and now.

Since I've always been one to freely admit my moderation problems with the Internet, I'm quite thrilled to be announcing that Steven and I decided to get rid of our lovely, fast, efficient DSL. We are going internet free; the signal will be dropping from our house in 3-5 business days!

Now the legions of fans I have may find my assembled FAQ to be of some help to you:

Q: Does this mean we'll never see you again?
A: No dearies, we'll still be alive. And even online occasionally.

Q: But HOW?
A: There is a Starbuck with free Wi-Fi two blocks from us. We have a laptop.

Q: But your blog is so titillating, how can I manage not knowing the details of your life?
A: Well, you could try writing a snail mail letter; I ALWAYS write back.

Q: Eww... how old fashioned!
A: Indeed.

Q: But seriously, the blog?
A: I suppose I can manage posting pics or pertinent updates on occasion. Monthly?

Q: Netflix?
A: We currently have about 160 movies on our queue... that should hold us over for some time before we need to update it.

Q: Online banking and bill paying?
A: While Starbucks isn't my FAVORITE coffee place, it'll do in a pinch.

Q: Will you still be checking your e-mail?
A: I imagine weekly or so. I still prefer e-mail communication over the phone most of the time.

Q: But what WILL you do without it?
A: Hopefully engage more in the 3D world here... laundry, dishes, walks, music, beaches.

Q: But Ellie, we know you... how will you live without instant access to your homeschooling forums and your Catholic forums and your amazon.com and facebook and the Drudge?!?
A: Someone once told me that God will reward us anytime we choose a greater good. I truly believe not having internet in our home will be a greater good, even if those things weren't "bad" to begin with.

Q: Okay fine, but you can't tell me Steve feels this way too?!
A: There are depths to that man that many people don't often see or take the time to discover. You'd be surprised.

Q: So are you saying the rest of us with internet are bad people? How judgemental!
A: Of course not. The pope has internet, I'm quite fond of him. It's simply what seems to be the right choice for us at this particular time in our lives.

Q: Well FINE, but I bet it won't last!
A: It may not, we aren't totally dogmatic about this. We figured it was a good way to save money, to simplify our lives, and to focus more on the family. If our joy somehow DECREASES because of this, we may be online again soon. But while technology has done fabulous work in increasing human entertainment and pleasure, it has done almost nothing to add to human joy.

another first

my favorite company

I get a lot of unsolicited catalogs. Shopping mail order or online does that for you... they sell your name etc., etc., and pretty soon Steve is getting American Girl Doll Catalogs and I'm getting Northern Tool Company catalogs.

As it is, I recently received yet another toy or education catalog that I was just about to recycle before I opened it up.

Oh. My. Word.

Mindware is THE BEST catalog I have now! I love EVERYTHING! It is amazing! I could plan almost our ENTIRE homeschooling curriculum JUST from this catalog for years! Fun. Educational. Clever. Quality. What more could anyone possibly want?!

My kids would love this stuff! More importantly... so would Steve and I!!! Ha, ha, ha. We just spend close to an hour together browsing this catalog. Go check it out, you won't be disappointed.

family portrait

Okay so I know you're all needing a laugh and I'm willing to oblige since I'm short on sleep and avoiding my sewing machine that needs me at the moment.

This is the photo we tried to enter into a Dream Vacation contest. It had the caption of "Well, we're dreaming big of our family cruise, but for some reason we can't seem to make it out of port." Anyway, there was a bug with the website's entry form and I tried, and tried and tried. I even wrote to their Tech Support but they didn't help me. So I concluded, maybe erroneously, that the whole contest was rigged or just a crock.

So I'm left with this fantastic portrait for your viewing amusement. If Dominic's face had been a little more "engaged" I think it would have been in the running for the $10,000 vacation.