This semester it is Microbiology on M/W night and Therapeutic Nutrition online. I am in my first week and have 11 assignments to do, and I've already done quite a few - I think, 6. Three of them are online quizzes (we take our Micro quizzes online rather than in class). Okay. That's all of my whining for now. For NOW. There will be more, but I will try to limit how much I do online!
I was shocked two weeks ago when Mike asked and asked me to go out with him and his work friends. Then last weekend we went out again. A friend of ours plays in a band so we went to listen to him. They were really good. I only knew about 5 of their songs, but I can recognize talent. Hopefully next time we go listen to them it will be outdoors. This time was in a bar! Can you imagine? Here's how the babysitting phone call went, "uh, yeah, dad? can you watch the kids while Mike and I go to a bar?" Oh my grief! "we're going to listen to our friend, Mike's band"...that's all, really!! Then my son said I was going to a bar to get drunk! Bad example being set here. I said, "son, how many times have you seen me drunk?" "never" "okay, what makes you think I will be going out and getting drunk now?" "I don't know, but that's what people do at bars". True. But not always. The bad thing, other than my bad example, was 30 minutes after we got there I had a splitting headache from the smoke. UGH! We washed our clothes and our sheets on Sunday. Even after taking a shower I still felt like I smelled like smoke. (and I am still having trouble with my sinuses)
BUT, the band was good. Really good if you like 80's rock. Prior to us going out Saturday night, I went to a crop at a friend's church from 10-4:30 and then went to another friend's jewelry party immediately after that (I was the only one who wasn't one of her church friends) and then Mike and I went out. So, most of Saturday was spent in the company of good, Christian women. I feel somewhat redeemed......
Monday, I went to lunch with my friend, Kim. I drove to Hutch this time. Then we went to see what will hopefully be her new, old house. Lot of road trip going on. Lots of fun. I love road trips...even if it's to Western Kansas! Again, time spent in the company of a good, Christian woman. More redemption!
That will probably be the end of my fun for awhile....although I am sure I will need a sanity break here and there if anyone wants to do something fun!
Back to the books............
Friday, January 23, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
In memory
Of our Scamp, (aka "little beggar", "Big dog" "Big")
Last night, when Mike and I got home from an evening out, we found Scampy dead. Mike took him to the vet today for an autopsy. I cannot believe he came up with this idea and even said, "the cost doesn't matter". He just wants us to know for sure what happened to him. The vet determined that the wound was from another dog bite. This explains everything. We thought he had been shot because of how the wound looked. But after shaving him, she saw other wounds. No wonder we didn't see anything wrong with Scamp when we were home.....our other dog, Maggie, killed him when we were gone. It explains how she was acting last night, too.
We got Scamp from a woman named Angie who worked at the hospital and became friends with Amber and I. She heard us talking one day about how we would like to have a little dog and said that she was wanting to find a home for her Shih-Tzu because they were so busy they didn't have time to give him the love he needed. We loved him from the moment we saw him.
He was stupid though. Poor inbred little guy. If he wandered too far from home he couldn't find his way back. We lost him twice because of his wanderings. He would follow the big dogs out and about, but they would be able to move faster than his little legs would carry him. Fortunately we were able to find him. One time my boss found him and he went for a ride on the bus, delivering all the children.
We will miss him very much. He was definitely part of the family. I know dogs don't go to heaven, but there is a part of me that really hopes that Amber has her Scamp to play with and cuddle again.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Dirty Laundry
That was a misleading title meant to make you excited to read this post. Did it work? If so...shame on you! Gossip is wrong.....although if you have any......
This is actually about clean laundry. I was doing laundry today. Yes, occasionally, I do laundry. And, as I was folding, I was thinking. Laundry is a good time for thinking. Fortunately for me, I don't do much laundry, so not a lot of that pesky thinking goes on. I got to thinking about Mike's socks.
Probably like most of you, my socks run away. But not Mike's socks. He always has the same number of socks to correlate with the number of days that it has been since the last wash day. I don't know if it is that I give my socks the wings to fly. If his are more duty-bound. Maybe I didn't love my socks enough, whereas he rotates his socks so each pair is worn equally - that way none feel left out. I'm not scary enough? His socks are too terrified to flee? Whatever the reason, his are always matched with their partner. Always. Same two socks, always worn together, washed together, folded together.
Mine? They are forming support groups "Socks Without Partners" "Find Our Other Toe-cover" or FOOT, as they like to call it. It's good for them. They have a chance to air their feelings. Meet others who are going through the same pain. Sometimes, they even hook up....make new "pairs".
Who am I to judge their new partnerships? If they are happy, I'm happy. I have nothing against the pairings that they make...even if it is with a sock of another color. Philosophically, I'm all for it. Physically? I can't wear socks that don't match. I wasn't raised that way. I don't think society is ready for it. Maybe my children's children will one day be able to wear socks that don't match and not be mocked, judged, pointed at, or laughed at.
These are the thoughts that run barefoot through my brain while I am doing laundry. Reason number 436 not do do laundry.
This is actually about clean laundry. I was doing laundry today. Yes, occasionally, I do laundry. And, as I was folding, I was thinking. Laundry is a good time for thinking. Fortunately for me, I don't do much laundry, so not a lot of that pesky thinking goes on. I got to thinking about Mike's socks.
Probably like most of you, my socks run away. But not Mike's socks. He always has the same number of socks to correlate with the number of days that it has been since the last wash day. I don't know if it is that I give my socks the wings to fly. If his are more duty-bound. Maybe I didn't love my socks enough, whereas he rotates his socks so each pair is worn equally - that way none feel left out. I'm not scary enough? His socks are too terrified to flee? Whatever the reason, his are always matched with their partner. Always. Same two socks, always worn together, washed together, folded together.
Mine? They are forming support groups "Socks Without Partners" "Find Our Other Toe-cover" or FOOT, as they like to call it. It's good for them. They have a chance to air their feelings. Meet others who are going through the same pain. Sometimes, they even hook up....make new "pairs".
Who am I to judge their new partnerships? If they are happy, I'm happy. I have nothing against the pairings that they make...even if it is with a sock of another color. Philosophically, I'm all for it. Physically? I can't wear socks that don't match. I wasn't raised that way. I don't think society is ready for it. Maybe my children's children will one day be able to wear socks that don't match and not be mocked, judged, pointed at, or laughed at.
These are the thoughts that run barefoot through my brain while I am doing laundry. Reason number 436 not do do laundry.
You're what???
While I was making breakfast on Wednesday, the kids and I were having a most delightful conversation. Andrew makes an offhand, smart-aleck remark and the following conversation occurred.
Andrew: So, what are you, adopted? (said to me, in a joking way)
Me: Actually, yes.
Kids: Really? (after picking their jaws up off of the floor)
Alexa: Why didn't you ever tell us?
Me: The subject never came up. I don't really think about it.
Andrew: This would have been nice to know.
Alexa: Yeah, you should've told us.
Me: Sorry, I just didn't think about it. (and grief, they're just 9 and 11)
Alexa: Well.
Alexa: So who are your real parents?
Me: Grandpa and Grandma.
Alexa: They're not your real parents.
Me: Yes they are.
Alexa: They didn't squeeze you out. You have to squeeze a baby out to be real parents. (obviously, we need to talk about technical terms)
Andrew: No you don't, Alexa. That isn't what makes you real parents. It's taking care of your children and loving them.
Me: That is exactly right Andrew.
Then as conversations do, it turned to something else. If I remember correctly, it was something like....is breakfast ready yet?
Andrew: So, what are you, adopted? (said to me, in a joking way)
Me: Actually, yes.
Kids: Really? (after picking their jaws up off of the floor)
Alexa: Why didn't you ever tell us?
Me: The subject never came up. I don't really think about it.
Andrew: This would have been nice to know.
Alexa: Yeah, you should've told us.
Me: Sorry, I just didn't think about it. (and grief, they're just 9 and 11)
Alexa: Well.
Alexa: So who are your real parents?
Me: Grandpa and Grandma.
Alexa: They're not your real parents.
Me: Yes they are.
Alexa: They didn't squeeze you out. You have to squeeze a baby out to be real parents. (obviously, we need to talk about technical terms)
Andrew: No you don't, Alexa. That isn't what makes you real parents. It's taking care of your children and loving them.
Me: That is exactly right Andrew.
Then as conversations do, it turned to something else. If I remember correctly, it was something like....is breakfast ready yet?
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Did you know...
* there are 318,979,564,000 possible moves a chess player can make during their first four moves? (Andrew informed me of this fact today)
* it is absolutely ridiculous to try to make 4 batches of muffins when your oven doesn't retain heat? (as I am trying to bake the 6th tin of muffins and have about 2 more to go...)
* kids will make liars of you every time you brag about them. (as my kids goofed around all day today when they were supposed to be doing their math)
* cats are so much easier to deal with than dogs. (my dogs are keeping me up all night with their in and out, repeat)
* I would much rather laugh at all the things that go wrong than to get down about it and be cranky. (around here, I would be cranky all of the time!)
* it is absolutely ridiculous to try to make 4 batches of muffins when your oven doesn't retain heat? (as I am trying to bake the 6th tin of muffins and have about 2 more to go...)
* kids will make liars of you every time you brag about them. (as my kids goofed around all day today when they were supposed to be doing their math)
* cats are so much easier to deal with than dogs. (my dogs are keeping me up all night with their in and out, repeat)
* I would much rather laugh at all the things that go wrong than to get down about it and be cranky. (around here, I would be cranky all of the time!)
Monday, January 5, 2009
Reflections
Looking back over 2008, one question comes to mind. Did I learn anything? I think, unequivocally, the answer is yes. Maybe not anything I necessarily wanted to learn, but I learned it, nonetheless. In all of that book learnin' I learned that if you work hard, pray hard you can achieve just about anything.
I also learned that occasionally God does answer my prayers. I really thought that the answer was always going to be "no". Seriously, if you were me you would believe that, too. I finally got a "yes" this year. That came in the form of my testing. I prayed, prayed, prayed before those tests, and I did well. I know some of that was from lots of studying, but I also know that a some of it was grace of God. Especially my Nationals test. I prayed for brain peace - that I wouldn't overthink, overanalyze, that even on the questions I didn't automatically know the answers to, that I would just let my knowledge and intuition handle it without freaking. And it worked. I was nervous with the practical, but I was able to do it without fumbling over myself or my words. I knew what I was doing and was able to do it.
I've learned that if I demand more from my children, they will rise to meet my expectations. This I knew, but I put it into practice and saw results.
I've learned that we are all capable of more than we think we are. That whole 'God doesn't call the abled, He enables the called'....or whatever the actual quote is.
I've learned that we can come back from dark places where there wasn't any light. Even though sometimes we get pulled back, we don't go so far that we can't see any light. Andrew has really made a lot of progress and is no longer where he was....where he was unreachable.
I've learned that if I have faith and remember God's words and promise even when I don't feel like He's listening to me that everything will turn out the way God wants. Sometimes that's hard for those of us who are impatient, stubborn, a tiny bit rebellious....So here I am in the middle of my captivity and leaning on the promise.
Jer 29:10-14 (NIV) This is what the Lord says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the Lord, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the Lord, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."
I also learned that occasionally God does answer my prayers. I really thought that the answer was always going to be "no". Seriously, if you were me you would believe that, too. I finally got a "yes" this year. That came in the form of my testing. I prayed, prayed, prayed before those tests, and I did well. I know some of that was from lots of studying, but I also know that a some of it was grace of God. Especially my Nationals test. I prayed for brain peace - that I wouldn't overthink, overanalyze, that even on the questions I didn't automatically know the answers to, that I would just let my knowledge and intuition handle it without freaking. And it worked. I was nervous with the practical, but I was able to do it without fumbling over myself or my words. I knew what I was doing and was able to do it.
I've learned that if I demand more from my children, they will rise to meet my expectations. This I knew, but I put it into practice and saw results.
I've learned that we are all capable of more than we think we are. That whole 'God doesn't call the abled, He enables the called'....or whatever the actual quote is.
I've learned that we can come back from dark places where there wasn't any light. Even though sometimes we get pulled back, we don't go so far that we can't see any light. Andrew has really made a lot of progress and is no longer where he was....where he was unreachable.
I've learned that if I have faith and remember God's words and promise even when I don't feel like He's listening to me that everything will turn out the way God wants. Sometimes that's hard for those of us who are impatient, stubborn, a tiny bit rebellious....So here I am in the middle of my captivity and leaning on the promise.
Jer 29:10-14 (NIV) This is what the Lord says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the Lord, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the Lord, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."
Friday, January 2, 2009
Hello, January
I think if you blog it is required that you do some sort of farewell to the old....ring in the new...isn't it? So, before the blog police come a-knockin' on my door...here goes.
I personally am glad that it is January. Whatever year, I just like January. I would like it more if it weren't cold, but there you have it. January is mine and Mike's mantra. "ah, in January" we'll say, "things will be....slower, better, easier, etc. in January". We have been saying this since August of 1996. At the time, we genuinely believed it. We had started dating in April, got engaged in May, married in September. That's a lot of activity in a short period of time. So, we honestly thought in January life would slow down. I no longer believe it....but without hope what do we have?
2008 was perhaps one of the most hectic, insane years we have had in awhile. I am hoping that 2009 will be slower, that we can enjoy the time with the children, and just enjoy life in general. I hate feeling like I am treading water, barely keeping my head above water. That is why I always like January...it is a fresh start. A chance to forget how life was in the previous year and begin again.
I haven't done resolutions in years. I won't this year. I am just constantly trying to do better, not decide in January that I am going to do this, not do that. Hopefully, though, I can be better at the things I need to be better at....a better mom, a better friend, a better Christian....and not do the things I shouldn't be doing....which usually involves cookies or chocolate! Resolutions typically happen only in January.
For us.....the next day, the next week.....is always January....a hope that whatever is bad, will be better in January. The real January and the real new year? It's like clean sheets, a clean sink, spring, right smack-dab in the middle of winter....it's fresh, it's new. A new calendar. Is there anything better than a new calendar? That few minutes when there is nothing on it? It quickly fills up with all the things we have to do. But for a moment or two, our time is our own. So goodbye, filled-up 2008. Hello, January and 2009!
I personally am glad that it is January. Whatever year, I just like January. I would like it more if it weren't cold, but there you have it. January is mine and Mike's mantra. "ah, in January" we'll say, "things will be....slower, better, easier, etc. in January". We have been saying this since August of 1996. At the time, we genuinely believed it. We had started dating in April, got engaged in May, married in September. That's a lot of activity in a short period of time. So, we honestly thought in January life would slow down. I no longer believe it....but without hope what do we have?
2008 was perhaps one of the most hectic, insane years we have had in awhile. I am hoping that 2009 will be slower, that we can enjoy the time with the children, and just enjoy life in general. I hate feeling like I am treading water, barely keeping my head above water. That is why I always like January...it is a fresh start. A chance to forget how life was in the previous year and begin again.
I haven't done resolutions in years. I won't this year. I am just constantly trying to do better, not decide in January that I am going to do this, not do that. Hopefully, though, I can be better at the things I need to be better at....a better mom, a better friend, a better Christian....and not do the things I shouldn't be doing....which usually involves cookies or chocolate! Resolutions typically happen only in January.
For us.....the next day, the next week.....is always January....a hope that whatever is bad, will be better in January. The real January and the real new year? It's like clean sheets, a clean sink, spring, right smack-dab in the middle of winter....it's fresh, it's new. A new calendar. Is there anything better than a new calendar? That few minutes when there is nothing on it? It quickly fills up with all the things we have to do. But for a moment or two, our time is our own. So goodbye, filled-up 2008. Hello, January and 2009!
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