The Joy of Picture Taking

I was given a new camera for Christmas, and couldn't wait to take it for a spin. I'm the main photographer in my family, and though I don 't take bazillions of them (the cameras seem to live a short life here), I like taking them when I have a camera in hand. But there's one big stumbling block- I forget to bring it to special occasions!

Not this time though.

My darling husband bought me a teeny-tiny camera that's small enough to carry in my purse- case and all! So as long as I keep the thing charged (let's not get into that just yet), I'm good to go.

And so far, it has served me well!

The funny thing is, I haven't been taking too many pictures of the family. It has been snowing here on a regular basis, so I've been taking pictures of winter scenes, the sky at sunset, and the occasional animal that happens to cross my path. I did manage to get a few head shots of myself, so you'll finally be getting a look at me sometime soon on the Ruby of Women website.

Okay, so I can't wait. This is me!


This is the only picture I actually like of myself. And yes, my hair is naturally curly. Don't envy me though, it's a bear to brush out each morning and evening. And after I brush, I look like a woman with a bush on her head.

I have yet to get a family picture, because I'm usually the one holding the camera! I might have to get a neighbor over here to take it- then you can see the beautiful people I live with that I want to smack on occasion.

So now that I'm expanding my computerized horizons, I'd like to ask you something. Actually a few somethings. I want to know what you like to read about on this blog. I want to interact with my readers more- both at Ruby and here. But it begins with you. Tell me also if you see something that could be improved upon (like pictures!) Share your ideas and suggestions in the comment section- I would love to know what you're thinking!

The Agony of De Feet

This has been one eventful week and a half.

My son survived having a sprained wrist, and still bears the removable cast- the sprain is still hurting him, though he has a lot more movement in his fingers. Not fully, but much better than last week, thank the Lord!

Then one week later, he takes a tumble down his bedroom stairs and messes up his foot. On the right side. Just like his wrist. I spent the day taking him from the ER to the docs, to the orthopedic docs, getting test after test. He sprained his foot. Try to walk on crutches when you have a sprained wrist on the same side. Sheesh!

The good news is it wasn't nearly as bad as the wrist sprain, so he was up on crutches the next day. Two days off from school and a backlog of homework- which I gladly picked up from his teachers, much to his dismay. The wrist he isn't milking as much, but the foot? You bet he was trying his best to limp his way into our sympathies.

It might have worked too, had I not seen him nearly run to the computer when he was given permission to play on it a little bit. Heh.

He still has light chore duty (especially concerning steps), but all in all, he is okay enough not to need the crutches anymore. I did ask his teachers to allow him use of the elevator for classes this week, but after that, he should be fine and dandy. He only has to take the stairs to go to lunch, so by the end of the week, he should be able to do it.

During this time, my husband was diagnosed with walking pneumonia. He has chronic bronchitis, so getting pneumonia is not that uncommon, but left untreated, he can be in big trouble. Thank the Lord he went to the doc in time. The bad(der) news is that he had snow duty when we got over eight inches, and had to go shovel snow at work at four o'clock in the morning. Then he had to work overtime, so he wasn't home until almost nine o'clock that night. He worked overtime all week, leaving at six-thirty in the morning and returning after eight each night. All I could do was offer him a nice hot drink for his coughing fits and make sure he got enough sleep.

Before he had found out about the pneumonia, he wanted to celebrate my birthday by making a five course dinner, and letting me have some girlfriends over for the feast. I tried to talk him out of it after he was diagnosed, but this was something he wanted to do. He wasn't contagious, and he wasn't going to let a little coughing stop him from doing something he already had planned. A little coughing. Right. Guess the kids got the stubbornness from both sides of the family tree.

He was feeling better by the time Saturday came around, so I decided to not cancel his plans. The girls and I had a blast! He had really outdone himself.

We had a garden salad to start, shrimp bisque (the broth his made was outstanding!), then a fruit salad (to cleanse the pallet), then herbed chicken with pasta in a cream sauce, and dessert was a chocolate-berry cake with chocolate ganache filling, and a cherry chunk whipping cream sauce to pour over the top. Can you say YUM? All of this took place over a two-hour period, with his grandmothers antique china. I've never felt so special on my birthday!

And there's a lot of shrimp bisque left over. Hee hee!

The kids are home today for the holiday, and my husband is back to working overtime all this week. I'm looking into make some new recipes that he can take for lunch (which can be tricky- he doesn't always have time to heat up food, yet hates muffins and other room-temp savory baked things I could make- he's a hot-or-cold kinda guy). Maybe I could make up some special iced tea he can take to help soothe his coughing a bit. Either that, or surprise him once in a while by bringing him a nice, hot lunch. That might work! I'm so glad you're here to talk to! It helps me think better.

My daughter and I have survived this week with our bodies in tact and our health uncompromised, to which I am eternally grateful. I slept in a little later than normal this morning, and the house is a complete mess, so all of us will be busy, including Gimpy, the Wonder Boy.

So now you know why I've been scarce this week! I was almost afraid to post anything, lest I be needed to take someone to the ER or docs office. I tend to zone out the world when I'm writing- even a blog post like this one- so I need to hold off writing anything when I have to be alert for falling children.

God bless all of you, and I hope your week goes better than mine did last week! Stay safe and healthy, and remember to give your loved ones a kiss and a hug. Then go wash your hands- the kids probably had sticky faces. ;)

All this Trouble in Three Days?

I love my son. I really do. But I would give my eye teeth to make him understand the idea of self control.

He's going to be thirteen soon (if he makes it until next month), And I'm not sure if his recent actions are from becoming a teen with raging hormones, or that he has Aspergers and just doesn't understand how to control himself.

It's probably a bit of both.

Two days back from Christmas vacation he accidentally nails a kid in the lip with a pencil (the teacher said the other child is fine). Then yesterday he gets his wrist caught between two heavy doors at school, and I get a call from the school nurse, saying he's in her office, moaning and cradling his wrist as if it was going to fall off.

"How bad is it?" I ask.
"There is a little swelling, and we put ice on it, but he's fussing so much that maybe you'd better take him to the doctor's office."
"You think he's Drama Kinging?" I ask, both of us knowing full well he likes to make life a bit more interesting when he's hurt.
"At first I thought so, and I still think he's overdoing it some, but it really should be X-rayed, just to be sure."
"X-rayed? I'll get him as soon as I can."

Unfortunately I didn't have the car- my husband did. So he got off from work early to pick him up.
Ten minutes later, I get another call from the nurses office.
"Mrs. Brubaker, after I finished speaking with you, another student came in and he's sitting there chatting with her. He's still cradling his wrist, but he stopped moaning about the pain. Do you still want to get him?"
It's only about forty-five minutes until school ends for the day, but I knew my husband was already en route. I told her my husband would be there soon, and hung up the phone with a sigh. He picked up my daughter from school too (since she got out soon after he picked up my son), dropped her off at the house, and off to the emergency room they went.

They got home three hours later, my son sporting a splint wrapped up all the way to his elbow, and a huge grin on his face. Apparently he got a lot of attention from the ER staff. He couldn't wait to show everyone his injury in school this morning.

The funny thing is, it was a slight sprain, so he was milking it for all it was worth. My husband was asked by one of the ER docs, "Did you really need to bring him here? The sprain isn't that bad." But because the doctors office was closed, this was our only other option so he could get back into school. Basically, it looks worse than it is, and that's just the way my son likes it.

Of course he's right-handed, and it was the right wrist he hurt. Kind of hard to feel sorry for him when he's grinning more than a Cheshire cat and stating he hurts too much to do any chores or homework. I'll give him today off, but after that, the Drama King is on light duty!

I'd love to see what's happening at school right now, especially since he was supposed to write an apology letter to the classmate that he hurt the other day as part of his discipline. It's times like these I wish I had a spy camera, just to see how long he's going to wheedle his way out of any written work. It might be good book material!

Please Lord, let this day be uneventful!

Oh no....Is that the phone ringing?