Never a dull moment. The Singer calls last night a little after 11 pm. I can tell be the sound of her voice when she says "Mommmmm.." I'm thinking, 'please don't let it be a car accident or something terrible." And she proceeds to tell me she's in so much pain in her abdomen that she thinks she going to get sick to her stomach. Do I think she should wait it out or go to the emergency room. Really? Her junior year in high school she got kidney stones during her 1st semester exams which continued to cause her pain all the way up to Christmas. So is it the same kind of pain? Yep. Then go to the emergency room. I tell her make sure someone else drives. She then sounds indignant with an 'of course." Hey, if you don't know to go the emergency room, can I be sure you don't know not to drive in so much pain? 5 hours later, with a diagnosis of kidney stones and pain meds and anti-nausea meds she was back in her dorm room. I couldn't sleep until I heard all was okay. Thank goodness she has such a wonderful roommate who took great care of her. Awake at 8:30 this morning, I didn't get a whole lot of sleep. And I have a long list of things to get done this weekend. Such is life. I'm just so relieved it isn't something worse. Abdominal pain can be a whole host of problems. Kidney stones are 'doable'. And I can say that as someone who has had them.
I'm enjoying the beautiful weather and eating the lettuce and green peppers from my garden. My cukes are coming along. I have a few about 2 inches long. I can't wait to eat them. My roses are blooming. My Fragrant Cloud has 10 buds. 3 of them should open today and then a few more for the next couple of days.
We went to University of Central Florida on Monday with the Imp. It's on her top 2 list. I'm not too sure. It's not the university per se that has me concerned. It's the fact that there are 56,000 students. Yep 56 thousand! The second largest university in the country. It just seems like it would be so easy to get lost in the mix there. Her other top choice is University of North Florida which will visit this summer since we really need an overnight stay to go there. Guess I'll be doing lots of praying over this 'cause there's really not a whole lot else to do.
The home school coop I teach for is having their parent meeting Monday night. It's really a meeting where each teacher gets up and pitches their courses so parents will sign up their kids. We get paid per student you want people to want your class. I'm slated to teach US History (which I'm very excited about and have lots of ideas for) and public speaking (I'm thinking this could be really wonderful but I've got to do much more to create the curriculum, etc.) I just got asked to teach this course a week ago so I've got to come up with the structure of the course and how I plan to attack it and then come up with a 5 minute or less presentation selling it. Now if I'm teaching Public Speaking I'd better be able to sell the course with a public speech, right? And finally I'm doing the drama club. I'm in way over my head there...just because what I'll do with that depends greatly on the number of kids who sign up. This weekend will be stressful as I do all this, but overall it's really all very good. I'm glad I've got things to focus on and ways to stay involved. The crochet club this year is making baby afghans for the local pregnancy center. Each student is making granny squares and I'm crocheting them all together. I think between the 7 or 8 members we will end up with 3 or 4 afghans. After first semester just learning how to crochet, it was great to have a goal or mission this semester.
Better go get started on all of this.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
The Love Dare
Sitting in a quiet house early in the morning reading my devotional...it is wonderful. During the day I find myself frustrated with so many things...wishing the world were more supportive of my values....often feeling as if every value (honesty, modesty, moderation, love, patience, etc) I want to teach my children is the very things society is urging them to denounce.
Modesty is on my radar especially as I get ready to go prom dress shopping with the Imp. Her slight build makes it easier to find a dress that covers things...but so many are still too revealing and too suggestive. The Imp is going with a friend, not a boyfriend, and her words, "I wouldn't want to go with a boyfriend because then you're expected to dance like your having sex with your clothes on. That's just sick!" In fact she was thinking of not going at all but her other friends talked her into going as a group. She said she'd much rather go to St. Leo's to the carpenter shop (a meeting room for the teens) put on some music and just have fun dancing with everyone.
So for Lent I'm doing the "Love Dare" on my husband. My TEAM read an article about marriage during Lent and it was about really actively loving your spouse. I need a little more concrete, specific ideas. So I got out the "Love Dare" and have started. I'm on day 6. It was interesting because some of the stuff I already do. Day 2 has you calling your spouse during the day to just say "hi" and asking if there is anything you can do for them. Well I almost felt like I needed to call 2 times to fulfill the love dare since I call Hubby most days to do just that. Then Day 3 has you buy something for your spouse. That was very hard for me as Hubby is so NOT into THINGS of any kind. And he is so into NOT spending money. If it weren't Lent I might have gotten him a box a Suzy Q's (one of his absolutely favorite junk food that he doesn't have very often) or a six-pack of a dark beer (but he gave up chocolate and alcohol for Lent). So I went ahead and bought him two tickets for the Rays game when the Red Sox first come to town this year. Carl Crawford, a hero for the Rays for the last few years, sold out to the enemy. (We knew he was leaving the Rays..the Rays just don't pay money like the other clubs but were hoping he'd go to a team not in our division...The Red Sox? Really?) Ever since Crawford signed with the Red Sox Hubby has talked about going to the game to cheer Crawford when he's introduced as a fond farewell, then boo him for the rest of the game. I was going to get him tickets to opening day but only the beach seats left with 2 seats together. Again, he was thankful, but it wasn't really out of the ordinary. It's funny 'cause the Love Dare comes from the movie, Fireproof, and in it the couple is on the verge of divorce so the husband starts this love dare and his wife totally ignores his attempts to love her. Hubby and I are so happy in our marriage I guess I had visions of him being so thankful. Which, of course, is totally NOT the point of the endeavor. The whole idea is that as a married person we are called to love the other no matter what. Not because they deserve it (none of us deserves God's love, after all) or because of what we get out of it (recognition, affirmation, etc). So I laughed at myself for looking for that recognition. My love-language is words of affirmation so I often look for them/desire them to make me feel loved, but really, I was missing the point. So just spending the time focusing on that whole idea...no matter what he does or doesn't do I'm called to love him...has been a good thing for me. 34 more days. We'll see where it all leads.
Gotta go get the Imp up so we can hit the mall...fortunately she went with the Singer last week and has a dress picked out so it shouldn't be too long at the mall. And we're hitting the library afterward...my carrot.
Modesty is on my radar especially as I get ready to go prom dress shopping with the Imp. Her slight build makes it easier to find a dress that covers things...but so many are still too revealing and too suggestive. The Imp is going with a friend, not a boyfriend, and her words, "I wouldn't want to go with a boyfriend because then you're expected to dance like your having sex with your clothes on. That's just sick!" In fact she was thinking of not going at all but her other friends talked her into going as a group. She said she'd much rather go to St. Leo's to the carpenter shop (a meeting room for the teens) put on some music and just have fun dancing with everyone.
So for Lent I'm doing the "Love Dare" on my husband. My TEAM read an article about marriage during Lent and it was about really actively loving your spouse. I need a little more concrete, specific ideas. So I got out the "Love Dare" and have started. I'm on day 6. It was interesting because some of the stuff I already do. Day 2 has you calling your spouse during the day to just say "hi" and asking if there is anything you can do for them. Well I almost felt like I needed to call 2 times to fulfill the love dare since I call Hubby most days to do just that. Then Day 3 has you buy something for your spouse. That was very hard for me as Hubby is so NOT into THINGS of any kind. And he is so into NOT spending money. If it weren't Lent I might have gotten him a box a Suzy Q's (one of his absolutely favorite junk food that he doesn't have very often) or a six-pack of a dark beer (but he gave up chocolate and alcohol for Lent). So I went ahead and bought him two tickets for the Rays game when the Red Sox first come to town this year. Carl Crawford, a hero for the Rays for the last few years, sold out to the enemy. (We knew he was leaving the Rays..the Rays just don't pay money like the other clubs but were hoping he'd go to a team not in our division...The Red Sox? Really?) Ever since Crawford signed with the Red Sox Hubby has talked about going to the game to cheer Crawford when he's introduced as a fond farewell, then boo him for the rest of the game. I was going to get him tickets to opening day but only the beach seats left with 2 seats together. Again, he was thankful, but it wasn't really out of the ordinary. It's funny 'cause the Love Dare comes from the movie, Fireproof, and in it the couple is on the verge of divorce so the husband starts this love dare and his wife totally ignores his attempts to love her. Hubby and I are so happy in our marriage I guess I had visions of him being so thankful. Which, of course, is totally NOT the point of the endeavor. The whole idea is that as a married person we are called to love the other no matter what. Not because they deserve it (none of us deserves God's love, after all) or because of what we get out of it (recognition, affirmation, etc). So I laughed at myself for looking for that recognition. My love-language is words of affirmation so I often look for them/desire them to make me feel loved, but really, I was missing the point. So just spending the time focusing on that whole idea...no matter what he does or doesn't do I'm called to love him...has been a good thing for me. 34 more days. We'll see where it all leads.
Gotta go get the Imp up so we can hit the mall...fortunately she went with the Singer last week and has a dress picked out so it shouldn't be too long at the mall. And we're hitting the library afterward...my carrot.
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
Spring!
The Singer is home for Spring Break. The weather is gorgeous (80 today and high 70s and low 80s the rest of the week). The only drawback to the weather is not enough rain recently and I'm trying to get my garden going. My broccoli is harvested. It hit 80 last week and they started to flower. 80 is a no-no for broccoli. I'll have to plant earlier next year! My leaf lettuce is producing, 'Got small peppers on my pepper plants. The cukes are transplanted to the garden. Bean seeds are sown. Onions are transplanted. Herb garden doing great. Roses have buds. But I hate watering by hand. Just rain already! Focusing in on my garden is my attempt to forget the layer of yellowish-green oak pollen that is coating everything!
Allergies are in full swing for the whole family. I've actually slept out on our couch (very comfortable, btw) to sleep without Hubby's snoring. No fault of his. He's taking his allergy meds and sleeps on 2 pillow to help keep his head elevated, but it's allergy season. Once I fall asleep, rarely is his snoring so loud that it wakes me, but if I'm having a hard time falling asleep...even the just noisy breathing keeps me from sleeping. On those nights it's just easier to let Hubby fall asleep and then for me to move to the couch. It's not often, but for years I would suffer through hours of sleeplessness thinking it wasn't good for a wife to sleep elsewhere from her husband. But after 26 years, he knows I'm not avoiding him, and I'm able to demonstrate my love for much easier if I've actually slept.
The Imp is thrilled to have the Singer home. Not so thrilled that she has to still go to school every day while the Singer sleeps in and goes to the beach. But every night we're eating together, doing dishes and then gathering around the Wii and playing Mario. It's a blast. The four of us all tripping over each other (in the game) and yelling and screaming when we 'die' and cheering when we complete a level. We are pretty geeky.
Speaking of geekiness. The other day the Imp was saying how it was obvious that Hubby was a geeky about computers and that I was geeky about history/geography/teaching but that she really wasn't geeky. Hubby just laughed and said..."Shoes!" She couldn't say much to that. Dinner has been lots of fun.
I'm having so much fun teaching economics to my home school group. I'm having them complete a Personal Budget Project. They had to draw a career, with appropriate starting salary, a family, and then had to determine taxes, figure their monthly take-home pay, and now have had to find a car, an apartment, budget for gas, car insurance, cable, groceries, etc. Then every few weeks they draw a "Life Happens" card. Things like "Your car needs an oil change." or "You got a speeding ticket" or "It's your child's birthday, plan and budget a party and gifts" or "Your favorite band is in town." It fun to hear their comments. Even those who are married only have one income (for simplicity's sake). So one girl said, "Do I have to take my husband to the concert if I go? He doesn't even work! And I have to take care of him!" This from a girl whose mom is a stay-at-home mom. I said "Does your dad take your mom out?" It's just too funny. The parents are very happy with the project. It's generated much discussion in the homes. This is what I love about teaching.
My crochet group is making baby afghans for the Pregnancy Center. I'm having fun.
Allergies are in full swing for the whole family. I've actually slept out on our couch (very comfortable, btw) to sleep without Hubby's snoring. No fault of his. He's taking his allergy meds and sleeps on 2 pillow to help keep his head elevated, but it's allergy season. Once I fall asleep, rarely is his snoring so loud that it wakes me, but if I'm having a hard time falling asleep...even the just noisy breathing keeps me from sleeping. On those nights it's just easier to let Hubby fall asleep and then for me to move to the couch. It's not often, but for years I would suffer through hours of sleeplessness thinking it wasn't good for a wife to sleep elsewhere from her husband. But after 26 years, he knows I'm not avoiding him, and I'm able to demonstrate my love for much easier if I've actually slept.
The Imp is thrilled to have the Singer home. Not so thrilled that she has to still go to school every day while the Singer sleeps in and goes to the beach. But every night we're eating together, doing dishes and then gathering around the Wii and playing Mario. It's a blast. The four of us all tripping over each other (in the game) and yelling and screaming when we 'die' and cheering when we complete a level. We are pretty geeky.
Speaking of geekiness. The other day the Imp was saying how it was obvious that Hubby was a geeky about computers and that I was geeky about history/geography/teaching but that she really wasn't geeky. Hubby just laughed and said..."Shoes!" She couldn't say much to that. Dinner has been lots of fun.
I'm having so much fun teaching economics to my home school group. I'm having them complete a Personal Budget Project. They had to draw a career, with appropriate starting salary, a family, and then had to determine taxes, figure their monthly take-home pay, and now have had to find a car, an apartment, budget for gas, car insurance, cable, groceries, etc. Then every few weeks they draw a "Life Happens" card. Things like "Your car needs an oil change." or "You got a speeding ticket" or "It's your child's birthday, plan and budget a party and gifts" or "Your favorite band is in town." It fun to hear their comments. Even those who are married only have one income (for simplicity's sake). So one girl said, "Do I have to take my husband to the concert if I go? He doesn't even work! And I have to take care of him!" This from a girl whose mom is a stay-at-home mom. I said "Does your dad take your mom out?" It's just too funny. The parents are very happy with the project. It's generated much discussion in the homes. This is what I love about teaching.
My crochet group is making baby afghans for the Pregnancy Center. I'm having fun.
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