Husband and OS are on their way home. YAY! It's been nice to just have to take care of myself & YS, but it will be nice to have Husband home. OS was suppose to start classes yesterday. Luckily the university he goes to doesn't have the policy that the big university where MS goes: If they're absent the first class, they get dropped from the class. I guess the big u has people waiting to get into a class, and if you're not serious about going to class, there's someone else willing to pay to get in. Husband sent me a picture from a campground a few nights ago. He said this was about 200 feet from his campsite and the main building:
I don't know how y'all feel about this, but I would feel much better if this had been seen outside of a hotel, not in a campground! Somehow knowing that a bear could tear through a piece of canvas isn't very comforting.
Middle son came by Friday night to get yet another piece of clothing he needed. He had his rugby practice uniform on, and of course I had to take a picture. I have to admit: it looks kind of dopey; I think I caught him as he was looking at his suitemate and saying something to him!
He is loving the big university. I have to tell y'all something funny, though. I got an e-mail from a blogging friend the other day. She said that she was in the cafeteria and saw a guy that she thought she may know. Then she realized it was MS! She said that she didn't say anything to him because she wasn't sure how to explain to him that she knew me but didn't know me. I thought it was pretty cool that she recognized MS. I made sure he knew that she had seen him so that if she sees him again and speaks to him, he'll know that she's not some crazy person someone he can speak to!
High school football is in full swing. Last Thursday was our big rivalry game. This game has been played for more than 80 years, and has been pretty fierce. There have been years of egg fights at the bridge, pranks on the other schools, and just down right not liking each other. The dislike has seemed to lost a little of the edge as people have moved in and just don't understand what the rivalry is all about. You have David Vs. Goliath; the small blue-collar school vs. the big white-collar school. Last year our high school beat the other one; before that it had been 9 years since we had won. It seems like every year we push each other to be better. I don't remember many years when one school has been up and the other has been down. So, how did it turn out on Thursday night? Here's a photo of the final scoreboard, compliments of my friend Kimert:
YAY! We won for the 2nd year in a row! This had been the 1st time in 10 years that they had been beat on their home field. Who beat them the last time? Why, it was our little bitty school! I didn't feel the excitement during the day that I had in the past; I guess it was because I don't have a football player this year. The game was on tv, so I opted to stay at home and watch. Y'all have no idea how crazy this game gets: There are usually around 10,000 people there. We only have 8,000 in our town. People are in line at 4:00 to get into the gates at 4:30; the game started at 7:00. This is a huge game for bragging rights in the county. There are a couple of other high schools in the county, but they haven't had very good teams for a while. Anyway, once the game was coming on, the ol' excitement came back! Remember I yell at the tv during ballgames? My jack russell mutt jumped off of the couch at one point and slinked off to the bedroom. The game went back and forth; no one ever lead by more than 4 points at any part of the game. Very exciting!
Another high school football game took place on Friday night that was exciting: EHS (my husband's alma mater) had their first home football game in their new stadium. The old stadium had been damaged during the tornado 3 years ago. The students are now in their new school, which is the largest campus in Alabama. The pictures of the school are amazing; that is one beautiful school! If you choose to look at the pictures on the following site, you'll see the mosaic of the wildcat that was in the old school. George Bush, when he visited the old high school after the tornado, insisted that the mosaic be preserved and put in its own place in the new school. Home, at last. New Enterprise High School opens | Dothan Eagle
Does the whole town turn out for high school football games in your hometown, or is it just another night?
The homily yesterday was about humility. Webster's Dictionary defines humility as "absence of pride or self-assertion". During the homily, one thing that Father said was, "Humility is not thinking less of ourselves; it's thinking of ourselves less." That got me thinking about how I really try to be humble, but my pride gets in the way. The Gospel was Luke 14:1,7-14, when Jesus told a parable about where to sit when you are invited to a celebration. Can you imagine thinking that you are so important that you should sit at the head of the table (or near the head), then the embarrassment of having the host ask you to move because someone who is considered more important was to sit in that spot?Talk about just wanting to 'up and die'! Within the reading there are the verses: "For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Isn't that the truth? How many times have I come in on my high horse, just to be knocked down? Then again, how many times have I done something that other people have taken credit for, and how hard is it for me to just sit there and not say something? Is there any way to try to get credit for something without coming off like a total jerk? I guess another way to say it is, "What goes around, comes around."
Father also tied in the first Beatitude with humility: Blessed are the poor in spirit, theirs is the kingdom of heaven. If you aren't familiar with the Beatitudes, you can find them here or you can find them at Matthew 5: 3-12. In fact, the site referenced explains the first beatitude as this:
"Poor in spirit" means to be humble. Humility is the realization that all your gifts and blessings come from the grace of God. To have poverty of spirit means to be completely empty and open to the Word of God. When we are an empty cup and devoid of pride, we are humble. Humility brings an openness and an inner peace, allowing one to do the will of God.
Definitely something that I need to think about and work on!
A friend posted this video on FB. I thought it was hilarious! I know that the stereotype of southerners is that we're not that smart, and this pretty much sheds a bad light on SC Education. (When we lived in SC, we used to say that the state's education model was "Thank God for Mississippi" because SC was ranked 49th in the country, and MS was 50th.) If it had been someone with a northern accent, I think it would've still been funny!The fun begins around 1 minute into the video.
Now that I have you laughing, prepare to be amazed! My FIL sent this video to me. Really cool (the trying on part..the signing kind of creeped me out)!
I hesitated to do this week's Flashback because there are so many things I could say about music in my life! So, I'll try to keep it simple!
This week's prompts:
What role did music play in your growing up years? What, if any, music do you associate with early childhood? What music style or songs were popular when you were in high school? How did you listen to music - on the radio, albums, etc. Did you have a stereo in your room? Did you attend concerts when you were a teenager? Did the music you liked cause conflict with your parents? What song or songs take you back to a certain place and time of your youth?
My mother wanted to be a concert pianist when she grew up. So, obviously we had a lot of music in the house when I was growing up. All different kinds of music. And, having older siblings (the oldest is 9 years older than I), I was exposed to the great music in the late 60's when the oldest siblings were teenagers. A 60's song will come on the radio and I'll be taken back to the pool, seeing the teenagers sitting out on the grassy area with their towels and blankets, radios blaring. Especially "Brandy" by Looking Glass. Yes, I know this came out in 1972 (because I looked it up...gotta love the 'net!). I was a child of the 70's and loved everything from Barry Manilow to some Van Halen & AC/DC. I even got into some Oak Ridge Boys and Alabama! Then there are the show tunes from musicals. At one point when the boys were little, I bought the soundtrack from Oklahoma and would blare it on the car radio, singing along at the top of my voice, much to the horror of the boys. (But that's our right as a parent, correct?) Okay, back to the topic! I listened to the radio, but I did get a portable 8-track player for Christmas one year. My music never conflicted with my parents' taste...not that I know of, anyway. My parents were really good to not say anything if they didn't like it! I never went to any concerts. My first concert ever was one of the best bands of all time: Chicago. And, it was when I was in college. I also saw Loverboy when I was in college. And that completes the list of concerts I've seen...except for The Judds when OS was little. My mother's family was very music-oriented. One of her brothers (who was a priest) taught us a lot of cool bible songs...I guess he's the one who introduced me to Christian music! Even though I don't hear those songs, just thinking about them takes me back to when we had visits from family in Tx., or when we would go to visit family in Tx. There are so many songs that remind me of different times in my life. The Supremes (Where Did our Love Go and Stop in the Name of Love) remind me of when I was 4 or 5 and my older siblings were in school. Mom would put the record on the player for me while I played with my dolls. Then there was the Cowsills (Remember them? They sang "Hair" and "Love American Style")...I used to sneak my older brother's album and play that when he wasn't home. Then of course, there is Chicago that reminds me of summer nights growing up. I could go on & on boring you, so I think I'll stop before people stop following! I'll leave you with one of my favorite Cowsill songs. (Trivia: The Cowsills were approached to be in a tv series, but the role of the mom had already been filled so they turned it down. The tv series? The Partridge Family, which is probably what drew me to them!)
Remember that song from a children's show? It's running through my head now, and I have no idea what show it came from! Maybe someone can help me out?
Anyway, I'm posting some of my husband's pictures from his trip this far. Enjoy!
This was his campsite a couple of nights ago. I love the colors in the background. You may have to click on it to get the full effect!
This is known as "Aspen Alley". It's apparently one of the most photographed scenes among Adventure Riders.
OS is having the time of his life. This is the farthest he's been from home, and the first vacation he's had (not counting trips to the beach & DisneyWorld with the family). He and a friend went 4 wheeling for his friend's birthday.A little bit of bad news here: The vehicle my son was on had something wrong with it when he returned it. I'm sure it was just wear & tear; nothing different than what happens on a daily basis. BUT, the policy is that you have to pay 1/2 of the repairs. OS was extremely upset because he didn't have the extra money to pay for it. It's just his luck that something would happen to his vehicle.
Here are a couple of his pictures:
He is loving it out in Wy. I have a feeling if he gets the chance, he's going to be out there after he graduates! He's having a great time, and he deserves it: he's been working hard in school, and trying very hard to do the right thing.
Hope you've enjoyed the pictures! Have a great day!
Time again for Random Dozen! YAY, Linda! Some of these are hard...they're making me think this week!
1. What is your favorite Mexican dish? When we go out I usually just get a chicken burrito. There is a new Mexican restaurant in town, and I had a fajita quesadilla...out of this world! The margaritas were most excellent, too!
2. When you were a kid, did you get started on your homework right away after school, or did you procrastinate?
My parents believed in working first, then playing, which is what I did.
3. What is your favorite store for home furnishings?
I really, really like Hobby Lobby for the finishing touches. I could spend hours in there, dreaming.
For big furnishings, I don't really have a favorite. We bought some furniture from this guy when we moved into our house 6 years ago:
4. When you were young, did you like school lunches?
I loved school lunches, especially since I very rarely (like once in a blue moon!) got to buy my lunch. 9 siblings, remember? Although there were "only" 9 of us in school at one time.
5. Is religion a crutch? This question is waaaay too deep for me right now!
6. In your region, what is the "big" (most popular in the community or state) high school sport?
Hmmmm...I wonder how many readers/followers out there would be able to answer this question for me? (HA!) Definitely football. Last year the high school tied our rival high school for the most ever state championships. We're a 3A school, and our rival is a 6A. The high school I attended has won state championships in A, AA, and AAA classes.
Here's a picture of the "bling" that's in our house:
(Photo by Saul Young)
But, what's even more amazing than those rings, is the coach who led the team to 4 of those. He believes in building the boy into a man. He has kicked players off of the team who were expected to play major roles on the team for doing things they should know better. During the football game last Friday, one of our players was ejected for getting in a scuffle (I wasn't there so I 'm not sure exactly what happened) with a player from the other team. TSSAA says that if a player is ejected, he can not play the next game. The head coach said that the player may be out for more than one game...that's not acceptable for a player on his team. I also heard that during a scrimmage, a member of the opponent team called one of our players a cuss word. Our player cussed back at him, and the head coach made our player go to the opponent and apologize. OS & MS were both very fortunate to have had that man help mold them into young men. It's going to be interesting to see if the team can get their 7th ring in as many years, especially since there's not one of our boys on the team! We've been here for 6 years, and they have 6 rings.
7. Do you consider yourself rich? Monetarily: definitely not. But, I have my health, and my boys are all healthy and have grown/are growing into nice young men. So, in that aspect, most definitely!
8. Which of these would you have the best chance for success in administering:
A) CPR
B) Heimlich Maneuver
C) Changing a flat tire
I've been trained in CPR, but would totally freak out if I ever had to do it. I have no idea how to change a flat tire, unless it would be to pick up my cell and call my insurance to have someone come out and change it! I think I could do a Heimlich Maneuver if I had to, so I'm going with "B"....final answer.
9. Which dance would you prefer to learn & why:
A) Salsa
B) Hip Hop
C) Waltz
D) Swing
C) Waltz. It's so graceful, and I actually kinda learned how to do it when I was in Tx. at a dance in West, Tx. Of course, it was to country music, so I'm not sure it that would really count!
10. What's the worst news you've ever delivered to someone? I don't know that I've ever had to deliver bad news to anyone, thank goodness!
11. Name something you learned in college that had nothing to do with classes or academics. Oh, geez! How to play beer pong? Quarters? Do I need to go on?
On the serious side, I did learn that it's okay to not be dependent on someone. I learned that it's okay to break ties that may be detrimental to your future.
12. New variation on an old question: If there's a song in your head that just won't get out, what is your favorite (or most repeated) line in that song?
Right now I have the song "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield going through my mind. Here are the lines that are running around:
"Feel the rain on your skin No one else can feel it for you Only you can let it in No one else, no one else Can speak the words on your lips"
And now for your listening enjoyment, the whole song if you're bored and want to hear it!
Y'all know how husband enjoys riding his motorcycle (aka "the ugly green bike"). 2 years ago he and a couple of friends rode to Alaska, making sure they rode to the Arctic Circle. This year he planned on riding the Continental Divide with those same 2 friends. About a month ago, his friends told him they couldn't make it for various reasons. OS had planned on going with him and spending a few days with some friends of his who are river guides. So, what did husband decide to do? Here's a hint:
Saturday husband loaded up the car with the ugly green bike in tow, and he & OS headed west.
I have proof that they didn't kill each other on the way over, unless some stranger took this picture:
Yesterday was husband's birthday...these are a couple of his birthday views:
(I told you the bike was ugly!)
When I was growing up, birthdays weren't that big of a deal. I guess when you have 10 kids, it's hard to make a huge deal out of everybody's birthday. That being said, when husband said something about not being with the family for his birthday, I pretty much shrugged it off and told him it was just another day. (Yes, I can be mean that way.) It looks like he's enjoying himself. Prayers for a safe journey would be greatly appreciated!
MS is in his first full week of college life with classes. He's dropped and added a class and has found something to occupy his time (like he needs anything else): rugby. Whatever. I don't understand it, and don't understand why a group of big sweaty guys would want to get together and hug each other in the middle of a field. But, hey, if that's what he wants to do...
I did get an amusing text from him today. It read: "You have to pay to wash clothes here." No _____, Sherlock! (Sorry, there's nothing else can describe that text!) He just cracks me up! I have no idea what he thought....this university takes it to you every which way ($250 for a parking sticker if you live on campus is a bit much!), of course they aren't going to let you wash your clothes for free! Oh, the life lessons he's learning!
As a plus for husband being out of town: YS made dinner today! We tried something new: Carne Guisada. He said next time he'll put in some refried beans for some awesome burritos. (We believe in eating carbs at our house!)
Okay, guess that gets everybody in a post! It doesn't happen very often, does it? Hope everybody is having a Terrific Tuesday!
According to Java: (Sorry...this is the best I can do so early on a Monday morning!)
"Blogging is a funny thing...we tell our most intimate thoughts for all to read and yet most of the time I find myself sitting and wondering, "who is this person!?" I know them...but yet I don't know them! I want to know who the person is behind all those words so I thought of a great way for all of us to "meet" each other!
Every Sunday I will post five get to know you questions that you can copy and paste into your own Monday post and we can all learn a little more about each and every one of us!!
"Its a great way to to meet new friends and for others to get to know me better....one Monday at a time!!!"....as quoted by the Chacogirl!! "
1. What is your favorite kind of doughnut?
Sour cream...hands down.
2. How often do you pray?
Every day. It may not be a formal prayer, but I'm talking to God constantly!
3. What is your favorite kind of music?
70's and 80's. Even YS says we had the best music. It takes me back to memories of growing up.
4. What do you order when you eat Chinese food?
I usually do the buffet and get sweet & sour, beef & broccoli, "cat on a stick" (which I think may really be chicken on a skewer, that's just what my family calls it), oh! and those little fried wontons with the cream cheese inside of it!
5. Would you rather snowboard in the winter or swim in the summer?
Since I don't know how to snowboard, I'd have to say swim in the summer. I would love to sit by a roaring fire with a book and a hot toddy and watch other people snowboard!
That's it for this week's question & answer session! Go over to Java's at Never Growing Old and link up!
This is a meme that I've been meaning to participate in for the past few weeks, but have had other things going on. Yesterday, the Flashback Friday's prompt was pretty good, especially since last night was YS' high school's first football game. (3 hours away. Because no one in the state will play them. Because they've won the past 6 state championships in their class.) Here are the "rules" for this meme: Cara at Mischief and Laughs randomly (I'm assuming) picks a folder and picture from the photo album. This week was the 3rd folder, 25th picture. I didn't have 25 pictures in that folder, so I picked the 5th instead. You post the picture and give a description of it, then go link up. Yes, it's that simple! Here's my picture:
This is Youngest Son (YS) with his bike in 2008. Husband is an avid biker (he has a couple of bikes...no Harleys allowed in this house, though!) and he really wants one of the boys to share his love of motorcycles. OS rode for a while, and will occasionally ride; MS has never expressed a desire to even learn; so husband bought this bike for YS in the hopes that he would learn to ride. Husband says YS is doing well with the learning, we just have to get down to the DMV for him to get his bike permit.
As with any meme, if you join in and want to meet new people or share your picture with others, go visit Cara for Photo Roulette and link up!
What type of extra-curricular school activities did you participate in during your school days? Clubs? Spelling bees or other contests? Cheerleader or drill team? Sports? Journalism? Choir or theater? Were there any memorable events related to those? Did you receive any awards? Were football games a big deal at your school? Did you usually attend - and was it with a group or as a date? What was Homecoming like?
When I was in elementary school, I was the school champion for the spelling bee. That meant I got to move on to the county-wide spelling bee...in front of a lot of people. I don't know if I've mentioned this, but I'm not a "get in front of people" kind of person. So, yeah, I pretty much was out in the first few rounds. I played basketball in elementary school, but mostly sat on the bench. Which was fine with me, because I don't like to get up in front of people and perform. In jr. high I started playing tennis. I was okay; not great, and definitely not a natural. But I really enjoyed it. I continued playing in high school, and ended up being #1 my senior year. But that was because the best player in school didn't play. She's been mentioned in some of my posts before: the "mean girl" from my class. She was good at everything she tried.
I started playing flute in the band when I was in 5th grade, and continued band actually through college and even beyond. There are so many stories from band trips to tell! There was the time we were going to a band contest a couple of hours away, but the venue had to be changed to inside because there were tornado warnings out. (Which is kind of unusual for our part of the country)
Then there was the contest we went to when it had been raining forever. One of the trombone players lost his shoe on the field, and one of the rifles had her rifle hit her in the eye near the beginning of the show. She stayed on the field and marched the show with her hand over her eye. I was a band officer my senior year, and was given the "John Phillip Sousa" award at graduation. At graduation, I also received the Spanish Award.
I was looking through some old scrapbooks a couple of months ago, and found a newspaper clipping. The Y-Teens at school donated a book to the library. I have no recollection of that event happening, but I must've been involved because I'm handing the book to the librarian! I do remember going to some awesome Y-Teen dances, though!
Football games were a huge deal my sophomore-senior years: we won the state championship 3 years in a row. One of the championships was played (you guessed it) in the rain. It had been raining for about a week, and the field was soaked. Our rival school (which is about 10 minutes from where I went to school) was also playing in the state championship for their class. (This was when the state championship was played at one of the school's home field...now it's played at a neutral site.) Their field was in a lot worse shape than ours, so they asked if they could play their game on our field. A helicopter was brought in to dry the field the day of the game. We played our game first (since we were a really small school), then they cleared the stands and made everybody leave the stadium. Then, people who wanted to see the other game paid as they came back in. Homecoming has never been a really big deal at the high school. The big thing was the homecoming queen, but even that had some drama to it. If you know anything about me, you know I don't like drama.
Then there was AFS...American Field Service. If you don't know anything about AFS, it's a student exchange program. This was the club to be in during high school. We hosted a foreign exchange student, but the big draw was the yearly big short-term exchange. My sophomore year was with Hingham (Ma.) High School, junior year it was with Mayo High School in Rochester, Minnesota, and my senior was with Gloucester (Va.) High School. We went up for a week, stayed with a host family, went to school with our host brother/sister, and did some sight-seeing. Then, about a month later, they would come down and stay in our houses, go to school, and do some sight-seeing. There may have been some shenanigans on the trip, but, me being the rule-follower I am, I did not partake in them. I was too afraid of getting in trouble and getting suspended from school to do anything.
That's pretty much all I was involved in during my school days. I stayed busy and had a lot of fun, but I was ready to get out of high school and get on with my life!
This is going to be a short one. (I know that's not cheering I hear!)I had a wonderful surprise last night:
Yep...all 3 boys under one roof, even if it was just for a couple of hours! OS came in last night...I was expecting him tonight. MS came by to get some more clothes and to use his dad's credit card order books. He seems to be really excited about his classes that he had yesterday. The boys think it's really funny to flip birds in pictures without me noticing. I think YS was trying to tip me off that I need to look before I click. (He's a good boy that way!) So, with MS' books ordered, OS' meal plan ordered, and OS' tuition paid, MS hit the road to his dorm. It's so amazing to see them growing up and being halfway responsible! Everybody have a terrific Thursday!
Time again for Random Dozen (everybody say "HEY"!)!
1. What is your favorite fair/carnival food?
I don't have one. I only remember going to a fair/carnival a couple of times, and have no idea what I ate.
2. Are you holding onto something you need to let go of?
Yes. About 20 pounds.
3. What is your favorite gift to receive?
Money. No brainer.
4. When was the last time you tried something new? Last night: fried calamari. Too chewy for my taste. Also last night: Lambrusco. Wonderful. Did y'all know that you can get wine samples for 25 cents at Olive Garden? We had our monthly "special ed girls' dinner out" last night at Olive Garden. Good times, good conversation, and good food!
5. What is your favorite and least favorite book genre?
Memoir, Mystery, Political Intrigue, Romance, Humor, Historical Fiction, Historical nonfiction, Chick Lit, Self-Help, Other
Anything that has to do with politics. I hate it when people don't see things the rightway the way I do! (ha, ha!)
6.Silver or Gold?
Silver. Definitely.
7. What makes you sigh?
Is this a "good sigh" or a "bad sigh"? Bad sigh: my boys doing something they aren't suppose to be doing. Good sigh: a really good dessert!
8. If you didn't know how old you are, how old would you claim you are?
I do know how old I am, and I claim to be 29. Which is a miracle since I have college-aged kids!
9. Would you break a law to save a loved one? To protect a loved one?
If it were life or death, yes. If it wasn't life or death, it would depend on the circumstance. I'm a firm believer in taking responsibility for your actions.
10. If you had to teach something, what would it be? Probably something that had to do with music.
11. You're having lunch with 3 people whom you respect and admire. They begin to criticize a close friend of yours, not knowing she is your friend. What do you do?
Tell them that she's my friend. This has happened before, so I know exactly what I would do.
12. Which of the 5 Love Languages is your prominent means of experiencing love?
Quality Time
Physical Touch
Acts of Service
Gifts
Words of Affirmation
Not sure which is your most prominent love language? Take the quiz!
Words of Affirmation. I'm not much into the huggy-feely thing. Gifts are a good thing, but it makes me uncomfortable to receive them. Love to give them, though!
We had a busy weekend. Well, a busy Saturday, anyway. Middle Son moved into his dorm at the big University. I planned on going with him, and actually followed him the whole 13 miles, but decided what I had in my car could wait until there weren't 15 million people trying to get to the same place he was going. I figured it was time for the little man to grow up and do things on his own. Plus, I was really hot and tired (more on that in a minute) and wasn't looking forward to more sweating. Yes, I sweat. I do not perspire. I had visions of MS' moving in to be comparable to when OS moved in his dorm at the much smaller university: drive up to the dorm, park on the side of the road, and unload. HA! The line just to get anywhere near the dorm was outrageously long. MS got there around 2:30 (they could check in from 1:00-4:00), and I went back up around 5:30. There were still a lot of people moving in, but honestly, I was pretty impressed with how organized campus security was. There was still a line, but it was moving, and once you got up to the dorm, you were directed to either the side of the road or a parking space. I ended up getting a parking space right in front of the dorm! I told the security guy that I could kiss him. Of course that didn't embarrass MS one bit, and he didn't tell me "no" at all. So, up we went to the 10th floor. Thank God for Elisha Otis! MS and his roomie said that they discovered a way to get into the elevator when they were moving in: take the stairs to the 2nd floor, catch the elevator on the way down to the 1st floor, and you have plenty of room! Geniuses, aren't they?
I went up to their room, (which, by the way, is much smaller than the picture on the website made it look, but it's still a decent size as far as dorms go!) got out MS' "make friends" brownies, and met his suite-mate's parents. Picture this: MS' room- nothing unpacked, boxes everywhere. Suitemate's room- everything in it's place, dad putting a curtain (yes, a curtain) on a curtain rod, and mom getting ready to put contact paper on the shelves.I wonder how awful they thought we were that we didn't come with the boys to move in! I think roomie's dad may have helped him, though, but he sure didn't stick around to unpack and hang curtains! I forgot my camera in the car, so I don't have an actual picture of MS' room.This completely devastated MSwho may have let a "Good" slip out. So, MS seems happy; he starts classes on Wednesday. The day started out extremely early: the band had a car wash/rummage sale and YS & I had to be there at 7:00. That is entirely way too early for a Saturday. I somehow got stuck with the car wash part, which meant being in the sun until after noon. The kids seemed to have a good time. We always have one or two who know no shame have an amazing amount of self-confidence. Those students (usually boys) dress up in wacky clothes that they found in the yard sale portion and stand on the street trying to get people to come in to the sale. And here he is:
He had a few cars stop and just give him a donation. Whatever works! We have a great group of kids who are also hard workers and have a good time together. And, we get to do this all over again in a few weeks! I'm still trying to get back into the swing of my school schedule. Last week was my first week to see the kids. It's been a couple of weeks of probing to see exactly where they all are in terms of their speech/language development, and trying to make plans on what they need to work on. And then hopefully I'll have some time to catch up on what everybody in the blogging world is doing!
This is one of my favorite memes that I've seen! Every Sunday night, Java posts 5 questions for you to answer so that your readers can get to know you a little better. Here are this week's questions:
1. What is your favorite dessert?
I don't have a favorite! Any dessert is fine by me. The whole reason for eating dinner is to eat dessert! Although, I did have a roommate who insisted on eating dessert first to make sure she'd have room for it!
2. What do you wear to bed?
I wear pajama bottoms and a camisole type shirt. With this stage in my life, the bottoms come off during the night quite often! TMI? Probably!
3. Do you get regular manicures/pedicures?
I just had my first pedi at the beginning of the summer. I'm really ticklish, but the girl managed to do a really good job of not getting kicked in the face! I enjoyed it...gonna have to do it again soon!
I've never had a mani...I just don't have any use for fingernails!
4. Did you play any sports in high school?
I played tennis all through high school. I tried to play basketball my senior year, but that was right after the girls in our state began playing whole court and I just wasn't in shape! That, and my hard contacts kept slipping off of my eye every time I tried to look sideways.
5. Do you have an iPod?
A what? What's an iPod? No, obviously I don't have one. OS told me I need to get one, you know, one of the most expensive ones they have on the market. I just don't see the need in getting one. I suppose if I was a runner I would use it, but I'm not, so I guess I don't need it!
Now the fun: Go to Never Growing Old and link your post up, then visit to see how other people you know (or don't know!) responded.
Every Saturday, Mrs. 4444 gives us the opportunity to catch up with a post from the week. This post should be one that you think noone should miss. And, it doesn't even have to be one of your posts! So this week, I'm going out on a ledge and sharing a post that I read Friday night. It really, really moved me because it hit close to home.
Now that I've got your curiosity up, go check out KyAnn's post.Then, go over to Half-Past Kissin' Time to catch up on great posts that you missed this week!
Woo-Hoo! Another week down! Here are my FFF for the week: 1. Capturing butterflies on the plants, and having the pictures (taken with my cheapo $70 camera!) turn out:
(Why yes, those are the plants I planted last Memorial Day weekend! Thank you for asking and noticing!) 2. Winning a basket from SportsClips last Saturday during the Office Depot Teacher Appreciation morning:
(Actually, Youngest Son was more excited with the products than I was...he ended up confiscating them!)
3. Finding an HP All-In-One (Printer, Copier, Scanner) on sale for Middle Son, then getting $10 off with my Star Teacher Discount, PLUS getting no tax during Tax-Free Weekend! (Total cost: $89!)
4. Watching my Princess taking full advantage of the couch:
5. The edit feature on Picasaweb. Look what it did with Pepper's picture:
From spooky eyes
To sweet eyes
I hit the "red-eye" feature, then specified "fur", and voila!Amazing!
A couple of people were really surprised when I mentioned yesterday that I belong to a family that has over 1000 people at the reunion. I feel that I need to explain:
I am a 7th generation member of this family. A reunion is held every other year for the descendants of my paternal great-great-great-great grandfather. His second son and third child is my great-great-great grandfather; they immigrated to Texas from Olfen, Germany in 1846 when he was 20 years old. My great grandfather (Grospapa as he was called) married his wife in the same church where my parents were married. I love that church: It is gorgeous.
That is the parish where my mom grew up; many weddings, Baptisms, First Communions, Confirmations, and funerals were attended by my maternal family there. It's also where my uncles celebrated their first Mass as Priests. Both sets of my grandparents were laid to rest there.
The reunion was held this year, and it appears attendance was down to a little over 700. I have no idea when I last went. While I was looking at the records from the past years, I saw my family's name under "Largest family" for 1970. I remember going when I was around 12 or so, so I must have gone at least one time after that record breaking year! I know my mom has some pictures, but that would require me going to her house, looking for the picture, and scanning it. Maybe one of these days that will get done!
And there you have a brief history of my family. I think it's important to know where we came from. If you're in Texas and this sounds familiar (maybe a little too familiar!), let me know. We just may be related!
Oh, Linda, how I missed you this summer! She's back with a new Random Dozen. To play along, answer the questions, then click on the above button and link up. Then all you have to do is go visitin'!
1. When was the last time you laughed until you cried?
A few weeks ago, at one of the Speech Pathologists' Meeting. I have no idea what we were talking about, but it really struck me as funny. We have a really good, fun group.
2. If you found $10 today, what would you do with it?
Starbucks, baby!
3. Do you volunteer anywhere?
Not unless getting roped into helping the high school band counts. I'm getting way too old
for that stuff!
4. What is your favorite summertime veggie or fruit, and how do you eat it?
There's nothing like watermelon on a hot summer day! When I buy one, I cut the whole thing up. Oh, and I buy seedless...it's too much trouble to spit out the seeds!
5. Is your social sphere (circle of friends) small, medium or large?
I'd have to say small. I have a lot of acquaintances, but true friends? I have sisters. I was telling someone the other day that friends will come & go, but a sister is there forever. No matter what.
(Wish I had a picture to insert here! I need to figure out how to work the scanner!)
6. When was the last time you attended a family or school reunion? How did that go?
I just had my 30th high school reunion over the summer. It was good to see everybody, but by the time I graduated, I really didn't run around with anyone from my class. I was ready to move on. So, when some of them were talking about things that happened our senior year, I just sat there.
I'm a member of the largest family reunion in Tx.; they have the reunion every other year. I had originally made plans to go, but decided against it. There are usually over 1000 people there, and I only know a handful. Maybe in 2 years!
7. When you're feeling blue, what is the best way someone can cheer you up?
Bring me chocolate.
8. Have you taken a vacation this summer?
Husband, YS, and I went to DC for a quick 2 days. It was a "working vacation" for husband, but it was a good 2 1/2 days.
9. What is the most unnecessary item you carry with you all the time?
Lipstick I probably have 10 tubes in my pocketbook, but only use a couple. My favorite lip thing is Burt's Bees: Watermelon. There is also a Neutrogena lipstick that is coming in a close 2nd.
10. What is the best summer flick you have seen so far?
Book of Eli. Incredible. Denzel Washington never ceases to amaze me.
11. Describe a perfect summer day.
Waking up to the sound of waves, breakfast on a deck overlooking the ocean, reading & sleeping in a chair under an umbrella on the beach, dinner at a seafood restaurant, followed by lounging on the deck until it's too dark to see. Here's the funny thing: I think the beach would be the perfect place if it wasn't for all that sand!
12. Please a share a favorite photo from the summer so far!
I absolutely love this picture. It was taken in Cades Cove this June. Husband's uncle & lady friend were here from Denmark. We were just driving into The Cove, and the horses were running across the pasture to get food. It rained earlier in the day, and there were a lot of low clouds. You may have to click on the picture to enlarge it in order to enjoy all of the beauty.
