Almost Over

Thankfully the holiday season is almost over. I guess by now there are lots of mom's feeling that way. Although we wait with anticipation to share our children's joy; it's just SO much work! I don't usually cook, or do anything specials. I've got it pretty easy in that respect. Tonight we'll enjoy dinner at my aunt's house. Tomorrow morning is Christmas at my parent's house. Just the five of us - me & princess, grandma & grandpa, and my brother. It's usually a pretty casual day. Dad & I might even take in a movie if we are really well behaved.

I finished my shopping and I'm ready to go. There were a few moments when I found myself browsing in the boys department looking at clothes. Just surrounding myself with things that are not to be this season. I'd like to say there's some magical formula. Something that I have found that helps me get through the holidays. Or maybe I should be asking if anybody knows the formula. I certainly haven't found it.

I went out with Mr. Right-Now last night. Even that didn't help much. I suppose it was a distracting to get lost in the routine, the familiarity of it all. He's comfortable and I should try to enjoy him more than I do. It's just so hard this time of year. Everybody is so much better at pretending to be happy than I am.

Princess & I have lots of quality time in our future. I don't go back to work until Thursday so we have lots of days to fill with fun and laughter. Not a bad way to end the year.

May God bless each one of you this holiday season. And may you each find the true meaning of this Christmas season. "For God so loved the world that he gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16)

Luke 2:8-14
There were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Winter is Here

The calendar says winter is officially here. The weatherman says we have already gotten as much snow as we usually end January with. My yard tells me I already have all the snow I care to have this season. I know the tourism industry is thrilled with this snowfall. We didn't have much last year and there was not a lot of skiing to be had.

My classes are finally set for next semester. I'm excited. I'm in class M/W/F from 9-2 and get this - all four of my classes are in the SAME building! What are the odds? I'm not taking any of my education classes. Since those are at a different campus entirely I decided it would be smarter to take those this summer and knock them all out at the same time. They do offer a free bus that runs from one campus to the other. But since I am trying to squeeze in my classes while Princess is in school that extra trip would make it hard to be on time for anything. Parking is not going to be fun for any of my classes, and I'm not looking forward to braving the freezing temperatures. I still can't believe all my classes are in the same building! Here's what's on deck for this semester. Calculus (part 2 of 3), Psychology & Culture (one of my last requirements for my Pysch Minor), History of Medicine & Health (yawn), and Statistics (double yuck).

The books cost a fortune. And I might add the bookstore at my junior college is WAY nicer than the on at my new University. Oh wait, the selection of sweatshirts is nicer at the University, does that count for anything?? They had hardly any choices of pens or pencils or notebooks, it was sad. 'Cause you KNOW I can't stay away from the office supplies. So, I guess it means I have to force myself to take a trip to Office Max. It'll be torture, but I'll manage somehow.

Sheets

I kid myself. I convince myself that if I just don't acknowledge it, don't even glance at it, that somehow it will not exist. The pressure comes, the waves of stress start crashing and I dive under the covers, close my eyes and make it go away. Writing. Writing about the mundane of my life. Even this little task forces me to come out from under the covers. I like the alone better. I like to put on my "look at me i'm normal" face and go to work and come home. Life with Princess is an every day thing and I am thankful that I have that reality every day to keep me grounded. It's just so hard. I am tired of it all being so hard, taking so much effort. The holidays seem to bring more of everything. More demands on my time, more forcing myself to put on a happy face. I have taken to not answering the phone, heck I don't even listen to the voice mails. I'm tired of people. Alone is easier. I don't know how the rest of the world does it. Goes to work, meets friends, takes care of a house and kids. I can barely put on matching shoes some days. And yet I trudge on because there is no other choice. The hope that tomorrow will be a little bit easier. Couldn't it just be a little easier? I need the pieces to start fitting so I don't feel so completely seperate from the rest of the world. So little of my life is under control. I'm tired of "hanging in there" darn it all I just want a piece of my old life back. I'm not completely sure what part - maybe the part where I felt slightly human.

Who Ordered the Snow?

It's been coming down all day. I cancelled our Odyssey of the Mind practice so our parents wouldn't have to drive around in this crap any more than necessary. The roads aren't that bad, but this wind just keeps coming out of nowhere and sending big poofs of snow up into the road. For those of you from the south just imagine smoke from a grass fire popping up out of nowhere and destroying any hope of visibility you ever had. Driving in snow is someting of an art (one which, unfortunately, many northern drivers have yet to master). By 5 there were cars littering the ditches on the sides of the roads. I'm crossing my fingers that this won't be me in January as I start commuting a fairly treacherous 10 mile stretch of road.

School is looking almost great! I arranged my schedule so I have Tues & Weds off. Now I just have to move one class from a 2:00 to a 12:00 and it will be a perfect schedule! So I'll keep looking for something to open up at noon. Dare I hope it will even be a class that will allow me to cross off a boring requirement?!! It's almost too good to be true. I figure now I can spend this semester getting used to things. Then maybe try to get a job on campus for next fall.

Since I'm still a Math/Secondary Ed major I had to declare a teachable minor. Luckily I transferred 3 Psych classes in so I only need 3 more to get my minor in psych. Go me!

But enough about school - back to the snow. Princess was all bent out of shape today because I told her we could only go sledding after school if it was over 20. Since it wasn't I made an appointment for her to go get allergy shots. Needless to say she was none to happy with my choice of her after school activities!

Ah well, she can take it out on her daughter some day when SHE becomes a mother!

Back to School

Transfer orientation. That's what it was called - transfer orientation. Aptly named since it was meant for students who are transferring from other institutions. So, explain to me why they spent an HOUR of my time explaining to me what a course catalogue and campus map are? I'm thinking we've all been in college before. We're familiar with how to navigate our way through course descriptions and prerequisites. Did we really need to spend an HOUR on these things?!!

Just about the time I was getting ready to doze off, they said it was time to break into small groups to go meet with our individual departments. Out of about 35 students only 6 of us were Math/Science majors - the rest were Humanities. Our small group set out in the freezing cold with our 2 advisors (who were all of about 20 years old). Thankfully it was a short walk to our department and we were greeted by the senior advisor.....who I'm still guessing is younger than me! What a strange feeling that is. We were plopped down in front of computers, given a list of required courses, plus a list they had put together for us of classes that they suggest we sign up for. After what felt like a million attempts I finally put together a list of classes that I am almost happy with. The GOOD news is they are all in the same building. What are the odds? Classes from three different disciplines and they are all in the same building! The bad news is they are smack in the middle of the day.

This means as it stands right now I won't be able to keep the job that I have. Which I love!

Still no word from financial aid. I'm chomping at the bit waiting for this one. I need to find out how broke I am going to be for the (well, for the) foreseeable future. At least parking here is surprisingly cheaper than my community college. Still a good chunk of change ($65 per semester) but not bad in the grand scheme of tuition, books and other fees.

This morning dad & I went to see Aeon Flux. It was barely an hour and a half long. Not bad over all, but hardly worth paying $6.50 for a ticket (and lets not even get into the price of popcorn and pop!). I still haven't made it to see Rent - GRRRRR - Maybe I'll find a hole in my schedule this week so I can go see it. That dude from Law & Order is so HOT! And yes, I know he was on Broadway in Rent before he was that Law & Order dude, so forgive me for typecasting him as some TV detective.

I still have to get over to my parents house and work on the Quicken File. I just don't want to go back out in the cold! It's only 23 today, and all the snow just makes it feel so much colder. Ah well, I guess I'll just bite the bullet and get it over with.

A Concert on a School Night

I went to the BEST Christmas concert tonight! My mom bought me an early Christmas present and gave me a pair of tickets to see Mercy Me & Steven Curtis Chapman. I took one of my dearest friends with me (we met in FIFTH grade!). I must admit I am feeling a little old. When the music started we looked at each other and said "gee that's awfully loud". And it continued to be loud for 3 hours. But, that's OK. The crowd wasn't bad for a Wednesday night. I won't even mention that most of the crowd was my age and older - so basically I was at an old people's concert. SIGH.

It was a blessing to listen to these guys though. They had such stories to go along with their songs and rocked the house with their original songs, plus Christmas standards. We even got to hear one of the songs from the upcoming Narnia movie and see the music video to go along with it.

I cannot wait for Narnia to hit theaters next week. I am so looking forward to taking Princess to see this one. We loved the book.

I could go on, but it's late and I can still hear the ringing in my ears :-)

OH! I took my CLEP today and passed it; then I turned in my graduation audit so hopefully in a few weeks I"ll have my diploma to hang on the wall. I have orientation at the new university in the morning so I'll give you the skinny on that in the next post.

"G" is for

John's Monday Photo Shoot: Snap a picture of something beginning with the letter "G." Because I don't think the letter "G" gets nearly as much attention as it should.

So, here's mine! G is for GRIN and G is also for Princess who has an entirely other name on her birth certificate that starts with G - Grace!

What the heck is HTML

I've been playing around with HTML this weekend and I think I might even like it. Who knew that you CAN teach an old dog new tricks? There are a ton of things I still want to learn. Backgrounds and colors and all the things that go into creating a template. I'm excited. Excited to think that I probably never would have considered learning any of this a few weeks ago. Excited to start stepping into the 21st century! I guess that means you can expect my page to look different every few days. You know how it is - you get a new toy and you just HAVE to play with it!

I love Saturday!

I love Saturdays. Usually Saturday morning is my day to sleep in. The day when Princess is at her dad's and I have nothing but quiet to keep my company. Of course quiet also brings plenty of time for thinking. Which isn't always a good thing. Last night we slept at Grandma's so the girls could watch Herbie Fully Loaded on the big screen TV. The three of us slept in the basement and nobody fell asleep until at least 11. I am so tired today!

We dropped Sweetie off at 10 and Princess got picked up at 10:30, and now here I am. Flicking through "there's nothing on TV" channels. Wondering how the heck I am going to survive another December. Grandma put the Christmas tree up at her house with the girls this morning while I made breakfast. So, out came all the ornaments. Ornaments that Josh made in pre-school, ornaments that Princess has made. I'm dreading putting our tree up. So many more memories. I couldn't even bring myself to do it last year. This year, I will get up the nerve somehow.

Tonight I'm seeing Mr. Right Now. He's coming back from his parents today so we'll have plenty of holiday stories to exchange. Princess will be home bright and early tomorrow so maybe, just maybe we'll drag the tree and the ornaments out of storage. And then another week begins. It's going to be another week of running out to the university to try to get things ready for next semester.

Today is just one of those days where I wonder how I am going to do it all. Do I even want to keep trying to do it all? Gosh, I just don't know!

Turkey Day is Over

It's been a strange week. I have had the entire week off. Working in a doctor's office we were closed on Thanksgiving AND today. Harumpf. Since I usually only work Thursday and Friday this means no money for me! Ah well, it's been worth it to have the week off. I didn't realize how stressed I was getting. Or, maybe I did but didn't want to admit it. I'm feeling a little better today and looking forward to a semi-relaxing weekend.

Yesterday we enjoyed Thanksgiving with my mother's family. Well, those we're on speaking terms with anyway! My mom & her sister usually take turns doing Thanksgiving and this year we were at my aunts newly remodeled (to the tune of more money than I'll ever make) house. Looking around the table you would have seen my mom, dad, brother, me, princess, my aunt, uncle and cousins J1, J2 & J3. The boys are great - the oldest a college freshman, the middle in high school and the youngest in middle school. On top of that they adore princess, so how can I go wrong?

After well all ate until we couldn't eat anymore (even princess cleaned her plate) we hung out and talked and laughed. My dad, brother & uncle went downstairs to watch football. Princess talked the boys into playing Monopoly. Of course the pies came out of the fridge shortly and we stuffed our faces again (complete with ice cream and whipped cream!).

I couldn't get over how well princess behaved yesterday. Gosh, I'm going to have to get us invited to my aunt's more often. She was polite, she was laid back - it was great! When we got home she wanted to play monopoly again. We popped in Herby Fully Loaded and played Monopoly for hours. She kicked my butt too!

I have nothing profound to say today. Princess is at open gym with her friend Sweetie. I have to pick them up in an hour and then Sweetie is sleeping over. Although princess has already called Grandma and asked if they can sleep over THERE instead. It seems grandma is just more fun than mom is. Grandma said it would be OK as long as mommy slept over too. Princess was not thrilled, but it seems this was better than being stuck here with JUST me - rofl. We have to bring Sweetie home by 10 tomorrow, then idiot comes to pick up princess at 10:30. At least I know by 11 I should be off to nap land. Or maybe I'll take myself to Rent if I'm conscious enough.

So many choices when you have no children to worry about.

I still need to get to the store to pick up the fixins for "make your own pizza" night. Of course maybe I should wait until AFTER I pick the girls up. Knowing them they have changed their mind in the last few hours about what they want for dinner.

(and oh wow, what a boring entry this is! i better quit now before i put myself to sleep!)

Who DID Let the Dogs Out?

John's Weekend Assignment #87: Musical Conundrums

I figure most of us are going to be logy and stuffed full of food this weekend, so I'm going to give you all an easy Weekend Assignment:

Weekend Assignment #87: Answer one or more of the following musical conundrums:

1. Who let the dogs out?
2. Why do fools fall in love?
3. If birds can fly over the rainbow, why then, oh why, can't I?
4. Do you hear what I hear?
5. How do you solve a problem like Maria?
6. How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?
7. Listen, do you want to know a secret? Do you promise not to tell?
8. How long has this been going on?
9. I want to know, have you ever seen the rain? (Alternately: Why does it always rain on me?)10. Does anybody really know what time it is?

(Yes, you can have silly answers. In fact, I encourage them!)

Extra Credit: Pose your own musical question.

Princess chose #1 - Who let the dogs out? (I asked her because John stole MY answer - gosh who knew that great minds actually do think alike - I was going to be smart and work Chicago into the answer and he went and did it before me). Anyway - so Who let the dogs out? She says that the boy let the dogs out - he was riding his bike and crashed into the fence and then the dogs could all get out. Alternately she says that there were aliens that landed on earth and they landed on the fence and the dogs got out. Isn't she a smart child? ROFL

Her musical question is from her Hilary Duff CD (gag) "Why Not do a crazy dance" and she adds this query from Mulan "When will my reflection show who I am inside"

And there you have it!

Give me TWO helpings

Need an extra dessert to throw on your Thanksgiving table? This one is easy peasy and tastes SO good!

I call this one Grandma's Cherry Crunch (and I have NO idea where she got the original recipe from). So, here's what you need:

1 can cherry pie filling (substitute your favorite pie filling flavor here)
1 tsp lemon juice

1 white cake mix
1 stick oleo

preheat oven to 350

Pour pie filling into a 9 inch pan, mix in lemon juice (not sure what the heck the lemon juice is actually for, my first thought is to help it not stick to the pan?? Or maybe it's just for taste? I have no clue!)

Melt margarine in microwave and blend into dry cake mix (now, my mom uses 1 stick of real butter and I like to use about 1 1/2 sticks of margarine so if you feel like you want to add a little more butter, go for it). Crumble cake mix on top of pie filling. (I like mine best when I use about 1/2 of the cake mix for topping, but again this is a to taste kinda thing). Make a bigger pan by using 2 cans of filling and put it in a 9 X 13 pan - for this pan I do use the WHOLE cake mix :-)

Cook for 40 minutes, and of course, serve with whipped cream or ice cream!

I'm off to make one myself so maybe I'll get motivated and add a picture later.

When I grow up

Dona asks the question "When you were growing up, what did you want to be as an adult and is that what you are doing now or did your ambitions change?"

(I should mention here that this is this week's EASY question.....and yes, yes I used to do the easy question. And then I stopped. I got into a blogging funk or something, I don't know. Anyway, I lost the umpf to do it properly and when Dona said she missed them I told her she should just start doing them herself......aren't I a nice friend?? rofl I'm excited somebody has taken over the helm - this way I can just play and get back to sitting on the sidelines.)

I always remember wanting to be an astronaut when I grew up. Until I got old enough to realize how much work that would entail.....that and the fact that I suck at science. Oddly, I NEVER wanted to be a mother and now that is what I am best at, and what I am proudest of. I am a great mother - just ask princess :-)

Most of you know I'm back in college full time. I still haven't decided what I want to be when I grow up. I still have a little over a year until I turn 40, and I hear even then if I play my cards right I don't REALLy have to act like a grown up, right?!

Oh, and speaking of weekly games - Robin started a new one - you should go play it.

When it rains

I guess we've all heard it; "when it rains it pours". I'm still off kilter from the events of my day yesterday and I'm not sure where to begin. I guess at the beginning. Before I went to the movie with my dad I finally got my entire "official" admissions package in the mail. This means that all the running around I have been doing is finally going to pay off. All those admissions clerks smiling and nodding at me, telling me that my GPA made my transfer all but automatically approved. Still, all that paperwork takes so long! But now I have it in my hands. I will find out shortly where I stand as far as classes and housing are concerned. It's scary! I'm ready to go back to school, but the thought of it is already beginning to make me a little uptight.

On top of that Mr. Right-Now has decided to mess with my head and fill me with hopes of a real relationship in the future. One of those things you hope for, that you are certain will never come true, and now he dangles these hopes in front of me. He says he understands my concerns, that he realizes he needs to make changes for our relationship to move forward. I don't want to get my hopes up. I am afraid of being disappointed, yet again, by a man that I trust. I feel that my trust is better placed this time. I feel that I have learned from my past, and yet I have thought these things before.

I don't know that I can face so many changes all at once. Although these changes in the relationship will come slow if they come at all, so perhaps I am worrying needlessly. I am just anxious to get settled into my new circumstances - whatever they may be.

Perhaps I just wish there were guarantees. Then again, don't we all. I feel like such a girl, dreaming of the fairy tale, the storybook life where everybody lives happily ever after. I try to kid myself and tell myself that I just want it for Princess, that I want to make a better life for her - but deep down I know I am being selfish. I know that I want to carve out a piece of happiness for myself. I want to think just for tonight that the fates are going to finally smile on me.

And Then it was Saturday

Thursday night Princess was in a play, well actually I think it would be considered a musical. It was called "Giraffe's Can't Dance" (based on the book by the same name). The play and all the songs were written by our very talented music teacher and I have to say I was impressed. There were six classes involved - 3 second grade and 3 fourth grade. Each class represented a different kind of animal, princess was a water buffalo. There were six narrator's, and 2 "lead" characters. The two lead characters had singing solos and they were outstanding!

They did a performance of the play in front of the entire school at the end of the day on Thursday, and then in the evening for parents, friends and family. I think everyone really enjoyed it. The only complaint I heard was from people who couldn't see. Our school is not set up for this type of performance, it was done on a portable stage in the gym with folding chairs set up for the audience, so not exactly an ideal setting. But the kids were so stinkin cute that you couldn't complain to loudly!

You could tell they all worked so hard. Each class had a different dance to learn. One did a waltz, one did a tango, one did a cha cha, etc..... you can imagine all of us trying to keep straight faces as 26 children at a time tried to stay in step and to the beat. It was too cute for words.

I had planned on using today to sit around and feel sorry for myself. Princess is gone until late celebrating Thanksgiving with her father's family. I'm feeling the crunch of the holidays starting to set in, and the cloud of sorrow maintaining a more permanent shadow on my heart. It happens every year, so it's not a large surprise. It's just hard to adjust, hard to compensate - but I will find my way this year, just as I have in the past.

Mom talked me into taking dad to a movie so I took him to see Good Night and Good Luck. Yes, I know I've seen it before! But he hadn't. It was just as good the second time around, heck it may have even been better the second time around. The theater was filled with old people again. Maybe it was just because Chicken Little and Harry Potter were playing in other theaters. Maybe it was because nobody really wants to see an intelligent thought provoking movie.

Now I'm in for the night, plopped in front of the puter, flicking through the bad movies on TV. Life is good.

Potter 4

This morning I took myself to the IMAX to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I bought my ticket several weeks ago, and laughed at all the people coming in this morning to try to buy tickets to sold out shows. It was an awfully cold morning to make a trip for nothing! I was dismayed to see how many young kids were at this movie. Although I guess most of them live in houses where they are exposed to video games that are teen, so perhaps they are desensitized to the scary stuff.

The movie itself was good. Compared to the book? Well, they didn't destroy this one as badly as the third book. That being said, it still could have been better. The first two movies really captured what I feel are the "spirit" of the books. The way the students and teachers interact, the humor, the rivalry...... somehow in the 3rd, and now in the 4th, much of that gets lost.

Now I know the books are always better! Don't get me wrong, I don't presume to think that this movie could have covered everything in this rather large book. But gosh darn it all - this movie did NOT have to be SOOOOOO dark. Yes, the theme of this book is dark, it's sort of the pivital point in this series and parts of it needed to be covered. They could have easily made this movie rated PG - they could have turned the focus to other things in the book and showed the dark/evil things in a different way.

Princess will not be seeing this movie. She's going to be angry with me. I'm not even sure letting her see it on DVD will be worth of it, but we'll see next year when I bring the movie home with me.

Last night Princess had her play, she did a great job and I couldn't have been a prouder mommy. Grandma and Papa even made it (of course her idiot father didn't bother to even try coming, grrr). I'll post more on the play tomorrow when I get some pictures edited :-)

Happy Friday everyone! And if anybody out there lives someplace where it's warm, I'd appreciate a picture of some sunshine to warm up my 26 degree day!

I'm Thankful

John's Weekend Assignment #86: Who are you thankful for -- who you won't be able to spend this Thanksgiving with? This is a chance to tell us about the people you care about who will be far away from you this holiday, or who have passed on but remain in your heart.
The face missing at my Thanksgiving table again this year will be my son Joshua. I am so thankful for the five wonderful years we had together (obviously he's not five in this picture, but it's one of my favorites! so you're getting this one), and this will be my 5th Thanksgiving without him. The holiday season has become so bittersweet. The gathering of family, to me, only makes his absence that much harder. I cherish the memories I am making with my daughter, but it will never be the same as it was before cancer entered our lives.

Extra Credit: Pumpkin pie vs. pecan pie -- which do you choose for Thanksgiving dessert? EW! Neither thanx, not a pumpkin pie fan, and even less of a pecan pie fan (and Robin needs to know just how to say 'pecan' so click here) It will be apple pie for me thanx - Michigan has some of the best apples ever!

Whoa!

There's some really thick, um, rain (yeah, that's it) accumulating on my lawn. So far I'd guess 2-3 inches of it. It's so strange to look outside and see everything covered in white! Now, living in Michigan you would think I should be prepared for such a thing. I mean, come on, it IS November. In my defense I don't ever take my snow (strike that) thick rain brush out of my van. You never know when you're going to need it!

Princess is SO excited. We had to get out the boots and a decent pair of mittens. She's been wearing her cloth ones just to keep her hands warmer, but any mom knows that those things are no good once the snow hits them. Such a joy to pull those all soaked out of a packpack at the end of the day - NOT!

Aside from the weather it's been a crazy day. Wednesday is gymnastics, which means we come home from school have a quick snack, do homework for 15 minutes and then turn around and out the door we go. We had another new teacher added to the mix today, and I really liked her. She latched right onto the strengths and weaknesses of all the girls in class and made them work like dogs! Princess was good and tired after 2 hours of being put through the paces. She also left encouraged by news that if she keeps working on a couple of things she might be able to advance to level six for the next session (about New Year's). I'd really like her to stay on level 5 for a while, every new level introduces scarier and scarier skills and I've had about all I can take :-)

Tomorrow night is the 4th/2nd grade play. Princess is a narrator (which is a big deal because most of the bigger parts went to the 4th graders). She's a little nervous tonight, but I assured her that she's going to do fine. After we said prayers tonight we were talking and she said, "But mom, what if I stand up there and forget everything". AWWWW - poor thing! She is going to be fabulous, but I told her I am already proud of her even if she forgets everything that she has been practicing. I'm a little worried for her, because she didn't even ask what time the play was - so I'm pretty sure she hasn't invited her dad. Hopefully if her dad feels the need to take his frustrations out on somebody it will be me, and not her. 'Cause I sure as heck wasn't gonna call him and invite him.

Oy, get me off this subject it's only succeeding in making me angry.

I'll be interested to see what we wake up to tomorrow. Dare I hope for a snow day so early in the season? The way I figure the odds are good. It's a work day for me and you know they always schedule the weather on the least convenient days for parents!

Dipping My Toes in the Water

Gosh this is going to be exciting, isn't it? Looking for a good place to store all your favorite new journals? Try going here you can get a free account and be able to view all the feeds in one place, then navigate to your favorite journal to leave comments. And don't forget to leave comments, because you KNOW we live for comments!

The Great Beginning

I guess it's time to move into new web territory. Others have done it before me, I've been to lazy to think about moving from my old space. But, you know how it is. Growing pains can be hard, they can be down right painful! Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and take the big step off the steep cliff. I don't like leaving programs that I have known for years. I don't like learning new things! So, here we go - my new journal......and WELCOME!

Scared of the Dark

I love my daughter. She's a little neurotic sometimes, like her unreasonable fear of tornados, but I love her. I don't know exactly when this fear of tornados started, but the minute the winds kick up she wants to take her teddy bear and blankie and camp out in the basement. It makes me sad that at 8 years old she already has several things that she obsesses about. Top that off with the fact that it was windy as all get out here today and you can start guessing how my day went.
Tonight was a new one though. All of a sudden she claims she is afraid of the dark. I'm of the opinion that if you start a kid sleeping in the dark when they are little they simply don't know to be any better as they get older. Sure, I've got night lights in the hallway so when she gets up to go to the bathroom she doesn't injure herself - but we've never slept with a whole lot of lights on. Most of this past week she has been sleeping in my bed; and let me tell you there are no night lights in there!
I think it was possibly a ploy to stay up a little latter, her searching for something to whine about to stay awake a little longer. Her two friends that she does sleep overs with both have to sleep with a ton of lights on - so I think that's how the idea got into her little head. But, she's only eight. So, I just can't dismiss it as an irrational fear, because it might be true. She might be developing a fear of the dark. I doubt it! But you just never know.
I broke down and turned on a light for her in my room and closed the door part way. You know the drill - once I turned the light on it was too bright and it took us 5 minutes to find that perfect amount of light (but not too much light). KIDS!
At least I finally got her to sleep. We have to get up a few minutes early tomorrow because it's my day to drive car pool. Then I have to drag myself into work for a few hours. I don't even want to think about starting another week! I got a few things accomplished today at least. Got the kitchen picked up and put clean sheets on the bed. Princess kicked my butt at Uno and then at Sorry. And I didn't even let her, didn't even do the mom cheat and let her win - she beat me fair and square.
So I guess that makes me a tired loser :-D

What Happened to Fall

I stepped outside momentarily to grab something out of my van (yes, I'm one of those poor souls whose garage is NOT attached to the house, but heck, I'm just thankful I have a garage to park in)...any way I stepped outside and was greeted by a familiar smell.
The smell of winter! That cold that smells so clean that you just know snow isn't too far away.
There's a cold front coming through and it's dropped 15 degrees in a few hours. And it's only going to get colder.
This morning I had coaches training for Odyssey of the Mind. Princess and I participated for the first time last year and we are looking forward to another fun-filled year! We're still in the primary division so it's "just for fun"; not graded, not ranked, no way to advance from regional to state to world - once you compete at regionals your season is done. This year our school is fielding 2 primary teams, that's 14 little first and second graders - and they are SO excited! I'm excited too. Our problem this year is about traveling to another planet, and being the sci-fi fan that I am I can hardly wait to see how their little minds work. It is truly amazing to watch 7 minds tackle a problem and then go to regionals and see how many different solutions there are to the problems and they are so cute doing their skits (even the big kids!). I can't say enough good things about this program :-)
Princess talked me into taking her to see Chicken Little. This movie cracked me up! I don't remember the last time we had so much fun at a movie. The music is intoxicating, you can't help but tap your toes through most of the movie. Cute, cute, cute! If you haven't seen it, grab a kid and go :-) Not only was it funny, but as the aliens came on the screen I thought, gosh, this will give her some good ideas for the Odyssey problem this year. LOL - guess I am a little too excited to get our team started. The movie was only about 80 minutes long, but somehow we still seemed to eat way too much popcorn and airheads and drink WAY too much pop! I've still got a sugar buzz.
I was a bad mommy and let Princess stay up until 9 tonight. I'll be paying in the morning when it's time to get up for church. Especially since she slept at Grandma's last night and somebody let her stay up until ELEVEN! Only Grandma's get away with that kind of behavior.
Tomorrow is going to be a total day to chill. Church and then dinner at grandmas (she's making one of my favorite chilly day meals - crock pot roast - yum!) I'm thinking we need to watch Harry Potter 3 again tomorrow, because you know...... only six more days!

Hug a Veteran Day

Well my Christy beat me to the punch and thanked me for my service by posting a comment in the last entry. OK, she has an excuse since she's currently in Germany and has been awake for 6 more hours than I have!
I joined the Air Force when I was 20. My mom took it hard, and looking back it was sort of an impulsive move. In my defense we weren't exactly the kind of family that had discussions about anything important. Or perhaps it was more that I thought I was smart enough to do whatever I wanted. I was not happy with my life the way it was. I was taking college classes, but failing miserably, since I had no discipline and had no idea what I wanted to do with my life (forward 20 years later and I STILL have no clue!). One of my friends had joined the Air Force a year earlier and I had a chance to visit him. That was pretty much when I decided military life was for me.
I met with a recruiter a couple times, took the ASVAB and signed up to ship out. I spent 6 weeks in basic training, 2 weeks in technical training (most of my job, by nature, was on the job training) and made it home in time to celebrate Christmas of 1987 with my family. I spent my 4 active duty years as an Air Defense radar operator (sort of like an air traffic controller, identifying air craft as they entered American air space). When I left active duty I took a full time Reserve Position doing a job in the command and control center (which was very similar in many ways to the position I had on active duty). After 2 years of that I spent 2 years as a weekend warrior with the Guard.
During my enlistment I served in Rome (that's in upstate New York!), Tucson and right outside of Washington D.C. I don't regret a moment of my service and think more people should give it a try. It would certainly give some of our spoiled youth a glimpse into what's important in life.
I know some of you have served, some of you have children serving, some of you are military wives and I thank you for your sacrifices.
Freedom isn't free

Typo What?!!

You konw yuo've seen tehse fotailng anroud the inetnret. It's tlury aanzmig waht the human mnid is cbalpae of. I was shcekod wehn I shweod tihs prrpagaah to my snoced gaderr and she raed rhigt thogruh it wtih no pmoberls (elwl, aeccpt the tcpiyal pebomlrs taht a tycpail seoncd gderar has wtih big words). Do you wnat to tpye yuor own msagese and pclae it in yuor blog? Go hree.
http://www.typoglycemia-translator.com/index.php