Snow? What? Again? March 30?

And now there is SNOW! Like lots of snow. Like inches. Like I totally wasn't expecting it at all. I think the weather said a 20% chance of RAIN, so I didn't even think about it as an issue today. It started during science class when we were going to go outside for an experiment, but the wind was blowing so hard, and the kids didn't have winter coats since it was sunny this morning, so we went back in. I'm not that devoted to science!



Yesterday was non-stop all day. I worked on science prep in the morning, then walked after lunch, then went to UV, then went to Ehler's to help her with homework, then picked up Abby and EDP and took EDP home, then took Abby to dance, then went to Panera to meet Alycia and Angie. Then picked Abby up at 9:30pm and home. Whew! I was too tired to blog.



After talking to Angie and Alycia, I was thankful I had already made it through the stage they are in. I remember the extreme exhaustion, and the unpredictablility of little children (and creativity!), and the struggle to remember that I'm more than a mom--oh yeah, a wife and a person too! But the complete and total sweetness and adorableness of children that age too. It's what saves them and allows them to grow up to be older children! :)



Today I feel like everything went so fast. I had a hard time getting up as usual. Even though it was sunny. And I got stuff ready for school, went to BOW, then Abby and I decided that we should take her home so that she could go to Chipotle at 2pm for the open interviews. I took the van back to school, ate and taught. Loaded up and went to the library.



In the morning we had been looking for The Boggart book that the library said was overdue, and we couldn't find it. So when I went to the library, I found it on the shelf and took it to the desk. Got that fine off my card! But not the one for the books I forgot were due on Tuesday!



Went to GE too and I realized I only had $25 left in my grocery envelope since we get paid tomorrow. But I wanted to get a couple of things that were on sale for today, so I did and it was $26! Yay! I unloaded stuff and found out that Abby had gone to Chipotle and was told you have to be 18 to work there. Would have been nice to know that before. But it wasn't on the application, website, and no one mentioned it when she picked up an application. Oh well. She can cross that off the list.



Then we were totally lazy. I didn't walk in protest of the snow. Abby watched "Becoming Jane" and I just laid on the couch and read a little and watched the movie with her. Then I got to skype with Katie. It was late there so she typed and I talked, but it worked! And I got to see her cute hair again and her cute scarf! She mentioned this very exciting idea of maybe having Claire visit us this summer if it could work out. Wouldn't that be awesome?! It would be an honor and a privilege to host her after the kindness her family has shown to Katie this semester! We could be improving international relationships between America and France. And wouldn't Ehne Thau be excited to meet someone from France where Thomas Jefferson visited! :)



And then I made myself a grilled cheese with an apple and some whole grain chips, for dinner. I had those WITH the grilled cheese, not ON it. Now I'm blogging and Jeff got home from his meeting, and Abby should be home soon too. Tomorrow we will babysit for the youngest three Eatons while they go look at some preschools for Zakk. He's getting to be such a big boy!



So somehow I also have to prepare for history and language arts while babysitting--hmm... I got an email from Meme today and she may come to see us on Friday/Saturday. Great to have her back in driving distance. We're trying to work out Easter plans too. It's a little more complicated this year because Aunt Lisa has a wedding on the Saturday before Easter, so our usual day won't work. :( We'll figure it out though! Since I haven't talked to my hubby all day, I think I will go and talk to him now--in between Amerian Idol performances of course. Until later, dear readers!

And then there was Monday...

Sunday was a good day too. We were greeting at church and a new couple came in and wanted to go to Sunday school too--turns out they were neighbors of the Hrubys and Nathan's (Jeremiah's friend who drums with us sometimes) parents. They seemed to like it and so that was good. There were several other new couples there too. One gal from Kent State even with her boyfriend from Georgia. And I talked to the new family--James, Jenny, John, J?, and Joy--about going out for lunch or coming over for dinner. She suggested maybe we come there so their kids would have things to do. So that was encouraging--finally got their last name and a contact number/email for them. I really like Jenny--she's really friendly. Then we had a chili lunch after church which was fun. Made plans with Alycia to go out for coffee on Tuesday while Abby is at dance--we haven't been able to get together much lately, and you just can't really talk at small group. We are going to see if Angie would like to come too--if Jeff can go over and help with kiddos. It felt like I was making plans right and left with people. I told Jeff that now that I am feeling better about life and have had some time off, I could easily start overbooking myself. Like I offered to host a dinner for the leadership team next week too. And then when we went to Kent I asked Lindsay about getting together with them some evening. All great stuff, and people I want to spend time with, but I must maintain constant vigilance not to overdo it. We came home, and we were all pretty tired. Poor Hannah didn't get much rest here this weekend after a very tiring week. She had to pack, I had to ? do something? Can't remember. Then we all went for a walk, Abby went to the 620, and soon after that, we took Hannah back to Kent. We had to be there for the tech rehearsal since she was doing the "snapshot of my journey" about the trip. We were going to go and eat at the student center before church, but nothing was open except that little market and it only had snack things. It was kind of fun being able to pick out whatever we wanted since Hannah has so much money. I got iced tea, a package of PB crackers, and some jalapeno chips. Good tide-me-over until we got home and ate leftovers. Hannah did an awesome job with her talk--she had very little time to work on it and very little sleep, but she pulled it off like a pro! I like h2o--it's a very nice group of people! I had to come home and have Jeff explain how to do these function problems for the SAT class today. It feels like functions just don't stick in my head, but I did understand them better last night. As it turned out, we didn't even get to them in class, but I'm still glad I was prepared. Then I worked on the grocery list and menu until bedtime while watching "Undercover Boss." A very interesting look at many jobs and industries. Today I was super tired when I woke up, but school went well. Karen is a whirlwind of activity, and she is working diligently to get things set up well for next year. I'm so glad she's like that--she makes things happen! We had a delicious taco salad bar for lunch--mmmm. I walked after school--it's still cold, but sunny and pleasant. I had a quiet time and made chicken fried rice for dinner. No Chuck on tonight, so we're planning to watch Monk. Jeff just talked to Jason, and Angie is coming to Panera with Alycia and I, and Jeff is going over to help with the kids! How fun will that be? :) Wouldn't I love to have a nanny cam to watch the evening's activities with 4 kids and Jason and Jeff? Good thing Jeff is such a pro with little ones--and how awesome is it that he volunteered? I didn't ask--he just offered to go over and help Jason so Angie could go. He's a good man! So, that about covers things here. We did talk to the Karen girls about Little Sibs weekend, and it seems like the Eh's and Ehne Thau can all go, so that should be really fun. Hannah is a trooper for being willing to have them all there. THAT will be something they will always remember!! "Remember the time we went to stay with Hannah at college?" I haven't had any time to read or work on becentsable stuff lately, but that is to be expected with all that we had planned this weekend. Next weekend, Jeff and Abby are going to see the Civil Wars on Friday night, so I'll do that stuff then, and Abby has something on Saturday with Brandon et al so we won't be having the Karen girls over then either. But we do have small group on Saturday night. Oh, and I told them (the Karen girls) that they were going to be mad at Katie. They said, "Did she cut her hair?" Jeff showed them pictures, and they said it didn't look like Katie anymore. But they didn't seem particularly shocked or anything! Ehler did ask why she wanted to cut her hair. I just explained that she had had the same hair cut since high school, and she wanted to look more grown up now and try something different. Maybe they'll understand some day! OK, I guess that will be it for now. Until later, dear readers!

Busy, Busy Weekend!

It has indeed been a busy, busy weekend thus far. Friday I worked all day on cleaning the house and making it ready for a group of 18. I rearranged the dining room to make room for 9 adults. I was going to have the kids sit in there because they could be more squished, but I decided I really wanted the adults to be able to sit around the table all together to talk better. I figured it out after much trying of different things, and I made little place cards so that I could help people sit in the most comfortable place for them.

I also pulled (with Abby's help) the comfy chairs from the living room into the family room so that we could all sit on comfy chairs in there too instead of people having to sit on kitchen chairs. It was kind of cool actually--I just put them in front of the TV with an end table from the basement (again, with Abby's help--my "muscle woman") and the floor lamp from the living room behind the one chair. I liked it, and everyone had a nice place to sit.

And, how weird is this, all 4 of the families arrived EXACTLY at 6pm! Like they had all been waiting at the top of the street and then pulled in at 6pm on the dot! Very cool! However, Dave wasn't with Patty, so I took away a place setting. We chatted--well, THEY all chatted, and I got the food all ready to serve. We had the kids start and then it was time for the adults to start eating, but Patty said she wasn't staying to eat either. So I took away another place setting. Don't know why exactly. But we eventually all got our food, and everything was good--rigatoni, salad, bread, pineapple and grapes, brownies in the cupcake cups with little Reese's cups in them.

It was a little loud at times, but eventually all the kids went to the basement, and the adults gathered in the living room and continued chatting. I think everyone had a good time, and it was great to get to catch up with the Rohrigs. I love those guys!

We went to bed soon after everyone left and we got things cleaned up. Then this morning, Jeff took Hannah for her HepA vaccine--she's done now with that. We got to hear about her trip this week, saw some pictures, and then I made some soup and rice for the Karen girls. We went to pick them up--EDD, EDP, Ehler, BeBin, Ehne Thau, and they decided to ask PawLah to come too. It's sweet how they think of others to invite as long as there are empty seats. :)

We came home, and Abby had put the French fries in the oven, so we ate soon after that. They wanted to play outside--four square--so they did that too. It was cold (30s) but they still wanted to be outside because it was sunny and dry. Would have been lovely if it had been warmer. After lunch, I helped Ehler with some of her preschool teacher homework. Then we watched "Sky High" and the girls drew pictures too.

After the movie, Hannah showed Ehler how to do Sudoku, and I helped EhDahDoe find pictures for a project for school--just 10 pictures of things she likes--puppies, lilies, dresses, and shoes. :)

We were going to take them home after that, but they were playing spoons, Uno, and Wii, and didn't want to leave. I am always happy when they don't want to leave because I know they are happy to be here. I asked Hannah what she wanted for dinner, and she suggested Tortilla Pie, so I put that together super-fast and then we took them home. We stopped at PetsMart after we dropped everyone off and got dog food for Greta--of course for Greta--who else? :)

We ate dinner when we got home, and I made a fruit salad to take to church tomorrow for the chili lunch we're having. I was bushed after I got done with all of that! And now we're watching a very funny episode of Monk--this girl is obsessed with Monk--very funny.

"You're only human," Natalie says to Monk. "No need for name calling," says Monk. :)

OK, I guess that about wraps up the update for now. Until later, dear readers!

Some exciting events today!

The exciting news around here is that Katie got her hair cut really short, and we all love it because it is totally adorable!! I'm glad that I didn't stay awake at 4am worrying about it! See, anxiety is needless...I'm really proud of her for just doing it after thinking about it so much, and I'm really happy that she was rewarded for taking the plunge and taking a risk. My biggest fear was that she would have that horrible, regretful, disappointed feeling I have had when I went to get my hair done and had high expectations and then it didn't turn out as I envisioned. Maybe she just communicates better even in her third language than I do in my first!! :) And she found the right picture which always helps. So, bravo, Katie! Can't wait to see you and your new hair style in person! We got to see her via skype which was fun.

And just after that, I went to meet Karen about BOW stuff. That also was a good meeting. We laughed a lot--I like Karen. We decided we need a meeting with April and DeeDee (who handles the finances) because we don't really know much about the legal and financial workings of BOW. Karen knows more than I do--I just got in the loop this year really. I tried to make sure at the beginning of the meeting that she knew that I totally just want to help her, and I realize April handed it over to HER. I was just there to help since she asked. She said she hopes to work as a team. I feel like I am willing to do whatever is needed since Abby will be there for another year, and I did like teaching this year.

I hope that I have students next year though. One family is moving, Gabe won't be there, one girl will be in high school, and one family is iffy. That leaves 2 of my 6 students. So we may need to advertise too. I can only teach if I have students.

We are also planning to give a survey to the parents to see what they want for next year, and we plan to have a meeting with the parents before school starts to kind of spell out what's up with what we can do and what we need them to do. More communication about expectations and all is good.

If all goes well, I would be teaching the second half of American history, Lang. Arts with literature too, General Science, and a DR high school personal finance class. Assuming there is an interest. Karen has a pretty set amount of students who will be back, so her classes are easier to plan for, but we'll see...Last year at this time I had no idea I'd even be teaching, so much can change between now and then!!

I went for a walk after I got home, and I got the laundry done this morning. I also prepped AH and LA, and I started on SAT, but there were a LOT of problems to do, so I didn't get those done before lunch. Not sure when I will, because this weekend is busy.

I made quiche AGAIN for dinner--seems to be our Thursday night dinner. Then Abby went to see the Middle School musical--Annie--all by herself. She DROVE. To the high school. Katie and Meghan F. were running spots so they were there too. So Jeff and I went to the thrift store for about 45 mins. before it closed. I got a new (brand new) black kind of shiny material coat for winter (hopefully NEXT winter) for $7.50, two tops for $.75 and $1.00, and Jeff bought brand new shorts for $6.00. Not bad for 45 minutes of power shopping.

Then we went to Marc's for some grocery stuff--feeding a lot of people in the next couple of days. Plus we have a chili lunch after church on Sunday, so I have to take stuff for that too. The weekend of large gatherings. I was glad to get to Marc's since I didn't get to go on Tuesday when we were sick. The prices there are just so much better on some things!

Tomorrow I will need to clean and make two batches of rigatoni for the big party tomorrow night. 18 people! So excited to see the Rohrigs again. Lisa is just one of those people who encourages me and motivates me. I am so glad they are making time to spend with us. And really weirdness--there won't be any little bitty kids. Hannah and Abby, 3 Hares, Ian H., and 3 Rohrigs. All big kids now!

Hannah sounds like she had a good week, and I'm looking forward to having her home. It will be fun to hear all about her week. She'll come home to a houseful of people probably depending on timing. Saturday we're having the Karen girls over too, so that will be a busy day, but it will be fun too. She hasn't gotten to see them much this semester. I told them (EDD, EDP, ET, ET) about Little Sibs weekend, so we'll have to explain it more on Saturday.

Well, it is now after 10:30pm, and since I have so very much to do tomorrow, I suppose I should go to bed. I will sleep well knowing that Katie's hair is cut and cute, and Hannah is happy and almost home, and Abby is well, she must be something with a couple of "A's" huh? How about Abby is adorable and around safe and sound? Yeah, it's late! But it's all true! Until later, dear readers!

A kind-of normal day...weird

I feel much better today, but since it is 10pm, this will be a short post. I spent my free time this evening looking at becentsable stuff because I got my email info to sign on as an educator! I watched a couple of video demonstrations of the power points with one of the gals doing the presentation. I definitely have some things to learn, and I need to try some of the techniques they describe, but it's so much more in my "comfort zone" to learn/teach about coupons than, say, physics!! :)

But, along those lines, I got some very interesting and somewhat surprising news yesterday. Karen emailed me saying that April had called her to tell her that she wasn't going to be involved with BOW next year, and could we meet to talk about that. Oh. My. April is the heart of BOW for sure, but after talking to her today, I really admire her ability to hand over her "baby" to Karen so that she can take care of her family's needs. So, Karen and I are meeting tomorrow afternoon to talk about what that means. Karen will be in charge, and I just want to be helpful to her in whatever way I can. It should be interesting!

I got a walk in between the rain today. Actually, it rained this morning, then when we came out of BOW at 2pm, it was beautiful, but by the time we got home from GE/library, it was raining again, and even thundering a little. There was hail south of here--Holmes County had some big hail!

We watched American Idol tonight, and it was actually very good. It's a lot more jovial without Simon, and probably a lot more likely to gloss over problems with performances too, but there is some really good, unique, interesting talent.

OK, here's a quote from Linchpin for the day: Anxiety is practicing failure in advance. Anxiety is needless and imaginary. It's fear about fear, fear that means nothing....Anxiety is diffuse and focuses on possibilities in an unknown future, not a real and present threat....Anxiety doesn't protect you from danger, but from doing great things. It keeps you awake at night and foretells a future that's not going to happen.

He has some very interesting thoughts on how to deal with anxiety--to "sit with it" and not try to always reassure ourselves that everything is OK, but just to refuse to react to the anxiety and let it be there. Pretty soon, it burns itself out. It's related to the anxiety about trying something new that might fail, and how anxiety can prevent us from trying and producing something that is true art--something that produces change, that connects with others, that gives a gift to someone. This is a book I would really like us all to read and discuss. I don't agree with all of it, but it certainly has a lot of great ideas about working in a way that is satisfying and meaningful.

The buzz on the weather is the possibility of snow tonight. I'm hoping not, but it's March, so even if it does snow, it won't last too long. I really hope Hannah won't be freezing out there in the great outdoors! I wondered today if she was out in a downpour. I hope not! :)

Read Katie's blog and chatted with her a little bit. She may be getting her hair cut tomorrow--very exciting!! Praying it goes great! And glad she is done with most of her work for now!

Abby made her maiden voyage tonight to Bible study at GVUMC! All went well! Yahoo! But Erin was sad she didn't get to give Abby a ride home!

I called Ehne Thau to see if she could come over on Saturday, and I asked her if she was having a good week. She said, "Kind of. It's kind of, because my friend cussed me today." I asked if she was mad at ET, and she said, "I don't know--she just cussed me." I always feel bad for them when they have school trouble, but I guess it happens. :(

Well, I must go to bed. Laundry and working on school tomorrow, plus meeting Karen at Panera in the afternoon. Until later, dear readers!

An unexpected Tuesday at home

When I went to bed last night, I felt like I was getting sick. Chills, achy, scratchy throat, headache...When I woke up this morning, I felt a little better, but my head still hurt and I was kind of woozy--dizzy-like.

Abby felt better tummy-wise, but was still feeling woozy too.

So, by 11am, we decided we had better not go to UV. Partly because Abby couldn't teach her ballet class, and partly because I didn't feel good about driving up there feeling dizzy. So we called in and stayed home. I felt a little like I was playing hooky even though I felt legitimately sick, but I'm so used to just pushing through it and doing what needs to be done anyway, that it felt weird to say, "I'm staying home and resting." I did prepare for my science class tomorrow and then I rested in the afternoon before making dinner.

We had shepherd's pie--ground turkey with mixed veggies and cream of chicken soup with leftover mashed potatoes on top. It was quick and easy and comforting too.

I'm really liking my latest book that I've been reading: Linchpin. So encouraging to try new things and not be held back by fear or just trying to fit in. Speaking of which, Jeff and I signed me up to be a BeCentsable educator officially last night! Yay! (I can't remember if I did that before or after I blogged last night.) But I'm excited to get the info and start working on the training materials.

I got a really good email from Cheryl today about her brother-in-law, Tom. He is doing well after surgery last week to remove a brain tumor. Although it is cancer, and he will have to go through chemo and radiation, they have seen God work in amazing ways in his stay at the hospital. So, please keep praying for him and their whole family. They are a great example of family coming together to provide love and support and help, and of trusting God in all the things life brings.

Read Hannah's new blog today, and I'm encouraged that she is doing something to make a change for a cause she believes in. According to Seth Godin in Linchpin, that is art. Art is doing something to make a difference, make connections, cause a change in the people who receive it, break the status quo. With that definition, we are all capable of creating art in any field or area or job or situation. Very interesting concept! Go, Hannah!

I also hope the spring break trip is going well for Hannah and company. The weather hasn't been too bad so far this week--here at least, and they aren't that far away.

Hope Katie's paper-writing is going well too. Praying for everyone's stuff!!

Abby is working hard on filling out and handing in applications for jobs. I'm praying for great jobs for all of you girls this summer! And maybe I can get BeCentsable off the ground too.

Well, my eyes are tired and my head is heavy, so I think I will go and lie down. Even though it is darker, and it rained this afternoon a little, the birds are singing, and it still feels like spring. But it was a good afternoon to be able to rest. I didn't feel like I was missing out on being outside on a lovely day.

So, until later, dear readers!

The First Day of Spring--For Real

Today felt like the first day of spring--for real. It was breezy, warm, sunny, and just felt like a real spring day--more like May at the end of finals week when you look around and notice there are leaves on the trees, and think, "Wow, when did THAT happen?"

I will try NOT to think about the weather forecast for snow at the end of the week....I will NOT think about snow... I will NOT....

We did notice that our neighbor across the street who had the snowman up on her door took down the snowman and replaced it with a spring wreath. We were wondering if she was strict about waiting until the first day of spring to change it, and well, maybe she is! I wasn't watching to see if she changed it at 7:21pm Sunday night when spring officially arrived!

Before we went to school today, we stopped at Target and got treats for my students since all of them got a 100% on their history tests. It was good we did too, because the history lesson today was long, but they stayed with me, didn't look drowsy, asked good questions, and were a generally terrific class.

However, I did an "uh-oh" last week that I just realized this week. Karen lets me borrow her projector for science on Wed. and we pack it up and put it in the closet and lock it over the weekend. Today she came in and asked if I had gotten out her projector this morning. I said no. She said she couldn't find it, so I went with her to look. We thought maybe someone had taken it out of the closet over the weekend which would be very strange. When we went into the room, there it was where I often set it before putting it away...After thinking about it, I had been helping a student with questions--the one who said I told them all the wrong answers to the study guide questions--yeah, that was stressful...

And the boys were putting away the tables so Abby was putting away my stuff and took the projector in the other room to keep it from getting knocked around, as we always do, but I had never gone in there to finish putting it away and locking the cabinet, so there it sat all weekend....thankfully, it worked fine and no one had bothered it at all. And thankfully, Karen is very understanding, gracious, and forgiving. She said, "I'd much rather it be you forgetting something of mine, than me forgetting something of yours. Isn't that selfish of me?" (laughing). So, all's well, and now I'll (hopefully) never forget again. We'll have a system of making sure it gets where it needs to go! We've done so well all year...

That's something that would really have bothered me in the not-so-distant past. I would have felt like a "bad person" for not being responsible for something so important to someone else. But even though I did feel bad about it, I didn't let it go beyond apologizing and making sure I do better in the future. Everyone makes mistakes, and it certainly wasn't intentional!

So, after school we went to the banks to transfer money for Katie, and Abby picked up some job apps. Her tummy has been hurting today/tonight--hope she's feeling better tomorrow.

I took a walk when we got home, had a quiet time, and then looked at the BeCentsable website to see about the educator idea again. And what I found was quite exciting!!

They have changed it so that instead of paying $250 to sign up and then getting free registrations to "pay you back," now you just pay $39 and don't have to pay them for registrations any more. They just changed it in February!! I'm so glad we decided to wait until after Jeff's bonus arrived, and now that cost is so much less, and it's so much less complicated too. You can charge whatever you want and keep all the money for classes. So, tonight I signed up!! Yay!! Looking forward to seeing what it's like. It will take a couple of days to get the info.

We watched Chuck. Very interesting...Now we have to wait for 2 weeks until the next one.

And now I am tired. My eyes hurt--sunshine, wind, and spring stuff...And I have been ready to go to bed since 9pm! But I made it until 10pm, so now there's nothing stoppin' me from crashing in my leetle beddy-by. So, until later, dear readers!

A Boring, Un-clever Title

I'll try to make the title of this post boring and un-clever to prevent post posting punish-ing.

:)

It has been a much more pleasant day than I expected weather-wise after listening to the forecast last night. The weather girl said the morning would be nice, but it would rain in the afternoon. It's 6pm and still nice. So we got to walk after lunch and that makes me happy!

Sundays always go so fast. We were at church from 8:45am-12:45am so that was a lot of our day. But then we came home and I unloaded the dishwasher and started lunch. I did an uncharacteristic thing and ran the dishwasher with a not-full load last night simply because we used up all of our silverware and most of our cups. We usually use all of the plates too with having small group, but because we had chili, we used disposable bowls--I just don't have enough for soup AND salad for almost 20! So much better than washing it all by hand, and I'm sure just about as economical and all.

Kayla came home with us from church so she and Abby could work on the flag for Space Pirates vs. Navi. It looks cool--splatter paint! Nice enough outside to paint it out there, and now it's drying on the dining room table. We had grilled cheese for lunch, potato chips and fruit with some leftover pop from last night. It was a very satisfying lunch with lots of salt and fat and comfort food. Not something I can do every day, but I thoroughly enjoyed it!!

We walked after that and skyped with Katie for a little while. Always good! She has met some interesting people and has now been in Tours for long enough to "run into" people she knows at the park, etc. And only one more week of regular classes. Then two weeks of some other class(es)? and then Spain! That will be exciting too. If she were just at home and getting ready to go to Spain in a couple of weeks, that would be super exciting! But now that she's in France already, it seems like just another leg of the journey--until you think that "she's going to SPAIN!!"

And while we were talking, Jeff took K and A to the 620 stuff, then we sorted music into the folders--there was much music, and Jeff took it upon himself to put it all in order--thanks, Honey!!

Then I made a frozen pizza (yes, we are going all out on good nutrition today!) and sent it on plates for the three of them to eat when they get to church. Dinner on Sunday night is always tricky, and when Abby is gone at 4pm, there's no time to eat. So, at least it's something besides just the chips and pop that is the snack at youth group.

I worked on the grocery list and menu, am blogging, and will next eat my two pieces of pizza for dinner. Then I need to have a quiet time, review stuff for school tomorrow and get things packed up. I was telling Jeff that teaching on Monday has really affected my view of Sunday night. It's really hard to be gone all evening, come home at 8:30pm and have to do the school review and packing then. So he has graciously agreed to me staying home and he goes with Abby and helps out as needed at youth group. Plus, I don't feel like I serve any purpose when I go to YG now. When we went before when the Eatons were leading, I felt like I was supporting them and helping them. Plus we were going to LT in the summer, so it was good to know the kids, etc. Now I just feel unnecessary. So it's even harder to go and feel unnecessary and then have to come home and do all of that other stuff.

Andrew has said he can go to LT this year, now we just need a female leader to go. There are only 4 boys and 2 girls signed up so far, so one leader of each should be sufficient. Of course, the two girls are Abby and Kayla, and they don't really want their moms to come--and we just happen to be the female leaders who went last year. So, I'm praying that someone else can go. It would be good for all involved.

Mike's message today was really good. He's been teaching about the Sermon on the Mount, and today was "Ask, Seek, Knock..." and he focused on our view of God and how He answers our prayers. How sometimes God's answers may SEEM like a rock instead of bread, but they never are. He used the clip from Charlie Brown's Halloween TV show--I guess that's something about the Great Pumpkin--where they all go trick or treating and look in their bags after every house: "I got a candy bar!" "I got a popcorn ball!" "I got 5 pieces of candy!" CB every time: "I got a rock!"

It was a very thought-provoking way of looking at things that we consider "rocks"--mourning, being poor, persecuted, etc. In the Beatitudes, Jesus says we're blessed in those things, and so maybe they aren't rocks after all. Bread isn't always material possessions or "blessings" that we tend to think of--sometimes those things are actually the "rocks" in our lives. Just depends on how you see God--as a loving Father who wants us to ask because He loves to give to us or a commander, slave-driver.

He also brought in the prodigal son story to show how the father in that story loved both of his sons, but the older one's words when the younger one came back, showed that he viewed his father in the wrong way: "Look! I've slaved away for you and obeyed all your commands, and you never even gave me a young goat to celebrate with my friends." He saw his father as a slave-driver and a commander, and one who wouldn't even give him a skinny young goat, but then killed the "fattened calf" for his wayward brother.

The father's words show the feeling of "what are you talking about?" when he says, "You have always been with me, and all that I have is yours." Basically--it's ALL yours and all you had to do was ask. So, Mike was saying that we need to believe this about God--that it's all His, and that He chooses to share it with us in the way that is best for us, and He would rather have us ask Him for anything that feel like He's not generous and loving.

That's all my paraphrase--watch the video--it's much better. But it's an encouraging thought that we can always ask and keep asking and trust that God will give what is good!

OK, long enough post for one day! Don't want anyone giving up or falling asleep! Until later, dear readers!

Post-"party" post!

Whew! Just finished cleaning up from small group, so this will be quick cause it's after 10pm. Such a zoo! So many people and kids and noise and confusion, but such nice people! I really like spending time with them even if it's zoo-y.

We worked on the budget this morning, Abby had a sleep-over with Katie Fuller last night, we took a walk after lunch, and it was time to take Hannah to Kent to leave for the spring break trip. So, we're praying they have a good time and that it's a good week. I'm sure there will be hard things, but praying God gives much grace.

Then we had about an hour to make salad and get ready for small group. Thankfully, all I had to do was make salad and iced tea, and get the plates, etc together. We had two kinds of chili and broc/cheese soup that others brought. Delish!

Then a discussion amidst babies cooing/crying/babbling...The Eaton girls are really attached to Mom and Dad right now, so they didn't get much of a break. But they are cute as ever!

Then cleaning up, unclogging a toilet, trying to plan the next study and food before everyone left, wiping off all the sticky stuff, vacuuming the living room again (thanks, Jeff). And now it's time to go to bed. Because we have to go early for music. I think Kayla is coming home with us after church and going to youth group later too.

So, I must go to bed now. I simply must. But I just wanted to check in first! Until later, dear readers.

Soaking in the Sun!

Wow, I didn't blog Wed. or Thurs.--how strange. What was I doing? Wed. was school, and a walk, and of course after school the usual GE, bank, library errands. Then dinner and I think I just forgot in the evening. I'm pretty tired on Wednesdays after school and shopping and I think I zoned out!

Thursday was indeed a lovely day weather-wise. 60 degrees and sunny! So, I worked on history and language arts and SAT prep in the morning and early afternoon. I walked and had a quiet time, had to make dinner "on time" because I went to Linda's for Bible study in the evening at 6:45pm and it's hard to eat and clean up and get there by then. Got home after 9:15pm and again, I was tired. Nothing extremely eventful happened either, so you didn't miss much really!

Today it is beautiful again!! It started out cloudy which made for awesome sleeping in weather. I got up at 8:15am and Abby at about 9am! I still felt like I could have slept longer, but really, I DID have things to do!

I cleaned the house while talking to Meme for part of the time. I did all of the dusting and sweeping of the floors while I talked, and then I just had the bathrooms and vacuuming to finish afterward. We ate leftover quiche for lunch--still having it almost once a week. And I just happened to make a Toll House pie last night too since I was making pie crust. Our quiche habit could make us fat, since it often leads to another pie for dessert!! (The pie was mysteriously left uncovered last night, so I hope it isn't stale tonight when we have it for dessert when Hannah comes home!)

I checked some of Abby's Geometry since I don't do that regularly enough. Next, I plan to go for a walk, and have a quiet time, and make dinner. Jeff is picking Hannah up after work because she had some writing to do for a paper that she thought she could do better there. So that will work out fine, because I can make dinner and have it ready when they get home. Planning on making RedHot chicken and mashed potatoes.

I also need to go to Target soon because I'm out of OJ and almost out of coffee filters!! I'm actually making coffee enough that I'm using them up!

I started reading this book called "Linchpin" by Seth Godin. This too will go on the must-read list for Summer Yackley Life Training!! The last chapter I just read was about how our country trains people to be cogs in a machine through public schools and how there is such a need for people to be taught to answer questions and to be leaders. The linchpin idea is that it's the indispensable part that holds everything together in any organization, and how to really be successful, there needs to be more of them--not just one. It's a book about work and jobs and yet so much more--thinking about creativity and art (not just how we traditionally think of art--but creating something unique in any field) and that everyone can do it in some way.

So, don't let school kill the desire to do something unique with your lives--you don't just have to fit in and do what everyone else does. Especially when you add GOD to the equation (which he doesn't even mention in the book), you have the potential to do something truly amazing--because God has truly amazing plans for each of you! I'm thinking that starting a school that actually teaches children to think and engage and be creative would be an awesome thing to do! But maybe that's just the "Marmie" in me! :)

So, we are looking forward to having Hannah home for a short visit before she leaves again on the spring break trip. Praying that all goes well, and that she has lots of fun and good weather and conversations too!

So happy that Abby passed her driving test!! Yay!!

So happy that Katie passed the DELF!! Yay!!

We have much to be thankful for! So, until later, dear readers!

A middle-of-March post

Thanks for the awesome comments on my last blog...Abby and her Russian accent crack me up every time! And Kaite's ideas for keeping my classes awake are great--I think I will make them stand up and stretch if it happens again. Funny too, that the 2:30 girl was most excited to hear about France if you come to talk to them--be sure to throw in that leetle fact about profs keeping you late if they want to! :)

I did email the mom of the one boy, and she said he 'fessed up in the car on the way home, so she had talked to him about it being disrespectful to not be paying attention. AND she said she'd make sure he gets to bed a little earlier on Sunday nights. All of which will be most helpful, I'm sure.

Please be praying for the Klines' brother-in-law/uncle who had surgery this week. It was serious and he needs our prayers. So hard. Give Erin a hug if you see her, Hannah! They haven't been "public" about things on facebook, so we only know because Mike texted Dad, so I won't say a lot either until they do, but just pray...

So, today I had a very hard time waking up. When I was falling asleep last night, I felt like I might be getting sick--chilling, sore throat, headache/burny eyes. So, I just "slept in" until 8amish--which still felt like 7am even though I went to bed at 10:30pm (which only should have felt like 9:30pm, but somehow it felt like 10:30!). I still had a headache, but as the day went on, I felt better. So, no sore throat/cold or anything today, thankfully.

Abby got to go to Panera with KtF this morning, so that was a nice treat. I was just finishing getting ready when she got home because she left before I was out of bed! It was OGT week, so KtF didn't have to be at school until a little bit later.

I worked on science prep today--and it was finally something I understand/actually know something about! Atoms, atomic number, the Bohr model! Yay!! I don't think I realized how difficult it was to prepare for those physics chapters when I really didn't have any background in those topics until I did this stuff today and just had to refresh my memory, not actually LEARN it myself! So, hopefully I will do a better job of teaching it too.

I finished a book called "Tribes" by Seth Godin about leadership, and I started another book called "The Question Behind the Question" by John Miller. Both of them were convicting to me about not complaining about others doing or not doing their jobs, but being a leader and making things better myself. What I read today in the QBQ book talked about not asking the incorrect questions (IQ) of why aren't they doing their job? Why did this happen? Who is going to fix this? Instead we should ask How? and What? questions: How can I make this better? What can I do to improve the situation?

Even though I would like my students to WANT to learn and all, I need to not blame them for their behavior, but just focus on what I can do to make the environment better to learn in. No pity parties, no blaming. Focusing on my actions to improve things as much as possible.

But that takes more work....and there you have it...why most people keep asking the IQs!

Abby and I ate our delicious veggie burgers for lunch, and then it seemed in no time it was 2:30pm and time to leave for UV again. It was rainy and cold today, so I didn't walk. I felt it too, after sitting all morning to work on school and all afternoon at UV. By the time I got to Marc's to shop very quickly, my leg/back were very tight, but hopefully tomorrow will be drier.

When I got home, Jeff and David (a friend of Dad's from long ago who hosted our web site for many years) were sitting at the kitchen table talking. That is so like guys. They went to Panera for dinner and then came here to talk more. Girls would have stayed at Panera all night! I'm glad I got to see him too though. He's been through so much and is a very interesting man. I did wish I had known they were coming here though--we always leave in a hurry on Tuesdays and the house wasn't perfectly cleaned up. But I guess it was OK. The big things were OK--no piles of dishes in the sink--just books out, school stuff, the usual everyday clutter of life.

So, now Jeff went to pick up Abby, and they should be home soon, and then I guess it's time for bed again. I was going to do the grocery list and menu tonight, but I ran out of time and would rather blog any day. I was thinking about starting another blog about my process of figuring out what to do with my life--just to help me clarify my thoughts and have a place to record what I'm learning, etc. It feels like I just can't do it fast enough writing in my journal--my hand gets tired of writing after I've written my usual stuff and then try to write anything extra. But, I'm afraid it would be lost in the shuffle of life too. For this blog I have a reason to write--to keep my family updated on life here. And that has a daily-ness to it that another blog might not. And then if I missed days, I may never go back to it....It would be interesting if I could have other people read and comment on it--so maybe I should just find a blog someone else is already writing about that topic and read and comment on theirs! We shall see. (Did you know that apparently, from my Grammar book, it is proper to say "I shall" instead of "I will"? But since no one does, it's accepted to say "I will"--how nice of them to accept it!)

The middle of March is here! The Karen girls were asking me today if spring is here and if it will snow any more. Hmm...Almost and probably! But Thursday is supposed to be sunny and 60 degrees. Great way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day! So, until tomorrow, dear readers!

Good start to the week...

I don't know why I always think of starting with the weather for the day, but it seems that is what sets the stage for everything or something. We've had such note-worthy weather, that I guess it just IS news almost every day! So, today it was sunny and chilly, but not winter coat weather when I took a walk this afternoon. Such an improvement!

Dad was up a LOT last night for work, so he set the alarm for 7:30am instead of 7:00am which is when I usually get up on Mondays, but it actually worked out fine. I must have needed the extra half hour of sleep too. It STILL felt like 6:30am and not like sleeping in.

We got to school in good time, and April was in the kitchen making soup and bread with the cooking class. That was all I saw of her though today because she went to the hospital to see her mom after that. Her kids weren't there because they are in Florida visiting relatives.

My classes went OK, although I think the time change was hard on the kids too. In my morning classes the two boys were falling asleep--one had said he got up at 5am to work on a project for school. Since that is like 4am to his body, I can understand being tired, but STILL! I bugged them about staying awake for a while and then just ignored the droopy eyes. When you're that tired, I guess it's just too hard to look alert. We did watch the Schoolhouse Rock version of the Preamble though, so there was something fun. And we watched a two year old boy reciting the preamble--if he can do it, so can they! But I don't think I'll make them.

Then graded papers and finished those before lunch, ate the delicious soup and bread, and then reviewed my info for the SAT math class. Advanced Arithmetic. Good stuff, but again, one of the girls is just so ready to get out of there, that she isn't very attentive. When I asked for the answer to "What do you need to add to 3/4 to get to 1?" She raised her hand excitedly and said, "2:30?" Because it was about 2:30 and time for class to be done. NOT the best way to make the teacher want to let you out on time or early...So I made them stay a couple of minutes late and do the rest of the chapter. Not really on purpose. I was planning to do that anyway, but it did kind of irritate me. Especially since a couple of the kids were pretty slow getting in and sitting down for class, so we didn't start on time. Thank goodness for Abby and Carrie in that class! The other boy who usually sticks with me wasn't there today either.

Oh well, I can't expect everyone to be excited about learning how to do better on the SAT. Even though Abby gave a good sales pitch before class about how the things in this chapter helped her a lot on the SAT on Saturday, still, there will be those who just don't care...

We came home and Abby left to babysit, and I went for a walk. Sans dog. Then came home and took her down the street. She wasn't ready to come home yet, so we went down and back up again. I made veggie burgers for dinner, we cleaned up, and Jeff and Abby went for a walk too. I had a quiet time while they were gone. And now blogs and Chuck is about to start.

Hannah had a crisis averted today when she realized she needed tissue paper for a project and forgot to get it when she was home. But thankfully, Emily came through with a ride to the store tomorrow. Yay, Emily! Yay, Hannah, for asking her! Dealing with life is part of going to college, because life is full of problems to be solved. Life is so lifey sometimes! Indeed!

OK, I will be praying more for my girls. I know it gets hard this time of year with wanting to be done with school, the weather getting nicer, and just plain spring fever/sick of schoolness. So, I will be praying, but I would just encourage all of you to be working hard and finishing strong. We've got some spring breaks coming up, and Katie is almost ready to wind down with her classes. We will have some break time--we will! Just hang in there, girls!!

I started looking at the syllabus today with my classes and reminding them of the same thing. Everyone needs to see the end is in sight around now I think. Me too!

Oh, speaking of which, I was wondering if Katie and Hannah would be willing to come to the SAT class on the last day (May 9) and answer questions about college. I thought that would be a fun thing to do on the last day, and when I mentioned it today as a possibility, they seemed excited about the idea. I would have them think of questions ahead of time so we would hopefully have enough to talk about. But if it's a fun discussion, they'll talk plenty. It's only when it's answering questions that they are too quiet!

Well, I think that's about it for now. Chuck and Sarah are going to "Roosia"--and there was a "leetle Roosian clown car" according to Abby. She's really into the Russian accent--see what you've created Katie!! :) It's actually very funny! Until later, dear readers!

Sleepy Time Change Sunday!

Today it was hard to wake up at what felt like 6:30am. We went to bed at 10pm then turned the clock ahead to 11pm. But after I was up it was OK.

I was scheduled for the nursery, but no kids showed up. Guess no one was able to get there at 9:30am after the time change. So I got to go to church instead.

We were also supposed to have a new member's class/lunch after church, but no one was interested in attending, so we just came home. Kinda good because our afternoon was short enough as it was. We made sausage/pierogies/peppers/onions for lunch and then talked to Katie while it was finishing cooking! Short but sweet chat, then lunch. Then we cleaned up the kitchen and cleaned out the frig for trash day tomorrow. Very exciting!

We walked this afternoon and it was colder than yesterday, but walking helps my back/leg muscles feel so much better. I was even walking more up to speed than yesterday.

We had to leave around 4:30pm to get Hannah back to Kent and have time to eat. We dropped off her stuff and then went to the Hub and ate Chinese. The line was short when we went up, but it ended up taking a long time to actually get our food. So poor Hannah had to eat kind of fast. I ate part of mine but was full pretty fast, so I had time to eat. I also got a DRINK! That's what filled me up. I wanted to get iced tea, but it was empty, so I got pop and all those bubbles....

We dropped Hannah off at Bowman and went to the Slacks to watch those adorable kids! And we saw Bryce for the first time too. Such a sweet little baby! The kids were very cute. Carter had a list of things to do with Mr. Jeff. And Jeff said something about his list having "take a nap" on it. That worried Carter a little bit, but we went up to their room when Lindsay left to look at books. I read to Maddie, and Jeff and Carter looked at a couple of things, then Jeff said, "OK, now we'll get to my agenda." He laid down and Carter walked on his back for a little bit. Then Carter said, "MY agenda is to go and play Wii!" So funny how he uses big words! Correctly too! Maddie was happy to sit on my lap and watch them play Wii, and that was fine with me!

Lindsay got home around 7:30pm to feed Bryce, so we left earlier than usual. Abby got home just after we did. She and Erin were in charge of the 620 tonight because Brandon was out of town. Jeremiah and Kayla came too and Jer. helped Abby with music. Very nice.

Greta has this spot on her eye by that big bump that was bleeding today. I think she must have rubbed it when she was rubbing her ears on the carpet. It looks a little better tonight, but it's concerning...do we take her to the vet? What will they say? Should we just let it go and see if it heals? Again with the decision-making problems! I always feel like things should heal on their own--God made us to heal, but it is a spot where she has the potential to keep it irritated.

To answer Katie's question about UV internships: Jeff did say that he has a big job for someone to do, and he has a job description which he will email us. It's to take all ~20 grade cards for the teens in the program, see what areas they are weak in, and then design something for each individual kid to improve those areas. Not sure if you'd be interested in that, but there is also volunteering for helping with phonics for many of the older kids who are still not reading well or at all. That's going on M-F from 12-4pm in 1/2 hour time slots, and volunteers can choose when to come I think. They haven't really said that to all the volunteers; Jeff just filled us in on that. You could email Rodney again, or I can email Jeff and remind him about the job description.

So, tomorrow begins another week. I prepared for my classes, but I hope I remember what I prepared! Hopefully it will come back to me. I think April will be back, and that will be good. It feels like, "MOM will be at school tomorrow! Yay!" She does seem like the Mom of the school, and it doesn't feel right when she's not there. She COOKS! And makes it SMELL good! And she cares so much about everyone. What a nice person!

Hope everyone has a good first day of the week! Praying for my girls and hubby! Until later, dear readers!

Snow: Now you see it, Now you don't.

Let's see, Friday? Oh yeah. Snow. Lots of it. No school in Green. But really it was OK by later morning. But still, more snow was a total bummer. It would have been absolutely gorgeous in December because the snow piled up on the branches an inch or more thick, so everything was so white. Sadly, I just couldn't bring myself to really fully enjoy or appreciate it in March.

Thankfully, though, we were still able to do all that we had planned, and since there was no school, Abby didn't have to babysit in the afternoon. That meant that we went to UV to talk to Mr. Jeff about the internship offer and what it entails, and then she could go with me to Kent to pick up Hannah. Good thing because Hannah had lots of laundry after three weeks! We needed another PackYack! And the roads were all clear because it wasn't very cold.

There is a lot involved in the internship, and the hard thing about it is that it's really only for about 3-4 weeks of the summer. So, it's not enough hours to count as a real job, but it makes it hard to get a real job and then try to work in all the things they want her to do. No decisions yet, but we're thinking we'll have to plot it all out on a calendar and see if it's all possible. And then of course she would have to get another job if she can find one. Pray!

We had chicken divine and cheesy potatoes for dinner last night, then watched A Beautiful Mind for our evening's entertainment. Very interesting movie every time.

Today Abby got up bright and early for the SAT. She and Jeff left around 7:15am. She thinks it went pretty well--so we'll be continuing to pray for that too.

The rest of us slept in some--Jeff and I went back to bed after he got back from dropping Abby off. That seems cruel when she was taking a test, but she didn't know we were all nestled snug in our beds with visions of--well, not sugar plums--maybe sunshine and flowers though. We had coffee and Oreos (Hannah and I did) and talked about her schedule a little and her spring break trip. Good to catch up a little. But it went too fast and then she had to run up to Panera to talk to Ben about a job for the summer. He gave the usual, "Call back in mid-April," answer, but did say they could probably give her 20 hours, so that seems hopeful.

Abby and Jeff got home around 1pm, we ate lunch--provided by the Peters--a very large sub they got last night at a party and couldn't eat all of it. Then we debated the schedule and how to fit in a walk, a shopping trip to get Hannah what she needs for the spring break trip, and a movie and making dinner too. We were going to just have Jeff and the girls go to the movie, and I would walk and make dinner, but Hannah said she'd rather have family time all together than something bigger for dinner. Aww...thanks, Hannah!

So we went for a walk, and oh, yeah, the snow is mostly all gone. It was 60 degrees on our thermometer, and the 4-5 inches of snow we got on Friday is all gone by Saturday afternoon. Everything is a muddy mess, but the snow is gone. For that I am thankful!

We had a little time to read, do homework, and nap briefly (when Greta wasn't barking), and then we went to see Tangled in 3D. VERY good movie! Abby is asking for it for her birthday, and I'm glad! It was well done and especially enjoyable because of Zachary Levi--lots of Chuck-like things!

Then we went to the Wal-Mart at the Strip, got Hannah's stuff and came home and had leftovers for dinner. I did make pudding for dessert so we'll have something new and special for our treat. But we ate dinner so late that it seems too late for pudding. Especially when we have to turn the clocks ahead already tonight. Oh well. I'm sure we'll still enjoy the pudding!

So, it's been a good day. Always goes too fast. A "free" Saturday should seem long and lazy and with plenty of time to do many things. But we never looked at the budget for the bonus money--we did get Abby's Kohl's scholarship nomination done which took a chunk of time in the morning. But we did have a good time doing what we did, and so that is enough!

Hoping we can skype with Katie tomorrow afternoon. Sunday afternoons always go too fast too. What is it with weekends flying by? Being content...that is a trick sometimes! So, until later, dear readers!

The frig lives!

Here's the update on Refrigerator Revival--indeed our prayers have been answered and there WAS one! Whew! Jeff spent many hours learning about refrigerators and figuring out what was wrong, what needed to be done, and then this morning when the stores were open, he went and got the part. And he FIXED it! He just never ceases to amaze me with his ability to problem-solve and figure things out. What a guy! I'm so thankful that for $79 (one tenth the cost of a new refrigerator), he got it running again. It was a fan that stopped working that blows the cold air from the freezer into the refrigerator. That's why it was cold in the freezer, but not cold enough in the refrigerator part.

Our food that was on ice in coolers stayed cold enough, and so we didn't have to throw anything away. Well, we DID throw a LOT of food away. Yes, there was some old stuff buried in the freezer upstairs. It was the bottom foundational layer that kept everything on top from sliding off and out the door, you know. :) I'd really like to keep it like it is right now. All clean and shiny with empty spaces between things. But when we cleaned out the basement freezer a few months ago, I said the same thing. When I went down there to look for some Cool Whip, it was filled to the brim again. Oh my. As Ehne Thau says, "Why do you have so much food?" Maybe I'm better at BUYING the food than COOKING it? Hmm...I think I'm still in 5 people to feed mode instead of three, and even the three of us only eat all together Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday really. So, I will have to use what we have and rethink my purchasing choices. And then summer will come and there will be 5 of us to feed again! Which will greatly help to clean out our stockpile! :)

So, Jeff was home all day even though he finished the frig repair in the early afternoon. He worked from home in the afternoon and still is this evening. A bonus of having a broken frig--getting to have my hubby home! Sorry he has to make up the time, but really thankful he can take the time when needed to solve a crisis.

And he got his bonus deposited in our account--looks like we get to have a "Budget Committee Meeting" on Saturday! I have a feeling I'm thinking "Baby step=college fund" and he's thinking, "VACATION!" Nerd vs. Free Spirit. We have a great "checks and balances" built into our system here at the Yackley house. So glad we can discuss it and come to an agreement--I'm sure there will be a little of each!

Got to SEE Katie today! Well, skype see. That was nice--I miss that girl! I'm trying not to wish this semester away, but I will be glad when she's home, and Hannah's home, and we get to see each other and be all together for a little while. And maybe we'll have some nice weather by then. That would be great too!

Another totally rainy day with the forecast of a winter storm watch tonight into tomorrow which may bring us a lovely 4-8 inches of snow according to Dick Goddard's best guess. Ugh. This was weird. Today I was sitting on the couch in the living room reading/having my quiet time, and I looked across the street and saw our neighbor's door that still has a snowman on it. I said to Jeff (Abby was gone babysitting), "They need to take that snowman off their door! This is why we are still having so much snow! It's all their fault!"

So, later, after Abby got home from babysitting, out of the blue she says, "Our neighbors need to take that snowman off their door! It's all their fault that it's still snowing!" Jeff got this look on his face and said, "You guys are so weird!" Good to know that Abby isn't ALL like Jeff! Sometimes she thinks like me. But on the very same day within hours of each other? Weird, indeed!

So, I really hope it doesn't snow too much because Abby is supposed to go to UV tomorrow to talk to Mr. Jeff about the internship idea, and then of course, I REALLY want to be able to go and get Hannah ASAP. So, I guess we will wait and see. Maybe it's all hype and it won't really happen.

I made a chocolate pie since I was making quiche for dinner and making pie crust. And I tried using regular milk (again trying to use up the older milk--it's like the gallon that won't end), so we'll see if it's weird or not. It looks a little different, but I've always wondered if evaporated milk was really necessary in case I got in a pinch. So, it's an experiment. I'm guessing that chocolate chips, sugar, milk, butter won't taste TOO bad!

Just watching AI results show--a video of the finalists in the mansion. We must be old because all we could think about was them jumping on the bed, dragging their suitcases up the hardwood floors, playing football in the living room, and hoping the owners have enough money to fix it up after they leave! :) We're such parents!

Today all I did really was finish preparing for Language Arts and SAT class, read a little in between loads of laundry, and put food back in the frig and freezer, and made dinner. Kinda lazy. But kinda nice too. I did finish "What Should I Do With My Life?" though, and it was a really good view into SO many peoples' lives and realize that many of the decisions we agonize over because we think they are so permanent, may not be. We do the best we can to follow what God directs us to do, but sometimes He may direct us one way, which leads to another way in a different direction, and so on. I'm very thankful to have God though. Reading about all of those people who were mostly NOT focused on God, I can't imagine going through life like that. So thankful for a relationship with Jesus!

OK, I guess that's the day in a very large nutshell! Macadamia! :) So, until later, dear readers!

We knew it couldn't last...

Two sunny days in a row are all Ohio can manage at this time of year. Today it rained, and rained, and rained some more. Abby said it finally stopped now that it's 7:35pm. But it was officially gross earlier when we were going to school, the library, the bank, GE. The wind blew the rain right into our faces. We were pretty wet getting the groceries into the car.

But now we've been home and dealing with appliance drama #3! Yes, we've made it through the Oven Ordeal, the Furnace Fiasco, and now...the Refrigerator Revival--at least I hope that's how it turns out (and not the Refrigerator Replacement). I'm prayin' for a revival! Can I get an Amen?!

I knew something wasn't quite right earlier this week when I went to get ice, and it was all stuck together. We had used a lot of ice Saturday when we had the Karen girls over and then small group. So it had refilled on Sunday, but on Monday it was all stuck. Like it had melted slightly and re-frozen. I dumped it out thinking maybe the door hadn't been sealed right or something. But yesterday, the new ice was kind of stuck too, and there wasn't very much of it.

Then today when I was getting breakfast and stuff, I could tell it wasn't as cold as it should be. My OJ in the door was bad, and the "frozen" concentrate in the freezer wasn't--frozen. So I called Dad and let him know and he came home early from work to see if he can figure out what's wrong. He tried sweeping off the coils, but that didn't really help.

Eventually, he and Abby went to Target to get a refrigerator/freezer thermometer (Mrs. Jones's idea) to see if it was really too warm. Yeah, 50 degrees in the frig is too warm. On the upside, he found the receipt from when we bought it. Good news and bad news. Good news: It had a 5 year warranty. Bad news: We bought it almost 6 years ago. Good news: We bought an extended 10 year warranty. Bad news: We aren't sure what that covers exactly.

When Jeff came home from dropping Abby off at her Bible study, he got a large bag of ice, and we put stuff in coolers with ice in the garage. The dairy products especially. The fruit and veggies will be OK. Of course, it's in the 40s today, but maybe it will be cold enough overnight to keep everything safe to eat. We do NOT want to have to add the "Food Poisoning Frenzy" to our list of dramatic events.

So, now Abby is home, and Jeff is taking everything out of the upstairs freezer so that he can get to the back inside to see if something is working or not. He's found some unidentifiable items, some meat that had a "92" written on it--to which he said, "I hope this is the 'percent lean' number and not the year." Yes, thankfully it was the percent lean number. I did NOT move meat from our last house and still have it in the freezer! 19 year old meat! Yikes!

I've been trying not to be anxious after Mike's Very Encouraging Message on Sunday about Matthew 6--Do not be anxious about what you will eat or what you will drink. If you haven't heard it, you should listen to it. It was the most helpful way of thinking about that passage that I have heard. Very applicable to now since what we eat and drink is in our frig. And very much like me to be anxious about when something doesn't work. I don't know why it bothers me so...is it the concern that it will cost money to fix/replace it? Is it the concern that the food will spoil? Is it the upheaval that it causes in our lives as we figure out what to do? Is it the not knowing what to do? I think a little of all of those things.

I don't remember anything breaking at our house when I was growing up, so I don't feel like I know what to do when it happens. Of course, Jeff always is willing to try to fix it, and so far he has been amazingly successful. All I would know to do is to call someone who might know, or call a repairman--and pay the big bucks. So I am very thankful for him!

And I have been trying to remember that God loves us and CARES about our refrigerator problems too. He knows that we need all these things. And He is able to provide for us. But I can't take on tomorrow's troubles too. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

So, I'll let you know what happens...

I'm going to make some pudding with some of the old milk that needs to be used up. You know, if life hands you warm milk, make pudding! That's what I always say! :)

So, other than all of that, I taught my science class, and my back was hurting during it, and then I had to still go do those other errands. The grocery shopping was tiring though. So glad that Abby helped with all of that and all of the unloading afterward. We were "haulin'" stuff. We have a "haul-a-thon" on Wednesdays. "Let's haul, y'all!" And Jeff was here too to help bring stuff in from the car. Whew!

Also, thankfully, Abby helped by washing the dinner prep dishes. My back was shot by that time, so I could go and lie down a little which really helped.

We ate dinner--just Jeff and me--I made some broccoli, potato, carrot soup with cheese and a milk base--again, using up the milk. I also made salad and banana cc muffins and strawberries too. Now I best be making puddin'.

But, I have to say, that I was very sad to hear that Katie is sick once again. French germs must be potent--like the cheese there. I really hope she can feel 100% again soon. It's nice to have a day off when you really need it, but I know it gets old after a while. Like my back--a couple of days on the couch was kind of restful, but I'm ready to be over it! So, I'll be praying for my Katie-Kaite!

Until later, dear readers!

Two Sunny Days in a Row?! Yay!

Really, I could handle late winter/early spring if the days were more like this. Sunny and upper 40s is so amazing after cold and snow. We have been severely sun-deprived here this winter. I took a slow, therapeutic walk today again--but I added one cul de sac today, so I must be making progress.

I also slept very soundly because I think I wasn't waking up to roll over carefully to protect my back during the night. It's lovely to wake up and have nothing hurt and feel totally relaxed and mostly rested.

I worked on science this morning, and I got history done too. Then lunch and walk and UV. Afterwards I was going to go to Ehler's but when EDD called her to check, she was planning to go to a friend's house instead. So I went to the Honda place where Jeff was just finishing up with getting the horn fixed on our Honda, and we switched cars. I'd much rather drive the Honda--I feel like I can't see out of the Saturn very well.

Then we both drove to Marc's at Chapel Hill and grabbed some fruit and veggies. Waited in a very long line. And he took off to Kent to chat with Matt, and I went back to UV to pick up Abby and EDP, took EDP home, dropped Abby off at dance, and here I am.

I just read Katie's blog which is always so interesting. Even if the end of the trip sounded tiring and somewhat frustrating with late trains, etc. and much to carry. I can't wait to see her purchases too! I'm glad she got something for herself--ya don't get to Provence every day!

Nothing really outstanding happened today, and my back is getting sore from sitting, so I think I will get up and move around, have some tea and a treat, and a quiet time in a little after I've stretched my muscles. Driving and having to sit in one spot seems to bother me more than being able to move around some. Everything gets stiff and sore. So, unless I think of anything else noteworthy, until later, dear readers!

Monday, Monday, Sunny Monday

Today it is sunny!! And around 40 degrees which is so much better than rain/snow/cold. It didn't start out that way this morning, so it was kind of hard to get up on Monday morning, but it got better as the day went on.

My back was stiff this morning, and I got my heating pad hot and used it during breakfast, took some Advil and went to school. Thankfully, Jeff loaded everything in the car for us, and Abby "hauled" it out of the trunk when we got there. When we pulled in, there was no one in the parking lot. Not even the pastor's car was there. So we waited, and he came a few minutes later--said he had "one of those mornings." We had to set up tables, and I had to make copies, but we got it all done. Then, 3 of my 6 students were absent, so we had a small class anyway. Abby sat in there with us and looked up the answers to random questions the kids asked.

I made it through the first two classes, graded papers, and was encouraged to see much improvement in the papers that were handed in. Yay! Then lunch, then more grading, reviewing for SAT. We didn't get through the whole chapter on Algebra--it was long and we had to spend time on the early stuff because everyone's in Geometry and Algebra isn't fresh in their minds. Plus Abby had written on the board, "Did you know you can earn money by scoring well on the ACT/SAT?" So I looked up some stats on what kind of scholarship money is available for what scores at UofA and Kent. Then how long you have to work at minimum wage to earn $1000. Seems it's worth it to at least TRY to score well!

We came home, I walked slowly again around the inside loop, and I wish I could have stayed out longer, but I know I need to take it slower. I felt pretty good though, and I always feel refreshed by the fresh air.

Then I had a quiet time, am listening to DR, and will start dinner soon. I had egg salad for lunch, and I'm planning to have taco salad/burritos for dinner. I want a big salad with some refried beans! Abby and Jeff were talking about wanting Chipotle, so I'll season some black beans, we have rice, chicken, and other things for them to make burritos. I know that it won't be the same, but it's oh, so much cheaper!

We have nothing tonight, there's no Chuck on, so I think Abby and Jeff will go over some SAT stuff. Sounds like fun! :) I'm still working on the book "What Should I Do With My Life?" I should also work on a resume sometime just to have one going in case I ever need it.

Just a funny thing from Saturday, Ehne Thau got a laptop from her dad when she was in Texas. She had called and said that she needed Jeff to fix something, so when we picked her up, she came out with a cute little outfit on, carrying a bag and her laptop in a box (it looked like a briefcase kind of). We told her that she looked like she was going to work! So cute! She was going to Google images and looking at "puppies" while she was here. It's just so funny to see her using a laptop, reading things, playing games when I think about where she started with Hannah so many years ago.

Well, that's the scoop around here. Hannah--any food requests for this weekend? Pray for Abby as she prepares for the SAT--wouldn't be great to just do it fabulously the first time and be done? So glad Katie has had such a wonderful trip last weekend. Hey, DR just quoted Oswald Chambers--gotta love it! Until later, dear readers!

The weekend in review

I forgot to blog on Friday--just forgot. Maybe I knew that Katie and Hannah were both busy all weekend, so I didn't feel the need to fill them in on life. Or maybe I was lulled into a stupor by reading and lying on the couch all afternoon to rest my back. Or maybe I just forgot. Or all three.



I did clean on Friday morning--slowly but surely, and Abby helped with wrastling the vacuum cleaner downstairs. I could manage the one upstairs, but not the "dead pig" version. Then after lunch, I made myself a little nest on the couch with my heating pad and my dog and book and that's where I stayed. Jeff and I did go to Mariachi Loco's for dinner after Abby went to a youth group event at GVUMC with Kayla. We just ate and came home since my back wasn't up for shopping and it was cold and rainy. What weather we've had!

Then we watched "He's Just Not That Into You" which was OK, but not something I'd watch again or recommend as a great movie. Kinda sad really. The dating world. Yucky.

Saturday I made "rice and soup" and we went to the bread store and Marc's before picking up the Karen girls. My back still hurt, but I didn't really have the option to sit around on Saturday, so I just kept going. I also made a cake for BeBin's birthday which is Tuesday. They were only here from about 1pm to 3:45pm since we had small group at 5pm. They were really good about playing together. Ti Ti Dah came with us for the first time. She is a really sweet girl and friends with the younger girls. The older girls have kind of fizzled out. I talked to MaRian on Tuesday and invited her, but she didn't come. But we still had 6 girls, and I helped Ehne Thau with her science book for the Ohio Achievement Test, and Ehler with her prep for the OGT. Abby had taken a practice SAT in the morning, so I was just about done with three-letter tests to study for!!

We had a little drama about child care for the small group study, since Jeff had sent a fb message that Abby would be the only one babysitting, so if anyone could get a sitter, that would help. Then in calling around he found out that one couple was actually babysitting for other people's kids and planning to bring them too, but not to tell us before. Yikes! We have 12 adults, and Abby plus 10 kids! We can't really just add two more very easily. So the Bloughs very graciously got a sitter for the boys, we kept 5 babies up here with us--yes, someone (at LEAST someONE) was crying most of the time--and Abby watched the other 4 downstairs which went well. Whew!! The little baby boy being babysat was very unhappy all evening, so he cried a LOT! Oh my! What a crowd--but somehow we managed to have a fairly meaningful discussion even if it was interrupted a lot.

Everyone was gone by 9pm since we started at 5pm and had dinner, and then all the kids needed to go to bed. So I cleaned up, and for having a total of 27 people over throughout the day yesterday, the house looked great! I ran the dishwasher twice, and that was the most messy things got. Impressive.

But I was tired and sore after being on my feet all day, so I was glad to crawl into bed. AFTER making the power point for announcements of course. I know how to do that now, you know! :)

Today Jeff and Abby did music--Abby played piano and did a great job on the "We Fall Down" thang--can't think of what it's called when you start at the top of the keyboard and go down all the way. Jeremiah helped and Isaiah and the Norths. It was a great music set! I sat through it twice because we didn't have SS because the Reynolds' sump pump failed and they had some water in their basement to deal with yesterday. Nothing like Jamie and Ruthie's though, thankfully! I thought about offering to help in the nursery, but decided against it, because I knew I'd be tempted to pick up a child when I shouldn't and mess up my back more.

After church, Eric gave me some info about IVs China summer program, and some other info about other options IV does. I told him when Katie gets home, and Hannah is home for a weekend, that we need to have him over so you all can meet him and talk about stuff--you'd really like him. He leaves for Taiwan May 15, so we need to do it before then.

We came home and ate lunch. Nothing sounded good to me. I'm tired of food--just want to eat fruit and veggies for a while. Detox from all the weekend food! So I made a little sandwich with the pita bread left from last night and some peppers and onions. Worked on the grocery list, and after Jeff took Abby to GVUMC again, we went for a slow, cold walk around the neighborhood. I felt like I needed to walk a little. Didn't do the cul de sacs--just the inner loop. My hamstrings are really tight now, and my gluteus maximus feels a little like it did in December. I really don't want to go back there... So you can pray!

Jeff picked Abby up and they went to youth group at our church--Jeff may have headed to Kent then, I don't know. He talked about it. I ate some egg salad I made tonight, cleaned up the kitchen, packed our lunches for tomorrow, got my stuff together for BOW. And now I'm blogging. Read Katie's blog--epic! Lovely! Wonderful stuff! South of France and all and sun!

Also read Hannah's blog this afternoon, and I am SO EXCITED about her living situation for next year!! WOO HOO! How fun will that be? I think it's so cool that God rewarded her decision to do what she believed He wanted her to do (and she wanted to too, of course), and then all these other friends ended up on her floor too! It's an answer to prayer for me because I've been praying that Hannah would find those close friends that Katie has found and be able to experience that sense of community on a daily basis. I know she has in this past year to a degree, but next year will take it to a whole new level!! Awesome!

So, I think that adequately sums up the past few days. I have nothing as exciting as running around the south of France, or finding out about awesome roommate stuff, or going to women's weekend or three youth group events in two days, but life is still good! It is very lifey sometimes as Katie said--sore backs, rain and snow, work, etc. but it is good too.

And now I will prepare for another week by having a quiet time and soon I will have some chocolate cake too. I cannot live on fruit and veggies alone you know. :) Until later, dear readers!

My Aching Back :(

This started out as a good day--sunny and somewhat productive with starting laundry, emptying the dishwasher, washing some dishes by hand. But then my back started to hurt. I didn't do anything major, but it just started to feel like it could give me problems, and then it get worse after a few hours. I was sitting at the table with the heating pad and took some Advil after lunch. I had to work on history and language arts prep so I could sit, but had to move to the couch to be more comfy. It wasn't really very comfy though. It's kind of discouraging because I can't figure out what causes it to hurt.

I did feel like it was sore after Monday and standing to teach for two hours straight, and then another hour in the afternoon. And yesterday it was kind of sore too after teaching, shopping, unloading everything. We have a lot of stuff to lift in and out of the car. So, maybe that was what started it? I don't know...

I talked to Hannah for a while today which was very nice. I'm so happy her roommate situation is almost completely finished being figured out. She has the room, and the roommate, so now the roommate just needs to get the room too! They will have so much fun and be able to make their room so cute, I'm sure.

By the miracle of Advil, I was able to make spicy chicken, rice, veggies, and salad for dinner. We needed something healthy after me not cooking for two nights. However, I decided not to go to Linda's for Bible study since we were eating a little late, and I need to be able to sit comfortably with my heating pad and rest. Cooking was the big event for the evening. Abby helped me with carrying laundry today thankfully, so we got that done too. So, for being "out of commission" I got a lot done--school prep, laundry, dinner. With Abby's help, of course. And God's too, of course!

I've enjoyed reading the What Should I Do with My Life? book. It's always fascinating to read about other people's lives. It also makes me realize that I'm not the only one who has thought, "THIS is what I want to do with my life!" "Oh, wait, no it's not." "THIS is what I want to do!" "Oh, no, wait, no." A few times over. It seems to be common to think you've found your thing and then try it for a while and decide not. So, in that way, it's kind of comforting. And some people have gone to great lengths to do the thing--law school, many sacrifices, lots of money...and then they've dropped out. One gal even went to med school and then found out she didn't like being around sick people! Not sure if there's really any answers to be found, but it's interesting nonetheless.

Jeff and Abby just finished going over the practice SAT she took last Saturday. She has great potential to do great! She'll take one more practice on Saturday and then the real thing on March 12. Go Abby!

Ok, girls, since I'm thinking about it and you all will probably be reading this at some point, and I'll forget if I talk to you, please be thinking about what the next step is in finding a job for the summer. Do you need more information? Do you need to talk to someone? Send an email? Do some research online about what options you have or places you might want to work? I will be glad to help in any way I can, but I need you gals to be thinking about what to do when and how. Hannah, maybe you could go and talk to Panera when you come home next weekend? Gear up for it, baby! :) Katie, any word from the dear Dr. G? Abby, any more details from Mr. Jeff? It's March now; time to be getting some plans together, Lord willing!

Tomorrow is cleaning, Lord willing too. And Abby has a "thang" from 6-10pm so Jeff and I were planning to have a date, Lord willing and my back cooperates. So, I'll let you know what the Lord wills! Today I read 2 Cor. 12--about Paul having a thorn in the flesh. So yesterday what I read about in my QT described what I was feeling in the morning. And then today when my back hurts, I read about a thorn in the flesh. I'm kind of afraid to see what's in my reading for tomorrow! No, maybe it will be great! The Word is always great! Because even if there is a thorn in the flesh, Jesus promises that His grace is sufficient for me, and that IS great! I'll take it!

So, we'll watch AI now--Abby just asked why Steven Tyler has bigger lips than JLo! :) He's probably had more plastic surgery I'm guessing! So, on that happy note, until tomorrow dear readers!

Red Chicken!

Today it was SUNNY! It seems I often start with a weather update, but that's because the weather is so different from day to day, and it makes such a difference in how I feel about life. That is lame, but true. It was cold today, but at least it was bright so that when we were inside, we could imagine it was warmer. And when we came out of school, it felt pretty OK.

After Abby and Jeff left this morning, I got all of my BOW stuff together which takes a little while. Then I did my nails, listened to an archived Dave Ramsey show, and looked at my hair magazines to see if I could find any good pics for Katie. It was very multi-tasking of me!

Then I put our lunch together and took off for BOW. I had to make copies and get science experiment supplies out of the closet before lunch, and I helped Abby get ready for her physics test. I also set up the computer with the projector ALL BY MYSELF! I learned something by being a teacher this year!

For some reason, when I woke up this morning, I felt--I don't know--sad isn't quite right, nor worried, nor unhappy. More unsettled, concerned maybe? I still haven't quite put my finger on it. As I talked with Jeff, I realized maybe it's all of the uncertainties of life--what jobs will the girls get this summer? What do they need to be doing to work on that? What will I be doing? How can I help my students do better in their classes? They've had some issues--is it my fault? Should I be doing something different? Just stuff like that. Nothing I can really do anything about RIGHT NOW, but it's the stuff that spins around in my head often.

Later today when I was having my quiet time, I was reading 2 Cor. 11 and Paul talks about his "daily pressure of concern for all the churches" and I thought, "Yeah, just replace churches with children and that's kind of it." Not just my own children (and not that there's anything they are causing me stress about--just motherly concern), but also my students, the Karen kids--Ehler takes the OGT again in a couple of weeks...She was only 2 points away from passing the math section last time...So many have so many new things going on and so many decisions to make. And yet, there's nothing I can do but pray and so I do!

My science class went better today. We had two experiments that used balloons to demonstrate some electron transfers (static electricity) so that was fun. And I felt more confident explaining this stuff, because I know it better than physics stuff. There's a big difference when you really understand something and can explain it a couple of different ways, than when you can only just explain what the book said and hope it makes sense to them.

We went to the library and GE after school. Came home and did the great unloading. I rested for a few minutes and then walked. That's when I pray about everybody's everything! One of my prayers was answered as soon as I got home--I had been praying about Jeff's job since raises and bonuses get handed out in March. He got both and very nice ones at that! Yay! Good job, honey! So we will get to work on the budget again and pump more money into the college fund--baby step #5. I'm sure he has other plans for some of the bonus money, but at least a chunk of it can go to that goal. It's so nice to have the steps laid out for us. I needed that! Thanks, DR! It's great to make progress.

Jeff had called to tell me that on his way to meet with Mike and Dick at 5:30pm, so he wasn't going to be home for dinner. Then Abby had her prayer study at 6pm so she wasn't home for dinner either. That meant I had a French bread pizza and read during dinner. I started a new book I got last night at the library in North Hill. It's called "What Should I Do with My Life?" It's kind of a collection of people's stories about finding their calling in life. I'm still not sure if it will be good or not. The very first story was about a Buddhist monk, so I will see...

So, I guess I will continue with my reading with my little dog if she will settle down with me. She seems unsettled like she knows that Dad and Abby should be home by now. Sitting in the living room and looking at the garage door.

OK, just a random story from BOW though. Cole was absent on Monday because his dog had to have emergency surgery--it's a bigger dog--100+ pounds, but it had a 12 pound tumor removed from its spleen! They weren't sure if it would live, but it did! That's bigger than our WHOLE DOG! Yikes!

And April's poor family--their basement flooded on Sunday night, they found mold when they were cleaning it up, so now she and the kids are staying at her sister's until it's cleaned up--like a couple of weeks. Her mom is having open heart surgery on Friday too. Oh, my. And of course, Gabe picked today to act less than wonderful! She was smiling when we left though and kept saying it would all work out. She is a very positive person, but she admits when things are rough! I am blessed to get to work with her and Karen. Such great people!

OK, now I really will go and read some more until Jeff gets home, and American Idol is on, and it's brownie time! Tomorrow is another day to do more school stuff! Until then, dear readers!

March came in like a lamb--Yay, Sun!

If February went out like a lion, March came in like a lamb. All sunny and calm and pretty. And a leetle beet warmer--at least in the sun. I worked on science stuff this morning. Ah, my class. They did better on the closed book test than on the open book one. I guess that's good? I'm just not sure what to make of that. Hopefully this module will be a little easier--no math at least--and maybe more familiar with electric stuff? Like charges repel, opposite ones attract and all. We'll see...

That all took until lunch--grading and preparing for tomorrow's class--then I ate leftover meatloaf and took a walk after that. Very enjoyable though I was glad I listened to Abby who had checked the weather to see that it felt like 30 even though our thermometer said 50. Sun was warm, wind was cold. Well, not freezing, but definitely earmuffs weather.

Then it seemed like it was almost time to go to UV, but I did write some checks for Abby's classes and costumes, and away we went. UV went fine--so much easier to go to UV when it's sunny outside, not snowing or raining. I read with some sweet kids, ate dinner with EDD, and helped Ehne Thau with homework--she was very squirrely by that time. I read with her earlier and she was fine, but by 5pm...Then I took EDD and Eh Moo Ye home, went to the library to look for the BeCentsable book, but it was checked out. So, I got some other ones instead. Picked up Abby and EDP and took EDP home, then went through the drive-thru at McD's--shocker, I know--but Abby was in the second-to-last dinner group, and they didn't give them very large portions. I was in the last one and they gave us a LOT. So she needed a little somethin' to last her through two more hours of dance. Chicken nuggets--they smelled very good actually.

Now I'm home and blogging. Still have to do the grocery list for tomorrow. It's been a good day--glad to hear that Katie had a good day too. I need to check Hannah's blog--has she posted recently? I need to check! I hear there was some white rabbiting going on today--I got gotten by Jeff and Abby. Feels like Jeff gets to chat with K and H more often in little bits during the day on skype, etc. That's good though--Dad's way of keeping in touch. I go more for the long blogs, skyping, etc. That's the Mom way, I guess. :)

Today, I let Greta out without a leash because we haven't been putting her on the leash since it got frozen to the deck--even though now it's OK, of course. She's been staying close and not wandering. Well, today I let her out for the second time and I looked out to see where she was and couldn't see her. Sometimes that means she's under the deck. I called her, and there she was--out at the edge of the woods, sniffing around. She didn't seem too willing to come in, so I had to bribe her with the promise of a treat, and she came running. I gave her one for coming quickly, but she has officially lost her freedom from the leash. Silly dog!

Ehne Thau did say that she went to Texas this weekend. Left on Friday, came home on Monday. Drove 1 1/2 days each way. She said (when I asked her if she drove to Texas), "Yes. Well, I didn't drive!" Good thing too! She said they had to wait at a rest area and sleep when the snow or rain was too bad to keep going. She saw her dad and said he bought her a laptop. She was reading a book to me about trucks and telling me about the different ones she saw on their trip. "On one there was a cage and there were cows in it." "And in another there was a pig--but it was brown and had fur and long horns." Not sure what THAT was! Oh, Ehne Thau, you make me laugh! It was very tame without her here last weekend. That should be remedied this weekend when we have them over and she is here! Such a funny girl!

Well, I think it's time to work on the grocery list and menu before I'm too tired to think again. And there are brownies to eat too! Can't forget that! And Jeff has to leave to pick up Abby soon, and I haven't really talked to him since he got home after I had started blogging. He had dinner with Rob--Rob has been asking him to hang out with him, I guess. Guy time! They went to our neighbor's new restaurant--Ripper Owen's Tap House. You know, that nice (heavy metal rock singer) family next to the Kiles'? They have a restaurant up across from the Giant Eagle on Waterloo. Jeff said it was pretty good.

Well, it was a good March 1--there's hope for spring to come yet!