What Matters

I have an old album I have never quite finished called "What Matters". The pages are 8x8 and it's all planned out, so I thought it might be a good place to get my creativity flowing...


The base of this page was made at CKU-M ages ago at the Hero Arts class. It has lots of fancy stamping that I never take the time to do on my regular pages. The picture is from last year's birthday wine tasting trip to Sonoma. I sure miss these girls!



This is a page for Mark's family. Photo was taken Thanksgiving 2007. The last time all 5 siblings were gathered together.

List update

I know you are all just dying to hear how I've progressed on my list from yesterday:

1. Worked out- 1 hour of yoga and walked Pepper
2. Cleaned out both junk drawers
3. Picked blackberries but didn't make cobbler yet.

Feeling pretty productive for the first official day of vacation!

Finally, Summer!

Summer school is officially over, and I am now on vacation.... 5 blissful weeks of sleeping in, working out, scrapbooking(hopefully), organizing.... my mind is spinning with the possibilities.
So I thought I'd make a list of all the things I'd like to accomplish this summer:
1. Work out 5 days per week at least one hour per day
2. Clean off my laundry room counter (I hope there's a counter somewhere under all that stuff)
3. Scrapbook 40 pages of something (anything!)
4. Go hiking at Fern Canyon
5. Have guests over for dinner once per week
6. Start next year's school memory books
7. Get my homework bags reorganized
8. Clean out my 2 worst junk drawers
9. Visit my Granny Millie
10. Pick blackberries and make a cobbler
11. Read 10 books off my "to read" list on goodreads
12. Go to Patrick's Point
13. Take flowers to Grandpa and Granny's graves
14. Figure out how to make a really good pear martini
15. Make an appointment to see the dermatologist

So what are you up to this summer?

What's going on around here?

Not much actually....

1. Pepper is rolling around on the rug chasing his tail. He stops occasionally to frantically lick the rug. Ugh!
2. The sunburned boy is drinking his 3rd gallon of milk for the week.
3. The girl has been unusually quiet and mellow. Mark and I are both sure she is up to no good in some capacity. We just haven't been able to catch her at it yet.
4. I had a horrible day at work.... actually I pretty much had a migraine by the time I left at 3:30. (I only get paid until 12:00) but within 10 minutes of being home Mark had me calmed down and my headache went away. He must be some kind of psycho-woman whisperer.
5. I had dinner with my dear friend, Danette. Good conversation, catching up, and making plans.

Rafting pictures

River rafting

For a while now, my sweet sister in law, Ann, has been trying to get us to go on a rafting trip down the Trinity River. I didn't really think it was a possibility because I thought Mark would scoff at the idea. But when I mentioned it, he was all for it. So today we did a 4 hour rafting tour. It was great fun:
with the threat of falling in while paddling frantically
and the hot sun shining on us
and the quiet parts where you can see through 12 feet of clear turquoise water
and a bald eagle flying over our heads
and learning how to paddle
and having our guide be my own school colleague (aka Danger Dave)
and watching Dennis try to balance on the front of the boat
and doing 360's down a fun rapid
and seeing Mason smile right before he jumps in
and listening to corny jokes
and seeing the beautiful "fool's gold" shimmering in the water around your ankles
and watching the kayaks try to manueveur down the category 4 rapid, Hell's hole
and looking at hilarious pictures of us doing our strange manueveur
and drinking two peach daquiris that were so refreshing you had a brain freeze before you realized it.
Yes, it was a great day.
And after these days I always wonder why we don't do these kinds of things more often.

Amazing

It was
AMAZING.
I finally went to a Harry Potter movie and left with a smile on my face. Of course, of necessity, they had to leave out MUCH of the book. It's a really long book. But I was OK with the changes they made. I really loved it. In fact, it was so good, I am having serious urges to dump all current books and pick up #6 again. Mark even liked it. When we got home, he was full of questions and wanted to know lots of stuff about what was going on. He questioned me for ages, but I would not give up any crucial information. I really think he should read the books... not all of them... but maybe starting with #4.
Now, I can't wait for the last book to be made into a movie. I hear it will actually be 2 movies. I wonder where they will break it up? My head is spinning!

Addictions

There are many things that I do everyday. If I am on vacation or something is different, and I don't get to do (or have) these things, I feel weird. Does that mean they are my addictions?
1. Milk at breakfast (either to drink or in cereal)
2. Cherry Chapstick
3. Diet soda with lunch (diet Mtn. Dew is best, but others will do)
4. Playing Zen Bones on the computer
5. Reading something. I have to have something to read when I eat my breakfast, and before I go to sleep.

What are your addictions?

Daily details

1. I am reading Markus Zusak's A Book Thief... It is fabulous. Set in Germany during WWII. Filled with so much odd, delightful imagery...

Listen to this:
"Each night Liesel would step outside, wipe the door, and watch the sky. Usually it was like spillage-cold and heavy, slippery and gray- but once in a while some stars had the nerve to rise and float, if only for a few minutes. On those nights, she would stay a little longer and wait.
"Hello stars."
Waiting.
For the voice from the kitchen.
Or till the stars were dragged down again, into the waters of the German sky."

Or this:
"As was her habit, she stood for a while on the steps, looking at Molching beneath her. The town that afternoon was covered in a yellow mist, which stroked the rooftops as if they were pets and filled up the streets like a bath."

2. I worked out really hard tonight on the elliptical. It took some of my usual hormonal fury out of me, now I feel settled down.

3. We had BBQed roast with lemon marinade, cheesy potatoes, corn on the cob, and zucchini pancakes for dinner tonight. The zucchini was fresh from my Dad's garden.

4. I have a set of math tests from today to correct, and a sample to make of a drawing showing my favorite vacation.

5. I also have to address Kyla's thank you notes from graduation.

6. I forced myself to sit in the sun and read for hours this afternoon. It was so windy out there I had to keep my sweatshirt on, and my hair was blown up in every direction, but it was worth it.

Goodnight.

Is it the Swine flu?

So I have been sick with cold/flu symtoms since July 3rd. Yuck! I tried not taking any medicine over the weekend because I wanted my histamines to do their job, so I was trying not to mess with them. On Sunday night, however, I had 2 drinks and a dose of NyQuil. I slept like a baby... a drunk baby, but still, it felt great to get some rest! Anyway, I started feeling better yesterday and have been medicine free for 2 days now. Oh, and I think I caught it from Kyla, since she was sick the whole week we were in Disneyland. And, she went to the Dr. when we got back and they gave her penicillin, so I'm thinking it's NOT the swine flu. At least, I hope not!

Oh, only 6 more days until the Half Blood Prince opens. EEEEEEE!

Independence Day

Thanks to all the past and present soldiers out there who have given and contlinue to give all of us regular old citizens here in the USA the greatest gift of all.... freedom.

As for my day, I went grocery shopping and saw an old friend (which was nice). Tonight I may or may not be driving and hour and a half (one way) to pick my son up from a wedding. The jury's still out about whether he will get a ride from someone else. I even offered him $20 if he did, but it's doubtful. So, here I sit with Kyla's germ... my ears crackling, my nose running and no energy. Oh well, I saw lots of fireworks last week at Disneyland.

California Adventures

So we went to CA Adventures on our second day at Disney. The older kids really had fun that day. We also bought ears for everyone who wanted them.


Here are Kyla, Alyssa, Mason, Amanda and Mark on California Screamin. We had gone on it once already, and it made me pretty nauseous, so I was taking a break. This is right before the ride started.



This is right after the ride started. It really shoots you out there like a shot out of a cannon or something. I just love the expressions on their faces. I especially love how Mark has the exact same smile in both shots. And, of course, Alyssa's face is classic.



Here are the big kids at the 3-D Muppet Show.



Here are Cheryl, Dave, Alyssa, Madi and Livi in "Hollywood."



Alyssa and Kyla in front of their favorite ride.... The Tower of Terror. It was my favorite too. The first time we went on, Alyssa was freaking out, and when the hostess asked, "Are there any last questions or requests?" I thought for sure she was going to jump up and ask to get off. But, she stuck with it, and I held her hand and we screamed our lungs out. When we got off the ride, our hands were covered with sweat. What a panic we were in! It was a blast!

More California Adventures

Here are Kyla and Alyssa looking lovely in their custom Minnie Ears.



Adorable Madi in her Princess Minnie Ears complete with veil.



Cutie Patootie Alivia resting in the road. Alivia chose the same ears as Kyla. Consequently, Kyla did not wear her ears again for the rest of the trip.



Me next to the giant "N" as you enter California Adventures. My feet were so tired from the day before I didn't even care that I looked like a total tourist.

Graduation pictures

So here's my girlie girl with a friend of hers on graduation day.


Here she is with a group of her rowdy friends.



Here she is with her 2 best friends (who consequently do not speak to each other... it was somewhat awkward)

Right now she is being very mellow. She was sick the whole time we were in Disneyland, and Sunday she went to the Urgent Care and was sort of diagnosed with either strep or mono. She's been on antibiotics for 2 days now and is feeling better. When I was reading her the discharge instructions, and it said she shouldn't kiss anyone for 6 months, she snorted and said, "Yeah, right."
I've got my hands full, but I love her to death.

The schedule

6:20 alarm, shower, getting ready for summer school
7:10 drive to school
7:40 try (unsuccessfully) to get all the little details for the day tied up and ready
8:30 bring class of 21 eager learners into the classroom
8:40 try to get parents out of classroom
8:50 stop what I'm doing to greet Principal
9:00 realize I have one game to play and 40 minutes to fill
9:30 start lining kids up 10 minutes early
9:38 finally have all 21 quiet and ready to go out (after 3 injuries and several adjustments in line placement)
9:50 say for the 19th time, "I know you are hungry, you need to bring your own snack to summer school."
10:08 try to actually teach some language arts (I am NOT a rookie teacher, you would think I would know this was a mistake since not all routines have been established)
11:39 finish 3 groups of language arts (they were supposed to last 20 minutes each) and take class out for recess (5 boys are spending time on the wall)
11:50 read a sweet story while repeatedly ignoring a 2nd grader saying "This is really weird"
11:59 take class out for dismissal
12:32 pick my head up off my desk and try to focus on tomorrow's lesson plans
2:57 leave work to run errands
4:00 watch LOST rerun while making journals
7:47 turn off computer and make myself a much needed drink.

Back Home

Each year Mark and I trade off on choosing where we go on vacation. (We also go to our Cabo resort each year) This year it was my turn to choose, and about 13 months ago I booked 2 condos at the brand new, giant resort in Anaheim. My sister and her dh and 3 girls were all going with us. I have been looking forward to it for AGES. You see, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Disneyland. I can't hold still when we are approaching the gate. I get all wiggly and fidgety... you know, like a 4 year old trying to wait her turn to open a present or sit on Santa's lap. As soon as we enter the park, I am off. I pass people and wind through the crowd and drag my family from attraction to attraction from the minute the park opens until it is closed. I get my money's worth. I schedule dinner while we watch the parade,so we don't lose out on any time. I plan what order we will go to each ride so that no time is wasted walking from one "land" to another. I scream on every roller coaster and get super bad butterflies in line for Splash Mountain. I have (affectionately, I think) been referred to as a "park Nazi". Once, my nephew even fell asleep on the floor at the Haunted Mansion because he was so exhausted.
So on this vacation I convinced Mark to buy us all 5 day passes. (We got them for the price of 3 day passes, so it was a good deal). By the end of the week, I was OVER Disneyland. I rode Space Mountain so many times that the last time I didn't even feel the urge to scream. I didn't get butterflies in line for Splash Mountain, in fact, I didn't even clinch my legs around the seat in front of me to insure that I wouldn't be the first person to ever fly out of a log on the big drop. I left the park willingly on several days after only 4 or 5 hours of fun. I walked past rides with no line, and didn't urge everyone to take advantage of our luck and ride it. I never watched the "Celebrate" parade. It was really sad for me that my apparent love affair with Disneyland was at an end.
Then, on our last night there, we stood among thousands of people in a huge crowd and watched the fireworks show set to music and lines from Disney movies complete with a real live Tinkerbell flying back and forth in front of the castle.
And I got goosebumps. Twice.
I wonder how long it will be before I am ready to go back?

Today

Today my little girl will graduate from 8th grade. This is the outfit she will be wearing. I am filled with pride/dread at her prospects in high school. One thing is for certain, though. She will not be hard to spot in the crowd!

Random Sunday thoughts

1. I didn't take a shower today until 2:00 p.m.
2. I started reading the book A Wrinkle in Time
3. We are leaving for Disneyland on Saturday.
4. M (aka Sunshine) got a spray on tatoo at the Safe and Sober Night.
5. Pepper smelled like a dirty old lab today even though he just had a bath.
6. K is practicing walking in her new high heeled leopard print neon pumps for her graduation on Thursday.
7. I cleaned out my hovel upstairs this morning. The entire floor was covered with paper scraps and letter stickers and ribbon and corner rounders and scissors. It was a disaster!
8. I am making more typos than ever when typing lately. K's invitation proudly invites everyone to her "gradutation".

I'm alive... just barely!

What a bad couple of weeks I have had. I have always been a pretty serious procrastinator, and this year was no exception. I waited until the last minute to do everything. I was actually stuffing Father's Day gifts into bags and laminating book covers at 9:00 on the last day of school! I think last year I was pretty bad,as well, but I had this really great parent helper who took a bunch of stuff home and did it all. This year I was locked up in my hovel upstairs every night working on memory books and class books and report cards and etc. Until late into the night. I was even dreaming about them! So, I am oficially declaring that I will complete my memory books in a timely manner next year. On a more positive note, my sweet (yet sassy) girl is graduating from the 8th grade on Thursday. We went over to the park like area near our house and took about 25 pictures of her to choose one to send on her 8th grade graduation invites. Which would you choose?


She chose the last one, and I think it came out pretty cute. She is such a pretty and photogenic girl. (I must admit I am a little biased.) I like the one with her phone showing just because that's how she always looks. You will rarely see her without it clutched in her hand.
Anyway, as I de-stress I hope to be a little more present here, on my blog, so I hope you'll join me.
Love, Nancy

Who's got the funk?

Me.
I am in such a funk.
Caused by hormones I think.
I've been better for a couple of months now, but this month?
Not good.
Today, sitting at my horseshoe table in my classroom, after the kiddos went home, getting things ready for tomorrow, I TRULY thought I was going to scream (like, really loud) or my head would explode.
Luckily, Cindy came in and distracted me and made me laugh.
I need to read that natural hormone therapy book, quick!

Prom Night #3

You have to admit, he's a pretty handsome guy. And prom is one of the few occasions when I'm allowed to take copious amounts of pictures. But, alas, it was such a yucky night for me. It was his third prom, and he was going with a big group of friends, and I was really excited to take a whoe slew of photos. Then on Saturday morning he tells me I'm not allowed to come and take group pictures. So, in my typical stubborn way I didn't buy new batteries for my camera (which has had dead batteries for several weeks). So, all that was available was K's little digital. And this is what I have for prom pictures. Not a single group shot or even one with his date. If you go on over to Karen Russell's blog and look at her son's prom pictures and compare them to mine, you will understand my severe disappointment. And, to make matters worse, on Sunday he told me that ALL the other parents were there, taking picures. ALL. Isn't that just classic?

LOST

So one of my favorite hours each week is when I sit up in my hovel on the floor and watch LOST. The time flies by super fast, and I am always shocked (and disappointed) when that LOST word thumps up on to the screen at 10:00. This week I experienced quite a fright on Tuesday... you see, I thought it was Wednesday and I checked the guide on the TV to see if they were replaying last week's LOST before the new episode, and there was no episode on at all!!! Imagine how relieved I was when I realized it was only Tuesday, and indeed a new episode would be on in only 26 short hours.
This season is a little weird, probably because when things get close to the end, but not quite, they are a little dark and everything is getting set up for the real ending (which I am pretty sure is next season!) If you don't agree with me on this, just think of Star Wars and the 5th movie.
Anyway, the one thing I really like this season is Jim/Sawyer. It is great to see that he has made a life for himself. He is all responsible now, and people go to him with their problems. And, they way he and Juliet interact just melts my heart. There is nothing more tempting to me than a bad boy gone all good and respectable. But then, whenever Kate enters into the picture, it just gets me all peeved. What if he abandons Juliet for old Freckles, I would just be miffed!

So, what about you? What do you look forward to watching each week?

My head is spinning

There is just too much going on. I can't seem to settle my mind. Busy, busy at work... lots of uncertainty with people's jobs (thankfully not mine)... weird weather... wild spring fevered children.... irritable teachers who are stressed out about giving the STAR test. Then, there's home. The barking dog. The endless tidying and laundry and meal preparation and counter wiping. My darling husband and son are bickering then chuckling together... I can never predict what's going to happen next. And, then there's the GIRL. I don't even know where to start except to say that I really don't know if I'll survive the next 4 years.
On a better note, I finally started reading A Circle of Quiet by Madeleine L'Engle. It is really so full of wonder and joy. I can only read a little bit... just a few pages, then I have to put it down and digest all the goodness. It's one of those books so full of wisdom, I know I'll have to re read it many times to get it all. Through it all I am praying for guidance and balance. And wasting a lot of time on the computer.

Field Trip

It seems every year our dairy field trip suffers from bad weather. Last year it was overcast and windy and ICY cold. This year the forcast said rain all day. So, as soon as I was out of the car this morning, the director of transportation was yelling at me across the yard. He wanted to know if our trip was postponed or not. After much indecision and internet checking (and a little prayer), I breathed in and said "OK, we'll go" I think I even shocked myself.
So at 10:00 we headed out to the bus and over to the dairy. It was a great trip... with sweet baby calves that looked just like this one. And a song filled hayride. And ice cream. And no rain. What more could a teacher ask for? And I didn't take a single picture. Not one. I carried my camera around in my bag and never took it out to see the light of day. Or the joyfilled eyes of my students. What is up with that?

Spring

Spring is finally here. There are daisies blooming all over the lawn at school and the Kindergartners pick them and bring me teeny little sweet bouquets every day. Sometimes at PE I look over and a few little girls will be sitting in a circle with the sun glinting off their hair making flower chains. Of course, a rough and tumble boy will usually roll by laughing... making the picture complete. We are down to only 30 more days. It is such a bittersweet thing to have finally created a community of learners who all understand their place... who mostly make good choices and work hard and laugh and feel comfortable and productive. It is such a golden time these last 30 days. They are learning by leaps and bounds. They read and add numbers and ask real questions. And soon they will be gone. Moving on to a new teacher, a new routine. They will poke their heads in and say hi. They may even visit and play in my room for a few minutes each morning, but it will not be the same. I miss them already.

I'm duck free!!

I have to tell you, hatching ducklings is such a conundrum for me. I love, love, love their cuteness, and fluffy feathers, and how they splash like crazy in their water bowl, and the way the water just runs off their backs as they paddle around their paddling pool. And I love the sound of their cheeping and splashing while I am reading a story to my class. BUT, I also get a little creeped out by how they stare at me with just one eye, and it makes me sad that they lurch away from my hands whenever I reach into their box. AND I despise the smell of them! Tonight I am washing my last (thank God) load of poopy duck towels. I have washed my hands 4 times since I put them in the wash, but I can't get the smell off. Well, only 11 months before it will be time to hatch a new set. I hope these 5 fare better than last years bunch!

Happy Friday!
Love, Nancy

April recap... I guess

Since I have no desire to blog much anymore, I guess I'll just send out a recap for my (2) adoring fans in blogland.

1. Last Wednesday I had cute little ducklings hatch in my classroom. They are now about 10 days old and are HUGE and smelly, but I love them anyway. While I was prepping after school today, I put a tadpole in the paddling pool with them to see what would happen. Suprisingly, it took about 15 minutes for it to get eaten.

2. Mark and I went to Twain Harte for the weekend. We had a great time catching up with all of our fun and enthusiastic friends down there. Rick and Joanna are the sweetest for always giving us a place to stay. I slept most of the way home yesterday after overindulging on Saturday night.... but, it was well worth it.

3. I have been addicted to Spider Solitaire and Zen Bones lately. Can't quit playing, and sometimes see the cards (or tiles) when I blink my eyes.

4. Exercised 5 days last week.... that's the most I've done in a while. Have been at 3 days a week forever.

5. Am considering going over to Facebook to sign up. But don't really have the energy.

What are you up to?

Love, Nancy

A thought for today...

Jesus’ Sensitivity…Fr. Ron Rolheiser
He took with him Peter, James, and John, and began to be troubled and distressed. Then he said to them, “My soul is sorrowful even to death” (Mk 14:33-34).
Michael Buckley, the American Jesuit, once did a fascinating study of Jesus and Socrates, comparing them in terms of human excellence. The result? In many aspects, Jesus appears to be the weaker of the two men.

This, of course, must be properly understood. Weakness here does not refer to moral weakness, but to something else. What?

Here are Buckley’s words:

There is a classic comparison running through contemporary philosophy between Socrates and Jesus, a judgment between them in human excellence. Socrates went to his death with calmness and poise. He accepted the judgment of the court, discoursed on the alternatives suggested by death and the dialectical indications of immortality, found no cause for fear, drank the poison and died. Jesus - how much to the contrary. Jesus was almost hysterical with terror and fear, “with loud cries and tears to him who was able to save him from death.” He looked repeatedly to his friends for comfort and prayed for an escape from death, and he found neither. Finally he established control over himself and moved into his death in silence and lonely isolation, even into the terrible interior suffering of the hidden divinity, the absence of God.

I once thought that this was because Socrates and Jesus suffered different deaths, the one so much more terrible than the other; the pain and agony of the cross so overshadowing the release of the hemlock. But now I think that this explanation, though correct as far as it runs, is superficial and secondary. Now I believe that Jesus was a more profoundly weak man than Socrates, more liable to physical pain and weariness, more sensitive to human rejection and contempt, more affected by love and hate. Socrates never wept over Athens. Socrates never expressed sorrow and pain over the betrayal of friends. He was possessed and integral, never overextended, convinced that the just person could never suffer genuine hurt. And for this reason, Socrates—one of the greatest and most heroic people who has ever existed, a paradigm of what humanity can achieve within the individual—was a philosopher. And for the same reason, Jesus of Nazareth was a priest—ambiguous, suffering, mysterious, and salvific.

In what way precisely was Jesus a weaker man than Socrates?

In his incapacity to protect himself against pain, in his vulnerability, and in the interior anguish and exterior humiliation that this congenital, moral trait inevitably produces. In contemporary language, Socrates was simply set together better as a human being than Jesus was, at least in terms of how we normally judge this.
In Socrates there was, certainly in the face of opposition and death, a poise, an ease, an interior peace, and an attractive calm that was absent in Jesus. Socrates was “cool” in a way that Jesus wasn’t. Socrates always looked attractive. Jesus didn’t. Jesus sweated blood (no glamour there), shed tears that he was unable to hide, and was stripped naked and humiliated in front of his loved ones. You don’t look attractive when that happens and you can’t hide the pain of that from others.

And yet, that’s exactly what we most want to do. In our world there’s a powerful, omnipresent pressure (put forth even in the name of religion, humanity, and maturity) to protect ourselves against pain and humiliation, to never, never be vulnerable enough so as to risk falling flat on our faces. At all cost, no matter what other kinds of pain we must endure, we don’t want to be caught needy, being the one who has to ask, the one who has to beg, the one who’s embarrassed, the one who doesn’t look good.

And so we try to arrange ourselves, our lives, and our relationships in such a way so as not to be too affected by things, so as avoid the tension of interior anguish, and so as to never risk not looking good. The attractive persona (“cool”) of Socrates more than the humble, all-too human, tears of Jesus is our ideal.

But, and this is the point, by protecting ourselves in this way we don’t ever become vulnerable enough to enter into an intimacy with others and the world that is salvific and priestly. We never save anyone, even though we look good. What’s meant by that?

To love is to care. But as soon as we begin to do that, we open our self to weakness, sensitivity, and humiliation. Why?

Because to be sensitive is to know that it’s better to be sad than bitter, better to be hurting than hard, better to shed tears than be indifferent, better to taste death than never risk living, better to feel rejection than never to have loved, better to groan in interior anguish than to prematurely resolve tension, and better, for the sake of love, family, faith, and commitment, to sometimes look the fool, the needy one, the simpleton, than to always successfully hide what’s most true inside us so as to be the one who never has a hair, a feeling, or an opinion that’s out of place.

Procrastination

So, have I ever told you my theory about why I am such a procrastinator? The idea comes from way back in the 80's... when I was in good old pyschology 101 in college. You see, we learned about stuttering. About what reinforces the stuttering person. When a stutter develops, the person feels tension, stress, etc. building up inside them. Then, when the words are finally released, there is a natural relaxation... a kind of internal reward. The more severe the stuttering problem, the more severe the stress, and, consequently, the more pleasurable the release.
For me, I follow this same pattern with procrastinating. The longer I put something off, the more I worry about it, the more stress builds up over it. Then, when I finally complete the task there is a great relief, a great feeling of accomplishment. Sometimes I will have a little task to do... for example, going online and ordering books for parents at school. It takes about 15 minutes if I don't dally around, but I have been carrying around those blasted book orders since March 10. I keep thinking about it, worrying about it, wondering... should get express shipping? Can I afford to buy anything? Will there be books available for my Literacy Night in May? And on and on, so tonight when I finally took the few minutes to complete the book order it felt like I had REALLY ACCOMPLISHED something. The stress is gone.
Now, if only my classroom memory books were up to date!

In Shock!

So here's a quote I came across on Ali Edwards' blog:
Souza : For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life. This persective has helped me to see there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So treasure every moment you have and remember that time waits for no one.
It's weird, because I was just beginning to feel like real life was starting. We were so settled and happy here in our new home. Of course, with 2 teenagers in the house things are always a little up in the air. I am always wondering (and worrying) what they have going on in their lives that I do not know about... But, overall, it just felt like a comfortable, mostly obstacle free, happy life.
Then, Monday happened. On Monday, Mark found out that among many other cuts at his place of work, his job was being eliminated. I was in complete and utter shock. The first words out of my mouth were actually, "You're joking." I spent most of Monday in a daze. Tuesday I was depressed and cried pretty much off and on all day. By Wednesday I had moved on to righteous indignation, and was spending most of my free time telling off all of the upper management at his company from my soapbox in my head. Today I think I am nearing acceptance. Mark, of course, has handled it all wonderfully. He keeps "looking at the bright side" and is really calm and focuses on "keeping all his options open." I actually overheard him say to someone on the phone that he is "looking at it as a new challenge." He also has a couple of different job opportunities lined up. I am really proud of him and his resilient spirit. I also worry a little that I might be married to Pollyanna! Just kidding, of course. Overall I am sure we will be fine. We will be making some changes around here to make ends meet again. I am giving up my darling Volvo. We are trying to sell our week in Cabo. I will teach summer school without using the money to buy my dream camera. There will be no more HBO. The heat has already been readjusted, so sweaters are often necessary. It's not the end of the world. We aren't moving. We aren't losing our lovely new home. We aren't selling the kids into a life of slavery. :-) So, here we are again.... only 4 short months after our last big obstacle was overcome. We ar trying to find happiness in this life. Our life.

P.S. In light of our recent upset, it would be nice if all you lurkers (like the 5 of you who actually read my blog) would come out of lurkerdom and announce yourself for me with a little comment. Especially Olivia and Veronica. I know you girls are reading this, so say something. THANKS!

Aaahhhhh....

It's Friday, fabulous Friday. Had a good day at school, even with several people sick from the flu. We ended our celebration of Dr. Seuss' birthday by eating green eggs and ham. One little guy sat with his lips sealed tight and just stared at me. There was NO way he was gonna try even one bite. I did my best to encourage him to be brave, but he wasn't having any of it. Another boy took one bite and announced he didn't like it, but then when everyone else kept going on and on about how good it was, he took another bite and decided he liked it, then ate the whole plate.
Now I'm home. Pepper is at my feet alternating between chewing chunks of plastic off of his pig and licking it. Occasionally he whacks me in the leg with it, and I reach down and throw the slimy thing across the room for him. I am listening to this new all hits radio station and so far I've heard "Eye of the Tiger" (which I hate) and some weird 70's song I swear I've never heard and some Air Supply. They are NOT on a roll.
I am looking forward to (maybe) talking Mark into taking me out to dinner, and to sleeping in tomorrow, and to going to a fun wine tasting in Tuolumne Co in April, and to someday owning a digital camera so I can post more pictures here.

Book Update

Last year I found this list of 100 books everyone should read on goodreads.com. I was really excited about it because it was actually a list that I had read a good portion of. So here's an update of how many of these books I have read since I first posted the list. Check it out: (items with * I have read... items with * that are bold are ones I've read since I found the list)
*1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
*2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
*3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
*4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
*5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible (some more of it)
*7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
*10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
*12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare
*15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
*16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
*18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
*21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
*30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
*33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
*34. Emma - Jane Austen
*35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
*36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
*37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
*39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie-the-Pooh - AA Milne (some of it)
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
*42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
*46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
*48. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
*49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan
*51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
*54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
*59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
*60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
*61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
*62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
*64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
*68. Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69. Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby-Dick - Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
*73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
*76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession - A. S. Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
*85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
*87. Charlotte's Web - EB White
*88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
*91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
*99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

So, only 5 new ones in the last several months, I am going to have to get refocused! What's new that you are reading?

A mini challenge

So over at The Sunday School Rebel blog (which is one of the many places I lurk on the internet) She had up a little challenge about opening the 6th picture from the 6th folder in your pictures and telling the story of it.
This is what I found. The statues at the Hoover Dam. A couple of summers ago, we took the kids and went to Las Vegas for a week. I had never been to Las Vegas. It was not a great trip. It was super hot (duh!), and we kept thinking we could walk places since they looked so close together on the map, but we would walk and walk in the heat with weirdos flicking cards about hookers at us and like an hour later we would end up at our destination, with sore feet and grumpy constitutions. One day, we drove out to Hoover Dam and took a tour. It was pretty remarkable. The sheer size of it was just enough to take your breath away. I thought these statues were lovely. I think they were near the sign that talks about how the story (the one that says the workers who fell into the concrete as they were building the dam were buried alive) is not true. It was pretty funny because Mark told us this story in the car on our way out there, and we were all impressed by it. But, nope, just another urban legend. Anyway, here's to randomly recording a little memory.
Happy Thursday!
Love, Nancy

Fasting and Feasting

Today is Ash Wednesday. I have recently begun to travel back to church. I've gone maybe 3 or 4 weeks now. It is beginning to feel familiar and comfortable. Then, the priest announced the closeness of Lent. It took me by surprise. And when I read that Ash Wednesday was a fasting day, I immediately felt a sense of discomfort. I have never felt "right" about fasting. It always put me in a bad mood. I am a stickler about eating 3 good solid meals every day. And, on fasting days, you are allowed 2 small meals (less than half a regular meal) and one regular meal. You are not allowed meat, and no snacking. To say the least, this does not fit into my regular schedule.
But, this year I prayed and prayed that I could accept the fasting and use this as an opportunity to feel a hunger for God in my life. It was the best fasting day I have experienced. I also decided on what I am going to "do" for Lent. It is pretty traditional to "give up" something....instead I am going to work on reaching out to someone each day. I will take the time to call or write or email someone I care about... someone I don't keep in regular contact with. This is my commitment for the next 40 days. So, if you are reading this and you don't want to talk to me, you'd better start screening your calls! :-)
Happy Ash Wednesday
I hope you are also experiencing a renewal in your life.
Love, Nancy

To Do list for the week:

1. Work out every day
2. Get at least some pages completed in classroom memory books.
3. Make a Dr's appt.
4. Get a garage door opener for my side of the garage.
5. Get Gina's address.
6. Mail packages to Michelle and Gina.
7. Clean off the HORRID back shelf in my classroom.
8. Do something fun with my family.
9. Clean out my "junk drawer."
10. Blog about something interesting.

So far I'm 0/10!

No Stories

I just can't seem to get myself interested in blogging lately. I guess I just do not have any stories to tell right now. Here is a quick and dirty (or maybe boring) rundown of what been going on....
Well, last Friday, I found out my dd had lied about where she spent the previous Friday night, so we've had a week of restriction for her with 2 more to go. Ironic after my previous post.
I am REALLY trying to lose 3 pounds this month. I haven't touched any of the yummy stuff in my cupboard left over from the 100th day of school, and I even passed on Cindyanna's (allegedly) delicious cupcakes today. Tomorrow I will be inundated with chocolates from my little sweeties at school, but I am planning to bring it all home for the family.
I am looking forward to having all of next week off from school to start on my class's memory books. I hope to not be up until 3 am the night before the last day of school working on them as I have been known to do.
I am reading a pretty interesting book right now called The 19th Wife. It is about the beginning of the Mormon Church with a current day murder mystery all wrapped up inside. I like it so far.
I am watching these shows on TV:
The Bachelor, The Biggest Loser, LOST, Grey's Anatomy, ER, & Friday Night Lights.
I also end up watching many news type shows on Fox News and CNN because I love my husband and want to spend time with him and that is all he watches. These shows exhaust me.
I guess that's all for now...

I can hear them laughing...

together.
Just 15 short years ago this picture was taken. And this amazing life... so vibrant and forceful and FULL became a part of our days. She was our sweet little girl and we adored her. She certainly wasn't what we expected. She's a naturally gifted athlete who hates sports. She struggles a bit in school but works hard and is pretty successful. She is passionate about things. She shares her passion in ways that will sometimes break your eardrums. And, unfortunately, she and her Daddy have had a really hard time getting along lately. But tonight, they are sitting on the couches in the living room watching a movie together JUST THE TWO OF THEM. I can hear them laughing together. I hear little comments verging on pleasant conversation. My heart is so full of gratitude for this that it is about to burst. I would love more than anything to have a picture of this moment. But I can't risk breaking the spell. I just can't. It is too precious.

Words of Wisdom

My dear friend Karen emailed this to me and it struck a chord in my heart.

Concentrate on this Sentence

'To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.'
When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better.

Concentrate on this sentence... 'The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.'

Things I've never had:
a healthy body image (when I weighed 100 lb I was bony... now I am chubby with a muffin top)
a strong sense of self esteem (although, it has slowly gotten better over the years)
the ability to talk comfortably to strangers (I avoid manicures, pedicures, even haircuts because I dread that small talk you have to make... until I get to know the stylist, then I'm OK)
the confidence to run (like exercise run) in public (I think I breathe too hard, and I turn really red)

So, I am making time to listen to God... to hear his plan for me.... if I acquire any of the above things I long for, then I will know my life is doubly blessed. Just like I said at the beginning of 2009... I am lucky.

Blessed Friday

I just love Fridays. Friday is the saviour of my week. Around Thursday night, I start to feel a releasing of tension... an easing of stress, and I know it's the promise of Friday.... just waiting out there for me.
Then, when Friday actually gets here I feel so free... at reading group today, the kinders wrote about their dreams for the world (aka MLK Jr.) and that took only a few minutes, so we wrote and drew on dry erase boards and played games with sight words and letters. At phonics time we had a "snowball fight" with sight words. They wrote a word on a piece of paper, then balled it up. When I yelled "go" we threw the "snowballs" at each other across the block shelf. Then when I yelled "stop" we grabbed a "snowball" and opened it and read it to 3 people.
Later, at home, the promise of the weekend just beckons to me. How many choices to make... will I scrapbook? get a little tipsy on Mike's Hard Lemonade? go out? call a friend I haven't kept up with? Maybe. I will for sure get caught up on laundry, clean my parts of the house, do the shopping, make some real meals we will eat at the table together, and work out everyday. These "for sures" make me feel productive. Content. I will also FOR SURE wear those hideous baggy unflattering sweats you see above and my new comfy (fake) fur lined slippers. I will sleep in. I will watch "Friday Night Lights".
Friday is my time to re-energize. Thank you, God, for blessing me with Fridays.

Bad Mama

So over the course of this week, two very important people had birthdays in our house. On Monday, my baby girl turned 15. And yesterday, the boy turned 17. I had these big plans to take photos of each of them on their day, and give them cards with heart warming (yet true) sentiments of how much each of them means to me. Somehow it just didn't happen. I feel like a bad mama, a neglectful mama, a horrible mama. Considering the fact that no one has called me "mama" in this house for about 10 years, it is ironic. I feel certain that my disappointment is much greater than theirs is. There are so few living at home birthdays left to celebrate. Now, don't think I'm a total slacker.... we did go out to dinner 2 separate times to celebrate, and we had a little family party here as well, but it just doesn't feel complete. These teenage birthdays are big milestones. I want to make them memorable.

And since I don't have any current pictures, here they are circa 1995 when the boy was about 3 and the girl was just over 1. Don't worry, she dug her way out of there just fine.

Heart

Life is short. Break the rules. Forgive quickly. Kiss slowly. Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.



With all the turmoil in the world these days, it's nice to be reminded of the simple things.

Heart

Good to be Back

It was such a nice feeling to be back at work. I enjoyed seeing my colleagues. I really enjoyed being busy. I really, really enjoyed hanging out with my students. I changed the schedule around again, so instead of cleaning up at the morning bell and jumping right into work, we played until 8:50 or so. It was such a relaxing way to start the day. After that, we came together and had "circle time". I got to hear all about who stayed the night with who and who got a "Intendo DS" for Christmas. We read a story about snow, then they went to music. After music we had snack and recess. Thankfully, the rain stopped and they were able to slush around out in the chips instead of being cooped up inside. After that we read about penguins, used our bodies as globes to compare Arctic and Antarctic wildlife, then painted giant penguins on 12x18 inch paper. After lunch we learned 2 new letters, did our calendar and math, had P.E. and read a story. Then, (here was the real reason for the schedule change) we did our writing. We had 30 uninterupted minutes to do 2 writing activities. It was fabulous. Only Joaquin said, "We didn't get to play." after I announced it was time to go home.... you see, playing used to happen at the end of the day, not the beginning. I wonder if he will get it tomorrow?
I am off to watch the new "Bachelor"... I always preferred Jason, so I am glad they're giving him another chance. I'll be cutting out 20 giant penguins while I watch.

A post on The Shipping News (and love)

So last night I went to bed around 7:30, got super cozy and warm and finished reading The Shipping News. This book has been on my list of books to read for quite a while, so I was really looking forward to it. It is about an odd guy named Quoyle who is fairly unsuccessful in life. He never really finds a job he's good at. His one friend moves to California. And the woman he chooses as a wife treats him horribly and constantly cheats on him. Then, on a fateful day, the wife, Petal, steals their 2 daughters, sells them to a pervert and is killed in a car crash. The girls are brought back unharmed thank goodness, and Quoyle moves to Newfoundland, place of his ancestors, with an Aunt he has just met. While in Newfoundland Quoyle meets and interacts with many suprising and odd people. He becomes pretty good at his job. He makes a few friends. He does several things which people think are stupid (which does not surprise him). And he does several things for which people congratulate him (this really surprises him). Throughout the book he comes into an acceptance of himself as those around him accept him. He also learns that love doesn't always have to a red hot fire full of pain, but can also be (and in my opinion truly is) a place of warmth, safety and comfort, free from pain. I think this is a book that will stay with me for a while... as I continue on my slow journey to accept myself, and live my life day to day (enjoying simple pleasures), and learn to love more fully.

Another Day

1. I put away all of the Christmas Decorations and 1 (of 3) of the trees.
2. I slept late and talked to Cindyanna today. (Both always a pleasure)
3. I haven't had lunch yet, and it is 3:42 p.m.
4. I gave Pepper his squeaker pig back this morning, and he promptly began to squeak it. After about 40 minutes, I put the squeaker pig back up on the shelf. Pepper proceeded to jump and whine and yelp for it for the next 10 minutes. Now he has forgotten aobut it.
5. I have been crying off and on since last night with the fear that I have alienated 3 of my closest friends. I keep praying one of them will call me, but at this late hour of the day, it doesn't look good. It was entirely my fault, I acted like an idiot. I feel hopeless.
6. In the midst of this day, I am trying to remember the things I love about my life. I am still so lucky to be me.

Lucky

For the last couple of years, I have been choosing a word for the year to help guide me in my path. First I had "fullness". Last year it was "welcome". This year I have chosen "lucky". I flipped through the thesaurus for a while. I thought and thought. It finally came down to the sweet necklace Anne gave to me for my birthday. It is a fortune cookie and has a little tab off the side that says "lucky". Every time I wear it, I think of all of the blessings in my life. So this year I am going to go back to the process of making a gratitiude journal. Each night before I go to sleep I will write list of things I feel blessed my day.
If you are interested in choosing a word, you can go to Ali Edwards' blog. The link is on my side bar.

Happy New Year!

Scrap Fever

So the last few days I have had scrap fever! It all started when I scrapped those cute pictures of that adorable Caitlyn. Then, I just couldn't stop. I have been ignoring the laundry, my looming workload (only 5 more days until I have to be Kindergarten ready... ack!), the list of phone calls I needed to make this week, everything! But, I actually finished Kyla's 2005-2006 book. It has 42 pages of 8 1/2 by 11 goodness. I started this book in 2006 (when I made the "Be a Gypsy" layout) you can go by and look at it in my 2006 archives if you want. This morning I made the layout above.... one of my favorites. I just love this picture of Kyla and Pepper. So now I have been looking at the pictures in Mason's 2006 album. It is a photo sleeve album, so even though it has 32 pages, it should come together pretty quickly. Hopefully before 2010!

Little Accomplishments

So today was a fairly productive day.
1. I made 2 scrapbook layouts of sweet Cindyanna's Caitlyn. This is the first... well, part of it anyway. I have photoshopped it a little to protect the innocent!
2. I ironed 3 very large, very wrinkly kitchen chair covers for our kitchen area. You know, those cool ones they have in the Pottery Barn catalog which are made of linen or something. Mine came from Target and are made of cotton or something equally difficult to get wrinkles out of. They look a heck of a lot better than my old chairs, though! (I did this while watching Harry Potter)
3. I dusted the entire living room area. (While still watching Harry Potter)
4. I organized all of my 2008 pictures into 6 places... a family album to be scrapbooked, K's album to be scrapbooked, M's album to be scrapbooked, 3 little mini albums for events, a sleeve type of album for pictures I don't want to scrapbook, and the trash. This took a very long while and used up all of my energy. I had to keep moving things out of the "to be scrapbooked" albums and into the sleeve album. I had vowed not to add any pages to the album of pictures to be scrapbooked, and it was full by October or so. Anyway, it is done, and I am thinking I may work a little on my "Welcome 2008" album. I think there's a post about it somewhere in January if you're interested.

Anyway, here's to little accomplishments! Cheers!

Peace, Love and Merry Days

Just wanted to say I hope your days this week are full of peace and love and merriment. Last Saturday, my mom and my sister and her 3 girls and my 1 girl all loaded up and drove through ice and sleet and snow to go to Granny's Christmas party. It was a terrific day with lots of laughter and chatting and catching up. I am always amazed at how lively and energetic my Granny is at 76. I pray for that when I am older. On the way home we stopped and played in the snow for a little bit.
Here is Kyla looking awkward.

And Alyssa. Gotta love those teenagers!

Here is Madi getting ready to whack me with a snowball.

Alivia chasing someone.

And my favorite is my mom. She was really into the snowball fight. Every time she threw a snowball she would stick her tongue out. I wish I'd have gotten a picture of that!

Merry Christmas!

The post in which....

I apologize for feeling so sorry for myself like a big blubber-er.
Anyway, things are feeling much less hectic around here now. I have finished my work (at school anyway) for 2008, and I don't think I forgot anything really important.
Wrapped and sent students' presents? CHECK
Gave gifts/cards to work people? CHECK
Sent gifts to parent helpers home? CHECK
Put items in bags for custodians and secretaries? CHECK
Sent home giant bags full of work and messy gingerbread houses? CHECK
Ate delicious piece of cake left on my desk by former parent? OOOOOPS!

Uh oh! I hope their aren't any ants in my room when I get back to work next week!

A quick note (or maybe not so quick)

Life is so complicated sometimes. For so many days and weeks and months we have been waiting for our house to sell. We have been kind of on hold... like we are not living our life like we should until the house sells... like we can't be happy until the house sells... like nothing is ever sweet enough or completely fulfilling until the house sells.

Well, now the house has sold, and I have fallen into a deep dark hole of depression. For about 4 weeks now, off and on, I have been sleeping poorly, eating unhealth-ily, exercising irregularly, and feeling horrible. I dream about which drawer or cupboard the pots and pans should go in. I wake up in the middle of the night worrying about getting recycling containers. I carry pictures around the house for hours wondering where I should hang them. I feel frantic and frenetic for 18 hours of most every day.

I know part of this is due to hormones (I have been seeing a doctor to help with issues dealing with peri-menopause), but also I think I have just been under this enormous weight of pressure for so long, that I am going through a period of decompression. I am shedding the weight of all of that expectation and waiting and disappointment mostly through tears (I can feel them building up in the back of my throat even now), but I am also yelling at my kids too much and snapping at my husband too much. It is getting better little by little. Soon I hope to be back to normal. I am wishing you will keep checking in here, and not write me off as hopeless.

I will be back, I promise.

Love, Nancy

Taking a Break

I know it's a little late to be telling you this, but obviously life has gotten too complicated, and I need a little blogging break. Will try to get back before Christmas, but no promises.

Moving update....

Well, our "old" house's sale closed about a week ago, and our new house sale closed on Friday!! I just can't believe we are back in the business of living in a house we love! The electricity has been out over there (at the new house) and PG&E can't hook it back up until tomorrow, so we can't move in just yet, but today we went over and started painting the kitchen. It was a bright mossy green color, which in my opinion didn't look great with all the taupe and brown and red on the other walls (which I LOVE!) so I decided to paint the kitchen a sunny light yellow! We got one wall all finished, and it looks terrific! We could have done more, but the first coat just wasn't drying fast enough in the Arctic weather we were having today.... also, the light was beginning to fade. So, tomorrow I will be back at it all by myself. I have so many goals of things to get done this week while I am off work, that I know the week is gonna fly right by!

My week

I am feeling super fragmented and stretched out this week.
I had a delightful weekend in Tuolumne County. I drank wine and lemondrops and even some beer. I hung out and chatted with lots of wonderful old friends. I collected the sparse remnants of a previous life from the nooks and crannies and cubbyholes of my past home to make it ready for it's new owners. I breathed in the crisp dry air of the Sierras. It was lovely.
Then, it was home and work and busy, busy, busy. The highlight of my week has been meeting Caitlin. (You can click on over to Cindy's blog and meet her, too!) I got to hold her sweet little soft, sighing self for 40 minutes or so. Ahhh.
Buying a new home is complicated. More paperwork and jumping through hoops than I remember. More stress as well... since we've had such trials in this journey we are always expecting the worst. We could use some prayers for this if you're so inclined.
I am looking forward to the weekend. I have LOTS of plans. Too many I am sure, but hopefully some boxes will be packed, some sleep will be caught up on, some work (house, school and exercise) will be accomplished.

She's Here!

The call is in! Who cares who the president is.... Caitlin Marie is born!! Yay for Cindy and Dennis! P. S. This is not a picture of her... I just snagged it off the net.

Election Day

Well, after work, I hustled up to my polling place, not sure what I would find since I had heard lots of reports of long lines, etc. But, as usual, things went fine. I didn't have to wait at all, and it took me about 15 seconds to fill in all the bubbles I chose on my ballot. I won't bore anyone with talk of what I vote for or against or who I chose, as for me this is too personal of information to share on the web. I actually refuse to talk about politics with anyone except those who are closest to me. It infuriates K that I won't tell her who I voted for.

More exciting than the presidential election, for sure, is the knowledge that sweet Cindyanna is as we speak giving birth to her new baby girl. I just can't wait to meet her! Will definitely post a picture of her as soon as I get within 10 feet of her with my camera.

SOLD!

After 874 days, our house finally sold. We have been in escrow several times before, but this time I really think it will go through. It is a cash offer. Very positive. I should be jumping for joy, but all I can do is wish and hope that we will be able to afford a house here that we like.

A birthday boy

So, since it hasn't been that long since I gushed about how much I love my wonderful husband, but I thought I'd list a few reasons why I want him to have a wonderful birthday:
1. He has been really stressed out at work, but still does all his helping out at home and is almost always in a good mood.
2. He has been super supportive and wonderful during our "trials" while trying to sell our home.
3. He is getting all handsome with his smiley eyes and a few (very few) gray hairs.
4. He is always the first person I want to see when I am happy or sad or stressed out or anything.
5. He is really knowledgable about politics and history and money management (which are all the things I know very little about).
6. He is my prince charming.

Love you, babe.

Digging my way out...

I really have felt like I am buried under a gi-normous pile of crap lately.... School work needing to be cut or glued or hung up or taken down, class book pages needing covers and bindings, dirty dishes and unfolded socks... Yuck!

But this week I am beginning to dig my way up out of the pile. I have less stuff scattered around my room. I have faithfully been doing the dishes right after dinner. I have my eye on the dreaded sock basket. Soon, I think. Soon I will see the light at the end of the tunnel. I just hope it is not a mirage!