Saturday, August 29, 2009

Friday Night Lights #1



The excitement of high school football came to my town last night. We wondered if the rain would hold off, and it did. It was a great night for football. Here are some of my favorite scenes of the night.


Chase takes a rest late in the game. He made some good plays.


Jordan (in black) did a great job playing bass guitar. The band did NOT disappoint!



Chase's first official catch of the season.


This was the final score.

GO AGGIES!!!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

My Favorite Andy Griffith Episode Ever: Opie's Charity

This is the funny part. Andy goes on to find that Opie's girlfriend IS underprivileged, and Opie is saving his money to buy her a coat.

Monday, August 24, 2009

My Son is Finally Growing Up

Ah! Another Monday over and done. I'm still trying to settle down into a routine at work. I was able to do a little delegating which will help a bit. My routine at home is going well. I came home, briefly, at lunch today, and the house actually looked decent! I just hope that I can keep it all up. Don't worry. I'm trying to take a little time for myself, too. I have hit up one of my friends for a girls' night out. I just don't know when we are going to have a chance anytime soon to do that. I guess we'll just have to MAKE the time.

We had a little drama between Justin & Chelsea this weekend. I don't really want to go into all the details, but he came home to visit. He was disappointed that she didn't want to come. He went and played with his band Saturday night. Let's just say a bit of jealousy and childish behavior came into play. I spoke to Justin today, and he said that things were good now. He said that if he had to quit his band, then he would. He said that his marriage was the most important thing. I admire him for that. He has really grown up over the past few months. God answers prayers. It may not be the way we think He should answer them, but He does. I seem to remember a post that I did in frustration about how I wished that Justin would just grow up. Well, it was almost immediately that things started happening to accomplish it. Lord knows, it ain't been easy on ANY of us! But, I am hoping and praying that it all works out.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

The Dash

A very beautiful and thought-provoking video. It didn't give me the option to embed it, so just click on the link and it will take you directly to it. I know you will enjoy it.

The Dash

Thursday, August 20, 2009

A Bright Spot in an Otherwise Dreary Day

I was supposed to be attending a band parent show tonight, but here I sit because the storms rolled in a couple of hours ago. No parent show tonight. So, there won't be one. It's a good thing that I know where Jordan will be, otherwise I would never be able to find him on that field of over 200 marching band members! I really hope that our football jamboree doesn't get rained out tomorrow night. I've really been looking forward to both of these events.

This rain fits the mood that I've been in all day. I have just had the blahs ALL DAY LONG!! And also, I must not have slept very well last night because I have been so sleepy today. I have a weird strain or pull in one of my calf muscles that is annoying me. I don't know WHAT I've done for that to happen! It certainly wasn't caused by exercise!

So, I stopped by the store and got a bag of frozen buffalo chicken strips and some fries. That was our supper. Easy...not necessarily cheap. But, I'm all about easy when it comes to cooking. I hate to stand in the kitchen longer than I have to, which is probably why I hate to cook. Now, I didn't say that I COULDN'T cook. I just said that I HATED to cook! I wish it weren't so, but I can't help it.

I think my blah feeling may be the newness of a the new school year wearing off. I think the reality has hit me. I'm still trying to work out a routine for doing things that need to be done. It is working out better at home than it is at work. Since they have split my huge school into 2 separate schools, I have to make sure that I keep things separate since I do the bookkeeping for both. It has not been as easy as I previously thought, but I feel like I will finally get into the swing of things after a few more weeks.

Justin and Chelsea are coming to spend the weekend with us. Justin has a gig with his band at a local night club Saturday night. I would really like to go see them, but I just don't do night clubs. I may have to make an exception...if I can talk my hubby into going. I'll let you know how THAT turns out! His job is still going well.

My family DID receive some AWESOME news today. Hubby Kevin's dad has been battling bladder cancer for about a year. After undergoing chemo and radiation, his blood work and MRI showed that he is cancer free!! Praise God for this wonderful news!! Kevin's dad is a tremendous man of faith. I have never met anyone like him. He relies on God for ALL his needs. And, God has provided. Thank you, God.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Monday, August 17, 2009

Football and Marching Season

Sorry if my posts have not been very interesting lately. I have been swamped at work and have not had time to even contemplate anything that I would want to post about! I AM working on being more organized this school year. I have made a schedule that I am trying to stick to. I haven't gotten it down pat yet, but I am making progress.

It won't be long before I will be able to start posting things regarding the upcoming high school football season. In fact, Thursday night is the band's parent show. We will get to go sit at the stadium and watch the band members be introduced and then go stand in their formation to where they will begin the halftime show. This enables us parents to, hopefully, know which kid is ours when they have their hats and uniforms on. I must admit that I was not sure which one was mine about 80% of the time last year! This year Jordan will be up on the front playing bass guitar, so I will DEFINITELY know which one he is!

This Friday night our football team will be hosting a jamboree. It will feature our 9th grade, JV, and varsity teams playing Brewer. Ninth will play a quarter. JV will play a quarter. Then, our varsity will play the last half. This year our band will be sitting in the stands playing stand tunes during this time. And then, the following Friday night, it will all begin. I can hardly wait!! It will be bittersweet for me this year. Chase is a senior this year, so I know that y'all know what that means. That last game is going to be a killer! It is always so sad to watch your kid perform in their high school activities for the last time. I went through it with Justin. (He was in the band.) I made it surprisingly well when he ended his marching season. I even did better than expected when he graduated from high school. I think it is going to get harder, though, as my other kids follow suit. It just means that I am that much older, and it won't be too long before my kids will be out of the house and on with their lives. :*(

Okay. I'm not gonna think about all that now, or I will get REALLY depressed!! So, I leave you with one question...


ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?!!!

Friday, August 14, 2009

TGIF


You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.
Zig Ziglar

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Justin & Chelsea Update (Just Justin, actually)

I received a text from Justin at 3:09 p.m. today that said,

"Ha, I just got hired full time."

I HAD to call him after that. It seems that he is still employed by the staffing agency, but the company that he works for asked him if he wanted to start working 40 hours. He was excited. I was, too. I am hoping that the company will hire him straight out so that he can start getting benefits. He also got his first paycheck today. He told me that getting a paycheck felt pretty good. Then, he was figuring how much more his check was gonna be when he started getting paid for a full week. I'm so glad that things seem to be falling into place for him.

We Made It

We made it through our first day of school yesterday. My kids said that they had a pretty good day, and from what I've heard from others, it was the same for them, also. My job as the school bookkeeper settled down a bit, as the teachers were occupied with their students. I'm still working on getting into a routine so that I can get everything accomplished that needs to be. I made out a schedule last night. I'm gonna see if I can stick to that...and see if it works. I've just got to stay focused, which is hard for me to do sometimes. At times, I feel like I have A.D.D.! (not sure if I punctuated correctly) I get distracted easily. So, here's to the new school year. May it be a good one.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Preparation for the First Day of School

Whew! It has been a busy week...and it's only Tuesday night! I have been buzzing around school trying to get all my stuff in order for the first day tomorrow. It has been so hectic that I think that things will settle down a bit after the morning confusion rush tomorrow. Traffic is always a mess the first few days of school. Add to that the fact that they have completely re-routed the way the buses and the parents drive in. But, once we get through the traffic fiasco that is certain to cause us all a headache, the kiddos will be in their classrooms and the teachers will start teaching them reading, writing, and arithmetic. I will be busy counting snack money and trying to work out a system of how to do bookkeeping for two schools and keeping it all separate. Hopefully, it won't take me long to get into a routine.

So, keep me, the teachers, and all the other support staff in mind tomorrow. Wish us luck! :)

Saturday, August 8, 2009

A Day Without Housework and Expectations

tanklesswaterheatertub Pictures, Images and Photos

That's what I want. Is it possible? I don't think so. But, wouldn't it be nice? Just to be selfish for a day and do what I want to do. No laundry. No cooking. No picking up around the house. No dishes. Absolutely nothing. Oh! If I had a day like that I would kick back and take it easy. I would catch up on some of the programs I have recorded on my DVR. I would do some reading. Maybe take a long, uninterrupted bath. (Calgon, take me away!) Take a Nap. Spend all the time I want blogging, reading blogs, catching up with friends on Facebook, and Twittering. No expectations would mean that my family could do their own laundry and fix their own food. Better yet, they could just go somewhere and leave me with the house for the day. What a day that would be!

I know what I'm asking for for Christmas this year.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Shots Anyone?

Ah! So, the teachers came back to work today, most of them, anyway. Some had a "flex day" that meant they didn't have to show up today if they attended a workshop over the summer. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I do think that the other ladies that do the registering had a very busy day, though. I DID fail to order water, rice krispie treats, and fruit roll-ups for snack from the place that delivers on Thursdays only. School starts back next Wednesday, so you know what that means! We will be short on snack for 2 days! Actually, I have another place where I can get everything except the water. I just have to figure it all out now. That was my big dilemma for today. I guess we'll survive, though.

Amongst all the construction going on at my school, they were marking lines on the new parking pavement. That meant that EVERYONE had to squeeze into a smaller-than-we-are-used-to parking area on the side. Well, seeing that over 120 people work at my school, you could probably imagine how interesting THAT was! But, we survived the first day. Thank goodness the kids haven't started back yet. It looks like they may be finished with the construction and paving before Wednesday. I guess we'll see.

Since my boys are in high school, I usually just leave it up to them to go do their stuff like getting lockers, parking tags, schedules, etc. Jordan called me the evening that he had to go get his schedule. It seems that they wouldn't give it to him until he updated his immunizations. I knew that we were supposed to do that over the summer. He turned 15 in April, and 15 is the age when you have to go back for a refill! I've just been doing what I do best...procrastinating. So, I called the health department today, and they said they were giving shots between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. today. So, I picked him up from band camp and we made our way to the health department. The parking lot was COVERED UP!! Oh no!! WHY didn't I do this sooner?!!! We went inside and there were people everywhere. I asked the lady at the desk if all these people were here to get immunized. Guess what. They were. She said that it would be A WHILE. Jordan decided that he wasn't up to waiting today. She said that the best time to come was 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday or Thursday. So, we took our little sign in paper and decided to come back later.

On the way out to the car, it hit me. WHY am I here? We have health insurance. We could probably just go to the doctor and get the shots. It sounded like a good plan to me, whether I would have to pay the $20 normal office visit co-pay or not. My time is well worth $20. So, I took Jordan home and went back to work. I called his doctor's office and asked them about the shots. They said that since we had insurance that he could just drop by during normal office hours, and the nurse could give him his shots. Best of all, it WOULDN'T COST A THING!! So, we bebopped right on up there after I got off work. We were in and out in 30 minutes and left with the coveted "blue slip" for which we had come. Ah! Now that wasn't painless, a bit...except for to Jordan! He got a shot in each arm and even got Tasmanian devil band-aids. The receptionist even gave him a sticker. Now, the poor thing can go get his schedule.


Wednesday, August 5, 2009

What's On Yours?


I thought it would be fun to share an interest of mine today. I have a Microsoft Zune. If you don't know what that is, it is Microsoft's version of an iPod. It does all the things that an iPod does. It plays downloaded music and videos. I can put pictures on it. It has games. It's a radio. It has a few other features, like connecting to the Zune marketplace (just like iTunes) to download things.

I have lots of music on mine, but my favorite thing is the ability to listen to podcasts while I do my housework. Sometimes I listen to music, but I love to learn new things and hear about what other people are doing. There is a plethora of information out there. Did you know that you can listen to language podcasts that teach you how to learn a foreign in language? You can also find spiritual podcasts, such as Joyce Meyer and Joel Osteen. The best thing about the podcasts I listen to are that they are all FREE. You can download at will. Most of the podcasts I listen to are found at the Zune marketplace. If there is one that you know about, but isn't there, you can go copy the feed url and add it. I just usually subscribe to my favorite ones, and then I connect my Zune every so often, and it downloads the new episodes.

Now, here is the fun part of this post (for me, anyway). I am going to list the podcasts that I subscribe to and let you know why I like them. Who knows, you may find some that you will find interesting.

43 Folders An organizing podcast that helps with ways to make your home and office work more efficiently.

Chicks Who Chat w/Classy Jen Jen just talks with other women who discuss anything from blogging basics to Father's Day gift ideas.

Coffee Break Spanish A way to learn Spanish 15 minutes at a time.

The Dave Ramsey Show Typically a 30 minute show with the money guru, himself.

DayTipper Podcast Short & Sweet. This guy provides household tips & tricks, and even tests tips that readers send in.

Flylady If you don't know the Flylady, what are you waiting for?! She teaches me how to conquer CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome). She is my mentor, and I strive to practice building the routines that she lays out to keep my home in order. (I said that I STRIVE to, not that I do it!) :)

Focus On The Family w/James Dobson Godly principles pertaining to family life.

Get-It-Done Guy His quick and dirty tips to work less and do more.

Grammar Girl Quick and dirty tips for better writing. I must admit, I'm a bit of what she calls a "grammar snob." There are some things that people do, grammatically, that drive me crazy. But, I'm far from perfect. I just like knowing that what I write is grammatically correct. I think I'm a little OCD about this.

Inspiring Words of Encouragement Zig Zigler provides an interesting viewpoint on motivation. He is definitely entertainging and inspiring.

Radio WD (Woman's Day magazine) This is like having a talking magazine. Editor-in-chief, Jane Chestnutt, normally hosts the show and usually concentrates on one subject (things you would find in the magazine) every week.

Keeping It Centsible Learn how you can save money on your household expenses.

Modern Manners Guy Quick and Dirty tips for a more polite life. Things everyone needs to know.

One Minute How-To No explanation needed.

Simply Organized I just love organizing podcasts. It's another thing I strive for.

Stuff Your Mom Never Told You 2 women talk about a variety of subject ranging from "How does surrogacy work?" to "What is Chick Lit?"

What Really Matters This may possibly be my favorite one of all. Vicky and Jen talk about all things that pertain to the home and family. They interview interesting people, such as chefs, organizers, financial advisers, etc. They have a variety of subjects that keep me informed and interested.

That about does it. Each of these podcasts have their own site, which I have linked to. Let me know if you find any in here that interest you. And, if you have some that you think I may be interested in, please let me know.

Until next time, happy podcasting!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Justin & Chelsea: Another Update

Justin called me today to let me know that he got a call from Jobseekers asking if he was still interested in the job that he interviewed for. Of course! So, they told him to report to work at 7:00 in the morning! Praise God!! Please pray that he will stick with this one. It is only 3 days per week, but I am hoping that it will turn into a full-time gig.

It's no secret that Justin seems to be allergic to work! I'm hoping that he has come to realize his responsibilities and this will be the beginning of something big for him. I do know that he likes to eat, so now he will have something to buy food with! :) I bought them a few groceries the last time they were here, and I told him that I will buy them some more when they come this weekend. I'm looking at this as a way to pay back all those times when we were just starting out and were low on money. Many times Kevin's mom and dad would stop by with a few bags of groceries...just when we needed them the most. That's how God works. Not in OUR time, but in HIS time...and it is always right ON time.

Thank you to all my blogger buddies for your prayers. Most of you have been with me throughout this whole situation. I appreciate all your kind comments and concern. Keep praying. I'll keep you posted.

Blogger's Block

I've got blogger's block, so I thought I'd leave you with a little something to know that I'm still here. I hope I get inspired soon! Until then, enjoy...



Saturday, August 1, 2009

Feeling Down

Feeling down and in a funk today. Trying to turn my worries over to God instead of trying to fix it all myself. Asking for prayer. Trying to remember the following:

Philippians 4:6
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

1 Peter 5:7
Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.