I saw my first two robins today. We had especially warm, windy weather today. I looked around my yard and saw my crocus popping out of the ground. Also saw some other little plants and even before today I saw those dreaded weeds, the ones that produces those annoying stickers, or burrs. Tonight I am hearing the rumble of thunder and the flash of lightening.
Spring is not one of my favorite time of the year. I like seeing birds, plants, green grass, and eventually leaves on the trees, but between allergies and severe weather, I could do without those things.
I hear the winds blowing outside. I think I'll go downstairs. It's much safer down there during this season.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Panic attacks and driving
I suffer from panic attacks. No joke. I live in a small town and only drive around in my town. But when I have to go to the dentist (8 miles away) or out to the high school (5 miles away), I start to freeze up. Even thinking about it worries me. I chew my nails and hope and pray that I can make it to my destination. My "h" takes me everywhere out of town. It truly is a handicap to have these feelings of being afraid.
Many years ago when I was single I could drive ANYWHERE without any fear. I would drive out to see friends in 100 miles away and into Oklahoma. Never had a fear of driving. It was easy.
But now for some unknown reason, I just can't get in the car and drive down the highway without feeling like gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles turn white and my hands are sweaty. I drive so slow on the highway. I worry about people who get behind me and want to pass me. I can drive on dirt backroads without too much problem. There is no one out there and so I mostly drive on backroads. Then of course I worry if it will rain and my car will get stuck or slide all over the place.
I even used to have panic attacks while on vacation. I felt like I was going to get sick. But in the last few years I have been able to get over the panic thoughts of riding in a car. I have many tricks to help me not "go crazy," while riding in the car.
Now I find out next week that I must go out to the high school as the bee was cancelled this week to next week. My "h" will be out of town and so I will have to drive out there. I pray that it won't snow or rain before that time, as I will be taking my backroads.
I wish I could drive like I could when I was younger. I wish that I never had panic attacks!
Many years ago when I was single I could drive ANYWHERE without any fear. I would drive out to see friends in 100 miles away and into Oklahoma. Never had a fear of driving. It was easy.
But now for some unknown reason, I just can't get in the car and drive down the highway without feeling like gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles turn white and my hands are sweaty. I drive so slow on the highway. I worry about people who get behind me and want to pass me. I can drive on dirt backroads without too much problem. There is no one out there and so I mostly drive on backroads. Then of course I worry if it will rain and my car will get stuck or slide all over the place.
I even used to have panic attacks while on vacation. I felt like I was going to get sick. But in the last few years I have been able to get over the panic thoughts of riding in a car. I have many tricks to help me not "go crazy," while riding in the car.
Now I find out next week that I must go out to the high school as the bee was cancelled this week to next week. My "h" will be out of town and so I will have to drive out there. I pray that it won't snow or rain before that time, as I will be taking my backroads.
I wish I could drive like I could when I was younger. I wish that I never had panic attacks!
The Ripple Effect
Yesterday the high school had a power outage which caused the County Spelling Bee to be cancelled for today. Now the bee will be held a week from today. So now d will have to study that much more!! Hopefully she will be really ready next week!
Now in d's 8th grade Social Studies class they are needing to make a quilt block for a school quilt. The problem is that I do not sew at all. I had to take it in junior high many years ago when I was 13 but the only thing that I was good at in that class was taking out my stitches. Why do people assume that all women can sew? If I have a ripped seem I usually go to my inlaws, find a friend, or go up to my mom's house which is a few miles away. I can do simple things like cross-stitch (printed only), make a stuffed pillow, and sew badges on a vest, but that's it. In junior high I had a very, very patient teacher and she knew that sewing wasn't my thing. My mom can't even quilt. So I've passed my "skill" of can't sewing onto " d". It's the ripple effect.
I asked "d" how she felt about getting an F for the project. That didn't go over so well. So I tracked someone in town to help "d." She has taught "d" how to cut quilt squares and to operate a sewing machine. She has great patience! "D" now knows why I do not like sewing...the ripple effect.
Is there anything that you are passing onto your kids? I have a love for animals. So do my kids. Look for the ripple effect in your lives. Do you see it? :)
Now in d's 8th grade Social Studies class they are needing to make a quilt block for a school quilt. The problem is that I do not sew at all. I had to take it in junior high many years ago when I was 13 but the only thing that I was good at in that class was taking out my stitches. Why do people assume that all women can sew? If I have a ripped seem I usually go to my inlaws, find a friend, or go up to my mom's house which is a few miles away. I can do simple things like cross-stitch (printed only), make a stuffed pillow, and sew badges on a vest, but that's it. In junior high I had a very, very patient teacher and she knew that sewing wasn't my thing. My mom can't even quilt. So I've passed my "skill" of can't sewing onto " d". It's the ripple effect.
I asked "d" how she felt about getting an F for the project. That didn't go over so well. So I tracked someone in town to help "d." She has taught "d" how to cut quilt squares and to operate a sewing machine. She has great patience! "D" now knows why I do not like sewing...the ripple effect.
Is there anything that you are passing onto your kids? I have a love for animals. So do my kids. Look for the ripple effect in your lives. Do you see it? :)
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
School power outage
Today dark and early we get a call from one of my kid's friends. "School is cancelled." Huh? We weren't aware of any flu bug problems; no weather related problems of snow or tornado. My immediate thoughts were, "Is this a joke?" Three minutes later the principal of the school called and said, "There's no school because there was a power outage at the high school. Everyone will have to bring a sack lunch to school tomorrow." Lunch is prepared out at the high school and the lunches are distributed between the two grade schools.
In our house, our kids were planning to take a sack lunch today as the yummy lunch would have been Potato Soup. Maybe some people like this but not my family! So the kids were already up after hearing the announcement no school today and couldn't settle back to sleep.
I also was informed from a high school student that there would be no school tomorrow at the high school. This is where the County Bee was to be held. So now, that is in jeopardy (spell that word!) of the location. It could be held in either of the grade school gyms. I remain uninformed about that. Hmmm.
Maybe this is a sign not to consolidate the grades schools out where the high school is located. This is probably costing the district some money not being in operation. I am against consolidation anyway. They need to keep our schools local. But again, scroll down my blog and you will see my opinions on that subject.
Meanwhile, we have some activities still going on for the junior high, as it is out of town. Now, I'm hearing my PlayStation2 operating in the background.
I think I'll go outside today as this will be our warmest day this year. I just have to avoid the mud from the melting snow. Out at the church, things are being worked on and torn up, I would work there but everyone is there. Then of course I have a lot of work to do at home. I think I'd rather keep informed on the Internet!
Weird day....I hope tomorrow is a little better. School in session, things cleaned up at work, painters done painting, spelling bee wherever it will be held? My luck, is that people will be done on Saturday and I will have too much to do then. My official day off is Saturday and of course I'll be out of town and later there is a KU game on TV. I can't miss my Jayhawks!
It is a nice, pretty day! How I long to see the first butterfly!
In our house, our kids were planning to take a sack lunch today as the yummy lunch would have been Potato Soup. Maybe some people like this but not my family! So the kids were already up after hearing the announcement no school today and couldn't settle back to sleep.
I also was informed from a high school student that there would be no school tomorrow at the high school. This is where the County Bee was to be held. So now, that is in jeopardy (spell that word!) of the location. It could be held in either of the grade school gyms. I remain uninformed about that. Hmmm.
Maybe this is a sign not to consolidate the grades schools out where the high school is located. This is probably costing the district some money not being in operation. I am against consolidation anyway. They need to keep our schools local. But again, scroll down my blog and you will see my opinions on that subject.
Meanwhile, we have some activities still going on for the junior high, as it is out of town. Now, I'm hearing my PlayStation2 operating in the background.
I think I'll go outside today as this will be our warmest day this year. I just have to avoid the mud from the melting snow. Out at the church, things are being worked on and torn up, I would work there but everyone is there. Then of course I have a lot of work to do at home. I think I'd rather keep informed on the Internet!
Weird day....I hope tomorrow is a little better. School in session, things cleaned up at work, painters done painting, spelling bee wherever it will be held? My luck, is that people will be done on Saturday and I will have too much to do then. My official day off is Saturday and of course I'll be out of town and later there is a KU game on TV. I can't miss my Jayhawks!
It is a nice, pretty day! How I long to see the first butterfly!
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Dogs and cats
When I was three years old I had my first pet. It was an orange cat named DeeDee. Anyway, that's what I called the cat, but it's real name was Schoendiest, named for Red Schoendiest a baseball player on the St. Louis Cardinals. My brother, who was nine at the time, named the cat. It was a nice cat. An outdoor, stray cat. It stayed with our family until I was 9 and we never saw it again. We thought that he probably left us to go off and die.
After that we got a dog from the animal shelter in my town. He was a little dog and he had the wanderlust. I was always chasing after the dog trying to get him to come home. During these times we got a few stray cats. One was called Toby. He loved to curl up in our sink in the house. Later he "left" the house and we never found him. My last cat was Reggie (named after Reggie Jackson). Some of these cats got along with the dog and those that didn't, well, I still feel the sting of their claws on my fingers.
When I was growing up we had goldfish and chickens. Chickens that grew up to be roosters. In my fourth grade class we had a teacher who loved science. So we watched eggs hatched in an incubator. I won a chance to get a chicken, but my parents didn't want me to have one. But I guess I wore them down and had two chicks, Tiny and Joe. Tiny and Joe soon got too big and scared my mom half to death. We gave the chickens to a farmer and they didn't live too long, other chickens killed them. :(
Finally when I got out on my own I had a Lab. She was wonderful. She was with me when I got married and when the kids were young. She died about 8 years ago.
Since then we adopted three dogs, none of them could measure up to the Lab. Then we got the Collie and she's the best dog since the Lab.
Now, my children want a cat. If I got a cat it would be an indoor cat. I think this way the cat would live longer. As long as the cat would get along with the Collie, and would be litter boxed trained then I "think" I could go for a cat.
My nephew has cats and say they are low maintenance. My husband is a dog person but it would be nice to have another pet. How can I convince him this would be nice? Are cats nice to have? What would we do when we go out of town? Would we take "kitty" with us? Or lock "kitty" up in the cat carrier. or would "kitty" be purrfectly fine in the house, or locked in a room with the kitty box? I have so many questions.
Kids and pets...as my kid's and dog age, are we ready to take on another animal?? We will have to go to the animal shelter and start playing with the adoptive kitty, then we will see if we have sad faces if we leave without kitty. Stay tuned...
After that we got a dog from the animal shelter in my town. He was a little dog and he had the wanderlust. I was always chasing after the dog trying to get him to come home. During these times we got a few stray cats. One was called Toby. He loved to curl up in our sink in the house. Later he "left" the house and we never found him. My last cat was Reggie (named after Reggie Jackson). Some of these cats got along with the dog and those that didn't, well, I still feel the sting of their claws on my fingers.
When I was growing up we had goldfish and chickens. Chickens that grew up to be roosters. In my fourth grade class we had a teacher who loved science. So we watched eggs hatched in an incubator. I won a chance to get a chicken, but my parents didn't want me to have one. But I guess I wore them down and had two chicks, Tiny and Joe. Tiny and Joe soon got too big and scared my mom half to death. We gave the chickens to a farmer and they didn't live too long, other chickens killed them. :(
Finally when I got out on my own I had a Lab. She was wonderful. She was with me when I got married and when the kids were young. She died about 8 years ago.
Since then we adopted three dogs, none of them could measure up to the Lab. Then we got the Collie and she's the best dog since the Lab.
Now, my children want a cat. If I got a cat it would be an indoor cat. I think this way the cat would live longer. As long as the cat would get along with the Collie, and would be litter boxed trained then I "think" I could go for a cat.
My nephew has cats and say they are low maintenance. My husband is a dog person but it would be nice to have another pet. How can I convince him this would be nice? Are cats nice to have? What would we do when we go out of town? Would we take "kitty" with us? Or lock "kitty" up in the cat carrier. or would "kitty" be purrfectly fine in the house, or locked in a room with the kitty box? I have so many questions.
Kids and pets...as my kid's and dog age, are we ready to take on another animal?? We will have to go to the animal shelter and start playing with the adoptive kitty, then we will see if we have sad faces if we leave without kitty. Stay tuned...
Expect the Unexpected
Predictability....just when you think you've checked everywhere or completed a task something else happens.
Working at my church it never ceases to amaze me about different things. I clean the church and try to get others to be aware of certain maintenace items. So I need to check EVERYWHERE. Sometimes I fail at that. I'm thinking I've checked it all or I just want to get home and relax. Then, there are times I think to myself and outloud when no one is around, "Why didn't I look over here?" Duh.
Yesterday I was cleaning and decided to look in a place where I normally wouldn't look. I found a dried bowl of fossilized ice cream, syrup and whatever that creamy yellow stuff was. I wondered how long that had been there and hoped no one else saw it. Another time I was in the boiler room and found a stiff of a mouse on a table. This was before I took the job and wondered how long it at been dead. Other times it has been lights and the heat left on. Oh the things you find on this job!
But you know what? I like the job. I love to expect the unexpected it makes the job much more interesting. There is always room for improvement and nobody is perfect!
What a beautiful sunny day! I can't wait to see the first robin, the first flower, and the green grass. Then of course the budding trees and the sounds of sneezing, mainly from me.
Working at my church it never ceases to amaze me about different things. I clean the church and try to get others to be aware of certain maintenace items. So I need to check EVERYWHERE. Sometimes I fail at that. I'm thinking I've checked it all or I just want to get home and relax. Then, there are times I think to myself and outloud when no one is around, "Why didn't I look over here?" Duh.
Yesterday I was cleaning and decided to look in a place where I normally wouldn't look. I found a dried bowl of fossilized ice cream, syrup and whatever that creamy yellow stuff was. I wondered how long that had been there and hoped no one else saw it. Another time I was in the boiler room and found a stiff of a mouse on a table. This was before I took the job and wondered how long it at been dead. Other times it has been lights and the heat left on. Oh the things you find on this job!
But you know what? I like the job. I love to expect the unexpected it makes the job much more interesting. There is always room for improvement and nobody is perfect!
What a beautiful sunny day! I can't wait to see the first robin, the first flower, and the green grass. Then of course the budding trees and the sounds of sneezing, mainly from me.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Basketball teams
My ten year old's team won their bitty ball tournament yesterday. They were undefeated. The team had improved since January. It seemed as if they were more a "team" thanks to the coaches. We were playing a team that seemingly were a bunch of bullies. Kids would get pushed and shoved around out there on the court. I was cheering (almost) when one of our boy's pushed the opposing player to the floor. He had had enough, he got a foul for doing it but at least that kid probably got the message.
KU did well yesterday against Nebraska. WOW! Everyone who was at the game (except Brady Morningstar who was gone because of a funeral) scored in the game. This team plays unselfishly. They pass the ball around to their teammates, or a player may have a good shot but yet they give the ball to their teammate for yet a better shot. A player such as Russell Robinson may have not had a lot of points but many assisted plays.
I think that if younger teams, like the bitty basketball teams could learn a lot by just watching KU basketball. Our fourth grade team would only pass the ball to their friends or someone they thought could make a shot. The coaches see this but the kids do not. If only they would have confidence in ALL their teammates that they could make a basket maybe bitty ball would be a little bit more fun for all the kids and their parents. There are a lot of ball hogs in the younger teams. I guess it is maturity to be able to share the ball and give others on your team confidence to make the basket. This is what truly makes a team work, having fun and working together.
Sunshine days and warmer temperatures for this week. Bring on the spring! I can hear the lawnmowers roaring in the distance. I think I'll have to get a new one this year! I'll be rambling down the road with that soon enough....I can't wait!
KU did well yesterday against Nebraska. WOW! Everyone who was at the game (except Brady Morningstar who was gone because of a funeral) scored in the game. This team plays unselfishly. They pass the ball around to their teammates, or a player may have a good shot but yet they give the ball to their teammate for yet a better shot. A player such as Russell Robinson may have not had a lot of points but many assisted plays.
I think that if younger teams, like the bitty basketball teams could learn a lot by just watching KU basketball. Our fourth grade team would only pass the ball to their friends or someone they thought could make a shot. The coaches see this but the kids do not. If only they would have confidence in ALL their teammates that they could make a basket maybe bitty ball would be a little bit more fun for all the kids and their parents. There are a lot of ball hogs in the younger teams. I guess it is maturity to be able to share the ball and give others on your team confidence to make the basket. This is what truly makes a team work, having fun and working together.
Sunshine days and warmer temperatures for this week. Bring on the spring! I can hear the lawnmowers roaring in the distance. I think I'll have to get a new one this year! I'll be rambling down the road with that soon enough....I can't wait!
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