Top Ten (or Less)

Some recent highlights that are TOP of mind anyway...

Strangest Overheard Conversation: A woman at the fitness center was explaining to her friend: "Do you know what a Freudian slip is? It's when you say something and it sounds like you mean something else. It was named after a scientist named Freudian." Oh, my college psych professor must be rolling in his grave!

Most Misguided Misconception: Hubby and I stopped at Target to check out their bathroom "accessories" for our someday "new" bathroom. On the way out, I noticed fashion boots on clearance so I had to check those out. Jim (who gave me 2 of my 5 pairs) says, "I would have thought you were over the boot thing by now." Oh honey, I am just getting started! Not really, but I do want some gray ones. Ooooh, and I saw some cool purple ones, too! Now that I know they are on clearance, I may have to browse around this weekend.

Gold Digger: I'm having a "Gold Party" next weekend. If you've never heard of it, the hostess has a gold buyer (jeweler) available in her home so people can drop by and cash in their old or broken or unwanted jewelry. Why would I do this? Well I went to one the other night, managed to have 3 pieces of old stuff qualify as gold and I walked out with $240 in my pocket. That's enough to cover my next scrapbooking weekend! Not a bad night's work for doing nothing. I hadn't worn the stuff in 15 or 20 years so I won't be missing anything. Now I just want other people to have the same opportunity. My party/cash-in date is Sunday, Jan. 27, from 3:30-5:30 p.m. Let me know if you are interested. All are welcome to stop by and share in the riches!

Disturbing Sign of Aging: We had a meeting at school tonight to register Carter for his sophomore classes. Yes, sophomore! That's 10th grade! Whoa. The conversation has jumped from ABC to ACT in a few short years, it seems. Does he know what he wants to be when he grows up? Not really. Still wants to use his math skills but isn't sure how. For now, his classes will keep him moving in the right direction. No rush, I say.

Closest Brush with a Head of State: On our way home from registration, we stopped at The Ridges for their regular Thursday night pizza buffet. The parking lot was packed. It wasn't until we got close to the door and saw the two long black cars and a state patrol car still running that we remembered the governor was in town. No, we did not have pizza with Scott Walker. He was in the banquet hall next door speaking at a chamber dinner. Our pizza tasted just fine without the politics.

And That's Final: It's finals week for Carter's first semester of high school. These days -- at our school anyway -- they treat finals just like college. No classes, just testing. There are three 2-hour sessions each day and time for an "off campus" lunch, too. On Wednesday he had 3 finals, today he had 2 and tomorrow he has 1. Then he's done for the day and can come home. Not surprisingly, Carter said, "This may seem weird, but I like finals week. Not because of the tests, but because of the schedule." In other words, Culver's and McDonald's taste better than school lunch. Who can dispute that?

Honey Do Lists

Carter stayed overnight at his friend's house in Amherst so Hubby and I had the house to ourselves for 30 hours this weekend. Ooh-la-la!

If these walls could talk... they'd say we both spent time on our "Honey Do" lists, trying to make it a productive weekend! Sorry to disappoint. While we did enjoy a nice meal -- I made quesadillas and I count that as "home cooking" -- and watched a movie on TV last evening, today we had work to do.

Hubby concentrated on our fall trip itinerary and I continued post-flooding organization work in the basement. We both got pretty far on our projects. But then, realizing it was sooooo nice out, Jim went golfing with the next-door neighbor and I sat out on the deck for a bit. (The rewards of hard work, you know.)

At 6 p.m., I headed to Stevens Point to meet up with Carter and company. I told his friend's parents we could just meet in the Target parking lot so Carter and I could do a little back-to-school clothes shopping.

Now that Carter is in high school, his dress code changes slightly. In the past, the boys could wear polos and solid-colored knee-length shorts (like cargo shorts or Bermudas). He was excited to learn that Assumption high-schoolers can wear plaid or striped shorts. They don't have to be plain. Since I had a $25 Target gift card, I said he could pick out a few pair on sale.

He figured he has a 28-inch waist and quickly grabbed 5 different pair. Since one was from a different brand, I said he should try on one pair from each brand. He did and put the different one back and said the other 4 were good. Went up and checked out. That's the great thing about clothes shopping with a boy -- in and out of Target in 12 minutes. Done!

Now we just need some khaki pants for the late fall and winter. But we're holding out in case he grows some more. (Wishful thinking.) We also have a few notebooks and folders to buy but we'll wait until his orientation meeting this week in case there's something special he needs. For sure we are finally done with crayons, markers and colored pencils!

But something tells me that just like our "Honey Do" lists, that back-to-school one isn't as close to done as we think either!

Target practice

If you've ever played darts, gone hunting or even golfed for that matter, you know it takes some serious concentration sometimes to hit the target. You must clear your mind. Walk through the mechanics of reaching the goal in your head. Focus, focus, focus on the target. Then throw, shoot, swing. Bulls eye! (Sometimes.)

We took Carter to the archery range down the road this morning. The club that owns it is sponsoring a youth league for the next two months so kids like Carter, who have never even touched a bow, can experiment and see if that's their thing. For 2 bucks, you can use their equipment, shoot for 2 hours (if you are up for that) and you are rewarded with a soda when you're done.

A gentleman who knew what he was doing helped Carter get set up with a bow that was appropriate for his size, gave him 5 arrows and a quick tutorial on how to hold the bow, shoot it and the proper etiquette for the shooting range.

He probably shot those 10-15 times tops. He hit the target somewhere each time but 3 maybe. After a girl from his class started shooting next to him, he even had one land in the bulls eye circle. Must have been trying to impress someone! He did have a good time so we will likely take advantage of this for the next several weeks when we can.

The archery experience got me thinking about goals and resolutions. If we didn't set them, how would we know what to aim for? We need a bulls eye. We can't go anywhere unless we know the destination, right?

I have already shared that I will garner my POWER this year with some positive alterations to my daily activities. In order to get into shape, I am making a concerted effort to exercise, drink water and eat proper portions. There is a number, too, on my scale that I would like to reach before I turn 40 this summer. I WILL make some significant progress by the first mini-goal set (in ink!) on my calendar, where it now says on March 17: Leave for Spring Break in Texas!

So I got extremely brave today and had Jim take a photo of me in my two-piece swimsuit. This will be my "before" picture. My motivator. He asked if I was going to put this on my blog and I said, "Hell no!"

... I guess it depends on how the "after" picture looks. That's my bulls eye. I am clearing my mind, focusing, taking aim and ready to fire!