Year in Review

Friday, December 31, 2010
Year in Review
*Stolen from Holly, because I can't admit I stole it from Andrea*

1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?
I taught summer school .

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't generally make new year's resolutions but I resolve to get in good enough shape to do some hiking around Phoenix in March.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No. But I can't wait for Cheng to have her bobo:)

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Not anyone who I would consider " close ". Not within 500 miles anyway.

5. What countries did you visit?
The United States of America. And Franklin & David's.

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
Less stress.

7. What dates from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
May 15th. Jessica graduated from UMD WOOT!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I remained relatively balanced & centered even though I had so many things going on in my life that were out of my circle of control. ( ok. barf) out of my control.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Not voting in the primaries. I'm afraid many of us failed to do this and as a result Dayton is our governor. Live & learn I guess.


10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Other than a cold during the summer, no. Thank God.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Well, I'm hoping the Garmin GPS 255W due to arrive any day is.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Jessica's behavior always merits celebration. She's fit, she's happy, she's resilient, she's..... waiting :)

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Sarah Palin's behavior made me appalled.

14. Where did most of your money go?
I don't know. But I stopped buying scarves at Dan's request.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
I got excited whenever I went on a group motorcycle ride.

16. What song will always remind you of 2010?
Something by Michael Jackson I suppose.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Happier
b) thinner or fatter? About the same.
c) richer or poorer? Poorer.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
I really wish that I would have taken more advantage of the social opportunities my WOW ( Women on Wheels) group offered. Something for both Dan & I.. it is open to spouses too. A place to start anyway.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Sit on my butt.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
Here at home with all the fam. Meyer Christmas is tomorrow.

21. Did you fall in love in 2010?
Yes. I fell in love with Buster in a much more profound way now that he helped me get through an unusual year.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
Well, I just discovered The It Crowd and it made me laugh multiple times in 10 minutes... a good sign for 2011.


23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Nope. Hate is too energy-consuming. I feel disdain for some people, but I don't give anyone the satisfaction of being hated; that would mean I care.ooooooooooooooooooo GOOD ANSWER HOLLY! I'll go with that!

24. What was the best book you read?
Cripe. I read ONE book & it was this week. A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly. I need to return it to the media center at South.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Schnaser got me into Mozart.

26. What did you want and get?
A brand new pair of Teva sandals and tickets to Phoenix.

27. What did you want and not get?
I'm supposed to get a new set of tires but they haven't appeared yet.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?

I only went to one movie... no two. Eat, Pray, Love & Due Date. I liked Due Date better.


29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 54 and I taught day #2 ( I think) of the 2010 school year. Dan always gets me flowers for my B Day :)

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Jessica getting accepted into PT school but I realize that things happen for a reason.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?
My fashion concept encompasses two strategies #1) Stay cool #2) Add color

32. What kept you sane?
Lori Flint my Massage therapist & drugs.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Fancy? Hmmm. I guess Michelle Obama.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
Education "reform" in stirred me in a negative way I suppose because it impacts every decision made in my professional life.


35. Who did you miss?
My sister. My Grandma Puckett. Dan's Grandma Loehrer. My Mom. Danielle.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
I met some pretty cool ladies at my WOW group. I held the most meaningful conversation with one who teaches at the Vo Tech now but retired from teaching in the prison. I liked her hat.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010.
I learned that there are valuable life's lessons from here to eternity. I guess I learned that the older I get, the wiser I feel, but the more tempting it is to dismiss other's feelings and that that is wrong & something I want to watch out for in the future.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

Have you ever wandered lonely through the woods?
And everything there feels just as it should
You're part of the life there
You're part of something good
If you've ever wandered lonely through the woods


Brandi Carlile

Fourth alternate and a couch full of girls and one boy.

Jessica is now officially on a 4th alternate list. This time it is St. Kates. Lord ( I think that is appropriate here) , she now calls herself Jessica A. Meyer.

When she told me, I said, "alright!!!!" and she hesitated , looked at me and said, "MOM!! I'm an ALTERNATE!". And I looked at her and said , "I KNOW!!! ALRIGHT!!!". Seriously. I am very proud of her. AND!!!! It keeps her spirits/ dreams alive & so ALRIGHT!!!!

She is such a dufus. :)

Flash!!!

'Twas the night before Christmas

and all the parents are doing this.... and I get to watch & have an eggnog with spiced rum. Man. I like this picture :)

You know you're getting older when....

You THINK about ... no I mean you really THINK about that slick icy spot because you KNOW that your bones are not as strong as they used to be.

You DON'T think about having that second beer because either a) the top button of your trousers is about to pop off or b) you really don't feel like getting up to pee in the next half hour.

You wonder if you have that peach fuzz on your face that you always used to noticed on "older" women.

You are conscious of the amount of hair on your head that falls out when you comb it and you wonder if those particular follicles will ever give birth to another strand.

You realize that it is TRUE that it is much harder to maintain muscle mass as you age.

You look at 30 year old women and think that they are really "cute".

You have hemorrhoid cream, diarrhea medicine, aleve, and an AARP membership card in your desk drawer.

That is all for now.

Flash.

I've got a student story for you.

Last week I started a new unit , needed something active & different to mark the transition from my student teacher teaching to me teaching again. In order to settle my nerves ( yes , after all these years I still get nervous when getting back into the saddle again!) & mark the change I had some exploratory time at the beginning of each class.

I put out all kinds of real skulls, bones,set out broken synthetic pieces of ex- human skeletons, a few bison bone vertebrae with cow vertebrae for comparison etc etc. I just love doing this. The kids love it too. They have free rein to pick up whatever bone they see, they'll put the human mandible under there own and act like a vantriliquist, they put antlers on their heads and act like a buck... they look inside the turtle shells & realize that the backbone is fused to the top shell & marvel at that , they play fence with the cow ribs... I thought I'd seen it all until last Thursday.....

I was walking by a student who was admiring a deer skull, he looked at me with an incredulous expression and said, "someone found this at STARBUCKS?" At first I was confused and wasn't exactly sure what he was talking about and so I took the skull from him and saw written on the skull "found in Starbuck, MN 1998". So I put the skull down on the counter and asked the kid, "So you're wondering if this skull was found in Starbucks... the coffee shop?" and still with eyes wide open he replied "yeah! Did someone actually find that at Starbucks?".

Man, I got a good laugh out of that one. I have used those skulls for years and of course John Anderson's farm is in Starbuck, Mn so that is where they came from & John marked them, but this is the first year a kid mistook Starbuck, MN for Starbucks. I giggled pretty good at that one:)

Flash!

A weak moment for Grandpa.

My husband Dan is not a compulsive shopper; not by a reeeeeeal long shot. His idea of the perfect present is something practical like the new set of tires I will be getting for my car for Christmas this year. Or the classic "I got something we both can use" which inevitably is something like a power auger for drilling holes in the ice for ice fishing or a rifle or a set of pots and pans.

But today he spent $60 dollars on a pair of snowshoes for Connor. I think that is very endearing. And I am now especially looking forward to snowshoeing with the fam again this Christmas! Everyone will be home!!!

F

We made it... there AND back!

And we weren't one of the 40 or more cars in the ditch.... not even close!! Nap time zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

F

Over the river and through the woods

to Mommy's house we goooooooooooooo...WOOT!! Took Monday off so Dan & I and Buster are leaving Saturday morning for Adair , Iowa. A 7 hour drive. I can't wait. Boy was Mom surprised!!!

Yeah. I got the perverbial hair up my ass to go see my mama & especially to see Bill. I can't wait to see him play his geeeeeeeetar. I'll bring a camera.....

Flash

I want to eat:

A grilled cheese sandwich ( NOT with Velveeta) that I make. A grilled cheese sandwich is one of the very, very few things that I think I can make better than anyone else in the house..... and yes, that includes Dan. He would NOT put enough butter on it.

An Arbys RB ( no cheese) with horsy sauce. Curly fries.... small order please.

Two fried hamburger patties with gouda cheese melted on top. Dan can make this. I will eat one with catsup and one without.

A DQ sundae... small. Not sure which sauce ( not hot fudge though) and definitely with pecans on top...NOT walnuts.

2 mild pepperoni sticks made by our neighbor, Virgil.

Is it normal to have a protein crave rather than a carb crave? What does this mean?

Hungry bear!

Beautiful sunny day.

Word.

Flash!

I didn't wear a bra today.

And my older older sister called me last night.

It's TOO MUCH!!!!

I am bored.

I need a hobby.

I do not like Sarah Palin but am going to watch the show (on TLC) about her... for at least the next minute. No promises after that.

I had the dropsies today.

I haven't had those in a long time. What does this MEAN?!

Messing around.

My girl's home:) I could tell the minute she walked in she was ok. We are sitting right now side by side exchanging music faves.... 3 Doors Down, Dave Matthews, Norah Jones.

We're going to go to a movie tomorrow .... Dan will be muzzle loading & this chick needs to get off her ass considering her offspring is already over it.....

I'm glad that she didn't inherit by "I'm soooooo bummed out" genes but just my bubble butt.

I wish my butt was tight like hers..... used to be:( uh oh ...I'm so frickin' bummed about my squishy bubble butt... haha JK

FULL ON!!!

Flash!

On freaking THANKSGIVING?????

Jessica got an email that she is on the wait list at the Mayo. For God's sake. That is reeeeeeeeeeaaallllllly tasteless.... isn't it?!

My heart is breaking for my baby.... and I'm with Holly...... I KNOW things could be SO, So MUCH worse!!!! But , but, but.....

flash :(

Equal time for Danielle.

My Danielle. I miss her so much and can't wait to see her at Christmas time. Depending upon each others mood(s), we can stand each others company for anywhere from one hour up to several days. Dan always says that we are alike. I hate to admit that because she can be hard to get along with. SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!!

Danielle is our artisan. She's funky, cool, creative, mellow and thoughtful. Dan used to always choose Danielle to go along with him to Christmas shop for all of the rest of us because she had a knack for picking out just the right present.

Danielle has a good sense of humor & laughs easily. She has a laugh that makes you smile.

She is NOT a morning person & when she first gets out of bed, her hair will be everywhere, she will likely have on a combination of clothing where her pants are at the very top of her skinny butt, skewed to one side & her shirt will be just under her belly button and she won't adjust them for anyone, anyhow so deal.


Here is the website where she works: and their facebook page.
Danielle takes most of the classes that are offered.. she just learned how to blow glass. Here is that pict. She posted it this week.


I miss my Danielle & can't wait to see her. Meow. ( This is how D signs off)

Flash!

I need to post more in November.

It is officially a goal. It shouldn't be hard seeing as how I will be hiding out in the science prep room while Aron teaches but I'll start now.

Dan got home around 2 pm. Jess walked in the door about 10 minutes after that... the same thing happened last weekend.........weird.


I ate half baked brownies a minute ago. Jessica made them.

The things I had to take off the bed to make room for Dan: a plate, a kitchen towel & 2 paper towels; all of which were necessary while eating a grilled cheese sandwich in bed last night.

I feel like a pig... because I have been eating like one especially this week. My middle name is currently MSG. It will take two weeks of Dan's cooking to flush my system of toxic substances. My house is poisonous right now.

I only have to get up early for 3 days next week. That makes me feel happy. Really happy.

The Meyer girls thought that it was our turn for Thanksgiving this year....NOT!!!

One of Dan's sisters left a message on the machine on Tuesday night asking what she should bring. I never returned her call. She called again tonight & asked for Dan. Dan told her that he had heard that there was some sort of a newly designed schedule for such things but he was not aware that it was our (his) turn & that he would need more notice than this. HA HA HA HA !!!!!

Like I said, I will only have to get up early three days this week. Yo. And if Dan had agreed to host Thanksgiving? I would have stayed at the local Super 8, picked up Taco Johns, and watched cable TV. I have issues. For sure.

I'd like to end on a more positive note, but from my point of view, this is a positive note.

Flash!

Good news.

Just got off the phone with Jmaie...she called to let me know that Jess left Rochester an hour ago ( she is pulling their boat home..we store it in our pole shed) & that

Jessica did great at the interview at the Mayo. Jamie & Ryan helped her practice Thursday night... she had 5 questions & according to Jamie, did great. Jamie almost acted like she was THERE in the room... she must have drilled Jess for the details afterward.

Jess was told after the interview that she did very well. They were impressed with her & that she will not get a rejection letter. I asked Jamie what this means and she said, "well, I don't know for sure". I interpret it as meaning that she definitely did well enough to at least be put on an alternate list. Crap. I mean, good, but... CRAP.

Some pluses : Two men interviewed her. Jessica was hoping for guys & expressed to me earlier that she feels more comfortable talking to men; that many of her friends have been "guys" & she was hoping to be interviewed by males.

One of the "guys" ( a 2nd year PT student in the program) perked up when he heard that she played intramural hockey... they interacted / interjected with some small talk. Jamie said that this set her at ease for the rest.

The prof who did the interview was particularly intrigued with Jes' interest in gereatric PT. Apparently many of the apps. have their heart set on sprts med... Jess has accumulated hundreds of hours of volunteer experience & has expressed to me that she enjoys working with old people the most but that she had to remain open in her possibilities. Jamie said that during the interview she said that she was "open" but that the prof perked up and was very interested in her experience/interest in gereatrics PT. Coincidentally, she was just hired part time at St. Bens for a newly created position as a PT assistant & loves it. The prof. told her that most of the jops in PT are & will be in gereatrics so that is a plus for her in his eyes.

Where does it go from here? Well, first Jessica has to be safe driving that darn big boat home & then there is no next step.... just a waiting game . Jamie thought she should know by January. Jessica will have a more definite answer regarding that detail for me. I'm sure that she asked.

There was a pre interview lecture that included a general overview of the program. Jessica came out of that being impressed. From day 1( starting 2 years ago!) she has resisted the Mayo.... it may be the 'I can do this on my own" thing... who knows, but according to Jamie, she came out of the experience being impressed with what the program has to offer... especially the support the students get. Jamie said, "well that is just the Mayo". In other words, it is a teaching hospital & it takes care of its own..... which again goes back to the "courtesy" interview thing. Hopefully Jessica really did do an excellent job. I have no doubt that she did, but there is no escaping the facts: they receive over 400 applicants and interview over 100 people.... for 28 spots....

Jamie was pretty torqued ( talking to her when she is like that, especially on the phone, is a one - way conversation... she never hears me respond or ask a question... she just bores ahead:) ) but when I finally was able to interrupt her I said, "well I hope that she is ready to not get accepted" , Jamie paused and said, "I know. We talked about that. She realizes that is a possibility and is prepared for that". Whew. Don't set her up for a freakin' free fall, Jamie.

So it goes. All of the above information was gained in a 4- 5 minute "conversation" which included Grace demanding the phone to talk to Gma.. " Hi Grace. Are you having a good day ? "yes. blah blah blah blah blah." Jamie "Grace can mom talk to Grandma?" "No. blah blah" " Grandma loves you Grace" "Yes". Jamie, " GRACE! Give me GRANDMA!". ha ha ha.

Later. Buster will be glad to see Jessica. Buster will be glad to see Dan. Mary will be glad to see Dan. Mary will be glad to see Jessica. Mary needs to clean the kitchen & hide certain ... uh..... evidence.

Flash :) :) :)

I want to....

** make paper and send our Christmas card/ letter out on it some day.

** collect pussy willows, burdock & other dried wild vegetation ( bittersweet!!) & display it in my house some day.


** make home made jelly again... especially choke cherry or pin cherry jelly.

** can apple pie filling again.

** make pie crust from scratch again.

** volunteer and have fun making people happy & smile.

** foster dogs. Maybe cats. No rodents. Yuck. Dan is afraid of rodents anyway (ha ha ha ha TRUE!!!!)

** shovel my own sidewalk again.

** make a quincy hut in my yard & sleep in it overnight when it is just above freezing.

** hike part of the Superior Tail with just Jessica or just Danielle or just Jamie.

** snowshoe down trails on our property that I have helped cut..& do it during a moonlit night.

** feel free, carefree, experience no worries & do all of the above at the same time.


I am an idealist.... but I believe it will come to be.:)

Happy Friday!!!!!

11/15

days without Dan is about frickin' killing me. I'm actually eating pretty well. Last week was ok, even a nice reprieve, but God damn it. I miss him:(

This week just never ends.

Reminiscent of Pay it Forward & my “ keeper “ books..

I was just in Jessica’s room looking at my books from the past. Like most of you, I’m sure that you have books/ texts etc that you keep when otherwise weeding them out. The difference I suppose, will be the age of the books between my selected keepers and yours.

I’ve chosen two books to bring upstairs as examples. The first I grabbed because of the price...$2.25 and I pulled it out because of the title..”Wandering Through Winter”..I mean there is snow on the ground!

It is a 350 page paper back. The sub title is “ An adventurous 20,000 mile journey through the north american winter.” I don’t believe that I ever read it. As a matter of fact, for the vast majority of the books down there , with the exception of the Texts from college, I don’t believe that I ever read them.

Many were written in the 70s, during the “Back to the land” movement & most were given to me by adult family & friends of the family who knew my predisposition to country living , sustainability & an idealistic attitude of “Save the Earth”.


This particular book had two printings.. 1957 & 1965. The chapter titles are things like “Big Bend” “Our idle days in Patagonia” “Giant Beavers” “Eagles of the ice jam” “White squirrels” & “Strange birds calling”. I can see why I decided that this book was a keeper even though I never read it..... I plan to.

The other book I brought up from the basement this morning is Rough Weather Makes Good Timber.... I brought this one up because as I opened it there was some prose interspersed in it. I like poetry, have written off & on, & certainly like to read it especially when it appears periodically throughout a book.

I also picked this one up because on the binding it says “Chapel Hill” which indicates to me that my Dad gave this one to me. Dad taught at UNC- Chapel Hill & really fell in love with North Carolina. He & Cigdem had a lovely cabin that Danielle & I visited once ( she was 5 yrs. old) in the Blue Ridge mountains.I had a life revealing dream while there that time .... a topic for a different time.... but it had to do with my “inner child”... she visited me in my dreams during that visit.

Rough Weather Makes Good Timber has an interesting shape. I love books that are in the shape of a rectangle like this one. I remember that I had a long thin book as a child and it was my favorite, Jamie had one (I still have it and have read it to her kids) & it was HER favorite. I think we had one at South called Bring Warm Clothes. This one Rough Weather Makes Good Timber
‘s content is somewhat similar... except focusing on the olden days of North Carolina.

Some of the chapter titles from this book are “ Rabbit Gum” “Eastern Tobacco Barn” “ The knob, Pilot Mountain” and “ Moonshiner’s Still”. There are black & white sketches through out the book... another favorite book characteristic of mine. Sketches appeal to me, particularly hand drawn ones in black & white.


I can easily imagine myself finally reading these particular two books simultaneously. Pick one up, read a chapter.... go about my daily business ( which will NOT include the internet.... it will go the very day I am in retirement) and maybe in a day or two, pick up the other & read a chapter. I can almost feel already the satisfaction & joy I'll experience while finally having the time to pick up these books that have patiently been waiting while all of my three children have slumbered near by. Oh. If only books could talk!!!!! :

Flash

My girl Jessica is coming home tonight:)

We are eating Sam's Club lasagna for dinner. I believe she took a tour with the head of the PT school at the Mayo in the last few days... not positive.

She has an interview for the PT school soon. She is very private about this stuff.

Jamie told her months ago that she (Jamie) had spoken with someone in the PT department about Jessica & it wasn't long after that Jess got an e mail stating that she had an opportunity for an interview.

Soon after THAT the head of the department called Jessica PERSONALLY and stated that the fact that Jamie had spoken to her & the fact that Jessica got an interview was purely coincidental...

Does it really matter? No. Does the fact that she is coming home to eat dinner with me matter? Yes.

Oh. IF Jessica would happen to get in to the PT school at the Mayo, she will live with Jamie, Ryan, Connor & Grace. SWEEEEEEEEEEEEET!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't count your chickens before they hatch , FlashG, but please God, let her in.

F

What I have eaten in the last 15 hours:

2 cans of Healthy Choice Soup... cold/ from the can.

A bowl of ice cream.

1 cup of oatmeal fixed like this, my thoughts are in quotes:

" I think I'll make some oatmeal for breakfast"

1/2 cup of oatmeal flakes " Shit. There is only 1/2 cup of oatmeal flakes. I'll add milk for better nutritional value"

3/4 cup of milk "Hope that is the right amount of milk"

put in microwave for 1 minute " A little runny. Let's see. I wonder if we have any nuts"

sprinkle some nuts on top " Shit. that was a bag of chocolate chips. yuck. "

Take a large spoon and take out as many chocolate chips as possible & discard in garbage can.

Stir vigorously. " I better toast half a bagel too"

Put half a bagel in the toaster 4 seconds later..." That's good enough"

Eat. Pray that your digestive system can survive the assault. Love your husband/cook when he returns in one week from hunting Up North.

I've had better days.

That is all.

f

I'm so excited!!!!

Billy The Exterminator is on next!!!!!!!! Oh Man, it's come down to this :)

Flash!

Halloween 2010

Wow.

My kids are really handling Mr. Scnauser well. So far.

Some dread has turned to hope :)

Mom & Bill.... lots of stuff has been going on. I've been carrying it around & avoiding it. Bill has now definitely been diagnosed with Alzheimers. It is progressing. But I just got off the phone with Mom. They are ok. Mom is ok. Actually, they are doing very well. There are people close by to help. I want to get down there to see Bill. I talked to him for the first time in months. We laughed. He can still play that gawd awful guitar.... I need to hear & lay eyes on Bill. Maybe over Christmas..Thanksging we'll see. But I feel relief.

Lisa.. lots of stuff has been going on. I've been carrying it around & avoiding it.
( copied & pasted THAT!!:)) Is alone. Had a terrible cold. Donna suggested someone go down. I can't. I mean I could, but I get physically ill every time I do. I vomit & get the runs & I think it is psychological...not physical. This story will never be a good one. But she called last night & talked to Dan for nearly an hour & is in good spirits.

This is a good time for me to make an appointment to see Julie Spare... a psychologist. I saw her once last year in Feb. & that was the first time in 7 years. I think it a wise decision for me to be proactive at this point. I'm strong... but I'm not stupid.




Flash!

Lost this song/found it/needed it :)

On any given day I feel like:

The problem for me is that once my body & mind gets somewhat accustomed to one scenerio, it is changed. My mind and body are wearing out. It is just a statement of fact. I place no blame. How can I "blame" a system that ( naivity showing here) is truly trying to do what is "right"?

I never thought I's be looking so forward to a student teacher whose last name is "Schnauser" and who has a slight speech impediment. Roof roof roof.

F

F

I really, really hate

inept leadership, especially when it makes good people look foolish:(

Coyote Ugly.

The coyotes have been especially vocal and close to our house lately. I don't like it.

It is not unusual to hear coyotes in the spring when the females give birth, but this particular female & her pack has stuck around. THAT is unusual.

The female has a very loud, distinctive and well done howl. Originally I thought that it was fun to hear the young one's attempts at following her exceptional lead; their pathetic yips & croaks were entertaining. But now that it is Fall and they are all very well versed in howling, it has grown erie. So erie that it is a part of our daily discussion & either Dan or I step out with Buster each morning and evening while he does his job.

I sure hope that there has been a good crop of rabbits , mice & other critters to keep the coyotes all full, because I don't want Buster to become a main course. Shiver.

Flash

No giving up

in the Meyer house......

You've got to watch this..minivan fams

ha. Cool, huh.

Jenny's post is soooooooo cute!

What a great idea.

Flash!

I just don't think that I have enough to do.

Things are so boring at school. Everything is so clear. Students are so well behaved because of all the extra special occasions that make them feel good about themselves.

I just don't know what to do with all this extra mental energy I have. I sure hope those CLC people stop into MY class. They will be so welcome seeing as how I am doing SUCH a good job with all of this extra class time I have to teach.

anonymous.

BC update

All under control...literally.

" Where have you been lately?"

Big smile.."Oh around"

"When do you work next?" "I have tomorrow off.. I'll try to get Saturday off" ( Jamie & kids are coming up)

"I have to clean out the car. I've been living out of my car."

"Where have you been sleeping at night?"

"At Matts"

" Yeah. I see you have half a pack of BC pills in your room"

Big smile"Yeah. I have one at Matt's too... I have it all under control"

" Isn't it hard to keep track of the days that way?"

" Don't worry" smile smile smile " I have it allllllllllll under control".

I sure hope that is true.

Parent's scarey moment(s).

Go into your 24 year old daughter's room, look for laundry that may have been on the floor for a week (because you haven't seen her face in a week) and find a half empty package of BC pills.

Gently scan the room for laundry, back out slowly, bow your head and say a short prayer.

Put in a load of your own laundry. Ponder.

Go upstairs, get on your computer , put on some music on from your youth ( the 70s in my case) and remind yourself of the chances you took at her age.

Take a deep breath.

Get on with it.... and wait for that perfect moment to bring the subject up.

Realize that , in this case, there never will be that "perfect" moment free of tension.

Go with it anyway. Do you job. Remember your roll. Put it out there.

What? A note on the package? A message wrapped in humor? No. That will not do.

But what if you get so busy that you forget to say anything &/or that perfect moment passes?

E mail? No. Face it. Face -to-face is the only way to do this.

Have you secured a relationship with this child that is trusting? And do you realize that you just called a 24 year old a "child"? Are you perpetuating a "baby" syndrome? Do you just realize that you are referring to & struggling with the concept of your baby having a baby?

Listen. Do you hear that song by The Band? It is called, " Life is a Carnival".

Got that right.
Flash.

I suck at religion.

On the motorcycle forum I frequent someone posted a quiz on religion. I got a 60% (story of my life) & they were bragging about their awesome scores. So here is how I responded:
The first sentence is in response to one guy saying he was " surprised that a teacher can read from the Bible for literature purposes"...

Is the bible copyrighted? Because if it is , technically a teacher would have to ask the author for permission to use it in class. We just got the memo.

So who IS the author? huh? Tell me that all you religious smarty pants. I got 60% on the damn thing and 20% of MY school population is MUSLIM.

I suck. But I know my trees and bugs

Signed... a religious MUTT: Grandfather/ father's side JEWISH, grandmother/father's side CHRISTIAN SCIENTIST ( yeah.... THAT caused some "probems") , Father eventually followed MEHR BABA, Mother PROTESTANT ( VERY non practicing) , HER mother (my grandmother) SOUTHERN BAPTIST.

I was baptized at the age of 30 CATHOLIC.

But I say "under GOD" at the start every school day with the pledge of allegiance so I figure I'm covered..... even with a score of 60%. OR maybe I will just go to hell.

M

ps. My Christian Scientist Grandmother was the daughter of an EPISCOPALIAN Priest... but he left the church because he refused to believe something about the wine & blood...I now practice yoga & watch Dog The Bounty Hunter to relieve the religious strife I feel...NOT.

Last edited by *******; Today at 08:06 PM. Reason: CONFESSION

Glad it's Friday?

Duh.

I ran across this...

Was going to pick & chose a few things but then it is all out of context. The link is here. I like what he says.

Frank Furedi: Five things I have learned


Name: Frank Furedi

Occupation: Professor of Sociology at University of Kent, and author of books including Paranoid Parenting, Politics of Fear, Where Have All the Intellectuals Gone?, Therapy Culture, Culture of Fear and Wasted: Why Education is not Educating

Education: BA in international relations at McGill University, Montreal, then studied African politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London and received his doctorate from the University of Kent.
Continue reading the main story
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* Michael Gove: Five things I have learned
* Jill Berry: Five things I have learned
* Siobhan Freegard: Five things I have learned

Lives: Faversham, Kent

Born: 1947, Budapest, Hungary

Family life: Married to Ann; says he is "attempting to father" his 15-year-old son, Jake

Unusual fact: A former student radical, in the 70s, he was the founder and chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party.

1. Listen - because you can learn from anybody.

I have learnt that it is a mistake not to listen to people, even people who you don't take seriously, because those who appear ignorant can surprise you with their insights into life. Even if you disagree with what they say, through listening you can learn what it is that leads them to adopt an erroneous conclusion. That's one way of learning about other people's experiences and about life.

A genuine listening strategy is surprisingly difficult to acquire - but it is well worth the effort.

2. Question everything

This is one of the things I found most difficult to do. It's very easy to fall back into old ways and repeat things you have done in the past. When I simply follow someone else's opinion or unthinkingly repeat what I thought previously, I quite often end up realising that I'm on the wrong track. However, through questioning my beliefs and those of others it soon becomes evident that what worked yesterday may be inappropriate in a different context.

Moreover, it's only in the course of questioning that you make progress in developing and refining your ideas. I have really come to appreciate Socrates. He was always annoying everyone by going to the market and asking questions. But those questions often led to greater clarity.

3. Rely on your intuition

We live in a world where we are bombarded by conflicting instructions through the media. As a father and a teacher I have been forced to rely on my intuition. I have learned to use my intuition even when people that I respect point me in a very different direction. Intuition is really your experience codified - insights gained through the working of your emotions and ideas. It doesn't mean you are always right but it does put you in the right direction.

4. Always reflect on your motives when you are dealing with your children

Parents make big emotional investments in their children so that sometimes they confuse their own needs with those of their children. It is easy to overlook the fact that sometimes what we want for ourselves is not what our kids need.

There is so much pressure to live our lives through our children. That's why we need to pause and have a reality check. We need to think about our motives by asking the question: "Am I doing this for them or for myself?" You may still end up doing something that meets your own needs rather than those of your child, but at least you will not be deluding yourself.

5. Things are never as bad as they seem.

This is something I learned later in life. I was a micro-manager, always meeting deadlines, imagining that everything that could go bad would go bad. It is only relatively recently that I learned that the situation is rarely as bad as you imagine. We have a tremendous capacity for resilience, for bouncing back and not allowing our disappointments to overwhelm us.

Often what happens depends on how we respond to a problem. We can make a drama out of a crisis and feel sorry for ourselves for the next 10 years or we can find a strategy for moving on and looking for new opportunities. Moving on, always moving on, has become one of the key principles guiding my daily life.

What is a " Miche " bag?

Jamie is all excited about getting one. How did she figure all this stuff out on her own???!!!
haha

F :)

Ride cancelled:(

Playing the Song Title Game

I am going on a ride to Rochester.

Tomorrow. I made up the route. I am looking forward to it. The weather looks good. We will have to be careful of wash out from the rain. I am staying with Jamie tomorrow. She is in charge of a walk. She syas it is for FAT people . She works with obese patients & their diet/ insulin/ diabetes. It is disconcerting that she refres to her patients as FAT people but then I remeber a certain teaher calling his students "little bastards" & thought THAT was funny. So I should understand.

I understood the stupid green sheets. They were in flux & some things are just like hat.

M

I get a kick out of Dan.

Right now he is rumaging around the kitchen opening up every cubbard & drawer, scrabbling through pots, pans, silverware, everything looking for God knows what.

He does this every morning too looking for the lids to the glad ware he has put nummy food in for my lunch.

I told him the other morning when he was particularly loud & obviously frustrated, "Dan, I bring every single piece of glad wear back every time I remember to bring my lunch pail back". To which he retorted, "Then where is it ALL GOING?!!!!". To which I replied, "well, you might want to ask Jessica".

Which he did & she admitted to taking it & leaving it along her trail of living spaces. Case solved.

Why all the riffling through cubbards now? I have no idea. Is he mad that he is cooking cornbread & fritters AGAIN and needs a break? Does he wish that I would pick that last pair of socks off the floor so he can vacuum up all the seeds Buster has pulled out of his fur & spit on the floor?

All I have to say is welcome to the woman's world of the 1950s buddy. Suck it up.

Flash.

New technology coming in YOUR lifetime!

Microchip the kids.

And then they can be monitored from the office via computer screen. Attendance need not be taken.

Kid lost in a cornfield? No problem.... no need for bloodhounds. Too much upkeep.

Wondering if your teenager is where she says she is? Yeah, try to dig that CHIP out of your shoulder little Missy.....

F :)

My baby will be 24 yrs. old in 10 minutes.

It's hard to believe, really.

These two.

Are always together.

I couldn't find a pcit. of just Jessica.

Matt & Jess will be hiking the Superior Trail from Silver Bay to Beaver Bay this weekend.

Dan," How are you going to get back to Silver Bay?". Jessica, "Oh. We;ll just hitch a ride". Sigh. The free spirit of being young.

She left tonight.

I miss her already.

F

Arrest me.

I just broke the law:

Song Title Game

On one of the motorcycle forums I frequent there is a thread titled "Song Title Game". It's very simple, someone posts the title of a song & the next person's challenge is to post a different song title but it has to have at least one of the words of the previously posted title. Make sense?

Here was the most recent progression, starting from the bottom. I posted Cell Bock Tango...my fave!


Cell Block Tango.. Chicago ( The Musical)



Two to Tango - Vanessa Daou


If It Don't Take Two.... Shania Twain



Take it Easy - Eagles


Easy - Commodores/Lionel Richey



Easy Livin' - Uriah Heep

Mmmmm this looks GOOD!

Num Num.

Our tomatoes are about done.... but our neighbor has some ripening. The crust sounds DELICIOUS!

Flash!

And THIS!!!! Will be cooked this week!!!!

I'll admit it.

I watch Hoarders, Swamp Men , Dr. G., & Intervention, Minnesota Bound, Antiques Road Show, Dirty Jobs, Houston Animal Cops & when we travel sometimes I catch a show where the rosary is being said by nuns in a tiny , granite chapel with awful acoustics.

Really? Doesn't anyone realize that these shows are a POOR excuse for people like me who don't do drugs and are SEARCHING for ESCAPE???

Seriously. Someone needs to produce a show for meditation. I NEED to be mesmerized.

Stupid Americans.

I've had all SUMMER? And I rebel NOW??!!

I didn't wear a bra yesterday or today in protest to having to go to "work". God. I am SLOW ( and hanging quite low).

Flash!

You know your priorities are straight when...

you get a new computer, lose ALL of your meticulously organized bookmarks for school - related sites & the first thing you panic about is your motorcycle forums. :)

Damn. I'm fricking proud of myself right now.

Flash!

Gracisms

I just sent this to both Jamie & Ryan. They got home late yesterday afternoon. :

Me: Grace , we should...........

Grace: Why?

Me: Well, ...................

_________________________________________________
Me: Grace , let's ...........

Grace: Why?

Me: Well, ...................

_____________________________________________________

Me: Grace , we should...........

Grace: Why?

Me: Well, ...................

_________________________________________

Grace: blah blah blah blahblahblah.

Me: Why????

Grace : Because.

End of story!!!!! :)

I will be making Moussaka

this weekend. I found a recipe that includes the ingredients I remember that my Mom used. I found the recipe here.

I'll have to substitute onions ( freshly dug from the garden) for scallions & olive oil for extra virgin olive oil 'cause there's nothin' extra virgin about anyone around here anymore. Also, I don't know what gruyere cheese is so I have motzerella.

I will be cooking down our own tomato juice ( includes all the pulp) that Dan had already frozen for the crushed tomatoes. I shouldn't have to cook it too long. I'll have to go graze the garden for other veges to include. Everything else should be the same. Is there anything the same???? Oh yes. Eggplant & zuchini.

In conclusion I would like to say that with the exception of the garlic, my moussaka will only have home grown vegetable in it. Ta da!!!!!!!!!!!! ( Since my name is Mary Cathryn, you can assume I just threw my arms in the air & bent on one knee )

Flash :)

"Technical Writing" at its finest.

Luke Miller needs to incorporate this into his curriculum :)







Someone knows how to wear high heels :)

Flash!

The poll above is for the following ? :

How excited are you for a new school year?

You may choose more than one answer.

ps. I am eating freshly caught bass. Yum :)

My Dayelle looking better!

Our Denver girl will be home this coming weekend for a friend's wedding. Hopefully I can post some picts.!!! I think she looks better already...

While I'm thinking of it...

I'm going to put down some family "things'. Just ramblings...

My Grandma Puckett met her husband Walter Puckett when he was boarding in her parent's home. Her parents were Winstons. Their first names escape me now but I do remember her mother..( Great) Grandma Winston. She lived in Franklinton, NC and was a tiny woman. One time she put her hand up to mine & her fingers barely went over my first digit.

********Donna (my sister's) kids both have tiny hands...*******

Grandma P. had Br. & sisters. Robert, Maynard, Pricilla ( ok that was Grandma Winston's name...they called her Miss Prissy)Ella & Vashtie. Ella lived with Grandma Winston, was a nurse & took care of her. Don't think Ella ever married.

Anyway, Grandma Puckett's Father was never very successful. I never met him. But when my Mom was married to Bill, she made a camel colored wool suit for the wedding for herself & used buttons that ( Great) Grandpa Winston had made from pecan shells for it. I had the suit in my basement for a long time & just a few years ago Mom cut the buttons off & she has them now.

My Grandma Puckett was a bit "hoity toity" if you will. She always dressed to the nines & I grew up thinking she was a refined, well-to-do souththerner. Not the case. She grew up dirt poor...in the literal sense. She was the oldest child & she worked as a teenager to keep shoes on her brothers and sisters.


I never met Robert or Maynard, or if I did I don't remember them.When Grandma P. was dying of cancer, those brothers made sure that she was able to pay for her apartment in Seattle for dignity's sake. Dignity was Grandma's middle name:) Not really..It was Dolly Madison Puckett.

Like I said, Grandma P. met my grandfather, Walter while living at home as a teenager & helping ( Great) Grandma Winston with the boarders in Franklinton, . She got pregnant with my Mom & they married. I didn't know all of that until Mom's 70th B-day which we celebrated in Las Vegas. Mom's brother, my uncle Walt ( nicknamed "Bink"), told us. To be honest I didn't think it was very funny although he & Mom laughed about it.

See, Prissy ( my aunt..Mom & Bink's sister) didn't come to Vegas. The joke between Mom & Bink behind Prissy's back was that while Mom and Bink were " mistakes", Pris was not & she was the ***"screw up" of the family . Bink was born while Grandma P was in her 40s. Never understood the meanness toward Prissy. I love all three of them, Mom, Pris, & Bink.

Prissy lives in Texas now, just had a pre- cancerous tumor removed from her colon , has just sold her house in Seattle & Mom just got a check out-of-the- blue for $13,000 last week. So did Prissy's two boys & a few others ( not ME! Darn!!!)

Which got me to thinking of all of this soooooo I'm done . But I want to say that I always was intrigued by Prissy. She is a middle child & over the years I have picked up tidbits of wisdom about how to live your life from her.


***"screw up" defined as being scrappy ( NEVER had a penny & barely a pot to piss in in her early adult years ( 20- 45) ) , liked her men, divorced her first husband, married the God father of her oldest child, ( Joe Wodzinski... nice ring to it ehh?). She worked until she was 65 & when Joe died a few years ago she inherited a SHIT LOAD of money.

The colon thing is just a bump in the road , I think. I hope.

Later,

M

We're back:)

Connor and Grace were soooo good. It was nice to have Jessica with us too. We went to The House of Bounce where they have these HUGE blown up things to jump on. Jess had to go in after them to find them a couple of times.

Jamie & Ryan just hooked up skype ( webcam?) so are able to talk to the kids, although the connection wasn't always the best. They are having fun in Hawaii ... who wouldn't?

George & Cheryl got into Rochester about 6:00 last night. The 4 of us ( Jess went home yesterday) stayed up until 11 or so last night. Both Cheryl & George are talkers & they have some great iron range stories. I laughed so hard. It was fun.
≈
We took an alternate route back home. I'm planning the motorcycle route to Rochester for my WOW group for the last weekend in September. I'm glad we did that because some of the roads I THOUGHT were good were crap... so putting that all together...

Back to the grind soon .........

Flash.

The most precious thing.

Just happened. There is a bedtime routine in this house. Two books for Grace at 7:30
( we're a little late) & the same for Connor but at 8:30.

For Grace.... you have to lay on the floor by her little bed & she holds your hand for a little while. I tell you, that little hand in mine with Enya playing in the background about melted this tough old broad into a puddle of butter.

Sometimes it takes just a split second to set the world right again.

Camp Grandparent has BEGUN!!!

And all of the grandparents brought the kids to Day Care. George & Cheryl have set the bar high- no crying so far ( on the kid's part anyway!!) .

You should see the directions for the remotes... quite the schematics.

f

So HOW wrong is this?

While conversing about going to Rochester for Camp Grandparent, Dan looked at me the other night & said with a twinkle in his eye, "I'm going to dig through their freezer and find me a BIG steak to grill".

Just now as I was emptying the dishwasher I thought to myself, "I'm going to go through their liquor cabinet and find me some HIGH priced booze for a mixed drink.".

It's kind of like reversed naughtiness, isn't it?

Flash!

Fried eggplant from the garden tonight!!!

Also from the garden & in a pasta salad tonight:

White & red onions, cucumbers,tomatoes, zucchini & dill.

The eggplant recipe ( from Dan the gardening Man):

Breading : Mix together
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup cornmeal
garlic powder ( use sparingly)
salt/ pepper

Slice the eggplant 1/8 inch thick. Leave the skin on.

Run water over a slice of eggplant, shake off excess water , roll in prepared breading until covered completely & put on a plate.

Repeat with each slice until you have a plateful of prepared eggplant slices.

Cover the bottom of a frying pan with olive oil. Heat it hot enough so that when you put the eggplant in it fries. We use the 5 setting on our stove. Eggplant will soak up a lot of oil so the following trick is important:

Once you have placed all the slices of eggplant on the bottom of the hot frying pan flip them over right away.

Fry on this side until golden brown, then flip back over to the side you started with & brown that side. Place on a paper towel. Serve hot.

I personally like the following on the side ( but Dan does not) . I learned to like it while in Turkey and sometimes I double it & put sliced cucumbers and onion in it for a cool, summer salad:

In a glass bowl blend:

1 cup plain yogurt
1 generous tsp. garlic paste ( you buy it in a small jar.. it is soaked in olive oil)
2 tsp. sugar

Stir to blend thoroughly by hand. Let sit in the refrigerator for at least a day, stir it a few times.

It gets better as it ages ( like us).

Kids.

First.... CNC situation is under control. Lisa has rallied & has good friends ( whom she trusts) helping with details. They had a will. Lisa is hoping to get out from under the properties ( sell out) & find a small condo near her doctors.

1) Danielle has a kidney stone. She has been experiencing pain & discomfort for a few months. Several things had happened simultaneously to confuse what was going on. 1) they moved. 2) they hiked down the grand canyon & back & drank some H2O from the CO river 3) She started using the Nuva ring for BC. 4) She had a UTI that cleared up.

I always know something is up with D when she calls me. She never calls just to chat... so this is a bit of a relief of sorts. One of her friends had convinced her to go on a crazy diet to quel the symptoms & she lost about 10 lbs. So when she was here in July for that wedding she really scared me. As a matter of fact, the reason I never posted any picts. was because she is scary skinny. She's off the diet & sees the urologist next week. Hope it is the stone causing her symptoms.

2) Jess is crazy writing essays for PT school. Her writing test score was good. It amazes me that she does not recognize traits in herself that make her a great candidate. Things like determined, persevere, confident etc. escape her. I think not making the first round of choices kicked her in the ass a bit. I see it making her stronger. I think she is beginning to see it now too when I critique her essays and believe it!!! Which is all that really matters.

I had a weird dream last night.... that Jess got pregnant and that Matt was lazay fair about her continuing to pursue her dreams. It pissed me off.

Let me tell you, if she is not accepted somewhere, it will definitely NOT be for lack of TRYING!!!! Which also, in my opinion, is all that matters. Do your best. And that is all anyone can ask.

Side note..... I told her to take a shower yesterday.... she stinks from being in the "zone". ha ha.

3) Jamie.... getting ready for Hawaii!!!! WOOT!! The kids are looking forward to what J & R call "Camp Grandparents". Cheryl/ George down there T- F. Dan & I F- T. George & Chryl T- whenever they get home.


I've been working on school stuff & realize that somehow we have all gained an extra work load. THREE preps. E3, Reg class, Honors class. Thanks.

Later,

Flash.

Is this funny or WHAT?!!

I'm sorry. Pioneer woman ..again.

Ok I'm just gonna call her PW 'cause she does. See? The damn lingo ( gonna??? 'cause??? )

is freaking rubbing off on me. But this post made me laugh so hard . It's short. Am I sick??? Gaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwd. It is NICE outside!!!! I should get on my motorcycle!! Ok. I will tomorrow. Promise. Go here for Pw's , very funny, post.

Unless you are sane....... then go outside. It's nice out!!!!

Flash

ps We have the windows open & ahhhhhhhhhhhh. How NICE!!!!!! :)

Today's post is about

minor medical errors & no, it has nothing to do with CNC , my new acronym for this portion of my life ( crazy in colorado) but with ME and DAN. Fancy that!

So. Both of us had some doctoring done this week. Dan had his physical yesterday & I had a mammogram today. All three minor medical errors ( we'll call them MME WTH) have to do with NAMES. All three MME are true stories. All were caught by ME and all likely wouldn't have caused any major disasters although one just about gave a nurse a heart attack.

MME #1. Year= 1995.

Because of the history of colon cancer in Dan's family , Dan & all of his siblings have been advised to get their first colonoscopy at age 40. The summer that Dan had his first I was nervous. Very nervous. Partially because I detest hospitals, doctor's offices, dentist's offices, anything that smells alcoholly.New word for you:) And partially because , well, I was scared. So when the nurse brought us back to one of about 6 small rooms, his name was hand written in green on a small white board. But it was the wrong name. It said " Daniel Bernard ". I told the nurse that there must be some sort of mistake, he is not Daniel Bernard. She got a very frightened & shocked look on her face and Dan said to me VERY harshly "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?????" And suddenly I came out of my stupor (as in stupid), shrunk to the size of a pea & we went into the room & all was well. See. Neither I nor anyone in Dan's family ever calls him " Daniel". I affectionately and frequently call him "Daniel B ", but never "Daniel Bernard" which was on the whiteboard outside of the room and is his correct first and middle name . Duh.

MME #2. Year= 2007. I went to my annual mammo gram & when I was called back, I was brought into a room with a different looking piece of equipment in it than I had seen before for a mammogram. As I was disrobing, I made a comment about the apparatus & the nurse said, "Yes, this machine can show breast tissue in more detail so when we see a suspect spot we use it for further screening."Several things went through my head at a very fast pace but the most distinct was a WTF are you TALKING about?! It has been ONE YEAR since I had my last Mammo & it is just NOW that you got back to check a SUSPECT SPOT??????????????. But I didn't exactly say that. I MENTIONED it & she looked at her chart and said "you ARE Mary blah blah blah, right?" And I said, noooooooooo I am not Mary blah blah blah (thinking God be with her) , I am Mary blah.

MME #3. Today as I was reading in the Breast Center's waiting room ( wouldn't you love to have that sign above your door?) a nurse peaks out, chart in hand and says, "Mary?". I stood up and went back. On the way back & as we entered a room I said,"are you sure that you have the right Mary?" She said, "are you Mary blah blah blah?". And I said in as un annoyed a way as I possibly could muster considering SEVERAL circumstances that have happened in the last 24 hours "NO! I am NOT Mary blah blah blah! I am Mary BLAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!".

And I was re escorted into the correct room.

Moral of the story #1...... double check your names in Dr's offices.

Moral of the story # 2........ there are too many fucking Marys in Stearn's County.

Pioneer Woman is on the Today Show!!!

I THINK this morning.... but I am not sure. Could be tomorrow.

public service announcement ( I am beginning to feel like a stalker) ..... and her cookbook is on Dan's Christmas list:)

Flash!

There is nothing like Dog the Bounty Hunter

and an oreo blizzard to clear one's head!!! :)

Flash!

First off. Thanks Marohl!!! You hot too!

Came home to this:

Dan- you better listen to the answering machine. pause. It's not Lisa. pause. It's not your Mom ( Dan is following me now) .... Donna is fine.

Me - Bill.

Dan - no.

Me - Dwaine.

Dan- yes.

Me... He didn't die.

Dan... yes. He died. You need to listen to the message. Your Mom is pretty upset.


Background.... as you know, Lisa my sister was diagnose with pulmonary fibrosis & told to " get her things in order" two years ago now? 2.5 years ago.

I went to see her the last two summers and a couple of times in between thinking she was going to pass on immanently. The progression has slowed ( obviously) .I called her for the first time since the beginning of June just a few days ago. She doesn't remember (always) how long it's been since I've called & I have been ok with that.

We had a fun visit when we talked... as usual, lots of laughing, a little family gossip, & she told me that Dwaine had had some low blood sugars ( he is insulin dependent) lately but she has been able to bring him around.

A little more background. During the first summer visit, my Mom & I with the help of Danielle contacted social services to get Lisa "in the system". Lisa caught wind of it, called social services, LIED and said that we were confused & that it was her cousin who was very sick not her. Good thing I had a feeling something was up & called that case manager. Lisa was very convincing & the case manager was pretty confused.

Because of confidentiality, the case manager couldn't say much at this point & so I gave her Lisa's primary doctor's number to confirm the diagnosis and the situation... as in living situation.... Dwaine being insulin dependent & the actual LIVING conditions ( atrocious).


MORE.... last Fall someone from social services show up at their house for a "welfare check" . Someone had called & said they were concerned about the people in the house. I DID NOT CALL! I do not know who did, but I am glad that they did. And I am glad that Mom & I got Lisa into the system and that her primary doctor knows that her family will not tolerate anything from him but what is required by law for her welfare. Hell. It may have been HIM who called!

It is all we, as her family, have from a distance as some sort of reassurance that she is ok. Well. That and Dwaine. And now Dwaine is gone.

I really don't know what is going to happen. Donna is on her way to CO. Mom is too damn old. My Mom has been through and to Hell in many ways in her life already including dealing with my step dad's dementia, his tooth being pulled (today) her knee surgery this month.

I told Dan "tell me I should not hop on a plane and go Lisa's". He said "I really don't think you should go."

I will have to call Mom now even though the message was left at noon & she said she would call back because I'm sure that she has already had some wine.

Who will I depend on for logic? Donna. My recovering addict, brilliant sister who just kicked another habit of pain killers and who has a supposedly savant- native american shaman , communicating mystic type boyfriend.

Well this sure makes babysitting the grand kids a fricking piece of cake.

Flash G. Sane right now......

Some of you

say that my blog sometimes make you laugh or giggle, chuckle or smile. I like that. I take it as quite a complement because #1) When I post, my intention is not to make you laugh or giggle, chuckle or smile and so it is a nice surprise & kind of flattering that I could have such an effect & #2) I like thinking about making the few of you read this happy for a moment.

Where is this going? Well, Pioneer Woman & some of her posts have the same effect (ok you english teachers....if I'm using the wrong EFFECT I'm soooooooo sorry! At least I know my too, to & twos and ALSO my their there and they're so there. AND I know the correct time to use a possessive apostrophe except for the darn exceptions. )

anyyyyyyyywhooooooooooooo as I was saying. Pioneers Woman makes me laugh. This particular post that I just read made me laugh out loud several times so I thought I would share. Go here.

I hope that you laugh too!

F

Dan & I have a hot date.

We are going to Shopko. Shopko is my favorite store in St. Cloud. Here is my traveling list. It has been traveling around with me for a couple of days:

1) Quarry park. This is NOT an item to purchase. It is a reminder that I want to swim there once before school starts.

2) Salmon colored paint. Again,this is not a Shopko purchase but a reminder to look for paint for the living room. Mom suggested this color. She is good with color, but I don't always listen.

SHOPKO:

3) Cotton underwear. My nylon granny pants make my butt sweat.

4) Accu therm- reusable cold/hot compress. I need another one for my right knee that bothers me some when I get off of the elliptical. NOT serious, but the compress def helps.

5) Beach Towels. They are usually on sale & I like a BIG towel after a shower. And since Jessica has been home...... well..... towels have been disappearing. Which is AWESOME!!!! Because I can't wait to get a few BIG beautiful/ colorful towels! And she will be warned. My towels Jess, DO NOT TOUCH!

6) Shower curtain. Our $2 shower curtain needs to be replaced by a $2 shower curtain.

7) Disposable razors. BIC disposable razors. Dan is picky.

8) Comet cleanser.

9) That's it but since Dan wants to come along he must have something else in mind. It is always interesting to see what he has in mind:)

Later,

Flash.

Heat sucks.

Hate is a powerful word but I hate you heat. You suck the life right out of me. I loath you & if you show up in September I will very likely, quite literally, bawl like a baby.
And then get the vapors. And then faint. And then secretly steal someone else's fan because hate will make a person do such heinous acts.

Then I will come home and pass out on my bed naked with a fan on me and wail to Dan like a crazy woman possessed with demons.

And he will get scared out of his wits ( as usual when these symptoms appear... I use them to my advantage) , & he will dote upon me with a worried expression on his face & then agree to come to my classroom and follow me around with a wet rag soaked in ice water. Seriously. He would do that for me. But I would never ask.

Even I have scruples.


f

What drove me the most nuts

when Connor & Grace were here ( I just realized this) was the background noise from the TV. Beauty And The Beast - Jamie herself watched this movie repeatedly into her teens- Snow Babies ( think that's right...dogs were in it I think), & Happy Feet were all watched in the 3 days here. Half the time no one was watching them but they were on. Annoying.

Jamie & Ryan are going to Hawaii mid- August for 10-12 days. They will be gone over the weekend of the 14th. Ryan's folks are going to stay at their house during the week days & Dan & I ( and hopefully Jessica) are spending the weekend. The kids will go to daycare during the week.

Plans aren't firmed up yet..I mean the trip & tickets and everything are, but our stay &/or length thereof isn't. I've heard through the grapevine that George ( Ryan's Dad) has a shoulder that is bothering him.

So my post was about how things will go & everything but I have something else weird to tell you.

George is a retired Industrial Tech teacher but he has been teaching at Messabi East HS & a community college of some sort. Something TERRIBLE happened in a shop where he was working in April. The welding teacher stepped out for a bit & asked George to watch his class & while he was gone a kid's shirt caught on fire while welding.

The 17 year old kid got burned pretty badly & died in the hospital, not from the burns but from undiagnosed Addison's disease. But what is REALLY weird & coincidental is that JESSICA'S roommate, who works in the county morgue for the county this accident happened in , told Jess about this case in May waaaaaaaaaay before Jamie mentioned it to her last weekend. Jessica's roommate assisted in the autopsy ( she is in Med school in Duluth). She told Jessica that her boss, the M.E. told Josie ( roommate) before they even started the autopsy that he knew it was an Addison's case just by the color of the dead kid's skin (orangish).

Poor George. If I were him I'd be sweating bullets in worry. Apparently the Mom worked at the school & was called to the scene before the ambulance came. Bet the hospital is worried too. The kid wouldn't have died from the burns , although serious enough to have needed grafts taken from his thighs to cover his chest. Josie said that his adrenal glands were virtually non-existent... the Addisons. The hospital never caught it.

On that strange and rambling tangent I shall leave Snoidsville. Poor George. My shoulder would be bothering me too if something this horrendous happened in my classroom. I will give him a big hug when I see him:)

Flash.

If you google "mesabi east welding accident" you can read about it.

Poems? Musings? Fake writing?

I find myself with time on my hands while sitting in a German classroom teaching science to 4 classes of between 3- 20 students. If the kids think that I am very busy they are less likely to cry & writhe in pain fighting for my attention. So yesterday I jotted down some thoughts about my students with a very thoughtful, busy look on my face.

The first set was very negative. I'll post them in the near future. Once I wrote (and read) the first set, I decided to change my point of view & be positive. So here are the positive musings from SS 2010.

1) The light on your face is eternal....my hope for your sacred self is eternal too.

2) Funny, fun, bright & capable. Life so short but future so long. Bright. Remember that.

3) Concentrated effort so determined in nature. Put to good use, you could carry the world on your shoulders. Will you?

4) That line you step up to every single day- do you peer beyond it, shield your eyes and see how beautiful you are? I do. Every. Single. Day.

Many of my SS students have the sniffles.

Muaaaaaaaahaaaaaaahaaaaaaaa. Maybe you should bring your OWN PENCIL instead of me handing you one EVERY DAY!!!!!!

Muuuuuuuuuuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

Flash

Connorisms:

1)Casual conversation

Me: Connor, do you think that your mom is pretty?

Connor: long pause. Well, my DAD thinks she's pretty.

Me: Does your Dad tell your Mom thats she is pretty?

Connor: Wellll SOMETIMES he tells her that she is pretty.

Jamie glowed as if a wonderful prince had just complemented her. pretty cute :)

2)While looking at their collection of movies to decide which one to watch

Me: Hey Connor! We have the movie Transformers!

Connor: Wellllllllllll. My parents won't let me watch Transformers. I am too young. Long pause... but I can PLAY with transformers. I am old enough for that but I have to wait until I am OLDER to watch Transformers.

3) While he was sitting in his car seat ready to go home after their visit.

Me: I love you Connor. You are a good boy. I especially like how you say please and thank you.

Connor: Welllllllllllll I don't ALWAYS remember to say that. But everybody makes mistakes SOMETIMES.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I miss everyone. A "balanced" life continues to elude me. I am not fool enough to think that it will suddenly find me , or that balance will suddenly appear. I understand ( an have for awhile) that I will have to actively seek it by studying tai chi, Zen meditation, zuòchán or (坐禅), Feng Shui.

But wait. Dad & Cigdem Onat ( his nut case 2nd wife ... google, her but don't be deceived...fruitcake) followed this guy : Meher Baba & attended his retreat here. Uh. Dad found peace & balance at the end of his life & I think Meher Baba helped, but not until AFTER heart disease nearly took my Dad out & finally it did him in.

I think I'll just get on my elliptical, count my plethora of blessings and then take a nap. Yeah. My feng shui. Sorry Meher Baba, no offense, but your image just freaks me out.

Flash!