show.

Back to Adam, Jamie, and their testing of the stun gun. More discussion.

On to Kari, Tory, and Grant, finished with the fire extinguishers (I won't give away the results). They were now testing the process of walking barefoot on hot coals. We stopped again to discuss this.

We continued trading off watching Adam and Jamie, discussing and complaining, watching Kari, Tori, and Grant, discussing and complaining, and finally the show was over.

This one-hour show (only around 42 minutes by skipping all the commercials with TiVo) had become a two-and-a-half hour show. We could have watched a movie for less time than we spent on this one show.

Amused by how long this took, we talked about that for a few more minutes. Then Jordan decided to go to bed (now that we had eaten into his entire evening with one show). I proposed to Jeff that we watch one more, thinking that it would be faster. He agreed.

We started the new show (testing of whether NASA actually went to the moon) and then proceeded to discuss the scientific theories presented.

All in all, our two television shows (one hour each) took almost five hours to watch. We could have been a good portion of the way through the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy in that time!

I enjoy watching Mythbusters because they get me thinking. Whether I agree with how they test a myth or not, my mind is actively working to test the myths in another way. I realize that it is an entertaining science show on Discovery and that they do have to cater a bit to the audience, but I am often miffed that they don't show more of a test. A lot of the time it seems to me that they performed one test, and then jumped the scale to an outrageous test, completely avoiding any tests of the middle range (the stun gun myth is a good example of this). I don't know if they really do the more painstaking testing and it just doesn't make the cut for television or if they are not quite the thorough scientists that I believe they should be. All I know for sure is that I'd better clear my schedule better if I want to continue watching the show.

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Happy Anniversary, Jeff!

We recently celebrated our 12th anniversary. In some ways it doesn't seem that long, while in other ways it does. I've enjoyed the experiencing the last 12 years and I am looking forward to many more. Marriage is such a fun journey. I love you, Jeff!

"Marriage is about being yourself, just with someone else."
Helen Thermopolis O'Donnell

Holy Cow...

Jeff mentioned something to me today that really made my heart skip a beat. In his roundabout way, which I won't even try to repeat, he finally got to the point that he and I, as parents, only have about seven years left with a child in the house. Can you believe that we'll be empty-nesters in less than a decade?!? Where in the world did our time with Jordan go? It seems like yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital.

Here are a few things that I was looking forward to when we got the house to ourselves:

• - Peace and quiet
• - An extra room (unless he wants us to keep his)
• - No fighting over the washer/dryer
• - Being able to up and leave at any time I want, even for weekend getaways
  
• - No food mysteriously missing, when I had planned on using it for dinner
• - No messes that I didn't create

After being around Jordan for 11 years, here's the modified list of what I'm looking forward to:

• - An extra room (unless he wants us to keep his)
• - Being able to up and leave at any time I want, even for weekend getaways
• - No food mysteriously missing, when I had planned on using it for dinner

That's it. I removed:

• - Peace and quiet - Jordan has never been loud (his friends are, not him)
• - No fighting over the washer/dryer - He does his laundry on the weekends and I do the rest during the week so we never fight over that
• - No messes that I didn't create - Any mess he creates, he cleans up (with the exception of cinnamon sugar spilled on the counter - he loves to leave that for me to clean up). Sometimes he even cleans my messes.

Although I'm good with going out and leaving him home alone for several hours at a time, I've never left him overnight by himself and won't for a few more years.

It's strange to consider him leaving home, going to college, and getting a job. When we used to bring the subject up, he'd burst into tears. Now he just stoically dismisses the idea as too far in the future to be worthy of any worry at this time.

While I look forward to having a consistent amount of bread and milk in the house (for some completely inane reason, he absolutely loves toast and eats a ton of it), I will miss having him around. At this time, here's some of what I like a lot (not everything - that would be too long of a list) and will miss when he is on his own:

• - With him being taller than me, I'm thoroughly enjoying having him reach things I cannot
• - I like his willingness to bend over and pick up what I clumsily drop and am too lazy to immediately pick up
• - I love watching him cuddle our cat and treat her like she's his own personal child (and chastise anyone who treats her differently)
• - I love his enthusiasm to pay for his own things, like his video games, and how much more he enjoys them than if I had paid directly for them

He's a great kid (soon to be a teenager - yikes) and I hope that he continues growing emotionally and mentally so that he becomes a most wonderful adult. I look forward to knowing my son in ten years.

It's the End of Summer

Wow! Jordan started 6th grade a few weeks ago. Yikes - middle school! However, with all the rules, forms, and appointments required to register for sixth grade now, he almost didn't go at all. It was hectic there for a few weeks, when I realized too late that new sixth graders are now required to have certain immunizations before school starts. Too bad this occurred to me two weeks before school started and not a single doctor could fit him in for an appointment (not even Tri-County Health) until mid-to-late-September. Agh! But we got him in by getting a note from the doctor saying he would be getting his shots soon. He is playing trumpet in the band (second year doing so) and thriving. He is now in three advanced classes: Reading Honors, 7th Grade Math, and Band II. I'm proud of him.

Here are a few things I learned (or reaffirmed) about my son this summer:

• - Has huge feet (size 8.5 already)
• - Is taller than I am and still growing steadily
  
• - His voice reminds me of James Earl Jones
• - His eyesight is going the way of his father's - poor kid
  
• - Has a strong personality
• - Has far more mathematical skill than I ever will
  
• - Plays the trumpet wonderfully
• - Sings very well, 2-3 octaves lower than the trumpet - lol
• - Isn't obsessed with everything dairy like I am
  
• - Can troubleshoot almost anything
• - Has a ton of knowledge in anything related to science, geography, and history
• - Plays video games very well
• - Follows in my footsteps regarding grammar rules, spelling, and punctuation
  
• - Has a wonderful sense of humor
  
• - Can program in his favorite video game's scripting language and be asked if he wants a job
• - Can program in C++ and has no problems understanding it
• - Loves Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis
• - Is much more willing to try new foods than I am
• - Has no idea that he needs to rewind a VHS tape before putting it back - lol
  
• - Makes his friends laugh and laugh when he tells them jokes
• - Can't be bullied by peers, as he believes that "worthless people have worthless opinions"
• - Has more courage to do the right thing than I do (particularly in his ability to decline dessert, but also in more important decisions)

He is becoming a skilled person who will be quite capable of living on his own when the time comes along by:

• - Doing his own laundry on a weekly basis
• - Taking the trash out and bringing the empty cans back in every week
• - Getting the mail daily
• - Making his own meals when I'm too poor of a mother to do so for him
• - Cleaning up from the family's dinner almost every night
• - Happily participating in family activities, even when they include manual labor
• - Doing his homework when he gets home from school, rather than putting it off for later
• - Putting himself to bed at a reasonable time when I'm too lazy to remind him

He makes me want to be a better person so I can better appreciate him and his skills. He's a great kid and I miss him a lot when he's at school. Reading this list makes me realize that he probably does more work in the house than I do!

Here I Am

Since it seems as if everyone else already has a blog, I've decided to jump on board. Let's see if I have the ability to keep it the least bit current in the long run. :)