These guys are from Spokane. Their videos have gone viral the last few years. This one make me laugh every Mother’s Day. Enjoy.
Made in China
— Dana
My sweet friend, CaSandra, likes to send Naomi presents in the mail. It helps that she has a little blonde daughter that’s a few months older than Naomi. She sent a little package of bead looking things today. Naomi immediately wanted to know what they were and how we should play with them. I flipped the small pouch over and read the following (I kid you not, this is what it said word-for-word on the package for the “Seven Color Crystal Boll“…with punctuation and capitals included).
1. add water 400G on the product. about 4 hours it will grow up.
2. one clear beauty satiety face will grow up.
3. when the flower want to oxygen and nutrition, I will help you too much.
Made in China
Designed by Korea
I think this wins for the weirdest present ever. They were tiny purple balls that you put in water for a few hours. They plumped up like marble-sized gelatin balls that you get in “Boba Tea”. I wasn’t sure what to do with them when they were done “growing”. Naomi LOVED THEM!!! It just goes to show you that I have no clue what is fun these days. I think I’m officially old now. Because I’m still sitting here waiting for the “seven” colors they promised me. Maybe they will grow legs and walk across my table!!!
Kangas Quotes (April)
— Dana
Naomi: “I can’t sleep. Can you bring me some sleeping potion?”
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We have Naomi’s lamp on a timer. It will come on in the morning when she is suppose to be awake and then turns off when she is suppose to be asleep. Every morning, she will yell over and over, “The lights are on…ding dong ding dong.” It’s the cutest alarm clock money can buy.
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(Singing the song “No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed”)
Dana: “Did you know there is a song and a book about those silly monkies?”
Naomi: “I bet there’s a movie, too!!!”
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Naomi: “I can run faster than a rolling meatball.”
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Naomi: “Mom, would you like to drink some sleeping potion that I made just for you?”
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Naomi: “Can you be a dear and hang up my jacket?”
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Naomi: “Hey…Dad…your beard looks like you have pumpkin muffin all over your face.”
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Naomi: “Popeye can pick-up your house. He can pick-up Jesus and the whole world, too.”
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Naomi: (After spilling a tiny dot of water on the table) “Goodness!!! We almost made a river in our house.”
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Naomi: “I speak to the trees.”
Aaron: “What do you say to them?”
Naomi: “Hhhheeeeeyyyyy.”
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Naomi’s favorite way to measure how strong people are is to say how many cats they can pick up. Apparently, she can carry one cat. I can carry two cats. Aaron is strong enough to carry three cats. And Uncle Matt can pick-up four cats. We decided that is a great way to measure how strong someone is.
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Naomi: “If you ever have another baby, and it’s a boy, you should name him “Milo” or “Whaleskin”.
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Aaron has the “Operation” game on a shirt. Naomi likes to call it his “naked man shirt”. Especially in public.
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Naomi: “Silly underwear!!! You forgot to go with your pals in the laundry hamper.”
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Naomi: “Cowgirl boots are good for stomping and Crocs are good for jumping.”
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Aaron: “Naomi has no idea how many times we’ve saved her life. Parents are the real super heros.”
Smarty Pants
— Dana
Recently, I had to order my SAT scores for a scholarship that I was applying for. I just got the results in the mail. I’m smarter than I thought. I guess Aaron had a combined score of 1300 and my score was a 1200 (way back in 1999 when they only had the Verbal and the Math sections for a max score of 1600). For some reason, I had it in my mind that I received a 950. I need to give myself more credit. I suppose I should start calling myself a smarty pants. I’m not a super genius or anything. That way, I can still have friends.
Making Our Lives Available to Others (Repost)
By Henri Nouwen
“One of the arguments we often use for not writing is this: “I have nothing original to say. Whatever I might say, someone else has already said it, and better than I will ever be able to.” This, however, is not a good argument for not writing. Each human person is unique and original, and nobody has lived what we have lived. Furthermore, what we have lived, we have lived not just for ourselves but for others as well. Writing can be a very creative and invigorating way to make our lives available to ourselves and to others. We have to trust that our stories deserve to be told. We may discover that the better we tell our stories the better we will want to live them.”
Hardwired for Connection (quote)
Day Dreaming
— Dana
By its very nature, robbery involves some kind of deception. Few of us have any respect for a thief. Embezzlement is a form of robbery; however, it has an ugly twist. It is stealing something entrusted to someone’s care. The embezzler commits two crimes: robbery and fraud. The act is somehow more despicable than a common robber. The embezzler takes advantage of a trusted position, and because of this, the crime is usually detected only after it’s too late to recover the stolen property (the money has been spent, the securities have been cashed, the damage has been done, lives have been changed, and trust is difficult to rebuild).
Over a decade ago I had my first experience with an embezzler. I was working long hours in a marketing firm as their sole Graphic Designer. After two years of faithfully serving the company, we were all called into the conference room for an unexpected meeting. While we were patiently waiting in the conference room the Bookkeeper was being arrested in the front office for embezzling $10,000 during her short six months of employment. That experience dramatically effected me! Since that moment in the conference room, I’ve had this a deep sense that there is a greater need for honest Bookkeepers in this world.
Ten years later, that longing is still ever present in my heart. I’ve been waiting patiently to make this career change (from Graphic Design to Accounting), and I feel like my moment has arrived! I don’t know how wide my influence will extend in this world. However, I do hope it will at extend further than the effects of embezzlement in my community. The time has come to rebuild long-lasting trust in the hearts of small business owners, churches, non-profits and individuals. I hope to become a CPA who can build that kind of trust.
