New Post (gasp!!)

Highlights since the last post:

I finished my summer school classes!!! And I made all A's!!!!!!!!! Never had a 4.0 before, unless you count that one semester in high school. I enjoyed all 8 hours this summer and learned a lot.

I got the "Pampering Package" at Serenity Day Spa on Aug. 1 (the morning I left on vacation). It was WONDERFUL!!!! We started off with a paraffin treatment on my hands and feet, then moved to the "scalp treatment" which was pretty relaxing. Then she wrapped my head and hands with warm towels and let me just relax. She finished up with an excellent massage. AHHHHHHHHHH. I highly recommend it. I was so relaxed.....Dena recommended that I go home and take a warm bath with epsom salts. I needed to clean the tub anyway, so I did that. I was lucky to get the packing finished!

VACATION NOTES:

I left Searcy that day about 6:00 p.m. for my much-anticipated vacation. My friend Elissa, her parents (George & Sue), and I were going to San Francisco.

Friday evening - My plan was to drive to Memphis, park near the airport, shuttle over to airport, and take cab to the train station. I was running a little later than I planned, but made good time. I made a wrong turn looking for the FastPark place. Got the cab, and made it to the train station. I knew that we'd have to bus over to the train (sink hole at the station!). It's just a little after 9:00 p.m. and I think the train doesn't leave til 10:40 p.m. so I'm doing great! I carry my luggage up the stairs and find the little kiosk to get my ticket. I'm a little nervous, not having done this before. I get my reservation number, and start getting my ticket. Only......I notice something about a 9:15 time......about then, an employee tells me, "we're leaving in about 2 minutes." WHAT?!?! I get my ticket, frantically look around, and then my mind went blank. I finally asked him where do I go? He calmly tells me to go down to the buses. Oh yeah. Duh. But then, I still had all my luggage....(I planned to check one bag). SO I went downstairs to the buses and asked one of drivers what to do. He was really nice and just suggested that I wait on the train guy. Anyway, I made it to the train with all my luggage. Elissa met me on the stairs and helped me get up (E, G, & S got on in New Orleans, and we were on a Superliner train with two levels). Talk about leg room!!!!! If you want lots of leg room, take a train. There was SO much more space than planes. The seats reclined quite a bit, and we even had a foot rest. AND plug-ins. We got caught up and finally dozed off. When we woke in the morning, we were almost to Chicago! Mr. George graciously got up, and got breakfast AND brought it back (4 cups of coffee, 4 cups of cereal with milk, and some danishes!!).

In Chicago, I was able to check my other bag, and we put the rest of stuff in a rental locker so we could go explore the city during our layover. We got to go up to the top of the Sears Tower! That was about all we had time to do but it was really neat. A great view. We picked up lunch on the way to the station. There were a lot of people waiting (hint: if you're older, or have kids or are basically anything other than the average traveler, you get to load first). The nice thing about train travel is you get to pick out your seats if you're the originating city. We got settled in and enjoyed the ride, leaving Chicago about 2 pm on Saturday.

Chicago skyline

The Sears Tower from the street

There are lots and lots of farms along the way - corn and soybeans mostly. The scenery was really interesting. We got into Iowa that evening, Nebraska that night. We hit Colorado Sunday morning. By then we were running a little late and had to wait to get into the Denver station. We were in Denver about 30 minutes or so, so we were able to get off the train and go into the station. It was very interesting - the "old time" train station look.
Volunteers from the National Park system got on the train and gave some interesting history along the way. Heading up into the Rocky Mountains were really interesting. The Moffat Tunnel was....dark. :-) We decided that Glenwood Springs would have been a good stopover. I think we all enjoyed this day's scenery. We followed a river most of the way this afternoon - and the river runners must have gotten a message to "moon" the trains because most of them did!

We made it into Utah the evening. Talk about empty and desolate. We finally broke down and ate in the Dining Car this evening. At least it was more interesting than the scenery. It was a good experience. It sure beat the Lower Level Lounge and Todd (the LLL attendent). Todd would get on the intercom and encourage people to visit the LLL - and he'd say it with a deep, seedy kind of voice. The food there wasn't bad though - we especially enjoyed the cheese and cracker tray.

Monday morning - Nevada! More scenic that Utah. We had reservations for dinner in SF that night, but we were running behind schedule and weren't sure we'd have time. So we rescheduled dinner at Morton's, and made reservations in the hotel instead. We enjoyed the Nevada mountains, and made it to California about lunchtime. We were getting close when we had to stop and wait. We had to cross a body of water, but a tanker had to pass (the bridge had to be raised for the tanker so we had to wait - tankers go rather slow.....). We finally made it to Emeryville on Monday evening!!!!!!!!

There was a bit of confusion here. The train stops in Emeryville and they had shuttles/buses that go into SF. But we weren't sure about luggage. Turns out, you have to get your luggage, then put it on the bus. We weren't sure where the bus would stop, so we just got a cab. Well, we had to get a van because we had so much luggage (trains let you carry a lot more luggage!). We were packed into the van too. We got to a hotel, and partially unloaded, only to figure out that this wasn't OUR hotel (the names were similar). We finally got to our hotel!!! The Beefeater doorman was huge - and carried a lot of luggage. More confusion on the rooms for tonight, but I didn't care as long as I got a shower! We cleaned up and ate Italian in the hotel. We had expected something quiet, but it was rather loud. We were hungry though, so the bruscetta hit the spot and dinner soon followed.

Tuesday – Mrs. Sue’s birthday! We walked down a few blocks and got our transportation lined up (a 7-day pass for the bus/cable cars/street cars/etc.). We took a street car down to the Ferry Building where we thoroughly enjoyed the market – tons of fresh veggies, fresh fruits, and other foods. The figs were delish! We got some fresh sourdough bread and some cheeses also. We had a little picnic behind the building, sitting on a bench and watching the bay. We ate dinner on Pier 39 at the Crab House. The Eyrichs enjoyed fresh crab, while I enjoyed a crab enchilada. Mine didn’t take long to eat, so I went outside to get pictures of the amazing sunset!!

A cable carThe farmer's market

Sunset from Pier 39

Wednesday – We got out and about this morning. A bus picked us up for day of touring. We got to the office, where we loaded a smaller bus for the morning tour. We headed out to Muir Woods to see the magnificent redwoods. We walked the trail and took tons of pictures, and then visited the shop. We loaded back up and drove to Sausalito where we had just enough time to eat our fish & chips and get some ice cream. Yummy! Back to the tour office, where we loaded up on a bigger bus for the afternoon tour of SF. I’m not sure how much we got out of the first part though – I think we all dozed off. We toured the SF area and got some great views of the Golden Gate Bridge from both sides. We made it back to the hotel in time to get ready for dinner at Morton’s Steakhouse. And what a dinner it was!! The chopped salad was just divine – the best salad ever. The steak was delicious and very tender. We got some sides to share – asparagus, potatoes, etc. We shared two desserts – a soufflé and a way-too-good chocolate dessert. We walked back, and checked out the bookstore at the corner.

From the SF side of GG Bridge

From the Sausalito Side of the GG Bridge

The redwoods at Muir Woods

The fog rolling in - what a sight!

A famous "photo spot" in the city - historic homes, city skyline

Panoramic Shot from the Sausalito side

Thursday – We rented a car for the next few days. Since Elissa was in charge, I knew we’d have something good and more than likely a convertible. She had researched rental companies to find a convertible big enough for the 4 of us and we ended up with a nice black PT Cruiser. The only thing it lacked was four doors. The two doors got old crawling in and out. Anyway, we hit the road, with the Eyrichs Tom-Tom GPS, for Napa Valley. We enjoyed the lovely drive and found the train station with time to spare. So we hit McDonald’s for a snack/late breakfast. We got back on the train, and enjoyed a leisurely train ride through the Valley. The vineyards were so pretty and scenic. We enjoyed a fruit and cheese tray and some dessert. Afterwards, we hit the road again – this time to the Jelly Belly Factory!! We barely made it for the last tour but we did get to tour. We got to wear little Jelly Belly hats (everyone has to wear them) and we got a bag of Jelly Bellys at the end. Then, of course, we had to peruse the gift shop!!! Belly Flops are the ones that don’t quite pass inspection but are still good, so I got a back of those. Way too tempting…… We hadn’t had Chinese food yet, so we found a Chinese place for dinner…and had so much food that we took half of it back with us.

Napa Valley

Friday was the day for our driving down the coast…..but before we left, we had to eat breakfast/brunch at Sears Fine Foods. It got great reviews, was an established restaurant, and right across the street. I had the Swedish pancakes with Lignonberries!!! Yummy!!! After Tom-Tom took us on a little detour, we made it to Hwy. 1 - what beautiful scenery!!!!! It was breathtaking. We stopped at several points along the way for pictures. We ate dinner at a little picnic spot – we took our leftover Chinese, leftover cheeses, fruits, veggies, etc. and we enjoyed our chilly, breezy dinner! We parked the car and headed back to the hotel, but decided to try the diner across the street. We had heard they had good malts. And boy, they sure did!! Hwy. 1 - south of the Bay Area


Our happy group and our cool car!

Saturday – after looking at the menu at the diner, we decided to go back there for breakfast. Yummy! We took the car out for another drive. It was an experience navigating the city on a Saturday. We got pulled over for driving in the bus lane, couldn’t turn left anywhere, and got all mixed up before we finally made it to Lombard Street for the drive down “the crookest street.” It was crooked all right. We drove around a bit more before giving the car back! Elissa and I took it back to the rental company, and walked back to the hotel (about 6 blocks, only one of which was really uphill!). We had more adventure getting back to Pier 39 on the street cars. We walked around a bit and ate Mexican before heading over to another pier for our evening cruise to Alcatraz. We stood in line a while before boarding, and enjoyed a nice cruise over to island. We had a great tour (even got to see & hear them open/close the prison doors) and got some great pictures. It’s a very neat place – eerie, interesting, and chilly. We were pretty tired by then!

Lombard Street Alcatraz from the ferryThe Cell BlockNice pix from the "rock"

I finished packing and set my alarm for way-too-early. I had a shuttle to the airport and made it in good time. But I didn’t have time for breakfast or coffee before I got on the plane! I made do on the plane with the “breakfast cookies” and a cup of coffee. And more of the cookies, pretzels, juice, and more coffee. I ate when I got to Atlanta and made it home that evening.

HOME AGAIN!

I reluctantly went back to work. And worked.

School started – I have two classes this semester. Anatomical & biomechanical kinesiology and Research Methods.

I had dinner at Eagleview with the ICHF (supports the Nigerian Christian Hospital) and learned a lot. I got a book from Grace Farrar and it was really good.

Went to NLR – got two new pairs of shoes at Sports Authority (one was on clearance), got a few things at Sam’s, and then ate dinner at Cracker Barrel.

The fair is September 8-13!

Limas, Learnings, and Leanings

I'm taking a little break from the drudge of writing APA-style research paper, annotated bibliography, and the like. I'm really sick of it. But I'm sure it will be worth it when I get that raise.....just keep thinking.....

So I found some baby lima beans in my freezer. And since I don't want to drop this research paper to go out for food....I cooked them. I threw in a chicken bouillon cube, and they are quite yummy. They were actually better than my "throw something together" quinoa salad. And the aforementioned frozen sloppy joes.

I'm looking forward to the week-end. I'll be done with school (YEAH!!! for the summer anyway), Supper Club (Christmas in July) will have been pulled off by the skin of my teeth, I'll hopefully see some Ka Ra Te friends, and Mom, Laura, Emily, and I will be celebrating Mom's birthday! Togetherness and cake - what more could we want?!

My education class has been fun and I still have one more big project to do for it. (WHY am I blogging instead of working?!?! Oh yeah - my brain needs a break) My other class is abstinence education programming. I've got personal experience on that one. But reading all this research makes me think - more parents need to be actively involved in the lives of their children (and research backs that up). And those kids need to be educated on it all - no matter your beliefs. I hope they choose abstinence, but if they don't, they at least need enough information to protect themselves and learn to make healthy choices (some studies show that even comprehensive sex ed shows increases in abstinence). I don't have kids, and I'm not saying what I'd do if I had them. But I have thought about it and I would hope that I would be brave enough to talk to my kids about, yes, SEX throughout their life span. I don't mean all the details - just what they are ready for at an appropriate age. I know it's scary because I've heard some conversations about this very thing. But if you just ignore it, hope it will go away, or put it off until what you consider the last minute.....what wrong information will children get in the meantime? Studies show that children get most of the information from friends or the internet. So what are they learning? Wouldn't you rather them learn from you? Most people learn in small doses. So if you gradually add information, in a way that doesn't frighten or embarrass, wouldn't that be better than one long, red-faced "talk?" It sounds better to me. But then, what do I know?

Black & Blue and in between

The Searcy Community Band presented a rousing patriotic tribute on Thursday, July 3rd at Spring Park. For the first time, I actually heard most of the parts!! And it all seemed to come together pretty well, with the exception of some wrong notes. It was fun. My biggest problem is not new – it was my main problem growing up with piano and clarinet – PRACTICE!! But another clarinet player offered to practice together in August since I’ll miss some of the practices. Whew.

I went to Wally World after the concert to pick up essentials for the “Tucker Invasion” week-end. Laura suggested keeping it simple – so I planned a Ham & Rice Salad and sloppy joes. The weather was really nice Thursday night – not hot and a little breeze. However, by the time I got to WM (Wal-Mart), the breeze had really picked up and the clouds had rolled in. I briefly wondered if I should have brought my umbrella…..and I should have! I heard lots of thunder inside, and saw the growing line of people and carts by the door. But I finally just decided to run for it – it wasn’t too bad by then. And it had stopped completely when I got home.

On July 4th, I got up and ate a bowl of cereal before putting on some a t-shirt, jeans, and flip flops to pick blueberries. I knew, since it had rained the night before, that I’d probably get wet. I didn’t plan on getting thoroughly drenched and muddy – and I don’t remember being that muddy and wet in a long time. I had to cross some dirt to get to the berries and it was soft. So soft, in fact, that I sank into the mud and lost my flip-flops! I went ahead and picked and picked and picked. I found a branch and dug one shoe out. Then I jumped over the mud moat, and dug the other shoe out. Can you say wet & muddy?!?!? I found a water hose and hosed my feet and shoes off before heading home and into the shower!

I put some of the berries into the freezer, and then made a blueberry cobbler (light!) with the rest. I cleaned house, cooked rice, and relaxed before the Tuckers arrived. We met at the Brick Oven Pizza for dinner, and then went over to Harding for the fireworks. The kids had fun with the carnival stuff and the adults had fun catching up with friends. We sat with the Adams family and enjoyed the show.

Saturday John went on a bike ride (they had to wait for the rain to stop) while we hung out. He texted and told us that Willie had invited us over for lunch. When he got back, he took the kids and Laura & I went to Harp’s. We ran into Willie & Jake, and Flee Patton. We headed over to Willie & Kim’s house with the cobbler and enjoyed hamburgers and freshly-made guacamole! The kids bowled on their WII and I filled in while Emily ate her cobbler. That was fun! Laura tried out the FIT also before we headed home to rest. Laura & I made sloppy joes for dinner but John went home. We ran into Rena Howard & her family at church on Sunday then ate the Ham & Rice Salad for lunch. Laura and the kids packed up and left me with a very quiet house.

Fun Moments:
~Emily hugging me and saying, “I love you Aunt Katie.” – multiple times!
~Laura wielding my Pampered Chef Spatula.
~The kids fighting over my great toys: the exercise ball, my megaphone from 6th grade, and pillows (note to self: get some more toys!).
~Ethan pooping the potty! ~The blueberry cobbler and Mexican Coke.
~Bowling on WII
~Watching Jake and Clifford.
~Emily’s creativeness – from her telling everyone about her pet baby snail Amanda to her artwork of amoebas
~Ethan talking about anything
~Chatting with Laura & going to the grocery store not once but twice and finding Mexican Coke for Big John

Back to work on Monday! Fun Fun. After work, I went to WM to see about finding some clothes – mostly things I could take on vacation. I tried on several things but ended by buying two pair of capris – khaki and black. Then I went back to Anita’s to pick blackberries. WOW – talk about ripe and ready. I picked about an hour and got a bucket full – enough to freeze about 1 ½ gallons, and I saved out enough for a small cobbler. I also fixed up the leftover sloppy joes to freeze, so now my freezer is nice & full.

Band & Jennifer

Well, my chops are tired. I can't seem to remember fingerings. Or how to read music. Or how to keep time. I kept getting totally lost in band practice tonight. It was getting frustrating!! The music is good and if I could just hear my part it would sure be a lot easier.

I got a phone call today at the office from a high school friend. I knew what she was calling about even though I hadn't talked to her in years (since our 10-year reunion I think). One of our other classmates, Jennifer DeVault Bunch, passed away yesterday. Jenn had cancer - and fought hard. She was always sweet, very positive, wild about her hubby John and daughter Abby Lynn (4). She was a majorette and then our feature twirler in marching band. During concert season she was a percussionist. She got to march in President Clinton's Inaugural parade way back when, twirling as she marched. I know she will be missed, and I regret not talking to her more the last few months. She found me on Facebook early this year, and I'll be grateful for the few months we communicated. We've been out of high school now 15 years and we've already lost 3 - Ben, Jeremy, and now Jennifer.

Jumping June

Hello -
Thought I'd update since it's been a while. I had a great time at Mom's a few weeks ago. I got to visit with Mrs. Hearn - one of my favorite teachers from high school. I figured I should start on my "visit/do before Mom moves" list. Friday evening, Mom & I went over to Cowhorn Creek Retirement Center to have dinner with Aunt Chris, Johnny, Patrick, and Sam. The center has a nice big dining room with round tables that seat four. Mom & I sat with Johnny, and he regaled us with his preacher life - the wheres, the whens, the whys, etc. After a leisurely and light dinner (they serve slowly to allow residents plenty of social time), we headed up to Aunt Chris' room. Sam & Johnny played a bit of pool, while the rest of us visited. I hadn't seen Patrick in a long time, and Sam since he was a baby. We really enjoyed the visit. Then Mom & I went to the hospital to check on Uncle David and Alice Marie (his mother-in-law was in the hospital). David hadn't eaten, so we went to get him some food. By the time we got to Chik-Fil-A, we were hungry too (that dinner was really light). So we all ate and talked in the small chapel at the hospital. On Saturday, we went to Idabel, OK for Keith Lancaster's praise workshop. We were late, and left early (I wasn't feeling too good - mostly tired and had a headache) but it was really good. I enjoyed the time with Mom and look forward to her moving here!

The Hot Springs trip was adventurous. Not exactly the word I'd normally use when hanging out with mature women. But the meeting was good, everyone seemed to be doing fine and having fun. Until Thursday morning (the last day). That's when it got really exciting. LaVerne, one of my favorites and a real go-getter, had an "episode" at breakfast. She just got really tired all of a sudden. I wasn't there but Joyce got help (2 nurses and a paramedic were nearby) and they called 911. By that time, I found them and was wondering what was going on! I ran up to our room to get LaVerne's purse and mine, and made it back downstairs as they were wheeling her out on the stretcher. By that time, though, she was looking much better and almost pert. We got in the ambulance, they checked her out, and recommended that she go to the hospital. So we both got our first ride in an ambulance! Anyway, she was okay - her blood pressure was really high. I got her registered (clean out those wallets!!!!), called her daugher (hated having to scare her), and mostly worried. But she got released after about an hour, with a recommendation that she see her doctor when she got home (so I made sure she did that). We even made it back to the meeting after grabbing a snack since neither one of us had had breakfast. Joyce was so happy to see LaVerne that she got all teary. LaVerne, Joyce, Mary Ellen, and I headed back home with a stop at Cracker Barrel for lunch. The blueberry pancakes were yummy. I was a little hesitant to let LaVerne drive home by herself, but she was insistent. Her only concession was that she'd call me when she got home, which she did. Whew. She's still doing good, just going to her doctor, and a heart doctor next week to check things out.

After that, it was time for the Associated Women for Christian Education conference (AWH, and other organizations like that from the other Christian schools). We had a nice dinner and I did icebreakers (got them moving around!). Lara Noah led singing (yeah!!!!!) and Kim did a devotional. We even went out to the Lily Pool, where Lara led us in more songs (yeah!!!!). On Friday, I had planned to go to the conference all day, but I had the opportunity to go to Beebe and interview their superintendent for one of my school assignments. So I did that, then went to the luncheon. I went by work for a while, then home but made it back for the dinner that night. We walked over to the Lightle House Inn for a scrumpious dinner - appetizers, an Italian dinner, entertainment by Joli & Paul Love (accompanied by Donna Jo Miller on piano), and the BEST EVER ITALIAN CREME CAKE. It was DE-lish. I savored every bite.

So other than that, it's just work and school. One of my coworkers, Amy, is pregnant. She's due Aug. 1 but figures she'll have him early (her first baby was 4 weeks early). But she's already started dilating and having a few contractions. The doctor gave her some medicine, told her to work only half days or less, and to try to make it through another week. If she had him now, she'd have to go to LR. So we're praying that she can hold off a while longer! The 4-H day camps are next week, so we'll all be pitching in.

School is going good. My online class is moving along. I even turned in my assignment due today EARLY. And I finished up the paper for the Ethics class and turned that in today. I've even gotten a lot done on my powerpoint to turn in next week. Now that I've finished the Ethics paper, I need to get started on my other class - the abstinence education class.

The last thing is my critter-sitting week-end. The Parnells live out near Letona and have animals that are more like their kids. When I started critter-sitting for them a few years ago, they had 2 horses, 2-3 dogs, and 2 cats. Now, they have 2 horses (Max and Cody), 1 dog (Lily, but she stayed at the neighbors luckily), 3 cats (Tigger, Baloo, and Jack), and 12 cows (Teddy the bull, Missy the heifer, Cindy the heifer, Matthew the bull calf, Milly the momma of Missy and Matthew, Rascal, Della, Sugar, Lisa, Sammy, Lady, and Amber). Sugar is my favorite. So, I go out and stay there (they do pay me), and the biggest job is feeding. I get the feed for the cows, go out to the barn. Check on the cats, give them some food (dry and the canned stuff) and fresh water. Then, I feed Max & Cody, spray them with fly spray. Then, it's on to Teddy who is waiting patiently for his feed and minerals. Then I feed the "girls" and Matthew - 3 small feeders for the young ones and 2 big things for the others. I put out all of the feed, THEN open the gate for them to mosey in. They are pretty serious about eating, especially in the mornings. They are fun to watch, and Sugar usually came over to me and let me pet her a while (she likes watching Jack too). I'd eventually get them all out of the feed area, close the gate. Then I might clean out the horse stall (Teddy got in there and messed them up good), and check the water for the horses and cows. Yeah, it's work, but it's fun too. They like me to talk to them (they are used to it I'm sure), and it gives me someone to talk to. I had planned on working on my paper and watching a little tv. I couldn't get the tv to work though. :-( I played online Friday night but finally went to bed. I kept hearing this noise though - like a pop. Took me a while to figure out - it was fireworks. Whew. Then early Saturday morning, the power must have gone off and come back on because the printer started "doing it's thing like when you turn it on" (whatever you call it!) and I couldn't figure out what that silly noise was. Saturday morning though, I figured the power had gone off because I had to reset the microwave clock....and then the computer wouldn't work. Nothing. Zilch. Sigh. No TV. No computer? I had homework! So, I drove home, messed around (painted my toenails - Passion), and got my laptop. Went back out there and started work. You know, with so few distractions, I got a lot done - finished my paper!!! Well, I did find a few books to read.... Saturday evening the neighbor across the road called. A couple of pit bulls had gotten loose in Letona and he wanted to warn me. He didn't think they'd get that far, but if the cows started getting spooked.... Then, the garage door wouldn't go down. I moved the car up - nothing. By that time I was tired, so I just looked the doors and went to bed. I was taking a last stroll before I left today when I scared a snake (I think it was just a king snake) and he scared me. Lo and behold, the garage door went down with no trouble. And I came home.

Here are Max, Cody, and Teddy:

Oh, and did I mention that I'm now in the Searcy Community Band? Yep. Found a horn to borrow since mine's still in the shop. I remember a lot, but I forgot a lot of fingerings! It's fun though, even though my mouth has been a bit sore. We have a concert at Spring Park on July 3. Come listen...and if you ever played an instrument and would like to join we'd love to have you! Especially if you play any low brass instrument. We meet on Monday nights at 7pm in the Reynolds Center at Harding. There's even a group on Facebook.

Joy

I went to a new Bible class tonight - a women's study of the book of James. Consider it a joy to face trials. So maybe to you that means those big trials. Like cancer - I think of Barby Smith on that one. Or maybe a marriage crisis. Or losing a child. But hey, those little things that annoy you? Nah, you don't need to be joyful about being late because of traffic, or that stress-induced neck pain, or even someone that hurts your feelings. Right? Nope. It's those smaller trials that give us good practice at being joyful - choosing that attitude - and can make a huge difference. So to me, that means being joyful at being single, and not wasting my time wishing for what I don't have. So I'm trying but it's a trial.

School is wild!!!! I have tons of papers to write, using APA format of course. I like blogs and news articles so much better. I enjoyed the Christian Ethics class over the week-end and I met some neat people. Now I just get to write a paper! My P-12 curriculum class is online and so far, so good. I've discussed on Blackboard, I'm even ahead in my reading. Now, I just need to work on my independent study class - abstinence education.

I'm headed to Mom's for the week-end. Taking my joy and my school work with me. Then next week, I get to go to Hot Springs with 8 other people (7 women, 1 man). I'll be staying in a room with 4 other women (it's actually a suite and I've already claimed the lumpy couch), so I'll be needing lots of joy and patience!!!

I hope you have a joyful week-end.

JOY

My Next Exciting Adventure!

I'm looking forward to a nice, relaxing trip. It will certainly be an adventure to go ALL the way to Little Rock and spend two nights!! I know, sounds silly - but with gas prices....this way I can get a little shopping and a sushi & Sam's fix!!! I think I even have a hotel room to myself. Wow.

I know you'd love to join me, but you know those little ones need you to be the "mean Mommy" and keep them in line. One day, they will thank you for your time, your energy, your love, and your "expertise" while marveling at your continued sanity. Go ahead, make them make their beds up, clean the sink out, play in the mud, ride bikes all over the neighborhood, eat their veggies, and wear mismatched clothes. Let the dishes sit on the counter and go watch them play for a while. Wonder at their imagination. Laugh with them. Ask them open-ended questions about their play. Be a good example of loving life.

Have a good week!