tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36979333765989800772009-11-13T17:31:06.206-06:00Shoebox Princesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12130504662561785845noreply@blogger.comBlogger579125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697933376598980077.post-23220609119210393902009-11-12T08:13:00.004-06:002009-11-12T10:57:57.284-06:00

Jim and I went to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts yesterday to see the pieces on loan from the Louvre. This is probably as close as I'm going to get to the famous museum.1. I picked out pieces from all the eras I've studied so far in my two humanities classes. I got a kick out of seeing examples for real and being able to pinpoint a time period and sometimes even a general European place from

Shoebox Princesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12130504662561785845noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697933376598980077.post-16091926988733250332009-11-11T08:48:00.003-06:002009-11-11T08:58:51.942-06:00

To all the servicemen and servicewomen in various parts of the world: A big hug and thank you! You are doing something that most of the rest of us, for various reasons, usually back away from doing. You put your life where your beliefs are and actively chose to be the protectors of national freedom. Now whether or not our country's leaders have used the armed forces wisely is not something I

Shoebox Princesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12130504662561785845noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697933376598980077.post-12788009953248606132009-11-10T08:30:00.004-06:002009-11-10T08:53:11.933-06:00

For several months now, we have had a problem with our computer. We would try to access a webpage and, for a nanosecond, the page would materialize on the screen. But then a search page would pop up listing websites selling things. And the things this page was offering was totally unrelated to what we were originally trying to locate. Certain pages on some websites were totally inaccessible

Shoebox Princesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12130504662561785845noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697933376598980077.post-32623393791564217282009-11-09T09:40:00.002-06:002009-11-09T09:44:10.380-06:00

This is a test of the emergency post-filler system. If this were an actual emergency, I'd be rambling on about hangnails, grocery shopping, spider stories, or something equally irrelevant rather than posting a few pictures sans comment.

Shoebox Princesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12130504662561785845noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697933376598980077.post-58863684862834398292009-11-07T16:28:00.004-06:002009-11-07T16:38:07.967-06:00

I just wanted to report that I have nearly finished my Scottish History research project!!! All I have to do is attach some neatly printed tabs to the page dividers and send the binder off to my professor.You know, I say this about nearly every class I finish, but I think this has to be my favorite class so far. The research I did was personal in nature and connected me in a very real way to my

Shoebox Princesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12130504662561785845noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697933376598980077.post-25696505146331733782009-11-06T09:17:00.003-06:002009-11-06T09:52:45.781-06:00

Normally I think nothing of walking around licking doorknobs and rubbing my face on the counter, and I encourage my children to do the same, even going so far as to serve dinner to them off the dirty floor. (smiley)Not really.Normally, I don't do much in the way of barricading myself from bacteria or viruses, except I do wash my hands before preparing food and after using the bathroom. But Matt

Shoebox Princesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12130504662561785845noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697933376598980077.post-62210679237242897432009-11-03T22:57:00.004-06:002009-11-04T07:48:17.341-06:00

Jim and I had a dinner date planned for tonight (speaking in past tense. It's still tonight, but the date is over and I'm in the retelling mode so it's past tense). When he got home at 4:30, he proposed a change in plans. Rather than doing what we had planned, he wondered if perhaps I wanted to go to First Avenue to see They Might Be Giants?!!!!DUH! You should have seen my dance of glee and

Shoebox Princesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12130504662561785845noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697933376598980077.post-82707491207567735362009-11-03T07:49:00.003-06:002009-11-03T08:10:24.644-06:00

I wonder what it means when you have moving dreams? (Moving as in leaving one house to live in another) The apartment we moved to (yes, an apartment) was huge. The master bedroom went on for ages and had all these great built-in bookshelves and a wall of windows to look out over a scenic view. There were hidden passages and nooks and crannies and red velvet curtains. Then we moved in and the

Shoebox Princesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12130504662561785845noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697933376598980077.post-72282024361305968972009-11-02T07:54:00.003-06:002009-11-02T08:14:55.020-06:00

1. I love fall/autumn. I love driving through a rainstorm of yellow leaves. I love seeing nature hide well-manicured lawns with them and cover streets with them. I spent a little time raking this year only because Fake Child wanted to play outside and jump into a pile of leaves.2. I remembered my own children doing the same thing, squealing with delight. At the time it seemed like they were

Shoebox Princesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12130504662561785845noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697933376598980077.post-89946228078479314562009-10-31T19:26:00.004-05:002009-10-31T19:37:59.996-05:00

They are off to collect bags and loads and wads of candy.Here is the campfire.Here is Gaara. Here is Gaara's squash thingie. (Or Mr. Peanut)Here is Hayley and her friend, the sumo wrestler.Matt is making the rounds with two friends and Hayley is going separately with her friend. Paul is doing his weekend job--cleaning the bathroom. Other Jim is working but is done at 8. Dunno what he's

Shoebox Princesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12130504662561785845noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697933376598980077.post-62999290449656482062009-10-31T08:52:00.004-05:002009-10-31T08:58:58.719-05:00

This is the last Halloween Decoration Special Feature of the year and that leaves me a little sad. Tomorrow all the pretty pumpkins and scary skulls come down. Boo (hoo!).I'll update later tonight with pictures of trick-or-treaters so for now I'll just leave you with the last Halloween Decoration Special Feature. It is the pumpkin dishcloth I knitted over the last few nights.

Shoebox Princesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12130504662561785845noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697933376598980077.post-47431971325517964202009-10-30T12:35:00.004-05:002009-10-30T12:53:03.313-05:00

I'm in the middle of decorating for a party (not at my house. I don't do parties. No one would show up) and I'm only home because I forgot two bags of decorations.I'm just here for a few minutes but I thought I'd provide a few updates and a quick Halloween Decoration picture while I'm eating my lunch.Update #1: Paul's race that was supposed to be yesterday afternoon was rescheduled to this

Shoebox Princesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12130504662561785845noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697933376598980077.post-42356566889138651862009-10-29T06:12:00.006-05:002009-10-29T10:11:26.781-05:00

In honor of Halloween, the Shoebox Castle presents two tales so terrifying that it will make all you parents of future teenage boys gnash your teeth and send you running to chain your fridge shut with huge titanium locks. Yes, it's time for another bad horror movie title, which I haven't done in a while ("Maw"--you know cuz of "Saw." Get it?)Today's movie tale begins with a seemingly normal

Shoebox Princesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12130504662561785845noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697933376598980077.post-33923804209640353392009-10-28T07:48:00.003-05:002009-10-28T08:06:59.450-05:00

Last night was Matt's very last Pack meeting. He is no longer a Cub scout. It is the end of an era in the Shoebox household. Matt has one year left in Primary at church and then I will be the parent of all big kids (well, age-wise. Matt will probably never be a big-kid size-wise). No more Cub scouts!Here he is receiving his pile of awards and pins from over the summer. The pack meeting was

Shoebox Princesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12130504662561785845noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697933376598980077.post-39598477759588719452009-10-27T07:28:00.007-05:002009-10-27T07:44:59.332-05:00

I'm up early today. I decided to knit instead of going back to sleep after Fake Child arrived at 6 a.m. this morning. I am now over half way done on an orange dishcloth with a pumpkin picture on it. I started it the other night when my hands had nothing to do during a movie and I couldn't stand fidgeting anymore. I paused the movie and went upstairs to paw through my bales of yarn for

Shoebox Princesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12130504662561785845noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697933376598980077.post-12012362583752695592009-10-26T12:26:00.002-05:002009-10-26T12:34:49.016-05:00

Today's Halloween Decoration Feature is not really a Halloween decoration at all, but a means of displaying M&Ms for as long as they last (two minutes in my house). Of course there are Halloween M&Ms available (in AUGUST!) to fill this thing so I put it out as a decoration. It's an M&M dispenser made for me by a friend. Pull the knobs back and forth and you get one M&M at a time. When the

Shoebox Princesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12130504662561785845noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697933376598980077.post-52389010783546812462009-10-25T13:28:00.000-05:002009-10-25T13:30:05.903-05:00

I have this:It holds my Halloween napkins.

Shoebox Princesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12130504662561785845noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697933376598980077.post-25682030258216015542009-10-24T14:47:00.005-05:002009-10-24T15:26:24.684-05:00

All my married life I've wanted a lovely table. I'm not talking about the actual table, I'm talking about having a nice centerpiece on a clean tablecloth or runner in a clean dining room--the kind of thing you see in interior decorating magazines. Most of the years I've been married, I thought that the reason that I didn't have a nice table because I didn't have a centerpiece.I realized now

Shoebox Princesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12130504662561785845noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697933376598980077.post-65660464635435281602009-10-23T09:35:00.007-05:002009-10-23T11:33:27.586-05:00

...is the countdown. Halloween has apparently developed a severe inferiority complex.. Christmas has always sported an "advent" (which used to be just a "four Sundays before Christmas" but has turned into a massive "count down the days until we can rest from our shopping binges for nine months") and Halloween's jealousy has prompted it to start stealing Christmas celebratory decoration

Shoebox Princesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12130504662561785845noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697933376598980077.post-68547167666106162942009-10-22T07:51:00.003-05:002009-10-22T10:04:35.772-05:00

Last night we watched Dead Poets Society for the anniversary movie countdown. I generally don't like dramatic movies because I get restless and twitchy, especially if my hands have nothing to do. And they didn't last night because I was still waiting for the last day of the knitting pattern to show up and I didn't have any other projects started. But I do like this movie first of all because

Shoebox Princesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12130504662561785845noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697933376598980077.post-6264528577993020412009-10-20T08:48:00.006-05:002009-10-20T23:04:17.687-05:00

I came across some paper dolls on the interweb. I've downloaded and printed them and am cutting them out now (when I'm not actually blogging). I thought I'd share them with you, well, with those of you who have little kids. My littles are too old for paper dolls, but I would have totally printed them out for Hayley and Matt to play with had I seen them years ago. But now I have Fake Child, so

Shoebox Princesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12130504662561785845noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697933376598980077.post-59229582800600002992009-10-20T06:57:00.005-05:002009-10-20T08:46:54.113-05:00

Thank you to all who voted for me in the lullaby contest! All ten of you must have voted every day because I was declared the winner! Get a load of my winner's tiara there on the sidebar. Isn't it fabulous? And thanks to the person who made me enter the contest.Here is my lullaby in its entirety (which took me all of five minutes to write 9 of the 11 lines. The other two lines required a

Shoebox Princesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12130504662561785845noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697933376598980077.post-25743879037052688652009-10-19T08:50:00.002-05:002009-10-19T09:02:45.657-05:00

The long MEA weekend is over and the kids are back in school. How did they spend their extra three days off?Jimmy frolicked about the state with friends. OK, he only went to Mankato for part of a day. He and his friend drove down to Mankato to make caramel apples and break kitchen appliances of a friend. Sigh. Paul camped out on some very cold and rainy days. He came back Saturday night and

Shoebox Princesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12130504662561785845noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697933376598980077.post-63866660121938913052009-10-16T08:57:00.005-05:002009-10-16T09:26:30.861-05:00

No, not the Sandra Bullock movie from earlier this year (although this does involve that movie).Jim approached me (verbally) with a proposal last night. Our 21st anniversary is coming up in one month and three days. He suggested that over the next month we watch a movie from each year that we've been married. What a fun way to count down to November 19th! It'll be like a date each time we

Shoebox Princesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12130504662561785845noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697933376598980077.post-83583845155025972652009-10-14T22:11:00.005-05:002009-10-14T22:28:51.941-05:00

Never again! Freedom! The shackles of party planning have been removed forEVER!I won't mind a request for a party consisting of a few friends and a movie or games or something, but whatever goes on will not be planned or executed by me.I have enjoyed the parties I have planned--especially the Paul/Jimmy party where I invited the reptile guy--but after five children, I am ready to give up this

Shoebox Princesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12130504662561785845noreply@blogger.com4