Just Sayin'

Number 13 aka "The best thing you have ever cooked for me"

2011-02-01T07:12:00.003-05:00

This past week, I have spent a lot of time playing with the new rice maker. Iwaswrongandhewasright. Seriously, I thought that getting a rice maker was a questionable (stupid) idea. Who knew it could make so many delectable rice concoctions? I counted the curry rice as a new recipe but I ended up changing it and other flavor combinations. Boy-o loved: rice, peppers, onions, cajun spices, hot pepper sauce, black beans and corn whereas hubby and I took a fondness to: rice, onions, cumin seeds, chili powder, beans and (drained) diced tomatoes. Since these are not really recipes, I am not counting them towards my 53 new recipe goal.

I did buy a new allergy free cookbook and had Boy-o pick out the recipes he would be interested in trying. One of his choices was a breakfast pizza with a hash brown crust. Saturday for brunch, I made him a dairy free version and and one with real cheese for my husband and me. It was good but I wasn't totally happy with the results. Sunday, after my stick fighting class, I decided to stop at the local supermarket and buy a small premade pizza shell. I wanted to try the breakfast pizza again and see if I could get closer to what a local store makes. I put the shell in a fry pan and loaded on toppings (I used left over TVP, corn, peppers, onions, hot peppers). I then carefully pours Egg Beaters over the top. I covered and cooked the pizza until the egg was done and then added on cheese and cooked another minute until melted. I did not use pizza sauce because the local store doesn't on their breakfast pizza. Boy-o loved it! He did say "it is the best thing you have ever cooked for me". It was also very filling and he had leftovers which I popped in the microwave for breakfast the next day. That is a definite make again. I may try to make my own pizza shells next time.

We have been hit with storm after storm since Christmas. One week, I had two snow days from work. The weather report today used two words that I hate hearing in the same sentence - monster and storm. Yup. The forecast is for between 20 and 30 inches of snow. Where are we going to put it? Luckily, I made a quick trip to the grocery store yesterday to pick up rice. I can't wait to come up with a new flavor combination!

Enjoy and stay out of the bad weather!

An Even Dozen

2011-01-20T07:35:00.003-05:00

Growing up, my mother made the very best chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. They were called Cowboy Cookies and they were amazingly yummy. Our cookie jar was an old metal container that someone had painted that was originally for potato chips. It had a funny contraption on top that was supposed to keep things fresh and not soggy. I am not sure if it worked or not. With 4 kids in the house, her Cowboy Cookies barely had time to make it into the cookie jar.

Boy-o has been on a real cookie kick lately but (gasp) he doesn't like cowboy cookies. Sometimes I wonder if we brought the wrong baby home from the hospital. Seriously. Anyway, since it is mid-term week at school, I decided to try a new Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe out of the KitchenAid recipe book to reward him for all of his hard work.

It was a pretty typical cookie recipe. I replaced the butter with shortening and water and used milk free chocolate chips. My buttercup yellow stand mixer did duty to mix everything together and before I could say Jack Rabbit, chocolate chip cookies were baking away in my trusty oven. They came out great. I still prefer Cowboy cookies but I will admit to eating one or two of these cookies (for breakfast).

Another successful new recipe tried and another recipe in the "make again" column.

This has been a great week for meeting my resolutions - a new recipe tried check, crockpot used (check) and stand mixer used (check). I am on a roll!

Success with the Rice Cooker - recipe #11

2011-01-19T18:09:00.002-05:00

My son - the vegetarian - loves rice. He asked for a rice cooker for Christmas this year. As he pointed out, it is something that he can take with him to college when he leaves in less than 2 years. My big worry about him going away to college is that he won't eat enough. Needless to say, there was a rice cooker under our Christmas tree!

Lately, I have been trying to have something hot in a crockpot for when Boy-o gets home from school. These include red beans with TVP, pasta or a tortilla casserole. This morning, I decided to try a vegetable curry rice dish that I found on the same site where I got the directions for roasting the peppers. I modified the recipe by making it in the rice cooker so it would stay on warm until he got home from school and also by leaving off the almonds. I didn't have any almonds on hand and I thought they would get limp in the cooker. It smelled heavenly as I was getting ready for work. Absolutely heavenly. Boy-o and hubby tried it and both really enjoyed it. They both commented that it could use more curry so I will definitely increase that the next time I make it.

Gosh, kitchen gadgets make cooking a lot more fun!

A twofer - 10 down and 43 to go!

2011-01-18T20:01:00.003-05:00

As I have mentioned, we have been watching Food Network a fair amount. We have been watching "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" where he goes in and challenges a restaurant in their specialty dish. My husband loves spicy food so he was interested in Bobby Flay's Sloppy Joes. I have never liked Sloppy Joes but I was willing to give it a try.

When we went shopping for the ingredients, we were unable to find the roasted peppers called for in the recipe. We bought peppers and I roasted them at home. Yup. One meal and two new recipes! I had no idea that you had to peel the roasted peppers. It was very very easy.

The sloppy joe recipe was very time consuming. Thank goodness that we weren't all that hungry when we started. My hubby flunked knife skills as he sliced his finger pretty good. Ouch. We haven't ruled out a trip to the ER later tonight.

I made a few modifications to Bobby's recipe. We felt that there was a strong enough taste of vinegar so we didn't add any at the end as instructed. Also, we decided to serve them on traditional rolls instead of on the garlic toast.

The final results, however, were outstanding. They were very tasty with a nice spice. It made a good amount and we have leftovers for lunches or another meal. I would make them again - but only if I had plenty of time. Definitely not school lunch sloppy joes!

2 out of 3 ain't bad -8 down 45 left to go

2011-01-16T19:57:00.012-05:00

Yesterday, I was in a cooking mood so I asked Boy-o if he would be interested in homemade bagels. I had attempted these once before and the results were promising. However, there were a couple of things that I didn't like about that recipe so I went online to find a new one. I offered to make cinnamon raisin bagels. Boy-o informed me that he liked the idea of cinnamon but didn't want the raisins. That was one of my modifications to the recipe. I ended up sprinkling cinnamon on the dough before shaping them. I also used my trusty buttercup yellow stand mixer to mix and knead the dough. They came out great.

The new recipe is going onto my use again list.

I guess yesterday was my day for cooking round items with a hole in the middle because late yesterday afternoon, my husband and I made homemade donuts. My mother-in-law has been attempting donuts for the past couple of years with limited success and my husband decided to see what we could come up with. He found a recipe and we made the dough up. After letting it rest, we ended down the hill to grandma's house and rolled out the donuts. They were OK. You see, we have a donut dilemma in our house. I like the light fluffy dunkin' donuts type donuts. Hubby prefers the heavier cake style donuts. This recipe was for the heavier donuts. The donut holes we cooked were good but the actual donuts weren't really to my taste.

This morning after returning from stick class, I started on my favorite corn chowder. I realized that I didn't have enough evaporated milk so I made a quick call to Hubby who had done a longer workout and asked him to stop and pick some up. I had been scanning recipes for egg rolls so I also asked him to pick up shredded coleslaw mix and egg roll wrappers. I was feeling confident after the success with the bagels so I decided to give it a try. I can't give you a link to a recipe because I combined a bunch of recipes. This is what I did:

3 garlic gloves minced

1 onion diced

Saute in a wok in oil until translucent.

Add in one package shredded cabbage and 2 carrots shredded and saute for a couple of minutes. Add in one tsp ground ginger and enough sweet soy sauce to lightly coat the veggies. You want the mixture to remain dry. Add in a couple of small Thai chili peppers minced and saute. The veggies should be limp but not soggy.

Roll into egg rolls per the directions on the wrappers. Fry and enjoy.

This was a HUGE success. When I asked Boy-o if we should make it again, his answer was "frequently". I love it when I find food that he is excited about. :)

Thanks for reading about my journey.

5 down..... 48 to go

2011-01-11T07:34:00.003-05:00

I have 't cooked a great deal in the last week or so. We ended up with a ton of leftovers from my last cooking binge so we finished those off instead. I did end the week with a yummy crockpot lasagna.

Yesterday, I had to make a quick trip home at lunchtime because I had forgotten to take my cell phone off the charger and I was making a trip to Portland last night. I drove for years without a cell phone (yes, I am that old) but nowadays the thought of driving 45 minutes each way without one is scary. Strange but true. Anyway, while I was home, I decided to throw something in the mini-crockpot for Boy-o to have when he got out of work last night. I put together frozen homemade ravioli with sauce, spices and (fake) cheese and set it up to be ready when he got out of home. Imagine my surprise when I made a call home at 4:45 and he informed me that he was eating his meal. I guess the raviolis were no longer frozen but I wonder how cooked they were. Yikes. The stomach of a teenage boy. He said it was good. I can't imagine and wonder if he was only trying to be nice. I told him to leave the leftovers in the crockpot until he got home from work. He packed the leftovers in a lunch for school. I can't wait to hear if that is better!

When I returned from my dinner out with my college friends, I was full of energy so I made Boy-o a black bean and corn enchilada pie to cook in the crockpot today. I have never tried it in the crockpot but I figured it was worth a try. I also modified a recipe to make one of my favorite cookies dairy free. I am counting the modification as a new recipe. It is so easy that I feel like I am cheating but hey, sometimes easy is the way to go. (PS I had a great visit with Mary Ellen last night and she is doing wonderfully!)

When I was in college with Mary Ellen and Judy, one of Mary Ellen and my favorite recipes was something called Peanut Scotch Crisps. We weren't the only ones enamored with this. Anoter student actually wrote in and asked for the recipe and they published it in the alumni magazine. It is the easiest thing to make!

Peanut Scotch Crisps

1 cup peanut butter

1 package butterscotch chips

6 cups rice krispie cereal

Combine peanut butter and chips in a large bowl. Melt in microwave in 30 second increments (it takes about 2 minutes in mine). When melted, stir together and add rice krispies a few cups at a time. Stir to coat and put in large pan (I use my lasagna pan). Put into refrigerator until solid. Cut into bars and enjoy. So easy but people love them.

Since I haven't been able to find non-dairy butterscotch chips, I modified the recipe and made:

Boy-o's Dairyfree Peanut Choco Crisps. I used semi sweet dairy free chocolate chips instead. It was a complete taste change but very good and he loved them. A smile on his face puts a smile on mine.

Have a great day everyone!

4 down - 49 to go! Thai Red Curry Mac 'n Cheese

2011-01-02T11:47:00.005-05:00

Happy New Year, Bloggers! I hope that 2011 is happy, healthy and prosperous for you and yours.

Our family has started watching the Food Network on a regular basis. This past summer, we watched "The Next Food Network Start" for several episodes and I was quite happy when Aarti won. We make sure we DVR her show and have tried a couple of her recipes. The Bombay Sloppy Joes were good and we all enjoyed her chocolate ginger pie on Thanksgiving.

Yesterday, we decided to try her Thai Red Curry Mac N Cheese. I must confess. I have never made Mac 'n Cheese from scratch before. I am actually not a huge fan of mac 'n cheese but her recipe seemed interesting. When we announced what we were making for ourselves, Boy-o expressed an interest in having his own non-dairy version so we got to work boiling the macaroni. I didn't have enough macaroni to make some for Boy-o's so we took an old box of pasta salad mix, took out the pasta and threw out the rest of the ingredients. I also didn't have any extra red curry paste for Boy-o's so I substituted minced hot peppers and mixed those into the cooked pasta. We boiled, we whisked, we stirred, made a big mess and this is what we ended up with.

The top one in the cast iron skillet is the pasta with the red curry paste. It was a lovely orange color. The bottom picture was the non-dairy version. Since I hadn't planned on making him one, I used a mixture of the soy cheeses that I had in the refrigerator.

Results: Our mac n cheese had a lovely flavor. The red curry paste was a nice change of pace and I would definitely make it again. I enjoyed the crumb topping on top. The next time I make it, I will probably cut the recipe in half to better fit the needs of our family. As it is, I am going to be eating mac n cheese all week! My son said his version was ok but couldn't taste the chopped up hot peppers. He also doesn't really like the choice of cheeses that I used. We saved the leftovers and he is going to try it again today. I would try making it again and used different cheese for him. I would also make his with the red curry paste as I think he would enjoy that flavor. It was an easy recipe to make but a bit messy. Making a smaller amount should help with that. All in all, a successful experience!

3 down - 50 to go and misadventure #1

2010-12-29T11:24:00.002-05:00

My cooking adventures continue....

Boy-o came home from work (he has a part-time job during the school year at a local library - what a cool job!) famished and dove into the from scratch Red Beans and Rice. He gave it a 4 1/2 out of 5 once he added lots of hot sauce. Strangely enough, the large onion, 6 cloves of garlic, 3 tablespoons of chili powder and 1 tablespoon of cumin weren't enough. I tasted it and had to agree. It was a little bland. Once he spiced it to his satisfaction, he enjoyed it and said it was a "make again" recipe. Yeah. He said the TVP was pretty neutral. It didn't add anything to the taste but didn't ruin it either. Since it is high in protein (important for vegetarians), I think it is a "keeper" as well.

Inspired by my successes on Monday, I decided to try another new recipe. Boy-o has suddenly decided that he wants a hot breakfast every morning before school. He loves oatmeal (yucky in my opinion) so I decided to try a breakfast oatmeal recipe in the crockp pot. I tried one before Christmas and the results were only OK. The oatmeal was a very strange consistency. It was slimy. I checked with my sister and she suggested a new type of oatmeal (steel cut oats) and assured me that it would be better. I also picked out a new recipe with more spice. I assembled the ingredients and decided to try out a new gadget that I had received in my stocking from Santa. I had read in a cookbook that you can put your crock pot on a timer delay to have it start later. The whole food safety thing was a concern but when I looked at the ingredients (oatmeal, water, spice, nuts, dried fruit), I decided to give it a try. I read the instructions (in about size 2 font) and figured out how to make it work. I programed it to turn on and happily went to bed. I woke up a few times during the night and enjoyed the smell of spice. I got up the next morning and ran down the stairs to check on my masterpiece. As I approached the crock pot, I noticed that it still looked the same as it had the night before. I touched the side and it was stone cold. I grabbed the timer gadget and looked it over. It looked like it should be working. Hmmmm. After some muttering to myself about unreliable equipment, I happened to look down at the crock pot to notice the on and off button still firmly in the off position. Ahh. Not equipment error - operator error and misadventure #1. I ended up putting the crock pot into the frig and whipping up scrambled eggs for Boy-o. Last night, I reprogrammed the timer gadget, checked, double-checked and triple-checked, the on and off button and woke up this morning to cooking oatmeal. Boy-o said it was good and gave it a 4 out of 5. He did say that the consistency was improved over my first attempt with another recipe. A little work the evening before will result in an easier morning for me.

The first 3 new recipes have all been for the benefit of my son. Last night, I did use an existing recipe and roasted my hubby and I a chicken in the crock pot. The leftover chicken will go into a chicken noodle soup for tomorrow night. I love the two for one meals!

I am still alive and 2 down, 51 to go!

2010-12-27T18:05:00.005-05:00

Why, hello there! Yes, I am still alive. I have been suffering from bloggers' block. I thought about blogging, occasionally started to log in but couldn't think of a darn thing to say. Nada inspiration. Zilch. Zero.

However, with the new year just around the corner, I have decided to make a renewed commitment to blogging and.... drum roll please.... I have come up with a new idea. Yessir, the bloggers' block is in remission.

I mentioned that last year my New Year's resolutions was to use my crock pot at least once a week. It was a very successful resolution. Not only did I use it almost every week, on many weeks I used a crock pot (slow cooker), two or three times a week. Confession time. I have never been much of a cook. Don't get me wrong, I have never given anyone food poisoning but we tend to eat easy to prepare meals. Even planning ahead to use my crock pot on a regular basis was something that just didn't happen. My son's favorite food as a young child was chicken nuggets and that was just fine with me. I know, I know, that was why I never got the Mother of the Year Award. Anyway, my commitment to the slow cooker resulted in a new interest in cooking because I started planning my meals for the week. It also helped to know that Friday night was a guaranteed no cooking night! We started going to the local farmers market and buying fresh vegetables. I also discovered tempeh as a meat substitute for Boy-o. That was a big turning point as I started making him "from scratch" meals. Not only did he not complain, he thanked me on a regular basis! In October, one of my facebook friends mentioned her new Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer and what fun she was having with it. With my newfound confidence, I decided that a buttercup yellow stand mixer would be a great addition to my kitchen. I started using that every week to whip up pizza dough, dip for holiday gatherings, meatloaf and cookies. On Thanksgiving, I tried many new recipes and the vast majority were resounding successes. I can't say I am a great cook but my cooking abilities are much more developed than they were in 2009.

Inspired by my recent cooking success and by a newspaper article about trying new recipes (written by one of my oh-so-talented cousins), I have decided that I am going to commit to trying 53 new recipes between now and 2012. I will blog about my adventures - and misadventures - in the kitchen on a regular basis. I will also blog about my adventures - and misadventures - in life. I hope you will come along for the ride.

Since today was a "snow day" for me due to the bad traveling conditions, I was able to try two new recipes today.

The first recipe was for Boy-o. It was ravioli stuffed with fake pepperoni and fake cheese. I searched online for a ravioli recipe and found one that sounded interesting on www.cook.com. My husband/sous chef and I combined all of the ingredients in the trust stand mixer and plopped the dough onto my new silicon mat. Hmmm. Question. It says to add more water if too dry and add more flour if too wet but it doesn't say what the dough is supposed to look like. I grabbed a handful of dough and squished it together. It looked just like the dough Bobby Flay used in the last "Throwdown" I watched. Never mind that he was making a Mexican dish and this was an Italian dish, if it is good enough for Bobby, it is good enough for me! After waiting 20 minutes for the dough to rest (why is it tired when I did all of the work?), we attempted to roll it out using a brand spanking new pasta roller. Hmmmm. Perhaps buying the cheap $20 model really wasn't that great of an idea. Oh no, the directions for the pasta make say no salt and my recipe had salt in it. Many false starts and a pause to watch a couple of Youtube videos on how it is done (they make it look very easy. I am considering a complaint to the FCC for false adverising - just sayin'), we finally got our first sheet rolled out. Out came the brand spanking new ravioli press (where did those darn directions end up?) and voila, we had raviolis! These steps were repeated until all of the ravioli stuffing mix was gone. We made the remaining dough into angel hair pasta. For lunch, Boy-o tried the ravioli (served with homemade sauce made in my crockpot earlier this weekend and homemade grilled french bread). He gave the pasta a 4 1/2 out of 5 stars. Not bad. The extra raviolis were frozen flat on a cookie sheet and are now stored in a ziploc bag for future meals. The angel hair pasta is in the frig for hubby and me to try. One down, 52 recipes to go.

Before I started the pasta dough this snowy morn, I started 2 cups of red kidney beans soaking to make one of Boy-o's favorite dishes, red beans and rice. We have always used a mix to make it but I decided to try to make it from scratch. When buying a special pasta flour someone recommended, I noticed a bag of TVP and picked that up. What is TVP you ask? It is a textured vegetable protein that one of my facebook friends recommended. On the back of this package, there was a recipe for red beans and rice and I decided to give it a whirl. After soaking the beans all day, I went to the next step. Hmmmm. What is it with recipes today? Another somewhat confusing direction. It said to cook the beans with a large onion, 6 cloves of garlic and 2 quarts of boiling water. I decided to boil the water in the pan and then add the other ingredients. Oh no. I just realized that after we remodeled our kitchen a few years ago and put in the smooth top stove, we never replaced our dutch oven pan. I use the largest pan we have in the cupboard and add in all of the ingredients. It is full to the brim. It says to cook for 45 minutes (boil? simmer?). It also says later in the directions that the beans and TVP (which is added later) will soak up most of the liquid. I have my fingers crossed as my pan wouldn't take one more item. I let it cook for 20 minutes and decide that it simply isn't going to soak up enough water to add the remaining ingredients. Time for plan B. We don't have a dutch oven but we do have a lobster pot*. I transfer the contents into that. A few spills but all in all, a successful transfer. After the 45 minutes, I add 2 cups of the dried TVP, 3 tablespoons of chili powder and 1 tablespoon of cumin. I cooked it for another 40 minutes and - lo and behold - most of the liquid really is gone! In the meantime, I started rice in Boy-o's new rice cooker. Everything will be ready for him when he gets home from work.I have my fingers crossed that he will like this one too.

So that is it for today. I am off to read a cookbook or two to pick out some new recipes. I also welcome your favorite recipes. Check back in and I will let you know how many stars the red beans and rice got! Happy New Year!

*Even though we are both Maine natives, my husband and I do not like lobster. Our lobster pot has actually never been used for lobster but that was the name on it when we bought it. We use it for chili and for hot chocolate for parties, etc.

Twofer Tuesday

2010-10-12T07:38:00.002-04:00

Twofer Tuesday is where I do a quick post on two different subjects.

Since I am into numbers this Tuesday, let me just say "Four more days!". (insert happy dance here). Four more days until my evil co-worker is gone, gone, gone! Can you tell that I am happy?!?!? Beyond happy is more like it! Truth be told, most of the office is looking forward to it. Evil co-worker is a very negative person who complains all of the time. We are all thrilled that we don't have to face another holiday season filled with sighs, complaints about the music and overall negativity. Yeah. They are reorganizing my department and I will now have an assistant all-to-myself!! My assistant is the current receptionist and someone who is not negative and someone who is excited to be there. The big difference between the two women is attitude. One has an attitude of "woe is me" and "I have such bad luck" whereas the other one is full of positive energy. Ironically enough, if you compared "luck" side by side, the one with the positive attitude has faced a lot more adversity (cancer, the death of two children, a failed business) but she faces each day with a smile on her face. Definitely an inspiration to be around.

I have turned into a cooking fool lately. This weekend, I took a chicken enchilada recipe and modified it to meet my son's dietary wishes. Out went the cheese and in came soy cheese because of his dairy allergy. Out went the chicken and in came the black beans and corn because of his vegetarian lifestyle. I tried a small portion of it and it was yummy. Last weekend, I made his a huge batch of faux chicken noodle soup. He loved it. The vegan corn chowder, one the other hand, was not a huge hit. My husband and I made Shrimp Po'Boys for supper last night with a food network recipe. Definitely on my "make again" list. We watched "The Next Food Network Star" this summer and this was one of the winner's creation. This is the second recipe from Aarti that we have tried. My resolution to use my crockpot at least once per week has changed me in many many ways!

Here's to Tuesdays! What's on your mind today?

Where have I been.....

2010-10-05T07:25:00.002-04:00

I can't believe that it has been 1 1/2 months since my last post! I wish I could say that I have been off on a grand adventure but, alas, that would be a big fat lie. What I have been doing, however, is living life. In the past six weeks:

1)I have gone away for a Girl's Weekend with Mary Ellen and Judy. Judy has a wonderful lake house and she graciously invited Mary Ellen and me to visit. We talked, we laughed, we relaxed and we enjoyed each other's company. I am so lucky to have them as part of my life. I have also enjoyed a dinner out with them.

2) I have found a new doctor and started to feel a little better. I still have hip pain but between the new doctor and the new physical therapist, it seems to be going away.

3) I have started a Zumba class.

4) I have been a vocal advocate for our local high school. A few (very few) loud individuals want to close our high school and send them to the next town over. The majority of the residents don't support this idea but it just won't go away. I have been organizing people, ordering t-shirts and speaking at town meetings.

5) I got a wonderful birthday present when my evil co-worker gave her notice. Yup, right on my birthday! I literally danced out of the president's office when he told me. He was quite relieved by the resignation as well. The resignation was yesterday. I am wondering if she is going to even show up today.

6) I was sad - but also somewhat relieved - when the other high maintenance co-worker was let go a couple of weeks ago. Now, both Negative Nellies are gone (or will be gone shortly). The office morale is going to skyrocket now that we don't have to hear complaints from morning until night.

7) I have turned into a cooking fool. I have been going to a farmer's market on Saturday morning and buying fresh veggies. On Sunday morning, I have been getting up and cooking up a storm. Right now, I am on a corn chowder kick. Yummy!

8) I have been letting go a little bit and giving Boy-o a bit more freedom to go here and there. Him having a driver's license has been a bittersweet experience for me. On one hand, it is great that he can now get himself to his new library job or to the school for a meeting but on the other hand, I miss the time in the car.

That is what my past six weeks has been. What have YOU been up to?

Twofer Tuesday

2010-08-17T12:48:00.002-04:00

Twofer Tuesday is a quick post where I focus on two subjects.

Usually by this point in the summer, I am ready for it all to be over and for fall. This year, however, the weather here in Maine has been so glorious all summer that I want it to go on and on and on and on. I can't believe that in a few short weeks, school starts and we will be back in the thick of meetings, concerts, conferences, open houses, etc. Maybe the fact that Boy-o will be a junior this year is part of my hesitation for the school year. If we delay junior year, that means that senior year and graduation are delayed as well. Yup, if truth be told, that might be why I am feeling this way. Where has the time gone?

I have been playing Family Feud on facebook. It is very similar to the television show except you play as a team of one except for the bonus round. Because of typographical errors and regional differences in language, they have a program set up to recognize answers that might not match exactly. For example, in this part of the country, we call carbonated beverages "soda" whereas in other parts of the country it is called "pop" or something else. If I answer soda, it recognizes that my answer is correct and gives me credit for it. Sometimes, however, the computer "recognizes" answers that do not make sense. For example, last night I typed in "machine operator". It matched me to "surgeon". One time I put in "wool pants" and it matched me to "sweater" and another time I put in "family" and it matched me to "love life" but then told me I had already used the answer when I typed "health". On the other hand, I didn't get a match when I put "Fourth of July" and the answer was "Independence Day" and I didn't get a match when I put "No One Laughs" and the answer was "No Laughter". I haven't decided if I think that the answer choices are done by someone in another country who doesn't know our language, etc. or if it is a bunch of computer geeks entertaining themselves by knowing that they are driving people crazy!

That's all that I have for this warm Tuesday. I hope things are great in your part of the world.

Here's to short posts!

What are YOU thankful for today?

2010-08-12T08:44:00.002-04:00

Thankful Thursday is where I ask everyone to stop and think about the good things that are happening. Even during those weeks that stretch out more than the truth in a political campaign, there are always things that we can appreciate. This week, I am thankful for (in no particular order):

1) I am thankful for Tempeh. This soy bean creation is turning out to be a great meat substitute for Boy-o. I discovered it on Saturday at a farmer's market and have used it in an omelet, lasagna and sloppy joes.

2) I am thankful for the beautiful weather in Maine. After our summer of rain last year, I am really enjoying the sunny weather.

3) I am thankful that my husband and I have a loving and stable relationship. Watching the drama with some of the people at work is unbelieveable.

4) I am thankful for fellow employees who were happy that I decided to stay in my current job. I am also thankful for a boss who was even happier!

5) I am thankful for good friends and girls' night outs. I have had two of those in the past two weeks! (For those of you wondering, yes, I saw the one, the only, the incredible Mary Ellen. She is doing well. )

6) I am thankful for a son who asked to go get a haircut and who can drive himself there!

7) I am thankful for the pulled pork that is cooking in my crockpot right now. My husband and I will have an easy but yummy supper after karate tonight.

8) I am thankful for farmers' markets.

9) I am thankful that it is Thursday and this long long week is drawing to an end. As a bonus, my boss is out today and all next week!

10)I am thankful for the bloggers who read my blog and take the time to comment.

Here's to appreciation!

Katy, the wonder dog

2010-08-11T11:46:00.000-04:00

Like most dogs, Katy makes it pretty clear what she wants. She has can let me know if she is hungry, if she needs to go out or if she thinks it is time to go to bed. Last night, however, she was very out of sorts after we went to bed and we couldn’t figure out what was wrong. She was pacing and the clickety click of her nails on the laminate floor was quite loud. All I could hear was click, click, whine, whine. There was no “I need to go outside” bark. We were mystified. Every so often, either my husband or I would tell her to settle down and she would relax for a few minutes. However, she would quickly jump up and start clicking and whining and whining and clicking. There wasn’t a lot of sleeping going on. At about 2:45 am, I decided to see if she wanted to go outside. I didn’t think that she did but I figured if she went out, it might settle her down. I opened the bedroom door and she streaked down the hallway towards Boy-o’s room. His door was partially closed and before I could even take a step she picked up her paw and whapped it against the door to open it all the way. She started racing back and forth in his room. Since Boy-o was still asleep, I turned on the hall light to peer in. I quickly realized that Katy was chasing a bat. Since I hate, hate, hate bats, I did the only thing I could think of. I ran back down the hallway and called for my husband to come. He told me to stay in our bedroom with the door closed and he and Katy rounded up two bats and got them outside. Apparently, Katy has a herding instinct because she rounded up one bat and chased it out of Evan’s bedroom and into the hallway where my husband was able to capture it. Boy-o finally woke up when all 85 pounds of canine landed on top of him when Katy was attempting to catch one of the bats. After my husband and Katy successfully removed both bats from the house, my husband returned to bed. Katy wandered the house for a few moments checking to make sure that her job was done. She collapsed at the top of the stairs in the hallway so she could make sure that no one else tried to invade HER house and promptly fell asleep. Being a wonder dog is hard work, you know.

Friday Fragments

2010-08-06T16:57:00.007-04:00

TGIFF! Thank Goodness It's Friday Fragments! Today is the day where we take all of the bits and pieces of randomness and mash them up, mix them up and throw in a few spices and create one clutter-clearing post. Think of it a mental hash! Please join me in thanking Mrs. 4444 for being the head chef of this randomness.

Lots of stuff going on in our small part of Maine lately. First of all, the big news! Boy-o is now a licensed driver! Yup. He passed his test the first try. You would be proud of me. He drove me from the testing site to our local hospital and dropped me off. No, contrary to what people might think, I wasn't having a heart attack at the thought of a teen age driver. I simply needed to have some x-rays. I sent him on an errand so he dropped me off and drove off ALL-BY-HIMSELF. I cheerfully waved and didn't even hesitate or shed a tear. I can hardly believe it myself.

I came closer to shedding a tear when I got the quote for the car insurance, however. The good news is that his kind grandparents gave him a car. The bad news is that his grandparents gave him a car and gave us a big insurance bill. Oy. Someone (cough, cough) told her son years ago that if he "was on the honor roll, I would pay for his insurance". Boy-o is on the honor roll AND apparently has a very good memory for some things. Luckily, I work in an insurance agency and got my agent to quote a different company and we got the premium down by several hundred dollars. Still costs a small fortune, however.

Things have been going better at work lately. I asked to be moved away from my co-worker who complains all the time and I have never ever been so caught up. It is a great feeling! Of course, with things going better, what should happen but a new job opportunity. I did interview for a new position and entertained an offer. When it came down to it, however, there just wasn't enough of a reason to make a change. Sometimes the grass isn't greener on the other side of the fence. It is nice to be wanted, however. I did discuss the offer with my current boss and it is nice to know that he was thrilled when I told him that I had decided to stay.

I have five weeks vacation at my job now and I have been taking a few random days off since my husband only gets 2 weeks. Today was one of those days. I came up with the brilliant idea of taking my son to get his photo taken for his permanent license. What should happen but we get into a car accident. Yup. He has had his license for 9 days and now has an accident under his belt! For a bad thing, however, it really couldn't have been much better. No one was hurt, it wasn't his fault, the man who hit us was an off duty police officer and couldn't have been nicer and I had a call from his insurance company on my answering machine by the time I got home. My son's car is a 2006 and was in perfect shape EXCEPT for a small scratch on the rear bumper. Since we were rearended, he is going to get a new rear bumper and the scratch will be gone! Can you tell I try to look at things on the positive side?

Last night, I had a Girls' Night Out with a friend. We have season tickets for our local repertory theater. We usually go to the same restaurant before the show to catch up. Last night, we decided to try a new place. Oh my. What a wonderful place! Great atomosphere and amazing food. Sorry old restaurant. You have been replaced in our affections for the new place in town. We have been going to shows on and off for 16 years. The production we saw last night of "All Shook Up" was definitely one of the top two shows we have ever seen. It was such a wonderful evening.

I have been reading up a storm lately. I am facebook friends with my high school English teacher and read a book she recommended "Sarah's Key". It is about France's round-up of Jews during World War II. Very enjoyable book. I am currently reading "Eat, Pray, Love" because of a friend's recommendation. I am thru the first part of her journey and am enjoying that book as well.

That is all I have for today. Have a great weekend and don't forget to check out everyone else who is participating in Friday Fragments!

Here's to summer!

Lunchtime stroll

2010-07-03T21:10:00.006-04:00

Whenever possible, I like to walk during my lunch break at work. I find it helps clear my mind and it gets me away from my sometimes crazy workplace. The office is located in the center of a relatively small village and in the summertime the traffic zooms by. My walking place of choice is the cemetery that is located a few feet away. Let me be clear. I am very respectful while I am walking. If I see a service in progress, I stay far away and I also detour when I see someone visiting a grave site. If I play music or an audible book, I only do it with earphones on. Sometimes I walk with purpose and sometimes I wander and look at the various grave markers.

The first thing you notice this time of the year when you enter the cemetery is all of the flags. A local organization puts out flags on graves of the veterans. In addition, the fire department puts out their flags on their fallen comrades. It is wonderful to look around and see how many flags there are gently flapping in the breeze. A sense of peacefulness envelopes me in just a few steps.

On Friday, I took a stroll around the cemetery and stopped and looked at many graves. The cemetery has grave sites that are new and grave sites that are from the 1800s. Sometimes, I know the story of a particular person and sometimes I don't. Sometimes, I can only wonder and sometimes, I use my imagination.

One grave marker is very heart wrenching is the one that marks the grave of 6 children who were killed in a house fire in the 1940s. The family also lost a daughter a few years before that. However, I also see some positives reflected at that grave. The marker was donated to the parents by workers in our local navy yard. I imagine that the community rallied around these parents and gave them financial and (hopefully) emotional support. It also makes me happy to see that both parents are buried there. They both lived long lives and it appears that this immense tragedy did not break them up. This grave shows both sadness and strength to me.

Another marker that makes me grin when I walk by is from the 1800s. It lists a man, his first wife, Jane and his second wife, Jane. I also pause when I pass the marker for the man who was named after the Vice President from Maine, Hannibal Hamlin (insert last name here). Somehow, I don't think many babies are being named Joseph Biden (insert last name here). These two graves show how times have changed.

I stopped by and visited the grave site of a distant cousin of my husband's. I knew the parents but never knew their son who was killed in Vietnam. I get a sense that the parents and the son have been reunited.

Some grave markers make me shake my head in sadness as I go by because I do know stories behind them. I see the marker for the 16 year old who snuck out one winter evening to go to a party and never made it home. Her mother was sick in bed and didn't know her daughter had left until the police showed up on her doorstep. I see markers for people who lost the battle to drug addiction and wonder (as their parents must) what if.

I walk by the marker for a young girl who fought - but lost - a valiant battle against cancer. There were many fund raisers for her and her parents were dedicated to her and to the fight against cancer. This story has some happiness in it too. Shortly after her death, her mother discovered that she was pregnant. It wasn't a planned pregnancy but the new baby was born on the first anniversary of the older one's death. It makes you wonder if a higher power was involved in that one!

There is one marker that makes me wonder. It is a relatively new one and it lists the woman's name and "beloved daughter, wife and mother". I probably wouldn't even think twice about that except that I know that she was killed in a car accident when she was with her boyfriend who was drunk. I always wonder what her husband thinks when he sees the wife part on the marker. They had young children and I imagine he brings them to visit.

There are two large markers that don't have names on them. One says "Mom" and one says "Dad". The mother is deceased and she does have an individual flat marker with her name on it. In between these two marker is the market for a young sailor. This grave is several years old but is always well tended. It also has a plastic boat in front of it. The man who oversees the cemetery says that the boat has been there for years. It is against the cemetery rules but he looks in the other direction in many cases. He said it amazes him that the boat never gets blown away or taken by someone.

Of course, the children's markers are all very sad. Once gravestone has the picture of a young boy in a Little League uniform etched on it. The flat marker is white marble shaped like home plate and there are usually baseballs scattered around the big marker. There is also a plaque outlining his accomplishments in Little League. He was quite the player. I don't know what happen to him as he passed away just a few short months after a very successful baseball season.

As I walk, I also think about my parents. I live quite a few miles away from where they are buried and I rarely get to visit their gravesite.

I return to the office a little subdued but with a sense of peace and a sense of what is really important in life. Many markers say "Beloved Wife and Mother" but none say "Beloved Insurance Agent".

Here's to lunchtime strolls.

Feelin' Better Friday Fragments

2010-07-02T06:58:00.008-04:00

I woke up this morning with a headache and stuffed up sinuses. I immediately realized what the problem was. I haven't participated in Friday Fragments in a while. All of the random thoughts must be backed up in my brain. No wonder I am not feeling 100% today! Please join me in thanking Mrs. 4444 for encouraging us to take all of those little bits and pieces of thoughts and assembling them into one post. Join in the fun and you will feel better too!

This has been an eventful week in our household. On Tuesday, my boy-o returned home from a trip to Germany, Switzerland and Austria. He and ten other classmates and five brave adults were gone for 8 days. He had a great time. We got a few facebook messages from him while he was gone which was a nice surprise.

On Thursday, boy-o celebrated his sixteenth birthday. Where has the time gone? Birthdays are not nearly as much fun as they used to be, however. I loved the days of birthday parties and the gifts that made him so excited (Red Sox tickets or a Gameboy). All he wanted was money this year and the birthday party went by the wayside a couple of years ago. Part of me would love to go back to the when he was younger. However, my cousin summed it up when she said that she misses her kids when they were younger but she wouldn't go back because there were some young adults that she would miss way too much. I feel the same way.

As of 4:30 pm, I am officially on vacation for a week. For the first time in several years, we are doing a staycation. We already had a nice cruise vacation so this time we are staying close by and doing some day trips. Even though we lived in Maine (AKA Vacationland), most of our day trips are planned for out of state. How ironic is that? Revised - my boss just told us that we are closing early today. The vacation begins at 3:00 pm!

My son got a package in the mail yesterday from a friend of his. They had a disagreement a short while ago and she wanted to apologize. She went out and bought a children's book called "Do you want to be my friend?" and made a few minor modifications. For example, she amended the back of the book where it said from ages 3 to 6 so it read from 3 to 16 and she circled the name of another book by the same author called "The Secret Birthday Message". Finally, she wrote a message on a blank page to ask forgiveness. She got his mailing address somehow and make sure that it would arrive on his birhtday. What a classy young lady and what a cool way to apologize.

That is is for today, folks. Happy Independence Day to my American readers! May sure you go check out Mrs. 4444 and the rest of the folks clearing out brain clutter today.

Life is good....

2010-06-29T07:44:00.003-04:00

I got to see Mary Ellen last night at a Girls' Night Out along with her college roommate Judy. They roomed together for 4 years at college. I feel so fortunate that they allow me to tag along! Seriously, I treasure both of them. They are wise, accomplished and loving women who enrich my life.

My son comes home from his trip today. I can't wait to see him! From the few messages I got while he was gone, it looks like he had a fantastic time. We paid for the trip and he provided the spending money. He took a travel visa card - and apparently didn't spend any money beyond the cash he had in his pocket. The chaperones had talked to the parents at a meeting about sitting down with the students and discussing spending. They were concerned about the students spending too much money! I guess I should have had the conversation with boy-o that spending money was OK. I imagine he came home with more money than everyone else. Perhaps as much money as the rest of the students combined! Yes, cheap describes my son pretty well.

I got my t-shirt yesterday from Heather. I can't wait for casual Friday to wear it to work. She makes it so easy to order and it came lickety split. I will wear it and think of her and her battle.

We have been working on opening the swimming pool because it has been very warm in Maine this year. Last summer, it rained all summer long and we never bothered to open the pool. It looks so inviting! I can't wait to get in it tonight!

I have next week off. We don't have any real plans beyond enjoying the great State of Maine. Normally we try to go away for vacation but we need to stay close for to get boy-o to work. We are planning a day trip to Boston, a day cruise out of Portsmouth (NH) Harbor and maybe, just maybe, I will get my upstairs bathroom painted.

My boss is buying us lunch today. Once a month, he treats the staff to sandwiches from a local restaurant. Yummy!

I am off to work to finish things up so I can take next week off. Here is to enjoying life!

I am back....

2010-06-23T07:33:00.003-04:00

Wow! The end of school madness did me in this year... and boy-o is (was?) only a sophomore! I can't even think what it will be like in two years when he is graduating. Note to all. You might want to consider buying stock in Kleenex. I anticipate a big bump in sales in about two years. Just sayin'.

The social studies department at my son's high school does an event called the "History Extravaganza" instead of having a final. The students write a paper and then do a tri-fold and presentation one evening. All social studies students in the school participate. I skipped karate one night to go see my son. I walked into the gym to where my son's class had their posters set up. He came over and told me that he hadn't presented yet and he would prefer that I not be there. I ended up going out into the main lobby and giving directions to other parents. I did manage to sneak back into the gym a few times to look around and see what his classmates were doing. Apparently after I spoke to one classmate, he went over to see what I talked to her about. He was concerned that I might have said something embarrassing. Who? Me? Can you imagine?

Last week, I received my green belt in karate. I had to write a paper on the history of karate (8 pages, thank you very much) and also had a test where I had to show my stuff as they say. I will admit that I worked very hard on my katas. I will never be the most skilled martial artist but for an out of shape over-weight old lady, I do OK.

My son left Monday afternoon for his (delayed) school trip to Germany. When we dropped them off in April for the trip that ended up being cancelled, the parents and students were all pretty incredulous and stressed. We wondered if the trip would leave or if it left, if they would get stranded somewhere. This time, everyone was much more relaxed. The general consensus from all the parents was that we wanted to leave them home and go instead! It is great to see the opportunities that our children have to travel.

How does my dog know it is summer vacation? During the school year, she bounds out of bed and pesters me until we take boy-o to school. She is practically running laps in excitement. Once summer vacation comes, however, it is all I can do to drag her out of bed to make her go outside before I leave for work. I would understand it if she was hopeful for a week or so and figured it out but, somehow, every year, she figures it out from the first day of summer vacation. She also gets up with great excitement the first day of school. How-on-earth-does-she-know? She is going to be disappointed next year, however, when boy-o drives himself to school. Yup. He will probably get his license this summer. On the day of his last final this year, I commented that it was probably my last day of driving him to school. Needless to say, my reaction and his reaction to that news was a bit different.

That is it for today. Here's to having a bit more time in the mornings.

Thankful Thursday

2010-05-27T08:07:00.003-04:00

Thankful Thursday is where I ask everyone to stop and think about the good things that are happening. Sometimes it is hard to see the rainbow behind the rain clouds but we know that it is there. This week, I am thankful for (in no particular order):

1) That the school year is winding down. I think we all need a break from the running around.

2) That I have a long weekend coming up and very few plans.

3) That the weather has been glorious here in my neck of the woods.

4) That I have good health insurance and I don't have to make a choice between going to the doctor's and buying groceries like some people.

5) That I have a wonderful fan in my bedroom that cools the room off so I can sleep at night.

6) That I have a doctor's office that I can call late in the afternoon and get an appointment early the next morning.

7) That scientists invented the drugs that I am anticipating will make me feel better after I visit said doctor.

8) That my son was inducted into National Honor Society this week. I am particularly impressed that the entire ceremony was handled by students. Not one word was uttered by the faculty advisors. I am also thankful that when the person slated to induct my son was unable to do so, two other students immediately stepped up to offer. They ended up doing rock, paper, scissors to decide!

9) That the Red Sox swept the Rays.

10) That I got a Girls' Night Out this week. It is so good for the soul.

What are you thankful for?

Here's to appreciation and rainbows.

Facebook - the best thing or the biggest waste of time?

2010-05-26T08:09:00.002-04:00

I originally signed up for facebook because my nephew in Texas bought a house and I wanted to see photos of it. A few minutes, a few keystrokes and I was the proud owner of a facebook page. I didn't plan on really using it but it served it's purpose. Within a few days, I had a friend request from one of my oldest friends. I met Kris when I visited Liberty Elementary School the year before we started Kindergarten. We both had older sisters in the school so we both ended up staying there all day while the other wee ones went home after a few hours. We bonded over the swing sets and remained friends until we graduated from high school. However, we had been out of touch for many many years. I was thrilled to reconnect with her.

One thing led to another and I started getting friend requests right and left from school friends. I was enjoying catching up with everyone. We started challenging each other to find more and more. My list of friends was increasing rapidly! How fun! I did have a conversation one evening with a high school friend where we wondered where we would all be in 12 months. Would we still be in contact or would we not bother anymore?

Then it happened. I got a request to join Farm Town and I accepted it. I became obsessed with plowing, planting, harvesting, getting bigger and bigger. I looked at other farms and was jealous of their flowers, their items, their lay-outs. My family started commenting about how much time I was spending playing the games. I sent them away because they were breaking my concentration. I spent time at baseball games talking to another mother about farming. Then the Cafe World invitation arrived and, once again, I said yes. I started building my cafe. I did resist many games but Cafe World did manage to break my willpower. Suddenly, I notice people playing Country Life and I joined that one too. Oh no! Three games to control. Where would I find the time? After making sure that my three games were basically paused, I went to a conference in April. Even though I had my netbook, I didn't play one game. I realized I could live without them and I haven't started playing again. I have not deleted them but that is mostly because I don't know how to.

I have experienced both sides of facebook. The side I love where I get to reconnect with old friends. I am finding that, one year later, I am not as active on the site but that I do still make time to touch base with many of my friends. I have also had the opportunity to reconnect with others. I am so happy to be in regular contact with Kristina, Betty-Lu, Danny, Delina, and Julie. I am finding that in some cases, it was like we never stopped talking to each other. The years have simply melted away. With others, I have formed deeper friendships that didn't exist in the past. As we have grown up, we have much more in common. With some friends, I am finding it delightful to be in touch. I have reconnected with my ex-boyfriend's freshman roommate and quickly remembered how much I appreciated his sense of humor. He might be a little older but that razor sharp wit still exists! Paul also has a blog! I am very happy he did a search for me! On the other hand, some "friends" have basically faded into the woodwork in the past year. Neither of us bother to make an effort and that is ok.

So, to me, since I have deep-sixed the games, Facebook is back to being a great thing. What do you think?

Here's to facebook.

Twofer Tuesday

2010-05-25T07:48:00.000-04:00

Twofer Tuesday is where I post two short items. Think of it as a drive thru post!

This past weekend, we had to buy boy-o a new mattress and box spring. This led to the declaration that he wanted to re-arrange his bedroom which led (of course) to the inevitable sorting of the various items that populate his room. He decided that it was time to clean up, declutter and move on. The three shelf baseball shrine was packed away. Ah, the memories! His homerun ball was put in a box for the attic. The plastic helmets from ice cream at the professional games were added to that same box. His signed Nomar photo was joined by his trophy collection. I carefully placed photos from various ballparks, baseball cards, his signed Varitek and Ted Williams' items and his signed Kevin Youkilis (YOUUUUUKKKKK) baseball in another box for the attic. His collection of baseball caps from his various Little League and Fall Ball team went into a trash bag. Yes, we basically packed away his childhood. Where are the time gone?

Last night, I jumped into my trusty SUV after work and met my friends Mary Ellen and Judy for our much needed Girls' Night Out. Yes, once again, I can report a Mary Ellen visit. She is doing well. She is very busy with end of school with her two boys. We spent the evening comparing pains - labor pains (from years ago, of course), growing pains (with 6 boys between us there are plenty of those) and pains of the heart and body (we all hit the big 5-0 this year). Of course, sharing our pains with long time wonderful friends make them all seem better. I needed that and can't wait to do it again.

Here's to growing up and growing old!

Car ride talks

2010-05-18T21:43:00.000-04:00

Most parents of teenagers will tell you that the best time to get information from your child is during a car ride. There is something about being stuck in a metal box on wheels that loosens a teenager's tongue. Over the past week, I have heard about:

1) The classmate who started a facebook group making fun of my son. This was mentioned in a passing comment and boy-o assured me that he didn't mind it. Apparently, a classmate started a group saying that boy-o wasn't really smart and that he just persuades others that he is. This classmate is a former friend but as they have gotten older, they have drifted apart because they have very very little in common. Anyway, this kid started the group and sent invitations to it to many of the kids in the high school. He apparently didn't pay attention to who he sent it to because many students who are friends of my son received invites. First period, my son heard about it. My son went up to the other kid in band and politely asked about it. The other kid said it was a joke. My son asked him to take it down and the kid said he wasn't sure he wanted to do that but he would put it as a private group. That is apparently what he has done. The funny thing is that the other kid is the one who ended up looking stupid over the entire thing when other students - including the president of the senior class - came to boy-o's defense. Did I mention that the president of the senior class made it thru Pre-Calc because of help from my son? Or that they are in AP Calc together? Boy-o is getting an A and El Presidente is barely passing? Yeah, he is going to agree that Boy-o isn't particularly smart. NOT!
Of course, in this day and age, this could be construed as cyber-bullying. Another reason why this kid ended up looking stupid. I am pleased with the maturity that my son showed in dealing with it.

2) That my son is contributing articles to a website dedicated to Magic The Gathering. Once again - just a passing comment was made. His first article was published in April and the next one is being published this week. I read it. I have not a clue about what it said but it seemed impressive to me.

3) That my son was selected for National Honor Society. Once again - you guessed it - this was in a passing comment. We had already talked on the phone and I was told "nothing interesting happened at school today". He may not have been excited but I certainly was.

4) That cyber-bullying is alive and well and my son thinks it is stupid. I guess some kids started two facebook groups making fun of a middle school student and her mother's death in a car accident. One group is called "At least my mother knows how to use the brakes". How sad! He didn't know who started the group and he ignored the invitation.

So, I am off to gas up the SUV. You never know when a teenager might need a ride... or when a mother might need some information.

Here's to car rides.

Friday Fragments

2010-05-14T22:27:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Friday Fragments! Please join me in thanking Mrs. 4444 for encouraging us to take all of those little bits and pieces of thoughts and assembling them into one post. Think of it as a crazy quilt of randomness.

It always amazes me how two people can look at the exact same thing and come up with 100% different conclusions. My co-worker was telling about how her sisters were trying to convince their father to give up smoking. My thought was "Ah, how nice. They are showing that they care." and then she continued on to say "They should just leave him alone. It is his life." I didn't get the impression that they were harassing the poor man but rather had just suggested that he try to quit for health reasons. I see love and she sees interference.

Our local high school participated in an "Every 15 Minutes" alcohol awareness program this week. For those of you not familiar with this, they reenact a drunk driving accident and the ramifications. They showed the accident (complete with a passenger thru the windshield and blood) and had emergency vehicles come and take the patient to the hospital with the parents following. They "arrested" the driver, had a hearse take away a deceased person, etc. The next day, they held a mock funeral. They had parents participate. I am not sure I could do it. Very powerful. They also had the grim reaper show up in classrooms every 15 minutes to take students away. The students then returned to class with special t-shirts like they were ghosts and couldn't talk for the rest of the day. After the grim reaper's visit, they would read the obit as an announcement for the entire school to hear. My only complaint about this program is that the announcements were distracting for my son and his fellow classmates who were taking an AP exam. Just would have been nice to pick a different day and not interrupt an exam. Just sayin'.

My son told me today that the AP Art, Calculus, Physic and English classes are going on a "field trip" to Boston since their work for the school year is basically done. I asked why the AP US History class wasn't going too. His immediate answer was "They are Juniors, Mom. Why would they go?" "Um, you are a sophomore and you are going." "Well, that's different."

The weather forecast for our little part of the world looks good this weekend and should be 75 and sunny on Sunday. You guessed it! I am planning on reclining on my new lounger with a class of iced tea in one handle, my kindle in the other and my dog next to me. Oh, yeah. The husband can recline too.

My co-worker's son is playing Little League so I volunteered to help out in the concession stand for one of his games. It was weird to be back in a place that I spent many many hours at a few years ago. Oh, how I miss the baseball games and watching my boy-o play.

In our small town, we have a relatively small Little League program. My son's last season in Little League started off questionable when his team was dissolved and he had to be redrafted onto another team. Of course, he didn't end up on the team he was hoping for. That year, there were 3 teams in his league. One was extremely stacked, one (his team) was average and the remaining team was not very good. Strangely enough, he wanted to be on the team that wasn't very good. One night, his (new) coach put him in as a relief pitcher and he did a great job. The next game, he was told that he was going to be the starting pitcher! Wow. What a great feeling. However, they were going against the undefeated team. Hopefully, they would be able to play an entire game and not get cut short because of the 10 run mercy rule. That was my hope anyway. When my husband showed up at the end of the first inning, he looked at the scoreboard and assumed that my son's team was losing. He was stunned to hear that our boy-o was pitching and his team was winning! How could it be? The game continued on in that vein. Our team was hitting everything and their team was not hitting much at all. At one point, a father came up to me and said "I know I could stab myself in the heart right now and it wouldn't matter because this is obviously a dream!". My son had an outstanding game. He went 4 for 4 at the plate, pitched a complete game AND made it home on a passed ball to end the game. My wish didn't come true. They did end the game early. However, it was because the other team was behind by 10 runs. Yup. Not only did they win, they mercy-ruled them. Happy Dance! Oh yes, the good old days. How I wish he hadn't decided to give up baseball.

One of my niece's fellow musicians at the University of Maine is one inspirational gal who is fighting cystic fibrosis. If you want to read about someone with a positive attitude, check this out. It definitely put a new perspective on my complaints. Suddenly I realized how trivial they really are.

Have a great weekend. Don't forget to go over to Mrs. 4444's and check out the rest of the crazy quilts.

Here's to Friday Fragments.

Perceptions of age

2010-05-12T17:28:00.000-04:00

As a child, all adults seemed, well, OLD! Parents of my friends were all ancient and teachers were probably nearing retirement or at least that is how I perceived it. As I am advancing in age towards my (gulp!) fifties this year, a couple of things have made me realize how very far off my perceptions were.

I just received news that the secretary to the high school principal of my local high school passed away on Sunday. At the first telling, it didn't really surprise me. I mean, I graduated more than 30 years ago and, while I never really thought about her age, I was positive that she must be older. I figured she had retired from her job years ago. Imagine my surprise when I read a post from a former high school teacher that mentioned how strange it would be for her to go to school on Monday and not see Mrs. Curtis there. Huh?!? Was the poor woman still working? How could that be? I followed the link to her obit and discovered that she was only 65! That means she was in her early thirties when I was in high school! How could that be? She was old! At least that is the way I remembered her.

I have also become a facebook friend with the woman who lived directly behind me when I was growing up. In our small rural town, no one was particularly well off but this family had less than most of us. However, it was always a joy to visit their home because it was always full of fun and full of love. It makes me smile to remember their teeny tiny little house with the crank washing machine. She wore her hair up in a very old fashioned bun and wore cotton house dresses .She dressed like my grandmother! My mother dressed much more modern and had an up-to-date haircut. I knew that she wasn't as old as my mother but I had no idea until recently at how very young she really was. Her children posted birthday congratulations on her facebook page and I figured out that she was in her twenties and early thirties in my youth. I could hardly believe it. The cool thing, however, is that from my conversations with her and from all of the photos posted on her page, her home is still full of fun and still full of love. No surprises there!

I didn't become a mother until I was in my thirties. However, I don't consider myself old even though I have lots of white hairs. I just wonder what my son's friends think of me. Do they think I am old? Tell me it ain't so!

Here's to not being old!

2010-05-07T07:40:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Friday Fragments. What is Friday Fragments? It is the place that you put all those little bits and pieces of things and try to assemble them into one post. Think of it as a mosaic piece.>Mrs. 4444 is the one who came up with this smashing good time. Make sure you check our everyone else's masterpieces.

In honor of Mother's Day, I want to post something that I have seen on facebook.

If lilacs grow in Heaven, Lord please pick a bunch for me. Place them in my Mother's arms and tell her they're from me. Tell her I love her and miss her, and when she turns to smile, place a kiss upon her cheek and hold her for awhile. Because remembering her is easy; I do it every day. She was a wonderful Mother and is an angel now, but there's an ache within my heart...♥ I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU DEARLY MOM.

I lost my mother 5 days after I turned 22. There is so much that I missed with her and there is so much that she missed. Three of her four grandchildren were born after her death. She wasn't there to see me get married, to see me succeed in the field that we share, or to give me advice in child rearing.I don't think you ever get over losing a parent.

At karate this week, we worked on 'Multiple with take downs'. What is multiple with take downs, you ask. One person attacks and the defender reacts and does multiple techniques. For example, one person will throw a punch and the defender will block it and then punch back, do a kick to the knee, do a joint lock, an elbow strike, etc. When we do it with a take down, we take the attacker down to the ground. It is a great deal of fun! Normally my husband and I don't work together in karate. This is for 2 reasons. First of all, he is a much more advanced student and, secondly, our karate Sensei tries not to pair us up because she doesn't enjoy working with her husband and she doesn't want to cause stress in our relationship. Tuesday night, however, my husband and I got paired up to do multiple with take downs. The first time he punched me, I did my techniques, got his bent over and grabbed his collar and belt and threw him a couple of feet onto the mat. He rolled over to look at me and the look on this face was priceless. He didn't realize that I knew that technique! He was quite impressed. How cool is that?

We have been going to class early on Thursday evenings to learn bo techniques. A bo is a 6 foot wooden rod that we use to attack and defend with. Last night, we did 45 minutes of bo work and then 90 minutes of karate class. Can you say one-exhausted-old-lady?
Actually, it was one-exhausted-and-sore-old-lady-with-a-big-smile-on-her-face-because-it-is-so-much-fun!

Thinking of Hallie this weekend for her first Mother's Day without CJ.

One AP Calculus Exam done and one AP Physics Exam to go. Progress made on the Eagle project this week. It was a good week.

That is all I have for today, folks. Have an amazing weekend and Happy Mother's Day to all of your mothers and mothers-to-be.

Monday Morning Musings

2010-05-03T07:42:00.000-04:00

I have always tried to support my son in whatever he wanted to do. He wanted to participate in scouts so I signed up to be the den mother. When he started baseball, I was the team mother. He was interested in music so I joined music boosters, he wanted his friend to visit from Connecticut so I said I would drive 3 hours each way to pick him up, and when he wanted to go to see a band with some friends in Portland, I drove and hung out in the parking lot (for hours!) waiting for it to be over. However, when my son started to get really interested in playing Magic the Gathering, I must confess, I wasn't excited. What is Magic, you ask? It is a card game. Beyond that, I don't really understand it. He attempted to teach me how to play once and it went totally and completely over my head. Apparently it is based on math and statistics. Anyway, I haven't been as supportive as usual about him playing Magic and, truth be told, have tried to discourage it whenever possible. I have recently realized that this is something that is important to my son and have been trying harder. The past several Tuesdays, I have come home from work, quickly gotten ready for karate and driven him to New Hampshire so he can practice with his team and then circles back to Maine and my karate dojo. Sunday morning, I got up at the usual workday time in order to drive him to Boston to a tournament. No sleeping in for me! He actually defeated pro players this weekend. Good Job, Boy-o!! I am proud of you.

The next two weeks look to be pretty stressful in our household as my son will be taking two AP exams. Once those exams are done, however, it looks like relatively smooth sailing for the rest of the school year. His AP teachers don't give finals and they will be working on "fun" projects until the seniors graduate. It looks like he will only have 2 finals at maximum. Phew.

Here's to Monday mornings!

2010-04-30T07:10:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Friday Fragments. What is Friday Fragments? I am so glad you asked. It is the day where we take all of the little bits and pieces and try to assemble them into a one post. Think of a a puzzle where all of the jagged pieces come together to make a picture? Why do we do this? Because Mrs. 4444 tells us too! Make sure you go over and check out and see what all of the other participants are putting together. You will be glad that you did!

When we went on our last cruise, I was impressed by some of the deck furniture. They had round loungers that could be flat, have the head up on either side and were big enough for two people. My husband and I enjoyed sitting on one and reading one afternoon. Since once of my goals this summer is to use my deck more, I came home with a desire to purchase one. I searched online without any luck. Lo and behold, one day when searching for screen houses online, I came around this an ad for the Orbit Double Lounger.. I have one on order for my mother's day gift. Can't you just imagine reading on this? Taking a late afternoon nap? I can't wait!

I am on our small town email list for information on town events. This week, I got an invitation to a Septic Social. Yes, you read that correctly. What is a Septic Social?
Septic Socials are workshops that suggest easy and inexpensive practices you can adopt to keep your system running effectively and to also know when you have a problem. Not only can a failing septic system cost you thousands of dollars and lower your property value, but the pollution from them seeps into our local waterways, closing clam flats and causing swimming bans. Who knew they could make learning about your septic system sound so interesting. I wonder how many names they discussed before settling on Septic Social? Can't you just imagine the suggestions? Poop Party? Sewer Soiree, Elimination Event. Yes, deciding was a shi**y job, but someone had to do it. (Sorry, I just couldn't resist.)

I have a lot more vacation time than my husband so I have come up with an idea for this summer to use up a week. It is a secret right now but it involves, the one, the only, Mary Ellen. I will keep you informed if it all comes together.

That is all I have time for today. Enjoy the weekend!

Thankful Thursday

2010-04-29T07:48:00.000-04:00

On Thursdays, I ask everyone to stop and think about all of the good things in their lives that they are thankful for. Some weeks it is harder than other weeks but it is never a bad idea to stop and reflect. I bet you will be surprised about all of the positive things you have going on!

1) I am thankful to have a son to hug and talk to and, yes sometimes, nag.

2) I am thankful that my medical tests came out perfect. I don't even have to have a follow-up. (PS Thanks for the positive thoughts, Claudia!)

3) I am thankful that the weather has been glorious the past few weekends and the forecast is for 80 on Saturday. Yee Haw.

4) I am thankful that my sister and niece want to come visit this summer and take a jaunt into New York City for a show. Since my sister doesn't like traffic, it is a huge deal.

5) I am thankful that my son's trip to Europe got rescheduled and I didn't lose all of the money. I am especially thankful that his buddies are going too. It should be a great trip.

6) I am thankful for my crockpots and getting back on track. This week, I have made pulled chicken, turkey lasagna and roast chicken. Yum.

7) I am thankful for karate. With all of the stress in my life the past several weeks, I have needed it. For an out of shape old lady, you would be impressed at how far I have come!

8) I am thankful for the friends who gave me support while I was waiting for my test results.

9) I am thankful for my husband who fixes everything that I break.

What are you thankful for today?

Here's to appreciation.

More Sadness....

2010-04-28T07:49:00.000-04:00

In early February, I became aware of a young man who was missing from his college in Georgia. While it wasn't someone I knew, he did graduate from our local high school a few years ago and I know several people who knew him personally. He was from a military family so they were only here a short time which is why I didn't know him. His younger sister was in my son's grade so he knew her and he knew who the older brother was. This missing person story hit close to home.

Yesterday, they located his vehicle in a creek a short distance from where he had been last seen. That particular creek had searched before but more sophisticated sonar and a dive team made this search successful. There was a body in the cab of the truck. Identification will follow today but most people are assuming that it is the missing boy. While they will probably never know why or how he ended up there, he was returning home from a college party so lack of sleep or alcohol combined with a dark boat ramp is a likely answer. As long as foul play wasn't involved, it doesn't really matter.

Someone put it well on one of the facebook pages in Bryce's honor. "Tomorrow is not promised to anyone. Cherish those you have in your life today."

My sympathy goes out to the Tarter family.

Twofer Tuesday

2010-04-27T07:14:00.000-04:00

I recently went to a conference. Before I went, I set up my farm, my country life and my cafe so that nothing would spoil or rot or go to waste. I have been back for well over a week and I haven't logged onto any of the games. I am attempting to quit them all cold turkey. I have given passing thoughts to going in and deleting the games but haven't quite made it. I will say that I am enjoying having more free time. I didn't realize how much time I wasted harvesting, cooking, etc. I still think facebook is a great tool for keeping in touch but it can also be a huge time waster.

Last evening, my son and I had a rare evening of both being home without anything we "had" to do. I suggested that we go for a drive. No place special but just out and about. He will be going for his license in a few months so extra practice time is never a bad idea. What is it about the confines of a car that causes kids to talk? In the car, he shares his concerns about work (will the hiring of two additional people really hurt his hours this summer?), his thought processes about why he didn't sign up for a college visit (it is held on his hard day of classes and he doesn't want to miss Physics a few days before the AP exam) and how he is looking forward to the Magic tournament this weekend. Of course, when we got back home, he quickly returned to the monosyllabic answers that parents are familiar with around the world.

Have a great Tuesday!

Monday Morning Musings

2010-04-26T07:53:00.000-04:00

Late Friday, we got an email from the high school secretary and chaperone of the trip-that-the-volcano-ruined. They have rescheduled the trip for June! Yeah. I was a little concerned that the two senior boys that my son is friends with might opt out because of summer jobs but they are both planning on going. It should be a fun trip for my son... and, yes, I plan on purchasing the insurance for this trip. We do have to pay some more $$ since we didn't get a full refund but I am relieved we didn't lose all of the money.

Saturday evening, I hopped on a limo bus and ended to Boston with some of my co-workers and a few people from other insurance agencies. We headed to Boston's famed and beloved ballpark, Fenway, to see a baseball game in style. No nosebleed seats for us in the outfield. Nope, we were in a luxury box with free food, booze and private restroom facilities. The bathroom even had a flat screen TV so you didn't miss any of the game while taking care of "business". Yes, for a few hours, I experienced life as one of the rich and (maybe) famous. The best news is that the Red Sox, who have been struggling this year, won! It was a late night but definitely worth it.

My nephew works for a company that services oil rigs. The company he works for does work on the oil rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico BUT he wasn't on that one. Phew.

So after a couple of weeks of worse news after bad news, things are starting to look up. I am expecting some medical test results back in the next few days so I am really hoping that the good news trend continues. Please send positive thoughts my way.

Here's to an upward trend!

Twofer Tuesday

2010-04-20T06:51:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Twofer Tuesday where I post two short things.

We are still waiting to see what will happen with regards to my son's trip overseas. The email we received from the tour company said that they will be in touch later this week to share options. I really hope they get to go sometime this summer. If not, it looks like they will apply our payment to next year. Luckily, all of the seniors bought trip cancellation coverage. Yup, you guessed it - the insurance agent (that's me!) didn't buy the insurance. It looks like it will all work out but I am a wee bit stressed over the thought of losing all of our money. Note to self, next time BUY THE INSURANCE!!!

The good news is that my son has been able to pick up a couple of shifts at work this vacation week. They found out they weren't going to go about 3:00 Friday and he - and one of his friends - were able to work on Saturday. When Evan was in 7th grade, I fought with the school about what he should do about math the next year. I started in February and we didn't come to a resolution that our family found acceptable until June. Anyway, it turned about to be the perfect choice for him academically. What my biggest concern - and the concern of some at the school - was how Evan would do socially by being mixed in with students two years older. Well, one of the students that Evan met that year is the kid who got him this job. They have become very good friends. He already knew some of the other kids in the class and they have also become good friends in the years since then. Phew. Score one for following my mom intuition!

Here's to intuituion and short posts.

Friday Fragments - back from the missing

2010-04-16T17:28:00.000-04:00

Sorry I just dropped off the face of the earth like that. For some reason, life just got the better of me the past few weeks. It is the perfect time for a Friday Fragments post because my mind is totally on overload. Thank goodness for Mrs. 4444 - she gives us the approval we need for all this confusion!

Two very sad events have really affected me these past few days. I was at a conference last week and got a message that a friend and former co-worker had been killed in a car accident. I had just sent her a message suggesting that we get together for dinner some evening and now we can't. What a wake up call to live every moment to the fullest and to make time for those things that are important. Time with friends and family is precious and should be at the top of the "To do" list.

I got a call on Wednesday evening from Mary Ellen that Hallie's son, CJ, had passed away. I simply cannot fathom the pain the family must be experiencing. Parents are not supposed to bury their kids. I have not met Hallie in person (yet) but I enjoy her blog and know that she has to be a special person because of her friendship with Mary Ellen.

My heart goes out to both families.

My son was supposed to leave on a trip to Germany/Austria/Switzerland/France today. They have been planning it for over a year. He was excited about it - especially since two of his friends were going. They are seniors and Evan realizes that this is the last chance for them all to go. Who would have thought that a volcano in Iceland would cause all this chaos? They actually told the students they were going, put them on a bus and took them to the airport. On the way, they got contacted that their flight to Paris was cancelled and they, of course, had to return home. The trip is cancelled for this week and may or may not be rescheduled. If they don't reschedule, it is possible that the seniors will get their money back and the underclassmen will get a credit towards another trip. How frustrating!

That's all for today. Don't forget to go over to Mrs. 4444 and see what everyone else is up to.

Is it just me........

2010-03-31T07:50:00.000-04:00

Is it just me is little thing that Miss Hallie does where we blurt out all of those things that come to our minds and we wonder if anyone else thinks the same way. Make sure you go over and see who else has taken off their filters this week.

Is it just me or is slipping into a bed with fresh sheets a glorious thing? I swear I get the best sleep on that first night of clean sheets. I love being enveloped in the crispness.

Is it just me or does it make you cringe a little bit when you hear about someone taking advantage of the system? My co-worker mentioned yesterday that her son's family was on welfare now because they just had a new baby. Mom quit her full-time job and is not going back to work. She is healthy, the baby is healthy but she wants to stay home. I understand that but she can't afford to. She had a well paying job teaching at a college. What about the rest of us who want to stay home but we get up every day and go to a job we may hate just to pay the bills? I know someone else who is a single mother. Her ex-husband set aside enough money to pay for college for their son. She just decided to file for financial aid for him even though it isn't really needed. However, her income is low and because Dad isn't the primary caregiver, his income doesn't really count. She will get money that she really doesn't need. None of this is illegal but it does make me cringe. Anyone else feel the same way? I just think that there is only so much money to go around so the people who really need it are getting less than they should be.

Is it just me or does the weather report saying that the weather is going to be really nice in a few days make you almost giddy? March in Maine has been the rainiest on history but they are saying we will have 70 degree weather on Friday. Yee Haw!

Is it just me or is it time to dash? Here is to Hallie the magnificant!

Twofer Tuesday

2010-03-30T07:52:00.000-04:00

Last night, I braved the driving rain and strong winds to head north to Portland. A little (really a lot!) of rain wasn't going to keep me from Girl's Night Out! Really, I have my priorities in order, thank you very much. So, I am pleased to report another Mary Ellen sighting. She showed up - a little late and a little soggy - but in the flesh! She looks absolutely MARVELOUS! She is still very busy but happy. We, plus our other friend Judy, spent the evening talking and eating and talking and teasing and talking. Did I mention that we talked? As always, the years since the days in Androscoggin Hall at the good ole University of Maine just faded away and it was like we were back there again. Back then, we discussed boys and homework and boys and family. Nowadays, we discuss boys (our sons, husbands, ex-husbands and new friends) and family and, yes, health issues. OK. A few things have changed but not everything. I am so lucky to have these wonderful, loving, caring women in my life. I can't wait until Girls' Weekend Away. Stay tuned!

Yesterday, I got a check-in phone call from my son who informed me that the paperwork for class scheduling came out. He informed me that he had questions that he would like my imput on but also reminded me "that the final decision was his". I guess he told me! His big quandry is how to fit in everything he wants to take with everything he needs to take along with taking advantage of the opportunity to "teacher assist" (TA) in the AP Calc class next year. During my long car ride to Portland, I was able to ponder the question and came up with a potential solution. I gave it to him when I got home and got a "hey, that's a good idea!" My response was "really?!?". Is it possible that Mom knows something afterall? I do find it funny that last fall his AP Calc teacher mentioned him assisting her his junior or senior year but she was adament that he be a TA in a calss of younger students. She felt that would be easier for Evan. How times have changed. She is now strongly encouraging him (ie - she went to guidance and got the signoff for it!) to TA the AP Calc class next year. The students will all be a year older than my son. However, she has figured out that he can hold his own. He is excited about the opportunity and I think it will be a great way to reinforce the knowlegde he got this year. He will also be doing the next AP Calc B/C class online. Yup. Another busy year.

That's it for today. Have a great one!

Friday Fragments

2010-03-26T10:38:00.000-04:00

It is time for another session of Friday Fragments. FF is where we take all of the bits and pieces of information floating around and use them all. It is like when you clean out all of the leftovers in the refrigerator and assemble them all into a casserole. Make sure you check out Mrs 4444 who is the head chef in this party and all of the other cooks.

I have been a fan of Survivor since the first season. I was excited to see that Boston Rob - one of my favorite all time players - was returning for another season. While he is a snake, I love how he plays the game. This season, I have been particularly impressed with his game play - both physical and mental. I will confess that I searched for spoilers and was very upset to see that Rob was booted fairly early. Each week, I watched in dismay as the player "voted off of the island" followed what the spoiler said. On Wednesday evening, I sat down with some hesitation to watch this week's episode as Rob was on the list to be eliminated. However, THE SPOILER LIST WAS WRONG!!! Boston Rob won individual immunity and remains to play another day. YEAH! Furthermore, the two players voted out (in a rare double elimination) were much further along the list so it throws the entire boot list in question. Perhaps Rob will go further - and perhaps Russell will get elimiated soon!

My son was stage manager for his high school's competition one act play. For the first time since 1986, they qualified for the state competition. The week before states, my son was out sick on day. He soldiered on and went back to school even though he was very tired. He didn't want to miss rehearsal or the play. They were out late Friday night and left our town at 9:00 am Saturday morning. They spent the day at the competition and didn't return until 1:00 am Sunday morning. The school has a tradition of going out to iHOP after competition so they headed over. Unfortunately, because he was so wiped out, he ended up getting sick. I received a phone call from his friend to let me know. Come to find out, my son asked him to call. I think he wanted to make sure that I would be up when he got home. I was and stayed up with him for another hour until he was feeling a little better. Moral of the story: Even at 15, when you are sick, you still want your Mom.

Another woman has come out saying she had an affair with Jesse James. John Edwards' mistress has granted an interview about their relationship. As disgusted with the men involved (including Tiger), I am equally disgusted with the women. They knew these men were married. It takes two to tango as they say. I was particularly dismayed that John Edwards' mistress took the shots at Elizabeth. Beyond the fact that Elizabeth has terminal cancer, there is a child involved. Their children are half siblings. What message is she sending to her daughter who will find the article when she is older? What a lack of class.

The weather here in Maine has been very strange. It was in the 70s last Saturday and is supposed to be in the 30s tomorrow. It is hard to know how to dress each day!

Here's to Friday Fragments and Mrs. 4444!

Monday Morning Musings - small town edition

2010-03-22T06:00:00.000-04:00

Boy, I just love living in a small town and here is why:

Last Friday when I was at work, I received a call from my Credit Union. I had dropped my ATM card in the parking lot. Someone had found it and turned it into the town hall close to my office. The people in the town hall called the credit union who checked my file to find out where I worked and called to let me know. I had it back before I even realized it was missing. How cool is that?

We have had several bad wind storms the past month. One caused multiple roads to be closed and many branches in the road. In my journey to work, I drove over a branch at got it stuck under my car. That night, on the way home from work, I decided to stop in at the local coffee shop to see if I could pick up a few goodies for the next morning. I parked my car and went to the back to see what the unholy racket was to discover the branch. Since the parking lot was muddy and wet, I decided to wait until I got home to have my husband remove it. Before I could even walk back around my car, the coffee shop owner's husband was outside asking me if I was having car trouble. I explained that I had a small branch stuck and the next thing I knew, he was lying on the wet parking lot removing it for me.

Of course, it does go both ways. One of the other coffee shop owners lives a very short distance from us. He mentioned - in passing - that he was bummed he had traded in his truck because he had something to take to the dump. The next time my husband went, he stopped by and picked up the item and took it for him. Just so you know, we didn't know these people until they opened the coffee shop. It is just what we do in our small little town. Neighbors help neighbors.

Here's to small town life!

Fragments for Friday

2010-03-19T07:47:00.000-04:00

On Fridays, the wonderful, the all-in-one-piece Mrs. 4444 invites us all to join in with her and celebrate the coming weekend by clearing our minds out of the little bits and pieces of this and that. It is sort of a spring cleaning on a weekly basis. Make sure you check out her amazing blog and all of the blogs of everyone else who is joining in.

Our school department had a band concert this week. Grades 5-12 participated. We enjoyed music selection from the beginners band (with lots of eekks and squeaks) and ended with a standing-ovation evoking performance by the high school band. In addition, a local wind ensemble played a couple of songs and then joined with the 7-8 and high school bands for a joint song. What a great time! I, unfortunately, didn't get to really enjoy most of the performances because I was manning the music boosters bake sale table. It was oh, so fun. Well, not totally bad but I don't understand why some parents go to concerts and allow their younger children to RUN WILD. The parents were in the gym enjoying the music while 4, 5 and 6 year old kids were running around, out of their sight, yelling, hooting and hollowing, sliding down the wheelchair ramp, playing in the elevator, etc. The parents had no idea what these kids were up to. The high school principal had to leave the concert to make sure they didn't get hurt or didn't hurt anything.

Other kids were sent to the bake sale table with money clutched tight in their fists. One woman gave her two kids $5. each to spend on cookies, cupcakes etc. One first grader was determined to spend all $5. I was certainly happy he wasn't going home with me that night. He must have been bouncing off of the ceiling with a sugar rush.

We sell the baked goods by "donation". This means we don't set a price. In most cases, this works out fine but we did have two middle school girls who were taking advantage of the situation. To make it worse, they were trying to be sneaky about it. We had decided to shut them off the next time they came up but they must have figured it out (or must have figured out that 10 things each was enough!) because they ended up staying away.

We held a raffle that brought in over $8000. The nice thing was that staff members won 3 of the approximately 10 prizes. That made me smile because you know they get hit up for every fundraiser.

The weather these past few days has been glorious and tomorrow is supposed to be even nicer. I went to a play last night and was walking around at 10:00pm with out a jacket in a short sleeved shirt. This is not typical for March in Maine. I have to say, however, that I am loving it. Of course, if Old Man Winter decides to descend again, I am going to be crushed. I try to tell myself that this won't last but I really want spring to be here.

My son worked on his eagle project yesterday. Yeah - the first step! I didn't get to really discuss it with him but he is heading in the right direction.

That is all I have for today. Thanks, Mrs. 4444 - I feel a lot better.

Here's to Friday Fragments.

Is it just me........

2010-03-17T07:47:00.000-04:00

On Wednesdays, I follow the leader and join in with Hallie on something she calls "Is it just me...?" where we throw the filters out the window and post those thoughts where we wonder if everyone or even if anyone thinks the same strange thoughts that we think. Why do I do this you ask? Because Hallie has been on a diet and I don't want to cross her! No, just kiddin', Hallie. Because it is fun! Isn't that what this is all about? Interjecting some fun into our mundane lives?

Is it just me or has anyone else had a hard time motivating themselves lately? I don't know if it is the post-vacation let-down or the yucky weather of the past week or the time change but I just can't seem to get out of my own way. I have thought about blogging but usually can't get myself motivated to put even a few words together. The weather yesterday was nice and the forecast is great for the rest of the week so hopefully I can get myself going.

Is it just me or does it seem like everything happens at once? Between concerts, meetings, karate, more meetings, fundraisers, even more meetings, I haven't had even a few seconds to myself since I got back from vacation. Somehow, that is probably related to the item above.

Is it just me or do you find the reality tv spoilers like a car wreck on the highway? I don't want to look but I can't stop myself. If the Survivor spoilers are true, I am going to be very upset with 1) who is voted off next and 2) who the final three are.

Is it just me but do you hate being suspicious about a co-worker's motivation? My evil co-worker is taking Thursday and Friday off this week (so she can recover from today's St. Patty's day activities) and she started coughing and complaining about 2:30 yesterday that she "didn't feel well". Yup, I predict that she is calling in sick today so she gets three days off for the price of two vacation days. This is the same woman who took off "bereavement" days when her mother passed away. Instead of having a funeral, they went to Foxwoods and gambled.

Is it just me or is it time to go to work? Have a great day everyone and I will try to be back soon - and in a better mood!

Thankful Thursday returns

2010-03-11T07:42:00.001-05:00

On Thursdays, I take a moment to reflect on all of the positive things in my life and I invite you all to do the same. On those weeks when it seems like Friday will never get here or the pile of laundry reminds you of Mount Everest, it is helpful to think about how lucky we really are. Think of all of the people who have very few clothes to wash!

This week, I am thankful for (in no particular order):

1) My husband. We just spent a week on vacation together - by OURSELVES - and we had an awesome time. I hear of people who face the "empty nest" and wonder what they will talk about with their spouses now that they don't have a child to run interference and I know I won't have that issue with my husband.

2) My son. We left him home alone for a week while we went on vacation and returned to a relatively clean house, no reports of parties, etc. He made it to school on time every day, got his homework done and was still speaking to his grandmother. No broken bones, no blood, the animals were still alive - yes, it was very successful! I am very grateful that I have a son I can trust.

3) Electricity - before we left on vacation, we lost power from a bad windstorm. Living without power is hard!

4) Parents who care out the students in our schools.

5) My son's friends. Two of his friends provided transportation while we were on vacation. It was nice to know that they were dependable and also that I didn't have to worry about them drinking and driving, etc.

6) A job to come home to. I might not love my job but I am happy to have one.

7) The money to take a vacation. I know I am lucky to be able to go on a cruise. Many people are not that fortunate in this economy.

8) Relatively good health. I may complain about my aches and pains but I am not facing serious issues like many people

What are you thankful for today?

Here's to the good life!

Is it just me.....

2010-03-10T07:42:00.000-05:00

Is it just me is a little gig that Hallie (who I will meet sometime soon!) does on Wednesdays where we share all those thoughts where you wonder if there is anyone else in this world that thinks the way you do.

Is it just me but isn't it fun when you are in a meeting and you know that someone else is thinking the EXACT same thing you are? It doesn't happen all that often to me but, strangely enough, it happened twice yesterday. Something happened in the meeting and I made eye contact with a co-worker and realized that we were sharing a brain. The fact that one of the times it happened with my "co-worker from He--" makes it even stranger. Seriously, we have about as much in common as an apple and spinach. So to share the same thought was very strange and, to be honest, kind of scary.

Ia it just me or is taking a vacation with limited internet access hard to do? I really hate to admit that but it is hard to give up blogging and facebook and email. Of course, to add to my angst was coming back to facebook and having to catch up on farmtown, Cafe World and Country Life. Sometimes those games become more of a chore than fun.

Is it just me or is the fact that my son's drama club won their division in the one act competition pretty exciting? First time in over 20 years. What makes it particularly exciting is that I missed the previous performance because I was on vacation so now I get to see the play.

Is it just me or does it make you smile to hear that the drama club goes by TADA? Seriously, their name is Traip Academy Dramatic Arts and it is shortened to TADA. Someone had their thinking cap on that day.

Is it just me or does it piss you off when you are wide awake on those mornings when you can sleep late? Yup, I drag myself out of bed grudgingly most mornings. This morning, I realized I could sleep an extra hour and woke up at the normal time bright eyed and raring to go. Doesn't that just figure?

Is it just me or is this all you have time for today? Make sure you go over and just out what thoughts Hallie and the others are wondering about today. Have a great one!

Here's to Hallie!

Is it just me........

2010-02-24T07:51:00.000-05:00

Hallie got some really great news this week but I am not going to tell. You have to go over to her blog and read it for yourself. She does a bit on Wednesdays called "is it just me..." where we all stop wondering and start asking. You know how you sometimes ask yourself if you are the only person who thinks a certain way? Here is your chance to clear out that log-jam of wondering. You better do it. If you don't, all those thoughts will jam up with the fragments and you won't be able to play along on Friday Fragments and your head might just explode from all of the randomness and wondering. That would be a bad, bad thing.

Is it just me or have you ever worked with someone who is clueless about what is going on in the office? A few weeks ago, a nice but very naive co-worked commented to me that she loves working where we work because "everyone gets along". I stared at her in absolute confusion. I have been there 12 years and we have more issues with personality conflicts than ever before. I really wanted to ask her where she was talking about because I just don't see it.

Is it just me or do you sometimes force yourself to go exercise and walk away with a smile? Last night was one of the few times that I have really wanted to skip karate class. However, I dragged myself and my aching back there. 2 hours later, I was very happy that I did. My back actually felt significantly better.

Is it just me or do you wonder if criminals ever read the newspapers? There are several newspapers in nearby Portsmouth NH. Two of them have been robbed several times in the past few years. Every 5 or 6 six months, there is an article in the paper about an attempted theft where the employees chase down the person and capture them until the police get there. Seriously, this happens on a regular basis. What don't they pick a different set of stores where the help doesn't chase them? They might get away with it. But, no, they try the store, get caught and are on the front page of the paper. I also wonder if the stores have speed in the 100 yard dash and self defense training as part of their job screenings. Just sayin' it might be important.

Is it just me or is time up? Have a great day!

Here's to Hallie's great news!

Twofer Tuesday is suspended for this week

2010-02-23T05:32:00.000-05:00

Twofer Tuesday is suspended for this week because...... (drum roll please)
I won another award!! Yeah for me!! Thanks to the academy and all the little people.... Wait, it isn't that award? That's right, its a happy award and that makes me pretty darn happy! The kind (and crazy) Annie D is the one who gave me this honor. Make sure you check out her blog because she always makes me smile!

The rules for me accepting this award are:

1. Copy and paste the award on your blog.

2. List who gave the award to you and use a link to her blog (or hyperlink).

3. List 10 things that make you happy.

4. Pass the award on to other bloggers and visit their blog to let them know!

I am passing this award on to:

1) Melissa

2) Angie

3) Debbie

4) Nichole

and

5) The reason Girls' Nights Out make me happy, Mary Ellen

10 Things that make me happy:

1. My amazing boys, both of them (yes, husband does usually make me happy)

2. My dog when she put her head on me and looks at me like I am her favorite

3. Vacations (my next one starts on Saturday!)

4. Humpty Dumpty BBQ potato chips. That is my "OMG, I have had a bad day!" food. If you see me with those AND peanut M & Ms, you may want to leave the premises. Just sayin', Don't say I didn't warn you.

5. When my evil co-worker is on vacation. 'Nuff said.

6. Girls' Night Out

7. Sincere compliments

8. My kindle

9. Karate Class

10. New comments and new followers on my blog!

Here's to Annie D!

Have a great Tuesday.

Friday Fragments

2010-02-19T07:43:00.000-05:00

Mrs. 4444 is my Favorite Friday Blogger because she gives us permission to be random. She wants us to empty all of the clutter out of our minds so we can enjoy the weekend with clear head and renewed focus. What a gal! Make sure you check out all of the other people who are looking forward to a decluttered weekend.

We have watched every season of Survivor and I am enjoying the new season. I am surprised, however, how a couple of my favorite heroes are really annoying me this time around. I liked both James and Rupert the past two times they won but this time, I am tired of the whining and fighting. I didn't like Boston Rob his first season but enjoyed him (and Amber, of course) in the All Star season and LOVE his play so far this year. I am surprised - make that stunned - that the Villains realize that they would be toast without him. I can't say that I ever thought about him as brilliant before but he is amazing with his ability to solve puzzles. I will confess that I went online and searched for "spoilers". So far, they are 100% on the first two kicked off. All I can say is that I hope it isn't true because I am not wild about how it is coming down. Just sayin'.

We have caught a little bit of the Olympics. Boy, Shaun White is one amazing snowboarder. He was so much better than everyone else. It was like watching a professional basketball player versus the small-town varsity team. I had forgotten how much chaos goes on in short track skating - and how much luck seems to factor in. Hard to believe that you could train for 4 years and end up losing because the person next to you takes you out. The Agony of Defeat.

Anyone else remember watching The Wide World of Sports? I loved that show growing up. My father was a sports fan and we would watch it every weekend. Jim McKay announcing "The Thrill of Victory and The Agony of Defeat". Every week, the agony was illustrated by a clip of a ski jumper wiping out. Don't worry folks, no foreigners were injured in the making of the clip. The skier walked away.

I read a ton when I was younger. I loved mysteries but also read many biographies of a wide variety of people. I actually read Jim McKay's biography. I remember when he crossed network lines to broadcast the Olympics for another network because they realized that to many of us, he was the Olympics. Nowadays, it is Bob Costa who is the face of the Olympics.

Did you read where the college professor who killed others in her department because she didn't get tenure had killed her brother years ago? There are allegations of a cover-up. I can see the law suits coming!

That is it for today. Have a great Friday.

Here's to Mrs 4444!

Thankful Thursday - The Award Edition

2010-02-17T19:54:00.000-05:00

Every Thursday, I do something I call Thankful Thursday where I urge everyone to pause to think about all of the good things in their lives. Even with an economy that is still in the tank, there are still plenty of things to appreciate.

Today, I am thankful that Melissa gave me a Sunshine Award. Yep. Little 'ole me!! How cool is that? Isn't she sweet? Make sure to go over and check out her blog. She is a stay at home mom of three adorable kids and keeps a positive attitude even when there seems like there is more bad than good going on.

So here are the rules:
1. Put the logo in my post or within my blog.

2. Pass the award onto 12 fellow bloggers.

3. Link the nominees within my post.

4. Let the nominees know they have received this award by leaving a comment on their blogs.

5. Share the love and link to the person who gave you the award

Here goes: I am thankful for all of the bloggers but I will pay special homage to the following (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER, FOLKS!)

1) I am also thankful for Caution who is so funny that she can make a story about buying a new hair dryer interesting. I think if we lived in the same town, we would end up being on a lot of committees together and having fun.

2) I am also very thankful that I found Stacie's blog. She is newly single, just bought a house by herself and does something on Monday's called "Not Me" that makes my Monday mornings bearable.

3) How can I resist Kathleen's blog? She is a fellow Mainer who lives in the same small town as my sister. That makes us practically related! I am thankful for her successful weight loss journey that is slowly inspiring me to follow suit.

4) Of course, I can't forget my favorite Friday blogger! I am thankful for Mrs. 4444 because every Friday she encourages me to clear out the clutter of my mind and dump it into a Friday Fragment post. I also love her posts the rest of the week. She is one dedicated blogger, mother and teacher.

5) I can't forget my facebook and football friend, Mighty Mom. We "watched" the Super Bowl together, you know. She doesn't have a TV so I did facebook updates to keep her advised of what was happening. It was fun. Mighty Mom is a busy nurse and mom to three amazing kids. Her block is chock full of a variety of different things.

6) Let's not forget June Freaking Cleaver who is embracing life and unemployment by finding ways to make us laugh.
She tells it like it is along the way.

7) Of course, I have to mention Mama Kat who wants to get on the Ellen Show to highlight bloggers. Her series of letters to Ellen are a hoot and I wouldn't be surprised to hear that Mama Kat has written a book. Seriously, she has the talent.

8)I have some hope of meeting this next blogger as she is talking about moving to New Hampshire about 1 hour from where I live. Brainella is a talented artist who often shares photos of her pottery. I am not sure where she finds the time to do it as she has a young son, a husband and a job.

9) One of the most inspiring bloggers I have "met" is Heather who is in a battle against cancer. This young mother of two beautiful children is gonna kick some ass. She is a stay at home mom who is doing home school pre-school, fighting cancer, volunteering and taking graduate courses in her spare time. She was surprised when she was recently called "Superwoman".

10)When I think about inspiring, I also think about Hallie who has done so much for Organ donation awareness. She is passionate about that - and many other things. My favorite thing about Hallie's blog is that she shares all of her passions with us.
Hallie is #1 on the "Blogger I am most likely to meet" list.

11) Another talented artist and fellow Mainer is Elenka. Even if I didn't enjoy reading her blog, I would still visit it to gaze at the amazing artwork. What talent!
Her blog is full of a wide variety of interesting items too. \

12) I also enjoy Sue's blog about life in Cape Cod. She shares photos of her beautiful area and always makes me chuckle.

13) Claudia is another blogger who is sharing her weight loss story with us. I wish she lived closer so we could go kayaking together! She is very thoughtful and fun to read. I hope she enjoys her new kindle!

I thought it would be hard to highlight 13 (ok I cheated - sue me) bloggers and I am disappointed that I haven't been able to include more. You will note that I didn't include the person who got me started blogging, Mary Ellen. The only reason I didn't is because she hasn't been blogging lately. I can't wait until she comes back.

Here's to great bloggers! I am thankful for ALL of the bloggers.

2010-02-17T06:00:00.000-05:00

Hallie, who joined a new decade yesterday, does a bit on Wednesdays called "Is it just me...." where we post what we are really thinking. You know how you wonder if there is anyone else in the world who thinks like you? This is your chance to find out. Make sure you pop over and see what thoughts Hallie and everyone else are wondering about this week.

Is it just me or is the crock pot (slow cooker) an amazing gizmo that is really under-appreciated? Seriously, I do about 5 minutes of prep, throw it in my crock pot and come home to a great smelling house and a dinner ready to serve. Recent items in my crock pot have been Black Bean Chili, Pulled Chicken, Beef Stew, meat loaf with cheesy potatoes and "roast" chicken. Chicken today means chicken noodle soup later in the week! Yummy. Note to self - do not feed dog the leftover Black Bean Chili next time. She loved it but got her revenge for days by stinking up the house. (Wrinkles nose).

Is it just me or does everyone put together a "Vacation Notebook"? I put in everything we need for the vacation. It has a zippered pencil case for important papers like the passports (so I don't make the mistake of taking the title to the motorcycle instead of my son's birth certificate again), edocuments (cruise tickets or hotel reservations, etc.), maps, print outs of attractions we might want to do (with addresses, phone numbers, hours, etc.) and maps. I am 99% done with the notebook for the next vacation. Just hope I don't forget it somewhere. Did that one time. Whoops. Luckily, we figured it out pretty soon and drove back and picked it up. Phew.

Is it just me or are you all SICK, SICK, SICK of reading or hearing anything about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie? I don't care if they are together or apart or dating monkeys in Africa. I simply do not give a darn. It is to the point where I would hesitate to even watch either of them in a movie. Enough already.

Is it just me or does it drive you nuts when they make a book into a movie and change it pretty significantly? I remember when I was a young teen being obsessed with "The Other Side of the Mountain" book about an Olympic quality skier who was paralyzed in a skiing accident. I could barely wait for the movie to come out. I was so disappointed because so much had changed from the book. It seemed like the only thing that was the same was that the main character was Jill Kinmont and she got hurt. To this day, I usually hate the movies when I have read the book first. A few weeks ago, I went to see "The Blind Side" which is based on the true life story of Michael Oher and I really enjoyed it. I decided to read the book to get the "rest of the story". I am stunned, to say the least, that the movie was extremely accurate. A few things were done in a different order and they made it seem like he was clueless about football but a high percentage was accurate. Even the scenes that I thought "yeah, this was just for the movie because it is so funny" were accurate. If you haven't seen the movie, I highly recommend it. The book is good also. It does include information on the evolution of the NFL which was much more interesting than I expected.

Is it just me or are you looking for book recommendations for your up-coming vacation? Oh, that is just me? Once again, I am looking to load up the Kindle before I head out to sea. Last August, y'all did such a good job and I can't wait to hear about what good books you have been reading!

Here's to Hallie - who certainly doesn't look 40!

Twofer Tuesday - Day off edition

2010-02-16T11:49:00.001-05:00

I am STILL trying to burn some vacation time. Yee gads. My son is on vacation this week so I took today off to spend with him. Note to self. The next time you schedule a day off with a teenager, check with him. Yep. You guessed it. He already had plans. He is stage managing the high school drama club's competition one act play. I think stage manager is a good fit for him. He is a wee bit bossy. Not sure where he gets that from. Anyway, they have rehearsal from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm today - assuming that it doesn't get cut short because of the SNOW STORM! Here in Maine, after something like 30 days of no real snow, we have 4" to 8" of snow predicted.

Since I have the day off, I took the opportunity to do a couple of errands. I went to BJ's and bought 800+ candy bars. All set for the storm! Just kiddin'. Our boy scout troop is doing a fundraiser and selling candy bars. It is easy and pretty profitable. The person who ran fundraising before me refused to sell candy bars because they have no nutritional value. However, she does allow her daughter to sell girl scout cookies. She puts up a fuss every time someone suggests a car wash because of its impact on the environment but always suggests selling bottled water. Gotta love the inconsistency. After almost 2 months and hours of work and it being rejected 3 times, my son's eagle project was finally approved on Sunday. Yeah! Now he can begin working on it for real!

Have a great day everyone!

Here's to quick posts!

It's here! FF returns!

2010-02-12T07:47:00.000-05:00

Once again, it is our favorite day of the week. It is time for Friday Fragments! What is Friday Fragments? I am glad you asked. Grab a cuppa joe and pull up a chair. Friday Fragments is where we all sit around and have a gigantic gabfest of random thoughts. Why do we do this? Because, Mrs. 4444 tells us we should. Mrs. 4444 is the popular girl in our virtual blogsphere and we are all hoping for an invite to her table! I hope you join the party. Don't forget to hop over to Mrs. 4444's to see who else is gabbing away.

I had to print a flyer this morning to let the other parents of my son's classmates about a parent meeting I am organizing. I ran out of white paper so I threw in a mixture of other paper. The white flyers looked great, the yellow were awesome and the goldenrod ones were nice. My printer/copier spit out every page of the light blue paper, however. I didn't know printers had color preferences but it is apparent that mine has a blue phobia.

When my son was a wee lad, I often laminated his "artwork" and made them into place mats for special events. Now my son has many talents but artistic ability is not one of them. My mother-in-law found place mats that he made for a cub scout function many years ago recently. Instead of getting a giggle out of how bad the art work was, she accused him of not caring enough on her place mat. She felt that the other ones were more detailed and that he rushed on hers. She also took offense that the paper he used on here was a different shade of blue. Hello. He was probably 6 or 7 when he made them. That was 8 or 9 years ago. I doubt there was any ill intent there and, if there was, who remembers?! Let it go. Just let it go.

I have season tickets to a local theater and last night was our show. This is the first year that we have been surrounded by other season ticket holders. It is nice to chat with the others around us. Last night, we talked about the holidays, the weather and where we should go for dinner before the show.

I am a huge "Survivor" fan and loved the opening show of Heroes vs Villains. Oh my! I think this is going to be a great season. How about my fav villain Rob starting fire? I would love to know how long that took. I am also impressed by how intent Colby is this season. I would love to see him do well. The preview for next week was a real tease. I hope Boston Rob is OK!

My son's school vacation is next week. He informed me that he only had 2 tests and 1 quiz today. Yikes. I sent the above-referenced flyers to school to be distributed and included a note to the principal saying "Have a great vacation!" He asked me why I said that because "she is probably just going to sleep in a coffin". He was kidding... I think.

Have a great day!

Here's to randomness.

Thankful Thursday

2010-02-11T12:53:00.001-05:00

Every Thursday, I ask people to take a moment to pause and reflect on everything
good in their lives. Even on those days when you want to drive home via a bridge so you can stop and jump off, there are plenty of big and little things to celebrate. My thankful list for this week includes:

1) The fact that I live in the USA. My hat is off to the military people and their families who keep our country the free place that it is.

2) The fact that I have gotten a good night's sleep a couple of nights in a row. I don't always sleep well and I really appreciate it when I wake up refreshed.

3) A husband who understands that his mother is a little nutty. I am happy that it isn't just me thinking "OMG. Did she really say that?"

4) The fact that we didn't get hammered with snow like most of the east coast.

5) The fact that my vacation is just a couple of weeks away. This is the first vacation that we are taking without my son. Hard to believe.

6) That my son is so responsible that I am not (really) worried about leaving him home alone while we are on said vacation.

7) That I have a girls' night out tonight. No, no. Not with the famous Mary Ellen, but with another friend. We have season tickets for the theater and we go out to dinner first. We first started when my son was a teeny tiny baby and I really enjoy the company and the show. When we first started going, she was single and entertained me with her tales of dating woes. It is fun to look back and see how far we have both come.

What are you thankful for this week?

Here's to appreciation!

Is it just me........

2010-02-10T07:42:00.000-05:00

Hallie, everyone'e favorite weiner-lover, does a bit on Wednesdays called "Is it just me...." where we post throw the filters off and post what we are really thinking. You know how you wonder if there is anyone else in the world who thinks like you? This is your change to really find out. Make sure you pop over and see what thoughts Hallie and everyone else are wondering about this week.

Is it just me or is the fact that Maryland is getting more snow while my Maine yard is bare really screwed up? Don't get me wrong. I am not asking for the snow to come my way but it is just weird. Global warming works in bizarre ways.

Is it just me or do you have your own 'first signs of spring' determined? The news photos of the 18 wheelers heading from Fenway towards Florida remind me spring will follow soon. That hasn't happened yet but with the pitchers and catchers due to report soon, it is sure to be on the local news shortly. Another sure sign of Spring for me is when Dairy Queen opens.

Is it just me or do the actions of some of our teenagers just amaze you? A recent graduate of my son's high school went missing in Georgia on January 31st. The students at the high school are raising funds for the family and also raising awareness in case his vehicle is seen in our area. The family no longer lives in our small town but they want them to know that we haven't forgotten them or their son.

That is all I have for today folks. Have a great day!

Here's to weiners!

Twofer Tuesday - The "why bother" edition

2010-02-09T07:48:00.001-05:00

We signed up for a cruise and as an incentive the cruise line included a "special bonus" coupon book with over $400. in savings!!! Yeah, right. We received our coupon book yesterday. It is full of coupons for things that 99% of cruisers probably won't use. There are maybe two coupons in there that I could even imagine using and one is for a discount that I have seen on every cruise that I have taken in recent years. I didn't expect anything different but it does make me wonder if these sort of things are really successful. I know I didn't book our cruise based on receiving a booklet of useless discounts but I wonder if other people did. I just don't know why the cruise line even bothers to print them up.

I am on our boy scout troop's committee and we had a meeting last night. One thing that we discussed was an up-coming spaghetti dinner that we are having to benefit a local family. The weather report for the the night the dinner is scheduled is questionable and we have a significant amount of perishable food being donated. We all decided that it would be better to cancel the dinner now before the perishable items are purchased or cooked and reschedule for a later date. We were concerned that the people and businesses would not be able to donate the items twice and we didn't want items to spoil. The person in charge of the event was unable to attend the meeting but asked for us to discuss it. When she was notified of our decision, she disagreed and has informed us that we are going ahead as scheduled. It makes me wonder - why did we bother to discuss the issue if she was simply going to do what she wanted? Here's hoping the weather reports are wrong and we can pull it off.

Here's to wondering why!

Have a great Tuesday!

Monday Morning Musings

2010-02-07T22:00:00.000-05:00

This weekend, my family had the privilege of attending a military retirement ceremony.
The town we live in has a naval shipyard and military families come and go with regularity. Over the years, my son has become friends with many of the military kids but, unfortunately, has lost touch with most of them as they have moved away. One exception, however, is Brett. They moved back to Connecticut 4 years ago but Evan and Brett are closer friends now than they were before they left. The boys manage to get together 3 or 4 times a year and stay in contact via text messages and facebook.

Brett's father was facing another relocation and decided to retire instead of making his sons move to another school. It was a long day but very interesting and moving. It was strange. I know the father as a baseball coach and as a father but had never given much thought to him as a military man. It was interesting to see the other side of him. I was very impressed to see that Brett's mother and both boys were given certificates of appreciation from the Department of the Navy. They realize that a military career involves the entire family.

I found it ironic to attend the ceremony marking the end of one military career after reading many posts over the past few weeks by Hallie about the pending deployment of her son. I am sure that Stan's mother and wife experienced many of the same feelings over the past 20 years. I hope CJ has much success in his military career. Career or short term job, CJ and the rest of the military folks deserve our thanks. God Bless them and God Bless America.

Mastercard Moment - Day off edition

2010-02-06T03:07:00.000-05:00

You know those commercials where they list the price of things and then point out that the event was priceless? Well, on Friday, I had the day off because I am trying to burn some vacation time. I wasn't able to coordinate the day to spend with a friend so I had a day to myself.

Lunch out at Chipotle - $8.00
Afternoon chickflick - $7.50
Coffee and a pastry at Panera so I could surf the web on my net book - %4.00
Afternoon to myself to do what I want to - PRICELESS!

What have you done for yourself lately?

Here's to moments.

Friday Fragments

2010-02-05T07:51:00.001-05:00

Once again, it is our favorite day of the week. It is Friday and that means it is time to put all of the bits and pieces of thoughts together and try to make sense of them. Why do I do this? Because the lovely woman over at Half-Past Kissin' Time tells me that I can. The lovely Mrs. 4444 is our leader and our coach in this process. Make sure you check out everyone else's bits and pieces!

I love my karate class. I get tired, I get sore, I get bruised and, sometimes, I get frustrated. However, I look forward to that 1 1/2 hour session every Tuesday and Thursday. How did this happen? Darn if I know. I don't like exercise and I am incredibly out of shape but I love karate. Strange but true.

Not only did I get a phone call from a stranger (well, as much of a stranger as you can get in a small town), I have also received email, facebook comments and in-person comments thanking me for my letter to the editor this week.

My son has re-submitted his Eagle Project. This is the third submission. Please keep your fingers crossed for him. It is a great project that will benefit the school. It is something that he cares about and something he wants to do. Please let the approval come SOON!

My co-worker gave me several paperback books recently and I just finished one. It was one of the few times in the past year that I read something not on my kindle and I HATED IT. It was bulky, it didn't stay open as easily and it didn't automatically save my place. I was hesitant to get a kindle because I wasn't sure I would like reading from an electronic gadget but I was wrong. Not only do I like it, I now know that I prefer it. Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks?

I see where they have just made a 120' inflatable condom for World Aids Day. It is actually a hot air balloon (of course) and is the "goodyear blimp" of condoms. It is starting a world tour. I understand the need for awareness but is that a discussion that I want to have with a small child when we see a hot air balloon float by? Reminds me of watching "The Amazing Race" with my son when he was quite young. They always give the teams a "tag-line" such as "NFL wives" or "Harlam Globetrotters". This one season the tag line was "Dating 11 years and still virgins". Of course, my son pipes up with "What are virgins?". Being of an age where we didn't want to get into the sex talk, we ignored him. The next time they mentioned it, he once again said "What are virgins?" My husband stumbled over his words to say "It's an astrological sign."

That is all I have for today. Have a great weekend! Don't forget to check out all of the other Fragmenters.

Here's to Mrs. 4444!

Thankful Thursday

2010-02-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

Thursday is the day of the week that I ask everyone to pause to count their blessings. Yes, even you! We all have a lot to be thankful for and it is nice to take a moment to reflect. This week (in no particular order) I am thankful for:

1) Winning! I won a contest over at Hallie's and am now the proud owner of two oh-so-cute pillows. The best news is that I GET TO MEET HALLIE IN PERSON! The second bonus is that I imagine that our mutual friend, Mary Ellen, will also come. Wow, if I hang out for a couple of hours with two amazing awesome and entertaining people like Hallie and Mary Ellen, do you think people will think I am awesome too? Here's hoping.

2) I am thankful for two pets who like to cuddle on these cold winter nights.

3) I am thankful for the opportunity to visit with scout parents last night.

4) I am thankful that I have tomorrow off. Still trying to burn some vacation time.

5) I am thankful that my vacation is approaching with incredible speed.

6) I am thankful that my husband is willing to go to a retirement party this weekend (and drive 3 hours each way) even though I know he really doesn't want to.

7) I am thankful for the music students who are coming over to my house this weekend to staple raffle tickets so I don't have to.

8) I am thankful for the stranger who took time out of her life to look my phone number and call me to leave positive comments on my answering machine about a letter to the editor that I recently wrote.

9) I am thankful for the bloggers who have added me on facebook. I am enjoying getting to know you a little better.

What are you thankful for this week?

Here's to reflections.

Is it just me........

2010-02-03T07:43:00.001-05:00

On Wednesday, I jump on Hallie's bandwagon and join in with "Is It Just Me...." where we share those thoughts where you wonder if anyone else thinks the way you do. Who is Hallie you ask? Hallie is an amazing person who has done an incredible job raising organ donation awareness. When she isn't out there reminding us that "you can't take it with you so leave it behind and let someone else use it", she is a loving mother, wife, daughter with a wicked good (Maine-speak for really really great) sense of humor. Her son is deploying overseas in a few days so make sure you hop on over and leave her a comment to cheer her up.

Is it just me or is one of the most under-appreciated things in our society the sacrifice that our military families make? Seriously, our soldiers would not be able to serve if it wasn't for their wives/husbands/mothers and other loved ones at home who keep things going in their absences. There is a family here in Kittery with 4 children. The mother doesn't drive and whenever her husband was away on an aircraft carrier, she walked everywhere - and I mean, everywhere! She would walk miles and miles and miles for a meeting, appointment or grocery shopping. She probably put on 30 or more miles a week. Seriously. So, the next time you thank a soldier - don't forget to thank their family also.

Is it just me or do you have the urge to sing everytime you get to the "dot com" part of a web address? Remember the ads for Expedia? I have that little jingle "dot com" stuck in my head and I always want to sing that part of every web address. What? This one is just me? Oh. nevermind.

Is it just me or is The Good Wife with Julianna Margulies a great television show? I love the courtroom scenes. Also, Julianna is an actress that I have enjoyed for several years. I thought she was awesome on "ER". The fact that most of her scenes had George Clooney in them may have had something to do with that, of course. Her farewell scene on "ER" where George Clooney showed up for a surprise cameo remains one of my favorite tv moments.

Is it just me or is it getting late and you are going to be late for work? Whoops. That is just me. I have to dash. Have a great Wednesday!

Here's to Hallie and her family. Thanks for your service EVERYONE!

Twofer Tuesday

2010-02-01T21:30:00.000-05:00

A short distance from my house is "North America's Oldest Family Run Store". Frisbee's Supermarket is a stereotypical country store. Old fashioned meat market, a table with a checkerboard, etc. On display, you will see albums from Hall and Oates and
Gene McDaniels. If you are not familiar with Gene McDaniels, check out this YouTube recording of one of his performances from the early 1960s. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K317zw5VYQ0

Why does a country store in small town Maine display these two very different albums? Because Mr. McDaniels is a resident of our little town and Mr. Hall, while not a resident, owns a home within walking distance of the store.

I met Gene at work several years ago. Even though I am ancient in my son's eyes, I am not old enough to remember his music. One day, I was on the Internet and pulled up a list of people born on a particular day. I noticed his name on the list and wondered if it was the Gene McDaniels that I knew. It wasn't out of the realm of possibility to me because Gene has the most amazing speaking voice. It is like velvet. I could listen to him talk for hours. A few clicks of the computer keys later, I discovered the truth. My client (and neighbor) was a former singer. He wrote the #1 hit for Roberta Flack "Feel like makin' love". In addition, he is a very nice man who loves his mother a great deal. Gotta love that.

I have not had the pleasure of meeting Daryl Hall but he bought a antique waterfront home a short distance from me. It was being auctioned off, he saw it in the paper and bought it. He apparently likes to restore old buildings and didn't want to see this torn down. Since that time, he has also purchased the small building close by that is rented by the post office. He outbid a local gentleman who would have turned it into condos. Once again, Daryl had preservation on his mind. He hires locals to do work for him so he is quite popular.

That is my two famous neighbors.

Here's to music and the internet.

Monday Morning Musings

2010-02-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, we had to meet my brother and family in Portland for an errand. After lunch, we decided to venture a little further north and visit Maine's most famous store, L. L. Bean. Before venturing into the store, we decided to check out the outlet store to see if we could score any bargains. My husband and I were both looking for pants. I found a pair of jeans marked down from $44.50 to $19.95! That was just the beginning, however. We had a $10.00 gift certificate from buying Christmas gifts there PLUS $30.00 in credits for using our LL Bean credit card. My husband found 2 pairs of high end socks and I got my jeans - and all we had to pay in cash was less than 50 cents! Yeah!

My son is working on his eagle badge for Boy Scouts. He has a project picked out and approved by the local level. He has been trying for over a month to get it approved on the district level. It was rejected once for lack of details. He made all of the corrections (after we drove 45 minutes each way to pick up the rejected on AND spent almost $6.00 to send it out again) and he just got a phone call tonight saying that, while he addressed ALL of the issues originally raised, they have thought about it some more and they have more questions. This time, they are going to let him re-submit the project by email until it gets approved and they quickly went over the changes they want by phone. Unfortunately, what they want changed wasn't given in great detail so he is going to be shooting in the dark. He had to call back to get clarification of one item on his "to do" list only to find that it wasn't what the leader called it. My son is so frustrated that he is ready to quit. I understand the purpose of the project and having to do all this but this is past ridiculous. Some of the additional details they want don't even make sense to us. What makes it even more frustrating is that this means that this will delay the project at least 2 weeks.

That's it for today. Have a great Monday.

Here's to bargains.

Friday Fragments - "How is cool is that?" edition

2010-01-29T07:06:00.000-05:00

Once again, it is time for Friday Fragments. That is the day that we take all of the little bits of randomness and try to make something of them, Why do we do this? Because Mrs. 4444 says we can and because we are just the coolest of the cool. Don't forget to go over and see who else is working on their cool factor today.

Several years ago, the son of a family in the next town over disappeared. He was seen in someone's back yard and ran into the woods and hasn't been seen or heard from since. Anyway, the father has started a fund in his memory for at risk kids. Today's paper mentioned a project that the fund supported. They purchased 30 chess boards and they were delivered to Belize. Now the kids in Belize and kids in New Hampshire are playing chess over the internet. How cool is that? They are receiving all of the developmental benefits of playing chess (google "benefits of chess" - it is mind-boggling) and they are expanding their worlds at the same time. Best of all, the kids simply think they are playing a game!

Years ago, when boy-o was in 2nd grade, I was his Cub Scout Den Leader. I decided that the boys should earn their belt loop in chess and proceeded to teach 5 2nd graders how to play. I am definitely not a chess champion but I was able to teach them the basics. Numerous people told me that they "were too young" and would never be able to learn. WRONG! Not only did every boy learn chess, one of them beat one of the fathers in a game - a man with a master's degree from Harvard. How cool was that? Very cool!

At another den meeting, I decided that the boys should work on another belt loop and it was agreed that Marbles would be a good choice. Problem. This was in the middle of the winter. Where would they play marbles? Solution. We had just installed a brand new laminate floor in our family room so I took a marker and drew a circle. The cubs thought that was the coolest thing ever! One boy dragged his mother into the family room to show her when she came to pick him up. The first words our of her mouth were "Did (insert her son's name here) do that?!>!" He proudly informed her that I had done it. They were both impressed when I took a damp cloth and wiped the circle up in less than a minute.(My cool factor was increased!) The mother was right to wonder if her son had misbehaved and drawn the circle because he was frequently in trouble at school. However, he never misbehaved for me. He was probably my best behaved cub. I think it was because I expected him to behave and he knew it. Don't you find that many kids live up to the expectations you have for them?

My son's calculus teacher is in Texas because of the birth of a grandchild. She realizes that a substitute teacher isn't going to be much help teaching calculus so she is going to use Skype and call in during class to answer questions. What a cool use of our modern technology! How cool that a teacher would take the time and energy to do that also.

This is my 99th post. How cool is that?

That is it for today. I have the day off so I am going to relax! How cool is that?

Here's to Friday Fragments.

Thankful Thursday

2010-01-28T06:57:00.000-05:00

Once again, it is that grateful day of the week where we forget about the irritating customers and the co-workers who drive us batty and reflect on the things that make us smile and happy to be alive. My thankful list this week (in no particular order):

1) I am thankful that the Colts made it to the Super Bowl. I am not a huge football fan (in the least) but I am a Manning fan.

2) I am thankful that I have tomorrow off. I am trying to burn some vacation time.

3) I am thankful that I and going on vacation in in less than 30 days! See above about trying to burn off some vacation time.

4) I am very thankful that my son enjoyed the black bean chili I made for him in my crock pot. He has even said I should make it again!

5) I am thankful that the weather has been pretty mild this week.

6)I am thankful that our new heater is in the family room so that it will be toasty in there even when the temp drops to "stupid cold" this weekend. (The radio dj's words, not mine.)

7) I am thankful for all of the amazing kids in my town. We attended a student of the month breakfast this week and I was very impressed with the selections. I also spent time last evening writing a press release about a scout in our local troop who ran a food drive for the food pantry and collected enough food to feed their clients for 10 weeks. He was responsible for collecting over 11,000 pounds of food.

8)I am thankful for "girls' nights out". I am still smiling from the one that we had last week. I am thankful for non-busy restaurants who don't give us dirty looks when we take up residence for hours and hours.

9) I am thankful for leftovers that make it easier to keep my New Years Resolution of taking my lunch to work three days a week.

10) I am thankful for fellow bloggers who take the time to read my blog and comment.

What things are you grateful for this week?

Here's to the little things.

Twofer Tuesday

2010-01-26T06:00:00.000-05:00

Twofer Tuesday is where I post two thoughts for the day.

Like many people, I have been making a real effort to save money this year. That is a big part of why I made two of my New Year's Resolutions. One was to use my slow cooker at least once a week and the other is to take my lunch to work at least three times a week. I am doing really well on both of these resolutions and I am amazed at how much money I have "left over" at the end of the week. With my slow cooker meals, I usually have leftovers that allow me to take something yummy for my lunch. Tonight, I put the fixings for Spicy Black Bean Chili together so it can cook tomorrow while we are all out of the house. It is a vegetarian recipe that my son picked out. Later this week, I have a chicken curry dish my husband requested and a roast with onion gravy planned. Keep your fingers crossed as the veggie chili and curry dish are both new recipes. We sat down and planned our menus for this week and made a shopping list this weekend. I know, I know. I should have been doing that. Anyway, I was stunned at the checkout. My weekly grocery bill was significantly cheaper than usual since I basically just bought what was on list and cut out a lot of impulse purchases. I didn't realize this would happen but it certainly put a smile on my face!

I love reality tv and I also love HGTV so the design competition shows are my cup of tea! I have watched each season of Design Star and I caught the first two episodes of Design Intern. However, when I tuned in for the third episode, it wasn't on. Hmmmm. I went onto the HGTV website a few days later and checked the time. It is supposed to be on Saturday nights at 10:00 pm according to their site. However, this past Saturday, it was House Hunters at 10:00 pm. What is up with that? If they start a reality show, they need to finish it! Seriously. It is so not fair to leave people wondering who won and who got cut.

That is it for today! Have a great Tuesday.

Here's to quick posts.

Fragmented Friday

2010-01-22T08:59:00.000-05:00

Once again, it is time for Friday Fragments. You know how you take the unmatched socks that come out of the dryer and throw them in a pile to sort through later? Well, Friday Fragments is where we try to make sense out of all of the unmatched thoughts that are floating around our heads. Why do we do this? Because Mrs. 4444 says we can. Don't forget to go over and see who else is trying to match up thoughts today.

I can report a sighting of a VIP this week. No, no, I am not talking about the alleged photo of Tiger Woods - although this person has been about as elusive as Tiger lately. I got together for a Girls' Night Out with the one, the only, my BFF Mary Ellen. She hasn't fallen off the face of the earth. She is simply very busy with her (new) job and a killer commute. She is doing well and looked great. I know she misses everyone. It was great to see her and spend sometime talking, eating, and commiserating about life.

The latest on my son's eagle project is that the revisions have been made to his project plan and it has been resubmitted. They now require that the plan proposal be submitted in a binder. It cost me almost $6.00 to mail it out. The next step is getting an approval OR another revision. Either way, they refuse to mail it back and we will have to drive at least 45 minutes (one way) to pick it up. It will be nice when he gets to work on the actual project.

I have been taking karate lessons for several months now. I occasionally get a bruise but not all that often even though we block pretty hard. Last weekend, I was sitting at my home desk minding my own business when two binders fell off a shelf and hit me in the hand. You got it - I have a huge bruise on my hand. How ironic is that?

I am still doing pretty well on my New Year's Resolutions. I used my crockpot twice so fair this week and have everything ready for a chicken soup for tomorrow. In addition, I am doing better on not agonizing over decisions. I actually booked a cruise without debating for days and days. The day my husband and I got verification of the time off of work, I booked it. We head out on 2/27/10.

Did you read where Holiday Inn is "testing" human bed warmers in 3 hotels in England?
They will have staff members - dressed in a one piece fleece PJs and with their hair covered will slip between your sheets and warm the bed up for you. Can you imagine? Yikes. This seems like a recipe for disaster to me! How will the timing work? Will a guest be waiting their in their PJs (or lack thereof) ready to jump into bed? I wonder how they came up with idea!

That's it for today. Have a great weekend.

Here's to randomness.

Thankful Thursday - Special Anniversary Edition

2010-01-21T06:58:00.000-05:00

Today is Thankful Thursday! It is the day of the week that I pause and reflect on all of the good things in my life. It helps me to remember them on those days when I just want to yell "REWIND" and start all over again. Since today is my 26th anniversary, I am posting a special list about why I am thankful for my husband.

1) I am thankful that he is an amazing father. He has come a long long way from the guy who wasn't even sure about having kids. From being a boy scout leader to waiting in line on New Years morning from 2:00 am -7:30 am for an XBox 360 to always being there, I know that Evan is lucky to call you Dad.

2) I am thankful that after 26 years, we still have plenty to laugh and talk about. I enjoy spending time with you. With Evan getting closer and closer to college with every passing second, we are going to be empty-nesters sooner than later. It is nice to know that I won't be looking around the dinner table wondering what to say.

3) I am thankful that you are willing to be the fix-it guy with our electronics. You never fail to respond when I put up a panicked "SOS" because I have screwed something up on the computer or printer.

4) I am thankful that you badgered me into taking karate. I am having a ton of fun and it is great to have this activity to do together.

5) I am thankful that you have always supported me in all of my activities. When I sign up for something (Cubmaster, baseball, etc.), they always get two for the price of one because you will be there in the background helping out.

6) I am thankful that I never have had to worry about where you are or what you are doing. If you say you are at the mall or at work, that is where you are.

7) I am thankful that you put our family first in everything you do. You may not be wild about your job but you go every day and work hard because you want to support our family.

8) I am thankful that while we have shared interests, you have your own interests and you encourage me to pursue my own interests as well. You never have a problem if I want to get together with friends or go to a conference.

9) I am thankful that we live in a state that allowed us to get married at age 10 so being married 26 years doesn't mean we are old. OK. Maybe that one isn't true. However, there isn't anyone that I would rather grow old with.

10) I am thankful that you are always there to support me when I have a bad day or when I can't get my car up the driveway in the winter.

Who or what are you thankful for today?

Here's to my husband!

Twofer Tuesday

2010-01-19T06:01:00.000-05:00

Twofer Tuesday is where I post two thoughts for the day.

I have a bunch of vacation time built up and they are not going to let me carry it over this year. This mean s that I have 14 1/2 days to take before the middle of April. A surprising amount since I took a vacation in August, a vacation between Christmas and New Years and several random days off. Yup. I had not used my vacation time up in several years. Anyway, my husband and I are considering taking a vacation and leaving the 15 year old home alone. Let me say that again. Leaving.a.15.year.old.home.alone. Needless to say, he is very excited. He is going on a school trip in April and isn't really that interested in going on another vacation. If we go a week besides school vacation week, the prices are much cheaper. Are we nuts to leave.a.15.year.old.home.alone? Of course, the rest of the story is that we live next door to his grandparents and they have agreed to feed him and keep an eye on him. We are thinking about paying one of his friends to take him to school in the morning. I am sure that Nick would do it for free but i don't mind throwing him a few $$ as he is a really good kid.

Extreme Home Makeovers came to a nearby town a couple of years ago and redid a house. That house is now on the market for sale. This redo was the main reason that I stopped watching the show. It came out that the father was an ex-convict for armed robbery. They put the wrong birth date down so the show didn't discover it until after the house was done. Also, I heard many other rumors about the father and alleged misbehavior after the story. Not sure if they are true but it does make me question his selection as a "deserving" individual. I know someone who volunteered on the project. She said that she would never want the house. In her opinion, the focus was more on a design that would photograph well and not on a home that is practical. I hate to be cynical about things like this but unfortunately in this day and age, things are not always as they seem. I did hear that the stars of the show actually spend very little time on the set. They will come in, pick up a hammer for 5 minutes and get the "shot" and then hand the actual task over to someone else. They were actually working on 2 shows the same week. One was in Maine and one was in Massachusetts. Anyway, if you want a house that was built for one of the shows, you can buy one in Wells, Maine.

That is it for today. Have a great Tuesday!

Heres to short posts.

Don't fret - it's fraggin' Friday!

2010-01-14T21:34:00.000-05:00

TGIFF! That's right. Thank Goodness It's Friday Fragments! You know how your purse gets cluttered up with old shopping lists, receipts, half completed to-do lists and broken pens? Well, your brain does too! Friday Fragments is the day that we clean it all up and do something with those half thoughts and random ideas. We do it because Mrs. 4444 tells us we should. She probably wants us to clean out our purses too but we will leave that for another day. Make sure you go over to visit Mrs. 4444 and see what clutter everyone else has dumped out today.

The earthquake in Haiti is such a sad story. I just can't fathom what it must be like to be there. It definitely makes me appreciate where I live and makes me hold my family a little closer and a little longer. They are in my thoughts.

I noticed that my number of followers decreased this week. Does anyone else panic when they notice that? I immediately wondered what I had done to make them leave. All my insecurities came rushing to the forefront. How sad is that?

My son has submitted his Eagle project for district approval but it got bounced back. We had to drive 45 minutes to pick it up because the new district rep doesn't believe in mail or email. The changes they need made before the final approval are not significant. In fact, they handed him a sheet that they use to review it. We were informed that he should have used this sheet when he was doing the original submission and that the scoutmaster has it. Our scout master never passes it out. How frustrating. My son is going to take his project workbook to school and review everything with one of his teachers. His social study teacher is an active scouter and has offered several times to help. I don't know why my son (or husband or me) didn't think to have his teacher review it before he sent it in. Oh well, hopefully they can finish it up today and the workbook can be resubmitted Saturday or Monday.

Back in the day (many. many years ago), teenage girls wanted blonde hair. They used the sun-in products, they streaked their hair or - if their parents let them - they dyed their hair blonde. I have noticed that several of my son's classmates have dyed their hair much darker. I have seen a couple of these girls and had to look twice. Funny how the times have changed in some ways (the color) but not at all in others (the desire to change the look).

I have been doing really well on my New Year's resolutions. I have done especially well on the "Use my crock pot once a week." Today, I put in my third dinner - this week! On Monday, it was roast chicken, Tuesday was Chicken Noodle Soup and tonight we are having lasagna. Yummy.

That's it for my frags this week. What are fraggin' about?

Here's to Mrs. 4444!

Tis another Thankful Thursday

2010-01-14T07:57:00.000-05:00

On Thursdays, I take a minute to stop and reflect on all of the things in my
life that I am so fortunate to have. Even on those days when my head is hosting an
entire marching band and it is throbbing along with the drum section, I realize that I
am a very lucky girl. My thankful list this week (in no particular order):

1) That I live in the wonderful USA. I am thankful for the military like Stan, who is retiring soon, and CJ, who is deploying soon, and their families for keeping our country great.

2) I am thankful for health insurance so I can make a doctor's appointment without worrying about the cost.

3) I am thankful that I have a long weekend to look forward to.

4) I am thankful for a good night's sleep last night.

5) I am very thankful that I woke up this morning WITHOUT A HEADACHE!!

6) I am thankful to have people around me who inspire me.

7) I am thankful that it is staying light a little more each day.

8) I am thankful that my husband has finished his search for the perfect cell phone and perfect cell phone plan. He is happy, the boy-o is happy and, therefore, I am happy.

9) I am thankful that one of the other karate students asked me why I missed class on Tuesday. He actually missed me in class.

That is my heapin' helpin' of gratitude today. What are you thankful for?

Here's to great things!

Is it just me........

2010-01-12T21:34:00.000-05:00

Once again, I am following the leader and joining in on the fun. The one, the only Hallie over at The Wonderful World of Wieners does a gig on Wednesday where the filters come flying off and we let you in on all of those things we are thinking. You know, those thoughts that pop into your head and you wonder if you are the only one that looks at something a particular way.

Is it just me or did you find the story about the almost-105 year old man who died this week after getting hit by a car a very sad story? I mean, anyone who dies after getting hit by a car is sad but the man almost made it to his 105th birthday!! He didn't die of old age, nope, a car mowed him over. He wasn't using a walker or in a wheelchair. Apparently he was healthy as a horse. Don't you wonder how long he would have lived had he not had an encounter of the worse kind with a vehicle?

Is it just me or are you getting nervous to read any magazine articles about science? I just read an article in Time magazine that said that what we eat can not only affect us but also our children and grandchildren because it can change our genetic makeup? So if I stop at dunkin donuts on my way to work today, my unborn grandchildren may have a shorter lifespan?!?!? Gee, talk about pressure. It is hard enough staying on a diet for ME- now I have to worry about my son's children? Yee gads.

Is it just me or do you get nervous when you get a call or letter from the school even though you are pretty sure your kid hasn't done anything wrong? We got a letter in the mail yesterday from the high school and my heart stopped for a microsecond wondering what it was all about. It was simply a letter inviting my husband and I to the Rotary breakfast in a few weeks to see our son recognized as STUDENT OF THE MONTH for the high school. Needless to say, I didn't have to worry and I am proud as can be. I have to confess, however, that I put on a stern face and asked my son if there was something he needed to tell me since I had been told I needed to go to the school for a meeting. Hee Hee.

Is it just me or is timing everything? I read a news article this morning about a Maine man who accidently shot someone during a sex game and he is on trial for manslaughter. The thing that struck me the most was that 4 days after he shot this person, he testified in support of Maine's Gay Marriage law. No matter what you feel about that law, you do have to admit that it is controversial. Maybe it is just me but I think having someone involved in a homosexual shooting during a sex game testify is not really going to help your cause with the conservative people who oppose gay marriage.

That is it for today. What thoughts are you pondering?

Here's to Hallie!

Twofer Tuesday

2010-01-11T21:23:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Twofer Tuesday. This is a quick post where I share two thoughts.

Did you see where Miep Gies recently passed away? She was one of the people who helped hide Anne Frank and she is the one who saved Anne's diary. She was 100 years old and always insisted that she wasn't a hero. She said that she did what was right and what she had to do. She was an ordinary person who did an extraordinary thing. Just like the passengers on the Christmas Day flight to Detroit who subdued the bomber. Do you know any ordinary people who have been heroes?

All of my Christmas decorations are down and put away - except for the pile of Christmas cards. I always wonder what to do with them. I usually throw them out - but always feel so guilty. I really feel guilty about the photo cards but I do receive photo cards from people that I am not that close to. Am I obligated to display their kids in my house? What do you think? What do you do with your Christmas cards? Did you notice that there seemed to be a lot of glittery cards this year? A vast majority of the ones I received sparkled in some manner. Also, when I write out my cards every year, there are a few people that I pause over and think "Do I really need to send them a card?". You know the people I mean, you were casual friends 20 years ago and haven't seen them since. If the truth be told, you only think of them twice a year - when you address their card and when you receive one from them. I always think "If I don't get a card from them, I will simply drop them from my list." Of course, they are ALWAYS one of the first cards that I receive so they stay on the list. The people you don't get cards from are usually family members that would be upset if they found out you still sent cards but left them off.

PS for Sue: Yesterday, I "roasted" a chicken in the crock pot. YUMMIE! Today, I am using the leftover chicken and making a chicken noodle soup in the crock pot. One of my resolutions this year was to use my crock pot an average of once a week.

Here's to quick little posts.

Monday Morning Musings

2010-01-10T17:10:00.000-05:00

Monday Morning Musings is where I blog about things that I am currently pondering. You know, those thoughts that you turn this way and that way trying to make sense of. Those things that make you go hmmmmmmm.

My son's social studies teacher has apparently given me a nickname. He has a very casual class where he encourages the students to express their opinions. However, he is not afraid to challenge them and state his opinion too. My son stated an opinion that the teacher disagreed with and he asked Evan "Do you think Mama (insert last name here) would approve of that?" This is the same teacher that came up to me in a store Thanksgiving weekend and tried to point out clothes to purchase for Evan. Apparently, he figured if we bought Evan ugly clothes for Christmas, he would have something to tease him about. As I said, he is a very relaxed teacher! He is, however, very passionate about his students and is already planning an independent study course for Evan to take his senior year. I am not sure why he decided to give me a nickname (the reason I am going hmmmmm) but I am choosing to believe it is because he knows that I am an involved parent and a strong advocate for our high school. I am so tempted to drop him an email and sign it Mama (insert last name here)!

Our dog is a little high strung so we have doggie prescriptions for her for times of stress. Yesterday, she was limping around the house. She wouldn't let anyone really check out her paw so my husband gave her one of her doggie tranquilizers. She was sleeping on the bed at the time. unfortunately, she decided to jump off. For some reason, the pill hit her hard and she had no control. She went sprawling. No yelp. Nothing. I jumped up to check on her and she was just lying there. It was pretty scary. I called for my husband as there is no way that I can pick her up. She was absolutely fine and not at all upset that she couldn't get up. He picked her up and put her back on the bed and ended up carrying all 90 lbs of her downstairs to go out. He did get to check out her paw and there is no evidence of injury. We have no idea why she is limping but seeing a 90 lb dog zoned out on drugs was pretty funny - once I got over the panic of seeing her collapsed on the floor.

That's it for today - I am off to throw something in the crock pot. Have a great Monday!

Here's to thoughts that make you wonder.

Fragments for Friday

2010-01-07T21:58:00.000-05:00

It is Friday and you know what that means! It is another edition of Friday Fragments. Mrs. 4444 over at http://www.halfpastkissintime.com/ is the self-proclaimed Fresh Princess of Fragments and we are just her lowly subjects. It's ok, though, as she is a benevolent ruler. What she wants is for all of to shake free all of those little bits of thoughts that can clog up our minds. Make sure you head over to her site to check out what everyone else is up to.

A few days ago, I mentioned the Nathalee Holloway case. Does anyone else think that it is strange that Jon-Benet's father and Nathalee's mother were an item? I don't know if they are still dating but they were as of 2007. That seems so bizarre to me.

Now the current case is the missing mother where Dad allegedly took tow toddlers car camping in a snow storm on a Sunday night. While they got back, the wife was missing and there were fans set up in one of the rooms to dry the carpet. That is so suspicious to me.

I read somewhere where the leading cause of death of pregnant women was murder by the father of the baby. When you stop and think of all of the famous cases - Lacey Peterson, Carol Stuart- you start to believe that it is probably true.

We had the television on for about 5 minutes the other night showing the People's Choice Awards. I was so excited to see them reveal the "Heroes vs Villians" cast for the up-coming Survivor. I have to admit, I was actually gleeful at some of the choices. In the first minute, I was thrilled to see that blue hat with the big red B - Yes! Boston Rob was back!!! He is a villian but I really loved how he played the game in the last All Star version and in the two Amazing Races. Colby, Russell, James, JT, Tom.. all of my favorites are coming back! Some of them are favorite good guys and some of them are favorite bad guys but they have so many players that I find fascinating. I can hardly wait!

I can't believe that I still have my Christmas tree up. We usually have it put away before New Year's Eve but just didn't get around to it this year. That is definitely on the list for this weekend. Besides that, we don't have much planned except to go out to dinner at a Rib Place tonight. My son, the vegetarian, has something to do tonight so Tom and I can act like the carnivores that we are and pig out on BBQ. Yum!

That's it for today. Have a great weekend!

Here's to Friday Fragments.

Thankful Thursday

2010-01-07T06:01:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my day of giving Thanks. Every (OK,OK, MOST) Thursdays, I take time and reflect on all of the great things in my life. Yup, even today, when I am existing in the week-that-will-never-end, I have many things to be happy about. I hope you join me in pausing to look at the little things that make you smile.

1) I am oh-so happy that I won a prize this week. Georgie over at Decisionally Challenged had a little contest where she personally picked a creative comment on her holiday photos. She picked little ole me! How cool is that?!?! I have been thinking about ordering a magazine and now I can save a little moola in doing that - just because Georgie liked me! She really liked me! (Channeling my inner Sally Field there, folks!) Thanks so much Georgie!

2) I am thankful that I finally got my netbook today. I can tell I am going to have a lot of fun with the little one.

3) I am thankful that I have been able to give away a couple of items that have been cluttering up my house.

4)I am happy that - so far - my New Year Resolutions are going pretty well. 1) Make 1 crock pot meal a week (It is Tuesday and I have made 2 already!) 2) Take my lunch to work 3 times a week (It is Wednesday and I have already taken it twice - and have a meal packed for tomorrow!) 3) Walk three times a week (I have walked once so far but know I will walk a couple more times before Monday).

5) I am thankful that a friend gave me several books this week. I might be a Kindle snob but I don't say no to free books!

6) I am thankful that my new printer is up and running.

7) I am thankful that my husband is good at fixing all of the things that I screw up on my computer. I will overlook the times that he has messed things up by doing upgrades. He has always been able to fix those problems too.

8) I am thankful that I am starting to feel a wee bit better.

9) I am thankful for Windows 7 that allows me to easily do a blog post and farm on farmtown at the same time.

10) I am thankful that my childhood friend, Betty-Lu, reached the 50 milestone before I did! OK. What I am really grateful for is facebook that has allowed me to reconnect with her and other classmates.

What are you grateful for in this new year?

Here's to gratitude!

Is It Just Me,,, edition two

2010-01-05T21:25:00.000-05:00

Once again, I am taggin' along with someone else. I never realized what a follower-joiner- inner person I am. The amazing Miss Hallie over at The Wonderful World of Wieners does a gig on Wednesday where the filters come flying off and we let you in on all of those things we are thinking. You know, the thoughts that make you wonder "Is just me thinking this?".

Is it just me or do you all join me in thinking that Hallie is wonderful for doing everything she does to make everyone think about organ donation? Make sure you jump over to her site and check out her latest giveaway.

Is it just me or do you expect the "2nd day air" shipping option to get to you two days after it was shipped? I paid extra to have a package shipped to me this way. It was shipped on Thursday, December 31st. I still don't have it. It is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. I know there was a holiday and a weekend in there but still. This should be called "One day less than a week air".

Is it just me or is the times that you don't want to go exercise but somehow manage to drag yourself there the times that you actually feel the best during your workout? I take karate and had class tonight. All day, I had a headache and a sore back. I was really suffering and wasn't sure if I would survive class. However, my husband was testing for his 2nd degree brown belt and I wanted to be there to support him. I explained to my Sensei that I wasn't feeling well but that I would give my best effort. By halfway thru class, I realized that my back was feeling better and that my headache was 90% better! Ahh. The benefit of exercise.

Is it just me or did you ever wonder why there wasn't a public outcry against Nathalee Holloway's school for not providing better supervision? My son is going on a school trip in April and they - and the parents - had to sign a form stating that there would be no drinking even if they are old enough. This was a school functuion. The bar that she was in was a known issue. Her step-brother apparently told her not to go to that particular bar. Where were the chaperones when this was going on?

That is it for today, folks. Have a great day!

Here's to Is it just me!

Twofer Tuesday

2010-01-05T06:20:00.000-05:00

Twofer Tuesday is a quick post when I spew about two different topics.

Last year, my favorite Christmas gift was my Kindle and I still give that high marks. I use it almost every day. In the past month or so, I have figured out that there are a fair number of free books offered by Amazon. Often, they will offer the original books and then you get sucked into paying a sequel. The other day, I downloaded 3 books for free and then paid $9.49 for the latest book in the series. 4 books for less than $10!?!? Score!

However, I have a new love. I am not giving up my kindle but my favorite present of this year is my....... ROOMBA! What is a Roomba you ask? It is a round vacuum cleaner robot that goes around the house. It is pretty darn cool, I tell you. When actually got two Roombas. Target was having a buy one higher model and get a lower model for free. So we have the fancy one (that returns itself to homebase for recharging when it runs low on battery charge) downstairs and the cheaper model upstairs. I have to tell you, they both do a great job. Seriously, I don't think my floors have ever been this clean. I pushed the button on the downstairs one when I left for work this morning and came home to a cleaner floor and the Roomba back on its homebase. How cool is that? Having a second one upstairs is going to be great too because of our allergies. We will be using it quite frequently.

What gadgets do you have that make your life easier?

Monday Morning Musings - 2010!

2010-01-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

Last night on facebook, my college roommate mentioned a security breach at Newark airport because it delayed her son's trip back to college. About 1 hour later, I was on MSNBC.com and saw a "breaking news story" about it. Scooped by facebook! How funny! I have several friends with students in college. It amazes me how they have to go back at vastly different times. Her son headed back today, another friend's son has to be back on January 10th and another friend's daughter doesn't go back until 1/25/10! I wonder why the wide range? I don't know what colleges would have a 4 or 5 week break at Christmas. Seems a bit excessive to me.

My son is named after his two grandfathers. My father was named Van and my father-in-law is Edwin. We figured that Evan would make both sides happy. My only concern was that the same college roommate had a son at the time named Evan. I hated to copy her but we had picked out the name before she had her son AND we live hours apart AND we weren't really in contact that much. Her son was born quite premature but ended up surviving with no ill effects. I ended up sending her a note with the birth announcement saying that I hope she didn't mind that I borrowed the name but that I hoped my Evan would end up being a fighter like her Evan. She was fine with it. Another one of those memories that have been rolling around in my head lately and just popped out on the blog.

My son had a few friends over for New Year's Eve and the surrounding days. I always let them use my laptop in the family room to surf the net and go on facebook. I have never had an issue with it. This time, however, someone changed my chair adjustment and I about ended up on my a$$ on the floor when I tried to sit down. They also changed the font since so it is now itty-bitty and I can barely read it. What is up with that? I can't imagine making changes to someone else's computer area like that! I have changed the chair back but am having issues changing the font size back. Hopefully my son will read this blog sometime and fix it for me. I hate to admit that I am technology challenged but I truly am.

Have a great Monday everyone!

Here's to quick posts.

Friday Fragments - Happy New Edition

2010-01-01T06:41:00.000-05:00

Before I go racing into 2010, I thought I would take this opportunity to look back at 2009 and look forward to what I expect 2010 to bring. I have permission to be random, you see, because Mrs. 4444 tells me I can be. Every Friday, she hosts a plethora of randomness and encourages the rest of us to join in. Some may think she is being a bad influence but I say that she is the exalted ruler of de-clutter. Jump on over and see what everyone else has cleared out of their minds.

2009 has had its challenges work wise. Money is tight at work and the boss is not dealing with it very well. Our wonderful laid back boss is now a flame-breathing bear. Here's hoping that things settle down in 2010.

2009 has had some surprises for me. Last year at this time, I not only didn't know about on-line blogs but I would never ever in a million years have imagined that I would be writing one. Thank you all for accepting me, for commenting on my posts and for allowing me into your worlds. You inspire me and entertain me. In 2010, I will a) reach 100 posts and b) meet Hallie in person. Who knows - maybe even meet other bloggers in person too.

2009 also saw me - yes, the out-of-shape, middle-aged, clumsy ME! - start karate. The idea of ME! taking karate would have caused me to roll on the floor and laugh. My husband guilted me into taking a 6 week self defense seminar (under MUCH protest, I will admit) and I ended up loving it. Yes, loving it. Who knew karate could be so much fun and that I would love comparing bruises?

2009 saw me sitting back and enjoying the growth in my son. He finished his freshman year in high school, continued to excel academically, got his first (and second!) jobs and took driver's ed. I admire the young man that he is maturing into. 2010 will see him complete his eagle badge in Boy Scouts, get his license, and travel overseas without me. This is going to be another fun year to watch!

2009 saw me reconnecting with many old friends and making new friends because of social networks like facebook and various blogs. I anticipate that the same will continue in 2010. With some of my friends, I wonder how I survived being out of touch for so many years. I am happy that I got to see some of them in person in 2009 and I look forward to additional "reunions" in 2010.

My son had a few friends over for his annual New Year's Eve sleepover so I have taken advantage of the time to review some of my old posts. It has been an interesting experience. Some of the posts remind me of forgotten goals or ideas (diet and making jewelry), some make me cringe (sorry for whining) and some make me smile.

My son has been hosting a New Year's Eve sleepover since he was in first grade. That year, we had about 8 boys and it was the first time that many of them had ever spent the night at a friend's house. In addition, it was the first time that most of them had stayed up until midnight! My job that year was to keep them fed and entertained. It was fun but exhausting. This quickly became a much requested event! Fast forward until middle school. We were up to 12-15 boys (I stopped counting for my sanity!) and my job was to keep them fed (which took an amazing amount of food) and somewhat quiet. They yelled, they ran and they stayed up all night. That meant, of course, that I also stayed up most of the night. They also created a massive mess so I spent most of my time cleaning up after them. This year, my son only invited a few friends and my job was to provide food and stay out of the way. They were quiet, well-behaved and my only complaint was that they left a light on when they went to bed. No more all-nighters. No more yelling. No more trashed house. Life is good.

The only family member not excited about the sleepover was the dog. She likes the boys and they are all very good to her. However, she is definitely a creature of habit. She was not impressed that I stayed up past her bedtime. Our fierce doberman/dalmatian is afraid of the dark so she doesn't like to go upstairs by herself. She showed her displeasure by going to the foot of the stairs and barking to let me know what she wanted. Alas, I made her sleep on the couch until after midnight. She was very relieved when I (finally) said "Bed, Katy". As usual, she beat me upstairs and had her place claimed on the bed before I reached the top of the stairs.

I posted "May 2010 be happy for you" on a high school student's facebook wall. Her response was "Why May?". Yup, she was seriously thinking that I was telling her that May of 2010 was going to be a good month. Sigh. I had to explain that I meant "may" as in "I hope that" and not "May" as in the month. I guess she doesn't know any Irish blessings!

Here is hoping that 2010 is everything that you want - and more! Here's to randomness.

Happy New Year!

Thankful Thursday

2009-12-31T17:48:00.000-05:00

Once again, it is time for another edition of Thankful Thursday. What is Thankful Thursday you ask? It is where we all take a moment to reflect on all of the good things in our lives. Where we reflect and realize that even on those days where the weather is below zero, our boss is acting like a jerk and that darn needle on the scale is going in the wrong direction, we still have many things to be thankful about.

1) I am thankful that our Christmas was drama-free. I won't go into details but suffice it to say that my mother-in-law doesn't really enjoy Christmas and it sometimes seems like she is trying to make the rest of us hate it too. Some years we have lots of drama.

2) I am thankful that I got to see some of my high school classmates at a small gathering on Sunday. It was fun to catch up. I am particularly thankful that my husband was willing to take my son to an event that he wanted to go to on the same day. Even my husband enjoyed himself waiting in Boston.

3) I am thankful that my niece is so happy in her life as evidenced by her recent facebook posts. It warms my heart to see her happy in her career and happy with her beau. She is an amazing person and deserves all of the good things in life.

4) I am thankful that my son's friend was able to visit for New Years again this year. Brett moved away when the boys were in 6th grade but has been able to make it back to visit and this is the 4th year he has come up for New Year's Eve. He is a great kid and easy to have around. It is nice to see the friendship continue.

5) I am thankful that our project to declutter the family room (OK, OK. Mostly, declutter my desk area) is almost done and has been very successful. We have found a new home for our exercise bike and a potential new home for the scanner. Also, my husband has hooked up my new scanner/printer/copier combo.

6) I am thankful that everyone seemed to really enjoy their Christmas presents this year.

7)I am happy that I have a house and warm clothing on these bitterly cold Maine days. Can you say "Baby, it's cold outside"?

8) I am happy for my new crock pot and the awesome Lasagna I made. Now, if I could only get Boy-o to eat the veggie soup I made for him.....

Happy New Year to everyone. I hope that 2010 gives you plenty of time to blog, spend time with your family and is full of happiesness, health and wealth.

Here's to thankfulness.

Is it just me....

2009-12-30T07:43:00.000-05:00

I have decided to join Hallie's parade and march along to the "Is it just me" beat. Why you ask? Because I figure joining will give me Hallie points for when I meet her in 2010 (that is gonna happen, right Hallie?) and, oh yeah, it is a fun idea.

Is it just me or do other people live in homes where putting the dog out means instant deafness for the rest of the family? So many times, the dog starts barking and nobody in the entire household 'cept me hears her bark to come in. Husband and Boy-o might be on the first floor and I am upstairs. They don't seem to hear Miss Katy's bark but it is loud and clear on the second floor. Strange but true.

Is it just me or do you also notice that the people who complain the most frequently and the loudest about the song on the radio are also the same people who are most likely to sing along?

Is it just me or do some people lose all of their common sense when they turn on their GPS? Did you see the article about the couple who was lost for three days because they alledgedly got lost from following the directions on their GPS? Hello, folks. Just because the GPS says something doesn't mean it is so. Perhaps going down a deserted dirt road might not be a good idea. Just sayin' When I use the GPS, I also take a back-up map and, usually, printed directions from MapQuest. Why you ask? Because we took a GPS on a trip once and it malfunctioned. It was a trip that we had taken several times and had directions from both AAA and MapQuest. The GPS kept insisting that we take exits when we knew that we needed to stay on the highway. Did we follow the GPS? No, we used our common sense and went the way that made sense. It was the same trip that declared that we were arriving at home in the middle of the higway in Massachusetts. We live 2 states and 3 hours away from there. Whoops.

That's it for me today. Don't forget to go over to see Hallie to see what other people are wondering in "Is it just me or...."

Here's to Hallie!

New Year's Resolutions

2009-12-28T13:10:00.001-05:00

We only have a few days left in 2009. Where did the past year go? Where did the past decade go for that matter? It seems like just a few weeks ago that we were worrying about what would happen to the world when we changed from 1999 to 2000. Now we have to worry about what will happen on 12-21-2012. I imagine I will worry about that date about as much as I worried about Y2K. Not at all.

Do you make resolutions every year? Do you keep them? I always have made them but the past few years, I have actually made fewer but been much more successful in keeping them. I have started to go a bit more specific. Instead of saying "lose weight", I now have "walk at least 3 times per week". I do find that to be much easier to keep as I have very specific parameters.

My resolutions for 2010 are:

1) To use my crockpot at least one time per week. I am actually in the process of making a meal for supper tonight and am looking at vegetarian crockpot cookbooks so my son can get in on the slow cooker fun.

2) To walk at least 3 times per week. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I made that one last year. I did a great job with it for about 6 months but I have fallen off track lately. Back to it.

3) To take my lunch to work at least 3 times per week. This will help me save money and calories. A double win!

4) To accept myself and others as they are.

5) To agonize less over decisions. I usually have an easy time on the big decisions but the small ones tie me up in knots. Seriously. I put 2 items in an "Amazon shopping cart" yesterday morning and have logged on three or four times since then. I have not, however, pushed the "order now" button. We have been discussing repainting our upstairs bathroom for months. We finally bought a paint tester on Saturday and PURCHASED a gallon of paint this morning. There is hope.

What are your resolutions for 2010? What past resolutions have you managed to keep? Inquiring minds want to know.

Here's to a happy and healthy 2010!

Thankful Thursday

2009-12-24T07:37:00.000-05:00

What better day to have a Thankful Thursday posting than on Christmas Eve? Thankful Thursday is a time when I take a step back from the hustle and bustle of my life and spend time looking at all that is good in my life. Today, my thankful list includes in no particular order:

1) I am thankful that I haven't had to run around these past few days doing last minute errands.

2) I am thankful for the adults who have provided support and guidance to my son this year. These include, but are not limited to, the adults who spent time with him at the scout holiday party last night reviewing his Eagle Project booklet. It is ready to be mailed to get the district committee's approval!

3) I am thankful that my husband and I still have jobs.

4) I am thankful for karate which has taught me many lessons about myself this year.

5) I am thankful for my friends - new and old - who are always there for me.

6) I am thankful for the new people I have "met" thru the bloggie world.
Thank you for sharing your stories. You make me laugh, you make me think and you
often inspire me.

7) I am thankful that the people around me are mostly very healthy.

8) I am thankful that I live in a great town, a great state and a great country. I
feel safe, I (mostly) enjoy the weather and I appreciate the many freedoms.

9) Most of all, I am thankful for my husband, son and extended family for always loving me.

Merry Christmas to all of you that celebrate.

Here's to thankfulness.

Twofer Tuesday

2009-12-22T05:37:00.000-05:00

What is Twofer Tuesday you ask? It is a quick post where I share two things that I am thinking about.

My mom passed away 5 days after my 22 birthday. Since I face my 50th birthday in the new year, it was many many years ago. I still miss her. I don't know if it is because of the holidays or because I am getting closer and closer to the age she was when she passed away (56) but she has been on my mind a great deal lately. I mourn not only what her loss meant to me and the rest of our family but I also think about how hard it must have been for her to leave us all. I think about dying when my son is 22 and barely out of college. It would simply break my heart. I so look forward to seeing what type of man he is going to grow into and what type of father he is going to be. My mother only got to see one grandchild. She never met my amazing niece who is a generous and kind teacher like her mother and has an amazing amount of musical talent. She never got to meet the two 15 year-olds (my other niece and my son) who are both scary smart and could easily change the world. They are also both loyal and loving kids. So this holiday season make sure that you hold your family and loved ones close and appreciate the time that you have together.

Where the heck does the time go? I mentioned a few days ago that I wrap presents every year for a friend. He and my husband used to work together. He was married and was the type of husband who would stick his wife's present in a paper bag and call it good. If he put a bow on the present, she considered it fancy! I took pity on him (really on her) and offered my services as his present wrapper. We were trying to figure out this evening how long this has been going on and realized that it is close to 15 years. My baby is now 15, his two elementary school kids are in college (and close to finishing) and the wife is now an ex-wife. I guess he got custody of us in the divorce. We had the same food tonight that we had at the first wrapping party. Pizza and beer. Some things never change. As always, it was a fun evening.

Here's to quickies.

Monday Morning Musings

2009-12-21T07:47:00.000-05:00

As we all rush head-long into this holiday week, here are some of things I am thinking about this morning:

After almost 26 years of marriage, my husband doesn't bring me flowers anymore. However, I don't mind. I don't think he is being thoughtless or uncaring because, you see, I am now allergic to flowers. What he does bring me, however, is even better. He brings me coffee. Yup. If I have to go to a meeting or sporting event before him, he usually shows up with a large coffee for me to chug down. He has today off so he got up, took the boy-o to school (allowing me to sleep later) and brought me home coffee. Not your ordinary run-of-the-mill coffee either. He brought me home a coconut mocha from one of my favorite coffee shops. Yup. I think he is a keeper.

We watched the season finale of Survivor last night. We have been addicted to that show since the very first season 10 years ago. Next season (starting in February!) features an all-star cast of Villians vs Heroes. I can't wait to see who is on it. I would love to see "Survivor Bob" selected. He was the high school physics teacher from Westbrook Maine who, I believe, is the older winner ever. Definitely a hero in my book! If you are a fan, who would you like to see on it. This season's villian, Russell, looked like a pimp last night. Not that I have ever seen a pimp, mind you, but what I would imagine a pimp would look like. I will say, I found him to be unlikeable but I was surprised that he didn't win. He truly did out-play everyone.

My sister gave my husband a cloth pouch from Christmas to be used for baking potatoes in the microwave. It sounds strange but, oh my, the potatoes I baked last night came out great. Chili and baked potatoes were on our menu last night. Great meal for a snowy cold night in Maine.

Well, I have to dash off to work. Have a wonderful week.

Here's to thinking.

Takin' a breather

2009-12-20T17:36:00.001-05:00

It is Sunday night and my men at at the movies, the dog is sleeping on my bed (under the covers no less) and the cat is sleeping on a chair. I am takin' a breather from the Christmas crazies and just reflecting for a few moments before I get back to work on my "to do" list.

We spent yesterday celebrating Christmas with my side of the family. My niece traveled down from "the county" and picked up her mother in "mill town" before heading south while my husband, son and I headed north to Mid-Coast Maine to gather at my brother's house. My other brother doesn't join in as he basically cut ties with the family years ago. We have a relaxing pot luck lunch before exchanging presents. It is truly "the way Christmas should be" to me. No stress. The focus isn't on the presents and how much money we spent but on the thoughts behind the presents. It was very obvious that everyone thought about what someone would want or need. My 15 year old niece picked out a wall placque for me that is the absolute perfect colors for my newly redone bathroom. My brother-in-law invested a lot of time and effort in making us all personalized hiking sticks. It was really a great day and a wonderful start to the rest of the Christmas week activities.

Monday night, we have tentative plans for friends to come over for a wrapping party. Just about every year for the last 15 or so, I have wrapped Christmas gifts for a man that used to work with my husband. At first, it was just what he gave his then wife but, since the divorce, it was been most everything. As his daughter messaged me lately, he is a whiz in assembing a computer but the paper, scissors and tape defeat him. The past few years, his girl friend comes too and after we eat, we gather around the kitchen table and she wraps her presents and I wrap Dave's. I look forward to this every year. The scheduling has been difficult this year and I hope it works out.

On Tuesday, my office is starting our annual two-day eatathon. As requested, I am bringing in what I call "Melinda's Meatballs". A former co-worker used to bring them in and someone asked it I could this year. So easy and yummy. I quickly said yes! Tuesday evening will be karate as usual. Somehow, I think it will be a great stress reliever!

On Wednesday, we are hosting my son's boy scout troop for the annual Christmas party. They are going to do a night hike and then come back to our house for Hot Chocolate and goodies. My 25 cup coffee maker will be perfect for making the mass quanities of hot chocolate that I will need.

On Thursday, we will join my in-laws for a pizza supper and also go to a movie. My son has the day off and I get out at noon.

We all have the week off between New Years and Christmas - first time ever. My son is having a friend visit from Connecticut for a few days and we are hoping to repaint the upstairs bathroom. Yee gads. I still haven't picked out the paint color!

I hope the up-coming week is fun, relaxing and blessed for you and yours. Don't forget to take some time for yourself.

Merry Christmas!

Twofer Tuesday

2009-12-08T07:48:00.000-05:00

Twofer Tuesday is where I share two thoughts for the day.

I have had more and more conversations lately with people who act like they know me and I have NO IDEA who they are. On Saturday, I was doing my best imitation as a jailer and serving pizza to the 40 high school band students between parades. A woman entered the cafe and started talking to the band director. I didn't recognize her but figured that since he knew her, I didn't need to have my husband use his phone to go online and check out the listing of known sex offenders. I went about my merry way making sure that everyone had enough hot chocolate and trying to keep the debris under control. When I ventured into her general vicinity, she commented that she was shocked at how tall my son had grown. We had a conversation about how time was passing so quickly, blah, blah, blah. The entire time I was frantically asking myself who the heck this person was and how does she know me?!?! I finally figured out that she was the bus driver but I still have no idea how she knew me. Earlier in the day at a craft fair, two women asked me "Are you Evan's mother?". Since they had smiles on their faces, I admitted that yes, indeed I was. They, at least, didn't act like they knew me but told me that they were lunch ladies in the school district. They said nice things about Evan and one commented that her son "thought the world of Evan". That was a nice mom moment for me. The benefits of a small town.

We have a doberman/dalmatian mix dog. When most people hear about the doberman part, they immediately think "guard dog". My dog is the biggest sissy on the face of the planet. No joke. She is scared of the dark. Her food dish is down in our cellar and, if the light isn't on, she will not go down to eat. She stands at the top of the stairs and barks until we come and turn the light on for her. She is also afraid to be upstairs in our house by herself at night. Luckily for her, she is also the sweetest thing on the face of the planet because she isn't earning her keep as protector of the house.

Have a great day!

Here's to short posts.

Fraggin' my life away

2009-12-04T07:46:00.000-05:00

It is Friday and you know what that means! It is another edition of Friday Fragments. Mrs. 4444 over at http://www.halfpastkissintime.com/ is like the Santa Claus of this fraggin' workshop. Go over to her site and see what all of the other little elves have been working on.

As I lamented on Tuesday, my car with less than 45,000 miles and barely 3 years old (but just out of warranty, thank you very much) had the heater die. The quote for repair was $1200 - $1500! It was a common porblem on that year, make and model. My husband called the dealership and mentioned that it was a known issue. At first, they denied it but apparently did some research. When he talked to them a second time, they told him that they would repair the car for $100. Yup. You read that right. $100! Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

My son is in the high school band. They are marching in our hometown holiday parade tomorrow at 3:00. At 6:00, they are marching in a second parade because they get paid to. I had no idea that parades sometimes paid for bands to participate. They are receiving $800. for their 40 student band to travel 10 minutes. How cool is that? The band director is concerned about how many students would return if he let them go home between parades so we basically keep them hostage in the school cafeteria. We feed them pizza, hot chocolate, soda and cookies. When I agreed to be president of music boosters, I didn't realize that my job duties would entail making gallons of hot chocolate, acting as a jailer and saving the music teachers job. Here I thought this would be an easy gig!

Am I the only one who was really shocked about the Tiger Woods' story? I don't know why but I am stunned. Other pro athletes, I expect that sort of behavior from but I always believed Tiger was above that. Not sure why I felt that way but I did. It is unbelieveable to me that he had an affair for that long without it coming out sooner because of all of the media attention. Guess his "luck" ran out. Are there any other athletes that you would be shocked to read a similiar story about? The only ones I can think of are the "Manning boys". Peyton and Eli seem to stay out of the spotlight too. Who is on your list?

That's it for today. Have a great weekend!

Here's to Fraggin'.

Twofer Tuesday

2009-12-01T07:45:00.000-05:00

Twofer Tuesday is where I share two thoughts for the day.

The other day when I turned my heat on, it only blew cold air. Not a good thing since I live in Maine and it is November/December. My husband took it to the garage yesterday and the estimate to repair it is $1200 - $1500! Merry Christmas. Hard to swallow on a 3 year old vehicle with less than 45,000 miles on it. He is taking it to the dealership today as the garage told us that this was a "known" problem with our vehicle. I checked online and found 3 websites where multiple owners were complaining about this issue. Apparently this is a plastic part (read easy to break) buried deep in the dashboard (read hard and expensive to access). We don't usually buy Chevy vehicles and this will determine if I buy one in the future. Seriously, shouldn't the heat in a car last longer than 3 years? Keep your fingers crossed for us! I know it will make typing more difficult but I will appreciate it!

Tonight I am going back to the school committee meeting as they take action on the citizen's petition to discontinue all discussions about closing our local high school. It will be interesting to see what results. The other side on the issue (a handful of vocal parents) have been very quiet the past few months. One representative was at the last meeting where we presented the petition but did not speak. Hopefully, they will respect the wishes of the vast majority and let the issue die.

That's it for today, folks. Have a great one!

Here's to short posts.

More Monday Morning Musings

2009-11-30T06:00:00.000-05:00

What a wonderful super-sized weekend. My family arrived on Thursday (albeit earlier than expected - thank goodness I called to get an update!) and we had a wonderful visit. The food all came out good (orange juice and orange flavored craisins are a nice addition to stuffing, by the way) and the company was outstanding.

We started a new family tradition this year. We headed out at 11:30 pm and went to a local mall for Black Friday shopping. The weather was great, the bargains were plentiful and the costumed singers were melodious. I saw tons of people I knew and, while I didn't buy a ton of gifts, I did accomplish a little Christmas shopping. Some of the other shoppers were dressed up. Knowing my sister, I wouldn't be surprised if she shows up next year with something for us all to wear.

My favorite thing about our Thanksgiving is the opportunity to spend time with family as we live quite a distance apart. We usually spend some time playing games. This year, we had a rousing game of Bananagrams. It is a fun and easy-to-play game that is extremely portable. This evening, my son invited his father and me to play a game after dinner. How cool is that?

I got lots of ideas for gifts and have been on several shopping trips since they left Saturday morning. I have gone from 30% of my shopping done to about 75% done! Yeah! I cleaned up the guest room this morning and set up my "wrapping station" and wrapped several presents. I have a lot of things going on the next several weeks so it is a big sense of accomplishment to get things underway.

My son and husband are both 2nd degree black belts in karate. My son is unable to advance for several years because of his age. It has been hard to keep him interested because he isn't learning anything new and the dojo (karate school) is quite small and he keeps working with the same students. Basically, he is bored. In addition, this year he has had a great deal of homework and it has been difficult for him to make it to class 2 nights a week. However, his father and I hate to see him quit. This afternoon, we had a family discussion and came up with a solution. They are going to take private lessons and attend classes for black belt students once a month. It should be enough to keep him involved and keep his skills at a high level but not so much that he dreads going to class. I have my fingers crossed, anyway.

My niece received a Kindle for her birthday. When we were talking about them this weekend, she mentioned that Kindle gives you free access to the Internet. I realized that I could access Wikipedia but I didn't realize that I could access facebook,etc. I don't have Internet on my cell phone because I really don't need it and I am too cheap to pay for it but free Internet is right up my alley. Jen said that she found a recipe online that she wanted to try but she forgot it at home when she went shopping. She did have her Kindle with her and was able to look it up and get the ingredient list. I downloaded (and read) the latest Friday Night Knitting Club book by Kate Jacobs and the newest Alex Cross book by James Patterson. I also downloaded 5or more free books. Gotta love the free aspects of the Kindle. If you are looking for a gift to purchase for that hard to buy for person, I highly recommend the Kindle.

That's it for today, Folks. I hope everyone has a great Monday and a great week.

Here's to musings.

Twofer Tuesday

2009-11-24T18:33:00.000-05:00

I work in a small insurance agency. I pitch in and answer the phones when the receptionist and her back-up are busy. Last week, I answered the phone and a customer told me that she had a problem with her bill. I found out her name and what type of policy and told her that I would put her through to the woman who handles her account. She said to me "Before you give me to someone else, I want you to know that my bill was soaking wet when I got it and I don't appreciate it." I thought that was weird but made noises of concern and gave the call to my co-worker. She told my co-worker the same thing and said "I don't understand why you would mail me a wet bill." Yup, you got it. She actually accused our office of mailing the letter wet. My co-worker explained that the bill was sent by the company and the client asked her to call the company and complain and tell them not to send wet mail. She didn't believe my co-worker when she explained that it had probably gotten wet on Saturday when our area had torrential downpours. Nope. She believes that we - or our company -mailed her a soaking wet envelope. We are still scratching our heads on that one.

For a couple of days, my husband told me that he planned on working with our son on the burn pile on our spare lot on Saturday morning. He also mentioned - in passing -that they were considering going to the movies. Saturday, they left to go to the dump dressed in working outside clothes. I stayed home and slaved away doing housework (ok, I did a little housework and played on facebook). About 2:00, I realized that it would be a good time for lunch and I went out on our front porch and called them. No response. I went to the back door and called. No response. I went into the garage to discover that they weren't home. Hmmmmm. I called the cell phones. No response. By this time, I figured out that they had probably gone to the movies and used it as an excuse to head upstairs for a nap. :) About 4:30, I got a call from my husband. I asked where he was and he said they were leaving the movies. Once he said that, he realized that he had never told me they were going. They never worked on the burnpile but had instead gone Christmas Shopping and to the movies. I figure I can milk the guilt on this one for a good week. What do you think?

I hope everyone has a great day!

Here's to quick posts.

Monday Morning Musings

2009-11-23T06:52:00.001-05:00

About this time last year, my husband went on a "green" kick. He replaced all of our light bulbs with more energy efficient ones and we did what ever we could think of to get our electricity bill down. We started at $140. a month and our new family activity consisted of gathering together and opening the CMP. After the first month, we had dropped to $98. (insert happy dance here). This inspires us to new actions. We started drying our clothes on a drying rack and only using the dryer to "fluff" them. We also put power strips onto our televisions. The next month, our bill was in the $70. range. (insert high fives). If you drove by our house at night, you might have wondered if we were on vacation or perhaps had moved. On most evenings, nary a light could be seen peaking out of our windows. No, not us! We were energy efficient. If we weren't in a room. we didn't need a light. I got very proficient at walking around in the dark. A few bruised skins but no broken bones in the process. Fast forward a year and we are a little less vigilant about things. We have been known to have a light or two on in the evenings and the drying racks have been folded up and put away. Our electricity bill last month was $63. That is right, it is still low. The only thing that we figure is that the more efficient light bulbs and the power strips on the TVs(DVRs,cable boxes)made the difference. I might just be able to convince my husband to let me turn the Christmas tree lights on more than just on Christmas Day this year.

I have a relatively unusual name and that is probably why I am fascinated by names. I often see an unusual name and I would love to get the story behind it. You know, what were they thinking when they named their kids Sandy, Rocky and Clay? That would be OK except the last name is Beach. You got it. Sandy Beach, etc. A few years ago, I did player registrations for Little League in our small town. There was a boy registered named Blue. Doesn't that make you wonder? Are his siblings Red and Yellow? Apparently, there was a family years ago in the next town over that named their first two kids He and She. True story. The younger sister's name was Yriah. My office pondered that one day until we realized that it was hairy backwards. Can't you just see it? "This baby has a lot of hair! What are we going to name her?" "Gee, Harry won't work. Aha. Lets spell hairy backwards!"

I am really struggling with ideas for Christmas this year. Everything I have come up with for my son has been shot down - first by his father and then by him, I don't want to just buy something to have something, anything under the tree but if this keeps up, it is going to be the quickest Christmas present unwrapping ever. The good news is that I have managed to get the photo taken and the Christmas Card ordered. Yeah for that. Here is what my handsome son looks like.

I hope everyone has a great Monday!

Here's to things that make me go hmmmmm.

2009-11-20T06:54:00.000-05:00

It is Friday and you know what that means! It is another edition of Friday Fragments. Mrs. 4444 over at http://www.halfpastkissintime.com/ is the creator of this fun event. Make sure you go over to check out all of the other entries.

I may have bragged about my son one (hundred) or two (thousand) times so if you are tired of that, you can just skip ahead to the next topic. I went to teacher conferences last night. I don't think the person who does the conference scheduling likes that I want to meet with ALL OF HIS TEACHERS. Yee gads. You would think it is a crime. Our high school has classrooms on 3 levels and also has a one story wing. She scheduled conferences that were as far apart as possible. I was literally "trotting" around the building. Third floor to the first floor opposite wing back to third floor,around the corner to a different wing, down to first floor, up to second floor and then finishing where I started - on the third floor. The teachers said Evan was doing extremely well, three teachers said they want him to serve as their "teacher assistants" in the future and one teacher told me that he would give him a summer job. My son called me on my cell phone after conferences asking if "he was in trouble". Yeah, right.

It always amazes me to see what parents show up at conferences. The kids who are struggling or who misbehave on a regular basis? I rarely see their parents. The parents I see are the ones who have honor students. Many a teacher has said to me that the parents that they need to see are the ones who don't show up and the parents that they don't really need to see are the ones that schedule the appointments. I get a lot of great information out of conferences that probably wouldn't come up in an email. Also, I believe that the students who put a priority on their education do it because their parents put a priority on it too. Just sayin'.

In the "I can't believe I did that" category, my karate class is scheduled at 6:30 in the next town over. My last conference was scheduled at 6:30. I spoke to the karate sensei and got permission to come in late. To save time, I actually wore part of my karate gi (uniform) to work yesterday. I wear black pants, a white t-shirt and an optional black top. I wore the pants and t-shirt to work along with another top. That way, I could do a quick change when I got there. It seemed like a good idea at the time and it worked but, now I realize how geeky that was.

I found a folding table at Target at an amazing price. Once my Thanksgiving guests vacate the guest room, I am going to set up a Christmas present wrapping station in that room. I can't wait. It is going to be so much easier to wrap presents! My husband and I are going to do some shopping early Saturday morning. If only I had some ideas of gifts to buy.....

It is time for me to dash off to work. I hope everyone has a smashing good weekend.

Here's to fragmented thoughts.

Thankful Thursday

2009-11-19T06:40:00.000-05:00

Once again, it is another edition of Thankful Thursday. Thursday is the day I pause and reflect on how very fortunate I am. Even after all of the crap that I have endured the past few weeks, I realize that there is usually something big or small to be thankful for. Here is the time that I remind myself of that. I hope you will consider joining me.

My thankful list (in no particular order) is:

I am thankful for my extended family. My son and I visited my niece this past weekend and had a wonderful time. I am excited to see her - and the rest of my family - next week around the Thanksgiving table.

I am thankful for friends who reach out when things are going bad. They remind you that there is good in the world.

I am thankful for my dog who is always happy to see me and who likes to snuggle on these chilly Maine evenings. Between her and menopause, I am going to save a fortune on my oil bill this year.

I am thankful that my husband took time to try to fix the heat in my car.

I am thankful for a son with a driving permit who drove 13 hours this past weekend. I appreciate that he didn't complain once about being stuck in a car with me!

I am thankful for the dedicated teachers that spend so much time shaping our youth. I am especially thankful for the ones that maintain their passion 30 years after they started teaching.

I am thankful that I live in a community is willing to work together to save our local high school.

I am thankful for the up-coming holiday season.

I am thankful to live in a country where I can speak my views without being afraid.

I am thankful for medicine that makes me feel better.

What are you thankful for today?

Twofer Tuesday

2009-11-17T07:40:00.000-05:00

Two thoughts for this Tuesday morning....

I went Christmas shopping with a friend yesterday. Living in Maine, I am used to holiday shopping all bundled up with a heavy coat and mittens. It was a beautiful day yesterday and I was able to go with just a light fleece pullover.It makes shopping much easier and more enjoyable. No coat to carry around the store! I got a little bit of shopping done but not as much as I would like. For some reason, no one seems to know what they want this year - and I am fresh out of ideas. We buy for my extended family. Every year, I think about proposing to my brother and sister that we stop the big gift exchange but I don't want to be the party pooper. I do wonder, however, if they are thinking the same thing.

Tonight, I am attending our school committee meeting to present a petition against closing our local high school. Because our town is quite small, it was suggested that we get about 1000 signatures. We are well over that! It has been rewarding to see all of the positive response. The school committee has already agreed to investigate other options for our high school but we want them to take this idea totally off the table. We don't want a possible closure hanging over the heads of our teachers or our students.

I hope everyone has a great day!

Here's to quick posts!

Where has the time been goin'?

2009-11-16T06:52:00.001-05:00

I haven't posted in so long. It isn't due to lack of interest but rather lack of time.

You know how you make plans for some unknown date in the future thinking it will be a Loooonnnng time before it happens and then you wake up one day and it is here? That happened to me. My niece moved to a new town up in the potato capital of Maine (called THE county). That was three years ago and I told my son that when he got his permit we would do a road trip to visit her. Fast forward to this past weekend and the time was here. We hit the road on Friday and he drove us up there. We had a WONDERFUL visit with my beloved niece and her boyfriend. It was so nice to see her and see the life that she has carved out for herself. She seems happy in life, work and love. It doesn't get any better than that. Caribou Maine is a long way from civilization as I know it but is a very self-contained town with a lot going on. In the "it's a small world" category, my son met her boyfriend this summer at band camp. Also, we went to a high school musical that Jon was playing in the pit band for. Also in the band were my son's two roommates from band camp.

My boss has been stressing out lately over the littlest thing. We never know what is going to set him off. It makes going to work a lot less fun, I tell you. Add in a co-worker who has decided she hates me and you can tell that I have been under a ton of stress lately. I keep telling myself that "this too shall pass."

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK!! That means that Christmas is also just around the corner along with snow, etc. etc. I am actually going to do a mega Christmas shopping today. I have found that an early trip with a friend reduces the stress of Christmas for me. If only I had any ideas of what to buy......

I am off to start my day. I hope everyone is doing great!

Here's to making time.

Fragmented thoughts on a Friday

2009-10-30T13:43:00.000-04:00

It is Friday and you know what that means! It is another edition of Friday Fragments. Mrs. 4444 over at http://www.halfpastkissintime.com/ is the grand marshal of this parade of randomness. Make sure you check out the other participants.

Everytime I clean out the lint trap in my dryer, I am amazed at how much stuff is there. Am I the only one who wonders why we still have clothes? I always think that some day, I will open the dryer and it will be empty because all of the clothes dissolved into that big mass of lint.

In my current hometown, they hold trick or treating on October 30th. Apparently they have done this forever and a day. Isn't that strange? No one seems to know why it isn't held on the 31st. Just that "it has always been done this way". Not that it really matters as we never get trick or treaters. I think the most I have ever gotten was 10 - mostly because I told people to make sure they stopped by with their children.

I got a call from the school nurse today. First thing she said to me was "they are dropping like flies". I had to go get my son at school because he had a slight fever. He went to her office to get a cough drop and she took his temperature. With all of the flu going around, they have zero tolerance for anything. I have to say, I think that is a good idea. His temp was only 99 but I would rather catch it early. Our school has been overrun with what they are calling influenza like illness. The paper referred to it as ILI. Where do they come up with these things?

That's all, Folks.

Here's to randomness.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

2009-10-24T22:59:00.001-04:00

I have been so busy lately that I have only had a chance to think about blogging in passing. It is 11:00 Saturday night and my husband is off to pick up the kiddo and I am taking advantage of these few quiet moments to throw something together.

The Good......

- My husband's cousin and her husband were visiting from Mississippi this past week. i hadn't even met them until a couple of years ago but I really enjoy their company. This year, we promised to take them into Boston for a day. What a glorious day we had. We decided to walk the Freedom Trail. The weather was perfect! We ended up skipping the last stop (Bunker Hill) and took the water taxi from the USS Constitution back to Fanieul Hall. You know, I have lived about 75 minutes from Boston for 26 years and this was the first time that I have ever walked the Freedom Trail. It was the first time on the water taxi too. Isn't it funny how we never do the tourist things until we have someone to take with us?

-My son had plans this evening. We were visiting his grandparents next door, he left early, went home and got ready and then drove the car down. I am really enjoying him having his permit!

-My husband installed Windows 7 on my laptop. It installed very easily and so far, I really like it. Usually when we upgrade something, another function breaks down. So far, so good. I have my fingers crossed (which is making typing much more difficult.)

The Bad.....

-We have a vocal few residents who are pushing to close our high school and have our town tuition out our high school students to another school district. While this would have some benefits (an increased course selection), I believe that it would have a lot of negative effects also. Class sizes would increase significantly, it would be much harder for our students to participate in many activities, the distance from our school could easily result in 2 hours on the school bus each day OR our teenage drivers traveling a very busy and dangerous road and we would have no voice in their education. The savings that they are spouting about has not been verified and I have been told by various people that it is simply not accurate. All of the people pushing to close our school are people who moved into our town knowing the small size of the high school. If you don't like it now, pick a new town. Many people moved to this town because of the small school department. The good news is that I attended a meeting less than a week ago that was advertised by facebook and word of mouth. On a rainy Sunday night, 40-50 residents showed up to say they support our school. I looked around the room and thought "Yup. These are the people that I want to go into battle with. They are the people that make things happen in our small town." I have been tied up writing petition and fact sheets, ordering buttons, writing letters to the editor and planning strategies. Phew.

and The Ugly.....

I got a phone call a little over a week ago from the high school principal. I figured it was because of the fight we were mounting to save the school. Imagine my shock when she told me that a notebook had been found in the school with "disturbing" comments - and my son (and other classmate) was named. Gulp. They know who wrote it but they can't tell us who or what he said. In fact, they didn't even say it was a boy - although I put that together since. All they said was that the writings were disturbing, the police had been called and that while they didn't think it was anything to worry about, they had to let me know. The good news here is that our high school is small enough that the principal knows my son personally, knows who he hangs out with and knows that he has no interaction with this other kid. The bad news - to me anyway - is that they couldn't tell me anything. No name to tell my son to stay away from, no idea of what the threat was so I can tell my son what to watch out for, nothing at all. I understand privacy issues but, gee, isn't my son's right to safety as important as the other kid's right to privacy? I ran into the principal in person and she did tell me that the kid had been removed from school and "probably will not be returning". Huh? He has been removed for good because of what he wrote?!?! Needless to say, that shook all of us up!! I called the police and got more of the same. Although, the first officer did tell me that they didn't consider it to be a serious threat. He had a detective call me back - the husband of the high school principal (the joys of a small town). He also said he couldn't tell me much but did tell me that the kid was away for treatment. He said that they were well aware of this kid at the police department, that he had done many things over the years but that he had never targeted my son or the other student before. He told me that they took the safety of all of the residents very seriously and that he did not feel my son was in danger. Basically, we are operating in the dark and being asked to trust everyone else. As a control freak, that is difficult but I am trying.

Now I am off to read everyone else's blog. I am happy to be back!

Here's to finally posting.

2009-10-08T07:41:00.000-04:00

Once again, it is another edition of Thankful Thursday. Thursday is the day I pause and reflect on how very fortunate I am. There is usually something big or small to be thankful for and we all feel better when we accentuate the positive. I hope you will consider joining me. Mighty Mom has joined our thankful party. Go over and check out her Wonderful Life!

I am thankful that I passed my karate test this week. Orange is my new favorite color!

I have season tickets to a local theater and the season starts tonight. I am thankful that I have a wonderful friend to go to these plays with. We go out to dinner first and it is a very enjoyable evening.

I am thankful that I have a super sized weekend to look forward to. I have Monday off so I decided to really stretch things out and take tomorrow off too. My husband and son also have tomorrow off so we are going to do something fun.

I am thankful for my facebook and bloggie friends. I was bombarded with birthday wishes. It was great to hear from so many old (and I mean old!) friends.

I am thankful that my husband and son are meeting with the music teacher today to talk about the possible eagle project. He is on his way!

I am thankful that I got my car fixed this week and the cost was $125 less than the first estimate we received.

I am thankful that I live in New England where the foliage is so beautiful.

I am thankful that the Red Sox made the playoffs so I have more games to watch. What will I do with the extra time when the season is over?

I am thankful that I live in the United States where we all take our freedom for granted.

What are you thankful for today?

Here's to everything wonderful!

Mastercard Moment

2009-10-05T09:18:00.000-04:00

I have always enjoyed the commercials with the credit card where they list the cost of everything and then point out that the memories are priceless. That was my day yesterday:

Tickets to a Red Sox game - $150.
Parking near Fenway - $35.
Snacks at the game - $20.
A teenager saying he had a great time - PRICELESS

For my birthday, my husband and son got me tickets to the Red Sox as I have turned into an avid fan. It was a wonderful day. My son took the day off of work (and didn't complain once!) and we traveled to Boston. The weather was great, our seats were awesome, the sox won and the company was enjoyable!

What what your most recent Mastercard moment?

Here's to birthday presents that rock!

Finally - Fragmented Friday

2009-10-02T07:53:00.000-04:00

It is Friday and you know what that means! It is another edition of Friday Fragments. Mrs. 4444 over at http://www.halfpastkissintime.com/ is the Principal of the School of Random Thoughts. Your homework assignment today is to check out the other ones going to her school.

I have slept well three nights in a row. Let me say that again. THREE NIGHTS IN A ROW. For someone who doesn't normally sleep well three nights in two weeks, that is a huge deal. Gigantic even. It has made such a difference in how may days have been going.

I used to really enjoy watching "Jon & Kate plus 8". I loved the interaction between Jon and Kate in the confessionals because the little comments seemed so real. Ever since the announced divorce and the "he said/she said", I have decided to boycott the show. I just can't support such bad behavior. The sad thing is that it is the kids that will pay the price. I support that Jon wants the show off the air but do question his motivation. Whatever. Just GO AWAY and take care of the "plus 8".

One of my friends (a friend of the "because we have children the same grade in high school" variety not of the "I would give you the shirt off of my back" variety) asked me before school started about one of the graduation requirements for our sons. I remembered reading that they had upped the health requirement from 1/2 year to a full year a couple of years ago but went online to the school website and confirmed the requirement and sent her my answer. She told me that I should ask my son's guidance counselor because she said the other guidance counselor at the school said it was only 1/2 credit. To humor her, I did. I received several "did you get a response yet?" inquiries from her but did get the answer that yes, indeed, there is a full year requirement. The counselor said that she verified it with the principal. Last week, I got another email saying that she had a meeting with the principal who told her it was 1/2 year and that it had been a typo in the program book for 2 years about it being 1 full year. I emailed the principal who quickly emailed me back asking me why I was asking about a typo but that the requirement was, indeed, a full year. My friend is apparently very upset about this. Seriously, is this really something important enough to get your knickers in a twist about? Her son is a sophomore and will have plenty time to take one more 1/2 credit class. It was in the book last year and this year and the counselor told me that she had reviewed all of the graduation requirements with all of the students last year. What is the big freakin' deal? This is the same woman who told me that the topics in Algebra II class her daughter was taking was the same as a regular Algebra II class in the eyes of colleges. I knew from the teacher who created it that it wasn't and tried to tell her that but she wouldn't listen. The next year, her daughter had to take the real Algebra II class because colleges wouldn't accept it. Gee, maybe going to open houses, teachers conferences and reading the program of studies book isn't a waste of time like she always says? Just sayin'.

My son is really being challenged academically this year. It has been interesting and a bit sad to watch. Suddenly he is doing hours of homework and isn't getting automatic As on all of his tests. It has been interesting to see how he is dealing with this and a bit sad to watch when he gets frustrated. He had a mini-meltdown one evening this week as was very overwhelmed with the amount of homework he had and he couldn't find one of his assignments. He took a deep breath and started working on another assignment while his father and I scoured the house. My husband (whose Indian name would be "Finder-of-all-things") located the missing paper. By this time, he had calmed down and we talked about some strategies he could use in managing the work load. I have seen a significant reduction in his stress level this week as he is using some of the techniques and they seem to be working. Last evening he and another student got together and worked on their AP Calculas assignment. He said they figured it out together and he was very excited about his understanding. It was cool to see the other student posting on facebook that my son had been a big help to him. I am very impressed that the other students do not think twice about asking for help or asking to study with the sophomore in the class. I am not sure we wouldn't have just ignored him back when I was in high school.

That's all I have for this school edition of Friday Fragments. Don't forget to do your homework and check out the other Friday Fragmenters over at Mrs. FFFF's.

Here's to Fragmented thoughts.

Thankful Thursday

2009-10-01T07:58:00.000-04:00

Once again, it is another edition of Thankful Thursday. Thursday is the day I pause and reflect on how very fortunate I am. Even on those days when I wonder why I bother to get up in the morning, there is usually something big or small to be thankful for. Here is the time that I remind myself of that. I hope you will consider joining me. Mighty Mom has joined our thankful party. Go over and check out her Wonderful Life!

My thankful list (in no particular order) is:

Today the boss is providing lunch for the office. He does it once a month. This time, he is actually making us lunch and lobster rolls are on the menu. Yum!

My husband and son bought me Red Sox tickets for my birthday. We will be at the last regular season game on Sunday. Go Sox!

My son is taking the day of off work to spend my birthday with me. Of course, the above-referenced Red Sox tickets helped.

It is getting cooler in the evenings so I didn't overheat at karate on Tuesday. It makes class much more enjoyable if I don't throw-up. I am sure my fellow students would agree. (It has happened twice - yuck!)

That there are people in my community willing to question if closing our high school and sending our students to a neighboring school really will be in the best interest of our students. They are looking beyond the dollars and cents at what is best for the children.

That we were able to save our largest account this week. It was a lot of work but we won!

That I had such a fun time with my high school classmates this past weekend.

That one of my GNO friends took the time to drop me a card thanking me for my friendship. It made my day.

That my son has his eagle project selected. He will need to get the approvals but he has found something that he is interested in doing that will make a difference in the high school.

That my son and I are both starting to feel better.

What are you thankful for today?

Here's to appreciating all the good things.

Back to high school!

2009-09-28T07:31:00.000-04:00

I have recently reconnected with several of my high school classmates on "Facebook". One of our classmates lives in Germany and was back in Maine for a quick visit so Julie offered to host an impromptu reunion at her farm. With a fair amount of excitement and a small amount of hesitation, I quickly RSVPed that I would be there.

I went to a high school that served 11 towns in a rural area. I have not seen some of my classmates since graduation day over 30 years ago as most of us moved away.

There were 9 of us in attendance plus 2 spouses. As soon as we started talking, the years magically disappeared. It was great fun to catch up with everyone. It was also interesting to hear "the rest of the story" from my classmates.

One classmate, Ed, always seemed to be watching the rest of us with a smile on his face. I always felt that he was more mature than the rest of us and he found our antics amusing. Another classmate said the exact same thing. When we shared that with Ed, we discovered that he had grown up in a household with parents who fought a lot and he feels he stepped back, shut down his emotions and observed the action. He said he was regretful that he never felt capable of joining in the fun.

Another classmate, Kristina, dropped out of our high school our freshman year, took classes in night school and dropped back in our senior year. A different religion from the rest of us, she was not very involved in the social aspect of school. We grew up in the same town and kept in telephone contact even when she wasn't enrolled in our school. What I didn't know was that I was the only friend that she was allowed to call. Apparently, her parents liked me and liked my parents. In addition, her father was a concentration camp survivor from World War II and was abusive. Of all of us, I would say that she has changed the most. She is now a blond, very confident and very social. She has forgiven her father for his abuse and now takes care of both of her parents.

The guest of honor, Danny, is just as I remembered him except that he is much better looking! He has come to terms with being gay and still goes with the flow. I remember teaching him how to deal with fractions in the testing room before we took SATs. No advance planning for him! It appears that he operates under the same philosophy now too. He ups and moves to a new location without a job and without a place to live. Somehow, it always works out for him.

Julie, our hostess, looks and acts the same as she did in high school. On her 4th husband, she lives on a farm in rural Maine and is thriving. Her back story was that she wanted to go to college to become a nurse but her parents wouldn't help her by filling out the financial aid paperwork. Also, her home life wasn't as rosy as we all thought. Her father, a teacher at the school, was apparently very strict and treated her poorly.

Kathy is 60 pounds lighter then in high school (a statement I certainly can't make) and served as a sniper in the military. Not a typical career choice for a small town girl in the late 70s!

Lynn married and divorced her "bad boy" high school sweetheart. She quit college to do that but returned to college and her life plans after the divorce.

Betty got married and divorced twice and picked a new last name after her second divorce. She wanted a new beginning for herself. I have to confess that even though our school was very small - I have no memory of her. Zilch. Nada. Not even a flicker. I kept hoping that something would trigger a memory but no such luck.

The other Julie brought her husband with her. I thought he might feel awkward but he says he had a great time. They co-own a couple of businesses. She seemed very secure and content with who she is and where she is in her life. She was the only other person married to her first spouse.

And, me. Well, I have turned into my mother. I work in the same industry and have the same values regarding family and helping the community. I can't say that I am where I planned to be but I certainly am happy with where I have ended up.

It really was a great day and will be a great memory. It caused me to be introspective. I realize that my classmates were much more complicated than I ever imagined and that the labels they had were not who they were. I realized that if I met some of them today, I probably wouldn't be friends as we don't currently have much in common. Other classmates that I didn't have much in common with in high school would probably be my friends now as the high school cliques have disappeared. However, there is this bond between us that remains after all of these years. I know that if I called Kristina up today and said I needed help, she would be there. No questions asked except for "what do you need?".

We all had such a good time that I know we won't wait another 31 years to get together again. For one thing, we would all be 80 and who knows if we will remember each other!

Are you in touch with any of your high school friends?

Here's to memories!