I Hate It When...

I just need to get a few things off my chest. Here goes:

I hate it when I go into a home improvement store with a project in mind thinking I either know what I need or I'll know it when I see it, only to become so confused and indecisive that I leave with nothing I originally came for.

I hate it when I choose to leave my rain coat in the car even though there's a thunderstorm warning in effect and it starts to pour down rain while I'm inside said home improvement store.

I hate it when paint looks really good on the little card; but the minute the man mixes it, I know it's not the color I need.

I hate it when BigJoel is in another country, another hemisphere even, and I can't call him at every whim--like to ask his opinion on the bad paint color or just to hear his voice and tell him I love him.

I hate it when they have forty varieties of feta cheese at the grocery store, but the only reduced fat version is in block form--not crumbles.

Ok, I think I may have gone a little too far with that last one, and I especially hate it when people complain all. the. time.  So here are some things I love:

I love it when my lesson plan takes a detour because I'm having an interesting, intelligent discussion with my students and I'm reminded of why I enjoy teaching.

I love it when I have a standing lunch date with a good friend every Tuesday.  She always makes my day.

I love it when I go into a store looking for one thing and find an unexpected bargain.

These darling lamp shades were just $.71 each! I don't even really need new lamp shades; but at $4.61 for six of them, I couldn't pass it up.

I love it when I find a new favorite snack that is virtually guilt-free, but so yummy.

A Claussen pickle spear with a few tiny crumbles of goat cheese wrapped in two thin slices of deli roast beef--wowsers!

I love it when I have just a few minutes to sit in my quiet house and listen to the rain outside.

I love it when a necklace and a shirt go together perfectly even though I bought them at different times.

And, even though I'm jealous, I love it that BigJoel is getting to see a wonderful place that I've always wanted to go...
because I also love it when he tells me stories about the places he's gone, the people he's met and the things he's seen.

Most of all, I love it that my blessings (even small ones) far outweigh the things I complain about.  Always.

January

In January, Hallie and I did the JiggleButt Run 5K.  She was actually just planning to do the 1 Mile Fun Run; but everyone else wimped out me, so I made her do the 'big race' with me.  She wasn't happy about it, but we both made it to the end so we'll call it a success.

Also, all Hallie wanted for her birthday was to see her friend Brianna...which is easier said than done, since Bri lives in Mississippi now.  So we loaded up and drove and drove and drove.  It was great to see our friends and we even got to spend a little time at the beach.

And the only OTHER thing Hallie wanted for her birthday was a guinea pig.  So after three years of persuading, we agreed and welcomed Cupcake into our family.

October

In October, we went to a concert at House of Blues and even sprang for reserved seats instead of standing room.  My streak of sitting behind tall people continues... 

The show was still probably one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.  JohnMark McMillan, Gungor, Chris August and David Crowder Band.

BigJoel and I spent a day at the Mecum Auto Auction.  It was really a lot of fun.  He makes everything fun.  I just love that guy.

Finally, we went to see NeedtoBreathe in concert at Cowboys Stadium...oh, and Taylor Swift was there, too.

One Man's Trash...Is Probably Another Man's Trash, Too

Despite the 106 degree heat today, BigJoel and I finally made a consolidated effort to reclaim all my school things that have been socked away in the deepest, darkest recesses of our garage, which meant purging the place of all unnecessary items.  
Cleaning out things that are too valuable to throw away, but not valuable enough to merit a place indoors is tricky.  (I gave up a long time ago hosting any delusions of earning extra income through garage sales.  I'm waaaay to lazy and prone to procrastination to pull that off.)
So I always begin with a heart of stone and declare, "If it's out here, we don't need it.  Throw it away!"
Then I soften ever-so-slightly to, "That's too nice to throw away.  Let's donate it." (The 'Donate' boxes then ride around for weeks in the trunk of my car before I finally need the space and they find their way BACK in the garage.)
And finally, before I know it, I've pretty much gone through every box--laughed, cried, sighed and moved everything from one side of the garage to the other.  We sweep, reorganize and put it back where it was to begin with.
It's a vicious cycle...but when you have the kind of treasures we do, one can't be too careful.
Here's an example:

The May 1985 issue of Seventeen magazine...the year I graduated high school.  I thought for sure it would be worth something someday.  Now I'm just fascinated by how the "New American Style" has come, gone, and is actually coming back again.
Other things I unearthed today:

• corsages from both my senior prom and BigJoel's
• a Texas Tech yearbook from 1990 that doesn't have either of our photos in it
• salt and pepper shakers that survived my house fire when I was 15
• letters from BigJoel when I was a summer missionary on the Texas coast in 1987
• small bride & groom stuffed bunnies--the "bride" is made out of scraps from my wedding dress
• a gold record
• my college diploma
• my autographed copy of "The Last Voyage of the USS Pueblo"

...And those are just to name a few.  Now do you see why I have such a difficult time parting with things? Treasures, I tell you.  Priceless treasures.
*sigh*

Back to School

Today I went to my first teacher inservice in over three years and I have a confession...I LOVED it!  There's usually a lot of eye rolling that goes on this time of year when teachers trying to prepare for the new school year are pulled out of their classroom/lesson prep and subjected to "professional development".
Maybe it's just the fact that I have been away from the school environment for so long, or maybe I'm just a teacher-nerd at heart but I thoroughly enjoyed the day.
I came away feeling inspired and encouraged...even though I still have no idea exactly what I'm doing.
I think I need a teacher sweater.

Yep, definitely a teacher-nerd at heart...

How Did I Get Here?

August? It's already August?  And I haven't blogged since March? Sheesh! Not sure how that happened. Although I do remember something about trying to upload pictures and getting really frustrated with Blogger...
Then I'm pretty sure my mind just turned to mush...
I will blog again, or at least I hope I will.
But I should probably ease back into it...
slowly...

Playing Catch-up

Wow, how is it possible that an entire month has passed since I last posted?  It's not that I don't have anything to talk about...well, ok, maybe nothing interesting to talk about...but that's never stopped me before. Things are good.  Busy.  Blogging just seems to be the last thing on my mind these days.
Here are a couple of pictures to bring you up to date.

We took a road trip to Lubbock to catch up with BigJoel and the Roadshow; and also to indoctrinate, I mean introduce, the girls to Texas Tech.  We had a great time and I got to see one of my former college roommates and her family.  HannahKate is completely sold on the university--not because of its outstanding academic programs or even the charm of one of the most beautiful campuses in Texas...but because there is a Freebird's Burritios, Raising Cane's, and WhichWhich all located in about a two block span.  (She might just be her mother's daughter.)

The other exciting thing we've done:  Elizabeth had us over for Monday Night/Mardi Gras Supper Club complete with traditional cajun meal.  On the way there Hannah asked, "Will I like gumbo?"  To which I replied, "Mrs. Cheryl is making it...of course you'll like it." (And she did).    Hallie found the baby in her King's Cake, which I think means that she has to host the party next year...sure hope she knows how to make gumbo...

Snow Day

Last week, "Snowpocalypse" hit Northeast Texas.  After three days of being iced in on the verge of crazy, we finally woke to over six inches of snow.  Actual snow.

Since we're relatively ill-equipped to handle extreme cold temperatures here in Texas, we had to get creative with our winter wear. HannahKate has cute leopard print rain boots and so does Hallie.  I have...Wal-Mart sacks over my tennis shoes.

 Hallie dubbed herself a "snow ninja".  Sometimes she's a strange kid.

The girls made snow angels on the trampoline...about as close to "angelic" as they will ever be.

We had a great time, but really only lasted outside for about thirty minutes.  I know, I know...we're wintry wimps.  Don't get me wrong, I love snow...as long as I'm nice and warm inside the house looking out at it.

Absolute Greatness

It's been a busy day and it's bitter cold outside. I spent my evening snuggled in the covers listening to this guy. It's a good life...

Photo Challenge #8

Something you dislike...

I dislike the misuse of the words your/you're.  I am by no means qualified to throw grammar stones, but I get so frustrated when people (especially teachers) use "your" instead of "you're".   

This was a sign in Hometown back around Halloween. "If your feeling booey come get somethin gooey"  If my what is feeling booey?  What does "booey" even mean, anyway?  I guess as long as you make up your own words, no one can complain if you're misspelling them.  

Sigh...such is life here in Hometown...

Just Part of the Job

Sometimes, BigJoel's job stinks.  Like when he has to miss important events such as HannahKate being presented as part of the Homecoming Court at the Hometown High School football game.  Or when the fire alarm (which is excruciatingly loud, by the way) goes off in the middle of the night and I can't figure out how to make it quit.

But there are other times, when the job has its perks.  Like when I get to travel fun places with him.  Or more recently, we had the opportunity to go to Game 5 of the World Series.

So I've never been a huge fan of baseball and attending the World Series was certainly not on my "Bucket List", but I am a huge fan of spending time with BigJoel and this definitely goes on my "How In The World Did I Get Here? List" of interesting experiences stemming from Joel's job.  

It was really quite amazing to be present when a team actually won the World Series...even if it wasn't my team.  We'll get 'em next year, Rangers!  It was a great run.  You made me actually enjoy baseball which is almost as impressive as making it to the World Series.  Can't wait until Opening Day in April.

Persistence Pays Off

When I started my new job back in April, Joel bought a speaker dock for me to have at my desk.  This way I could listen to music and charge my iPod at the same time.  It was a cute little thing.  Just the right size.  Here's a picture.

Unfortunately, after only a few months, the device stopped working one day.  Suddenly.  As in, right in the middle of a song.  One minute I was listening, the next all was quiet.  Of course it had been longer than the allowed time for returning the item to the store where it was purchased, so I had to contact the company.

On my first attempt,  I was assisted by a "non-English speaking" person.  I don't mean that ugly.  I'm sure the gentleman was quite fluent in his native tongue, but I have found in my own personal experience with second language learning that talking on the telephone is difficult.  Needless to say, after the third or fourth time of the man saying, "Ok thank you.  I hear what you are saying, see.  Can you tell me if the device is...[insert the next troubleshooting solution from the manual here]?" I was frustrated and so was he.  We had come to the end of our ability to understand each other, so I told him thanks and hung up.  Within an hour, I received an email from the company saying, "Thank you for calling...if we do not hear from you in 24 hours, we will assume your problem is solved...would you like to fill out a customer satisfaction survey?"

But my problem was not solved, so they did hear from me again.  The second time I called, I spoke with "Matthew".  I remember his name, because I was relieved that I could pronounce it.  Matthew was very friendly and was finally able to discern that I did have the device plugged in, and was operating it correctly; it had simply stopped working.  Matthew said that if I would email or fax him the receipt, he'd replace my speakers within a week.  Yay!  So I emailed the receipt and I waited....and waited...and waited.  I even faxed it for good measure.  I thought it odd that I did not receive a confirmation that the receipt had been received, so I called again.

My "non-English speaking" friend answered the call.  I just hung up.

I waited a few days and called again.  I reached "Scott".   I told him the story and he pulled up my "case".  It appears that they had not received the attachment with my email nor the fax.  (At this point, I'm upset with Matthew because why didn't he let me know he never got my receipt?  I had received another "Thanks for calling...we assume we fixed your problem...customer survey" message and Matthew never mentioned that he hadn't received my attachement.)  Scott said not to worry, he would handle everything.  It turned out that by this time, the original speaker was on backorder.  It figures.  Again, Scott said not to worry.  They would send a device of greater value.  Seven business days, he said...

After fifteen business days, I still had not received the replacement.  Of course I'm totally exasperated by this time.  Normally, I'm not a "return" kind of girl, I just cut my losses and carry on; but this was not a cheap device and it had malfunctioned after only two months.  I'm standing on principle at this point.

So this past Monday,  I called the company again.  I pretty much have the number memorized now. "Colin" answered my call.  When he pulled up my "case" he said, "Oh my, this has been going on far too long..."  Thank you, Colin!  He apologized and promised to send out the replacement via UPS 2 day shipping.  Yeah, yeah.  I'll believe it when I see it, buddy.

Well, sure enough, Colin is a man of his word.  This evening around six o'clock, the man in brown rang my doorbell and left me a box.  A huge box.  Hmmmm...... Remember the original device?  So cute and compact?  Here's the new one.

It's amazing.  It has great sound and even came with a remote control.  But it is HUGE!  I have no idea where I'm going to put it on my desk...think anyone would notice if I did away with the office phone to make room?

But I am so excited to be able to listen to music from my iPod again that I hate to complain.  Colin is my hero.  And now I can finally fill out that customer satisfaction survey...

Crazy Tacos

Earlier this week, our family went to a new Mexican food restaurant here in Hometown.  Honestly, the last thing Hometown needs is another Mexican food restaurant...or barbecue place.  But, we have recently acquired both.  Woo hoo.

Anyway, I'm always the last one to order because I can never make up my mind.   Hallie was sitting next to me and asked for the "Fajita Taco Loco" literally, "Crazy Fajita Taco".  Everyone else had ordered, and I was forced to make a split second decision...so I just got the same thing, even though I had no idea what it was.  That's dos Fajita Taco Locos.

In a few minutes, the waitress began bringing out our food.  She set a small plate with a taco on it in between Hallie and I, but then she said, "That's not your taco!  You have the big taco."  On her second trip to our table, she presented us with our "big tacos".  Oh my word, she wasn't kidding...

  

I put my fork on the plate to give some perspective on the gianormity of it.  

So I submit that instead of being called "Taco Loco", a more appropriate name would be "Taco Grande" or  "Taco Gigante".  Unless of course, the reason it is a "Taco Loco" refers to the fact that it is crazy big.

  

Anyway, Hallie and I enjoyed our gigantic crazy tacos; but I'm afraid the rest of the family was less than impressed with their meals.  So it appears that our regular Mexican food establishment will not have to worry about losing our patronage...even though their tacos are neither loco nor grande.  

A Plan for Success

Recently, I was lamenting via Facebook status that I had spent an entire Sunday afternoon "trying to plan healthy meals on a budget for family that is never home."  

The truth is:

• We are trying to eat better.  
• Dave Ramsey's voice now lives inside my head since we've been debt-free since January and are doing our best to keep it that way.  
• These factors, combined with busy schedules and a traveling husband, make meal planning more difficult.  
• Add to that two girls with very different (from each other) food preferences and a mom who really doesn't like to cook that much anyway, and you have a recipe for disaster...

...Well, maybe not disaster, but at the very least, you have a family with clogged arteries and high blood pressure who goes broke eating out every meal.

I have said it before~Facebook and the internets are wonderful things--A friend saw my status and sent me a link to a menu subscription site called e-mealz.com.  I was skeptical at first, but oh. my. word.  now I cannot stop talking about this site.  It offers weekly menus tailored to fit a variety of needs:  2 person families, 4+ person families, gluten-free, low carb, low fat and even one based on the Weight Watcher's point system.  Once you know what kind of menu you need, then you decide where you're going to do your shopping: any store, Kroger, Publix and even Wal-Mart.  

The more I read about these plans, the more excited I became.  The catch is, it is not free.  But the good news is, it only costs $5 per month (three months at a time).  Heck, the site even has a banner across the top with Dave Ramsey's picture and some quote about "Dave says, at $1.25 per week, this investment is a no-brainer."  Well, if Dave says it's good...what more confirmation do I need?

One of the things I love about these plans, is they give you recipes for 7 meals each week.  The recipes are so easy to prepare, so quick and sooooooo good!  I just cannot get over how tasty the meals are, PLUS the fact that everyone in my family (read:  my two finicky children who have total opposite food tastes) has loved every recipe I've tried so far.  This is a modern miracle of epic proportions.

So I promise you...it is worth your time to click on over to e-mealz and look around.  

And even if you don't believe me, you can't argue with Dave...

Weekly Pic--"Red-y" for Anything

I took this last week on our photo safari, but it didn't really have anything to do with the theme. I just thought it was fun.

Thank You for Being a Friend

I've been de-friended.

Today on Facebook, I saw Friend A's comment on another friend's status. I realized I hadn't heard from Friend A in awhile, so I clicked over to her profile only to find that we are no longer friends. I have the option to "Request this person as a friend", but evidently Friend A terminated our relationship at some point, so why would I set myself up for rejection?

This is the second time (that I know of) that I've "lost" a friend. For a while I tried to blame it on Facebook, but today I did a little investigation and found that:

"Friend removals are not caused by a technical error on the site, as it is not possible for a friend to be removed without confirmation from one of the users involved. The issue you are experiencing is caused by one of the following reasons:

1. This person removed you from their Friend List, either intentionally or accidentally.
2. This person has deactivated their account, causing them to disappear from all Friend Lists. If they choose to reactivate their account, they will reappear on these lists."

In other words, I've been de-friended.

Let me say that I'm not overly concerned with how many "friends" (or how few) I have on Facebook. I've run across two predominant realms of thought regarding Facebook friends. The first is to have as many friends as possible. These are the people who send you a friend request simply because they know who you are. They may or may not have even met you, but they are (in my opinion) trying to pad their numbers. I have a few "friends" like that: someone who's child was in pre-K with HanK eleven years ago, but I haven't seen since; or someone who's husband worked with Joel for a few weeks several years ago. So maybe you're thinking that since I accepted those Friend Requests that I'm just as guilty of trying to pad my numbers as they are. Think what you will, but I do not consciously solicit "friendships" where the other person has to ask around before they know who I am...however, I'm probably not above accepting them. Don't judge.

The second line of thought is that one cannot possibly have that many "friends", so people limit their numbers. They won't allow their friend list to exceed a pre-determined number, say 100, maybe 200. When they reach the cut-off, they re-evaluate their list and clean house by de-friending the dead weight. Sounds a little like the Lifeboat Theory to me. If I really only wanted to keep up with the 100 people closest to me, I wouldn't use Facebook, I'd use my cell phone to call them or email them or maybe even send them a card via "snail mail". Facebook is about social networking, not forming a tight-knit group of your closest friends. But if that is the way some people want to utilize it, I won't judge that either.

I think I fall somewhere in the middle. I don't go digging up people to be my friends, but I also don't limit my "friends" based on their level of importance to me. I've reconnected with people from high school and college, former students and even some relatives. Many of these are not the people I think of each day, but when they cross my mind (possibly because they came up in my News Feed) its nice to visit their profile and catch up with them. I even have a few friends who I have not met personally yet, but we have developed a relationship based on a mutual friend or friends. These are people I feel like I know even though we don't have a long history.

Anyway, I must confess that I'm a little troubled over losing friends. Granted, they were not close friends, and who knows how long ago they dumped me before I realized it. But still. Now there are people that I have "hidden" because they drive me crazy in my News Feed~the ones who always give too much information (if you know what I mean) or those who only talk about their party plans and drink mixes. But to actually dissolve a friendship? That would take a lot. Perhaps they grew weary of my status updates about needing a nap or how much I miss BigJoel when he's gone. Or maybe I just didn't make their top 100. I realize its petty to dwell in this valley. I still have lots of friends who "Like" me enough to comment occasionally or at least keep me around, even if it is just to pad their numbers...

Working It Out

I mentioned a while ago that I got a new job. I am working part-time in our church office doing the weekly newsletter, Sunday bulletins and power point presentations of the pastor's sermons. Even though I love my job, I must say that my re-entry into the workforce has not been as smooth as I'd hoped. First of all, I had exactly one week as a train-ee before my train-er left the country for two weeks. I tried my best to soak it all up and write it all down. She taught me well; but for some reason, I don't learn/remember as well as I used to. I believe there's a saying about "old dogs and new tricks" that might apply here...

Second, evidently I've gotten soft in the two years I've been a "domestic goddess". Getting up and going to work all day long, every day wiped. me. out. HannahKate berated me with mock empathy, "Awww, it must be hard to stay up all day long without a nap." (She's a sassy one, that girl. I have no idea who taught her that.) Two weeks into the job, I found myself going to bed at 9:00 each night. Even my kids don't go to sleep that early!

Third, back when I was a teacher, I single-handedly managed a class of 22 energetic six-year-olds, each with their own individual personalities and learning styles. But in my new career, the office equipment almost defeated me. There's a postage machine, a folding machine, a fax machine, a color copier, a black and white copier, and my arch nemesis ~the Riso. (This is an extremely large machine that can make copies about a bajillion times faster than the ordinary copy machine....when it wants to.) I mastered most of the machines with relative ease; however, the Riso refused to submit. For three solid weeks, even the simplest job I tried to complete on that beast turned into a major fiasco. I finally learned that the secret is in the care and handling of the paper. I asked about this when I first began, "How careful do you have to be with the stacks of paper?" To which L replied, "Oh, not too careful..." Evidently, her definition of "not too careful" and my definition are quite different. But now I finally have it figured out, and I believe the Riso and I have a healthy respect for each other.

The question that has plagued me is, "When did I become such an airhead?" I used to run a pre-school with 100+ children and 20+ employees, for heaven's sake! When did I become the person who does stupid stuff? The village idiot? In my first week, I managed to miss the post office deadline for the weekly newsletter, print mailing labels in alphabetical order instead of by zip codes (which put me on the "outs" with a certain volunteer who kindly helps each week), and run the Sunday morning bulletins upside down so that instead of tearing off the perforated visitor's card, one would tear off half of the order of service (which is no real benefit to us in the office when it comes to following up with prospects...). Oh and let's not forget the countless people I hung up on because I forgot to push the hold button on the telephone, or the fact that I changed the title of the pastor's sermon when I made the power point slides for one of the evening services.

Thankfully, L finally made it back from vacation and I've been able to relax a bit. Now I only work 3 days a week instead of 5. And even though I'm still a little intimidated by the Riso, I try to act like I know exactly what I'm doing. (I'm pretty sure it can smell fear...) I've mastered which direction the perforated paper goes into the copier when running the bulletins, and I ALWAYS make sure to print addresses by zip codes instead of alphabetically. I'm slowly but surely making friends with the grouchy lady at the post office so as not to miss any more deadlines, and I've learned to check, double-check, and re-check the powerpoint to avoid "re-writing" any more of the pastor's sermons.

When I used to just do "fill-in" work at the church office, any time I didn't know how to do something I could shrug it off and wait for the real secretary to return. Now I no longer have that luxury. I can't blame my mistakes on being "the temp" anymore. Hopefully though, I can ride the wave of being "the new girl" just a little big longer...at least until I figure out the "hold" button on the telephone.

Short-Changed

In the never-ending saga of shortness that plagues my life...this man stood in front of me the entire time at The Rock and Worship Roadshow. Seriously, I do not make this stuff up. Once again, the tallest individual in the building chose to sit directly in front of me.Here's an idea~remember how they used to make us line up by height from tallest to shortest on class picture day in elementary school? The tall people got to be first because they stood on the top riser. Us "shorties" were last in line and had to stand on the floor.

What if concert venues required you to line up in the same manner? Tall people in the back, shorties up front.

I think that would be nothing "short" of wonderful.

I Get No Respect

A few days ago, I opened the cabinet under my bathroom sink and was greeted by this guy.

"Somebody" thought it would be funny to scare their mother silly.

Nice try, but you don't frighten me. First of all, cobras are not typically found in Hometown, Texas. And second, raising kids is much more dangerous than poisonous snakes hiding under cabinets!

I haven't blogged in a while. I've been a little down lately what with Joel being gone for so stinking long on this silly tour. Then, I spent most of last week sitting with my dad in the hospital. I've tried a few times to write something or at least do a "Weekly Pic", but honestly, I got nothing. Or the things I do have are gloomy and a little depressing. I didn't want to sound like the whiny baby that I am, so I've just been silent.

There are still plenty of good things though. Hallie is playing softball for the first time ever and while she's not the best player on the team, she's also not the worst. I'm sure there will be some great posts in the future about her blossoming athletic prowess. (Provided that she takes after her father instead of me...)

Another exciting thing is that I'm starting a new job! I've been a stay-at-home-bum, er, I mean mom, long enough. I'm actually just joining the workforce part-time, but I'm really looking forward to it.

So please don't give up on me (because I know there are so many of you out there who hang on my every word). I'll get my groove back...sooner or later ;)