gps vs cps

I am fascinated with the idea of GPS. The Global Positioning System (GPS), is currently the only fully-functional satellite navigation system. More than two dozen GPS satellites are in medium Earth orbit, transmitting signals allowing GPS receivers to determine the receiver's location, speed and direction.

Since the first experimental satellite was launched in 1978, GPS has become an indispensable aid to navigation around the world. For someone like me who gets lost easily this is a dream come true. Unfortunately, I do not have GPS...

...so, tonight for the second time this month when I was lost in Orlando, I used my CPS (call Patricia Seguine.)

A GPS receiver calculates its position by measuring the distance between itself and three or more GPS satellites. Measuring the time delay between transmission and reception of each GPS radio signal gives the distance to each satellite, since the signal travels at a known speed. The signals also carry information about the satellites' location. By determining the position of, and distance to, at least three satellites, the receiver can compute its position using trilateration.

CPS calculates my position by hoping that I can come up with the street I am on and a cross street. On a good day, I can actually tell CPS where I am going.

The cost of maintaining GPS is approximately $400 million per year. The cost of maintaining CPS is time and emotion, which I love sharing and spending. The monetary amount is right up my ally...free!

I love my CPS!

Thanks for getting me and my girls to the Temple tonight Tricia! My YW were mad impressed!!!

happy birthday darling!

This morning started out with Doug's first ever pedicure. He thought I was joking when we walked into the nail place. But the idea of getting foot zips for 45 minutes was enough to lure him into the chair. He loved it!
Next we went to Babette's Furniture Store in Leesburg where he ordered himself a glider to sit in my herb garden. This item of furniture has been the subject of some debate in our house. I think we will BOTH enjoy it very much.

We stopped by our favorite fast food restaurant on the way home.http://www.tijuanaflats.com/

Brianna was just coming in from school and we took her with us to see Freedoom Writers. All teachers in Florida get in free. Cool, huh.

Thanks to the Seguines for the cool John Deere hat, the Evans for the awesome pedicure, the Nielsons for the shake and light flashlight and Brianna for the Raisinets!

post mish

worth waiting for!

pre mish

1970

November 1969

1967

January 1966

1962

Eight, I'm guessing...

fishing trip on the colorado river

1959

Doug is 5 and learning to ride.

October 19 ??

Happy Halloween, Popeye!

June 1957

Three year old Doug with his one year old brother, Tim in the background.

April 1955

Happy Easter

Pat and Doug

doug one year old

A note on the back of this picture says that it was published in the Deseret News. Happy Birthday, Doug!

pictures from mom

Doug went to California to help his parents move. I have so few pictures of him and I am thrilled to have the ones that he brought back.

temple trip

This morning Doug and I went to the Temple.

Afterwards, we had lunch at Mimi's Cafe.






That was a nice way to start the day!

just wanted to share

the flowers from my garden...wish I could share the beautiful smell as well.

worth the wait

Weather takes toll on workers
The Dallas Morning News
Whatever charm winter weather may have held with North Texans, much of it has melted away...

There is a plastic strip that covers the start button on my dishwasher that has been pushed so many times that the plastic finally gave way. The dishwasher works just fine, but the hole in the plastic has been annoying me. Today I decided to call Asko and see if I could order a new plastic strip.

I got the familiar message "my call would be answered in the ordered received". I put my phone on speaker, hooked the phone on my shirt and went about my tidy-up duties. It seemed like a really really long time went by. I looked at my phone--oh, it had only been 18 minutes. I decided that I would carry on for a while longer since I had invested that much time. After another 3 or 4 or 5 minutes my call was answered. I was almost surprised since I had about decided that no one was working the lines at all.

The woman was very nice, and after I told her my request she apologized for my long wait, even though I had not mentioned it. I told her I was quite pleased that someone answered in the end. She said that there had been horrible ice storms in Texas that morning and people couldn't even get to work. She then ordered the part I needed and explained to me how to install it. She was great! I hope she got home safely.

mlk holiday

I understand that I have El Nino to thank for the fact that Brianna and I were sitting outside enjoying lunch in 80 degree weather today. After lunch at Panera Bread, we shopped at Justice and then drove to Winter Park where we walked the sidewalk sale and and checked out the beautiful garden shoppe at Apenberrys. It was a very nice holiday for both of us!

300 million and counting

I read an interesting article in Smithsonian today about immigration. I was surprised to learn that "the United States accept[s] more legal immigrants as permanent residents than the rest of the world combined..." Also interesting to me was that they stated "Nearly half of the nation's children under 5 belong to a racial or ethnic minority." If you would like to read more... http://www.smithsonianmag.com/issues/2006/october/presence.php?page=1

snakes

Today completes my first full week of teaching. As of January, my teaching partner and I are working a week on and a week off. I was wondering how it would be and how I would feel at the end of it. I have a wonderful class--we are up to 18 now including 6 girls and 12 boys. The story we read this week was called The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash. I hung a washline and had the kids write stories on shirts that we hung on the line. Some of them had time to make paper spiral snakes to wrap around their stories. For our literature extension time on Friday the kids filled the black racer snakes that I had made the night before with rice, cut forked tongues and glued on googley eyes. It was very fun, albeit an exhausing project for me. It even kind of freaked me out a little bit to look around the classroom on Friday afternoon and see all those snakes!

The week was a little complicated by the fact that I had ward council on Tuesday night, YW at my house on Wednesday night and Presidency meeting at my house on Thursday night. But now I have the next nine days off from teaching and plenty of time to think about how I am ever going to come up with a Friday activity as cool as making snakes. Any suggestions? We are reading a story called Dear Mr. Blueberry, which is about a whale.

herbs planted!

Doug planted the rest of my herbs...it is very hard to get a good picture of the whole garden. He took this one from the 2nd story roof unbeknownst to me, while I was watering. It is a wonderful experience watering herbs as their various scents waft forth.

yw

You know why I blog about my YW activities most Wednesdays...because I spend a lot of time with my YW most weeks. Dare I say...an old Primary Gal like myself, that I really enjoy my YW. I never, no never, thought I would get "into" this experience. And I find myself more and more grateful for the opportunity to lead this group of girls. I am sure I will sound very Young Woman leader-ish when I say that they truly are an amazing group of girls!

Of special note tonight: Andrea got contacts and she smiled for the camera...gotta remember that and what a thrill it gave me!

the collar

All though our married kids don't believe us...Shooter really is a great dog. He lives under the stairs on our porch and spends much of his time napping in the sun. Since he got sick, he has spent more time in the house, but basically, he is an outside pet.

When visitors come, he goes nuts. He barks his head off and keeps them awake all night. Doug has to resort to some serious dog managment procedures.

So after the family left Shooter was his good ol' self again...for one day...maybe he missed his all nighters. I don't know, but this bark collar has given Doug the opportunity to catch up on some lost sleep.

B's back!

We always miss our B when she is away! But she is back today sharing her adventures over the past couple of days.

Thanks Grandma Karla!

herbs

With the purchase of the roses, it was time to think about the herbs. Since I will be working all day next week, it seemed that today was the best option for herb shopping. Several weeks ago, we met the kindest lady at the Seminole Springs Herb Farm. She has been helping us to prepare our dirt for this project with suggestions. We were ready having purchased the dirt, and Doug has rearranged the sprinkler system to accomodate the roses and the herbs.

So today, we were heading toward the herb farm when we decided to make a stop off at the Ingall's house on the lake. Ho and below, the Ingalls were there! They joined us for our adventure at the herb farm. We had plenty of beautiful organic herbs from which to choose.

Later we walked around Mt. Dora, checked out some new housing developments with Roxanne's parents in mind and had dinner at Vincent's Italian. It was a very enjoyable day!

roses

We decided to plant roses in our new backyard with our herbs. We debated between one and two in each planter box and eventually decided on one. I have been doing internet research and ended up at the American Rose Society website. They listed a supplier in Apopka, so I called them to see if they actually sold to the public. They told me that they did, but there was a $100 minimum purchase requirement. This was okay for me because 4 roses generally cost about $100.

Doug and I took off on what can only be described as "one of my adventures." Although we got lost for a few minutes traveling the way back and country roads and lanes of Apopka, we finally sighted the sign for the business we were looking for
Dewar Roses.

As we turned down the road, our breath was swept away as we beheld thousands of roses. The fragrance in the air was incredible and every bit as wonderful as you might imagine.

We continued driving around and decided to find the business headquarters for this establishment. I walked in and talked to the woman at the desk who reiterated the purchase requirements and then handed me a pricelist.

The roses were $8.80. We couldn't believe our eyes! We were going to have to buy a lot more roses! In the end, we decided to buy 9 yellow roses--8 for the planter beds and an extra for good measure. The climbers were a little more expensive and we bought two climbers to put on either side of the birdhouse in the center planter box. We figured that should tally up just about $100.

When we went to pay, the lady said, "Oh, I can give you a discount!" The bill came to $89. Confused, I said, that we would go and get another yellow rose. "Oh, no", she said, "don't worry about it." And charged me $89.

What a find!

Doug worked until late completing the ten step lasagne planting method that was recommened to me. At the last minute, just before dark, I remembered to grab my camera.
And this picture is for my girls, who have hundreds of visuals like this in their memory banks. Thanks sweetheart for all your labor!

classroom duties

My visiting family has gone. There are tons of things to be done at home...but...I went to school. It is a new start, this mid-year point. I am going to be working one week on and one week off. I am excited to be teaching all areas of the curriculum again. Albeit, this is going to require more work for me.

During the past two days,I cleaned the classroom and the cleaned the work closet from top to bottom. I planned all my lessons for the upcoming week and outlined the weeks ahead.

Brianna and Natalie sang songs with the kareoke machine, sharpened pencils, played on the playground, visited people they found at school and cut and pasted.

Brianna is going to her grandma Karla's house in Ocala on Friday and Doug has a scout meeting in Orlando on Saturday, so I will return to school to finish up then.

wii tale

This is my pendant light. It hangs in the family room. I purchased it just over six years ago when I was in England celebrating Courtney's birthday. I found it at an antique shop in London. Doug hand-carried the glass piece back. It was the first time he had ever been stopped by the Miami customs officials.

This is a piece of the opaline inverted dome after Chezzie put the Wii remote through it celebrating what I understand was an amazing golf putt.













I then spent hours and hours on the internet searching...trying to find someone somewhere who could help me replace the glass. After a more or less fruitless search, I went with Doug to get some sprinkler parts at Lowe's.

This is my lamp with a glass shade from a light fixture that we purchased at Lowe's and then discarded the fixture.


YEAH LOWE'S!

christmas 2006

These are a few of my favorite things:

picking lemons with Courtney and making lemonade...

overhearing Carter say, "I just love the smell of the John Deere engine...

rocking on the porch with Jonah...

watching Clark play with the apple basket and learning to say "ap-el"...

reading lots of stories with Courtney...

spying on the kids in the massive tent city on the third floor...

the puppet play produced by Courtney and Brianna...

playing Five Crowns and Quiddler...

putting together puzzles...

our Christmas tree that smelled so great...

how amazingly helpful Brianna was for everyone...

time to relax.