tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289736189879386047Sat, 02 Jun 2012 15:16:30 +0000SouthposyRunningbookswhat passes for breakfast conversation in East Tennesseefiction maniaChristmasmajor maladjustmentMiss Mrantshaiku for modern momsmss mbad mamagrumperboy wonderthings I consumeoak ridge rulesread-aloudwordsminutiaefoodother placesfamilychickenspoetrycousinsonly in east tennesseeouttakes from the bi-partisan householdworkouttakes from the bipartisan householdthings I need to tell my kidsfriendsKnoxville working mama commentary on family life and everyday happeningshttp://www.500jerk.com/noreply@blogger.com (500Jerk)Blogger592125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289736189879386047.post-815069750005706041Sat, 02 Jun 2012 14:36:00 +00002012-06-02T09:37:54.828-05:00Miss MfamilyFurther proof that eleven year-old Miss M and I share the same genetic material: Me:  Miss M, there's a social dance opportunity I want to talk to you about. Miss M:  But I don't like to dance. Me:  You do, too.  You dance in front of the Xbox all the time. Miss M:  That's different.  That's fun. Me:  I know, but you'll have social opportunities later in life where you'll need to know how tohttp://www.500jerk.com/2012/06/wallflower-gene.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (500Jerk)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289736189879386047.post-2020627561764766883Thu, 31 May 2012 11:29:00 +00002012-05-31T09:02:19.386-05:00Miss Mboy wonderfriends http://www.500jerk.com/2012/05/memorial-day-2012.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (500Jerk)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289736189879386047.post-9142217764980341398Thu, 24 May 2012 14:32:00 +00002012-05-31T09:01:49.810-05:00Miss MFrom this wee bairn, ready for kindergarten in 2005: To this tall, strong lassie, in 2012, who had to stoop so her teacher could flip her mortarboard tassel: Oh, the places you'll go, Miss M!  We love you so!http://www.500jerk.com/2012/05/5th-grade-graduation.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (500Jerk)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289736189879386047.post-8972722041107154152Thu, 24 May 2012 00:51:00 +00002012-05-23T19:54:03.829-05:00booksA friend recently raved about the writing in The Marriage Plot, by Jeffrey Eugenides. I have to agree.  And as someone just ever so slightly obsessed with tennis, I love this sentence in particular: Alton had been club champion in his age group for twelve years running, one of those older guys with a sweatband ringing a balding crown, a choppy forehand, and absolute murder in his eyes. http://www.500jerk.com/2012/05/currently-reading-marriage-plot.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (500Jerk)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289736189879386047.post-5867137309376928312Tue, 22 May 2012 01:27:00 +00002012-05-21T20:27:15.703-05:00Miss Mboy wonderMe:  So, how was the talent show today, guys? Miss M: Well, I'm afraid our school has no talent. Me:  Really?  Wasn't anything good? Miss M and Boy Wonder [firmly]: No. [Ensuing discussion of various talent show mishaps and failures, including their own.] Me:  Nothing?  Hunh.  Well, you know it takes a lot of courage to get up there and try to-- Miss M [interrupting]:  Yeah, yeah, that's http://www.500jerk.com/2012/05/after-school-talent-show.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (500Jerk)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289736189879386047.post-7008307265764173928Fri, 30 Mar 2012 12:44:00 +00002012-03-30T07:46:34.130-05:00other places http://www.500jerk.com/2012/03/div-classseparator-styleclear-both-text.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (500Jerk)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289736189879386047.post-5253286675455764757Fri, 30 Mar 2012 03:06:00 +00002012-03-30T07:49:28.231-05:00other places http://www.500jerk.com/2012/03/st-john-usvi.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (500Jerk)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289736189879386047.post-2381200000429022535Tue, 27 Mar 2012 10:49:00 +00002012-03-27T05:51:27.951-05:00Miss Mother places http://www.500jerk.com/2012/03/happy-girl-with-pigtails.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (500Jerk)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289736189879386047.post-5287542033770609073Sun, 19 Feb 2012 02:30:00 +00002012-02-18T21:30:22.835-05:00boy wonderA big happy birthday to our best boy on his ninth birthday. You're growing up awful fast, buddy.  Slow down, would ya!  Thank goodness we have photographs to remind us how you used to be so little. Like this one, when you're four, tuckered out, and sunburned, sitting with your dad and Uncle Pat, on Pawleys Island.   And this one when you're two, on Dewees Island, giving the photographerhttp://www.500jerk.com/2012/02/hes-nine_18.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (500Jerk)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289736189879386047.post-5109141167082093814Thu, 19 Jan 2012 23:38:00 +00002012-01-20T09:44:08.135-05:00boy wonderOn seeing the Knoxville Opera's billboard for an upcoming version of Romeo and Juliette: Boy Wonder:  Mom, what's Romeo and Juliet? Me:  Well, it's a tragic love story about two young people.  They're in love, but their families hate each other, and the young people end up dying because their families can't get along.  Then their families are really torn up.  It's a famous play, by William http://www.500jerk.com/2012/01/not-exactly.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (500Jerk)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289736189879386047.post-1098615943109715615Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +00002012-01-11T06:00:03.657-05:00Miss Mhttp://www.500jerk.com/2012/01/youthquake.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (500Jerk)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289736189879386047.post-5133668842650107532Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +00002012-01-10T12:37:36.142-05:00Miss Mother placesA picture of Miss M and her besty first cousin, Laura, on a hike this past Christmas at the family farm. Here they are at the beach several years ago.  The girls are growing up! http://www.500jerk.com/2012/01/farm-girls-christmas-2011.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (500Jerk)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289736189879386047.post-2118207923137863862Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +00002012-01-09T06:00:09.867-05:00other placeshttp://www.500jerk.com/2012/01/on-fence.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (500Jerk)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289736189879386047.post-3881715782097569190Mon, 02 Jan 2012 01:46:00 +00002012-01-01T20:58:35.854-05:00The 500Jerk front door is in need of a new doormat, having lost the last one to the insatiable coir-loving Posymonster.  We have an opportunity to personalize the mat and I, for one, don't mean to squander that opportunity.  A simple "Welcome" seems a bit sedate.  I offer you the following alternatives for consideration: A nice regional flair, mais non?  I do so like a down-home touch.  Or http://www.500jerk.com/2012/01/simple-welcome-would-be-so-boring.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (500Jerk)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289736189879386047.post-5644806779349306602Sat, 31 Dec 2011 13:56:00 +00002012-01-01T20:13:07.587-05:00foodThe 500Jerk family has taken to doing shots together lately. Shots of chocolate milk, that is. A quick slurp of some of the absolutely delicious chocolate milk offerings on the market these days is guaranteed to lift the spirits AND your blood sugar. Really, I'm not sure why anyone would choose any other kind of shot, when chocolate milk is so obviously superior. Of course, we had to have http://www.500jerk.com/2011/12/choc-y-milk-challenge.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (500Jerk)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289736189879386047.post-6720088390288707810Fri, 30 Dec 2011 13:33:00 +00002012-01-01T08:51:30.195-05:00familyMy sister-in-law, Beth, is one of my very favorite people--an endless source of funny stories, good advice, and gentle guidance.  She is unbelievably patient, always kind, and game for almost any sort of adventure.  I love my time with her and wish she didn't live four hours away.   Did I mention that she and her husband have seven (yes, SEVEN) children, all home-schooled?  Their house in http://www.500jerk.com/2011/12/sil.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (500Jerk)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289736189879386047.post-5797275749881207858Thu, 29 Dec 2011 13:52:00 +00002012-01-01T08:54:55.802-05:00Miss Mhttp://www.500jerk.com/2011/12/christmas-miss-m.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (500Jerk)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289736189879386047.post-3032129968734427641Wed, 28 Dec 2011 13:19:00 +00002012-01-01T08:55:23.137-05:00boy wonderfamilyAt 8 and 9, the Timmys continue to delight and amuse each other. When we have family get togethers, as we did over Christmas break, the Timmys do everything in tandem: they eat together, play together, watch TV together, and wake and sleep together. They are first cousins, about the same height, prone to crack each other up, and each has a high-pitched voice that--if put to use--can actually http://www.500jerk.com/2011/12/timmys-progress.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (500Jerk)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289736189879386047.post-7436464918918227575Tue, 27 Dec 2011 12:40:00 +00002011-12-27T07:40:15.866-05:00familyother placesWe spent Christmas at the family farm in western North Carolina, and although the photo below makes the Farm appear rather bleak, there was much merriment, singing, and feasting in celebration of Christmas and a nephew's recent marriage to a lovely California girl. We hiked, read, drank coffee, slept in, and lazed around the fire. Boy Wonder and Miss M honed their ping pong skills, and my http://www.500jerk.com/2011/12/farm-at-christmas.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (500Jerk)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289736189879386047.post-1861730716123290095Sun, 25 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +00002011-12-27T07:41:06.879-05:00boy wonder I hope you, too, received something you love.http://www.500jerk.com/2011/12/merry-christmas-yall.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (500Jerk)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289736189879386047.post-6600893500278836992Sat, 24 Dec 2011 19:15:00 +00002011-12-24T14:15:44.401-05:00Miss Mboy wonderfamilyThe 500Jerk kids with their Grandma B on Christmas Eve. http://www.500jerk.com/2011/12/generation-skipping-christmas.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (500Jerk)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289736189879386047.post-1032688153197874022Thu, 22 Dec 2011 10:56:00 +00002011-12-22T14:43:45.217-05:00cousinsboy wonderother placesOur recent trip to the Chicago area for a family wedding included a ride on a double-decker commuter train.   SOMEbody was really ecstatic about this.  OK, I'll give you a hint:  it was a highly excitable eight year-old boy.  Please compare and contrast facial expressions of excitable boy and completely unfazed commuter dude sitting behind excitable boy. I love that enthusiasm. Boy Wonder http://www.500jerk.com/2011/12/city-of-big-shoulders-luke-and-double.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (500Jerk)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289736189879386047.post-6047126294567866446Tue, 20 Dec 2011 12:21:00 +00002011-12-22T14:39:52.974-05:00other placesOn our way north to Chicago last weekend, we stopped in at Muth's in Louisville, Kentucky, for a quick early morning candy fix.  I read about Muth's earlier this year in Saveur (see here), and given that points Southeast are rarely featured in the magazine, filed it away as a potential destination. Muth's is an old-fashioned Louisville candy institution known for its bourbon balls and http://www.500jerk.com/2011/12/muths.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (500Jerk)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289736189879386047.post-438482116063920212Tue, 20 Dec 2011 01:14:00 +00002012-01-01T20:24:58.339-05:00familyA dramatic and gorgeous photograph of the newest-wedded members of our extended family. Aren't they beautiful?http://www.500jerk.com/2011/12/winter-wedding.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (500Jerk)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289736189879386047.post-5208051307924620996Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:50:00 +00002011-12-19T07:57:23.065-05:00boy wonderBoy Wonder has been spearheading our household's Christmas campaign this year with his Christmas-tree decorating initiative and tireless focus on potential Legos Christmas gifts. Given that decorating the Christmas tree this year seems like one more chore I have yet to accomplish, I am so thankful for the Boy's cheerful dedication to the task.  Every day, he breaks out a few more ornaments, andhttp://www.500jerk.com/2011/12/b.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (500Jerk)0