Sewing Machine Bailout Package

My sewing machine is broken. I think it's bad, although I'm not sure as to the extent of it's injuries. I decided to reattach Josh's hood to his coat AGAIN on Wednesday afternoon. That's another story, but I have to add: NEVER buy a coat with a snap hood; get one that is attached. Anyway, I noticed that my sewing machine needle was bent. I'm ok with that. It's easy to fix, although a strange occurence. This was my first tip-off that something was wrong. I changed the needle and sewed the hood back on. But I noticed that the wheel wasn't turning correctly. In fact, it hardly turned at all. And there was this weird smell, like something was hot, coming from my machine.

I asked the kids if they knew anything about it, and the answers I got were truly amazing. It was unanimous. NOBODY did it. That nobody REALLY annoys me. Nobody is soooo destructive to things in our house on a regular basis.

I decided to wait until Saturday to take the machine apart. It will probably take awhile, since I'm not mechanically gifted. I think I can go so far as to say that I'm mechanically "ungifted." Anyway, the point is....I should qualify for a "sewing machine bailout package." I wonder if President Obama included this in his recent plan.

It just annoys me so incredibly much that my tax money is going to yet another bailout package. Last time my dollars went to bailout the bank executive who was worried that he might not get that weekend at the exclusive spa, or the 10 million dollar bonus. Now my money is probably going to bail out someone facing foreclosure, who is in trouble because they had to buy the big screen TV/movie system, all the latest electronical equipment, and a cable dish.

I'm sure there are some people who really do need some help, and are having financial trouble because of the economy, not through any fault of their own. But I think these people are the minority. I'm not getting back enough of my tax money to help pay for my kid's braces, buy a new sewing machine, or pay the ever-rising heating bill. I'm upset about that. What a mismanagement of money by the government.

Well, enough blogging for today. Whew....I needed to vent.

Firebugs

The boys were getting a little wild this afternoon, by wrestling and chasing each other thru the house. So I sent them outside to "play." Jordan asked if they could start a small bonfire. I really did think before answering. I gave him a list of conditions: no fire outside the fire pit; no flour; yes to dryer lint. The normal "Mom" answers. I even let Jordan use his broken red candle, which he had stripped partially of wax so that it looked like a stick of dynamite. LOLOL.

I was surprised how well the afternoon went. The boys were actually fairly quiet, and responsible keepers of the flame. I looked out several times to check on them. Then after dinner, I heard Jordan mention that he had some pictures he needed me to download from the camera to his folder on the computer. Only.....he wasn't supposed to have my camera. Even if he had asked, I probably wouldn't have let him use it. At least not around fire.

I have to admit, I was FILLED with curiosity about those pictures on my camera. I actually downloaded them tonight. Wow. When teens and pre-teens are quiet, it's bad. I should have known. Here's the fire, burning HUGE.

This is a view from the back of the pit. The door makes it easier to shovel ashes out the back. The front of the pit is open, and it's got a huge stack on the top. In this case, flames are actually shooting out the top. sigh. It looks much more dramatic at night, though, as you will see in the upcoming photos. I think this pit has a strange resemblance to the machine on the moon in "Wallace and Gromit". It's the episode where Wallace and Gromit vacation on the moon in hopes of finding cheese. In the end, the machine fulfils it's life-long dream of learning to ski. Classic.

Here is a view of the fire pit from the front. Jordan must have taken this picture shortly after adding wood. Unfortunately you can't see the flames chugging out the top. But you'll see it in the next extraordinarily creative picture.

I don't think that's the Holy Spirit on his head. LOL. Where does he get this sense of humor. It must be from the Wright side of the family!!! Don't worry Mom...Jordan's head isn't REALLY on fire. It's an optical illusion created by 1 pre-teen and 2 teens with WAY too much time on their hands.

Did I mention how much those kids ate this afternoon? FOUR bags of popcorn, too many pop-tarts to count, valentine's day candy (good - now I won't eat it), grapes, half a box of Rice Krispie Treats, and a 2 litre of Root Beer. That's not counting lunch and dinner.

Arrow of Light Ceremony and a Really Strange Song

Today Josh graduated from Cub Scouts during the Arrow of Light Ceremony. I'm so proud of him. It took a lot of work and perseverance to reach his goal of becoming a Boy Scout.

Here's a pic of Josh (2nd from right) with the plaque that he and Rich put together. It has all of Josh's badges, beltloops, and other important items that he earned (well, all of them that would fit on the board). There were four scouts that graduated.

Now Josh will attend the same meetings and do the same activities as Jordan. From a parental standpoint, THAT'S GREAT!!! It'll certainly simplify our week a little. Josh can't wait to attend summer camp this year. He and Jordan will be away from home for a week. Whew. That will be hard for me, but they're growing up :)

Rich was the Webelos 2 den leader, and claims to be retiring. He IS keeping his den leader shirt, so I guess there is a possibility that he might help out with the Boy Scout troop too. Here's a pic of Josh, Rich, and Jordan after the ceremony. At least I finally got a pic of Jordan without him making some kind of strange face at me. I told him I was going to post it to my blog for his entire family to see, so he acted normal. I think he was a little worried - lol.

That takes care of the "Arrow of Light" portion of this blog. You're probably wondering about the "Really Strange Song." Well......you won't be disappointed. Since Josh is in the spotlight today, I thought this was a prime opportunity to display some of his special talents, in the form of the "Really Strange Song." I took this video a few weeks ago, when Josh was singing in his room. I tried, as you can see, to be stealthy about taping this. Stealthy just doesn't always work as planned. Enjoy!! We certainly did :)