With the change of seasons, we often find changes within our lives... transitions. As we evaluate how we use these transitions in our lives, it determines a lot about our future. Just as fall is a natural cycle of life, the transitions in our life are best made as we pray and follow (rather than lead) the directions that will best benefit our inner life and not just our outer life. We also have to consider more than our self. We have our spouses and our children. Sometimes the answers to our spiritual queries are odd (go live without your husband for one year after 30 years together), but when we consider the needs of others and not just ourselves, we find our self growing as a person.
Yesterday I spent time in the temple contemplating and evaluating things in my own life and later in the day, I certainly received many answers to those questions as life simply unfolded throughout the daily process. When we pray, we don't always have magical cures or answers that God sends us instantly.... but the answers do come. Those answers often bring a sense of "aha" and/or peace. The next few months will be busy starting tomorrow when basketball starts. Then we mix in the holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, and regular life and jobs. Oh, and Kali's game. :D It's also more difficult when your children are grown and you wonder when you'll fit into their schedule over the holidays. Now I know why older couples sometimes go to Hawaii for Christmas! It will also be sad not having my brother around for the holidays and knowing he is deployed again. Overall though, I will enjoy the simplicity of the season and enjoy the lights at Christmas, the pumpkin pie and my dad's birthday at Thanksgiving (because I am so thankful for him and the kind person he has always been to me), and for the many memories I know I will make with a new basketball season and a new group of girls.
Another thing that happens this time of year is that I get to know my students better. Parent/Teacher conferences went really well this week and we had a great turnout. It's always so surprising and rewarding when you find out the kids really have learned things and the parents recognize it. Plus you're always surprised by some who say little Johnny/Susie likes your class when you've been thinking he/she hates it because you're strict and you've had to get on him/her or push them to do more in their work. Anyway, I always come away from conferences with a renewed faith in myself, parents, and students. I look forward to returning this week and starting new units of study in each of the disciplines I teach.
leaves once green and stems once bent
crisp become upon descent
from branch and tree, oak or pine
varied types like peace of mind
signal changes with orange and red
fallen remembrances upon earth's bed
autumn hues with brown and gold
barren branches soon shiver cold
from goblins to gobblers the children go
from raindrops and umbrellas to mittens and snow
nutmeg and cinnamon for fresh pumpkin pie
outside still forming a gray winter's sky
frosted panes in chill soaked air
childish eyes beam and stare
visions of snow and flakes and sleds
dancing anticipation within their heads
pine and stars, and tinsel to come
Santa and elves and all that is fun
a lesson more valuable and warming in heart
stories of mangers and each wise man's part
gifts more valuable than silver or gold
lessons recited and stories retold
Holding the hands of those we love
counting our blessing from God above
treasuring each moment through season and year
for life is a gift, ever so dear
written with love for my family
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
PLEASE DO NOT VOTE FOR TOM LUNA
Okay all five of you who read my blog (hey, that's up from 3) the elections are coming up and I encourage you to go vote. I have never felt so negatively about a political candidate in my entire life (thus far). I would like to share with you just a few of my reasons, but if you are interested in more... I have plenty and I have more specific details.
1. He has never been a teacher in public schools in his life. Imagine if you are a fireman, or a policeman, or a surgeon, or an engineer and they hire someone to be over everyone in your occupation, but the person they hire to TELL YOU HOW TO DO YOUR JOB has never done your job. How would you feel? Maybe our children just aren't that valuable in Idaho that we simply don't care about hiring someone who is not only a practicioner, but who is also respected by those he is in charge of.
2. I CAN HONESTLY SAY I DO NOT KNOW ONE SINGLE TEACHER who respects or supports Tom Luna. That is the truth. I am flabbergasted that he can get up there in these debates and continue to say that he has our support. THat is SUCH a flagrant, outrageous lie!
3. Our state testing (and I am actually in favor of valid forms of standardized national assessments) has been changed, manipulated, invalidated, and flopped around so many times, that it is a joke. The one TRUE form of assessment (kind of like asking a fireman to actually put out a fire and not just take a test about "how to put out a fire") was the Direct Writing Assessment. The students actually had to write and not just circle multiple choice. Luna not only helped bring in the biggest cut to education in Idaho's history... he did away with this form of assessment "to save money". Really? Why? Because he's clueless. Subgroups for testing are being manipulated and target scores adjusted and yet all this flawed, inconsistent testing is being used to prove what?
4. I have had the opportunity to participate in speaking forums about education and have both confronted and witnessed Mr. Luna in full action. For example, when the teachers (including myself) met last year at Boise High to testify to a large panel of legislators (and Mr. Luna), while educators talked about losing jobs, losing faith in education, losing funding for basic supplies, and offered alternatives to cutting education funding.... Mr. Luna was texting on his cell phone. He was texting things like "why am I here?" "This is a waste of my time." He is so unprofessional, so underqualified, and so out of touch with the very group he is supposed to lead.
4. He had a chance to give up millions in discretionary funds to save jobs and instead kept it for "neat-o initiatives" with strong ties to political lobbyist and with limited saturation and effect on the districts in this state. Yet he has the audacity to say Olsen accepted a pay raise! I guarantee you that Olsen's pay raise would not have saved millions like the selfish decision he made to transfer money to his own department fund.
5. Time after time co-workers in various districts I have been in have recounted horror stories to me about the lack of knowledge that exists within the state department.
6. I have sat in on legislative hearings and listened to Mr. Luna (and members of the house education committee) bash public education like an ugly poster child.
Enough is Enough!
It is an insult to our profession that we do not have someone with experience and respect in the position of leadership that affects the education of our entire state.
I have so much more, but please understand that education can't take many more hits. New teachers are already leaving the profession at rate of 50%. Idaho teachers are taking jobs in other states. It's not just about jobs being cut, salaries like mine being cut, class sizes continually going up, and supplies being sparse..... it's about how ALL OF IT affects the type of education our children are getting. I teach IN SPITE of the pay BECAUSE I care about kids and about QUALITY education. Mr. Luna doesn't even know what that looks like.
Oh, and If you think "they" didn't have a choice about cutting education...... you do not have all the facts and I would be glad to share them with you.
It's simple-- we can keep dumping money into prisons and roads and losing quality teachers who are fed up with the lack of support that education and educators receive in this state-- or we can be part of the change this state needs. WE CAN speak up.
EVERY VOTE IS A VOICE.
Please.... do not vote for Tom Luna.
1. He has never been a teacher in public schools in his life. Imagine if you are a fireman, or a policeman, or a surgeon, or an engineer and they hire someone to be over everyone in your occupation, but the person they hire to TELL YOU HOW TO DO YOUR JOB has never done your job. How would you feel? Maybe our children just aren't that valuable in Idaho that we simply don't care about hiring someone who is not only a practicioner, but who is also respected by those he is in charge of.
2. I CAN HONESTLY SAY I DO NOT KNOW ONE SINGLE TEACHER who respects or supports Tom Luna. That is the truth. I am flabbergasted that he can get up there in these debates and continue to say that he has our support. THat is SUCH a flagrant, outrageous lie!
3. Our state testing (and I am actually in favor of valid forms of standardized national assessments) has been changed, manipulated, invalidated, and flopped around so many times, that it is a joke. The one TRUE form of assessment (kind of like asking a fireman to actually put out a fire and not just take a test about "how to put out a fire") was the Direct Writing Assessment. The students actually had to write and not just circle multiple choice. Luna not only helped bring in the biggest cut to education in Idaho's history... he did away with this form of assessment "to save money". Really? Why? Because he's clueless. Subgroups for testing are being manipulated and target scores adjusted and yet all this flawed, inconsistent testing is being used to prove what?
4. I have had the opportunity to participate in speaking forums about education and have both confronted and witnessed Mr. Luna in full action. For example, when the teachers (including myself) met last year at Boise High to testify to a large panel of legislators (and Mr. Luna), while educators talked about losing jobs, losing faith in education, losing funding for basic supplies, and offered alternatives to cutting education funding.... Mr. Luna was texting on his cell phone. He was texting things like "why am I here?" "This is a waste of my time." He is so unprofessional, so underqualified, and so out of touch with the very group he is supposed to lead.
4. He had a chance to give up millions in discretionary funds to save jobs and instead kept it for "neat-o initiatives" with strong ties to political lobbyist and with limited saturation and effect on the districts in this state. Yet he has the audacity to say Olsen accepted a pay raise! I guarantee you that Olsen's pay raise would not have saved millions like the selfish decision he made to transfer money to his own department fund.
5. Time after time co-workers in various districts I have been in have recounted horror stories to me about the lack of knowledge that exists within the state department.
6. I have sat in on legislative hearings and listened to Mr. Luna (and members of the house education committee) bash public education like an ugly poster child.
Enough is Enough!
It is an insult to our profession that we do not have someone with experience and respect in the position of leadership that affects the education of our entire state.
I have so much more, but please understand that education can't take many more hits. New teachers are already leaving the profession at rate of 50%. Idaho teachers are taking jobs in other states. It's not just about jobs being cut, salaries like mine being cut, class sizes continually going up, and supplies being sparse..... it's about how ALL OF IT affects the type of education our children are getting. I teach IN SPITE of the pay BECAUSE I care about kids and about QUALITY education. Mr. Luna doesn't even know what that looks like.
Oh, and If you think "they" didn't have a choice about cutting education...... you do not have all the facts and I would be glad to share them with you.
It's simple-- we can keep dumping money into prisons and roads and losing quality teachers who are fed up with the lack of support that education and educators receive in this state-- or we can be part of the change this state needs. WE CAN speak up.
EVERY VOTE IS A VOICE.
Please.... do not vote for Tom Luna.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Let the Good Times Roll
For some reason old songs from the past keep creeping into my head and connecting to my daily thoughts. On the way to work this morning it was "Miss Independent". Hmmmm. Me???? Independent? Nah.....
My husband loved The Cars. "Let the Good Times Roll" waS a constant eight track playing in his truck when we were in high school. That and Boston (the band). We also liked Steve Nicks and the Eagles. One of our first "our songs" was a song by The Knack.-- "I was such a shy guy... couldn't tell you.. I... love... you". Ahhh. How cute. Still. That was in 1979 when he first sang that little tune to me. I digress....
My drama students did a good job today with their children's theater performance for the elementary. That's a big check mark. Don't have another play till the Christmas one. First quarter grades are all finished and entered as well. I have Parent Teacher conferences the next two days then Rellie gets to come spend the night again since his dad is having surgery and will need to sleep the day he gets home. Sleep and Rellie don't exactly go together.
I was doing such a great job watching what I ate at school. Then it became Halloween week. That means everyone has... and shares... Halloween candy. Before Halloween. Plus I bought donuts for my drama kids since I knew they'd be working at lunch to get makeup and set pieces ready for the play. Then.... my sweetie surprised me with one of my favorite dinners. He cooked me grilled salmon, baked sweet potato, and corn. And... he bought me my favorite pastry from Ridley's bakery. I didn't have a donut today... I had donutS. Bad me. I will repent and refocus tomorrow. The relief of grades finished and a production finished produced "happy" food eating. Okay, no excuse. I'll do better tomorrow.
Our anniversary is next weekend. I predict more splurge eating. Some days we look at each other and still see the 16 year-olds that went on that first date. Some days we see past the wrinkles and wonder how we could possibly be this old. Okay... he's playing some of "our" other old songs as I type this: Always and Forever. That one played at our wedding. Before that he played Surround Me With Love. I made the mistake (a good mistake actually) of asking him who sang "our song". So... for the last 15 minutes I've had a miniwalk down memory lane as he has played each of them on his computer. I predict the next one will be our "break-up" song. Obviously it worked out and we got back together. Who can sing a break up song better than Willie Nelson-- You Were Always on My Mind. It's still good. Oh, and we can't forget Rod Stewart. We still sing that one to each other: "Have I told you lately that I love you..." I love music. It touches our hearts and lives in a way that sticks in our memory and connects to events in our life.
That reminds me... children... you need to keep your promise and play "Spirit in the Sky" when the big day arrives. I have never been normal and don't want to go out "normal". God will understand. He knows me. Very Well. :D
My husband loved The Cars. "Let the Good Times Roll" waS a constant eight track playing in his truck when we were in high school. That and Boston (the band). We also liked Steve Nicks and the Eagles. One of our first "our songs" was a song by The Knack.-- "I was such a shy guy... couldn't tell you.. I... love... you". Ahhh. How cute. Still. That was in 1979 when he first sang that little tune to me. I digress....
My drama students did a good job today with their children's theater performance for the elementary. That's a big check mark. Don't have another play till the Christmas one. First quarter grades are all finished and entered as well. I have Parent Teacher conferences the next two days then Rellie gets to come spend the night again since his dad is having surgery and will need to sleep the day he gets home. Sleep and Rellie don't exactly go together.
I was doing such a great job watching what I ate at school. Then it became Halloween week. That means everyone has... and shares... Halloween candy. Before Halloween. Plus I bought donuts for my drama kids since I knew they'd be working at lunch to get makeup and set pieces ready for the play. Then.... my sweetie surprised me with one of my favorite dinners. He cooked me grilled salmon, baked sweet potato, and corn. And... he bought me my favorite pastry from Ridley's bakery. I didn't have a donut today... I had donutS. Bad me. I will repent and refocus tomorrow. The relief of grades finished and a production finished produced "happy" food eating. Okay, no excuse. I'll do better tomorrow.
Our anniversary is next weekend. I predict more splurge eating. Some days we look at each other and still see the 16 year-olds that went on that first date. Some days we see past the wrinkles and wonder how we could possibly be this old. Okay... he's playing some of "our" other old songs as I type this: Always and Forever. That one played at our wedding. Before that he played Surround Me With Love. I made the mistake (a good mistake actually) of asking him who sang "our song". So... for the last 15 minutes I've had a miniwalk down memory lane as he has played each of them on his computer. I predict the next one will be our "break-up" song. Obviously it worked out and we got back together. Who can sing a break up song better than Willie Nelson-- You Were Always on My Mind. It's still good. Oh, and we can't forget Rod Stewart. We still sing that one to each other: "Have I told you lately that I love you..." I love music. It touches our hearts and lives in a way that sticks in our memory and connects to events in our life.
That reminds me... children... you need to keep your promise and play "Spirit in the Sky" when the big day arrives. I have never been normal and don't want to go out "normal". God will understand. He knows me. Very Well. :D
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Family Get-togethers
What a feeling it is as a mom to have all of your children and grandchildren in your house eating, visiting, laughing, and playing. There is honestly nothing better. I wasn't sure we could all fit in this little house we just bought, but it was fine and if nothing else, it forced everyone to physically get closer and stay that way. :D Aunt Diann brought Gma Shorty over so we could have a BBQ with her (yes it was BBQ in the rain) and we were all inside and it was good to spend time with her before they head to Oregon for the winter months. Aunt Diann is such a good daughter to her mom. She is loving and kind and always doing what she can to help her mom. She is also the "fun" auntie. Always has a smile, a funny story, and always has time to play with the kids. We enjoy stopping at her house on the way to the coast too. We love you Aunt Diann.
Stacy and Tammy, my husband's brother and sister came over to see Gma off too. Tammy has been moved out of state for a long time and just recently moved back to Idaho. It was good to have them there as well and to know that love is probably the best medicine and the greatest gift anyone can have in life.
So if you're wondering what kind of food we porked out on at the BBQ, well... there wasn't any pork. Just regular hamburgers and chicken. I made my potato salad. Gma Shorty brought a pumpkin pie (which I have been craving) and Jas and Anne brought fresh fruit. The bad food was the chips. Considering that was the only bad food-- I'm good with that. Oh... and Mandy made brownies. I made myself choose between the brownies and the pie. Pie won! I chose the chicken over the hamburger and being the HUGE potato lover... I did not choose between potato salaD and chips. I had both. THe secret to good potato salad (besides lots of eggs and pickles) is creamy poppyseed mustard (dressing). The fattening part of PS is the mayo, so I use light. Best I can do to make it lighter.
I am getting excited for the holidays. Jason and Anne took me to Haunted World and we have decided to add a cemetery to our haunted garage this year. All the festivities of Halloween have moved to Jason's house. We started a tradition years ago of dressing half dummies half "real" people as dummies, a.k.a. family members, and the trick-or-treaters are timid as they walk up to the candy bowl to get their treat. Then we moved it into the garage and decked out the garage with full black backdrops, cobwebs, cats and rats, fog, eerie music, etc. and we always have lots of visitors. The boys are often bigger chickens than the little girls. Just sayin'. This year.... we are adding "the cemetery". We're going to decorate the lawn off to the side of the driveway leaDing into the garaGe. And.... STacy and Anne are going to dress up as witches (pretty ones though-- not scary ones) and have a cauldron scene going on as well. Can you tell we like the holidays?
I love my family. I am married to best friend. We have great jobs. I am so blessed.
Stacy and Tammy, my husband's brother and sister came over to see Gma off too. Tammy has been moved out of state for a long time and just recently moved back to Idaho. It was good to have them there as well and to know that love is probably the best medicine and the greatest gift anyone can have in life.
So if you're wondering what kind of food we porked out on at the BBQ, well... there wasn't any pork. Just regular hamburgers and chicken. I made my potato salad. Gma Shorty brought a pumpkin pie (which I have been craving) and Jas and Anne brought fresh fruit. The bad food was the chips. Considering that was the only bad food-- I'm good with that. Oh... and Mandy made brownies. I made myself choose between the brownies and the pie. Pie won! I chose the chicken over the hamburger and being the HUGE potato lover... I did not choose between potato salaD and chips. I had both. THe secret to good potato salad (besides lots of eggs and pickles) is creamy poppyseed mustard (dressing). The fattening part of PS is the mayo, so I use light. Best I can do to make it lighter.
I am getting excited for the holidays. Jason and Anne took me to Haunted World and we have decided to add a cemetery to our haunted garage this year. All the festivities of Halloween have moved to Jason's house. We started a tradition years ago of dressing half dummies half "real" people as dummies, a.k.a. family members, and the trick-or-treaters are timid as they walk up to the candy bowl to get their treat. Then we moved it into the garage and decked out the garage with full black backdrops, cobwebs, cats and rats, fog, eerie music, etc. and we always have lots of visitors. The boys are often bigger chickens than the little girls. Just sayin'. This year.... we are adding "the cemetery". We're going to decorate the lawn off to the side of the driveway leaDing into the garaGe. And.... STacy and Anne are going to dress up as witches (pretty ones though-- not scary ones) and have a cauldron scene going on as well. Can you tell we like the holidays?
I love my family. I am married to best friend. We have great jobs. I am so blessed.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Oooblahdeeooblahdah....
Sometimes the best days are the average ones. No high highs and no low lows. Just a good 'ol average day. I keep waiting to feel stressed because basketball is around the corner (which means get everything finished on this project house now because there won't be time again until after the holidays), I have our drama play for the elementary next week and the one for Christmas down the road. Grades and P/T conferences are coming up next week. Everyone's coming over Saturday for the last BBQ of the summer/fall and to send off Gma Shorty to Oregon. So..... where's the stress? I'm sure it'll come, but I'm noticing that old age is mellowing me. I'm sure everyone will get fed Saturday. I'm sure there will always be SOMETHING I need to fix on this house. I'm sure the drama performances will be fine. I'm sure the papers will all get graded. Mostly, I'm sure that rushing life is only going to get me to the end quicker. Hey....not bad. I'm adding that to my quote book.
My calories at school have been great. Very disciplined there. When I get the husband disciplined.... I'll have it made. I have a backup plan though. He's very competitive, so maybe I need to challenge him. Have to do something. I never realized how much sugar he ate until now. Maybe I'll make him keep track of his sugar intake. That'll teach him. I say this as I'm baking cupcakes for my class of the month. Okay.... I'm a sweet tooth too. We'll work on it. I'm never going on a sugar freak/free diet though so don't hold your breath on that one Kali. Not happening.
Rellie slept on Papa's head last night instead of mine. Good thing we have a king size bed or he could have been sleeping on both of us. He's getting so big we might have to kick him out. Nah. Tomorrow night I'm cooking fingersteaks at the eldest son's house whilst the husband supervises a FB game, then I'm babysitting little Maddi for the middle son so they can go to the church dance. Being a grandma is not only fun, it helps burn calories.
My calories at school have been great. Very disciplined there. When I get the husband disciplined.... I'll have it made. I have a backup plan though. He's very competitive, so maybe I need to challenge him. Have to do something. I never realized how much sugar he ate until now. Maybe I'll make him keep track of his sugar intake. That'll teach him. I say this as I'm baking cupcakes for my class of the month. Okay.... I'm a sweet tooth too. We'll work on it. I'm never going on a sugar freak/free diet though so don't hold your breath on that one Kali. Not happening.
Rellie slept on Papa's head last night instead of mine. Good thing we have a king size bed or he could have been sleeping on both of us. He's getting so big we might have to kick him out. Nah. Tomorrow night I'm cooking fingersteaks at the eldest son's house whilst the husband supervises a FB game, then I'm babysitting little Maddi for the middle son so they can go to the church dance. Being a grandma is not only fun, it helps burn calories.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Still Waiting...
Okay you techno turkey butts. Can I say that word on here? Too late. I said it. I see that you have been on here and you saw my plea for help... and ignored it. Yes you... Kalli, Mandy, Anne, whoever else logs in from Meridian. Help an old lady out and either fix it for me or tell me how to fix it. Or.... I'm not going to blog anymore. No more stories about eating, or Mr. Kiester, or me going off on our people at the state offices. Okay... maybe just a quick one on that.
So they tell me I have to get fingerprinted AGAIN because even though I'm still teaching in the same district, I'm coaching in a different district. I was just fingerprinted again last year when I changed districts. But if you've been teaching somewhere 12 years, you don't get fingerprinted at all.... unless you coach somewhere. That's another $40. It's ridiculous. Why aren't we like Oregon and have a database. So Idaho. Charge you for everything and little logic. So I faxed my POA to my nephew's school today so I can access my nephew's grades for my brother while he's deployed. When I call to see if they received it, she tells me they didn't but their fax machine doubles as the copier so a teacher might have picked it up. If she doesn't find it in a while, she'll call me back. Wow....
I also faxed the POA to Health and Welfare and called to see if they got it. The lady said she had no way of knowing. I said,"Can't you just walk over and see?" Oh no, they don't have the manpower to do that. So I asked how I would know then. She said to give it 2 weeks and call back and if they received it, it should be in the file by then. Really? Are you kidding me. She said if I needed to know sooner I could drive to Boise and go into the building and ask and they might be able to tell me. I'm just going to fax it every day with a big note to CALL ME IF YOU RECEIVED THIS. I'll let you know how that goes.
Don't even get me started on the Luna debate. How can he seriously say the teachers support him?! I don't know one single teacher who supports him or respects him. He's never been a teacher. He knows nothing about being one. He has no business being state superintendent. Plain and simple. He is not an honest person or someone who should be representing or in charge of our education system in this state.
Okay, so my blood pressure probably went up a bit today with all the "nonsense" and lack of common sense. I did stress eat a donut. I already confessed it to Kali so I'm good. Now if I could just get my background to stay......
So they tell me I have to get fingerprinted AGAIN because even though I'm still teaching in the same district, I'm coaching in a different district. I was just fingerprinted again last year when I changed districts. But if you've been teaching somewhere 12 years, you don't get fingerprinted at all.... unless you coach somewhere. That's another $40. It's ridiculous. Why aren't we like Oregon and have a database. So Idaho. Charge you for everything and little logic. So I faxed my POA to my nephew's school today so I can access my nephew's grades for my brother while he's deployed. When I call to see if they received it, she tells me they didn't but their fax machine doubles as the copier so a teacher might have picked it up. If she doesn't find it in a while, she'll call me back. Wow....
I also faxed the POA to Health and Welfare and called to see if they got it. The lady said she had no way of knowing. I said,"Can't you just walk over and see?" Oh no, they don't have the manpower to do that. So I asked how I would know then. She said to give it 2 weeks and call back and if they received it, it should be in the file by then. Really? Are you kidding me. She said if I needed to know sooner I could drive to Boise and go into the building and ask and they might be able to tell me. I'm just going to fax it every day with a big note to CALL ME IF YOU RECEIVED THIS. I'll let you know how that goes.
Don't even get me started on the Luna debate. How can he seriously say the teachers support him?! I don't know one single teacher who supports him or respects him. He's never been a teacher. He knows nothing about being one. He has no business being state superintendent. Plain and simple. He is not an honest person or someone who should be representing or in charge of our education system in this state.
Okay, so my blood pressure probably went up a bit today with all the "nonsense" and lack of common sense. I did stress eat a donut. I already confessed it to Kali so I'm good. Now if I could just get my background to stay......
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Help me change my background... please
Okay, I can get the color to change, but when I choose a design it'll flash on for like one second when you first pull up my page, then it's gone. How do I get the design to show the whole time?
Long Weeks and Longer Nights
We're heading into fall and the weather is still like summer, but the nights remind us that winter really is coming. Long nights make the week feel longer as we try to adjust. The good thing is... I've noticed I go to bed, and consquently to sleep, earlier than I normally do when the nights start getting longer. I heard something on the news today that said we need less sleep as we get older. That's good. It also said that if you're having a hard time sleeping, you should try taking a short nap during the afternoon. I've noticed I get lathargic between 2:30-3:30pm. Found out that's normal. Unfortunately, unlike NASA who has nap rooms, there aren't any teacher nap rooms at school.
Yesterday I got to babysit little Maddy for the first time. She was such a cutie and I'm not just saying that because she's my grandchild. I got to see the "O" face several times and she loved calling people so much she would point to the phone for me to call someone else. So... Aunt Mandy, Uncle Jeremy, and Papa all received calls from Maddi yesterday. And thank you for all talking the baby talk to her. Baby talk aside, she is really growing up. Standing on her own, but not for long. And the girl loves to dance! We had a fun time and I'm glad her mom and dad can go out on dates again. :D Watched Kayson... a.k.a. "the chunk" and Rello yesterday while mommy went to her appointment. That was a little more work! Just lifting beastie boy is work and he's now at the age that he doesn't just want to chill. He wants you to pick him up AND pack him around. It's like weightlifing 101! He is a smiley baby though so that eases some of the back pain. Rello came and had lunch with me again yesterday. I love it when he comes to school.
Got a call from my brother today. They have a couple more months till they leave the training base and head to Iraq so I am enjoying our long conversations while I can. I love him very much. He was telling me that some of these new hi-tech cell phones with the built in computers, etc. are actually very unsafe as far as people tapping into them. I guess that they operate on open air waves (that's how you can get the internet) and hackers have already figured out how to not only hack into your conversations, they pick up whatever you do on the internet. He told me not to do anything involving account numbers log-ins, and/or passwords on my phone. Lucky for me, I don't use internet on my phone-- don't even have it connected.
So I am doing a lot better with my eating DESPITE my husband's incurable sweet tooth and "let's eat out" bad influence. :D For example, today, when he bought 5 snickerdoodles and 3 chocolate chip cookies from some cute little kids at a yard sale, I only ate one of each. The bad news.... he ate the rest. He also was not happy when I got him the X-small icee at Maverik. We went very light on lunch (I had homemade tacobean soup I made yesterday) and a banana. He had the rest of my Subway from a few days ago (I know... he should have thrown it out) and we both shared the grapes. For supper I scrambled some eggs with spinach and fresh red peppers and one piece of toast. We each had a baby ice cream cone. We only had cereal for breakfast so minus the cookies, we actually had a really good calorie day.
breakfast- frosted mini wheats (230)
lunch- banana, homemade soup, grapes (300)
snack- two cookies (150)
supper- 2 eggs w/spinach and red pepper (180), one pc. of ww toast (90), 1 cup of skim milk (90)= 360
ice cream (1/4 cup on a sugar cone)= 125 + 3 sips of Greg's icee (35-50 cal.)
Total calories= 1200
Okay... so I have to end with a story that will make you smile. It should. It made me cry.... from laughing so hard. So we pulled up to Maverik so he could refill his Icee because he wasn't happy that he only got an x-small earlier and luckily I looked over as he was starting down the sidewalk into the store. It was like a slow-mo scene from some movie. At first I thought, "No... I'm not seeing that." Then I was like, "Oh No! No Way!" And I started honking the horn because getting out of the car would have taken longer and he was nearing people by the door. To my horror he stopped, turned around and STOOD THERE looking at me like "are you honking at me?" Okay... now who else would I be honking at?! So I motioned wildly (while trying to wipe the tears of uncontrollable laughter from my face) for him to come back to the car quickly. I could hardly choke the words out and I could tell he was not amused that he had to come back and that I was laughing so ridiculously. "Honey.... you have a tail!" I didn't know how else to tell him. He looked confused and I could tell he thought I was pulling a prank on him. I told him to turn around and he wiped off the back of his pants knocking it to the seat so he didn't see it. "What tail?" I pointed to the 6 square roll of toilet paper (thank goodness it was clean) that was now sitting in his seat. His eyes got huge? "That was on me?" I was laughing so hard I couldn't talk so I just shook my head and his face turned red. That pit stop we made at home to go potty between yard sales was apparently a bit too rushed. I seriously thought stuff like that only happened in movies. I can only imagine what the people in Maverik would have thought if I hadn't spotted it and he had traipsed around getting his Icee with his T.P. tail. Sorry honey.... I had to tell. It was WAY too Kodak moment. Love you. :)
Yesterday I got to babysit little Maddy for the first time. She was such a cutie and I'm not just saying that because she's my grandchild. I got to see the "O" face several times and she loved calling people so much she would point to the phone for me to call someone else. So... Aunt Mandy, Uncle Jeremy, and Papa all received calls from Maddi yesterday. And thank you for all talking the baby talk to her. Baby talk aside, she is really growing up. Standing on her own, but not for long. And the girl loves to dance! We had a fun time and I'm glad her mom and dad can go out on dates again. :D Watched Kayson... a.k.a. "the chunk" and Rello yesterday while mommy went to her appointment. That was a little more work! Just lifting beastie boy is work and he's now at the age that he doesn't just want to chill. He wants you to pick him up AND pack him around. It's like weightlifing 101! He is a smiley baby though so that eases some of the back pain. Rello came and had lunch with me again yesterday. I love it when he comes to school.
Got a call from my brother today. They have a couple more months till they leave the training base and head to Iraq so I am enjoying our long conversations while I can. I love him very much. He was telling me that some of these new hi-tech cell phones with the built in computers, etc. are actually very unsafe as far as people tapping into them. I guess that they operate on open air waves (that's how you can get the internet) and hackers have already figured out how to not only hack into your conversations, they pick up whatever you do on the internet. He told me not to do anything involving account numbers log-ins, and/or passwords on my phone. Lucky for me, I don't use internet on my phone-- don't even have it connected.
So I am doing a lot better with my eating DESPITE my husband's incurable sweet tooth and "let's eat out" bad influence. :D For example, today, when he bought 5 snickerdoodles and 3 chocolate chip cookies from some cute little kids at a yard sale, I only ate one of each. The bad news.... he ate the rest. He also was not happy when I got him the X-small icee at Maverik. We went very light on lunch (I had homemade tacobean soup I made yesterday) and a banana. He had the rest of my Subway from a few days ago (I know... he should have thrown it out) and we both shared the grapes. For supper I scrambled some eggs with spinach and fresh red peppers and one piece of toast. We each had a baby ice cream cone. We only had cereal for breakfast so minus the cookies, we actually had a really good calorie day.
breakfast- frosted mini wheats (230)
lunch- banana, homemade soup, grapes (300)
snack- two cookies (150)
supper- 2 eggs w/spinach and red pepper (180), one pc. of ww toast (90), 1 cup of skim milk (90)= 360
ice cream (1/4 cup on a sugar cone)= 125 + 3 sips of Greg's icee (35-50 cal.)
Total calories= 1200
Okay... so I have to end with a story that will make you smile. It should. It made me cry.... from laughing so hard. So we pulled up to Maverik so he could refill his Icee because he wasn't happy that he only got an x-small earlier and luckily I looked over as he was starting down the sidewalk into the store. It was like a slow-mo scene from some movie. At first I thought, "No... I'm not seeing that." Then I was like, "Oh No! No Way!" And I started honking the horn because getting out of the car would have taken longer and he was nearing people by the door. To my horror he stopped, turned around and STOOD THERE looking at me like "are you honking at me?" Okay... now who else would I be honking at?! So I motioned wildly (while trying to wipe the tears of uncontrollable laughter from my face) for him to come back to the car quickly. I could hardly choke the words out and I could tell he was not amused that he had to come back and that I was laughing so ridiculously. "Honey.... you have a tail!" I didn't know how else to tell him. He looked confused and I could tell he thought I was pulling a prank on him. I told him to turn around and he wiped off the back of his pants knocking it to the seat so he didn't see it. "What tail?" I pointed to the 6 square roll of toilet paper (thank goodness it was clean) that was now sitting in his seat. His eyes got huge? "That was on me?" I was laughing so hard I couldn't talk so I just shook my head and his face turned red. That pit stop we made at home to go potty between yard sales was apparently a bit too rushed. I seriously thought stuff like that only happened in movies. I can only imagine what the people in Maverik would have thought if I hadn't spotted it and he had traipsed around getting his Icee with his T.P. tail. Sorry honey.... I had to tell. It was WAY too Kodak moment. Love you. :)
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Bad habits
Well, I'm getting back into the food routine. I easily only consume 500-600 calories between 7am-3pm when I'm AWAY from the hubby, but once I get home-- that's the real challenge. It's easy to go out to dinner or have whatever yummy desserts we want or just snack because we're happy and together. I'm getting tired of green salad, but even when you order fish and chips, it's all fried. For example, Applebee's Fish and Chips----- 1560 calories! That's my total calories for the entire day! So yeah, don't think that because you're eating fish, you're making a healthy choice if that fish is battered and fried. You can skip the tartar sauce and pick off the batter, but that only gets rid of some of the calories. Red Robin's Fish and Chips-- 1180. I went to Buffalo's Wild Wings last night and had the fish sandwich (555 calories) but I took off the bun and no sauce so only 300 calories max (and 3 grams of fiber). But I also had the fries with it (280 calories). Their fish actually had very little breading and it was a large portion. It also tasted great-- like real fish and not mushy. So the good news-- I picked a good place to have the fish and chips... only 580 calories compared to 1560 at Applebees or 1180 at Red Robins. It was also a lot cheaper at 7.99. Just remember to lose the bun and tartar sauce.
We went to the movies after dinner. We have to sneak our date night in during the week so we can help our kids out with babysitting on the weekends (which we don't mind). We were proud of ourself for not getting the popcorn with our show, however, we did have a few snack size hershey bars (230 calories for 3). Almost as much as my fish!!! Add my cup of hot chocolate when I got home and I had a 1530 calorie day. Not bad for eating out, but not as good as yesterday when I only had 1300.
I have been doing my slow, easy exercises again and my 50 crunches again. That will help too. All it took was putting on a pair of my old dress pants and seeing that they didn't fall off. They're still lose, but... not going there again. So, I'm not going crazy and starving myself or being a food nazi... I'm trying to adjust, or rather merge, my healthier way of eating with having the husband around again. Wish me luck. I'd say the biggest thing is not to keep stuff around the house that's easy to eat unless it's healthy--like fresh fruit. I also need to remember to look food up "before" we go out to eat, so I can make better choices. Oh, and I've said this before, but don't think just because it says "salad" that you are saving calories. For example, the grilled shrimp and spinach salad that we love at Applebees is 720 calories WITHOUT the dressing. So yeah... don't be fooled. Look it up before you go.
The last thing I'll say is that your body gets used to the portions you feed it. It your food slowly. Drink lots of water with your meal. Try to leave something on your plate. Don't order extras. If you get used to large portions, your body wants that amount. If you get it used to smaller portions, your body is full with that amount. Right now, my body is in between, but I notice my tummy growls Monday mornings not long after my bowl of cereal because it's used to a bigger breakfast from the weekend. I need to exercise more on the weekends is the message there.
Well basketball will be starting soon and coaching burns off a lot of calories, so that will help too. In the meantime, I just need to get that husband to stop spoiling me so much. :)
We went to the movies after dinner. We have to sneak our date night in during the week so we can help our kids out with babysitting on the weekends (which we don't mind). We were proud of ourself for not getting the popcorn with our show, however, we did have a few snack size hershey bars (230 calories for 3). Almost as much as my fish!!! Add my cup of hot chocolate when I got home and I had a 1530 calorie day. Not bad for eating out, but not as good as yesterday when I only had 1300.
I have been doing my slow, easy exercises again and my 50 crunches again. That will help too. All it took was putting on a pair of my old dress pants and seeing that they didn't fall off. They're still lose, but... not going there again. So, I'm not going crazy and starving myself or being a food nazi... I'm trying to adjust, or rather merge, my healthier way of eating with having the husband around again. Wish me luck. I'd say the biggest thing is not to keep stuff around the house that's easy to eat unless it's healthy--like fresh fruit. I also need to remember to look food up "before" we go out to eat, so I can make better choices. Oh, and I've said this before, but don't think just because it says "salad" that you are saving calories. For example, the grilled shrimp and spinach salad that we love at Applebees is 720 calories WITHOUT the dressing. So yeah... don't be fooled. Look it up before you go.
The last thing I'll say is that your body gets used to the portions you feed it. It your food slowly. Drink lots of water with your meal. Try to leave something on your plate. Don't order extras. If you get used to large portions, your body wants that amount. If you get it used to smaller portions, your body is full with that amount. Right now, my body is in between, but I notice my tummy growls Monday mornings not long after my bowl of cereal because it's used to a bigger breakfast from the weekend. I need to exercise more on the weekends is the message there.
Well basketball will be starting soon and coaching burns off a lot of calories, so that will help too. In the meantime, I just need to get that husband to stop spoiling me so much. :)
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Falling off the food wagon....
I have not been behaving myself and my pants (the skinny ones) are starting to fit now instead of sagging..... time to get back to my healthier habits. My partner in crime-- the husband-- is not any help. He buttered not one, but two pecan pull aparts and warmed them in the microwave for me this weekend. I also blame my daughter-in-law Anne for making me eat her homemade buttermilk pancake syrup today. Just because I asked her to make it-- is no excuse. Then with Halloween coming my daughter, the coupon queen, goes and gets 30 bags of candy for FREE! Do NOT bring it to my house!
This morning my mom and dad came for breakfast then went to church with us for the baby blessing. Baby Kayson was blessed today. Jason and Anne came over too. Maddi entertained all of us with her new "oh" face and her fear of the killer toes (my dad's socked feet). After a nice big, fattening breakfast and a late night of painting (the last room is officially blue), I was a lethargic blob at church. Throw in menopausal hot flashes and it was a recipe for "how do I stay awake through my daughter's church meetings and mine?" After church we headed to Gma Shorty's and of course this always involves eating as well. And of course she made homemade carmel corn to send home. We didn't take the bag she had for us, but we did take Jeremy's kids' their bag.... and I didn't eat any of it on the way to their house. That's about the only thing I didn't eat today! I have got to do better this week.
On a bright food note (one of only a few this weekend) we did BBQ for dinner last night. We had salmon, baked potato, and asparagus. Unfortunately, we followed with the pecan pull-aparts for dessert.
Well, I can only repent and move on with a renewed commitment to a healthier eating week. Plus I will go do my 50 crunches right now. The picture is of Mandy and Baby Kayson (a.k.a. "the chunk") who was blessed today!
Saturday, October 9, 2010
The things I see....
Sometimes I see things in regular every-day life and I think "really?!" For example, yesterday I'm sitting at a stop light and this kid that's got to be pushing 250 and he couldn't be more than 13 or 14 is riding this bike that has to have a weight limit of 150 it's so small. If that's not bad enough he's driving it in the crosswalk in front of me and he's got the plumber's crack going on but it's closer to full moon. I thought the little lady in the lane next to me was going to have a coronary! But wait... there's more. He has a huge tattoo on the full moon. It's vines and not pretty ones, maybe three scrawny ones leading up to what I seriously hope was a brown rose and not something else. Ewwwwwww. Still experiencing the gag reflex thinking about it. Now you may say... just look the other way. Right. It was too big. There was no missing any of it. Trust me. I'm scarred.
So then I go into a second hand store to look for my last light fixture, which I found by the way, and I'm checking out the book section for Jeremy and there's this lady sitting on a stool and she has this cane. Every now and then she'd just tap a book with the cane and start talking to the book. Then she stops at this one book and yells real loud, "You're a faggot! Too many faggots in this world!" I started to head away from psycho lady and she spots me. "Don't you think there's too many faggots in the world?" "What's that?" I ask, knowing full well what it is. She just waved her cane at me in disgust. "Kids these days just aren't educated about anything. That's why there's so many faggots." WoW! Well, at least she thought I was young. :D Kind of like when I went to open gym and met some of my husband's co-workers while I was there. One of them asked if I was his daughter. :D Sorry sweetie. Okay, he was probably just trying to tease the husband.
I finished painting the wild blue guest bathroom. It took three coats of paint to cover the sea and fish and green moss they had painted on the wall. Had to scrape it off the light fixtures, faucet, and mirror too. Some didn't come off the mirror. Anyway, we now have a normal bathroom. Greg and his brother finished the moulding in the main bathroom and the inside trim on the front door. Last night Daisha and Rello came to spend the night. We all tried to put togehter Rello's yard sale castle from last weekend. Thank goodness for the internet. Daisha was quite the helper and like her mommy is good at figuring out how to assemble things. She also helped Rellie color in the lines. It was a little chilly this morning, so I made them put hot chocolate and we all put on fuzzy socks. Fall is finally here.
So then I go into a second hand store to look for my last light fixture, which I found by the way, and I'm checking out the book section for Jeremy and there's this lady sitting on a stool and she has this cane. Every now and then she'd just tap a book with the cane and start talking to the book. Then she stops at this one book and yells real loud, "You're a faggot! Too many faggots in this world!" I started to head away from psycho lady and she spots me. "Don't you think there's too many faggots in the world?" "What's that?" I ask, knowing full well what it is. She just waved her cane at me in disgust. "Kids these days just aren't educated about anything. That's why there's so many faggots." WoW! Well, at least she thought I was young. :D Kind of like when I went to open gym and met some of my husband's co-workers while I was there. One of them asked if I was his daughter. :D Sorry sweetie. Okay, he was probably just trying to tease the husband.
I finished painting the wild blue guest bathroom. It took three coats of paint to cover the sea and fish and green moss they had painted on the wall. Had to scrape it off the light fixtures, faucet, and mirror too. Some didn't come off the mirror. Anyway, we now have a normal bathroom. Greg and his brother finished the moulding in the main bathroom and the inside trim on the front door. Last night Daisha and Rello came to spend the night. We all tried to put togehter Rello's yard sale castle from last weekend. Thank goodness for the internet. Daisha was quite the helper and like her mommy is good at figuring out how to assemble things. She also helped Rellie color in the lines. It was a little chilly this morning, so I made them put hot chocolate and we all put on fuzzy socks. Fall is finally here.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
when zombies type....
So it's been a long week and it's only day three of the week. The good news is that there's no school for the rest of the week. I get to go to a conference tomorrow and listen to one of my former students who is a keynote speaker for the conference... weird. I'll let you know how that goes.
Got the students' broadcast news finished. Had to do it the primitive way because of such low technology at our school. Nothing is wired for live feed and very few things are compatible. It's been quite the challenge. Stayed up yesterday till 4:30am to get all 20 DVDs burned so everyone could insert it third period and pretend we were "live". I told you it was primitive. The segments my drama kids produced were great though and it was a big hit with students and staff. I am proud of the kids.
Stacy comes home tomorrow and Jeremy and the kids are SO relieved. So am I. I don't know if Jeremy or the children can go much longer on Ramen noodles and pizza. They have all survived though and the house has survived as well, so that's impressive. Monday night I went over to help out and was educated on the latest child rage-- shaped rubberbands. They trade them like we used to trade pogs. They're just rubberbands in shapes. So last night I made a trip to Wally's and picked up a bag of them in the shapes of Tinkerbell (just looked like a rubberband to me) and Scooby Doo characters. They were bracelets. I was told they have necklaces as well. Rubber band necklaces???? That seems a wee bit dangerous. Call me old. Nevertheless, I am at the top of the granddaughter's list of favorites now that I have supplied her with the rubberband shapes and trading power.
I also had a chance to go to one of my friend's house tonight and just "hang out" while the husband was supervising a game. THat was one of my promises and learned lessons from last year-- to spend time with friends and build new relationships. I really enjoyed it and all the adult conversation. She's a teacher too, so it was also nice to talk shop and swap English teacher funnies that only English teachers find funny. I am better for knowing her and for building new and lasting relationships. Now I just need to call Patty and ride that horse. Another day.
Last night I got to see two of my former players. They were playing in the ISU v. BSU volleyball game. It was SO good to see them. Jac took a roll on the floor in the second match and I had flashbacks to another time she had fallen during warm-ups. This time she got back up and kept playing though. It brought back so many memories. Memories of a girl with so much grit, and leadership, and heart, and this crazy, crazy love and will to win. She is a coach's dream. I could NEVER imagine her talking back or being negative. There's a reason she was player of the year. The girl not only carried the team on her back-- she ran with them on her back.
The summer before her junior year we were warming up for a summer league game and she went down-- my leading scorer. We were prepping for Weber State trip and other summer tournaments and I had entered us in the hardest division knowing she'd be there. My heart sank when she grabbed her ankle. This girl never complained... she was tough. When I looked at it though... it wasn't swollen. I couldn't figure out why all the pain. It was not like her. I insisted on an x-ray. The next few weeks were quite a journey. They found cysts in her ankle. At first we all feared cancer. We all cried. Then surgery. They cleaned all the cysts and filled it with cadaver bone. The biopsies were negative. We all cried again. She spent the summer rehabilitating and praying she'd be well by opening of the season. We had won state the year before and were set to repeat. She traveled with the team in her wheelchair and cast. She sat next to me and became the other coach (much like Shannon did the summer before). We grew closer and the team grew stronger. They had to without their leader on the floor. Other players stepped up. She encouraged and praised them along the way. She is a special young lady and she's getting married in two months. Life just goes by so quickly. I'm so glad I get to enjoy and recall the joys of my life and coaching.
Speaking of that... I'm beyond delirious and need to get to bed. At least I can sleep in till 8am tomorrow. Open gym starts at 9am in the morning. :) :) :)
Got the students' broadcast news finished. Had to do it the primitive way because of such low technology at our school. Nothing is wired for live feed and very few things are compatible. It's been quite the challenge. Stayed up yesterday till 4:30am to get all 20 DVDs burned so everyone could insert it third period and pretend we were "live". I told you it was primitive. The segments my drama kids produced were great though and it was a big hit with students and staff. I am proud of the kids.
Stacy comes home tomorrow and Jeremy and the kids are SO relieved. So am I. I don't know if Jeremy or the children can go much longer on Ramen noodles and pizza. They have all survived though and the house has survived as well, so that's impressive. Monday night I went over to help out and was educated on the latest child rage-- shaped rubberbands. They trade them like we used to trade pogs. They're just rubberbands in shapes. So last night I made a trip to Wally's and picked up a bag of them in the shapes of Tinkerbell (just looked like a rubberband to me) and Scooby Doo characters. They were bracelets. I was told they have necklaces as well. Rubber band necklaces???? That seems a wee bit dangerous. Call me old. Nevertheless, I am at the top of the granddaughter's list of favorites now that I have supplied her with the rubberband shapes and trading power.
I also had a chance to go to one of my friend's house tonight and just "hang out" while the husband was supervising a game. THat was one of my promises and learned lessons from last year-- to spend time with friends and build new relationships. I really enjoyed it and all the adult conversation. She's a teacher too, so it was also nice to talk shop and swap English teacher funnies that only English teachers find funny. I am better for knowing her and for building new and lasting relationships. Now I just need to call Patty and ride that horse. Another day.
Last night I got to see two of my former players. They were playing in the ISU v. BSU volleyball game. It was SO good to see them. Jac took a roll on the floor in the second match and I had flashbacks to another time she had fallen during warm-ups. This time she got back up and kept playing though. It brought back so many memories. Memories of a girl with so much grit, and leadership, and heart, and this crazy, crazy love and will to win. She is a coach's dream. I could NEVER imagine her talking back or being negative. There's a reason she was player of the year. The girl not only carried the team on her back-- she ran with them on her back.
The summer before her junior year we were warming up for a summer league game and she went down-- my leading scorer. We were prepping for Weber State trip and other summer tournaments and I had entered us in the hardest division knowing she'd be there. My heart sank when she grabbed her ankle. This girl never complained... she was tough. When I looked at it though... it wasn't swollen. I couldn't figure out why all the pain. It was not like her. I insisted on an x-ray. The next few weeks were quite a journey. They found cysts in her ankle. At first we all feared cancer. We all cried. Then surgery. They cleaned all the cysts and filled it with cadaver bone. The biopsies were negative. We all cried again. She spent the summer rehabilitating and praying she'd be well by opening of the season. We had won state the year before and were set to repeat. She traveled with the team in her wheelchair and cast. She sat next to me and became the other coach (much like Shannon did the summer before). We grew closer and the team grew stronger. They had to without their leader on the floor. Other players stepped up. She encouraged and praised them along the way. She is a special young lady and she's getting married in two months. Life just goes by so quickly. I'm so glad I get to enjoy and recall the joys of my life and coaching.
Speaking of that... I'm beyond delirious and need to get to bed. At least I can sleep in till 8am tomorrow. Open gym starts at 9am in the morning. :) :) :)
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Break-fast
So today I was reading the Multi-grain Cheerios box and it said to eat them when "breaking your fast" and the way they wrote it, it was explaining that your body fasts during the night and what you eat first thing in the morning is not only breaking your fast, it's telling your body a lot of other things. So... it's important to think about the first thing you eat in the morning. Plus, I had never thought about where the word "breakfast" came from. By the way, those kind of CheeRios only have 150 calories per bowl (with milk) which is 80 calories less than most of the cereals I have been eating.
Saturday I picked up one more light fixture at a yard sale-- two bucks. Only have one left to find and I think we're going to go with a fan for that one, so might be a little harder to find second-hand. Watched Rello and Kayson so Mandy could teach her coupon class. Rello got a great deal on a dragon castle-- two bucks. AFter the coupon class we had to hang up the yard sale shoes and work on the "project of the day" on our project house.
So I watch HGTV every day and I know you all make fun of me for it, but I use what
I learn. For example--the door project. While Greg and his brother redid the inside framing for the door (that was like watching the Three STooges by the way), I tried painting the door (the exterior of the front door). I've seen it done many times on HGTV. So.... it turned out pretty good-- made it dark brown. I felt like a tagger out there in the yard with my spray can. I remembered what they said about never stopping the can in one spot or your paint will pool.... until I saw a spot I missed. Rookie mistake-- I held the can in one spot. It pooled. So, there's one blemish on the door. It's not really that noticeable and most people won't stand there and study my front door. It looks great and we've already had compliments. Jas and Anne are going to do their door next.
They came over for biscuits and gravy this morning. I haven't made that for a while. We also bought some fresh potatoes yesterday so Greg fried up some with fresh purple onions we bought yesterday too. It was all quite yummy. Stacy came over for breakfast too and we all watched conference afterwards. I think the main thing I got from the speakers today was to be grateful for what we do have and stop whining or focusing on what we do not have. Seems to be a theme from different people and sources in my life right now, so I need to pay attention. :)
Helped Jeremy out with some college work yesterday and gave him a little break from the kids so he could watch the BSU game (blowout) and just relax. His wife will be back next week and he's counting the hours. Having four little ones at home can be overwhelming for anyone! He's doing a great job though. Papa's making his Sunday cookies with Jeremy's kids as we speak. Rello called me from the timeout corner about an hour ago. He stuck a hanger in the VCR and just wanted to let me know that he was sorry. Plus, could he come to grandma's house. I suppose grandma's house is a lot better than standing in the timeout corner.
Next week is Jac and Kylee's game here against BSU and we all get to go watch them. I can't wait. Next week we also get a four day, much needed break which we will use to get more done at home.
I am so blessed. I have such great kids and grandkids. I love their families and all that they bring to my life. I have a husband who makes me smile, makes me crazy, and makes me complete. I am so loved and have so much love in my life. I wish that for everyone.
Saturday I picked up one more light fixture at a yard sale-- two bucks. Only have one left to find and I think we're going to go with a fan for that one, so might be a little harder to find second-hand. Watched Rello and Kayson so Mandy could teach her coupon class. Rello got a great deal on a dragon castle-- two bucks. AFter the coupon class we had to hang up the yard sale shoes and work on the "project of the day" on our project house.
So I watch HGTV every day and I know you all make fun of me for it, but I use what
I learn. For example--the door project. While Greg and his brother redid the inside framing for the door (that was like watching the Three STooges by the way), I tried painting the door (the exterior of the front door). I've seen it done many times on HGTV. So.... it turned out pretty good-- made it dark brown. I felt like a tagger out there in the yard with my spray can. I remembered what they said about never stopping the can in one spot or your paint will pool.... until I saw a spot I missed. Rookie mistake-- I held the can in one spot. It pooled. So, there's one blemish on the door. It's not really that noticeable and most people won't stand there and study my front door. It looks great and we've already had compliments. Jas and Anne are going to do their door next.
They came over for biscuits and gravy this morning. I haven't made that for a while. We also bought some fresh potatoes yesterday so Greg fried up some with fresh purple onions we bought yesterday too. It was all quite yummy. Stacy came over for breakfast too and we all watched conference afterwards. I think the main thing I got from the speakers today was to be grateful for what we do have and stop whining or focusing on what we do not have. Seems to be a theme from different people and sources in my life right now, so I need to pay attention. :)
Helped Jeremy out with some college work yesterday and gave him a little break from the kids so he could watch the BSU game (blowout) and just relax. His wife will be back next week and he's counting the hours. Having four little ones at home can be overwhelming for anyone! He's doing a great job though. Papa's making his Sunday cookies with Jeremy's kids as we speak. Rello called me from the timeout corner about an hour ago. He stuck a hanger in the VCR and just wanted to let me know that he was sorry. Plus, could he come to grandma's house. I suppose grandma's house is a lot better than standing in the timeout corner.
Next week is Jac and Kylee's game here against BSU and we all get to go watch them. I can't wait. Next week we also get a four day, much needed break which we will use to get more done at home.
I am so blessed. I have such great kids and grandkids. I love their families and all that they bring to my life. I have a husband who makes me smile, makes me crazy, and makes me complete. I am so loved and have so much love in my life. I wish that for everyone.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Long Week.......
What a busy week. It's a miracle I posted at all this week. Big projects due... mounds of journals to grade... drama's first newscast production ready to roll... almost.... speech presentations which means panel judges coming and going.... drama BBQ at lunch this week to kick off the new year. Yeah... I think I should try to fit in one more thing. Glad it's Friday.
Rellie is coming to see me. He's been gone all week. I need to go check on Jeremy and make sure the children are surviving with their mom gone. :) He might need a breather too... I'm guessing. Mr. Kiester is chaperoning his school's homecoming dance tomorrow night... I am not. :) I am going to try to get something... anything done in my house. It's been on hold all week pretty much with all I've had going on.
Okay, I'll quit whining. I've been slacking on the healthier food at night this week. Too many snacks and not enough cooked meals with both of us going so much. I can tell. I don't feel as well. It throws off my digestive system too. Have to have my greens and fruits every day. I also need to start doing my tai chai. I can feel the muscles going soft in my core again. I am hoping I catch up next week with the three day weekend. I need to catch up on my exercises and my house decorating/painting. Before I know it, it'll be Halloween... which means... basketball at our house. Go Eagles! Yikes! Hope Connie doesn't hear that! :)
Rellie is coming to see me. He's been gone all week. I need to go check on Jeremy and make sure the children are surviving with their mom gone. :) He might need a breather too... I'm guessing. Mr. Kiester is chaperoning his school's homecoming dance tomorrow night... I am not. :) I am going to try to get something... anything done in my house. It's been on hold all week pretty much with all I've had going on.
Okay, I'll quit whining. I've been slacking on the healthier food at night this week. Too many snacks and not enough cooked meals with both of us going so much. I can tell. I don't feel as well. It throws off my digestive system too. Have to have my greens and fruits every day. I also need to start doing my tai chai. I can feel the muscles going soft in my core again. I am hoping I catch up next week with the three day weekend. I need to catch up on my exercises and my house decorating/painting. Before I know it, it'll be Halloween... which means... basketball at our house. Go Eagles! Yikes! Hope Connie doesn't hear that! :)
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