Here's one for you: Is Attention Deficit Disorder a bad thing if you can still claim to be productive?
I'm not sure where the weekend went. But I've got a pretty good idea...
I woke up Saturday morning and, unbeknown to me, the spirit of Martha Stewart had overtaken my body. So I made a cake and a batch of cookies and got the vacuuming done -- all before noon. Now honestly, the only reason hubby calls me Martha is because he thinks I expect my TV crew to clean up after me. But I was a good girl and took care of my dishes. (This time.)
Yesterday afternoon, all 3 of us headed to work for awhile and from there went northwest of Iola to a friend's house for a bonfire. (See, there was a reason I was making treats.) Despite the frigid temps, we managed to keep warm enough between the fire and the homemade chili. Enjoyed another night under the full moon, too! Thanks to spending several summers at Kidz Camp in Iola, Carter has become friends with their son. So he actually stayed overnight there last night.
When we got home, hubby headed out to the hot tub and I made the mistake of checking email. The only reason I say "mistake," is because my A.D.D. flared up and I forgot all about those wonderful opportunities that exist when there is not a child in the house...
I got an email from a distant, distant relative who is doing family tree work on the mutual parts of our tree. She and her husband got my email address from my mother (who thinks the e in email stands for eager not electronic) so I have been expecting to hear from them. So naturally, I put on my genealogy hat and spent a good half hour reading and responding to their inquiry. Then wondered why hubby was so warm when I got to bed! Doh!
This morning we both went to late church, though. No alarm. Yay.
After church, I continued some correspondence with my "new" cousins. You see, the thing with genealogy is that it can really consume you. Especially if you are on a hot trail of new information. You look at what you have. You see what someone else has. Do they go together? Are these the same people? What else do I know and where did I put it?
Honestly, that was most of my day and evening. Somewhere in there, I did go pick up Carter. I did wear my Martha hat again and whipped together some banana bread. And also went with Jim to the funeral home.
Pre-ancestry obsession, I had every intention of getting some scrapbooking done this weekend. Or at least some things organized for an upcoming camp. I did not get to that. YET. Thankfully, I still have a little bit of time on my side for that. And, if I honestly think about it, those ancestors of mine aren't going anywhere either. So I could actually spend a little time with the guys...
What? The Grammys are on? And the Pro Bowl? And I only walked 2,700 steps today? Ooooh, I was gonna start that new book...
What to do... what to do...
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Saturday, January 30, 2010
'Til Death Do Us Part
Back in my newspaper days, I learned the cold, hard truth about our typical readers. And I didn't like it one bit.
Despite my clever sentences and columns and award-winning features, people were not getting the newspaper to read that. They wanted the cops and courts reports and the obituaries. The rest was just filler. My life's work. My endless hours of stress. Just filler. Sigh...
A couple of years ago I decided to subscribe to my hometown newspaper to keep up on things. And yes, see who died and who's in trouble. I've become my own worse nightmare. Another sigh...
This morning I was paging through last week's paper and came across the obit for my kindergarten teacher. Now granted, I haven't thought of Mrs. Berkland in years -- many, many years. But I still felt a moment of sadness. When I think of it, kindergarten was really my first concrete memory. Sure I have sketchy memories of events before school, but not many. I do remember Mrs. Berkland, though. I remember learning the alphabet -- frontwards and backwards -- and playing store during recess. Her obit said she was 92. You know how kids always think their teachers are old! I guess she wasn't that old after all.
Unfortunately, this week ended on a sad note for a lot of people I know. Three unrelated deaths. Three different levels of shock and sadness.
One gentleman is the 85-year-old father of one of my husband's friends. I guess when parents truly do reach "old" age, we shouldn't be completely surprised at their decline. But we still are. And since both Jim and I have had friends lose fathers this month, it's an unwelcome reminder that this could happen to us. We certainly don't foresee it and we don't want to think about it. But we feel deep sympathy for our friends and thank God for watching over our parents. For today anyway.
The second death was a young woman in our community who has been fighting leukemia. I didn't even know her personally but so many people I know either knew her or her parents or family members. At age 25, you don't deserve to be going through chemo and fighting for your life. At one of her recent fund-raisers -- where we had to park a half-mile away -- it was evident her battle with cancer certainly brought a lot of different people from different walks of life together for one purpose: to support her and give her hope. While we shouldn't have been shocked at her death on Thursday, the community is saddened because one smiling, courageous girl gave us hope. And now we've lost it.
The third person is someone I do not know anything about. A high school classmate of my niece took his own life the other night. My niece, a 10th-grader, is having a hard time dealing with this. It's a small school. Most kids have been together since kindergarten. It's like an extended family. I can only imagine what she and the other "survivors" are going though. Grief. Shock. Anger. Suicide is such a selfish way to go. I pray God can comfort family and friends who were not prepared for this. Probably not at all.
Death is strange that way. It doesn't matter if we are surprised or if we suspect it's near because of illness or old age. It still shocks us and hurts us. Hopefully, though, it makes us appreciate even more those who are still with us.
I know I do.
Despite my clever sentences and columns and award-winning features, people were not getting the newspaper to read that. They wanted the cops and courts reports and the obituaries. The rest was just filler. My life's work. My endless hours of stress. Just filler. Sigh...
A couple of years ago I decided to subscribe to my hometown newspaper to keep up on things. And yes, see who died and who's in trouble. I've become my own worse nightmare. Another sigh...
This morning I was paging through last week's paper and came across the obit for my kindergarten teacher. Now granted, I haven't thought of Mrs. Berkland in years -- many, many years. But I still felt a moment of sadness. When I think of it, kindergarten was really my first concrete memory. Sure I have sketchy memories of events before school, but not many. I do remember Mrs. Berkland, though. I remember learning the alphabet -- frontwards and backwards -- and playing store during recess. Her obit said she was 92. You know how kids always think their teachers are old! I guess she wasn't that old after all.
Unfortunately, this week ended on a sad note for a lot of people I know. Three unrelated deaths. Three different levels of shock and sadness.
One gentleman is the 85-year-old father of one of my husband's friends. I guess when parents truly do reach "old" age, we shouldn't be completely surprised at their decline. But we still are. And since both Jim and I have had friends lose fathers this month, it's an unwelcome reminder that this could happen to us. We certainly don't foresee it and we don't want to think about it. But we feel deep sympathy for our friends and thank God for watching over our parents. For today anyway.
The second death was a young woman in our community who has been fighting leukemia. I didn't even know her personally but so many people I know either knew her or her parents or family members. At age 25, you don't deserve to be going through chemo and fighting for your life. At one of her recent fund-raisers -- where we had to park a half-mile away -- it was evident her battle with cancer certainly brought a lot of different people from different walks of life together for one purpose: to support her and give her hope. While we shouldn't have been shocked at her death on Thursday, the community is saddened because one smiling, courageous girl gave us hope. And now we've lost it.
The third person is someone I do not know anything about. A high school classmate of my niece took his own life the other night. My niece, a 10th-grader, is having a hard time dealing with this. It's a small school. Most kids have been together since kindergarten. It's like an extended family. I can only imagine what she and the other "survivors" are going though. Grief. Shock. Anger. Suicide is such a selfish way to go. I pray God can comfort family and friends who were not prepared for this. Probably not at all.
Death is strange that way. It doesn't matter if we are surprised or if we suspect it's near because of illness or old age. It still shocks us and hurts us. Hopefully, though, it makes us appreciate even more those who are still with us.
I know I do.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Full Moon Madness
In light of the full moon, we thought we'd do something wild and crazy tonight. So we went on a Fish Fry Friday "double date" with another couple and left all the kids at home with pizza. Living on the edge, I know!
I realize tonight's moon is called a Wolf moon but it seems we get together with this other couple only once in a Blue moon. Seriously, Halloween was the last time. Crazy when we live only 3 minutes from each other. But that's what happens with busy schedules -- both the adults' and the kids'.
Their daughter is just a year older than Carter but she "volunteered" to take charge of Carter and her two younger brothers. It all worked out. She said Carter handled the 9-year-old so she could play with the almost 3-year-old. "Let's do this again soon!" she said. Hey we're all for that. We went to Anchor Bay (definitely skipped the waiting outside on the patio like we did in the summer) and enjoyed some good fish and great conversation.
When we got home around 10, Carter and I grabbed his 2 telescopes and headed out to the front deck (also not as enjoyable as the summer). I read earlier today that tonight's full moon will be the biggest and brightest full moon of the year. It offers anyone with clear skies (like we have here) an opportunity to identify easy-to-see features on the moon -- even without a telescope.
Tonight it is apparently about 14 percent wider and 30 percent brighter than lesser full Moons of the year, according to Spaceweather.com. It looked cool through the telescope. But cool is an understatement. Our fingers were chilled to the bone in a short time period, so we had to wimp it out and head indoors.
Star gazing is definitely a summer pastime, if you ask me. But we certainly would enjoy an evening like this again -- hopefully long before the next Wolf moon or Blue moon.
I realize tonight's moon is called a Wolf moon but it seems we get together with this other couple only once in a Blue moon. Seriously, Halloween was the last time. Crazy when we live only 3 minutes from each other. But that's what happens with busy schedules -- both the adults' and the kids'.
Their daughter is just a year older than Carter but she "volunteered" to take charge of Carter and her two younger brothers. It all worked out. She said Carter handled the 9-year-old so she could play with the almost 3-year-old. "Let's do this again soon!" she said. Hey we're all for that. We went to Anchor Bay (definitely skipped the waiting outside on the patio like we did in the summer) and enjoyed some good fish and great conversation.
When we got home around 10, Carter and I grabbed his 2 telescopes and headed out to the front deck (also not as enjoyable as the summer). I read earlier today that tonight's full moon will be the biggest and brightest full moon of the year. It offers anyone with clear skies (like we have here) an opportunity to identify easy-to-see features on the moon -- even without a telescope.
Tonight it is apparently about 14 percent wider and 30 percent brighter than lesser full Moons of the year, according to Spaceweather.com. It looked cool through the telescope. But cool is an understatement. Our fingers were chilled to the bone in a short time period, so we had to wimp it out and head indoors.
Star gazing is definitely a summer pastime, if you ask me. But we certainly would enjoy an evening like this again -- hopefully long before the next Wolf moon or Blue moon.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
That's Sun-tastic!
Part of the fun of being a writer is that we get to make up words occasionally. I mean why not? When it's foggy out and our visibility is fuzzy, I say it's "fuggy." Combine a few legitimate words and it has to be legal with the dictionary gods, right? Sure.
You know who does this more than "real" writers? Weather forecasters. I can't make this up. Every weekday morning on our commute, we hear strange combinations of words or nouns that become verbs. You name it.
Today I came across the ultimate new word. I was checking out the forecast on the local television station's Web site. Today and Friday call for "suntastically cold" weather. Suntastic?? Yes it was really sunny today. And yes it was really cold. (It did get up to 7, though.) So that takes winter up to some fantastic level or something?
I've never heard of such a thing! But I love that word!
You know what else made my day suntastic?
What makes your day suntastic?
You know who does this more than "real" writers? Weather forecasters. I can't make this up. Every weekday morning on our commute, we hear strange combinations of words or nouns that become verbs. You name it.
Today I came across the ultimate new word. I was checking out the forecast on the local television station's Web site. Today and Friday call for "suntastically cold" weather. Suntastic?? Yes it was really sunny today. And yes it was really cold. (It did get up to 7, though.) So that takes winter up to some fantastic level or something?
I've never heard of such a thing! But I love that word!
You know what else made my day suntastic?
- Finally getting to run again at noon. My leg is on the mend. (Yay!)
- Having rootbeer floats in the middle of the afternoon (while my heater was cranked under my desk).
- Getting my 10,000 steps on my pedometer before I left work.
- Having a "family reunion" at my nephew's basketball game (well all my in-laws were there anyway).
- Getting home early enough to get two loads of laundry done.
- Having just enough Blueberry Oatmeal Crumble left over for all of us.
What makes your day suntastic?
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
From the Observation Deck...
The week is only half over, yet I feel liked I've learned so much. You know, those life lessons that will get you through ... at least the rest of the week. Here are a few things I've observed:
Down on Your Luck: Just when you think your luck is about to change, sometimes it actually does. I think my bad luck streak is over. The Vikings lost, Carter's basketball team lost, Colin's basketball team lost, but then the varsity team won! Now tonight when I got set for this week's Powerball, I found out I won the lottery this past week! Well, 3 bucks anyway! That's a start, right?
T.M.I.: Just because you've been with someone a dozen years or so does not mean you can read their mind. And, for the record, they can't read yours either. When you think you're giving Too Much Information, sometimes that's just the right amount. And never assume. You know how that phrase goes. Your better half makes an arse out of himself... or something like that.
Rules of Engagement: It's always a good idea to set the ground rules before embarking on a joint project with someone. Carter declared tonight (on Day 6) he is quitting our 30-Day Shred workout. Since we didn't discuss this potential snag beforehand, I didn't know if I was supposed to be Drill Sergeant Mommy and make him drop and give me 20, or Nice Supportive "I love you just the way you are" Mommy. Despite my occasional competitive nature and occasional commitment to health, I chose Option 2... 'cause that's what moms do!
A Mad, Mad World: I don't know if you heard about a shooting at the University of Minnesota campus Monday night. Turns out a student was shot (not fatally, thankfully) right by my nephew's dorm! Scary stuff. The hardest lesson to learn -- and accept -- as a parent is that we can't protect our children all the time. Bad things can happen and we can't do anything about it. I hate that.
Overtime: There are two surefire ways to extend a "quick" shopping trip to Wal-Mart. One is overcoming confusion. Whoever said I am a little on the anal retentive side has no clue ... how close they are to the truth. They changed the packaging on our brand of shower soap. I couldn't remember the exact name of our "fragrance" so I spent a good 5 minutes alternately sniffing from two bottles. I finally just picked one and when I got home realized it's a different brand anyway. G-r-r. The second is picking out a birthday card. I spent a good 5 minutes at least looking over the birthday selection for a card for an old college girlfriend. In the end, I picked the same darn card I just sent to another girlfriend a few weeks ago. G-r-r. At least I got some pedometer steps in!
Break Time: When you don't have to do something, sometimes it's OK to just not do it. We were on pace to have some activity or another going on every night this week! Tonight would have been a road trip to Stevens Point to see Jim's alma mater, the UW-Whitewater Warhawks, take on the No. 1 ranked Pointers in hoops. Three things made us change our mind: 1, It's stinkin' cold out! 2, I have a potluck tomorrow so I had to whip up some Blueberry Oatmeal Crumble. 3, We're pretty sure either the cat or the couch misses us! Honestly, sometimes we have to give ourselves permission to take a break.
Well I've gotta go be Drill Sergeant Mom on someone who should be reading. So that's all from the Observation Deck for tonight!
Down on Your Luck: Just when you think your luck is about to change, sometimes it actually does. I think my bad luck streak is over. The Vikings lost, Carter's basketball team lost, Colin's basketball team lost, but then the varsity team won! Now tonight when I got set for this week's Powerball, I found out I won the lottery this past week! Well, 3 bucks anyway! That's a start, right?
T.M.I.: Just because you've been with someone a dozen years or so does not mean you can read their mind. And, for the record, they can't read yours either. When you think you're giving Too Much Information, sometimes that's just the right amount. And never assume. You know how that phrase goes. Your better half makes an arse out of himself... or something like that.
Rules of Engagement: It's always a good idea to set the ground rules before embarking on a joint project with someone. Carter declared tonight (on Day 6) he is quitting our 30-Day Shred workout. Since we didn't discuss this potential snag beforehand, I didn't know if I was supposed to be Drill Sergeant Mommy and make him drop and give me 20, or Nice Supportive "I love you just the way you are" Mommy. Despite my occasional competitive nature and occasional commitment to health, I chose Option 2... 'cause that's what moms do!
A Mad, Mad World: I don't know if you heard about a shooting at the University of Minnesota campus Monday night. Turns out a student was shot (not fatally, thankfully) right by my nephew's dorm! Scary stuff. The hardest lesson to learn -- and accept -- as a parent is that we can't protect our children all the time. Bad things can happen and we can't do anything about it. I hate that.
Overtime: There are two surefire ways to extend a "quick" shopping trip to Wal-Mart. One is overcoming confusion. Whoever said I am a little on the anal retentive side has no clue ... how close they are to the truth. They changed the packaging on our brand of shower soap. I couldn't remember the exact name of our "fragrance" so I spent a good 5 minutes alternately sniffing from two bottles. I finally just picked one and when I got home realized it's a different brand anyway. G-r-r. The second is picking out a birthday card. I spent a good 5 minutes at least looking over the birthday selection for a card for an old college girlfriend. In the end, I picked the same darn card I just sent to another girlfriend a few weeks ago. G-r-r. At least I got some pedometer steps in!
Break Time: When you don't have to do something, sometimes it's OK to just not do it. We were on pace to have some activity or another going on every night this week! Tonight would have been a road trip to Stevens Point to see Jim's alma mater, the UW-Whitewater Warhawks, take on the No. 1 ranked Pointers in hoops. Three things made us change our mind: 1, It's stinkin' cold out! 2, I have a potluck tomorrow so I had to whip up some Blueberry Oatmeal Crumble. 3, We're pretty sure either the cat or the couch misses us! Honestly, sometimes we have to give ourselves permission to take a break.
Well I've gotta go be Drill Sergeant Mom on someone who should be reading. So that's all from the Observation Deck for tonight!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Getting Acquainted
I mentioned back in December after the Sunday School Christmas program that this is my year of many "lasts" -- mainly any type of program or event tied to elementary school. My baby is growing up and heading to 7th grade next year. Yikes.
Deep down, I was hoping I didn't have to address this reality head-on until like May or maybe June. No such luck. Tonight we had our first introduction to 7th grade already. A Middle School orientation that is probably going to cause numerous sleepless nights in the future. Seriously, when the 6th-grader's primary concern is how it he going to figure out a combination lock, we're in for a long 7 months!
This isn't even touching on the fact we are switching Carter from a public school to a private school, where he may know only a small handful of kids his age. Or touch on the fact the schedule is different -- earlier start to the day plus 8 different class periods and numerous teachers. Did I mention the dress code?
Surprisingly -- and this is a good surprise -- despite all these changes, Carter is very excited about all the opportunities that await him. Honestly, he's said more than once this going to be a good prep for college (which he must have heard from somebody). He's also excited he may see his older cousin Colin on occasion. And, after tonight's orientation meeting, he is thrilled (to put it mildly) that they haven't had a tuba player in the Assumption Middle School band for 4 or 5 years! He's gonna be the man!
Hopefully Daddy, as an alum, can answer questions and help him get even more acquainted with this new experience. Because Mommy will be completely useless.... hovering in the background, clutching my tissues and blabbering about how my baby is growing up too fast.
You can't blame me, can you?
Deep down, I was hoping I didn't have to address this reality head-on until like May or maybe June. No such luck. Tonight we had our first introduction to 7th grade already. A Middle School orientation that is probably going to cause numerous sleepless nights in the future. Seriously, when the 6th-grader's primary concern is how it he going to figure out a combination lock, we're in for a long 7 months!
This isn't even touching on the fact we are switching Carter from a public school to a private school, where he may know only a small handful of kids his age. Or touch on the fact the schedule is different -- earlier start to the day plus 8 different class periods and numerous teachers. Did I mention the dress code?
Surprisingly -- and this is a good surprise -- despite all these changes, Carter is very excited about all the opportunities that await him. Honestly, he's said more than once this going to be a good prep for college (which he must have heard from somebody). He's also excited he may see his older cousin Colin on occasion. And, after tonight's orientation meeting, he is thrilled (to put it mildly) that they haven't had a tuba player in the Assumption Middle School band for 4 or 5 years! He's gonna be the man!
Hopefully Daddy, as an alum, can answer questions and help him get even more acquainted with this new experience. Because Mommy will be completely useless.... hovering in the background, clutching my tissues and blabbering about how my baby is growing up too fast.
You can't blame me, can you?
Monday, January 25, 2010
Moving On
I endured a wicked Favre hangover today. I woke up and wondered "What the hell just happened ... to our football season?"
No alcohol involved, honest. But I still had a bit of a throbbing head ... mainly from listening to some friendly banter (I'm being nice here) from Packer fans. Actually, it was kind of friendly. They feel my pain. And are just happy -- 2 years' post-Brett -- to finally spread it around.
It's time for us all to move on.
I was hoping that going to Carter's basketball game would take my mind off football. But watching his team get smoked 36-8 did nothing for that headache, that's for sure.
I'm starting to get paranoid, too. How come the teams I'm cheering for this week are losing? Is it just me or ... is it just me? Yikes. Let me know if you have a team you want to lose tomorrow. I'll cheer for them. I seem to be on a roll of some kind.
I guess I won't make that extra effort to change the subject and mention a countdown to opening day for my Twins. I certainly don't want to drag them into this curse!
I suppose I could take the guys on in some cards tonight. The way my streak is going, they'd actually have a chance! (Nah, I'm not that nice.) I can remove myself from "sports" but not competition. (Notice I said "remove" not "retire"?)
Moving on...
No alcohol involved, honest. But I still had a bit of a throbbing head ... mainly from listening to some friendly banter (I'm being nice here) from Packer fans. Actually, it was kind of friendly. They feel my pain. And are just happy -- 2 years' post-Brett -- to finally spread it around.
It's time for us all to move on.
I was hoping that going to Carter's basketball game would take my mind off football. But watching his team get smoked 36-8 did nothing for that headache, that's for sure.
I'm starting to get paranoid, too. How come the teams I'm cheering for this week are losing? Is it just me or ... is it just me? Yikes. Let me know if you have a team you want to lose tomorrow. I'll cheer for them. I seem to be on a roll of some kind.
I guess I won't make that extra effort to change the subject and mention a countdown to opening day for my Twins. I certainly don't want to drag them into this curse!
I suppose I could take the guys on in some cards tonight. The way my streak is going, they'd actually have a chance! (Nah, I'm not that nice.) I can remove myself from "sports" but not competition. (Notice I said "remove" not "retire"?)
Moving on...
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