Christmas Card 2010

Faith Hope Love Religious

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GOING GLUTEN FREE!

Gluten Free


Living gluten free has become a reality in our household since I have been diagnosed with gluten intolerance. It hasn't been as difficult as I thought it would be thanks to the fact that I have other family members who also live gluten free and are willing to share tips and already-been-tested-and-approved gluten free products with me. Thanks, Cindi! :)

It hasn't even been too difficult for the rest of the family. We have found some great gluten free foods that everyone likes. Caitlyn even had a gluten free cake on her 16th birthday and was happy with it! The biggest draw-back so far has been the added stress on our grocery budget. Unfortunately, gluten free living is rather expensive. But the fact is, the way I feel has greatly improved, even in areas I wouldn't have considered, so the trade-off is absolutely worth it.

TOOTH UPDATE

I took Garrett to the dentist Monday and that is definitely not his permanent tooth coming in... but it's not part of the baby tooth either. It is a mesiodens, or middle tooth, that will need to be pulled. No problem. Garrett didn't freak out at the mention of pulling that tooth. He didn't even freak out when Dr. Jarrell said she'd likely have to pull the top front tooth next to it as well because pulling the mesiodens would knock that other front tooth out anyway. He DID freak out at the mention of a pediatric dentist or oral surgeon doing it though. He said, "No way! I want HER [Dr. Jarrell] to do it." Dr. Jarrell said we could take him to one of the other dental specialists if we wanted it out right away or she can pull it in a couple of months when it has erupted a little more. We are going to wait and let her do it. There is no risk of damaging any other teeth by waiting so we will honor Garrett's wishes and let her do it once the tooth has come in enough to get a hold of it. He seems kind of excited at the prospect of getting "laughing gas." lol. not sure exactly what he thinks that means, but as long as he's not worried about it, I see no reason to fully explain the whole process. ;)

FIRST LOST TOOTH!

Garrett lost his first tooth today. It's been loose for about 3 months. When I took him to the dentist for his routine cleaning, Dr. Jarrell said she didn't see a permanent tooth in the x-ray so she felt pretty certain he had bumped his face on something and knocked the tooth loose. She also said it probably wouldn't fall out anytime soon and that when it did, it would be a blank hole for quite a while. Well, the tooth fell out much sooner than she expected and there IS something there trying to come in (or something that broke off the baby tooth, not sure), but it doesn't look right. So Monday I am going to run him into the office and have her take a look at it. Whatever that is that's in there is really skinny and very sharp. I've never seen anything quite like it before and am hoping it is nothing to be concerned about or that she has to do anything with. Garrett freaks out about this kind of stuff. It's funny, because he is a really tough kid. It takes a lot to make him cry, but the mere mention of going to the doctor or dentist literally makes his head spin and he has a major meltdown. Grrrr. In the meantime, we are just going to put that lost tooth underneath his pillow and let him be thrilled that the Toothfairy came and brought him a dollar! (our Toothfairy isn't rich so she hasn't kept up with the Joneses - lol!)

TOO BUSY TO BLOG

Yep, that's what I said. I"m too busy to blog. What ever made me think I would actually have time for this? I must've been having a crazy moment. But I am going to try to do better about keeping this up. We'll see how it goes. Another school year is almost over and I can't even believe it. It seems like we just started and now we're ending. :( I am sad to see my two groups of preschoolers leave this year. I've had two fantastically fun classes filled with sweet kids. I must admit the afternoon class was a BIT more challenging than the morning class, but we did have fun and I love all those kids dearly. My afternoon class consisted of 7 boys and 4 girls. 'Nuf said. I'm sure you can draw your own conclusions from even that tiny bit of information. :D

Last weekend was Western High School's Jr.-Sr. Prom. So for the third time in five months, Caitlyn had to find the perfect dress and the perfect hairstyle. And yes, she went with Aaron because they are still together (10 months today in fact as I was just informed a few minutes ago that today is their "10-monthiversary." what the heck??). And as always, they looked gorgeous and, more importantly, they had a wonderful time at the dance even though Caitlyn had to be on a bus at 7:45 a.m. the morning after prom for an all-day cheerleading stunt clinic. You can view more prom pics here: http://picasaweb.google.com/scrapnfor3/WESTERNPROM09?
authkey=Gv1sRgCOGoxfW0l8CkTg# [just copy & paste that entire link]

Oh, and speaking of the cheer stunt clinic, there's more news to share: Caitlyn made JV Cheerleading! She has wanted to do this for a long time and is super excited about the coming year. The girls have just started getting their cheer camp outfits and practicing a few things for camp so she is getting really pumped about it. I'm excited for her as well because I know how much she wanted to do this.

Last Friday was the annual 4th Grade Pioneer Day at Northwestern Elementary School. That was a really fun day for Claire and I was able to go and spend the whole morning with her. My mother made a cute pioneer dress and bonnet for Claire which thrilled her. There was so much for the kids to do that day. They learned how to weave, do tin punching, candle dipping, corn shuckin' the old fashioned way, and square dancing. Now that was funny to see. The last thing those 4th grade boys and girls wanted to do was hold hands with each other so they could dance. Hilarious, I tell you! But in all actuality, I was very impressed with their mad square dancing skills. Those kids really knew what they were doing. ;) They also got to make funnel cakes, juste bracelets and they sewed their own pin cushions stuffed with saw dust. There were many other activities for them to enjoy as well. As I was passing a little girl in the hallway, I heard her exclaim, "This is the best day of my life!" For more Pioneer Day pics, go here: http://picasaweb.google.com/scrapnfor3/4THGRADEPIONEERDAY?
authkey=Gv1sRgCMvdrqTCquvgpAE# [again, copy & paste the entire link]

This week has been extremely busy so it's no wonder time seems to fly. I don't feel like I can catch my breath sometimes. Garrett is playing T-ball right now and he really loves it. It's so funny to watch those little guys though because sometimes they just forget they are supposed to be playing ball and it ends up looking more like a Ladies Aide Society Meeting - haha!


Caitlyn is getting ready to start KIVO (which is a travel volleyball league - gotta keep improving those skills if you wanna play varsity!). Caitlyn is smack dab in the middle of track season too and Claire has just tried out for NES Entertainers which is a select choir of 4th, 5th & 6th graders. I'm really hoping she makes it since she's not really into sports too much. I'd love to see her find some extracurricular activity that she enjoys. Well, that's all for now. I'll be back again soon with more updates - that is, if I can keep up with them myself! I sure hope summer doesn't fly by. But I have a feeling it will.

BEDTIME STORIES

So... I wasn't thrilled with the selection of movies at the Red Box this last time, but it was spring break and we weren't going anywhere until the end of the week, there were reruns on TV and the kids wanted to rent a movie. This was actually the only movie available that all 3 kids could watch and MIGHT actually be interested in so I got it. I was pretty sure it would be dumb. I like Adam Sandler for the most part, but he definitely has starred in a couple of movies that I just didn't like at all. In fact, I either hate his movies or love them. There has never been an in-between for me as far as his movies go.

Bedtime Stories pleasantly surprised me though. Not that it was a really good movie in any way, but it was cute. The story line was pretty lame, but Sandler played a lovable character that you find yourself rooting for. The kids in the movie were kinda cute too and actually had some more thoughtful insight into a few things than the adult main character did, reminding him what "true heroism" should be. There was no cussing (although I wish they hadn't thrown God's name around), no terrible name-calling (except for "Sir Butt-Kiss" which I have to admit, made me laugh) and no sex scenes. While this movie does have it's faults (lying & greed happen to be 2 of the biggees here), it wasn't horrible to sit through and I didn't fall asleep like I did when we saw Over the Hedge. In all, I can say I might even watch this one again some time. In a few months... or next year. And we might even add it to our DVD collection. :P

TIME TO PLAY "CATCH-UP"

So... I know it's been way too long since I've blogged. It's been way too long since I've done a lot of things actually, but what can I say? Life just goes by so much faster than I ever wish for it to. I'm thinking I may just post a few pictures to catch you up. I know. That's taking the lazy way out, but sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do. KWIM? :)

So that photo up there ^ is the first family picture we've had taken since Garrett was born (it was taken in December of last year). Yikes! How terrible is that? I had to beg Keith to get that one taken and I even resorted to using the "it's the only thing your mom has been asking for for Christmas" line. But it was true and it worked, so whatever it takes.

Also in December, Caitlyn & Aaron went to Northwestern's Christmas Dance - Caitlyn's first high school formal. They were very cute-looking and had a great time. Too bad we had to take out a loan to pay for Caitlyn's hair, nails, shoes and accessories - haha!


They also went to Western's Winter Formal in February. We were smart enough to borrow a dress this time and she did her own hair. :) I decided she will have to do her own hair from now on unless it's for Prom. Luckily, she's okay with that.

I can't even post any pics from Christmas because guess what? I haven't even loaded them onto the computer yet. I need to get that done sometime soon or at least put them on a CD.

Garrett went on his first deer hunt this past winter. Keith had been out several times and hadn't shot anything. He had resigned himself to the fact that he wasn't going to get a deer this year so he finally told Garrett he'd take him along since he'd been pestering him about it all season. When he told me he was going to take Garrett I laughed and said, "This will probably be the day you shoot one then." Garrett can't sit quietly for very long so Keith was pretty sure that wasn't going to happen. Well, that little trip just goes to prove that God really IS in control of ALL things because Keith did shoot a deer even with Garrett standing on top of him jumping up and down with his fingers in his ears yelling, "Shoot Daddy! Shoot!" Haha! Good times for them. Garrett was SO EXCITED!

So that's it for now. I'll be back later to update some more. But as I'm sitting here typing, I'm thinking the practical thing to do will be to just pick up right where we are! :)

FEAST DAY AT LITTLE SCHOOL!

Yesterday was the day of our annual Feast at Little School. It is such a fun day for the children. They get to dress up as Native Americans and all of us teachers dress like Pilgrims. Well, not really. We wear black pants and white blouses so we really resemble your basic restaurant server-type, but we tell the children we are the Pilgrims and since they're 4- and 5-year-olds they pretty much don't know the difference. It works for us so why change?


But anyway, we move all of our little tables and chairs into fellowship hall and set them up with colorful placemats, tiny plates, spoons and tiny plastic cups. It's so cute.

We are all in our classrooms for the first hour of school. During that time we do our usual opening circle times and then each class gets to whip up a culinary delight to be served at the Feast. The 5-year-old class makes mashed potatoes (instant of course, but you have to start somewhere), and the 4-year-old classes prepare the batter for Mrs. Dikeman to make the corn cakes (Jiffy corn muffin mix but again, you have to start small) and all the classes make their own butter to use on the corn cakes. It's amazing what a clean plastic peanut butter jar, some heavy whipping cream and a marble can do! You should try it sometime, it's delicious and fun. They also get some time to play with some special Native American themed items which is a lot of fun for them.




Once it is time for the Feast, all the children put on the necklaces and headbands they made then they head out on a little "hunt." They aren't really hunting anything but they"re very quiet in the hallway as they are looking for deer. All the classes gather together in fellowship hall and Mrs. Dikeman tells them a little about our history and how we celebrate Thanksgiving to honor God and to thank him for all the blessings we receive from him. She also teaches them a little bit about Squanto and how he and his people helped the Pilgrims learn to farm and hunt and fish, as well as a little about the homes the Pilgrims built and the longhouses that the Indians in our area lived in. They also get a mini nutrition lesson when Mrs. Dikeman holds up various fall vegetables and asks them to help her identify them. This year we also taught them a little song about an Indian who is hunting for deer.

On the menu this year: roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, raw carrots, dressing, and corn cakes & butter. We've tried serving pumpkin fluff and applesauce in the past but found that the children just really didn't eat it. One thing that is certain though is that every year the unanimous favorite Feast food is CORN CAKES. The children can't ever get enough of them!

Oh yeah, we had special visitors this year too. One of the little girls in our morning session has am uncle who trains bird dogs so she and her dad brought in a couple of live pheasants and a couple of live quail for the children to see and learn a little bit about. That was pretty cool although I had forgotten my camera so I didn't get a picture. Pheasants make a pretty strange sound. It actually sounds like someone with a dry cough. I thought it was kinda weird but I learned something new which was kinda cool.

A bit of a sad note, this will be my last time to have a child of my own at Little School on Feast Day. I will always enjoy the Feast, but it will never be as special as it has been for the past 8 years. I have gotten great joy out of watching all my children have fun at their Feasts and I will miss that.

HALLOWEEN 2008

Really quick - just a few photos I took of the kiddos this Halloween:

Caitlyn - Pirate Princess

Claire - Bumblebee

Garrett - Knight in Shining Armor

Aaron & Caitlyn - Pirates

What a bunch of Q-tees

We met our posse at the Longshores again this year and trick-or-treated in beautiful downtown Green Acres ;) Mike hooked the hay wagon up to the 4-wheeler and loaded it up with all the little cuties. Then our very own Sarah Palin drove them around so they could trick-or-treat without getting sore feet and tired legs. It was rough, let me tell ya - lol! The older girls, Caitlyn and Sam and Claire and Abby kind of went out on their own this year so in reality, we have absolutely no idea what they did but, oh well. They didn't disappear or eat any poisoned candy so it all worked out fine. After trick-or-treating we all met back at Mike and Connie's for some delicious chili and all sorts of other yummy foods. Loved that Halloween was on Friday this year so no one had to hurry home. We ate, we sat around and talked and we laughed A LOT. It was a super fun time with our friends. How many kids were there you ask? I don't actually know... I lost count somewhere around 25 or so. ;)

FALL SPORTS

Well the freshman volleyball season is finally over. Unfortunately, it wasn't a very impressive season for a bunch of girls who have been playing together for 4 years and were the County Champions the past 2 years and the City-County Champions last year. Not too sure what happened to them this year but they kind of fell apart. Don't get me wrong, when they were having a good night, they were fabulous. But when they were having a bad night, they were completely terrible. It was sad to see them playing so inconsistently this year.

We can't really complain about Caitlyn's individual season. She really only played one bad game. I don't have her stats yet, but I am hoping to get them from the coach soon. She really did have a very good individual season overall. Caitlyn has decided she wants to play volleyball for Butler University. In order for that to happen she is going to have to get a volleyball scholarship which also means that, although she is a good player, she is really going to have to step up her game. She is not amazing and in order to get a scholarship to play volleyball at Butler she is going to have to be amazing. That means volleyball camp at Butler or Purdue FOR SURE every summer until she graduates. And even if she doesn't get a scholarship from Butler, maybe she'll get one somewhere else. There are a lot of good schools in Indiana. We'll just have to wait and see.

So most of our time for the past 3 months has been taken up with volleyball practices, games and tourneys. The rest of our time for the past 3 months has been taken up with high school football: Northwestern and Western football. We attended all of Northwestern's home games except two which happened to be on the same nights that Western had home football games. We have always attended some Western football games since Keith has been working there for the past 15 years, but this year we have attended all of their home games and some of their away games. Yes, this year Caitlyn has a boyfriend that plays football for Western and she would rather go to his games than the Northwestern games. SO glad we bought all-sports passes for all of us for Northwestern. I'm thinking we should have bought them for Western instead. :/ Fortunately, Aaron doesn't play basketball so we can at least make all the Northwestern basketball games. And football is almost over. Sectionals start this week. Hopefully, Western will advance past Friday. They have a very good team this year so it's possible. For the record, Northwestern's football team sucked so we didn't really miss anything. :(

GOODBYE, GRANNY

My Granny passed away Tuesday morning. It has hit me harder than I thought it would. I mean, I knew it would affect me like Papaw's passing did, but I didn't think it would be this much. I lived next door to them practically my whole childhood. I can remember sitting in the rocking chair in their living room some days and not really having conversations, but just BEING with them. Sometimes we would all three just read. It sounds kind of weird I suppose, but for me it was comforting just to be there with them.

So anyway, I have been pretty emotional the past three days. The girls and I went to see her Monday evening and we knew then that she wasn't going to be with us much longer. I regret that I didn't go see her a couple of days earlier when she was still somewhat responsive. I told her I loved her and I hope that on some level of consciousness she heard me. Who knows though? She had a fever of 105 degrees and had been given morphine so it's probably unlikely that she even knew we were there.

I don't know. What I do know is that she took care of me when I was little and throughout my high school and college years and I will miss her.

WASHINGTON, DC

I know this post is long overdue since it's been a few weeks now that we returned from our trip to DC. I can honestly say it was an amazing trip and everyone should visit our Nation's capital sometime during their lifetime. We spent 3 whole days in DC and every single one of them was jam-packed with activity. We started our days at 6 a.m. and typically didn't end up back at the 4-H Conference Center until 9:30 p.m. It was hot and humid and it felt like we walked a hundred miles (we didn't always look or smell real great either), but it was worth it. The city is amazing in so many ways. So let's see if I can just give you a few highlights:

• We saw every monument/memorial in the city I'm pretty sure - even some we didn't know existed prior to going (the new Air Force Memorial for instance, which was really cool)
• Food courts seem to be very popular
• The Smithsonians are amazing - and FREE!
• Arlington National Cemetery is WAY bigger than I ever imagined (and I'm certain it's all UPHILL - if you go there, pay the $15 and take the shuttle)
• The changing of the guard at Arlington is a must-see
• Schedule a tour of the National Cathedral. I've never seen anything like it - incredible!
• We were nearly run over by the Secret Service speeding out of the drive of the Capital Building. We never did find out what was going on but there were fire trucks, ambulances and several huge black suburbans involved.
• Favorite memorials: Korean War Memorial and Iwo Jima (be sure to count how many HANDS are in that memorial)
• Mount Vernon was interesting, but I was a little disappointed in it.
• There are tons of homeless people, but you don't notice them too much unless you are out very early and they are still "camping out" in the parks, or until early evening when they start to stake their claims on park benches (or you see them literally eating from the garbage cans in the parks - very disturbing)
• Everything about the Capital Building is awesome - the magnitude of the building itself, the architecture, the ornateness of the ceilings, the inner-workings, the underground tunnel and train... it was my favorite building of all and I would love to be able to explore it more fully and without all those dang tourists.
• Saw the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights
• Saw the Hope diamond which was pretty impressive
  

There is so much I could say about this trip, but it would take too much space. I took about 300 photos. I'm not sure how many Caitlyn took. This is an experience I am glad I had and glad my daughter had. I don't think the kids will really fully appreciate the trip though until they are much older. I think maturity and life experience are the keys to really "getting" a trip to DC.

This is one of my favorite photos from our trip. The whole city is very massive - lots of limestone and marble so most of the buildings are grayish/brownish/white. But this was one area (a relatively small area) where the landscape was very different. This was on our walk to the Smithsonian Castle. This is such a stark contrast to the rest of the surroundings. It's very serene and beautiful. And notice there is no congestion. That struck me as odd since it was the prettiest spot in the whole city.

IT"S ALMOST TIME

Caitlyn and I leave for D.C. in four days. We're both really looking forward to the trip although we agree we could do without the 12-hour bus ride. But then we can't really complain considering it is costing us $25 for Caitlyn to go on this trip which includes her room and board, tickets, and dinner at Hard Rock Cafe on Thursday evening. Her only other expenses will be 2 meals a day for 5 days, plus whatever "stuff" she brings home. It's a great deal and I'm thankful she is getting this opportunity. As we get closer to the trip, we have a couple of things kind of hanging over us though that concern us. For one, Granny hasn't been well and has suffered some more mini strokes. She is now bedridden and hospice makes daily visits to care for her. That's never a good sign. It is difficult for me to know she's been in this state for so many months now and I am praying nothing else happens while we are out of town. Last Saturday our neighbor, Ed, suffered a massive stroke. He has been hemorrhaging from his brain since then and is not expected to recover from this stroke. We are told it is just a matter of time before he dies. His family has already been making funeral arrangements. This has made our whole family sad since we have lived next door to them for the past 12 years. For many years our kids were the only "grandchildren" they had. We have so enjoyed getting to know them and talking with them and helping them. They are neat people. They are good people and both Keith and I have taken advantage of the wisdom Ed was able to offer us on many different topics - especially about life and faith. We will miss him and we worry about Beverly whose health is also a huge concern. Ed always took care of her. So anyway, Caitlyn and I are saddened by the realization that Ed may pass away while we're gone and we would miss the funeral. We are praying for things to work out differently but we also know God is in control. So for the next few days we will focus on making sure we have everything we need and getting packed. We will be leaving around 6 a.m. on Monday so we'd definitely appreciate prayers for travel mercies as well as a safe overall trip. There will be about 25 teenagers and 10 adults on this trip. For many, it will be a chance of a lifetime to fully experience the rich history of our country.

DARK NIGHT

Keith took Claire and Garrett fishing in the sweltering heat and humidity last night so Caitlyn and I decided to go see a movie. Since Caitlyn's boyfriend went to see Dark Night without her and we've both been wanting to see it, that's where we went. It definitely didn't disappoint. Even though the movie is nearly 3 hours long it didn't feel like we'd sat in the theater nearly that long (except for my bad knee which was totally killing me when we left and the stinky people next to Caitlyn).

Caitlyn and I both liked this movie well enough that we'd see it again today. For her, that's not saying much since she'll watch any movie she likes a thousand times. But for me to say that does mean something. I'm not a person who likes to watch very many movies more than once and if I do there has to be a significant period of time between viewings.

The movie is fast-paced, of course full of violence and action, a little romance, suspense and there was one part that even made me jump in my seat. I won't reveal the details in case you haven't seen the movie.

I've never been a huge Heath Ledger fan, but I have to say he played the role of the Joker fabulously. Funny, at first I thought it'd be a perfect role for Johnny Depp (and I still think he could pull if off well), but Ledger did a remarkable performance. He was able to pull off the freak part with finesse and the character was very believable. And of course, Christian Bale is nice to look at and plays such a great role. I love the personna that has been given to Bruce Wayne in these movies. ;)

So yeah. I definitely recommend seeing this movie but I highly recommend you see the first two Batman movies first so you know what the heck is going on. If nothing else see Batman Begins before seeing Dark Knight.

PROJECT RESULTS

Both girls did really well on their 4-H projects this year. Last night was the Fashion Revue. Caitlyn received a Blue Ribbon with Honors which put her just under Grand Champion and Reserve Champion. Not bad for her first year in the Fashion Revue! Caitlyn didn't finish her photography project because she ran out of time. This summer has been kind of busy. She did receive a Blue Ribbon with Honors as well as Reserve Champion on her Computer Arts project though. :)

This was Claire's first year in "real" 4-H, meaning she was finally able to get out of Mini 4-H. She was going to do a couple of projects this year, but due to our schedules and this being her first year I limited her to just one. She competed in the Make With A Mix division of the Foods category. She had to use a box brownie mix and create her own unique brownie by adding two new ingredients. She added chopped Milky Way bars to the batter and caramel sauce on top. The result was pretty tasty - rich, but tasty! Claire received a Blue Ribbon for her brownies which made her pretty happy. :)

I guess tonight we'll take the kids to the fair to ride rides. Not my favorite thing especially since it's so dang HOT right now. Geez, it's 90 degrees and the humidity is off the charts! But oh, well. At least I won't have to do it again until next year.

FAIR WEEK = FRUSTRATIONS

This is fair week and typically I wouldn't mind it too much but this year I'm annoyed. We aren't going to be too busy this week which is nice. We'll only be at the fair 2 days in fact. Last week was the crazy week with pre-fair judging and Caitlyn having to work two shifts in the concession stand. We had to drive to Greentown and back several times and some days more than once a day. Tuesday Caitlyn is in the Fashion Revue so we'll go to the fairgrounds for that, but then we won't go back again until Thursday. Keith has to work the fair that day so we'll be there from 3 p.m. - 11 p.m. The kids will ride the rides that day and we'll probably spend $150. That's nuts.

What irritates me is that the Sheriff acts like Fair Week is some kind of National holiday or something. He has actually ORDERED people to NOT TAKE ANY DAYS OFF DURING FAIR WEEK. Are you kidding me? Whatever. Keith and I were going to go to the Creation Museum and to King's Island with the youth group from our church this Friday and Saturday, but it looks like I'll be going alone (well, not really alone, but without Keith). We are just now getting to a point where we can do things with the older kids (i.e., Caitlyn) and I was really looking forward to it. I'm still going to go because Caitlyn wants me to go and because if there aren't enough chaperones the trip can't happen. But I'm frustrated that Keith always has to miss out on stuff because of his job. I keep wondering when we'll ever have a normal life. :/

PRODUCTIVITY

It's so quiet here this afternoon. All the kids went to my mom's to swim and Keith is working so I've had the house all to myself since 2:30. Yay me!

At first I thought it would be a great day to take a nap, but I've been doing that a lot lately. I'm not sleeping much during the night these days so, whatever. But after I thought about it some more I decided I really didn't need to succumb to my sluggishness. I didn't feel like scrapping either. I haven't wanted to do that since Cropulation back in May. :( So I decided to do a little more work in the front room. I really need to get it cleared out so we can paint and refinish the wood floor. I'd like that done before school starts. I have actually gotten a lot done in here and I feel good about it. I had to take a break and eat something since that's been an issue for me lately too. It's hard to eat when you constantly feel like you're going to throw up (and no, I'm NOT pregnant). So anyway I thought I'd update my blog to reflect that I am still working toward the goals I set the other day.

I've been able to listen to all the Aerosmith , INXS, Eagles and Journey I wanted today too. So that's been kinda fun. :D

Oh, and I did get all the kids' outgrown summer clothes to the resale shop and/or the Salvation Army. ;)

BIG BLOG CHALLENGE #29: A GOOD EMAIL

Today's challenge is to copy and paste a good email message I've recently received. One of my friends and fellow staff members at Little School sent me this. It actually made me LOL several times and then I realized... yikes! this stuff is sooooo true. :/

YOU might be a school employee if you believe the playground should be equipped with a Ritalin salt lick. YOU might be a school employee if you want to slap the next person who says, 'Must be nice to work 8 to 3:30 and have summers off." YOU might be a school employee if it is difficult to name your own child because there's no name you can come up with that doesn't bring high blood pressure as it is uttered. YOU might be a school employee if you can tell it's a full moon or if it's going to rain, snow, hail... anything!!! Without ever looking outside. YOU might be a school employee if you believe "shallow gene pool" should have its own box on a report card. YOU might be a school employee if you believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says, "Boy, the kids sure are mellow today." YOU might be a school employee if when out in public, you feel the urge to snap your fingers at children you do not know and correct their behavior. YOU might be a school employee if you have no social life between August and June. YOU might be a school employee if you think people should have a government permit before being allowed to reproduce. YOU might be a school employee if you wonder how some parents MANAGED to reproduce. YOU might be a school employee if you laugh uncontrollably when people refer to the staff room as the "lounge." YOU might be a school employee if you encourage an obnoxious parent to check into charter schools or home schooling and are willing to donate the UHAUL truck should they decided to move out of district. YOU might be a school employee if you think caffeine should be available in intravenous form. YOU might be a school employee if you can't imagine how the ACLU could think that covering your students chair with Velcro and then requiring uniforms made out of the corresponding Velcro could ever be misunderstood by the public. YOU might be a school employee if meeting a child's parent instantly answers this question, "Why is this kid like this?" YOU might be a school employee if you would choose a mammogram over a parent conference. YOU might be a school employee if you think someone should invent antibacterial pencils and crayons...and desks and chairs for that matter! YOU might be a school employee if the words "I have college debt for this?" have ever come out of your mouth. YOU might be a school employee if you know how many days, minutes, and seconds are left in the school year. ENJOY YOUR SUMMER!!!!

NO BETTER TIME THAN THE PRESENT?

Today is the day I start "ridding out." I have been in a serious funk lately. I'm guessing it is less funk and more depression than anything (gotta remember to take those anti-depressants everyday). My house is trashed. My life is complicated. I hate that I'm not enjoying this summer. So I need to pull myself out of this funk before it gets any worse. I've known this for a while, but knowing what I need to do is a whole different thing than actually doing what I need to do.

So today I am making two goals. I figure it's best to start out small that way the chance to succeed is way higher. :p

Goal 1: Take all the kids summer clothes they've outgrown to the resale shop. What they don't take, drop off at Goodwill.

Goal 2: Begin cleaning the clutter from the front room. It's ridiculous. There is so much junk in here I hate to come into the room. It actually makes me nauseous to look at it.

Those are 2 pretty attainable goals really. Especially since the big box of outgrown summer clothes is IN THE FRONT ROOM. Just getting that out and into the van will give me a start on clearing the clutter. :)

I've been told there's no better time than the present so I should get started. I think I'll crank up INXS' Switch album and get busy. I'll have to work on uncomplicating my life a little later. That's going to be a little bit bigger of a job. :(

SOME RANDOM*NESS

I can honestly say I've never been an "obsessive fan" when it comes to Hollywood or the music scene BUT if I were to become one, I would be all about this guy: J.D. Fortune. He is such a hottie.

I've been a huge fan of INXS' music for as long as I can remember, but frankly, no one in the original band was all that good to look at. Don't get me wrong, the original lead singer, Michael Hutchence, (who died in 1997) was an amazing singer and made the band what it was, but he didn't make me go "Ahhhhhh." When the band found J.D. they got the total package. Hot, smart, charismatic, amazing stage presence and yeah, a voice to go with it all. I could listen to this guy sing all day and watch him forever. He's assertive and confident. He's bold. He's opinionated and smart. He's an amazing artist. He is kind. He's got that Bad Boy look (that I've always been a sucker for) with the heart and smile of the boy-next-door. Wow.

So here's my favorite INXS song performed by J.D. before he became the lead singer for INXS. The video quality isn't that good, but I saw this performance on TV and he was... yeah... SMOKIN'