Weblog
Sunday, 21 June 2009
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A Dying Medium?
No, not print. Xanga. Has this place died off yet? I haven't even logged in for months. It used to be the first thing I'd check after email. Now Facebook has taken over the world.
I'm feeling the tug to get back to blogging. I still read through Google Reader (for those here enabling RSS feeds), and the times Xanga actually sends me my subscriptions via email. I have a blogger account for commenting on friends' blogs. I still like private and protected posts, but if I'm not going to blog here at all, then what's the point? Something is better than nothing, and I'm feeling nothing here. The blogging world has passed you by, Xanga.
Sunday, 11 January 2009
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Thanksgiving and Early December
Time to play catch up again...
We spent the Thanksgiving weekend back in my hometown with all my family and had a nice time. I managed to get sick and almost lose my voice, which made visiting with people rather interesting as you can imagine. Jeff did a lot more of the talking than normal.
My mom's birthday always falls near Thanksgiving and we were able to celebrate with her good friend LG and her daughters:
Can you tell who's related to whom?
We were greeted with this beautiful sight the morning we left to come home to Ohio:
December started with a rush of activity. The first weekend of the month we attended Jeff's company Christmas party. They always have lots of good food and drink and, since J tells me a lot of what goes on in his workplace, I understood most of the conversations and speeches going on. Unfortunately, we failed to get a picture of the two of us. It's really too bad as I think we both cleaned up pretty nicely.
The next day I drove up to Dayton to meet up with my soccer fam while Fawc is in country.
At Chili's (where else?)
It was great to see everyone, catch up, and meet baby Clara. After dinner we (sans Roper who had an indoor game) went over to Karin's to hang out and meet her puppy. We missed B and Smithdawg, but we are getting spread further and further apart distance-wise. Quite the international flavor these days... Jamaica (as always)... South Africa... Hong Kong... plus three states (Ohio, Illinois, and Florida).
Friday, 12 December 2008
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Currently
The Kite Runner
By Khaled Hosseini
see relatedBaby Shower and New Blog
I went home to Illinois the weekend before Thanksgiving primarily to attend the baby shower of my oldest and dearest friend, Katie. Long-time friends and readers will remember her from numerous mentions including here and here.
Katie lives in far away Houston now (boo!) so it was especially great to see her and to participate in this special event.
G'ma Barbara, Mama Hekel, and Katie
Two great moms!
Rodney modeling Baby H's new Illini bath towel
And Katie just started a blog! Go on over and welcome her to the blogosphere. I'm super excited about this as I've been after her to start blogging for awhile now.
Monday, 24 November 2008
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Famous Relatives?
I have been at my parent's house this weekend, and part of the visit has included family genealogy discussions and research. Tonight I filled in some blanks on my mom's side of the family from stories she's heard from her mom. I plugged it all into ancestry.com and continued my research there. In particular, I tried to find more about my great great grandfather since all we knew was that he ran off after his 6th daughter was born and eventually committed suicide. Well, I stumbled upon a treasure trove of information about him and his descendants! The Drakes go all the way back to the early colonies and England before that (assuming all of this is correct, of course).
Ancestry.com has this cool tool that finds famous people you are related to. Thanks to Great Great Grandpa Drake, if all of this is correct, here is the list of people I am probably related to in some way or another (emphasis mine):- Christopher Martin (Mayflower passenger and signer of the Mayflower Compact)
- John Alden (Mayflower passenger and signer of the Mayflower Compact)
- Franklin Pierce
- Samuel Morse
- Oliver Wendell Holmes
- Samuel Adams
- E. E. Cummings
- Mary Edwards Walker
- Henry David Thoreau
- Frances Folsom Cleveland (First Lady)
- John Ledyard (Explorer)
- Mary Baker Eddy
- Elizabeth Kortright Monroe (First Lady)
- Charles Carroll of Carrollton (Maryland Representative and signer of the Declaration of Independence)
- Elbridge Gerry (as in gerrymandering)
- Lucille Ball
- William C. Durant (Founder of General Motors)
- O. Henry
- Oliver Winchester (gun company)
- William W. Winchester (gun company)
- Gregory Peck
- Ronald Reagan
- John Steinbeck
- Shirley Temple
- Jane Austen
- Florence Nightingale
- Robert Graves
- George Orwell
- Elizabeth Browning
And, for those who don't know me as well, Gregory Peck has been my favorite actor since high school (junior high?) and I'm a huge Jane Austen fan. Hmmm... notice how I highlighted almost all the authors on the list?
Thursday, 20 November 2008
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Currently
Death Note, Vol. 8
By Death Note
see relatedFirst Snow and Other Life Bullet Points
- First snow of the season on Sunday/Monday. It didn't stick to the ground, but the cars and houses got a light dusting that has been sticking around.
- Gas is down to $1.72. Finally it doesn't cost an arm and a leg to drive to see my parents and family. What is the price near you? I haven't done the research yet as to why the price of oil is dropping. Anybody know why?
- I'm finally getting adjusted to the darkness of winter after the time change. It was more depressing this year than most, but I'm looking for the red jello moments... like cozy turtleneck sweaters, warm blankets, hot tea, and flickering candles.
- Even when I have opinions, I hesitate to voice them if I think it will cause tension, conflict, or strong disagreement, especially from close friends or family. The hallmarks of an ISFJ -- the description is frightening accurate in places.
- I've dropped down to 3 days a week at work from now until Christmas. I am very excited about this arrangement -- I'm still getting paid, but have more time to keep the house in order and work on projects!
- I ran my first 5K on the 8th. My brother and sister were both distance runners, but I am definitely better over shorter distances. It was strange to be running in a competition again without being competitive. I finished in 37 minutes which I am happy with, considering my lax training. I started out keeping pace with my friends for the first mile (big mistake), and had to slow down a lot in order not to kill myself. Those who are familiar with what happens when I push myself physically would not have been surprised to see me near the end. It all had a happy ending though as I enjoyed a large plate of pumpkin pancakes at The Original Pancake House with Jeff and our friends.
- I'm thinking of trying to step out on my own more to do freelance copy editing and proofreading. The idea is both appealing and scary. Will I actually be able to find work?
- Heading back "home" on Friday for Katie's baby shower. Can't wait to see her and her cute belly! I am beyond excited for her and Rodney and their growing little one. It will be great to see Mom and Dad, too. It's been much too long. I'm also getting together with an old high school friend that I haven't seen in years... and I get to meet her handsome little boy. Then two days later I'll be back again with Jeff for Thanksgiving.
smarkas
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- Name: Sarah
- Country: United States
- State: Ohio
- Metro: Cincinnati
- Birthday: 1/11/1983
- Gender: Female
- Member Since: 1/21/2004
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True
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About Me
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I graduated from Cedarville University in 2005 and now live, work, and play in Cincinnati. On March 18, 2006, I married my Jeff, my best friend and the man I deeply love. I enjoy playing soccer, hanging out with Jeff and our puppy, and having people over to our house. Most importantly, however, I am a follower of Jesus Christ and, with His help, strive to bring Him glory and honor in all that I say and do.
Pulse
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Just watched a car try to drive down our street, get stuck at the corner, not make the turn, and drive back down the street in reverse.
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Illinois beat THE Ohio State tonight - woohoo! Take that, Buckeyes! Now about getting some tickets for the game in C'bus...
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I'm falling apart at age 26. My left ankle is now officially the bad ankle.
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