Gains and Losses

Last night was my last class with the adult Confirmation group. I will love having my Tuesday nights with my family, and my Mondays and Tuesdays free of planning for the class, but I will deeply miss the people in the class. Trying to teach something makes you really look at it. Trying to teach your faith is mind-boggling, but ultimately brings the teacher closer to God. One person asked, "Now what do we do? Where do we find other places to do what we did here?" Good question. My church has loads of volunteer opportunities and even 2 Bible Study groups, an English and a Spanish prayer group, but they are all rather large groups. (My church has 3000+ registered families). Our class was a small, intimate group that basically went through the creed and discussed topics. There was lots of faith-sharing and a real community feel. It's hard to get that in larger groups. So I've gained more time but also have to say good-bye to a great class.

Tomorrow is my niece's birthday. Lauren will be 18!! That is simply a difficult idea to get my little brain around. Such a lady now. My memories of Lauren include her and the Singer having so much fun together. She's always been a role-model for the Singer who is a year younger. It's really hard for me to comprehend that she is heading off to college (the college-of-knowledge, a.k.a. William and Mary)in a few short months. That also means the Singer isn't far behind! ACK! I'm not ready for this.

A local story gives me hope for the future our country. This man 'did the right thing' (see earlier blog). This incident happened close by and has been in the news off and on since the accident. The man appears to be striving to live his life as best as he can. I admire him greatly, and pray for his future. What a lucky kid to have him as a dad. That the community recognizes his courageous behavior is also encouraging.

Costumes

The Imp's school is putting on "Beauty and the Beast." While she is still a little disappointed that she did not get the role of Belle, she is happy 3 of her good friends were cast as "Silly Girls" with her. Fawning over Gaston is not something that comes naturally to her. And at 13, even pretending to be infatuated with someone can have social ramifications. I'm so glad I'm not 13!
I have been volunteered to help with the costumes. I spent yesterday afternoon at play practice, discussing possibilities with the directors. The entire school (K-8) population has some role in the play. So the 3rd grade girls are all napkins, the boys cups. The 1st graders are all various silverware. So when we plan for the costume we have to consider that we have to make (or create) 30 or so of each costume. The "big" costumes (Beast, Cogsworth, etc) are being rented from a local costume shop...we know when to cut our loses. So we designed the plates, napkins, feather-dusters, silverware, cups and trays. The napkins costume consists of a simple skirt with a large "V" hem. Now my seamstresses are waiting for the measurements of the little girls so we can begin sewing. The feather dusters are also simple elastic-waisted skirts with a boa around the bottom edge. Not difficult, but we're already talking 60 or so skirts to be sewed. Good thing we have moms who like to sew! The production isn't until the end of March. I'll be sure to post pictures when I get them. This is actually loads of fun!
Two years ago, my mom got me a gift subscription to a cooking magazine, "Simple and Delicious." It is a wonderful magazine. I've found loads of great, easy recipes. Every summer, I require the girls to be responsible for one meal each week (and they have to try new recipes). Their schedules are just too hectic to try to do this routinely during the school year. [When they find a recipe they like, they copy it onto a recipe card for their own recipe box, so when they leave home, they'll have a full set of recipes that they have already made and know they like.] Both girls have gotten a number of their experiments from this magazine. Yesterday, I tried a new recipe from the magazine: Switch-and-Go Ribs. 5 ingredients (1 1/2 pounds boneless pork ribs, vegetable oil, 1/3 cup orange marmalade, 1/3 cup teriyaki sauce and 1 tsp minced garlic). Brown the meat in the vegetable oil, then throw the all the rest of the ingredients in the crock pot for 6-8 hours on low. Simple, easy and absolutely delicious! Everyone loved it! Crock pot dinners are great on Tuesdays because our schedules are such that we often eat in shifts. Leave the crock pot on, and people can eat when they can.

These Towels Stink

Late Friday night as we began our typical weekend laundry-fest, we discovered our clothes dryer was not working properly; that is, it wasn't drying the clothes. So Saturday morning while Hubby worked on getting the dryer repaired, I hung the towels outside to dry. Hubby had to work way too hard to get a Sears serviceman out here. I think he spent about an hour total on the phone, talking to multiple supervisors, before a service-call to our house was set up. The problem began when Hubby used the automated service-request system set up on the Sears phone line. At the end of the call, Hubby was told someone would be at our house between 1-4 pm. Not 30 minutes later, we get a call telling us, that "we sorry but no one can make it out today." (okay, not my preference, but Monday will still be okay). "We'll have someone out on Thursday, would 8-12 or 12-4 be better for you?" Huh? How did we get from Saturday to Thursday? So Hubby called to register a formal complaint about Sears not keeping its word. He never raised his voice, was calm, but let them know he wasn't happy, at all. The funny thing, Hubby is so laid-back that had the original automated system told him Thursday he would have swallowed and taken it. It was the change that really got under his skin. At 4:30 pm yesterday we had a very pleasant serviceman fixing the heating element on our dryer. I will add that I'm personally disappointed in this dryer. It is a mere 18 months old and we probably run 5-6 loads a week. Not that much really. And it's already broken? We expect more from a Kenmore. We'll see how long this heating element lasts.
Yesterday afternoon, I bring the fresh, air-dried towels in from out back and ask the Imp to fold them. She picks up the first one and exclaims, "This is really rough and scratchy, and it STINKS!" "Stinks? You've got to be kidding. It smells like outside fresh air." "Well, it doesn't smell like it does when it comes out of the dryer and it's not soft either." The Imp would never survive "roughing it" in any way. Hubby and I laughed at her all afternoon. The idea that people used to dry all their clothes outside really blew her away. But she's glad that the dryer is working well today, drying all her clothes so they smell good and feel soft.

A good friend of ours recently got a job doing talk radio on the Catholic Channel (159) on Sirius radio. There's a great article about him, and an audio clip as well. He used to do the local morning show and our girls grew up listening to Gus Lloyd and we miss him getting us to work/school each morning. We don't have Sirius radio, but are definitely thinking about it. If you have it, I recommend listening to Gus. He is, as stated in the article, a genuine sincere "guy next door" person. He's got a quick wit and is enjoyable to spend time with (on the radio, or in person). Hubby and I are blessed to be in a couple's prayer group with him.

Materialism

Cindy's blog led me to read the story, "Digging Out of Debt." I am constantly amazed at how many people feel entitled to luxuries. The quote from the article that really struck me as indicative of so many people's philosophies was made by Suzie Peterson, the mother in the family, "Suzie, however, has no regrets. She saw the vacations as a way to bond with her daughters. 'The cruise was my gift to my family.'" Huh? You need a cruise to bond with your daughters? I bond with my daughters as we do the dishes or wash the car or play board games or over the dinner table. This family of 5 (parents plus 3 children) say they can't live on their MONTHLY income of $8,750. Yes, that was monthly income of $8,750. The whole article was mind-boggling. Recently on some talk-show (I think Oprah) there were families in which the parents complained that their kids were spoiled. Again, HUH? The parents complained the kids were spoiled. Um...isn't that the parents job? To make sure the kids aren't spoiled? After much discussion, the parents said they hated saying "No" to their children. They didn't really like conflict, so they gave in to the demands of their children (some of whom were only 10 years old). The parents whined that they had to give in because the kids would beg and beg and the parents just couldn't take it and had to give in! I sometimes feel like I live in an alternate reality than these people. I taught my children not to beg when they were 2! They both tried the ploy a few times growing up (usually after going to a house of a friend who begged and got what they wanted). In my house we have the "Two Time Rule." This saved us from much aggravation. You can only sing a song 2 times in a row. You can only repeat a statement 2 times. You can only watch the Barney video 2 times in one day. So...asking for the same thing more than 2 times breaks that rule. Consequences are varied but often include the removal of the very thing being asked for. "Can I have ice cream?" "No." "Oh, please.... Can't I have some ice cream?" "No." "Mom....I want some ice cream." Not only do you not get ice cream, but there are no treats (desserts, whatever you want to call them) for a week. As they got older, a simple "Are you sure you want to ask about that again?" from me usually gets the response, "That's okay." They had clothes taken away, toys confiscated, TV time eliminated. Would it be 'more fun' if I could always say "Yes"? Of course, but parenting is a responsibility, not something you do for fun. There are moments of great joy and fun, but that is not the goal.
The biggest problem I see from all this materialism, is that these people are so empty even with all they have. Nothing is ever enough. This is where faith comes in. With faith, you look to God to fill you up, not things. You search out the simple things because they tend to keep you connected with God. How sad, that so many children are being raised with the idea that if only you have ______________(fill in the blank with whatever) you will be happy (successful, fulfilled, etc). No. Nothing outside of God can do that.
Do I get caught up in materialism? Of course. I've been struggling with this lately. I'm going to a surprise birthday party in February. It's friends we haven't gotten together with in a long time. I want to look good. I've been trying to figure out what to wear, and the idea of buying a new outfit has been crossing my mind. She's an interior designer and dresses accordingly. But, these are my friends, and my slacks and top that are a little old will be just fine. Sure beats living in debt! The party's not until February. I still have 3 weeks to wrestle with the temptation of buying a new outfit. Having read the story of the Peterson's, I think I'll be able to resist.

Physics

The Singer and her 3 teammates met here at the house today to begin their physics project. The have to create "Mouse Trap" (for those old enough to remember the game)type contraption that has at least 10 "functions." I listened to tennis ball-launcher, flag raising, dominoes, marbles, popped balloons, etc. all afternoon. I don't remember doing neat kinds of projects like this. I'll take a picture of the final project (due in March). Most of the meetings will be at our house so I'll get to watch it grow.

Weekends and work

Hubby's birthday weekend was very relaxing until...10:30 last night work called and he had to go into work to solve a production problem. He arrived home at 2 this morning and was back at work by 8 am. The job is wearing on him. He's on-call the 1st thru the 10th of every month. But with a recent resignation, he's really on-call all the time. He's not too pleased.

But back to the nice weekend. The Singer woke up early Saturday morning to run to Dunkin' Donuts to get Hubby donuts (chocolate coconut) and coffee. It was waiting for him when he got up. He was very impressed and so glad the Singer has her driver's license. I gave him lounge pants made from Buccaneer material. He loves coming home and putting on comfy clothes and putting work behind him. He'll enjoy these pants for a long time. The Imp got him salad dressing from the pizza parlor we went to for dinner. It really is very good dressing.

The weather is back to being down-right hot. Ugh. A "cold front" should be coming through tomorrow night then our highs will only be in the low 70's and lows in the upper 50's. Yesterday was gorgeous and sitting outside by the pool was a must.

We finally got our house put back together after taking the Christmas tree down and packing away the decorations. We've re-arranged our family room and that always makes me happy. After moving 13 times before heading off to college, I have a need to re-arrange furniture or I get antsy.

With the warm weather comes allergies. I'm sneezing and trying to see through watery eyes and am fighting the sinus headache constantly, and my nose is dripping. Yuk. I try hard not to just pop pills, so the hot water bottle and heating pads have become my constant companions. Coffee is a must in the morning, too. (Is coffee a liquid pill?) The cars have a nice coat of pollen on them. And it's not even oak season yet. Oak season has that nice yellow thick pollen that is everywhere. My girls are very allergic to oak. Right now Cedar and Juniper are the trees in bloom.

Sorry to see the Pats progressing to the next level of the playoffs. I'm really hoping Dungy's Colts put a halt on that next weekend. This household supports Dungy all the way. He did a lot of great things for the Tampa team and for the area. He's a class act. We were sorry to see him go and have 'adopted' the Colts (unless they're playing the Bucs).

Spring training will begin soon. Hoping the Devil Rays get some pitchers.

Don't Know Why I Worry

I don't know why I fret so much about stuff. I truly believe that God is watching out for me and that I'm as happy and content as I decide I'll be. With some financial set-backs in the recent past, I began fretting over our future. "What if..." and "What about..." Once again, things have fallen into place. I will get to continue my consulting work as an moderator for online classes, and I got a phone call today 1) asking for me to conduct an additional workshop for a group I've done workshops for before and 2) asking if they could give my name to another group that was looking for someone to conduct a workshop for them. Somehow it all works out. Always has. I don't mean to sound Pollyanna and I don't believe God rewards us with financial gain. I believe that when we turn to God, suddenly we see all the opportunities and goodness out there instead of seeing all the pitfalls and misery. Guess I'm seeing that glass half-full right now. And even if it's only filled a quarter of the way...it's something. It's all in attitude not circumstances.

Insured Home

While the saga of home insurance continues, as we try to get restitution for a delinquent payment by our mortgage company, we do have our house insured with another company. Miraculously, there is one company that is writing policies in our neighborhood. Looking on the bright side, the cost is less than if we had to go with Citizen's Insurance (the state-run program). Looking at the mounting bills, it is about 1 1/2 times as much as we would have paid had our mortgage company paid the appropriate amount. No use crying of spilt milk, but it may take me a few days to digest this reality in our budget. As to my ability to work, I will be able to work this Spring (Feb-May)session but still have hours of work to get my paperwork to a point where the auditors are happy. Ugh! The worst part of this fiasco is I could have prevented it had I used better foresight. When leaving the classroom, I renewed my certificate. To get the proper endorsement added to my regular certificate required extra money, although I had the courses required for this endorsement. Not seeing what my future would hold, I saved the 30 bucks and didn't get the endorsement written on my certificate. Oh, those 30 dollars is looking very silly at this point in time! The Singer is still dragging her behind after working as a peer minister at a retreat this weekend. She absolutely LOVES going up to the retreat center and helping out. She gets to sing, act and dance (all in God's name). Life doesn't get much better for her. She'd go every weekend if we'd let her, but she gets little sleep and the retreat lasts from Friday night until Sunday at noon. Doesn't give her much time for anything else on the weekend. The Imp begins play practice. She is not too thrilled with the casting. The role of Belle went to her rival in almost all things at school, and she was cast as a "Silly Girl," one of the girls who follow Gaston around and swoon over him. I told her, she'd definitely have to act to carry that off. She wasn't amused. She'll have fun once practice begins as 2 of her good friends are also "Silly Girls." Hubby's birthday is coming up and I'm still trying to finish his gift. Saturday will head out for pizza at a local pizza parlor and then Sunday we'll have his cousin over and eat cake and ice cream. I'm working on my crocheting. It's finally got cold enough to work with yarn. I enjoy doing things with my hands. It helps me not eat while watching TV and frankly most TV isn't engrossing enough to have me give it my undivided attention.

Happy New Year?

A week into the new year and I'm not real thrilled with 2007. Friday we received a notice in the mail that our home insurance had been cancelled. Cancelled? Huh? What? Our mortgage company is suppose to pay the insurance. What happened? Well, if you live in Florida, home insurance is a crap shoot from the get-go. Many companies don't write home insurance in Florida, claiming the threat of hurricanes makes it financially unwise for them to do so, (insurance companies have seen bigger profits the last 5 years than ever...even with Katrina and 2004 year of 4 hurricanes to hit Florida). But I digress. Apparently (we figured this out after 6 phone calls and much time on hold on a Friday afternoon), our mortgage company underpaid our 2006 insurance by $30.12. So, our insurance company cancelled our policy, even though our mortgage company had already paid our $1000+ insurance for 2007. Go figure. Desperate to have some coverage (sure that lightning would strike our house over the weekend and us without any insurance), we traipsed to AAA on Saturday morning. Apparently, some insurance companies are setting homeowners up for such short-falls and therefore have a "valid" reason to cancel the insurance. If a company cancels too many policies without valid reasons, they can lose their ability to write other types of insurance in Florida. Our former insurance company is not writing new policies in Florida, therefore we can not simply get new insurance. In fact, no company is writing insurance for our neighborhood (much of which is a flood zone...even though no hurricane or major flooding has occurred in the 11 years I've lived here.). Our only option, Citizen's Insurance. Citizen's Insurance is a state-run, last resort insurance option for people like us, who can't get insured. It is typically much more than a private company's (to prevent a competitive nature...the state doesn't want to take business from private companies, just provide insurance when nothing else is available.) In our case, our insurance would more than double. What a head-ache. And they wonder why growth in Florida has slowed drastically? We are hoping to get this resolved and have our former insurance company re-instate us, especially since it was our mortgage company that 'messed up.' I'm sure this won't go away quickly. Prayers for a resolution (and no fires or floods) are appreciated.
Of course, troubles rarely come in single instances. I also found out Friday that I may not be able to continue working as a moderator for on-line courses. Even though I've done much work for these courses beyond simply moderating (editing, suggesting revisions, creating moderator documents to streamline the entire process). Apparently, I don't have the correct credentials, or more aptly, I don't have my credentials accurately portrayed on my teaching certificate. With our financial challenges, even losing one "session" (Spring, Summer, Fall are the sessions) could make life more stressful. Again, I'm hoping for some resolution but as I'm no longer in the county system because I don't teach in a county school and as the State Department of Education doesn't like to work with individuals, but with district personnel, it could take a while. Again, prayers are appreciated.
And finally, even though this does not affect me directly, it has me upset. Very good friends of ours, married for about 18 years, are speaking of divorce. It tears me up. Partly because I don't believe that divorce is the answer, but instead that they are in a spirally situation and do not have the resources to step back and regroup. The daily 'grind' of kids, family, and jobs create so much pressure the energy left to devote to the problems of the relationship is almost nil. They the wife may give it some work this week, but hubby doesn't see it, so wife thinks, "Why bother?" then hubby tries and wife doesn't react the way he envisioned. And the cycle of destruction continues. I believe they each care deeply for the other and in different circumstances they'd have made it. I guess, I just wish for everyone the marriage we have. I do, in fact, have the very best husband in the world. Marriage is work and I do get upset with him and yell and sometimes even wonder where is this relationship going? But I'd say, as a rule, we both approach our disagreements with the idea of solving a problem, not waging a war. We've gotten beyond "who's right?" to "how are we going to make this work?" Not speaking of my friends, but I've seen too many people approach disagreements with their spouses as preparing for battle. Ugh! [I've seen parents approach their children the same way, it doesn't usually work very well.]
On a positive note, vacation was absolutely wonderful. Have 2 weeks with Hubby off of work was beyond wonderful. We got to spend time with my family and we had a blast playing "Apples to Apples" with them. Lots of laughter. We also played "Imaginiff" with Hubby's cousin's family. Another great family game for various ages. The girls are doing well. They're back to school and swimming. The weather is hot (they like it, I don't). I'm ready for our 2 or 3 weeks of winter. If we don't get a freeze or two, the mosquito's will be horrendous this summer. Besides, I'd like to wear a few of my sweaters this year (it was even warm in Sumter when we went to visit!)

Christmas Peace

I just read Cindy's post.
I wanted to comment on Christmas and the sad memories it can generate. It is very sad for us to remember hard Christmases. The Christmas after my brother, Chris, died was very hard. But that is what Christmas is for: to let us know that the sadness is temporary and something so much better awaits. While I teared up reading Cindy's post (especially when reading about Ellen), I also felt God's peace. Christmas is not the gifts and parties and cookies and tinsel and all the other material goodies that abound. "Peace on Earth" is what the angels said Jesus was to bring. When I remember Ellen and Chris and others I love that are no longer here, I am filled with personal sadness...my loss of their presence. But I am also filled with such a peace. I am not perfect and there are days when I think my heart will literally break with sadness over my losses. But Christmas is a time of peaceful contemplation over God's plan. Our pastor said in today's sermon, "Christmas is the most peaceful celebration of the year." If it's not peaceful, I've lost sight of the meaning. And yes, I often lose sight, and am very stressed trying to make happy memories of the season. But when I stop and reflect, and sit outside and look up at the sky and hear the quiet and think of the joy brought by any baby, Christmas: Jesus' birth, brings me contentment.
I say all this as I stress over the Singer still not being totally better and worry about our trip north on Tuesday and how I'm going to get everything done.

More Stones?

Wednesday saw the Singer getting progressively better throughout the day. Even though she had not specifically seen the passage of a stone, we thought she must have passed it as she was doing so much better. Thursday she woke up and went and took her exams. After coming home, she began to have pain again. Last night the pain was bad and she had to take medication so she could sleep. Today, the pain is better, but she is a bit nauseous. We're not sure if she has another stone, or if the first one is just taking its time to move along. We're pumping fluids into her (although, it's harder today with her being nauseous), and praying. She looks peaked. The sad part is she spent Thanksgiving vacation recovering from her wisdom teeth out, now she's spending Christmas vacation laid up in pain. I wish I could make it all better for her.

The Imp turns 13 today. She's spending the day watching PG-13 videos of movies she wanted to see at 10, 11 and 12 but wasn't permitted to. The Singer was suppose to have the movie-marathon party with her, and she is in the same room, but not exactly with-it.

I got Christmas cookies baked, but now they need decorating. Usually this is a family affair. I think I may be doing it solo this year. The weather is overcast and it's humid and sticky outside. The weather and the Singer's illness are getting me down. I'm trying to focus on the reason for the season and look on the bright side of things.

Kidney Stones

We've had a fun couple of days. The public school children have been on vacation since last Friday (12/15). My girls have exams this week. They are not happy at all. The Singer, known for keeping things (especially unpleasant things) close to her chest, came in my room at 1:00 am this morning crying in pain. "It hurts, Mom! It hurts!" After waking up to realize what is going on, I try to assess the situation. Her pain is in the abdominal region, front and back. I immediately think of kidney problems. As I had a severe kidney infection when I was pregnant and 3 rounds with kidney stones afterwards, I know kidney pain is excruciating. [When I had my kidney infection, I told my husband, if this is what giving birth is like, I'm not doing it. Fortunately, giving birth isn't as painful.] Hubby, knowing the Singer would never have come in our room in the middle of the night, unless she was really hurting, was getting dressed, as I continued to probe for information. 5 minutes after she came into my room, the two of them were off to the emergency room. It is a terrible feeling to be at home, knowing your child is in pain and not knowing for sure what the problem is. Of course, I couldn't go back to sleep. Hubby called a while later saying she had a kidney stone. He also told me she was acting like Hermione, worrying about the exams that were scheduled for today. A chip of the ole' block. I was so glad it wasn't appendicitis or worse, a ruptured appendix. They got home about 4:15 am and then Hubby ran to the pharmacy for meds. He finally got into bed about 5 am. He's sleeping now. The Imp slept through it all. If the stone passes and she's feeling better, the Singer will take her last 2 exams tomorrow. If not, she won't take them until after Christmas break. She just got up and is fretting over finishing her Christmas presents (she's making something for Hubby and the Imp). Not too driven, is she?
I'm tired, but up now. I may be able to nap later, but there's no way I can go back to sleep, now. I've got cookies to bake, and presents to buy. Not to mention the Imp's birthday on Friday!
Better go get started.

The Little Things

Somehow, it is always the little nit-picky things that drive me crazy. Maybe this gets my emotions out so I can stay calm for the big issues and disappointments in life. Hubby thinks I'm going to make myself sick when I get stuck on Angry over the "little" things. The Imp is a great kid. She's had some trouble doing as well as she normally does on her reading tests this year (tests about stories they've read in class). Her text is actually divided into a group of smaller books. They're working out of Book 2 now. Semester exams are coming up. The exam will cover the same material she didn't do well on the first time around. So, I decided she and I would review the stories together and correct her previous tests to prepare her for the exam. I thought that was a reasonable idea. So she went to her teacher to ask to take Book 1 home so she could study. She was told, "No." Perplexed but not undaunted, I e-mailed her teacher, asking for a copy of the stories (I don't care if I have the book, copy the stories on the copier, the Imp needs the stories to study). After getting no reply for 2 days, I sent another request. The response, "She doesn't need the stories to study because we're reviewing in class." Huh? Since when do teachers discourage extra studying at home? I really don't get it. I'm wracking my brain trying to figure out the rationale. Why say no? At the end of her response she said if I still had questions to come in this afternoon. You bet I will. But that in itself is what pushes the anger buttons. Like we all (I know she's busy, too) don't have enough to do without me having to spend all this time so my kid can have the materials necessary for her to reread some stories before an exam! It really irks me that I'm going to have to go in to school and literally demand/beg for materials for my child to study. This is a private school. I'm paying money to be treated this way. Because the Imp is intelligent and tends to do well, teachers sometimes brush issues off with, "She'll do good enough." I'm sorry, this really isn't about the grades, it's about preparing for exams. And shortcuts is not what I want to teach her. So, I'll spend today stewing over this, trying to stay calm. I have no desire to treat anyone unkindly, but it's these little things that really drive me batty.

The Best of Times; the Worst of Times

December is my favorite month out of the year. December is also the month where I sleep the least and am in a perpetual state of angst. I absolutely love all the holiday preparations. I love to make gifts (I'm making the girls and Hubby something...can't say what 'cause they may read this), I love planning the gift-giving, I enjoy the lights and the music everywhere, I love the parties, the baking and the school performances. I love the wrapping and bow-tying. Decorating the house is pure fun. And the festive attitude is refreshing. So how can such wonderful things cause such angst in me? It's simple, I want to do everything...I want to go to the zoo and see Santa's reindeer, I want to go to the free Christmas concert downtown and the one the next night at church. I want to drive leisurely through neighborhoods looking and exclaiming at the outdoor lights and decorations. I want to bake cut-out cookies from scratch and decorate them. I want to bake Polish sweet bread, geiba, which is an all day messy affair (my recipe makes 12 loaves, and you have to wait for the dough to rise and everything). I want to make crafts for everyone and everything. I want to volunteer at Santa's workshop where little kids shop for their parents. And amidst all that, I still have to do the laundry, clean the bathrooms, make dinner and check homework. The girls still need to go to swim and voice and dance and whatever. I still have to prepare lessons for church classes. That's the part I don't like. Can someone please figure out how to put all that day-to-day stuff on hold during December? Summer vacation is great. I think we should have December off so we can enjoy it! I made beef stew yesterday in the crock pot. Great smells permeating the house. But, I'm ready for a dinner-making vacation. When I said that out loud, the Singer said, "Great, we'll eat out every night!" Not exactly what I was thinking (unless she'd like me take the money budget ted for her gifts to pay for all the junk. Besides, fast food has really lost it's appeal to me. I use to love it all, but everything is too salty and greasy and not tasty enough). So my pie-in-the-sky dream is to have a personal assistant during December to grocery shop, chauffeur, cook regular meals, clean the house, etc so I can do all the fun stuff. Gotta run be Santa's helper at school.

Fender Benders

We finally got the car fixed after the Singer ran into a parked car. The accident isn't quite as clueless as it sounds, but it has taken me a while to stop the recurring "How did you hit a parked car?!" running through my head (with a sore tongue from biting these words back from being yelled at the Singer). A huge monster truck was parked (perpendicular)with its "tail" sticking out and a huge trailer hitch sticking out from underneath its bumper. Sitting low in the car (as opposed to the high view of the minivan) the Singer didn't see the hitch and scraped the right front fender up against the hitch. The truck and hitch were totally unaffected. The fender was bent in such a way as to make it impossible to open the front passenger door. Hubby and I debated the pros and cons of getting a 10 year old car with 100,00+ miles on it fixed. If the door would have opened, it would have been a no-brainer (spray rust-oleum on the fender to prevent rust and leave it). However, Hubby drives the girls to school every morning in the car, and having the front passenger door not open wasn't appealing to him for a long-term option. So we had it fixed. There went 1/2 our Christmas budget. And yes, the Singer is paying us back, but it's on the installment plan. Add to that the cost of having 4 wisdom teeth removed and painting the outside of the house and finances seem tight now. I said "seem" because we are financial conservatives and our definition of "tight" is not the same as others. Hubby and I went out to Village Inn (Perkins type restaurant) for a piece of pie and coffee to plan our holiday budget. This is an annual tradition. First, by going out, we know the girls won't hear, and it makes us stay calm since we're in a public place. It went pretty well, but neither of us enjoyed seeing our current balances in our checkbook or on the Visa card.
The girls are busy making the gifts they'll give to their friends. They're both making pillows for their friends and we're making "Cookie mix in a jar" for the teachers.
Hubby's out finishing up painting the trim on the house. It's cloudy with a 30% chance of rain, but we're praying for it to hold off. The Imp is at the local high school taking the SATs. She'll be exhausted when she gets home. And I'm putting off doing my online work. There's just over a week left in the course and I'm getting inundated with people turning in 10 assignments at a time (half of which will only be 1/2 done). But duty calls. So I'll go.

Reason for the Season

Last week I complained about the commercialism today (people camping out for a game!). Yesterday, I received an email that let me know there is still hope for the world and that there are many young people willing to make a difference. I received my niece's Christmas wish-list. She's a senior in high school, and obviously very grown up. Her wish list is for people to contribute to World Vision (buying things like vaccinations, books, animals, etc). The kicker and the part that makes you believe in Christmas is her closing comments, "What's great is it's perfectly fine if more than one person gets the same thing! Please note that this is not in addition to another gift--this is what I want for Christmas, so please treat this like you would any other gift. There should be no "material accompaniment." This is a serious request, not merely politeness. I got this idea after my experiences in Peru this summer; I want to see that at least some children get what they need this Christmas instead of myself receiving things I don't." Viva l'esprit de noël.

Lauren, thanks for making my day, my week, my season.

On a lighter note, this calendar entry is for Cindy.

Its COLD

The Singer seems to have survived her surgery to remove her wisdom teeth just fine. She had sedation before the Novocain in the oral surgeon's office and felt quite good for a while. Yesterday afternoon she was in pain and we gave her percocet. Today, she gets Tylenol. Her face is not that swollen and I think she'll be just fine.

Last week, PlayStation released a new game system. It claims to have incredible graphics, speed, and so on. PlayStation released a limited number. So people camped out to be the first in line to buy this! We're not talking about 20 year-olds (who always do crazy stuff...part of the definition of 20). There were some youngsters there, but there were also 40 and 60 year-olds! Today's columnist, Daniel Ruth, describes my feelings pretty well.

It may be very expensive. It may be technologically the mother of all whiz-bangs. It may be this season's Cabbage Patch doll, only with more bells and whistles.
But PlayStation 3 is still nothing more than a toy.
So you there; yes, you, the 44-year-old cyber-geek with a mortgage, and diapers to change, and, like, you know, a real job: Stop it. Stop it right now!
Altogether Now
Stop standing in line like some refugee waiting on a bowl of gruel, all to blow between $500 and $600 on - altogether now - a toy!
This may come as something of a Saul falling off his horse on the way to Damascus epiphany moment for you, but in time Sony will make enough PlayStation 3s so that anyone who wants one will be able to purchase the toy.
Fights have broken out. Riots have erupted. Shots have been fired between PlayStation 3 suckers eager to be either the first one on their block, or in the morgue, to possess - yes, once again, a toy would be the operative word here.

Still, do you know what will happen if there is no PlayStation 3 left behind by Santa? Nothing, that's what.
Locusts will not descend upon the fruitcake. The sun will rise. The umpteenth rendition of chestnuts roasting over the open fire will still drive you crazy, and your brother-in-law, the one with the ankle monitor, will still drink all your liquor.
And if that perfectly dreadful imp in your life still wants to throw a post-assassination attempt Saddam-esque hissy fit because you failed in your effort to become a homeless person for the sake of an overpriced soon-to-be obsolete TOY, here's what you tell the ungrateful kiddo:
"Life is full of disappointments, my child. And you just experienced one of them. It could be worse. You could be in Iraq. You could be some orphan in Darfur. Tom Cruise could be your father. Are you getting the drift of this?
"Instead, all that happened is you didn't get a toy. Stop whining. Go clean your room. And here, have some fun with this piece of coal.

Thursday is Thanksgiving so the "give mes" have arrived. Every store, every commercial will tell you and your child (or other loved ones) that without this one gift you either aren't loved or don't love others enough. The latest commercial that has me hitting the remote when it comes on is for a jeweler. It uses the great, classic scene from "It's A Wonderful Life" [You want the moon? I'll lasso the moon for you] to sell their jewelry. Let's leave the classics out of this, could we please? I'll be using the remote often in the next few weeks, as I can't stand so many ads because they appeal to a mentality of greed and materialism. Ugh.

Time to go paint the house. We got it pressure washed yesterday and the cracks filled in. Now we need to protect the deck out back from the paint splatters and hopefully it will be warm enough to paint then. It is down right cold here in Florida. We don't normally see these kinds of temperatures until January. It was in the low 40s last night with wind chills in the 30s [news flash: we don't do 30s in Florida...it's why we moved here!]. The high today is suppose to be 60. The normal high is in the 70s. And it's windy and cloudy. It's dreary. If I wanted this I'd live in New England.

Best news of the weekend: the Buccaneers beat the Redskins. (Sorry John). The worst news, we still have to watch them play 6 more games!

Maturation

It takes me a while to type my blogs. My mind works so much faster than my fingers that I often lose my train of thought (my mind is on subject #8 and my typing is still back on subject #2 and then I forget what subjects #3-7 even were). I spent about 30 minutes yesterday typing along. I'm not sure what I hit, but I lost it all. :-( I was not a happy camper.

Friday, the Imp got stung by a wasp as she was getting into the car on her way to school. This was her first wasp-sting and fortunately her reaction was relatively mild. I'm always on high alert when my kids get bit or stung. They're both asthmatic and my brother, Kev, carries (or carried) an epi-pen because of his strong reaction to a bee-sting. So Friday, I whisked the Imp in the house, put alcohol on the sting, and gave her benadryl. I had her sit on the recliner as I did my morning kitchen chores so I could keep my eye on her, asking every few minutes, "How's your breathing? Is your chest tight? How's the arm?, etc" It was driving her crazy. After 20 minutes, I figured she was alright and I jumped in the shower so I could take her to school. She slept about 45 minutes (the benadryl). She was fine. In fact, there wasn't much swelling when I picked her up from school Friday afternoon.

Saturday night was another first. The Singer took the Imp out to the movies. Just the two of them. [They saw "Flush" and both were disappointed with it.] I am definitely entering (in the middle of?) a new phase of my life. My girls are very independent and my role in their lives is more along the lines of advisor/big limit enforcer than the micro-managing required when they were younger. Hubby and I went to a "Smart Discipline" presentation at the Imp's school on Friday night. After listening, it became clear that we were beyond many of the things discussed. We worked very hard when they were little and it seems we are reaping the benefits. Oh, we still have run-ins and problems with the girls...but they're not the rule and having to remind them to do the dishes or get to bed seems pretty minor, especially because when they are reminded, they tend to say "Okay" and do it! The Singer has become the confidant of the Imp. They really do like each other and have fun together. They both wanted to go to the movies together and both had fun on their "sister-time." Sunday, they were the cantors at church. A number of people came up to Hubby and I afterwards to comment on their obvious affection towards each other. I'm not kidding myself into thinking that my job as parent is over. It's just very different than previously. It takes some getting use to. There is a certain amount of sorrow over the passing of what was, and a certain amount of amazement of where we are. (Sort of like dropping them off at kindergarten for the first time).
As I'm entering this new phase, the next phase (the kids out of the house) looms over me. What will I do then? I don't ask that as if I will have nothing to do, but more there will be so many possibilities, of those choices what will I do? Will I go back into the classroom? Not really appealing right now. Will I get my master's so I can be marketable to become a trainer? Get my master's in another field? Get an office job, 9-5, no emotional ties and commitments like in education? Continue doing what I'm doing? I have 6 years to figure it out. No rush. But it's closer than it was and the signs of the girls' maturation are all there. I better be ready when they move on.

Not My Job

I thought this picture just about sums up what is wrong with the world today. "It's not my job!"

Teaching Frustrations and Rewards

I spent over an hour yesterday dealing with a teacher in my on-line course who simply did not want to take responsibility for her own work. It was exhausting and frustrating that I had to spend that much of my time telling her, yes I do expect her to complete the work as described in the course, and yes I will return work that does not satisfy requirements. She repeated a few phrases over and over. One was "but I'm not even getting college credit out of this course," as if it is only appropriate to do professional work if you get college credit. She does get 60 in-service points (which implies 60 hours worth of work and is considered equivalent to 3 college credits). She was complaining that I was sending too much of her work back to her to redo. I think I'm sending too much back, too, but for different reasons. I think if you can't follow directions, after about the 4th time you fail. I didn't tell her that, but really, how hard is it to follow directions? I suggested she simply reread the directions before sending me her work and double check that she had done everything as asked. Her response "I spend so much time doing the work and you want me to spend more time!" I then suggested that taking the few minutes then could save much time later as she wouldn't have work sent back to her. I spent 30 minutes preparing for my telephone conference, reviewing exactly what I had written to her, what I had returned and why. 2 activities were returned because she labeled them incorrectly (and she has to turn in a final portfolio of her work, so labeling correctly is important). All she had to do on those 2 items was correct the label. One activity was returned because she sent me a blank chart as part of the activity. The completed chart was the bulk of the activity. Then 3 others were returned for not following directions. One activity had them summarizing internet articles. The URL address was required. She didn't include them. She said I was being nick-picky. I replied that I couldn't evaluate her summaries without seeing the original. She then got indignant and said, "Are you accusing me of making the summaries up?!?!" "No, I'm trying to do my job professionally!" UGH. I had to get that out of my system. I have 29 participants this course. 4 have already successfully completed the course and have turned in some great work. But there are always a few that drain you. There is a lot of resistance from some teachers about this course because it is required in order for them to keep their certificates. The courses are about teaching English Language Learners (students whose first language is not English). It is a new law (5 or 6 years old) and the first deadline that will result in losing your teaching certificate is approaching. So I get teachers who don't want to take the course, who don't like having ELL students in their classes, and don't want to be bothered. If they turn anything in they think that's good enough. So I'm the bad guy. Most people think since I work with adults it is easier than when I was in the classroom with children. Not really. You have the same distribution of personalities, but you tend to expect more of adults so are frustrated more easily with their shenanigans.

I am having fun teaching Adult Confirmation. Right now I only have 5 people in my class. They are all so wonderful. Most have not been active in learning about their faith since they were in elementary school. Most are in their mid-20s. They are hungry for information and ways to strengthen their faith. Last night, we did an activity that involved a lot of Bible verses that they had to look up. They loved it! It feels great watching them discover things. A definite high point after yesterday afternoon.

The weather is gorgeous today. We had lots of rain yesterday, which we desperately needed and today the air is clear and brisk. Makes me want to spend the day outdoors. Right now I have to go back some cookies for a school function. I'm trying to get that done quickly so I can spend some outside time before going to my hair appointment and then afternoon pickup.