I said good-bye today.
I closed the door and didn't even shed a tear.
As I walked away, I knew something good was going to take place.
After 11 years, I'll have a new place to call home.
I'm leaving my school site and heading to another.
Change. Growth. Renewal.
I'm ready.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
KIDSGUIDE
I was at the doctor's office last week with Austin, when a CALENDAR magazine caught my eye. I have been diligently praying for things to do with a soon to be 1 year old. I opened the magazine and was pleasantly surprised to find things to do every single day! Check them out at Kidsguidemagazine.com if you're in my area!
The magazine I have is geared to Southern California, but hopefully there is a kidsguide for you!
A few of the ideas in the magazine include:
Concerts in the Park
Exhibits, Festivals, Fairs
Library events
Camps
Over at Cheaper by the half dozen, Marybeth Whalen asked for comments on summer fun. Go here for more ideas!
The magazine I have is geared to Southern California, but hopefully there is a kidsguide for you!
A few of the ideas in the magazine include:
Concerts in the Park
Exhibits, Festivals, Fairs
Library events
Camps
Over at Cheaper by the half dozen, Marybeth Whalen asked for comments on summer fun. Go here for more ideas!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Just back from Palm Springs
My husband and I are driving to Palm Springs these days as if it's a trip to the local market because I forgot to buy milk.
It is 2 hours away, but once you travel a road enough times, landmarks become familiar, and it actually seems as if it goes faster!
We bought a house out there, and we are decorating it, shipping old furniture from our house out there, and becoming indebted to IKEA. It is so cute, though! We have been going out on Saturday at 4PM once the truck is packed and coming home Sunday around 2PM
Besides that.... this is my last week of school! Yahooooo! The bummer is that I will be leaving this school site after 10 years and moving to another school. I have boxes all over my room, and my friend and aide in the classroom is helping me sort through EVERY book, EVERY paper, and EVERY file. Talk about too much stuff! Thank God I am not a keeper, or stuffer, or whatever you call someone that hangs on to things. I'm of the opinion that if I haven't used it, worn it, needed it, or liked it for 6 months it becomes the official property of Goodwill. I would clean out my daughter's rooms when they were little and hide the stuff in the garage. If they didn't ask for anything in the "going away" bag, then it left our house for good!
This leads to a very "uncluttered" life!
I hope to be back by Thursday - my first day of summer. Then I can share pics of Ashley's graduation, Austins first haircut, Kalie back home, and just the general craziness around here. Oh yeah, and a kitchen update.
It is 2 hours away, but once you travel a road enough times, landmarks become familiar, and it actually seems as if it goes faster!
We bought a house out there, and we are decorating it, shipping old furniture from our house out there, and becoming indebted to IKEA. It is so cute, though! We have been going out on Saturday at 4PM once the truck is packed and coming home Sunday around 2PM
Besides that.... this is my last week of school! Yahooooo! The bummer is that I will be leaving this school site after 10 years and moving to another school. I have boxes all over my room, and my friend and aide in the classroom is helping me sort through EVERY book, EVERY paper, and EVERY file. Talk about too much stuff! Thank God I am not a keeper, or stuffer, or whatever you call someone that hangs on to things. I'm of the opinion that if I haven't used it, worn it, needed it, or liked it for 6 months it becomes the official property of Goodwill. I would clean out my daughter's rooms when they were little and hide the stuff in the garage. If they didn't ask for anything in the "going away" bag, then it left our house for good!
This leads to a very "uncluttered" life!
I hope to be back by Thursday - my first day of summer. Then I can share pics of Ashley's graduation, Austins first haircut, Kalie back home, and just the general craziness around here. Oh yeah, and a kitchen update.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
These Days are BUSY, BUSY, BUSY....
Summer is almost here... I repeat this phrase several times a day!
This week started out with Austin back at the doctor's office. One hour and 45 minutes later, the doctor walked in and confirmed that he has ezema (I have no idea how to spell that....) He had the reddest rash all over his bottom, and I feared it might be food allergies. Neither of my girls ever had a food allergy, so I've never known what one looks like. I really dreaded the thought of that, since Austin eats EVERYTHING! Luckily, (I guess) it was only ezema.
Well, after the doctor's impromptu visit, which killed a couple hours of my day, we still needed to go to Walmart, the bookstore, and the teacher supply store. By the time I got home I was exhausted.
Unfortunately, everyday this week is like that. Although I do have facials and hair appointments sprinkled into the hustle and bustle.
After all, Ashley is GRADUATING on Thursday! Yahoo!! Another one safely through the California educational system. She plans on playing Water Polo for a college close to home.
Tonight, on the menu, we are BBQing pork loins. I need plenty for the luncheon that my teammates and I are putting on at work tomorrow. It's a summer picnic theme - so lots of BBQ! We even have some black, plastic ants to sprinkle on the tabletops!
Tomorrow night we will eat out after we pick up Kalie at the airport! Yahoo!!! Kalie will be home for a few days! She comes back for good on the 4th of July. She'll be transferring out to the Anaheim (Disneyland) Doubletree Hotel. Can't wait!
Thursday will be spaghetti and meatballs, salad and garlic bread for everyone before heading off to the graduation ceremony.
As I type this, Austin is standing up in his playyard. I can't believe he'll be a year old next month..... Time is going so fast.....
And I am soooo busy, busy, busy.......
I probably won't have time to post until this weekend.
So, until then~
This week started out with Austin back at the doctor's office. One hour and 45 minutes later, the doctor walked in and confirmed that he has ezema (I have no idea how to spell that....) He had the reddest rash all over his bottom, and I feared it might be food allergies. Neither of my girls ever had a food allergy, so I've never known what one looks like. I really dreaded the thought of that, since Austin eats EVERYTHING! Luckily, (I guess) it was only ezema.
Well, after the doctor's impromptu visit, which killed a couple hours of my day, we still needed to go to Walmart, the bookstore, and the teacher supply store. By the time I got home I was exhausted.
Unfortunately, everyday this week is like that. Although I do have facials and hair appointments sprinkled into the hustle and bustle.
After all, Ashley is GRADUATING on Thursday! Yahoo!! Another one safely through the California educational system. She plans on playing Water Polo for a college close to home.
Tonight, on the menu, we are BBQing pork loins. I need plenty for the luncheon that my teammates and I are putting on at work tomorrow. It's a summer picnic theme - so lots of BBQ! We even have some black, plastic ants to sprinkle on the tabletops!
Tomorrow night we will eat out after we pick up Kalie at the airport! Yahoo!!! Kalie will be home for a few days! She comes back for good on the 4th of July. She'll be transferring out to the Anaheim (Disneyland) Doubletree Hotel. Can't wait!
Thursday will be spaghetti and meatballs, salad and garlic bread for everyone before heading off to the graduation ceremony.
As I type this, Austin is standing up in his playyard. I can't believe he'll be a year old next month..... Time is going so fast.....
And I am soooo busy, busy, busy.......
I probably won't have time to post until this weekend.
So, until then~
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Monday nights with Jimmy
We had the most horrible scene happen on our culdesac a few weeks back. I was making dinner in the kitchen with Todd, and Austin was playing at our feet. Austin was getting a bit bored, so I decided to go downstairs and call my mom for a second. It maybe was 5 minutes after all.
When I came back to the kitchen, Todd stood at the window looking out calling my name. My neighbor's car was parked directly in front of our driveway with two Park Ranger cars behind her. (We live near a large park) As I went outside, I saw 5 police cars lining our street. I hurried around my friend's car to the driver's side to see what the problem was just as a policeman was throwing my friend to the ground. Her face was contorted on the hot black asphalt as blood ran into her eyes. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
I told the three policeman surrounding her and holding her down, "This does not look good". Which I repeated 3 times. One of the officers came to me and told me to back away. I stood there a bit stunned as I repeated my phrase. He replied that "this" didn't look good either, and he lifted his shirt to reveal a gun tucked in the back of his pants.
There was a mom and son whom I didn't recognize standing a distance away, and they filled me in on the flat tire my friend had and the offer of help they gave. Unfortunately, my friend was drunk and got back in her car. She weaved down the road and hit another curb with the other tire and popped that one as well coming to a stop in front of my house.
This gal is my older sister's age (10 years my senior) and has been a close friend of my sister's over the last 50 some years. She was a deputy at one point in her life, thus she always carried a gun. I'm sure she was just taking it out to show the officers, but being drunk, she must have done it in a way that was a bit alarming to the men.
I rang my neighbors bell. This frail old man of 86 came out with a look of horror as he witnessed what was going on in his front yard. His wife was being cared for by his daughter. She is 90 and suffers Parkinson's disease and Alsheimers. Now what was he to do. Within a matter of hours, his daughter was taken to jail and his wife was put in the hospital.
They are both still there today. This frail old man cries as he gives me updates about his family. I have visited him, celebrated his birthday with all our neighbors, and check in on him daily. But, I have wanted to do a little more.
After reading Lysa Terkeurst's blog I decided to have Monday night dinners with Jimmy.
His daughter is facing up to 19 years in jail, and his wife may never walk through their family threshold again. If you are the praying type, please add this family to your list. Only God can give us the grace to walk through the fire in order for us to be made into gold. We don't know what the future is, but we do know who holds the future.
When I came back to the kitchen, Todd stood at the window looking out calling my name. My neighbor's car was parked directly in front of our driveway with two Park Ranger cars behind her. (We live near a large park) As I went outside, I saw 5 police cars lining our street. I hurried around my friend's car to the driver's side to see what the problem was just as a policeman was throwing my friend to the ground. Her face was contorted on the hot black asphalt as blood ran into her eyes. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
I told the three policeman surrounding her and holding her down, "This does not look good". Which I repeated 3 times. One of the officers came to me and told me to back away. I stood there a bit stunned as I repeated my phrase. He replied that "this" didn't look good either, and he lifted his shirt to reveal a gun tucked in the back of his pants.
There was a mom and son whom I didn't recognize standing a distance away, and they filled me in on the flat tire my friend had and the offer of help they gave. Unfortunately, my friend was drunk and got back in her car. She weaved down the road and hit another curb with the other tire and popped that one as well coming to a stop in front of my house.
This gal is my older sister's age (10 years my senior) and has been a close friend of my sister's over the last 50 some years. She was a deputy at one point in her life, thus she always carried a gun. I'm sure she was just taking it out to show the officers, but being drunk, she must have done it in a way that was a bit alarming to the men.
I rang my neighbors bell. This frail old man of 86 came out with a look of horror as he witnessed what was going on in his front yard. His wife was being cared for by his daughter. She is 90 and suffers Parkinson's disease and Alsheimers. Now what was he to do. Within a matter of hours, his daughter was taken to jail and his wife was put in the hospital.
They are both still there today. This frail old man cries as he gives me updates about his family. I have visited him, celebrated his birthday with all our neighbors, and check in on him daily. But, I have wanted to do a little more.
After reading Lysa Terkeurst's blog I decided to have Monday night dinners with Jimmy.
His daughter is facing up to 19 years in jail, and his wife may never walk through their family threshold again. If you are the praying type, please add this family to your list. Only God can give us the grace to walk through the fire in order for us to be made into gold. We don't know what the future is, but we do know who holds the future.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Weekly Menu
Last week, two of my items got bumped from the menu, so I'm leaving them on for this week. I do have a new dinner that I can't wait to serve tomorrow night!
Apple & Onion Stuffed Pork Chops with Pineapple-Orange Glaze
Tonight is my bosses retirement party. Todd and I have been talking a lot lately about retiring. We've looked over our long term plan and can not wait for the day we hang up our B & B shingle. It's hard to believe Austin might be 14 by then!
Until then,
Happy Cooking!
Apple & Onion Stuffed Pork Chops with Pineapple-Orange Glaze
Tonight is my bosses retirement party. Todd and I have been talking a lot lately about retiring. We've looked over our long term plan and can not wait for the day we hang up our B & B shingle. It's hard to believe Austin might be 14 by then!
Until then,
Happy Cooking!
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Weekend Update
Thank God for weekends.
Friday was a whirlwind of working until 1:00, a baby shower in the afternoon, then Ashley's senior banquet that evening.
Saturday was relaxing in the backyard, swimming with Austin, shopping a Walmart for nothing in particular which = $137.00. How does that happen?? Same thing at the grocery store - go in for milk and eggs - come out with enough food for 3 weeks of good eatin! I ended the evening with church. I'm starting to do this a lot more now. If we have no Saturday evening plans (which my husband tries to avoid at all costs - he's the sit in a chair, watch a movie, and asleep by 9:00 kinda guy)then I head off to church.
Our church, Cottonwood Christian Center (can be seen on TBN and KCAL 9 for those in the LA area) pastored by Bayless Connelly will be moving to our new home the last week of June. This is tremendously exciting. This amazing man preaches 2 Saturday evening services and 4 services on Sunday. He knows the Word of God and he preaches grace and salvation. In our new home, which seats 4,000, yes, we are growing my friends, he will only have to preach a total of 3 services. Anyway....
Today started off with playing with Austin, then headed out to breakfast with a girlfriend. She introduced me to a fantastic new place with homemade muffins, sticky buns, and other delicious treats. I hear the treadmill shouting my name.....
Then my husband I got our weekly Shiatsu. If you've never had a Japanese style massage, I highly recommend it. Good for the body, good for the soul!
In the afternoon, I attended the Gold Award ceremony for one of my girl scouts. I've been a leader since Ashley was in Kindergarten. They are all now seniors off to UCLA, USC, Colorado State, etc.... It is awe inspiring when you see what these girls are capable of!
Dinner was Turkey Stroganoff - an old family favorite. Austin is sleeping, Todd and Ashley are watching Pirates of the Carribean, and I am ready for bed. But, tonight is the beginning of "The Next FoodNetwork Star" which I'll need to stay up to watch. Anything with food and competition is good watchin in my book!
Have a great week! Can't wait for next weekend!
Friday was a whirlwind of working until 1:00, a baby shower in the afternoon, then Ashley's senior banquet that evening.
Saturday was relaxing in the backyard, swimming with Austin, shopping a Walmart for nothing in particular which = $137.00. How does that happen?? Same thing at the grocery store - go in for milk and eggs - come out with enough food for 3 weeks of good eatin! I ended the evening with church. I'm starting to do this a lot more now. If we have no Saturday evening plans (which my husband tries to avoid at all costs - he's the sit in a chair, watch a movie, and asleep by 9:00 kinda guy)then I head off to church.
Our church, Cottonwood Christian Center (can be seen on TBN and KCAL 9 for those in the LA area) pastored by Bayless Connelly will be moving to our new home the last week of June. This is tremendously exciting. This amazing man preaches 2 Saturday evening services and 4 services on Sunday. He knows the Word of God and he preaches grace and salvation. In our new home, which seats 4,000, yes, we are growing my friends, he will only have to preach a total of 3 services. Anyway....
Today started off with playing with Austin, then headed out to breakfast with a girlfriend. She introduced me to a fantastic new place with homemade muffins, sticky buns, and other delicious treats. I hear the treadmill shouting my name.....
Then my husband I got our weekly Shiatsu. If you've never had a Japanese style massage, I highly recommend it. Good for the body, good for the soul!
In the afternoon, I attended the Gold Award ceremony for one of my girl scouts. I've been a leader since Ashley was in Kindergarten. They are all now seniors off to UCLA, USC, Colorado State, etc.... It is awe inspiring when you see what these girls are capable of!
Dinner was Turkey Stroganoff - an old family favorite. Austin is sleeping, Todd and Ashley are watching Pirates of the Carribean, and I am ready for bed. But, tonight is the beginning of "The Next FoodNetwork Star" which I'll need to stay up to watch. Anything with food and competition is good watchin in my book!
Have a great week! Can't wait for next weekend!
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