Strange with a capital S!

Something strange happened to me today at work. I got bit. I got bit by a guy. A coworker. On the cheek. This guy has always been very friendly but that’s just odd. He came up behind me and before I knew it, I had been bitten. Hmmmmm….
It has been a while since I’ve been in the workforce but I wasn’t expecting this.

So... I'm an idiot

Anyway, I found out that my new favorite place isn't Ription lake but Ripshin Lake ;) . I was right about one thing... it is one of the most beautiful places on Earth!! If you follow that link scroll down and you will probably agree with me . If not ....you are no longer welcome on my blog. Just Kidding...I think :)

If you are interested in seeing some of the photos that were taken of the fam. while at Ripshin check it out here.
Click enter then go into gallery , then events, and find Ripshin Christmas tree farm. :Warning: there are A LOT of photos.

Anyway, I may be an idiot but I have more hope for my son. Especially, with the reading that is required of him in only the First grade! He came home with a book of poems by Jack Prelutsky. (Whom I have come to love). But, this was tough reading for the boy AND he was going to be tested on this stuff. This is an example of the first poem.

I Told the Wizard to His Face

I told the wizard to his face,

"You're just a fraud, a phony,

A fake, a sham, a charlatan,

Your spells are pure baloney,

Your hogwash couldn't fool

An unsophisticated child-

What do you have to say to that?"

The wizard merely smiled.

"You see, you have no answer,"

I continued, feeling bold,

"You only use illusion

When you turn balloons to gold.

In fact, your poor pathetic act

Is practically a crime-

What do you have to say to that?"

He smiled a second time.

I escalated my harangue,

And blared triumphantly,

"Your prestidigitation

Simply can't bamboozle me!"

The wizard smile a wider smile,

"Piff poff" was all he said-

Since then I've been but two feet tall

And have a hamster's head

I've been told that after having this certain teacher( whom I love) we ( I mean he) could easily skip second grade. I might be beginning to believe it. Anyway if you have some time on your hands look up some of Jack's poems....I really enjoy them (never mind he's a child's poet). He's good.

Just in the nick of time!

Wheeewwwh! Libby pulled out of her funk just in time to be included in our family photo shoot. It's a good thing because I swear she was the cutest thing! We (the fam) were asked to take part in our state’s new advertising campaign. We went to one of the most beautiful spots I have seen. There is an amazing Christmas tree farm hidden behind Ription lake. This lake is the best kept secret in East TN. It is a quaint little lake that edges right up to a small country road. It sits there very still with parts covered with ice and snow.
Despite it being incredibly cold the kids did great. No whining and they did whatever the photographer told them to do. We're promised some cool photos out of this. I took some scenic shots with my phone because we forgot both of our very nice cameras ( why do we have them??).
Luke is thinking he will be famous…after all he did get out of school for half the day for this. This has to be a big deal! Not really….just a neat experience for our family and a chance to do something cold ….I mean cool ;)

"hush little baby don't say a word momma's gonna...."

Well, I was wrong when I said Libby is on the mends. We are home again today and the Libster is still not better. We are on the 5^th day with a fever (not including Luke’s 3 days last week). Thank goodness its low grade, but unfortunately it’s enough to keep her out of school. I’m starting to get a little nervous. We have a photo shoot on Friday morning. A lot of people are depending on us to be there and healthy with no snot chapped noses, I’m sure. Hmmm….everyone can start praying now. I know it is out of my control but I don’t want to let anyone down.

I’m beyond these four walls making me crazy. I’ve upgraded the nervous tick to a full on body rock while singing a lullaby under my breath….ahhhhhhhhhhh!

Another one bites the dust...

Well , over the weekend Libby came down with whatever Luke had. She is feeling better and her fever has past but I think now she is suffering from a broken heart. Unlike Luke she is deeply sadden because she is missing school today. Every few minutes she breaks down in tears. She being my healthy child hardly ever gets sick. She hasn’t taken it very well.

And, the weather outside is frightful. It is wet and cold mixed with a fog that looks like its going to stay with us for a while. As for me I can feel my mental and emotional well being deteriorating as I sit her. With the exception of going to work for a few hours yesterday I haven’t left the house since Friday. So, next time you see me if I have a nervous tick ….well, now you know why.

On a very cute note…. (At least what I think it is cute, but who know at this point….) As Luke was walking to the neighbors this morning for school (car pool) I watched him stop to pick up every earthworm he saw in our driveway and toss it in the yard (attempting to save their life). He has such a sweat heart.

shine down on me....

I took this picture while driving around town this morning (with my camera phone no less). It was amazing. The boldest sun rays I have ever seen. And, remember I grew up in Florida. My phone takes less than bad pictures so know it was actually far more spectacular than this photo. Just, thought I share.

And …. Yes, the power ball is at 205 million. Tim and I have actually been trying to talk our financial class small group into going in together to win that thing. We haven’t any takers yet.

My God , my God why have you forsaken me....

Just kidding …its not THAT bad. I’m taking a break from bundling 75,000 dollars of F.City receipts. They need to be shipped out tomorrow to make room for 75,000 more. My job on the PTA board is to get these receipts to the proper people so that our school gets credit and can buy extra educational tools for our teachers and students. Fortunately, I haven’t had to count all of them but my hands have touched each receipt as I have had to have them in a certain order and shipped according to F.City standards. Yuck! To add to the Yuckiness I have a sick kid for the second day and I can’t get my I tunes to play music. So, I am sitting in a cold silent kitchen (except for the sound of Legos Star Wars in the distance) with endless amounts of paperwork surrounding me. I might try and escape these four walls later and treat my sick boy and me to something yummy but that depends on the boy and his motivation to get off the couch….not likely. Sorry to put you through this dull read today. Sadly, updating the blog is my highlight.

**EDIT** Never mind about the previous highlight. Just as soon as I posted this the Teilhet's walked in the door. They had a few minutes to kill over lunch so they stopped by. Never under estimate the positive effect of adult communication. Only downer I couldn't hold baby Emma because of Luke being sick... bummer.

Now What?

Okay… today a new day and a day with both kids in school. Well, Libby only has half days but it was long enough for me to design my cabinets for the entire house. And, meet with my exterior designer. That’s not her official title. Really, she just sells siding but I made her my exterior designer because I had to have some serious help picking what the house was going to look like. She has definitely gone above and beyond for us. Now that I think of it we have been blessed by some awesome sub contractors that have helped us quite a bit. I guess it obvious we don’t know what we are doing and people have been very kind to us. Everyone except the evil concrete people that we are in litigation with. Anyway, the house is going to be gray (really its called spice. It’s a warm gray) siding with white trim and black shudders to match the roof. And we are going to accent with shake and stone. I’m so excited to have that behind me. We have had samples of siding and shake all over our kitchen.

Yesterday, I had to go pick up some medicine and even the pharmacist was way more helpful than expected. It was some EXPENSIVE cream for Luke’s planters wart. It came with a rebate that will cover almost a third of it. While I was waiting for the prescription the pharmacist found me and wanted to double check that I understood what the price was going to be and we talked about the information I needed for the rebate. I was in there for a while and talked with several people about the medicine. Only to come home and read that this medicine is generally used for external genital warts. GREAT! This is a place I frequent often. Now What.?

Taking a moment and wishing I had more

I laid back down in bed this morning after sending Luke off to school. Tim had left and I could hear Libby playing in the family room. It was just after 8am and I wanted to get up just as much as I wanted to stay under the covers. I started feeling guilty because I knew Libby wanted a companion and her only choice of one was lying in my bed. The temptation of good coffee and a trivial pursuit pop-tart with a side of no guilt was all the motivation I needed. I was up. Now to take care of the dogs, swap out the laundry, clean up the dishes that our company left (long after I went to bed last night). Finally, I sat down with my pop-tart and coffee looked to my left and remembered the little girl that wanted a friend. So, I was off to dress barbies and give them new do’s for their movie premier “Nanny Mc Potter”.

Now, my coffee is cold and my shower is over due. It only took a couple of phone calls and the thought that I will be hard pressed to get done all that I have to do for my blood pressure to rise. I’m not complaining. I love that I get to play barbies, its the other stuff I wish I didn’t have to do. There is a song out there. I don’t know who sings it but I keep hearing it. It’s about wanting to leave the world behind and just be in a moment with someone. I wish I could do that with my family. Especially, my husband. I wish I could just let the world and all its deadlines and stresses go. And, just enjoy the moment or maybe moments.

A day late and a dollar short....

Actually, three years late and a whole lot of money short. A couple months ago I purchase my first high end pair of socks. I figured since I was a working woman (never mind that it’s just 15 hours a week) I would splurge. Well, I LOVE my socks. I LOVE them so much that I am stressed out about loosing one. Our method of laundry leaves us caring for widowed socks far too often.

In my furry I came up with this great idea to sew snaps into socks so that you can snap them together before you throw them into their pending doom (I mean, laundry). So I started my own little market analysis. Asking friends if they would buy such a product, choosing my market, and even… yes, having a dinner meeting to discuss the possibilities (o.k… it was discussed with Tim on our date, but dinner meeting sounds so much better). So, Tim convinced me the way to go was to patent the idea and then just sell the patent. He is brilliant. So much that someone else has already done that exact same thing, three years ago. Not only did they steal my idea but Tim’s too. Dag gum it! And, I was so excited to make my first million before Tim!

Sharing a few simple words with my coffee.....

Well, I have to admit it does feel good having my life return to the normal state of chaos. The kids are back in school. I’m back to working fewer hours. Even the traffic around town has become more tolerable.

Every night has become game night at our house. It has been a great source for stress release. Each of us has our favorites on the Wii. Libby’s is “Cars”. Mine is “Mario Cart”. Tim’s (I’m guessing) is “Zelda” and maybe the “sports package”. Luke’s is “Lego’s Star Wars”, “Rampage” and possibly “Mario Brothers” (yes, the 80’s game). We are playing it so much we have almost missed the bowl games. And, we LOVE the bowl games! Go SEC!!! I think the only SEC team that has lost so far is Tennessee…go figure.

The Libster woke up early this morning . Normally she crawls in bed with us but this morning I heard her make her way into her brother’s room. I got up about 30 minutes later walked into Luke’s room and found them cuddled up together. So cute! Since I was up earlier than I was expecting or even hoping I started an Amish almond bread/cake. Smells great! Wish I could share ;)

EDIT** Is it just me or has my profile picture disappeared?

10 things I've learned in 2006.

1. Building a house is way way stressful.

2. I don’t like living in someone else’s house.

3. How to build an ICF wall.

4. I was created to long board.

5. I can’t play Milton Bradley’s Operation game.

6. My feet feel best in a Keen.

7. I am not in control (I relearn this one every year).

8. Sometimes you have to let dreams die.

9. The correct way to shine shoes.

10. Hospital Bills are negotiable.

Hopefully, I have learned more than just these 10 things. One thing is for sure. Over this past year, I have forgotten far more than I’ve learned ;)

Merry Christmas!!!

Dilemmas.

It seems I have so many. I’m not sure if I create more than I need or if I suffer from an average amount. Either way I think I have way too many. It might be that I over analyze, therefore prolonging the solution. Take for example. Last month I got (in my opinion) ripped off by my cleaners. I have used the same cleaners for over 10 years. They know me by name and I have always appreciated it when they greeted me using my name. I have been a loyal customers taking all of our dress shirts there to be cleaned and pressed and I use their tailor for all my alterations. Until. I took them 3 pair of pants to have them hemmed. The sweet white haired lady pinned them up for me and said give her two weeks. Ok. I agreed that I would pay her 10 dollars for each pant. I don’t know if that is high or not, but I like these people so I was ok with it. Well 6 weeks later my pants are ready. I go home and 2 out of the 3 are perfect but then the last one… I am still stepping on. So, I take them back and say “this pant is still way to long”. To may amazement she took them and then said two more weeks and 10 more dollars. I was like… “ahh, what? I have to pay again…after having to wait way too long”? She said “Well, they will have to be hemmed again”. I agreed to pay 2 more dollars knowing I probably won’t see those pants until spring. I left irritated and vowing to never use them again. But there’s my dilemma. I don’t know where to go to have our shirts cleaned. I have one major requirement. It has to be an “in-house” service. I don’t want to use a place that sends off the clothes to be cleaned. And, really most of the cleaners around here do so. For the past 4 weeks I have been driving around trying to pick a cleaners, wondering is it a convenient location , a good price, and will they use my name? Oh well. I know what you’re thinking, if this is my biggest dilemma I should stop my whining and start ironing. I tried that ( ironing not , not whining). And, I would rather go back to those thieves. Ugggh.

7 days and counting.....

Well, I don’t know about you but I am officially worn out! I think I’m officially done with my shopping too. Except for some small stocking stuffers and a few things I have in my hold pile at work. So... maybe I’m really not “done”, but for my emotional well being we are going to say I’m done. Luke’s last day of school was this past Friday and Libby’s was today. So, the only really official thing is Christmas break has begun! We pulled up our boot straps and made our way into “the mall” (the only mall in our city) to see Santa. It went well except for Santa breaking little Libby’s heart. When Lib asked him if she had been good, he said “pretty good”. You can see her “I’ve been busted look” below. I wish they would have waited to have that conversation after the picture was taken. I think she was hoping for a “very good”. Luke left there with a renewed belief in Santa, saying” how did he know…?”

Moooooo......

Well, our tradition has been to eat breakfast with Santa but we missed that this year so we decided to have dinner with the Christmas Cow. I can’t say the food was any better because both involve Chic-fil-a and well….we love chic-fil-a. But I will have to admit that Santa is much more of a conversationalist . The cow waves and gives high fives but that’s about it. So, we are still prodding the Libster to see what she wants for Christmas but I believe we have just about convinced her she wants a doll house. However, we will be making the dreaded trip to the mall to visit Santa to confirm.

Ho, Ho, Hmmmm.....

Wow it’s cold! The boys left this morning to do their Christmas shopping. I hate it for them, it is only 30 degrees outside. Libby and I are content to stay in with our coffee and cinnamon rolls! Well, my coffee… her milk and cinnamon rolls.

Luke has been saving his money to buy Christmas presents. In his sweet way he was badgering his sister yesterday to see what she wanted. She wouldn’t give him any information, she just pledged her allegiance to Santa Claus. I tried to explain to her that other people want to give her presents, but she wouldn’t budge. Yesterday, I was online searching for the best price for a specific doll house (... just really guessing what she wants at this point). In desperation Luke came up and asked if he could buy it for her. Unfortunately, he hasn’t saved enough. Knowing now of his generous spirit we will have him start saving his money a little sooner next year ;)

Now, if we can just get Santa to tell us what libby wants for Christmas.

living in bloglessness.....

Wow! I can’t even express how busy life is right now. (I’m sure I don’t own the exclusive rights to that thought this time of year). After work, PTA responsibilities, building a house, raising kids and the “to do’s” of Christmas I don’t have much time for blogs. Sad, seeing that is my number one way to decompress. I suppose I will have to find my daily therapy while in the check out lines, or counting receipts for the school, perhaps in the endless work that surrounds this house. ahhhhh......!
I’m definitely not going to find it at work. I have noticed lately there are more people walking around the store uptight and impatient. I mentioned my observation to a co-worker and they said it just gets worse as Christmas comes closer. Yuck! I’m not so sure I’m going to enjoy Christmas so much in the “land of retail”. Oh well, I’ll just keep smiling and hope that everyone finds what they need. For now, I must go and make a dent on my daunting list of things to do.


** funny side note**
The boys were up early today. Tim got Luke stared with a bowl of cereal and I figured I would let Luke finish getting himself ready for school ( never again). He couldn't get his hair to lay down so he decided to cut off the part that was sticking up!

Our trip home

Good thing it's a short trip!

Thanksgiving through their eyes...

We went for walks.

We beat up Uncle Tim ( or Dad) and

we made a huge leaf pile to jump in.

And, we ate lots of good food!

(Tim is taking the pic)