Parenting 101

I've thought about this for most of the day and have finally decided to put my words on screen, perhaps to the dismay and offense of others.  Perhaps to the delight of some.  My intent is to do none of those.  Simply just to comment on what I saw today and what I see all too often as I work.

I went to get a pedicure today.  I knew I was going to the podiatrist and my foot wouldn't be in any condition to be massaged for awhile.  On my way home, I thought I'd treat myself to some Cafe Rio for lunch.  That was my first mistake... going into Cafe Rio at lunch.  However, I know they can get that line moving fairly quickly so I braved it.  As in typical Cafe Rio style, the line wove round and round.  I got in line behind a woman and her two kids.  The boy was maybe 10 and her daughter was 5ish.  Mom was standing there in her designer jeans and perfect hair, while the 5 year old clawed at her mother's legs, begging for attention and the boy played solitaire on his Itouch. We hadn't moved an inch when I hear Mom say "We're over here, Mom!"  And then she looked at me and said "Move please, my mother is coming."  There were probably 8 people behind me at the time, as well.  No "Excuse me" or "I'm sorry can she squeeze in?"  Just a simple demand.  So I moved as best I could and not only did her mom cut in, but also two more children:  a 13 year old boy and a 3ish year old girl.  Immediately, the two girls are now crawling not only up mom's legs, but all over the floor, through other people, getting stepped on, etc.  Boy still ignoring it all on his Itouch.  Mom talking to Mom and ignoring all children all together.  13 year old staring blankly into space, not noticing the line has moved.  Young mom finally tunes in when youngest jumps on her back, trying to get her attention and screaming that she wants a drink, to which Mom immediately turns to 13 year old and demands that he cut back through the entire line, go to the cashier and ask for a water cup.  He does.  As soon as he returns, 5 year old girl tries to fight 3 year old for water and Itouch brother asks why he didn't get one, too.  Mom demands brother return to cashier for more water cups.  Teen boy rolls eyes, irritated beyond belief.  At this point, we've only moved about 8 feet. 
As teen boy returns, I see Young mom waving over yet another person to "jump in line with them."  Her dad joins the group with TWO MORE CHILDREN.  Dad immediately playfully pushes Itouch boy, to which Itouch boy takes this as an indication to rough house in the line and lowers his head into Grandpa and swings his arms around, flailing as though he was having a seizure.  I looked at Grandpa, as he's encouraging this behavior and said "REALLY?!"  He glared, turned around and took Itouch boy under his arm to move forward.  All of this continues, kids pushing, crawling up and down legs, jumping on backs, playing with line divider thingys, etc.  Mom is clueless.  Grandparents are clueless.  Just letting the kids do what they want. 
They finally get to the ordering portion where mom makes sure each child gets exactly what they want, right down to the 3 year old who started to kick and scream when mom ordered a taco instead of a quesadilla.  Mom promptly switched the order.  They finally made it to check out where it took all three adults to pay while the kids moved on to the soda machine and promptly spilled two drinks everywhere.

Some of you are going to tell me I'm not a parent so I therefore no nothing about how hard it is to raise kids.  You may try to tell me I just don't know what that mom was going through and maybe this was a real treat.  You may say I'm entirely too judgemental.  Yes, I know all of these things. However, here are a few other things I know:

• If I EVER acted that way in a public setting as a child, my mother would have taken me to the car, and probably home.  She would have ordered for us, leaving us at the table to mind our manners.  That is IF we got to go out.  That was a huge treat. What she ordered was great- nothing customized.  Nothing to whine about or demand.
• Regardless of whether I've had children or not, I have common sense and manners and social skills which tell me that behavior like that in public is inexcusable, especially with THREE adults to chaperone.
• My sisters all have kids and never ONCE have I seen them allow their kids the luxury of pitching a fit to get their own way because mom ordered for them.  I have taken most of my neices and nephews out in public, or been there with them, and am proud to say they sit in their seats and don't climb all over benches.  They don't kick and scream.  They don't rough house.  I'm proud to say that if one of them has tried it, my sisters or brothers have promptly enforced the consequence, be it going to the car or not ordering dessert or whatever.
• The way your children act in public is a reflection of how they act in your home, and therefore, is a reflection of who is in charge at your house.  Why are you allowing your children to run the show?  You're their parent.  Not their friend.  They're not supposed to like you all the time.  They are supposed to respect you, each other, other people.  How can they respect you when they've learned at 3 years old to kick and scream if they don't get their way and it works?!  My youngest neice is almost a year and she already knows what the word "NO" means.  Learn it yourself.  Use it. Teach it. Demand it.
• I know parenting is hard. Some days you just can't do it. Some days you'd rather eat out than cook.  Here's some advice.  Do the drive up. Quit taking your kids into public places when you don't have the energy to control them. All you're teaching them is how to manipulate mom.
• Finally, BE THE PARENT.  Think about their behavior and say "Will that still be cute when they're 16?"  Because if you don't correct it, they'll still be pitching fits, rough housing in lines, tearing stuff off shelves, jumping on you and disregarding what you say their entire lives.  Your kids will be the next ones I post about.  Your kids will be the ones I teach who don't understand deadlines and want exceptions made because you've taught them they're entitled to it.  Your kids will be the ones the neighbors dread coming over because they put their feet on the furniture, eat all the food, leave a mess and break your gaming system but leave without telling you it was them.

I think I'm done. Say what you need to say.

Sub for Santa

Each year my school participates in a Sub for Santa program.  I'm one of three teachers that help coordinate the efforts.  My Peer Leadership Team works with the SBO's to raise money for families in need that might not otherwise receive a special Christmas.  I've been doing this for many years now and every year is a different family, a different amount of money, a different feeling in the school.  I can tell you stories of families who have seen hardships beyond your imagination.  I've seen a grown man brought to tears because all his daughter asked us for was a bed for him to sleep in. (and we got it, thanks to RC Willey).  I've seen a teen mom accept presents moments after she's taken her morning hit.  I've seen mothers collapse into tears in my arms simply because they don't comprehend the enormity or generosity of our students and what we bring to their home.  My favorite was many years ago when a single dad with one daughter came to pick up his gifts.  I handed him a bag and he started to walk out, thanking me profusely for the one bag.  You can't imagine the confusion in his face when I told him to wait, the other six bags were for him and his daughter, as well. :)  He was so humbled and immediately began to ask me what he could do to repay us- did we need extra janitor work?  Could he come in after school and clean some toilets?  I just smiled as I held back my tears and told him No. The best repayment was to go home and enjoy the holidays with his sweet girl.  After he left, I quickly walked myself down to our secretary in the office and cried at her desk.  I love this project!

This year I was having a little bit of a struggle finding my Christmas spirit for our program.  We've started collecting money by having Penny Wars.  Each advisory class is given a jug at the beginning of each day.  Any pennies or checks donated to your class count as positive points.  Any silver or cash counts as negative points.  So the students have a grand old time adding positive points to their jugs and "bombing" other classes with negative points.  My Christmas spirit was lost because there were a few individuals who kept trying to find ways around rules or do things I didn't agree with.  Although I knew we were going to be helping five very deserving families, I just couldn't find the happiness and gratitude I usually feel while we run this.  The money was coming in and we actually ended up raising a record breaking amount of money this year.  But I just wasnt into it.  (doesn't this sound like a Hallmark Christmas movie in the making?)

Shopping day finally came and we piled our kids into the district Suburbans and headed to Wal-mart.  Imagine herding 20 kids through Wal-mart at Christmas.  LOL  good times, good times.  Anyway, we headed back to school and completed the process by wrapping, sorting and labeling every last present. 

I looked at the other two teachers and realized we had once again broken a record by being done before school was out.  The kids were amazing.  It was time to call the families to let them know we were ready to deliver.  The problem was... I've got laryngitis.  I couldn't talk to my families like I've always done.  This is my favorite part!  So I had to rely on some good people to make the calls for me and coordinate times of delivery.  Once we've done that, it becomes a game of stealth and timing to get massive amounts of presents in and out of the school without the students seeing you.  My dear friend, "Debbie", had offered to help deliver this year since I was under the weather.  She's never done it before but its not rocket science.  She coordinated with a couple of families and got to experience what I've received every year I've been doing this:  the overwhelming feelings of gratitude, humility, peace and love when in service to others.  I missed that part.  However, it was just as much fun to get to let someone else experience it for the first time.  I felt my Christmas mojo come back a little as Debbie relayed, quite tearfully, her experience of meeting families in such humble circumstances.  It works out every year.  Somehow it always works out.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Wordful Wednesday- via Meg via Cocoa

I've mentioned my sister Meg follows a blogger named Cocoa, who hosts Wordful Wednesday.  I've decided to participate this week and post on my Favorite Christmas Tradition.  My sister did a magnificent post on her blog and if she wasn't private, I'd link you over to her, but that would kind of be a waste of time since you can't see it.  She is also an amazing writer and I just throw out my thoughts so there would be a marked difference between the two!  haha  I don't know if there are specific rules I have to follow, like posting Cocoa's logo for this, so I hope I'm not breaking any "blog world rules." :)

My tradition is relatively new, considering my entire lifetime.  I'd say it started maybe 6 years ago?  I can't really say.  As you may know, I'm not married and I don't have any children.  I'll admit, there are moments during the holidays where it takes a lot of control not to feel resentful or irritated that when I wake up Christmas morning, I wake up to just me.  I know everyone wants to throw out words of comfort or say things in an attempt to make it less awkward for themselves, but really, its a fact.  I'm fine with it.  And no amount of words can change it so moving forward... :)

For several years now I've been spending Christmas Eve at one of my siblings homes.  I get to wake up Christmas morning and watch the kids open their presents and find notes from Santa.  I get to experience the excitement that comes from children receiving that perfect gift they didn't know they wanted until they opened it.  And all of that is truly spectacular and reminds me of my own Christmas's from years ago.  Maybe the one where Meg got a guitar.  Or she and I got a tv and then promptly got grounded because we broke the antenna fighting over it haha Or the one where I unwrapped the most awesome pair of cowboy boots a girl could hope for.  All of it still fills me with wonder.

But the best part of this tradition is my nieces and nephews.  They truly take care of their Aunt Fame.  In the beginning, I stayed at Meg's.  The Hotel "Anonymous" reserved my room, complete with turn down service and wake up calls. Since Meg and Herc have both been living out of state, I've been staying with Emi the past few years.  I would come down and the kids would show me to my room and make sure I was settled.  We'd get to leave out treats for Santa and the reindeer.  In the morning, Emi would come down to let me know the kids were ready.  I think she even let Cinderella come down one year to wake me. 

This year, I hadn't heard from anyone.  All my siblings are back in the state so I was wondering what I was going do.  Just three days ago, my phone rang.  It was Molly.  She asked me, very politely of course, where I was staying for Christmas.  When I told her I wasn't sure yet, she asked if I would like to stay with them this year.  She was SURE they could have a guest room ready for me and promised mints on my pillow.  How can you refuse that?  Especially when she's been out of state for some time?!  I accepted her invitation.  Only later did I find out that Molly had done this without the rest of the household knowing haha She later informed her Aunt Emi that I would be staying with them this year instead of her.  :) 

Its such a silly thing, but aren't most traditions?  Mine makes me feel so loved and supported and special.  I really am the coolest aunt who always has gum in her purse. ;)

Another one for Meg

Who am I?

I was doing my read through on my blog roll and noticed a post from my niece entitled "Who am I?"  Well, dah, I know who she is so just who exactly is she introducing herself to?  hee hee  Anyway, she did this great post and then "tagged" anyone reading her blog to do it themselves.  So in honor of Samantha, here's my little Christmas time reflection on Who am I?

• I am an aunt, sister, and daughter.
• I am a teacher and hard worker.
• I am a friend with all age groups and varieties of people.
• I am an avid reader.
• I am an LDS woman who tries to live what she believes.
• I am a good swimmer in my head but in real life just someone who enjoys the water.
• I am an organizer and planner who likes to think she goes with the flow despite all good planning efforts.
• I am a closet Dawson's Creek fan.
• I am a horrible saver.  Junk papers, old clothes, money- not a saver, unfortunately.
• I am a great cook, bread products being a specialty.
• I am me and content with that.

So- like Samanthabeth, I'll tag you and see what you have to say. :) Hurry up so I can read it.

Merry Christmas!

"Its better than Amazon." Really?

I've been trying to track down a book called "Small Change:  The Secret Life of Penny Burford" by J. Belinda Yandell.  It is no longer available in print and most warehouses don't have it. 

I checked B/N.  No luck.  Checked Borders- LOL.  Tried Amazon.  Everything was coming up used and since I wanted two copies to give as gifts, I hoped to find something new.  It was looking grim.

I called The King's English, a local book store similiar to The Shoppe Around the Corner in You've got Mail.

Anytime I hear about something great happening there, I think of Kathleen Kelly walking the isles and helping people find their book match and then hearing "Faux.  F.A.U.X"  Anyway, back to my story.  I called and asked if they could help me find this story.  The man was so very nice and explained that there was a place I could check since they didn't have access to the book anymore.  He told me "Its better than Amazon, I promise.  Its just not as well known.  Plus, they're very reputable and keep your information confidential." 

Ever heard of ABE Books?  Me neither.  Meg probably has because she's such a book fiend, but I logged on and started searching.  My first search turned up many used copies of the book I wanted and then... towards the end... there they were!  Two new copies waiting for someone like me to find them!  My total order, including 3-6 day delivery?  $15.07.  YES! 

Two more gifts done.

Merry Christmas from my home to your's :)

I love decorating for Christmas at my place.  I finally have the right amount of decor, so it doesn't feel over done.  I've found decorations that suit me and fit into my home.  Some years I enjoy having my nieces over and they help.  This year was a slow process and I did it by myself.  :)  Some years are like that.  Here's to a very merry Christmas season! 

My cute little tree, proportioned perfectly :)

My dining room.  All that light is from the flash on my camera.  You'd never know the only lights on are the tea lights in the chubby snowman on the table and the ones ontop of the hutch.

My snowman lava lamp :)  He's probably my favorite decoration.  Good luck finding him!

I do love having little snowman families set up around my house for some reason.  All varieties and sizes.  They make a good mix. And more candles.  I go through an entire 100 count bag of tea lights from Thanksgiving to New Year's every year haha

I should have taken a better picture of my chubby manger set from Emi.  You can barely see Mary by the lamp.

The manger scene, a family tradition.  I've got to find a way to get a light in it.  And that Santa sitting on the shelf? haha from my elementary school days.  Nothing but sentiment there.

Finishing up with my Pier 1 snowman.  Meg loves him haha I'll leave him to her in my will. And the lava lamp.

Merry Christmas!

My weekend in pictures

First I started with a couple loaves of bread.  I was out and for some reason I make my own during the winter.  Weird.

Then I made a batch of gingersnaps, the forgotten cookie, in my opinion.  Why don't I make these more?

Why not throw in a couple lemon meringue pies for good measure?  P.S.  I've never made lemon meringue pie before.  Not bad for a first timer, I'd say.  And I didn't run out of meringue.  I just HATE it so I left some of it without the nasty stuff for me. :)

And then a couple of batches of rolls.  I don't know why the picture loaded this way but I'm not fixin it.  You get the idea haha

A veggie platter with ranch/dill dip.  Notice no cauliflower or broccoli.  No one likes it anyway so why put it on?

Finally, a cheese and cracker tray with a Tuscan cheese ball, complete with sun dried tomatoes.  *sigh*  Heaven on a platter.

Why did I do all this?  To show off my mad culinary skills, of course!  HA!  No, my mom is carrying on the tradition my grandma started of having our side of the family have Thanksgiving dinner the Sunday before.  Then my siblings can go to their in-laws without having to work around us. :)  Good idea, Grandma!

P.P.S.  I get my mad skills from my grandma.  That's her lemon pie recipe, as well as her roll recipe.  When those rolls came out of the oven, I couldn't help but say a little "Thanks, Grandma"

Going private

Hi all,
After much consideration, I've decided to privatize my blog.  If you're reading this, then the invitation worked!  haha I hope I did it right. hmm.  Anyway, the world is just becoming too small and my school life always finds a way to make an inconvenient appearance in my private life.  So, from now on, I'll have a little more control over who sees my blog and my thoughts and my life away from school. :)  That is all.

For Meg

We'll see what happens

There is a bill being proposed for the upcoming 2012 legislative session nicknamed the "At Will Bill."  Basically, it is a bill saying you can fire a teacher without cause, without notice and without retirement.  It takes away any kind of "tenure" and negotiations for contracts.  It takes away the due process procedure currently in place to let a poor educator go.  It means that a district can hire/fire at will.  Say you have a 28 year veteran teacher, no complaints, good person, very expensive compared to a first year novice.  If the bill passed, the district could choose to terminate the teacher without reason simply so they didn't have to pay their retirement costs.

I will be the first to say that education, particularly public education, is in a rough place.  There are so many factors to consider when you say "education reform."  So I'll be the first to say  "Yes, get rid of crappy teachers!"  However, this is not the way to go about it.

The Senator sponsoring the bill heard so much feedback about it, he decided to hear what educators had to say.  He held meetings throughout the state to listen to over 1,000 educators, administrators and classified employees.  He has compiled his responses into his senate blog.  You can read it here. 

Being that he's the senator who replaced Buttars; being that he's the newest senator on the hill; being that he's the least experienced, I can only hope for another year of talks and negotiations before something drastic happens.  However, it was refreshing to have someone up there hear and translate and then share what he heard and be able to do it in a respectful fashion.  Thank you!

Wordful Wednesday- Bravery

My sister follows a blog by a woman of the name of Cocoa.  Both she and my sister homeschool, however, as far as I can tell, neither of them use their food storage cans to make suits of armor, intentionally braid their daughter's hair to look plain NOR do any of them wear hosiery under their jeans, which are under their dresses, and then put on high top Reeboks. :) 

Anyway, back to the topic.  Each Wednesday, Cocoa does something called Wordful Wednesday and then provides a word on which to expound your thoughts.  Rarely do I look at Cocoa's blog, unless Meg chooses to participate in something Cocoa is doing, like her Wednesday activity.  Two weeks ago, Meg posted her contribution on the word bravery.  Since then, I've been more attentive the the things I see people do every day that are scary, or that show bravery in some way.  I don't consider myself to be brave in most ways, although maybe I've done bold things, as opposed to brave.  However, I thought I'd list a few brave things I've seen just as some food for thought.

• One of my 9th grade students is incredibly shy.  He has trouble asking for anything, much less just conversing with anyone sitting around him.  He rarely speaks up and tries to be as invisible as possible.  This week during a review game, the other three teams had eliminated themselves and he was the only one left to answer.  I was worried he would stay silent, even though I knew he had the answer.  Giving the answer would require him to stand up and say it in front of the class.  I looked at him hopefully, then at the timer, ticking down 5....4....3....2.... He stood up!  And stated his answer with his voice loud and clear!  His team earned the points and he grinned from ear to ear for the rest of class.
• One of my best friend's is fighting an addiction.  He's battled with it for five years.  It had gotten progressively worse and worse until the past month, where I believe he finally hit his bottom.  We were able to get together for awhile yesterday.  It was his 10th day of sobriety.  As we spent some time together, the withdrawals were evident.  But he battled through them and spoke of how scared he was to fail.  I thought of the word "bravery" and wondered how much more courage it takes to be sober and make changes, to make amends and ask for the forgiveness of those you've wronged during your time of weakness.  Ten days doesn't sound like much, but in an addict's world, its a lifetime. 
• My last moment of bravery has to be my own, I guess.  As I've mentioned, I'm in for the 1/2 marathon in May.  That honestly scares me to death.  And it took every ounce of bravery (stupidity?) in me to log on the computer at 6:00 a.m. this past Thursday morning and fill out my forms to run.  Doing that made me feel empowered and courageous.  It made me feel scared and hesitant.  But again, I thought about the "bravery" and moved forward.

I saw a post on FB the other day from a friend of mine.  It said "I can do hard things."  That was the theme of the YW program in her ward this year.  I think all of us are capable of hard things when we remember to be brave.  In order to be brave, you have to have faith.  Faith in yourself and faith that the Lord, in his wisdom and care, will grant you the skills you need in order to be brave.  Whether you succeed or fail, you can say "I did the hard thing."

3668

That's my registration number.  For the 1/2 marathon.  On May 19th.  I'll be 39.  I'm in!

Gratitude

One of my oldest and dearest friends has started a blog.  She lives in Hawaii and you'd think WOW!  There's the life!  However, she's a military wife.  Her husband goes out on fast moving nuke subs at a moments notice.  Sometimes he is gone for months at a time and she is home by herself.  This year they just welcomed their first child into their home and she does the work for both parents while he serves.

As I mentioned, she recently started a blog.  She has taken on the task of writing down what she's grateful for each day for an entire year.  On her post today, she asked what the rest of us were grateful for.  While I have no plans to blog every day about my gratitude, I will share a few things I'm grateful for today.

First, I am grateful for my dear, dear friends, the D-Tats.  It sounds incredibly immature and childish to say we have a name for our circle of friends, but it came about quite accidently and just kind of stuck as a joke.  We tried to read "The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo" for a book club selection.  Suffice it to say, it was not what we had hoped and after two of us spoke up and said "WOW!  Don't keep going!" we decided to scrap it.  Little did we know how that book would bond us together and provide us with the nickname D-Tats.  These are the women that will be joining me for the 1/2 marathon in May.  There are just times in your life where you need certain types of people and they are who I need right now.  Amazing women with amazing talents.  They can be my Rascal buddies anytime. ;)

Next, I am grateful to be learning how to be patient.  I have never been a patient person- just ask anyone who knows me.  However, in learning how to run, in learning how to better handle stress, in learning how to handle a favorite friend's addictions, I'm learning how faith in the Lord brings peace and calm and the patience you need to move forward.

Finally, some small things I'm grateful for:  silly answers my students give on tests like "fat provides your body with extra skin to store food with"; 10 calorie Dr. Pepper (thank you!); my fridge being fixed so the noise has stopped; my hot beanie full of beans every night I go to sleep; and sweater weather.

A fresh new look

There's been a few changes here at my little piece of the web.  Obviously the layout and design are different.  I found these courtesy of my niece's blog.  She has a great background so I followed her over to LeeLou blogs and found some great stuff.  I've also switched up my name from A Day in the Life to Uniquely Me.  I was just bored with it and this suits me better for now.  My blog address will remain the same so no need to worry about tracking me down, although I AM thinking about going private.  I'll let you know if I do.

The first snowfall of the year showed up last night.  It made for a Saturday that screamed to stay inside and read and be warm.  I haven't picked up a book yet, but I've stayed inside and warm.  I was cleaning my house earlier and had just finished most of it, so I sat down for just a minute on my barstool.  As I looked around my home, I was suddenly overcome with a sense of "settled."  That's the best word I can think to describe it.  Maybe some would call it a peaceful moment, but I felt settled.  I don't mean settled, as in "I've settled that this is my life and its done so I should just accept it."  But more like I've settled into myself and feel confident in my choices and where I am.  I felt peace. I felt content.  I felt proud.  I felt like I had turned over some piece of myself that I had been holding onto for some reason and that piece was holding me down.  I wish I could pinpoint what that was so I could avoid having it come back haha  I felt re-freshed and challenged, but in a good way. 

Maybe that's what brought about the change in the blog haha Not that I'm so connected to my blog that it identifies who I am or what I feel.  But I feel like the newer, updated version of myself so the other parts need updating, too!  Either way, its been a lovely day.

Worked great, Meg! Thanks!

Just rearranging some furniture.  No worries, Meg, I saved the other retro piece for you :)

AH! What a great start!

Stories like this make me wanna cry a little bit :)
http://news.yahoo.com/turkish-quake-survivors-camp-plead-tents-000727342.html

Of all the things I've lost...

I miss my mind the most.  You know that saying, right?  I'm thinking I may qualify for it now haha
A couple weeks ago, my friend, Rachael, ran in a marathon.  She's been training really hard and has never done this before.  Some friends and I drove down to see her finish and it was pretty cool.  I was so proud of her!  Running has never been my thing. 
On the drive home, Maryanne and Sunshine get this idea in their heads that it would be so great for the two of them to run.  Sun's been a runner her entire life and Mars has dabbled in it here and there.  Lou and I explained that the only time we run was to shoe sales and if our homes were on fire.  The conversation moved along.
A week or so goes by... Mars and Sun are still having their conversation about running something and Mars found a 1/2 marathon in May.  Go team!  They decide to start training Nov 1.  Next thing I know, I receive a phone call from Sun with a "proposition" to join them in said 1/2 marathon.  Did you miss my part in the conversation?  Shoe sales and fires?  Sun can be very convincing when she wants to be.  I said I'd think about it (haha) and get back to her.
Here's where I start to lose my mind.  I get it in my head that with all the other working out I've been doing, plus 7 months to train, I could do it, right?  I mean, I trust Sunshine and Maryanne not to leave me in the dust and crying from pain on the side of the road after 1/2 mile into it. 
And then the clincher came.  I was getting ready for work yesterday when I heard a news story about a man who is trying to set a world record this weekend in a marathon.  He's over 100!  He didn't start running until age 89.  There's the exact moment my brain and logic left me.  I thought "Wow- if he can do it at 89, my middle aged body can certainly pick it up!"  So I promptly emailed Sunny and Mars and told them the news:
We're running a 1/2 marathon together in May!

It always tastes better at Grandma's

When I was little and would sleep over at my Grandma's house, most of the time we'd have Grape-Nuts for breakfast.  Weird little crunchy things that provided things like grains and vitamins and minerals.  Who was I to know it was healthy?  I just knew it was something I ate at Grandma's and loved.  Eating those things at home?!  Don't speak of it.  Grape-Nuts were reserved for Grandma's house. 

At my other Grandma's house, she could get me to eat eggs.  I despise eggs.  The smell, the texture, the sight of them makes me heave.  However, my Grandma has a way of scrambling an egg and adding just the right amount of salt, water, cheese and butter to make it scrambled perfection.  To this day, she still makes me scrambled eggs and they are the only ones I can handle.

As I sat eating my bowl of Grape-Nuts this morning, I just giggled.  What a weird thing.

Welcome to October

What would I need these for at 4:30 a.m.?

To take down THIS!

Umm yes........ imagine my surprise when I walked out of the house into my garage to find a spider the size of a silver dollar just hanging out on the wall?  It took the continuous spray of Raid and the direct shots of oven cleaner to take it down 5 minutes later.  I'm NOT exaggerating.  The black body you can see in the foam.  The legs are stretched out in front of it.  And just when I thought it was dead, it found some fight left in it and tried to drunk scurry around until it collapsed.  I'm sure it was a painful death and for that I'm VERY VERY sorry.  I thought of using a shovel but it would have been too loud.  I thought about squishing it but really- TOO LARGE and I would have felt it through my shoe.  So I'm sorry, Charlotte, you got oven spray and Raid. 

Who are you doing it for?

Let me preface this post by saying I've had a couple of really interesting weeks.  Some emotional upheaval, both good and bad.  My family and friends have been really good  about just listening and letting it be.  I spent a lovely day with my sisters on Saturday and attended the LDS General Womens Conference.  It was a good day.  As I've been mulling over the events of the past while, a general theme kept running through my head.  I think its ready to be written down now. 
I suppose I've been wondering why people do things.  What motivates them.  Who are you doing things for in your life?  I'm sure my perspective is different from someone else's simply because our lives are different.  I'm sure someone would say that my thoughts could be categorized as completely selfish because I don't necessarily have to care for a dependant.  But, like I said, our lives are different.  However, I would dare to say that my point would apply regardless of your situation.
Who are you doing things for in your life?  I'm not talking about the every day things like fixing lunch for your kids or working to support yourself or your family.  I'm talking about all the extra things that add stress and make you busier than you need to be.  Are you spending your time and efforts on things that make other people happy but not necessarily yourself?  For example, I like to blog.  I usually blog in spurts.  I like to share some of my life with friends and family who read this.  It makes me happy.  But I listen to moms in my ward or friends at school who are literally in a panic about what to post!  Was it funny enough?  Did I include a picture?  Are there going to be alot of comments made?  What could I say that would generate traffic?  THAT is why you blog?  You're stressing over that?! haha  Makes no sense to me.
Is this making sense?  I used the blog reference because I just spoke with someone about that.  But I could use a zillion different references.  Who are you reading books for in your book club?  Just to say you're part of a book club or because reading and discussing a book really makes you happy?  Who did you get plastic surgery for?  Or implants for?  What made you change your hair or get acrylic nails?  Do you really enjoy spending time with that person or do you just know they have connections so you keep up appearances?  Is it trendy so you thought you'd do it even though you know its stupid and makes you stressed and unhappy?  Is it really you underneath all these things or are you just lost in what makes other people have a false impression of your happiness?  I can't answer those things for you and I'm certainly not rushing to judgement about any of it.  For heaven sakes, I'll be the first to tell you I spend good money making myself happy with my hair color LOL
I guess my point is this.  (I'm not making it very well, am I?)  I'm frustrated with people who complain about their "extra tasks" that bring them no joy.  Then why are you doing it?!  Can't you be happy and comfortable in your own skin yet? Strip yourself down.  What's left?  Take away your fake nails, tans, body parts, your fake personality to fit in with the group, your "very important" activities and see if you're happy with you.  That's the only person you have to please.  I'm tryin to do it and wow- that's deep haha But good to realize what I'm doing and WHY and for WHOM.  Just thought I'd pass that along.

I added to my food storage today...

Remember when I went to California in July?  I flew Jet Blue.  The stewardess brought around snacks and I chose a bag of something called PopCorners, Kettle flavor.  OH MY GOSH.  I was immediately addicted!  I'm dead serious.  Serious enough that I saved the bag and brought it home to see where I could purchase them locally.  AND.... I can't. Sadness!  So I went to their website and well... look.

LOL!  Yes- I ordered a case.  It came to about $2.05/ bag.  They are worse than Lay's because I really CAN eat just one of those but these things?!  No way.  I've spoken with their Product Publicity Manager man named Matt and given him contact information for my favorit local grocery store :)  Pretty please start bringing them in!

Thank you, Ron Clark, for saying what I want to say!

http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/06/living/teachers-want-to-tell-parents/index.html

Just So You Know

Just So You Know
By: Sarah Addison Allen

You fall in love with every book you touch. You never break the spine or tear the pages. That would be cruel. You have secret favorites but, when asked, you say that you could never choose. But did you know that books fall in love with you, too?
They watch you from the shelf while you sleep. Are you dreaming of them, they wonder, in that wistful mood books are prone to at night when they’re bored and there’s nothing else to do but tease the cat.
Remember that pale yellow book you read when you were sixteen? It changed your world, that book. It changed your dreams. You carried it around until it was old and thin and sparkles no longer rose from the pages and filled the air when you opened it, like it did when it was new. You should know that it still thinks of you. It would like to get together sometime, maybe over coffee next month, so you can see how much you’ve both changed.
And the book about the donkey your father read to you every night when you were three, it’s still around – older, a little worse for wear. But it still remembers the way your laughter made its pages tremble with joy.
Then there was that book, just last week, in the bookstore. It caught your eye. You looked away quickly, but it was too late. You felt the rush. You picked it up and stroked your hand over its glassy cover. It knew you were The One. But, for whatever reason, you put it back and walked away. Maybe you were trying to be practical. Maybe you thought there wasn’t room enough, time enough, energy enough.
But you’re thinking about it now, aren’t you?
You fall in love so easily.

But just so you know, they do, too.

Borrowed from her website:  http://www.sarahaddisonallen.com/so_you_know.html

My new favorite find

As you know, I've been working out in the mornings again.  4:30 a.m. is early, let me tell you.  Some days it about kills me but I've been fairly faithful about it.  I have some personal cheerleaders checking on me and I simply can't let them down! haha My 16 year old neice has dubbed herself my best personal cheerleader and she's really the one who got me out of bed last Wednesday.  The thought went through my head like this: "I hate that alarm. I'm so tired.  I'll text Jenna and tell her I worked really hard yesterday and I'm taking the morning off....... ya.. that sounds GOOD!.......but then when Sam asks how I'm doing I'll have to be honest and tell her I sluffed.... UGH! I can't let her down! I would suck as a role model! Ok fine..."  And I got up.  You can see I'm cheery that early in the morning, right? :)
Something else I'm NOT at 4:30 is hungry.  Who really wants to eat anything at that hour?  However, its better to eat something small prior to working out so your metabolism can really get going.  I invested in the LARGE package of peanut butter sandwich crackers at Costco several months ago thinking "Hmm- these will be good.  Protein and carbs- nice choice."  And then after about two weeks of them, I wanted to gag every time I thought about munching on them while driving to the gym.
SO- I needed to find something new.  These are my new morning treat:

I found these at Costco, too.  I was a little worried they might be too pop-tarty for my taste.  Pop-tarts make me go in to Sugar Shock and get caught in my lederhosen.  Plus, they're not healthy.  However, these Special K numbers are so yummy and 50 calories per crisp.  THIS I can handle at 4:30 a.m.  Then I can come home and have some peanut butter with toast and a plum.  MUCH better.  Go check them out!