Monday, December 17, 2007

Christmas Sucks...the life out of you

I'm not sure what happened, but this holiday season I am feeling a bit Scrooge-ish. Shad says it's the tree. Our Christmas tree is fake and doesn't smell like anything. He could have a point, but as I sit here looking at our Christmas tree I can't help but start wondering why we feel the need to have a tree in our house anyway. I don't recall any tree in the story of the birth of Jesus. It is fun to hang stuff the kids made on it, but isn't the fact that we feel the need to go out, take a tree and stick it inside our house a little on the cookoo side?

And the gifts; remind me why we feel the need to go out of our way to obtain debt so we can give more stuff we don't need away to each other, because I am not getting it. Yes, I did go out of my way to purchase gifts for my children, and even made some gifts this year for others with the hope that this would make the gifts more meaningful or something, but now I find myself questioning my own intentions. My kids don't need any of the things I bought. They have an over abundance of things they don't need, and I went out and added to their collection. Isn't that a little bit on the cookoo side too?

Perhaps I've been affected by some kind of anti-Christmas virus or something. If I have, and if there is one, would I even want the cure? I feel like Christmas hype has sucked the life right out of me. I don't claim to know the real reason behind Christmas, but I am pretty sure it isn't this.

Bah!

Friday, December 07, 2007

Last Night to This Morning

So last night went something like this:

rain, rain...
wind, wind...
rain, rain...
wind, wind...
rain harder, and harder...
wind, wind, gust...
rain harder, wind gust,
POP, (the lights go out)
Um, can we sleep with you? (the kids are a little freaked)
wind, huge gust, huge gust, rain harder....
POP, (lights come on)
Um, never mind, we will go back to bed. (kids fine now)
wind, rain harder, gust...
POP, (lights go out)
Can you find us the flashlight? (kids still up! It's got to be about 2am now)
rain hard, gust, rain harder, gust...
POP, (lights come on)
POP, (lights go out)

this continues until around 6am. To say the least we are a bit tired but glad that we have power this morning. It was the largest storm I have seen in a long while.

Monday, December 03, 2007

Curves suck, but in a good way!

Life tends to throw around many curves. I am maneuvering such a curve right now in my life.
I really don't care to go into it, but the final realization seems to be that I have made positive change in my life. Long lasting positive change, and that's good. I just wish I didn't have to experience so much sadness and hurt to get there though.

In a few hours I am going to visit the local Senior Center for a class paper I have to do. My hope is to gain the information I need to write the paper although one never knows what can happen. Many of my class mates have tried to visit other places of human service and been snubbed. I kind of find that interesting. Hopefully I do not find myself surrounded by the elderly with canes and walkers caulked and loaded. Now that would suck!

In other news, well, there really isn't any other news worth talking about so...

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Time flies...



Where did this year go? Call me crazy, as some always do, but it just seems like this year flew by. And my kids have grown so much just over the last two years it is almost unbelievable. I guess my mom was rig.. ri... well, you know, about time flying when you hit 35.

So in about an hour we are going to head out and look at two houses. One of them I have already seen but Shad hasn't. I fell in love with it which is the wrong thing to do when looking for a house because anything can happen. I can't help it though. As soon as I saw it I was hooked. Then when we went to the backyard I had this flash of seeing the girls in the pool and the dog running around in the yard. Yep, it was over right then. When we finally do purchase a house, I will share more about it.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

It's been a while...

I started another class. This is number 19 I think and by far one of the most interesting yet. We had a great conversation about the different theories and theorists. And I found it interesting that my instructor works for the juvenile prison system. More specifically with sex offenders. Yes, juvenile sex offenders. I don't think I could ever have her job. Some of the things she described tonight just made me sick to my stomach.

Lets move on shall we?

I am currently waiting to hear about an internship I am trying to get with a non for profit home schooling group. I would be learning all about how it began and is run, not to mention the process they had to go through to become a non for profit organization. I would also be volunteering my time by working on either their web site or their informational news letter. And later on I will probably volunteer to work the conference too. My reasons for this is that I have an idea for a family education center which would cater to home schooling families but would also have some programs for low income families who have children that need tutoring. Anyway, it is all very much in the planning stages still, but a work in progress none the less. I am actually excited to see it come together.

Saturday we will be looking at some houses but I will update on that later.

Anyway, have a great Thanksgiving!

Monday, November 05, 2007

Shock and Awe people!

I was about to take Mackenzie to a 4-H gardening project and all I could think about was how fast she was probably going to change her mind once we got there. She is not one to like any type of work and she isn't shy about letting you know.

Well, we got to the spot where the garden was supposed to be and found a piece of land that was just being tilled and full of weeds. I looked at Mackenzie as she surveyed the land and waited. She said nothing. The ladies that were there introduced themselves, and so did the six other kids and Mackenzie was directed to find a shovel and start digging out weeds. I stood there in amazement as she picked up the shovel and began her work. I followed with my own shovel and after a while Mackenzie says, "I didn't think when we got here that we were going to be starting from scratch." I agreed as I thought we would be going to a garden that was already set up and the kids would just be planting some things. We continued to work. About two hours later, as Mackenzie was taking her turn at the wheelbarrow, she said, "You know, I could totally see me doing this for a living. This is fun."

I almost fell over in shock. This child who avoids work of any kind just said she was loving digging out weeds and planting trees! I was so proud of her. She worked her butt of for 4 and a half hours straight and was learning along the way. And she never complained the whole time. And in the end, it was her and two other girls that stayed to finish the job. AWESOME!!!

It was one of those proud mom moments. And as we were the only home schoolers working on a project at a local school that only the school kids were going to get to use in the end, I kind of felt like we were helping to bridge a bit of a gap or at least making some kind of progress in the area of home schoolers vs. public education or something like that. It was an awesome learning experience for all and I can't wait to do more.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Watch out, brain spill...

You know, I have a hard time with the uncertainty of my future. I mean, well, I just like to have a heads up. Not that I ever do though, I mean, we like to fool ourselves into thinking we know what is going to happen, but when life is lived it never really goes the way we planned. Bare with me, I'm just spilling thoughts here...
So here we are stuck in a place we never really expected to stay. We thought we would get here, experience the place and move on but the reality of our situation is that we are here for another two years or more. Most likely more. What I find sad is that we have been so wrapped up in getting away that it is only now I realize we should be enjoying the blessing of being here instead. Not that we haven't enjoyed being here. We have, but I think we have been taking it for granted more than anything.
Anyway, I've had to accept the facts of the situation and now my next issue is getting my other half to decide what in the hell he wants to do or where he wants us to go because this place is huge and finding a home would be a lot easier if we chose one place to look instead of fifty. We shall see how this all goes. In the meantime, we still have to tell family back home and my mother-in-law is going to be pissed. She'll get over it, but still, it's not going to be pretty.
I hind sight, there are way worse places for us to have gotten stuck so I am done bitching. :)

Monday, October 29, 2007

CAUTION!! I'm ranting...

It was a great dance for Hailey. She made some new friends and had a great time. And Mackenzie had so much fun at a Halloween party she and I went to on Saturday night.


Speaking of the party Saturday night.........That party was so eye opening for me. There are just so many things that Mackenzie seems to be missing out on by not being in public school here, and I have to say that I am so GLAD!!! I'm going to go off now, so don't continue to read if you think this will offend you.


Many of these little girls were rude and disrespectful and when they started dancing, they threw on some rap (which was really good actually) and started dancing like you see on the videos. You know, the ones with the half naked women that shake their asses and do the little head snap thing like they are all that? Yep, and these little girls are just ten years old. Now, I am all for little girls having self confidence, but this was way out of line. And at one point, after hearing how some of the girls were talking, Mackenzie walks up to me and snaps out something about she wants a cookie and she can talk to me like this if she wants to, with attitude flying all over. I snapped that little girl right back in line real quick let me tell you. Soon after, we went home.


When we first arrived to this party I was introduced as a home schooler, and one lady says to me, "so you will be putting your kids back in school for high school right?" And I of course say no, and she gives me this concerned look and says, "Oh? I thought home schoolers always put their kids back in school during high school so they can get the socialization they needed."

Yep, my kids have no social skills at all. They have grown to the ages of nine and thirteen without being properly educated in social skills because we obviously must keep them in the house and never let them out to socialize with anyone but their parents, each other, and their dog. As a matter of fact, my kids probably don't even know how to read let alone have any social skills! Those poor kids! Yes, I am being extremely sarcastic. And no, I didn't say this to the lady.
I said no, that I would home school through High School and left it at that. Some comment at just the right moment set me off.

Now, don't get me wrong, there was some fun during the evening. The girls went on a scavenger hunt and did some cool crafts. And Mackenzie had a pretty good time with most of the girls that were there. And I was very grateful for having been invited and for Mackenzie included. But it made me thankful for the home school group we have. VERY thankful. And helped to reinforce our schooling choices.

Ranting over!


Other than that, life is fine. We are looking for a house to buy as we will not be transferring any time soon. "No transfers until further notice." And we are looking to get closer to the city, so I will update on that later. As a matter of fact, as soon as I am done writing this, I will be contacting a realtor and setting up an appointment to go see a house up north. But again, I will update on that later. I hope you have a wonderful day.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Just One More Joy of Parenthood!

My eldest is going to a Halloween dance as a cut little lady bug! Why couldn't she go as one of those night of the living dead brain eaters! It's freaking me out! This is going to be the longest night ever!

Monday, October 22, 2007

Whew, what a week!





We have been busy. There have been trips to the park, rock climbing, and then there was the trip to the Exploratorium in San Francisco. It was so much fun, and even though we were there for five and a half hours we still didn't see everything there is to see there. If family ever decides to visit again, we will definitely go back and check it out again.


Currently for school I am trying to learn all I can about Bipolar Disorder. My team and I are going to do a presentation on it in two weeks so we have to do as much research as we can and quick. I find it fascinating, and even went out and purchased a book on the subject. I read six chapters before bed last night because I just couldn't put it down. I also purchased a couple of other books about other types of disorders such as multiple personalities, autism, and psychosis. I just find the brain and it's abilities fascinating, and the struggles people go through heart breaking.
Book I am currently reading:
Bipolar Disorder Demystified
by- Lana R. Castle

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Wow...

this is why I love the whole Human Services and Psychology area of science. I had a great realization and life changing moment today while reading my school book. The chapter was all about themes and patterns we have and do. What I read led me to think about some of my own patterns and themes. This then led me to grasp a better understanding about the self doubt I suffer from currently, and have suffered from my whole life. And then I thought about how people are often attacked fiercely when their spirit is down and I realized that I simply had only to make a decision in order to change my inner thoughts about myself. No permission but my own required. Acceptance and approval, two other issues I have.

I'm stepping out of the dark and into the light. That is what it is like when I make a realization about my life, and I love the feeling so much that I feel it is my calling to share it with the world. This is why I love the whole Human Services and Psychology area of science.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Whoa Nelly!

Okay, so here I was thinking we weren't doing enough for school and suddenly over the last week we have booked ourselves solid with activities. We are now doing rock climbing every Tuesday for the next four weeks, Volleyball and Destination Imagination every Wednesday afternoon for eight weeks, knitting projects, science projects and tonight we signed up for 4-H which was totally not planned but worked out great. Throw in the holidays and my new class and we are one busy family!

Speaking of my new class, I am now totally freaking out because the reality of what I will be doing is starting to set in. I'm excited too. This means I will be that much closer to my goals.

I will share pics of our activities later.

Friday, October 05, 2007

Just life stuff

I finished another class last night, and now I move on to some extremely interesting stuff. I will talk more about that later. I had to say goodbye to a good friend last night as well because she has to move to a different campus to take the classes she needs. It sucked because the two of us have been working together for over a year and she is an awesome person. Now I have to start over. YUCK!

This school year with the girls has been hard. We are not getting all of the things done I anticipated that we would and I tend to get a little panicked when that happens. However, it's not the end of the world. This I know. Today is another day and we have to keep moving forward.


So, yesterday the girls and I took a tour of the water facility here. It was a great lesson on what happens to the water when you flush. Eew! We also got to go into the lab to see where they test for bacteria and such. It was cool because they had a huge poster with pictures of the different bacteria on it explaining which were good and which were bad. Afterwards the girls and I went out for a birthday lunch, and then shopping. I bought myself a new sweater and some warmer pajamas in preparation for winter. I also got myself a new scarf. Later I prepared for my presentation and went to school. Overall, not a bad birthday.

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Happy Birthday!

It's my birthday and I am feeling so much better. On the list of festive activities for today is a trip to the water facility with the kids and school tonight. I'm living on the edge I'm telling you!

Monday, October 01, 2007

Random Pictures




So here are some of the random pictures I took while in Mexico. That's my sister's eye, and the green one is the inside of a beer bottle. The black and white is my brother and one of our childhood friends. He looks like a crazy man with that fluffy beard and mustache! So, I am totally goofy on cough medicine that I got from the doctor on Saturday. I have been sick for the last five days and finally broke down and admitted it on Saturday. I hate being sick, but I guess we all need to build up the good old immune system at some point every now and then, right? Weeeeee!!!

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Hola




The wedding was great and I had a wonderful time. I know, your jaw just dropped right? Actually, it is all true. The trip into Mexico was great and my sister and I were able to catch up on life. I was also able to get to know her husband a bit better. He's a fun guy. My brother and his wife were a real kick in the pants too. I'm glad I went. I will share more pics next time.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

South of the Border

I leave soon for a trip to visit with my father, brother, sister, etc. It will be interesting if nothing else to visit with them all. I kind of wish I was on a break from school so I could enjoy this trip a bit more. As it is I have a ton of work that I just finished for tomorrows class, and now I will have a bunch of work to catch up on when I get back. It's pretty sad when you start concentrating on the work and not the fun before you even leave the door, but that is how life is for me right now. And it is only going to get worse.

Our transfer request goes in after October first. It would be nice to find out right away if anything will come of it so we can plan accordingly, but I have the feeling that we might have to wait a while for our answer. No matter what happens, we have a plan.

I plan on taking a lot of photos from the trip. I will share them when I get back.

Monday, September 17, 2007

Wow, that was weird. I logged in and my computer was doing some freaky things all on it's own.

We went to the city over the weekend with some family that were passing through on their way to Oregon. It was nice to see some familiar faces and share about life. Shad celebrated his birthday Saturday by taking a tour of Alcatraz and then getting to drive us all around San Francisco without a map in a huge SUV. It was so fun.

It is time to take a walk to the corner store. Then I get to go to the book store, Sears, (put on your Sunday best!) and the movie store. After all of that we can get school done, and I can start concentrating on my own school work. I am actually looking forward to my trip to Mexico this weekend. I will make sure to take lots of pictures to share. My step-sister is getting married and lots of family will be there. Yipee!

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Computers Rock!

I had worship right here in my living room this morning while I was still wearing pajamas! It was very cool. You see, I was lurking through some blogs and came across Joe's and saw that he taught at the Vine in Cincinnati Ohio a while ago. There was a link to watch the service so I figured I would check it out. It was crazy because I felt like I was back in Vegas with the old Apex group. I found myself singing along to the music and listening and taking in everything that was said. It was really refreshing to hear the message and I even felt a little lighter when it was over.

Later I found myself thinking about the road I have been on, and how hard I have tried at times to not listen to God while he sometimes was right there screaming in my face. This thought then led me to read some old journals which allowed me to see the growth and positive changes in my life over the years. Boy was that a strange journey. Even though I thought I could change things by myself back then, it was really all Gods doing. That realization kind of hit me right away. I then came to realize that I am embarking on a new journey now. I won't go into that right now, but the point I want to make here is that this all came from watching something on my computer. When you think about it, that's pretty cool.

Friday, September 07, 2007

Random



It has come very clear to me that I have a lot to learn about California. For instance, I did not know that a tree which is determined to be a "Heritage Tree" can not be cut down or you are fined $1500. I did not know that on one side of San Francisco it is beautiful, but on the other side it is a dump, literally. I did not know that the city of San Francisco banned the sale of bottled water as an attempt to save the environment. I am learning things like this all of the time and sometimes these things just don't make sense to me. Perhaps it is because I come from a desert state where about the only concern on any one's mind is water and tourism. No one cares if a tree is cut down, and you certainly won't see anyone trying to ban the sale of bottled water where I come from. I am living in a foreign land and have much to learn.

ANYWHOOO!

Today I am taking a day off. I plan on not planning anything. There are a few things on my list to ignore, and that I am sure I will still have to do but for the most part, I really am doing nothing but trying to live in the moment. I find it a little difficult without a plan. Why?
Yesterday was the Not Back to School Picnic with our home school group. We enjoyed a park full of home schooling families and lots of good food. Mackenzie has made three new friends which is huge for her and Hailey has managed to make a few other new friends and to get interested in an activity called Destination Imagination. She is also gathering with a group to plan a Valentines Day dance. I am planning all kinds of activities too and will share them later.
I think I will go play a video game now.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Teen Brains and other news...

I read a very interesting article this morning about teens and their brains in The Home School Court Report. It was talking about how young kids and teens act out in anger and frustration over being kept from doing things because of their age by parents, teachers, rules and regulations, etc. The author's point was that teens are very capable of thinking and behaving like adults when given the opportunity to do so in a positive way. But by preventing them, teens lash out and rebel in negative ways. He wrote a book about it called The Case Against Adolescence: Rediscovering the Adult in Every Teen. I plan on picking up a copy to check it out as I find his theory very interesting. He says he feels that "...we do not want young people socializing with each other. We want them to learn to join the community that they'll be part of their whole lives. We want them to learn to become adults. Right now, they learn everything they know from each other -that's absurd, especially since teens in our society are controlled almost entirely by the frivolous media and fashion industries." I think he has a point.
Example: One of Hailey's friends who goes to public school got down on Hailey for not behaving differently in front of a boy in her friend's neighborhood. Hailey calmly stated that she would not act like someone or something she is not just to impress a boy, or anyone else for that matter. A very reasonable and grown up response for a thirteen year old if you ask me. So my question is, where did her friend get the idea that you have to behave differently around the opposite sex? Could it be the media? Other kids at school? Yep, but it could be her parents too. I just find it interesting.


In other news, I will be doing a presentation in about 2 1/2 hours on alternatives to coal mining. My main focus is on alternative energy sources. Its riveting I tell you! So I guess I should go practice. Two years of school down, four years to go! Whooohooooo!

Friday, August 24, 2007

The Adventures of Ninja Mouse

Once upon a time there was a mouse who became a ninja. He lived in a house with a family of four and a dog with a broken smeller. It had to be broken because this dog never even indicated that he knew a mouse was ever in the house!

Anyway, one day Ninja Mouse made the decision to go out in the daytime to forge for food. What a mistake! Although he made no sound, one of the occupants in the house saw him skillfully glide along the baseboards. Eeeeekkk!!!! was the scream he heard, then suddenly a giant broom started coming towards him. Ninja Mouse quickly ducked behind the giant book case for cover, and just in time too, for the giant broom quickly came crashing down where he had just been. As ninja mouse tried to think, there was a ton of commotion going on in the house. Books and boxes being moved, and the large couch being flipped over. It was total chaos! Finally, things seemed to calm down a bit. This was his chance to get away. Swiftly and silently Ninja Mouse moved towards the grate he had entered through and finally he was safe. For now. His brush with death made him reconsider ever going out during the day again. No, it was too dangerous. He would have to wait until things calmed down and try again when it was dark out. That was his best chance to survive.

After a day and a half had passed, Ninja Mouse felt that it was time to try again. He was hungry, and didn't know how much longer he could stand listening to his little stomach grumble. Slowly Ninja Mouse stuck his little head out of the grate. No noise, no movement. The coast was clear. As Ninja Mouse entered the room, he began to smell something. Something irresistible that caused not only his stomach to growl, but his mouth to water. It was the smell of peanut butter! The smell was intoxicating. Ninja Mouse no longer cared whether or not he was to be seen, the only thought in his mind now was how to find the place where that irresistible aroma was coming from.

As he crept into the little plastic house of delicious smell, ninja mouse never noticed the large metal bar looming overhead. At last! Ninja Mouse had found the source of the wonderful smell that was calling him. He quickly and silently ate his meal, making sure not to miss a drop of the delicious and creamy substance. With his mission accomplished, Ninja Mouse turned to leave and WHAM!!!!!! The metal bar above him came slamming down in less than a second, quickly breaking the neck of Ninja Mouse. And there he lay, with the smile of satisfaction still on his face.


In other words, we caught the mouse! THE END or is it..................................?

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Turtle Surfing!



No, we didn't take the turtles to the beach. Too cold. But that would be so awesome to see wouldn't it? Surfing turtles!
Anyhoo, we did make it to the beach for the first time since we moved here. It was so much fun. Very cold, but a lot of fun. My sister and her daughter were with us and that made the trip more exciting. It was great watching the girls explore the beach and running away from the waves. They also made sand castles and buried each other. Later we went to dinner and we saved our strawberry tops for the turtles to munch on. They love strawberry tops as you can see in the picture.
New story:
So yesterday I was sitting on the recliner working on my computer when out of the corner of my eye I noticed something scurry along the baseboard across from me. I was in total denial at first, thinking that I must have been seeing things, but no. I truly saw something, and that thing was a mouse. A little brown mouse who has a death wish because I am not about to share this place with a disease carrying mouse. So, after I screamed a bit and finished freaking out, I proceeded to tear up the living room trying to find it. No luck. Those little bastards can truly hide like a ninja.
Eventually it ended up escaping the way in probably came in which was through the vent under the fireplace. I have nick-named him Ninja Mouse. And ninja mouse is going down! Shad went and found some traps and we have them in the house now and I am just waiting for them to go off. I will also make a call to the rental company to inform them of the issue. Ninja Mouse will die. One way or another. I will update on the progress later.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

What's on Your Mind?

I woke up at 6am! I know, crazy but true.
Today we are headed out to spend some time with my sister and niece. This should be an interesting trip as we haven't really seen each other in over a year or so. As a matter of fact, we really haven't spoken much either. Hmmmm......

Things on my mind lately:

Money
School
Getting a job
School
Family
Suzie QZ
School
God
Friends
School

Can you guess which one keeps me up at night? Yep, it's money.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Sunsets and Snails



My kids are growing up and I am getting older. There, I said it. Don't you just love a good sunset? Me too. This one was while we were in Vegas. I miss the way the sky glows just before it gets dark there. The sunset is just different here.
So here is a funny story. I went up to my room to change clothes for the night and was greeted by MacKenzie who introduced me to her pet snail Sally. Now this snail was unlike any I have ever seen. Its shell was made of a toilet paper roll and the small trail of left over tissue still stuck on it. And her eyes were made of bamboo skewers that were poking out of the "shell". She even had little bendy straws that slid over her eyes "to keep them warm and block out the light when she sleeps" according to MacKenzie.
I said hello to Sally with a little giggle and praised MacKenzie on her creativity. Then as I passed the bathroom I stopped laughing as I noticed that our trash can was full of toilet paper. It took me a moment to accept the reality of what I saw but there was no doubt that someone had unraveled an entire roll of T.P. and dumped it into the trash, and I was pretty sure I knew who it was. Upon further investigation it was confirmed and MacKenzie admitted her guilt but defended her position. This led into a little refresher lesson on the cost of T.P. and a comical lesson on it's importance.

Saturday, August 04, 2007

She's 13 now! sniff, sniff....sob...........

I am now the mother of a teenager. Did you hear what I just said? A teenager. Yes I knew this was bound to happen some day. As a matter of fact I knew exactly on what day and time it would happen. But this doesn't change the fact that I am still having a hard time coming to grip with the reality of it all.

My life just became a little more complicated by this daughter's change in status. Not a lot complicated, but just a little. Now I have two separate age groups to deal with. It was so much easier when they could do everything together. Those days are gone now. Flown right out the window! And now there are going to be outings with friends like trips to the mall and movies. And boys! Oh my gosh I just realized that I met the man I married when I was 13!!!!!!!!! Oh brother! I think I need to lay down.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Didn't See This Coming

Who knew? Life is sure strange. We have been so focused on leaving this place and getting back to Vegas, or some place close by, that we totally didn't expect to hear the comment from Shad's grandma in Ohio let alone contemplate on it at all. But we did, and we are. Well, just a little right now.

Basically, every day I ask Shad about the transfer stuff at work.
Has he heard anything?
Does he know anything new?
I get the same answer every day. "No." I'm certain it annoys him but I feel like I should keep it fresh in his mind every day. Why? I have no idea. I think it makes me feel better. Like in some warped kind of way it is progress.

Anyway, yesterday I did again asked the usual questions, and got the usual answer with a "but" on the end of it. But what? Apparently Grandma in Ohio is contemplating moving to the city where she would be closer to the doctors she is frequently visiting. (Not by choice.) That is great! She needs to be some place closer to the hospital instead of being so far away all by her lonesome.
But....she is said to have made the comment of "I wish Shad and Sherry could move into my house and live in it." Or something to that affect.

What? Move to Ohio? That is so not close to Vegas. As a matter of fact, that is pretty damn far from Vegas. What?

My first reply of course was "Um, I don't think so." And then later that day we began to think about it. What would that look like? How would we manage that? Could we even manage that? There would have to be many cosmic things fall into place.

Just the other day I was commenting to one of the girls about how it is important that family takes care of family. That God wants us to take care of each other, especially when we are in need. So many of our family and friends are in need back in Vegas. But we have family in other places too. Grandma Kathy is in Vegas with a ton of family taking care of her. Grandma Ruth is in Ohio with, well, she is pretty much alone.

It has us thinking pretty hard and praying about some things. I didn't see this coming!
I'll keep you posted.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Another sign?

We went to a park in Alameda yesterday so Shad could practice softball with some of the people he works with. They go to a tournament every year in Vegas, but get only one or two practices in. Last year it was one practice, this year they are shooting for at least two.

Hailey's friend Cally came along with us and the girls were having a great time at the park when they suddenly realized they were hungry. They were very verbal about it, so we piled into the truck and left Shad behind while we went on an adventure to get lost in a little island city I have never driven in before. We managed to only get a little lost, and found a cute little park where an art exhibit was going on. Nope, no food there so we moved on. We were on a mission you know. Finally we found a shopping center that had a huge Trader Joe's in it. Thanks Trader Joe's! Crisis averted! We finally managed our way back to where we started by sure luck as I was totally lost.

Oh, the sign? Yes, well on the drive home from the nasty little bar-b-Que place Shad took us to for lunch after his practice was over, he informed me that the word in the office is: three new openings in Vegas. This means he has an even better chance at getting us back.

I am not getting excited though. If it is to happen, then it will be right? Shad will send in his transfer request and life goes on. It sure would be nice if we were to be back before Christmas though. :)

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

A sign?

I am currently procrastinating yet again as I am struggling to write a paper that is due tomorrow night for my History class. Oh well, at least I am consistent.

So today I went with Shad to his MRI. He has some back issues. Nothing serious that we know of yet, just old age at this point unless we are told different in a couple of weeks. During our ride back home, Shad got a call. It was his boss telling him that there had been some changes done. Major changes. Anyway, the result was that he is going to have to issue a new transfer request.

I am hoping that this is a sign. I have been thinking about how this December would be the perfect time for us to transfer to another place as I will be in between classes and we would be buying at a most opportune time. The fear was that the transfer would go through right away and make things difficult. However, after much thought, it really doesn't matter when it happens. It is just important that it does. So, I will be praying about that.

Anyway, I guess I should get back to that wonderful paper I have to write.

Yippee!

Monday, July 16, 2007

Warning!! Another very small look into my brain...

Traveling is something I love to do by car. I love it because it forces a time of quiet at some point in the journey, and with quiet comes deep thought. And thinking leads to realizations and discovery.

Well, traveling to Monterey this Saturday was one of those times where I found myself in deep thought about life and God and the future. The realization? I am an impatient person when it comes to the big things. Well, possibly all things. For instance, if Shad were to say "Lets take a month off and drive to the East Coast just to say we put our toes in the water," I would be like, "Let me just pack a few things and let's go right now!" I am becoming impulsive and crazy again.

Let me back up, I used to be impulsive and crazy. In my teens and twenties I would do wild and crazy things at the drop of a hat. No planning required, let's just do it! Do it right now! If I wanted something, well if I could, I went and got it because there was no time like the present. No fear, no regrets, and no planning. (Not always smart.)

Then something happened and I got a little lost. I still can't determine how or when it happened exactly, but when it happened I became afraid. Afraid of everything new and different. That fear lasted a very long time.

Now let's move forward. On the drive to Monterey I realized that I am getting impulsive again and the fear is not so strong anymore. But, the real realization that came to me was the reason I was like that in my teens and twenties. The thought of death. I didn't fear death, but I thought about it differently than most of the people I hung out with and I am realizing again that I am starting to remember the lessons I learned from watching the people I loved dye while growing up.

One lesson for me was that we only get so much time on this earth to do the things we are blessed with the opportunity of doing. And that we sometimes only get one opportunity to do them at all so, if you are faced with an opportunity take it.

For example:
Looking back, I can see that when faced with an unplanned pregnancy, I took the opportunity to be a mom. When faced with the opportunity to love someone despite their addiction, I did it and survived. When faced with the opportunity to forgive someone for something heartbreaking that they did to purposely hurt me, I forgave. And the list goes on.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying I am some wonderful saint of a person because I am not. No one is. I've done some horrible things in my life. When given the opportunity to help my mom take care of her mom when she needed the help most, I chose not to. When faced with the opportunity to spend time with a dying family member, I chose not to. When faced with the opportunity to support my brother throughout a bitter divorce with his now ex-wife, I chose not to. The list goes on here too. In hind sight, I think these events happened when I was lost and afraid. That is something to ponder on later.

I guess the point I am getting to is that the lessons I learned in the past are all coming back to me now and I am again beginning to understand that fear is still evil and sometimes we all just have to jump in and trust that God will take it from there.

I found a cool quote on someones blog: "leap and the net will appear"

I want to live like that. I want to have that faith. No regrets, just jump in and let go. Let God be in control of the direction you fall and see where you land. Trust that he will catch you.

More later..................

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Summer Vacation!?


Well, we have had such a crazy summer vacation time. The kids went to Ohio, Vegas, and the county fair. Tomorrow night we are taking them to a concert, then we are going to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium on Saturday. We hit Vegas again at the end of the month, and end the summer vacationing with a huge party for Hailey's 13th birthday. Throw in movies, park days and other non planned activities and we have been busy!


The crazy part is that there is more travel to come, and more activities and school hasn't even officially started yet. But it is so clear to me how much the girls are still learning during this break. I love home schooling! I love that it can be so flexible and that there is so much learning going on the whole time.


I am coming to realize more and more that home schooling is really just living life. You might think I am just crazy and, well, I have no argument there but I know how I feel and what I see. There is no denying that learning is happening when the kids go out in the corn field and capture fireflies and question how their little butts light up. (The fire fly butts, not the kids). Or when kids try to calculate the distance they have traveled. And when as a parent I am constantly asked questions like why a word is spelled the way it is spelled, why something is called what it is called, or where something came from by my children, I am forced to do a little learning myself. So, I know learning is taking place no matter where we are, or who we are with. It is happening all of the time in so many different ways and I love that we have the freedom to learn this way.


Okay, I am done now. I sometimes get a little carried away I guess. I just love what I do.

So we are off to run an errand or two, then it's laundry time and then I have school tonight. Man we are busy. I am deffinitly looking forward to my little mini vacation in Sacramento.

Now go learn something!

Sunday, July 08, 2007

Just Stuff


So we flew to Vegas and I had a great time visiting with some friends I have not seen in a long time. I also had a pretty good time visiting with family. As you can see from this picture, the kids did a lot of swimming, and grandma loved having these little visitors. But if you look at grandma, you can see the stress in her face and eyes. She is having a hard time dealing with her mother being in the hospital. I am speaking of Gram. Gram was in the hospital the entire time we were there and is still there. She has pretty much given up on life which is very sad because her body is healing otherwise. They need a lot of prayer.
Other than that bit of drama, life is going well for our Vegas family. It sure was hot there though. 114 in the shade! I sure don't miss that kind of heat, but it was great to be home for a while. I don't know what it is about Las Vegas. Perhaps it is just because I was born there, but I love that place. Not the casinos, lights, and traffic but the mountains, the desert, and yes, sometimes the heat. Perhaps I am just crazy.
Back here in Northern California things are nice and cool. It managed to get up to 102 before the weekend, but even that felt cool compared to what it was like in Vegas. And in the evenings here it cools down to a nice 65 degrees. It almost makes a person want to stay. I said almost. :)
Tomorrow we start a new week with nothing major planned. I have plenty to do for school, and the girls have piano practice, but other than that we've got nothing. This weekend we are going to an aquarium with the kids. I will share pics when we get them. There are more I could share from Vegas but maybe later.
Have a cool summer night.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Following Through, the story

Follow through. It is a big issue in this house. Thanks dad! Yep, I blame him. Why? Well, I sometimes feel that due to his lack of follow through in his marriage to my mother that it launched an idea in my head that following through is not necessary in life. If you follow through, okay, if not no big deal. I mean, life goes on and we all get through it some how right?

That thought in my head was not practiced by me too often though. Thankfully I had my mother constantly on me about the things she thought were important for me to follow through with. Like school for instance. Had I dropped out, well, in the direction I was headed back in the day, I would probably be dead right now. But thanks to mom for pushing me forward, even if her methods were a little different than most.

Anyway, I had this little melt down last night because my kids are bad with follow through in certain areas. I blame myself of course. Most of them are the same areas I have issues with, like cleaning up my room and doing laundry. Yes, my room still has clothes on the floor and hangers everywhere, and my bed is rarely ever made. We just go sleep in it and mess it up at the end of the day anyway right? wink, wink, winkety- wink!

So, today I had a long talk with my kids (because I am great with lectures thanks to dad again) and spoke with them about why I feel strongly about them learning to follow through on things. The conversation went really great and I think they understood better why I nag them about certain things like cleaning their bathroom and throwing out the trash in their rooms. Anyway, they followed through on a few things this morning and that just made me happy. And I too followed through on a few things I had been putting off. It felt great to get them done. And it showed my kids that we all have things to work on no matter what our age or hair color. :b

Follow through. It is an issue in this house, but we are working on it and one day, it will be history.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Fun at the Fair




We had a great day at the fair on Friday. There were tons of rides and exhibits, as well as creepy carny people. We spent almost seven hours there and still didn't see everything there was to see. Before we left we stopped for funnel cake topped with apples and whipped cream and super yummy fudge which Shad hid when we got home. It was one of the best family days we have had in a while. And because we live so close to where the fair is, we were able to stand outside our house and watch the fireworks! It was an expensive outing, but well worth it.

Friday, June 22, 2007

It's a new day

Well, the family got back safe on Monday. I was happy to have some noise in the house other then me talking to myself and the dog. And some how I managed to get my living rooms clean again before they were home. I also managed to clean up the upstairs without too much distraction. Shocking I know.

I finished another class last night and have a new one starting this Thursday. It is so cool to have them going so fast. The last class was really fun, and I learned a lot which is good since learning something is the point. Next is a history class which I am looking forward to.

So I was thinking about all of the things my girls did this school year that most would consider school and I was wondering if they learned enough. Then I started putting together this photo album of shots from various events we attended and classes the girls took and I realized that they learned a ton this year. So, now I am thinking I should do a photo album for every year so I can be reminded of all of the fun stuff we did and all of the things the girls learned. That way I won't freak out and go buy tons of curriculum we don't need or won't use. As of now I have the planned curriculum stuff for next year up on the shelf and I was thinking it was looking a little thin. And actually that is a good thing. Too much curriculum turns them off to leaning. (Something I have to remind myself of often)

The County Fair starts here today and we are going after Shad gets home from work. I am excited to take pictures of the girls on the rides. We bit the bullet and bought unlimited ride passes for them this year. I am also excited to see the exhibits and find the person in charge so I can get our home school group involved for next year. There are a ton of talented kids out there in the home schooling world you know. I will share pictures when we get home.

So we are about to take off to the art studio so the girls can finish a project they started in a class they took a couple of weeks ago. They made wind chimes out of clay. They are going to be awesome! I can't wait to hang them up. Maybe I will share a picture of that too.

Hope your day is filled with fun and laughter!
Peace people

Saturday, June 16, 2007

A look into my head. Scary!

Two days left before the family gets back and I have taken a cleaning spree and turned it into an obsessive compulsive mess. You see, after waiting two days for the carpets to dry, I was finally able to get the living rooms put back together. (Our house has two right next to each other for some reason).

S0 I moved on to the upstairs and was cleaning upstairs when the phone rang. Since we have two cordless phones and can only locate one right now (which we keep down stairs by the kitchen), I had to run down to answer it.

After the conversations was over, I looked at the book cases while passing by and decided that I needed to go through our books and down size a bit. Like right now! So I started taking all of the books down and piled them up on the floor. In the middle of this I decided that I wanted to move a little bit of furniture so I moved the piano over (yes, I moved a piano by myself) and brought in the book case. At this point I decided I would make this book case my school book case for the girls and started arranging books on it when I realized that I needed to go through my school materials and possibly get rid of some stuff. So I went into the den and started dragging out a bunch of school books and such. Now, I have books everywhere, things piles on the floor, furniture moved here and there, and my upstairs cleaning still isn't done!

After starting with this nice clean slate, I have turned it into a total mess by being so easily distracted. Sometimes I wonder what causes my brain to switch channels so easily.

I bet you can guess what I am going to go do right now. Yep, do the dishes, oh and I have to get the bills done! And there is the laundry, but I should go get some lunch...................................

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Isn't that just grape juice?

So my week is working out well. Even though I miss my family, I am managing just fine. Yesterday evening I had a meeting that went well but a bit long. Afterwards I took the opportunity with no kids to go shopping for myself. I bought two pair of sandals and two outfits. It was nice to say the least. Later, I had dinner and watched some tele and finally made my way to bed around one. An over all nice and relaxing day.

This morning I woke up to Hailey's alarm going off at around 6:30am. I was sure I had turned that thing off yesterday. Anyway, I got up, cleaned the hallway clear of the clutter, vacuumed the hall and the stairs and then went down to have breakfast. While eating, I sat by the window and watched outside in between journaling. A very quiet and productive morning. At around nine the carpet cleaner guy showed up. He was a pretty pleasant fellow who found a way to mention that he was recently divorce during our conversation. That struck me as kind of weird. He went on to tell me about how he had to move out and find a place in Livermore. He had found a great home for rent that was very reasonable. And eventually he began telling me about how he works hard every day but always takes time to spend time with his son who is spoiled rotten by his mother.

Is anyone else wondering why this total stranger whom I had only just met was telling me his life story? Well I was totally wondering that myself during his visit. Later on, after thinking about it, I had a little realization if you will. This is why I am in school to become a counselor of some sort. It is totally my calling. As long as I can remember people have been coming to me to tell me all about their problems and about their lives. Even total strangers whom I have only just met. And I don't even try to pry into their lives, they just dish it out. It's bizarre really. And I just listen. I don't offer advice in anyway, I just listen and nod and give a "u-huh" or a "Oh, I see" and that's about it. Okay, sometimes I do give some advice, when asked for it. And sometimes I will share a relating story or two if I feel it is right to share. It was just a very real confirming message to me that I am doing the right thing.

So the other day I went to Trader Joe's to find some of my favorite snacks that I get to have to my self this week, and I came upon non-alcoholic wine. Yep, the label says it has been de-alcoholized. They totally made that up right? I mean, isn't non-alcoholic wine just grape juice? But here I sit with a glass of red non-alcoholic wine and it tastes great. I used to drink wine all of the time way back when, and then gave it up. I am so glad I can now have a glass once in a while without all of the nasty effects. Who knew?

Keep the peace people!

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

This sucks!

My husband and my children are currently in Vegas about to embark on another plane ride that will take them to Indiana where they will rent a car and drive into Ohio. Me? I am here at home in Northern California, with the dog, and the turtles. Yep, I thought this would be a nice break, but this totally SUCKS!!!!!!

I had Mackenzie on the phone overly tired and hysterical last night wanting me there with her. Yep, I had flash backs to when I used to take her to daycare and she would be smooshing her little chubby face on the glass while crying for me, hands stretched out and clawing at the glass. I felt like such a bad parent for leaving her there and I feel like a bad mom for not being with her now.

However, let this be a lesson to those of you out there who spend every waking moment with your kids. One day you too will go through this kind of stress. It will suck, but it will also teach you many things. It will teach your kids many things as well.

So my phone conversation this morning went something like this:

"Hey Mackenzie, how are you today?"

"Good."

"You were pretty tired last night weren't you?"

"Yep."

"So, everything going better today?"

"Yep. Daddy bought me some disposable cameras. Here's Hailey."

And that was that. See, kids get tired and totally out of control some times. But they are quick to forget you when things are fine and they have had their rest. (And daddy just bought them some disposable cameras). It's all good now.

And me? Well, I hate to miss out on things, but I am glad to have some time to myself. As a matter of fact, I think I will take advantage of getting to go to the mall alone. Yep, I have a meeting tonight and the meeting spot is right next door to the mall.
And it just so happens that my favorite store is having a sale. The candle store is my favorite store (since you asked). I will get to brows the candles and not be interrupted or hurried. It's going to be nice. And it will help me prepare for my next round with the tired cranky kids that will certainly call me later tonight.

Friday, June 08, 2007

From Paris to Ohio?

I am so glad to see someone finally put a public figure who broke the law behind bars like they should! Yep, I am totally talking about Paris. Sometimes it takes tuff love to make a much needed, totally over due point! Did you see her face? That shot was priceless. Perhaps this will be a little wake up call to the rest.

Enough about that. I just had to share.

It's Friday and the girls are done with piano and we have started getting them packed for their trip to OHIO! I am also currently making plans for my week without them. I have all kinds of wonderful plans such as going to school, getting the carpets cleaned, and having the piano tuned. I know, I should make plans for a movie or something. Maybe I will, and for a pedicure too. But this seems like the best time to get all of these other things done as well. I also plan on getting the front porch cleaned up so I can sit out there with a book or my journal in the evenings. Right now it is covered in dust and leaves and little spider webs. I'm going to be busy!

I could sit here and write all day, but I think I better get some other things done first.

peace people!

Wednesday, June 06, 2007



Hailey and Mackenzie make the perfect geeks when they want to. I love these pictures! We were at the art studio and one of the other kids there had these glasses. They were all trying them on and started to behave like crazies as soon as they did. It was so funny. They were magic glasses! :)
From these pics you wouldn't think we were having too bad of a day, but I really fell into a funk later on in the afternoon. A deep and dark funk that I have not seen in a long while. I was headed that way again this morning as I was laying in bed with the covers up over my head desperately trying to fall back to sleep in order to not face the day, until I suddenly jumped up and told myself that I wasn't going to go through this. I would not tick, tick, tick, let my time fly by with me doing nothing so I jumped up and came down stairs and started laundry. It was busy work and I was able to think while folding. I came to the conclusion that I was just not going to go down that dark road today, and that I would just abruptly change direction and flee. Let it pursue me! I will throw down on it later and kick it's ass to the curb!!!!!
So, later I will have to concentrate on getting a paper written that I have due tomorrow night, but for now, I am going to concentrate on other things. Some of my favorites actually; Hailey and Mackenzie.
Peace my friends.

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Another lazy day...

for just sitting around and doing nothing. Well, actually we went to art class this morning, and the girls did some free drawing projects. They were really cool. After that we came home for lunch and talked. I did make a trip to the post office with Mackenzie to mail some letters, and well, that is about all I have accomplished in the way of errands today. It is a lazy day.

I'll share a story:

A few moments ago, I went outside to grab some leaves off of the tree and right there on the steps was a huge lizard! And I almost stepped on him! He was just sitting there and had his eyes closed, so I bent down to get a closer look and noticed that he was missing an arm. One of his front arms was just gone! And for a moment I thought he might be dead and started to reach out to touch him.

But then I thought, if he was dead, then why is he only missing an arm you know? If I was a bird and I was going after this lizard and had wounded him, I would go in for the kill and eat him all up, not just run off with his arm. I mean, a bird has got to eat right? So I decided that he must be trying to fake me out. He was probably sitting there with his arm under him and his eyes closed praying I wasn't a giant bird about to eat him for supper. Like I would see him missing his arm and feel sorry for him and just leave him be.

I turned around and went in to get my camera just then because I had this thought that I could take a picture and send it to one of the Carder kids and have him identified, but when I came back he was gone. He was faking me out! Wasn't he? Then I actually sat there and wondered if I truly had even seen this lizard. Perhaps I made the whole thing up. But just then the bush rattled and I knew I wasn't crazy. :) But I never got his picture. And I am still not sure if he really was missing an arm.

Sunday, June 03, 2007

Just sitting here in my PJ's with socks on and a sweatshirt too. It is cold in the den. I have had the windows open at night for the last three months to save on our power bill and at night I freeze! But it is worth every penny we save. The house fills with cold air at night, and in the morning we close the windows to trap it all in. We stay cool all day and then we open them in the evening. Last summer we had a bill that was over $400. We were just so used to having the air on all of the time from living in Vegas. That bill brought me to my senses though. I have come to realize that we can live without using the air or the heat. People did it before us. We are just spoiled rotten.

We all went to a water park today. Actually, it is a little park area with a man made lake and some water slides. Mackenzie wasn't sure about going on the water slides, so I told her she could ride with me. I figured it would make us go slower and she would see that they are really a lot of fun. Boy was I wrong! Not only did it make us go faster, we almost had a blow out on one of the walls, and Mackenzie was screaming "I want to stop, I want to stop!" the whole way down. Right before we came to the end, there was this huge drop off and I knew immediately that when we landed in the pool Mackenzie was going to go way under, so I held on to her so I could make sure to pop her up out of the water as quickly as possible. We both went way under and took in a bunch of water up the nose. She was still holding her breath as I held her up out of the water and I had to keep telling her she was alright before she would breath. As you can imagine, that was our only ride on the water slides. But Hailey, Shad, and Hailey's friend had a great time. Mackenzie and I sat and watched them the rest of the time we were there.

Updates on family for those who care:
Gram in Vegas starts her third round of chemo this Tuesday. She is hanging in there, but getting tired. Grandma in Ohio isn't doing well, but is hanging in there as well. Shad and the girls go to see her next week. It's going to be quiet around here. No new news to share on the sister-in-law.

The girls have just gone to bed so I should go say good night.
Keep the peace!

Friday, June 01, 2007

more stuff




Just thought I would share some more photos. Hailey at the park, a picture from the train ride, and one of art class.


I am planning a few trips. One to the beach in Half Moon Bay, one to the zoo in Oakland, and another to China Town in down town San Fran. There are a ton of places on the list that we want to explore, but these are on the top of that list for now. It will be a fun summer. I will share pics as we get them.
Keep the peace people!

Thursday, May 31, 2007




We have been busy. The girls are doing an art class and I will post pics of that later. They are making some awesome art pieces.
A few weeks ago we went to the Chabot Space Center and that was cool! The girls wore space suits and set their feet in the footprints of the first astronauts to the moon. We also saw some very cool movies about the earth and space.
Yesterday we went to take a ride on a train at the Niles Canyon Railroad which is connected with the Transcontinental Railroad. It was fun and we learned some history, but most of the old guys on the train were grumpy. And there were so many kids it was super loud for the first half of the ride. Hailey hung out with her friend Haley on the trip, and Mackenzie enjoyed the sun and fresh air.
I will have to write more after school.

Monday, May 21, 2007

Stuff in my head today

It's time to asses the kid's education this year and decide what to use for the next year so I am going to two different home schooling conventions. One in Vegas and one in Sacramento. The one in Vegas will be small and familiar, the one in Sacramento will be huge and unfamiliar. I am looking forward to both.
The one in Sacramento will have tons of activities for the kids as well, but get this, I'm planning on going without them. Momma is taking a little weekend vacation people! I will get three days and two nights alone in a hotel room by the pool. I can go and brows the vendor hall and not feel stressed out. I can sleep in, or get up early, or read a book or journal. I can hog the bed and hog the blanket or........ let's just say that I am very happy to be going. I need a break. It has been a stressful year of new everything, so I am taking a much needed trip to re-energize.

On another note, the grandmas are doing okay, but not great. Shad and the girls are going to Ohio next month to visit and help out for a week. I am going to have a week of school, cleaning and babysitting the dog and turtles. Actually, now that I think about it, I get a whole week to myself! Wooohooooo! A double vacation of sorts. Yet, I wish I could go because I really like Ohio and I would love to get to know grandma a little better. This is going to be a not so fun trip for them I think. :(

Grandma in Vegas is feeling the affects of the second round of chemo which was a little stronger this time. She is loosing her hair too I am told so I am getting ready to send her a beautiful red sun hat that I found. Knowing her, she will wear it once out of self made obligation and then give it away to someone in the family, or to a friend. But I don't care. If she just puts it on her head once that's good enough, She is a fighter! I love that about Gram.

Hope your day is a happy one. Keep the peace!

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Life

I was realizing that I get so fired up about certain subjects. Subjects like family and education, art and music. It feels good to feel for a change.

My den is all cleaned up and newly organized. I spent two days going through old papers and boxes of art supplies so I could get things in order. For some reason I am on a serious cleaning and organizing kick this week. Crazy! My next project is the filing cabinet. :) Shredding is good!

We have been looking for a house. Shad went out back to check on the girls the other day and saw them playing in the hose on this super small square of concrete in the backyard and came inside and said "That's it, we have to find a house." It was funny actually. So we have hooked up with a realtor and we have an appointment with him this Saturday to go look at a few places. Part of me is excited, but I am planning on being super picky about what we are willing to buy. The prices here are so fricken crazy. The house across the street, if in Vegas, would go for about 500,000. Here they are trying to sell it for 1.4 mil. Unbelievable! I am ultimately leaving it all in God's hands because I am fine with where we are right now.

I am creating my own home school record book that if any good I will try to make available to the masses. Right now I have a first copy that I am making some changes to, but I should have my first one done by next week. It's been a fun project and has helped me get connected with some of the home schoolers around here. You wouldn't believe some of the responses I got during my research on it. Wild!

Gotta go to the park now. Keep the peace!

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Vegas




Some how we always have card games going on when we visit Vegas. We always end up with all of the kids spending the night with us and we end up going out to eat at least once at Macayos too. Tradition? I guess to some degree. The card game is Trash Can, the snacks are root beer floats, and the dinner, well, I can't quite remember, but it was pretty good.
I miss them a lot, and through the tears we managed to have some fun. It was a good trip.
We are off to art class! Keep the peace people!

Sunday, May 06, 2007

Here are the bees from the other day. I guess the plan worked because they were gone the next day. Who knew you could trap a bunch of bees in a box with soda in it.

These are also some recent pics of the girls. They are growing way too fast for me. Hailey is 5'4 now and Mackenzie is quickly catching up.





Later I will post some pics from our trip to visit grandma.

Today is sunny with a bit of wind. It is a lazy Sunday for sure. I have a lot of school to get done this week, but I am finally on the last leg of this current class. 14 classes down and about 21 more to go! If I can find more school money and keep up this pace, I will be done by November of 2009! Wooohoooo! Okay, I am trying real hard to keep a positive outlook here so just stay with me. Time is passing by fast though so it's all good!

Hailey is currently learning French now and Mackenzie is studying Spanish. It has been fun to learn along with them, although I do better with Spanish than French. It must have something to do with taking it three years in high school. It's fun to listen to them speaking another language. I am taking them to art classes starting Tuesday and will share pics of that here later on. They will be working with clay and oils, then do a short study on drawing. At the same time I will be getting some instruction on some teaching techniques. We are also taking a trip to the Chabot Space Center this Thursday and I will share pics of that as well.

Hope all is well with friends and family. I think of everyone often and wonder what they are up to. I'm sure it is nothing but peace loving goodness!

Keep the peace people!

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Just an update...

Granny is doing pretty well with the first chemo treatment. She was sick and weak for a couple of days but doing much better now. She gets another treatment in a couple of weeks and hopefully will do just as well. We were able to help and give Shad's mom a break which she really needed too. Sorry to those who we missed, but granny was the main focus on this trip.

Now we have a trip to Ohio to plan. A trip that has come a lot sooner than expected. Yep, another sick granny. Such is life!

I found a copy of The History of the Ancient World by Susan Wise Bauer yesterday and I love it! It keeps my interest and will make a great read for the girls later on. I also found these really cool books for reading and vocabulary called The Vocabulary Teacher's Book of Lists and The Reading Teacher's Book of Lists. They have tons of cool facts and explanations on all kinds of words. I will share an example with you:

Atom Bomb versus Hydrogen Bomb
The atom bomb uses fission and was as powerful as 20,000 tons of TNT. It flattened a city and killed 75,000 people in Hiroshima in 1945.

The hydrogen bomb is a thousand times more powerful. It blew a crater a mile wide and two hundred feet deep in a test on the Pacific Atoll in 1952.

Old Derogatory Terms
Scurvy- this is used to describe a mean, nasty, contemptible person who is probably ugly besides. Scurvy is also a disease caused by lack of Vitamin C that causes skin spots.

(These are from the book The Vocabulary Teacher's Book of Lists by Edward B. Fry, Ph.D.)

There is also another book we found that is pretty good so far. It's the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens.

Welp, I'm off to read for school (mine) and get the girls working on theirs.

Oh, one last thing. We were over by the KFC by our grocery store and we saw a police van with some caution tape around part of the parking lot. Out of curiosity we walked over to see what was up. I was not ready for what I saw. No, not a dead body, but a box tipped over with about a million bees swarming around it. The girls freaked out. Apparently there were some workers jack-hammering the parking lot and they were suddenly swarmed by bees. The cop put soda in a box and threw it in the area of the bees with the hope that they would swarm into the box and he would be able to collect them that way. Can anyone see a problem with this yet? He then said he would be back in an hour to check the progress. HMmmmmm. Well, we left after that but I keep wondering what happened. Think the cop caught the bees?

Keep the peace people!!!!