Laura loves bad poetry of the haiku variety. Enter her contest to win dubious accolades and bragging rights as bad poet.

My haikus follow. The pictures are not as good as the one I used to snatch the Yuktoberfest crown of victory in 2008, but that photo was one in a million.

Contest ends today. May the worst poet win.

Little Reindeer Girl

How your siblings tease

And torture you for giggles

Oh, they love you so.

(photo by brother Fritz)

Behind Mother’s Back

Aw! I’m tellin’ Mom!

She is gonna tan your hide!

Lemme have a sip…

(photo by Aunt Barb)

Santorum: Conservatives Must Battle ‘Toxic Tide’ of Pop Culture more than Politics:

“Following the dinner Santorum stressed to LifeSiteNews.com that conservatives ‘do a lousy job of financing the cultural movement.’ ‘We are an entertainment information culture, and if we just focus on the politics, we focus on just a very small sliver of American life,’ he said.

‘That’s where America is, and if we don’t meet them there, we’re not going to meet America.'”

Amen!

Michigan Abortion Facility Advertizes Abortion as “Sacred Work”:

“The narrator in the recently released video goes on to say: ‘If you have made the decision to have an abortion, and are having a hard time feeling good about yourself, and remembering that you are a good person, let us remind you and help you see the goodness in yourself and your choice.

‘You are a good woman, doing the best you can in your situation.'”

The article says that the facility has a spa-like atmosphere with low lights and aromatherapy.

Hard, courageous decisions never make you feel bad about yourself. If what you are doing is making you sick to your stomach, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it.

Awesome friend of the day award goes to Christie who drove the half hour to my house to open the door for the Dell technician. I go home to an Internet connection. It only took three weeks. Dell emailed me a “satisfaction” survey a few days ago, and the next day emailed me a reminder. If there is a place to put open comments, I look forward to pointing out the ridiculousness of emailing a survey to a customer with a broken computer.

Awesome friend of the week award goes to Laurie who has welcomed the 7 of us into her home and even let the dog stay here. She has been just as consumed with finding me a house as I have. And I think she’s just as sick of it as I am. My last task before I leave here today is to do the final arrangements with the owner of the house right down the street. This place is almost perfect. The only drawback is that there are only three bedrooms, and if the third bedroom were as enormous as the second bedroom, it really would be perfect. Fortunately, the living space is so generous and well planned, that the sleeping space should not be a significant issue.

And how can you beat living a short walk from another military, Catholic, homeschool family with whom you enjoy spending time?

…house hunting. Ugh.

I have left Florida and am in rainy Georgia. There is a house for rent down the street from my friend. I will definitely have to check it out. My husband’s guidance is #1: a good neighborhood for the kids, #2: a big enough house (note that he’d sacrifice living space for kids’ playmates…of course, he only spends a fraction of his day in the house), #3: commute time. My priorities are the exact opposite.

FYI: my Dell computer is STILL broken. I am NOT a happy camper.

Yesterday at the National Museum of Naval Aviation, I briefly paused at a model of an aircraft carrier. This one was covered with miniature planes and people hard at work. A little girl, about 5 or 6 years old, pointed out the sailors to her little companions.

“This is how big people used to be in the old days,” she sagely informed them.

What she lacked in truth, she made up for in conviction.

I did not realize how exhausted I was until I had the opportunity to relax.

I spoke with an uncle last night who marveled that I drove so far with the kids. It was difficult, but not such a big deal. Of course, a woman I met years ago set the bar very high on such adventures. She drove from the East Coast to the West Coast while her husband was deployed. She had five young children and they camped along the way. Now that’s hard core. Me, I stopped at a motel and the trip only took 15 or 16 hours of driving. No big deal in comparison.

I had a turkey sandwich for lunch yesterday, but our main Thanksgiving dinner was lasagna. My dad doesn’t like turkey, so we never had that when I was growing up. In my adulthood, I’ve had turkey, mainly because my husband insists that it is the proper thing to do. My family is not so much concerned with tradition, especially when tradition does not please the palate.

My parent’s cat is unhappy about our presence. She has learned to avoid the children and the dog. The dog has learned that attacking the cat results in an electric shock (we have an electric dog collar). Mary has learned that cornering the cat results in pain. That was yesterday. Today she went back to trying to get close to the cat. I pointed to her hand and reminded her of the “owie” that the cat caused. She backed off, a little.

I’m contemplating going for a run. On the street, instead of a treadmill. But, having done this before, I’m hesitant to do it again, even if it isn’t the treadmill.

I’ve skyped with Bill several days in a row now. Happy to be here with a functioning computer instead of home with the large paperweight on my desk.

Off to the movies today. Planet 51.

Arrived in Florida in one piece. Didn’t lose anybody along the way.

I did lose my cell phone. Very inconvenient.

For the dog, decided to go with a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. It works just fine when you check in around 1130 PM and check out by 530 AM. And since my non-smoking room had obviously been occupied at some point recently by someone who did not observe that restriction, I felt that a small amount of dog hair was a minor issue.

Books on CD pass the time quickly.

We also had these Bingo cards. Reusable. No loose pieces. Lots of fun. Highly recommended.

We survived on junk food. I deprived them of liquid so they wouldn’t have to go to the bathroom. Also, the short stay at the motel ensured napping children in the car. That really helped.

I was, according to my good buddy Tom-Tom, only 3.5 miles away from my destination when I looked down and thought, “Oops, better lay off the accerator.” We had passed from a rural stretch of road with a 55 mph limit, into the town with a significantly lower limit. Too late. I looked up and saw the flashing lights.

Imagine driving well over 900 miles to get busted right at the very end.

He had mercy, and I got a warning.

Last night I went to bed at 830 PM local – 930 PM EST. Mary, of course, woke up at 330 AM local. After a bit, she went back to sleep, thank goodness.

I am relaxed. I have my parents to spoil me. Bill is starting to prepare for his return.

Life is good.

I fear my grip on my sanity is nearing its end. I think 8 days without a computer is heroic. But now that I’m trying to get ready for a very long car trip, it’s just not funny any more.

It’s like camping. It is fun when you plan for it. But to be suddenly roughing it without warning, the adventure grows wearisome quickly.

Anybody know any cheap motels in North Carolina that don’t mind dogs? I only plan to be there for a few hours to sleep. And tell me they won’t get all huffy about 6 children in the room with me. Sure, it’ll be tight, but we’re not moving in. I probably won’t even take a shower.

It’d be really nice to know how much money I really have in my checking account. Not just what it says online, but what my Quicken tells me I have.

But I think what is really doing me in are the micro-conversations I’m having with my husband via email, where it is uncomfortable to type long passages, or via phone where he either has a 15 minute time limit and some privacy or longer time but he’s in a room full of people.

Of course it is right now when I can’t communicate effectively that all hell is breaking lose.

Did I mention we’re moving? We’ve known this for some time, but there were two givens: we were going to Ft. Knox in Kentucky, and we had “60 days stabilization,” meaning we wouldn’t move for 60 days after his return.

Never believe anything the government tells you. Ever.

We are moving to Ft. Stewart in Georgia. We learned this a few weeks ago.

We are likely moving by the end of January. This is today’s news.

It’s ok. I can handle it.

But then I called Dell to see what the $(;/$& is up with my computer repair. The guy couldn’t help me.

Their computers were down.

UGH.

This application claims to be able to post to Blogger. We shall see.

Computer guy was here yesterday and replaced the power unit and the mother board. That did not fix my computer. He ordered another part and hopes to return today. I hope so too. I’m leaving on Monday for nearly two weeks in Florida, and I really don’t want to come home to a broken computer.

Blogging and facebooking will still be limited. The iTouch is great, but my fingertips are sore.

Thank you all for your concerns and prayers. Sorry to leave everybody hanging. When I started getting worried emails and phone calls, I realized I had to do something. Isn’t Margaret the loveliest?