Hmm . . .

I don't usually cry when I read my news feed, but this post and its accompanying song brought tears to my eyes, and comfort to my heart.

~ Mrs. Arcfide

Hacker-in-training

Remember the old Macbook Pro that got immersed and died a corrosive death? So much for meaning to disassemble it and sell it for parts on ebay. In all honesty, I packed it away before Baby came and promptly forgot about it.

Then, Baby came along. Baby grew into a curious being, and took an interest in laptops, keyboards, and wires. All things electronic and forbidden. I debated whether or not to get her her own (toy) laptop.

Just so she would leave ours alone.

Shoot. She doesn't need to be spoiled. She needs to learn that a "no" means no.

In cleaning out my old study table last week, I found it.

So much for lofty resolutions and consistent parenting.

She's just a baby.



~ Mrs. Arcfide

Dear Friends,

First things first.

Two of my upper teeth are in! I gnaw at everything in sight, including my mummy's toes.


I am learning to walk. Mummy and Daddy walk me up and down every day, so that by the time bedtime comes around, I am too exhausted to complain. They smile whenever they see me leaning forward, to embrace my bed.

There's so much to see and do in the day. I spend most of my time in our apartment, playing with "toys". I don't like my own toys, that is . . . I prefer the toys my parents use all the time. The clickkity-clack of daddy's typing sends me crawling like a torpedo to his keyboard. Too bad the best toys are always forbidden, though. Daddy will sternly say "Mikaela, ~ no, no", and swat my hand away. Sometimes, that hurts my feelings and make me cry. I feel even more sorry for myself if I fall down right then and bump my head.

But that doesn't deter me! No, daddy's always said "What are a few bumps in life". I get up and try again. Daddy smiles at mummy over the top of my head and say that I'm a persistent little girl, whatever that means.


Anyway, I'd better go. All this typing is killing my brain cells.







Lots of love and slobber,
~ Mikaela

She's the smallest thing we put our whole lives into . . .

Small child-once you were a hope, a dream. Now you are reality.
Changing all that is to come. So small. A flick of star stuff.
A mind to touch the edges of the universe. A love to hold our hearts forever.
~Charlotte Gray

Mikaela's first Sunday at church

~ Mrs. Arcfide

To Post or Not to Post?

That is the question.

At this late hour, I should be doing a ton of other things . . . like making something yummy for dinner, or putting our pile of laundry away. Instead, I find myself here on blogger, clicking "New Post" and stretching my achy back after a long day of sitting and writing copious answers on my first Federal Taxation Exam.

My poor, sadly-neglected blog. How I've missed writing in thee! :P One has to wonder why I don't update more often, especially considering the fact that updating snippets at a time is so much more therapeutic than having a whole, daunting lot of stuff to say.

Ah, well. The prerogative is mine to swing from bouts of virtual taciturnity to garrulousness, right? And you - well, you it's your prerogative to read along or just to click that little gray x at the top of your screen. Because, well . . . I'm all for prerogatives today.

But IF you decide to stay with me, I might as well make your visit here worth while. By being narcissistic and talking about myself, of course. Well, us . . . to be more precise. These days, I don't do anything apart from my hubs and our little baby. I love it this way. We eat together, sleep together, shop together, travel together, study together . . . you get the picture. Whenever Aaron goes to class, even for an hour, the light goes out of our lives. Not to be sappy or anything (ha.), but if you've ever loved someone so much that you can miss that person the moment he leaves the room, you'll know how I feel. How we feel. Mikaela just affirmed that she feels the same. ;)

So. What have we been up to?

The biggest Thing this past summer was our weekend trip to Boston, of course. Because Aaron is so freakin' smart, he got an academic paper published and was invited to speak at the CS Scheme workshop. It was originally supposed to be held at MIT, but the venue later changed to Northeastern. What's important is that we still went to MA. ;)

So, while he relished his time talking geek, being geek, and cracking up at geeky jokes - I wisely spent my day walking the Freedom Trail with an LJ friend. You never know when you have the strangest opportunities for travel and visits!

Here's Julia and I:

And here's the Great Patriot we sat beside to rest:

In case you didn't notice, that was Paul Revere. One of my favorite heroes from the American Revolution. I believe Longfellow had everything to do with it.

We got to see where the Boston Massacre took place, as well as Faneuil Hall, the public park, Boston Commons, etc. My only regret was that Aaron wasn't able to tour Boston with us. Because I thought of him all day, of course. :) But he assured me he thoroughly enjoyed his day at the conference, so that counts for something, I guess. ;)

The Public Gardens

Site of the First Public School in America:

In other news, last weekend we also had a Baby Shower! Two of my best girlfriends in town generously hosted it at their home, and invited several ladies and their daughters from church.

We had a delightful time.

Here are some candid pictures of Aaron and I AFTER the party:

His "I-saw-you-taking-that" glare at the photographer.

My friend picked me a gorgeous rose from their garden

"Hey, return me my flower!"

Shall we dance?

Now for some of my favorite posed pictures:

Oh, you know what another of my prerogative is? It is to throw together a post without any theme or cohesion.

May all of you always be as happy as we!
~ Mrs. Arcfide

SNOW DAY!

Tiny balls of hail were gently falling around us as we went out for groceries the evening before last. Imagine our surprise as we left Krogers a mere 30 minutes later. The entire parking lot was covered in a blanket of white. Strangers beside us swore under their breaths.

The less prepared shoppers among us scraped their buried cars with gloves and plastic bags. We thankfully reached for our ice-picker to do the same.

White flakes pelted down all day, and all night. For forty days and forty nights, It Snowed. And snowed. and snowed. We got snow!

Aaron and I woke up yesterday, feeling like Christmas. But since it wasn't, we enjoyed the next best thing: Snow Day! And school, of course, was closed.

Here, Aaron opens the door in search of his morning paper. There was none. But he just had to stick his hand out to test how deep the snow was. ;-) Hey, after all . . . snow doesn't usually accumulate that much under this roof-covered walkway.

I told Aaron I wanted to see how deep the snow was out there. Then, I did The Stupid by sprinting out (as much as one can sprint and flounder) without any warm clothes. :-P

Oh, I'll say it was about boot-high.

There's Aaron.

. . . and there's his "Snow Angel". Which, I thought would have been more aptly called his "Caution Radiation Sign".

Last but not least, that's the more-sensibly-dressed yours truly,

~ Mrs. Arcfide

Keep thy words soft and sweet

Human nature is ever growing, ever retrogressing... never static. Determined though one may be never to change, separation inevitably takes its toll on even the closest of friends. Divergent experiences and philosophies gained along life's way make each old-time reunion never quite the same.

Still, knowing this... one can't suppress the little sigh of disappointment that escapes at the realization that your friend is not, and will never again be the same as before. Changes are hard to appreciate, even if they have been wrought for improvement's sake.

Outward changes are by far the most conspicuous. Others have lamented the changes they saw in me. Was it just my appearances, manner or beliefs?

Have I learned to be more prudent and discerning? I hope so. More imperious and sophomorical? I pray not.

Keep thy words soft and sweet: someday you might have to eat them.

7 Things I'd proclaimed over the rooftops, and have had to renege:

1. "I'll never get married."
   
2. "I don't wear pants because they're not modest."
3. "When I grow up, I'm going to be a drummer."
4. "Music with a beat is wrong."
5. "I'm not into eye make-up."
6. "I hate bean sprouts."
7. "I can't cook."

~ Mrs. Arcfide

Constant Changes?

If anyone asked me what has been going on recently in my life, my response would be, "Changes. Constant changes."

Last January, I was in the States, celebrating the New Year with Aaron's family. February and March found me back in Singapore, working on team projects, competitions, and our FY closing. April was fun-filled, with company trips and event kick-offs. May saw me winding down my entire twenty-one years in Singapore. There was packing to do, closing of accounts, goodbyes to be said. June 2nd, I flew back to St. Louis to be with my beloved. With help from his family, we were able to plan our wedding in all of four weeks.

July was a month of catalytic change. I left girlhood forever when we got married. There were new discoveries to make, new roles to embrace. I learned more about myself in that one month than I did in all my teenage years put together.

Then came August. Aaron graduated from UMSL, and we moved. Another whole new state, new town, new place. New responsibilities to assume, new ideas to embrace.

It's hard to believe that September crept up on us, and even now is almost gone. It seems as if school just started yesterday, that life has just settled into some sort of normality for us.

I feel very much alive... and dead. Aaron's intense love for me warms my heart, and shelters me with an aura of protecting kindness that I have been missing for the past two years. Yet, even that does not replace the ache that loss of fellowship with other loved ones brought.

I sometimes wonder if I am able to stay true to all the principles I call my own. Take away all the extenuating circumstances and the short term goals that drove me, and do I... fail? Will I?

The enormality of the changes in the past eight months has literally shaken my world. Though many of those changes were for the better, I can't say I care to live the rest of them over again. While all that has transpired does translate into growth, the more I learn, the less qualified l feel I am, of being equal to any new task ahead.

And yet, despite me being who I am, and the people around me being who they are... He has assured us,

"...be content... I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever" ~ Hebrews 13:5-6,8

Our God is too wonderful for words.

~ Mrs. Arcfide