Confession #2

I am a horrible driver. I accelerate too fast. I brake too suddenly. I always go 10 miles over the speed limit (but not more than 10). My favorite speed to drive is 75 mph. It just feels so comfy and right whizzing by all of those slow pokes out there. My bad driving habits have often haunted me. I have been in several accidents/mishaps.
1. I accelerated at a stop sign without looking both ways and hit a car with 1 woman and 4 kids in it BEFORE I had my license. This happened in my mom's Mustang
2. I was trying to back down a long, curvy driveway at night and got stuck to a cement wall (like the whole driver's side of the car was hugging up against the wall). This happened in my mom's sivler Nissan.
3. I was crying really hard because of my at-the-time-on-again-off-again boyfriend and I hit a deer in my own little truck.
4. I fell asleep at the wheel after spending the evening at my aforementioned boyfriend's house watching a boring movie and rolled my dad's truck over a few times. At the time it was our family's only vehicle.
5. I got 2 flat tires the first year while commuting 67 miles (one way) from Twain Harte to Modesto for my first real teaching job.
6. I ran out of gas 2 times in the second (and final) year I commuted from Twain Harte to Modesto.
7. I got a speeding ticket for going 50 in a 35 while trying to get my son to soccer practice in Twain Harte (we were coming from Modesto).
8. I got another speeding ticket for going 80 in a 65 (I was actually going about 87 or so) while driving home from Eureka to Twain Harte after some family holiday.
The last 2 are the reason why I never go more than 10 over. It's my personal mantra.

Happy driving! Love, Nancy

Confession

I am a total loser, I know, but I have allowed myself to become hooked on "Rock of Love 2" It happened while I was randomly flipping through the channels, and I saw Megan from "Beauty & the Geek" up there in the pilot episode getting a VIP pass. (Please don't ask how I know Megan was on Beauty & the Geek). From there, I would catch it once in a while as I flipped through the glut of yuck on every night. Then there came a time when I would actually LOOK on the TV Guide channel to see if it was on... Now I actually know the new episodes come on Sunday nights... so there I am, a faithful watcher.... dying to see what the crazy wild looking girls (with their fake boobs and tatoos) of 20 some years will do for a bandana clad (most likely BALD, why else would he never take that blasted thing off) makeup wearing pervy man in his 40's. Last week was quite a sight... those girls were waaaaaayyyy too drunk to be on TV. This week I think they're going to Vegas... maybe you should tune in too!

For sure $50....

I recently entered this poster into a local conference contest. I had a great time making it and really love how it turned out. I had forgotten about the contest and started the poster on Wednesday... it was due Friday at 5 pm... but luckily it was completed and turned in. My classroom will get $50 for entering. Other prizes are also awarded, but with stiff competition from 3 counties, I am not holding my breath! The kids each either made a vehicle or a house and some trees. They also made a little person with Sharpie marker and colored pencil. I had them write sentences about the process(es) involved then I shrunk them on the copier so they would fit. I used rub on letters to write the conferences theme of "Logging, Living and Learning" around the edge on the border of old rulers.

Today I made a couple of layouts for Kyla's 05 scrapbook. I was not overjoyed with either of them... but maybe the next 2 I make will be better!

What have you created lately?

Love, Nancy

A Quote for Today (and everyday)

Risk more than others think is safe. Care more than others think is wise. Dream more than others think is practical. Expect more than others think is possible.
~Claude T. Bissell

Vacation

I am on vacation yet again, so I am trying to WELCOME the week off as an opportunity for catching up on much needed exercising and scrapbooking. We had a very early Open House at our school last night, and for the first time ever in my career every single student attended. I am very blessed to have such devoted parents in my class. I had a glass of wine before (to loosen up) and 2 glasses after to wind down. It was a pretty good night.
Today, my son and his girlfriend celebrated their one year anniversary as a couple. I have a lot to say on this topic, but am banned from speaking about previously mentioned boy and his life on the blog due to nosy high school girls who apparently have nothing better to do than read the rantings of a middle aged mother like myself. I am obviously breaking the rule here, but am willing to chance it.
Tomorrow, The Other Boleyn Girl finally breaks through the redwood curtain to be shown in our little town, so I am looking forword to romance and treachery and champagne after.
Now, I am off to attack the much needed laundry pile then spend some time with my dear Friend, Jesus Christ, after all it is Good Friday, and He has been calling to me lately.

Love, Nancy

Top of the evening to you!

I don't even know if that is a saying or not, but since it's St. Paddy's day and after 7 pm, it's all I can come up with.

Here's a list of happier random things.

1. Today I ate 5 sweet snacks (2 cookies, 1 brownie, pudding, & chocolate coin)
2. I made my first ever meatloaf for dinner tonight, and it was pretty good. It needed a really yummy sauce to top it off, though.
3. My class was wild and crazy and dying to catch a leprechaun.
4. My cute cute handpainted farmhouse rocking chair came today, and I put it together all by myself.
5. My teeth are looking whiter due to the whitestrips I got at Walgreen's the other day.
6. The new season of the Bachelor starts tonight.
7. I have everything prepared for school tomorrow... no more playing 'catch up' every morning!
8. When I told Kyla I needed to use the computer, she didn't yell at me.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Love, Nancy

11 Random Things

1. It was goody day at school today.
2. I spent most of the morning trying not to cry for no apparent reason.
3. I just painted a background for my logging conference poster. It is due Friday. 5 pm.
4. A student in my class said yesterday, "Your bottom teeth are really yellow."
5. I spent $78 on beauty supplies at Walgreen's today.
6. I am spending a lot of time concentrating on breathing.
7. Every day this week I have felt like I am racing to catch up and I'm not sure what I am trying to catch. A cold?
8. It rained here today. An evening rain. It actually felt good to me... refreshing, somehow.
9. I spent the weekend with friends who live far away, and I miss them even more since I saw them.
10. I am giving up pomegranite martinis FOREVER.
11. I have to go look up timber related images on Google for my poster.

Tension

I am having a high tension week. At random times throughout the day I have found myself gritting my teeth, snapping at my family, and creasing my ever more wrinkled brow. Luckily for me, it is over... I have the next 2 days off for volunteering in my cutie niece, Madi's class and going to Tuolumne county for roof issues. I am hoping to find something there that will help me to feel balanced again. Sometimes I just feel so tired.... and snappy..... and cranky.

p.s. I finished The Tale of Despereaux in 2 days... now I'm on to Gonzalez and Daughter Trucking Co.

Love (In the Time of Cholera)

For Christmas, sweet Cindy got me Love in the Time of Cholera (the book) which I was really dying to read. So, I started reading it (with great hopes and expectations), and almost every night I would make it about 1 and a 1/2 pages before falling asleep face down on it! I was just not engrossed! I kind of liked it. I mostly liked it. There were some parts that I liked. Overall, I found it tedious. I feel guilty about this. I like to think I have a pretty capable brain... but when faced with the cold, stark truth that I would rather read Phillippa Gregory's newest enstallment in the King Henry/Boleyn girls series than a classic piece of literature that actually won the Nobel Prize, I have to admit that my claim to being an academic is false.
Right now, I am reading The Tale of Despereaux. It won a prize, too. The Newberry Medal for excellence in children's literature. So far I like it....

Things I love about my class right now....

1. They know all about the routines and how to solve problems. A key word or phrase from me (or even a look) will get them refocused or back to work.
2. Whenever we are reading a story or discussing something, they are totally into it. They always have something to say.
3. I can almost see the neurons in their brains firing as they begin to unravel the ultra-complicated process of reading.
4. They know the difference between "Does anyone have a question?" and "Tell me a story about your dog who died."
5. They can actually draw things that look similar to the original.
6. They are comfortable enough to laugh and joke around.
7. We all missed each other last week when we were on vacation for President's Week.
8. Writing is one of their favorite activities, and they even choose to do it during "exploration time."
9. They are excited and love to learn.

Friday fun!

So what did you do today for Friday fun? I woke up very grumpy to my alarm at 7:30 and got ready to go look at houses with my dear husband (who is obsessed with house hunting), later I scrapped 2 pages (I've done about 2-3 pages every day this week... unusual for me lately to do that many in a month!), then I did some kid shuttling and picked up some enlargements at Costco (where I saw Cindy!), my parents dropped by, and I had melted chocolate chips and walnuts for dinner. I did try to get Mark to take me out to dinner, but I was unsuccessful. I think it's been at least 4 weeks since we've eaten dinner in a restaurant. Tomorrow I am picking up pizza from Round Table...I am almost giddy about it... isn't that pitiful? Am trying to decide if I should head for the scrapbook table or a wine glass on the sofa.....

Hmmmmmmmm.... what would you do?
If only I had Kristin here to help me decide!
Love, Nancy

Creative weekend

Over at Ali Edward's blog (link is on my sidebar) she has a challenge to get people to rethink their word for the year and do something creative with it. So here it is only 10 something on Saturday and I have already worked out for a whole hour AND made this cute little page for my "welcome" book.(Welcome is my word for the year, in case you forgot... I actually forgot and had to look it up on this blog! Ack!)

Anyway, I am welcoming this week off of work (even though this morning I had crazy work stuff swimming around in my head including an obnoxious vowel song, and could not sleep in!) Also, I am welcoming the opportunity to be creative, and, to get in touch with some people I haven't talked to in a while. Maybe I will even have some one over for dinner!

Have a great Saturday! Love, Nancy

Comfortable

Most people don't know
there are angels
whose only job is to make sure
you don't get too comfortable
and fall asleep and miss your life.

This quote is by one of my favorites... Brian Andreas. And tonight it feels right for me. I am becoming comfortable with financial stress. I am comfortable at work. I am comfortable in my marriage. I am comfortable as a mother.

I am not putting out my best effort anywhere. I am not reaching out. I am not striving to do better. I am not unhappy. I am not happy. I am just passing time.

I need an angel to wake me up. I hope it's not a really serious one.

After 10 long years....

(no, it hasn't been 10 years since I posted)
But, it has been 10 years since I started collecting wine (and a few champagne) corks for my cork board. And about a week ago I finally finished it! It is hanging up above my desk in the GIANT scrapbooking room in our current house. We are all settled and things are starting to feel like home. I can pretty much walk around in the dark, and I don't have to try the light switches numerous times to figure out which one I want (I was still doing that in our previous house, it must mean the house and I just weren't made for each other!)
Will try to be back soon with more thoughts... today I felt like I was for sure getting sick for about 4 hours, but then I got home and puttered around making dinner and all that busy-ness that happens after work, and then WALLA! I felt completely fine, so I came in here and scrapped a page from Kyla's 95 book. I would show you, but it's 12x12 and I am not in the mood to scan and stitch it.. (pause here to listen to my wistful sigh as I wish for a digital SLR)
Anyway, I am going to go hang out with Mark before he leaves for work.

Goodnight! Love, Nancy

Gotta love those NY football Giants!

Now, I am not really a football fan, I am actually more of a football widow if you want to be precise, but every year I try to watch the Super bowl and be INTO it. It's really no fun if you aren't INTO it! :)

So I bought some yummy dip stuff and a 12 pack of Mike's Hard Lemonade, and decided today I would be a Giants fan. I don't really care about the Giants, but I have a tender heart and always have to root for the underdog, so there you have it!

I missed the 1st quarter because I was in the kitchen making dip, but at the beginning of the 2nd quarter I was all prepared to pack up and go watch some girly TV in the bedroom if the Patriots scored effortlessly (again). It might have even been easier that way. But fate kept me in the living room with my boys for the whole game, and I was really proud of that little Ely Manning when he broke numerous tackles and rescued his team from sure defeat on a crucial 3rd down play.

It was a good day... The smug Patriots perfect season was ruined... a 5th seed wild card team won the Superbowl... I ate a variety of yummy snacks with 4 lemonades to wash them down... and Jane Austen is on PBS masterpiece at 9:00.

See ya! (hopefully soon)

Love, Nancy

Blog? What blog?

I have been up to my bushy unplucked eyebrows in work this week with report cards due and many new ideas swimming around in my head from last week's CA Kindergarten conference... but I haven't the time for blogging or chatting or posting any of my great new photos.....

There's a 2000 square foot house full of STUFF (you could choose to say crap, junk, or lovely items I cannot bear to part with here) that needs to be packed and moved 3.1 miles across town. By Sunday.

Enough said.

Love, Nancy

Whew!!

It's so hard to adjust to working again after being off. It was nice to be back with my cute K's though. Bad, bad week for working out, but today I'm a pound and a half lower than I was last week after working out every day for an hour and a half. I did cut my calorie intake somewhat... It just doesn't make any sense! Alas, a tummy tuck seems to be the only rational solution!

The daily art hasn't been happening either, but on the up side I have taken down almost all of the Christmas decorations. I have just the little gingerbread tree left to do, and it will be a piece of cake!

Today was a good day.... with 12 hours of sleep behind me, a good workout and the Packers winning their playoff game. We also went to a wedding reception for an old friend and his new wife. It was nice to chat with some people I haven't seen in 12 years or so. It was also nice to dress up and see Mark wearing slacks and a linen shirt. I really should get a picture before he changes.
Sorry for the random blathering... will try to be more witty or thought provoking tomorrow!

Love, Nancy

My fierce (but adorable) pup

Page 6 for my "What Matters" album... Mixed some old papers with new...used a couple of scraps... I keep them around, might as well look at them occasionally! Love, love, love this picture of Pepper. Could have it blown up to poster size for display in the living room! It really shows his funny little personality. Look at that attitude, that bulging chest, the glaring eyes... look at the 3 inch long legs splayed out like a duck, the mismatched eyes (one blue, one brown), the fur that grows in every color with no rhyme or reason.

On another note, I WELCOMED my class back to school today. It was a good day. We chatted as we cut snowflake after snowflake from coffee filters then we picked our favorites, colored them with markers, then stuck them in water to make a motley of blues, greens and purples. We talked about what Santa brought us... about the movies we saw. We made a chart about what we would do if it snowed. We made sticks of 5 cubes and talked about the "number sentences" they made then wrote them on the white board. We read "The Mitten". At recess 3 little girls huddled on my lap to keep warm from the icy wind while the rest of the class ran pell mell through the wet chips. At the end of the day while they played I called them over one by one and asked them to blend words. Almost all of them have mastered it. Yes, it was a good day.

One little word

Last year I tried the "one little word" challenge from over on Ali Edward's blog. If you cannot remember, I chose "fullness". For some reason, the word lost it's meaning to me as the year went on, and I didn't get much out of it.... most likely because I didn't put much effort in!

This year I didn't expect to choose a word, but then inspiration struck... I sat and wrote trying to free my mind... you know, that stream of consciousness writing thing-y.... Here is my list:
simplify
clarify
listen
relax
gratitude
grace
forgiveness
presence
gathering
priorities
love

I wrote these words again and again on a piece of paper... waiting for the front runner to appear to me. When that didn't work, I moved to the computer thinking I'd look up quotes on "inspiration peak" until I felt that one was just right. While I was waiting for our ever so slow computer to get to "inspiration peak" my mind kept wheeling around and around and out of the abyss came the word "WELCOME". I pictured myself welcoming each day with open arms... welcoming 2008.... welcoming my family and friends into closer relationships.... welcoming Jesus into my heart yet again... welcoming challenges and discomfort and pain as an opportunity to grow. I did a search for quotes with this word in them and loved all 4 of them.... Hence, my new word for the year is "WELCOME". In celebration I made a cover for a journal of quotes and musings on my word of the year... it is my art for today.


In addition, here is one of the quotes. It is perfect.
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meaness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whomever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

Jalal ad-Din Rumi

Beloved Persian Poet

My new ringtone

Follow your Heart

Another page for my "What Matters" book... Used new papers and rub ons I got at the scrap store today. I had a gift certificate from a sweet student and his parents! I actually used a silver pen and drew aborder around the picture... pretty wild for my non-doodling self. Also, on the bottom right of the picture is the word "you"... those square typewriter keys never scan well.

Am trying, no struggling, to feel more myself this week. I thought that this time off would supply me with energy, peace, sustenance. I thought I would create page after page... pack piles of boxes with rarely used items.... read novel after novel... work my body out until the fat poured off of it. Instead I have felt the same old lethargy, latent anger and anxiety as usual. Maybe it's moving from our beautiful house... maybe it's feeling financially trapped by our inability to sell that lovely, empty house sitting in the snow. Last night we had a horrible wind storm ripping through our area. I lay awake listening to the wind howling and wondering if the roof was going to blow off our house down in Sonora. And if it did, how long would it take for someone to notice? What would be the damage? Would the home owner's insurance cover it? Would the house sell better with a new roof? My brain was doing it's "hamster running on the exercise wheel" imitation. I got relatively little sleep.

I want to focus on "What Matters"... I NEED to focus on "What Matters."

Maybe tomorrow will be better.
Love, Nancy

Adorable you

My art for today. Page was actually started at a scrapbooking workshop thing-y called CKU Masters 2005!! Has been sitting empty in album for all those months. It was sponsored by Rusty Pickle (a scrapping company for all you non-scrappers out there). We started with black patterned paper then added corrugated cardboard which we dry brushed with white paint. The fabric looking stuff around the buckle is actually paper. I really love the lacy ribbon on the tag and the teeny tiny staples. I added the pink ric-rac to the safety pin and the white heart ric-rac, heart charm, and the flower with a button center.... along with the cute pictures of Kyla from her 2nd birthday.

What Matters

So while lurking around in blogland, I commited to "creating art everyday in January" Ack! What?! Am I crazy?! Already I have failed as the pomegranite martinis (as well as a BOTTLE of champage) left me unable to leave the comfort of my bed yesterday, but here it is, the 2nd, and I created a little smidgy piece of art... my type of art.
It is the title page for an album I have been thinking of making called "What Matters". I whipped out my ne'er used paints for the border around the quote and even used a stamp from a set of very expensive acrylics I bought months ago and was afraid of. My goal will be to make a page or two each day this month and have it finished by the time the month is over. As the album is only 20 pages in length, I am hoping I will finish it. Also, since it is 8x8 inches, it will be easy to scan the pages for posting here. Wish me luck!

Love, Nancy

Happy New Year!

Tonight we are headed over to Mark's sweet sister's house for a night of cocktails and snacks. Mark started up the crazy Atkins diet yesterday, so I made deviled eggs with dill and broccoli salad. But what I'm really excited about are the pomegranite martinis!! I have been nibbling on this GIANT pomegranite since yesterday so I bought all of the other ingredients from Oprah's recipe and I am set!! Have some bubbly for midnight as well....

Do not expect a post tomorrow... I will be in bed!

Love, Nancy

Finally!

Today I finally had the TIME and the ENERGY and the DRIVE to do a little scrapbooking! I pulled out the book I started making back in 2005 about advent. It started the last week of Nov. and went up to Dec 25th. I had finished it up until December 11th. So today... only 2 years later it is complete. There is journaling for every day of the month and photos for most of them (I petered out on photo taking near the end!) I feel really happy to have it completed. One more thing to check off on my thousand item to do list! :)

As for the photo above, all the scrapping about our last Christmas in our house in Sugar Pine made me miss it, so here's a picture for you all to enjoy!

Love, Nancy

My song....

Found this story on "Inspiration Peak".... trying to hear my song today, but dizziness and nausea are getting in the way. Let's just hope it's too much Diet Mountain Dew and not the flu!

They're Singing Your Song
From a story told by Alan Cohen
in his book: Wisdom Of The Heart

When a woman in a certain African tribe knows
she is pregnant, she goes out into the wilderness
with a few friends and together they pray and
meditate until they hear the song of the child.
They recognize that every soul has its own vibration
that expresses its unique flavor and purpose. When
the women attune to the song, they sing it out loud.
Then they return to the tribe and teach it to everyone
else.

When the child is born, the community gathers and sings the child's song to him or her. Later, when the child enters education, the village gathers and chants the child's song. When the child passes through the initiation to adulthood, the people again come
together and sing. At the time of marriage, the person hears his or her song.

Finally, when the soul is about to pass from this world, the family and friends gather at the person's bed, just as they did at their birth, and they sing the person to the next life.

To the African tribe there is one other occasion upon which the villagers sing to the child. If at any time during his or her life, the person commits a crime or aberrant social act, the individual is called to the center of the village and the people in the community
form a circle around them. Then they sing their song to them.

The tribe recognizes that the correction for antisocial behavior is not punishment; it is love and the remembrance of identity. When you recognize your own song, you have no desire or need to do anything that would hurt another.

A friend is someone who knows your song and sings it to you when you have forgotten it. Those who love you are not fooled by mistakes you have made or dark images you hold about yourself. They remember your beauty when you feel ugly; your wholeness when you are broken; your innocence when you feel guilty; and your purpose when you are confused.

You may not have grown up in an African tribe that sings your song to you at crucial life transitions, but life is always reminding you when you are in tune with yourself and when you are not. When you feel good, what you are doing matches your song, and when you feel awful, it doesn't. In the end, we shall all recognize our song and sing it well.

You may feel a little warbly at the moment, but so have all the great singers. Just keep singing and you'll find your way home.

Like a slug

This week I have definitely been feeling like slug....

sleeping 10 or so hours per night
playing spider solitaire many times per day
looking at blogs
reading
eating LARGE lunches

I have accomplished a few things.... maybe I'll make a list later and revel in my productivity.... or maybe I'll veg out on the couch and watch dull TV (will those writers please, please settle their strike soon!)

Of course, last week I was incredibly busy with activities filling up my every minute, so maybe this nothing ness is just me decompressing and recharging....

Here's a photo from last week of my first ever "gingerbread" house (you can see it is made from graham crackers)... Each of my lovely students made one. The trick is to pre-assemble each house using royal icing. I did not actually do much assembling, my teaching partner and her parent helper did all the work while I watched both K classes at Exploration Time. For me it was a great trade off! I did actually enjoy decorating my house, and would love to do it on my own some day

Me around 1972....

Merry (late) Christmas

It's a little known fact that the Christmas season actually STARTS on Dec. 25th, so dont' rush to take down those trees yet! Take a hint from all the Europeans and celebrate until the Epiphany (Jan 6) when the three wise men came and bestowed their gifts to Jesus. Hope your days continue to be merry and bright! Love, Nancy

Almost there..

Only 2 more days until Christmas vacation.... now, if we can just get through the Winter program tomorrow night and then successfully decorate our gingerbread houses on Friday, I will be set... Well, except for all the of things I need to do at home to get ready! Will for sure be consuming copious amounts of alcohol by Friday at 1:30... You may expect your Christmas card next week... Mark is supposed to email me his paragraph for our letter tonight.... (are you reading this, honey?.... send me your paragraph!)

My Granny

Yesterday we went to Hayfork to my Granny's Christmas party. Every year she invites all of her kids, grandkids, greatgrandkids and nieces and nephews, etc, etc, to a big potluck party at the fairgrounds. It's really great to get to see everyone... and Santa even shows up! I had a really good time meeting my cousin Jenny's new man and chatting with her. Also, Granny told me a great story about when she was a girl: When she was in 8th grade in a one room school house, her only academic resposibility was to pass her constitution test. So every day she sat at the little low table with the 1st and 2nd graders and taught them. She loved it so much she thought she would one day become a teacher. So I guess that's where I get my love of teaching from! She would've been a fabulous teacher, too, because she is one of the most giving and sweet tempered people I have ever had the priviledge of knowing. So, here's my challenge to you... take a little time and chat with someone you love. Find out something about their childhood.... record some memories....... I promise, you won't regret it! Love, Nancy

My family....

What a gorgeous family I have..... Love each of them so much.

Mark... my stability, my worrier, my love
Mason... my reasoner, my tender hearted, my witty challenger
Kyla... my firecracker, my cuddler, my sentimental darling

Scary Christmas

A sweet little guy in my class gave me this card today.... Here is the front: This is the inside: It says, "If they are on the naughty list Santa is really mad!"

LOVE IT!

Scary Christmas to all!

The dreaded Christmas card pictures

So, this year my plan for the Christmas card picture was individual shots of each of us lined up in a row with the letters P-E-A-C-E on the photos. I made it clear to all that my goal for the weekend was to complete these pictures by Sunday. On Saturday I met a barage of resistance from everyone, hence, the only pictures that were taken were of me.... Mark took them and I was really direct about how I wanted only my face... He kept trying to back up and insisted that he was worried the pictures were chopping off all of my hair... like NONE of it was showing. Here is the result... Hmmmmmm, he's good at many things, wonderful even, but a photographer he is not! (love you sweetie!) And, do you see those wrinkles around my eyes? Those are my new 40 year old wrinkles here only 9 months before I expected them!! As far as the rest of the pictures go, I am on my way to Costco right now to drop them off. It was a pretty tough-to-take scene at my house last night. M got beligerent and ended up throwing around some language that put a hole right through my heart. I am hoping the ache of it will fade just as it did when he was 3 and yelled "I hate you!" Needless to say, he is grounded. And in closing here is my December bulletin board from my classroom. I hand cut the Santa and sleigh and the Kinders made the reindeer from a pattern by TLC. Merry, Merry! Love, Nancy

Christmas Goal...

Christmas--that magic blanket that wraps itself about us, that something so intangible that it is like a fragrance. It may weave a spell of nostalgia... Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer, but always it will be a day of remembrance... a day in which we think of everything we have loved. This is my goal...... This is my goal..... This is my goal......

Undeniable

It is undeniable that she is beautiful.

It is undeniable that she is creative.

It is undeniable that she is emotional.

It is undeniable that she is sassy.

It is undeniable that I love her.

Tis the season

I have been trying to get a little bit of Christmas set up each day without stressing myself out. I started with my cute little gingerbread/candy themed tree since the boxes for it were on top of the pile. I used Kyla's new digi camera to snap this picture of it when I was done. (All of this actually took place on Saturday) On Sunday night Kyla and I set up the tree in her room and then I put out 3 boxes of decorations in the kitchen and living room on Monday. It is taking me a really long time because I can't remember where anything goes in this new house. Tonight when I got home from work I decorated my angel tree and put up the last (and biggest pain in the butt) tree. It will hopefully get it's lights and decorations tomorrow. Then there's just one more box to go. I don't have much for decoration outside, but I'm OK with that. Actually, one of my goals for after Christmas is going to be to sort through the decorations and get rid of as many as possible. This is VERY difficult for me since I am so sentimental and everything has a memory tied to it. But, I am going to try! "Simplify" is my new motto.

Bye for now!

Love, Nancy

This is a test, this is only a test....

Every time I try to post lately, I get an error message, so here is a quick test to see if blogger and my computer are friends again....

Twenty eight

I am now officially sleep deprived again. It is unfortunate how easily my body adapts to staying up late and sleeping until 9 or so in the morning.... so since school is back in session, I am getting up at 6:11, but still going to bed around 11 or so. Also, Mark had his work schedule change, and he now goes to work at 9:30 at night and gets home around 7 a.m. I REALLY miss having him around to cuddle. The first night I put a pillow in the bed in his spot, but it just isn't the same. I even have to use the electric blanket! Things feel like they are on the verge of getting holiday hectic around here. I have always loved Christmas, but the last few years I am really trying to simplify and enjoy myself more. I was thinking today of maybe going on a fun family outing every week of Advent... maybe on Saturdays. The thought occured to me while I was driving by the bowling alley. Maybe bowling one week, hiking at Fern Canyon, going to the beach... It sounds great to me, but I know I will meet stern comments and huffs and rolled eyes from the teenagers when I suggest it. It 's just too bad they don't appreciate what a fun and entertaining set of parents they have! :-) Anyway, sorry about ditching the NaBloPoMo thing, I just got bored of the computer and had to take a break! Maybe next year I will make it a whole month.... I was thinking of going on some sort of theme.... Any suggestions? Love to all! Nancy

Twenty five

It's the last day of vacation, and I spent 4 hours at my classroom today. Once I got home, I also spent an hour on my bed cutting and creating pieces for a project tomorrow. After that, I spent about an hour putting together 3 new homework bags to start sending tomorrow. Teacher Nancy is back!!

Twenty four

Went to see the Bee Movie today with a big group of people... it was very cute and funny... although I had to keep biting my tongue to not tell Mark all of the incorrect scientific facts about a bee's life. In my class we do a BIG wonderful bee week in the spring, and boy! do we learn all about bees!

Twenty three

Enchanted Today I went to see this movie with Ann, Karen and Kyla. We missed the beginning, but overall it was really cute.... cute with a capital C-U-T-E! It was all about love forever and ever and love's first kiss being the most powerful thing in the world. It did have a lot of parts where fairy tail singing and dancing and mushy talk were shown to be weird and out of place in today's society. It kind of reminded me of that Sex and the City episode when Carrie is dating the Russian, and all his big romantic gestures seem fake and out of place to her. I don't think I need too many big romantic gestures... but a little bit of sweetness each day (like cuddling before you go to sleep, or bringing someone a soda when you are getting one for yourself, or walking all the way across the house to give your love a kiss) that's what makes happily ever after for me. Also Patrick Dempsey is yummy to look at!

Twenty two

I had thought of making a list of all the great foods I ate at my TWO wonderful Thanksgiving dinners, but then I thought I'd make a list of all the things I am thankful for instead (it does include several of the foods I ate at my TWO wonderful Thanksgiving dinners) 1. For Mark, who knows just when to change the subject to keep me in line 2. For Mason, who smiled his "no teeth/braces showing smile" for picture after picture because I promised to pay him for them 3. For Kyla, who said "I love you because you are weird, Mommy." 4. For Pepper, who is sitting on my lap right now keeping me toasty warm on a cold night 5. For my Mom who always makes all of the dinner and won't let anyone bring anything and always does all the dished even when you try to help 6. For my Dad who tasted my cranberry sauce (which I brought without telling my Mom) even though it had "sticks" in it (They were cinnamon sticks and whole cloves) 7. For my sweet sister who walked with me this morning to counteract the TWO dinners and bought me Mike's Hard Lemonades to drink 8. For Alyssa who lets me call her string bean and makes me laugh 9. For Alivia who is just beginning to read and sat on my lap and read "Pickle Things" to me 10. For Madi who jumped up and hugged me as soon as I arrived and said, "Happy Thanksgiving, Auntie!" 11. For Ann who handled cooking and serving dinner to over 20 people with grace and thoughtfulness 12. For all of Mark's family... His Mom, Ann, Dennis, D3, Karen, Blair, Jessica, Saeng, John, Liz, Charles, Nick, Cheryl, Josh and Hannah for making the effort and come together for a family holiday. 13. For the best ravioli I've eaten maybe ever 14. For getting to hold a baby even if he was tired and overwhelmed 15. For Lemon Merengue pie... when Kyla ate it she said "What's in merengue?" and we told her and she said, "No wonder it's gross!" 16. For my sister remembering about 8 years ago when I called Kyla "Lollipop" and Alyssa said, "Just call me sucker!" because she wanted a cute nickname too 17. For my mom's yummy stuffing 18. For candlelight 19. For conversation with 5 and 6 year olds... I am starting to miss my class 20. For sunshine all day and moonlight all night Happy Thanksgiving! Love, Nancy

Twenty One

Here's an old photo of me (with the wing hair, buck teeth and tucked in sweater vest) and my always cuter sister in her tan corduroys with the embroidered jean pockets. The cat in the bottom left is Sadie. He was my personal favorite cat for most of my childhood. He had long. soft fur and stripes in all the right places. I named him Sadie because 1) I thought he was a girl, and 2) He had "sad" eyes. I actually considered naming him Saddie, but was talked out of it by my mom. I was obviously a very concrete minded child as my first cat (before Sadie) was named Blackie. Can you guess what color he was?

Well, I am really looking forward to tomorrow as we are spending the morning at my parents house with my sister and her family. Then, the evening at Mark's sisters'. This will be the first year that all of Mark's siblings have had a holiday together since 2000. I am going to be in my official photographer mode, so hopefully I won't imbibe too much! I did buy a bottle of Mum's tonight... am in the mood for some yummy champagne. I guess we'll see!

Cheers! Nancy

Twenty

Today was a pretty joy filled day for me, but I am starting to suffer from mourning my lost vacation. It's silly, I know, but about half way through a vacation I start to feel the pressure of accomplishing all the wonderful ideals I had envisioned before it started. I thought I would have time to work out every day, and scrapbook, and get caught up on household chores and spend a day at work getting ready for Monday. None of these things have happened, but I am trying to look on the bright side, so here's a list of what I did accomplish today: 1. walk/run 3 miles on treadmill 2. New hair color 3. Pedicure 4. Fun lunch complete with expensive champagne to celebrate my sis in law's birthday (Happy Birthday, Karen!) 5. Grocery shopping (Wow! was it crowded!) 6. Went and looked at several houses on the market to try to prepare myself for giving this one up in a few months 7. Yummy dinner cooked by me (Chicken oporto, pasta and asparagus) 8. Watched the Netflix movie that has been sitting around here for over a week so I can send it back tomorrow (The Good Shepherd... I liked it, but Mark loved it) 9. Watched the Bachelor After the Final Rose... interesting how it turned out this time 10. Left no mess in the kitchen and did 2 loads of laundry So, does it look like I am accomplishing much on my vacation? Happy Tuesday! Love, Nancy

Nineteen (I'm finally back on track!)

Today I.... 1. woke up with a sick stomach and headache 2. got showered and ready and said goodbye 3. rode in car to Angel's Camp and bought snacks 4. rode in car to Williams and ate western bacon cheesburger and fries (#2 hangover cure) 5. napped in car almost the whole way over highway 20 6. sat in car for 1 hour and 20 minutes because of a big, scary accident about 20 cars ahead of us where a helicopter was brought in 7. rode in car to Willits where we got more snacks 8. picked up Pepper and M from my parents (in his dirty clothes) 9. Dropped K & A off at my sister's house ( I could really use a break after almost 10 hours in the car with them) 10. Unloaded the car, checked email and blogged

Eighteen

On Sunday I..... 1. Got up and went to house to do clean up/ winterizing. 2. Vacuumed, scrubbed, removed cobwebs and dusted top floor of house including ceiling fan 3. Saw my first ever, real life black widow (wow was it big!) living in our outside garbage can 4. Vacuumed, scrubbed, removed cobwebs and dusted middle floor of house 5. Over saw K & A while they attempted to wash windows and clean up doors with magic erasers 6. Vacuumed, scrubbed, removed cobwebs and dusted bottom floor of house including 2 big windows 7. Went back to Joannas and took a shower 8. Had a fun evening with Joanna and Rick and Anne... drank 2 hard lemonades & 4 glasses of white wine

Seventeen

On Saturday I .... 1. Slept in late and still felt yucky from overindulging the night before 2. Had a relaxing morning visiting with Rick and Joanna 3. Dropped Mark off at the golf course to meet a friend 4. Tried unsuccessfully about 10 times to reach my friends to set up a time to get together 5. Puttered around WalMart and TJ Maxx looking for Christmas presents 6. Ate a McDonald's Quarter Pounder with Cheese and fries for lunch (my faithful hangover cure) 7. Tried to take a nap in the car after 4 more unsuccessful attempts to meet my friends 8. Finally got a hold of Shelley and made a date to meet at her house at 2:30 9. Wandered around the cute shops in downtown Sonora still Christmas shopping 10. Waited at Shelley's house until 2:55 11. Kristin got dropped off and we went for drinks at Alfredo's ( I had water) 12. Ran into sweet Karen and said Hi 13. Shelley arrived at Alfredo's 14. Had a great catch up time 15. Picked Mark up at 5:30 from golf 16. Bought food for a get together at Joanna and Rick's 17. Enjoyed a night of catching up with friends in front of a HUGE bonfire 18. Drank only 2 hard lemonades

Sixteen

I have spent the weekend living my real life instead of my cyber life... so here's a list of what we did on Friday.... 1. Left the house at 7:40 am (only 10 minutes late) 2. Dropped M off at school (the last thing he said to me was don't forget to leave my suitcase at Grandma's... the last thing I said to him was don't you want to say goodbye to Pepper?) 3. Dropped Pepper and all his supplies at my parent's house 4. Ate lunch at the new Straw Hat Pizza in Williams 5. Dropped all our cleaning stuff off at our house and saw that we forgot to leave M's suitcase at my parents' 6. Dropped K & A off at a friend's house 7. Went to Joanna and Rick's and got ready 8. Had a good dinner with friends to celebrate Joyce's birthday 9. Went to the Seven Sister's and had 3 lemon drop martinis 10. Listened to a weird bluegrassy chick band... didn't like them 11. Went to bed cranky and pretty drunk after 4 lemon drops and a glass and a half of wine

Fifteen

I am taking tomorrow off so we can drive down to the "old house" and do some winterizing. For me it's actually so I can go and see my friends who I miss so much! I really hope Mark doesn't try to put me to work. I can handle vacuuming the whole house or something, but any wheelbarrow/rake/pine needle removal will be met with intense resistance! I just checked the weather there and it's supposed to be 68 or 69 and partly cloudy the whole weekend. For here that is summer weather! Should I take my capris?

Fourteen

Even though I have exercised for 5 days in a row, I feel incredibly fat! It may have something to do with the tasty mini weiners in their exquisite little homemade buns that Cindyanna made for goody day today.... they even had this delish homemade honey mustard! or maybe those cute pecan tarts that I ate 2 of! What a great cook she is! Despite the fatness, I went shopping after work for a new outfit to wear on my trip this weekend and maybe something for Thanksgiving. I got some jeans that I really like and 3 new shirts and a quilted jacket. I like everything I got but was disappointed in the color selection available. This season's color palette seems somewhat limited. Everything I got was black, brown or red. Would have liked something with a little more va-va-voom! I was just thinking I need to get off here and make a couple of phone calls, but then I saw the time. I never call anyone after 9:00 p.m. If you're reading this Joanna, I promise to call you tomorrow! Since I have more time, I guess I can tell you about the book I finished reading while I was walking on the treadmill tonight. It's called "Vanishing Acts" by Jodi Piccoult. I really like her writing style and was pulled into this story. It's about a 32 year old woman who finds out her father (whom she adores) kidnapped her at the age of 4 from her alcoholic mother. It is told from 4 different character's viewpoint. The parts told from her father's point of view as he is in jail, and the things that go on there were especially disturbing for me, so tonight I am going to pray for all of those men and women who live under those conditions. Those who have hardened their hearts out of necessity. Those who feel they have no place in the society outside of jail. Those who are driven to commit desperate acts. Those who wield a vengeful power over others. Those who are isolated. Each of these people is of value... even if they have forgotten (or never even knew it).

Thirteen (my 200th post!)

Hi all, Well, luckily for me I was granted 2 of my 3 wishes today! Can you guess which one did not come true? If you said #1 you are absolutely right! No shock there! On a different note, we had a great time celebrating my sweet niece Madi's 5th birthday on Sunday. She used to be a pretty wild and crazy little gal, but since starting Kindergarten she has really settled down and become much more sweet natured. You can see the wild and crazy came out at party time! What a crack up! Love you Madi! And the rest of you too! Nancy

Twelve

I was thinking of writing about the inept customer service I received while trying to get pictures developed at Long's today... or maybe making a list of what I did today (I do so love lists).... but instead I think I'll make a list of what I wish for tomorrow: 1. That our realtor will call and say we have an offer on our house 2. That the oreo cookie turkeys we are making with our 8th grade buddies will turn out 3. That it will not rain during any recesses I'll let you know how it all turns out. Love, Nancy

Eleven (yes, it's late, but it's not my fault!)

The community I live in is pretty isolated. And about every 2 months the internet and all cell phone service is completely lost due to a problem with the cable..... you see, in most places there is more than 1 cable connecting an area to the cyber world, but here there is only one, and people keep chopping, sawing, cutting into it with large machinery. On a separate note, Saturday I was buzzing around the internet and I looked on "How Much is too Much" and loved the weekly challenge. It was to use an entire alphabet on your scrapbook page. So yesterday morning I made this page with a baby picture of me that had been sitting on my scrapping table. The paper is actually scalloped all the way around the edge, but my scanner couldn't fit it all in. Bye!

Ten

Lovely, lovely Saturday. Sleeping late A 4 mile walk with my 2 favorite boys: Pepper and Mark Pasta for lunch Toodling around at work for 2 1/2 hours while M worked the snack shack at the football game Pasta for dinner Watching "Pride and Prejudice" A glass of wine later Aaaaaahhhhhhhh......

Nine

I am soooo happy it's finally Friday! And Monday is a holiday for me so I am practically beside myself with joy! What a tiring week this has been. Everyone in our primary has noticed that the kids are harder than usual to deal with. Lots of loud, off task, rough and tumble behavior. In addition to that it was parent teacher conference week. I really do get worn out from being friendly to people I don't know well. It doesn't mean I don't like the person... it's more along the lines of stressing out about whether or not they'll like me. I am really ready to sleep late and putter around my house accomplishing a lot of nothing. On an entirely separate note, I came across this quote from my "Generous wife" tip from yesterday... Let me be a little kinder, let me be a little blinder to the faults of those around me. Edgar A. Guest This is a goal of mine in dealing with everyone I come into contact with, not just my husband. Let's face it... if you are intent on disliking someone, you will be able to find faults in them and overlook their better qualities. We are all imperfect and in need of acceptance and love. So, in the spirit of being a generous wife, mother, teacher, friend, sister, daughter, in law, etc. this is my goal. TGIF! Love, Nancy

Eight

So tonight while I was happily walking on my treadmill reading my newest Jodi Piccoult adventure, Vanishing Acts, Kyla came rushing into my room screeching. Apparently M had tried to kill a spider in his room, and somehow it escaped and found its way into her room... under her bed. She was beside herself.... howling about how freaked out she was and how no one would help her.....how she could not sleep in her room, etc. I told her to ask Dad for help, but she already had (I must add here that I know from experience Dad will not take you seriously when you are crazy freaked out and being unreasonable). My next advice was to take all the bedding off her bed then check under the bed by moving it away from the wall. She left now whining instead of howling.

A few minutes later Mark (Dad) came in and said Kyla was freaking out... They had removed the bedding and looked under the bed and the spider still missing. He said she was afraid the spider would crawl into her mouth while she was asleep. I recommended she sleep on her brother's top bunk.

After I was finished with my workout and sitting here checking my email, she came in and we were talking and she said, "You know, spiders can do horrible things to you."

I said, "What do you think it is going to do?"

"Well," she says, "Once this boy had 2 spiders crawl into his ear and they mated and all the baby spiders came crawling out"

"That couldn't really happen," I said.

"Yes it did," she insists.... "I read about it in a book." Then she adds, "And once, a spider laid an egg sack in a girl's cheek."

Trying to be the voice of reason here, I say, "If someone had an egg sack on their cheek, you would just pull it off and flush it down the toilet or throw it away. It couldn't hurt you."

"But all the spiders came crawling out!" she says.

"Do you know how long it takes for spider's eggs to hatch?" I ask. "It doesn't just happen overnight. You would see the egg sack and get rid of it."

"But it was in her skin," she says

"How could a spider put the sack under the skin?" I question her.

"I don't know, but I read about it in a book," is the answer she gives.

"What book"

She grins and me and looks sheepish. "A book of horror stories."

This is further proof to me that my 13 year old daughter has MY overly active imagination and will not be allowed to watch horror movies until she moves out of the house. Seriously, if a book of kid's horror stories has her this freaked out, what would happen if she saw "The Hills Have Eyes"?

And just so no one out there worries that my daughter is actually infested with sacks of spider eggs ready to hatch, the spider ventured out of it's safe hiding place and was sufficiently squished.

Bye for now! Love, Nancy

Seven-a book list

I stole this from Professor J who stole it from Lanie Painie who stole it from Grammar Snob. Copy this list and Bold those you’ve read. Italicize books you have started but couldn’t finish. Add an asterisk* to those you have read more than once. Underline those on your To Be Read list. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell Crime and Punishment Catch-22 One Hundred Years of Solitude Wuthering Heights The Silmarillion Life of Pi: A Novel The Name of the Rose Don Quixote Moby Dick Ulysses Madame Bovary The Odyssey Pride and Prejudice* Jane Eyre A Tale of Two Cities The Brothers Karamazov Guns, Germs, and Steel: the Fates of Human Societies War and Peace Vanity Fair The Time Traveler’s Wife The Iliad Emma* The Blind Assassin The Kite Runner Mrs. Dalloway Great Expectations American Gods A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius Atlas Shrugged Reading Lolita in Tehran Memoirs of a Geisha Middlesex Quicksilver Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West The Canterbury Tales The Historian A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Love in the Time of Cholera Brave New World The Fountainhead Foucault’s Pendulum Middlemarch Frankenstein The Count of Monte Cristo Dracula A Clockwork Orange Anansi Boys The Once and Future King The Grapes of Wrath The Poisonwood Bible 1984 Angels & Demons The Inferno The Satanic Verses Sense and Sensibility* The Picture of Dorian Gray Mansfield Park* One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest To the Lighthouse Tess of the D’Urbervilles Oliver Twist Gulliver’s Travels Les Misérables The Corrections The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Dune The Prince The Sound and the Fury Angela’s Ashes The God of Small Things A People’s History of the United States: 1492-Present Cryptonomicon Neverwhere A Confederacy of Dunces A Short History of Nearly Everything Dubliners The Unbearable Lightness of Being Beloved Slaughterhouse-Five The Scarlet Letter Eats, Shoots & Leaves The Mists of Avalon Oryx and Crake Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed Cloud Atlas The Confusion Lolita Persuasion* Northanger Abbey* The Catcher in the Rye On the Road The Hunchback of Notre Dame Freakonomics Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance The Aeneid Watership Down Gravity’s Rainbow The Hobbit In Cold Blood White Teeth Treasure Island David Copperfield The Three Musketeers

Happy Reading! Love, Nancy

Six

It was a pretty good day at school today. It is parent teacher conference week, and I get sort of worn out from all that chatting. Making conversation with people I don't know is very trying on my poor nerves. I am, after all, painfully shy. I had about 6 conferences yesterday and 5 more today. I am glad to be finished with the bulk of them only 5 more for the rest of the week! Yay! I took down the scarecrow/pumpkin patch bulletin board and put up all the funny pilgrims my class made. I will take a photo after we add some writing to spruce it up. It has been hard coming up with ideas to make the students start to understand what life as a pilgrim was like. Today we read a Thanksgiving book and had a discussion I thought went really well... lots of good comments from the kids. Then, when we were finishing up our drawing of the Mayflower,one of my smartest boys says, "Can I draw a motor on it?" I try to look on these moments as opportunities for more teaching.... which is what I did... more questions... more discussion. But, some days I just want to pull my hair out. Without a time machine, how can I give them the knowledge of "Long Ago"? They are so wrapped up in the here and now... in what they can touch and feel and smell. They can't imagine a camera that doesn't show you the picture on the back right after you take it..... how am I to teach them about life without electricity? I will keep on plugging along. Looking for the best story books and websites and activities and videos. I will keep collecting the realia. Maybe, just maybe some of them will (sort of) get it. Off to walk on the treadmill... Love, Nancy

Five (LATE!)

In response to my ranting #4 post, sweet Cindyanna brought me a cup of cocoa on Monday morning. How lucky am I to have such a thoughtful friend?! It really brightened my day.

The ranting was mostly due to anger at poor Mark who often has to suffer for the baggage I have brought with me into our marriage from my previous life. I overreacted to him not doing what I wanted him to do (come shopping with me). This overreaction was caused by the disfunctionality in my parent's marriage and had very little to do with my marriage.

Lastly, I have no good excuse for my lack of posting on day 5. It was pretty much just forgetfulness.... this is not a good sign for the month ahead!

More on Four

P. S. I am starting to simmer down.

Four

I have anger bubbling up out of me like a sauce on over boil. I don't know where it's coming from. I am going to try to take a moment and get it under control before someone becomes scalded and scarred..... but it may be too late. Many anger filled words of resentment have already splashed out.

Three

Today my mom came for a quick visit to drop off some apples from one of my dad's trees and some Halloween candy for the kids. She was telling me about how Livi and Madi (my nieces) were out in front of their house trying to sell their Halloween candy! Usually Livi has a lemonade stand and Madi has a chocolate milk stand, but I guess today they were out of lemonade. Hence, the candy stand. It would probably work pretty well if every other kid in the neighborhood didn't have three pounds of candy at home as well! This conversation brought up the time I tried to sell pet rocks out in front of my house. I guess I was about 7 or so, and I saw something about pet rocks on TV. It made me think I could make a fortune selling pet rocks to the tourists who drove passed our house while touring the Avenue of the Giants (an ancient redwood forest). Unfortunately, our house happened to be on a stretch of straight road where the forest is far away, so all the tourists sped up and flew by without even a glance at my "Pet Rocks For Sale" sign. I also tried many summers to raise money for the Fortuna Rodeo (always a BIG goal for me) by picking and selling blackberries to the aforementioned tourists. This also was always a big flop. My friends and cousins and sister and I would spend one day picking as many berries as we could. Then, the next day we would try to sell them... but after a night in the fridge those juicy, ripe berries were always pretty soggy and most of the tourists who stopped didn't want them. It was always so tragic. Another big letdown for raising money was the penny scramble. I would always have visions of collecting so much money I would be set for the upcoming carnival by scavenging at the penny scramble (which took place the night before the carnival's opening). I would imagine money raining down and counting up, say, $15 or $20. Of course, my total was usually around $2.50. But for some reason I always got so excited. I guess that's why some people call me 'idealistic'. Isn't that just a nice word for gullible? So what are some of your childhood memories? Love, Nancy

Two

Good News and Bad News today... luckily it's mostly good. First, the people who looked at the house didn't want it. (Good) Second, we get to renew our contract here for 6 months. (Good) Third, we have to allow other potential buyers to see the house with 24 hours notice. (Bad) Fourth, I walked 3 miles yesterday and 3 miles today. (Good) Fifth, I have seen a noticeable enlargement in my poochy tummy due to Halloween candy consumption. (Bad) Sixth, I didn't eat a single piece of candy today. (Good) Seventh, it is Friday and I survived Halloween week and get to sleep in tomorrow. (VERY Good) See you tomorrow! Love, Nancy

One

So, on a whim I joined NaBloPoMo. I have seen this acronym around and thought it sounded kind of nasty (I have a VERY dirty mind!) but never had the energy to find out what it stood for. Well last night I finally checked it out and it meas NAtional BLOg POsting MOnth. Hmmmm not so interesting as when it's an acronym! When you join, you challenge yourself to blog faithfully every day during the month of November. So, put you seatbelts on people! You are going to be buffeted by posts!!!! Hopefully they won't all be boring... I'm shooting for 50% boring, 30% mildly entertaining, 15% pouty or grumpy and 5% fabulous! Today's notable items: 1. I left work at 3:15 today. (Usually leave around 5:00, so Yay me!) 2.My friend, Cindyanna called me on my cell around 4:10 to find out where I was... again SO unusual for me to leave before 5:00. 3. I was at the public library when she called and got many dirty looks from other patrons as I giggled about her 'having a guy give me a massage is creepy' problem. 4. At 5:10 a couple came to look at the house we are living in because they may want to buy it and kick us out since we have been unsuccessful in selling our old house and closing the deal here. When they came to the door, I couldn't even look them in the eye. I immediately took off walking with Pepper and left Mark and the kids behind as I cried and walked as fast as I could. We should find out tomorrow if we're house hunting again. 5. Before the people came to look at the house I frantically cleaned it all up as if I actually wanted them to like it. I guess either I'm really, really well trained in wanting your house to look it's best when a realtor is showing it, OR deep down I want them to buy it and end our wondering if this house is really "the one", OR I am just such a people pleaser I can't stand the thought of someone looking at my house and thinking it's dirty. Sorry for the weird ramblings... I am somewhat scattered tonight. Love, Nancy