Tomorrow is my thirteenth wedding anniversary. Well, not just mine, but you know what I mean. We celebrated this weekend by going out for meals, lazing around, going to a movie, going to the Heirloom Art and Rubber Stamp show, and watching several things on DVD.

The movie we saw, Keeping Up With the Steins was funny; not hilarious or really outstanding, but cute and entertaining. Being a WASP-y Texan, I may not be the best judge of how accurate the details about this particular culture were, but if the larger culture in the United States has fallen prey to materialism and one-up-manship, why not this one, too? I enjoyed it.

The Art and Rubber Stamp Show was a lot of fun for me, not so much for my husband, but he was awfully good-natured about it. I actually wanted him to go because I have had some interest in producing rubber stamps as a sort of side business, and wanted his input in case I found someone who would talk to me. He is very practical and knowledgeable about business, and I trust his opinions. I had asked a number of people online how they got started designing their own stamp lines, but had gotten very little response. The woman we spoke to was Linda Malcom of Lost Coast Designs. Not only did I love her stamps, but she was so gracious and helpful, I will definitely be a repeat customer. She was very forthright about the competitive nature of the business these days, but not discouraging. Her input and that from others at the show has gotten me rared up, wanting to create, create, create!

I have so many ideas, and have such a hard time getting started implementing them. And then, of course, one of the major themes in my life, I get so easily distracted...

So I will work on that. For now, I'm just thankful for the ideas, the last thirteen years, and a husband I love and admire.

Peace to you.

I love my job. Today I had a class at a hat-making plant. The workers there all speak Spanish, most of them have very little formal education, and they are working very hard at learning English. It's very difficult to explain how to conjugate a verb when some of them can't do that in their own language, but a certain amount of grammar has to be taught.

I've been looking for a little cheapy Loteria game, kind of like Mexican Bingo, and they'd told me a number of places to look, but I had't found one anywhere! So today one of the women who couldn't make it to class sent one by another student. I told them it was for an art project, which caused a few puzzled looks, maybe a shrug or a raised eyebrow here and there, but mostly they just nodded and said,"Ohh..."

I don't know quite what I think about immigration reform, etc., but I do know that the people I work with have a very real desire to learn English. They understand the limitations of not knowing the language, of a poor education, and are absolutely doing whatever they can to provide those opportunities to their children, but are sometimes just not up to it themselves. If you only have a third grade education, you weren't very good at school, or it may have even been a very bad experience, and you work three jobs just to feed your family, who has the energy to go to school?

My students at this plant get to work at 6:00 a.m. every day and work for eight hours, then stay two more hours for English classes twice a week. Many of them, and they are mostly women, work another job, plus take care of their families, and they are extremely grateful for the opportunity to do so. All these students are legal. Some of them love it here and want to stay forever; others miss their homes and extended families and are just here to work.

The older we are, the more difficult is is to learn a second language. It's a fact. I can't imagine going to, say, China, trying to get a job, get my kids enrolled in school, get a driver's license, even go grocery shopping, and not just give up.

Okay, jumping off my soap box now. Perhaps I ought to tell some people I've started a blog...?

I'm trying to be quiet. And it isn't easy.

No, this is no vow of silence, nothing prompted by any kind of bet ("Hey, betcha can't be quiet for 24 hours!"), or any kind of spontaneous idea I've decided to try for a while. I really need to be quiet.

One of the first things I remember anyone saying about me was that I talked too much. And here I am, 45 chatty years later, and it's still what people say about me. Don't get me wrong --- I'm not usually all that concerned about what people think of me. But this is different. I have no doubt that there are people who don't want to be around me because I talk so much...maybe people who screen their calls and only answer when they know they have a substantial amount of time for a conversation with me. There may be people who don't want to read my blog because I write too much!

But I'm willing to take the risk and use this as another outlet for all the thoughts and ideas I feel the need to express. Because it's not fun, trying to change who I am. And it is that much a part of me. I don't know if I can do it. If you believe in prayer, as I do, please pray for me in this endeavor.