Walking with Jesus

Tolerance

2010-08-16T22:33:00.002-07:00

Tolerance can't hurt. Even if we don't agree, can't we respect other people and their beliefs? Just checking.

Zoolights

2009-12-29T21:56:00.004-07:00

We went to Zoolights tonight. It was a little chilly, and nice to wear a coat again! I saw a few teenagers and one little girl with flip flops on...brr!

Lots of people, lots of lights, lots of fun! We met up with Tony's Mom, Tony's sister Kim and her husband Mike, and our friend Katy. We talked to a 17-foot high giraffe, and saw flying moustaches all over in the fish/reptile exhibit. It was fun.

I've worked a bunch in the scheduling office this week, and don't have to go in until 3pm tomorrow-yay! I work from 3-5:30, and then home. Yay again!

My car has been making an awful squealing noise when I turn it on, until it warms up. And, the brakes have been squealing as well. Today I took the car to the shop and asked them to fix it. I got a call about 3, asking why I wanted to replace the belt. I told them it was because the belt was squealing. He said I had another 5,000 miles on it, but I told him to go ahead and change it. He also replaced the brakes. Now, when I start my car, there is no squealing!! It's wonderful to drive (and stop) without worrying!

I am looking forward to another 3-day weekend. Maybe I'm getting lazy in my old age...I feel like I need to sleep in again!

What a Great Christmas we had...

2009-12-26T21:38:00.002-07:00

Blessings, blessings everywhere, and what an awesome day! Every year before Christmas, I think "I wish I'd done more, I wish I could have gotten this or that for the kids, or for Tony." But somehow, every year is enough, every year is special, and every year I realize how blessed we are.

This year, our son Ben and I had the opportunity to volunteer at St. Mary's food bank with my company. We packed food into boxes for the elderly, who receive these boxes once per month for 12 months, in order to help them survive for a year, hopefully until other services kick in, or they get back on their feet.

My husband and I both still have our jobs, and Tony has another book idea that may be picked up by the publisher of his other book. I have changed to a much better position at work, and I have an opportunity to start a marketing website for locally pulished authors.

We have great kids. Ben still plays clarinet, and Julie now plays trombone (it's nearly bigger than she is!). We have a good house that we can afford, and we can pay all our bills (especially if I pay attention and get it done on time every 2 weeks!). I graduate with a bachelors degree in business and marketing in May.

My parents are still relatively healthy, and we're able to enjoy time with them. We're far away from some people we love (and miss), but we're able to stay in touch with all the new technology the world has to offer.

It is a good life. God made a wonderful world.

God's Creation

2009-07-07T17:38:00.003-07:00

Hey. I know-been awhile since I updated this. I wasn't feelin' it for awhile. I thought I would resurrect (and I mean that in a totally non-offensive-to Christians-type-way) this blog in the wake (so to speak) of Michael Jackson's death.

I'm not happy that he died. I know that some people are glad, because they have labeled him a pedophile based on the accusations leveled against him at different times, and his outward appearance. I've heard people repeatedly call him a freak, wacko Jacko, and everything else under the sun.

I am sad that he died. I'm very sad for the cards he was dealt. I'm sorry that his father felt it was okay to violently abuse his children, including Michael. I'm sorry that Joe Jackson, Michael's father, would beat his children with a belt if they messed up in rehearsal, or when they didn't win a competition over Donny & Marie, or for whatever reason he chose. Yes, they're all talented people now, but at what cost?

This whole thing makes me physically hurt. I am so sorry for what he had to deal with in this life, and I'm sorry that he died so young, seemingly without ever finding himself. I'm sorry that he was never comfortable in his skin, never seemed to find peace. But maybe he did. I guess I don't know for certain that he didn't.

Michael Jackson had his faults. I know, pedophile is an emotional word that gets lots of attention, but he was never convicted of anything. I have faults. So do you. There is no competition-we're all equally imperfect. I believe that God views all sin equally, as do many Christians. If this is true, then we are no better than Michael Jackson. The harvester who comes to work at 5:00 p.m. gets paid the same amount as the one who started at 8:00 a.m. (paraphrased from the Bible for modern reading). Who's to say whether or not he knew God? He certainly thought he did.

I am certain that God loves MJ. God loves all of His creation. I hope Michael can feel that love now. It doesn't seem like he got much here on Earth. Rest in Peace, Michael.

Hey! Here's some good news...

2009-01-16T13:03:00.001-07:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/16/nyregion/16rescue.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion

Can you believe, a jetliner landed in the Hudson River in New York, and NO ONE was seriously injured, let alone killed! Everyone involved worked together as a great team to make the rescue happen. Good Job, all!!

Pray for the President

2009-01-13T08:54:00.002-07:00

Clickety on the links below to see how you can help our country. I tried to copy and paste the letter, but it did not work.

On Tuesday, January the 20th, 2009, we invite you to
Pray for President-Elect Obama

Home
Download the Prayer Guide
A Letter from Max Lucado

We're not politicians, either; we are Americans. Let's pray for our leaders...they will need it.

Check it out...

2009-01-11T15:03:00.001-07:00

http://www.menasharidge.com/home.php

Click on the link, then scroll down to "Featured Author." That's my husband!!

I like him.

2009-01-04T18:45:00.002-07:00

Guess what I got for Christmas??

Not a new hat.
Not a new cat.
Not a new claw hammer.
Not a new bat.

It's useful but fun.
For more people than one.
It isn't a car.
Nor is it a star.

My husband worked hard,
Both day and at night.
It took him four weeks
To get it just right.

It's a beautiful place
With lots of new space.
It is a new kitchen
And boy, is it wonderful!
(I didn't want to rhyme that last one!)

Yes, my husband suddenly got really interested in hanging out at Lowe's with me, choosing cabinets, paint, and flooring. I wondered why, but didn't argue, of course! We chose cabinets to replace the ones that were built into the house 56 years ago! They were very spacious, but I am height-challenged, so I would have to climb on a step stool to reach anything over the first shelf. The doors on the original cabinets stopped staying closed years ago, and two doors had fallen off! They each weighed about 10 pounds, so I'm glad no one was under them at the time. But anyway...

Tony put the cabinets in, with the help of our fabulous friend Chris, in one day. ONE day!! He rewired the kitchen with updated wiring, which, it turns out, makes a huge differences in the number of appliances that can operate at the same time! Apparently, the electrical world has come a long way since 1952.

It turns out there was a method to his madness...the weekend after Thanksgiving my parents came over. We were hanging around talking, when all of a sudden, a delivery truck pulled up. My parents had bought us a brand new stove! It has TWO big burners instead of one, and two little ones, plus a warming unit which looks like a third burner between the two back ones. The oven has a window, a light, and it cleans itself!! It also has a timer! It's beautiful!

We painted the walls an olive gray-green, and the new counter top is a very dark green formica with flecks of different dark colors. The new cabinets are hickory, which is a light wood. It's so light that it lightens everything around it, hence the dark countertop. When we get the floors in, they will be a gray ceramic/Mexican tile. We decided not to do the floors before Christmas, so that we could, well, have Christmas.

On Christmas Day, I had three burners, the oven, two crock pots, the microwave, and the dishwasher running at the SAME TIME!! Nothing tripped the breaker! It was so amazing that I kept finding things I could cook for Christmas Dinner, and cooked myself into a stupor so intense that I fell asleep at 9:00 that night, simply because I could no longer stand on my feet. It was AWESOME!

I will try to post some pictures later, if I ever find my camera...

Twenty Years Ago

2008-11-20T08:23:00.002-07:00

Twenty years ago, I put on a pretty dress and walked into church. I met Tony, and a bunch of our friends, in front of the pews, and his grandpa talked to us about commitment and dedication, about love and life.

Twenty years ago, I married my best friend. He knows me best. He is the one I want to talk to, when I have something happy to share, or when I need comfort. He is strong and capable. He has boundless energy. He is a great father to our two great kids. He is my rock, and my rest.

Thanks for twenty great years, darlin'!

After Tuesday

2008-11-04T19:30:00.003-07:00

As I begin typing this, it is 7:35 p.m. on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. I do not know who won the election yet. But I felt it important to write this. Before I know who won.

I have a favorite in this race, but I have lot of respect for both Presidential candidates in this race. John McCain served our country bravely, and fought bitterly, and persevered most admirably, and inspired fellow captors in a prison camp in Vietnam. Barack Obama overcame a family broken in several different ways. He, too, believes in this country and has fought hard to serve it. He does so with calm, efficient leadership, thanking everyone who ever helped him all the time. He honors his family, and his country. That said...

I was really impressed with the pastor's message at church on Sunday. I go to a non-denominational Bible church, and the pastor there always amazes me. He is a true leader, and explains things very clearly. Using the bible, so his points are valid. Pastor Mark made a good point, right off the bat: No matter who wins the elections tonight, Jesus is still on the throne! It just doesn't matter. It just doesn't matter! It just doesn't matter!! (name the movie) God is in control.

We're studying Ephesians at church. Ephesians talks about respecting our leaders. Whether or not we agree with them, Mark (the pastor) said, we need to respect them. He also said (hang on to your hats!) that it is not as important that we have a Christian President in the White House, as it is to have a Christian presence in our world. And he is right. It isn't.

The pastor said that Leading is not easy. If you think it is, try raising children, or teaching kindergarten for one day. You'll be convinced. Leading is difficult, and, Pastor Mark said, the first thing a leader needs is respect. No, NOT agreement, necessarily. Respect. Willingness to not pick apart and divide. Just respect. That "Hello, Mr. President" kind of thing.

It's perfectly fine to disagree with any leader. That is what makes the United States of America what it is today. I have my beliefs and values, you have yours. We all have opinions, and we are all allowed to express them. That's how we have balance. That is how we communicate, and start to bring change about. That is healthy. That is our right, and our responsibility, as Americans. But we must do it respectfully and constructively.

The pastor went on to say that wouldn't it be great, if the Christians of this country came together and made our presence known? What if, instead of saying "How are you going to help me" "How are you going to fix this mess?" "What are you going to do?", we said "How can I help? What do you need?" How about, "How can I make my country better?" Yes, it is a lot like what John F. Kennedy said, so many years ago.

But isn't that what Jesus preached? Christians are to be the hands and feet of Jesus in this world. If Christians pull together and help people, love people, and care for people, no matter their political party, won't that make the presence of Christ more apparent in the world?

Let's face it, folks...one person, or even the President and 535 congresspeople, can't do it alone. We expect too much of our leaders, without offering our help. Without saying, "what can I do?" Without volunteering. No, I don't have any idea whether you volunteer or offer help or not; I don't know you well enough. And I'm certainly in no position to judge anyone, at all, anywhere, ever. I'm just saying, what if Pastor Mark is right? What if we could make a difference in our world by offering to help instead of complaining? I plan to make that a priority, after this campaign. No matter who wins. I hope you will consider that, as well.

It's getting busy here, as polls close all over the place. I want to get this posted before the final results, and it may be a little ragged, but I wanted to get it our there. Thank you for reading this. As I finish typing, it is 8:13 p.m., and I still don't know who won.

A Bloggy Halloween...

2008-10-28T20:04:00.003-07:00

Yes, even though I'm incredibly irritated by Halloween...this is really funny and I still like funny. That's my job...to like funny.

Things that go bump

in the night

My brother-in-law, Ed, was walking home from the Elks club late one

foggy night last week, when behind him he hears:

BUMP...

BUMP...

BUMP...

Walking faster, he looked back and through the fog he makes out the

image of an upright casket banging its way down the middle of the street

toward him.

BUMP..

BUMP...

BUMP...

Terrified, Ed began to run toward his home, the casket bouncing

quickly behind him.

FASTER...

FASTER...

BUMP...

BUMP...

BUMP...

Ed ran up to his door, fumbled with his keys, opened the door, rushed in,

slammed and locked the door behind him.

Not so easily deterred, the casket crashes through his door, with the lid of the casket open and clapping,

clappity-BUMP...

clappity-BUMP...

clappity-BUMP...

The terrifying coffin was on his heels!

Ed ran faster than he ever had before!!

Rushing upstairs to the bathroom, Ed locked himself in.

His heart was pounding; his head was reeling; his breath was coming in sobbing gasps.

But to no avail...

Suddenly, with a loud CRASH the casket breaks down the door,

Menacingly Bumping and Clapping toward him!

Ed screamed and blindly started reaching for something, anything to defend himself...

but all he could find is a bottle of cough syrup!

Desperate, exhausted, and out of options (kinda like Wall Street),

he threw the cough syrup at the casket...

And...

The coffin stopped.

Have a happy Halloween.

Oh, be careful...

2008-10-26T23:33:00.003-07:00

So, there's this song out now, in contemporary christian music (i.e., on K-Love radio at klove.com), that I heard many times before its meaning really got through to me. I listen to K-Love at work most days, because it keeps me sane during a busy day, and keeps my mind focused on God.

Anyway, the song. It's called "Slow Fade," and much of it centers around a church song I learned when I was a little kid. It's the song that goes:
Oh be careful, little eyes, what you see
Oh be careful, little eyes, what you see
For the Father up above
Is looking down in love
Oh be careful, little eyes, what you see.

The group singing the song talks about how it's a slow fade, when you give yourself away...black and white turn into shades of gray, etc.

At the end of the song, there is an actual little kid singing that, like we used to do before Sunday School at church. And for the first few times I heard the song, it never occurred to me. I've always had issues with gruesome, scary, non-happy movies or TV programs. If I see one, I will run the gruesome, scary, icky, or unhappy parts through my head over and over, feeling bad for the people involved. Because I'm an expert at self-torture like that.

I finally realized that the song is talking, at least in part, about the very thing I just described with unpleasant movie/tv viewing. I'm in control of what I let myself look at . If I don't put the crap in my head, it isn't there to bother me. Duh!! (I know most of the planet has probably already figured this out; I'm slow. Learn to love me anyway.)

So here's the stupid part. Stupid me, that is. Today, I'm sitting here watching TV, enjoying the quiet while the kids are with friends. I'm channel-surfing. I rarely get the chance to do that anymore, and I thought it would be fun. And I hit the "up" channel button over and over, until I came to TNT. Now, I should have known. TNT is not known for their happy, cheery programming. Except now they're playing "Pretty Woman," as I type. Whatever. This morning. I stumbled up on "The Ring."

This is a horror movie. It is not gruesome, particularly. It's one of those thriller-type movies. And I got completely engrossed in the storyline. So, I watched most of it. Parts of it, while not being gruesome, were disturbing. And of course, I ran the disturbing parts of this stupid movie through my head for most of the afternoon, being upset that fake people did this stuff way back when. Sigh...

It occurred to me, driving home from picking up the kids, that I was in control of how much of my day I let this stupid movie eat up. And then, I finally started to feel better. But meanwhile, a few hours of my day were used up, worrying about fake things happening to fake people.

I wonder if I'll ever learn...

Who passed Finance Class???

2008-10-23T10:12:00.002-07:00

That's right...little ole' me! That horrific class is completely over with! Woo-Hoo!! Par-Tay!!

More news...the 19-month old with the amputated toe? She is doing great and may go home from the hospital today! With a cast, but still, home! She "amputated" it (I know, dramatic terminology, but that is what they call it) when whe was sitting with her daddy on an ATV. This particular ATV did not have a chain guard, and her toe got into the chain, and ...yeah...I can't type any more about that or I'll pass out. But the toe is reattached, the doctor is extremely happy with the blood flow, and says she is a miracle. This same little girl, when her mom was pregnant with her, had only one functioning kidney. Now both work just fine. She has two miracles already, at just 19 months! I can only imagine what God will do with her life.

Thank you, leechies!!

(I found a pretty leech to post a picture of. It's completely fake.)

Quiet weekends

2008-10-19T18:08:00.005-07:00

Well, it's been kind of exciting around here. Too exciting in some ways. Here's some random stuff that has happened lately:

I got a phone call at 10:30 Monday night. It was my friend, informing me that she and her husband and 19 month old daughter were in town, because the 19 month old had amputated (fancy word for cut off) her big toe! They were (and are) at Phoenix Children's Hospital. The toe is reattached, but as of yesterday the doctors were not really happy with the level of blood flow. They are using leeches to help circulate the blood (they don't hurt, and they cover them up so the baby can't see). It is kind of cool to watch. We're waiting and praying the toe heals, and that the vessels connect again.

My mom's recliner was worn through where one's feet go, on the little rectangle of wood and fabric that prop the feet up. So today we went to JoAnn fabrics and picked out some complementary (not free, but goes with the chair) fabric. I remembered Nancy Face telling how she and Kris Face reupholstered the chairs for Lauren & Ted, so I stapled the fabric right over the top of the other fabric (they did it the right way and removed the other fabric first, but I figured I wouldn't mess with that on this chair. It looks much better!).

Finance class; stupid, boring finance class with the "good ole boy" teacher is finished!! I don't know what my grade is yet. We have five weeks of classes, and as of today, he has only posted scores through week 3. As of week 3 I have an A-. I just hope I pass this and don't have to take it again...ugh.

My next class is marketing. So far, I have read several paragraphs of the book and it is not hard to understand. I think I'm in! :)

My kiddos are in Disneyland with their grandma and aunt. They left eaaaaaarrrrrrrly Thursday morning. They always go during at least part of the week. I was going to try and go with them this time, having saved up a bit of vacation, but my boss is out of town and the new executive assistant they hired has worked with us a grand total of 2 days, so it was not a good time. :(
Oh, well, Tony the husband and I got a quiet weekend to ourselves! And the kids had a lot of fun. They prank called us last night at midnight, but we were both still awake...ha! Got 'em!

My mom is busily planning Thanksgiving dinner, which we always have at her and dad's house. There is a beautiful Thanksgiving platter at the Cracker Barrel store, and I want to get it for her. The kids and I always go over to their house the night before Thanksgiving and have a sleepover, where we get ready for the next day, and play cards, and watch movies. It's fun. I could stop by Cracker Barrel on my way, because there is one on the way to their house. I just might...

I discovered a lovely thing to read online. It's on the "Prairie Home Companion" website, and it's called The View from Mrs. Sundberg's window. I love it. So relaxing, and good advice, and recipes! How could it get better than that?

I hope you all have a lovely Monday tomorrow.

Things I'm thankful for. Or, more properly, Things for which I am thankful.

2008-09-30T09:32:00.002-07:00

I know, you might think this is really a goofy thing to be thankful for, but today I am thankful for the customer service at Pitney Bowes, and for ink! On Friday, I noticed that our postage machine’s “low ink” indicator was on. Naturally, I ordered more ink immediately from Pitney Bowes. Apparently, when the low ink indicator is on, it means you have about 2 envelopes to go, because on Monday, the machine indicated “out of ink” and would not put postage on anything. Last night at 2:30 here (5:30 back East, where Pitney is) I called and ordered an ink cartridge to be sent overnight because my order hadn’t arrived. I told everyone I talked to that the indicator just lit up on Friday, and already we were out, but they said there was nothing they could do; the soonest it would get here is Wednesday. So we would have a day without mailing, which is not good.

So this morning, I’m sitting here worrying about mailing stuff, while panicking about homework I don’t understand, while stuffing envelopes and reading the chapters I need to read. And suddenly, in walks the UPS guy, with my overnighted ink cartridge! I looked at him like had had 3 heads, because I couldn’t believe it was here! But, see, I had prayed too, about the ink situation. Kind of. It was “one of those days” yesterday, and I think I said to God, “Look. I’m one person. I just am not capable of being everybody’s mommy and taking inventory of everything in the office and getting supplies here when needed. I can’t do this. (Those are always key words for God!) I said, "I need ink for this machine, and I just don’t have any. Help me, Lord.”

Well, I’m thankful I can’t do this, because God can. He takes care of our every need, when we ask him.

Praise God from whom all blessings (and ink!) flow!!

Edited to add: I know, not all my problems are over for today. But the ink reminds me ('cause I need a lot of reminding, apparently) that God is in control. And that I shouldn't obsess over one problem out of an assignment. 'Cause there's other parts I will get more credit for.

Why Men are Happier

2008-09-29T16:14:00.001-07:00

WHY MEN ARE NEVER DEPRESSED:Men Are Just Happier People-- What do you expect from such simple creatures?Your last name stays put. The garage is all yours. Wedding plans take care of themselves. Chocolate is just another snack. You can be President. You can never be pregnant. You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park. You can wear NO shirt to a water park.

Car mechanics tell you the truth. The world is your urinal. You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky. You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt. Same work, more pay. Wrinkles add character. Wedding dress $5000. Tux rental-$100.

People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them. New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet. One mood all the time. Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat. You know stuff about tanks.

A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase. You can open all your own jars. You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness. If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend. Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack. Three pairs of shoes are more than enough. You almost never have strap problems in public. You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes.

Everything on your face stays its original color. The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades. You only have to shave your face and neck. You can play with toys all your life. One wallet and one pair of shoes--one color for all seasons.

You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look. You can 'do' your nails with a pocket knife. You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache. You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25 minutes.

No wonder men are happier.

I know I should, but...

2008-09-23T21:38:00.002-07:00

I just can't keep reading my homework. It's finance homework. It's a bunch of formulas and equations and it's 9:39 p.m. I'm at Unlimited Coffee on 12th-ish Street and Glendale, because it is supposed to be quieter than my house, which has kids in it.

Did you know kids are not conducive to quiet homework time? They're not. They're fabulous at many, many other things, like bringing joy and happiness, painting/coloring/drawing really cool pictures, and hugging. But not so much on the quiet homework time.

But Unlimited Coffee has this fabulous music playing. It's all stuff from the '50s and '60s, and it's that great "Who Put the Bomp in the Bomp...etc", and "Turn around, look at me," and stuff. So I'm trying to concentrate on percentage of something-or-other, and on the time value of money, really I am. But I'm listening to music instead. And having great coffee with pumpkin flavoring. And a cranberry-orange scone.

I have my homework done. It's just reading the chapters that I'm not caught up on. I'm a chapter behind. I hope it will be okay, and I think it will be. Besides, "Mr. Tambourine Man" is playing...how bad could life be?

2008-09-11T19:27:00.003-07:00

Dear you,

We miss you. It has been a long seven years without you, and every day we think of you. It has been hard since you left us. There are big holes in our lives where you used to be. We were so scared when you left us. We were numb with shock and grief, and then there was this terrible pain. Such pain, for such a senseless act of violence.

It's hard for us to dwell on your last moments, but we know they must have been very frightening. We're glad that is over for you now, and we hope you are in a much better place.

I just want you to know, America didn't give up. There were people on the streets that day, walking out of Manhattan, and they were cheering on the police and the firefighters who kept going in to help. After that, people lined up at blood banks around the country. Big musical stars and celebrities got together and raised money for the families you had to leave behind. People flooded into New York City from every state, police officers and firefighters and military people and regular citizens, just wanting to do whatever it took to help. Do you know, they had the World Trade Center Plaza cleaned up more quickly than anyone expected? People worked night and day, to keep America's spirits up and to move forward. Not to forget you, you understand. America needed to know that the country could recover, and move forward, but never forget. Never.

We couldn't forget you. Ever. You were brave, you were doing what you were supposed to do, and your life was ripped from you much too soon. We miss you so much. Every day.

And then, to show our enemies that America wouldn't give up, and to help those of us left here, people designed a beautiful building to stand where the World Trade Center used to be. They made a beautiful memorial at the Pentagon, and one in Pennsylvania, where Flight 93 crashed. It's not enough, really. Nothing can ever replace you. But it helps, some. We grieved and grieved, but eventually we came to understand that we had to go on, while we remembered.

I just wanted you to know, I'm so very sorry we lost you, and we won't ever forget.

Rest in peace. We will never forget.

And Finally...

2008-09-01T23:07:00.002-07:00

My sister is a fabulous shopper. I don't mean that she spends hours and hours and too much money because she loves to shop; I mean that she has seven kids and a mother-in-law living with her and her husband, and she manages to have plenty of food in the house, and plenty of gifts for everyone for birthdays and Christmases. This is because she is a fabulous, or smart, shopper. At the place where I took the picture of the hearse in the last post, for instance, we bought fudge.

Now, Mackinac Island is well-known for its fudge. When people go there, they generally buy fudge. It's what you do. My sister, however, found the ONE and ONLY fudge shop on all of Mackinac Island that had a sale on. Yes, campers...we got our fudge for 15% off. I never had any idea there was a less expensive place to buy fudge on the island. Heidi found it, though.

After we bought ridiculous, copious amounts of fudge, our carriage tour took us to Arch Rock, one of the niftiest landmarks I've ever seen. One can stand at the observation platform, look through the hole that Arch Rock creates, and see the beautiful lake.

While standing at Arch Rock, I noticed the storm below. It was huge. It never did affect us, but I thought it was a cool picture. The Straits of Mackinac is famous for its storms in the winter, and a lot of ships have sunk in these very waters.

We enjoyed the rest of the day walking around and looking at all the historical places, and of course shopping (because my awesome sister found a discount souvenir shop--hey, how else are you going to buy souvenirs for seven kids, a husband and mother-in-law?)

We drove back to Heidi's friends' house that night, and back to her house the following day, which was Thursday. On Friday, we went to a zoo and to Bronner's CHRISTmas Wonderland. I am always happy at this place...how could I not be? Here are Ben and Julie outside the store...

And the Silent Night Chapel. I know it's weird, but I loved how the picture of the sign came out, so I had to use it. This is a replica of a chapel in Germany, built with permission of the original chapel by Wally Bronner, the late owner of Bronner's. He went home to heaven in July of this year.

...and Finally, here is Heidi (and Ed and Krystal and Eddie and Caitlin and Jason and Megan and Noah)'s house. This is our last day there, when Heidi and I were both crying because we had to go home. :(

I have to say that I've been ridiculously sad since I've been home. My husband and I have decided to move back to Michigan, in fact. I know it's not right, but I so miss Michigan. It is my home. I was made to be there. I have even heard God tell me it is right for us to be there. If and when we go, it will be when God says that it is right. It's pitiful how much I cry these days, and how much I want to be back there, setting up our life. I feel like I've been wondering what to do with my life for 20 years, and now I know, but I can't go yet.

But hey, I didn't mean this post to get all morose. We had a great trip. We had a lot of fun. I'm truly grateful for it. And I'm grateful for my husband, who puts up with my weepiness and still manages to love me anyway.

Thanks, honey, for the great trip, and for loving me. :)

The Story that Wouldn't Die

2008-09-01T22:47:00.001-07:00

When we left our crusading vacationers last, they were enjoying a day in the author's hometown, Alden, Michigan.

After we reached Alden, we did some things that would probably bore most readers, so I skipped telling you about things like buying an ice cream cone at Higgins' Store, where I worked all through high school dipping ice cream, and oddly, never once whining that I couldn't scoop Superman ice cream because it was "too frozen." Sadly, the cutesy chick behind the counter didn't have the same resolve. We also went to the cemetery to visit old (REALLY old) relatives, and to visit the new high school. We spent the night with friends of my sister, in order to be able to go to Mackinac Island without driving four hours each way the day we were at the island.

The next morning, we set out for Mackinac Island. My nephew, seated next to me in the front seat of the van, took this picture as we approached Mackinac Bridge.

And this picture...

Once on the ferry boat required to access the island, I took this picture of the bridge...

...and once on the island, we took a carriage tour! I figure I can use this picture to introduce a new element to my blog...the occasional Horses' @$$ Award! Much like Tori's Tad Awards.

No cars are allowed on Mackinac Island (except they now have a couple of fire trucks and an ambulance-type vehicle, I believe), and so when someone dies, this is the hearse. I don't know why I wanted a picture of a hearse, except this one was cool.

What A Great Idea!

2008-08-24T19:47:00.002-07:00

I will continue to post pictures of the awesomest vacation ever, but now, I wanted to share a good idea.

If you work with files, or if you just use a lot of labels, you might find this discovery I made, helpful. If you turn both the file (or object to be labeled, in some cases) and the sheet of labels upside down, and attach the label while both are upside down, why then, you don't have to guess where to press the label on, because you can see it.

Try it...it works!

This post brought to you by "I Need A New Job, Inc."

Vacation to Michigan 2008...Continued!

2008-08-21T20:44:00.004-07:00

On Monday, we decided to go to the lake for a swim. Here are Ben (further away) and Noah...

And here is the view from shore. We did get a little rain that day, but nothing to worry much about.

Here is the "beach area." See the wonderful picnic tables (not sprayed with gang graffiti!) and some of the playground areas they have for the kids.

Here are Julie and Megan, playing and posing for pictures...

And here are Julie and Megan putting sand on their arms. I don't know why, but it seemed to work for them...

And more fun in/with the sand...

On Tuesday, we decided to head to northern Michigan, to go to Mackinac Island!! Yay!! On the way, we stopped in a little town called Millington, MI, and found this smiley water tower.

My nephew Jason took the picture of the water tower above. He went to these train tracks to take it. He loves trains, so I took a picture of him on the track. Happily, no trains were coming.

Can you believe this is a freeway? I love all the trees, and the green! We're on the road again up north!

This next smiley face water tower is part of my heritage. My sister swallowed lye when she was three, and we spent a year and a half driving from northern Michigan to Ann Arbor, Michigan, every other week. We would stay for a week at a time, so that Heidi could have her throat dilated (they had to replace her throat with part of her colon, and it kept wanting to close). When we would see this smiley face water tower, we would know we were in West Branch, MI and it was time to stop for lunch at Render's Restaurant, which I don't think is there any more.

Since we were in West Branch, we did stop for lunch on this trip, too, but we went to Burger King. Here are Heidi and I (she's the cool-looking one in the sunglasses).

After our long-ish drive, we stopped at Alden, MI, the town where I grew up. It is much more touristy now than it was back then, but it is still home. This is a railroad museum we stopped at so that Jason could see the museum and the partial train that is there. From left to right, we have Jason, Julie, Caitlin, Megan and Noah. Ben is standing, leaning his head on his arms.

Here are the kids on the back of the caboose: (left to right again) Jason,
Caitlin, Julie Noah, Ben, and Megan.

This is the lake I grew up swimming in, Torch Lake. It is beautiful! Can you see the different shades of blue in the water? It's like that all the time. Some days it is perfectly still and mirror-like. Other days it is frozen over and covered with fishing shanties.

Alas, my arms are tired and my chest hurts again, so more tomorrow. I'll bet you didn't think this would be the longest story in the history of the world, did you? :)

Oops...

2008-08-20T22:45:00.001-07:00

I said I would post more about the vacation today, but I did not post. I found out Monday that I have pneumonia, and today I woke up feeling more awful than yesterday, so I napped and barfed and took medicine most of the day. It was SUPER!!

So, that's my excuse for not posting more pics. I will post more as soon as I can, though.

Vacation 2008! We're back!

2008-08-17T00:31:00.007-07:00

We are back, and we had a great time! Here is a picture story of our vacation (or at least part of it)...

This is Ben & Julie outside our house at 3:55 a.m., waiting for the Super Shuttle to pick us up. They have a lot of energy for that hour of the morning!

Here is the first airplane they would ride on...a Southwest airplane with pointy-uppy wings! Here it is about 5:00 a.m., and they are loading the plane. Why are they loading the plane? Because they are Southwest, and unlike other airlines, they actually offer free soft drinks, coffee & tea as well as a bunch of snacks that you can choose from. Once in the air, the flight attendants actually come around and hand out activity books for all the kids! Southwest rocks!

Here are Ben & Julie on the plane. I think this is the plane we transferred to in Chicago.

And here is our rented minivan! I reserved this van two or three weeks in advance, but when we got there, there was some major golf event in town (Detroit), so they didn't have enough cars to go around. This reminded me of a Seinfeld episode. I, however, was really quite tired by this point, so I didn't do the whole Seinfeld routine, even though I wanted to. Eventually, Thrifty Car Rental called Dollar car rental and got me a van. And because I decided to wait politely for 1/2 hour, the agent gave me a free tank of gas, and really good directions to my sister's house (well, not her house, but her exit). It was a silver Chrysler Town & Country. It held 7 people, but we had 8 people in it for most of the week. It held up rather well and got amazing mileage!

The first night, we took all the kids (my sister has 4, I have 2) for ice cream cones. We were tired, so after that we pretty much went to bed. I had my own room with its own digital cable and a really comfy bed. Pretty awesome!

When I stay with people, I always buy groceries, because I figure I'm there eating with them, and I should help out. With that in mind, my sister and I went to buy groceries on Sunday. This was our first stop...

This is a Meijer store, as you can see. Back when I was a kid, my mom used to shop here. This is quite similar to a Wal-Mart Supercenter now, but back then, there wasn't really a store near us that had clothes, groceries, auto parts, sporting goods, housewares, etc; except Meijer. They also have an ice cream shop inside, where you can get a hand-dipped ice cream cone. Obviously I like that about it, too.

Once inside the store, I knew I would find one of my favorite things...Faygo Pop! Yes, it is pop. It's on the label. Faygo Pop. There are amazing flavors, like peach, blue raspberry, rock-n-rye, orange, 60/40 (grapefruit/lemon-lime), black cherry, cream soda, and on and on. Good stuff. You should go to Michigan and buy some!

Here are Julie (my daughter) and Noah (my nephew) playing "basketball."

And Julie on the trampoline...

And the campfire we had Sunday night. To give you an idea of the scale, the fire pit is at least 8 feet across...this is a BIG fire!

And here are Heidi (my sister, on the right) and I (with the half-mast eyes...must've been tired!) enjoying the fire.

Here is Noah the pyromaniac, wet from some water game or something, and worshiping the flame of the citronella torch!

Here are pyromaniacs Noah and Ben, lighting twigs in the citronella torch, because it is Michigan and not Arizona, so even if they drop the twig, the entire state will not go up in flames. In fact, they did drop a few, and because there is actual moisture in the air, and at this time of night, on the ground in the form of dew, there was no problem.

And here is Julie the pyromaniac, also lighting twigs. Her cousin Megan was there, and I could've sworn she was in this picture, but I guess not.

And here is the reason the fire went out so quickly...my nephews Jason (the older one) and Noah thought they'd see how big they could get the fire if they put this wooden box on it. My sister is in the background saying "uhh...guys...I don't know...

I will post more pictures and info tomorrow.

Vacation 2008!

2008-07-31T19:47:00.002-07:00

On Saturday, me and the best kiddos on the planet

will be traversing a little bit of the planet...we're going to Michigan, my homeland and where my sister lives. Tony has to stay home and work :( but we will try to have fun anyway.

Our plane leaves at 6:00 a.m. so that means getting up at 3:30 a.m. to get to the airport on time. Hopefully, we can all nap on the plane, except the kids have never flown before, so they will be excited. We will actually end up a little north of the heart in the picture above, just to the west of the white bloop that's over the heart.

While we are there, guess what will be in season??

Yesssss...sweet corn!! I am one of two people in my house who will eat corn on the cob, and I love it. And my sister loves it, and so do her seven kids...so I can buy, and eat, fresh sweet corn that is actually in season! And guess what else will be in season??

Bingo! Tomatoes! When I was a kid, we used to eat tomatoes like apples...they were so good, warmed from the sun.

And, finally, I can have another (few) Faygo Pop! Have you heard of Faygo Pop? It is the best pop in the world!

Besides eating fabulous vegetables, we will be doing other things. We will visit:

Bronner's CHRISTmas Wonderland, this huge place that is full of Christmas decorations. The picture doesn't do the size of the place justice. The white building on the right is the Christmas Chapel. Here's a link to Bronner's...it is a really fun place.

We may be going to a waterpark in the same town as Bronner's, but we aren't sure yet. I can't find any pictures of it, but I'm sure I'll have some (if we go there) when I come back.

There is a remote possibility that we will go to an amusement park, Michigan's Adventure, and an even more remote possibility that we'll visit Mackinac Island, but that is a 3-4 hour drive each way. Although my sister will be there...we can gab and stay awake on the drive back, right??

Our kids will also spend a lot of time playing together, I would think. My kids hardly ever get to see these cousins, so I'm sure they'll have a lot to talk about.

I will post pictures when I get back! Have a good week, and keep your powder and your pants dry! (1,000 magic points if you can tell me what movie that line is from. Are the points redeemable, you ask? No. But you will have the thrill of knowing that you know stuff.)

Rain

2008-07-10T21:05:00.002-07:00

I live in the desert. As you probably know, deserts are hot and dry, except when they are cold and dry, in the "winter." But we don't really get winter here.

But tonight, the wind started to blow, and raindrops started coming down...big raindrops. That was an hour ago, and it is still raining. Blowing and raining. Blowing rain down our air conditioning tubes, and through the return into our hallway, and down the pipe for our water heater (a gas one). But it doesn't matter. Because it's raining in the desert!

Rain so hard that it's difficult to see the houses across the alley. Rain that turns our roof into the home of a bunch of waterfalls, waterfalls that, if found in the mountains on a hike would be considered fairly sizeable.

Rain, washing the pollution out of the air (for a minute). Rain, pounding on our roof with its soothing rhythm, luring me to sleep even as I type. It's washing our yard, our cars, our driveway. I love water. I was raised in Michigan, so am used to water in all its forms; ice, snow, rain, lakes, humidity. This kind of weather takes me home for a little bit, to when I was a kid and we'd stand under the eaves of our house, when it rained in the summer, laughing, twirling, splashing. I haven't seen rain like this here in probably 20 years!

What a beautiful night!

Dad

2008-06-30T22:47:00.004-07:00

Oh, yeah...I forgot to tell you about my dad. He and my mom flew home from Michigan on Saturday, despite his swollen feet and ankles that kept him from walking (they brought him from the plane in a wheelchair). The customer assistance folks at Southwest Airlines are fabulous...my mom has trouble walking very far, so I had two parents in wheelchairs, but one guy stayed with me until we got to baggage claim, got their luggage, carried it while pushing my dad all the way to my car, and helped them both into the car. You don't get much better than that. Fly Southwest...they rock!

Anyway, dad really was pretty sick. My sister had called me after she took them to the airport, and both she and her husband were crying because they had never seen him look so bad. We took him home and he climbed into bed under a heating blanket-in summer! He went to the doctor today, and they need to run some tests and take some X-rays of a spot on his lung. He was a smoker for 40 years...so if you pray, could you pray that those tests come back negative, and that his doctor here will be able to help him? Thanks.

The Last Uphill Push

2008-06-30T22:35:00.004-07:00

It is finally all coming together for Tony the Husband's book.

It is due tomorrow, and he is writing, writing, writing as I type this. The hikes were all finished and written about, but he needed to edit them and go over them and make sure they were good (you know how writers are). So he has been doing that while I do my homework (which I am 90% done with, two days early-wonder if I'm sick??)

He has worked really hard on this and I'm very proud of him. He has been very happy while writing this...I really think he will be a professional author someday soon. Then he can give up this whole "work" thing, and just do what he likes.

In other "The Last Uphill Push" news, the move for my office is almost complete. The other half of our company moved this past weekend. Now we all work in this building:

My boss is getting punchy. The landlord at the "other" building is being quite a poop and not telling her everything that needs to be done until the last minute. Nice.

A person has to believe in something...I believe I'm going to bed. Have a good day, all!

It wasn't that bad...

2008-06-24T23:36:00.002-07:00

I did go to work on Sunday, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I did not move stacks of boxes. I stopped at Starbucks, and there was a Pei Wei in the same building! So I got me some mad good food and some iced tea instead of coffee, it was a better day. Pei Wei has amazing healing powers...see here for proof.

I went in Monday, and was grouchy as a bear, which I think prompted them to offer me today as a day off. Which I wisely took. 'Cause I was/am tired!

And now, I'm off to sleep again! Hopefully I'll have more interesting posts later this week! More interesting-less whining!! What a goal!!

My Dad/Fun at work

2008-06-22T10:22:00.002-07:00

Well, now they think my dad has pneumonia, not necessarily a heart problem. So, if you prayed, it worked! Thanks VERY much. :)

Our company is moving...have I whined about that yet? Yeah. I think so, too. Yesterday I worked 13 hours without a dinner break. Nice, huh? And, I worked moving piles of boxes from wherever the idiot movers dropped them to where they belonged, and then to where my boss thought they should be. My feet and my back are STILL killing me, even after 12 hours of sleep/rest and pain relievers. I'm supposed to go back in today. If I do, I WILL NOT move any more piles of boxes. They may get a workman's comp claim as it is, if the back pain doesn't improve.

I am not going in for very long today. AND I'm stopping for Starbucks on the way. Sorry I'm cranky today...apparently my new goal is to try and kill myself every weekend (remember the hike last weekend?). I will try to be cheerier later.

My Dad

2008-06-20T20:47:00.002-07:00

Hello,

My dad is currently in the hospital, in Michigan. He lives here, with my mom, but they are in Michigan visiting my sister. He had a lot of chest pain and couldn't get his breath. At first they thought it was (this may be wrong...) atrial fibrillation, which means that the top two chambers of the heart are not beating in the proper rhythm. Later, they said he definitely has pneumonia, but that they are still going to check his heart anyway, just to be sure.

If anyone reading this prays, would you please pray that my dad would be okay?

Thanks. I'm off to play online games and get my mind off this.

Adventures in Hiking

2008-06-17T23:17:00.004-07:00

My wonderful husband is writing a book on hikes in the Tonto National Forest, which I believe I have already shamelessly plugged here. He is currently on an 8-day blitzkrieg wherein he will finish seven hikes in the 8 days. Well, that was his plan anyway. I may have loused it up.

He started hiking on Wednesday of last week. Over the weekend, Tony wanted me to get a hotel room near where he's hiking (up by Payson), so that he could have a shower and a bed for a night. Ben, the wonder son, had also been hiking with him. Did I mention my fabulous son hiked 36 miles in three days with my husband? In pool shoes? 'Cause that's all we can get him to wear? And yeah, he did great. The hotel meetup would be an opportunity for Tony to bring Ben back, because although Ben is a fantastic hiker, he is 11 and eventually gets tired, unlike his oddly energetic father.

About a month ago, Tony mentioned a hike that he would really like me to do with him while he was on this series of hikes. Over the weekend, he kept telling me that this would be an easy hike. On Sunday, though, I was driving him to the trailhead because I was not planning to do this hike. My ankle was hurting and it seemed a stupid idea to hike on it. So we get to the trailhead, and Tony is putting together his camera, his notebook, his GPS thing, his water, etc. He finishes, and says "why don't you just walk a little way with me?" "Okay," I say, like an idiot. "That might be nice." So I put on the extra Camelback water-holder thingy, and we start off.

It's a lovely little trail. We're actually walking by people's backyards, and through pine trees and over cute little washes. I had stretched out my foot/ankle a bit, and it wasn't even hurting at all. So, on we go. We're talking, and having a great time, and I'm glad I came along.

We come to a hill, which is part of a mountain, of course; this being Arizona. But I am determined to be a good sport and not be a whiner, so I shut up and keep hiking all the way up the hill. Then, we walk by this beautiful (from a distance) cow pond. Up close, it's got green moldy looking stuff in it, but it's still kind of pretty. We walk up another hill, and it's not so bad either. My foot/ankle still doesn't hurt. We go on, and I'm getting slower and slower. Pretty soon I stop and look back, and we've been climbing upward, very gradually, for what looks like about a mile. Well, that explains why I'm tired! That, and there's no air up there because of the elevation.

So now, Tony pulls out his map and explains that we're getting into trouble, because we're getting behind schedule (ya think!?!). We're also short on water, he explains, because he underestimated the difficulty of this hike. But, I really want to be a good sport and be supportive. We proceed up the rest of the hill, as fast as I can make it.

The next part of the hike cannot be adequately explained with human words. We had to basically scale a cliff using very, VERY steep switchbacks on the "trail." NOW my ankle hurts. All the way down to my little toe! And Tony starts looking back, looking worried, about when we're going to be done with this hike. On the way down, I begin to lose my cool. I say, "so, this is an easy hike?" Tony says yes. I say, "Really? What is considered difficult? A vertical rock face with no ropes?" I know this kind of sarcasm doesn't help anything (except it makes me feel better).

After a long, arduous journey, during which I hear Tony scream in frustration with my slowness, I get to the bottom of the cliff. Tony had lent me his hiking stick, thinking, I guess, that it would make me faster. But to no avail. I get to the bottom and I'm totally frustrated with it, because it keeps getting stuck in the catclaw and tripping me up. I am in tears from pain and frustration, and I ever-so-kindly (NOT!) ask "How in the world can you think this is an easy hike?!? Have you not met me??? Do you not know anything about me after 20 years of marriage???!)

At this point, Tony has recovered his cool. He gently, even kindly explains to me that we are REALLY behind now, and that this has become a rescue situation because we have to get me with my bad ankle out of the forest before dark. Suddenly I thought, "eez, chill, Spike. My foot hurt and I was frustrated, but there's no need to be dramatic (yeah...right. 'Cause I wasn't, eh?)

He explains that this trail "probably" junctions with the other trail in just a little ways, and that there is a spring nearby. The spring is great news, because during out little jaunt down the completely vertical rock face with no ropes (okay, I may be exaggerating just a LITTLE bit),we are OUT of water. And not even halfway through the hike. He explains that he really needs to get to the car so that he can come back and get me, and if I can make my way even a little bit toward the road, he will come and find me (remember the line from the movie whose name I can't remember, "Whatever occurs, stay alive. I WILL find you." Yeah. He was scared, and going into husband fix-it mode. He says, "If you get lost, stop. Blow this whistle, and I will find you. You want to look at the compass every now and then, and make sure you're heading north-ish. Go to the junction, turn right, and follow trail 51. Stay on that until you get to trail 48, and then I can get you in the car. But if you can't get that far, I'll find you."

I'm thinking his stumbling (or perhaps jogging, apparently, based on his speed through the trail so far) through the dark to find me is not a good idea, so after he leaves I rest a bit. I get up and start walking, and come to the trail junction in no time. I turn right, check the compass, and start walking, when I hear rustling behind me. It's Tony. He found the spring! He filled both our Camelbacks! Yay! I tell him to go on, and I hike along. The thing is, when I'm not hiking with him, I'm doing much better. I think because I'm not trying to keep up with anybody; I'm just doing my own thing. It's much easier. I do get confused a few times because the trail crosses the river bottom nine million times, and each time it does I have to re-locate the trail. Happily, he has made several cairns for my dumb self to use to find the trail. He also has the hiking stick, and the hiking stick makes a funny-looking, ant-hill-esque divot in the ground. I also can see footprints, and they're next to the ant-hill-esque thing, so whenever I find those I know I'm on the right track.

Along the way I hear more rustling, and I figure it's Tony coming back for his lame, wimpy wife. But I look at where the rustling is, and there is a GINORMOUS set of antlers rubbing against the brush above me (by at least 30 feet, so not to worry; no danger). I'm momentarily freaked out, but I go on. After a few more river crossings, I'm walking along and see something in the distance. Aha! It must be Tony, right? Nope. More deer. These are on the other side of the river bottom from me, but they, too, are GINORMOUS! They are eating their dinner on the slope, and they look up as they see me, but they don't run. We have a nice chat, and I pee in the woods, because by now my water is gone again, and I move on.

Shortly after this, I see something waving in the distance. I get to it, and it's a note from Tony. It says:

YOU MADE IT!
I LOVE YOU!!
Take this with you when you see it
So I know you've made it this far.

So, I got to the end of the friggin' trail. He is delighted I made it to the end and he doesn't have to bumble through the forest with a flashlight to find me. He brought Gatorade, and Cherry Coke. Cherry Coke was the first gift he ever gave me-we met at college, and my birthday is in September. We both had jobs on campus, but no one had been paid yet. He knew I like Cherry Coke, and bought me a bottle for my birthday. It's always special when he gets it for me.

In the car, on the way back to his next trailhead, I say, "Okay, so I'm great at crafting with the kids, and knitting, and crocheting. I'm fabulous at tetherball, I bake fantastic cookies, and I can walk really well. But I don't think hiking is really my sport." He agreed.

We have dinner, and I drive home.

The End.

Adventures in Furniture shopping...and other random observations

2008-06-09T22:22:00.005-07:00

There is a preponderance of mushrooms. In all kinds of those "Lean-Cuisine-y" meals, apparently, which are cheap and okay for lunch at work, mushrooms spell fabulous. We went to Olive Garden the other night...mushrooms everywhere. There were lots of pasta dishes that sounded wonderful, except, as I read the description...yep. Mushrooms.

Okay, now, let's review. Mushrooms are fungus. They grow in dark, smelly places. They're gray, for goodness' sake! How can anything gray be considered food? They have a horrible, rubbery texture, almost as bad as raw oyster. Eew! Note to cooks of "Lean-Cuisine-y" foods and restaurant chefs: Go ahead, put mushrooms in some things. But they are not needed everywhere! They look and taste like dirt! Wet, smelly dirt that is made up of...well...I think we all know what. Eew!

I finished yet another class in the long, long, LONG, pondering, winding, annoying path that is school. I got an A. It was one of the cooler classes; I will say that.

My office is moving. I never, EVER want to work in an office that has to change addresses again. What. A. Stinkin. Horrible. Mess. My boss is completely stressed out at all moments. Great fun. Yeah.

We got the couch from the post below. I went to IKEA on Saturday, with my 11- and 9-year-old children. I saw a dresser perfect for the 9-year-old, who is our daughter, and who has used the same, falling apart, beat up, hand-me-down dresser for 6 of her nine years. I have no objection to hand-me-downs; I love them. But, when they are falling apart, it's time for them to go to the big furniture store in the sky.

So, anyway, I found a great dresser at IKEA that, judging by its weight, should outlast her grandchildren. Now, IKEA has signs everywhere saying that customers shouldn't hurt themselves; just ask, they say, and they'll be happy to help load things. Because you have to take everything, including couches, beds, and dressers, through the checkout. They have no little tags you can take to the front, like Toys R Us. So, I asked my son to go find one of these helpful associates to help me load the two boxes of dresser onto my nifty wheely cart. He was wearing Heelys, and needed to burn off energy. So off he goes. Time passes. More time passes. He comes back alone. He says no one will listen to him. I know, I should have gone myself, so I and the kids work together to get the two boxes of dresser onto the wheely cart. Then I go off in search of a rocking chair and the couch. While pushing the cart with the two boxes of dresser.

Did I mention that on IKEA carts, all of the wheels turn all directions. You know how the front wheels of a grocery cart go all directions so you can turn corners? ALL the wheels do this. Which probably makes the chore of taking a dresser through a checkout line lighter. But, it kills my back, because I have to keep the cart from spinning off in 67 different directions while I push it through the aisles looking for the rocking chair. Because I can't find a helpful IKEA employee to ask the location of said rocking chair. Ouch.

I eventually find the rocking chair. I'm really tired at this point, but I'm near the checkout, and I see (no kidding) a stack of the couch we want. In the middle of the aisle. Like a stack of canned peaches at the grocery store. Each on its own, pre-loaded wheely cart. Right near the register. Sweet! I go get the couch cover (it comes with a slipcover, which can be changed out when the couch needs to recover from my dogs). I say to the kids; we're going to have to do a tandem thing here, where I take the first cart to the cash register while you guys stay with the couch, then I'll come back and...no, wait. We won't get in the same line then, and I have to pay for both carts. Hmm...I know! I'll ask a helpful IKEA staff member. Except after 10 minutes, I can't get the attention of any of them. Hmm...

"Hey, Ben. Do you think you can push the dresser cart to the register?" I swear, they didn't look far away. And Ben is 11. So, "Sure I can, Mom! No problem" (grows two feet taller with pride in being asked to do something big and helpful). The poor, helpful boy wrestles the cart through tiny aisleways (I think they crowd more things in, closer to the registers, so they can laugh as customers try to wrangle couches through the stacks. It's probably good stress relief for the cashiers) to the line, only to have his idiot mother figure out that it's a self checkout. Yah. That's happening. I'm going to check out a couch myself. Sure.

So, we back up, and hey! Here come two IKEA male staff members. They should be able to help, right? "Hi, could you..." "Excuse me," they say as they step over the dresser cart, completely ignoring the plight of the idiot and her wonderful children. Sigh. We back out, turn around, and head down to one of the TWO checkouts with cashiers. With an absolutely packed store, and all kinds of checkout counters, they have TWO cashiers. We wait, angling our carts so people can walk through the aisle behind us, which IKEA has stacked with planter baskets, Lingonberry preserves, and gravy mix. I kid you not. And I like Lingonberry preserves. Really. I had it with a meal I got at the IKEA cafe during an earlier visit and it's good. Kind of similar to cranberry sauce. But I digress...

Some "helpful" staff member asks the woman behind me to please move further into the checkout line, so people can walk through (to the other cashier). Except she can't, because if you remember, I have A COUCH that I have to check out, through the cash register. She tells the staff member to get real, or open another checkout. I love her! :)

We check out, after the cashier and I have to lift the couch and flip it over so we can find the price. But, things start to turn around at this point. Not only is the cashier incredibly helpful and kind, but when we push the giant carts over to the home delivery area, across the store from where we were, we find out that they can deliver the next day! Which they do. And it is beautiful. And comfortable. And almost worth the trip to IKEA! :)

I had a migraine today. :( First in a couple months. But, after I threw up (does the sun HAVE to be so stinkin' bright when I have a migraine?) and attached and turned on the nifty pain-relief device the pain doctor gave me, when I went after my last migraine, called a TENS unit, and went back to sleep, I started to feel better. My boss called at 9:00 a.m., and 11:00 a.m., and at noon. My co-worker called at 12:30, and I decided the heck with it, got up, got ready (slowly; I still wasn't feeling great) and went in for four hours. With Vernors ginger ale, to keep me from throwing up more. It's gone now. Good machine!

I found plane tickets I can pretty much afford for our trip to Michigan this August. Tony the husband isn't going; but the kids and I are. I just need a rental car and I'm all set. I am living for the vacation this year, because I am sick of being in an office that is moving.

Did I tell you my husband is writing a book? Well, he is, and now he is finishing his book. He is doing a total of seven hikes between now and a week from Friday. The fun never ends here. :) If you want a sneak preview (or to pre-order), here is the linky to Day and Overnight Hikes in the Tonto National Forest

I hear the author is a really cool guy.

In other news...hmm...I guess it's 11:04 and I'm tired. Here's a shout out to Lauren- you're in my prayers tomorrow. I know you will soon be stressing about much better things to stress about, like weddings and damask and hot pink. Have you decided on nail polish? :)

Memorial Day

2008-05-27T18:38:00.004-07:00

I hope your Memorial Day Weekend was good. I certainly needed the break from work! I got to do something exciting this weekend...pick out new living room furniture! We went to Ikea and here is what we picked out:

The Sofa

The Loveseat

The Storage Thingy/Footstool/Coffee Table

I know...it's all beige. But it will look nice on the sage green walls in our living room, and I plan to accessorize (pillows, blankies, etc.) in denim and cranberry red...I think. I'm excited to see how it will all look together. I'll post pics when it's done.

I wish I were 9 again...

2008-05-11T21:49:00.002-07:00

Happy Mother's Day, all you moms! And all of you who have moms! I hope you had a fabulous day. I know I did.

At the end of the fabulous day, I was talking with Julia, my 9-year-old daughter. As you may know, I'm in school, and we were talking about my school. She asked if I would ever graduate. I told her that yes, next year I will. I asked her if she would feel better if I were not in school, and she said, "well, yeah...kind of." She asked me if I wanted to quit, and I said that sometimes I do, but if I do, I will have a harder time getting a good job.

She said, "You could always make lemonade. And sell it, in the park, on hot sunny days. And when it's cold, you could make hot chocolate."

Sounds good to me, kiddo...if only! :)

Sunday Dinner

2008-05-04T13:43:00.002-07:00

So, what do you do for Sunday Dinner? Do you cook a big meal?

I knew a family who, on Sundays, had leftovers. It was kind of a clean-out-the-fridge meal, first come, first served. My mother-in-law's family did a variation of this, where they would have leftovers and popcorn. My mom made dinner every night, most of the time. We've been known to have cereal and toast, or some other form of breakfast like pancakes or french toast. Sometimes I'll do something yummy in the crock pot, but I usually do that stuff during the week (in the winter, 'cause I live in Arizona!)

What about breakfast? Any special Sunday breakfast traditions?

Reevaluating

2008-05-04T13:03:00.003-07:00

I should tell you first that I tend to be kind of a flake. For instance, I haven't made it to church in several weeks. I'm in the choir, so I have a definite reason to go, but I haven't gone. I went today, and I'm so glad. Because...

a) it always makes me feel better
b) I saw people I hadn't seen at church in awhile, and that felt good
c) the sermon was great

I've had migraines for about 10 years. They just showed up one day, uninvited and certainly unwelcome, but there they were. I used to get them pretty infrequently, but lately I've had one about 3-4 times a month. Not good.

The one I had last week began on Tuesday mid-day, and didn't quit until sometime Friday. I missed some work on Thursday, because the pain had gotten so bad that all I could do was pace. I couldn't sit at my desk, couldn't think of looking at a computer, etc. I left about 2:00 that day, and took a nap. The nap helped, but the pain was still there when I had to go get two teeth filled (I know...I'm a dentist's dream!) . But I went, and had a different dentist, who was fabulous. I didn't even feel the novocaine shot (they numb me before the shot with that gel, so I can't feel the needle going in, but can always feel the novocaine leaving the needle and entering my mouth). He did a great job. I came home and for the first time since all this pain started Tuesday, I felt like being awake and with the family. So I was. Like I said, during the night Friday most of the pain left, and I woke up okay on Friday.

I told you that story to tell you this one...during the time I was in pain, I came to a realization. I need to refocus my attitude and my way of living and even my way of being. That kind of pain is a wake-up call, and I need to fix it. So when I got to church today, I noticed the topic was reevaluating. And I began to think...if I would just STOP worrying! If I would just leave the worrying to God, who really is the only one who can handle it, I would be better. I am seriously neglecting the creative part of my life. I have been going to choir practice only when I can comfortably fit it in, and as I mentioned, I haven't been to church in weeks. That stifles the singing part of my creativity (as well as worship and learning about God-also not good). I haven't played my clarinet in years. I want to learn to sew and haven't even tried that (since 4th grade, when I was in 4-H). I want to make a painting, and haven't done that, either.

What have I been doing? Well, I always say homework, but I don't think that's true. I do some homework, but not enough to completely stifle the rest of my life. I have been sleeping a lot (when I have migraines), so maybe that's some of it. I watch too much TV. I work a lot, and worry about work. And I do stuff with the kids, which I'm not giving up! :)

But, if I reevaluate. What if I reevaluate my level of stress about work. Hmm...can worrying do anything? No. Can worrying change anything? No. I know this in my head, but it's hard to get my heart to buy into it. What if I reevaluate my commitment to church and to choir? That seems like a good place for me to be. What if I reevaluate my homework, and do a little every night instead of a bunch on the weekend? If I can get myself to actually do these things, it may help. It may also alleviate a bunch of my stress and help keep me from getting migraines.

And that would be good. I think I'll give it a try. I'll let you know how I am doing.

Campaigns

2008-04-29T20:35:00.002-07:00

I was going to tell you a story about my boss, but with all the lawsuits nowadays I'd better not, for fear I'll be sued and they'll take my 2005 Chevy Malibu. With power windows.

So, at this place where my friend works (I'm not telling you which friend), there's a need for a project to be done. At first it needed to be done by Wednesday afternoon. Then suddenly, yesterday at 3:30, my friend (the random one) tells me that she heard it was due TODAY at noon. Well, by golly, she didn't have enough time to finish the huge project (23 single-spaced pages put into a spreadsheet) by noon TODAY, so my friend, who is not a morning person, got up at 5:00 this morning (if you knew my friend, you would know how early that really is, and how s/he doesn't normally get up anywhere near this time), and she was at work at 6:00. A. Stinkin' M. After being at school until 10:30 last night. And she's old! And she was working her heart out on this spreadsheet.

About 9:00 this morning, she heard that the project wouldn't be due until SOMETIME NEXT WEEK. That's right, sports fans...not noon today, but NEXT STINKIN' WEEK!!

Her boss is campaigning for boss of the year 2008. For sure. Totally.

I am once again campaigning for mother-of-the-year 2008. I brought my kids home from school today because their grandma, who usually picks them up, forgot to. I know...I don't know. So I leave work at 3:00 and race to the school. Meanwhile, school let out at 2 STINKIN': 30! 2:30! I'd write that in capital letters for emphasis if I could, but then it would look like @:#)! and you might not understand. So anyway, I get them, and they're okay, and we head home, because at this point I'm not going back to work. And we get home and I said to my darling kiddos, "let's have a little free time until 5:00, and then I'll make dinner and you guys can pick up your rooms.

I took my shoes off, and sat down on my bed to watch HGTV for a second, and then I woke up and it was 6:00! Again, I'd emphasize with capital letters, but, you know the drill, ^:))! and then you're confused. Nobody wants that. We had cereal for dinner. I am not worthy to even watch Carol Brady on TV. I shouldn't even be in the same room if Carol is on the T.V.

So for the minute and a half that I was conscious after I sat on my bed, I noticed a commercial for Playtex bras. Have you ever noticed that Playtex sells both bras and baby bottles? I had not noticed that consciously until tonight. Anywhoo, I'm watching this woman in her underwear, and she actually describes herself as "stacked." Whaa??? Seriously????? SEEERRIOUSLY???????? We can say "stacked" on T. V. at 4:00 in the afternoon? If even my husband mentioned my stacked-ness I probably couldn't be held responsible for my actions...

In other news, I've had 2 full cups of coffee, a large Mountain Dew, and a large Coke (full-strength) today. And I'm still tired.

But I missed you, and wanted to write and share my joy and rapture at the world. So, Hi!

:)

Toothy Tuesday

2008-04-22T22:01:00.003-07:00

Ow. Remember when I told you I broke my tooth eating ice cream (I'm specially talented!)? I got the crown on today. Ow. Did I mention, ow?

See, I don't know what the dentist was doing in my mouth for an hour and a half last Tuesday, but it took for-stinkin'-ever and I was so sick of the little sucky machine that gets the slobber (saliva, for you technical types) out of the way, and the drilling, and I even saw smoke (I am not making this up). But the point is, he was in there for A LONG, LONG TIME and the bill was over $500, so I figured he had done a root canal before putting the temporary thingy on.

Nope.

So I get there today, and as I'm driving there (again, NOT making this up) my tooth starts to get "sensitive." Not any rip-roaring pain (though I have given birth so I may not be the best judge of rip-roaring pain for all reading this), but kind of a nagging, little, uh-oh pain. But I get into the "chair of magic and wonder" and Heidi the assistant lady, takes off the temporary thing with the little metal hook-looking thing, and although not the same as childbirth, the result was definitely an "OW." Kind of like metal-on-tooth-nerve pain. Really, not crippling, but very uncomfortable, and, like I said, OW. Which I said. So she apologizes as she proceeds to "just clean up around the tooth a little," which prompts more OW.

I was uncomfortable with her messing around in my mouth for a couple of reasons...OW, of course, and also because I told the following joke and she didn't get it:

Me: Knock, knock.
Heidi: Who's there?
Me: Control Freak-Now you say "Control freak who?"

Please tell me that at least one person gets that joke. But Heidi didn't. And she was all giggly that she didn't get it. And that bothered me, a little. Not that I'm all brilliant; I'm not. But I did get this one. Anyway...

So, Heidi tries on the crown and takes it off about seven times, and each time there is that little shock of nerve pain. And then she gets nervous and calls in the dentist (who was going to put it on anyway). To be fair, they did offer me novocaine several times, but they also said they typically don't need it to put a crown on. I should have taken it. I didn't. I'm not crazy about the shot. But it would have been a better choice. See, last time I had this done it didn't hurt. It was a little tender, but nothing like today. But last time, they did a root canal. This time, apparently, they didn't.

So what the heck was he doing in there for an hour and a half?? It should have been some drilling (of course, I did have the novocaine last week...I'm not crazy!) to smooth out the broken tooth and put the cap on so I can get out of the chair. Not 90 minutes of drilling, water, sucky machine, air-blower-thingy-machine, etc. I still had nerves in my tooth! No wonder it hurt!

So, I drove home after a long process of trying the crown on seventeen more times and drilling it down (outside my mouth) in between, and flossing until he could get the floss through...which he finally did, and the nerve pain stopped. I drove home in rush-hour traffic (and boy, was I in a good mood!) and took 3 Excedrin to deal with the "hey, everyone! Let's play with Penny's teeth!" pain, and it went away shortly thereafter. I had ramen for dinner-not much chewing involved. Now the tooth feels almost normal; a little odd perhaps, but it's not fully cemented for six hours, so...about 12:45 this morning I should be all set! Too bad I'll be asleep and will miss it!

Lesson learned: When they offer you novocaine, say Yes!

Note to pop (soda, Coke, fizzy water) Companies

2008-04-22T21:54:00.002-07:00

Hi, there. It's me. One of your not-so-big fans. I like pop (soda, Coke, fizzy water) fine, and, by the way, it's pop. Soda is something you bake with. Fizzy water sounds like something gone wrong in a bad lab experiment. Pop. It's the name. But I digress...

In case you haven't noticed, Pop companies...you stopped selling pop in glass bottles. In, like, 1989! Why, then, must you advertise people drinking from glass pop bottles? They're gone. Well, they're still here in a very limited, very small, very expensive way. But a six-pack of pop in a carton? With 16.9 oz bottles? Not happening.

If you were still cool, pop companies, we could still buy glass bottles. See, glass recycles, just like plastic. Of course, we don't need oil to make glass, or at least not as much oil as we need to make plastic. I know it's not a totally "green" option because the weight of the glass requires more energy to transport, and glass is breakable, yadda, yadda. I still like my pop out of a glass bottle better. Mountain Dew doesn't smell the same in plastic. It's not as citrus-y. Cherry Coke doesn't smell as good, either.

So, that's my request. Bring back glass bottles! Or at least stop making us wish for them with your commercials. Please. Thanks.

I'm still alive!

2008-04-14T23:13:00.001-07:00

Yes, I am still alive...thanks for asking! What? You didn't ask? Oh, well. Too bad. You know now, anyway.

I haven't much time, because it's late and I'm old and tired. And allergic, and sneezing constantly. It's a blast, really.

In news of late:

-My new shoes I bought via mail-order arrived today. They're actual Birkenstocks, and they're actually almost cute, somehow. They are currently on my feet, even with me being in my nightie, and they are comfy right out of the box!

-I took my kids and a friend of theirs to see Disney On Ice: Finding Nemo, or whatever the actual name was. It was a lot of fun! We were in the 10th row, because my husband worked the show and got some sort of discount pass. I figured we'd be in the nosebleeds up near the roof, but we weren't.

-I forgot to buy a ticket for myself when I took the kids to see DOI: FN, so the nice man with the flashlight let the dotty old lady (me) and her kids sit two rows up, where there were actually 4 seats together. They let me wait until intermission to buy the fourth ticket, and actually said I didn't have to pay, but I felt guilty (it's what I do) and paid anyway.

-Do you know how much it costs for 4 ice creams and 4 water bottles at DOI: FN? $40. Yes, $40. Holy Tad Award!!

-I somehow managed to break my tooth on a soggy almond that was in the ice cream at DOI: FN. I have no idea how, but tomorrow I will be having this repaired to the tune of $500. Holy Tad Award again!!

-My 9 year old daughter lost two teeth recently...what is up with teeth in our house??

-I have now officially worked at my current job for two years. My anniversary was April 10. I have not spazzed out and smacked anyone in all that time! Yay, me!!

-I actually have a decent teacher for my current class at school. I like him very much. This is what the last 2 classes have been missing: actual teachers who are not morons!

-I have stopped pushing myself to get A's in school. If I pass, I'm happy. It is much less stressful.

-I am currently craving Beef-A-Roni...either that, or "Mini-mini-mini-ravi-oli-oli-oli-oli (for those of you who grew up in the 80's, and remember the kids sitting around the table singing that). Not the healthiest option, but certainly tasty, and something one can eat with a broken tooth (It's a molar, so I don't look like a refugee from Deliverance).

-My husband wants to go camping this weekend. I'm not so into it now, but I never am when I'm in school. I always love it once we get there. We'll see. If I go, I'll try to remember the camera and take pics!

-Have a good night, all! I'm off to watch Keanu Reeves in Parenthood (yes, he is much more awesome in other movies, but that's what's currently in my DVD playah!

Shamelessly Stolen from Nancy's Blog...

2008-03-30T00:04:00.003-07:00

You're not bored. Nope. It's just that you haven't thought of this to do yet:

1. Pick up the nearest book with at least 123 pages

2. Turn to page 123

3. Find the 5th sentence

4. Post the 5th sentence on your blog

5. Tag 5 people (I'm going to ignore this rule, haha!)

"The route description does not require you to walk in private driveways or close to houses."

From: Hiker's Guide to the Superstition Wilderness by Jack Carlson and Elizabeth Stewart

If you are reading this, you be tagged! Feel free to pilfer it (I'm sure Nancy won't mind) and have fun!

Good Mail!!

2008-03-05T22:02:00.004-07:00

I got the most wonderfulest, greenest, happiest package today from Lauren Face and Nancy Face!!

I so, SO needed a happy thing...and there it was! Did you ever have one of those days? I did. Today. But then I came home and looked in my mailbox, and there was a package, and inside was all this wonderful stuff! Did you get a good look at the Kermit the Frog card? It's homemade. And so cute! And I love Junior Mints. I used to eat them with my daddy when we went to the movies when I was a kid. Good times. I haven't had them in years.

Oh, and I got my camera working, as you can see above! How fun is that? I'm going to be having so much fun with pictures now! It helps if you have the right cord to plug it in, I learned. :)

So to all you wonderful people who sent me good mail before I got my camera working, thank you! I'm sorry I couldn't put a picture with it. But I do appreciate all of it. You're wonderful!

Okay, so I guess I'd better really get going on my homework. Does anyone know what kind of corporate structure Starbucks has? I'm about to chuck it all and follow Lauren in a successful interior design career. Color is more fun! :)

April 27, 1918 - February 25, 2008

2008-03-01T22:01:00.003-07:00

Hi, all-

I haven't posted all week, because grandpa died on Monday, and it's been a week of viewings, funerals, family in town, planning, etc.

He died (he didn't want to "pass away," he said; he wanted to "die") at home, where he wanted to be. It was peaceful, everyone else was in another room at the time and didn't hear him. There was no gasping or choking. He hadn't woken up since the afternoon before. My sister-in-law, the RN, was taking care of him and gave him his doses of morphine with a little dropper, so she could do that while he slept.

His daughter, my mother-in-law, made a quilt for him with everyone's picture on it--all the kids, grandkids, and great grandkids. He would sit up at night with a flashlight, looking at all the pictures of the kids on the quilt.

It seems like, when someone dies, everyone says how great the mortician made them look. But this was the first time I actually thought that they did a good job. He looked so much better after they did their thing. The man was still handsome, even in a casket! We sent the quilt with him.

It's odd not to have him at the other end of the block any more. At the same time, though, he was so exhausted from living with this cancer. I couldn't ask him to stay. But I'll miss him.

Yet another late night!

2008-02-24T02:53:00.002-07:00

I just finished my portion of my team's paper for class Monday night. It's 2:54 a.m. What is it with this late-night thing I've got going on? Anyway, tomorrow I can REST. :) Our lovely kids are at a friend's house for the night. I don't have to pick them up until 11:00 (but probably will sooner), so I can sleep in. Which is fortunate, because, did I mention...it's 2:56 a.m.! Like I'm some college student or something, keeping hours like that.

Grandpa is still with us, though he is declining quickly. I so hope for his sake that it's over soon. He is ready. He's not doing chemo, so he still has his hair, which is still dark. It's hard to see him so emaciated. The left side of his face droops, so he's probably had a stroke (or more than 1). He doesn't want to go to hospice, he wants to stay at his house. My sis-in-law is an RN, so she's a big help to that situation.

I think that I'll go to bed now (oddly enough!). Have a good evening/morning/afternoon, everyone!

All better!

2008-02-20T22:02:00.002-07:00

Happily, the migraine is gone! I was able to stay a whole, entire day at work and go to choir practice as well. It was good.

I'm watching Ghost Hunters now, which is totally easy to get addicted to. It's also thunderstorming outside, which makes it more fun.

I got caught up at work today, and so I don't dread going so much.

My dog is completely upset that it's storming. She keeps going to the door and whining, like I should be able to make the storm stop. Oops. Can't. Poor thing...I made her a bed out of one of my favorite comforters in our bedroom, but she's too worked up to rest.

I think I'm going to concentrate on GH now. 'Cause I'm dopey like that.

Migraine

2008-02-19T20:57:00.002-07:00

I hate migraines. I have one today. This past weekend, we had a lovely birthday party for our daughter. I'd post pictures, but my head would explode.

The migraines I get start in my neck, then radiate down to my left shoulder and up to my left eye and across my forehead. It's not a heart thing...they've checked. My doctor actually said it sounds like I need a massage, and he was serious. I've never had one before. This Saturday, I'm having one.

But now, I'm off to (or back to, really) bed.

2008-02-18T18:07:00.002-07:00

I ripped this off from Tori's Blog. It is a meme where you try to name something that no one else would have. Welcome to my messed-up, crazy world. Bwahahahahahahaaaaaa!!

CD I Own
Da Yoopers-Yoopy Do Wah

Book I Own
Ice Castles-the book that went with the late 1970's movie about an ice skater who becomes blind.

DVD/VHS/whatever I Own
Somewhere in Time VHS-with the fabulous, gorgeous, sadly late Christopher Reeve.

Place visited
Alden, Michigan. I visited there for my 20 year high school reunion, but since I did grow up there (well, I never really "grew up." I was raised there...yeeeeeaaaaahh...that's the ticket!"), I will also list Leon, Iowa, a very small town near Lamoni, IA, where I went to college for one year.

Piece of technology or any sort of tool I own.
Uhhh...ummm...well...

I do have a Tupperware citrus peeler (two actually; one orange and one yellow).

Just FYI

2008-02-03T01:19:00.000-07:00

I am SICK TO DEATH of economics.
I am tired.
It's 1:20 a.m.
If I don't understand it by now, I never will.
My homework is 99% done (Ugh! another number!)
I am off duty.
I am headed to laa laa land, aka sleep.
Because I'm tired.
My head is spinning.
I went into Business Management to get AWAY from numbers.
Economics is about numbers.
And I've learned far more than I ever thought I would by this point.
So...
I'm DONE with it.
So there!
Pfffffffffffffffffft!

:)

Yummy

2008-02-02T18:44:00.000-07:00

Superbowl is tomorrow, and if you live where I do, you can't miss that fact-it's being held here. Well, here-ish. In Glendale, not far from Phoenix. Nonetheless, it's coming up fast, and if you don't want to go to a superbowl party, but instead want to watch the new commercials and knit and relax, here are two wonderful recipes that can last all day and make everyone happy.

Penny's Peerless Pizza
1 cup warm water
1 pkg yeast
2 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups flour
1 can diced tomatoes (preferably the ones with italian seasoning)
1/2 bag fresh spinach (the washed kind in the bagged salad section)
5 cloves garlic (or more or less to taste, or you may omit if you're boring)
Additional toppings, if desired
2 cups mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese, if desired

Dissolve the yeast in the water, let stand for 5 minutes. Add oil, sugar, salt & flour, mix until just combined (this is where a Kitchen Aid mixer with a dough hook comes in handy). Let stand, covered, in a warm place for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel garlic cloves by laying them on a cutting board, covering each with the flat blade of a chef's knife (the blade should be pointing toward a wall, not the ceiling or floor), and smacking the knife blade with your hand (now you see why the blade is sideways!). Pick up the clove, remove the skin that has come off in one piece now, and repeat until all are peeled. Roughly chop the garlic (I love garlic and use a lot).

Remove the dough from the bowl and spread onto two baking sheets. Add 1/2 the can of diced tomatoes to each crust, spread evenly. Spread 1/2 the spinach (or as much as desired) onto each crust. Divide garlic in half, and sprinkle on each pizza. If you're adding other toppings, hey, this would be a good time to put them on. Top each pizza with 1 cup of mozzarella cheese (or, if you live in my house, until it looks like it'll turn out really gooey). Sprinkle parmesan on top of the mozzarella.

Bake each pizza at 375 for 20 minutes or so, depending on how thick your pizzas are. Cheese will be happy and bubbly, maybe a little golden or brown at the edges, when the pizza is done.

Cut pizzas, serve, and nap. :)

Penny's Weird Midwestern Chili and Scrumptions Southwestern Cornbread

2 Tbs Olive oil
1 small (or 1/2 regular) yellow onion, chopped
1 pound ground turkey
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Salt (optional)
Pepper
1 can great northern beans (the white ones)
1 can black beans (a twist I learned after I moved to Phoenix)
1 can kidney beans
1 can whole kernel sweet corn (frozen corn is excellent, too)
1 can Campbell's Cream of Potato Soup (told ya it was weird)
3 Tbs Cumin
1 large can tomato juice (the big one that we used to get Hi-C in, that you open with the pointy church-key thingy)
2 Beef bullion cubes, if you're in the mood for beefy goodness
Sour Cream
Shredded Cheese
Chopped Onions

Add the oil to a skillet, and cook onion in it until a little brown. Add the ground turkey, seasoning it with garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper to taste. Add just a little salt, if using. Brown the mixture.

Put the ground turkey mixture into a crock pot. I always rinse off bean goop, so I put the beans and corn into a colander and rinse the whole works. Drain, add to crock pot. Add the potato soup, undiluted. Add the cumin, the can (or as much as will fit) of tomato juice, and the bullion cubes, if using. Cook on low 4-6 hours, or until you feel like eating. You can't really hurt chili. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, chopped onion, and Scrumtious Southwest Corn Bread (see recipe below).

Scrumptious Southwest Cornbread

Cooking spray
1 Batch cornbread batter
1 cup plus a handful shredded low-fat cheese (your favorite)
1 can cream-style corn
1 small (pretty tiny) can of chopped green chiles
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Make a batch of cornbread batter however you like to-use a mix, buy the cornmeal and follow the directions-whatever you like to do.

Add to the batter the shredded cheese, can of cream-style corn, the can of chiles, and the cayenne pepper.

Spray a 13 x 9 x 2 baking pan with cooking spray. Scrape the batter into the sprayed baking dish. Sprinkle the handful of shredded cheese on top. Bake at 375 until sides pull away and the top is golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. Cut into squares, serve with chili.

Hopefully these yummy dishes will add some fun, and some spice, to your life. Enjoy!

John Wolf

2008-01-31T21:47:00.001-07:00

I tell ya, I have no idea what I did without the thingy on my computer's home page that tells me about things that happened On This Day.

Today's OTD entry is about Eddie Slovic. Eddie had a much-too-interesting life of crime, but he's remembered more for his death. Eddie was drafted into World War II in 1944, and allegedly deserted his platoon (or whatever you call "group of soldiers who work together") several times, often getting "lost" and sometimes managing to be reassigned to another platoon, especially when going into battle was imminent.

One day, the military had had enough of Mr. Slovic, when he actually deserted, admitted to it, wrote a letter stating what he'd done, and said he'd do it again if given the chance. He was given several opportunities to recant his testimony and rip up the letter with no consequences, but he refused, saying he'd made his choice and that he'd take his court martial. He was court-martialed, sentenced to death, and executed on this day in 1945.

Tonight, Thursday, I made dinner for Tony's (my husband's) grandpa. Grandpa is sick; he has mesothelioma, which is a kind of lung cancer caused by asbestos. Grandpa was an electrician and spent most of his working career in Phoenix, building it. Back then, asbestos hadn't been identified as being as harmful as it actually is, and he certainly breathed in his share of it.

Grandpa is quite a man. He had cancer in the 1980s and fought that off. I met him in 1986, when I moved to Phoenix from a tiny town in Michigan after meeting Tony my first year of college. He met me at Tony's house, opened his arms, and said "I'm grandpa!" To this day, I'm his granddaughter, not just Tony's wife. His wife, Grandma, died in 1988, just before Tony and I were married.

But Grandpa put on a burgundy suit (our colors were burgundy and dusty rose--yeah, yeah...it was the 80s!) and had a huge smile on his face when he performed our wedding ceremony. After that, he traveled. He went to Disneyland with us and rode all the rides-even the roller coasters. He drove from Phoenix to Michigan, and to Missouri, and once up to western Canada, across Canada, over to Cape Cod, down to Florida and then back across to Phoenix. He made room for a cat who needed a home, Noel, and he loved her until she died, too.

He welcomed his great-grandchildren when they came, first those of Tony's cousins, driving his camper van back to Missouri, then Michigan, to see them when they were born. Then his sisters children, then ours. He grieved for and with me the best way he knew how when I lost our first baby, a daughter named Emily Claire whose body formed with many massive heart defects and who was stillborn at 28 weeks. He rejoiced when I gave birth to two healthy children, and blessed our son Ben, then our daughter Julie, when they were born. He's been at all the great-grandkids' birthday parties in Phoenix, because as he's gotten older it's harder for him to drive so far. He did fly back, for awhile, for as many trips as he could. He's lived at the other end of our block for the past 14 years, always being a big part of our kids' lives.

But now, he's sick. He's going home to be with Jesus. He's 89 years old, and he has lived every one of his years to its fullest extent. He even fought in World War II. And tonight, when I took spaghetti and veggies and garlic bread to him, I told him that I'd read that today in history was the day that the only man sentenced to death for desertion from WWII was executed. Grandpa said, "I was there."

He proceeded to tell me the whole story, how this man had led a life of crime before the military, was drafted, and kept deserting his platoon. The men that were the firing squad bunked with Grandpa's company the night before the execution, having come from another place and needing a place to stay. All the men in the firing squad were happy to accomodate the government's wishes, he said; they were ready to get rid of this man who caused them so many problems. The day of the execution, Grandpa was on guard duty outside the place where he was executed. He remembers this man being marched into the place, surrounded by armed soldiers. He heard the shots of the firing squad, saw the other troops march out, and saw the ambulance with the man's body inside parade by. He went back to the barracks, he said, and the firing squad soldiers were there. They had been all ready to get rid of this guy, but when he got back, they were all ill and shaking. They'd never had to shoot someone in their own uniform before. They hadn't expected to feel that way, but they did.

"Slovic," said Grandpa. "His name was Slovic." And he was right. Eddie Slovic died in 1945, and Grandpa was there to see it.

I will miss grandpa, when he dies. I know it will be better for him...he's ready to go. He's tired out. He's tired of fighting. He's tired of cancer, and tubes draining his lung, and oxygen prongs. He's tired of catheters, and not being able to drive, and people having to come and make him dinner. I will miss hearing about WWII, about his Dorothy, and about his travels. He has given so much of himself to everyone, and even though he misses his independence, it is truly a blessing to me to be able to give something, even some small pot of spaghetti, or homemade cookies, to him. The world won't be the same without him in it. It will be harder, a little less happy, a little less historic. His house will probably be sold; no one in the family needs it. New people will move in, change the paint, maybe put up a fence. Who knows? It will be different. It will be hard. But this man, who remembers the name of a man he saw executed over 50 years ago, has earned his rest.

I love you, Grandpa.

Is it just me?

2008-01-30T21:16:00.000-07:00

My, how times have changed. I know...what an original opening line, eh? Spiffy, isn't it. NOT! :) But I digress...

So tonight is Wednesday, and we were coming back from church, where we have dinner (if we get there on time, which we did not tonight), choir practice for me and Pioneer clubs for the kids (kind of like the Baptist's AWANA, but not AWANA). So I'm driving home, listening to Chumbawamba's Tubthumper CD, which my kids love, and my son Ben was talking about drums. He wants to play drums more than anything...this week. He "practices" at school, sometimes causing him to get in trouble if he keeps at it too long. And Chumbawamba uses PLENTY of drums...there's no question where the beat is in their music. Ben was telling me about his band teacher talking about practicing drums, maybe getting a book and reading ahead for next year (they aren't allowed to play drums in 5th grade, much to the huge relief of the neighborhood!). At one point I asked him when his band class was.

Now I don't know about when you were in school, but when I was in school, we had classes from, say, 8:30 until 9:25, then 9:30 until 10:25, and on and on until afternoon, when we switched to 1:15 until 2:10, and 2:15 until 3:10. Sort of round, easy-to-work-with numbers. When I asked Ben when his band class was, you know what he said? He said, without stopping even a moment to think, "12:03 to 12:49." HUH??????? 12:03 until 12:49?? Could they be a little more exact? What's next- 12:03:15 until 12:49:57? I just thought it was a little odd, and then I though...hey...Blogging Material!!! :)

My "This Day in History" thingy says that today, in 1933, was the day that Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany. Boy, I keep looking on the days that are really uplifting, don't I? On the upside, the Bart Simpson quote of the day is "Global warming did not eat my homework!" Not that Bart could ever counteract Hitler, I'm just sayin...

And, I just had a thought...whatever happened to Geritol? Remember that vitamin for those more full of life experience? I haven't heard a good Geritol commercial in years.

TTFN. Have a pleasant tomorrow. And a fairly happy evening, as well.

Today in History

2008-01-27T22:58:00.000-07:00

I have a new thingie on my home page that tells me things that happened on "this day in history." Now, I'm writing this on Sunday where I live, but on the east coast it is already Monday morning (sorry, folks in the east). This day in 1986 marks the day that the space shuttle Challenger broke apart and exploded after launch.

That was my first "big world-scale crisis," and I was in my first year of college. I had gone back to my dorm room either after or between classes (couldn't tell ya really, too long ago), and I turned on my little brown, wood-grain-like, square radio. The announcement came on and, like they do, told us what had happened. I remember my first thought was "No! Things like that don't happen!"

It was a very sad day. Christa MacAuliffe was on board; she was an elementary school teacher (which I had aspired to be until just a few weeks ago). The kids in her classroom were watching the launch on TV. Her parents, husband and children were there, not to mention the families of all the other astronauts. It was horrible.

But afterward was worse. That was the first launch ever made with a civilian. Afterward, NASA stopped all launches for two or three years, until they could fix the problem (O rings, I think), and there was no possibility of a civilian flying again.

In 1988 or 1989 (I was married by then), the tried a launch again. I remember sitting on our bed with my husband, watching the 19-inch black & white TV, watching the space shuttle climb higher and higher, crying and praying it would all be OK. It flew higher and higher, did its little 1/4 turn, kept going...

It all worked okay.

Which reminds me of the Ron Howard movie, Apollo 13. In that movie, of course, three astronauts are aboard a spacecraft that explosively malfunctions, requiring superhuman feats to get the astronauts back to Earth safely. There are problems upon problems in this situation, yet we (or more specifically, Gene Kranz) did not give up. He pushed his fellow NASA workers and pushed and pushed them, not accepting any "we can't do that" answer. He didn't permit anyone to give up. He refused to acknowledge defeat. He would not even consider defeat. At times it seemed that his will alone got those men back to Earth safely. It was amazing to see, that kind of drive, that kind of will, even that kind of power.

Why do I walk with Jesus? Because if you take that kind of tenacity, that will that would only allow success, that would not let go of the idea of success, if you take that and substitute love, then you can begin to understand how much Jesus loves his creation, you and me. He won't let go. He won't give up. No matter what I have done wrong (and there has been plenty), no matter what tragedy I have gone through, He is there with me. Always. He won't give up. He won't leave.

Even more tenacious than Gene Kranz. Just thought I'd share.

Fantastic, favorite food

2008-01-27T19:34:00.000-07:00

Food is one of my favorite things, so I thought it would be appropriate, since I just finished grocery shopping, to write about it. Sometimes, in the stress of daily life, nothing is ever so good as one of the following things, depending on the situation.

Ice cream-at least twice a week, at night before bed. Takes the edge off a long day like you wouldn't believe

Oranges-wow! what can I say? One of the true "happy fruits." Great for lifting a mood or for munching on at work when the day is slow and I'm about to nod off.

Pineapple-the other happy fruit. Same properties as oranges, but with a more tropical flavor.

Maruchan Chicken Flavored Ramen-I know. 950,000,000 grams of sodium. But it tastes so good when I'm hungry late at night. To make it even yummier, I drain the noodles, put a little butter on them, and sprinkle just part of the seasoning packet on it-no more than half. Then I try to eat one noodle at a time, winding it around my fork. Yes, I know...weird. But effective!

Spear-O-Mint Life Savers-They have these in the little card shop in the building I work in. These are fabulous, low fat crunchy things that help immensely when I'm stressed at work. I have been known to go through 2 packs a day. Oh, no! I'm a 2-pack-a-day lifesaver addict!!

Tazo Awake Tea-Ummmmmmm....

Good Earth Tea with Caffeine-Ummmmmmmmm...first thing in the morning.

M & Ms-Plain, chocolate ones. Sometimes I eat a few at a time, others I let one melt in my mouth until the inner, thin layer of coating is really soft, then bite in and get all the chocolatey, gooey goodness.

Cranberry Juice and Sprite-when I'm feeling decadent, yet thirsty.

My homemade pizza-with plenty of fresh spinach, tomatoes, LOTS of garlic, and lots of mozzarella. This is perfect for when I want to tuck in for the evening with my husband, and there's a game on, or something else we want to watch.

Applesauce and saltine crackers-when I'm nauseous. Also works with saltine crackers and Sprite.

I didn't buy any M & Ms at the store. If I keep them around the house, I end up putting them in the refrigerator and eating them cold, which is even better than having them at room temperature.

Any foods that make you feel better?

Award, Part Deux

2008-01-05T12:24:00.000-07:00

I learned something else this week that is absolutely fascinating. Get this...if you don't want to wait until whatever time the postal worker arrives at your business location, you do have an option. You have the option to pay...yes, PAY $700 every six months to be able to go pick up your own mail at the post office.

That's right, you PAY $1400.00 per year to PICK UP YOUR OWN mail and for this outrageous fee, the Postal Service gets to process LESS work (they already have to sort it in order to deliver it, so all that remains is putting it aside for you to pick up). Wow...that must be a long walk to the "put aside" area in order to cost $1400 per year!

The Government Operation Award!

2008-01-02T21:58:00.000-07:00

Howdy Doody, there, folks!

Today I introduce the Government Operation Award! The idea of an award has been shamelessly pilfered from Tori :)'s blog, with apologies and the hope that she will understand that sometimes, stupidity and incompetence is so pervasive, so blatant, that it must be highlighted. Today, I present just such a situation.

The first recipient of the award is The United States Postal Service!

I live and work in a large city, in the central part of the city, really quite near the post office building which is responsible (and I use that term very loosely!) for bringing the mail to its customers, which is pretty much everyone.

Now, silly me, I had always thought that it was the express purpose of the Postal Service to deliver the mail. Since they do this every day, one could possibly assume that some sort of routine would eventually be developed, so that the recipient of the mail could reasonably expect the mail to arrive about the same time each day. HA! NOT!

I have worked at my current company for over a year and a half. When I first began working there, Carl delivered the mail, and he did so at about 2:00 every day. Every day, Carl called me, and I went downstairs to pick up the mail (we get tubs and buckets of mail, so it won't fit into a mailbox and needs to be picked up. We have a note over the Post Office desk in our building, asking the delivery person to call our suite when the mail arrives). Life was good. Then, Carl moved, or changed routes, or something. He had fill-ins for over a year. These fill-ins would last a few weeks, and the mail arrival time would almost fall into a routine, and then BAM! The delivery person would change, and we would start getting mail at 5:45 p.m. Then it would come at 6:00 p.m. Then at 6:15 p.m. I would call the Post Office every day, and every day I'd hear the same story. There was a new person on our route. They didn't know they were supposed to call us (remember the note?) . Or they had had to split up the route and were still delivering. I would point out the ridiculously late hour, and the dork on the phone would apologize, and the delivery person would eventually show up, and then I could go home to my kids.

Recently, though, we were blessed with Sam. Sam brings the mail by 12:30 p.m., even on Monday when it's busy. He's quick and efficient and courteous. His uniform is clean and pressed (which is more than I can say for many of the delivery people we get). Sonny got all the backed-up mail delivered in one week, and then they were caught up (backed-up mail?? Wha?? They can let it just sit there and be, well, backed-up????? Fabulous). But I didn't complain. Every time I see Sam, I tell him what a wonderful delivery person he is, and how we appreciate him so much because now we get our mail on time!

Well, today, Sam was on vacation. I'm supposed to be off work at 4:30 p.m. At 5:00 p.m. I called the Post Office, where the phone-answerer-person said that they'd had to split the route up and the carriers were still out. I waited. And waited. I went downstairs, and outside. And waited in the wind. Finally I went into the other building, because the mail truck was in the parking lot, and he obviously wasn't in our building. I tracked him down in the mailroom for the other building. He had already finished our building. He didn't know he was supposed to call us when our mail was here. I asked if I could get the mail, since I was still waiting for it. He said yes, but to give him 15 minutes. So, I waited. Outside, by his truck, with my cart, because I knew we'd have a lot of mail since they also didn't call anyone to let us know the mail was here on Monday.
He finally emerges from the building, gets my mail, I take it upstairs, and finally get to leave at 6:00 p.m., an hour and a half late. I missed choir practice. My kids didn't get dinner until 7:30.

I don't know how this particular Post Office manages to do such a lousy, inconsistent job. I am ticked off that their ineptitude forces me to leave late and ruins my schedule. But their supreme effort toward this goal earns them the very first "Government Operation Award!"

Sometime before our office closes at 5:00. P.M. But today, and on many occasions

Remember me?

2007-12-27T20:46:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile. Lots has happened, and I wasn't blogging because not only was Christmas coming, I was also having a personal crisis (nothing really serious, but definitely a big change) and needed time to just take a step back and see what I needed to do.

It all started when I did a report on zero tolerance policies in schools. I did a lot of research and suddenly became completely unsure about my future as an elementary school teacher. I am not the type of person who can blindly follow a bad decision, and while I understand the reasoning for some zero-tolerance policies, many people abuse them, much to the detriment of students.

This led to my thinking about the things I would have to do to become a teacher. The 100 hours of my own time I'd have to find to complete the required observation time; studying for, paying for, and passing the teacher's exam; quitting my job so that I could student teach part-time (for no pay), and finally completing my degree, only to find that I make less than I make now. I have 2 kids to put through school, and who would like to continue spending time with me. Once I became a teacher, I would have work to bring home every night (papers to grade, lessons to plan) and continue to go to classes regularly, to keep my certificate active.

And then I thought about the job I have now, with the really great 401K and very impressive pension plan, the great benefits, and most importantly the fact that I love what I do now. Since I moved to Arizona 20 years ago, I have been desperate to go back to Michigan, where I came from. But I realized that I have a lovely home here, great kids, a husband who loves me and with whom I have lots of fun, and we are blessed beyond reason. So I decided that this is my home. If at some point, God decides to move us back to Michigan or somewhere else, then so be it. But until then, I'm going to practice being content where I am.

With all that in mind, I changed my major (and am still completing a degree, just a different one than I originally planned). I am now a Business Management major, and with all that's gone on, I feel like I haven't, in fact, wasted half my life in the wrong career. I feel like I've been getting experience in my chosen field, and somehow, that makes me really happy. I can relax, not having to figure out how I'm going to move us to Michigan. I can continue in the job I have, learning more about the business world as I earn my degree, and have a good life.

It's a relief!

I Knew It! I was right!

2007-12-03T22:22:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't this make a fabulous dining/living room color??

You Should Paint Your Room Red

Dramatic and bold, a red room brings energy.
Your red room will inspire you to try a new activity...
And bring out even more passion for the things you love.

What Color Should You Paint Your Room?

Tori :) Will Be So Proud!!

2007-12-03T22:19:00.000-07:00

Your Christmas is Most Like: A Very Brady Christmas

For you, it's all about sharing times with family.
Even if you all get a bit cheesy at times.

What Movie Is Your Christmas Most Like?

What Kind of Crappy Christmas Gift are YOU?

2007-12-02T17:38:00.001-07:00

You Are Socks!

Cozy and warm... but easily lost.
You make a good puppet.

What Crappy Christmas Gift Are You?

Socks! I'm socks! I love socks!

2007-11-12T22:15:00.000-07:00

I completely ripped this off from Nancy. It looked fun. If you want to rip it off from me (or Nancy ), feel free.

MOUTHOLOGY
Q-What is your favorite fast food restaurant?

A-Del Taco. Try the strawberry shake...really!

Q-What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of it?

A-Tomatoes. Or ice cream. But not together.

Q-What are your favorite pizza toppings?

A-Ground beef, green peppers, and onions (preferably red onions)

TECHNOLOGY
Q-How many televisions are in your house?
A-Three, but one is in our son's room and used for games and DVDs (which are, of course, all approved by his over-protective mother.)

Q-What is your wallpaper on your computer?
A-Ummm...some stock photo that came with the computer, a picture of the Northern Lights (or Aurora Borealis) over a lake in Alaska.

CURRENTOLOGY
Q-Current mood?
A-Tired of school, tired of work; just tired. It is 10:21 p.m., after all!

Q-Currently listening to?
A-Billy Crystal accepting a comedy award on PBS.

FAVORITOLOGY
Q-Favorite number?
A-8. It's fun to write.

Q-Favorite season?
A-Fall.

BIOLOGY
Q-Are you right-handed or left-handed?
A-Right-handed.

Q-Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
A-No, but I fainted my junior year of high school. I'd been sick and was trying to go to school anyway.

Q-When was the last time you had a cavity?
A-Right at this very moment. Who said blogs aren't fabulous-you're experiencing history right now!

RANDOMOLOGY
Q-Is Napoleon Dynamite actually a good movie?
A-Of course! Gosh!

Q-What color do you think looks best on you?
A-Red.

Q-What is in your left pocket?
A-I'm not wearing a pocket. I'm in my nightie. Remember, It's 10: 25! Keep up!

Q-Have you ever saved someone's life?
A-Umm...no. Not that I'm aware of. Maybe my winning personality gave someone a reason to hang on one more day?

Q-Has anyone saved your life?
A-Jesus

Q-What do you want to be when you grow up?
A-I don't want to grow up. But I do want to be a teacher...I think.

Q-Could you live with roommates?
A-I have, but prefer not to. Too bad about that husband and those kids, eh? (KIDDING!!)

Q-What can you not wait to do?
A-Finish school. But I don't think I ever will.

Q-What's the last movie you saw?
A- The Cutting Edge

DAREOLOGY
Q-Would you never blog again for $50,ooo?
A-Ummm...YES! Where do I sign?

Q-Would you allow one of your pinky fingers to be chopped off for a million bucks?
A-No...what kind of sicko questionnaire is this?

LASTOLOGY
Q-Last time you had a run-in with the cops?
A-When yet another uninsured Arizona driver smashed into my car while it was parked outside my house.

Q-Last person who called you?
A-My friend Wendy!

Q-Last person you hugged?
A-My sweet husband.

Random Wednesday

2007-11-07T21:51:00.000-07:00

"Animal Crackers and Cocoa to drink,
This is the finest of breakfasts, I think.

Animal crackers are okay, but those cinnamon-y alphabet cookies are even better with cocoa. I learned that poem in the first grade, I think.

Why does it feel so easy and natural to walk straight past another human being and not acknowledge them, both people keeping their eyes straight forward as though the other person isn't there? That doesn't seem natural to me, and I'm going to quit letting it happen. Just so you know.

I have slowly become a coffee snob. If it isn't "really good" coffee, I don't want any. How in the world did this happen? I'm a Michigan-raised, store-brand, generic prescription type of gal. I've found that I also like Earl Grey tea. It makes me feel content. I have no idea why.

My kids are fabulous. My son is becoming a brilliant musician and artist, while also being incredibly intelligent. My daughter sat at the table tonight adding and subtracting three-digit numbers (in the form of currency, like $8.32) in. her. head. Without the use of fingers, calculators, or paper to write a problem on.

My husband and I celebrate our 19th wedding anniversary on the 19th of this month. We are celebrating by going to Prescott, AZ for this coming weekend. I am excited!

I have started losing track of the many, many projects I have at work. I am interrupted at least 15-20 times per hour. I sit at the front desk, and act as the receptionist for our two companies, plus the administrative assistant for the accounting, scheduling, HR departments, as well as my boss, who is the practice manager. I feel like my head is going to spin around so much some day, it will just fall off and land gracefully on the carpet.

I have a cousin who is with YWAM, a youth ministry-missionary group. I only hear from him when they have financial problems. I don't have much to give, but I told him I'd pray for him and his family. They're adopting a little boy from Guatemala, and in the red tape involved, have gone through what they had saved. I doubt I'll hear from him again for at least a year. Maybe I'll be wrong. I'd like that, too.

I learned this evening (while typing this entry, in fact) that I prefer Wal-Mart brand Hot Chocolate to Swiss Miss. See-I'm still a Michigan girl! Whew!

I hope you've enjoyed this little trek through my thought processes. Have a pleasant tomorrow!

The Sound of Music

2007-11-05T21:46:00.000-07:00

I was thinking the other day, while I was doing something mindless at work like stuffing envelopes, about music. There are some songs that immediately take me back to a particular time and place. Here are a few...

1. Tie a Yellow Ribbon by Tony Orlando & Dawn. I was 8 or 9 years old, maybe younger. I was in our family room/dining room (depending on what year it was) and I had my little portable, orange record player. I would play a little bit of the song, then pick up the needle and stop it, and write the words I remembered. I did this until I had all the lyrics written down.

2. Daybreak by Barry Manilow. My mom would get up with us in the morning, wake us up and fix our breakfast. Generally, this song was playing on the radio on the counter in the kitchen, on WTCM Radio from Traverse City, Michigan.

3. Brothers and Sisters of Mine, a hymn. I was at Senior High church camp, and Lester Ford was drawing the cover page for our camp log (kind of like a yearbook, only for camp). He was a great artist. We were sitting on the picnic table, under the big pine tree in the middle of the campground, with a bunch of other people.

4. America by Neil Diamond. In my friend Laura's living room, playing it over and over on her parents' big stereo, because we thought it was a cool song.

5. Forever in Blue Jeans, also by Neil Diamond. The sixth grade, at some class party or another. I thought he was singing Reverend Blue Jeans, and so did Tony Buffman. He was a kid who always tried to make everyone feel important and valued, even at his age.

6. Afternoon Delight, by someone whose name I can't recall. We were in our camper, in a campground somewhere in southern Michigan, near Ann Arbor. My sister drank lye when she was 3 years old, and for over a year we had to take her to Mott Children's Hospital at the University of Michigan every other week to dilate her throat, which had to be replaced. During the winter we stayed with my aunt who lived near Ann Arbor; in the summer we camped. That was the campground where I learned to swim (there was a lake).

7. Kiss You All Over by Exile. There were a group of us who made it into the spelling bee, and we were in the back of the principal's van, headed back to school after the bee, when this came on the radio.

That's all I can think of now; though I know there are more. I'll share others in a different post.

The ABC's of Me

2007-10-26T22:04:00.000-07:00

A-Attached or single: Married...19 years next month! And people thought it wouldn't work out!

B-Best friend: Tony, Rhonda
C-Cake or pie: Pie. Blueberry, please.

D-Day of choice: Friday

E-Essential item: My laptop...what did we ever do without these things?

F-Favorite color: Depending on for what, Red, Pink, Burgundy, Blue, or Green.

G-Gummi bears or worms: neither...Kit Kat, please!

H-Hometown: Alden, Michigan

I-Indulgences: Ice cream and sleep.

J-January or July: January...but I live in Phoenix. If I move, probably July.

K-Kids: Two absolutely fabulous ones.

L-Life is incomplete without: the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

M-Marriage date: November 19th, 1988.

N-Number of siblings: two-a sister, Heidi; and a brother, Terry.

O-Oranges or apples: Oranges! One of the "happy fruits (pineapple is the other)!

P-Phobias or fears: Ferris Wheels.

Q-Quote I love: "Pull your pants up, turn your hat around, and get a job!"

R-Reason to smile: counting my blessings!

S-Season: Fall-no matter where I live.

T-Tag: anyone who wants to play!

U-Unknown fact about me: I love my flannel sheets!

V-Vegetarian or meat eater: Yes.

W-Worst habit: Stress.

X-X-rays or ultrasounds: Ultrasounds.

Y-Your favorite foods: Greek

Z-Zodiac: I don't do zodiac. I like giraffes.

She

2007-10-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

It was a dead-air kind of evening; one that wasn't hot and wasn't cold. There was no wind. She'd just come out of Wal-Mart with her two children in tow. God, how she hated Wal-Mart! Yes, the nausea-inducing lights, the football field size of the store, the clientèle who never seem to have mastered the art of pushing their carts on the RIGHT, or actually, any side rather than parking them diagonally in the middle of an aisle. But far more annoying than those problems came at the end of every trip to the store...the 20-minute long checkout line and the demand from some underpaid, overworked employee that she show them her receipt on her way out the door. She'd solved the receipt-at-the-door problem by having her son hand the receipt to the doorway dingbat. She'd managed to hang onto patience the entire 2 hours she was in the store, looking at every toy aisle imaginable and trying to help her children find what they wanted to buy with their birthday money. She'd found the yarn and knitting needles she needed.

All this after she'd spent a solid four hours with her husband and kids, cleaning the back yard. She was exhausted, her feet were killing her even though they sported sneakers, not heels. The cart full, the doorway dingbat satisfied that she hadn't stolen anything, she pushed the cart toward her car, which had been parked miraculously close to the entrance. And then, WHANG!! The cart stopped dead. Thinking she'd run over something, she attempted to back up. Nothing. She tried forward again...no dice. Sadly, she hadn't run over anything. No, the stupid electronic wheel lock had come on. She looked around...there was no yellow line, the traditional marking for such nonsense as locking carts. She was a mere 50 feet from the door. And then, her son saw it. "Look, mom! There's the line!"

And there it was. Maybe three feet long, and near the end of a dark alley on the side of the Wal-Mart store, mixed in with the traditional crosswalk lines, was a yellow line. The merest fragment of the usual thick, yellow line that borders the parking lot.

She lost it. She called information on her cell phone and got the phone number for the Wal-Mart she had just exited. She called the store, and when the poor soul who answers the phone, answered the phone, she heard "Guess What? I'm in your parking lot not more than 50 feet from your door and my cart locked up! I'm standing here in the middle of the road outside your store, trying to get to my car, which is not more than 20 feet away, and I can't, because your cart has locked up! It's bad enough that I have to have my cart searched and my receipt checked every time I leave your store, like some common criminal, and I can never find what I need in less than two hours, and now this! I am tired of being treated this way!"

After a puzzled moment, the poor soul's voice came back on. "Ma'am, I don't even know where you are."

"I'm RIGHT OUTSIDE your door! Not more than 50 feet away! And now I'm going to have to leave my minor children with my cart, go and get my car and block your drive while I load it up! They're just kids! It's dark outside! Can't you make your carts work a little further than 50 feet?"

"Ok. I'm sorry, ma'am. And you know what? Even we employees get searched every time we leave the store, so I know how you feel. I'm really sorry."

She took a breath. "Thank you, and I know it isn't your fault personally. I'm sorry I'm being a jerk."

"That's perfectly alright, ma'am. You have a good evening."

So she went to her car and backed it out of the space. Miraculously, there was no traffic. She drove to the kids, and got them in the car, then unloaded the cart into the trunk and was on her way. She got about a quarter of a mile down the road before she heard a still, small voice talking to her about patience and how people behave in public, especially in front of their children. She picked up her phone and dialed information again. Miraculously, there was an option for being connected with the last number searched for, so she pressed "1." The poor soul came on the phone, and she apologized profusely for her attitude when she called earlier. The poor soul was very gracious.

She ended the call and hung up, and then realized that all those miraculous happenings...weren't. God knew what was going to happen, and let it. He didn't do it because He loves to see people suffer. He didn't do it to punish anyone. His son Jesus took all the punishment that God ever would have had for us, no matter what we do or what future generations do, when he let himself be nailed to a cross and then rose from the dead three days later.

No, He let it happen, I believe, because we are here on Earth in order to learn. Perhaps we're here to learn how to live in heaven. I know I've got a lot to learn..."She" is me.

Foley's Fire Eaters Finally Finish!

2007-09-30T22:53:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not really eating fire. Ick. The title is a reference to a line in the famous and popular movie, "An Officer and A Gentleman," when the platoon (or whatever you call it) that Richard Gere's character is a part of, finally finishes basic training and is on their way to Pensacola to "get jets."

I, however, am done with my independent study class. I'd really like to know how these can be called "Independent Study." 'Cause I pretty much had a set syllabus of what I had to do. I didn't feel free to study butterflies, or wave frequency at Clearwater Beach on the Gulf of Mexico. No, I had to study what they told me (ha, ha).

I figured it out tonight, and I wrote 12 papers of at least 800 words. In 5 weeks. Actually, in 10 days, because I did all of my homework for this class on the weekends, around everything else that's happening in our lives (Tony's grandpa's cancer; the kids in a new school;everybody being sick because it's a new school year and hey, why not; my husband's fabulous book deal; church; choir; and, oh yeah...work.). And I am tired! My husband found me on our bed at 2 a.m. this morning, literally asleep on my laptop. He woke me up to tell me it may be time to put the computer away, and I was so startled that I was like, "I'm up! I'm up! Hang on!" Yeah, right. Then, he gently told me he was going to unplug my computer (because the cord was hanging across his side of the bed, and it of course has an internal battery, and it being 2 a.m. he wanted to go to sleep). I'm like, "Wait! Hold on! I don't want to lose this," at which point he patiently explained to my sleep-befuddled self that it wont' turn off the computer if he unplugs it; the computer has an internal battery. I swear, the poor man had no idea what he was getting into when he married me. I can be such a dork sometimes! :)

But, I am finished. And it is good. Now, I just have a meeting on 10/16 and classes start again 10/23. But for now, a break! From school, at least...

Randomness

2007-09-27T20:18:00.000-07:00

-Have you ever noticed how rude the world is becoming? We're hiring for a position at work, and we scheduled second interviews with three people. Second interview--that's a big deal, right?
Well, not apparently for this one lady, who didn't show up and didn't even call. I left her a message after she didn't show, asking her if I'd gotten the day wrong or if she wasn't interested in working with us. I asked her to call back. She didn't.

-Don't buy toys from MGA Entertainment/Rescue Pets. My daughter (8 yrs. old) did, and the little bone that they put the code on, so the kids can play online, got lost in the flurry. I tried to register without it (there's a website that apparently they can go and play on with the toy they bought), but I couldn't and the webpage said to contact myepets.com. I did, and after ingnoring my first two e-mails, I got irritated with them and sent a stronger e-mail. They wrote back with a form letter that said they had been having trouble accessing my e-mail...yeah...right. They also said in the form letter that the UPC code I gave them didn't match a toy that could go online, even though the web address and the things you can do on website are plastered all over the box. In yet another form letter. And then tonight, I got an e-mail from a person with a name, rather than MGA Customer Service, that matched almost exactly the letter they sent last night, stating they were "unable" to help. So, I e-mailed this information to them, and then they responded that they are "unable" [read, "don't give a crap"] to replace the code. I promised them I'd tell everyone I knew, and though I don't technically know all of you personally, I thought I'd pass it on. If you buy a Rescue Pet, guard the tiny paper bone with your life, because MGA Entertainment has no intention of being customer friendly.

-My kids and I are reading "Harriet the Spy" together. Great book.

-I have purchased Christmas presents for five people already. And it's technically still September. Woo-Hoo!

-I have been obsessed with thoughts about and curiosity with someone from my past for the past two weeks. The last time this happened, the person moved here. Hmm...

-I had my teeth cleaned today. I went in for 2 crowns, but all they could fit in was the cleaning. Next Thursday is crown day. I had a credit of $67, and my bill for today was $62! Woo-hoo again!

-The soundtrack from "Dirty Dancing" makes me happy. ;)

2007-09-20T20:57:00.000-07:00

I was tagged by Jail Diet to do the following...List 5 things that certain people (who are not deserving of being your friend anyway) may consider to be "totally lame," but you are, despite the possible stigma, totally proud of. Own it. Tag 5 others:

1. I made the honor roll every marking period in the 12th grade.

2. You know those letters you get for sports in hight school? Well, I was the first member of my freshman class to be awarded a band letter, which we got by earning points for showing up for band camp at the end of summer, being on time, participating in try-outs for chairs, etc. The stupid thing is, the school wouldn't let us buy the regular jacket that you sew the letters on. No, we had to have cheap black and orange (our school colors) windbreakers. I still have mine.

3. I was captain of the flag squad my sophomore, junior, and senior years in high school. Yes, I was a "flaggot." And a darn good one, too!

4. I was President of my church youth group in 12th grade, too.

5. I made a fantastic apron and at least one really cool long 1970s-style dress (because it was the 1970s) as a member of our local 4H club. I got blue ribbons on them.

I tag Lauren and Tori, having very few blogfriends I am familiar enough with that they may not openly jeer at me in their blogs.

Five Hours in the Penalty Box!

2007-09-19T21:39:00.000-07:00

I'm not a real hockey fan. I just thought it appropriate for what happened today. I woke up this morning with a GINORMOUS neck/shoulder/headache.

I should've known it was coming. I've been dizzy for two days (well, three now), I've had chest pains a lot the past three weeks (I get those with anxiety-at least I hope that's all it is) and have been incredibly stressed out at work. So, Wham-o! Major, life-stopping, energy-sapping headache. For five hours. Couldn't look at light or hear sound. At all. Ugh. Happily, the kids had no school, and their awesome grandma took them canoeing up in Prescott. My fabulous husband got them up, dressed, and ready to go (though these days, they do much of that themselves). I laid there in bed, in agony. I called in to work, then went to sleep. I woke up at 11:00. Still couldn't move until noon.

I must get healthier. I've been hardly eating lunch, trying to keep up at work, and not sleeping enough, trying to be everything else I need to be and do homework.

I did go in to work at 1:30. At least it was something, I thought. My sweet boss called me into her office and told me that I need to let her know if I have too much to do. She knows she runs around like a headless chicken all the time, but doesn't want to make others sick because of it. This is good, because if one more person handed me something they just didn't want to deal with themselves, I was going to rip their arm off. Okay, probably not. But it was tempting.

I am so blessed to work there. But I do have to learn to say NO, or it won't be good any more. I am not a doormat, but I'm letting myself be one by saying yes to everyone who needs help. I also "take on" other people's feelings, and when my boss is stressed, I want to help her and I just figure I will somehow fit it all in. And more often than not, I do fit it in. But I end up hurting myself and my health. N-N-N-N....NO. I can do this. I must do this. Or I will drop over dead from a heart attack.

No.
No.
No.

And now, Deep Thoughts...by Penny

2007-09-17T21:46:00.001-07:00

Have you ever noticed how little quiet is in the world? Media is everywhere; clock radio, TV, car radio, Ipod, CD collection. Different ways to make noise on each noisemaker; CD player/radio/alarm; CD/Stereo; TV/VCR/DVD/TiVo; multiple ring tones; on and on and on. I would love to just sit in a hammock or a rocking chair or lie in the grass and hear...nothing. Crickets, maybe. Bees buzzing by. Watch the clouds and think. Or--gasp!--read a book. In the quiet. With no music or alarm or phone or TV or radio commercial telling me I need to Get Down There Now!! Now!! Now!! and buy a Subaru...anywhere nearby. Quiet. Rest. Peace.

Just a thought...

Peace out...

Back to School

2007-09-08T21:00:00.001-07:00

For me...not the kids. They've been back almost a month now. No, after a much-too-long break, I'm finally back into the swing of things. I say the break was much too long, because apparently I'm not really cut out for long breaks. The first time I attempted college, I went one year and then dropped out for what I thought were good reasons (the college was private, cost a whole lot, and I was in love and wanted to be with my boyfriend, who was leaving after that year). I didn't go back for 20 years.

This past June, I started a break that lasted until last week. And a few days before class started, I freaked out and was already trying to withdraw. I wasn't sure I should be spending this much money on a career that doesn't pay well (elementary education), my kids would need me, I really enjoyed not having to do anything academic for those couple months, I already have a good job that I love, and that has a fantastic 401K, etc.

But I took the class anyway. And as I started writing the two papers I had to turn in by Monday, I remembered...I am smart. I am a good student. And I can do this (I know, it sounds just like Stuart Smalley saying "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me-God, I love Al Franken!). Even though the education system is far from perfect, I can make a positive difference in the lives of those kids I teach.

Now, whether I'll remember all this all the way through the rest of my degree program--who knows. I'll try, and it certainly would be easier if I would!

Time Travel, Guilt-Ridden Thursday

2007-08-30T22:25:00.000-07:00

I'm happily married with two kids, and sometimes, like today, I fantasize about what my life would have been like if I had married some of the other people I dated. I'm a hopeless romantic, who hopes for romance no matter what. Whether it's "smart" or not. And what is "smart" when dealing with romance, anyway? I mean clearly, there should be no abuse and it would be nice if both people were working and contributing both to the relationship and to society. But after that, I don't know that it's really possible to be smart about someone whom you love.

I know now that my husband and I happen to be deeply in love. This doesn't mean that he never does anything to irritate me, nor that I never irritate him. We've nearly divorced three or four times now, during the rough times. But I've discovered that at the core of my existence, there is this deep, basic (as in basal) love for my husband. But still, I daydream about being married to guys I used to date (those I felt deeply for, anyway): Lester Ford, Tim Fults, Danny Doneese. Yes-I am making these names up, but they represent real people who I don't want to hurt--or horrify.

I know life would probably be much the same as it is now. We would probably both work, we'd probably have kids. If I'd married Tim, as was my dream my senior year of high school, I may well have been a mousy, quiet, submissive, good little wife. The girl he married (we're good friends) is quite the opposite and they've been happily married almost as long as my husband and I. Tim ended up joining the military, and really, I doubt I could have lived like that. Don't get me wrong--those people sacrifice so much for our freedoms, and I appreciate and honor every single one of them. I just worry too much, and that's not what those guys need,.

Lester Ford really, really liked me. And he was SUCH an incredibly nice, cute, sweet, thoughtful, attentive (even though we were in high school and lived 70 miles apart), adorable, funny guy. The night we met, I walked into the retreat late, having had to play in the band at halftime at our football game. But when I walked in to campfire (literally, all the kids and staff at the retreat sitting around a fire in the rec hall fireplace, singing campfire songs), Lester stood up and motioned me over to sit by him. He introduced himself, "Hi, I'm Lester Ford--like the car." He told me I looked like Deborah VanValkenburgh, who played in Too Close for Comfort. If I remember right, we went for a walk after campfire (it was a Senior High kids' retreat, curfew was late). I know we walked down to the lake, and he kissed me. He was a good kisser, too! I remember that I couldn't believe that someone his age (he was all of two years older than me) could be interested in me. He would write me letters (we met at a fall church group retreat) and draw these incredibly beautiful, colorful pictures on the envelopes. Long, business-type envelopes with gorgeous drawings done in marker. He played guitar, and was very kind.

The trouble was, he was this wonderful, really wonderful guy. And sadly, really, REALLY sadly, I just didn't feel a whole lot of "spark" for him. Near the end of that school year, I was talking to my mom, telling her that he was great, fabulous, wonderful, and deserved better than a girl who didn't fall head over heels in love with him. She told me that if I felt that way, I really needed to let him know. So I did. And it was heart-wrenching, because I'm not kidding--he was a really wonderful guy and even though I didn't fall head-over-heels, I didn't want to hurt him.

At work the other day, three friends and I were talking. One of the friends has just started a relationship with a guy who adores her, after being burned by a two-or-three-or-four timer. She's amazed that this guy is absolutely besotted with her. My other friend said, "haven't you ever gone out with a guy who has a crush on you? It's fabulous!" It is fabulous. You feel like a queen. But because I'm me, I felt guilty that I wasn't feeling as much as he was, and I let him go. Sometimes, I wonder what it would've been like. Of course, he joined the military too. Maybe I chased guys there??

Danny was this annoying kid I met in the 6th grade. He played clarinet, like me. I thought he was weird. The only good thing about him (I thought then) was that he let me borrow his clarinet case to rest my bass clarinet on when I played it. We had a running joke--he let me borrow his case, and I told him I'd pay him the 2nd Tuesday of the week. In 8th grade, on a day when I was wearing my red/white/blue zip front sweater and standing by the big, putty-colored transformer box outside the middle school, Danny asked me to "go with him," which then meant to go steady. Of course, we didn't "go" many places, being in the 8th grade. He and I had every class together that year. He was my first (through 978th) French Kiss. The first kiss wasn't like that, but it soon developed into that. His family was very Baptist and very concerned about our relationship. They let us do things together (roller skating, birthday parties, one of us spending the day at the other's house occasionally), but on the last day of band camp, before the first day of 9th grade and high school, he broke up with me, saying that he still wanted to be friends. I was too shocked and hurt to respond properly (it really came out of nowhere, and I was way, WAY too clingy back then), so our friendship (which had developed in the 7th grade) never really righted itself.

I saw him at our 20th class reunion, with his pretty, sweet wife. Had I married him, I probably would have been very happy. But I'm also very happily married now, and I didn't have to join the Baptist church. :)

I guess it's okay to think, to dream, to make up "what-ifs." It bothers me that I do this, yet I haven't been able to quit it, nor have I ever cheated on my husband. So maybe it's a wash. At any rate, it gets me through days like today!

2007-08-21T21:46:00.001-07:00

Tonight was instrument night at my son's school. We went, and as expected, he chose a clarinet. I'm honored...I played that for 12 years! But, like I said yesterday, it's Squidward from Spongebob Squarepants who should be honored...I think he's 9/10 of the reason Ben chose a clarinet!

The first class is tomorrow, and he's so excited. He opened the case about 50 times tonight, just to look at it. It's just a rental, but it makes him so happy! The program the school rents with is pretty cool; any and all rental money can go toward the purchase of a new instrument if/when he gets serious and decides this is for good. But, he can also change instruments if he wants, which is kind of nice, too. A clarinet and a saxophone are a lot alike, so he could change to that, or to drums, which I also think would be totally cool, or whatever. So it doesn't tie the parents into some huge expense they can't really afford, only to have El Kiddo quit 3 weeks into lessons.

I could swear this boy was just born yesterday...and already he's in fifth grade! How??

A Friend Lost, and a Squidward Wanna-Be

2007-08-20T20:06:00.000-07:00

Today's post was a toss-up between faking something happy, or honestly writng something not so happy. Honesty won. It's really hard losing a friend. But I have lost one, apparently.

Weeks and weeks ago, after years of being Ruth's* friend, and after years of hearing her attitude and general outlook on life nose-dive to levels that, to me, were scary, I told Ruth that I cared a lot about her and wanted her to be well. I said that it might be a good idea to see her doctor about her depression and at least consider medication. I thought this was a good thing for me to do, because I'm her friend and I wanted to be honest. I thought I could do this, because she never hesitated to say what was on her mind about what I was doing, or about other friends or people in general. She openly criticized people all the time. And that was when she was doing well. But at this point, her e-mails were full of hate toward whoever she happened to be talking about. I prayed about it, because I didn't want to fly off the handle and be hurtful. And one day, I felt God telling me what to say to her.

The writing flowed out so easily I know I wasn't the only one involved-God was helping me know what to write. I sent it, and later that day, got a very short e-mail back, saying "Your concerns are noted!"

I didn't push it. I thanked her, and she continued to tell me about problems she was having with friends. I commented on it, and always got short e-mails; in one she even said she didn't care to discuss it (whatever we were talking about at the moment) anymore. But I hadn't brought it up-she had.

Then, I went to Las Vegas, the town where she lives, but with another friend because we had scheduled a girls get-away weekend months beforehand. I didn't tell Ruth I would be there, because I also have a relationship with the friend I took the trip with, and even though I agonized over whether to tell Ruth or not, I couldn't find a real way to do so. What could I have said..."Hi, my friend Amy* and I will be there, but we're going to try to check out all the casinos on the Strip (which, to my traveling companion literally meant walking through each one-not hanging out and gambling) and I know you hate casinos and hate the smoke. We're also going to hang out at the pool, which I know you hate as well. And we're going to be on Fremont Street, which scares the heck out of you. Wanna join us?"

See, I thought I was allowed to have more than one friend. I didn't realize I was supposed to check in with every one of my friends to make sure it was okay with them. But apparently I should have, becuase Ruth called while I was gone. My son answered the phone, and when Ruth asked if I was there, he said that no, I was coming home from Las Vegas. And I haven't heard word one from her since, despite a return phone call and several happy, here's-what's-new e-mails. I have a couple different friends who come to Phoenix for various things, and they don't call me every time they're here. I thought that was normal adult behavior-sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do.

So, anyway, I'm down one friend. She was in town this weekend, and of course I didn't hear from her. I'm sure I had to be punished for my trip, see. And that's okay, if if helps her feel better.

It's hard, but I'm still praying for her. Truthfully, I can't see what's going on in her world; it may be totally different from what I think. But it still sucks. I miss the happy her. And I hope she's okay.

On a happier note, tomorrow night is "Instrument Night" at my son's school, for the kids who want to be in the band. He's leaning heavily toward clarinet, like Squidward on Spongebob Squarepants. I'll let you know what kind of musician we have tomorrow!

*=not the real names.

Vacation Pictures!

2007-08-15T20:36:00.001-07:00

At Long Last...some pictures from our Mexico trip!

Mayan Resorts-
Our first day, we went to Mayan Resorts. Sounds odd, I know. See, I (the wimp) was driving as we entered Mexico, and at the border a man waved me over to the side, so I assumed I had to stop. After his 5-minute spiel, I don't know what possessed us to actually give him $20 for all the free stuff he promised us--including our $20 returned to us. We arrived here at 9:30 in the morning, and left (finally! Four salesmen and women later!!) at 12:30, with our $20 and a free bottle of tequila. It wasn't that good, either. Total time-share sales pitch...if you go, you only have to stop at the border when you see a dude in a uniform with a Stop (Alto, in Mexico) sign.

CEDO
This is a museum we visited on our second day in Mexico. It was about 1/4 mile, tops, from the beach house we rented. That's me, in the pink (the big one in the pink). My hair was a mess all week with the humidity. Normally it's curly, but in Mexico, next to the ocean...it was REALLY curly!

We're standing in front of a Fin Whale skeleton. This whale, sadly, beached itself in Rocky Point in 1985.

Hermit Crabs-

One of the neat things about Rocky Point is that low tide and high tide are very different. Early (5:00) Tuesday morning, I went out to the living room to look at the ocean, and the water had receded probably 150 feet from where it had been the night before. I immediately remembered the tsunami in the Indian Ocean, and promptly woke up my husband to ask him if we should worry about this. We decided to go back to sleep, and it was a good thing. The water being back that far is normal for Rocky Point, and when it recedes, there are sand bars all over the place near the shore. This picture is of hermit crabs, which were plentiful around the sand bar in front of our house. They're really cool! They hide in the shells (the white, long one above was named Jenny by our kids) and scuttle around in the sand when they want to. You can pick them up and they'll peek at you, but I've never seen one come all the way out of the shell. We found and played with (and put back in the water) several over the week.

The Beach toward Old Town, from in front of our house.

The cutest boy in the world, in the hole he dug.

The cutest girl in the world, playing "Trouble" with wet hair.

Parasailing--Aaaaaahhhhhh!
I can't wait to go again!!

5 Things Meme

2007-08-12T22:08:00.000-07:00

I totally and completely stole this from Lauren, because it's been a LOOOOOONNNNNNNNGG day and I needed an idea for a post.

Five things I was doing 10 years ago
1. Being a mom for the first time...our son was 2 months old!
2. Working at American Indian Art Magazine.
3. Freaking out about being a mom.
4. Watching WAY more TV than I do now (hey, you gotta do something at all those night time feedings.

5. Buying our first car with air bags.

Five things on my to-do list today

1. Go to church.

2. Plan and pre-cook dinners for the week.
3. Go to bed by 10:00 (oops!)
4. Set alarm for 6:00 a.m. (ugh! I'm SO not a morning person) to get the kids up and ready for their first day of school tomorrow.
5. Nap (I did, sort of, while watching "Spanglish."

Five snacks I enjoy

1. Cheese Sticks
2. Applesauce cups
3. Cookies
4. Wintergreen Lifesavers
5. Ice Cream

Five things I'd do if I were a millionaire
1. Pay off my house.

2. Pay off my parents house.
3. Go to either Mansfield, MO or DeSmet, SD to study Laura Ingalls Wilder in depth.
4. Pay off my cars.
5. Get my entire extended family together for a big, super-fun vacation.
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Five things I'd never wear again
1. Bell Bottoms
2. Those see-thru, colored (mine was purple) raincoats of the 80's...so HOT!
3. My band jacket
4. My "senior key" necklace that I thought was so important to have.
5. Leg Warmers (at least I don't think I would).

Five favorite toys
1. Computer
2. iPod
3. My Kitchen Aid Mixer
4. Cell Phone
5. the TV in my room

We're Baaaaaaaaaack!

2007-08-10T19:57:00.000-07:00

Hola! Como Estas!

A good time was had by all in Rocky Point.

BTW, a big THANK YOU (see--it's big!) goes to Kayelyn, who translated my "see you in a week" into Spanish. See the comments of the post before this for the correct lingo.

I learned a few things in Mexico. First, you don't have to pull over at the border at the first guy who waves you to the side of the road. Silly me, I was driving in a foreign country and thought I should do what he said, since I was at the border. Nope. He was selling time shares. But he didn't say that, he said there was a new hotel and they'd like to have people go see it and spread the word about it, so they were offering us a free breakfast, a bottle of tequila, and a sunset harbor cruise. Then, after his 5 minutes spiel, he says he needs $20 to guarantee we'll show up. We did show up, and it was indeed a lovely breakfast and a lovely resort. But it wasn't a hotel, it was one of several resorts run by Mayan Resorts, wherein you buy something that sounds remarkably like a time share. But they swear it's not one. Four hours later we left, having purchased NO timeshare, with a bottle of tequila and our $20 returned to us as promised, and only after having spoken to no less than four sales people. We didn't get the promised harbor cruise (surprise, surprise) because we didn't have a major credit card (we travel with our debit cards because we have one credit card that is empty and is STRICTLY for emergencies). This lovely company has "plants" all over Rocky Point, too; we were asked at least twice in old town Rocky Point the day we were there. They're friendly, they give you your money back, and we got the tequila (which is only okay, not fabulous, by the way).

Things improved a lot after that. We saw a marine museum with the enormous skeleton of a whale who sadly beached itself in Rocky Point in 1985. Right in front of our condo (100 yards, max) was The Ocean, or, rather; The Gulf of California. Whatever. It was awesome. We spent mucho time on the beach building castles and playing in the waves. On Wednesday we lost power for a little bit, so we decided it was the perfect time to go in to "Old Town" and do some shopping. We did that, and we also found a nice restaurant and bought our only meal out there. While we were there we also got a great recommendation for a place to go parasailing, so Thursday we went parasailing. When I say "we," I mean all of us--they actually let the kids go, and the kids wanted to go. It was awesome!! I would do it again in a heartbeat! We went in two tandem set-ups; Ben and I went first, then Tony and Julie. We ended up sitting, literally, in these harnesses so it felt very secure and safe. We also had life jackets on--serious ones! It was almost like when I fly in my dreams, except there was a 10-year old in front of me, smacking into me every now and again (it's harnesses strapped to a parachute, not a Cadillac). When we got off the boat afterward, we were walking to our car and saw dolphins in the harbor! I think there were two of them. They surfaced every once in awhile for at least 10 minutes, right in front of us. Well, we were on the shore, but still...very cool!

Every night I read my book, and we sat on the deck and watched the stars come out, and played games with the kids, and slept really, really well. The afternoons, from about 1:00 to 4:00, were really hot-over 100 degrees, with 100 percent humidity...ugh! I read a lot in the afternoons, and napped under the fantastic air conditioning vent that was directly over our bed. I got through my book 1.5 times...I love this story! It's just a romance novel, but it involves small towns and country music, too, and it's just happy and fun. It's one that I have kept for several years to re-read. It's called Small Town Girl, by LaVyrle Spencer. Totally dorky, but that's me!

I will hopefully have pictures to share in the near future. Right now they're all on my husband's laptop because we just got home today. Also, for you Good Mailers, I haven't forgotten you. I've just been busy prepping for the vaca and all.

It's good to be back!!

Adios Para un week

2007-08-04T22:07:00.001-07:00

Yeah...sorry. I don't know the Spanish word that equates to "week." We're almost all packed and it's only 10:15-ish the night before! A record, for us.

Take care, all, and have a fabulous week! I'll miss you!

Heidi-Ho There, Neighbors!

2007-07-31T22:07:00.000-07:00

This week I got some awesome Good Mail! Tori sent me some adorable note cards, and Jennie-Boo sent me great little packets of foot scrub, lotion, and soak, plus a wonderful little emery board. I feel so loved...thanks, gals!

I'd post pictures, but my husband is using the camera today and I can't draw that well :) so I'll try to post them later this week.

This week we're getting ready for the big exodus out of our homeland, i.e., our vacation to Mexico. I am starting to really, REALLY look forward to five days on the beach!

I may have mentioned this before; if I did, I'm sorry. I may try to go parasailing. I'm scared of heights, but in many of my dreams, I seem to be flying. I can't think of anything else that could produce that same feeling, so if it's reasonably priced and if I'm not too fat and if I don't chicken out, I'm going to try it.

Did you ever buy yourself new crayons and a coloring book? I did that this weekend, while shopping for school supplies for the kids. I love the smell of crayons, and coloring is so relaxing. Often, though, I'll just keep the crayons and use my kids old, broken ones so that I can keep the box looking pretty and the crayons all their original, perfect shape. Because once you start coloring with them, of course the shape of the tip changes, and then all the crayons don't match. Yes, I am crazy. Thanks for asking. :)

I hope you have a fabulous Wednesday. I'm about to go to bed and speed up my fabulous Wednesday, so that vacation time can get here sooner. I almost don't even care if we go to Mexico; just the idea of not having to get up and be somewhere by a certain time is sounding more and more heavenly!

"Our" Mexican Villa

2007-07-25T19:45:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to the beach house we're renting in Mexico...

http://www.oceano-rentals.com/property_details.asp?vid=mariposa_big.mov&P=LO123

What the H(@#)Q@$&! is wrong with me today?

2007-07-24T21:27:00.000-07:00

Did'ja ever have one of those days? I did. Today.

It started Sunday, actually. I went to church, stopped at Wal-Mart on the way home (which may, in fact explain everything...Wal-Mart often makes me insane). I went home, put the groceries away, and decided to lie down for a few mintes before starting to paint the touch-up stuff in the bedroom and the hallway. I laid down at about 2:30, and woke up at 5:30!! So much for painting.

Then, I couldn't sleep. Which is nowhere near like me...I can ALWAYS sleep. Except Sunday night. The kids and Tony have been gone backpacking since Saturday, and I just didn't feel tired...or relaxed enough to sleep. Finally at 3:00 a.m. or so, I went to bed and watched TV until who knows when. I woke up at 5:30 with a blinding headache and nausea. I didn't go to work Monday. Instead, I slept and/or laid around being all lethargic until about 3:30 in the afternoon.

Today I went to work. Big mistake. Huge. I still hurt all over and am grumpy as all get-out. Then I find out that the courier that picks up from us on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday each week apparently has gone over the edge. He's very full of himself, and although he works for a courier company, not us directly; he takes it upon himself to change our delivery schedule and tell me what to do as though he's my boss. Yesterday, when I was sick, he apparently insisted on parking in the wrong area, where he's been asked not to park. Then he got into it with a security guard who approached him and was incredibly rude; rude enough that the security director for the plaza I work in came to our office and talked to the other admin about him.

Now, you'd think that this would be evidence enough for my boss to listen to us about his attitude and work habits but, bless her heart, she thinks he hung the moon. She loves everybody and is really a great boss. She tries to find the good in everyone and encourages us all to. And usually I don't complain about people, but in this case I felt it was necessary to bring it up. She says she'll talk to him...we'll see.

I have a desk that, with the CPU for my computer, my monitor, my phone, pen cup, and stapler on it, has about 1.5 square feet left over for work space. And today, everybody felt the need to set their crap on it while they went on to other things, leaving me to deal with their stuff in addition to mine. 'Cause I have time for that.

Then there was the meeting this afternoon. It was a conference call, but I didn't know that because no one, including my boss and the other admin, thinks to tell me anything. I'm at the front friggin' desk, people...wouldn't it be nice if I had a clue what is going on in the office so I can help people when they walk in the front door? But, no. I didn't know. And, it was a conference call where people are supposed to call a toll-free number and enter a bridge number. The other admin leaves at 4:00, and at 4:25 I got a call from a meeting participant needing the bridge number. I don't have this info, so I call the other admin., who tells me the practice manager has it, and she's setting up the call. But she's really not setting up the call, because no one friggin' knows the bridge number (why we have to bother with the whole bridge number thing is beyond me, too. Every participant in the meeting works for us, but are in different offices. We have a conference phone in the conference room...I don't know). So, I call the other admin again, who tells me that she has the bridge number in her e-mail. I go break into her computer and get the info, and the stupid meeting starts.

By this point I'm wondering why I'm still at this stupid, lame company anyway and I can't move to another position because I don't have the right experience (even though I was told I didn't need it when I decided to apply) and I'm wasting my life in this stupid desert and raising my kids where they can't even go outside and play because we're in the stupid city and it's hot and humid and my stupid hair is frizzy and driving me nuts and I have to go to Mexico for a vacation and I don't even want to but my husband does and how do we know we won't be in some stupid non-working house that has holes in the roof and no air conditioning and the ocean looked close enough to the patio to be a tsunami and we're probably going to all be sucked into the ocean anyway and I need another nap and why in the world have I not progressed in my career beyond stupid receptionist work and...yeah. REALLY rational stuff. See? I shouldn't have gone to work today. I must've been a total JOY to be around. But I was, in fact, really pleasant to everyone all day, until the last hour, when everyone was ensconced safely in their little meeting and I could feel free to slam drawers and folders on desks and mutter and complain quietly. Hmmph!!

And, when I came home, I still felt sick. I think I really was/am sick. Because I've been much happier than this lately. Just not today.

Some days you're the windshield, some days you're the bug.

And, I think there's a limit to how long I can be without my family. I miss them.

Vegas, Baby!

2007-07-20T20:27:00.000-07:00

Hi, there!

I'm back! I've been back since Sunday, but in typical Penny form, I haven't posted. Oh, didn't I tell you my name is Penny? It is. It's not Penelope. I was grateful for that. I was also very grateful to my mother, who insisted that they NOT go with my father's choice for my name...Effie Mae. Yeeeeaaaaaaahhh. I like my name. Not everyone has it. I wish I had red hair. I have reddish highlights in the sun, but my hair is brown. And a little gray here and there. But I digress...

We had a good time in Vegas. If any of you go, I would strongly recommend staying and hanging out on Fremont Street. It's the original "strip," I guess, but it is much smaller than "The Strip." It's also not as mobbed and crazy.

We stayed at the Golden Nugget. The pool was awesome! It was doughnut-shaped and in the middle was the shark tank. Above the whole works, and through, was the water slide. I went down once and nearly passed out. The instructions said to lie down with your arms crossed over your chest. Yeeeeaaahh...if you want to go down the slide at 65 mph and have water spraying into your face so that it's difficult to breathe. It looked too small to sit up in, and I'm a little claustrophobic, which I'm sure didn't help! I should have done it again, in more of a sitting position. I'm not usually afraid of stuff like that, but I'd spent all of breakfast looking up at the slide tube, thinking, "that doesn't look big enough to sit up in."

I was going to treat my friend and I to pedicures, but they were $65 each--ahh! I'm used to paying $16.99. We each got a massage in the Aquamassage machine at the Stratosphere, instead. We also went up into the top of the Stratosphere to the observation deck. It was neat. I think it's something like 1,000 feet up. My ears popped in the elevator! We then took the monorail to the far end of the strip and started our intended trek, which was to walk through all of the casinos.

Did I mention the Strip is large? We made it about halfway. We stopped for dinner/breakfast at 1:30 a.m. and decided to go back to our room, because we had to drive back the next day. I can honestly say that once you've seen one casino, you've pretty much seen them all. Tables, machines, smoke, loudness, flashing lights, cocktail waitresses. Yup, that's it. I can live without seeing every casino in Vegas. It's cool. Next time, I'm going to slow down and enjoy myself more. By the pool. Or reading in my room. Or playing my penny- and nickel-slot machines (the most I'll play is a nickel...I'm a serious gambler, man!). Or hey, maybe I could see a show next time.

My son is sitting next to me drawing the foundation for a house. He's decided he wants to be an architect. Cool!

My kids and husband are leaving tomorrow for a backpacking trip on the Mogollon Rim in
Arizona. They'll be gone until Wednesday. I'm planning to nap, knit and watch movies, and perhaps paint the hallway and living/dining room. 'Cause I'm exciting like that. Oh, and I'm going to shop for comfortable shoes. I nearly killed my feet last weekend, walking all over Vegas in my $13 Wal-Mart Special shoes. Ow!

Well, speaking of Ow!, my lower back and left arm have been hurting all day, and it's time for another hot shower. Be well, do good, and I'll see you back here soon!

What Happens in Vegas...

2007-07-12T21:08:00.000-07:00

...when I'm there probably won't be nearly exciting enough to hide from anyone. I'm headed there with my friend tomorrow, for a wonderful weekend!

I heard our hotel (The Golden Nugget on Fremont Street) has a fantastic pool. There is a shark tank next to the pool, and the pool has a waterslide that somehow goes through the shark tank. I don't know...I'll let you know when I get back. Because, almost 40 or not, I'm goin' on the waterslide!! There's also a swim up bar. I haven't had a Pina Colada since 1993, but I may this weekend! I'm not sure I can resist having something at a swim-up bar sometime in my life! In other news this week...

Computer Hackers Suck! Yesterday I was sitting at work, talking to a co-worker, when all these little error-message-looking boxes kept coming up on my monitor. I mean, like 50 or 60 of them, one right after the other. It was kind of like when that lady in the Southwest Airlines commercial opens the "Pink Slip Virus" on her work computer. Except I hadn't opened anything. I was without a computer all day while our ever-so-patient and kind IT guru worked on it.

The kids came home from camp! I missed them. They had a great time and made fabulous crafts.

We (okay, my husband) installed two new toilets in our house. Bless his heart, he put the first one in, then turned around and said "I wonder if I can fix this sink." He turned the faucet on, and the handle broke off in his hand, spewing water all over the bathroom. I went to Lowe's to get a new faucet, and while I was gone, he thought he'd put the other toilet in. He got the old one off and started to attach the new one to the floor, but apparently there's an iron ring that is in the floor, that the toilet is supposed to attach to. It came out of the floor. So, the plumber came out and basically stopped the bleeding, we went to Motel 6 for the night (it was 9:30 when the 2nd toilet went awry), and actually got a good night's sleep! The next day, with a new iron ring in, the toilet attached just fine. The sink is still an issue, but with the bleeding stopped and with two other bathrooms, we're just leaving it be for now.

I had an evaluation at work and got a nice raise. I'm so blessed to be there!

I learned that sometimes friendships die, and sometimes they just need a break. I'm not sure which of those choices is happening with one of my friends, but it's okay. I love her anyway, and we'll be okay someday.

But now...a much-needed break in Las Vegas!! We leave tomorrow at 11:00.

Have a good weekend!

The RGBAs!!!

2007-07-12T20:37:00.000-07:00

I couldn't think of a title for this blog entry, and I wanted to get right to it...so, here "it" is. First, I was blessed enough to be honored with a "Rockin' Girl Blogger" award from Jail Diet! (I am still excited. I changed my template to match--we can't have a clash-y blog, now!) Her blog is totally cool and I love reading it. She's a smart, fun, happenin' chick! Thanks, Jail!

I now have the honor of bestowing this award on others, If you've already received one, you must be really cool! Here's to:

Busy Bee Lauren. She's fresh and funny, yet deeply thoughful too. She writes really well and many of her stories get me laughing! She's a talented interior designer and has already won at least one award. She's educated me about shower gel and lotion, and she usually brightens my day. Thanks, Lauren!

A Dress A Day. I used to sew dresses when I was in elementary and junior high school, with my 4-H group. Since then, I haven't been much interested in sewing...until I found this blog! She is a talented seamstress who has the ability to make sewing, dress design, and the pros and cons of fabric fun and interesting. I find myself seeing dresses in a whole new way, now, all because of this blog. A Dress A Day is by Erin McKean, who is also a dictionary editor. There is a really official job title for that, but I can't think of what it is and can't find it on her blog. Check her out on Amazon.com, too!

My Salome Nature. She hasn't posted in awhile, and her most recent post is kind of sad. But I've heard from her very recently, and things are looking very much up. She's a fantastic mother who cherishes her son and is doing a fabulous job raising him. Her posts are from the heart and they ring true. She's a deep thinker and, I imagine, would be fun to get to know in person.

My Life-Just pretend you're interested. Another fantastic mother. She has such a beautiful family and cares so genuinely and so deeply for each of them. Her blog is funny, creative, and VERY musical!

Congratulations, all of you, and thank you for brightening my days!

Freedom!

2007-07-06T21:19:00.000-07:00

Ahh...hear that?

Listen...

What do you hear?

Nothing! It's great! It's just me and my husband (well, okay; and the cats and dogs and fish) at home. Our kids went to family camp with their Grandma! Five quiet days, and four quiet nights.

Of course I love my children. I love them beyond reason. But it's still nice when I have time for myself. I may go see a movie tomorrow (I hear "Knocked Up" is funny), I need a swim suit for my trip this weekend, so I'll be finding that tomorow (see, I'll need comedy after that!). And I'm sleeping in. And watching as much television as I want, even if I don't go to the movies. I need to just chill. And this weekend, until Tuesday night, is perfect for that. It came at a much-needed time. And yes, I already miss my kids. But they'll be back. And I'll be here. And it'll be good.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...

Happy Monday, Everyone!

2007-07-02T21:39:00.000-07:00

I got my grade for the 2nd half of Math for Elementary Educators tonight...an "A!" I'm still freaked that I'm getting good grades in math...two Bs, and now two As! I can live with that!

In two weeks I get to go to Las Vegas with a friend. She got us a free room at the Golden Nugget on Fremont Street with her husband's frequent flyer miles. He works for "an unnamed major defense contractor" and has to fly to Germany or Yemen or California or someplace similar a few times a year. We're planning to just hang out at the pool (not that I have a "hanging out at the pool" body, by any means) and drink fruity drinks with umbrellas and chillax, as the hip kids say. We've both got kids, husbands, and jobs; it will be good to take a break.

Then, sometime in the first 2 weeks of August, we're planning a family vacation to either Rocky Point, San Diego, or Yellowstone Park. We'd love to go to Yellowstone, but it is a long drive and I only have a week vacation for the summer (the rest I've saved for Christmas). I would be completely content going to San Diego because a) we can camp and make it cheap, b) the ocean is there, c) there's a roller coaster on one of the beaches that I haven't been on yet, d) being in California seriously ups my chances of accidentally running into Keanu Reeves (suuuuuure, that's gonna happen!), the hottest man alive besides my husband, e) the ocean is there, f) I love the ocean, g) we can go see the tide pools and look at the ocean, h) Coronado Island-who doesn't love that?, and i) because the ocean is there. Did I mention I love the ocean??

My husband is being completely without opinion, except of course he doesn't prefer San Diego because it can be expensive. This is the first year in a loooooonnnnnnnggggg time that we've had decent money to vacation with, because we've both been working and saving a little. But we have been to San Diego a few times, too. Rocky Point might be fun...who knows?

And, I shouldn't write this down because if I do, it might fall apart, but this coming Saturday I have the house all to myself! Shhhhh! The kids are off to family camp with their grandma (my mother-in-law), and my husband is working. I do not plan to get out of bed until I'm darn good and ready...and I may lie in there and read a book before I get up! I should, and probably will, make an appointment to get my hair cut, too. It's seriously unruly. We'll see what we'll see.

I wish all of you a very Happy Independence Day!! Do the fireworks safely!!

2007-06-26T22:36:00.001-07:00

Today was weird, all around. People saying weird things, weird things happening with our mail that made no sense. Heck, we even got weird mail...about 40 big cardboard tubes with advertising for a local hospital. Do they know how many immunizations they could have given children with the money they spent on that??

I recently applied for another position in our company, and so did my co-worker. Apparently she was offered the job and turned it down because it didn't pay any more than she was already making. Then I was called in and told I didn't have enough experience. Now, this was after I nearly backed out of interviewing for it, but was convinced to interview anyway by the guy doing the hiring. He knew my experience level and said that my attitude and past experience could carry me a long way. He said he could train me, blah, blah, yadda, yadda. But--nope.
See--weird.

I finished Math for Elementary Educators tonight. I have my next class in September, and don't go back to campus until October (my September class is one-on-one with an instructor, via e-mail). I welcome the break!!

There are, of course, good things. Since I don't have a new job, we can go on vacation this summer. I can also take time off around Christmas, which I couldn't if I had this job. Plus, I truly do have a break...I don't have to learn a new job, and I don't have school for a few months.

It's a little painful, but I know God has a plan, and that His plan is better than mine. So I think I'm going to suck it up and keep keeping on.

Happy Weird Tuesday!

Just Another Manic Monday!

2007-06-25T23:44:00.001-07:00

We celebrated our son's 10th birthday this past weekend by way of a camping trip with friends and family. We went to a campground near Blue Ridge Reservoir, about 30-40 miles northeast of Strawberry, Arizona.

It was a fun weekend. I left work Friday, picked up pop and water, picked up the dogs and the groceries from the house (well, most of them, anyway), and headed up "northeast." It was a winding drive up Hwy. 87, but my new ipod kept me company (they are really fun!). I arrived at camp a little after 10 p.m. and we stayed until Sunday afternoon. We hiked, ate too much, talked; there were some ham radio operators in the group and they did their thing, my husband enjoyed his new video camera, and I got to knit a little bit. My nephew had a blast on Saturday, and then vomited all night Saturday night...guess he had the flu.

When we left yesterday afternoon, I suddenly got VERY drowsy, which is not good when one is driving on a twisty, turny road with a daughter in the back seat. I prayed all the way to Payson, where we finally found a McDonald's (I know--yuck, but my daughter likes it and it was fast). I still had to fight to stay awake after we stopped, but it wasn't as bad.

We got home and one of the kids' friends (who was on the camping trip with us) came over to spend the night. The kids were all playing, and suddenly the friend came to me with big, crocodile tears. He said he wanted to go home. The kids were all really tired, actually, after a whole weekend up in the altitude running (literally) all weekend. So his mom came to get him, and before she did, I kept dozing off (while of course, thanking God that we had lived all the way down the mountains!!) waiting for her. And it was the kind of tired where I'd be listening to the TV, which was on, and somehow that would become part of my dream, but not in any way that made sense...I don't know if I'm making sense, actually. But it was weird.

Finally, friend's mom came, and huzbo and I went to bed. Where I continued to dream odd dreams. I woke up feeling fine this morning, and went to work. At about 1:00, I started getting cramps..BIG ones. Almost as bad as labor, but not quite. Then I started getting dizzy, and I got a big headache. Then I started feeling clammy. It was about 1:30, and I told my boss I thought I was getting the flu. She told me to go home, so I did. I was in real pain by the time I got here, and couldn't relieve it whether I was standing, sitting, or lying down. And no, I'm not pregnant. I finally laid down, and then kept dozing in and out, while needing to use the bathroom quite often (how's that for a euphamism?). My head was killing me, so I took two Excedrin Migraine, got a bag of ice, and put it at my feet (I'd heard if you get your feet cold, the blood will rush away from your head to warm your feet...uhhhmmmm, not exactly). Meanwhile, I watched a History Channel documentary about the Titanic, and what angle it was really at when it broke apart before sinking. Eventually I felt better, but it was a rough day! Guess I got the flu from my sweet nephew!

But now it's after midnight, and officially Tuesday, and I have my last class for a few weeks tomorrow night. So I'd better haul my butt to bed. Because as scintillating as my Math for Elementary Educators class is, I still need to get through the day tomorrow. Thanks for reading this far, if you made it. I know I sound like an elderly person, complaining about ailments and such. But hey, if you can't blog about it, then what's the point, right?

Have a pleasant Tuesday!

Time Travel Thursday

2007-06-21T20:50:00.000-07:00

This week's Time Travel Thursday is brought to you by Courage. When you're not sure, do it anyway, and do it with feeling! You were probably right in the first place.

Come with me, if you will, to August, 1985. I was raised in a town of about 400 permanent residents, called Alden, Michigan. An odd chain of events had brought me to the tiny campus of Graceland College in Lamoni, Iowa. I had originally planned to attend Central Michigan University (being from Michigan, and all), but when I went to my final year of church camp, one of my good friends convinced me to change my mind. So, I called Graceland College, asked if I could possibly reinstate the financial aid package I'd turned down a few months before; then called Central Michigan University, coincidentally on the last possible day to get a full refund of my deposit, and told them I wasn't coming. Little ole' me, who had only been out of michigan to go to Cedar Point (an amusement park in Sandusky, OH) and Canada, just across the river from Detroit, packed up my life, left my fairly serious boyfriend who was being wishy-washy anyway, and traveled with the aforementioned good friend and her family to Lamoni, Iowa. Population not many.

But, it was mid-August. Soon, over 2,000 people would converge on the small town in the form of students. I still marvel that I thought 2,000 was a huge number of people. There are probably at least that many within a block's radius of my house.

Graceland College (now Graceland University) is sponsored by the Community of Christ, which was formerly The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. You can see why they thought a name change would be nice, eh? I'd been born into this church and raised in it, and it was cool to be going to "our" college. But when the station wagon with my friend's family in it drove away, leaving my friend and me staring at the red glow of tail lights driving out of the parking lot and into the sunset, it seemed less "cool," and more like the most frightening, stupid, crazy decision I'd ever made. What was I thinking!

It was time for dinner, though, and my friend and I went into the commons. Do you know what a "commons" is? I had no idea. It's Graceland's word for cafeteria or dining hall or place where your food resides. It was named after Floyd McDowell. I guess he must have been a big eater.

So we walk into Floyd McDowell Commons. And there's a line. A big one. Goes all the way to the basement down a big, wide stairway. Since we'll be there for a while, and since I'm scared to death and want my mommy, but she's hundreds of miles away, I decide it'd be a good thing to make friends. I started talking to this boy in front of me. He had on a white tank top with navy blue edging, and across the front, Phoenix Phoenix Phoenix was in navy blue letters. The Phoenixs started higher up on the right side in solid letters, then the middle one was in the middle (huh! who'd have figured?) in a lighter pattern, and then the last one was lower and in a much lighter pattern.

I opened the conversation with some witty repartee:
"Phoenix...that's in Arizona, right?"
The boy was very polite, and said "yes, it's the capital." Then I thought I'd be cool and make him feel like a college student: "you must be a freshman."
"Yes," said the boy.
"And where do you go to school?"
"Here," he said, starting to look at me like I may have been dropped on my head. That day.
"Oh, my gosh! I'm sorry! You just look so..."
"Young. I know. I get that all the time. Nope, this is my first year here."
"Oh." (More witty repartee, as you can see)
"Are you sitting with anyone at dinner?"
"Just my friend, Anna.* Oh, this is my friend, Anna."

We all sat together at dinner, and we had roasted chicken. I remember that, because I had never seen anyone eat roasted chicken like he did. He could have survived three weeks on one piece. He got EVERY LAST BIT of anything resembling meat off the bones. I was amazed. And a little nauseous.

After dinner, we parted ways and got settled in our rooms, etc. Anna wasn't on the same hall as me, but when I went to see her room, I noticed where the bathroom was. Later that night, I went in to take a shower. I thought it was odd that we had to walk so far, even through the lobby of the dorm! But, I'd never to college before, so whatever. I got my shower, went back to my room, and as I did, I noticed the bathroom (complete with showers!) on OUR hall. Oh, well. I hope the parents and students in the lobby liked my mint green terrycloth robe and the towel I'd wrapped my hair in(I was perhaps a LITTLE out of my element!).

The next day I saw The Boy again. He was easy to spot...he always wore a hat. He had mostly colored fishing hats, those that old men wear, cotton with a contrasting stripe. His were all very brightly colored. He also had bright green shorts with the craziest, most colorful patterns on them. This was, after all, the 80's. But anyway, I saw The Boy walking across the lawn in front of Floyd McDowell Commons. He had on a yellow fishing hat with an orange stripe that day. I remember, because when I said hi to him, he tipped his hat! How many people do that anymore? Even then. We decidede to get together with Anna and play Trivial Pursuit that night.

We met in the lounge in the girls' dorm, which was in a loft above the main lobby. We played for a long time, and then talked for a while after that. Anna eventually excused herself to go to bed. She had a job in housekeeping and had to be up early. I had a job at F M Commons and started at 5:00 a.m., but I didn't feel like going to bed yet.

I found a notice on a bulletin board about a drama club forming, so Anna and I went to the theatre for the meeting. After all, I'd loved being in our high school plays. I'd been some type of talent agent in "Seasons in the Sun," and I'd played Frenchy in "Grease." Anna said she'd like to go, and I thought it would be fun. I walked in, and there was The Boy. It turns out he was majoring in theatre.

The three of us were becoming good friends, and hanging around having fun together. We'd play Trivial Pursuit, watch movies or the news together, go to town and see what was going on there (not much, by the way). I've always related better to males than females, and it was fun to have a new friend.

But then, one day, The Boy asked if Anna and I wanted to go to a movie in the student center. I asked Anna, and she said no, she'd better study. We saw The Karate Kid without her. Then there was a mixer/dance on the lawn outside our dorm. The three of us made plans to go, but then Anna had homework to do and about an hour before we were supposed to leave, told me she couldn't come.

I had noticed she "couldn't" get together very often anymore, and when she canceled for the dance, I finally asked her if she was upset. Did she feel excluded? I certainly didn't want that. Was he some jerk that was freaking her out, and I just didn't notice? Anna gave me a look that said, "get your head out of your butt, dummy!" But she didn't say that. She wouldn't. She was a preacher's daughter and she was, if nothing else, kind and sweet and good. "No," she said, "can't you see what's happening? He likes you. You guys would be a great couple." Then I felt bad. I said, "well, I am kind of starting to like him, but our friendship means more to me than a guy..."

"No," she said. "We'll still be friends. I did think I liked him for a little while, but really, he's not my type. He's more like a brother to me. He lights up when he sees you, and you do the same when you see him. I think you two need to be alone."

So, I went to the dance with The Boy. I explained that Anna couldn't be there, and he and I danced for awhile. It was so hot that night, everyone at the dance was practically dripping. The Boy said, "let's go sit for awhile," and we went to a quieter part of the lawn. As he sat down on a road box (from the band playing at the dance-I couldn't tell you who they were), I noticed he was REALLY out of breath. His body was almost rocking back and forth, and he was literlly dripping sweat. I asked him if he was okay, and he said "feel this." He took my hand and put it at the pulse point at the base of his neck--his heart rate was sky high! I'm not a medical person, but it was at least three times the normal rate. I went to get him some water, and by the time I came back, he was fine again.

At that moment, after the crisis had passed, I knew. Like they said in the movie "When Harry Met Sally," I knew the way you know about a good melon. He was The One. It wasn't a magical, star-studded, swelling-music moment. There were no violins. I just knew. It was more than love, it was, as corny as it sounds, a certainty that we were meant to be together.

It took him longer. We had our first "real" date on my birthday, September 14. He took me out for dinner, to The Pizza Shack in Lamoni. He wanted me to try a ham and pineapple pizza. I'd never heard of it, but didn't want to be a drag, so I tried it...it was delicious! Afterward, we went to my dorm to get the presents I'd saved to open, ones sent by my family for my birthday. We walked to the park, and in the middle of the park was a red caboose. We thought it was cool, so we went inside it and climbed around a bit, then I opened my presents from home. I got a pink long-sleeved t-shirt with the words Torch Lake screen printed on it in navy letters from my parents, and a stuffed "Odie" (from the comic strip "Garfield") from my sister. The Boy said he didn't have much money to buy me a present, but he produced a gift bag anyway. Inside the bag was a bottle of Cherry Coke. He'd been around me enough to know that I liked that. I was so touched! I thought it was incredibly thoughtful and sweet of him to do...he'd already bought dinner, after all.

I thanked him for sharing my birthday with me, my first without my family. I was sitting there on the bench, just smiling and thinking how happy I was. And he was sitting next to me smiling...when suddenly we looked at each other, and this was just like the movies...our heads slowly came together until we kissed. It was perfect, the best kiss I've ever had.

We dated the whole year, went to our formals (like a prom, but for college students) together, and were together every spare moment. We did theatre together and he taught me the backstage stuff. We spent hours and hours together doing shows, painting scenery, walking through parks, he came to the football games because I was in the band. And then, in about February, we were in a different park. The snow was melting, and we were by a river with one of those 6 foot diameter galvanized pipes that they use to route a river under a road. I said, "so, the school year is ending soon."
"Yes," said the boy."
I knew he wasn't planning on coming back for the next year, so I said, "It looks like we'll have to part ways."
"I don't want to," said The Boy.
"Neither do I, but what choice do we have? You're not coming back."
"No," he said, "but you could come with me."
"To Arizona?" (By now, I had a firmer grasp on geography.)
"Yes," he said. "There are lots of places to go to school there, and lots of jobs. You could make a living and still go to school."

And so, that's what we did. I packed up my life once again, and moved it even further west, to Phoenix. In November of 1988 we were married, both of us at the wise, ripe old age of 21. And today, almost 19 years later, we are still married. He's still a great kisser. He's a great father to our two kids. I'm just now getting back to school, but that was my choice. He's still working in theatre, as a technical director now. He's still the one person I can really talk to and remain myself, not having to fit into someone else's mold of what I "should" be. We've been through hell and back together more than once. And he still looks young (though being married to me all these years, I don't know how). The Boy is Tony. And he still buys me Cherry Coke when he wants to make me smile!

*"Anna" is not her real name.

Randomness

2007-06-18T21:21:00.000-07:00

We finished painting our bedroom this past weekend. We also got rid of a bunch of junk, rearranged the furniture, and cut out the carpet (not in that particular order, actually). We'll eventually lay down new flooring; perhaps Pergo or it's cheaper, knock-off cousin. No carpet. Carpet and the desert don't do well together. Carpet collects so much dust. It's not good for allergy sufferers, like our entire family. So, carpet is history. For us.

We refinanced our house, and in so doing, learned it appraised for far more than I expected...yay, God! This little gem of information will help us purchase the Pergo. And the three toilets we want to replace, and more paint, and facia board for the outside of our house. And more paint for the outside. And heck, maybe even an automatic sprinkler system, if I can get brave enough to put one together and install it. But we're not doing the outside until fall.

Why procrastinate, you ask? I live in Phoenix. It was 110 degrees today, with temperatures up to 115 expected by the weekend. Happily, we'll be out of town, camping, for my son's 10th birthday. He wanted to. And, it's a heck of a lot of fun! And much cooler, too.

I checked my personal e-mail probably 16 times today at work. I almost bought 2 Coconut Lime Verbena and 2 Mango Mandarin lotions from Bath & Body Works online today at work. There's a buy-3-get-one-free sale going on. But then the total was $35.00 and change, and I thought, nah. There was, obviously, not much going on at work today. Oh, there will be. We've got a 3,000 piece mailing to get out this week. But the other admin, who swore up and down she'd ordered the envelopes for this mailing...didn't. So now I've printed 3,000 labels and...and I'm waiting.

It's kind of funny. I went to a Franklin Covey seminar not long ago because I felt completely disorganized and at loose ends at work. Now I've put everything in my planner, and it's all done. And I have nothing to do. I know I shouldn't actually say that out loud or in writing, because when I do, things start to mysteriously pile up. But you know, after twiddling my thumbs trying to look busy today, I'm up for something to do. So I don't fear writing it down. I may be busy, but at least the dang clock will move! There's nothing more frustrating than being at work with nothing to do. And no, I had no projects that I'd ignored...they were all in my planner and got done! The Franklin Covey course, by the way, was called "Focus." Totally worth your boss's money. It was really, truly wonderful.

Today after work, I stopped at Safeway (a grocery store) to grab a loaf of bread...we were out. I bought my bread and went out to the car. I was kind of in a hurry to pick up the kids from grandma's house, because although she is totally fabulous in every way with them, I don't want to take advantage of her incredible generosity. She really is that great...and she loves my kids like they're her own. But I digress...so, I'm walking through the parking lot in 110 degree heat, which, if you haven't done, sucks. I get almost to my car, and this guy walks out from between two other cars (I really don't think he was trying to sneak, we just both walked that direction at the same time) and says "Ma'am, can I ask you a question?" I didn't expect him and was startled, and then I got really irritated. I snapped, "No!" and then got into my car fast and locked the door. Then I called the store (because the receipt had the number) and told them they had a panhandler in the parking lot.

I am usually not like that at all. I've actually emptied my wallet to give to someone who asked me for money (okay, I don't carry much cash, ever, so it wasn't that big a deal). I'm a big believer in the part of the Bible that says that when we do things for others, we are really doing them for Christ. I've given money to guys at street corners. I did call the police on one street corner guy, but only because he had a baby--no kidding, an actual infant, in a baby seat out in the sun next to him. Then, I didn't feel guilty...you DO NOT EVER sit a baby outside in the sun here. People overheat very quickly, and the little critter didn't even have a hat on! I am telling you all of this not so you'll think I'm a fabulous person. I'm not. But I don't usually get mad and just "snap" like that at people who need help. I don't know what got into me today. I just remember feeling totally vulnerable, and the only thing going through my head, was "Get in your car and lock the door." Weird.

Today I took my kids and my niece and nephew to Bible School. It was wonderful. I called in to work to tell them I'd be late, took the kids, had a nice conversation with my niece (she's 12; the others are between 7 and 10), then stopped at Einstein Brothers for a bagel and coffee, which meant that I actually got breakfast! It's a whole different day when I eat breakfast, take my medication, and take vitamins! Maybe I should do that more often. Only next time, I'm tryingi the medium roast instead of dark. I liked the dark, but it was a bit too...dark, I guess.

Well, it's late and the sleepies are catching up to me. Good night, and have a pleasant tomorrow!

Done!

2007-06-02T19:21:00.001-07:00

Well, I mis-spoke in my last post. I didn't accomplish all that alone...God was there with me, giving me energy and keeping me going!

"We" finished the following:

-primed the ginormous ceiling patch.
-filled the plaster that's cracked next to our bed (plaster is a royal pain, by the way!).
-Decided not to prime that cracked plaster, because it's so thin it doesnt need texturing. I think.
-paint primer on the bathroom ceiling (but I didn't do the window yet. I may, later. The primer is oil-based, and wow, is it strong smelling!
-I'm out for dinner. Then I'm watching movies and knitting, unless I get a big spurt of energy after I eat. Not terribly likely.

God is good. It's a good day. There is a bunch of stuff done in my house, and I feel lots better. And lots more tired. And hungry. But good.

A Productive Day!

2007-06-02T16:55:00.000-07:00

Hello, all you out there in readerland! Today, we're starting the "big remodel." So far, I have:

-made waffles for my son for breakfast (my daughter doesn't like waffles-she had an apple and cheese).
-made lunch.
-patched a hole in my wall which was made by my doorknob.
-spackled that.
-scraped the damaged paint off our ceiling from our roof leak years ago ('bout time, eh?).
-spackled an approximately 3 x 3 foot patch of ceiling, covering all the damaged area, so I can re-texture it.
-killed a cockroach
-killed a very large black widow spider (I was getting the primer paint from the back storeroom).
-primed the former doorknob hole so I can texture it successfully (says the can of orange peel).
-primed some other little holes I filled in "while I was at it."

And I am about to:

-prime the ginormous ceiling patch.
-fill the plaster that's cracked next to our bed (plaster is a royal pain, by the way!).
-prime that.
-paint primer on the bathroom ceiling and window (okay, we have hardly any windows in our house, but by golly, there's one in the bathroom! It doesn't open, it's too high to see out of, and it lets in the ridiculously hot desert sun on the west side of the house, and projects said sunlight to the thermostat in the hallway. Love the window).
-sit and knit and watch movies.

I'll let you know how it goes.

It's Been Awhile...

2007-06-01T18:48:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I discussed my walk with Jesus, the whole reason for the name change on my blog. March, actually. Quite a while indeed.

I was thinking about it last night and started to write about it, but then I my husband came home and I started watching a movie and totally forgot that I was writing. But, here I am now, with a few minutes free before we head to Home Depot (big "project" weekend at the house this weekend), and I wanted to give this a shot again.

As I said in my March post, choosing to follow Jesus has been a great decision for me. It's freeing. I am now a much better "praise-er," and I actually understand what praising God is. I understand what I was missing in my former religion, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. No, it's not the Mormon church, but an offshoot of it. I know you won't believe me; everyone I tell this to can't believe there's a difference. But there is. I won't go into all the differences now, because I want to say that it's also been a fairly difficult thing for me to leave my "religion."

When I was born, my family were members of the RLDS church. I went to the church on Sundays and made very good friends there. Close friends. When I was old enough, I went to church camps with my very good friends I'd made, and in many ways, church camp was the happiest part of my life. I met more good friends there, and I went there every summer, from the summer after I finished 3rd grade until the summer after I graduated high school. It was a beautiful campground called Park of the Pines in northern Michigan. It had three terraces (it was in kind of hilly terrain), and there was the lower level where the campground met up with Lake Charlevoix and where our campfire circle was, the middle level where most of the camp buildings were located, and the upper level that was used mostly for "Reunion," a kind of family camp also in the summer. There was a bathroom up there, and a kickin' swing set (I still love to swing on swings!), and lots and lots of spaces for RVs to hook up to. The baseball diamond was up there, too, but I didn't care much about sports.

I can remember being in the Primary arts & crafts class when I was a little kid. I remember the smell of paste and old, weathered wood that made up the building. I remember the smell of the dining hall, and the clean-but-sticky-from-humidity vinyl tablecloths, the little white plastic butter dishes with yellow daisies on the side that held peanut butter (in case you didn't like what they were serving for dinner, PB & J were always available. This was WAY before peanut allergies!). My friend Lorie and I would sing as we washed dishes when it was our turn for KP (Kitchen Patrol-essentially, doing dishes), and I remember Fred and Michelle playing with the water squirter. Michelle would squirt at Fred's feet, and yell "Dance! Dance!" It was fun. Some old ladies crabbed about the "chain gang" singing in the dish room, so we made fun of them (quietly, of course), and kept singing, but quieter.

At campfire time, it felt almost magical to be there. We were all seated around the fire on blankets, if we brought them, or logs; the water was lapping quietly, and every once in awhile a wave would hit the roller raft just right, and it would make a hollow sound. We'd sing the fun songs first, lots of them. Then we'd move on to rounds and quieter songs, and then we'd sing the really spiritual, worshipful songs. The coals would be glowing by this time, but the fire would have mostly died down. It truly was magical, and I felt very spiritual and connected with God there.

As we got older, of course, we had more free rein as to where we wanted to be on the campground at a given time. The Senior High camp had a lot of free time, and pretty much had the run of the place so long as we let someone know where we were and were back in time for the next scheduled activity. We'd talk, and play board games on the picnic tables outside the dining hall, and play volleyball, and laugh and talk some more.

And then I moved to Arizona. There are, of course, RLDS churches here. Now they're called Community of Christ. But when I got here, in 1986, we were still RLDS. My first summer here I worked as a counselor at a Senior High camp here. And it was awful. There were way fewer kids, yes; but the real problem was that they didn't seem like the kids in Michigan. They were different. They didn't hang around the center part of camp, they wanted to go off in the woods in boy-girl pairs. And yes, there was some of that in Michigan. But not all day long.

Church here was different, too. The congregation here was much larger than the one back home, but I didn't seem to fit in. I tried for years and years, from 1986 until 2002. And I just didn't fit in. Everyone tried to be nice, too; it wasn't that they were mean or unconcerned. But I didn't fit.

So, that's when I accepted an invitation from my friend to go to choir practice with her. And that's why, when I felt God leading me, I left my church. And took my kids with me. I left my life-long religion. And decided to walk with Jesus and accept the fact that I do not have to earn my way to heaven. That Jesus' death provided that for me. That I could stop feeling like I'd never measure up, because I no longer had to measure up.

I miss it terribly, sometimes. Oddly, not the church here in Arizona; the one in Michigan. I miss my friend, who, like me, eventually got married and had kids and we lost touch. I miss Park of the Pines. I miss the roller raft and the dock and the swings, but I especially miss the campfire.

What's New

2007-05-29T22:35:00.000-07:00

Hello, there, and thanks for stopping by! I haven't written in awhile (again). I must get better. But, on to what's new...

My son successfully finished the school year and (I think, though I still don't have a report card) he passed 4th grade. What a year!

My daughter also did very well. She cried the entire night of the last day of school because her beloved teacher for 2nd grade, Ms. Richter, is leaving to move back to Iowa. She is a fantastic teacher and taught both of my kids. We will miss her dearly.

My husband has taken a week off and is hiking Pariah Canyon in Utah. He's probably actually sleeping as I type, but during the day he and two of his lifelong friends are hiking.

I got an A in Math 213, Math for Elementary Educators. I'm a happy camper. Now there's one week down, four to go in Math 214, Math for Elementary Educators and I'm done with math!! Woo-hoo!

I'm shamelessly stealing from Tori and making this day Time Travel Tuesday...Tori blogged about her first date with her husband; I'll post about my first actual date to "mix it up."

Let's travel back to October, 1982. I'm a sophomore in high school and only 15 instead of the 16 years old my dad would have preferred for my first car date...especially with an older guy. But, older guy's dad and my dad worked together, so he relented.

It was (I believe) a homecoming dance. My date's name was Jim. I was kind of freaked, yet excited, because here was a guy 2 years older than me asking me out (okay, I know...no big deal now, but in high school it is a big deal. At least in my world). I was on the phone with his sister Jackie, who was a good friend of mine, and he started teasing me through her, as big brothers are wont to do. He accused me of chasing David, a guy I'd hung around with a lot (though not dated...egad! My father would have a fit!!) in 8th grade. I said, through the ever patient and kind Jackie, that I had not chased David, rather David had chased me. Then Jim got on the phone, and said something about why didn't I chase him, and would I like to go to the homecoming dance with him.

I can't remember how I got permission to go, but I did. Then I got lectured non-stop from that day until the dance about proper date behavior. The guy must come to the door; I was not allowed to go out with some jerk who honked his horn in the driveway and expected me to show up. I must be home on time, and he should walk me to the door...etc, etc. Yes, dad. Geeeeeeeesh!

The day of the dance I was babysitting, and I remember being worried that the people I was working for wouldn't be home in time...but they were. I went home and got ready. I wore a
mid-calf length denim skirt and a long-sleeved baby blue cowl neck (the really droopy version of the turtleneck where only the neck part droops; there is still ample coverage because the shirt itself [not the neck] doesn't droop).

Our class had recently gotten the class rings we ordered, and I remember loving the fact that my ring (with a fake-esque sapphire stone) coordinated with my outfit. Jim came to pick me up and we were both nervous the whole ride to the school, which was 12 miles away. At least I was nervous. He said, "don't you hate first dates? It's so hard to know what to talk about." This, at least I hope, loosened me up a little bit. He may not have been nervous at all, come to think about it. He may have just wanted me to feel at ease.

I don't remember much about the dance except for the fact that he held my hand while we were taking breaks from dancing. His class ring (also with a fake-esque sapphire stone, by the way) started cutting into my finger, and I asked him if he'd move it to his other hand. He did. I guess we danced, but I don't remember much about it.

This I remember, because it was so goofy and funny. After the dance, he took me to the local pizza place (it was a small town and had only one pizza place). We laughed and talked and had a good time. Eventually there were only two pieces of pizza left, and he asked if I wanted another one. I said maybe a small one. He took one and left one for me. But the pizza was on one of those metal stands in the middle of the table, and I really couldn't see "my" slice very well. I picked it up, and it had to be at least 1/3 of the pizza! I was embarrassed for a second, but then he laughed at me and I started laughing. It was funny. I didn't finish it.

He drove me home, and I thanked him for the evening and reached for the door handle. He called my name, and when I turned to look at him, he kissed me. It was a soft, nice, but not too fast kiss. Then, he walked me to the door, and said he'd had a very good time. He gave me a peck-type kiss at the door. Then he went home.

We ended up "going together," if anyone reading this remembers that term. He wrote me sweet notes which I saved for years but have now lost, he bought me a beautiful opal ring that I still have, and bought me a beautiful heart-shaped box of candy for Valentines day with a nice card. I kept his notes in the candy box, and am really still a little bummed that I lost them. He eventually wanted me to sleep with him but I wouldn't, and near the end of the school year, which was his senior year, he broke up with me. The next morning at 6:30 I was outside feeding and watering the dogs (we were early risers, having to catch the bus to school by 7:15) when my mom said the phone was for me. He said he'd been an idiot, he loved me, and wanted to get back together. We did, but in time he still wanted to sleep with me and I still wouldn't, and the school year was almost over, so we broke up for good.

Of course, I ended up with the man of my dreams, to whom I've been married for 18 years. He's way cool. I'll tell you more about our first date another day, because I must, after all, get my beauty sleep!

Hysterical Fear-mongers

2007-05-16T20:33:00.000-07:00

Good evening from the "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore" desk.

Have you ever encountered an idea that had been generally accepted by everyone, and you realized you'd gone along with others in being accepting of it, only to realize that it made no sense whatsoever? I have. It's the famed "zero-tolerance" policy that pops up now and again. It's WAY out of hand.

I suppose zero tolerance policies have their place in the world. I have zero tolerance for my kids running into the street, in front of an oncoming car. I don't, however, have a zero tolerance policy for my kids' running. They can run (safely) all they want. Running is not the problem. The street is not the problem. The car is not the problem. The problem is slightly more difficult than that to discern, but it can be done, with some thought...the fact that they don't see the oncoming car is the problem.

Schools (a staff member of which I may someday be) are famous for zero tolerance policies. There is zero tolerance for drugs on campus. It sounds good, right? Drugs at school can't be good...or can they? 18-year-old Anne is old enough to vote, can legally get married, can choose to enter the armed forces and fight and die for her country, yet she can't bring Tylenol onto her high school campus to relieve her headache. 12-year-old Ashley can walk her little brother home from the bus stop, enter the house with her own key, start dinner for the family, and help little bro with his homework, but she can't bring aspirin to school for her sore knee (she's on the track team). Zero tolerance, after all.

Are kids getting all hopped up on Tylenol and aspirin? Nope. They're getting hopped up on crack, meth, coke, and other illegal drugs. But administrators adamantly cite the zero tolerance policy. I guess it's too difficult for them to discern the difference between meth and Tylenol, so Susan and Ashley are in for it. And, by the way, the kids getting hopped up on meth are still getting hopped up. They just know how to get around the rules. Too bad for the kids who just need an aspirin. And when we ask why meth and crack and pot are still in use at school? Well, my goodness! The administration is overworked! (yeah...what with all the tylenol they have to confiscate...)

You know, when I was in high school, I borrowed aspirin from a friend. Our lockers were right outside the principal's office, but it wasn't a big deal, because back then, hysterical fear-mongers were NOT allowed to run the country. People could actually use their brains and think! Imagine that!

And yes...there's a reason for my rant and rave tonight. Two weeks ago, my husband called me at work and said our son was serving an in-school suspension for making a paper sword. Apparently the principal had tried to call my cell phone, but it was out of charge. Oddly, I've repeatedly asked them to call my work phone during the day because my cell phone is in my purse. I have a headset at work and hear every call come in. But, they "forgot."

I spoke with the principal, who said my son was waving the sword in a threatening manner (I know...paper shouldn't be threatening, but we're dealing with hysterical fear-mongers here). Now I've been called to school RE.PEAT.ED.LY. this year to pick up my son when he's committed infractions like not stopping his swing in mid-air to avoid a collision with a student who purposely walked in front of him to cause trouble (as described to me by the principal); for coloring on another boy's shirt (who was also coloring on my son's shirt), for taking the insoles out of his own shoes, and various other times. And I. Have. Had.It.

I said to the principal that I had been perfectly willing to come to school because I am a supportive parent. I want my child to behave. I want him to learn. I support the teachers. But frankly, I also have a job, one which I cannot quit in order to sit next to my son all day every day, to ensure he does what he is supposed to do. I just can't. At some point there has to be some classroom management. And I suggested that when he is sent to the office from now on, that the principal not reward him by playing chess with him. Hell, I'd go to the office at every opportunity too, if the principal played games with me!

I have since been calling the school every day to see how my son is doing. And about a week ago, I spoke with Ms. Clarkson* again. The principal wasn't available, and she wondered the reason for my call. I told her I had questions about the paper sword incident. Ms. Clarkson* told me she had been the one to take the sword away. Jackpot!! I asked her what my son had been saying as he waved the sword. She said he wasn't really waving it and wasn't saying anything. She went on to say that "we made the sword, and put a staple in the end to hold it together." She later "saw him walking down the hall with it, but didn't take it away." Then, she saw him in the classroom pointing it at someone, and THEN she decided it was inappropriate. After "we" had made it and let him walk around with it, suddenly, ZAP! Zero tolerance. Or maybe 0.25 tolerance. Or 0.95.

Weapons in school...bad, right? But, wait! What kind? What context? Wait...do we have to...oh my gosh...THINK? In a school? Use our brains?? Say it isn't so! Oh, the humanity!

Real weapons (actual guns, swords, knives, numchuks, daggers, cannons, catapults, AK-47s)...BAD. A table knife left in a pocket from a Boy Scout campout? Not great, but no reason to clear the campus. Jack knives? Probably not great either, but again, this is NOT a crisis. Take it away, move on with your day, and TEACH THE KIDS. A paper weapon (even a paper howitzer)? Ummm...let's see...we let them use scissors, right? And pencils? Pencils are hard. You could hurt someone with a pencil. Oh, crap!! Maybe we should ban them??

No. Paper is not threatening (okay, unless it's a court summons or something). There should be no zero tolerance measures taken against paper.

Hysterical fear-mongers: try crocheting. It's relaxing.

*=names changed to protect the author from lawsuits by hysterical fear-mongers.

Math

2007-05-15T23:10:00.000-07:00

I had class tonight. I take one class that lasts five weeks, and then start another class. This one is Math for Elementary Educators. I know I've discussed before my comfort level with and skills in math. It's not my favorite subject.

But as I'm going through this class, things seem different about math. I try to figure out much more than I would have dared before taking algebra. I trust myself a little more, and don't whine as much.

The teacher seems to be confused a lot of the time. He doesn't seem to (though he might) know what a lot of the answers are. And in seeing this every week, I've come to the realization that being "good" at math doesn't mean that one knows the answers to all the questions. It means that a person is willing to look for the answers.

All my life, until recently, I assumed I wasn't good at math. And I can do a lot of it, surprisingly. And I hear people all around me every day say that they aren't good at math. What they mean is (and what I meant was) that the answers don't just come naturally to them, and they do to some people. But really, that has no bearing on whether or not a person is good at math. Just being interested enough and committed enough to try and solve the problem makes one good at math.

Who's a Baaaaaaaad Blogger?

2007-05-14T22:51:00.000-07:00

Me. Well, at least, I'm not terribly consistent. Sorry for the lack of posts.

I've been thinking (uh-oh!!!) and it seems to me that I'm not being myself when I post. I'm kind of trying to present a "good" image, and folks, I'm not always good. But when I don't share that, and just try and show the shiny, happy moments of my life, well, then, blogging starts to turn into something like a chore. Which it isn't...or shouldn't be. So I may post something you don't like. Or that shocks you. I want this to be therapeutic, fun, creative. Not stifling. So. Now you know.

I spent the weekend with my friend, who had a baby 8 weeks ago and who had thyroid cancer. They removed the thyroid, the cancer's gone, but so is her energy. In addition to the 8 week old baby, she has a two year old son, and, though her hubby is trying, he's getting worn out, too. So I went to play Mary Poppins.

I haven't woken up with a fussy, hungry baby for almost 8 years, so I thought I'd be out of practice. I was sleeping on an air mattress on the floor, and the baby (Elizabeth) was in her playpen right above my head. She went to sleep at 8:00, and we went about 9:30. I kept waking up, about every hour, to make sure she was still breathing. She didn't wake up until 3:00! Seven hours was pretty impressive, I thought! I did wake up when she did, and we went to the kitchen to make her bottle. She watched, so patiently, as I added water (I'd put the formula in the night before) and shook it up. Then she quietly ate, and was in a very good mood. About 4 a.m. she went back to sleep, and then her brother heard us and started crying. I went to his room, and he said, "poop! poop!" So I picked him up and changed his diaper. There was no poop. He just wanted the attention. But he got a fresh diaper and some snuggles, and then he said, "Bed! Bed!" and I heartily agreed! I put him in and he went right back to sleep.

I guess I haven't forgotten how to take care of an infant, even though my youngest is 8! I came home very tired, but happy for the experience.

Did I mention we finally got a new bed?? It. Is. FABULOUS!!!! I'm sleeping so much better, and I hurt so much less in the morning. It's really stunning how much of a difference a good nights' sleep makes!

Actually, I'm a little drowsy now...I think I'll head to bed. G'night, and thanks for reading!

2007-05-03T18:19:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been an eventful week here at WWJ central. No sooner did we get the leak in our wall fixed and have the adjuster out, than our air conditioner quit. Completely. Ka-put. Done. Dead. Doornail.

$8,000 later, the contractors are here putting the finishing touches on our shiny new air conditioner. I didn't really have $8,000.00. Not. Even. Close. So, while I'm grateful that our credit cleared and we can finance this new mess, I'm a little bummed by now.

I hate to be a whiner, but for today, I give up. I need a good cry and some ice cream, preferably Blue Bell (I know Tori will appreciate that). Probably Blue Bell Chocolate, but their homemade Vanilla is really, REALLY good, too. Especially with Magic Shell on top. And maraschino cherry juice. LOTS of maraschino cherry juice.

Hoping for a better tomorrow, I remain,

Your Friend,

Pitiful

Got an Oar?

2007-04-22T23:03:00.000-07:00

Yeah, well. The best laid plans...don't always lay down right. Remember how I said that the water I found in our hallway looked to be residual, I was to dry it up, and if it didn't come back, all was well? All's NOT well.

We had a broken pipe. The kind plumber came out to fix it, and $400 later, that's taken care of. I'm thankful we got our tax return deposit in our bank account on Friday; it will really help. Now, however, the "restoration" starts. I've been crawling on my hands and knees for hours on my son's bedroom floor, picking up toys, clothes (mostly sodden), books (many sodden), and paper (wet paper-yuck!!). Do you know how many K'Nex and Lincoln Logs and Legos and Magnetix and McDonald's cheap plastic crap fit into a 9-year-old boy's bedroom? Yeah...I didn't really count. Lots. LOTS. I can tell you that.

And now, at 11:04 p.m. Mountain Standard Time (ok, can we please, please, as a country, just pick a friggin' time??), we (yay! my husband is home from work!) are starting on our daughter's room. Do you know how many My Pretty Ponies, Barbies, Polly-who-the-hell-thought shoes measuring less than 1/8 inch in length were a good idea-Pockets, Care Bears, Princesses, dress-up clothes, and McDonald's cheap plastic crap fit into an 8-year-old girl's room? I'm probably not gonna count, in the interest of my own sanity.

But, on a good note, the city finally picked up the dead puppy! Woo-Friggin'-Hoo!!!!

:-)

What a Day!

2007-04-20T22:45:00.001-07:00

Wow. WOW. What a day!

First, I joined the walkers at work, so I'll be walking from 11:00 a.m. until 11:30 every day. I went today and did everything the others did, with the exception of one floor of the parking garage (they walked up the stairs to the 7th floor, I made it to the 6th. I still rock for trying). I felt great afterward, like I probably wouldn't die of heart failure if I took the stairs up to ground level from the basement of the parking garage, where I park daily.

I picked up my kids after work, went home, and found my new neighbor standing in front of my house. She looked poised to get in my car as I parked, but she didn't. I said "hi, can I help you?" in a friendly manner, because I've never met her-only her daughter. She told me that some jerk in a car hit a puppy and drove off. The puppy died, and he came back later on a bike, picked up the dead puppy, and PUT HER IN THE LAWN CHAIR ON OUR FRONT PORCH!! So my 8 year old and 10 year old were welcomed home by a dead puppy. This sweet neighbor called Animal Control, and they were supposed to come get the puppy. As of 8:30 this evening, they hadn't.

I went to the mailbox (past the dead puppy) to get the mail, only to find that the city is bitching and moaning about the height of the weeds in the alley. So, I went out back and cut the weeds down with the weed eater. I finally thought of what to do with the dog, so I got a box, and kind of dumped her into it. I set her, in the box, out on the curb, because my kids wouldn't even come out front to water the flowers with me. I sprayed the lawn chair with 50/50 bleach and water, and let it sit while I watered the flowers, then sprayed the chair off to rinse it.

Then I came in the house, we had dinner and did evening stuff, and as I put the kids to bed, I noticed water oozing out under my son's bedroom carpet. We had our outdoor faucet, directly in front of his room, fixed yesterday, and the plumber (who actually answered his phone at 9:30 p.m.) thinks it's "residual water" from the leak our outdoor faucet had. So, I dried it up as best I could, and if it doesn't come back, all is well.

I'm really tired of this whole adult, parent, homeowner, grownup thing.