An "are ya kiddin' me?!" moment

This is what I found when I opened our milk form Costco...(there are supposed to be 3)


The entire box isn't worth the gas it would take to go back, so when does it become worth it to go back and get it fixed? So irritating...

Tacit Tues: Panza

The Before & After

On the one hand, I am glad to finally get this mess under control;

On the other hand, it is irritating that being on vacation just means a different kind of work.

I call this one "Please no more, mom!"

Better than I thought

So, I know I sounded very "scroogy" in my last post and I am happy to report that Christmas itself pretty much made up for the lack of a Christmas season.
I was able to see about 70% of my family and I will see more at our belated Christmas on Sat. I think it was just that I am so used to the whole season being "merry and bright" and I was missing that feeling.
I got to see my family, buy a few gifts and make the rest, had great food, Isa was very happy to be around the family (and they hooked her up too! She made out like a bandit on the gift front!)

...bottom line: I got that whole "its the thought that counts" and "its not about the presents" kind of Christmas, which is absolutely fine by me, as long as my family is there. :)

My first Bah Humbug

I have always been the epitome of Christmas spirit. Since my childhood, Christmas has always been my favorite season; we have had traditions that take us to all our different sides of the family, we got to see everyone...we used to do this really cool thing where we get a bunch of us together and provide an entire Christmas for a family in need (I mean extreme need)--the gifts, the tree, the food, everything. The only time we did not celebrate Christmas was when my brother was overseas (USAF) and even then...we just moved it to March.
I love the memories I have, but they get me stuck into certain traditions and the more those change the more BAH HUMBUG I get. I feel horrible about it because my world could be soooo much worse, but I cant help but miss those times. This year has been the most unenjoyable Christmas yet...nothing at work, no tree or decorations at home, not one stinkin Christmas party, no money for gifts, we have had 2 deaths in the family, my brother moved away to be a cop elsewhere, I dont get to visit all the places I usually do (which means I dont get to see everyone)...it just seems nothing is Christmasy this year. I have not even watched one Christmas special.
It may seem trivial but this has always been a highlight of my year and now its just...not. I don't like the feeling...someone gift me a shot of the holiday spirit quick! (Plus I am just now going shopping for the few gifts we can get and I am thinkin that an afternoon in the crazy, day-before-Christmas traffic will not help my negativity)

Slim Down Saturday: a pleasant surprise

Yea! My scale says I have now lost 39 lbs total. That means [of my baby weight] I only have about 10-15 more to lose!!! I am pleasantly surprised because I had lost track and kinda stopped trying to keep going and just tried to maintain where I was at so...whoo hoo, yea for me! I thought I would share some of the things I have come to rely on as weight loss helpers:

1. Zone Bars--the Zone Diet is actually the one I am on, but they sell the bars at all Trader Joe's & Target type places. My favorite is the fudge graham flavor. It is perfectly balanced & will work as a snack and tide me over for about 2-3 hours. The other flavors are things like: Chocolate Peanut butter, Caramel Cluster, Strawberry Yogurt, Cinnamon Roll (another of my favorites) and now they have some with actual fruit in them. Look for the yellow box.

2. Special K protein water--again, works to tide me over for about 1-2 hours (especially before/after practice). I like the strawberry-kiwi flavor in single serving packs-just add & shake.

3. Costco Chicken sandwiches--those frozen [seemingly fake] chicken patty sandwiches only take 45 seconds to warm up and they come dry so you can add whichever toppings you want. I keep a few sandwiches in my work fridge with a bottle of ranch salad spritzer and use that instead of mayo. (Sometimes I opt for low-fat honey mustard instead)

4. Water--an obvious one, I know, but I am not a water drinker. The extreme heat and practicing with the team has gotten me back into drinking more water & you would be surprised to learn that what they say is actually true: if you drink all your water, don't drink or do drugs, exercise regularly & eat right...you really do feel better! (imagine that) ;-D

Let me know if you are trying to lose weight too, I have LOTS of tips and tricks cause if I don't keep it changing & find new stuff, I give up easily.

Tacit Tuesday: Now Thats Perserverance!

Sweet Sunday: Sesame Street Weekends

We may not be rich, but we are good at what we do and the family time we have is absolutely priceless.

Hump-Day-Humor: Why Parents Have Gray Hair

Why Parents Have Gray Hair

A father passing by his son's bedroom was astonished to see the bed nicely made up and everything neat and tidy.
Then he saw an envelope propped up prominently on the pillow. It was addressed, "Dad". With the worst premonition, he opened the envelope and read the letter with trembling hands:
Dear Dad,
It is with great regret and sorrow that I'm writing you. I had to elope with my new girlfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with you and Mom.
I've been finding real passion with Joan and she is so nice. I knew you would not approve of her because of all her piercings, tattoos, her tight motorcycle clothes and because she is so much older than I am but it's not only the passion, Dad, she's pregnant.
Joan says that we are going to be very happy. She owns a trailer in the woods and has a stack of firewood, enough for the whole winter. We share a dream of having many more children.
Joan has opened my eyes to the fact that marijuana doesn't really hurt anyone. We'll be growing it and trading it with the other people in the commune for all the cocaine and ecstasy we want.
In the meantime, we'll pray that science will find a cure for AIDS so Joan can get better; she sure deserves it!
Don't worry Dad, I'm 15 years old now and I know how to take care of myself. Someday, I'm sure we'll be back to visit so you can get to know your grandchildren.
Your son, Chad
P.S. Dad, none of the above is true. I'm over at Tommy's house. I just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than the report card that's in my desk drawer.
I love you! Call when it is safe for me to come home!

Tacit Tuesday

Tacit= implied, inferred, unspoken

Here is the link--look, listen, think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8G3MsdQxuU

Belated Monday Motivation

I am changing my Monday theme from Monday Meditation to Monday Motivation--or maybe back and forth, I dont know. Here is the first (a little late):

My mom doesnt forward those little stories often, so when she does I figure it must be good (and this one is) Keep this in mind not just this week---students keep it in mind as school starts this year!

A 92-year-old, petite, well poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably combed and shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.

As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window.

'I love it,' he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

'Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait.'

'That doesn't have anything to do with it,' he replied..

'Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged... it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. 'It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.

Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away. Just for this time in my life.

Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in.

So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories!
Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank.
I am still depositing.'

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred. (Romans 12:9)
2. Free your mind from worries. (Matt. 6:25)
3. Live simply. (Galations 5:22)
4. Give more. (II Corinthians 9:7)
5. Expect less (Luke 6:35)

Belated Sweet Sunday: Long Live Mashed Potato Kisses!

Any parent will understand...anyone with parents should remember: There is NO BETTER FEELING than when you are able to see or hear how much your child loves you.

Now, I am far from attached at the hip to my daughter, but I will admit it is hard to leave her for long periods. Case in point: going camping with friends overnight--the way we were kissin' on her when Grandpa picked her up, you would think we were going over seas for a week or more. So it is always nice to come back to her, but my heart absolutely melted when we got out of the truck and she came running [literally] arms open. For the rest of the day she was kissin on me like I was going overseas! I got kisses on my face, she would walk up and kiss my knee as I worked on the computer, I even got mashed potato kisses at dinner!

In the same way, I am not attached to my parents at the hip but I will gladly admit I still call her Mama and I still call him Daddy. When people make fun of me (and by People I mean my husband) for being so close to my parents, I will now just remember my mashed potato kisses.

If everyone had parents like mine, the problems of this earth would minimize by half. My husband should consider himself lucky if Isa feels close enough to him to call him Daddy when she is my age. I strive to raise my child half as well as I was raised and if you have parents even a little supposrtive of you, stop reading right now and tell them how much you love and appreciate them.
To my support group:

Mama--you are my best friend in the whole world...literally...and I could not live without your love support and advice.

Daddy--You are the rock of our family, a true shepard and awesome man.

I know I can count on you both for ANYTHING, I love you. If I had mashed potatoes I would take a bite just so I could kiss you!

Tracy & Greg--you are my second parents, I may have outgrown the need for a key to your house, but I will never outgrow the need for your loving honesty, listening skills and [mostly] unbiased opinion.

I am very blessed; now you look at your support group--who could use a little love from you today?

Organized Blogging

I like my friend's idea of having a blog theme for each day so I am going to steal it! Hopefully only having one idea a day will help me keep this going. Heres what I have:
Sweet Sundays
Monday Meditations
Tacit Tuesday
Hump-Day Humor
Thrifty Thursday
Friday Frustrations
Slim-Down Saturday

I will also have messages to my students including answers to questions and extra credit opportunity (which will always be titled with KHS People)

Enjoy!

(And I LOOOOVEEE Comments!) :D

Well, I am going to try

For multiple reasons, some personal-some professional, I am going to attempt this whole blogging thing. We will see how it goes.....
Thanks to those who actually pay attention ;D