Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Ooof...ouch.

Well, I was able to get some reading done last night...woo-hoo. There were other things that need to be done, but I all I could do was lie flat on my back and read.

I hurt my back last night, just pulled it or something, nothing worse, but oh boy did it hurt!! I've been doing a lot of sewing, so my back's been sore after bending over cutting things out anyway. Then yesterday I was cleaning my room and bending over vacuuming, and also carried the heavy sewing machine out of the room...anyway, right before supper I was bending over working on something and as I tried to straighten up my back spasmed. So it was hurting horribly all last night...it's a little better this morning, more just stiff and a bit sore rather than excruciating pain. Soo...I guess I'll be moving slow today, and I'll be getting Colin to pick things up for me because I still don't feel like I'd better be bending over much. Thankfully I got my room all cleaned yesterday, so I mostly have stuff I can do sitting down or standing up straight. Which is fine, as long as I'm not in a ton of pain, I can keep going...just without bending over!

My room was a mess too...dust bunnies everywhere...I think they probably had fangs! :p But I got the floor cleared so other people who don't have the map of my room in their heads can walk through without injury! :) And I vacuumed and dusted everything thoroughly...I even gently vacuumed out my computer because it was getting pretty bad. Yes, you read that correctly, I vacuumed out my computer. My computer has to be open to work, so it gets a lot of dust inside it and I have to get the dust out every once in a while.

It's set up as wireless, so there's an (airport?) card so that it can connect to the cable modem which is out on the other computer. Anyway, the only card we have is the one that used to be in our now-dead laptop, so it's not made to fit inside a computer, and it sticks out and the body of the computer can't be closed. Sometime we probably need to get the right kind of card for it, but we already have this and it's free, so I guess I'll just keep vacuuming my computer occasionally! :) The purple and black thing is the card...and the black part that says "Orinoco" on it is the part that won't fit in the computer:









See? now you can see the floor in my room! Amazing!!! :p








I didn't really offer much explanation for those links I posted yesterday, obviously one of them is applicable to me and the other is not right now, but the one about wives staying at home, even when they don't have kids yet, reminded me of a thread on a message board that Mom was reading.

The ladies on this message board were talking about how they can't understand this big deal about young ladies staying at home and learning to keep a house, because it can't possibly take that long to learn how to cook a meal and take care of a baby. Some of the other ladies finally ended up saying that, no, just learning to do that stuff doesn't take that long, but if you have time to learn to do all of that nicely and in an organized fashion, you'll be able to be a good housekeeper without feeling stressed about it, and you'll be able to other things as well, outside of the absolutely practical and necessary stuff. There was more to it than that I think, but the article I linked to yesterday made the same point. I think a lot of it boils down to what you get used to as well. If you've been out working until you have kids and then you're suddenly "stuck" at home with a house and a crying baby to take care of, unless you hated your job, you're probably not going to immediately like being home so much better. Anyway...I just found that article interesting, even though it's not applicable to me right now.

So...I'd better go figure out what to do next. It was nice to have a chance to just read some, or rather, it wasn't so much reading, but I had a big pile of magazines that I flipped through, and I read/looked through four organizing books from the library (and didn't get much out of them) so I can put the magazines in the recycling and send the books back to the library. And really, that's a good thing, because both of those things were taking up space in my room.

Oh, and so that you can hear what my midland accent sounds like (and also because I'm quite pleased to have figured out how to do this)...an mp3! I figured out how to record onto my iPod, change the file from WAV to MP3, upload it to a googlepages site, and link to it through an mp3 player. The only thing I can't figure out is how to link to it directly, because when I do that instead of playing in a browser window, the only option it gives you is to download the file and play it with Quicktime (or iTunes, I suppose)...like this. Oh well, the mp3 player works alright.



If you've ever heard your own voice recorded, you've probably had the same experience of realizing that you sound totally different than you sound to yourself. Because that sounds so different from how I think I sound! :p

By the way, I'm not sure how loud that really is, and I probably could have adjusted that while I was changing it to mp3, but I wasn't sure if it needed it or not. I have headphones plugged into my computer, so everything sounds loud enough that way. It's probably not loud enough if you don't have speakers on your computer though. Edit: I fixed it, so it should be loud enough for everybody now...I just had to figure out some of the controls in Audacity.

My cousins are coming tomorrow! What fun! I sure hope my back is completely better by tomorrow (or sooner!).

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Because that sounds so different from how I think I sound!

It sounded like you when you're thinking or reading or focusing on something else and trying to respond to a strange question at the same time. Or something like that!

So is everyone gonna be able to hear our "band" "sing" and "play" now? :P

Beth said...

Because that sounds so different from how I think I sound! :p

Yeah, you sound much louder than that in real life. :) I'll have to listen to it on your headphones; on my computer it sounds like you're whispering or mumbling very softly.

If you've been out working until you have kids and then you're suddenly "stuck" at home with a house and a crying baby to take care of, unless you hated your job, you're probably not going to immediately like being home so much better.

Well, I hated my job (not the work, the conditions under which I worked) before you were born, so I did immediately prefer to be home. BUT...when you were six weeks old and crying non-stop and I was getting about 45 minutes of sleep at night...I do remember thinking that it would seem so peaceful to be back at the office talking to insane realtors and going to meetings where people yell and throw things...

Fortunately I had been around babies before, and had done extensive babysitting, so I knew better times were coming. And I wasn't learning how to cook and clean at the same time, either, that would have been a nightmare. :)

N said...

So is everyone gonna be able to hear our "band" "sing" and "play" now? :P

Well, it's possible, but whether we want to post anything, or anyone will want to listen to it is still to be determined! :D

on my computer it sounds like you're whispering or mumbling very softly.

I had a feeling that might happen.

Beth said...

Another couple of points about wives staying home before they have kids: I didn't do that, obviously, and your dad and I got used to spending two incomes and had to learn to cut back suddenly.

Also, it was hard for both of us to come home from a long day at work (I worked a bunch of overtime, too) and do housework, figure out meals, etc. I know people do this all the time, and now that everybody's all "enlightened" the husbands do the cooking as much as the wives do. But we found it hard to work that all out. Your dad had been living at home and his mom always had supper ready for him; and I had lived with my cousin and we only occasionally cooked suppers. So he was used to eating a real meal, and I was used to eating "chick food" (popcorn! cinnamon toast! yogurt!). :) Obviously we got it all worked out, but just my already knowing how to cook and do housework didn't make it easy to combine that with a very hard job.

Abigail said...

I know, it never sounds the same when you listen to yourself!

Anonymous said...

Ouch... I'm sorry to hear you hurt your back. I hope you are better soon.

You do have an "accent," but I'm not sure how I would label it... (I like it by the way. :) )

As far as women, girls and staying home or working, honestly, I have never heard or seen so much discussion about this issue or non-issue. I really had no idea it was such a controversy. In your examples, I think it boils down to being content with current circumstances, and being willing to change or adapt when the Lord changes our circumstances. (Philippians 4:11, I Timothy 6:6-8)Also, I can appreciate a woman who stays home and supports her family in this way; I can also appreciate a woman who works and supports her family in this way. (Proverbs 31... She did both.) Sometimes it is a matter of choice; sometimes it is a matter of necessity. Either way, we have liberty in Christ (Galatians 5:1) and we should do it all for his glory.

MAN... I cannot believe I will not get to meet your cousins again! Have fun with them, and I look forward to seeing you all when we return.

N said...

(I like it by the way. :) )

Why thank you! :D

honestly, I have never heard or seen so much discussion about this issue or non-issue.

Well, it gets discussed a lot among homeschoolers especially.

I think it boils down to being content with current circumstances, and being willing to change or adapt when the Lord changes our circumstances.

Yes...that is the basic issue.

Sometimes it is a matter of choice; sometimes it is a matter of necessity. Either way, we have liberty in Christ (Galatians 5:1) and we should do it all for his glory.

I think that in some cases, like when a woman isn't able to have kids, that there might be reason for her to have some sort of job provided she's still able to take care of her house well. And I think that there is a slight difference between being a wife and having a job, and trying to be a big career woman and finding just enough time to slap some dinner on the table.

You see what I'm saying? I guess I mean that it kind of depends on what the reasons are for working, and the mindset you have about it.
If it's just to earn more and more money that's not necessarily good, but if you really wouldn't have much to do if you were at home all day, or if you have to have two incomes, it makes more sense.

I don't know anyone personally who is spending more time on establishing a career than taking care of their home, but I have seen and heard of examples of that.

And of course, I also haven't had personal experience in staying at home keeping house vs. having a job and trying to keep house. But I certainly have an opinion on it! :D lol! And I've read a lot about it as well.

N said...

Oh, and y'all should stay in town one more day and see my cousins tomorrow! But they're not getting here till afternoon, and you probably need to be on the road by then.

Anonymous said...

I think I know some of the mindsets to which you are referring. In all cases, where a person puts their heart is definitely key. I guess I just know people who would say that they are better or worse for staying at home or better or worse for not staying at home; that is one of my biggest concerns.

Also, how a person defines "wife" would make a difference as well and what kind of "help meet" a husband needs.

**********************************
Yeah, it would be great to meet your family... We really just stayed home these last two days to do laundry, run errands, get the mail, take care of some business and visit with my relatives. We are leaving early in the morning because Scott has several relatives in the same area of Virginia. We will be busy visiting and will have 2 days of driving 5-6 hours.