Masks and the Hearing Impaired

Although I knew it was coming but hoped it wouldn't, I learned a few hours ago that the mayor of Memphis has signed an ordinance requiring all persons (except for those with a written document from a medical professional) to wear masks when outside of their home or car unless they are able to maintain social distancing while performing outdoor activities.

There has been lots of talk about the pros and cons of wearing a mask.  I'm not going to get into that here.  It is pretty much a given that the mandatory decree of wearing facemasks is going to spread over the nation.  Until the coronavirus dies down or until enough people stand up against it, we have to suffer through it.

There is one issue that many people have not considered:  the problems that hearing-impaired people have with communicating with those who are wearing masks.  Hearing-impaired people who rely on reading lips to aid in understanding other people are now not able to so.

My Experience as a Hearing-Impaired Person

My twin sister and I were born three months early in the early 1970s.  My twin sister went to Heaven when we were four days old.  I lived in the hospital for three months before going home.  Although I had developmental delays, not walking until I was 16 months old, my parents did not realize I was hearing impaired until I reached school age.  My mother thought I was "being a Bounds" (her side of the family) by hearing only what I wanted to hear.  (This is not an invalid conclusion.)  I had learned to get along by teaching myself to read lips.  Later when I was in first grade, a teacher at my school (a neighbor of ours who taught my mother when she was little) told my mother that I needed to have my hearing tested.

Mama took me to the speech pathology department at The University of Southern Mississippi to have my hearing tested.  She was shocked (and dismayed that she had not realized it before) that I could not hear normally and needed to wear hearing aids.  I was fitted with one hearing aid for my better ear (My parents could only afford one.) the summer between my first and second-grade years.  I remember the doctor telling me very solemnly that taking care of my hearing aid was to be my responsibility.  I was to keep up with it and make sure it never got wet.  Of course, it rained that day and I remembered covering my ear with my hand.  I'm a rule-follower, in general, so I took his words to heart.  My mother helped me set up a place to keep my hearing aid and its battery when not in use.  I used a ceramic heart-shaped box that had been given to me when I was a flower girl for my cousin's wedding.  [Side note:  I have always taken such good care of my hearing aids that I am still on only my third set.  My first hearing aid lasted 13 years.  My second set lasted 12 years, and my current set is 17 years old.  This is highly unusual, but God has been good in allowing them to last as long as they have.]

My hearing is bad enough that I need to wear hearing aids (though I can get by without wearing them at home - I don't miss much), but not bad enough that I needed to learn sign language or required an interpreter.  I have always been mainstreamed in school, did well in my studies, and went on to earn an education degree at The University of Southern Mississippi.  I taught school for 11-½ years and worked in other jobs requiring dealing with other people.

All that to say, I have gotten along very well by using my hearing aids and my ability to read lips as an aid in helping me to understand others.  And then the coronavirus hit.  My husband put me and my daughter on lockdown.  I called it being grounded because that's what it felt like.  He was the only one who went anywhere for several weeks, going to work and going shopping for what we needed.  We had to watch church via livestream, and I relied on social media and text messaging to keep up with people.  I don't like to talk on the phone - because I'm an introvert and a little bit because it takes a lot of energy to really listen on the phone, but mostly because I hate talking on the phone.  My daughter had more Zoom calls and video chats than I did, and I was fine with that.

My pastor kept our church open for every service but was sure to uphold the group limits, masks, and social distancing.  He and his wife began having a meet-and-greet car line before each service, and that was my sanity saver.  My daughter and I went to church to talk to them (well, mostly my pastor's wife) and then drove home to watch the live-streamed service.  We had our first large-group church service on Easter Sunday when they held the service out in the parking lot.  My husband allowed us to get out of the car and socialize and that was such a blessing.  However, from the beginning of the lockdown, I noticed early on that wearing the masks hindered my ability to understand others especially when there was a lot of background noise.  It took a few weeks before others became more comfortable with removing the masks which helped tremendously.

Help for the Hearing-Impaired

Over the last few days, I have learned of other hearing-impaired people who have suffered much worse than I have.  They have been treated abominably and sometimes no effort is made to help them understand.  I personally have not been treated unkindly, but there are people who flat out will not lower their mask for me to read their lips.  Most of the time, I have my daughter with me and she will help me; if I'm with my friends, they can help me, too.  Still, it's a problem.

Long ago, in an education class, I learned about the then-new ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990) which stated that businesses and governmental agencies are required to make accommodations so that people with disabilities can enjoy the same level of services as non-disabled persons.  This is why we have wheelchair ramps, handicapped stalls, closed captioning on TVs, etc.  I only had a passing introduction to the law, enough to know that it exists, and have never had a need to study it in-depth.  With all the problems I had read about, I wondered if the masks were conflicting with the law.  (It doesn't - as long as the employees provide some alternate means of communication or do not refuse service because of the disability.)

"What About Those Masks with the See-Through Windows??!!"

If I've heard or read it once, I've heard or read it a dozen times.  Yes, the see-through masks.  From the get-go, I knew it is a bad idea at worst and impractical at best.  Why??  Because I am not going to buy a mask to hand out to every person that I need to talk to.  My husband would have a stroke at the cost.  Also, I don't think they would be too happy if I bought ONE mask and passed it from person to person to use.  Unless many of people in public wear them, it's not practical to offer as a solution.  Plus, I've read that they fog up and thereby become useless for that purpose.

So, Now What?

Now with the ordinance having been signed, everybody (except for the stubborn ones who believe they shouldn't be made to - I don't entirely disagree) will be wearing masks and there is NOTHING in the ordinance to allow for help for the hearing impaired.  That means that many people will not lower their masks -- because of the ordinance, because of fear of losing their job, and because of fear that they'll catch the disease themselves.  What they fail to realize is that if they're in public at all, they're already at risk!  Why?  Because all the people touch all the stuff.  So, we're in a catch-22 situation.

I have made a couple of graphics for hearing-impaired people to use that they can save onto their phones or tablets and show to others.  Feel free to download and use it if you think it will help you.  You can even print it out if you wish.  Just do a right-click and save the image (if you are on your computer).  I put it in two different layouts so that it can fill the screen.

Let me know if this is a help to you or if you have any thoughts regarding the subject.

Also, a few links:

https://chchearing.org/blog/face-masks-hearing-loss-communication-tips/

https://www.hearingloss.org/wp-content/uploads/5-21-2020_FaceMasks.pdf

https://www.sorensonvrs.com/buzzapps

https://www.wlvt.org/blogs/montgomery/masks-make-communicating-difficult-for-the-hardofhearing-check-out-our-digital-and-practical-tips/

 

Hitting the Reset Button // Updates

Wow, I almost can't believe it's been so long since I've posted on the blog. I've been thinking about getting back into blogging and came here to see what I could see. Apparently, some elements of my blog have changed in my absence -- there's now a "missing image" block from Photobucket indicating that I need to pay a $399/year fee in order for them to allow me to use their site as a 3rd party host. Hmmmmm.......yeah, I'll pass on that. But now I gotta figure out just what images are being pre-empted and do I want to use them anyway. Decisions, decisions! (I'm halfway tempted to scrap this blog and start over - but there are some posts that I still refer back to.

It looks like my blogging took an abrupt pause in early 2015. That year and the following year were very difficult. My life started changing dramatically mid-October, 2015. First, my good friend at my church and her family moved away out of state. She was our main pianist and her husband was our assistant pastor. Their children and my Gracie played well together and she was my main Mommy friend here in Memphis. About a week after they moved, our pastor unexpectedly resigned our church. I think it was the very next day after that (or possibly the next week after - time gets muddled in my mind, but it was a very short time), my mother called me, coughing her head off so much that I couldn't understand her. Her pastor who was with her talked to me and said that she was on her way to the ER. Gracie and I left the very morning to go see her and take care of her. To abbreviate the story (which can be read on CaringBridge), a month or so after that, my mom was diagnosed with cancer (squamous cell carcinoma), and we (Gracie and I) spent the five months helping to take care of her, tag-teaming with my brothers, my heroes. It was a long-but-too-short battle that resulted in a bittersweet ending: My mom fought bravely, manifesting a testimony of strength that has been inspiring to me; but the Lord took her home to be with Him. In the middle of that battle, my church began seeking a new pastor and we are blessed to have a man whom I have known for over a decade and who is the perfect pastor for our church.

When we came back home in April of 2016, I had to transition back to a new normal for my life. It was a very difficult year. I have never been so glad to see a year end like I was to see December 31, 2016. I had started the 2015-2016 (Kindergarten) school year early in July. It sounded crazy, but I was ready, and Gracie was ready, so I thought, "Why not?" I can see that God led in this decision as well as others because when we went to go take care of my mother, we were ahead. I quickly learned that hospitals and homeschooling do not mix very well -- at least not when there are many interruptions. Over the next 5 months, we did not progress very far in the normal academics, but my daughter learned much about LIFE and SERVING. Towards the end of my mother's illness, I could see a jump in Gracie's reading ability. I remember her being able to read the words on the bucket of Easter candy (motivation, right?) at the nurse's station. She also learned how to read hundreds (100, 200, 300, 400, 500, etc.) by reading one of my mother's medical bags. We were blessed to have been able to be a part of two great churches in the area. Anyway, by the time we got back, I did a double-up and triple-up, and let's-skip-this-and-that (because she was doing quite well on it already) on her schoolwork so that we could finish up Kindergarten. I had her participate in a homeschool kindergarten graduation with one of her friends from American Heritage Girls in early May even though we didn't finish her work until June. I also spent some of that time trying to produce some order in the house (a little hard to do since we brought home a trailer-load of stuff from my mom's house).

One of the best things I did was decide to keep things as simple as possible for the next year. I had some added responsibilities as the administratrix of my mother's estate, but, for the most part, I tried to keep things simple. We continued to do American Heritage Girls, violin lessons, and soccer in the fall, but I did not resume swimming lessons until February of this year. (Amazingly, she did not regress at all, but seemed to be better than she did 16 months prior to that!) We enjoyed a wonderful trip to California to visit my brother and his family for my niece's wedding. The only downside was that we started 1st grade in late August instead of in July. I didn't want our school year to be interrupted by our trip, plus I didn't even get all my school materials (backorder) until August. We also enjoyed seeing my husband's side of the family in Atlanta for Kinsey Christmas in March. We enjoyed a full day of activities together (Coke Museum, escape room, Georgia Aquarium). Somehow, I had to really push to finish First Grade by my self-imposed end date of the last Friday of May. I think we were both kind of glad to be done with First Grade.

I took the whole month of June off. I intended to use that month to, once again, attempt to produce order in my house. I did as much as I could do, and my husband began a project that I had asked to be done for my Christmas present -- turning the utility room (catch-all room for man junk) into a pantry/storage room. Well, he took off a week from work, and wouldn't you know it? We had a horrific storm come through Memphis and we lost power for three days. That put him terribly behind and between needing to work on the weekends sometimes and just being exhausted, he hasn't yet finished my pantry. I'm at a stand-still with my plans-of-great-order until it is finished. I have hopes that Labor Day will see it completed. There's not that much left to do, but since he has removed the panel to the electrical fusebox and has not allowed me in the room at all, I can't even try to do any of it. Not that I have the time or the ability to do a good job with it. So I will be patient. But it's going to be amazing. Two preview words for you: Happy Color and really cool IKEA hacks.

I have made a few small changes to our homeschool plans for Second Grade and we did a "soft start" on July 10th. I will post more about that another time. So, if anyone is still here, comment below to say Hi, to share some homeschooling tips. or mention a few things you would like to see on the blog. Since so much of my life has changed since 2015, should I go ahead and change addresses and start a new blog with a new name and a new location?

In the meantime, I do Instagram at @mrskinsey. I think that's also my Twitter handle, but I mostly lurk on there. My personal Facebook feed is already overloaded with people I actually know and I know I don't have time to do anything with the 21st Century Keeper at Home Facebook page, so don't feel compelled to join that. In fact, just typing out that long name is almost impetus enough to rebrand with a (shorter) new name, etc. for the blog. Suggestions welcome. Prizes will include a Thank You and a shoutout.

Merry Christmas!

 

Every year, I take Gracie's photo behind the Santa display at the Mall, and, usually, I use it in our Christmas Card.  Gracie will be 5 in January.

 The family photo was taken by my niece Kaylee when we visited California for her high school graduation.  She is studying photography and has her own Facebook page.

My baby girl is now in K-4.  I have been homeschooling her this year using the Abeka curriculum.  We enjoy it very much!  I had been wanting to take photos at the Davies Plantation which is located 10-15 minutes away.  I finally took the opportunity just days before they closed for the winter.  I look forward to going back in the spring to take more photos!

Merry Christmas to all my readers!

New Year's Goals and a Few Tips

Hello all!

I know I have been very negligent about blogging lately.  One of my New Year's Goals is to blog more often.  I'm shooting for once a week.

We had a great Christmas.  We enjoyed the day together opening presents and playing.  Gracie loved her skates as I knew she would.  Robert enjoyed his lamb dinner as I hoped he would.  I got a new lens for my camera (Nikon 40 mm 2.8 micro).  I haven't tried the macro part out yet, but I have done a family portrait session with it.  I've barely started editing photos, but so far, I'm very happy with the photos.

We spent the weekend after Christmas at my mom's.  Gracie always loves seeing her Mia, Papa, Uncle Steve, and Buster.  It was just a short two-night stay.  Then we went to Georgia to visit with Robert's brother and sister and families and had a great time there as well.  Gracie loved playing with her cousins.

Most of my New Year's Goals are monthly goals in various areas.  I think, mentally, it's easier to stick with something for a month and then continue than to try to do something for a year and get discouraged when it doesn't last.  At least that's what I'm hoping.  My overall goal for 2014 is to get more healthy by losing weight and increasing my overall physical fitness.  For January, my goal is to cut way down on sugar.  I am not drinking sodas and am drinking more water.  I haven't had much sweets (just some pieces of fudge because who can resist fudge at Christmastime?), and I do drink juice in the mornings to give me a little extra boost.

My goal is also to be more consistent with reading my Bible.  So far, I've not missed a day!  I do my reading at night because that's what suits my schedule best. (I wish I were a morning person, but I am not!)  Our church is reading the whole Bible collectively this month, and it's fun to participate in that (I am reading Mark and Leviticus this month in addition to my regular schedule; Robert is reading a few books, but I don't know which ones; and I signed Gracie up for the book of Jude which I will read to her.)

I have other goals which I can share later.  I wanted to share some tips with you.  Today was kind of a If You Give a Mouse a Cookie kind of day because one thing led to another.  (A bloggy friend of mine wrote a blog post about HER recent If You Give a Mouse a Cookie day entitled If You Give a Mom a New Chair.  I like her blog and recommend you take a look!)

First, I needed to change the tablecloth to a new one.  I get the vinyl ones to protect the tabletop, which is almost a waste of time because the tabletop has already lost some of its color from packing tape accidentally getting stuck and then being ripped off of it.  (Not happy about that - I would expect that stain would be more soaked-in than that.)  I like the vinyl tablecloths because they are easy to clean, but a problem I have with them is that they slide around too easily.  I figured out a solution a few months back:  use shelf liner (the rubbery stuff) in between the tabletop and the tablecloth.  It doesn't work perfectly because my husband and my daughter are not as careful about keeping the tablecloth straight as I am, but it does work better than not having it on.

Use Shelf Liner between the tabletop and tablecloth to keep the vinyl tablecloth from sliding around.

Here is the new vinyl tablecloth.  I prefer the ones that have a small print or are almost solid so it doesn't look so busy with all the stuff on it.

While I was at Dollar Tree today, I bought some large stretchy headbands to put on the (children's) game boxes so that they would not come apart and dump the contents all over the place.

Use large, stretchy headbands to keep game boxes closed.

 While putting the bands on the games, I took the opportunity to straighten up the games at the bottom of the closet.  (My not-for-little-kids games are at the top of the closet.)  This is our front closet.  Ever since putting in our Mini Mudroom*, I emptied out the closet of our coats (except that Robert put a few of his back in), and my plan is to put shelves in this closet to hold games, some toys (Legos, play-doh, Lincoln logs) and whatever else I can fit in there.

I just realized I never blogged about our Mini Mudroom.  I will put that on the docket to do soon.

I straightened up the children's games at the bottom of the closet.

I keep Gracie's portable DVD player that we mostly use for car trips.  I have the case hanging on a hanger.

Use a hanger to hang up your portable DVD player.

I also keep a few blankets in this closet, but, until today, they were kind of shoved in there with games on top, bottom, and in between.  Until I get my shelves put in, I decided to hang them on hangers to be more accessible.  The white blanket in front is one that I bought at Hudson's Salvage Store in Hattiesburg, MS, in 1991 or 1992 when I was a junior in college.  I bought it for only $3!  It has served as a doggy car blanket, picnic blanket, and a curl-up-on-the-couch-on-a-cold-day blanket!  It is a thick cotton blanket that is easily washable.

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Hang blankets on hangers to make them more accessible.

A day or two ago, I read a great tip on Organizing Made Fun (or maybe watching her video when she appeared on a KTLA talk show, can't remember) where she hung her husband's hats on shower rings that are on a hanger.  Before today, my husband's caps were on an over-the-door coat/hat rack on the inside of the front closet door.

Hang ball caps on shower rings which are on a hanger.

Here is the inside of the front closet door with the empty hat rack.  The flowery bag is our library book bag, and the thing on the right is Gracie's tool belt.

We also have Gracie's bike helmet hung on this door.

My mom will be visiting us in a couple of weeks for Gracie's birthday.  Since the closet in the room where she sleeps (The Learning Room) is full of stuff, I moved the hat rack to that closet door for her to use to hang her clothes on.  There is also room enough in the front closet for her to hang more clothes if she needs to.

My very messy closet in the Learning Room.  It houses photography supplies, craft supplies, and who knows what else!

This is the door going into The Learning Room (formerly called The Room with the Big Window).  I did have just the hook on the right with various bags and aprons hanging on it.  The hook on the left also used to hang on the front closet door and was only used to hang Gracie's felt play scenes (which I never got out this year because I thought they were in the attic and only just realized a few days ago that they are in the messy closet shown above.) and a Spring wreath that my sister-in-law made me a year or two ago.

My husband just put up a Family sign (which can hold small photos) and Gracie's Baby Dedication certificate which pretty much completes the gallery wall in our living room.  I will post a photo on Instagram (Follow me here) later tonight.

Today pretty much caps off a fairly productive week around here despite my having a cold in the middle of it.  I was able to take down Christmas stuff and straighten up most of the rooms in the house, AND mop the kitchen floor!  Gracie's room is currently a disaster, so I think I will work with her on cleaning that up tonight.

Thank you for your patience in waiting for me to blog!  I hope to pop in at least once a week with projects and to continue various series that I started but never finished.

100,000 views!

Thank you, everyone, for letting me surpass 100,000 page views on this blog!

My 2nd Blogiversary was last Friday, April 12th, but I was so busy, I didn't get a chance to post.

I will be doing a giveaway soon.  Stay tuned!

Merry Christmas from the Kinsey Family!

Merry Christmas from the Kinsey Family!

2012 Christmas Card

2012 Year in Review (Additional to the Christmas Card)

Year in Review Photos:
First Row: 
1) Gracie loved playing with her Aunt Debbie's miniature poodle.
2) I love the pigtails in her hair!
3) Happy 2nd Birthday!
4) Playing with Play-Doh with Mia
5) Keeping it cool during a photoshoot with Mama.  (Look closely and you'll see me in the sunglasses.)
Second Row: 
6) "What's that a noise?" (train going by the Collierville Square
7) Fun at Mud Island!
8) That's my pretty girl!  She was holding her little friend newborn Baby Drew.
9) Happy 4th of July!
10) Happy Fall!
Third Row:
11) Feeding the goat at Cedar Hill Farms
12) Vacation with Daddy
13) Vacation with Mama
14) Gracie loves her PawPaw!
15) Decorating her very own Christmas tree!


I spent HOURS on prepping and designing this year's card.  I'll spare you the details, but let's just say, I will try my best to start the process earlier next year!


These four pictures did not make it on the final card.  I think they show my daughter's happy, mischievous spirit quite well!

Climbing on the Railing surrounding the Santa area.

I got her to play Peek-a-Boo to make her laugh.

My original design to fit on a 4x9 postcard.  This is the front.

 Photos that didn't make the final design:
First row, second photo: Gracie and Mama in church nursery
Second row, second photo: Gracie fell asleep reading one of our favorite books Llama, Llama, Red Pajama
Second row, third photo:  Gracie loved playing the basketball game at Incredible Pizza.

My original design to fit on a 4x9 postcard.  This is the back.  I decided to go a little more simple.

Photos that didn't make the final design:
First Row:
2nd photo: Gracie's first plane ride!  We survived with soda, baby, Pooh, and movies!
6th photo: Lovely portrait at Cedar Hill Farm (the pumpkin patch!)
Second Row:
1st photo:  Making stars for the Fourth of July!
3rd photo:  Yummy ice cream at the Memphis Zoo!
6th photo: Helping Daddy!!
Third Row:
1st photo:  Gracie met the Chick-Fil-A cow (who was played by our pastor's son Ryan)
2nd photo:  Our neighbors very kindly gave us their old playset which Gracie loves to play on.
3rd photo:  Gracie loved going to pick apples at the apple orchard!
4th photo:  "C'm'ere, puppy!"  Gracie loved playing with PawPaw's puppy Buster!

DIY Cabinet Redo

I have been hinting around about the "big project" I've been working on.  I finally finished it tonight!  I honestly thought I was never going to get it done.  I started on it about two months ago and the weather and real life prevented me from working on it.

This is my Grandma's china cabinet.  It is at least 46 years old and was given to me about 10 or 15 years ago.  It was on loan to my former church's parsonage until this past spring.  We put it in our garage until I figured out what I wanted to do with it.  I decided to totally redo the look.  I couldn't decide on what color to paint it.  I knew I wanted it to be contrasty, but not so trendy that the colors would be "out" in a few years.  I debated on whether or not to use earth tone colors like my Grandma liked, but finally decided to use traditional eye-popping colors that *I* like.  My husband and I went to Home Depot and he decided for us to use spray paint.  [Note: never again!]  I looked at all the colors and decided on Colonial Red for the outside, Heirloom White for the inside, and Brushed Nickel for the hardware, all in satin finish.  I used a kind of a brownish-red primer for the red and a white primer for the off-white.

My husband did the sandpapering prep work.  He also replaced the left side of the base cabinet because it had been damaged in the process of being moved (I was not happy!).  He also moved the cabinet in and out of the garage and onto the platform in the backyard.  The platform is actually the floor of the old shed that my husband took down this summer.  He decided to leave it there until we finish all of our painting projects.  (I have just one more project in mind.)

It took several weekends to get it all done.  I really wanted to have it done within two weeks of starting; instead, it took two months to finish it!  I kept telling Robert, "I'm never going to get my cabinet done!"  Little bit of drama there.

If I had to do it all over again, I would absolutely not use spray paint, at least not for both colors.  Even with using painter's tape and masking paper, I had spray from color onto another color.  I went to Home Depot and got sample containers of paint to match the spray paint (I spray painted a couple of popsicle sticks), but the red turned out to be totally off.  The off-white was close enough that I could use it.  I resorted to using a red sharpie marker to touch up the red which is not the best but will work for now.  I think I'm going to find some acrylic paint that matches and use that to touch up instead.

With the hardware, I used the primer paint and the brushed nickel.  What's funny is that if it could be painted on the wrong side, I did that!  I had to go back and paint the correct sides of the hinges and the magnet plates.  I suppose I was in a hurry and guessed rather than tried to figure out the correct sides when I was doing it.

There are still some brown glass etching on the doors that I don't know how to get rid of.  I'll just leave it until I find out what to do.

I finished up the main painting on Saturday and Robert brought it into the house that evening. I finished up the painting this afternoon and put everything together.  Robert helped me put the glass doors on.  I'm so happy that it's done, and I really like the results!

I will be using this cabinet as a combo office supply cabinet (for the drawers) and photo album cabinet (for the shelves).  This means that I can work on organizing my photos and putting them in albums.  I also want to do photo books for our family.

Liebster Award

Liebster is a German word and it means, sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome. The award is given to blogs with less than 200 followers.

My bloggy friend Laurie at Everyday Grace awarded the Liebster Award to me.  It was a nice surprise and a bright spot in a difficult week.

She asked me 11 questions which I will now answer.

1. What is your favorite Bible verse?
My "life verse" is "They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep." - {Psalm 107:23-24 KJV}
After I got back in church in late 1999, my pastor at the time, Jimmy McCullough, preached a sermon called "Doing Business in Great Waters" which talked about getting away from your comfort zone near the edge of a body of water and going out into the deep of doing God's Will.  It was a great sermon (I wish I had a copy of it!), and really motivated me to take my Christian living to the next level.

2. How long have you been married?
Robert and I have been married 4 years, 8 months, and 5 days.  Yes, this December 1st will mark 5 years of marriage!  {I'm hoping we'll get to do a little getaway to celebrate.}

3. What is one of your family's favorite meals?
Hmmm.....this is a little hard since there aren't many foods that all three of us like, my daughter being the pickiest eater.  I think I will have to pick spaghetti.  All three of us like to eat that. I have found some yummy frozen meatballs to put in it

4. What advice would you give a first time mom?
Sleep when the baby sleeps.  Don't worry about the house; it'll still be there in all of its dusty, cluttered glory.  Enjoy the baby, and if you can, try to do dishes, one load of laundry, and have something picked out for supper.

5. List 3 words that best describe your husband?
I would say that Robert is very straight-forward, intelligent, and strong in his convictions.
 
6. What is your favorite restaurant?
I can't name just one.  Eating out is one of my favorite things (good food that I don't have to cook or clean up after? Win-win!)  Fast food:  Chick-Fil-A and Zaxby's and Arby's. Sit-Down: Red Robin, Steak-and-Shake, anything seafood (except Red Lobster.  I love their food, but their tartar sauce has a weird wang to it.)  We also like a local restaurant called J. Alexander's.

7. Who is your favorite author?
For children's books, my favorite author has always been Laura Ingalls Wilder.  For Amish fiction, Beverly Lewis and Cindy Woodsmall.  For suspense/mystery, Dee Henderson and Robert Whitlow (I've just discovered Robert Whitlow who is like a Christian John Grisham.  His theology/religious style is quite different from mine, but I enjoy the stories.).

8. What are your hobbies?
Reading, Blogging, Pinterest, Photography, Travel (though I don't do it very much) and hanging out with family.

9. Where do you like to shop?
Just about anywhere, to be honest.  I am very much a go-and-do or at least go-and-look-at kind of person.  I do most of my shopping at Walmart.  I'm in there at least once a week and sometimes two or three times.  If I have a project idea in my head, I will sometimes have to visit many stores to find what I want or to get all of the supplies.  Fortunately, I live very close to many of the nationwide chains you can think of, so I don't waste TOO much gas.

10. Why do you blog?
I blog as a creative outlet, mostly.  Also to have backup copies of my recipes.  My Kinsey Family Blog mainly serves to share photos of Gracie with family and friends who are not on Facebook.  I don't even know if anybody ever views it since my sister went to Heaven last year, but I still post to it.

11. What is your favorite place to vacation?
I like going anyplace new or anyplace where there is something interesting to do or see.  As a family, we have been to Hawaii (honeymoon); Orlando, FL; Ashville, NC; Cade's Cove, Smokey Mountains, TN; Tuckaleechee Caverns in the Smokey Mountains (NEVER again!  I enjoyed it but it was scary, too, and there's no way I would ever take my children there.); and Lexington, KY.  We also visit family in South Mississippi; Springfield, IL; Moultrie, Ga; and Montgomery, AL.  Gracie and I visited my brother in Antelope Valley, CA, but Robert couldn't go with us.  We would love to go to Washington, DC and the Grand Canyon one day.  I would love to go to Amish Country, New York City, and New England.

The Liebster Award is a pass-it-along award. I am going to pick the following blogs:

Kristy of Making Sweet Memories
Kristy Jo and I know each other from a Christian Ladies Forum (Vessels Unto Honour).  She has four cute, funny, sweet kids and loves photography like I do.

Kristy of Thimble Thoughts
Kristy is a bloggy friend of mine.  Funny thing is I don't remember which of my other bloggy friends introduced me to her blog!  She is a fun homeschooling mom of three and is an adult sponsor for her church's youth group.  I forget the name of it (Sigma Theta?), but it sounds like a great, fun way to help teens grow in Christ.

Lori of Frog's Lilypad
Lori and I also know each other from Vessels Unto Honour.  She is a homeschooling mom of a teenage boy.  She enjoys reading like I do.

Pat of Living Life with the Loves
Pat is another lady I know from Vessels Unto Honour.  She has three children and four grandchildren and serves in the ladies ministry and teaching little ones in her church.

Robyn of The Lighthouse Letters
Robyn is my pastor's wife here in Memphis! She teaches in our church's Christian school, oversees the ladies ministry, and is a very talented singer.  My Gracie loves Mrs. Robyn (and Ryan and Jordan and Preacher, too!).

Valerie of Valerie Write Now
Valerie is my other "real-life" friend.  We got to know each other through Vessels Unto Honour and met in real life two years ago.  She is a homeschooling pastor's wife, mother of five fun younguns, and a talented writer.

Rules for the Liebster Award are as follows:

(1) Post 11 things about yourself, (2) Answer the questions that your nominating blogger has set for you and then create 11 questions for your nominees, (3) choose up to 11 blogs to nominate and link them in your post, (4) go to their respective blogs and let them know, and (5) no tag backs!

Before I forget, here is your homework assignment are your questions to answer on your blog:

1.  What is something special or unique about the place where you live?

2.  If you could meet anybody in history, who would you want to meet and why? (Jesus does not count because we know we will meet Him in Heaven one day.)

3.  Have you had your "15 minutes of Fame"?  Describe the experience or tell what you would love to have it for.

4.  When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?  Did you accomplish that?

5.  What is your favorite tip or advice for mothers of little ones?

6.  What is your best advice for keeping it all in balance? or at least from dropping all the juggling balls?

7.  What is your favorite joke? or What is something funny that has happened to you or you have seen happen?

8.  Who are you most like in your family?

9.  What is the best memory you have of any of your grandparents?

10.  Have you crossed any items off your Bucket List?

11.  Who is one of your Christian mentors and what is something they have taught you?

 

Kitchen Renovation, Part 1

When Gracie and I returned home from our trip to California a month ago, this is what I found:

Yep, a construction danger zone with everything that used to be in my pantry piled up on my dining room table.  You can't even see my computer in the corner!  To be fair, Robert warned me that the house was a mess.  Also to be fair, he cleared most all of the stuff off in pretty short order.

As a point of reference, here is a picture from last year:

The main changes were switching the fridge and pantry and opening up the counter that divides the kitchen and the dining room.

Here are a couple more pictures of how it looked that day:

Robert added that box to the top of the counter thinking it would add more storage.  The only downside is that it gives it a less open feel.  Robert's idea is (was? not sure if he still wants to) to built a second box next to the wall and putting a fish aquarium in the middle.  He has wanted an aquarium for at least as long as we've been married, but we've not had the room for it.

This is the pantry that was pulled out of its other location, cut down to not be so deep (It was so deep that things would get shoved to the back and never found until I reorganized everything.).  Robert also lowered the microwave shelf.  Before it was too high for me to feel safe or to want to clean it out often.

Here is the box looking from the kitchen.  Robert rerouted some wiring and added the plug in.  It will eventually have a plate and will look a lot better.

Next Stage of Renovation:

Robert continued working on it and this is what it looked like at the next stage:

 More shelves and some of the bottom is closed in.  He also added a beautiful tile picture of a pheasant.  He has had it since before we were married, intending to put it somewhere in the house.  It makes for a unique addition.

 More junk on the counter and the stove.

This is the gap between the fridge and the drawers under the counter.  I forgot to mention that in order to make the fridge fit, Robert had to remove part of the countertop, the trash can drawer, and the round cubbies that used to hold my rolling pin, saran wrap, and tin foil.  The gap turned out to be a good thing, because my stepstool fits in there perfectly!  Before, I kept it in my bedroom (so that I could reach the top shelf of my closet), but this is ever so much better!  I also like that it's not so obvious to Gracie that it's there.  She has not tried to remove it.

Here is my mostly-redone pantry.  It has been painted, the microwave has been lowered, rolling wire shelves have been added, and there is a new home for the trash can drawer.  Eventually, Robert will add an adjustable shelf above the microwave so that I can have a place to put my saran wrap, tin foil, and wax paper (etc.).  I asked for it to be adjustable (up and down) for whenever we need to get a new microwave, so that we can make the shelf fit right over it no matter what size the microwave is.  I also want another shelf or something over the trash can drawer.

Current Stage of Renovation:

Robert added facings to the shelves and put on an initial coat of white paint.  The water cooler will eventually be moved to the opposite corner of the room diagonally, basically behind where I'm standing to take this picture.

 You can see the new arrangement.  Eventually, we'll fix up that area above the fridge so that it doesn't look too different from the shelf above the cabinets.

Another view.  We added a fifth rolling wire basket.  I've organized most of them (that's for another post).  I don't like having all the junk on top of the appliances and pantry, but I don't have any other places for them at the moment.

The counters are mostly clear.  The little cubby to the left of the plugin holds my straw container and my Chlorox wipes.  The larger cubby will continue to hold the knife set, but I will undoubtedly move that little crockpot to another location.  Eventually all that stuff piled on top will be gone, and I will only have an iPod boombox (or whatever you call it, I know that's the 80's term!) on top and maybe a knickknack or candle.

I had hoped that Robert would get to work on the kitchen some more today (6/16/12), but he had another project that needed tending to immediately.  We have a sinkhole in the back corner of our backyard.  It erodes away as it rains, and Robert has put untold amounts of dirt and concrete to fill it up.  Part of the problem is that we can't grow grass in the backyard because of the dogs.  They are so active that they prevent grass from growing and taking root.  He's working on a plan to prevent it from happening if not slow it way down.  Anyway, when he was cutting the yard, he misjudged his distance and backed up into the hole, falling in and landing in the hole which was as high as his waist!  So, he had to get that filled in today.

Once the new counter is all fixed up (Robert wants to add {plexi-}glass doors to the fronts of the shelves) and everything else in the kitchen is done, the next phase is to convert the utility closet into a pantry/storage area.  Most of my nonperishable food items are currently sitting in the garage.  They WERE on the dining room table, but I had enough of that and moved them.  I also have several other boxes of kitchen stuff that are in the garage loft and stuff in the shed out back.  I would like to have easy access to all of it which is why we need the extra storage space.

The utility closet is located on the other side of the dining room wall and is only accessible from the garage.  It's a rather narrow room, about 32", so it presents a little bit of a layout challenge, but I believe I have figured out how to maximize the space.  I'm very excited about that particular project.  Hopefully, it won't be too long before I can share more updates with you.

40 Things about Me

1. My identical twin sister and I were born 3 months prematurely.  She went to Heaven when we were four days old.
2. I was named after my Grandma Wilna Pauline (Lee) Bounds and her sister, my great aunt Ava (Lee) Reid, who took her out of the orphanage. My sister was named for our great grandmother Ida Isabelle (Anderson) Bounds and my daddy Claude Winston Gunn.  I am Ava Pauline and she is Ida Claudine.
   
3. I was a combination of tomboy and Miss Priss as a little girl.  My mom likes to tell about how I carried a toy snake in my purse while dressed in my Easter best when I was 6 years old.
4. I like to eat my fries with mayonnaise.  I learned this on a trip to Germany when I was 20.
5. I do not like to eat tomatoes (nor do I like the smell of tomato plants), but I love most tomato products such as pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce, and salsa.
6. I went to a secular private school for junior high.  Since the 7th and 8th graders took all the same classes (and I did well in them), my dad had them let me skip 8th grade.
7. Because of #5, the class with whom I graduated (Class of 1989) was not the same class with whom I started school (Class of 1990).
8. I have not lived in any one residence for longer than 5 years, 9 months.  If we live here past August 2013, it will set a new record for me.
9. My first car was a blue four-door 1983 Chevy Chevette.  I sold it for $200 after buying a Mercury Sable (can't remember the year of the car, but it was used as well).
10. While attending the University of Southern Mississippi, I worked for a husband-wife professor team in the chemistry department for nearly 5 years.  I helped them develop high school science experiments and was their "girl Friday" for whatever else they needed.
11. That job influenced me to major in Science Education with an emphasis in chemistry, physics, and general science.
12. I wound up teaching science as well as 8th grade computer discovery for seven years at Coldwater High School.  Then I taught 2nd-12th grade (all subjects except high school Bible) at Calvary Baptist School in Coldwater.
13. Every good job I've ever had has required typing.  It is probably the most useful skill I have learned.
14. I worked as a telemarketer while attending Hyles-Anderson College.  Although I didn't enjoy the job, it was very beneficial for me as it required me to step outside my comfort zone and learn how to talk to and persuade people effectively.
15. I do not like thunderstorms (it is storming now).
16. My favorite drink has always been Coca-Cola even though I don't drink it anymore since I've been off caffeine for almost 5 years.
17. Since I've been off caffeine, whenever I do have it, it makes me very sleepy for at least one day, sometimes three.
18. My favorite colors are blue and green and sometimes red and orange. I do not care for yellow or purple most of the time (even though I get complimented when I wear purple).
19. I taught myself how to read at age five because my mom read to me every day.
20. I still love to read.  Growing up, I would get ten (exactly ten) books from the library every Saturday and would have about half of them read over the weekend.
21. My favorite childhood author is Laura Ingalls Wilder. I've been to all of the Laura homesites in the Midwest. I would love to visit the Farmer Boy site in New York.
    
22. I am somewhat jealous of a friend of mine who got to catch another friend's baby because there were no doctors or nurses in the room. I've always wanted to deliver a baby!
23. I have lived in the South, the West, and the Midwest. I have been to about 27 states.
24. When going to a new restaurant, if New England Clam Chowder is on the menu, I usually will get it. So far, the best clam chowders come from Red Robin, Ruby's Diner (in LAX airport), and O'Charley's.
25. I met my husband in North Mississippi where we were also married, but we had a long distance courtship in the year between. I lived in Northwest Indiana (actually Calumet City IL but I worked, shopped, and went to church in Indiana) and Robert lived in Memphis.
26. I am a night owl, and I'm definitely NOT a morning person at all.  I prefer to be left alone in the morning until I'm fully awake.  The only exception is when I'm going on a trip.  I can wake up bright and bushy-tailed and ready to go on those days.
27. It's really hard to come up with 40 things about myself!
28. When I was learning to walk, I tripped and fell on the linoleum floor and bit my tongue, splitting it in half lengthwise.  My mom says if I hadn't had it stitched up, I would've had a forked tongue like a snake.  Nice visual, huh?  They had to run me to the hospital which was 35 minutes away.  Can you imagine holding your screaming, bleeding {fork-tongued} baby for that long?
29. My grandma taught me how to crochet when I was 7 years old.  I don't do it much, but I enjoy making blankets for little ones and especially mini-blankets for babies to hold.
30. I grew up watching my mom give piano lessons to other children (but never took formal lessons until I was grown) and learned how to play {my brother's old} saxophone in grade school.  I love music, but I never did like practicing, so I never progressed very far.  Now, I don't even have a piano (and no room for one), and probably wouldn't have time to practice, anyway.  I do plan on having Gracie learn the violin in a couple of years and the piano as well.
31. I have a paralyzed vocal cord that acts up every so often.  It just came upon me all of a sudden several years ago.  After much probing from doctors, they couldn't find a reason for it, but it was most likely caused by a virus settling in the nerve that goes to that vocal cord.  As a result, it can be difficult to sing -- not that anybody wants to hear me sing, anyway!
32. My favorite childhood Christmas was when I was eight years old.  "Santa Claus" brought me a beautiful life-sized doll cradle (which I still have), a table and chairs set, quilt and pillow for the cradle, and red gingham tablecloth for the table -- all handmade by my parents.  I also got a new baby doll.  Incidentally, this was the last Christmas I believed in Santa Claus.  I was not traumatized -- not even really all that surprised even, but I've decided to teach my daughter that it's a fun game we play (same with Easter Bunny and the tooth fairy).
33. I was saved at age 11 after hearing and understanding the Gospel at a summer day camp.  I didn't get baptized until I was 18.
34. My favorite animals are horses and dogs.  We had both when I was growing up.
35. My mom used to stay in the house when I would ride horses (with my dad) because she couldn't bear to watch me do my stunts.  I was quite the daredevil, standing up in the saddle and doing other such things.  I was too young to realize I could fall and I guess I kept my guardian angel busy in those days!
36. When I was in 6th grade, my class went to Rawhide Ranch for a week where we learned some horseriding stunts and how to show animals.  I had an almost unfair advantage over most of the kids (city kids in California) since I had been around horses and animals for years before that.  Anyway, I won the first place trophy for showing a horse.
37. I love fruit, almost any kind, but am not a big fan of most veggies.  I also don't do mushrooms.  I used to tolerate things cooked with cream of mushroom soup, but not so much anymore.
38. I have always loved playing in the water.  My mom took me to swimming lessons at Paul B. Johnson State Park when I was 7.  I can float and can move in the water, but I wouldn't be able to save anybody else (except my daughter) if they were drowning.
39. Summer is my favorite season for doing things, but as I get older, Spring becomes more of my favorite because I can see the regeneration of the earth as trees and flowers bloom.
40. Growing up, I had different things I wanted to be when I grew up including teacher, wife and mom, truckdriver (my daddy was a truckdriver), and motorcycle cop (I enjoyed watching CHiPs on TV).  I became a teacher and I became a wife and mother which are the best choices out of all of them.

You may be wondering why I picked 40 (instead of 10 or 25) things about me.  It's because today is my 40th birthday!  I can't believe I'm 40.  I feel like I should still be in my early 30's (especially with a toddler).  People tell me I look like I'm 30, so that's a good thing.  I have ALWAYS looked younger than I am.  In fact, my first day teaching at Coldwater High School, one of the other teachers told me she almost told me to get out of the hall and back to class!  LOL!

I am thankful for the life God has given me.  I look forward to living 40+ more years for Him.

I'm back!

I'm back!  Well, kinda.  I have a couple of posts nearly ready to publish, and a couple of ideas for posts.  I'm not sure when I'll really have time to get them in, but I thought give a little update on things around here.

I want to give a special "Thank you" to my friend Valerie of Valerie Write Now who remembered and acknowledged my one year "blogoversary" on Thursday, April 12th. She wrote about it on my Facebook Page and also shared my link with her Facebook friends and followers.  That made my day!  I  wanted to have a new post ready for my readers or at least pop in to say Hi, but I just didn't get to.

As usual, life is busy around here.  I have done quite a bit to get ready for my yard sale.  I have gone through all of the boxes that Robert brought into the garage and have priced everything designated for the yard sale.  Tentatively, I am scheduling the yard sale for Friday and Saturday, May 4th and 5th.  I'm hoping that Robert will bring me more boxes tomorrow so that I can continue getting things ready.  I won't have it until I've gone through everything (of my stuff).  Robert still has to go through all of his stuff (and the stuff that I've set aside for him to decide on).

Gracie is doing wonderfully.  Just today, she has FINALLY learned to say "Thank you" orally instead of signing it.  She's said it about 100 times just this evening.  We've been trying for months to get her to say it to no avail.  She has already said "Thanks!" which is acceptable, but when prompted to say "Thank you" has resorted to signing it.  She's cute when she does it, either way, though.  She's also learned how to pedal her tricycle.  Going outside is just about her favorite activity, whether it's going to the park (playground), playing in the backyard with the dogs, or riding one of her little vehicles down the street (sidewalk, I should say).

Gracie is also doing pretty well with the potty training.  This morning, she stayed dry and went potty twice.  I put her in a pullup for her nap and for when we went out to eat and window shopping (for a new washer and dryer).  I'm not yet to the point where I feel comfortable having her in her training panties when we're out and about.  I bought the Target brand pullups and I do not like them.  They leak when used at night.  I need to go and buy the Walmart brand which I think works better.  The price is comparable.  I'll still use the Target ones for naps and when we're away from home, but I'll use Walmart for nighttime use.

The next couple of months will continue to be busy.  We have friends coming in for a visit next week, we'll be going out of town for a family event, we hope to have that yard sale in early May, Gracie and I will be going to my nephew's graduation in May, the annual family reunion is in June, and a bunch of birthdays are in June (including my 40th <nooooooo!!!!!> and my husband's 49th - this will be the first year we've been in the same decade together).

Some of you already know this, but just in case you are interested in seeing additional photos and videos of our family (98% of them are of Gracie!), I have another blog that I use for that purpose:  Kinsey Family Blog  If you are Facebook friends with me, you already see most of the pictures.

I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend!