Onward and Upward

Wow, it's been an interesting year. Lots of ups and downs, probably about equal, but we made it. I've gotten to the point where I don't make resolutions usually, because I know that I won't keep them. Best of intentions and all that... How about a "What I'd Like to do in 2009" list instead? Not as much pressure...

1. The requesite Lose Weight. Been on my list for decades...lol
2. Read the Bible daily. Bill gave the one I'd been wanting for Christmas. (Life Application Bible) It's not like I don't have any others, but KJV kills me.
3. Another requestite...less procrastination. That one is hard for me. I don't know if I'm ADD or something, but it's hard.
4. Work on my photography skills (a fun one). I've always loved photography and would love to work on Black and White pics especially. I'm up for any pointers.

That's a good start.

2008 had it's good points for me.

1. Recieved 2 college degrees this year, March and December.
2. Got my notary license.
3. Now on the board for the band boosters.
etc....
I will continue to support and love my kiddos completely. I do feel that this year may be tough for the boys. I'm not sure why, but I'm there for them always.

Enough blather for the moment. Have a great NYE and a wonderful 2009. I thank all of you, my readers and the blog authors I read, for making me laugh, cry and think this year. You are the greatest.

Shopping, ho.....

Today my mom, Molly and I went shopping. Yeah, my mom just had knee surgery, but you can't keep the woman down. She works at the mall and needed to go to her store to let them know what was going on doctor wise and to see some of her friends. Mom got me a place setting for me, I collect Fiesta Ware and have now, 8 place settings in different colors. I started the collection right before we moved into the house, to bring some color into my life. ;-) Molly got a pair of red suade boots...very cool.

Here are the three of us at my moms store...mirrored ceilings, the three of us...I'm at the top of the pic, then Molly then mom...

We also visited Target and the local orchard. All in all, not a bad day.

I had hoped to hear from B today, considering it's his 16th birthday, but he won't answer his cell and he's probably by now on his way home. He'll be back at noon tomorrow. Then he'll be here for the evening and we'll do cake. More to come for him on the weekend.

Oooo...btw.... Here is the hutch that I got for free... Thrilled to say the least.

That's it for now...have a good evening.

Twitter mug

If you know me, you know I love coffee and the corresponding mugs that it goes in. I admit it, I'm a mugaholic. So, today, at Julie's, I find out about a Twitter mug contest. I started using Twitter a couple months ago, and while I don't have many followers, I think it's a pretty cool thing. If you would like in on the mug contest, head on over to Owen's to find out the details.

Merry Christmas

I want to wish every one a very Merry Christmas. :-)

After work I have church and a party to go to. I get the boys tomorrow and the rest of the family is coming over for the day.

Be safe.

I have a feeling this should be me.......

nataliedee.com

Whew...

I'm tired. Not sure why, though. Oh well, what else is new??

Got some of my shopping out of the way this weekend. M and I went to IKEA and White Marsh mall on Friday night. M got a bit scared when she saw all the people there....lol. When the kids were younger, we really didn't go to the mall much because we didn't have the money to spend there. I have since remedied that situation, not because I have the money to spend, but because it's fun. ;-) Did you know that if you go to Starbuck's and order a coffee, and they are currently brewing the coffee, they won't charge you for it?? I was stunned. Hey, I'll take the coffee, free or otherwise... ;-)

Saturday Bill, M and I went to the outlets in Lancaster. I had no idea that the Big Dogs chain was closing. Everything in the store was $10 and under. Well, got the boys some stuff there. Bill even got some boots. I usually have to drag him kicking and screaming to shop anywhere. He's a far cry from my ex who loves to shop and buy shoes for himself. But, Bill tells me he loves to spend time with me so he'll suffer through shopping....isn't that sweet?? ;-) Then M and I dragged him to another mall.....poor guy. But I did get some more stuff.

Now if I can just get him to hang up the stuff I need hung, I'll be a happy camper.

:-)

Need some assistance

Does anyone know how to create a one paragraph bio? I mean, formatting wise? I've been asked to be on a committee at my church that deals with some specific grants, meeting with legislators etc... and I need a bio. I have no clue how to do it. Anyone???

Why do I have, on the outside, a pretty good public life when (I feel) that my personal life is going to hell in a handbasket? Ok, it's not that bad, but geez... I better start taking my meds again... I have a wonderful husband, a good job, am on the board of the band boosters, just graduated from college, also just became a notary public and now asked to be on a committee...why don't I feel it? I am way beyond grateful and thankful, but I have no idea what to do anymore. I think my focus in life has been altered dramatically, and I don't know how to deal with it.

Sorry for the whining.... maybe shopping will help.... ;-)

Wow

I was reminded that I hadn't reported back on the cabinet I was picking up this past Saturday morning. OMG, I was stunned. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much. You know, something that needed to be refinished etc..., no problem. But when I got there to get the hutch I almost said to the lady..."Are you crazy??" The corner hutch I picked up FOR FREE was a floor to ceiling, 7 ft. tall, hand made, absolutely stunning looking cabinet. Glass doors, 2 drawers and a small cabinet at the bottom. I haven't taken pictures yet because it is still in my garage. My son, B, came with Bill and I and even he was impressed. I swear, they could have easily made money on this and the other stuff in their home. It seems that they just bought the house, were remodeling and the previous owner had built most of the cabinets etc... It will made a wonderful addition to my kitchen. :-)

The weather today sucks...blah. "Wintry Mix" my butt. Ice is more like it. Thank God I live a minute from work. But, I have no excuse to not be here...as my boss loves to point out...lol.

Be safe everyone. :-)

Madness

Well, maybe not........ I've had an interesting day. Not that I want to recount the whole darn thing, but I am frustrated and disappointed. Nothing that happened surprised me in the least, but there will some people who will gloat heavily at my expense right. about. now. Oh well, karma my friends can be a bit of a bitch.....

I've been on a couple freecycle type mailing lists for a month or so now. So far I've gotten a basket and tomorrow I will be, hopefully, picking up a corner hutch. I've been looking for one that wasn't too expensive, but hey, free is a very good price...to quote Tom Peterson....lol. We'll see what it looks like when I get it.

If anyone is interested in any woodwork, my husband is wanting to make and sell some. He will be making a cabinet (my Christmas present) and wants to branch out. He will start small (other than the cabinet) and make some cool looking boxes, and will go from there. I have told him about Etsy, and will show his work here when he's ready.

In the craft arena, I've been interested in the stamped jewelry for a while now. I found the stamps for a great price, but didn't get them yet. I may see where I can get the foundations and make some for myself. There are plenty of ladies who make these and they look wonderful.

Such a babbling post. What can I say, it's almost 11pm. :-)

Have a great weekend.

Oh no, it's Monday....

Another installation of the fun...

I did not laugh when the boys told Bill and M that "Mom cusses when she scared...". To explain, Saturday afternoon we had small snow/ice showers. So, in driving up a hill, I started to slide and get into an ice rut. I think why I was upset was that the people behind me , 5-10 cars, decided to go around me while I'm sliding up hill. I did do a bit of..."Oh no, you ARE NOT going around me."..with a couple choice words thrown in...lol

I did not want to throw said boys out of the truck when they were fighting earlier in the day.

Ok, not much, but hey....

Saturday stuff

Well, Saturday once again. Today the boys and I will do a bit of shopping. Bill got called into work, M is going to lunch with some ladies from work and then to dinner later with her dad, so it'll just be the boys and me.

We will head up to York and do a bit of Christmas shopping. No clue what I'm looking for, but we'll have fun. We'll also go a local orchard for some fruit. Thrilling stuff, huh? ;-)

I think we may also decorate the house for Christmas. I'll have to see what I have, which is not a whole lot. I get depressed about decorating sometimes. I just have no idea what to do. Couple that with not a whole lot of extra money for that stuff and it just compounds. Not as bad as it used to be, but it'll be ok.

Have a great weekend.

Late (semi) Wordless Wednesday

Gone...

I had a post all ready to go and Blogger ate it. :-( It was whiny and such, so I'm kinda glad it's gone. PMS must be rearing it's ugly head, I get blah around that time.

Oh well, I'll come back later and post because I was tagged by Maggie. ;-)

For a cause

Over on my sidebar you'll see a button for Rebel Without For a Cause. It is a raffle-way for a great camera package that will benefit Strings of Pearls. Visit MckMama for all the details.

Nada

Not sure if I have anything of value to say, but here goes.... :-)

First, I want to thank Heidi for mentioning my accomplishment. Totally surprised me, made me tear up. :-)

Second, go visit That Family for some wonderful gift ideas. I think I will steal both of them. ;-)

It's SITSmas time.... head on over to The Secret is in the Sauce for some good, clean (I hope..lol), fun.

Blowing my own horn

It is official..... I graduated today with a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration!! I started 2 1/2 years ago, going back to school after 20 years. I recieved an Associates degree in March and finished with a Bachelor's last week. Graduation was today. Online, but a ceremony nonetheless...

We have an appointment this afternoon for a family picture. This should be interesting...lol. I'll share when I get them.

Have a great day all!

Have a happy...

Sounds like everyone had a good Thanksgiving. Wednesday evening our church had a pre-Thanksgiving soup dinner and worship service. Bill worked late and joined the kids and I there when he finished. We had soup, bread and brownies. B wins the pig award at 5 bowls of soup, 5 pieces of bread and 3 brownies....lol. You know how 15 yo boys have hollow legs.... ;-)

Yesterday it was just the 5 of us and my mom. Bill made the rolls, my mom brought apple crumb pie and I did the rest...lol. I really like to cook, so a turkey dinner is nothing. I made a pie in the morning and we also had turkey, corn, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy and stuffing. Everyone was sufficiently stuffed. We then played a movie version of Scene It, which J and I won. :-)

I guess that's it for now. Tomorrow is picture day at our house...this will be interesting...lol.

Vent (edited)

Last night I got together with some women from church to discuss The Shack by William Young. I really like that book. An interesting view of the trinity. Of course, you get 4 women together, they always go off on tangents. :-) But, we had a good conversation, and since we met at Starbucks, we had good coffee too.

Photo intensive

Thought I'd share some pics that I mentioned before. :-) Date night with J: Inner Harbor in Baltimore.

From 10-11/2008

From 10-11/2008

The interior of Barnes and Noble:

From 10-11/2008

From 10-11/2008

In this you may notice the "k" is missing. J and I surmised it was for Halloween. ;-)

From 10-11/2008

From 10-11/2008

Above the bar at the Hard Rock:

From 10-11/2008

J looking at the menu.

From 10-11/2008

Jimi Hendrix's coat:

From 10-11/2008

The worship team at church:

From 10-11/2008

B, M and the pastor's son:

From 10-11/2008

Yesterday, in addition to being Veteran's Day, was my 1st wedding anniversary. We decided to take a trip to the Philadelphia suburbs where I was born and my family is buried.

From 10-11/2008

In the IKEA at Conshohocken PA:

View from the restaurant and Bill sitting in the restaurant.

From 10-11/2008

From 10-11/2008

As I said, I am from the Philly area and my dad and older brother are both buried there. My dad died 31 years ago this past Monday and my oldest brother passed away last year. A couple views from the cemetary.

From 10-11/2008

From 10-11/2008

From 10-11/2008

From 10-11/2008

I hope all of you are doing well. :-)

Weekend recap

Friday night was the National Championships for band. 3rd place out of 19 bands.....not bad at all. :-) Saturday they placed 3rd in Cavalcade. Not bad either, but I think they were a bit disappointed in 3rd, but I am proud either way.

While B was at the comp on Saturday, J and I had a "date night". We drove down to the Inner Harbor in Baltimore and hung out. Walked around, took pics, people watched and had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. We looked around Barnes and Noble (found some things I may get as gifts) and then he played a couple games at the ESPN Zone. On the way home we stopped at Starbuck's and looked in Game Stop. All in all, a good day. :-)

Yesterday the kids and I (Bill worked both days at home), spent the morning and part of the afternoon at church. B decided to join the worship team with M, so that was cool. They got many compliments from the congregation. I was told that I was beaming....well, of course. :-D Afterwards, we had a dinner for the pastor and his family. Had a great time eating and joking around with everyone.

I do have pics, but need to get them on the computer...more to come.

It's almost over

Band season, that is. ;-) Last night we did a final dress rehearsal for the familes of band students and the community. As the pres, I had to talk to the crowd. Thank God I have speech writers other board members who know what needs to be said, and I just read it. ;-) The show went great, as usual. Today they are headed to the Naval Academy for the show.

I guess life will go back to whatever normal is next week. Band wise we'll be gearing the kids up for the Disney trip next month and I'll be starting work on the annual Jazz Fest that I'm co-chairing again this year.

I'm still feeling anxious, not sure why though. Oh well, I'll muddle through.

Odd

I'm feeling a bit odd today. Not in a sick/have a cold kind of way, maybe just a bit off. Not easy to explain. I guess it would be more in the anxiety attack spectrum, but I'm not freaking out or anything.

I did vote last night with M, turns out Bill was in line when we left, but we didn't see him. Afterwards the three of us and mom had dinner at Cracker Barrel. I did some homework, watched House and clicked on election returns occasionally throughout the evening. So, yeah, I'm one exciting person... ;-)

I get to spend the evening with the boys. :-) Actually, only about an hour or so with B because he has band practice, but I'll take what I can get. We've made Wednesday night game night at my house. After this week, we should be in full swing. Dinner and game night when I have them. This weekend is my weekend with them. Friday B will be in Annapolis with the band for USSBA National Championships and Saturday evening at Cavalcade Band Championships. For Cavalcade we are ranked 2nd. :-) I won't be at Fridays competition, but not sure about Saturday.

Well, have a great day all. ;-)

Time to vote

As many bloggers and others have already stated today, go out and vote. I don't discuss politics too much, only because I don't keep up on all the details. The big ones, yeah, but not the nit picky other stuff. To be honest, I didn't even decide who I was voting for in the presidential election until the other day. My kids and I have discussed the election a bit, I know who my boys would vote for, if they were old enough and M will vote in her first election this afternoon. She and I will vote after I get off work.

I have started the process to become a notary in the state (or commonwealth) of Pennsylvania. I have all my stuff, but to finish I will be taking a seminar next Friday for 3 hours. Then, I think, I will be official.

Other than that...nada... ;-)

Woot!

Another bragging band mom moment. Competition in Red Lion PA last night, we got 2nd place out of 5. Not bad. Show was wonderful, even though 2 of our props fell over before the show started, but we got them upright and went on.

Last weeks competition ended up being indoors because of rain, and if I didn't mention, we got 1st! I am going to link to a youtube (actually 3 parts) in case you'd like to see it.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Hope you enjoy.

Blather

It's almost 10pm and I'm on the laptop in the kitchen. Wow, such exciting stuff...

I'm actually doing homework. I'm on my last 3 classes and they are the worst by far. Blech... I can still see the tv from where I sit, so I'm cool. :-) I actually have to have some noise on in the background (kids don't count...lol). I have one assignment left to go and I'm almost done with it.

I left work early and came home and made some cookie bars for my church's Christmas bazaar tomorrow. It seems like every church in the area is having a bazaar tomorrow. I have a couple hours to kill before my band duties start, so I may check out some of them, as well as dragging M to go apply for jobs. (That girl is driving me nuts.....she's being unusually lazy about finding a job even though I told her that her school career, through me, depends on it.)

I talked to B for a bit today. He's going to see Rocky Horror Picture show tonight with friends at 10pm. If he was with me tonight we were going to go to the midnight showing and dress up and bring props. ;-) We'd have a killer time. J wanted to visit his girlfriend instead of going T or Ting with the step sister, but I have no idea if he was permitted or not.

As you may be able to tell, I am stalling on doing my homework....lol. That's cool, it'll get done, I have 3 hours until it needs to be turned in. But I want to go to bed soon, so I'll finish.

For those that have asked...Bill is doing much better. While the docs didn't find anything "wrong", they put him on some meds that have calmed things down a bit and he seems to be feeling much better.

Well, I better get to it... Have a great night and a great weekend.

Happy Halloween

Last night B was in a Halloween concert with the high school orchestra. The only time I didn't have my camera with me.... All the kids and directors were dressed up and B and his fellow sax players were flashers. He wore a trench coat, white socks and black shoes. I will assume, for sanities sake, that he did have something on under the trench coat....lol.

Not much going on tonight. I think I may drag Bill to IKEA.

More band stuff this weekend. J's last football game was last night. I didn't get to go, but I did talk to him. They almost won, but J did stop a 2 point conversion by sacking the quarterback. He was thrilled.
Have a safe and Happy Halloween and don't eat too much candy.

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for my wonderful husband, who, in spite of the roller coaster I have put him on, loves me unconditionally.

I am thankful for my kid, even when they drive me nuts. ;-)

I am thankful for my friends who stick by me.

I am thankful for having a job.

Who Am I?

In church a couple weeks ago we watched a video. It was called "Name" and it was by a pastor from Michigan named Rob Bell. The back story of the video is the story of Jacob from the bible. At this point Jacob is wrestling with an angel and after fighting all night, the angel wants Jacob to let him go, but all Jacob wants is a blessing from him. To that, the angel says..."What is your name?"Pastor Bell explains that, in that time period, your name means everything. It is who you are. It is your reputation. Before this, Jacob tried to get his brother, Essau's birthright by lying to their father. So, by the time the angel asks Jacob his name, he's been through a slight identity crisis.

In the video there are people wearing shirts with words that describe them. Some are good like...listener, kind, artist..., but some aren't as good...: HIV+ (depending on your perspecitve, I guess), addict, anorexic, bankrupt, etc...

This video got me thinking. Who am I? What am I doing? Ultimately, I always ask... Why?Ok, let's see... I am a mom, a wife, a sister, a daughter, a friend, a banker, a college graduate, a volunteer, etc... But, are any of those things who I really am? Does any one think I am trustworthy, friendly, nice, hard working, etc...? I would like to think so, but ultimately what others think should not affect me. But, I guess it does. My ex thinks I am worthless and tries to tell my kids that. But, they don't fall for it. That's good... My brother gets mad when my kids defend their dad, but that's not his concern. Both of these scenarios bother me, though. I just want to feel like I fit in somewhere. I see people all over that seem to get all the breaks. Jealousy doesn't really get into this, but I'm sure there is a bit of that too. There are lots of people that have more money than I, but money isn't everything. Maybe I am just under some sort of black cloud some days. There are days when it's sunny, but then the cloud rolls in. I have a tendency to be depressed, but not as often as I used to. PMS rears its ugly head, but it passes. I try to let things roll off my back, but some days its hard. As far as what I do in my current career, I am known in my community. I live and work in the same town I grew up in. Many people I deal with in a business capacity I have known for 30 years or more. I am president of the schools band booster club, some of the parents I went to school with or they also graduated from the same school. I have ties and connections. The people I work with in the firehall I have known for 30 years and I grew up with their kids. I am getting my kids involved in the community also. But why do I feel like the bad guy sometimes? Can one person really affect me this badly? Well, it's time to defeat that person....even if it is just in my own mind...

The weekend

My weekend started Friday evening by dropping B's uniform off to him at school and then picking up J. So, J and I order pizza and a sub for the rest of the fam and have a pretty cool conversation. He went over his football game, almost play by play, because I was working and missed the game. He really enjoys football and I can see him going pretty far with it.

Saturday was another competition day. Since it was a later report time, B hung with some band friends and Bill, J and I went shopping a bit. The three of us got to the school in time to feed the band and have some ourselves. Bill was with the pit crew and J and I rode the bus, I was chaperoning. It poured the whole day so they moved the competition indoors. In that case, usually the bands, usually, just stand still (in the gym) and the colorguard will twirl the flags etc.... But our band did it differently. We still used a couple props (moved by J and I) and the band did do some marching and dancing. They learned that all in less than 2 hours. In the end, we Wowed the judges and audience. First place in our division, best music and best drumline...highest score of any of the bands there. They were awesome!

Yesterday we did the church thing. The boys are now going to sunday school...I tell ya, they are thrilled...lol.. But, no complaints and B is probably going to play tenor sax with the worship team along side M (who is also thrilled...lol). I'm trying to make this work, and I think it will....

Photo blog

Ya know, when I had my own domain and used MT, I loved having a photo blog separate from my usual one, one of these days.....

I thought I'd just catch up with pics I've mentioned and taken over the past month or so.  So, here goes....  (Ok, blogger is pissing me off, can't get these in the right order, so bear with me...)

Took this pic this morning.  Finally finished painting the living room.  Here is my fireplace and mantle.  The one pic missing on mantle is of B.  Need a frame.  But I have J's football team, J, M's senior pic and B with the band.  Plus the pup on the floor.

This was in the waiting room at Hershey Medical.  Gorgeous stained glass.
M and B fooling around and then a couple minutes later looking forlorn...lol.

Ren Faire Pics:

As I mentioned, I went on stage with Todd from the Tartan Terrors at the Ren Faire.  The first 2 are of me with him.  The next is the whole band and the last is Todd, himself.

J at one of his football games (number 55):

Who I work for:

I guess that's it for now.  ;-)

Coffee goodness...

If you know me, you know that I LOVE coffee. Here is a great new site that is having a giveaway. Visit GetTheBean to see what's up.

Oh no I didn't...

I did not act shocked when our band became STATE CHAMPIONS in our division in USSBA competition on Saturday. (Seriously, not because I didn't think they are good or anything, we just hadn't competed against any of the 5 bands in our division. Everyone was surprised.)

I did not leave a message with my lawyer on Saturday complete with screaming and crying.

I'm sure there's more, but I can't think of it. ;-)

It's that time of year...

I love the fall. I'm just not all that organized enough to decorate a bunch. :-) But I got some Maxine cartoons in my email this morning that I just loved. I needed a laugh.

Songs from above

I will admit I am not doing well with this situation. I am hurting so badly, but I know it will be ok in the end. This morning, when my alarm went off (set to radio), the lyrics that play right away were.."One Step at a Time" by Jordin Sparks. Then as I turned on the radio the song (when I went to take a shower) "Living on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi was just ending. I was starting to think that something was up. The next song that played was "I'll Stand by You" by the Pretenders. I actually listened to the words this time...

Oh, why you look so sad?

Tears are in your eyes

Come on and come to me now

Dont be ashamed to cry

Let me see you through cause Ive seen the dark side too

When the night falls on you

You dont know what to do

Nothing you confess

Could make me love you less

Ill stand by you

Ill stand by you

Wont let nobody hurt you

Ill stand by you

So if youre mad, get mad

Dont hold it all inside

Come on and talk to me now

Hey, what you got to hide?

I get angry too

Well Im a lot like you

When youre standing at the crossroads

And dont know which path to choose

Let me come along cause even if youre wrong

Ill stand by you

Ill stand by you

Wont let nobody hurt you

Ill stand by you

Take me in, into your darkest hour

And Ill never desert you

Ill stand by you

And when...When the night falls on you, baby

Youre feeling all alone

You wont be on your own

Ill stand by you

Ill stand by you

Wont let nobody hurt you

Ill stand by you

Take me in, into your darkest hour

And Ill never desert you

Ill stand by you

Ill stand by you

Wont let nobody hurt you

Ill stand by you

Wont let nobody hurt you

Ill stand by you

Ok, I get it.....don't have to like it, but I get it.

You like me.....

I have been awarded....*blush* Thank you so much to Heidi. I'm still not sure if I'm worthy, but I appreciate it all the same.

In order to officially claim this award I need to list 6 things I love and pass it on to 6 more bloggers. Here goes....

1. Coffee... need I say more?

2. Reading....always have a book in hand.

3. My kids and hubby....again, need I say more?

4. Blogging... while I rarely have anything exciting to say, I've been doing this for 7 years and love it. I've met wonderful people.

5. Music... I hate silence, makes me nervous, so I usually have some sort of music on. Even at work.

6. My friends...online and IRL, you guys are wonderful and so supportive.

And...the bloggers:

Cheryl: sister-in-law and cook extraordinaire (would you believe I have 3 SIL's named Cheryl...freaky man)

Heidi: long time message board sister (knew her back when she only had one kid...lol)

Mary: I don't know Mary very well, I divorced her husband's brother before they got married, but she has a great cooking blog.

....I will just say that anyone else that reads this can be awarded. ;-)

It's over.....

Custody did change, he got primary physical custody of the boys. I will have them 3 weekends a month, every Wednesday evening and every other week in the summer (which is what we have now). He wanted me to have them less, but obviously, the judge thought otherwise.

Thanks to everyone for their good thoughts. I will resume my normal, abnormal posting tomorrow. :-)

Blah

I'm nervous.  I hate it.  Anxiety sucks.  Tomorrow we get the decision on custody.  Realistically, I don't think it will change, but the ex is so convinced that he'll win that he's practically got the boys packing their bags for him to get them tomorrow evening (they are with me this week).  

Bill is still in the hospital, I've had off from work since Friday night and I'm blah.  I should be getting Bill today to bring him home, but the way the docs are there, they keep changing their minds.  I/We will not be going back to that hospital again. 

School days...

It seems that everyone in my house is going to school. I have my 2 boys in middle and high school and all that goes with it, my daughter is a freshman at Penn State, my husband is constantly doing classes for work (he works for the Dept of Defense and has degrees in BioChemistry, Computer Science and some other stuff including a major in Russian Literature and can speak German, Hebrew and Russian....I feel positively inadequate around him sometimes...) and I am currently in my last session at Colorado Technical University Online. I graduated with an Associates Degree in March and will have my Bachelors in December. My degrees are in Business Administration. I am taking my last 3 classes right now. I am trying to impart into my children the need for education. It took me 20 years to finally go back to school and I'm glad I did. The downer is the kids' dad. He thinks that M will drop out of college (over my dead body) and be a bum. B wants to either be a music or English teacher and J wants the military. J also wants to go to the NFL, to which I told my non scholarly kid that he needs to go to college to make that happen. He is my planner so he figures he'll go into the military and then go to college on the GI Bill (if that even still exists). Hey, as long as there is some sort of thought going into this stuff, I'm all for it.

Bill is still in the hospital, but will probably be out tomorrow (crosses fingers). They found a pulmonary embolism, a small one (blood clot in lungs). He's on blood thinners and will be for the foreseeable future.

Band night at the high school football game tonight. I get to preside in all my presidential glory...lol. Well, at least talk to people. ;-) What we do is have a tailgate party with the band kids from the elementary, middle and high schools, which includes food and games. Then all the middle and high school bands do a combined pre game "show" and all the kids play in the stands for the game. It is a high light for the younger kids. I will try to get pictures of it. I must say I was surprised to see they had band night when I moved back here. When I went to this school, if you were in band...not necessarily a good thing to others. I know...they were just jealous. ;-)

Band competition tomorrow. We're doing pretty well this season. I am so proud of all of the kids.

Once was lost, but now is found....

While a wonderful song lyric, I do mean my glasses. Yesterday, I did again look over my bedroom up and down....tore the bed apart, looked under and behind the bed and nightstands, etc... But to no avail. Ok, at least I have another pair. So at about 2am, while sleeping, I turn over and my knee almost knocks something off the bed....lo and behold...the missing glasses. Still have no idea how they materialized, but I am once again a happy camper. ;-)

M and I visited Bill last night at the hospital. He is feeling ok, but the fever and infection are still running rampant. Today, at some point, he will get a CT scan and an MRI to rule out blood clots.

I must tell you about our foray to dinner last night. M, for those that do not know, is my lovely 18 yo daughter. Some that read may remember her as my 8 yo daughter....lol. But I digress.... We get along wonderfully and have pretty much the same type of sense of humor. We had an interesting time trying to get dinner. Bill is in Penn State Hershey Medical Center in Hershey PA. Home of the wonderful Hersheypark (amusement park). We attempt to go to the Hershey Grill for dinner. I am wearing my work clothes and M is wearing a (clean) sweatshirt and tan jeans. Not shabby looking at all. But, you should have seen the looks we were getting from the hostess. You would have thought we'd crawled out of a mud pit. So she asks if I have a reservation. No, I tell her. She looks me in the eye and says 45 minutes. I look around at the empty restaurant and say... Seriously?? Well, sorry, forget it. Then we go to a small diner and get looked at oddly again when asking for a table. But, this time, we get seated...as the whole place looks at us. We get that alot...but I keep telling M that we are so gorgeous that they are jealous...lol. We ate and got the heck out of Dodge, or Hershey as it were...

Here is M....my gorgeous baby...

I'm an idiot

Well...maybe, maybe not.... Last night, when I went to bed, I took off my glasses...per usual. I wear them all the time so it's not like I lay them down and misplace them. But....when I woke up this morning they were gone. GONE! I have no earthly clue where they went. My cats could have taken them, but why? Good thing I got a spare pair recently. I never have a spare pair of glasses, but I got a good deal on ones with the photogray sunglass type changing lenses. I am stumped as to where they went though....

I talked to Bill this morning (he didn't want me to make the trip up to see him last night...an hour or so away and spending gas money...typical of him....) and he's going to have to stay a couple more days. His infection is not going away, not the right combo of antibiotics. They are keeping him until they get a handle on it.

Confession time

I must confess..... I will admit to being a bit afraid of doing it....

I have heard so much about the book Twilight that I read it after M was done with her friend's copy. I finished it yesterday while at the hospital.

Here is my confession....

I.

Hated.

it....

There...I said it. My oh my.....I did not like it one little bit. By the first 100 pages I was ready to put it down and walk away. But, I persevered and gave it a shot. Didn't work.

I read alot...and I mean alot.... I always have a book in hand. And....I LOVE vampire books.... Anne Rice, Charlaine Harris...you name it, I'll read it and usually like it. This book did not do it for me. I was actually bored reading it, but I tried.

To all those that love Twilight and the other books in the series....I am so glad, but they are just not for me.

A day late

Since I was out all day yesterday, I will post about yesterday a day late.

1. I did not spend 3 hours waiting for my husband to be taken into surgery.

2. I did not sit for 5 hours drinking a large Starbucks coffee and jonesing for more in a waiting room.

3. I did not try to talk to doctors and nurses and tell them why my husband was shaking because of a morphine reaction. (non-life threatening)

4. I did not think the McDonalds drive thru guy was an idiot for walking away and thinking I was trying to "dine and dash".

Blech

I'm sick. Blah... Not horribly, just a sore throat and losing my voice. Hopefully it won't go as usual and I'll sound like a 90 year old, 6 pack a day smoker on oxygen.

Nothing special going on around the ole casa. Mainly hanging with the kids, which has been hilarious lately. Just the typical joking and talking, but it's been fun.

Band fundraiser tomorrow.... handing out flyers at homes and at WalMart. We need some funds for Disney in Dec.

I think I may go out and rent a movie or two for the family. It's been a while since we've done that. We watch tons of stuff on TV, but renting, not so much.

Have a wonderful weekend.

I am dying to write something profound, but hey, it's me we're talking about, so it's a no-go. So, I guess it's a random sort of day.

Saturday was down right soggy. Bill, M and I went to the Ren Faire. It pretty much poured the whole time we were there. (I do have some pics that will be posted later) The main reason I wanted to go was to see the Tartan Terrors. They are hilarious as well as talented. This day was my day to be called up on the stage by Todd. And yes, I do have pictures. One of my coworkers was there also and got it on video. Not on YouTube yet, but who knows...lol.

I will be starting, with a couple women from my church, a book discussion on The Shack by William Young. I read this book in one day, I liked it so much. I need to reread it before we start discussion on it. Primarily what I would call a Christian fiction book, it's not preachy (thank God) and delves into the Trinity aspect of Christianity. I highly recommend this book.

I need to mention a small bit about court. Nothing out of the ordinary, typical crap. I really was upset when he didn't disagree when my lawyer asked him if he thought M was a "loser". Yeah, she's going to college full time and she's a loser. Ok, whatever....

I guess that's enough randomness for now.

Court

We did the court thing yesterday. Decision isn't until Oct 15, so it's still a waiting game. Basically, I made him look bad and he made me look bad...par for the course. I'm sure he's still cocky as hell and thinking he "won", but it's still a toss up. Thanks for all the support.

Got the call

Looks like trial on Thursday. Good thoughts would be appreciated.

Weekend recap

Had a busy weekend again. Friday night was a football game, at Northeastern High School. I had no idea this high school didn't have football team until this year. Well, their record was a bit better than ours, but we still won 35-0.

Saturday morning I baked 3 pans of brownies for the band, we feed them dinner on competition days. This time it was tacos, nachos, refried beans, rice and dessert (cookies, brownies, cupcakes). We headed up towards Harrisburg for the competition. Well, they got 1st place!! 2 more weeks until the next one.

This week is supposed to be custody trial week. If we go, it'll be Thurs or Friday. But, the judge that wants our trial is tied up all week in another trial. So, who knows.

Bill has had a tiring weekend. He worked over 12 hours Fri/Sat and 14 hours yesterday. Got home around 2:30 am. He also had an appt with a specialist at Hershey Medical. Healing prayers/thoughts would be appreciated.

Guess that's it for now. ;-)

'Fro Me to You

We will be looking at the past and present, in pictures today. ;-)

I have 2 best friends, Kim and Lisa, that I have known since childhood. We did lots of stuff together then and now. Even when I lived out of state for 15 years we kept in touch. I can't imagine not having them as friends, they are wonderful.

Here we are on my 16th birthday. My Oma, Lisa, Kim, me and my little brother.



This is us last year, Kim, me and Lisa.



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