So I Was Just Thinking

Well, it has been an interesting couple of days. Let's start with today. Mondays are my busy day. I left work about 3:30 and drove over to Caitlin's school to pick her up and get her home earlier than the bus would. I do this because she has dance from 5:20 until 7:00. This gives her time to get her homework finished before class. On this particular Monday, I had to run to the post office store to mail two shirts to Gary that he left hanging to dry in the bathroom. James was dilly dallying while getting out of the car giving a woman with 500 packages the opportunity to get in front of us. This is not hyperbole. Picture the biggest gift bags you have ever seen. Multiply that by three. Stuff these bags to the gills with individual boxes. That is how much she had to send to BOSNIA!!! This didn't bother me too much though because I had plenty of time to go get Caitlin from the house. Unfortunately, the unthinkable happened. My son begins doing the peepee dance. I tell him to ho...

Have you seen me?? Or us?? These little characters have decided to take a holiday from my living room. I have no clue where in the garage they are as my husband is in charge of putting them away each year and pulling them out. All I have so far is a my fully decorated Christmas tree. So if you see these rascals wandering the highways and bi-ways, please tell them to come home. We miss them.

Being the organized woman that I am, (I hear laughter out there) I had everything ready yesterday for today's Thanksgiving meal. I tried a precooked turkey from the local grocery store. They also provided the pie. We had the traditional green bean casserole, cornbread dressing AND the best sweet potatoes that ever have graced a Rodriguez-Victory table if I do say so myself. All of these were prepared yesterday, ready to go in the oven right after the turkey. Man, I was on top of it. It made for a lovely table and a great meal. Yes, there is turkey at this meal, but it's waiting for a serving dish. James is determined to eat this leg. (Please note the clean windows and sills for my mom.) The piece de resistance should have been dessert, but my shortcut fell short...according to my five year old who begged for pie before dinner even started. I think his teacher must have talked about what you have at Thanksgiving dinner. He even ate things that would have never crossed his lips ...

I just wanted to take a moment to be thankful before I start worrying about clean houses and such. I am grateful... ...for two healthy kids ...for a roof over my head ...for a car to drive ...for a working kitchen ...for a job I love ...to be living in the best state in the US. (We will see how I feel next Thanksgiving when I live in Missouri ...that my husband was able to come home for two weeks. ...that my class size is shrinking ...for a generous mother ...for a decent camera (Took this photo Wednesday morning) ...for friends who love to chat over wings and a drink ...for short lines at the grocery store two days before Thanksgiving ...a beautiful sunrise I am sure I could go on, but this short list has already lifted my spirits and prepared me for the wonderful day that is ahead. Hope you all have a great day, especially those celebrating Thanksgiving.

THANK YOU EVERYONE who left kind words this week after my visit with my mother. She is a loving mother and would never intentionally say anything to hurt me. I think most of us are that way. Words come out and we don't realize the impact they have. I have decided to take on the another challenge from Brave Girls Club . It's a simple one...I am going to BE HAPPY, regardless of the things life throws at me. If I continually tell myself to BE HAPPY I can't help to be so. I am a good mother, a good teacher and a good friend. I keep my children and students first. (I know I should remember myself.) But their success is important to me. It is mark of what I do. I have had very successful students come back and tell me how important I was to them. It's something you don't necessarily see when you are getting on to them for using unkind words or for forgetting their homework, but everything I have done over the past 12 years has impacted someone in someway. Scripture from T...

Well, the house is still clean. (In my opinion.) I was able to invite my mother over for Gary's birthday. I baked a cake the night before and left no dirty dishes in the sink. I came home from work and iced the cake. That didn't go so well, but that was just a problem overly soft cake (tasty) and overly soft icing (yummy) pushing the cake all over the place. By the time my mom got to the house, I was feeling okay. But when we sat down, I could feel her prying eyes, noticing the finger marks on and around the light switches and the piece of wrapper my son had left on the floor. She even went on about a story of friend who had bought her son and daughter-in-law a VERY nice dining table only to have the inconsiderate DIL use it for a craft table and destroy it. She went on about how bad their carpet looked and so on. Now, I do not have the benefit having two "perfect" children as mother supposedly did. (Actually, we were just scared to do anything wrong, according to my ...

This morning Gary came home for two weeks. We went out to this place today: Skip to page 9 through 12 to see what we were doing specifically. It was fun to see the Scottish Gathering in person. I hadn't been since junior high school. The kids had a great time and Gary enjoyed himself as well. I am just going to share the pictures and a simple caption. Following the pictures will be my progress on my 21 Challenge. The day started off beautifully. This set of "clouds" followed us the whole way. There were lots of dancers dressed like this girl. This man's garb was unique compared to the rest of the Highland Visitors. (I especially love how he was color coordinated with his child's stroller.) We ate some faire food. And watched these men conduct the bagpipe players and drummers. I think that man should move. This little Scotsman stood outside the game area dreaming of the day he could toss the hammer or caber. James found a hat he liked. These pups had it made in ...

I didn't know what I was going to call this so you can name it what you want. Never have ever been more happy to see this screen: I did something silly the other day. Every time James and I would walk into the grocery store there would be a girl dressed up like a cowgirl in front of a large display of Toy Story 3 DVDs. The store was promoting the video with a giveaway of almost $15 worth of coupons when you buy the DVD. I don't usually go for those type of things so every time I passed the girl, I just said, "Sorry. No thank you." (Why do I feel I have to apologize to people who are trying to sell me things?) Anyway, James consistently would beg for me to buy the video, but I stayed firm until about a week later when I realized that the coupons that came with the video were all for things I normally buy for James' lunch like granola bars and Gatorade along with some tissues. With it being cold season, I figured it was as good a time as any to get those too. So...I...

...or to break an old one. I have a lot of old habits. I love junk food. I hate to exercise. Well, I don't hate the exercise, I just find a lot of excuses not to do it. I am not a laundry folder, a dish doer or a housekeeper. Those three get me every time. So when I saw that Rhonna Farrer was doing a 21 day challenge , I debated joining in for many reasons. I am a procrastinator. I found out about the challenge 7 days after it started. I have so many things to change, I didn't know which one to focus on. I am satisfied with the status quo. (That last one is a lie, but I tell myself that to make me feel better about doing nothing.) What if I miss my old way of doing things. Self fulling prophecies of failure. I have never finished anything (not entirely true) so I probably won't finish this, so I won't start it because then I won't have to say I failed at accomplishing something. I am sure there are more, but let's move on with this. I think I am going to work o...

...of the birthday weekend. This morning after Sunday School (we call them Connection Groups,) I ran (drove) home and changed for another day out with the kids. Before I left, packed a lunch of little sandwiches, brownies and chips with nacho cheese. On the way out of town we stopped for drinks. (James drank his before we got to our destination.) We headed to Pace Park in Salado . Sadly, massive flooding that occurred in September destroyed the beautiful park. Fortunately, the stone picnic tables were high enough not to be effected, so we were still able to eat outside. I hope they get it fixed soon. After lunch, we took some pictures and played at the playground. Then we went shopping for my birthday present. We went to Matters of the Heart where I bought a Pandora bracelet and a purple enamel charm. We followed the trip to Salado with a stop at the Sami Show in Belton. This weekend's show was supposed to be a big one, but I was a little disappointed by the turn out of vendors. ...

Today was a super day. Polar opposite from yesterday. I had to wake up early to get Caitlin to region band tryouts. She didn't want to go, but in the end, she made alternate which is better than nothing when you consider she didn't practice and didn't want to be there. Then I came home and pancakes for breakfast. Simple but yummy. Next we made brownies to be had later in the day. I threw in marshmallows and chocolate chips. Note to self, if you add marshmallows to the mix, they will dissolve into the brownies never to be seen again and will burn to the edge of the pan. Those brownies were the sweetest brownies I have ever had. Photo taken by James. Once the brownies cooled enough to be cut and placed on a plate, James and I hit the road for the World Hunger Relief Farm Day in Elm Mott - an hour and half drive. We were an hour behind my planned day, but it was okay. We made it to Elm Mott by 11:15, but I missed my exit and it was one those exits that there wasn't another...