John MacAllister Beard

My step father-in-law went home to be with the Lord last night. He was young - only 59 - and suffered from frontal lobe dementia for the last 4 years. God did amazing things in John through that illness. I look forward to seeing him again some day. TTFN, John!

That's John and I dancing at my wedding 10/16/99

I'm still in the quizin' mood

My Four 1.) Four family members: Anika, Jarnli, Elsa and Ammon

2.) Four places that I go to over and over: the library, the pool, Harvest Bible Chapel, the Peacock Room (where Dane proposed to me)

3.) Four people who e-mail me (regularly): Jarnli, Kathy, Mom and Katrina

4.) Four of my favorite places to eat: The Tide's Wharf in Bodega Bay, the Korean place we loved in Jerusalem (I can't remember the name, but I could find it again), Taj Mahal in Prescott, and Sakura in Santa Fe

5.) Four places I would rather be right now: Ireland, Jerusalem, Oregon, Bora Bora

6.) Four shows I watch over and over:

24, Rhett and Link kast, classic Sesame Street, I wish I could watch Flight of the Conchords, but I don't have cable.

7.) Four people who will respond: The four people who will be my new favorite bloggers (that means, you! Do the quiz!)

Well, I'm pretty sure its not "fewer"...

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 1 or fewer people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

3 Tag - Tasha Style

I saw Kelly's invitation on Design Crush to join in a game of 3 Tag several days ago but didn't find time to sit down and answer the questions. But tonight I'm staying up late and I remembered I hadn't ever done it. So, here it is..

What are the last 3 things you purchased?
1. the last few items for my home school curriculum from amazon.com
2. a 4 foot diameter horse trough for our HUGE sulcata tortoise (we don't have a proper yard to put her in yet, and she is growing soooo fast now)
3. Kaiser Rolls

What are the last 3 songs albums you downloaded?
1. KT Tunstall - Eye to the Telescope
2. Paolo Nutini - These Streets
3. Mute Math - Mute Math

Where were the last 3 places you visited?
1. Phoenix, AZ
2. Flagstaff, AZ
3. Ft. Lauderdale, FL

What are your 3 [new] favorite movies?
1. P.S. I Love You
2. La Vie En Rose
3. The Princess and the Warrior

What are your 3 favorite possessions?
1. A nice journal to write poetry in
2. A really confortable bra that makes my breasts look perkier than they really are
3. Teva flip-flops - I wear completely through a pair every summer

What 3 things can you not live without?
1. a book to read
2. ice tea, unsweetened
3. Jesus

What would be your 3 wishes?
1. to have more time with my girlfriends
2. to keep my kids from making the same mistakes I made
3. to keep falling deeper and deeper in love with my husband

What are 3 things you have not done yet?
1. have my poetry published
2. grow a garden
3. go surfing

What are your 3 favorite dishes?
1. my mom's macaroni salad
2. pot roast
3. seared ahi tuna

What 3 celebrities would you want to hang out with the most?
1. Gwyneth Paltrow
2. Luke Wilson
3. Johnny Depp

Name 3 things that freak you out.
1. mice and/or rats
2. horror movies
3. kids tricks - like turning their eyelids inside out, bending their thumb the wrong way, wiggling their ears, making their eyeballs quiver. I just don't know how they ever figured out they COULD do it, let alone, WHY they want to do it in the first place?????

If you could describe yourself in 3 words, what would they be?
1. articulate
2. mood-swings
3. romantic

Name 3 unusual things you are good at.
1. research - Dane likes to throw out little "I wonder" statements at me and then make that my homework and I usually blow him away by how quickly I find the answers
2. winging it - again, Dane constantly gives me a hard time because he says I am just guessing. But my guess is better than his informed knowledge most of the time
3. Reading children's stories - I like to do all the voices and even find the right "narrator" voice for each story. I imagine my kids growing up and saying "No one could read a story like MY mom."

What are 3 things you are currently coveting?
1. The giraffe print purse from Dooney & Burke
2. A home of my very very own
3. A plane ticket to Alabama

What 3 bloggers would you like tag?

No one I know blogs really. But I love reading people's blogs, so if anyone takes the 3 Tag challenge, comment and let me know and I will definitely read it.

What a Coincidence!

I have been reading "Go Down, Moses" by William Faulkner (slowly because it isn't the only thing I'm reading, and it can be read as separate short stories). My girlfriend Kristi was out visiting recently and was talking about Rick Bragg's memoirs, which I guess is "All Over But The Shoutin", but I wasn't sure which of his books were his memoirs until I bought "Ava's Man" recently at the library. It's the story of his grandpa, Charlie Bundrum, and it is a wonderful book. I'm totally enthralled by it. But I think it is really interesting that I would be reading these two books at the same time when their setting and many of their themes are so similar. Granted, "Ava's Man" hardly deals with slaves at all, but they both deal with life in the deep south, before and after the depression, being dirt poor, hunting, fishing, making moonshine, evading the law, honor among rough men, etc. Bragg's is a little easier to read, but obviously Faulkner's is a work of art as well.

I love this song

And I think if they ever make a movie of Frank McCourt's book 'Tis, this song needs to be in the soundtrack. Even though Paolo is from Scotland and Frank is from Ireland, the feeling is right.
- Paolo Nutini Lyrics

Maybe Paolo should even play young Frankie....

...naw his accent would have to be totally right, and I think his strong Scottish accent is too hard to hide. But I do hope they make the film, and I do hope These Streets is part of the soundtrack.

My New Things

Here are a few things I have invested in recently that I am very happy about. This picture doesn't do my new knot dress from Wally World the justice it deserves. It is a beautiful, colorful, lively thing. I fell in love with it the moment I saw the fitting room attendant throwing it back on a hanger. "Where can I find this in a large?!" I cried. She pointed me to DRESSES and I was united with my new summer dress. I look good in it too. Not pregnant, as my husband likes to accuse me of. I was innocently reading a fashion magazine (I can't even remember now if it was Allure or Lucky - one of the two for sure) and I was again reminded of my bikini line. I know for some people it is a non-issue, but I HATE the bikini line dilemma. I can't shave, it is all ingrown hairs and fear of cutting. But since having my eyebrows waxed two years ago, I refuse to even consider waxing. I tried Nair last year and after a burning rash ensued, I relegated that product to the list of things you should never ever put on your skin (along with estra strength Bullfrog sunscreen). I had resigned myself to yet another swimsuit/skirt combo for the summer. But, alas, I have lost 20 pounds and would like to be able to bare my skin again before I get too old. This article in the aforementioned fashion magazine had all the answers. From a $1000 little laser zapper, to a $2 can of shaving powder - more my range. I guess it was invented for black men to rid themselves of beards without getting bumps, but some Hollywood spa guru assured all readers that THIS was the product for the bikini line. So, I got some and tried it. It smelled like an old fashioned perm. Stinky. Next time I will get the fragranced one. But it was very gentle on my skin and it did remove the hair and leave my bikini line smooth as silk. Time to go swim suit shopping! Okay I didn't actually buy this book, but I put it on hold at the library. It just caught my eye. I guess because 2 years after her own death Jonbenet's mom has finally been exonerated of the murder of her daughter. What a perfect time for Oates to come out with a novel about a very similar sounding murder mystery. Read the synopsis. Anyhoo, I have been wanting to try out Joyce Carol Oates for a long time. I read so many books that I just have to keep a stack at the ready. I am also looking into a memoir by Rick Bragg and will be starting "Under the Banner of Heaven" by Jon Krakauer for my book club this month. But I have abundant time for all three, so there. (Oh, yeah, and how long have I been picking up and putting down "A Son of the Circus" by John Irving?)

So, anyway, those are my new things. Life is good.

Old Time Radio - You Are There

Do you ever wish you could hear the assassination of Abraham Lincoln taking place or listen to the surrender of Sitting Bull? Check out these Old Time Radio broadcasts from the 40s that re-enact those and many other historic events.

LookyBook

Anyone who has children should definitely take the time to register on this web page. It is so much fun. They don't have EVERY book, but there are books on pretty much every subject, and usually really good ones that you haven't ever seen before. Of course, there are some old favorites, too.

My Brother's 4th of July Visit

Ammon and Heather came all the way from Oregon for Ammon's 10 year reunion. It was the first time I met my little neice, Emmalyn Cheney. She certainly did not disappoint. We really had lots of fun together. It was nice to get to just hang out and talk and act silly. Jarnli, Elsa and I got to sing "97 Men in this Here Town" by Buffy Sainte Marie together. Our kids were a pack of screaming maniacs (or brainiacs, as Jake might say) and Ardara was like a little nanny for Emmy. Of course, true to the proud tradition of Cheney Family Functions (with special observance of any holiday) we had a melt-down, screaming fight in the middle of all the fun. Ah, the memories of all those fights! And to think, we always managed to blame them on Marty and/or Mom in the past! Well, now we know that we don't need them to make it an official Cheney gathering. We conjured up our own hurts and offenses all on our own. But, we also managed to dispel them and carry on in rather quick order. Notice that all the Cheneys are smiling the biggest. (Dewey, Dane and Heather may have been a little shaken, but they carried it off well, too. Okay...Dane didn't pull off the photo op as well as the rest, but still.)

And obviously, none of us Cheney sisters took it too personally. Notice how we all coincidentally wore black? We are just all that cool simultaneously.

We felt like Heather fit right in as one of us (if a little less overbearing)

It was a lot of fun, and I hope we will do it again soon. Maybe Anika and Paul and their clan can get in on the fun next time. We missed our darling Dink!

And now, life carries on.....