Ava's Fashions

Crisp white cotton shorts and a spaghetti strapped plaid seersucker cami, topped with a puff of blonde cotton candy. Makes you want to rip pieces of her off and let them melt in your mouth...

A Hammock Built For One

Ah, remember when we used to have a hammock? Those were the good ol' days........until Eric and I got into it together one night and immediately found ourselves on the ground with that half tree stump on our heads.

Suzanne's John Hancock

Colson has a homework folder that is sent home every night from school. It has his homework in it, as well as any finished assignments, school information, and various community activity notices. Occasionally (more often than not), there is some sort of form for me to sign and send back. Usually these forms are ridiculous and unnecessary, but I grin and bear it and just go with it.

Until the other day. There was a flyer in the stack of papers in the folder, a flyer advertising Highlights magazine. I glanced at it, and threw it away, knowing I didn't want to order a year's subscription of Highlights. I asked Colson to take out the kitchen trash a few minutes later.

Later that evening, Colson comes running upstairs. "MOM! Where's that green paper that was in my homework flyer?" I said, "The one with the magazine subscription on it? I threw it out, we're not ordering it."

"BUT MOM! You have to sign it and return it even if you're not ordering it!!" I told him that I was sure that wasn't the case. He said oh no, there was a form on the back of the flyer where the parents had to check whether or not they wanted to order a subscription sign and date it, and return it.

I hadn't turned the flyer over. And why would I have, who could have thought that you'd have to SIGN AND RETURN if you DIDN'T want to order a magazine??!?!???!

I told Colson that it was fine, he could just tell his teacher that we weren't buying anything. He was completely bent out of shape, his teacher had obviously made it a point to tell them it needed to be signed and returned, so I used this as an opportunity to reinforce in Colson's mind that Mom and Dad take precedence over teacher. If we say it's okay, then it's okay. He can calm down.

I on the other hand, couldn't calm down. I mean REALLY. I've had it with ridiculous forms. I've seen some ridiculous forms from the public school, but this took the cake. SIGN and return if you don't want to buy something.

Doesn't my signature mean anything anymore? Usually you have to give someone your signature for something important. A loan agreement. A contract. A marriage license. A check. A letter to a friend. A signature isn't something you just throw around.

I'm tired of signing my name to bullshit. Sign here to say you don't want to buy a magazine. Sign here so that we know you read the class homework agreement. Sign here to say that you'll sign any bullshit papers that we send home throughout the school year. Sign Sign Sign. You know what? I'M DONE SIGNING. I will check a box, or answer a question, but I'm DONE WITH SIGNING!! My signature means something, and I will choose when to use it. I'm so irritated by this that all I want to do is go up to that school everyday and make up papers for the administrators to sign.

"Hi! I'm Suzanne Mosley, and I need you to sign here to show that you know how to use a period properly. Thanks!'

"Hi! I'm Suzanne Mosley and I need you to sign here to say that you saw me walk through the front door, thanks!"

"Hi! I'm Suzanne Mosley and I need you to sign here if you want me to stop coming here every day, thanks!"

I'm going to start sending papers to the teacher that require her signature. "Please sign and return this so I know Colson went to the bathroom today". "Please select which shoes Cole should wear tomorrow, and then sign and return". "Please sign and return if you don't want me to show up in your classroom tomorrow naked".

What Not To Wear When Dying

Ok, this is the best 911 call ever! This little girl reminds me of my mother...ever so calm in the face of great duress, but still concerned about being caught in her pajamas by visitors.

Ice To The Top

Upon my demise I have no doubt that at my funeral someone will, when waxing poetic about my time here on earth, mention "ice to the top". Everyone will chuckle and share stories about their memories of me and ice to the top...


I have been a soda addict for more years than I can count. Coca-cola was my drug of choice for many years, and for the past 4 years Diet Pepsi has been my fix (it's like an cocaine addict switching to ecstasy, I know, but give me a little credit). Through it all, ice to the top has remained the same. I know that many people who have passed through my life have never understood this monumental part of my personality, so I will now share my reasoning.

Ice to the top refers to, obviously, the quantity of ice in a glass of soda. Let me be more clear, the quantity of ice BEFORE the soda is added to the glass. And while "ice to the top" is a quotable Suzanne Mosley quote, ice to the top is only the tip of the iceberg, pun intended.

The ratio of ice to soda is so very important. Why? Well, what is ice? Correct, frozen water! The moment you pull ice out of a freezer, the ice begins to melt. For $400, once ice melts what does it become? Correct again! What is water! And what does water do to a glass of soda? DING DING DING, we have a winner! It waters the soda down, changing the flavor.

Some might comment, "But ice to the top means that there is MORE melting ice in the glass!". That is true, but think about it for a moment longer. One, the larger quantity of ice means the amount of coldness in the glass is greater, keeping the ice in frozen form for a bit longer. Two, the amount of soda that will fit into the glass is MUCH less, so you drink it much faster. There ends up being no time for the ice to melt enough to change the soda formula.

When the soda formula is changed, the burn is changed. What is the burn? The burn is just what you think it is. When you take a sip of a quality soda/glass/ice combination, you feel that fantastic burn in the back of your throat. As if someone just poured battery acid down your esophagus. As if someone is scrubbing your tonsils with a Brillo pad. As if your vocal cords are being strummed with the back of a porcupine. Divine.

The temperature of the soda prior to being poured over the ice is also crucial. NEVER can you pour room temperature soda over ice. You're doomed before you take the first sip, which will already be watered down enough to affect the bite of the soda. Always, always, always cold soda over ice. (My Dad can drink a room temperature can of soda. Seeing that never ceases to take me aback.)


I also believe that cans are far superior to any other containers. The aluminum keeps the liquid colder than plastic does and doesn't defile the flavor as much as plastic does. Of course glass bottles are the standard, but that time has come and gone....I was born into the wrong era.

There are also very clear standards about the vessel used to drink soda. Plastic is NEVER an option. Plastic defiles not only the level of burn you get from the cold CO2, but also the taste of the soda itself. Glass is the only option. When Chili's switched from glass mugs to clear plastic mugs of the same shape and size, the amount of ice put into the cup became even more important. The longer the liquid remains in the plastic cup before you drink it, the lower the quality of each sip becomes. Now, there are times when I will drink soda from a plastic cup; picnics, church events, etc. If I'm going to be eating good food, I won't forgo my soda, and the hosts and the other guests will never know of my sacrifice. But you can guarantee I will fill that plastic sucker up with ice.

The size and shape of the glass used to drink the soda from is also important, but also very personal. For myself, the kind of glass that I prefer to drink the soda from changes quarterly. Sometimes I'm having a tall and narrow moment, other times I die for a short wide glass. Some months I love a narrower-at-the-bottom wider-at-the-top variety, and other months I think that type of glass is horrifying. One of the most perfect soda glasses is the POM tea glass. You know, the individual serving glasses that you buy POM tea in. Those glasses make wonderful soda drinking glasses. I was in a POM glass stage for a long time...

I allow for others to indulge in their own personal glass size/shape shifts. I never judge those opinions. Sometimes Melissa and I will be in completely opposite size/shape places, but that's what keeps the relationship interesting.

Mom and I used to go to a restaurant on 100 in the Exton area that served their soda in tin mugs....!!!!! I KNOW! Fantastic! Mom's and my favorite restaurant, Cock of the Walk, also serves their sodas in tin cans. It's as close to perfection as you can get.

My husband got his first hint of how important ice would be in our marriage in Year 2.

He asked me if his buddies could come over after work to play poker. I said sure, as long as you don't expect me to come downstairs and play hostess. He was okay with that, he just asked if I'd leave some food out for them. So I set up a nice table of game night snacky food, and made sure I was upstairs in my pajamas by the time they all got there. Eric came upstairs to say hello before the game started, and I asked if he'd bring me a plate of food and a Coke, since I'd forgotten to do so in my rush to get upstairs and avoid being social. He went down, and came back up with a plate of food and a can of Coke. He then handed me a glass that had 3 cubes of ice in it.

......................................????

I looked at him and said, "Wow. I feel like I've just wasted 2 years of my life on you. If you can bring me a glass with 3 ice cubes in it, that tells me that you haven't been paying attention to me AT ALL. The LEAST thing anyone knows about me is ice to the top."

He apologized and took the glass back down to fill it, probably kicking himself the whole time for having allowed my devastating beauty to overshadow the portent of neurosis while we were dating.

So there you have it. The explanation of ice to the top.

I have a feeling you'll never ask "why" again.

The Hand

My Dad's second video, in which he uses the Hand illustration on how to correctly handle the Bible.

Session 2 from Bob Lewis on Vimeo.

Monday Mornings With Zachary

Zachary tries to spell and do math.

Ava's Fashions

There was nothing extra special about this dress, but when you combine a cotton crossback sundress, a pair of Mary-Jane white Keds, wispy blond curls and big gusts of wind, magic happens...

Cocktail Party, Attempt Deux

Today I am hosting the 2009 Mosley Christmas Cocktail Party. The original party was rescheduled due to a major snowstorm. In honor of the party, I give you some cocktail party memories from years past...

This is a fun one, from 2003. The homemade jug lamp. Bethany opened this white elephant, and it was a major hit. In fact, I believe someone stole it from her.

Ah, Solomon...no sous chef ever made prep work look so good.

Oh, the giant sized underwear. Richard, of course, had to model them.....

Eric got a little loopy this particular year......

My sister Amy, at home in front of her homemade bar area.

While in my mind this picture needs no explanation, I'm sure some will demand one...I was making fun of my niece Bethany, whose Facebook/MySpace photo albums proved that she was in her "When someone takes my picture, I will either be drinking, giving them the finger, dancing crazily, or touching people inappropriately, preferably all four" stage of life.

Someone who didn't understand the rules brought a brand new bottle of alcohol. That one got stolen many times...

Woot, the singing Bing Crosby! While Eric's dad opened this one, I believe the Tabassos took Bing home that year.

Ah, no cocktail party white elephant game is complete without a body part gift. In 2004, it was the boob mug.

Mark Rogers, showing initiative by offering to dispose of the trash on his first year at the party. THIS is how you get invited back!!

And lastly, Michael T. demonstrates the position that most Mosley cocktail party first-timers end up in. Poor guy...

The Family That Reads In The Tub Together, Stays Together

I love moments when my nieces and nephews prove that they do share DNA with me. Had such a moment yesterday with Brooke.


Brooke: I just got Still Alice from the library
Started it in the bath last night...love it


(And if you're thinking I was touched by the fact that she was reading a book I recommended, you're wrong. It was the "Started it in the bath last night" that made me shed a tear....)

Suzanne's Medicare Plan

If you read my post last week on the book Still Alice, you'll understand why this exchange with my mother is so funny.

Mom: i am going crazy checking out medicare advantage health plans...it is so complicated and with all this health care stuff going on in wash. it will all change soon anyway. my plan just went from $37 each to 95 each

me: ugh

Mom: thinking of just going back to normal medicare. we pay $100 each a month for that ...so if we kept the advantage would be $400 per month. that is nuts

me: yes

Mom: we just don't have any dental or prescription coverage with normal medicare. dental is not a problem. prescription isn't either for now. you just can't cover all the bases. and neither dad or i are into heroic measures.

and you are going to kill us if we get Alzheimer's anyway

What's Your Square One?

My Dad has started a new venture. He's found a way to leave a lasting memory of his teaching to his grandchildren. Introducing his new blog, with video clips of him answering your questions about religion:

http://navcad56.blogspot.com/

And here is his first video clip:

Session1 from Bob Lewis on Vimeo.

Make sure to follow his new blog, and leave your questions for him in the comments section.

k12, Historically Speaking

I am such a huge fan of the k12 curriculum. My favorite k12 subject by far has been history. Let me tell you why.

k12 is not a Christian curriculum. It is a public school curriculum that is also made available for purchase by homeschooling parents and private schools, although most public schools don't use k12 because it is one of the more expensive curricula.

The history course begins in Kindergarten, in place of the more common "Social Studies", which was a huge selling point for me. Social Studies should be what parents teach their kids every day. Social Studies is just living life. Don't waste time on it in the classroom.

In my opinion, a great start to a great education includes learning how to read and write at high levels, learning deductive reasoning, which for me begins with learning math and science at an early age, and developing a wealth of knowledge of historical facts and references. If that wealth of knowledge can also include a healthy use of another language, all the better. I believe all of these things can be accomplished by 5th or 6th grade, at which point advanced maths and sciences, and specific courses should be introduced, such as Economics and Politics.

(Music and Art and Physical Education I would group together under one category: The Arts. I don't think you need to delve deeply into all three all the time, but certainly having some form of the arts included in your education is beneficial.)

But I digress. Back to k12's history curriculum. I love how k12 handles the topic of religion. Religion is mentioned a great deal in the history course. And why shouldn't it be? A huge component to understanding a culture and their history is understanding their religion. Religion is why wars were fought and why new nations began. Religion has played such a huge role in the course of history, you cannot avoid it.

And yet most curricula dance around religion, especially the Christian religion. k12 addresses it head on. In history this year, Ava has and/or will be learning about Judaism, Egyptian gods and goddesses, Hinduism, and Buddhism. She's learning about how each religion began, and the basics of what the followers of each religion believe. Each religion is treated with respect and with equal time, and none of the religions are promoted as "right" or superior.

I had no interest in finding a Christian curriculum to use for my children. My goal was to find a curriculum that was academically challenging and technologically advanced. In my mind, while you can become a Christian at a young age, you need advanced deductive reasoning skills to really further your knowledge of God.

If you've taught your children how to reason from a young age, you can trust that they'll come to what is real and right on their own as adults. This is why a challenging education is so important. If young children were taught how to think and how to ask questions and how to challenge themselves and others, this country would become a much different place.

History reeks of God. Science reeks of God. Math reeks of God. Literature reeks of God. God is everywhere, in all of education. You can't escape it. So just teach your kids, teach them all of it. You don't need to send them to a religious school for them to learn religion, education IS religion. God shows himself through all of it. Just give them the skills to recognize Him.

Bror Saxberg, the CLO of k12, explains the concepts behind the k12 curriculum. His "Big Ideas" concept was another selling point for me.

More from the k12 team:

Mike And Annick On Monday Mornings With Zachary

Forgot to tape an interview with Zachary yet again.

So instead today I give you my favorite routine from the UCWDC World Championships last week. Mikey Eads and Annick Paquet's Masters Classic Showdance routine. Her spins were almost as hot as her checkerboard dance pants, and while they may be be little enough to fit in my back pocket, this Amazon predicts they're going to be the Next Big Thing....

Ava's Fashions

Bric-a-brac and embroidery on creamsicle orange cotton. A perfect summer day expressed in fabric and notions.

6 Dog Years

Good grief, I look 15 years old in this picture....and it was only 6 years ago. Children ruin you.

Papa Picked A Peck Of Poems

While instant messaging with my brother Andrew the other day, he shared a poem with me. It was a favorite of my dad's, and Dad had copied down and given it to Andrew long ago. I know I've said that I hate most poetry, but I have to say the poems that have spoken to Dad are always ones that I love. He's a good picker.

Victory In Defeat
by Edwin Markham

Defeat may serve as well as victory
To shake the soul and let the glory out.
When the great oak is straining in the wind,
The boughs drink in new beauty, and the trunk
Sends down a deeper root on the windward side.
Only the soul that knows the mighty grief
Can know the mighty rapture. Sorrows come
To stretch out spaces in the heart for joy.

Still Alice

I picked up this really great book at the airport on my way to Indianapolis last week, Still Alice by Lisa Genova.

This is a haunting novel about a 50 year old Harvard professor of cognitive psychology who finds out she has early onset Alzheimer's. The story, told from her perspective, allows you to listen to her thoughts as her brain rapidly deteriorates. You get to experience her palpable horror as she realizes what she isn't going to be able to realize for much longer.

There are chilling moments in the text, a couple that stood out to me so much that I dog-eared the pages. One is this moment in the hospital, when her daughter visits:

"...Alice looked at Lydia in pieces, close-up snapshots of her features. She recognized each one like people recognize the house they grew up in, a parent's voice, the creases of their own hands, instinctively, without effort or conscious consideration. But strangely, she had a hard time identifying Lydia as a whole. "You're so beautiful," said Alice. "I'm so afraid of looking at you and not knowing who you are."

"I think that even if you don't know who I am someday, you'll still know that I love you."

"What if I see you, and I don't know that you're my daughter, and I don't know that you love me?"

"Then I'll tell you that I do, and you'll believe me."

Alice liked that. But will I always love her? Does my love for her reside in my head or my heart? The scientist in her believed that emotion resulted from complex limbic brain circuitry, circuitry that was for her, at this very moment, trapped in the trenches of a battle in which there would be no survivors. The mother in her believed that the love she had for her daughter was safe from the mayhem in her mind, because it lived in her heart....."

I also loved the passage in which Alice yells at her weak-of-character husband:

"I don't think I can do it, Alice. I'm sorry, I just don't think I can take being home for a whole year, just sitting and watching what this disease is stealing from you. I can't take watching you not knowing how to get dressed and not knowing how to work the television. If I'm in a lab, I don't have to watch you sticking Post-It notes on all the cabinets and doors. I can't just stay home and watch you get worse. It kills me."

"No John, it's killing me, not you. I'm getting worse, whether you're home looking at me or hiding in your lab. You're losing me. I'm losing me. But if you don't take next year off with me, well, then, we lost you first. I have Alzheimer's. What's your fucking excuse?"

There are so many great moments in this book I can't list them all. You'll have to read it for yourself.

This story made me realize that, for me, this would be a fate worse than death. To imagine that there might be moments of lucidity where I would realize what I had lost....I can completely understand Alice's desire to plan to take her own life when she reached a certain point of memory loss.

Would I want to live if I couldn't make my thoughts clear? Does life, for me, have any meaning outside of my cognition? Would I still be able to trust in God if I couldn't even remember how to spell god? Right now I would say absolutely not.

If one of my parents had Alzheimer's and wanted to die, would my instinct be to entertain that idea, or to keep them with me for as long as I could? I guess I would have to believe that God has a purpose in Alzheimer's. It's not a disease that kills you physically, so there has to be a reason why God would want you to go on living without your memories or ability to think logically.

Great idea for a story, and wonderfully executed.

Please Don't Leave Me For Her

I keep meaning to promote my niece Bethany's blog, and keep forgetting. Maybe it's because she's smarter and funnier than me and subconsciously I don't want the competition...

Bethepedia

He's Magic

My brother Andrew used to teach me incorrect definitions of words. If you remember from a previous post, he taught me the "meaning" of the word eclectic. I guess he saw that post, because the other day he emailed this to me, with the subject line reading "Wow, apparently I was always right".

Monday Mornings With Zachary

I've been out of town for a week, so today you get to watch an old family video. This is a video from a trip to Sarasota to visit Eric's dad. We always go to Siesta Key beach when we are there, which is apparently one of the most beautiful beaches in the country.

Ava's Fashions

On the occasion of Ava's 6th birthday, a graphic 3/4 sleeve double breasted baby doll cardigan with a graphic red and black print. Visiting 60's mod again...

Nickel A Shine!

Nashville holds many memories for me.


When I lived in Nashville in 1995-96, I spent a lot of time at the Wildhorse Saloon. My dance friends and I would go almost every night of the week, it was my home away from home. One of my friends worked at the boot shine stand. She said they were looking for another girl, and I applied. I worked the boot shine stand for close to a year as a second job. That was probably the most interesting job I've ever had.

The process of shining boots was so fun to learn, I loved all the steps. I loved whitening the laces, buffing the wax, and at the Wildhorse boot stand, we signed each pair of boots we shined with our initials on the inside of one of the heels.

I didn't mind the calf massages either. Although, I remember one portly gentleman who had a hard time holding in the gas while I was rubbing his calves. And as you can see from the picture, the boot shine chair was elevated, so imagine the general vicinity of my head in relation to where excess gas might be released....horrifying.

The boot shines were $6, and most guys would give me either a $10 or a $20 and tell me to keep the change. A few times I got $50 tips, and once I got a $100 tip. On a good night I'd do 10-20 shines, and walk out with at least $150. I sold cigars also, and most of the guys tipped on those as well. Wildhorse was a big tourist attraction in those days, because of the Wildhorse Saloon dance show on CMT, so on a Saturday night the place would be packed with business men and people on vacation. Sometimes I'd have a line of folks waiting for a shine.

I worked on Saturday nights, so I got to see the concerts while I worked. I'll never forget the night Chris LeDoux played, and the Wildhorse was PACKED with real cowboys. That night, the part of the boot shine process in which I cleaned the boots was put to the test. Most guys' boots weren't really dirty, but these real cowboys' boots were covered in cow dung.

I loved that on Saturday nights, that little corner of the world was mine. I loved that I was a specialty person, not part of a crowd of waiters. And I loved that I was like a little ruffian orphan boy in the Great Depression, just with a better outfit.

I just loved that job.

Little Runaways

Melissa's meeting me here in Nashville today. She's flying down to cheer me on and eat hotel food, not necessarily in that order. I am reminded of another weekend getaway from our past...

One spring when I was about 22 and Melissa was 18, we decided to run away for the weekend. We wanted to find the sun, so we searched the weather reports for the closest east coast spot that would have sunshine during that time. Turned out to be Morehead City, North Carolina. My parents had actually lived there at one point, so Mom gave us some tips and we jumped in the car and drove through the night.


View Larger Map

Those were Melissa's "I'm pretending to be a field hockey girl" days, hence the ponytail with the ribbon around it. And this was taken at a rest stop at 3am, hence the face.

My mother recommended we eat at the Sanitary Fish Market.

Some might think those days were the glory days, young and free, being able to just pick up and take off and play around. But that's far from the truth. These days are our glory days. Those days were our baby days, and who wants to be a baby.

But it's a nice memory.

Nothing Comes From Nothing

I watched "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed", the Ben Stein Intelligent Design documentary, the other night. So good. It was overflowing with NT temperaments, so of course I was captivated by hearing my language through an entire movie. The animated depiction of the amount of complexity in the single cell was AWESOME. It's on Comcast On Demand right now, if you have Showtime. Some of my thoughts:

The reason that the debate between science and religion sparks such strong reactions is fear. Most scientists are terrified of religion, and most Christians are terrified of science. Both sides are operating out of fear, and in fear there is no growth.

Christians should have no fear of science. The more scientists try to disprove the existence of God, the more they will find Him. Scientists should have no fear of God, because they don't believe He exists.

Darwinists can't explain how the single cell came into existence. They think they have an explanation for how, from it, came human life as we know it, but they can't explain how that first cell came to be. They will throw out some theories, (aliens "seeding" our planet, proteins growing on the backs of crystals) but even they know those theories sound ridiculous.

Their belief that somehow, by some miraculous coincidence, everything that is needed to make the most complex of systems, a self-reproducing single celled organism, came together at the right time is just as unlikely as the belief that an intelligent designer formed that single cell.

The theories are equally ludicrous. And yet one is correct. Darwinists scoff at those who believe in an intelligent designer, and yet they know that their theories sound just as crazy. Neither theory can be proven (although science is trying to prove it with the Large Hadron Collider...which I call the Tower Of Babel 2.0.).

Science and religion, to me, is a beautiful marriage. I "see" God through science. Some Christians see God through other people's actions, but I see God through examining the world He created. The complex workings of the human body, the amazing interlocking workings of a particular ecosystem, pretty much any Discovery channel show, all I see is God God God.

So much more to say, I may have to talk about this again....

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

As your birthday gift to me, please read this Oatmeal.com grammar comic closely. This one is on apostrophes. If I see one more person say "Just posted some new pic's!" on their Facebook status I'm going to gut myself with a butter knife and roast my large intestine on a spit.

DON'T WRITE PIC'S!

And I'm Off

So today I leave for the UCWDC World Championships, which is being held at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN.

I'm making a quick stop in Indianapolis, IN to meet my best cyber friend Heather in person for the first time!

At the event, I will compete in the Pro-Am Male Silver Novice division with my student, Paul, on Wednesday. Richard and I compete in the Classic Open 1 Advanced division on Saturday.

I am also competing in the West Coast Swing Novice Jack and Jill competition, prelims are Saturday night and finals are on Sunday afternoon.

This will be a long week of dancing and late nights. Hopefully I'll come home with another World Championship title to make up for the exhaustion.

Ava's Fashions

In the midst of this cold winter, feast your eyes on this 50s bathing beauty. Hot turquoise high waisted boycut bathing shorts with ruffles around the butt. Retro cuteness. A future Esther Williams.