The Thoughtful Homemaker

My husband complains that I am stuck in the past. I have what is considered a nostalgic personality. I love talking about memories and looking at old pictures. I have always been a huge fan of history ever since I was little and read about Queen Mary I of England. That is the first encyclopedia […]

Acheiropoieta means “not made by hand”. Acheiropoieta are icons that are supposed to have been made miraculously and are not made by human hand. There are several acheiropoieta around the world and are considered to be powerful and especially holy. The most famous of these is the shroud of Turin.
Another famous acheiropoieta is the […]

Porphyrogenitos literally mean “born of the purple” and is used to describe one born of a Byzantine “Basilieus” or emperor and an “Augusta”, his wife. The child was literally born in room made with walls veneered with porphyry, a purple stone only found on top of a mountain far away in the barren part of […]

In my dream, I was in London for the first time trying to figure out where to go. I went to a pub where we entered a karaoke contest. I girl from Dublin sang a beautiful song and almost passed out on stage for she put so much heart into her song. Her name was […]

I think my dreams are far more interesting than my life.
I was a troubled teenager living next to the ex-wife and a son of a sixties rocker. He was the handsomest boy I have ever seen. He was tall with sparkling brown eyes and long wavy brown hair. He has two older sisters who […]

I don’t know if it is the antibiotics, but I have really been feeling drowsy and . . .idle. I sat on my bed and read tabloid British news online and basically wasted my time. I felt so . . .idle. I ended up watching the old “Six Wives of Henry VIII” the BBC show […]

Being a reader of history, “iconoclasm” isn’t necessarily a new word for me. I read it again this week and discovered that one of my ancestors was an iconolater or one who engages in iconoclasm. He was a puritan whose son was closely allied and even married a Quaker and Quakers were not known for […]

I am slowly making plans for what I want to do. I am a history buff and in university focused on Tudor and Stuart literature. That is why you might see that my plans lean more towards historical sites. I hope my husband won’t mind. (He can use a lot of “I feel” statements)
Westminster Abbey- […]

As many of you know, my husband and I aren’t the best communicators. We are currently taking the parenting classes offered by the stake. I strongly recommend the classes to everyone. They help not only with communicating with children but with your spouse as well.
My problem is with the “I feel” statements. Instead of […]

Aron is real mean when he is sick. Unlike most kids I know of he doesn’t bite when he doesn’t feel good he hits and kicks. I think I would rather be bit. He slapped me so hard that he left a mark on my neck.
Aron was sick last week but doesn’t seem to […]

After my little sewing accident I mentioned earlier I tried again to hem some old nasty pants no one wears anymore as practice and the result did not look THAT bad. I think with a little practice I can make my hems look pretty good.
I picked up the pants and showed them to my […]

My sister-in-law nominated me for the honest scrap award. In order to receive this award I must tell you ten honest things about myself. I guess this is like the “25 Things” note on Facebook.
So, blog readers, this is my ten step tell all story. . .
1. I was born in the same […]

Am I a manic- depressive, or am I finally feeling better after two months of suffering through infection and illness? I am trying to conquer the world today. I woke up very early and cooked breakfast for the family. I usually just throw something in the toaster. I was in the kitchen this morning for […]

Victoria and I went shopping last Saturday at Potomac Mills Mall. We had to park far away because there was a carnival in the parking lot. I wore my pedometer to keep up with how many steps I was taking. We walked 20, 412 steps by the time we were exiting the mall and over […]

I had a pretty cool dream last night that could almost be a novel.

Paris about 1830 Georges and Aimee are in love and want to marry. Aimee’s father won’t let her marry Georges. Georges and Aimee meet next to the Seine River to talk about their futures. Georges is interested in revolutionary ideas […]

Well, actually it is a townhouse, but still!! By May I will be a proud homeowner. By June, I will be able to move in. The place needs some fixing up. I need to put in new carpet and the walls need painting. We will get the home inspected to see if there is anything […]

As many of you know my husband is in the military and loves it. He is finally after a long time of waiting an officer. There were many times I was not all supportive of his military career for my own personal reasons, but I was never ashamed of his service. I am proud of […]

At first I wanted to go to London and then to Paris, but I have since decided to stay in London. The more I read about London, the more I am falling in love with the city. Maybe it has to do with all of the Anne Perry books I read! Only if we have […]

As many of you know I am going to London in April. Of course, being an amateur genealogist, I plan to see any of my family’s connections in London. My family has been in America for a very long time so it is difficult to really know how many relatives actually lived there. So far […]

I usually do not watch shows like the Today Show on NBC or Good Morning America on ABC but I was trying to find out if schools were delayed due to the snow. I caught a program on Finland and its wonderful government programs. The government allows mom and dad to stay at home with […]

I don’t know if it is the Zoloft but I am having very vivid dreams. My dreams are more entertaining than television shows.
I already told my parents about the dream about my Uncle Jimmy setting me up on a date with Hulk Hogan. (He is friends with Hulk Hogan and I just emailed my […]

I am so tired of this, “How could you want our president to fail?” Nonsense. I don’t HOPE he will fail, I KNOW he will fail. The policies Obama plans to use have already failed, ask Hoover or Johnson. (or even Bush for that matter) Whether Republican or Democrat a more centralized government (leaning towards […]

I am currently working on a “book” for my father’s family on the lineage of my grandfather. A lot of my grandfather’s genealogy is unknown to the family because my grandfather was adopted when he was a teenager by his step-father. His biological family was lost to us unfortunately. His family is very interesting.
I already […]

I set some goals for myself and so now let’s see how I am doing so far.
I didn’t make it past the first hour at church because I felt so sick. My bladder area was in pain and I hurt my side fighting with Aron. It is rough the first day after daylight savings […]

I got a book on how to take beautiful pictures of children and I am trying to practice. What do you think?

I just came home from Jon Jon’s birthday party, and boy am I exhausted! We went to Chuck-E-Cheese’s. We didn’t do their party but just sat at a table and brought our own cake. We ate their pizza and drank water. We also got 110 tokens. Jon Jon’s friend Neil, with his brothers and sisters […]

Though I am not going on a mission anytime soon, I am working on the book, “Preach My Gospel”. In it the book has a test that you can take to see what Christ-like attributes you need to work on. My two weaknesses are patience and diligence.
Part of the reason that I am lacking […]

I never ask for jewelry or furs for my anniversary. I only have one wedding band and a diamond I inherited from my mother. I prefer to go on trips. Luckily, my husband has a similar taste so he doesn’t mind spending the money.
He took me to New York City before I had Jon […]

Barack Obama was not joking when he said he would bring change. Since January 20, I hardly even recognize the country anymore. I feel like I am reading the news from an alternate time line! I always knew that the Democrats were for larger government control, but I never thought they would actually go so […]

I am back to being a full time contact lens girl though I am still trying to get my prescription right. I wore contact lenses exclusively for almost ten years. When my husband was unemployed for a while, I went back to glasses. I got tired of dealing with glasses and having them fall off […]