March 1st. There is something about March 1st that kind of makes me giddy. I'm not sure what it is. It could be because, to me, March signals that Spring is near. I LOVE Spring. I love everything about Spring. I even love spring-cleaning!
I'm always a bit happier when the sun shines more. Gray winter days can really get old after awhile.
I'm behind on my housecleaning but I'm so pumped to get caught up. I'm ready to be back to the place where I am doing one load of laundry each morning and cleaning an uncluttered house. Yep, it is possible, just check out Flylady.net. :-)
So, I'm off to take the kids to school on this 1st day of March. I'll come home, maybe have 1 more cup of coffee and then look around and find a place to start. I may need to make a list. ahhhh I LOVE lists.
Blessings, C
Monday, March 01, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
February Hates Me
Starting Monday things are going to change around here. I'm so off-kilter right now. Knee Surgery went very well. No reason why it shouldn't heal back to 100%. Michael went above and beyond taking care of me. He was constantly catering to all of my needs while I was recuperating. My knee was always elevated and iced. If I needed a drink, it was right there. The man seriously pampered me!
So, tomorrow is the big chapel program put on by my son's 1st grade class. His teacher asked me in January if I'd help her with this. Let's just say that what could go wrong, has gone wrong. The kids have many speaking parts and each kid has about 6 still pictures that go along with their parts. I've put it together several times only to have one thing or another go wrong. The teacher has been having massive problems with the kid side of the program. It's just been weird. So, this morning we spoke knowing that a few hours later we'd be doing the final rehearsal. The teacher even mentioned she was prepared for more mishaps but we are sure the final program will go off without a hitch. So, I had some errands to run this morning, had to add a few last minute things to the video etc. I'd talked to a kid at the church who offered to meet me in the chapel and show me how to hook into the sound system and the projector screen that comes out of the high ceiling.
So, on my way to the church(school) I slammed head on into a man in a mini-van. Ok that sounded a bit more dramatic than it was I guess. I've never been in a car accident so the "slammed" part seemed a lot harder than the damage indicated. Lucky for me the guy's van already looked like it may have just come from a demolition derby. My Expedition is a tank so it any damage was minimal. Anyway, it was just ONE MORE THING to deal with.
Tomorrow at 2:50 I'll be screaming with relief I think after the program is done.
Next week and for many weeks in the future I'm sticking to my twice weekly 30 minute helper job in the library. Yep, that's it. For now. Until I recover.
So, here's to March!
So, tomorrow is the big chapel program put on by my son's 1st grade class. His teacher asked me in January if I'd help her with this. Let's just say that what could go wrong, has gone wrong. The kids have many speaking parts and each kid has about 6 still pictures that go along with their parts. I've put it together several times only to have one thing or another go wrong. The teacher has been having massive problems with the kid side of the program. It's just been weird. So, this morning we spoke knowing that a few hours later we'd be doing the final rehearsal. The teacher even mentioned she was prepared for more mishaps but we are sure the final program will go off without a hitch. So, I had some errands to run this morning, had to add a few last minute things to the video etc. I'd talked to a kid at the church who offered to meet me in the chapel and show me how to hook into the sound system and the projector screen that comes out of the high ceiling.
So, on my way to the church(school) I slammed head on into a man in a mini-van. Ok that sounded a bit more dramatic than it was I guess. I've never been in a car accident so the "slammed" part seemed a lot harder than the damage indicated. Lucky for me the guy's van already looked like it may have just come from a demolition derby. My Expedition is a tank so it any damage was minimal. Anyway, it was just ONE MORE THING to deal with.
Tomorrow at 2:50 I'll be screaming with relief I think after the program is done.
Next week and for many weeks in the future I'm sticking to my twice weekly 30 minute helper job in the library. Yep, that's it. For now. Until I recover.
So, here's to March!
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Busy Busy Busy
Well, I think this is the first time in my entire life where I have looked forward to a surgery. I've been walking on this torn meniscus for over 3 weeks now and it sucks!
I can't think of any other time I've felt like such an unattractive slug. 45 years old and hormones are causing acne, quitting smoking gained me healthy lungs but also 50 extra pounds, and now to top it all off....I'm limping horribly. I feel like I'm 90.
OK on a totally different note. Heather, my daughter, is now living 5 minutes away instead of 12 hours! Her husband is deployed in Afghanistan for the next year. I am LOVING having Heather here and also her kids. I have never really had the chance to bond with them because every time we've visited with them it would take the little ones a day to warm up to us. They are LOVING their Gramma now! Even little Abbi at 4 months looks happy to see Gramma!
Finally. My NOOK finally came and I am seriously in love with it. I'm loving a lot lately aren't I!? lol I don't know how it compares to the Kindle because I don't know everything the Kindle does. I know that I can buy and download books over the 3G network in a matter seconds. I like that ebooks are cheaper than paperback...I read so much and so quickly that I can go broke buying books.
Ok so, no more news from me for a while. Surgery on Friday.
I can't think of any other time I've felt like such an unattractive slug. 45 years old and hormones are causing acne, quitting smoking gained me healthy lungs but also 50 extra pounds, and now to top it all off....I'm limping horribly. I feel like I'm 90.
OK on a totally different note. Heather, my daughter, is now living 5 minutes away instead of 12 hours! Her husband is deployed in Afghanistan for the next year. I am LOVING having Heather here and also her kids. I have never really had the chance to bond with them because every time we've visited with them it would take the little ones a day to warm up to us. They are LOVING their Gramma now! Even little Abbi at 4 months looks happy to see Gramma!
Finally. My NOOK finally came and I am seriously in love with it. I'm loving a lot lately aren't I!? lol I don't know how it compares to the Kindle because I don't know everything the Kindle does. I know that I can buy and download books over the 3G network in a matter seconds. I like that ebooks are cheaper than paperback...I read so much and so quickly that I can go broke buying books.
Ok so, no more news from me for a while. Surgery on Friday.
Monday, February 01, 2010
Fun Things
Just a few quickies. I survived the 13 hour drive from TN to Wichita with the 3 grandkids.....all by myself. It went fine but the bathroom breaks were um...I'll just say "difficult" and leave it at that.
My NOOK arrived about 3 hours AFTER my plane took off from the KC airport. Poor poor timing B&N. Today I had just a few seconds to look it over and hope to read the manual and dive in to it later this week. I still have grandkids now and tomorrow I have to help Heather unload her moving truck. Anyway, it's really awesome. I named it Sally.
Wednesday night is going to ROCK! TEARS will be shed. I'm seriously betting that my 28 yr old son will be sitting next to me sobbing....like he did when we saw Les Miserables together. So, what is Wednesday night? Jesus Christ Superstar.....and WHO is playing that lead part you ask? Why, the man himself. Ted Neeley! Yes, he's old. 67 yrs to be exact but I wouldn't have it any other way. It just wouldn't be the same! So, after years and years and years and years of watching the movie, and listening to the vinyl(my folks were hippies and my mom had the album....along with HAIR and many others) I'm going to get to see it. We introduced our eldest son to JCS when he was really little(as we did with Les Mis.) and I know he's going to love it too.
So, a few days of some busy stuff and hopefully next week I'll get back on track with my blog. Oh, and somewhere in the next few weeks I'll be having knee surgery. Oh joy.
Peace to all!
Chris
My NOOK arrived about 3 hours AFTER my plane took off from the KC airport. Poor poor timing B&N. Today I had just a few seconds to look it over and hope to read the manual and dive in to it later this week. I still have grandkids now and tomorrow I have to help Heather unload her moving truck. Anyway, it's really awesome. I named it Sally.
Wednesday night is going to ROCK! TEARS will be shed. I'm seriously betting that my 28 yr old son will be sitting next to me sobbing....like he did when we saw Les Miserables together. So, what is Wednesday night? Jesus Christ Superstar.....and WHO is playing that lead part you ask? Why, the man himself. Ted Neeley! Yes, he's old. 67 yrs to be exact but I wouldn't have it any other way. It just wouldn't be the same! So, after years and years and years and years of watching the movie, and listening to the vinyl(my folks were hippies and my mom had the album....along with HAIR and many others) I'm going to get to see it. We introduced our eldest son to JCS when he was really little(as we did with Les Mis.) and I know he's going to love it too.
So, a few days of some busy stuff and hopefully next week I'll get back on track with my blog. Oh, and somewhere in the next few weeks I'll be having knee surgery. Oh joy.
Peace to all!
Chris
Monday, January 25, 2010
A Busy Week and Bittersweet
Yikes! So much to do this week. I'm going to have that silly meniscus looked at on Wednesday by an orthopedic surgeon. Will be interesting to see what he he says.
Friday morning my oldest son will be driving me to Kansas City so I can get a flight out of there to Nashville.
Why?
Tomorrow morning my son in law will be deploying to Afghanistan. He'll be leaving behind my daughter and 4 kids. This is his 3rd deployment. His first two were to Iraq. Heather stayed in KY during his last deployment. She did come to Wichita to have baby #3 so I could help her a bit but she hasn't lived in Wichita in over 3 years. We've missed a lot of milestones with those grandkids and it will be so great to have them nearby for the next year!!
So, Friday I fly to Nashville where Heather will pick me up. Friday evening and Saturday we will spend finishing packing and loading up a U-Haul truck. Sunday morning I will drive her car and the 3 littlest grandkids back to Wichita. A 12 hour drive. LOL this should be interesting! The grandsons are 3 & 2 and grandaughter is only 4 months. Heather has to wait for base housing to give her clearance on Monday morning and then she and her 5 yr old will drive the U-Haul to Wichita.
So, starting next week all of my kids and grandkids will be living here. I'm excited to spend time with Heather but also to bond a bunch with her kids. It's hard to be the long distance Gramma. They don't know me like the rest of the grandkids. Each time we see them we have to wait for them to warm up to us etc.
So, that's it. A very busy week. Bittersweet because I am very happy that Heather and the kids will be here but sad that her husband has to deploy to a dangerous place for that to happen.
Please keep him in your prayers.
Friday morning my oldest son will be driving me to Kansas City so I can get a flight out of there to Nashville.
Why?
Tomorrow morning my son in law will be deploying to Afghanistan. He'll be leaving behind my daughter and 4 kids. This is his 3rd deployment. His first two were to Iraq. Heather stayed in KY during his last deployment. She did come to Wichita to have baby #3 so I could help her a bit but she hasn't lived in Wichita in over 3 years. We've missed a lot of milestones with those grandkids and it will be so great to have them nearby for the next year!!
So, Friday I fly to Nashville where Heather will pick me up. Friday evening and Saturday we will spend finishing packing and loading up a U-Haul truck. Sunday morning I will drive her car and the 3 littlest grandkids back to Wichita. A 12 hour drive. LOL this should be interesting! The grandsons are 3 & 2 and grandaughter is only 4 months. Heather has to wait for base housing to give her clearance on Monday morning and then she and her 5 yr old will drive the U-Haul to Wichita.
So, starting next week all of my kids and grandkids will be living here. I'm excited to spend time with Heather but also to bond a bunch with her kids. It's hard to be the long distance Gramma. They don't know me like the rest of the grandkids. Each time we see them we have to wait for them to warm up to us etc.
So, that's it. A very busy week. Bittersweet because I am very happy that Heather and the kids will be here but sad that her husband has to deploy to a dangerous place for that to happen.
Please keep him in your prayers.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Meniscus?
Seriously, who makes up these medical terms? LOL
Ok so after 11 days of trying to "power through" the pain in my knee, I went to see my family Dr. She suspects a torn meniscus and I have an appointment on the 27th with an orthopedic surgeon. Fun Fun. I'm not worried about surgery if I have to have it. Surgery has never really bothered me too much. I think I'm missing half of my organs already. Ok that was a bit of an exaggeration. Missing my tonsils, gallbladder, and half my thyroid. And it's funny but seems like I had one other thing removed LOL but I don't recall what it was. Good grief, for all my memory is worth it might have been my frontal lobe! LOL I'll have to ask Michael.
Anyway, I'm more worried about recovery. I am SO ready to start running again. I've been anxious to run with my new lungs (no, not surgery...I just quit smoking 9mths ago). I'm just curious how long the recovery will be and when my knee will be back to 100%.
I guess I'll find out Wednesday.
Ok so after 11 days of trying to "power through" the pain in my knee, I went to see my family Dr. She suspects a torn meniscus and I have an appointment on the 27th with an orthopedic surgeon. Fun Fun. I'm not worried about surgery if I have to have it. Surgery has never really bothered me too much. I think I'm missing half of my organs already. Ok that was a bit of an exaggeration. Missing my tonsils, gallbladder, and half my thyroid. And it's funny but seems like I had one other thing removed LOL but I don't recall what it was. Good grief, for all my memory is worth it might have been my frontal lobe! LOL I'll have to ask Michael.
Anyway, I'm more worried about recovery. I am SO ready to start running again. I've been anxious to run with my new lungs (no, not surgery...I just quit smoking 9mths ago). I'm just curious how long the recovery will be and when my knee will be back to 100%.
I guess I'll find out Wednesday.
Hockey! Who knew?
Wow, who would have known that I would love hockey? We went to a Wichita Thunder game last night with Davis' cub scout pack. They are a minor league team and they were playing for the first time in our new big arena (bring on the bigger artists now Wichita!).
We were sitting up in the nosebleed section and I can't wait to go again and get some really good seats. My favorite part? I loved it when I saw gloves and helmets start to fly.....that meant a fight. I asked Michael why the refs weren't breaking it up and he said they don't until one of the guys hit the ice.
I enjoyed everything about the game though. I liked the way the periods are with the breaks in between. I loved the enthusiasm of the crowd and how it draws you in. I LOVED watching Davis stand up and dance everytime the music came on. He was quite the entertainment for our section I'm afraid. Thankfully we let him sit 2 rows down from us with some friends of ours. haha No one knew who he belonged to.
So, we had a really really great time. I've never really watched hockey on tv but definitely want to give it try. I'm sure nothing beats it live but I'd really like to learn the rules etc of the game.
Go Thunder!
We were sitting up in the nosebleed section and I can't wait to go again and get some really good seats. My favorite part? I loved it when I saw gloves and helmets start to fly.....that meant a fight. I asked Michael why the refs weren't breaking it up and he said they don't until one of the guys hit the ice.
I enjoyed everything about the game though. I liked the way the periods are with the breaks in between. I loved the enthusiasm of the crowd and how it draws you in. I LOVED watching Davis stand up and dance everytime the music came on. He was quite the entertainment for our section I'm afraid. Thankfully we let him sit 2 rows down from us with some friends of ours. haha No one knew who he belonged to.
So, we had a really really great time. I've never really watched hockey on tv but definitely want to give it try. I'm sure nothing beats it live but I'd really like to learn the rules etc of the game.
Go Thunder!
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Daughters!
OMGosh! I was a total tomboy when I was little and somehow my daughters are girly girl drama queens! *sigh* Sometimes it tires me out, sometimes I can't quit laughing. I strongly suggest the laughing be done when you are out of earshot of a drama queen. Otherwise, they scream and slam a lot of doors.
So, there are 16 years between drama queen #1, Heather and drama queen #2, Rylie.
#1 lives in KY with her Army Sgt husband and their 3 kids.(yes, one of her kids is a girl..payback's a b*tch bwwhahaha). #1's husband is getting ready to deploy to Afghanistan for a year and I was able to talk her in to moving back to KS while he is gone. We can see her and get to know the grandkids more. We saw her Thanksgiving and we saw her Christmas. Ahh Christmas. #1 gives #2 a shirt that she got that was too small. #2 loves it and wants to wear it all the time.
Last night #2 puts on the shirt and starts tearing up, "I miss #1". arghhh here we go with the waterworks. I'm not heartless, I'm really not. This just happens OFTEN and it happened OFTEN when #1 was 8yrs old like #2 is now. Keeping up?
I calmly and nicely remind #2 that in just a few weeks #1 will be living nearby and they will spend lots of time together. #2 can spend the night at #1's house and help with the little kids etc. #1 is really a great big sister and does #2's hair and nails etc. All that girly-girl stuff. I remind #2 that #1 will be here for a year.
What reaction do I get? MORE TEARS and then "But mom, when #1 leaves again it will just be that much harder because I will be more attached to her". OMG! Ok so I calmly and nicely(I'm trying) explain to her that you can't worry about things in the future or you won't enjoy the present as much as you should. I'm thinking this is a great explanation and she should calm down. Nope. I get the "You just don't understand! You don't understand what it's like to have a sister and she's so far away!!". SIGH And this is about where my patience ran out. I don't deal with the doom and gloom drama queen stuff. The "other" drama queen stuff is fine..the exasperation, the rolling of the eyes, the goofiness, even the slamming doors.
So, my reply this time is "That's MY little girl you're talking about and you don't know what it's like having a little girl and she's so far away." Silence for just a second and BAM, there it is. Door slamming.
OK the door slamming ending didn't actually happen THIS time but it will.....omgosh you can bet it will!
So, there are 16 years between drama queen #1, Heather and drama queen #2, Rylie.
#1 lives in KY with her Army Sgt husband and their 3 kids.(yes, one of her kids is a girl..payback's a b*tch bwwhahaha). #1's husband is getting ready to deploy to Afghanistan for a year and I was able to talk her in to moving back to KS while he is gone. We can see her and get to know the grandkids more. We saw her Thanksgiving and we saw her Christmas. Ahh Christmas. #1 gives #2 a shirt that she got that was too small. #2 loves it and wants to wear it all the time.
Last night #2 puts on the shirt and starts tearing up, "I miss #1". arghhh here we go with the waterworks. I'm not heartless, I'm really not. This just happens OFTEN and it happened OFTEN when #1 was 8yrs old like #2 is now. Keeping up?
I calmly and nicely remind #2 that in just a few weeks #1 will be living nearby and they will spend lots of time together. #2 can spend the night at #1's house and help with the little kids etc. #1 is really a great big sister and does #2's hair and nails etc. All that girly-girl stuff. I remind #2 that #1 will be here for a year.
What reaction do I get? MORE TEARS and then "But mom, when #1 leaves again it will just be that much harder because I will be more attached to her". OMG! Ok so I calmly and nicely(I'm trying) explain to her that you can't worry about things in the future or you won't enjoy the present as much as you should. I'm thinking this is a great explanation and she should calm down. Nope. I get the "You just don't understand! You don't understand what it's like to have a sister and she's so far away!!". SIGH And this is about where my patience ran out. I don't deal with the doom and gloom drama queen stuff. The "other" drama queen stuff is fine..the exasperation, the rolling of the eyes, the goofiness, even the slamming doors.
So, my reply this time is "That's MY little girl you're talking about and you don't know what it's like having a little girl and she's so far away." Silence for just a second and BAM, there it is. Door slamming.
OK the door slamming ending didn't actually happen THIS time but it will.....omgosh you can bet it will!
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
Runner's Knee??!!
How can my Runner's Knee be killing me when I haven't been running in well over a year??!! Yesterday was supposed to be the day I started my daily 30 minutes of exercise routine and now this. Last night I could barely put any weight on it. It's a little better this morning but imagine in a few hours after walking on it it's going to be hurting pretty good. ouch!
This is so discouraging. I really want/need to start running again. I've got to lose this extra weight plus I can't wait to see how much easier I can breathe since quitting smoking almost a year ago.
Just going to think of this as a minor setback and remind myself that being a few days past my start date doesn't mean I've failed. NO reason to lose my motivation.
Off to start the day.
This is so discouraging. I really want/need to start running again. I've got to lose this extra weight plus I can't wait to see how much easier I can breathe since quitting smoking almost a year ago.
Just going to think of this as a minor setback and remind myself that being a few days past my start date doesn't mean I've failed. NO reason to lose my motivation.
Off to start the day.
Monday, January 04, 2010
Back to Normal. Well, Our Version of Normal
After 17 days off the kids go back to school today and Michael has already left for the office. We all do so much better on a set schedule. Going to bed and getting up at the same time every day keeps us all on an even keel. I know Michael really enjoys his days off and I enjoy having him home.........for a little while. LOL I joke and tell him he is not ever allowed to retire. He'll just have to find more college classes to teach or a good time-consuming hobby.
For the last couple of years, since Davis has been in school full time, I've gotten into a routine at home. After taking the kids to school I come home and turn on the Apple TV. I don't watch tv but I use the Apple TV to listen to my itunes library that's on my desktop back in my office. I do it through the tv so I can take advantage of Michael's really nice sound system. Michael and the kids love to have the tv on every waking moment. There is NOTHING on during the daytime.
So, today we're back to normal and in just a few minutes time I'll go drag the kiddos out of bed so they can get their school uniforms on and have some breakfast. I imagine I'm literally going to have to drag them too. really
So, will take them to school and come home. Apple TV, some laundry, some cleaning, eating healthy today, and at some point 30 minutes of exercise. I'll feel sane again just getting back into our regular "normal" schedule.
For the last couple of years, since Davis has been in school full time, I've gotten into a routine at home. After taking the kids to school I come home and turn on the Apple TV. I don't watch tv but I use the Apple TV to listen to my itunes library that's on my desktop back in my office. I do it through the tv so I can take advantage of Michael's really nice sound system. Michael and the kids love to have the tv on every waking moment. There is NOTHING on during the daytime.
So, today we're back to normal and in just a few minutes time I'll go drag the kiddos out of bed so they can get their school uniforms on and have some breakfast. I imagine I'm literally going to have to drag them too. really
So, will take them to school and come home. Apple TV, some laundry, some cleaning, eating healthy today, and at some point 30 minutes of exercise. I'll feel sane again just getting back into our regular "normal" schedule.
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