Last Day of the Month

So, watch for the comment winners. I hope this month has been fun and different for you, dear readers. Next month will have a different schedule and new photos for sure! Have a fantastic day! Enjoy your time with your family and friends.

Wednesday

Last day of school (and strangely the busiest), and second to last day of the comment contest this month. Who will the secret winner be? I am considering using Random.org to help me pick the winner of the contest.

I am also sure that when the contests start again in September, I will have tons of new ideas for the winners of the contests. I am contemplating on a writing package of a journal, pens, post-its, and index cards. I am also thinking of gift certificates to various stores. Feel free to add your input. I would love to know what would interest you for prizes.

What other contests should I have? I was thinking about working on my writing, and thought of the great Twitter contest of writing a story in 140 characters. I also thought about the 6 Word Sentence or seeing what responses I can get with some other memes.

I just found one called 30 Days of Me, and am considering it for one of the months. It certainly would help me with some of my blogging skills. Best look into it before I dive in.

Let me know if you have any further ideas - and for the record, I think I will keep the snowplowing of piddle story for a rainy day!

Tuesday

Today is the second to last day of school for this year.

The year has flown by. I have seen a lot of changes over this year. I was sorry to see some students make the decisions they made, but have seen some good come from other students opting for alternatives to our school.

I am proud of the students who forged ahead, setting the goal for themselves to complete the requirements. I wish the other students good luck for their future.

There are 2 faculty who will retire this year, and although this was a surprise, it was not a big one. One teacher taught me when I attended here, and I know he has also seen a lot of changes, and some of them aren't so good. Not all of them are bad, just some aren't so good. The other staff member has been here awhile, and has been a strong IDP and aide. It is time for her to be a grandmother though.

I am sure that the summer will also fly by, and that next school year will be here all too soon. However, I am going to be thrilled when I get paid again!

I hope that you are all ready for summer vacation to start, and will be just as ready for school to begin in the fall.

Have a great day today! Enjoy the weather, the birds, the flowers, the children.

Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day, so I will be spending it remembering those who are gone but not forgotten.

I will return tomorrow to regular posts.

Sunday Morning

I have frequently taken my Sundays as days of reflection, so pardon me if this goes a little weird.

I am sitting here thinking about how much my daughter has meant to me over the years, and trying to avoid being a weepy woman. She is a strong young lady, which means I have done well. I love my son just as much. We are a strong family unit. I am sure that when Daddy-o comes home, we will work to make the unit function with the addition of his presence. It worked before, and can work again, but should work better because of the man he has become.

I am thankful for the support of the friends and family who have stood behind Daddy-o, and our family, as we have waited for his return.

I am thankful for the letters and phone calls we have shared with Daddy-o, and that we all have learned to communicate a bit more effectively.

I am thankful for the time apart, to help us both appreciate what we have had in each other. This time has also helped me to more fully appreciate my own strength, and that of my children.

I am also thankful for the chances my children give me to break down, and not be the strong one, or the one who has to be responsible and be both parents, and the chances to let the weight come off my shoulders, even for a few moments

I am truly thankful for the opportunities I have had over the years because of my single parenthood, and the results of those opportunities.

 I am thankful for the cynicism of my mother, and because I know she wants the best for me, I also know she will be happy for me if I am happy.

Take the good with the bad, for that cannot be good without bad. I am me and my circumstances (Sr. Unamuno y Jugo). I would not be me without the experiences I have had.

Happy Birthday, Girl!

I want to take the time to show my love for my fifteen year old angel.

Girl, you have no idea what you have meant to me over the last 15 years.

We have been through some interesting times, but through it all, we have been close and loving. Our strength together has gotten us through some tough times; Daddy-o going away, a tornado, and some important people leaving our lives. We have grown close, and I love that we are a great team.

I am proud of your every accomplishment, including teaching yourself to read at a higher level, setting your own vocabulary goals, serving the winning shot in AAU, learning your lines for the plays, and not letting your illness this year keep you from succeeding as a freshman. I am proud of the little things you do, and the big things you choose not to do. I am proud of you!

Thank you for all you have done for us, for all you have been for your brother, and all you will be in the future.

Stay strong, stay yourself, and I love you.

Wish us luck!

Today is the inspection. It will be after school, and although I know that I have nothing they can get me for, I'm still nervous. This is the second to last hurdle to get Daddy-o home with his family.

I am sure that things will be fine, and if I seem distracted, just bear with me. I will let you know how it goes as soon as possible. It might mean skipping weekend posting though.

Saturday is Girl's birthday, and she has made plans. Sunday is her birthday dinner with Papa, and that will be priority for the day, especially since she has requested my burritos, and my mother would like me to grill for her.

I am looking forward to her birthday for a few reasons, but am still a bit in shock she is going to be 15. This does not seem possible, but I know it has happened. She has been my precious little angel for 15 years. What a gift she has been. Despite my grey hairs, and wanting to yank her hair out occasionally, I have a super special young lady for a daughter.

If you see her, wish her happy birthday!

Have a fantastic Friday!

Last day of cleaning

and boy am I ready for it to be over! This inspection isn't for cleanliness, but it has been incentive for my children to get busy on the stuff they have put off way too long (just as I have).

I am glad it is winding down, so that I only have to do 15 minutes a day, as opposed to hours a day. If I were a stay at home mom I would probably go insane, because I would have TOO clean of a house. I know that sounds crazy to some of you, but I prefer a little clutter in my life. Just reminds me that I am human.

Tomorrow is the inspection, and it's going to go smoothly. There should be no problems, and no issues, so Daddy-o will get to come home when the welding class is done! *crosses fingers* Now you guys cross yours too!

I hope your spring cleaning has gone, or will go, as smoothly, and with as little effort as possible. Take the time to enjoy the fact you have been busy, with work, cleaning, or whatever, and enjoy yourself for a bit. It won't hurt, too bad!

Have a great day!

Whew, this cleaning thing...

it is a struggle, and I have muscles I didn't know I had, now that they are screaming at me in agony. Thank goodness for hot showers and Ben Gay!

I am sure that some one would say to me that I let it get this way, and by gosh, you are right. And in order to miss out on this particular pleasure again, I am determined not to let it get this way again. I know when Daddy-o comes home, this will be highly unlikely, because he IS the anal retentive person who cleans like no other. (Thank goodness, although it can be quite annoying for someone like me.) He has been really great about leaving me my space, to be as disorganized as I want, and he hasn't messed with it before, so here's to hoping this stays the same. It would only be my computer desk, and I go through bouts of "jeez this has to go." and "holy cow, this is a mess" with the desk, so, he should be okay with it - I hope.

I have learned that it is becoming easier for me to be less of a pack rat/hoarder/whatever you call it, although I come by it honestly. My maternal grandmother was, and my mother is, a pack rat. But sometimes this is a great quality, like for food staples, and when I need something desperately for my children's activities, or my cooking. Thanks Mama-san!

I have found things that I haven't used in 4 years (mostly because I haven't seen them in that long) and I realize that I don't need to keep them. I have also found things that I am super glad I kept - like pictures of my childhood, and my daughter as a toddler. She picked out two of those pictures for the senior slide show (and she's only going to be a sophomore!). She also found out she is her mother's daughter, thanks to one particular picture of her looking at the camera like "get out of my face!" which is so my look when a camera comes out!

This cleaning has given my daughter and I a chance to bond again. And Little Man has learned he's a super helper for the family. He also learned a new skill - laundry. He realized he can reach to the bottom of the washer, and has been a laundry-running fool. What a great pair of kids!

So, I recommend that you go through that box you wonder about in your garage, attic, storage space, what-have-you. Enjoy the memories that come back to you, and share them with someone, if possible. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Organization

You know we all do it (except for you real Suzy Homemakers and wanna-be Martha Stewarts)...we postpone the cleaning, and forgo the organization.

I hate cleaning, and am mostly an unorganized woman. However, I know where things are in my pile system. Really.

Now, with the inspection, cleaning is in order. And I really am determined to get at least semi-organized this go-round. I have had a spring cleaning urge, and it's coming to fruition with the inspection deadline coming quickly. Although I was expecting a bit more time, I am pretty glad it's coming down to the wire. I love a challenge (sometimes) and the fact that I have seen so much activity out of my daughter in the past few days is fantastically hope-giving - as in, there's hope for her yet.

Sure, I am not an anal retentive person when it comes to dusting, etc, but I do have some limits as to what I will tolerate. And her room was BAD! I will be glad to continue to remind her when you pile stuff up, like clothes, spiders love that, and she hates spiders. *evil Mom laugh*

Speaking of spiders, I got the joy of killing some fuzz for her on Sunday night. That was so fun! She came back to my room at 10:30 at night asking me to kill a spider for her. I know her fear, so I have been trying to get her to overcome it a little at a time. I suggested she put a shoe on and step on it. It was only as big as her pinkie nail, she said. She told me it was on the wall of her closet (she was taking the cleaning seriously I guess). So I go in, and attempt to kill the spider on the wall. It was a piece of fuzz. OMG I giggled about that. Now, in addition to my Native American name of She Who Hunts With Cars, you can call me Joe Fuzzkiller. LOL

Anyway, during this bout of spring cleaning, I am going to attempt to get rid of things I haven't even seen since I moved in (obviously I don't need them, right?) and any duplicates of things that it is not necessary to have a duplicate of. This will make things a bit easier. I also am going through my clothes and donating them. My daughter is donating her clothes also. My son will be donating clothes, toys, and books. This could be a big boon for the local community services.

I have most of my room complete (except for moving the furniture and finishing the closet), and will tackle Little Man's room next. With all this cleaning and organizing, taking that 15 minutes a day to do a quick dusting or picking up really will be so easy.

I have read a number of statements on de-cluttering and organization, but the thing that has stood out the most is to start small. Take things in 15 minute increments, to avoid getting overwhelmed. What a great idea. If I had the time for that, I would do that. But that reminds me to take a break to avoid overload during the big sessions.

Now, if you are going to attempt a large task, I suggest taking it in smaller chunks, or taking breaks. And if you want help, ask some of the local high school kids. I have some great students who are super good at helping, and have volunteered for our family often. I appreciate this very much!

Have a fantastic Tuesday and don't make your re-organization or spring cleaning too big of a chore!

Questions?

If anyone has any questions about Beta Sigma Phi, I will be happy to answer to the best of my ability, and you can also check out this site which has a link for prospective members.

I would like to point out that I continue to have a strong urge for a scavenger hunt, and I am hoping to get one together soon, and would love to have input and if anyone wants to join in, please let me know.

Today's post will be short because I am still working hard on getting my house ready for inspection, while continuing to work the full-time position during the day (only 6 more days for that though, until August 28th).

Please, I would love input! Oh, and I am still working on adding to the Pet Brag Board but my Yorkie needs a shave first.

Have a great day!

Heart and Hands

Today is the last meeting of our sorority until August, and it is our Heart and Hands meeting. For this meeting, we share a hand-made gift with the woman who we were the secret sister for over the previous months, and reveal ourselves as their secret sister. A secret sister gives gifts to a sorority sister for birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, bad days, good days, or just because. These gifts can be simple, but touch a sister in so many ways.

I am looking forward to revealing that I was my mother's Secret Sister (which is EXTREMELY difficult to pull off when we shop together FYI) because she has been such a rock for me for the last 8 years. This year was just a small way for me to show my appreciation. Because of the first sentence in this paragraph, the scheduled time for this post will coincide with the start of the meeting. Hahahaha!

I really like the tradition of Heart and Hands because it brings out the Friendship part of our sorority. It also allows us to show off our skills, and our belief in our sisters in the sorority.

If you are a member of Beta Sigma Phi, please know that I am proud to call you Sister! Joining the sorority has been a great way for me to work on getting over my shyness about speaking in front of groups, and helped me to continue my love of learning, while celebrating the joy of being who I am, beyond mother or daughter.

I am looking forward to today's meeting, and seeing the great crafts and love behind each gift.

I hope all of you have a great day!

Writing

I haven't done a lot of posting about writing, and I know some of you don't really read the blog for my writing stuff. However, I would like to share more about writing, and specifically critique partners.

Readers may know that I started a writing group with the intention of helping each other critique stories, motivate each other, and offer additional advice (grammar, mechanics, ideas, etc). One of the writers and I have been really working with each other. Carol recently started her own blog and she intends to use it to share some of her stories, and progress for these stories. This is fantastic.

Carol has written one complete story that I am attempting to re-type for her, because her computer crashed. She had printed off the story before the crash, thankfully, and her father sent her a laptop for me to use to do this. While I re-type, I fix grammar and mechanics. This really works with my strengths.

I also advise her on her current WIP, especially when she feels like the story is lagging. The story doesn't lag, really, but us authors sometimes are our toughest critics. We have bounced ideas around in discussions, and she's been able to run with a few of them. She also has another story poking at her so hard that the new story is trying to over-run the current story.

Carol has also helped me with a visualization technique which has really helped me in descriptions of scene and character. I think I will be able to use it for POV work too.

I also have a young writer's group which has a few solid writers in it. I am looking forward to working more with them, and perhaps this summer might be a good time, since I don't have a job for those months, although I sure could use one! Still got bills to pay for those months. Hint, hint!

Do I have any readers who are writers out there? We sure could use some ideas for our little group. Please share in the comments any ideas you have.

Friday

Yay, it's Friday! Today is Daddy-o's birthday. He's now only 4 years younger than I am. Puppy.

And in a week and a day it will be Girl's birthday. What excitement for her. She will be studying for her learner's permit, and a friend will be coming to visit for 2 weeks. I'm going to enjoy having some help around the house! LOL

Little Man wants to visit Daddy-o so that just may happen. We didn't get a card for his birthday, so this will be a nice surprise. Little Man got to help out our neighbor and his son do his annual Mountain Man presentation for the 4th graders, which is awesome for Little Man.  Besides, the weekend will be taken up taking care of the house for inspection, and getting ready for Sorority.

This Friday is a busy day with the ferret visit and then getting to go see Daddy-o. I know, I know. I set myself up for it, but it's worth it in the end. Time with Daddy-o is pretty beneficial for all of us, and it truly is the quality of time, not the quantity. I think we all are looking forward to Daddy-o coming home.

I think I came to a strange and random decision today on a direction to take my writing, and am looking forward to experimenting and some research. More on this as time shows if it will work.

There are a few supporters of my writing out there, and I thank each of you for your help, your advice, and your belief in my ability.

Have a fantabulous Friday everyone!!

Another Busy Week

It surely seems that one can't sit down for five minutes this week. I feel like I've been on the run since Sunday, and that brief pause in the darker hours is merely a short re-charge, but not a complete charge.

Monday was a typical Monday for me, but not an outrageously difficult day. Just felt busy.

Tuesday was spent trying to get Little Man to finish a non-fiction book report that was due Monday, and then figuring out a visual aid for the presentation part was fun. Thankfully I have a friend with a ferret! Thanks Misty!

Wednesday was an early release day, but had a retirement party for a teacher that day, and that was followed by the final wellness class.

Today is a nail appointment day (and thank goodness, since I tried to remove one the other day - without the proper equipment and that really hurts). This just means I can sit still for a bit.

Tomorrow is Daddy-o's birthday, so a visit just might be in order.

Saturday will be taken up with getting the house ready for the inspection.

Sunday is the Heart and Hands meeting for sorority, so it will be busy too. I might look forward to Monday for a break.

I know we all are busy, so I am thinking we should all try to find five minutes to be thankful we can be this busy, this active, this full of life. I am grateful that I can do all this running without having to haul a cane, a walker, a wheelchair, or an army of assistants. Those folks who do all this running with these extras in their life are amazing! I also take my hat off to those folks who manage running with special needs kids (who are awesomely special kids!) too. These folks deserve recognition for the great love they possess, and spread to those who they touch.

Have a blessedly busy week!!

Mother's Day

How was your Mother's Day? Mine was pretty normal - in that it was a typical day, not a celebration of my fantastical SuperMom abilities. Yeah. Saturday I got Mas' lawn mower working, mowed her lawn, and mine, and gave out before the weed-eating could commence.

Let me tell you about my Sunday.

Girl had spent the night with a friend in Gtown, so me and the Mas had to go get her, dragging Little Man along. After Grumpy Girl got in the car, we headed for Wallyworld. Both Mas and I got what we needed and were starting the "picking just the right check-out line" process when Girl asks to go get her money so she could get me a card. I am in shock at the thought she wanted to, but also at the fact she would force us to stay in that store for more time. Silly Girl, she should know better by now.

After checking out, we drive over to the very nearby grocery store, where Mas proceeds to do her shopping, and I am sitting in the car with the children. Girl tells me to check her FB page. She posted a very nice paragraph in honor of me being her SuperMom. Sweet!

Little Man was fantastically sweet the whole day, and I feel bad because I forgot to put on the cool Mother's Day bracelet he made me. (I wore it yesterday for him!) Eventually my mother completes the shopping experience, and I help her load the groceries into the car, and Girl took the cart back.

I get  back into the car and Mas has some kind of green stuffed animal in a bag on her lap. I'm thinking she got me a frog. No, she got me a gecko. He's cute. (Bear in mind I got her a VERY nice piece of jewelry.) I decided to take her to Wendy's (cuz I'm sweet like that) for Mother's Day lunch. It was a different place - we hadn't eaten there in a few months - and it was kind of neat. Dude at the counter gave Mas a free drink and told her Happy Mother's Day! Sweet!!

Until.

Yep, I made a mess. Oh yeah. I had put garbage in Little Man's sack, and then set it on the table for him to take to the garbage can, and it tilted over, spilling left over ketchup on the bench. NICE! It was all me. I claim that goof. It wasn't too bad of a mess. Mas laughed.

Thankfully the trip was over. Time to go home. We unload everything, and I go home to make a no-sew blanket. Yep. Decided to be crafty after showing off my "packing stuff into a bag skills" earlier. Totally forgot to double knot before throwing it in the washer. It came out alright though. Girl had helped with the knotting, so many of the knots had stayed and no re-aligning was necessary (only re-tying).

After that excitement was settled down, I was trying to read, but my daughter decided she wanted to watch a movie. In our house, apparently we can only watch movies with the lights off (although I do admit the reflection of the lights can be quite irritating at times), so there went my reading time. My son was already in my room watching movies in there. Well, I was stuck. Not a real choice - either watch the movies, or play a computer game. Guess which I did.

Sure had fun finding things in that game! LOL!

Have a fantastical day!

Well? What did you think?

How many of you just loved that post? How many of you went to get your free gift? How many of you thought I was a lame-o? How many of you enjoyed the unique content?

Come on, it was a great idea, and quite a unique way of promoting their book release, right? I hope they sell out their first run! I want one sooooo bad. Those ladies are very helpful for me. Last month, the ladies also sent out some postcard bookmarks which, on one side, had a list of crutch word writers may find themselves using, and on the other side was information regarding their book. Another great idea for promoting their book!

Some of the blogs I follow (which in my lazy way means I have posts emailed to me every day the bloggers post) have mentioned promotion using social media. Hmmm. A platform for my future endeavors lies in this very blog, so now you know why I am pushing you to tell everyone you know about it! Silly minions, I will get you trained right some day!  LOL!!

So, has anyone been performing random acts of kindness, or participated in the Kindness Project?

Let's hear some stories. You all read my future acts. Your turn to share! Come on minions, speak up!

Random Act of Kindness Blitz!

A smile. An encouraging word. A thoughtful gesture. Each day people interact with us, help, and make our day a bit brighter and full. This is especially true in the Writing Community. 

Take a second to think about writers you know, like the critique partner who works with you to improve your manuscript. The writing friend who listens, supports and keeps you strong when times are tough. The author who generously offers council, advice and inspiration when asked.

So many people take the time to make us feel special, don't they? They comment on our blogs, re-tweet our posts, chat with us on forums and wish us Happy Birthday on Facebook.

Kindness ROCKS!

To commemorate the release of their book The Emotion Thesaurus, Becca and Angela at The Bookshelf Muse are hosting a TITANIC Random Act Of Kindness BLITZ. And because I think KINDNESS is contagious, I'm participating too!

I am randomly picking two wonderful ladies, who have stood beside me, supported me, and believed in me for more years than I care to share publicly. Cheryl Gulley, for my RAOK gift, I'm offering to weed-eat your yard one weekend this summer without a single complaint! Lynn Hansen, for my RAOK gift, I'm offering to help weed your flower beds one weekend (not the weekend Cheryl gets me, okay?)  

I really appreciate Cheryl and Lynn, who are two of the most awesome ladies EVER! If you know these two wonderful women and have a minute, please stop at the comment section and tell them how awesome they are!

Do you know someone special that you'd like to randomly acknowledge? Don't be shy--come join us and celebrate! Send them an email, give them a shout out, or show your appreciation in another way. Kindness makes the world go round. :)

Becca and Angela have a special RAOK gift waiting for you as well, so hop on over to The Bookshelf Muse to pick it up.

Have you ever participated in or been the recipient of a Random Act Of Kindness?  Let me know in the comments!

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the big reveal!!! I can hardly contain my excitement! I know there will be some surprised folks, and maybe even some interested folks!

Whatever happens, I hope that I will have helped some lovely ladies out who have helped inspire me, remind me, and provoke me into some better writing. These ladies are Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi. You can find their VERY useful site here. I love their Emotion Thesaurus, and many of their posts have been so useful for me. I am sure that their resource will be beneficial to some of my writer friends out there, and am happy to send folks their way.

On that note, are you telling your friends, neighbors, family, enemies about my blog? I saw a massive boost in visits one day last month, but numbers have dropped. I know we are busy, so, please, use the links at the bottom of the post. Email your family and friends the address.

Don't forget the comment contest is running this month. It's the last one until September!

I hope you had a great weekend, and I will see you here tomorrow!!

Weekends

Some of us live for them, some of us work for them, and some of us work on them.

Whichever group you belong to, it is that time of the week again. I will have most likely been to Gtown and maybe even helped out with installing an air conditioner or two for my mother by the time the weekend is done.

I think that sometimes my weekends aren't breaks from work, so much as breaks from routine. My work week is pretty routine, but my weekends are usually wide open. This can mean any number of things - Gtown; a 90 minute drive to a CITY (omg, no way!); helping Mother out with her yard; trying to catch up on my housework; or, simply sitting and enjoying a well-deserved break from the work week.

I have neighbors that work very hard on their yard over the weekend, and I have neighbors who go back home over their weekends. I am sure you all have different ideas of what a weekend should consist of, and how you handle them.

I'm looking forward to the time when I can get some travel in, see some sights with my children and the Daddy-o (3 more months!). My family did most of their traveling during holidays and in the summer. We rarely went anywhere over the weekend, and when we did, it was always fun. I would like to share that with my children, and let them see some of the amazing stuff I saw growing up. I would also like to see how things have changed since I was there.

How do you enjoy/tolerate your weekends? Are you busy doing honey-do's, or are you enjoying the weekend fully?

At any rate, have a great weekend, faithful readers!

Further along...

How often do you find yourself being nice to others, and forgetting yourself and your needs? I'm not saying to stop being nice to others, but how can you continue to help others when you are struggling with keeping yourself together?

For example, I know this single mother of two who had been having a hard time keeping her house up because she was working two full time jobs, and the kids weren't old enough (or responsible enough) to help her out. The house became a total wreck, and she dreaded even going into it after work. And then DFS was called. Thankfully the agent listened to her story and worked with her. That wake up call was what she needed. The income from the 2nd job wasn't worth losing her children over. She cut her hours back and spent more time with the kids, and had time for housework too.

Yep, sometimes it takes some hard whacks upside the head for us to realize we are not doing ourselves any favors.

So, how about today we try a random act of kindness on ourselves? Take fifteen minutes and just sit still. Ask your family to give you that time and just breathe. Enjoy the serenity of the quiet and solitude of being just you (not mom, not wife, not daughter, not sister, but just you). And then, that few moments will add up to a rejuvenated you. Sure, you go right back into the fray, but you can do it. See if you can't get that time every day. Your family may even realize that it keeps mommy from losing her mind.

Have a fantastic solitude!

Random

Today's post will be random, as usual.

I would like to take a moment to share some thoughts with you. I am a member of the Beta Sigma Phi sorority, and in our particular chapter, we share random acts of kindness. This has been a welcome addition, in my opinion. It has helped me to stop and appreciate the small things, even if it's a simple smile from someone, or even for someone.

I like the idea of just randomly being generous. Along with that, I would like to have you visit Matthew again. He is posting about a new project he is part of, called The Kindness Project.  Take a peek at what he says, and visit the other folks he mentions in his post who are part of the project. The idea is not a new idea, but it is a great idea, and should be a part of our general make-up as human beings.

So, for today, try it. Just a little act of kindness. It's not hard. And the nice thing is, if you are like me,  the random-ness of the act will keep people on their toes, trying to figure out where it came from or what I am up to! LOL!

Today, and every day, I will make sure to show someone an act of kindness; a smile, a wave, hold a door, speak an encouraging word or three, or even just offer a helping hand.

Yep...already messed up.

My apologies to my faithful readers. It seems that whatever got a hold of me this weekend turned into a head cold thing, so I was out of commission yesterday. So was Little Man. Poor guy stayed home sick too.

Because I failed so early in the month, it means I can just try harder for the rest of the month, right?  I sure hope so.

Coincidentally, one of the blogs I follow posted about how to be creative when you don't feel so great. You can read her post here. I giggled, and it is a truly useful post!

I would also like to remind you that there is a surprise for this month, and I am hoping it will get some response from my lovely readers. It has to do with the launch of a book that I hope I will have the money for. The book will be released on May 14th, so watch for information from me on it!

So, tell me, what is on your mind today? The weather is fantastic today, and is supposed to be tomorrow as well. I just heard that the weather will not be so cooperative this weekend, but, meh, it's Wyoming. You have to be a special breed to survive Wyoming, right?

Here's hoping that we can survive Wyoming weather, and whatever else is thrown our way! Have a fantastic day, my faithful readers!

Mondays

Yep, it's Monday. I was awakened at 3 a.m. not being able to breathe and coughing up a storm. Seems my allergies have kicked in full force. First time in quite awhile. Grrr.

On the bright side, I took some daytime cold medicine for the stuffy nose and feel amazing compared to 7:30 this morning.

The kids cooperated well this morning, and were able to be ready to go when I got myself together, finally.

However, my brain is muddled by the feeling icky and the medicine, so Geometry was a bit of a struggle this morning. It was out of the way first thing this morning, and the one on one work with students was quite a bit easier the rest of the day. I did warn the students I was taking cold medicine so it would be highly likely my explanations would be long and involved, and occasionally ramble.

The day, despite it starting out as a Monday, has not been too shabby. I was able to find the exact formula for Girl to work on her science experiment for measuring the speed of light using a microwave and marshmallows. I was able to help students with assignments with very little difficulty, and the day flowed well.

Sometimes I think Mondays become Mondays because of our own attitude. Sure, it seems like once things go wrong or awry, the rest of the day has the same type of thing happening. I think it may be simply because we only recall the negatives.  I have had plenty of Mondays start out with something like an earring back going down the drain, followed immediately by me spilling something on the kitchen counter, which is in turn followed by me dropping nearly everything I pick up. Personally, this may happen simply because the first incident made me doubt my abilities or second guess my grip on what I was holding, which made me alter something, and the dropsies happened. Or, it could be the fact that once something went wrong, I was only able to see the bad things that happened during the day, instead of the way the students always speak to me with a title, not just a last name; or the way I made someone smile because of something witty; or the way my son just hugged me because he loves me.

What do you think? Do we sometimes let ourselves drown in the misery of Monday, ignoring the great feelings we give someone else, or the great feelings we should have from others?

Remember, comment contest this month! So far, only one person has commented. She may take the whole kit and caboodle if you don't gang up!

Have a fantastic week! See you tomorrow!

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday

Yep, today is Sunday. All day. Woohoo.

I will be grocery shopping today while you are reading this. In Gtown. Yay.

I hope to also be working on re-arranging and cleaning my house more. Perhaps actually planting the tree that Little Man brought home from school for Arbor Day. *shrug* Sounds a bit like work doesn't it?

Yes, things have been changing around the house. I have noticed the kids are making a bit of an effort to do their parts to make things easier for me, as well as preparing for Dad's return. This is a very nice, downright neighborly, thing to do. He also let me borrow his drill, and told me where to find it should I need it again. Aw shucks, my neighbors are awesome!

When I clean out my room, at least I know I have somewhere to give my clothes to. M will enjoy getting some new things, and I will enjoy having more room for what I have! Someone out there needs to help me with closet organization! I hate being organized. I get lost. LOL

Not ready to get to Little Man's room, but if the neighbor gets serious after he returns from Rendezvous, I will have to be ready for the bed. He said he'd look for a single bed for Little Man, which means Girl can have the spare queen set. So now I just have to get rid of her old set - and it needs to be gone! Poor set is nearly destroyed. I sure could use a new set of mattresses too, but the prices are outrageous these days. Maybe after Dad gets home we will get a new set. Of course this set might be heaven compared to what he's been sleeping on.

So, the list for this weekend is complete. Now I just have to make these things happen. Where do I start? I may have given myself too much to do, but wow, it will be worth it.

Do you find yourself creating a long list of to-do, and not much actually gets done? How do you work your way through it? Are some of you way organized and do things in a logical order? That would be a novel experience for me, but I'm willing to give it a go!

Questions, comments, suggestions? Come on, let me know!  Still a comment contest going on, don't forget. Mrs. H will soon be putting her Amazon gift card to use! Don't be jealous! Win your own!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Cinco de Mayo

Is it time already? Wow! I cannot believe it's already the 5th of May.

Time is flying, and I still have so much to do. I have to get my gift ready for Heart and Hands for my sorority (on the 20th), continue to get the house ready for inspection, keep my creative juices flowing for stories, find summer employment and keep quality time available for my children, while still working a full time job. Meh, piece of cake.

I am hoping to get some travel in with Mas and the children over the summer as well.

So, what do you plan to do for the month? For summer?

A Thought or Three

How many of you would like to create something? Write something? Plant an amazing garden?

My mother is in a knitting group, and these ladies are creating some awesomeness!

I know I have talked about my writing, and some of it is available on here. Some of you know I am involved in a writing group. We have been creating some great stuff. I am also trying to help one of the writers get their work published, which is creating too.

I really would like to get back to my drawing, and also to my crochet (so am not a knitter). I miss cross-stitch, sometimes. I think some of my problem is letting myself get spread too thin. I am doing things all the time for, or with, someone else. I need to stop, set some priorities, and make the time.

I would love to build something with wood (a bookshelf screams into my head here), but lack tools, materials, and time.

I love to watch my daughter draw. She seems to move to another plane of existence as she does. Little Man's comics are a great release for him. My mother likes to knit, to create things out of clay, and paint.

I think it's time I created something more than just a few words on a page.

How about you? Do you need to stop, think, create? Well, what's stopping you? Go ahead, take a break from my awesome blog. Go! Create!!

3rd of May

and I already am late posting. I went home yesterday with something like a migraine. Not quite migraine status, but definitely enough to make me go home early. Thankfully I had scheduled a post for yesterday.

Today I would like to talk about family. I know - again? But really, can one talk too much about family? Sure, not all families are fantastic, but they will always be family. I am looking forward to trying out this new family arrangement coming in August. It will be strange, yet familiar. We will all have to learn and work at things together, including in-laws.

Given our situation, the major concern B and I have is maintaining our communication. We both realize we have changed immensely in the last 8 years, and efforts from both of us to keep communicating with (not at) each other will be vital. We also want to keep lines of communication open for the children's input. We will all be working hard, but enjoying our time together.

Anyway, family means different things to different people. I love my family, even when they drive me absolutely insane. These people made me who I am today, including my children, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I am super grateful for all of the love I have been shown by my family, and am excited for them to share in the new journey of B and I falling in love again, becoming a family again.

I know I talk a lot about my children, but they are truly my reason for being here. I need them as much as they need me. They focus me on what is important, and remind me of what isn't. My children keep me strong, and let me be myself. My children are angels on earth, just like yours are.

I am sure I (occasionally) cause my daughter to want to strangle me in my sleep - she is a teenager after all. She rarely lets it show, and has been doing her best to stay patient with me as I struggle with letting her grow up. She has been helping out around the house, sometimes without being asked or reminded! I wonder if I were a different type of parent how my daughter would have turned out. Would I even like what I helped to create? I couldn't ask for a better daughter than what I have now, even if she sometimes forgets to ask permission for some things (although I may have made the mistake of mentioning the phrase  "it is easier to ask forgiveness than permission" more than once).

And my son! Talk about a super-helper. I worry that he helps too much, and feels put upon. I try to avoid it, but sometimes it's so easy to ask because he has never told me no. I introduced him to a series of books last night that he didn't want to try, but is now addicted to. He threw an attitude (not really a fit or anything, just clear he didn't want to try) and I negotiated that he give it a 10 minute chance. Half an hour later he was engrossed. Evil Mom wins again!

My mother has been such an important part of my life, and elder abuse threats aside, she has been a strong influence. I am cynical, but fair, and I learned this from her. I hope she can maintain that as time rolls by. I want her to know she will always be my mother, and my rock. I also need her to give me advice, and help me with things. I don't want her to think I will ever stop asking for help, or shopping at Masie's Grocery Store/Craft Store/Five-n-Dime/Restaurant.

Sometimes family members just don't get it. Although it has been said that we marry our spouse's family, that is not true. We marry our spouse. We create a new family. We are also part of another family. We expand our families, and that is where true families begin. Sure, we may not feel accepted right away, or we may be made to feel unwelcome/unappreciated, but we are still part of that family. Our spouses need to make it clear that they married us, and love us, and would appreciate their family accepting that reality. Sometimes this is all it takes, and sometimes the families don't want to make that effort.

My ex-mother-in-law still thinks of me as her daughter, and I am so thankful to have her still be part of our lives. B's mom is pretty righteous. I am fortunate in that. I wish the same for other families.

I was recently reminded of something my mother told my children's god-father a few years ago. His father was being unusually like a Massengill. My friend was very upset and hurt. My mother told him that no matter what, his father would always be his father, so he needed to stay available to him. Sometimes my father makes me feel left out, and less important than his step-children, but no matter what, he will always be my father, so when I can, I make sure to stay available to him, and stay in touch with him.

So, that was my two cents on family.  Your turn!

Surprises

The month of May will be full of surprises here on Disrupted Harmony, so keep watching for them (including the infamous Snowplow of Piddle story).

This month also brings a certain person's 15th birthday. Girl has been counting down for the last year. And with a friend coming from out of state, the countdown is taking on a whole new urgency. Girl is excited to see her friend, and maybe even get a learner's permit. *shiver*

Things are going well on the home front, with preparations underway for the inspection before Dad comes home. Re-arranging and cleaning are happening fast and furious, while my Muse is enjoying her time off (like she was working anyway). I am keeping things moving around in my head, and now that I have some breathing room, writing on my stories may begin again.

I am going to also attempt a Story A Day May 2012 so wish me luck. *snicker* I am setting up the rules as to be a story a day during the work week, with weekends off. I may write but not post until Monday, at least for that part. The stories can be like Twitter-length, flash fiction, or 2000 words long. It is really up to the writer, and poetry can count (at least in my world).

Anyway, the comment contest began anew at midnight May 1, along with the first post of the month. Keep reading and commenting! Mrs. H was excited to hear she had won last month's contest!

Have a great day

May Day

Ahhh, the scent of spring, the hugely wild Wyoming wind, and the activities of the students believing it is already the end of the month. It is almost like an insane asylum on certain days.That being said, I am pretty sure that some of the staff are feeling that urge for summer to be here too.

So, for this month, I am going to attempt to post every day. Yep, you read that right. I am pretty sure I have the scheduler figured out, and will give it a shot with this "test" post. And if that fails me, I can get to the site on my phone, but the posts would most likely be very short on the days I have to resort to my phone - fair warning there!

I would like to cover a variety of topics this month, but not as varied as last month! I am hoping to add some real life things, some writing things, and some interesting stuff, besides working on the pet brag board.

My mother has urged me to tell you of the story of how I snow-plowed dog pee in her kitchen last year, and the story makes us both laugh until our sides ache, our eyes are watering, and we are making that "woo, woo" "can't breathe" sound. So, if you would like to experience this, go on, tempt me to tell you that story. Leave me some comments so I know I have readers who love to laugh, love to think, love to share.

Again, there will be a comment contest this month. There will be a prize for the first comment, the comment that strikes me the strongest, and the most comments. That is 3 separate prizes. Last month, there was only one winner; don't let that happen again (love you Mrs. H!). We can't let her have all the fun, can we?

So, enjoy your first day of May, and get ready for the Comment Contest Rumble!!!  lol

P.S. Please watch for some exciting things in the next two weeks! A big surprise is coming, and I want you all to think about a random act of kindness you can pay forward! Hinty, hinty!