Showing posts with label hobbies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hobbies. Show all posts

Monday, January 5, 2009

Learning About Handguns

I finally got a chance to shoot my new gun on Saturday. Don and I both really like it, and I have pretty good accuracy with hitting the target.

Here are some safety tips I learned before we went:

1. Never point gun toward anyone unless you plan to shoot them.
2. Don’t load the gun until you are ready to shoot.
3. Always keep the safety engaged until ready to shoot.
4. Never put your finger on the trigger (especially while picking gun up) except to shoot.

This "toy" is a killing machine, and mistakes can be deadly. It is important to follow all of the above guidelines to make sure they don't happen.

Here are some pictures I took. Thankfully it was 60ยบ+ that day. I’m not sure how many more days like that we’ll have in January, but I’m anxious to get back out and try it again!



Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Top 10 Things I Did In 2008 That I Had Never Done Before

1. Learned to shoot a rifle
2. Bought a laptop computer
3. Went to Brown County State Park in Nashville, Indiana
4. Led Community Bible Study, first as an adult Core group leader, then as a children’s leader
5. Started blogging
6. Went to see the Nashville Symphony at the Schermerhorn Center, twice
7. Joined Facebook and connected with lots of old friends
8. Voted for a presidential ticket that included a woman
9. Paid more than $4/gallon for gasoline
10. Bought clothes at Goodwill

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Random Thoughts

Well, the Christmas season is officially here. I am trying to make the best of it by focusing on the birth of Jesus. I wrote a booklet several years ago called "Devotions for December" which I self-published for family and friends, and I am going to be including some of those devotions over the next few weeks. I’ll do those in a green font.

Even though I’m trying to have a good attitude, I’m still going to leave my "Grinch’s Countdown" on my blog. Hopefully it won’t be too big a downer for those of you who really love the Christmas season. Anyway, I’m proud of the way I bluffed my way through the html language to get that picture of the grinch on there.

I may be exploiting the commercialism of Christmas, but I’m planning to have a sale of my handmade jewelry coming up soon. If you are interested, e-mail me, and I’ll give you the details. Prices start at $3 for earrings. I’ll post some pictures later this week.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Top 10 Websites Where I Can Waste A Lot of Time

Just in case you have too much time on your hands like I do (NOT!), here are some things to keep you busy. Most of these sites can be useful in the right context, but I find I can easily get consumed with them and spend entirely too much time on them.

1. http://www.youtube.com/ (Watch videos of almost anything in the world.)
2. http://www.facebook.com/ (I have found a good percentage of everybody I have known in every phase of my life on here. You must set up an account (free) to use this.)
3. http://www.allrecipes.com/ (Find almost any recipe you could ever want.)
4. http://www.amazon.com/ (Order almost anything you can dream of at very reasonable prices.)
5. http://www.rhapsody.com/ (Listen to all your favorite music (free in limited quantities).)
6. http://hobsvtxie01.nashville.org/Default.asp?br=exp&vr=6 (If you like to snoop, you can find out the value of anybody’s house in Davidson County. If you don’t live in Nashville, your city probably has an equivalent site.)
7. http://www.ebay.com/ (If it’s not on Amazon, it’s almost certainly here, or you may be able to get an even better deal on it here.)
8. http://www.biblegateway.com/ (Find any scripture by reference or key word. More Bible translations than you probably knew existed, including a number of foreign languages.)
9. http://www.wikipedia.org/ (An up-to-the-minute encyclopedia that covers just about every topic in the universe.)
10. http://www.maps.google.com/ (Another good site for snoopers (which is a nice word for "stalkers"). Click on "Satellite" to get an aerial view of anybody’s neighborhood, or zoom in to see their house.)

Monday, November 3, 2008

Exercising My Second Amendment Rights

I did something this weekend that I have never done before. Don and I had decided that, in light of current national and world events, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for me to learn to shoot a gun. He has a .22-caliber rifle, so on Saturday we went out to the shooting range on Hobson Pike in Mt. Juliet, where I had my first lesson.

Click to play Learning to Shoot
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It was a beautiful day, and I actually had fun! I am sincerely hopeful that I will never have a reason to use this skill for anything other than sport. Still, it never hurts to know how to do it. If it’s good enough for Sarah Palin, it’s good enough for me!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Iowa City Puzzle

My mom gave Don a 400-piece jigsaw puzzle for his birthday that was a map of his hometown, Iowa City, Iowa. It covers a 4-mile by 6-mile area, and in the center is a piece shaped like a house, which is where his parents’ home is located. Don had a fun time reminiscing as he worked it, and I learned a little geography.
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She got it from Catalog Favorites. Each puzzle is personalized and made to order. I think this is a great gift idea, especially for someone who may be missing their home town.
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Friday, August 15, 2008

Jigsaw Puzzles

One of the things Don and I have discovered that we enjoy doing together is jigsaw puzzles. This is something I never really did before I got married, but one winter evening not too long after we got married, Don and I were bored and came across the clock puzzle (pictured) that my dad had given me some years earlier but I had never worked. We sat down and did the whole thing over the next several hours and discovered that it was really fun!
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Soon we became addicts and were buying jigsaw puzzles on a regular basis. Unfortunately, our dog Nash has a taste for puzzle pieces, so since most of the ones we work take us several days, usually Nash somehow manages to sneak a piece or 2 while it is laying out on the table, and our puzzle has holes in it by the time we are done.
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We have decided we like drawings better than photographs. Charles Wysocki is our favorite puzzle artist. The picture on the right is our latest accomplishment, one we did actually manage to finish with all the pieces intact. We don’t do them as much in the summer, but as the cooler weather and shorter days start setting in, I expect we’ll be getting back into it. I think it’s a great low-cost way for couples or families to spend time together.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

100 Random Things That You May (or May Not) Want to Know About Me

I saw this on someone else’s blog and thought it was cute as well as interesting, so I took her idea and made my own.

1. I was born on 10/10, and
2. my initials before I got married were J.J., the 10th letter of the alphabet.
3. I was born 3 years, 3 months and 3 days after my parents got married.
4. I was an only child for 6½ years, when my brother was born.
5. My mom never liked animals much, so we had a few when I was growing up, but never enough for me. Now I have 3, plus an aquarium,
6. which I have had for several years but plan to get rid of as soon as the fish die. I am tired of taking care of it.
7. I went to high school with Wynonna Judd
8. and Ashley Judd,
9. who was my lab partner in biology, but only because we were next to each other alphabetically.
10. I drive a Honda Accord, which I think is a good car.
11. Before that I drove a Dodge Neon, which I thought was a piece of junk.
12. In college I drove a ’76 Plymouth Fury, which got 12 mpg.
13. From age 3 through 12th grade I went to 5 different schools for 3 years each.
14. Then I went to Belmont College (now University).
15. It took me 4½ years
16. to get my elementary education degree,
17. which I have never used.
18. I have always wanted to take ballet. I took for a little while as a child, but still want to take again, but now I would look like an elephant in a leotard, and be about as graceful as one.
19. I have always wanted to play the piano. I took lessons for a little while in college, but still want to take more.
20. I have always wanted to play the flute, and now I do.
21. I play the piccolo now too.
22. I grew up in a Methodist church
23. but now go to a PCA (Presbyterian) one.
24. I received Christ in a Good News Club when I was 10.
25. I have read through the whole Bible several times.
26. I was a girl scout.
27. I was a notary public for about 15 years while I was working for attorneys. My commission expired last month.
28. I am a Nashville native.
29. My family moved away right after I started college, first to Indiana, then Florida, then North Carolina.
30. They eventually all came back, after my brother got married and my parents got divorced.
31. When my brother and his wife moved back, they lived in my apartment complex, so we were next-door neighbors for several years.
32. I am collecting state quarters. I have all but Arizona, Alaska and Hawaii, and I’m not sure if they’ve even been issued yet.
33. I don’t like to take any kind of medicine, but will occasionally take aspirin, or Theraflu if I am congested and can’t sleep.
34. I eat very little pork or shellfish because I think the Old Testament law forbids them for a reason: both are nasty creatures.
35. My band was in the Orange Bowl parade my senior year in high school.
36. I love olives, green or black.
37. I hate mushrooms, broccoli and green peas.
38. I am a sugar addict.
39. About the only food that I binge on besides sugar is chips and salsa.
40. My favorite food (other than sugar) is probably pizza or lasagna.
41. I like to cook.
42. I went out with a guy a few times in college who later got murdered by his wife.
43. I love the "Little House on the Prairie" books (still) and have been to Laura Ingalls Wilder’s house in Mansfield, Missouri.
44. Other favorite authors are Janette Oke, John Grisham and Beverly Lewis.
45. When I was 8, I lived in the same neighborhood as Marcia Trimble, when she was murdered.
46. I didn’t know her, but I did know Jeffrey Womack, their main suspect (who was recently cleared after 30+ years), who babysat for my brother and me at Peggy Morgan’s house.
47. I learned to roller blade when I was 30.
48. I took Spanish in high school and college but don’t remember too much.
49. My great grandparents on my dad’s side lived and are buried in Henning, Tennessee, the same small town that Alex Haley, the author of "Roots" is from.
50. I have seen Niagara Falls from the U.S.
51. and Canadian side, but
52. other than Canada I have never been out of the country, but
53. my friend Laurie won a trip for 2 to Hawaii around my 30th birthday and took me with her for my birthday gift.
54. I am very conservative politically. I think George Bush is doing a great job, and I am dreading (or fearing, depending on the outcome of the election) January.
55. I like to listen to Rush Limbaugh.
56. I attended Bible Study Fellowship for 8½ years, including 2 years as a leader.
57. I live within walking distance from the Hermitage, Andrew Jackson’s home.
58. Except for our house, Don and I are debt-free.
59. Wal-Mart is my favorite place to shop.
60. I don’t like stores that make you use a card to be able to get their specials so they can track what you buy.
61. Amy Grant once sat next to me in church.
62. T.G. Shepherd is my second cousin (or something like that) on my mom’s side, but I have never met him.
63. One of the first things Don and I realized we had in common was that we both like fife and drum corps.
64. I like old cemeteries.
65. Both of my grandmothers lived past age 90.
66. Both of my grandfathers died before I was born.
67. Once in college my picture was on the front page of The Tennessean, along with a "snow bunny" I had built.
68. I used to decorate cakes but quit when I joined Weight Watchers because I always ate too much icing.
69. I had chicken pox when I was 12. I broke out on Christmas day.
70. I don’t like Christmas. I think it’s way too stressful and has completely lost its meaning.
71. I don’t like winter either. Summer is my favorite season, but I like spring and fall too.
72. My favorite flowers are daffodils, because they mean spring is beginning. I always hope to see some before the end of February, which I usually do.
73. My favorite colors are probably pink and purple, but I really like all bright colors.
74. My favorite kind of music is old hymns.
75. I also like contemporary Christian, light rock (especially oldies) and classical.
76. Even though I’m from Nashville, I don’t care for country music.
77. I don’t enjoy traveling; it stresses me out, but
78. if I ever get over that and have enough money, I would like to go to the Grand Canyon, Washington D.C., Italy, Scotland and the Holy Land.
79. One of my favorite places to go when I do travel is to the Smoky Mountains.
80. My friend Pam (who has since died) and I used to camp there every summer, and
81. Don and I went there on our honeymoon.
82. My favorite movies are Mr. Holland’s Opus, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Back to the Future and The Sound of Music.
83. I have never played the lottery, but
84. if I won it, I would probably give most of it away or use some of it to adopt a child from a foreign country.
85. I almost never watch TV. When I do watch, my current favorite show is Bones.
86. I like to do word puzzles and play word games.
87. I like to make beaded jewelry.
88. Don’s family is from Iowa. The first time I went there was at Christmas when we were dating. It was so cold, I thought I was going to die.
89. Last summer during one of the worst heat waves in history our air conditioning went out. It was so hot I thought I was going to die.
90. I don’t enjoy watching sports on TV, but I do like to go to baseball and football games.
91. I don’t like talking on the phone but love e-mail.
92. When I was little my mom kept my hair cut short. She thought it was cute, but I hated it.
93. As soon as I was old enough, I grew it out and have kept it long ever since.
94. I know how to sew but only do it when I have to.
95. When I was 4, I stuck a paperclip up my nose. My parents had to take me to the hospital to get it out.
96. That’s the only time I’ve ever been in the hospital.
97. I am fairly soft-spoken now, but I used to be much more so.
98. I need at least 8 hours of sleep a night or I am very grouchy and basically useless.
99. Don and I got engaged at the Ellington Agricultural Center.
100. I’m exhausted after typing all this!

(and you probably are too after reading it all!)

Sunday, August 3, 2008

My Flute

"Praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute." Psalm 150:4

Don bought me a wonderful gift for my first birthday after we got married: a flute. Not just any flute, but a Gemeinhardt solid silver, open-hole flute with a B foot. I know this doesn’t mean a lot to a non-flute player, but it was a much nicer gift than I ever expected. As an added bonus, this gift also included six months of lessons.

I had always wanted to play the flute. In high school I played the clarinet but my heart was never in it because I wanted to play the flute. I had joined the band after everyone else and they already had too many flutes. I was never much of a musician, but I never lost my desire to be a flute player. Don, being a musician himself (a drummer), wanted to help me fulfill my dream.

I ended up taking lessons for about a year and a half, during which time I acquired adequate skills to be able to play in our worship team at church, which Don is also a part of. I very much enjoy doing this.
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I don’t know what direction this will take in the future, but for now I am thankful for a husband who heard my heart and bought me a flute without me even asking or suspecting he would, and who encourages me when I don’t feel like I will ever be a good musician. I am also thankful for a church that allows me the opportunity to use what (meager) skills I have for the glory of God.
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Cool Thing to Know: If you go to http://www.finalemusic.com/, you can download their free software, Notepad. It is a bit cumbersome, but allows you to write or arrange, play and print your own music.
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Thursday, July 17, 2008

My Herb Garden


The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth.
One is nearer to God's heart in the garden
Than anywhere else on earth.
-- Dorothy Gurney

This was on an embroidery sampler my mom did that hung in our home when I was a child. She has since passed it on to me, at my request, and it now hangs in my living room.

When I was single, I didn’t mind apartment living, but one of the main reasons I wanted a house was so I could have an herb garden. I grew herbs in pots on my porch of my apartment, but it wasn’t the same.

The first summer after we got married and moved into our home, I got out my shovel and dug up an 8’x8’ patch of land and planted my herb garden. I have since planted a vegetable garden and strawberry garden as well, but my herb garden holds a special place in my heart. I love planting the seeds for the annuals each spring and watching them sprout up out of the ground. I enjoy watching them all grow and flower and breaking off the leaves to take in their various fragrances. The best part of all is eating them. Here are some of the recipes we have been enjoying this summer using my fresh herbs:

Salsa

"That’s the best salsa I’ve ever tasted!" (quote from Don’s 7-year-old nephew, Daniel)

5 roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped (I also made it once with 3 larger tomatoes)
5 green onions
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp. hot pepper sauce
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
4 small garlic cloves
1 tsp. salt

Put all ingredients in food processor and pulse to desired consistency.

Rosemary and Thyme Bread

1 1/3 cups water
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary (or more to taste)
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme (or more to taste)
4 tsp. butter
2 tsp. salt
4 cups bread flour
4 tsp. dry milk
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. active dry yeast

Put all ingredients in bread machine as directed by manufacturer and choose Basic setting.

Pesto Sauce

3 cups packed fresh basil leaves
4 cloves garlic
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup pine nuts

Combine all ingredients in food processor and blend to a smooth paste. Serve over hot cooked pasta.