2013 Poetry Contest!

The time is now here:

Wildly anticipated

Poetry Contest

Yes, yes, National Poetry Month is almost upon us, and that means it is time for

Loralee's Fancy Poetry Contest!  

(Wild applause here.)

This year's challenge is to write a Haiku (say "High-Koo"). 

Write me a Haiku—

Cool . . . clever . . . captivating;

Win fabulous prize!

For those of you who may have forgotten this since your elementary school days, Haiku is a style of Japanese verse—usually about something in nature. The format for a Haiku is five syllables in the first line, seven in the second line, and five in the third (and final) line.  The lines do not have to rhyme—in fact, I've never seen a rhyming Haiku. And, in real Haiku, the last line is supposed to be kind of a surprising twist, but I'm not a stickler on that.
 
Here is an example of a traditional-styled Haiku that I just found on a website about how to write a Haiku:

The last winter leaves
Clinging to the black branches
Explode into birds.

And here is a Haiku that I wrote about my favorite topic—the laundry:

Weeping and wailing.

Gnashing teeth. Eternal and

Endless my torment.

Get the idea?

I have to admit that Haiku is not my favorite type of poetry (although I have seen some pretty cool ones). So your mission this year is to create a great and interesting Haiku about . . .

. . . Anything!

I can't think of a specific topic, so surprise me! It can be anything from profound to ridiculous, whatever strikes your fancy. (Although I am partial to things that make me laugh.)

Here are the contest rules:

* The contest begins today and will end on Wednesday, April 10, 2013 at 12 p.m.  (noon)
* Post your original entries as comments on my blog at any time between now (March 27) and then (April 10). 
* You may enter up to four poems.  (Just remember, this is a family-friendly blog and my children will read your poems, too.)
* Poems must follow the rules of Haiku (five, seven, five)
* There will be one winner in each of two categories: Children (up to 12 years old), and Everyone Else (older than 12)
* All entries must be in by Wednesday, April 10, 2013, at noon.
* Winners will be announced by 10 p.m. on April 10. (Indulge me—April 10 is my birthday!  Your poems can be an easy, inexpensive birthday gift. :-)  )

Fabulous Prizes will be awarded!

I can't wait to see your poems!

One Happy Week

Well, Spring Break is over now, but I had a fine time while it lasted.
So what did I do with myself? 

I hung out with my kids and talked and watched movies with them. I went for walks with Bruce. I listened to music and looked around on facebook, and posted a blog or two.  I took long showers.  I read some fluffy books. I had something to eat whenever I got hungry.

I deep-cleaned my kitchen, including the fridge—inside, outside and underneath. And I got rid of all those greasy dust-bunnies that collect on the tops of the kitchen cabinets; I washed the all the vases and cookie jars and stuff I keep up there too, so it's all shiny and sparkly.

I deep-cleaned the bathroom.

I cleaned the living room.

I cleaned the garage.

I washed all the laundry that's been piled in the laundry room forever.  (Really, if it just sits in there for two months, does anyone truly need it?  Although I did find some nice surprises—like some matching socks, and another pair of Brandon's school uniform pants.) 

I cleaned my bedroom, and washed the laundry that's been sitting in there.  I also folded the two baskets of clothes that have been sitting on my floor for the last couple of weeks.  Now I know exactly where to find my clothes. (Well I guess I knew exactly where to find them before, but this is better.) :-)

I cooked.  And cooked and cooked. I made all kinds of worky dinners—some of my kids' favorites included—that we don't often have when I'm in school, including a turkey with all the fixin's.  And I made pies and cakes and three new cinnamon roll recipes, and a new recipe for dinner rolls. Yum!

I did not do any homework.  I did not go into my kids' rooms and wash the laundry that's on their floors, or make their beds, or clean their rooms.  I just did not want to do that.  I almost didn't have to drive anywhere—hardly any errands.  The weather was beautiful, sunny and perfect temperatures.

It was a fabulous week!  I love being a stay-at-home mom!

But it snowed over the weekend—a reminder that spring break doesn't last forever; and last night I stayed up late doing illustration homework that I'd almost forgotten. Today I went to school and did a presentation, I came home to a rather messy kitchen (although the glass stuff on top of the cabinets still sparkles), and rushed to make dinner because I was starved. (It's almost finished cooking! Yay!)

Spring Break was great, but it is really over now.  Just six weeks to go until summer!

Missionary Bake Sale!

For the past several months our friends, the Forsyths, have been having bake sales to help get their missionary out the door. And I thought, What a good idea! So, following their example, we Norths are going to have our own bake sale so that we can get rid of Jason! ;-)

We are (tentatively) scheduling a bake sale about every three weeks, beginning March 30 (the day before Easter).


Mark the dates!
March 30, April 20, May 11, June 8 & June 22

 At every sale we will have yummy stuff like loaves of honey-wheat bread, white bread, cracked-wheat and oatmeal bread, and a couple of specialty breads like my artisan-style cranberry, white-chocolate, pecan bread, and rosemary bread. Oh! And cinnamon rolls! Yum!

In addition to the regular goodies, we will have specialties for each sale which you can pre-order by calling me, leaving a comment on my blog, a message on my facebook, or emailing me.

These are the specialties for the March 30 sale:

Banana-Cream Pie
the perennial favorite, rich and creamy, studded with perfectly ripe bananas and topped with fresh whipped cream
(Lindsey not included)
$8.50

Coconut-Cream Pie
for coconut lovers: a smooth, luscious filling made with real
coconut milk, and piled with toasted coconut
$8.50

Lemon-Cream Pie
my personal favorite, made with fresh-squeezed lemons for a perfect balance of tangy-sweet deliciousness!
$8.50

Angel-Food Cake
a beautifully white (and virtually fat-free!) cake that goes great with just about anything you can think of (strawberries and cream, or lemon curd are my favorites!)
$6.00



So order your pies and cakes, tell your friends, and come see us on Saturday, March 30. We'll be here from 9:00 a.m. until the goods are all sold!

Spring Break!

One entire week free, starting now! 

Affordable?

I don't usually talk politics; I just mostly disagree with everything the politicians are doing. (Yes, I do pay attention and I do vote.) But we got some news last Friday that bears mentioning—in fact I mentioned it on facebook, and I'm repeating it here:

"Ya gotta love the AffordableCare Act. Bruce just got a letter informing him that he can't work as a substitute teacher for more than twenty-nine hours a week or he will get fired by Granite School District. Under this wonderful law GSD will  have to give him healthcare benefits if he works more than 29 hours.

"He gets called in to substitute every day—which doesn't pay the bills, but is better than nothing. (Yes, he is still looking—and applying to get—any better job.) Now we will be forced to give up twenty-five percent of that income. How many of you can afford to give up a quarter of your monthly pay?

"Well. Bummer for us.

"But consider this as well: If a teacher goes on maternity leave (or broken ankle leave) for six to ten weeks—it happens—then the school can't have one person sub for her class while she's gone because that sub would be required to work more than 29 hours in a week. Does this mean the school has to hire two subs who switch off? The district is already short on teachers and substitutes—how will that really work out? And, the switch-off game makes for a chaotic classroom and a headache for the teachers and administration.

"Wonderful."

My friend Nicole also substitutes on a fairly regular basis (although she doesn't depend on this for her living.)  Here is what she had to say about it:

"I just received a letter from the district that reads, "due to the new Affordable Care Act and its budget implications it is necessary for the District to limit all hourly employees to no more than 29 hours per week"... This means that no substitute teacher can work more than three days per week.  (I don't know anyone, other than me as a stay-at-home mom, who would work for $11 an hour for a maximum of 28 hours per week, IF you get called, and they require a bachelors degree. If I weren't staying home I'd go get a real job! I would think there would be a mass exodus of good substitute teachers and you would just be left with the creepers—you know which ones I'm talking about.  My daughter had the stained t-shirt and sweats guy once  —ew!)

"Here's a real scenario...A few weeks ago a teacher asked me to sub because her husband was dying. Under the new plan I would go in for 3 days, another sub would come in for the last 2. Then, the teacher was out for another week, so I would go back in for 3 days and the other sub would come for 2 more - because that's not confusing for the students. WHAT THE?

"Oh well, it doesn't affect me financially, it just makes zero sense and there is very little 'continuity' for students—another term the District was big on for awhile. I wonder what a WOMAN does when she leaves on maternity?!  'Class, Mrs. G will be coming in on M, W, F. All the work she does with you will be pointless because on T, Th the greasy sweats guy will be here letting you watch movies. See you all in six weeks!'

"I'm going with not best for teachers, not best for students, and not best for women on this one."

Right now Granite School District has about five missing teachers a day with no substitutes available; the school Bruce subbed at yesterday said they'd been having one of their secretaries sit with a class. He had been hoping to do a long-term sub job starting in a week or two, for a teacher who is having a baby.  In word, the state has already made that nearly impossible with a (stupid) law that requires schools to hire certified teachers for long-term sub jobs.  Are you kidding?  That's not going to happen because if you are a certified teacher you are going to get a job as a teacher and not as a substitute-teacher.  I mean, you want to get the most pay for your time, right?  Still, the schools know this, and they know there are no repurcussions for hiring a regular long-term sub. They're not supposed to do that, but they often do it because the don't have a choice—they need someone to take care of that class. 

  
But now, thanks to "Affordable Care" they really can't do that. In my family not only can we not afford health care, but soon we won't be able to afford our house payment either.  Bruce and I lose. The school district loses, the schools lose, the teachers lose, and the kids lose.  Gotta love politics.

Loralee and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Hour-and-a-Half

This very morning Loralee got out of bed much earlier than she wanted to, got dressed very fast, and rushed off to catch her bus without having any breakfast. Fortunately she made it to the bus stop with a whole minute to spare—she would be ten minutes early for school today!  But just as she reached the bus stop sign, she remembered that she'd left her homework at home.

She turned around and trudged back home to get her thumb-drive and then headed back to catch the next bus; now she would be five minutes late for school.  She walked away with Lindsey, who was on her way to school.  As they rounded the corner, Loralee stepped on the one, tiny patch of ice that had not melted in the sunshine.  She fell crashing to her right knee.

"Ow!" Loralee hollered.  "Ouch, ow, owie, ow, ow, owwww!"

She could not stand up because her hurt knee didn't want to bend, and her other foot was still sliding around on the ice.  She got her school bag untangled from her hand, crawled over to the curb, and rolled up her pant leg to look at her knee. It was very scraped up.

Lindsey was very worried. "Are you all right Mom?" she asked.

"No!"

"Can I do something for you?"

"No, Lindsey, you'd better get to school."

Loralee sat on the curb for a minute holding her leg and trying not to cry, then she got up and hobbled back home.  She went up to her bedroom where Bruce was getting ready for work and she threw herself on the bed.

"What happened?" Bruce asked.

"I slipped on some ice and fell on my knee. I hate school and I hate taking the bus! I'm tired of being tired all the time! I am always late for this first class, no matter what I do! And my knee hurts."  Loralee started to cry.

Bruce was sad.  He cried too. Loralee felt bad for making him sad.

Finally Loralee got off the bed and went into the bathroom to wash her knee.  Then she went out to catch the next bus. Now she would be twenty minutes late for school.  Loralee was very sad.  When she was seated on the bus she started to cry again.  Her knee hurt her very much. She felt like a silly three-year-old crying about a scraped knee. She tried not to cry.

When she got to the train station, she started crying again. She felt very silly.

At last Loralee got to her class. She had finished crying by the time she got there; she was glad because she didn't want anyone to see her crying about a scraped knee.  Her school work took her mind off of her owie knee and her crummy morning.  She felt better.

By the time Loralee went home in the afternoon her knee was stiff and swollen, but she felt much happier.  Bruce was more cheerful too. They had hamburgers for dinner and banana cream pie for dessert.  They felt much better.

Thank goodness some ordeals only last an hour-and-a-half.
And for banana cream pie!

March 2, 2013

On March 2, 1984 I met Bruce North for the very first time.  It was a brief meeting, and we didn't even learn each others' names.

In September of that year we met again, in our high school orchestra class (where I wowed him with my sexy, off-the-shoulder, non-funereal, black dress). I was the pianist and he was in the violin section; we became good friends.

On April 26, 1985 he asked me out on our first date—Junior Prom—one hour before the dance. Of course I went! I mean really, let's see... Go out with a cute guy that I like; stay home watching TV with my little sister.  Hmmmm...

A couple weeks after that we talked about going to the park. What we didn't talk about was why the park was a nice place:  I liked to play on the playground equipment—especially the swings; Bruce liked to walk around and see the nice scenery.  He took me to a cemetery.

When Bruce found out that I, a classical music lover, had not yet seen the "best movie of the year," he asked me to go see Amadeus with him. We held hands almost through the entire show—and when we left the theater, too.

We dated all that summer of 1985. We had been the very best of friends; we were a little surprised to realize that we were in love with each other.

We had our first kiss on August 19, 1985 (and, I have to say, it was nice!)  And no, I did not run home and write it in my diary—I remember the date because it was the day after my niece was born. We are still a pretty kissy couple.

I went away to college in Logan, at Utah State University for a year (1985-86).   I managed to find a ride home almost every weekend.  His parents were pretty freaked out by us dating so exclusively—he was still a senior in high school. Now I think I'd be freaked out, too, if it was my kid.


We dated for five years and we got to be even better friends. Bruce learned that a trip to the park meant swings, slides, tag, and dodging sprinklers.  Mountains are for enjoying the scenery. And splashing in the water. ;-)

We got married on March 2, 1990.

Since then we have lived in two different apartments, a trailer home, and five different houses—my brother's house, my parents' house, his grandma's house, his parents' house, and finally the house we bought in March of 2000.

We've owned ten different vehicles, from a 1969 Mercury Cougar to a 1996 Ford Clubwagon. We bought a piano for our very first Christmas—it cost us more than the sum total we had paid for all the cars we owned until 2004; it still holds the record for the most expensive thing we've ever bought, except for our house.

We moved to Murfreesboro,Tennessee for three years and then back to Utah. While we were in the "greenest state in the land of the free" Bruce earned his Bachelor's degree in audio engineering. In Tennessee we learned to know each other better and to rely more on each other; we grew closer, and became even better friends.  We had two of our babies when we lived in Tennessee, too.

We had all eight of our children in less than twelve years. Four boys and four girls—you couldn't plan it any better than that! (Well, maybe the timing could have been planned better...but maybe not.  They are great kids and good friends.)

Besides Tennessee, Bruce and I have been to California (Disneyland), Atlanta, Denver, Las Vegas, and Hawaii together.  Hawaii was a whirlwind trip—three days.  Every morning I woke up at 3 a.m., and could hardly hold my head up by 7 p.m.

We have supported each other through the deaths of all of Bruce's grandparents and his mother. We saw my parents' house—the house I grew up in—burn down and get rebuilt.

We worked at a scout camp with our whole family for one summer. That summer felt like a gift.

Bruce has earned an Associate's degree and a Bachelor's degree. Now he supports my going back to school, and we are trying to survive getting him through a Master's program.

Today is our twenty-third anniversary. I have been married half of my lifetime; we've been together for more than half my lifetime.  We are better friends, better lovers, better parents, better partners than ever.  I am so happy to have married my very best friend—the boy I fell in love with when I was only eighteen years old and the man I love more and more each day.

Happy Anniversary Bruce! I love you.