Wow - where have I been?

I don't really know the answer to that. I guess going through the motions of the holidays. Thanksgiving is just a blur. We went to the in-laws and had roasted chicken. It's like anticipating steak, and being given a teensy, weensy burger with no toppings. So I had a free turkey I got with my store card bonus points, and I planned to cook it that weekend. It was still frozen - 6 days in the fridge and it was icy. So I made it on Monday. It was good, and we used up all the leftovers from Thanksgiving day. I fixed gravy out of a jar, and my snotty son thought it was wonderful until he learned it wasn't homemade. Whatever. Gravy is one of those things I've never cared for, and I don't really feel the need to learn how to fix it.

Christmas. I endure it for the sake of my children. DH brought the tree and decorations down, and the kids decorated it. DH hung a couple ornaments at the top and put up the star. We have a garland and lights on the mantle, and DH decorated the porch. Our friend who cleans put up the Christmas shower curtain. OH - I bought a new Santa soap dispenser, and I got out the Christmas window clings for the kids. I guess that was my contribution. DH bought me a beautiful Christmas floral arrangement for the dining room table. I let the kids put precut Pillsbury cookies on the pan and sprinkle them with colored sugar. DH wrapped 95% of the gifts this year. Really pathetic when I read blogs of people who spend all year preparing for the season, or so it seems.

Christmas morning I woke up with one of the worst headaches I can remember. It's a sinus headache that has hung on for 5 days now. I spent some time with an ice pack on my head. The kids opened gifts, ate breakfast and got ready for church. After the presents were open, Baby asked if that was it. Really? I think I've done my kids a disservice by spending what I do. Next year, I think they'll each get 3 presents and a stocking. Seriously.

DH and Little Boy got ready and left a little early to get some AV stuff set up for the service. Baby threw a little fit about tights, and I cried. I was tired, my head was pounding and I didn't want to fight with her.

Church was nice. I didn't have children's church; watching Baby take communion for the first time was sweet and special - almost like she and I were the only ones there. When she ate the "bread", she wrinkled up her nose and told me in a loud whisper, "It tastes like cardboard." lol And when we drank the juice, she told me it's yummy, like the kind we have at home.

We came home from church and walked next door. The kids opened their stockings and we ate lunch. After lunch, the kids opened their gifts. I kept looking at the pile of presents off to the side that were for DH and me. Which one held the featherbed I asked for? None of the boxes looked big enough. I opened several boxes of junk catalog junk. And that was it. No featherbed. I just wanted to cry. I was so looking forward to putting it on our bed. And I sat there and wondered what on earth to do with the junk in front of me, trying to smile with gratitude, trying to not look at the piles of toys and STUFF my kids had opened and I just wanted to crawl in bed and stay there for a couple days.

I can honestly say that December 26th is one of my favorite days of the year.

An Oldie, but Goodie!

I'm not sure if I posted this recipe on my blog; I may not have. But it is so yummy, and with the season changing, I would love to sit down with a huge serving and some fruit & gingersnaps!

Pumpkin Dip

Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon frozen orange juice concentrate

Directions
1.In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Gradually mix in the pumpkin. Stir in the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and orange juice until smooth and well blended. Chill until serving.


Please note, this makes about 4 cups of dip!

I love to eat this with sliced pears or gingersnaps. You can use vanilla wafers, graham crackers, etc. Other fruit is yummy, too, but there's something about the combination of pumpkin and pear that is great. You can make a pretty presentation by serving this in a hollowed out sugar pumpkin.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

So Monday was not terrible. Except for the mean person from church who blasted me in an email. Apparently, the email was sent Saturday night, but for whatever reason it didn't show up until Monday. Probably a good thing.

We started back into schoolwork. We're starting up slowly. Baby is cruising through, and Little Boy has had some good days. I'm thinking we'll start adding subjects one at a time.

Monday night DH had a union dinner to go to, so our cleaning friend came over and watched the kids and ate supper with them. We had a good time; I talked to a lady whose son was diagnosed with leukemia 2 days after Little Boy was dx'd with Type 1 Diabetes. They were at the same hospital at the same time we were. She was really sweet, and we shared the feelings we went through. Her son finishes his chemo treatments in April.

Tuesday was a quietish day with Baby going to ballet in the evening. We went to Denny's like we usually do, and our cleaning friend was our waitress. Baby was thrilled.

Today we worked on school work, but I was definitely dragging. I've been up way too late the last couple nights. My lower legs are pounding already. I should go put them up.

Tomorrow's a whole new day. And Little Boy and I are going to therapy. Should be good.

Looking forward to Monday

It's been a hectic couple of days here. Friday morning our cleaning friend came over. God bless her. It's so nice to have help.

I got an email the other day with an attached spreadsheet. First, let me say that just because you put numbers and words into a spreadsheet, without headings on your columns, I have to guess what you're saying. I needed to stop by church yesterday morning to get the attendance and offering numbers for the bulletin. So I was able to see first hand what the spreadsheet was saying.

Instead of taking inventory of what we have received for putting together boxes for Operation Christmas Child, the people I asked to inventory the stuff went ahead and packed the boxes. I wanted to cry. And I was perturbed. We have very generous members, and have about 40 boxes of stuff. I knew there would be disappointment among some of the people who have been looking forward to having a packing party. And Baby cried. She wanted to pack a box. I was sad for her.

I came home and shared with my husband my feelings. I don't want to take away from the work those people did. That was a lot of work, and I know they thought it was easier to just pack the boxes. But it wasn't what I wanted. I sent an email (that I forwarded to our pastor) thanking them for all the work, but that I had not intended for them to actually pack the boxes. I shared that there is a joy one gets from hands-on ministry that we should make sure everyone gets to experience. And that "next time" we need to make sure we do that, especially for the children in our church who wanted to pack boxes.

When I mentioned it to the pastor today, he told me that when people came in on Wed. night, people right away assumed I had done it. That makes me a little sad. Now that he knows the truth, I hope he tells people.

So I got home and started lunch. DH mentioned that he needed to get going to work. I thought he had traded, and would be going out on last shift. I had not done the bulletins. Grr. He had arranged trades for this weekend, and he and the guy changed the days and I was confused. I wasn't about to go to the church at midnight to run bulletins, so they would have to wait until the morning.

Last night I was irked at family members who irk me pretty much all the time anyway. I won't go into details, but I was irked.

This morning I lolly-gagged around until I remembered the bulletins. aaaaaaahhhhhh Oh well. I haven't had any kids in my Sunday school class. I just needed to pray no one showed up so I could run off the bulletins. (That's sad.) This afternoon was the local JDRF walk. I picked out the kids clothes Saturday night. I made sure they had socks and shoes, a jacket, and then I found my own clothes. I had them all ready to go. We got out the door and realized Little Boy needed his "big" shot. We had to run back home. We were half-way to church and DH realized he had not brought his tennis shoes. bleh

It started raining. bleh bleh

We got to church, I ran the bulletins and all the other things I needed to do. I sat down upstairs and tried to get in the right frame of mind for church, but realized I didn't have my Bible. I taught children's church, and the whole time Little Boy kept mentioning that it was boring. Nice.

After church, I just wanted to gather everything and get home. We had planned to change at the church, go out to eat and then get to the walk on time. So now we had to run home, get lunch on the way, change clothes and drive all the way there. We stopped to get gas on the way, but all the pumps were full, and cars were waiting. So we went to another gas station. We got there at the time the walk was supposed to start. We got our shirts and changed. The walk was nice. Baby fussed about everything. The walk had brought in $5K so far. Very cool.

We got home, I threw a frozen pizza in the oven, we ate and then we went to church. And Baby was a complete brat. I had thought the other girl was teaching tonight. I checked the schedule real quick, and nope. It was supposed to be me. I grabbed a couple games. When I got there, the pastor encouraged me to keep the kids in the Bible study. There would be video clips. So I sat there with Baby throwing a fit just about the whole time. I was miserable; I just wanted to cry and then drag my kid out and beat her butt. I don't think I got much out of it.

And then the church lady came up and started complaining that everyone keeps asking her what they should do, and complaining that no one is getting involved and she has to do everything. I just had to get out of there.

Baby threw a fit all the way home. When we were getting in the car, she told me she had to pee. I told her she should have gone when we were in the church, and that now she could wait. I ended up turning up the CD so that I didn't have to hear her.

I think she's just become a complete brat, and I've about had it.

So I may be one of very few people who are looking forward to Monday.

Sad faces all around

My brother, sister-in-law and their 3 boys have been here for a couple days for a quick visit. Baby cried for a good half hour after they left. I felt like crying, but I held it in. But the kids played well together, and the adults had a nice visit.

September 11th

MY cleaning lady

So I humbled myself, and allowed my friend into our messy house. She's been so great; helping without criticism which is exactly what I needed. She even told me it wasn't that bad. I wanted to laugh out loud, because it is THAT bad. But we've cleaned the living room, dining room, kitchen, both kids' bedrooms and we're 2/3 done with the bathroom. She's definitely earning her pay. I have sorted through multiple piles of junk - papers, office supplies, bathroom stuff, JUNK - and we've filled a half dozen or so huge trash bags with trash. I have a couple piles and a box of things to sort through, and I'd be ok with company.

It's still raining; the grass is really getting green. But we're supposed to get between 6 and 10 inches in the next couple days. All I have to say is it's good to live on a mountain!

Rain

It started raining yesterday, and it's still raining. We have really needed rain. The grass is looking green again; it's so much nicer than looking at brown grass. But rain means 2 naughty, arguing children are cooped up in the house. And like most children, they feel the need to occupy the same 2 square feet of property. sigh So one is watching cartoons, and one is playing legos in a different room. It's the first time this morning there's been peace. Now if we could just find something other than Dora; that girl's voice gives a chalkboard a run for its money.

Where ya been?

My 2 readers might be asking that question. LOL

My husband was on vacation last week. We spent the week working at the church, trying to get things cleaned up and in order for the new pastor (who we still love, btw). DH and another man, along with the pastor, put in the new flooring in the offices. And then DH went back and did the thresholds and trimwork. And he went this week and helped the electrician run phone lines and electric to the office.

I am excited, impatient and exhausted when it comes to church. We have more kids coming on Sunday nights, and I want to go to church then, too. But while we have more kids coming, we have fewer people willing to help out with the nursery and with teaching kids' classes. So, I'm trying to be patient and hang in there a little longer. Last Sunday Pastor handed out surveys, hoping to find out what people would like to get involved in. I'm hoping there will be some pew-warmers who get off their... pew.

Baby had a birthday. She's 6 now. Wow. I tell her all the time that she needs to shrink. We had a party at the lake last week while Daddy could be there. I think she had a great time; she wanted a horse party. And she wanted a horse-head cake. She told me this like 2 days beforehand. I didn't have time to find a pan, and I wasn't up to freehanding it. I told her we'd do cupcakes for her lake party, and I'd make the other one for her actual day. Thankfully she was pacified.

Monday was her birthday. And I forgot that the preceding week when I made plans and commitments for this week. Oops. Monday morning, my friend Julie came over to help me clean. My house has gotten out of control. We cleaned Baby's room so she'd have a place to put her new presents. Love it.

After Julie left, I ran 40 minutes+ to get the kids signed up for homeschool for this year, and came home to decorate the cake I finished baking at 2:30 Monday morning. I got it done just as Daddy had to leave for work. And then I crashed. Until I woke up with horrible abdominal cramping. I ran to the bathroom, and while I was "going", I thought I was going to pass out or vomit. It was terrible. Between episodes I was lying on the bathroom floor.

Little Boy ran in the front door and hollered that Baby was going up the hill 3 houses to talk to the lady who lives there. He was all freaked out; I was so sick, and so mad. She knows better. The kids put on a little parade for the neighbor lady while I stood on the porch with my head on the railing. It was bad. I don't know if it was just stress? Bleh.

Today Julie came, and we cleaned our living room. I still have a couple of piles to deal with, but it looks really good. DH pitched in and helped, and the kids were in and out. Tomorrow we'll tackle the dining room. She's between jobs right now, so I am giving her money to help us. We'll do the kitchen next. That might take us into next week. And if she's still up for it, we can tackle the den, the basement, the garage, or my room? We'll see. We might go broke. LOL But I feel some of the depression lifting.

So, I hope to be back more often. Progress, just a little at a time.

Relief!

Our new pastor and his wife were at church yesterday. I've been teary for a couple days. It feels like I've been single-handedly keeping people on track. That is probably not the truth, but I know that few people even think ahead past Sunday dinner. But our pastor seems to really be "with it". Maybe I can relax my grip on the dashboard a bit.

Counting the Days

So it's been 10 months since our pastor resigned. I'm looking forward to August 7th like you wouldn't believe. But between now and then...

Tomorrow DH and I need to get the carpet fixed in my classroom before VBS starts on Wednesday. I need to get the rest of the flyers ready to go. I have CAUTION tape that I'm stapling to each one as a loop to hang from doors. Tuesday, the mission group is coming in. We have a meeting at 4, and then Wednesday VBS starts. From there, the week will fly. Next Sunday, the group that's coming is going to "run" the service. And the following Sunday our new pastor starts.

And then HE can stress about the logistics. Or whatever.

Tweet

"Churches rise no higher than the spiritual maturity of its men."

This is from our new pastor's twitter page.

I wonder if he's ready to teach kindergarten.

Permission?

If you've ever watched Dr. Phil for any length of time, he says all the time that we teach people how to treat us. So I'm wondering, if people act like idiots all the time, does that mean I can treat them like they're idiots?

Probably not, but in my smart aleck mind it kinda sounds right.

Our new pastor cannot come soon enough. DH has been struggling with his feelings about our church. He is tired of the morons - 3 of them in particular who call themselves "the leadership". "The leadership has decided...." I think they are going to have a little wake-up call when the pastor comes. He has shared with Mike that he feels like committee recommendations and congregation input are vital, especially at the beginning of his ministry here.

The next 3 weeks are too busy.

Anticipation

Or irritation.

The SS meeting tonight was ... interesting. The man leading the meeting spoke to us for about 15 minutes about teachers needing to be at church at least 5 minutes early. But then he danced all around the issue that one teacher who teaches in the church sanctuary needs to be sure to end on time. aaaaaaaargh

I told him after the meeting I wished he had just said what he didn't say but clearly wanted to say. He pretty much knew what I was talking about.

I also was ticked at some of the rude things that teacher said. Whenever he feels like someone is saying something negative about him, he lashes out with rude comments. (That's real mature.)

I was talking to the head deacon after the meeting about the VBS stuff I was sent. I wanted to make sure there weren't any issues beforehand so that things could be changed now if needed. This rude guy walks up and says, "Maybe you could make copies of these to give to the "leadership"." I wanted to say that as far as VBS goes, I AM the leadership, you big JERK. But I didn't. I said I could make copies of the daily schedule, but that it wasn't necessary to hand out copies of the the lesson synopses that they sent. He didn't say anything. I picked up the papers and put them in my purse. It's not that I feel good being snotty, but I've just had it.

I emailed the incoming pastor today. I recommended the CPA our last church used when I was the church treasurer. I copied the email to our current treasurer b/c I don't want anyone getting upset. But it's almost to the point of doing what I need to do and not worrying about who gets upset about what. I mentioned in my email that I've done accounting/payroll stuff in the past for a couple places I worked. I know there are people who do not know half of my job history who are going to just scoff. I half feel like I need to hand out my resume in order to get any kind of respect.

DH was mentioning that he feels like he doesn't get respect with his family or at church. That makes me pretty sad; he's got more insight and integrity in his little finger than some of them have had their whole lives. I just hope the pastor reads people for who they are. Poor guy.

Sunburn

I've been sitting at Little Boy's baseball camp. I've used sunscreen on my neck and arms, but forgot my face. I use foundation that has a small amount of sunscreen, but the sun has been really hot.

VBS is coming up. I got the signs today. They look good. I haven't heard back from the place at the main intersection down the street yet. I called and asked if we can hang a VBS sign on the fence. The business is actually closed, and the management company hasn't responded. It would be a great place to hang our sign.

There is so much to do and I'm not even in charge!

Our pastor's first Sunday is August 7th. I'm looking forward to it so much. Especially since I've about had it with people who can't figure out anything unless their hand is being held.

Tonight is the quarterly SS teachers' meeting. I really want to ask why we all have to end our class at 25 min before the hour, but the adult SS teacher doesn't quit until 20 or 15 min 'til.

My son has been a complete brat lately, and then Baby responds the same way. I seriously don't know what their problem is.

Sick and Tired and Depressed

So I started out depressed, and then started feeling sick, and now I'm tired, too. I stayed home from church this morning; it's the most peaceful nap I've had in a long time.

I guess sitting with your head in the toilet takes your mind off depressing things for at least a little while, huh?

3 am

It's 3 am and I should have been in bed hours ago. I did get a 2 hour nap - yesterday, now - but this late night is cancelling it out.

I have been dealing with a lot of spiritual things for some time. I realize that denominations serve a purpose. And I think it's easier to fellowship when you have like beliefs. But the reasons for separating completely from a group of believers are getting fewer. I don't think I'll ever be best friends with someone who is far from my doctrinal stand. But there are people in my denomination that are wicked. They are mean-spirited, and I think I Cor. 3 calls them carnal for glorying in their divisions.

I just needed to get that down on paper; maybe I can sleep now.

Here

That's about how I feel right now. "Here." I remember answering that when class role was called in college. I'm tired. Too many nights staying up too late. Something going on every day. And those are the easy days. Lately, it seems we've had multiple things going on each day.

I know our schedule is light compared to many people's schedule. But we really prefer to not run too much.

I haven't posted in some time. I got distracted during Diabetes Blog week, and never finished. Update on Little Boy's #s. Last night I had a ladies' meeting at Denny's. Little Boy and I talked about what he'd like to eat, I figured it up from the nutrition chart I downloaded. I gave him his shot to cover dinner, and last night before bed he checked. Over 300. bleh I had to give him a shot to correct, and at his 2 am check he was 130. DH told me and I vaguely remember holding up a thumb in my delirium.

I've been learning and thinking and questioning a lot lately. My new network of survivor friends on SFL have opened my eyes to many things I've questioned for years.

Baby had her ballet recital recently. She was adorable. And even though I stressed myself out both nights and had to run home - first night she left her shoes at home, and second night I left the big flash at home - she did a great job.

Admiring Our Differences

I think what I've learned and appreciate about reading the blogs of other T1 Moms is that my son's sugar is much more regulated than I thought. I read of kids dropping drastically without warning. My son's numbers are not always in the acceptable range, but rarely does his number surprise me. If it's low, it's when he hasn't eaten recently. If it's high, it's because he just came home from his grandparents' house. (Don't get me started.)
When I read the blogs of T2's I realize that they face the same problems and health issues as T1's, even though their "treatment" is easier/less painful. But I wonder if their control is less effective?

2nd Annual Diabetes Blog Week

My blog isn't specifically about my Type 1 Diabetic son. I was writing my blog before he was diagnosed. But occasionally our battle against this disease makes into my writing. I think most days I feel like I'm treading water or just going through the motions to keep us all afloat. There are days I can't think about it too much, because it just kills me.

Beginning tomorrow, for a week, my posts will be about Diabetes and our daily journey, specifically my son's trials.

Rollercoaster Ride

It's been awhile since I was on a real rollercoaster. I pushed myself to enjoy the ride above the fear in the pit of my stomach. This past weekend I had to do that same thing getting onto 4 different planes. All four planes "experienced turbulence." We had one landing that made me very nervous. I was very glad to see my friend Gina, and it was good to see her family. We ate and shopped, shopped and ate. And then ate some more. It was so nice to sit and talk to someone who knows me - knows what I've gone through - knows that once upon a time I wasn't this fat. Someone who shares history with me. And I think we didn't have enough time to get on each other's nerves. That makes the visit a success.

And now I'm home. And my kids didn't magically become angels, and the housework still exists. And our schedule didn't change. So it's like coming off the rollercoaster back into the daily grind. Which isn't a bad thing. It makes the rollercoaster ride a fond memory, and I get to spend time with my 3 favorite people in all the world. But it sure is nice that it's already bedtime for babies, as we say in our home. :)

Blocking

Well, I did it. I blocked someone on Facebook. It wasn't the first time, and I am sure it won't be the last time. But it was the first time I've blocked a sibling. I had to do it. I was feeling stressed anytime I saw her post anything. I don't want to offend her, but I can't worry about that. The anxiety she was causing made it necessary.

It's almost like she was following me around on FB friending anyone I had friended that she knew, too. So. Now I don't have to worry about it b/c I won't know.

And I'm dealing with enough anxiety right now. I leave Friday morning; I'll drive myself to Pittsburgh and park in extended parking for $8/day. That's definitely cheaper than DH driving me there and then picking me up next Tuesday. The thought of flying to the other end of the country by myself is starting to bother me. Baby is not doing well with the idea, either. She cries when I mention it. I don't talk to her about it to make her upset, but b/c she needs to know that I'm leaving (and coming back). She and Little Boy will do fine with Daddy.

I need to get to bed. I've been fighting a headache all day. It's weather, pollen or stress. Or all three combined.

Coloring Eggs

The kids are coloring eggs. I know it's fun. I loved coloring eggs when I was a kid. In fact, after they are done and in bed, I have a couple to color myself. But like all messy "crafts", I get freaked out about the possibility for an HUGE mess. I make the kids take off their clothes (except undies of course) and sit on the kitchen floor with the color cups on a sheet pan on top of newspaper.

Poor kids.

Sigh.

Easter really snuck up on me this year. I tried to get into it. I bought stuff for their baskets yesterday. And I got the last minute clothing necessities - little white cardigan and tights for Baby, new dress shirt for Little Boy... I am looking forward to being done with tomorrow. But I'm getting nervous for the end of the week when I go to WA.

I need to find the disc for my song for tomorrow. I'm going to run through it and see if I have enough voice to power through it. I've been taking Benadryl to dry up the drainage, and I may have saved my voice. We'll see.

Happy, Blessed Easter everyone!

PS - So the dye cups are still on the floor on trays. I need to move them so that I can dye my eggs. But Baby was trying to get into the kitchen. I asked her to not come into the kitchen. Twice. And then when she pushed past me, I raised my voice. She ran into the living room crying. "You just hurt my last feeling." I told her, "You've been on my last nerve, so now we're even!"

My husband was standing in the kitchen laughing.

We are so looking forward to her being a teenager.

NOT.

Baseball!

Reece's Rainbow

I found out about this organization that facilitates international adoptions of Down's Syndrome babies and babies with HIV. http://reecesrainbow.org/ I am drawn to it because of the desperation of each child's situation.

One family trying to adopt a little boy has been turned down by a R*ss*an judge. Not because there was anything wrong with the family. The judge has decided that they should adopt a child that is healthy. This child isn't worth it. My heart breaks. The family is appealing, but they are heartbroken. They had to leave their son and come back to the States.

Pray with me that God will intervene. That the judge will change her mind, or that God will replace the judge.

God knows, the family knows, I know, and you know that child is worth it. He is so worth it.

Things I would miss

if I was not homeschooling...

Baby standing on the couch, flapping her arms like a chicken dancing and singing along with the Bubble Guppies.

LOL

Peculiar?

Good news!

God does NOT want you to be a freak show!

Since I can remember, I've heard that we as Christians are to be a peculiar people. 10 times out of 10 it's been used in the context that God wants us to be different. In some cases it's been used to justify forcing standards on us that cause us to look weird in the world's eyes.

Ahem. Just last night in our Bible study, Pastor Dave talked about this. I didn't have the heart (or the nerve?) to correct him.

A couple weeks ago, I looked the word "peculiar" up in my big KJV. And then I looked at a couple different versions. And then I looked it up in the Strong's concordance. The meaning of the word peculiar in 1611 is not the same meaning as it carries now. When we think of something being peculiar, we think at best it's unique, and at worst we think it's freaky. But the word peculiar used to mean an object that should be treasured. God looks at us as a treasured possession!

Isn't that a relief! Doesn't that make more sense? He told us that people will know we're Christians by our ugly culottes super-short hair skirts that go to the ankle love for one another.

Pretty cool, I think.

Lemmings

This should probably be on my other blog, but I'm just going to vent here a little.

I get so tired of people who do not bother to think for themselves. I work very hard to not take what people say as gospel. That might sound cynical, but people don't always get things right. So I listen. And I research. And I ask questions from people I trust. And I research some more. And I make a decision based on those things. Like I said. I do not blindly believe what people say about issues or events. There is a very short list of people I'd consult.

Recently I found a blog that deals with many issues that I grew up with. And much of it I can relate to. But there is an air of bitterness there. People who were not allowed to think for themselves now follow the loudest bitter voice. I have plenty to question. I have plenty to re-examine. But I am a bit irritated at the moment.

I've come to the conclusion that lemmings are lemmings.

Lemmings don't care what cliff they're jumping off. They're happy to follow right over the edge.

Is it Monday yet?

Or at least Sunday afternoon?

I guess I'm a little impatient to get this vote thing over with. I was talking with someone last night (Baby's baseball coach's wife). I asked what she thought of the candidate we had in. She said she likes our interim pastor.

So I wonder what everyone else is thinking/feeling.

I honestly don't have a strong preference between the two. I think the candidate was def. more educated, and younger with more energy. I had to remind the lady that the interim had not put in for the job. But no matter what we do, I'll be ok. I just want it over with already.

Again

Here it is 4 am and I'm awake - again. I went to bed before 12 but woke up a couple hours ago with acid reflux problems. DH was up changing Little Boy's bedding. :( And Little Boy had to have a fairly big shot b/c his sugar was 357. I have to fax his numbers to the endo and get things straightened out.

About 10 years ago, I found a site and book that made me feel like I really wasn't crazy. I honestly think my mom has borderline personality disorder. When I read the posts and I read the book, it was like they had been living in my house.

Recently, I found a site that made me feel that way again. I find that I am a lot less "fundy" and probably a little bit "mental". lol But I read the blog and forum posts and it is like I grew up with these people. Or most of them, anyway. It is strangely comforting.

Well. I should try to get back to bed. I have a lot to do later today. Hopefully, I don't have to get up b/c of acid reflux again. Really unpleasant.

Lunch

It's been too long since I cooked. I've fixed meals - frozen or processed. But today I made these turkey burgers. My husband likes them better than homemade burgers from ground beef, and my picky children love them. Even Baby. I did adjust the measurements to 5 servings.

I've been trying Full Bars. I think I like them. I eat one 1/2 hour before my lunch or supper. I drink a glass of water. And then I eat supper. But I'm fairly full at the start, and I eat less. And I can go until the next mealtime without feeling hungry or needing to snack. The bars are puffed wheat, with protein powders and a chocolate sauce or peanut butter sauce.

They aren't yummy enough to tempt one to eat them outside of the necessary time. :) But they aren't so yucky as to make one not want to eat them, either. I only bought a couple boxes last week. They aren't cheap. But diet plans/foods aren't cheap. And they seem to be working for me.

So I'll give them a try and see what happens.

INSOMNIA

ugh. It's 5 am, and I'm just now feeling tired.

I don't know if it was the iced coffee I had (I think it was caffeine free, but I'm probably wrong) or the mini blizzard I ate tonight w/peanut butter cups in it.

Regardless, my leg pain kept me awake. And my finger. I hurt my middle finger on my right hand, and I am not sure how. The middle knuckle hurts when I lift things or hold things like a pitcher or milk jug or computer...

I don't know what to do. It doesn't hurt to type, but I can't bend it all the way. I will probably wait to see how it does.

I think I'll go crawl into bed...

It could be a very long day.

Rude men

who think they're funny make me mad.

A couple weeks ago I wrote about how a small group of men/people were talking when I came in on a Sunday night. The deacon's wife announced that she'd just be bold, and started asking me questions in a rude way.

Well, FF to this past Friday evening. A group of us met at church to clean up, and set up for the dinner to be held on Saturday night for the pastoral candidate and his family. I was in the bathroom cleaning, and the deacon (whose wife went after me) was saying we should do the basement floor that night. He was joking. The plan is to put garage floor paint on our basement floor, and it takes a while to set up. Someone asked if he had bought the stuff to do it. He said he hadn't; it needed to be brought up in the business meeting next week b/c it was above the $ amount set in the constitution. Then he jokingly said that he hadn't b/c no one had told him what color to buy. (Two colors had been discussed.)

This old guy who makes snotty comments about my husband and me says, "Besides. You'd better run it through the Ladies' Fellowship first anyway." I said from in the bathroom, "I heard that." I came out and looked at him, and said, "That was snotty." He laughed, "That's just my personality." I should have not responded; or I wish I had said something different. But I was mad. I told him it was my personality to confront. I wish I had told him that that was immature, or something else. I don't know. This guy sits on his butt and directs others, and then takes credit. And when he is given a responsibility, he drops the ball. Then later, a couple of the men were sitting down chatting. This guy said he was having a difficult time being excited about the weekend (the candidate coming.) I said from across the hall that maybe he needed to be praying that the Lord would give him an attitude adjustment. Our interim pastor laughed. But I feel like maybe HE was the one who should have been saying it.

Why can't I just keep my mouth shut?

I like them

I like the pastoral candidate and his wife. Now to see if the boy, I mean, man can preach. :)

Insulin, email and other things

So we got the shipment of Little Boy's Humalog last week (or the week before, I can't remember). But when DH opened it, it didn't seem as cold as it should have. He called the insurance company, who recommended we try it and see if there were any problems.

When it came time to open a new vial, DH decided to use the newer, "warm" insulin. And we've had high numbers. So today his lunch number was in the 290s and I opened another vial - an older one. Now we're interested to see what his number is tonight.

I tried to get into my email today. The company has merged a couple services, and since mine is a sub-account something happened and I can't get into it. I need to get a phone number, to call a place that hasn't shipped a case of alcohol wipes that I ordered in January?

It's snowing here. Again. "It's Spring!" ha! "April Fool's!" Little Boy's ball practice has been cancelled. He's supposed to have practice Tuesday night. Unless it snows.

Baby fell off her chair at lunch. This is like her 3rd crash/wipe-out in as many days. She and Little Boy were jumping on her bed yesterday, and she fell off the bed and landed on her back. She's still complaining that it aches. Back to the chair. I told her that that wouldn't have happened if she had been sitting correctly. That I've never seen someone sitting correctly in their chair just fly across the room. She laughed and then went back to crying.

Little Boy still hates school. But today a book came in the mail. "Mud!" We looked at the pictures and tried to figure out what was happening. Then he read it. And laughed. And finished by saying, "That was an easy book." I'm hoping that if I can find some more easy books that make him laugh he'll keep it up.

April 1st

I tried to explain April Fool's Day to my 5 and 7 year olds. They don't get it. We're not much into playing jokes on each other here.

It's been a busy week, and it's going to continue right on through the weekend.

Yesterday was haircuts for all of us, and last night I took Baby to ballet and out to eat while Daddy and Little Boy went to get their haircuts.

Tonight is cleaning and setting up at the church for the dinner tomorrow night. I'll take Baby with me while Daddy takes Little Boy to his first baseball practice. Maybe. It's been so cold, they've cancelled the last two practices b/c of snow.

Tomorrow Daddy meets with the pulpit committee and the candidate, and in the evening we have the dinner. I also have to get the bulletin done.

Sunday is church. SS, AM and PM. I'm just glad it's Daddy's long weekend off and he'll be there to help me out and to lead the service. And I'm thankful Tina will be there to teach children's church so I will get to be in the service for the message.

Monday is recuperation day.

March - Days 30 & 31

Yesterday's challenge - your favorite song. I don't know that I have an all-time favorite. But this is the song I can't get enough of right now. "What Faith Can Do" by Kutless. I get chills when the drummer plays the first shimmery sound on the cymbal.



Today's challenge - the best thing about being me.

The best thing about being me would have to be being married to my husband and loving on our two children. They all are the answer to many prayers when I was single and lonely, and God gave me everything I asked for and more.

Anxiety

So last night I bought my tickets to Spokane. I think. I double, triple, quadruple checked everything, but I am always afraid I missed something or messed something up. I might be going to Texas or Alabama or something.

And now the low-level anxiety begins. I am already feeling nervous. Going a new place, by myself? And having to get to the airport on time or else... I need a pill. A big, fat chill pill.

March - Day 29

In this past year, what have I learned.

I don't know. Because right now my blood pressure just peaked. Between my son who cannot chew gum without sounding like a slobbery cow, and the fact that he can't close the door without getting the rug stuck. And then there's the stubborn little princess who lives in this house who makes breakfast MISERABLE. She asks for food and then refuses to eat it. Even with the promise of an orange when she finishes. And then she acts like I'm mean for expecting her to eat what she asked for!

AAAaaarrrrgggghhhh!

I know what I've learned in the last 5 minutes! Birth control is a VERY GOOD THING.

March - Day 28

A pic of you (me) from last year and this year, and how have you (I) changed?

No Way.

I'm tired of the picture challenges.

I've gained weight. 'Nuff said.

Mother's love

This is not meant to offend my wonderful SIL who cuts her sons' hair short!

But I asked my son if he knew that I love him.

Yeah.

Do you know how you can know I love you?

Uhhh. How?

Because I don't cut your hair to look like a chemo patient.

I follow a cute blog. The mom just buzzed her 3 older kids' hair. She must have taken off the attachments b/c you can barely see where their hair should be.

I think they look pitiful.

She thinks they're washable. LOL.

Giving

DH and I were discussing tonight about how much Americans have and how we take it all for granted. He was telling me about a Ch*nese Bible study. This person taught for days on end - 8 hour days - about the Old Testament. And when he was done, they asked him to teach about the New Testament. We get antsy if the speaker goes longer than 45 minutes.

We also talked about how little Americans give to others. Even though we are the most generous nation on Earth. And when we do give, we feel so great that we donated $20 or even $50. We (I'm speaking of my husband and I) do feel great about the $$$ we donated to our church last year. And yet. We do not give sacrificially. We do not give until it hurts.

Glenn Beck has proposed a day of giving - a day of charity. I like Glenn. I think he has a good heart. But I think he likes to make everything hyped up. I used to watch him daily, but lately the bad news w/o suggestions or remedies makes me too frustrated to watch.

But I am mulling this idea he has proposed. He is asking that on April 21st, people give a bag of groceries to a random person. He likened it to a flash mob of sorts. I'll write about the experience if I decide to follow through on it. I'm afraid I'd find someone who didn't really need it, and they'd be offended. But I'm thinking about it.

March - Day 27

Why are you doing this challenge? I thought it would be fun to write each day without having to come up with the topic myself. Not that it's difficult, but I thought it would be a motivator to get back to writing every day.

March - Day 26

What I think of my friends.

My closest friends are great. Angela, Tammy, Anna, Gina... I would trust them with my life. I would even trust a couple of them with my kids' lives. lol I would do whatever was in my power to help them.

I have plenty of other acquaintances. I think it's too much work to groom any of them into a close friend.

March - Day 25

What you would find in my bag pocketbook purse.

2 Checkbooks, a calculator, my pink and white giraffe-print wallet, several pens, lipstick, 3 crayons, gum, shopping list, nail clippers, cell phone, appointment book, ibuprofen, sunglasses and some bendy straws.

I carry a little baggy with bendy straws for my kids. If we stop somewhere to eat, my kids can drink without having to get up on their knees or taking the cup off the table. It helps us all have a much more enjoyable meal since Mommy isn't freaking out about spills.

I like my purse. It isn't leather, but it feels like it's super soft leather. Soon it will be time to put it away until next winter.

March - Day 24

Your last 5 Facebook status reports.

I am screaming at the lady doctor on The Doctors. She keeps making generalized comments about diabetes. Type 2 runs in families. Type 2 can be managed by food choices/portion size and exercise. Type 2 is not the same as Type 1!

So far, so good with Baby this morning. She wasn't too happy when I told her I think she and I can do a page of school work. Little Boy told me that would hurt her head; now she's repeating him. @@ Thanks, brother.

Barfing baby girl. :-(!!!! She did feel well enough to pick out her Easter dress, though. Looks like I'll be staying home from church tonight. sigh

Came away from church feeling much better this week than last! Three blessings today!

Baffled, concerned, frustrated... Little Boy's numbers are running high. At lunch time he was 327! Hope we can figure it out. :0(

March - Day 23

Something you crave.

Salty and Sweet. Some days my mouth waters at the thought of Salt & Vinegar potato chips, and some days I have to have a Kit Kat.

But the thing that I have to have every day? Hugs and kisses from my growing-way-too-fast kids babies.

March - Day 22

What makes you different from everyone else. I don't know!

Everyone is unique, so is being unique actually unique?

I think the things that make people unique are their experiences. The combination of good things and the bad things that we've gone through, and the way we allow those things to affect us.

Each thing in and of itself isn't so significant. But the varied combinations make us unique.

I'm a child of the 60s. I'm a second child. My parents were gifted, but thoroughly flawed. See, so far not so unique. I've moved 14 times. I've worked as a secretary, a teacher, an accounting clerk, an administrative assistant for a professional orchestra, a teacher...

I could go on and on. It's so boring; I'm boring myself.

My son is a T1. Each day, more children are diagnosed. So that doesn't make me (or him) unique. But it does set us apart. I watch cooking shows. It may be simple to whip up a meal, but then I have to count the carbs. And I see pictures of people at parties, having a great time. Parties make me sweat. How do I count the carbs?

I homeschool my kids. Most days we just get by. Occasionally, we work something fun in. But my son hates school, so we are doing good just to get through the basics before we have a meltdown. And the fun stuff doesn't motivate him to enjoy it more; he just wants to do more of the fun stuff. Although, the last couple days he has read from a book about construction that he enjoys without fussing. That's been refreshing.

I enjoy singing. I am fairly good. I'm not really recording artist material.

Dang. This is supposed to be fun, but this is just depressing. I'm.. so... average.

March - Day 21

A picture of something that makes you happy.

My kids, getting along, having fun. This is from our trip to Wisconsin last summer.

Easter Dress

Yesterday I found 3 options for Baby. This is the dress she picked.
She asked me if it will be warm on Easter. She has a sweet little white sweater to wear with it. I also recently bought her a lilac colored trench coat. She's going to look adorable. :0)

This Sunday

So last Sunday night I left church angry. I haven't spoken to the deacon's wife who went after me. I did cancel/postpone the cleaning day. I don't plan on being the one to reschedule it. And I am afraid that I will not be available to help on the day it is rescheduled.

Blessing 1 - My student came today. I hope I am an encouragement to him. I try. He comes from a broken home; he lives with his grandmother and on weekends sometimes goes to his father's house and occasionally goes to his mother's house. He has so much potential.

Blessing 2 - One of the ladies at church handed me a gift bag. She had a couple others she was passing out. When I opened it, it was just some little goodies, but it was an encouragement. She always has something positive to say.

Blessing 3 - Our new interim pastor's wife talked to me after church about helping out with teaching children's church. She offered to take turns teaching 2 weeks at a time. As I was leaving, I mentioned to another girl that if she was still interested in helping, I'd like to work her into the rotation, too. That way, we'd each have 4 weeks in the service, and 2 out. She said she'd be willing. Wow. I feel so much relief. I've been teaching my SS class when my student(s) come, and children's church every Sunday (with 3 exceptions) for over 6 months now.

And sadly, after she woke up from her nap, Baby had a couple barfing incidents. So I stayed home with her. Which actually is blessing 4 - I don't have to even see "that" lady. And Baby and I got to spend some time together watching a new episode of Olivia. :0)

March - Day 20

Someone you love.

How do I pick just one? I have a small group of close friends/family who love me. But I have to pick my husband.

We met in our 30s and married a year after we met on a Christian dating site. But for the first 6 months, we communicated long distance. That wasn't easy, but looking back it was a blessing. We spent every minute "together" talking. We didn't chit-chat about where to go, or what to do. We talked. We did Bible/book studies over the phone. We prayed together. We talked about favorites, pet peeves, hopes and dreams. We shared our frustrations and heartaches. We learned all about each other. I don't think there were very many surprises when we actually met and spent time together. We had an easy, smooth transition when I did move here.

He loves me inspite of all my shortcomings. He loves me in deed. Almost daily he cleans up the kitchen, and often clears the table. He loads and unloads the dishwasher. He washes his own laundry, and often throws the kids' clothes in, too. By the end of the day, when my legs, feet and back are killing me, he is my hero. He comforts me when I am hard on myself. He insists that our children speak to me in a respectful way. That really is a blessing.

I LOVE that man! I'm so glad God brought us together!

March - Day 19

Nicknames you have and why.

I don't have any now, per se. I mean, I go by a common form of my proper name, so I guess that's a nickname. So I guess "Mommy" and "Sweetie" are the closest. The first is pretty self-explanatory, and my DH and I call each other Sweetie. We've called each other that since before we met in person, and I remember the first time I had to call to him by his name, it felt weird.

When I was little my parents called me Miss America. They said it was because they thought I was so beautiful and because I had a Miss America behind. lol I think I know what they mean when I look at my daughter. My sister had plenty of nicknames for me, and in Jr. Hi, the High schoolers called me Shorty. I think I was only 4'10" in 10th grade, so that one explains itself, too. That freaks me out a bit, since my 7 year old son is already 4'5"!

March - Day 18

Plans/dreams/goals you have.

Where do I start?
I'd love to get my house cleaned and organized. We are on the verge...
I want to take my kids to Disney World. This is something that I wanted to do as a kid, but we were never financially able to do. My kids are at the perfect age.
I need to lose weight. I can't stand looking at myself in the mirror any more than absolutely necessary.
I would love to be more organized; I think it would help us all be less irritated.

Dream? That someone else could make all the above happen and it wouldn't require any pain or adjustments on our part. ha. Okay, not just a dream... A pipe dream. (sigh)

March - Day 17

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Hope you don't get pinched!

Someone you would like to trade places with for one day and why.

I asked my DH this question. He said he'd trade places with the president so he could repeal all the laws he's passed. And he'd tell 'em (Congress) to hurry up and he'd sign a bunch of bills. But since there wouldn't be time for that, he'd write a bunch of executive orders. I told him that would be fine for him, but would that mean that the President would be here in his place? blech

I am not sure who I'd trade places with. Since this is hypothetical, I'd trade places with a professional organizer who lives in a quiet home, with a housekeeper and a chef. One day of quiet while my home gets a make over.

Oh well.

March - Day 16

Another picture of yourself.

Good grief, people.

This was taken after Baby's ballet; I love the look on her face.

March - Day 15

Put your iPod on shuffle: first 10 songs that play.

I don't have an iPod. ;0)

March - Day 14

A picture of you and your family. I think this is the last time we got our picture taken as a family - last Easter. When Baby had a shiner.

Ouch

I'm getting tired of getting attacked. I walked into church tonight and a deacon's wife started interrogating questioning me about a date we decided to meet and clean out the old Sunday school building. She started out by stating, "Well, I'm just going to be bold." What the heck? Do people really think they have to be confrontational when talking to me? And then she starts in, questioning what MY plan is, do I have a truck, am I going to haul stuff away, what do I plan to do with the stuff that is in the building, and on and on. I noticed the one guy adjusting his neck, watching to see what my reaction would be. I wasn't very happy. She ends it with, "Well, I just wanted to know what you were thinking."

I tried to be gracious; I was really working to control my facial expressions. I wanted to say, "Uh, no. You don't want to know what I am thinking."

DH is at work; I called him on the way home. He told me I should just cancel the cleaning day. I don't know what to do. I do know my face was hot even at the end of the service.

March - Day 13

A letter to someone.

Wow. This is so totally cool. I couldn't believe how easy this one was!

To my husband: Q.

March - Day 12

I found out about blogger through my sister-in-law. She sent me an invitation to her blog, and I loved the idea. I've tried journaling in the past, but haven't been very consistent. I thought this would be a great way to just write about the little things that happen through the day.

I like to try to work things out in my head or on paper before I act. I think that is one reason my husband and I have such a great relationship. I work out the craziness in my head instead of laying it all on him, and then having to apologize later. We've been married 10 1/2 years, and we've had disagreements and irritations, but we've never had a verbal argument. Yet. The day isn't over, is it. :0S

Do little boys get PMS?

My son has been touchy, weepy, and grumpy all morning. I've asked him about his blood sugar. He doesn't think he's low. I think he woke up too early. Regardless, he's hanging out in his room until his daddy gets home.

My husband's place of work called. Said they didn't know if DH could work today. HUH? When he burned his arm in January, he was automatically placed on restriction. He's been cleared to return to work, but there was no note that the restriction was lifted. A new rule is that people working on a restriction cannot work shift work. Well, seeing that he's worked shift work since the day after the accident, I think it's pretty lame that they are now trying to implement it. I think it has more to do with the extra shift hours that are available right now while they try to get a machine back online.

Today the men on the pulpit search committee met with Dave M. He's been filling the pulpit, and the men asked if he'd consider being the interim pastor. I'm anxious to see what DH has to say about the meeting.
I should figure out lunch.

So, DH had to call the medical center, and the doctor's assistant said she'd sign the paper releasing DH from the work restriction. Otherwise, if she hadn't, DH would have had to have been officially called off his shift, and the employer would have had to pay his wages for the time he was scheduled (he's on the schedule through next week). So he could have had some more vacation time!

He told me Dave has agreed to be the interim pastor for 3 months. After that, if he's interested in pursuing it, he'd put in his resume, etc., for the permanent position. We do have a possible candidate that they've interviewed on the phone. JB is supposed to come preach, but the soonest he can come is in April. And there is so much to get done before that happens...

March - Day 11

Another picture of you and your friends.


I don't know why this is so small. But this is a pic of me and 3 friends in college. It was the last day of our sophomore year, I think. About '88, I guess. We're all still friends, and FB is great for keeping in touch. :0)

Financial Crisis

I watched a video today put out by an investment firm. I realize they wanted people to buy their information about investment plans, and I don't think we are really interested in that. It was mentioned that the average American carries about $8K in credit card debt. Thankfully, we got our tax return last week, and my DH paid off our last credit card. We are now debt-free. PRAISE GOD!

But one thing he said, that really struck me, was that people should have 6 months worth of food, water and medicines stocked up.

We have begun storing food, and I feel a bit anxious when I think about it. I plan to do some canning this spring/summer/fall. I don't know if we'll be putting in a garden, but while I can, I want to buy things from local growers to can.

I guess the thing that worries us the most is having 6 months of medicines on hand. We can stockpile all the food and water we can, but not insulin. And without buying test strips outright, we can only get 3 months of them at a time.

After watching the video, I got online and ordered our next delivery on what I could.

March - Day 10

Songs you listen to when you are happy, sad, anxious or bored.

I have a 6 CD changer in my car. Right now, I have Grover Levy, Building 429, Natalie Grant, an accompaniment CD of a Mandissa song, Leeland, and the Imagination Movers.

Unless I'm listening to talk radio if I'm alone in the car, I flip through the CDs looking for whatever songs I'm in the mood for.

March - Day 9

Something you're proud of in the past couple days.

I guess I'd say I'm proud of my husband. He sometimes gets a little riled, but he always keeps his cool for other people. There are many things that he could get upset with at church, but he's always gracious.

He's a good example to me.

March - Day 8

Short term goals for this month and why.


1. Start/Finish my Sunday school classroom.
2. Clean something.

Because both are desperately needed. LOL
How's that?

Am I Nuts?

I was looking at airfare to Spokane, WA where my friend just moved. I found a ticket for a fairly reasonable price, and asked DH if it would be feasible on his long weekend in April/May. Looks like I may be going if her husband doesn't have plans for that weekend.

We've been friends since college, and she's come to visit me several times. I only made the trek to South Dakota a couple times - her wedding and her first child - both times in December! Talk about cold! I was in her wedding, and she was in mine ten years later. So now she's in a new place and feeling a bit lost and lonely. I thought it would be a good opportunity to go visit.

I haven't flown since Little Boy was a baby. It makes me a bit nervous thinking about it. There are still some details to consider, but it should be fun.

March - Day 7

A picture of something/someone that has made a huge impact on my life.

March - Day 6

List your 5 favorite TV shows.

1. The Mentalist
2. White Collar
3. CSI
4. Criminal Minds
5. Bones

Not really in order of favorite-est to lesser favorite-est.

Love the character of Patrick Jane, love Neal Caffrey and Mozzie, love Temperance Brennan. I guess I like the quirky ones. :0)

Church Decor Meeting

These are the colors we chose. The light color is called Cream in My Coffee, and the darker color is called Moose Mousse; it's going to be the accent color.

So we had a brief meeting after the morning service regarding church decor. This could have been ugly, with many chiefs wanting to be THE chief. I had asked LC to coordinate the colors and design. She's very sweet, but a bit quiet and timid. I was afraid if it went badly, she'd be scarred. Thankfully, the Lord was in control. SR suggested that LC show us the color swatches LC has in her new hair salon. She pulled them out, and everyone LOVED them. We talked about eventually transitioning the whole building into one cohesive color scheme. We have burgundy carpet, and mauve-ish tweed pews. We have ugly sky-blue and royal front doors, and a sign with blue paint. I mentioned that we would like to work them all into the same color scheme. SR, whose voice is like nails on a chalkboard, said, "I have burgundy in my house, but that color is going out of style." I just said that right now, that's what we have to work with, and until we have a pile of money, we have to work with it indefinitely. She just said we shouldn't make everything burgundy. Uhhh. We don't have to make it burgundy, but we do have to work with that color.

So, while the blue paint that was put up on the wall as an example of what the focal wall would look like, it doesn't mesh with the rest of the building. We have to tread lightly when it comes to our front doors. The man who painted them is currently dealing with deep depression. It wouldn't be our intention to offend him, but we shouldn't have to live with ugly doors either. Oh well.

SR started getting crazy with "accent walls". I said if you have too many, they aren't accent walls anymore. I got one giggle from a girl. I also said we really don't want to draw attention to the ugly brick wall with ugly conduit coming down for electrical outlets. LC said which walls would work best as accent walls, everyone agreed, and the meeting was basically done. LC and I talked a little longer about what finish the paint should be.

And then KM came down. She had wanted to be at the meeting. But she got cornered by a lady who said she gave the former pastor's wife, DL, a cookbook. DL was not happy that her recipes are in the book, and asked us to remove them. ROFL. ROLLING EYES. The books are printed and will soon be paid for. If she wants, she can take a marker and cross whatever she wants out of her own copy. I intentionally left them in so no one would be offended. I would hope she would appreciate the book for the recipes of some of our older members, some of whom have passed away. It is sad that she is so bitter. I think our church has treated them quite well considering.

The SS teacher who has the cabinet came and talked to me. She wanted to know if I would be able to take the little table back to Sam's. I told her I would find a use for it there, or I'd use it at home. Then she wanted to be sure it was ok for her to take that cabinet. (NOW you're asking?) I told her it was ok, but that I was upset when I saw the mess. She said she and KM came back last night to clean it up, but it was done. Yeah. I know. I said since no one said anything or left a note or anything, I figured it was left for me to clean it up. She apologized. It ended ok. I need to call her and let her know it's ok.

So other than the one lady with a beef about our former pastor, today has gone well.

Other than the snow. ugh.

Kids

So the last couple days I've been way too stressed out. My kids don't always help me relax, but tonight I'm sitting here listening to them.

Baby is getting her shower. Daddy gives showers because he loves me. (He knows that it kills my back to reach into the shower.) He is teasing her, and I love to hear her giggle-turned-laugh. Soon it will be my turn to wash her hair. Little Boy is playing with the lid to a box. He cut out a door in it, and it's his "breaker box." Can you tell he's been spending time working at church with Daddy? Or maybe that's from the other day when we had a power surge, and Daddy had to flip the breakers back on. Or from watching Mike Holmes.

He hums while he plays. And compliments himself on his careful, safe, construction.

DH worked on my classroom today. He has a couple more spots to patch and sand on my walls. The men who did the work are not as meticulous as he is. I'm just glad when my classroom is done, it will be done well.

Little Boy is requesting that I beat him in Mario Cart. LOL He asked so sweetly, I couldn't say no. It probably helps that I got a nap today, too.

The Mess - Part 2

So I spent two hours at church today, cleaning up the mess that other people made.

Lovely.

It's done.

But I'm still mad.

March - Day 5

A picture of somewhere you've been.



This is Lake Tahoe in California. I went there when I was a nanny. The dad was on the ski patrol and had to work so many days a year. We all went out for a week. It was the first time I flew in an airplane, the first time I drove an AWD vehicle, and the first time I skied. I got private lessons, which was nice. I was a little lonely, but it was a nice week.

A Mess

At church we teachers are moving from our old OLD red building into our new classrooms in the church basement. People have been working to finish classrooms. Today I stopped at church to drop Little Boy off so he could work with his daddy.

The kids and I went into the basement to take a peek at the room people were working on last night. They decided to not use the table I bought, so I now own another folding 4 foot rubbermaid table. I don't mind. I know I can use it. The teacher, kinda snarkily commented, "I won't be able to use it if I have more than 2 students." She only has one student right now. And I said she had room for 6 students with her sitting away from the table. WhatEVER. But it would have been nice if they hadn't used it for a paint can holder while they were painting last night, ya know?

I noticed a white cabinet in the room. It looked cute in there, and I wondered where they got it. It kinda looked like the one I have been using for children's church stuff in the red building in the room where we have the church copy machine.

I ran into the red building to grab keys to unlock the upstairs door - I needed to get the attendance and offering numbers for the bulletin. When I was coming out of the red building, I noticed the table where we have children's church was piled high. And the white cabinet was gone.

Those horrible women emptied that cabinet onto the table in a huge pile and took the cabinet to that classroom!

It wasn't "my" cabinet. It wasn't in "my" Sunday school classroom. But don't you think that if someone is using it, it would be courteous to ask. And don't you think you could stack the stuff neatly, or find a box to put things in? And don't you think you'd at least say something after the fact? I just don't even know how to react/respond at this point. I'm quite disgusted that they would think it was ok to leave that mess for someone else (ME) to clean up.

March - Day 4

A habit I wish I didn't have.

Hmm. My first thought was that it would probably be food related, but then it came to me.

I absolutely HATE it when I have something in my hand, and I put it down somewhere and can't find it.

And it happens way too often.

I'm sad, mad and frustrated.

I opened a discussion at our ladies' meeting regarding the decor for our church basement now that the remodel is close to being finished. I had overheard a couple different people's ideas, and the ideas didn't mesh. And personally, I didn't like their ideas. So I thought by opening the discussion, we could at least decide to try to go in the same direction. I asked a lady to try to coordinate the ideas and come up with a plan. We decided to have a meeting after this coming morning's service and open the meeting up to the men, too. And then from that discussion, this lady could present her ideas to us.

Today, I got a call from one of the ladies from church who wasn't able to be at the meeting. "Did you decide on a color for the church basement at your meeting? So-and-so's husband just dropped off a five-gallon bucket of blue paint for the basement. My husband is working there; he said the color is going to make the basement look small. The man said he can't take it back now that it's mixed. I thought we were going to go with the color I recommended - you know, that golden yellow color I have in my house?"

All I can do is scream. I tried to avoid this. I shoulda just spoken up and told everyone that we already had white paint, and the basement was going to be white. I asked my husband, "Do I have to do everything myself?"

March - Day 3

A picture of you and your friends.

Someone was assuming a lot. Like that I have more than one friend. Ok. I have lots of friends, but very few pictures with them. Here is one from last summer. My friend has the idea that if you put your chin down, and take the pic from above, you can't see our double chins. I guess she's right, but I also think it looks a bit kooky. But she is.

A bit kooky, that is.

Canned Mushrooms

I don't know why, but I prefer canned mushrooms to fresh. I'll eat fresh mushrooms, but given the choice, especially to top pizza, I'd pick canned. I was buying WalMart brand because I liked the taste. But then the taste changed, and I knew they weren't the same.

And then it happened.

I happened to read the label. And I saw the words, "Product of China."

What?!!!

I'm sorry. I just cannot eat them. I know mushrooms are grown in manure-rich soil. I just cannot stand the thought of eating mushrooms grown in Chinese manure-rich soil. I just know their standards are not as high as "ours". Look at all the recalled toys. I sometimes think they are over there laughing at our children playing with contaminated toys.

Back to mushrooms. I started looking at the labels on the other brands. Even Pennsylvania Dutch brand, which btw, are grown in Indonesia. I've found Giorgio brand which are grown in the USA. My new-found favorite.

I was afraid I was going to have to switch to fresh mushrooms. Whew!

March - Day 2

The meaning behind my blog name.

Even though my life isn't all that exciting (not necessarily a bad thing), at the end of the day, I'm glad to have survived. Also, I was thinking of the verse that says, "This is the day that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it." And many days I think, "And WHAT a DAY it has been!"

March - Day 1

Recent picture of yourself & 15 interesting facts:

Ok - I'm not sure about the picture. I'll have to see if there are any that aren't too horrible. And I don't know that I'm all that interesting, or if things I think are interesting are actually interesting... And my sister-in-law, who is my one faithful reader, probably knows all these anyway.
1. I live in the mountains.
2. I've lived here for 11 years; the longest I've ever lived in one place.
3. I've now taught students in every grade from Kindergarten to 12th.
4. I have skied in California.
5. I've jumped off a 30' cliff into 80' of water.
6. My favorite comfort-food sandwich is mayo and pickles.
7. My favorite color is purple.
Stink. Am I stuck already? It's late, and I'll have to finish this tomorrow.
8. I was a nanny for a year+ in Chicago for one little girl.
9. I was the administrative assistant for a professional orchestra. (Not as exciting as it sounds.)
10. I have a list of many favorite TV shows that I'm trying to whittle down.
11. When I was a child, and even as a teenager, I was terribly shy.
12. I used to read about 10 books a week when I was in high school. Now I'm lucky to read a couple a year. Maybe if I watched less TV....
13. I almost cut off my large knuckle on my left hand pointer with a huge knife when I was 3, I spent a week in the hospital when I was 5 for dehydration, I had scarlet fever when I was in grade school, I broke my collar bone in 2nd grade, I dislocated my tailbone in high school, I had pleurisy as a young adult, and somewhere along the line I broke my nose (my ENT informed me). Add that to psoriatic arthritis, and I think I've had my fair share.
14. I used to have an astigmatism, but wearing ugly glasses for several years corrected that. No. Really. They were UGLY.
15. I have two children and one baby in heaven.

Ok. So I finished the list.

A couple of the blogs I read are doing the following posts for the month of March. I think I'll try to do them, too. It will give me something to focus on each day. I copied and pasted this list or I would have capitalized the word "day". :0) I'm forcing myself to leave it as it is and not correct them all. (nails digging in ....)

day 1- recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
day 2- the meaning behind your blog name
day 3- a picture of you and your friends
day 4- a habit that you wish you didn’t have
day 5- a picture of somewhere you've been
day 6- 5 favorite TV shows
day 7- a picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you
day 8- short term goals for this month and why
day 9- something you're proud of in the past few days
day 10- songs you listen to when you are happy, sad, bored, anxious or mad
day 11- another picture of you and your friends
day 12- how you found out about blogger and why you have one
day 13- a letter to someone
day 14- a picture of you and your family
day 15- put your ipod on shuffle: first 10 songs that play
day 16- another picture of yourself
day 17- someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
day 18- plans/dreams/goals you have
day 19- nicknames you have and why you have them
day 20- someone you love
day 21- a picture of something that makes you happy
day 22- what makes you different from everyone else
day 23- something you crave for a lot
day 24- your last five facebook status'
day 25- what I would find in your bag
day 26- what do you think about your friends
day 27- why are you doing this 30 day challenge
day 28- a picture of you from last year and now, how have you changed since then?
day 29- in this past month, what have you learned
day 30- your favorite song
day 31- the best thing about being you

I hope you don't get sick of hearing about me by the end of the month. I'm afraid I might get sick of me by the end.

Church

It's a blessing that Baby was sick. I took Little Boy to Sunday school, and Baby and I ran a couple errands to burn an hour. It was nice to have a day off. Although, I was at church setting things up until 11:30 Saturday night.

The son of a deacon filled the pulpit yesterday. This son lives in Virginia, but came up here just to "bless us". Bless us out, is more like it. His father walked out of a pulpit committee meeting recently, and walked out of church recently over KJV-Only stuff.

I would have been in Children's Church, anyway, but if I had been in the service I would have walked out.

This guy got up and said, "I don't talk to my parents about church stuff..." LIE. I'm sorry, but that was a LIE. He got up and crammed a bunch of KJV-Only stuff down their throats. He was loud, and angry. And he spewed Gail Riplinger lies. I would have walked out. Plain. and. Simple.

I was talking to the wife of a deacon who sat there. I asked her, "Didn't you learn anything from sitting under the last pastor? Why did you sit there?"

One of the ladies talked to the speaker after the service, and told him, "You've reaffirmed my belief in the KJV."

Sad. Little. Lemming.

I'm afraid things are going to get ugly.

Freezing Rain

It started about 6:30 last night and continued through most of the night.

DH is on last shift.

I'd imagine it will take him awhile to scrape his windows.

I'm just praying he'll make it up our "hill" safely.

Is it spring yet?

Tired

I have to say, I am tired. I could use a good day in bed. Without 2 little interuptions. Or maybe I could just go to bed earlier.

I'm a little sad/jealous. I've been browsing some blogs, and most people sharing their Valentine's Day stuff. It would be so nice to go out to dinner with my husband. Not just a quick/rushed stop at Denny's after church for dessert (which was GREAT, btw). But it would be nice to be able to take our time.

I'm irritated. People at church (men) who decided one thing in their pastor search committee meeting, and then today, 2 of the 5 decided to go ahead and do what they wanted anyway. THEN when they were talking to the guy preaching about being our interim pastor, they didn't even bother to call DH over to be included on the discussion. He was close enough to hear what was happening, and went over.

This morning I woke up with a TERRIBLE sinus headache. I took a decongestant and some Motrin. On an empty stomach. So then my stomach started hurting, and I had to eat something. I was feeling pretty miserable. But by the time I left for church, I was feeling ok. If it wasn't for the list of things that I'm responsible for I would have climbed back into bed. I got the kids ready, and DH took them so I could finish getting ready. My To-Do list: Teach Sunday School, run the Praise and Worship slides, sing special music, cookbook sales forms, arrange for cookbooks to be handed out, teach children's church, check on cookbook sales... Isn't that enough? So I got to church, and I had no students. I ran off the forms for the cookbook sales, I didn't have to sing b/c the lady scheduled actually showed up ready to sing. We only did one P & W song, a very capable, responsible lady agreed to take care of the sales stuff, children's church was ok. I knew the kids would like the craft. We used foam hand shapes, and I let them decorate them load them up with big, plastic jewels and my all-time favorite - GLUE DOTS. Our lesson was about clapping our hands, and praising God loudly. (Ps. 47:1) It was a bit light on substance, but the kids had fun. I taught them the song, and we memorized the verse. But by the time Little Boy got to the sanctuary after church, he couldn't remember why we decorated hands. sigh. rolling eyes. But he can tell you what happened last night on the half hour he was allowed to watch of Over the Hedge, and even remembers a couple lines of dialogue. ROLLING EYES. And likes to keep repeating them.

We got McDonalds on the way home. First time in a while - everyone's order was correct. Mark it on the blog calendar.

Yesterday we made a quick trip to Morgantown. I wanted to go to Sam's Club. I picked up a table for another teacher and a set of two pitchers for the church kitchen. And I got the staple items from Sam's - TP, paper towels, green beans, ravioli, Honey Nut Cheerios... you know. I stopped at Michael's and picked up some $1 goodies. I love picking through their rubber stamps in the dollar bin. I found some others on clearance, and I got a new cuttlebug embossing folder and a big circle paper punch. Love it. And the kiddos did pretty good in there, too.

Little Boy has been running low lately. We haven't changed anything. He hasn't been getting more exercise than normal. It is frustrating. From what I've read, occasionally, the pancreas must be able to produce some insulin? IDK. I happened to look at his finger when he had to check while we were in Sam's. He's been poking the same finger repeatedly. The tip of his finger looks terrible. So he's now sportin' a camouflage band-aid on that finger to remind him to not poke it. Poor kid.

Baby came home today with new hair elastics - the kind with the plastic balls? She cracks us up. I put a couple pony tails in, and the next thing we knew, she had the rest tucked into the top elastic of her undies, and she was shimmie-shaking to make them clack into each other. Another thing I never thought I'd say: "Baby, take the hair elastics out of your undies." LOL

Did I mention I'm tired? I should have taken a nap today, but I wanted to watch the Daytona 500. My two faves are out - Biffle and Kenseth. Oh well. My first fave, Elliot Sadler, is now racing in the Nationwide Series. I read an article about it. I think he's a really nice guy with very little ego. (I think you have to have a smidge of an ego to race professionally, but I could be wrong.)

I'm ready for a nap. Or a vacation.