Licking our wounds. . .

If you are a Vikings fan, you know what I'm talking about. Oh, how that game HURT! But then again, if you are a true purple and gold Vikings fan, you know the sting of defeat very well. Now the real test is here. . .if you are a TRUE fan you won't mind telling everybody how much you love your Vikings. AND you would NEVER trade them for another team. . .even if they can never quite get that elusive Super Bowl Championship. Yep, I'm a true fan. . .but it still stings.

Thank goodness I'm not Mr. Favre, now he is probably hurting a whole lot more than the rest of us today. Poor guy got pummeled yesterday. It was hard to watch.

Why was I watching? You've never heard me go on and on about football before. (Well, Jody Blue has, but that was many moons ago. You know the time when no one called me Mommy.) My boys left me. The General insisted on going to his church youth group, so I had to stay home without my football commentators to simply tell me about the game. I had forgotten how passionate I was about football, which is probably a good thing. From now on, the boys can't leave me alone during these big games. I think I scared Princess.

So to my Vikings, I have this to say: Thanks for a great season, and although yesterday's game was a bit. . .uh. . .difficult to watch, we still love you. You will always be our team. (For the record. Any little Nomad that thinks they can just jump ship and leave the Vikes will find themselves sleeping on the porch! I'm not being too harsh. We have to train those that may be faint at heart. How else do you think the Vikings have garnered such loyal fans? See above comment about our Super Bowl history.)

Go Vikings!

Seven Quick Takes: Volume 3

1. It stinks only having one working computer in the house. My children use the computer for their schooling and as a treat. My husband uses the computer for business. Needless to say my blogging doesn't hit the top of the priority list.

2. Last weekend we had a lovely time in Leavenworth (I'll post about this in the next few days) but Bubby picked up a bad cold. I was quickly reminded of what life is like without much sleep. Another reason I wasn't blog hopping this past week. When everyone was tucked in, I quickly followed suit.

3. My mom and sisters are coming to visit. (Not Jody Blue--my other sisters. . .very long story. Maybe one day I'll share. Or maybe not?) Anyway, I'm torn. On the one hand I'm very excited to see them. My family doesn't travel, so this is truly a treat. I think the last time my one sister visited was almost 10 years ago when we lived in IL. My other sister and mom visited us about 7 years ago when we lived here before. The reason I'm nervous? Well, I know this may sound stupid, but I don't want them to think I'm a snob.

4. About the snob thing. Mr. Nomad and I LOVE our new home. We saved and sucked up a lot over the years to buy this home. However, now I find I am frequently embarrassed. I am working on this. Our home is a gift from God, and I shouldn't be ungrateful. Especially since we really do try to bless many others with our home. By having a roomier house, we have been able to host without it making Mr. Nomad overwhelmed and crazy. Then here comes the guilt again. . .should we have given more of our money to others instead?

5. I actually went to the doctor this week for an annual (or whenever you get to it) check up, complete with a mammogram. (I hadn't been to the doctor since my postpartum checkup after Bubby. . .oops.) Ladies it wasn't bad. Not a favorite activity, but nothing to fear. I brought along my knitting and some planners for schooling,and it was actually quite lovely to have almost uninterrupted moments. Do you think they would mind if I came back next week? I could get the rest of my planning done for this month.
If wimpy me can do this, so can you. They stressed how important it was to get a healthy baseline, so in the future if you have something weird in a mammogram they'll know what is going on. We all know early detection is the key to treatment with breast cancer. So go get smooshed. Stepping down from soapbox.

6. I started knitting a pair of socks. It feels good to knit again. I really missed it, or maybe I just really miss my friends back in DC who used to knit with me. While knitting is fun, it does cut into my computer time. Which is good, and bad.

7. After being gone from blogging for a week, I noticed that I have insecurities in bloggy land. I don't do the stat counters. For one they are too fancy, and I don't want to take the time to figure out how to use them. Two, it may hurt my feelings if no one stops by. Which in my insecure moment I wondered, "Did anybody even notice I've been gone?" See, we are all prone to the need to be loved and accepted. Even if by the virtual set. I know one thing, I missed you. Over the past week I kept wondering what funny comments or really good posts I was missing, and there were some good ones.

If you like to read more Quick Takes, stop by Conversion Diary.

Tuesday Treasures: Turkish Trunk

Mary over at Hope Echoes has come up with a fun little segment called Tuesday Treasures. On a couple of Tuesdays each month, she invites us all to share a bit about a treasure found in our homes.

My Tuesday Treasure is a trunk my husband brought back from one of his trips to Turkey. I love the beautiful hand carving. The light and darkness of the work make it a very unique piece. However, my favorite part is that this trunk has history. It reminds me of the trips Mr. Nomad goes on in service to our country.

More than that it reminds me how much he loves me. Mr. Nomad is a very practical man. Hauling a Turkish Trunk halfway around the world is neither easy or practical. Yet he went out of his "box" to bring me something special.

The Great Salt Lake

After our stint in Oklahoma last summer, we were able to explore the American West on our drive home to Washington State. Along the way we stopped by The Great Salt Lake in Utah. You cannot just drive by without checking it out.

Here we are with the lake in the background. See, it is the whole Nomad Clan. Mr. Nomad holding Bubby, me behind Princess, and the shadow in the foreground, that would be The General taking the picture. Who knew you could capture the entire family without a tripod? Don't we look great after 10 hours of traveling? (No zooming please.)

Now here is a little useless information which makes this post qualify for Boring Saturday Posts: Did you know, although the lake appears to be right along the interstate that runs through Salt Lake City, you actually have to drive about 10-15 miles west to get to the lake? One of the locals told us the lake is shrinking. He said it is because of all the urban sprawl. That, and the people rerouting the water so it doesn't just drain into the lake like it used to. Now I have no scientific research to support this, just the observation of a yocal local. Isn't the reflection just amazing? It was a pretty calm day, but the water is so still because of its incredible salinity. If I'm remembering correctly, it can be as high as 30%. Considering the ocean is only about 2%-3% salt, that is impressive. With all the salt comes a sort of smell you really cannot label under the pleasant category.

Now, we did see birds floating on the water and flying all around, but there are no fish that can survive the salty waters. The only living thing in the lake are briny shrimp (meaning no fish), which the birds like just fine. (This information is what I am remembering from the little park leaflet we picked up.)

A little background story for you on the next photo: When we drove into Salt Lake City, we'd been on the road all day. We were all tired and ready to just get out of the van and relax, BUT we wanted to see The Great Salt Lake. So we coaxed the children into more driving and headed out to the lake. That is where the first two photos were taken. It was one of those Griswold moments. We came, we saw, we've got the picture, let's go.

Here comes the funny part. We drive back to the Air Force Base, only to drive up and see a beautiful view of the lake. The kiddos were like, "you mean we had to ride in the van for an extra 1 1/2 hours, and the view of the lake was here all along?!?" Shortly after, we were carrying in our bags, Bubby managed to get his first bee sting, the big kids were on each others nerves. . . . due to it being the first bee sting, Mr. Nomad and I were scrambling to find the nearest ER on the map. It was a beautiful moment.

After things calmed down Mr. Nomad went for milk with The General. I took Bubby and Princess for a little walk. Which is where this picture was born. Bubby survived the bee sting, Princess and The General survived one another, we watched the beautiful sunset and all was right with the world.

At the time Mr. Nomad and I laughed at ourselves. We thought we had been foolish to drag the family all the way out to the lake for a closer look, and a few pictures. Now after a few months have gone by, and as I am looking through those pictures, I am so glad we make the trek out there. Although we could easily see the lake from our billeting parking lot, it didn't quite photograph so well. If I didn't know it was back there, I would have no idea The Great Salt Lake was there at all.

How funny, it took finally putting this post together for me to see the huge difference in the quality of pictures we took that day. The ones out at the lake are amazing, while the sunset photos are nice. It is just more about the sunset than a unique body of water. Hmm. . .I guess blogging has it's advantages after all.

If you would like to play along with a Boring Post of your own, stop over and see Mary at Hope Echoes.

Seven Quick Takes: Volume Two

1. I am smitten with my little boy. Last night when I was snuggling him in the darkness, I whispered in his little ear, "You, my little man are loved. You are beautifully and wonderfully made." He whispered back, "you are gooder made."

2. Today that same boy came to me and very seriously asked, "Mommy will you please, please, please go spank The General? Right now! He won't let me play with his Legos." How empty my days would be without this little person.

3. Overall I am so pleased with our Christmas season. We had less presents, but the kiddos didn't even notice. The focus remained on Christ, and for that I am so grateful.

4. I am less than thrilled with my older children. It appears they have discovered the joy of giving one another wedgies. Running through the house, chasing one another as I type. AGH! Yes, I realize they too make my life the full, wonderful place that brings me joy. But wedgies? Really?

5. It is raining here today, not the mist I can easily tolerate. More the Midwest kind, that soaks you as soon as you step out the door. It looks like I won't be walking. :( Instead I'll have to find will power somewhere to get off the computer, and do some sort of exercise within the confines of my house. Hmm. . .maybe I can include the children. That would be good to burn off some of their excess energy. Ideas anyone???

6. Bubby is still in love with his pacifier. Bigger AGH! He only has it at bedtime, but I REALLY, REALLY want it to be gone. The crippling fear, he will become a thumb sucker. I had a cousin who sucked his thumb well into the teen years. I can at least control the paci, not so much the thumb.

7. Is it bad that at 1:40 PM we are all still in our jammies? It seems pointless to make the kiddos get dressed for a low key school day at home. I'll just keep telling myself that it's okay, and the guilt will subside. ;)

Have a wonderful weekend friends. Stop by and check out Jennifer and the rest of the 7 Quick Takes bloggers at Conversion Diary.

I think I can, I think I can. . .

Our first day back to school after our wonderful Christmas break. We are all moving a little slow. Can we rewind, and go back to the beginning of Advent again?

We Three Kings. . .

The feast of the Epiphany. The day we celebrate the wise men arriving to pay homage to Jesus. The wise men from our Nativity have been inching their way to baby Jesus. Ahh, tomorrow morning we will place them around the manger. They have arrived!
I love this feast day for a couple of reasons. First of all, it amazes me to think of those wise men traveling over a thousand miles just to worship Jesus. . .and they weren't even Jewish!Considering the times, it was a difficult and very expensive undertaking. Yet, they were so moved by what they had studied and seen in the sky they loaded up the caravan and set off. They knew a great king had been born, and didn't want to miss out on the opportunity to meet him. It inspires me to go that extra mile in learning more about my faith, and building a relationship with Christ.
The second reason I love this feast is the wise men point to the fact that Jesus came for all of us. The wise men were Gentiles from the East. Jesus didn't just come for the Jews, but for everyone. Whew, isn't that a relief?
My friend Lorri over at Mac and Cheese Chronicles has a great Epiphany Blessing for your home. Our parish in DC always sent something like this home with us, and the past few years it has been something we've really enjoyed. Thanks Lorri for posting, you saved me some serious Google time.
Happy Three Kings Day everyone!

It seems I've picked up a bug. . .

As I was innocently blog hopping the other day, it seems I picked up a bug. I thought H1N1 was the big bad virus I needed to beware of this year. Who would of thought a little blog visiting would be so painful. McAfee doesn't pick up this virus, so Mr. Nomad has been diligently trying to debug the hard drive on the laptop. So until we get to the bottom of this virtual illness, my time here is limited. I'm afraid I won't be too popular if I infect the other computer.
Here I am in the midst of Christmas break, without the daily responsibility of schooling, and no computer! Now that is just wrong.
So, if anyone has advice on fixing my computer I would greatly appreciate it. I miss my bloggy friends. (Sniffle, sniffle.)